Saint for Today: Click
here
to find information about the Saint(s) of the calendar day on which you are
reading this reflection.
Use your Internet browser's "back" arrow twice
to return to this reflection.
Click on centre arrow
below to play the video:
Scripture today: 1 Kings 21:1-16; Psalm 5:2-7; Matthew 5:38-42
Jesus
said to his disciples: You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye,
and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If
someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And
if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your
cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two
miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one
who wants to borrow from you.(Matthew 5:38-42)
True
religion
One of the accusations that have been long levelled against religious people is
that their religion does not seem to make much difference to the course of their
everyday relationships with others. They are accused of going to church on
Sundays, and then, that very day, of acting towards others in ways that are
reprehensible. It is a charge that is all too often unfair, yet often enough
there is some truth in it. But of course, this has been the problem for mankind
all along.
Man tends to forget that religion ought inform the whole of life. In its
teaching, revealed religion is characterized by a strong insistence on the
inseparable link between love of God and love of man. Long ago the prophets
inveighed against a religion of mere ritual sacrifices that at the same time
neglected the poor and the oppressed. The prophets said that God cared little
for the blood of animals while his children suffered at the hands of those who
offered the sacrifices. Now, far more has this been the case with many natural
religions. It has often been pointed out that in indigenous societies that have
not yet been undermined by an invading or colonial culture, the religion
pervades life. It is not sharply separated from the observance of ritual. But
even here, I doubt that it inspires a notable concern for others in the
society. Be all this as it may, it is evident to all, even to those who do not
profess any religion at all, that the link between the love and worship of God
and concern for others is profound, and any practice of a religion in which
there is little of this is a mockery. But now, our Lord takes it to new
heights. The Mosaic legislation restricted spiralling revenge by stipulating
“an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,” and forbidding anything beyond
this. Our Lord tells his disciples that this is not to be the rule of their
life. Rather, “I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes
you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also... Give to the one who asks
of you” (Matthew 5, 38‑42). What does our
Lord mean by this?
To begin with, this teaching of today’s Gospel comes from the great Sermon on
the Mount, which itself begins with the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are best
interpreted as a window into the life and heart of Christ and ought be
understood in the light of his own practice. So too with the teaching of
today’s Gospel. We ought interpret what our Lord says here in the light of how
he lived. “Come to me,” he says elsewhere, “and learn of me, for I am meek and
humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” That is to say, we are
to do what our Lord says here, in the way he did it. One’s life is not to be
characterized by revenge. Christ did not take revenge on others for wrongs they
did to him — and this cannot be said of certain other founders of religions. He
had all the power he needed, and far more besides, to defend himself from all
wrongs and to take revenge for what they did to him. But he did not use his
power for that purpose. He could heal sicknesses, raise the dead, cast out
demons, calm the storms. As we see in the incident in the garden of Olives at
the beginning of his Passion, he could throw back enemies while scarcely
speaking, and all of this by a single word. He was, in other words,
all‑powerful. But he never used his power to avenge himself on others. We
remember how, when passing through Samaria on his way to Jerusalem, the
Samaritans of a village would not receive him. James and John wanted to call
down fire from heaven to punish them. Christ rebuked them and turned to take
another way. On the cross, with his enemies reviling him as he suffered for the
sins of mankind, he prayed to his Father that they be forgiven for they knew not
what they were doing. So, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth was not
Christ’s way and it is not to be the way of his followers. Rather, they are to
be Christ‑like even towards enemies. “Give to the one who asks you, and do not
turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you”
(Matthew 5:38‑42).
The words of our Lord should be interpreted in the light of his own example and
practice. What he did and how he thought is the key to his own teaching, and we
should apply that key as we read his words and ponder on how to live them. For
instance, Our Lord says “Do not resist an evil person,” but of course he himself
did resist evil persons but in his all‑holy way. We are to resist an evil
person in the way Christ did and would. Let us resolve to bring to our daily
life and our relationships with all others our personal love for Jesus and our
desire to imitate him always.
(E.J.Tyler)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Call it by its name: grumbling, gossiping, back-biting, mischief
making, tale-bearing, scandal-mongering, intrigue..., slander...,
treachery?
Self-appointed critics sitting in judgment easily end up as 'gossiping
old maids'!
(The Way, no.449)
Saint for Today: Click
here
to find information about the Saint(s) of the calendar day on which you are
reading this reflection.
Use your Internet browser's "back" arrow twice
to return to this reflection.
Click on centre arrow
below to play the video:
Scripture today: 1 Kings 21:17-29; Psalm 51:3-6ab, 11 and 16; Matthew 5:43-48
Jesus
said to his disciples: You have heard that it was said, 'Love your
neighbour and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and
pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father
in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and
sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who
love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors
doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing
more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as
your heavenly Father is perfect.(Matthew 5:43-48)
What God
does
It is, of course, impossible to avoid the issue of morality. It is a
fundamental dimension of every human action. By a “human action” I do not
simply mean an action that man happens to perform (because many things he does
he does without personal intent) but any action of his that he truly intends.
His “action” embraces those thoughts, words and deeds that are the object of his
intent. He knows that whatever he chooses to do should be morally right. He
must not do what is wrong.
This is a fundamental given which he knows to be the case — which is to say that
it is plainly evident to him. His “conscience” (which is to say, his mind in
its awareness of moral obligation) tells him this. This is not the place for a
discussion of the foundations of moral obligation, but we can ask a further
question as a lead‑in to our Gospel passage today. What is it to be moral, and
what is it to do something that is moral? Many might quickly say that it is to
act according to right reason, and this is obviously correct, but as a bland
statement it lends itself to a lot of ambiguity. A person might think it is the
most reasonable thing in the world to put an end to the life of an unborn
grossly retarded child. The concept of right reason needs a lot of careful
discussion. I think it is greatly aided if the fact of God is firstly admitted,
and the issue is then pursued in the light of what is to be said of God. What
does God himself do? Be all this as it may in terms of philosophical discussion,
let us notice the terms of reference in the morality that our Lord sets forth
for his disciples. It has been told to you, he said, that you are to love your
neighbour (say, your clan, fellow citizen or countryman from whom you receive
benefits and protection) and to “hate” and take action against him who threatens
you with harm. This is to act reasonably, you have been told. Our Lord then
takes his disciples higher and asks of them a nobler morality. We shall see
that it is eminently reasonable if what God himself does is kept in mind.
Our Lord tells us to keep our eyes on, not what seems reasonable and beneficial
to ourselves, nor simply on what most others do, but on what God does. What
does God do? “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate
your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise
on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous”
(Matthew 5:43‑48). God, as Creator and
Sustainer, acts as Father to the wicked, causing the sun to rise on the evil and
the rain to fall on them too. That is to say, normally in the course of things
he does not hate and attack the wicked. In philosophical thought it is often
regarded as a problem that, if there is a God, he seems to deal gently with
those who are evil and to allow them to prosper in their evildoing. There are
indeed problems for our minds in observing this fact, but our Lord throws
partial light on this by telling us that this happens because God is a God of
love. He does not hate his enemies — and those who act immorally act not as
God’s friends but as his enemies. He does not hate them, rather he loves them
and yearns for their entire repentance from evil. They are bringing destruction
on their own heads by their evildoing. Let us leave to one side the plethora of
issues that this consideration raises, and simply take to heart the point of our
Lord’s call to a much higher and nobler morality. He tells us that such is the
way God acts, and so — we might add — we have before us a much grander criterion
of what is reasonable. It is eminently “reasonable” to act as “sons” of our
“Father in heaven” by loving our enemies and praying for those who persecute
us. This, indeed, is precisely the way our Lord acted and thought, and to see
him is to see the Father. Christ’s disciples are called to this higher
morality. Anything less is to act — to use our Lord’s words — as the pagans
act, who do not know God. Rather, we are to strive to do what we know God does.
Let us keep before us our Lord’s clear and exalted directive. We are to strive
to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. That is the term of reference
for our moral life and in all our relations with others. That is what it means
to act according to right reason for the follower of Christ and it is the path
for the full development of our humanity. Christ is the way for man and in him
is seen what it is to be truly human. Morality reaches its summit in him. He
is the criterion of right reason.
What great offence is given to God, and what great injury done to many
souls — and what means of sanctification provided for others — by the
injustice of the 'just'!
(The Way, no.450)
Wednesday
of the eleventh week in Ordinary Time II
Saint for Today: Click
here
to find information about the Saint(s) of the calendar day on which you are
reading this reflection.
Use your Internet browser's "back" arrow twice
to return to this reflection.
Jesus
said to his disciples: Be careful not to do your 'acts of
righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have
no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do
not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues
and on the streets, to be honoured by men. I tell you the truth, they
have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do
not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your
giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in
secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not be like the
hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the
street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have
received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room,
close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your
Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. When you
fast, do not look sombre as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their
faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have
received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head
and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are
fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who
sees what is done in secret, will reward you.(Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18)
For God
alone
One of the great classics of Christian spirituality is the little manual
entitled Spiritual Exercises, written by St Ignatius of Loyola while
still a layman. It takes the one doing the spiritual exercises step‑by‑step
through a process leading to a genuine commitment to Christ and his Church and
to a generous participation in his apostolic mission.
The point I wish to refer to, though, is the opening consideration of these
spiritual exercises, which St Ignatius refers to as the principle and foundation
of the whole. That foundation of love for and commitment to Christ is the
principle of detachment from creatures and total attachment to God in all
circumstances. We were made for this, to love and serve God above all things.
Whatever may come our way, that is the one thing we must seek. All else we must
use or discard as it seems best for the attainment of this one necessary thing.
Well now, let us notice how the saints of Christian history come from all walks
of life and were to be found in all kinds of circumstances. There is John Paul
II travelling the world with his great message of Christ and drawing immense
crowds to hear him. He was a saint, and his cause for canonization was
introduced soon after his death. There was Archbishop Fulton Sheen, dramatic
and captivating public speaker who held spellbound large television audiences as
he brought Christ to the masses. His cause for canonization was introduced a
few decades after his death. These holy persons loved Christ above all and used
the acclaim and attention that came their way for their great purpose at hand.
At the same time there is the saint of lowly and unknown circumstances such as
Therese of Lisieux who became known only because of her posthumously published
spiritual diary. There was Matt Talbot the reformed alcoholic who had only a
handful at his funeral but who attained a wonderful love for Christ. These and
so many others besides loved Christ above all and were detached from the good
and bad things that came their way. They lived in Christ whatever were the
circumstances that providence placed them in.
