The Desecration of the Temple by Antiochus EpiphanesFootnotes tell us that there truly was an abomination set in the temple by King Manasseh (see 2 Kings 21 and 2 Chronicles 33) and later removed by King Josiah (2 Kings 23). It was a statue of Asherah, a Syrian goddess. (If you want to read about her, you can go to www.jewishencyclopedia.com.) Footnotes also tell us that although the statue had been removed, it was likely re-established with the re-paganization of Jerusalem when Josiah died. In any event, the point is that something sacred, the dwelling place of Yahweh, is profaned by the very people who should be protecting and honoring it. Do we do this from time to time in our own lives? Do we allow sacred places and sacred people to be invaded or desecrated? Do we worship symbols that make us feel good rather than God who brings us joy? Are we paralyzed in our old and comfortable habits rather than learning to live in the newness of Christ? Are we blind to the needs of others? Do we have deafness of heart? Or do we hear the cry of poor and the broken-hearted?
From the morning and evening MAGNIFICAT intercessions:
Free those who are paralyzed by sinful ways, and teach them to run with joy in the way of your commandments.
Give sight to those who are blinded by self-centeredness, and teach them to see the beauty of those around them.
Grant hearing to those who are deaf of heart, and teach them to rejoice in your word.
You build us into a dwelling place in the Spirit: fill us with the glory of your presence.
We are human. We find comfort in things which bring us immediate satisfaction. But this comfort is not lasting.
We are divine. We find serenity in things that spring from God. And this serenity is everlasting.
Written on April 21, 2008 and posted today as a Favorite.
Vermeer: Martha and MaryThere is only need of one thing.
There is a time for action and a time for reflection. This well-known story of Martha and Mary reminds us of the opening of Chapter 3 in Ecclesiastes: There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens. And frequently these times occur at once, leaving us a bit dizzy and exhausted. We need not worry that we have missed an opportunity, for God always allows us another opportunity to amend. What we must do is to allow ourselves enough action time balanced with quiet time . . . in order that we both witness and wait.
There is only need of one thing.
This story is followed by the time when Jesus teaches his disciples how to pray to the Father. I always think it must have been startling for his followers to hear that he encouraged them to address the creator with the name of Abba . . . Father, a name of endearment and intimacy. This relationship with God that Jesus urges is quite different from the one which Israel had experienced as chosen tribe. This new relationship is one in which we are loved beyond measure, it is one in which we are urged to ask so that we might receive. It is one in which we are encouraged to petition so that we might be answered.
There is only need of one thing.
In the midst of so many seasons, so many turnings, so many routes, so many options . . . There is only need of one thing . . . to listen to the voice of God, to witness and to wait, to petition and to ask . . . Abba, Father . . .
Titian: Judith and the Head of HolofernesThis is one of my favorite stories – perhaps because the protagonist is a woman. A good commentary will let us know that there were Hebrew, Latin and Greek versions of this story and that while no one knows the actual events which this narrative describes, it is meant as a text that will bolster the peoples’ faith in the presence of God among them. It is “a tract for difficult times; the reader, it is hoped, would take to heart the lesson that God was still the Master of history, who would save Israel from her enemies. Note the parallel with the time of Exodus: as God had delivered his people by the hands of Moses, so he could deliver them by the hand of the pious widow Judith”. (Senior 520)
Chapter 7 tells of the siege of the town Bethuliaby the Assyrian troops of King Nebuchadnezzar under the military leadership of Holofernestogether with local tribes; and it sets the story. If you have time today or this evening, read the entire story. I promise you will not be disappointed.
It is fascinating to read about these two groups of men who take into account both the small details and the broad strategies in order to lay out the best plans. They reconnoiter approaches, locate water sources, assess troop strength, close off escape routes, and store up resources. Meanwhile, the Israelites watch and pray. Their leader tells them: Let us wait five days more for the Lord our God, to show his mercy toward us; he will not utterly forsake us. Still, because the odds were so stacked against them, the Hebrew people of Bethulia mourned. They saw no hope of deliverance and believed they would all be killed or enslaved.
They were in a desperate place with desperate circumstances, yet they hoped. And a woman acts to save them. As we have observed, it is a great story.