Such persons did not do things in order to win the admiration of men, but they
did what they did for God alone. They strove to purify their intention in life
and make God and his will their one object — which brings us to our Gospel today
(Matthew 6:1‑6, 16‑18). Our Lord is
addressing his disciples and warning them against the example being constantly
given by the religious leaders of the day who lived their religion with an eye
to gaining the admiration of men. They performed all the necessary things —
prayer, fasting and self denial, and almsgiving — but they did them for a
radically corrupt reason. Their purpose was to be seen by men and so to be
admired for their religion. Do not be like them, our Lord says. The danger was
that, seeing the ostentation and the admiration this evoked from so many, our
Lord’s own disciples could be led to do likewise. The following of Christ could
be corrupted by this terrible trap of living religiously so as to be admired by
men. Of course, the disciple of Christ will usually be seen as being such. Our
Lord on one occasion tells his disciples that they are so to live that their
good works will be seen by men and as a result glory will be given to their
Father in heaven. But the whole point of following Christ is to give glory to
God and not to win that glory for oneself. What our Lord is warning against is
in effect the arrogation to oneself of the glory and the position of God. This
is a violation of the first commandment which warns against worshipping gods
other than the one and only Lord. And so our Lord says, when you give alms, do
so for God alone. When you fast, do so in the sight of God alone. When you
pray, likewise do so in God’s presence alone. Guard your heart and the intent
behind what you do. God will then reward you. Understand that you will be
tempted to want to be worshipped, as it were, in place of God. To him alone be
the glory and the truly religious man makes this the object of all his actions
be they prayer, self‑denial or works of mercy.
To God alone be the glory, and the challenge of the practice of religion is to
aim at this. The principle and foundation of all authentic religion and
certainly of the following of Christ, is to love and serve God alone and to be
actively detached from all else. It means acknowledging God to be God and
oneself to be nothing other than whatever he allows or disposes. Let us aim at
this by living in the presence of God and by doing all things for him alone.
Let us be slow to judge. — Each one sees things from his own point of
view, as his mind, with all its limitations, tells him, and through
eyes that are often dimmed and clouded by passion.
Moreover, as happens with those modernist painters, the outlook of
certain people is so unhealthily subjective that they dash off a few
random strokes and assure us that they represent our portrait, our
conduct.
Of what little worth are the judgments of men! Don't judge without
sifting your judgment in prayer.
(The Way, no.451)
Saint for Today: Click
here
to find information about the Saint(s) of the calendar day on which you are
reading this reflection.
Use your Internet browser's "back" arrow twice
to return to this reflection.
Click on centre arrow
below to play the video:
Scripture today: Sirach 48:1-14; Psalm
97:1-7; Matthew 6:7-15
Jesus
said to his disciples: When you pray, do not keep on babbling like
pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask
him. This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed
be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in
heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses, as we
also forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into
temptation, but deliver us from evil.' For if you forgive men when they
sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you
do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.(Matthew 6:7-15)
Prayer
I could imagine a person thinking that were God himself to compose a prayer for
us to use, that prayer would be impressive indeed for its magnificence of
language and the range of its subject. But when we look at the prayers that
come from God and that seem to please God, what is notable about them is their
simplicity, and, usually, their brevity. We remember that dramatic occasion in
the Old Testament when the prophet Elijah confronted the four hundred prophets
of Baal.
He challenged them to ask of their god that he consume the sacrifice of the bull
that had been prepared for sacrifice in their midst. The prophets of Baal
called on their god for hour upon hour, cutting themselves and redoubling their
lengthy pleas. It was all to no avail. No answer came. With loud voice, they
babbled on and on. Then Elijah began, and with a simple, humble and confident
request to Yahweh God, the fire of God descended and consumed the offering. The
psalms are simple and direct. When we think of it, it stands to reason that if
a person is not sure of the supernatural reality to which he is directing his
requests, the likelihood is that his requests will be lengthy and complex. But
our Lord says, do not pray like this. “When you pray, do not keep on babbling
on like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.
Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.”
Effective prayer to the one Lord and God of all assumes an acceptance of his
revelation of himself. He is our Father, and he knows all. We are entirely in
his hands and he loves us more than we can possibly imagine. So we need not be
uncertain of his attitude, of his power and of his intent. What is of far
greater importance is the attitude, the dispositions and the intent that we
ourselves bring to our prayers. So let us consider the prayer that our Lord
taught his disciples and what it expects of us.
To begin with, the Lord’s Prayer expects that we have a lively faith in God as
our Father (Matthew 6:7‑15). God has
revealed himself as our Father — as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ and
therefore as our Father, for by our baptism we live in Jesus. He is our Father,
so we ought be full of trust in him. But then the prayer of our Lord shows us
that we, alive to the fact that it is God whom we are addressing, should know
that the one thing necessary is that God be glorified here on earth just as he
is in heaven. This more than anything ought be the true object of our prayers.
If God is honoured and glorified firstly in my own life and in the lives of
others, then all will be well. And so we pray in the Lord’s prayer that our
heavenly Father’s name will be honoured in our hearts, that his lordship will
extend over the hearts and lives of all, and that his will may be done here on
earth — beginning with my own life — just as it is done in heaven. The
paramount need for the world is that God, the one Father of all, be acknowledged
as Lord and that all of life be lived accordingly. This is the key to true
human prosperity, and how great would the blessing to mankind be if this
obtained! It ought be the first and most constant petition of our life‑long
prayer and it flows directly from the first commandment, that the Lord be
worshipped as God and that no other god be set in his place. To God be the
glory, then! In this spirit, we pray for our own daily needs: give us this day
our daily bread, and forgive us our sins just as we forgive others. Preserve us
from temptation and deliver us from evil. That God be glorified, and that we be
kept safe in him! But our Lord adds what, in the mind of God, is a singularly
important disposition on our part. “Forgive us our trespasses, as we also
forgive those who trespass against us.” In the prayer thus given, our Lord
stresses this special point that God’s forgiveness of our sins will depend on
our forgiveness of the faults of others against us. This is one of the most
distinctive features of the prayer of Christ.
Let us ask the Holy Spirit that he help us to pray with the mind of Christ and
according to his teaching. Let us pray that God will reign in the hearts of
men, and let us resolve to open our hearts to his reign. His will be done, and
let us start with our own daily life. Forgive us our sins and keep us from
sin. Let us resolve to forgive all the offences others have directed against
us, be they justified or unjustified. Let us make sure that by the time we die,
there is absolutely no one whom we have not forgiven utterly and from the depths
of our hearts.
(E.J.Tyler)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Force yourself, if necessary, always to forgive those who offend you,
from the very first moment. For the greatest injury or offence that you
can suffer from them is as nothing compared with what God has pardoned
you.
(The Way, no.452)
Saint for Today: Click
here
to find information about the Saint(s) of the calendar day on which you are
reading this reflection.
Use your Internet browser's "back" arrow twice
to return to this reflection.
Jesus
said to his disciples: Do not store up for yourselves treasures on
earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and
steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and
rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the
lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full
of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of
darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that
darkness!(Matthew 6:19-23)
Wealth
It is to be noticed that in respect to the daily news on television and in
print, a considerable amount of time is spent on commercial and economic news.
A merger is announced between two banks and it hits the front news, and is then
followed by extensive discussion of what this will mean to shareholders and to
the country. Whole segments of the daily news are, as a matter of course,
dedicated to developments in the commercial and economic life of the country and
of the world.
All this stands to reason because of its material importance to so many people.
There is another aspect of this though, which reveals that it that it is an
indicator of the priorities of a secular society. In the eyes of very many, the
giants of society are the ones who have, through their talent and industry,
gained enormous wealth. The acquisition of wealth is the foremost value for
many people and, as they envisage it, if wealth is acquired then life has been
successful. Now, from a purely natural point of view, this attitude
automatically renders one’s happiness very vulnerable. If one does not have
wealth and one sets out to attain it, then one must realize that a great number
of variables must come into place for such a goal to be realized. One’s health
must remain good, all kinds of beneficial coincidences have to occur, and great
mishaps must not take place. That is to say, one probably will have to be in
the right place at the right time, as we might say. Moreover, if in the event
this kind of success comes, it is not at all certain that it will bring the
satisfaction that is expected. It may prove a great disappointment because of
the loss of important things that have been neglected in the process, such as
certain personal relationships. It takes only a little thought to understand
that material wealth in itself is radically ephemeral and if one’s heart lies
only there, then one’s happiness in life is made vulnerable. It rests on a
knife-edge. Anyone with a reasonably clear sight can see all this from a purely
natural point of view.
Our Lord addresses this perennial problem for man, which is the acquisition of
wealth. He says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth
and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where
thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19‑23).
Now, while our Lord says do not store up treasures for yourselves on earth, he
obviously means that we are not to store these up with the aim of finding our
happiness here on earth through them. Our true happiness lies in God and in
heaven where nothing can threaten it. It is possible for a person to seek
wealth in order to use it for purposes that do indeed please God. So it is that
while we see certain great magnates storing up for themselves treasures, we also
see others acquiring their treasures in order to benefit others. I can think of
one very wealthy person in one country who used his wealth to establish a fine
Catholic university and a town surrounding and supporting it. He used his
wealth to do a tremendously good work. Many others of very moderate means give
generously to the poor. We think of the poor widow in the Gospel of whom our
Lord said that, with her two small coins, she gave to the Temple more than all
the others because she gave all she had to live on. There is nothing wrong with
wealth in itself, provided that it is used in a way that pleases God. In fact,
true wealth — which material wealth ought be made to serve — is that which can
be stored as treasure in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where
thieves do not break in and steal. Thus it is that our Lord says elsewhere in
the Gospel that to the one who has more will be given him, and to the one who
has not, even what he has will be taken away. God wants us to become rich, but
rich in what will endure to eternity. If our heart is set on purely material
things, when they leave us — as they must eventually — then the entire basis of
our lives is taken away. But if, in the use of material things we are
constantly serving God and not ourselves, then our treasure is in heaven, and
accordingly there will our heart be.
In the same passage today our Lord says that “if the light within you is
darkness, how great is that darkness!” Let us pray for the inner wisdom and
inner light to see how we should use all the things that come our way in life.
In a word, we must strive to be detached from them, using them, be they good or
bad, in order to grow in the love and grace of God and thus to attain our
heavenly homeland. There and only there is our true happiness and security to
be found.
(E.J.Tyler)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Do you speak badly of others? Then you are losing the right spirit and,
if you do not learn to check your tongue, each word will take you one
step nearer the exit from that apostolic undertaking in which you work.
(The Way, no.453)
Saint for Today: Click
here
to find information about the Saint(s) of the calendar day on which you are
reading this reflection.
Use your Internet browser's "back" arrow twice
to return to this reflection.
Click on centre arrow
below to play the video:
Scripture today: 2 Chronicles
24:17-25; Psalm 89:4-5, 29-34; Matthew 6:24-34
Jesus
said to his disciples: No-one can serve two masters. Either he will
hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and
despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Therefore I
tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or
about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than
food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of
the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your
heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? And why do
you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do
not labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his
splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the
grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the
fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do
not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or
'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and
your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his
kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to
you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will
worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.(Matthew 6:24-34)
All for
him
One of the most fascinating areas of study is the world of nature and in
particular the world of living sentient nature. Take the bees for instance, or
the ants. Notice how they are engaged in incessant activity building their
hives and nests, bringing in food and reproducing.
It is a thriving kingdom that bespeaks an Intelligence behind the drama of
natural instinct. But now, what is the bee and the ant living for? It is living
for its food and shelter and the continuation of its species. It looks no
further than the instinctive task it is about, and certainly has not the
slightest impression of anything higher or greater than its unending round of
impulsive activity. But in all of its activity, the unseen hand of God is
sustaining it. When watching animals in their activity, I have often thought
how like animals we human beings so often are! We immerse ourselves in our daily
round and so very often all we think of is the acquisition of material things,
our food, our clothing, our shelter and our money. All our anxieties, all our
worries, are focussed there as if therein are contained all that truly matters.
Moreover we are anxious and we worry as if all did depend on us. We fail to
take into account that the hand of God our Father is sustaining us and whatever
we achieve or gain really comes from him. Consider then our Lord’s words in our
Gospel passage today. He says, why are you worrying and anxious like this? Why
do you fret over your income and your food and your clothing as if this is all
that matters and as if these things depend simply on you? Understand this, he
says, that there are greater things to be sought and in any case your heavenly
Father will be looking after you, just as he is now. Our Lord is speaking in
the broadest terms and within those broad and fundamental terms he wishes us to
situate all our legitimate anxieties. The supremely important thing in life is
the lordship and rule of God. In all that you work for, seek the lordship of
God, and then trust in the care of your Father in heaven.
Our Lord puts it very starkly. Just as you cannot be the servant of two
masters, so too you cannot serve both God and Money. Let us put it very simply:
there are two fundamental realities, God and the world. Money can be understood
as our share of the world. To what, then, are we dedicating our lives? Is it to
gaining a bigger and bigger share of the world, or is it to gaining more and
more of the friendship of God? Where our treasure is, there will our heart be.
What do we regard as life’s treasure? Our Lord tells us that we cannot serve
both God and the world. We must make a choice and then live it out. He is not
saying that we must do without a certain use and share of the world, for clearly
since the world is our temporary home, we must make use of it. But our intent
must be to serve God in the world, and to live in it such that he and he only is
its Lord. We must so use the goods of this world that God’s rule is our
foremost value. If he is the Lord of our lives we will trust in his care while
we dedicate ourselves daily to the doing of his will. And so our Lord tells us
in today’s Gospel, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you
will eat or drink; ... See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not
labour or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was
dressed like one of these. .... If that is how God clothes the grass of the
field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not
much more clothe you, O you of little faith?.... Seek first his kingdom and his
righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”
(Matthew 6:24‑34). A great Anglican writer of
the seventeenth century in England, William Beveridge, wrote a book called
Private Thoughts upon Religion and a Christian Life. He has a long chapter
on the love of money, and in it he makes the point that the love for money grows
insidiously. It is the root of so many sins and it makes the love of God
impossible. As our Lord says, we cannot serve both God and Money.
What our Lord directs us to do is liberating. There will be many anxious stages
in life as our material needs fail to be met and as real tragedies occur. But
we are in the hands of our heavenly Father who, in ways we so often do not see,
is constantly caring for us. God wants us to trust him. As St Thomas More said
on his way to the scaffold, having refused to acknowledge Henry VIII’s right to
divorce and his right to be supreme head of the Church, “though I lose my head,
I’ll come to no harm.”
(E.J.Tyler)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Don't judge without having heard both sides. Even people who think
themselves virtuous very easily forget this elementary rule of prudence.
(The Way, no.454)
Prayers
this week:
God is the strength
of his people. In him, we his chosen live in safety. Save us, Lord, who
share in your life, and give us your blessing; be our shepherd forever.
(Psalm 27:8-9)
Father, guide and protector of your people, grant us an unfailing
respect for your name, and keep us always in your love. We ask this
through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.
Saint for Today: Click
here
to find information about the Saint(s) of the calendar day on which you are
reading this reflection.
Use your Internet browser's "back" arrow twice
to return to this reflection.
Jesus
said to the Twelve: Do not be afraid of any one. There is nothing
concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made
known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is
whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of
those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of
the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two
sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground
apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your
head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many
sparrows. Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge
him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I
will disown him before my Father in heaven.
(Matthew 10:26-33)
Hell I have
come across people, indeed people quite well advanced in years, who have not
believed in an afterlife.
I remember one gentleman who would have been in his seventies, who stated quite
plainly that he thought that our lot is just the same as that of any dog or cat
— we just end with death and our remains are buried, and that is all there is to
it. In fact, there are all kinds of belief about what happens after death, just
as there are all kinds of belief about Jesus Christ. Many who have been raised
as Christians do not genuinely believe the teachings of Jesus Christ. Rather,
they entertain a variety of religious opinions mixed up with elements of
Christian dogma. I remember being part of a religious discussion group
consisting of some five medical doctors. It was obvious that while these
medical men were, of course, educated in their own discipline, they had but a
meagre understanding of the Christian faith, though they were Christians. I
remember one of them saying that he did not believe in the existence of hell,
and I suspect that quite a number of Christians do not really believe this
doctrine. But if one believes in Jesus Christ as our God and Redeemer, then one
would and should believe his teaching about the fact of hell. Indeed, it
features in our Gospel passage today (Matthew
10:26‑33). Our Lord is telling the Twelve who were the very
foundation stones of his Church, that they were not to fear men, for at most all
they could do is put an end to this earthly life. Rather, our Lord warned,
“fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” If we compare the
teaching of the Old Testament with that of the New, and in particular with that
of our Lord as in the Gospels, it is clear that from the lips of our Lord has
come the clearest and most unambiguous teaching about hell in all the
Scriptures. Indeed, if one considers all the sacred writings of all the
religions I would be most surprised if any religious founder gave anything like
the clarity of teaching about hell that Christ gave. We are indebted to our
Lord for our being warned of the catastrophic consequences of dying in the state
of unrepented mortal sin.
Well then, let us take a few moments to consider our Lord’s words about hell in
our Gospel passage today, a passage that primarily tells us of the loving care
of God our Father. The one person we must fear offending in life is God. He is
our Father, but he has endowed us with the momentous gift of freedom, and that
gift can be used to disregard his solemn commands. That this is a terrible
thing to do is shown by its consequences, when there has been no repentance.
God can destroy both body and soul in hell. Notice the word that is used. The
word is “destroy” — destruction! Hell is so terrible that it entails an undying
process of destruction while never being destroyed. It will mean an eternal
dying as if dead, while not being dead in the sense of being lifeless or
extinct. In ordinary language we have the expression, “a living death.” There
have been some who have written that what allowed them to continue in their sins
was their belief at the time that their death would involve an extinction and so
an absence of retribution. But the destruction of both body and soul in hell
will not involve a mere extinction. Man will not be able to escape into
extinction. It will be a living and eternal death. Our Lord is plain in his
revelation about this, and he advises us to fear this divine retribution, such
that we do not expose ourselves to the risk of it. We certainly risk it if we
deliberately commit serious sin, because we cannot guarantee to ourselves the
grace of God to repent of it, nor can we guarantee to ourselves that we shall
have sufficient length of life to repent. A person can die at any moment. If a
person dies in the actual state of deliberate and unrepented mortal sin — and we
ourselves cannot know if any particular individual actually dies in that state —
then his eternal prospects are appalling. As St John writes in his Letter, not
every sin is mortal, but let us remember that the road to mortal sin is venial
sin — any sin — if we deliberately persist in it. Deliberate sin enslaves, as
our Lord says in St John’s Gospel. Let us take to heart the word our Lord uses
at the end of our Gospel passage. He says of the one who disowns him that he
will disown that person before his heavenly Father. Let us not take the risk of
being disowned by Christ at the judgment seat of God.
So we should keep alive in our hearts a lively and wholesome fear of the living
death of hell. The only door to hell is deliberate and unrepented mortal sin.
It is sin that is to be feared, for the grinning face of sin veils its terrible
evil. It is because of sin that God sent his only begotten Son to suffer and
die for each of us. Thus we have before us the boundless love and mercy of God,
revealed in his divine Son nailed to the Cross for each of us. Let us cast
ourselves into the care of God our Father and resolve to love and obey him as
his dear children, rejecting every day the allure of sin and its great friend,
Satan. A resounding yes to God, and a resounding no to sin.
(E.J.Tyler)
Further reading: The Catechism of the Catholic Church,
no.1033-1037
Do you know what damage you may cause by throwing stones with your eyes
blindfold?
Neither do you know the harm you may cause — and at times it is very
great — by letting drop uncharitable remarks that to you seem trifling,
because your eyes are blinded by thoughtlessness or passion.
(The Way, no.455)
Saint for Today: Click
here
to find information about the Saint(s) of the calendar day on which you are
reading this reflection.
Use your Internet browser's "back" arrow twice
to return to this reflection.
Jesus
said to his disciples: Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in
the same way as you judge others, you will be judged, and with the
measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the
speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the
plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take
the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your
own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and
then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.(Matthew 7:1-5)
Judging
others
We are told in the Gospels that the people hung on our Lord’s words whenever he
spoke. The Temple officers sent by the priests to arrest Jesus returned without
him, saying that no-one ever spoke as he spoke. What was there in our Lord’s
speaking that made him so incomparable? Well, merely to remember the fact
that it was God the Son himself who was speaking gives us enough reason.