As we reflect on this story we arrive at this thought: If we always turned to God at the first moment an army amassed itself against us, and if we would be willing to trust an unlikely agent – such as the widow Judith – we might find ourselves less anxious and more joyful.
Today’s Psalm at Mass is 112 with the repeated antiphon: The heart of the just one is firm, trusting in the Lord. One of the stanzas reads: An evil report he shall not fear; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steadfast; he shall not fear till he looks down upon his foes.
If we might trust as Judith trusts, if we might steady our hearts to make them steadfast and focused on Christ – the rescuer who rescues all who turn to him – we might find more success and less war. When we hear evil reports as we do each day when we tune into the news, we would tremble less. When we hear rumors about family, friends and colleagues, we might wait five days or so and petition God for advice in the meantime. When we fear that we have gone wrong and have lost our way, we might rely on God’s mercy, knowing that he will not forsake us.
If you have time today to spend with some ancient people who thought they faced extinction and yet were saved, you will be rewarded with a story about a pious widow who saves a town . . . and your heart may move closer to firmness, to justice, to trust in the Lord.
Senior, Donald, ed. THE CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE. New York, Oxford University Press, 1990.520. Print.
Written on June 2, 2009 and posted today as a Favorite.
The Promise of Peace: Isaiah 40 – 48It seems that a half-dozen times or so each year we look at the book of Acts to see how the formation of the church began in those very early days. At first, the risen Jesus meets with his followers and holds them together with his physical presence. After his ascension, Jesus holds his church together with the promise of the Fatherabout which they had heard him speak in Luke 24:49, the gift of the Holy Spirit was to come to them on the Feast of the Pentecost.
In the Jewish tradition, Pentecost also called the Feast of Weeks and it is the second of three holy celebrations: Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. Passover, of course, celebrates the Hebrew exodus from slavery to a promised land with Moses as their leader and Yahweh providing providential care. Tabernacles – also called the Feast of Booths – is a joyful celebration in the fall of the year for the harvest gifts of the threshing floor and the wine press at the end of the season. Celebrants are required to “dwell in booths,” or tents as a commemoration of their desert pilgrimage and God’s protection during their years of wandering. (Achetemeier 1088) Pentecost was a celebration of early or first fruits, the yield from the first harvest of the season. It is fitting, when we think of this, that the Holy Spirit arrives as a first yielding of many gifts to be received by the followers of Christ. It is fitting that we reflect on all of this today, the feast day of Saints Peter and Paul, two men whose lives were poured out for the formation of Christ’s church.
Paul writes to a disciple, Timothy: I . . . am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4) He writes to the Philippians: Hold on to the word of life, so that my boast for the day of Christ may be that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. But, even if I am poured out as a libation upon the sacrificial service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with all of you. In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me. (Philippians 2)
When Jesus asks Peter: Who do you say that I am? Peter replies: You are the Christ, the son of the living God. (Matthew 16) Peter writes:Come to him, a living stone, rejected by human beings but chosen and precious in the sight of God, and, like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2)
The early apostles were present for the first harvest of the church and the work of this reaping is not complete; we continue to labor in this same promise. Any trials we endure today become tools of our own discipline when we turn our work over to God. Evidence of fruits from our labor in this vineyard are little miracles that call us to keep faith, that urge us to become one of the living stones in the living temple of Christ. When we feel ourselves poured out as libations on the altars of our lives, we also know that we are making our exodus to the Promised Land; we too, are precious and chosen children of God; we too, are held by the promise of the Father.