But I do think that there are other indications in the Gospels of his engaging
delivery. Take our Gospel scene today in which he warns his disciples that they
are not to judge. By “judging” he means, obviously, the judgment that one who
acts as if he is a judge, would make. A judge makes his judgment as to the
guilt of a wrongdoer and then sentences him. The essence of his act is the
judgment as to personal guilt. Christ warns that we are not to presume to judge
a person’s guilt before God, for to God belongs this judgment. He is also
surely warning against a proneness to be critical of others. But then our Lord
asks a rhetorical question. Why do you point out what is a tiny speck in your
brother’s eye, and fail to notice the beam of wood in your own? I cannot help
but think that this remark would have evoked instant laughter in his audience,
with our Lord smiling as he uttered it. A whole beam of wood lodged in the very
eye of the critic of his brother’s eye! We ought take our cue from our Lord’s
turn of phrase here, and understand how prone we are to be blind to our own much
greater faults and limitations as we take great issue with the faults of someone
else. If we are prone to be critical of the faults of others — and I am not
speaking of one to whom God has given the duty to observe and correct certain
faults — then we are likely to be prone to be blind to our own. We are likely
to be failing to “first take the plank out of” our “own eye” before we presume
to do something similar to others. We are fellow sinners with our faulty
brother, and in all we do for him we must remember that.
However, as is often the case in the Gospels, our Lord’s words of instruction at
one point are to be understood in the light of other instructions elsewhere.
For instance, our Lord at one point in the Gospels directs his disciples to
offer the wicked man no resistance. Yet he himself resisted the buying and
selling in the Temple. He physically resisted it to the point of driving the
buyers and sellers together with their animals right out of the Temple. He sent
them all helter‑skelter right out the doors. He resisted the Scribes and the
Pharisees in debate and time and again reduced them to silence. So the true
meaning of our Lord’s words must be pondered carefully in the light of other
texts in the Gospels and in the Scriptures generally, and in light of the
Church’s teaching. In our Gospel passage today
(Matthew 7:1‑5) our Lord tells us that we are not to judge, and if we
do, we ourselves shall be judged. We are not to look on the faults of others as
if we are free of fault ourselves, but rather as persons who are profoundly
conscious of personal guilt and sinful limitations. But our Lord does say
elsewhere in the Gospels that we are to correct our brother and not leave
evildoing unchecked. He speaks of going again to our brother with another
witness, and with more still if no change is forthcoming. He even speaks of
putting the brother out of the community. These words too must be carefully
weighed in the light of the Church’s teaching, but the message is clear. While
we are not to judge uncharitably and as persons not subject to judgment
ourselves, nevertheless it is a great act of charity, indeed a duty requiring
persevering sensitivity and courage, to correct the faults of others when those
faults are causing harm. The sweep of the Scriptures and the constant practice
of the Church show that sin and harmful faults are not to be left unchecked. In
this sense we are our brother’s keeper, for if he is suffering in this form of
spiritual poverty, we have a duty to assist him even by our compassionate
correction.
Being Christ‑like in the world requires that we be growing in the mind of
Christ, and more and more being led by the Holy Spirit. Let us pray to the Holy
Spirit to help us in all our interaction with others. He will show us that they
and we are sinners all. We are all afflicted by the scourge of sin. So let us
not judge our brother as if we do not deserve judgment ourselves. At the same
time, we all need the compassionate and charitable assistance of others to see
our faults and to be able to remove them. In this way the Holy Spirit works
through us all to bring us to a greater and greater likeness to Christ. Thus
does the kingdom of God in our midst extend.
Saint for Today: Click
here
to find information about the Saint(s) of the calendar day on which you are
reading this reflection.
Use your Internet browser's "back" arrow twice
to return to this reflection.
Click on centre arrow
below to play the video:
Scripture today:
Genesis 13: 2.5-18; Psalm 14; Matthew 7: 6.12-14
Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your
pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn
and tear you to pieces. So in everything, do to others what you would have them
do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Enter through the narrow
gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and
many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to
life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7: 6.12-14)
Love I
remember years ago I was teaching Religion in a State High School, and I asked a
student in the class how he would describe God. He said that God was a good
spirit. That was the natural idea he had of God. He knew little about the
Christian religion, but God did mean something to him. There are things we
pick up about God from a variety of sources, quite independently of Christian
teaching. If we reflect on the world we might gain the sense of a Cause behind
it.
Look at the order we see everywhere! How could this have happened of itself? In
any case — the average person might say — most people of most times have
accepted that there is a God, so there must be one. Or again, the average
person might assume there is a God because of his personal sense of moral
obligation and of a judgment that will eventually come. His being good or bad
will have its consequences. When all is said and done, what is the image of God
possessed by the average person who has not been raised in a strong religious
practice and belief? I do not think it is of One who loves him. I remember
years ago watching a television series that portrayed a very competent
Government espionage agent. This character was very successful in tracking down
and apprehending spies. In one episode he was asked if he believed in God — and
he said that he believed in a higher Power. The higher Power did not, it was
obvious, impinge on his personal life or affect his motives very much, other
than providing an ultimate reference point for the world and a general
foundation for moral living. That view was obviously the view of the writer of
the episode, and I tend to think that it is the notion gradually formed by the
average person who has never looked seriously and taken to heart Christian
doctrine. God is a higher (and limited) Power on the side of good, as sensed in
the thought of the world and in the moral dictate. In a culture that proudly
professes to be secular, the good God is deemed to be distant and unconcerned.
There is a further aspect of this, and it relates to our behaviour towards
others. Our image or notion of God must affect our attitude to, and dealings
with, our fellow man. If God is distant, limited and merely a Power we
acknowledge in some way, then our relationships with others will assuredly be
affected. To take an analogy, it is to be expected that a youth who has a
merely distant relationship with mediocre parents will have a different outlook
and different dealings with others than one who has a close relationship with
good parents. The former will be a negative experience with negative results on
relationships, and the latter a positive experience with good results on
relationships. All this is to say that God makes a difference to life. The
problem is that on our own, and relying merely on nature, we shall pick up a
meagre notion of God. An enormous difference is made when we embrace faith in
Revelation because it is especially then that we come to know God as one who
truly loves us. He is not just a distant, higher and good Power, but our Father
who truly loves us. It stands to reason that this must make a great difference
to life and to how life is lived in relationship with others. All this brings
us to our Gospel passage today, which is made up of two or three sayings of our
Lord, which are not immediately connected with one another. In one of his
sayings he tells us that “in everything, do to others what you would have them
do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.” Now, this statement
immediately follows his teaching on prayer to our heavenly Father. We are to
ask, and it will be given to us, for if you, “being evil, know how to give good
gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things
to those who ask him” (Matthew 7:11). Our
Lord’s command that we treat others as we would have them treat us follows on
his teaching about the love of our heavenly Father for us and his desire to give
good things to us. The foundation of our attitude and dealings towards others
must be our knowledge of God’s attitude and dealings towards us.
Our Lord elsewhere stresses as of maximum importance the readiness to forgive.
We shall not be forgiven if we for our part refuse to forgive. Again, this is
grounded in the nature of God. Our Lord reveals God to be forgiving. He
insists that we forgive in our turn. What will help us to forgive is if we
cultivate a deep sense of having been forgiven by God. In a word, let us strive
to be children of our heavenly Father, intent on doing his will and being like
him. It is this which will benefit the world, for the world needs love.
Saint for Today: Click
here
to find information about the Saint(s) of the calendar day on which you are
reading this reflection.
Use your Internet browser's "back" arrow twice
to return to this reflection.
Jesus
said to his disciples: Watch out for false prophets. They come to you
in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their
fruit you will recognise them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes,
or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a
bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad
tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit
is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will
recognise them. (Matthew 7:15-20)
Unity
When observed from the outside, Christianity presents in some respects a sad
spectacle. I am referring to the manifest disunity of Christians. There are a
few great bodies of Christians, the greatest of which is obviously the Catholic
Church, but nevertheless the non‑Christian sees before him almost countless
numbers of Christian communions of various kinds and beliefs.
Of course, this is in no way specific to Christianity. Islam has numerous
distinct groupings and the Sunni and Shihite conflicts in the Middle East are
but one instance. Nevertheless, inasmuch as Christianity brings to the world
the person of Jesus Christ, the presentation of Jesus Christ clearly suffers
greatly by this Christian disunity. At the Last Supper Christ prayed to the
Father that all his followers would be one. He asked for this “so that the
world might believe.” Elsewhere in the Gospels he referred to the divine plan of
one fold under one Shepherd. Now, what is it that has brought upon the Church
this tragic disunity? Obviously it has been due in large measure to the rise of
various voices calling the faithful to accept this or that doctrine and to
follow this or that practice that the parent Church in one way or another
condemns. The new voices believe that the condemnation is erroneous and so the
division deepens. We read in the New Testament writings solemn warnings (for
instance in the Letters of St Paul and of St John) against the divisions arising
from false doctrine — meaning, by wrong doctrine, teachings that are contrary to
that of the apostolic witness. We see the same pattern and problem in the rise
of Gnosticism and again the great heresy of Arianism following the Council of
Nicaea in the early fourth century. Arius, a priest, contradicted the doctrine
that the man Jesus is divine. Despite its condemnation in one form or another
this heresy lasted for centuries. There have been denials of numerous other
doctrines over the centuries and more often than not these denials are
accompanied by appeals to Scripture, by an upright character, and evident
sincerity in the ones who are maintaining the denials. Whether the followers
are many or few, the result is further division.