The ShemaFrequently during our Noontimereflecting we have observed how Jesus both promises and warns the world that there is a clear choice before us always: we may choose Beatitude or we may choose Woe. Jesus also warns us frequently about true and false prophets, the difficulties and gifts we receive from entering into self-knowledge, the presence of evil in the most intimate and holy of places, the importance of praying the Shemain all our actions, and the peace of heart that arrives when we give over everything to the following of God above all else. Today we look at perhaps the strongest indictment of false leadership present in the whole of scripture in which Jesus – at the height of his success among the people – steps into the comfort zone of church leaders to condemn their collusion in the corruption of God’s beautiful creation. If we are in doubt as to whom Jesus might be seeing as false when he looks at us today, we have only to read the opening lines to see if we are his target for remediation: Those who preach but do not practice, those who tie up heavy burdens to lay on others’ shoulders but lift no finger to help, those who perform works to be seen, those who love places of honor at banquets and seats of honor in places of worship, greetings in market places, those who widen their phylacteries and lengthen tassels. Phylacteriesare little black, leather prayer boxes worn on the upper left arm and forehead that carry the Shema prayer we thought about just several days ago. Tasslesare also prescribed in the Shemaand they are the blue border or the blue and white fringe or threads at the four corners of the outer garment that would remind practicing Jews to adhere to the Law as prescribed in Numbers 15:38 – with their body, mind, heart and soul. Gospel-followers today wear crosses and medallions, frequent religious places and ceremonies, practice peace and justice in their work and play. We can put ourselves under the same examination that we give to the scribes and Pharisees we read about today.
Bender Stanislaw: Laying Phylacteries at a BarmitzvahHypocrites, blind guides and fools, whitewashed tombs all beautiful outside and sparkling in the bright sun . . . but dark and empty on the inside, full of death and filth. Jesus proclaims woe on and to the people who stubbornly believe that they are immune from scrutiny. Jesus calls out to all of us to turn a discerning eye on what we say to see if it matches what we do. Jesus laments the loss of so much potential in the closing verses of this chapter as he predicts the end of their present life.
When Jesus visits with each of us, he confronts our own hypocrisy and false fronts; yet he also comforts where he finds hurt, he heals where he finds damage, he cures where he finds regret, and he restores where he finds a conversion of heart. This conversion is evidenced when we ask forgiveness. It is witnessed by our willingness to accept responsibility for our missteps and our honest attempts to make amends. This conversion is seen in our openness to what we have thought to be impossible – that we might both change and be changed by the blessed one who comes as an expression of God’s love to and in the world. We have only to let the Christ enter our lives . . . and then to give our lives over to him.
David evidently was in denial about his son Absalom. All we need do to read about this young man’s abuse of the status and power given to him is leaf back a few pages to Chapters 13 through 18 to read the details of his story. It is not positive. Yet, David mourns the loss of this child, ignoring the horror that Absalom played out even against his own father. We watch David struggle with the reality he does not want to see and now in this reading we watch David give over to his grief completely. We wonder – does he mourn the loss of what actually was? Or does he mourn the loss of what might have been? We have no way of knowing.
Joab approaches David with words that eventually bring about a reconciliation between king and people. His words are harsh and to the point; David comprehends quickly. The greater offense here seems to be not so much that David mourns the loss of a child but that he appears to be oblivious to the harm this child’s behavior has brought about. Many of us can identify with this. We have likely gone to a family member or friend to try to being clarity to a murky situation only to be accused of speaking ill or of causing problems. When delivering bad news, we must always be prepared to be blamed; and if we are not, we can breathe a sigh of relief and thank God.
In today’s story, David’s fragile state becomes apparent despite Joab’s recalling him to the realities of his role as leader and king. We may not be as fortunate as Joab; but whether we are believed or rejected, we must consider the difficulty we bring someone when we bring bad news about a loved one; and we must deliver our words carefully. If we are the ones who receive this bad news, we must be prepared to see another’s reality or else . . . Not a single man will remain with you overnight, and this will be a far greater disaster for you than any that has afflicted you from your youth until now.
Whether we be Joab or David, we do well to remember that dreams fulfilled are welcome allies while dreams not realized are formidable enemies. If we hope to step out to sit at the gateas David does, if we hope to bring the dreadful truth to someone so that it is heard as Joab does, we do well to enter the interaction carefully, and always include God in the exchange. Only then can we hope for reconciliation.
As Easter approaches, and as we witness the swirling tides of power grow and collapse around us, we remember this reflection from March 14, 2008; and we remember that we are children of God, living with God’s loving promise.
This is a story or power ebbing and rising. It is also a story of corruption, convolution and byzantine conniving. And it is also the story of God’s providence, God’s openness to the impossible being possible, and God’s awesome ability to turn all harm to good. Just reading the first chapter of this book gives us a sliver of our history as Yahweh’s people. It can even give us a context for the corruption in our church structure today. We know who we are as God’s children: we are created, we are loved, we are longed for, we are anointed, we are blessed, we are saved, we dance an intimate dance with our God. The greater question for us may be: Who am I in God’s creation?