These are the historical facts. Let us turn to our Lord’s words in the Gospel
today (Matthew 7:15‑20). He tells his
disciples to watch out for false prophets. They can be very convincing — while
in the sight of God they are wolves, in the sight of man they can appear to be
sheep. They can seem to be sheep of the flock of Christ, members of the one
true fold, followers of the Good Shepherd. Their obvious sincerity, the appeal
and persuasiveness of their doctrine, the attractiveness of their manner, their
unity one with the other together with their talents, can all combine to make
them appear to be true prophets of God. So Christ says we must watch out,
beware. What further can we say of this? To begin with, this watching for error
however sincerely presented, requires a profound concern for the truth and in
particular the truth revealed by Christ. There is a certain mentality that puts
a higher priority on things other than truth — and without truly realizing that
this has been done. For instance, a person may, without realizing it and
without saying as much, put a higher priority on personal sincerity, or on the
possession of an inner peace, or on the experience of a certain kind of
conversion, or on various charismatic gifts, than on the possession of the
objective truth revealed by Jesus. He loves Christ’s truth, but his greater
focus is on other things. And so a religious person who is contented in his
religion may never genuinely set out to seek the full truth that Christ has
revealed. Or again, the one without any religion may simply have no interest in
the truth that has come from God, and so he takes no steps whatever to attain
revealed truth. Others may have a very liberal attitude to contrary opinions in
the sense of basically thinking that both are right: what is “right” to one may
not be “right” to another, and that opposite opinions may be “right” depending
on the preferences of the one holding them. All these are manifestations of the
lack of concern for objective truth in religion, and in particular the truth
that has been revealed by Christ. Those who lack this concern are not heeding
the warning of Christ.
Christ is the source and embodiment of objective religious truth. He is the one
who has revealed the truth from God and, of course, that truth cannot be present
in its opposites. It is right, and its opposite is wrong. The Catholic Church
teaches that Christ left on earth a living voice with the authority to determine
what is his teaching when there is presented to the faithful various opposites.
That authority is found within the Catholic Church, and in particular in the
successor of St Peter and the bishops acting in union with him. Thinking of our
Gospel today let us be profoundly committed to the truth of Jesus, and let us
resolve to live by it daily.
Saint for Today: Click
here
to find information about the Saint(s) of the calendar day on which you are
reading this reflection.
Use your Internet browser's "back" arrow twice
to return to this reflection.
Jesus
said to his disciples: Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the
kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name,
and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell
them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!' Therefore
everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a
wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose,
and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it
had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and
does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on
sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against
that house, and it fell with a great crash. When Jesus had finished saying these
things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had
authority, and not as their scribes.(Matthew
7:21-29)
Christ’s
authority
The punchline of our Gospel passage today comes at the end when it speaks of the
impact of our Lord’s words on the crowds to whom he was speaking. They were
“amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as
their scribes.” The scribes analysed and discussed the meaning of the Law and
the Prophets, but as scholars. The authority about which they spoke was the
authority of the Scriptures and they endeavoured to reveal its meaning.
Our Lord, in one of his debates with them told, them that they knew neither the
Scriptures nor the power of God. In his teaching, Jesus not only impressed all
with his sovereign knowledge of the Scriptures but with his evident personal
authority in a far wider sense. What is the meaning of this “authority” that
our Lord displayed? Consider his words at the beginning of the passage. It is
not enough for a person to say to him, “Lord, Lord” to enter the Kingdom of
heaven. It is implied, then, that it is to him that they will direct their
appeal to enter the kingdom of heaven. He will be the Judge and he will grant
admittance into the Kingdom of heaven only to those who have done the will of
his heavenly Father. Imagine the impact of these words on the crowds, and how
they must have wondered at the unique authority he was calmly assuming and
manifesting. Christ is presenting himself to the crowds as the supreme Judge on
the day of judgment. He will vindicate the will of his Father. He goes on,
“Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name,
and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell
them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’“
(Matthew 7:21‑29). Only those he knows will
be saved, and only those who do the will of God will he acknowledge as knowing.
The “authority” he was displaying here was absolutely supreme and very personal.
Our Lord continues his point, speaking of the power of his word. Christ does
not say — as would have the scribes, presumably — that the one who hears the
word of God in the Scriptures and puts them into practice is building his house
on rock. He says that the one who hears “these words of mine and puts them into
practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Christ is speaking
of his own word and he is making it the word of God. He is speaking as if his
own word is on a par with the Scriptures and as if it is coming from the mouth
of God himself. The crowds were profoundly astonished, filled with amazement at
such language. No prophet had spoken like this, nor had John the Baptist.
Christ was placing his own person at the very forefront as the way to
salvation. Salvation will come by hearing his word, his own word, and then
putting it into practice. His word was the word of his heavenly Father, and if
anyone were not to put his word into practice then that person will hear the
terrible rejection at the judgment, “ ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you
evildoers!’“ And so our Lord puts it plainly to all: “Therefore everyone who
hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who
built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the
winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its
foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not
put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The
rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that
house, and it fell with a great crash.” The authority of the Torah, the Law and
the Prophets, was supreme in the religion of Israel, for it was the word of the
living God. Here they have a man before them, a great prophet who was stating
in effect that all authority in heaven and on earth had been given to him. His
word was salvation. Salvation was his gift, and he would give it to those who
heard his word and kept it.
Let us place ourselves in the presence of the one who showed such supreme
authority and power before all. It was plain to all that our Lord was speaking
as if he were above all, and as if he were the supreme Judge and source of
salvation. No one has made such claims, and his claims were shown to be
entirely credible by the holiness of his life, the consistency of his teaching,
the miraculous power he exercised, and by so many other indications. Let us
then place our faith in him, resolving to hear his word and put it into
practice. Therein lies our salvation.
Saint for Today: Click
here
to find information about the Saint(s) of the calendar day on which you are
reading this reflection.
Use your Internet browser's "back" arrow twice
to return to this reflection.
Click on centre arrow
below to play the video:
Scripture today: 2 Kings 25:1-12; Psalm 137:1-6; Matthew 8:1-4
When
Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him. A man with
leprosy came and knelt before him and said, Lord, if you are willing, you can
make me clean. Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. I am willing, he
said. Be clean! Immediately he was cured of his leprosy. Then Jesus said to him,
See that you don't tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer
the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.(Matthew 8:1-4)
Christ
and suffering
In our Gospel passage today, our Lord has come down from the mountain and large
crowds are following him.
Undoubtedly the persons who make up these crowds are there for a variety of
reasons. There must have been a lull in the whole proceeding when the man with
leprosy came to our Lord. The miracle must have been done for him in some
privacy because our Lord then told him not to tell anyone what he had done for
him. Perhaps it occurred during a brief period when our Lord was with his
disciples and the crowds occupied with some rest or refreshment. Let us place
ourselves in the scene. Imagine the desperation and despondency of the leper
who saw no hope for himself in his predicament other than what might come from
his approach to Christ. So he comes to him and actually kneels down before our
Lord. He pleads with him to “make me clean,” telling our Lord that he knows he
is able to do it if he so wills. He has no doubt about our Lord’s power, and he
is appealing to his kindness and consideration. Our Lord immediately, at a word
and a touch of the hand, heals him of his leprosy
(Matthew 8:1‑4). Then, significantly, he commands him not to “tell
anyone”, but to go and make the ritual offering to the priest as the Law
required. In passing, we may note the respect our Lord displays for the Law of
Moses. But let us consider that first stipulation he gave to the former leper.
He was not to tell anyone of the blessing he had received. It looks as if our
Lord did not want to be caught up heavily in this ministry. If our Lord had
healed this leper, why, we may ask, did he not set about healing all the lepers
— he could perhaps have done it at a word (which undoubtedly he could have, had
he so willed). Why did he allow the suffering in the world to continue?
Why does he still allow it? It is very obvious from this brief Gospel
scene alone, some might assert, that our Lord’s mission on earth was not to take
away all the sufferings of the world. Why so?
The short answer to this is that, obviously, we do not know. But let us
immediately add that our Lord’s mission did indeed include taking away all the
sufferings of the world, but not fully just yet. In the immediate term, he did
come to bring peace and joy — a share in his peace and joy — to the world. He
said on one occasion that people were to come to him and learn from him and they
would find rest and peace for their souls. My peace, I leave to you, he said —
not peace as the world offers it, but my own peace. Furthermore he commanded
his disciples to spend themselves in serving the world’s suffering. But very
importantly, his kingdom, established in its beginning here, will reach its
fullness hereafter and then indeed every tear will be wiped away. So Christ did
come to take away all the world’s sufferings and to make all things new, but
there is an appointed time for this to take place in its fullness — and that
appointed time is at the end. We do not know why it had to be this way, but
such was the plan of God. Even with our leper, let us remember that our Lord
did not liberate him from all suffering, only from his leprosy. In respect to
suffering our Lord’s miracle for the leper is a sign of what will eventually
come to all when God is all in all. But more importantly, our Lord’s
stipulation to the leper that he tell no-one of his cure shows that his mission
was far deeper. He did not want his Messianic mission to be misunderstood.
While he did not come to take away all suffering in all persons immediately, he
certainly did come to break the power of sin immediately. He came to break the
stranglehold of sin on the life of the world. As St Paul writes, by nature all
are under the power of sin and sin is the root cause of suffering and death.
Mankind was separated from God by sin and this is the fundamental problem of the
universe. It is the cosmic issue and Christ came to fix it at its root. He
came to cure the fundamental wound that debilitates the entire world. He would
do it by obediently bearing its effects in his own sinless person and thus
expiate for it all.
The
picture of the leper coming to our Lord for the greatest favour of his life, as
he saw it, is a picture also of Christ as the answer to the world’s need. He
has taken away the sin of the world and what remains is for that work to be
applied to every individual. It is applied when a person is placed in him above
all by baptism and then by a life of union with him. Union with Jesus is life
for the world now and in its fullness hereafter, when God’s plan will be fully
achieved. Let us then accept Christ into our life as the treasure of treasures,
as the pearl of great price.
(E.J.Tyler)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'Frater qui
adiuvatur a fratre quasi civitas firma. Brother helped by brother is a
fortress.'
Think for a moment and make up your mind to live the fraternal spirit that I
have always asked of you.
(The Way, no.460)
Saint for Today: Click
here
to find information about the Saint(s) of the calendar day on which you are
reading this reflection.
Use your Internet browser's "back" arrow twice
to return to this reflection.
When
Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. Lord, he
said, my servant lies at home paralysed and in terrible suffering. Jesus said to
him, I will go and heal him. The centurion replied, Lord, I do not deserve to
have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be
healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell
this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my
servant, 'Do this,' and he does it. When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and
said to those following him, I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in
Israel with such great faith. I say to you that many will come from the east and
the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
in the kingdom of heaven. But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown
outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Then Jesus said to the centurion, Go! It will be done just as you believed it
would. And his servant was healed at that very hour. When Jesus came into
Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He
touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on
him. When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and
he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfil
what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: He took up our infirmities and
carried our diseases.(Matthew 8:5-17)
Christ
and the gentiles
One aspect of the Gospel accounts that is not given much attention, I think, is
our Lord’s encounters with those who were not of the children of Israel. We
remember his stating quite clearly to the Canaanite pagan woman who persistently
badgered him to heal her daughter, that he was sent only to the House of
Israel. His apparent lack of response to her drew forth her act of faith which
was immediately rewarded by him with the cure she sought.
We remember our Lord’s meeting with Pontius Pilate. Presumably the language
they spoke was Greek, though it could have been Latin. Our Lord was courteous
and made some allowances for Pilate, saying that those who handed him over had
the greater guilt. Within a few minutes and having hardly defended himself, he
had convinced Pilate of his innocence, but Pilate was weak in the face of
threats from the Jewish leaders. During his public ministry our Lord also made
some excursions into nearby pagan territory. Our Gospel passage today
(Matthew 8:5‑17) narrates our Lord’s meeting
with a centurion. Perhaps the account is another version of the event described
elsewhere in which the centurion sent Jewish delegates to intercede for him. It
is not clear, but one certainly gets the impression that the centurion was not
of the Faith, even if he was partial to it. So then, the centurion comes to our
Lord to ask his help. Let us place ourselves in the scene, with the centurion
before our Lord and full of respect for the holy man who has so much power from
God. Let us gaze on our Lord and notice his response to the request on behalf
of his gravely ill servant. Immediately he offers to go and heal him. There is
a personal love and concern in his offer, for he can see the anguish of the
centurion together with his humility in coming before him. Our Lord would have
seen in the centurion a representative of the peoples he loved far beyond the
chosen people, a representative of all those who would turn to him as the answer
to their needs.
The response of the centurion was most surprising to our Lord, humanly
speaking. The centurion said to our Lord that he did not deserve to have him in
his home. “Just say the word, and my servant will be healed.” Here was an
officer of the armies of Rome, a centurion of the occupation forces, saying to
our Lord that he was simply unworthy to admit Jesus of Nazareth to his own
house. It bespeaks a deep humility, an awareness of his own sins and
limitations and a clear perception that in Jesus he beheld a very, very holy
personage. Moreover, this humility was accompanied by a simple and great faith
in our Lord’s power and goodness. Just say the word and what I have asked will
immediately be done. The words and attitude of the centurion, St Matthew
writes, astonished our Lord. In his human nature he was amazed and he said to
those following him that he had not seen anything like it in Israel. It was a
manifest praise for the centurion. He immediately saw in the centurion a
portent of what was to come in the future well beyond his own death and
resurrection. Many from the nations would come to him as had this centurion
and, placing their faith in him, would “take their places at the feast with
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” They would find
salvation through faith in him. Our Lord was pointing to the fulfilment of the
promise made long ago to Abraham that through him all the nations of the earth
would be blessed. Jesus was that blessing, and the centurion represented the
nations of the future who would be members of his body the Church. The Gospel
scene reminds us of the mission each Christian has in the world to be an
instrument of Christ’s presence among men, enabling all who do not as yet know
Christ to find him and have faith in him and so be saved. How are the peoples
to come to know Christ? It is through the daily life in the world of those
who do know him and who do have faith in him. The call of all mankind is to
know and love Jesus and to find life in union with him. This will happen
through the witness of his disciples, the lay faithful whose vocation is to live
in and bear witness in the world.
The most beautiful service we can do to anyone is to enable that person to meet
Jesus, to get to know him, to learn to appeal to him and above all humbly to
have faith in him. The centurion of our Gospel passage today shows what is
possible in the hearts of those who have not yet met Jesus. The prayer of the
centurion was so good that it amazed our Lord, and it is this very prayer that
the priest prays at Mass just before giving Holy Communion to those
participating. It is a wonderful prayer and ought be used by us frequently
during life.
(E.J.Tyler)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If I don't see you practise that fraternal spirit that I preach to you
constantly, I shall remind you of those affectionate words of Saint John: 'My
children, our love is not to be just words or mere talk, but something real and
active'.
(The Way, no.461)
Prayers today:
All nations clap your hands. Shout with
a voice of joy to God. (Psalm 46:2)
Father,
you call your children to walk in the light of Christ. Free us from darkness
and keep us in radiance of your truth. We ask this through our Lord Jesus
Christ your Son in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever.
Saint for Today: Click
here
to find information about the Saint(s) of the calendar day on which you are
reading this reflection.
Use your Internet browser's "back" arrow twice
to return to this reflection.
Jesus
said to his apostles: “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not
worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of
me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will
find it. He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives the
one who sent me. Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will
receive a prophet’s reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he
is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward. And if anyone gives
even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple,
I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.”
(Matthew 10: 37-42)
Lay
faithful
In our Gospel today our Lord speaks of the supreme place which he must occupy in
the heart of the one who believes in him. He refers to those who love their
father and their mother, their son and their daughter
(Matthew 10: 37-42). So we are led to think of the calling of the
lay faithful as disciples of Christ and what this calling means for them.
Typically, the lay person in the Church is the person of family, work in the
world, house and possessions. His life and that of his family is inextricably
tied to the world and to its improvement. He supports himself and his family,
and he develops his own potential, precisely through his involvement in the
world. His natural situation in which God has placed him, is that of the
world. He will get to heaven as one whose milieu and constant arena of activity
is the world. Now, if he is to be a disciple, our Lord says, he must love him —
Jesus — more than anything else, more than father or mother, son or daughter,
more, even, than his very life. How, then, can we describe the vocation of the
lay faithful? Their vocation is distinct from that of the ordained priest and
the consecrated religious. What are its characteristics? How is the typical
layperson to make Christ the ruling Person of his life as he seeks to earn his
living, build his home, cultivate his farm and raise his children? To begin
with, the lay faithful must understand that he has a distinct dignity in the
sight of God and the Church. He has a precious calling from Christ to order and
develop the world and its inhabitants according to the plan of God. By God’s
design, he is a co-creator with God. Just as God continues to sustain and
develop the world and increase his children who populate it, so the lay person
collaborates with God in this master activity. The world is entrusted to the
lay faithful to be cared for, developed, populated and made good in the sight of
the Creator and according to his plan. This is the path to holiness of the
laity, lived in union with Christ and for love of him. In this way the Word
made flesh — Priest, Prophet and King of mankind — continues to serve his Father
in the world.
That is
to say, the vocation of the lay faithful is to participate in their own way in
the priestly, prophetic and kingly office of Jesus Christ. They share in the
office of Jesus Christ precisely as Priest especially by their distinctive
participation in the holy Eucharist, supported by a holy life. In the Eucharist
they offer, in Christ, their own lives as a spiritual sacrifice, with all their
works, their prayers, their undertakings, their family life, their daily work
and hardships borne with patience, and even their consolations of body and
spirit. They offer everything to God and, dedicated to Christ and consecrated
by the Holy Spirit, they offer the world itself to God. United to Christ the
Prophet they share in his prophetic office. This they do by welcoming in faith
the word of Christ and proclaiming it to the world by the witness of their
lives, by their words, their evangelizing action, and by their work of
catechesis. This evangelizing action gains a special efficacy because it is
accomplished in the ordinary circumstances of the world. They unite themselves
to Christ as King of kings and participate in his kingly office because they
have received from him the power to overcome the sin in themselves and in the
world by self-denial and the holiness of their lives. They exercise various
ministries at the service of the community and they imbue temporal activities
and the institutions of society with moral values. Their ambient, their milieu,
is especially the world. In the world they live out their vocation in union
with Christ and endeavour to make the world what God intends it to be. Theirs
is a tremendously important vocation because there is ever a struggle to resist
the decline, the corruption and the collapse of the world into the cesspool that
awaits it because of the original Fall. If there is much in the world that
entices man to sin and evil, if there is much out there that causes suffering,
with even greater reason ought every member of the lay faithful hear the summons
of Christ to share in his priestly, prophetic and kingly office precisely in the
world of family, neighbourhood, government, culture and everyday life.
In all of their thoughts, words and actions in the world, the thought of Christ
ought be supreme for them. The lay faithful of Christ’s Church must make Jesus
Christ the Lord of his heart, and then endeavour to enthrone Christ as Lord of
the world — Lord of lords and King of kings. To him has been given all
authority in heaven and on earth. United with him, the lay faithful endeavours
all his days to bring about the universal acknowledgment of this. Let Christ
reign, then!
(E.J.Tyler)
Further reading:
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 897-913 (Laity in Christ’s mission)
Saint for Today: Click
here
to find information about the Saint(s) of the calendar day on which you are
reading this reflection.
Use your Internet browser's "back" arrow twice
to return to this reflection.
Click on centre arrow
below to play the video:
Scripture today: Amos 2:6-10, 13-16; Psalm
50:16bc-23; Matthew 8:18-22
When
Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the
lake. Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, Teacher, I will follow you
wherever you go. Jesus replied, Foxes have holes and birds of the air have
nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. Another disciple said to
him, Lord, first let me go and bury my father. But Jesus told him, Follow me,
and let the dead bury their own dead.(Matthew
8:18-22)
All it costs In our
Gospel scene today our Lord is with the crowds and he gives orders to cross to
the other side of the lake.
Interestingly, it is one of the scribes, a teacher of the law, who comes to him
and says — addressing him as Master, or Teacher — that “I will follow you
wherever you go.” As a passing observation, this detail given to us by Matthew
indicates that it was by no means the case that all the scribes and Pharisees
pursued Jesus in order to eliminate him. There is this particular scribe, and
we remember how Nicodemus, one of the leaders of the Jews used come to Jesus by
night to hear him and to ask questions. He said that “we” know — “we” know, and
not just “I” know — that you, Jesus, come from God because no-one could perform
the works that you do unless God were with him. The implication is that some
others of the leaders thought this too. So our Lord attracted and convinced
persons from all classes of society, including from the class of those who were
most hostile to him and who eventually condemned him to death. Be that as it
may, our scribe today tells our Lord that he is ready to follow him wherever he
chose to go. Our Lord’s response seems to indicate that the scribe was not
understanding that this would cost. On another occasion a wealthy young man, a
man of excellent moral and religious background, came with great eagerness to
our Lord and asked what more he needed to do to gain eternal life (Mark
10:17‑27). So good a man was he that our Lord looked on him with love and
proceeded to tell him how he could be “perfect.” It was a risk our Lord himself
was taking, but out of love he took it. Go, he told the young man, sell what
you have and come, follow me. But the young man went away sad. He was not
prepared to make such a sacrifice. The following of Christ is what will lead to
the perfection of man, but it costs. It is an attainable ideal and Christ holds
it out to each of us, but it requires detachment from all else and making him
the supreme love of one’s life.
The scribe of our Gospel today (Matthew 8:18‑22)
not only evokes from Christ a reminder that the following of him involves a
cost, a cost we must be prepared to pay. It also reminds us that the person of
Jesus is the object of man’s deepest love and striving. Our Lord accepts the
appropriateness of the scribe’s ambition to follow him wherever he chooses to
go. He does not call that into question. He does not say, do not follow me as
such — follow rather God and his Law. He does not correct a kind of hero
worship that inappropriately and implicitly places him before God. No, Christ
accepts the complete appropriateness of a person leaving all to follow him
wherever he might go. Indeed, he requires that of any of his disciples. On
another occasion our Lord said that anyone who wishes to be his disciple must
renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow in his footsteps.
He even said, expressing it in hyperbole, in terms of a metaphor, that a person
must be prepared to hate his father, mother and family, otherwise he is not
worthy to be his disciple. All this is to say that our Lord expected from his
disciple the gift of his entire love. No other prophet ever expected or
required this. John the Baptist, the greatest of the prophets, readily conceded
his disciples to our Lord, saying that he himself was no more than the friend of
the bridegroom. Now that the bridegroom had arrived, his own path was to
recede. Christ, who came to give his life for all mankind, presents himself as
the object of mankind’s love. This is an absolutely preposterous position
unless Christ is taken to be divine. The discipleship Christ expects is that
which is given to God. It is as simple as that. So, there was a man who
expected to be loved and followed as if he were God. This same man laid down
his life that all might live forever. Indeed, he proved that he is divine. He
is the Messiah, and while truly the son of man he is first and foremost the Son
of the living God. To such a person we all can say, I will follow you wherever
you go. But as he said to the scribe, we must count the cost, and cost there
will be.
Let us place ourselves in the presence of Jesus as if we are that scribe of
today’s Gospel. We stand in the presence of the jewel of the human race, the
incomparable Man of the ages who, while being truly man is at the same time far
more than man. He is also the living God. Let us tell him in our hearts that
we wish to follow him. Let us at the same time ask him for the grace to forego
whatever is shown to be an obstacle in our daily following of him who is the
Master.
Charity
does not consist so much in 'giving' as in 'understanding'. Therefore, seek an
excuse for your neighbour — there is always one be found, — if it is your duty
to judge.
(The Way, no.463)
(June 24) Birth
of Saint John the Baptist
Jesus
called John the greatest of all those who had preceded him: “I tell
you, among those born of women, no one is greater than John....” But
John would have agreed completely with what Jesus added: “[Y]et the
least in the kingdom of God is greater than he” (Luke 7:28). John spent
his time in the desert, an ascetic. He began to announce the coming of
the Kingdom, and to call everyone to a fundamental reformation of life.
His purpose was to prepare the way for Jesus. His Baptism, he said, was
for repentance. But One would come who would baptize with the Holy
Spirit and fire. John is not worthy even to carry his sandals. His
attitude toward Jesus was: “He must increase; I must decrease” (John
3:30). John was humbled to find among the crowd of sinners who came to
be baptized the one whom he already knew to be the Messiah. “I need to
be baptized by you” (Matthew 3:14b). But Jesus insisted, “Allow it now,
for thus it is fitting for us to fulfil all righteousness” (Matthew
3:15b). Jesus, true and humble human as well as eternal God, was eager
to do what was required of any good Jew. John thus publicly entered the
community of those awaiting the Messiah. But making himself part of
that community, he made it truly messianic. The greatness of John, his
pivotal place in the history of salvation, is seen in the great
emphasis Luke gives to the announcement of his birth and the event
itself—both made prominently parallel to the same occurrences in the
life of Jesus. John attracted countless people (“all Judea”) to the
banks of the Jordan, and it occurred to some people that he might be
the Messiah. But he constantly deferred to Jesus, even to sending away
some of his followers to become the first disciples of Jesus. Perhaps
John’s idea of the coming of the Kingdom of God was not being perfectly
fulfilled in the public ministry of Jesus. For whatever reason, he sent
his disciples (when he was in prison) to ask Jesus if he was the
Messiah. Jesus’ answer showed that the Messiah was to be a figure like
that of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah. John himself would share in
the pattern of messianic suffering, losing his life to the revenge of
Herodias.
John challenges
us Christians to the fundamental attitude of Christianity—total
dependence on the Father, in Christ. Except for the Mother of God, no
one had a higher function in the unfolding of salvation. Yet the least
in the kingdom, Jesus said, is greater than he, for the pure gift that
the Father gives. The attractiveness as well as the austerity of John,
his fierce courage in denouncing evil—all stem from his fundamental and
total placing of his life within the will of God. "And this is not
something which was only true once, long ago in the past. It is always
true, because the repentance which he preached always remains the way
into the kingdom which he announced. He is not a figure that we can
forget now that Jesus, the true light, has appeared. John is always
relevant because he calls for a preparation which all men need to make.
Hence every year there are four weeks in the life of the Church in
which it listens to the voice of the Baptist. These are the weeks of
Advent" (A New Catechism).
(AmericanCatholic.org)
When it
was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. Her
neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy,
and they shared her joy. On the eighth day they came to circumcise the
child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, but
his mother spoke up and said, No! He is to be called John. They said to
her, There is no-one among your relatives who has that name. Then they
made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the
child. He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he
wrote, His name is John. Immediately his mouth was opened and his
tongue was loosed, and he began to speak, praising God. The neighbours
were all filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea
people were talking about all these things. Everyone who heard this
wondered about it, asking, What then is this child going to be? For the
Lord's hand was with him. And the child grew and became strong in
spirit; and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel.
(Luke 1:57-66, 80)
Mercy Our
Gospel today narrates the occasion of the birth of John the Baptist which
brought great joy to his parents. Having a son was the fulfilment of their
dreams, and for that they were profoundly grateful to God. The circumstances of
his conception and birth were full of portents for the future, and Zechariah had
been the recipient of them.
He had been favoured by a visit from the Angel with a message from God about the
child whom he and his wife were soon to have. At the child’s birth, Zechariah
gave to him the name the Angel had indicated, and at this his power of speech
returned. It was joy upon joy, and “the child grew and became strong in spirit;
and he lived in the desert until he appeared publicly to Israel”
(Luke 1:57‑66, 80). The Lord’s hand was
with him. What can we say about this series of events? It was nothing other
than the work of God. God was intervening in history and was preparing a great
prophet who would prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah. Our Lord told
his disciples on one occasion (soon after his own Transfiguration) that John the
Baptist was the promised Elijah, and the Angel Gabriel had told Zechariah that
John would prepare for the Lord’s coming “in the spirit and power of an Elijah.”
Behind this drumbeat of divine power was a great and consoling reality. It was
the mercy of God, and it is this that I suggest we think of as we think of the
birthday of John the Baptist. We read in our passage that at his birth,
Elizabeth’s “neighbours and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great
mercy, and they shared her joy.” It was perceived by them as an act of divine
mercy. Some nine months before, the Angel had said to Zechariah that God was
answering his prayer. A son was to be born to him, one who would bring “joy and
gladness” to him, one who would be filled with the Holy Spirit and who would
prepare for the Lord a people fit for him.
That all this is seen by Zechariah to be a divine mercy is shown in his prayer
offered when his speech was returned to him. The prayer of Zechariah comes
immediately after our passage today (Luke 1:57‑66, 80)
and throws light on its meaning. His child was now born and he knew that he
would be great in the sight of the Lord, for the Angel had told him so.
Zechariah, filled with the Holy Spirit, now spoke in prophecy. The birth of his
great son was due to a visitation by the Lord, the God of Israel. It would lead
to “the redemption” of his people. This was the “merciful design” God had long
had, expressed by “an oath to our father Abraham”. Such “was the merciful
kindness of our God.” So the prophecy of Zechariah, uttered by the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, reveals that behind this birth was the good news that God is
rich in mercy and that he would save his people from their sins. The key to the
event, then, was the mercy of God, his active and effective compassion in coming
to the aid of his people in need. Our passage today ends with the significant
observation that indeed, the hand of the Lord was with the boy as he grew.
“What then is this child going to be?” they asked, and Luke adds, “For the
Lord’s hand was with him.” The hand of the Lord had been at work ever since the
promise had been given to Abraham long before, that in him all the nations would
be blessed. The patriarchs had experienced the hand of the Lord, as had Moses
and the prophets. Now the hand of the Lord was at work in earnest as the
countdown began. A cluster of holy yet hidden persons was being raised up.
There was Mary, humble and obscure. She was the greatest of them all, full of
grace. There was her spouse, Joseph, the most just man. There were Elizabeth
and Zechariah. Out of the latter couple had come John. Soon there would be the
Messiah himself. The redemption of the world was at hand and it was all due to
the mercy of God. God is revealed as a God rich in mercy.
The hand of the Lord was at work in the birth of John the Baptist and it was at
work as he grew and prepared for his mission of preparing the way of the Lord.
That same divine hand, full of mercy for each and all of his children, is at
work in our lives too. Let us entrust ourselves to the mercy of God and, like
John, follow the path of obedience to his will. Mercy is at the heart of the
universe and is its sustaining hand. Let us make God and his mercy the
foundation and guide of our life, and resolve to be like him by showing mercy
and compassion to others.
(E.J.Tyler)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Who are you to pass judgment on the decision of a superior? Don't you
see that he is better fitted to judge than you? He has more experience;
he has more capable, impartial and trustworthy advisers; and, above
all, he has more grace, a special grace, the grace of state — God's
light and his powerful aid.
(The Way, no.457)
Prayers
this week:
All nations clap your hands.
Shout with a voice of joy to God.
(Psalm 46:2)
Father, you call your children to walk in the light of Christ. Free us from
darkness and keep us in radiance of your truth. We ask this
through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.
(June 29) Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles Sts. Peter
and Paul (d. 64 & 67)
Peter: St. Mark ends the first half of his Gospel with a triumphant
climax. He has recorded doubt, misunderstanding and the opposition of
many to
Jesus. Now Peter makes his great confession of faith: "You are the Messiah"
(Mark 8:29b). It was one of the many glorious moments in Peter's life, beginning
with the day he was called from his nets along the Sea of Galilee to become a
fisher of men for Jesus. The New Testament clearly shows Peter as the leader of
the apostles, chosen by Jesus to have a special relationship with him. With
James and John he was privileged to witness the Transfiguration, the raising of
a dead child to life and the agony in Gethsemane. His mother-in-law was cured by
Jesus. He was sent with John to prepare for the last Passover before Jesus'
death. His name is first on every list of apostles. And to Peter only did Jesus
say, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed
this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and
upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the nether world shall
not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on
earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:17b-19). But the Gospels prove
their own veracity by the unflattering details they include about Peter. He
clearly had no public relations person. It is a great comfort for ordinary
mortals to know that Peter also has his human weakness, even in the presence of
Jesus. He generously gave up all things, yet he can ask in childish self-regard,
"What are we
going to get for all this?" (see Matthew 19:27). He receives the
full force of Christ's anger when he objects to the idea of a suffering Messiah:
"Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God
does, but as human beings do" (Matthew 16:23b). Peter is willing to accept
Jesus' doctrine of forgiveness, but suggests a limit of seven times. He walks on
the water in faith, but sinks in doubt. He refuses to let Jesus
wash his feet,
then wants his whole body cleansed. He swears at the Last Supper that he will
never deny Jesus, and then swears to a servant maid that he has never known the
man. He loyally resists the first attempt to arrest Jesus by cutting off Malchus's ear, but in the end he runs away with the others. In the depth of his
sorrow, Jesus looks on him and forgives him, and he goes out and sheds bitter
tears.
Paul: If Billy Graham suddenly began preaching
that the United States should adopt Marxism and not rely on the Constitution,
the angry reaction would help us understand Paul's life when he started
preaching that Christ alone can save us. He had been the most Pharisaic of
Pharisees, the most legalistic of Mosaic lawyers. Now he suddenly appears to
other Jews as a heretical welcomer of Gentiles, a traitor and apostate. Paul's
central conviction was simple and absolute: Only God can save humanity. No human
effort—even the most scrupulous observance of law—can create a human good which
we can bring to God as reparation for sin and payment for grace. To be saved
from itself, from sin, from the devil and from death, humanity must open itself
completely to the saving power of Jesus. Paul never lost his love for his Jewish
family, though he carried on a lifelong debate with them about the uselessness
of the Law without Christ. He reminded the Gentiles that they were grafted on
the parent stock of the Jews, who were still God's chosen people, the children
of the promise. In light of his preaching and teaching skills, Paul's name has
surfaced (among others) as a possible patron of the Internet.
(AmericanCatholic.org)
When
Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, Who do
people say the Son of Man is? They replied, Some say John the Baptist; others
say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. But what about
you? he asked. Who do you say I am? Simon Peter answered, You are the Christ,
the Son of the living God. Jesus replied, Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah,
for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell
you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates
of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of
heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you
loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
(Matthew 16:13-19)
The Rock
Our Gospel passage today has to be regarded as one of the most pivotal passages
in the Gospels. By the “signs” of his miracles and by the authority of his
preaching, our Lord, from the beginning of his ministry, had been gradually
revealing the divinity and messianic character of his person.
Christ pointed to himself and invited all to have faith in him. This faith
would save them — that was the message of his preaching and of his miracles. In
response to his unfolding claims, he was relentlessly attacked by the scribes,
the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the chief priests. In the Gospel of St John we
read that the leaders wanted to kill him because, not content with breaking the
Sabbath, he spoke of God as his own Father, and so made himself equal to God.
The issue was himself and who he was. This was the overriding factor in his
condemnation, his passion and his death. So in a certain sense, humanly
speaking much of the success of our Lord’s life and mission hinged on the Twelve
arriving at a firm faith in who he really was. Mysteriously, it was the divine
plan that salvation depended on faith in him. Just before he ascended into
heaven, our Lord commanded the disciples to go to the whole world and make
disciples of all the nations. He added that the one who believes will be
saved. Faith in Christ’s person and word and teaching is the divinely intended
foundation. For this reason our Gospel passage today is pivotal because in it
we have our Lord asking his disciples who they said he was. Simon Peter spoke
on their behalf. Jesus is the Christ the Son of the living God. This is the
teaching of the Gospels, of the New Testament and of the Christian religion, and
our Lord tells Simon that he had been taught this by the heavenly Father. This
truth, revealed by Jesus and by the Father through the power of the Holy Spirit,
is the foundation of the life of the Christian and of Christ’s Church. Jesus is
the Messiah, the Christ predicted by the Old Testament and presented by the
New. He is above all the divine Son of the living God. It is to the
proclamation of this doctrine that the Church dedicates herself.
But there is a second fundamental truth intimately connected with this which our
Lord immediately proceeds to reveal. It is the truth of Christ’s Church and of
its constitution. Christ cannot be separated from the Church he founded. It is
not the plan of God that man have faith in Jesus and yet reject or ignore his
Church, for the Church is his creation and, indeed, as St Paul teaches, it is
his body. On the way to Damascus St Paul was converted by Christ, who asked
Paul, why are you persecuting me? In persecuting his Church, Paul was
persecuting him. It was a lesson Paul never forgot, and in our Gospel passage
today (Matthew 16:13‑19) our Lord, having
heard Simon’s profession of faith in his person as messiah and divine Son,
proceeded immediately to establish the visible foundation of his Church. Simon,
Christ tells him, is now to be Peter, the Rock of his Church. On him would he
build his Church. That Church, of course, would have as its abiding inner
Reality and purpose the person of Jesus himself. To Simon he was giving the
keys of the kingdom of heaven, and so to enter the kingdom one must go to Simon
and have the doors unlocked. Therefore in God’s plan entrance to the kingdom
comes by way of entry to his Church, and the keys are held in the hands of the
Church’s divinely‑appointed Rock, who is Simon. On Simon he conferred the power
to bind and to loose, with the promise that whenever he did bind and loose his
decision would be ratified in heaven. This fundamental role in the Church
continues, by divine appointment, to be exercised generation after generation by
Simon’s successors, the popes. The successor of Saint Peter in each age holds
the keys to the kingdom of heaven and according as he binds and frees, so is his
decision ratified in heaven. What this really means is that Christ who is the
head and spouse of the Church is present and active in the ministry of Peter and
his successors, and the Twelve and their successors. Our Gospel passage today
is indeed pivotal because in it is revealed the doctrine of Christ and his
Church.
In a certain sense it can be said that Christianity is a matter between me and
Jesus, and that it depends on my personal faith in him. But in a very real
sense this is mistaken if by this we mean to exclude the indispensable role of
the Church which Christ built on the rock that was Simon Peter. The kingdom of
heaven is none other than Jesus himself and we enter his kingdom by entering
into union with him. But for this to happen the keys to this kingdom which is
union with him must be used. The door must be unlocked, and by Christ’s
decision it is Simon who holds those keys. He unlocks the door for me. On this
feast of Saints Peter and Paul let us celebrate both Christ and his body the
Church, for in Christ and his Church do I find salvation and sanctification.
(E.J.Tyler)
Further reading: The Catechism of the Catholic Church,
no.880-882 (The episcopal college and its head, the Pope),
936-937
(St. Peter the foundation of the Church & the Pope is his successor.)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The power
of charity! — If you live that blessed fraternal spirit your mutual weakness
will also be a support to keep you upright in the fulfilment of duty: just as in
a house of cards, one card supports another.
(The Way, no.462)
Jesus
said to his disciples: You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye,
and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If
someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And
if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your
cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two
miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one
who wants to borrow from you.
(Matthew 5:38-42) 
Man tends to forget that religion ought inform the whole of life. In its
teaching, revealed religion is characterized by a strong insistence on the
inseparable link between love of God and love of man. Long ago the prophets
inveighed against a religion of mere ritual sacrifices that at the same time
neglected the poor and the oppressed. The prophets said that God cared little
for the blood of animals while his children suffered at the hands of those who
offered the sacrifices. Now, far more has this been the case with many natural
religions. It has often been pointed out that in indigenous societies that have
not yet been undermined by an invading or colonial culture, the religion
pervades life. It is not sharply separated from the observance of ritual. But
even here, I doubt that it inspires a notable concern for others in the
society. Be all this as it may, it is evident to all, even to those who do not
profess any religion at all, that the link between the love and worship of God
and concern for others is profound, and any practice of a religion in which
there is little of this is a mockery. But now, our Lord takes it to new
heights. The Mosaic legislation restricted spiralling revenge by stipulating
“an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth,” and forbidding anything beyond
this. Our Lord tells his disciples that this is not to be the rule of their
life. Rather, “I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes
you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also... Give to the one who asks
of you” (Matthew 5, 38‑42). What does our
Lord mean by this?
many to
Jesus. Now Peter makes his great confession of faith: "You are the Messiah"
(Mark 8:29b). It was one of the many glorious moments in Peter's life, beginning
with the day he was called from his nets along the Sea of Galilee to become a
fisher of men for Jesus. The New Testament clearly shows Peter as the leader of
the apostles, chosen by Jesus to have a special relationship with him. With
James and John he was privileged to witness the Transfiguration, the raising of
a dead child to life and the agony in Gethsemane. His mother-in-law was cured by
Jesus. He was sent with John to prepare for the last Passover before Jesus'
death. His name is first on every list of apostles. And to Peter only did Jesus
say, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed
this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, and
upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the nether world shall
not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on
earth shall be loosed in heaven" (Matthew 16:17b-19). But the Gospels prove
their own veracity by the unflattering details they include about Peter. He
clearly had no public relations person. It is a great comfort for ordinary
mortals to know that Peter also has his human weakness, even in the presence of
Jesus. He generously gave up all things, yet he can ask in childish self-regard,
"What are we
going to get for all this?" (see Matthew 19:27). He receives the
full force of Christ's anger when he objects to the idea of a suffering Messiah:
"Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God
does, but as human beings do" (Matthew 16:23b). Peter is willing to accept
Jesus' doctrine of forgiveness, but suggests a limit of seven times. He walks on
the water in faith, but sinks in doubt. He refuses to let Jesus
wash his feet,
then wants his whole body cleansed. He swears at the Last Supper that he will
never deny Jesus, and then swears to a servant maid that he has never known the
man. He loyally resists the first attempt to arrest Jesus by cutting off Malchus's ear, but in the end he runs away with the others. In the depth of his
sorrow, Jesus looks on him and forgives him, and he goes out and sheds bitter
tears.