Sometimes these answers are more difficult to live with. If we believe, for example, in the sanctity of life, we must also believe that torture is an unjust way of interrogating people. If we believe that the Christ is present in the world today through us, we are still all God’s children, even if we cannot all agree about all of the details of an issue.
When we read about the people in these historical books, we come away with the assurance that no matter the era or epoch, we are all God’s people under the same skin. We all err. We all have the opportunity for redemption. We may all make reparation. We may all forgive and be forgiven. We are all God’s children.
When we read ACTS OF THE APOSTLES to remind myself of the many struggles which the early Church had during its formation, we can see clearly the presence of the Holy Spirit, God’s nurturing, abiding presence hovering constantly around these early apostles. We see power transferring from the Pharisees and their separatist thinking to the apostles and their universal salvation thinking. And even among the early Christians there was dissent: the necessity of circumcision, the need for baptism by the spirit, and so on. The Holy Spirit shepherded these people . . . and shepherds us today.
In both the Old and New Testaments we read of the human qualities of contrivance, deceit and falsehood . . . and we also read of honesty and redemption. Nathan, Bathsheba, Adonijah, Solomon, Zadok are all characters in this tale from long ago . . . and they are the people we see before us on the television screen each evening when we tune in to hear the day’s news. When we watch these people of then . . . or of today . . . how do we see ourselves responding? How do we witness to The Word? How do we react as children of God?
We might ponder these things tonight in our evening prayer.
We have spent a week exploring a number of questions that many of us ask about the kingdom. Today we consider the kingdom as the infinite presence of God’s Spirit, and the fulfillment of God’s promise and covenant.
In the fall of 2013, Pope Francis, leader of the Roman Catholic Church, posited this idea about the kingdom Jesus describes. “Jesus says that the Kingdom of God does not come in a way that attracts attention: it comes by wisdom . . . This wisdom carries [men and women] forward,” he explained, “with this intelligent, holy, single, manifold and subtle spirit. This is journeying in life with this spirit,” underlined the Pope, “the spirit of God, which helps us to judge, to make decisions according to the heart of God. And this spirit gives us peace, always! It is the spirit of peace, the spirit of love, the spirit of fraternity.” (Pope Francis)
Next week we will return to our consideration of the mystery of God that we find in the gifts of free will, prayer, angels, the Temple, covenant and ministry. Each of these gifts brings us a unique challenge through which we grow, and through which we come closer to the kingdom Jesus describes. Today, we think about the kingdom we see around us with its complications of hunger, natural disaster, disease and scientific challenge. As we read Pope Francis’ words we consider, where is the wisdom that guides us in becoming one with others as we build the city of God?
If you want to find another parable that Jesus tells us while exploring the concept of wisdom, you may want to use a parable index like the one at http://www.ccel.org/contrib/exec_outlines/pa.htm This is a tool to sort through the stories Jesus tells us and you may have another that you want to recommend in a comment.
We may also want to re-visit the theme of climate change as the Pope addresses it in this article from the BBC: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33182065 Or we may want to read the English translation of his recent encyclical, Care for our Common Home or Laudato Si, at: http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclica-laudato-si.html
The story of Ruth is a tale of fidelity, self-sacrifice, moral integrity, faith, and divine reward for piety. The people we read about today are in Jesus’ family tree and as always, with God, the message is clear when we look and listen: If something is bound to happen, no one can intervene, and if something is not going to happen, no one can cause it to happen . . . except God. God is in charge.
This story shows the proper covenant relationship between the Creator and the created. God is always present – yet in the background. We who are made in God’s image are called to act as God does, with fidelity, compassion and persistence. We see God take action through people who respond to his call and in this way God’s actions are mediated by his people.
This story shows how tragedy can be transformed when we allow ourselves to serve as conduits for God’s love to a waiting world. It also shows how God is actualized in the lives of the faithful. Scholars point out that the story of Ruth is very much a story of Judges in reverse. She is a woman from a pagan nation whose people battled against Israel but Ruth forsakes her little gods of Moabto faithfully serve the Living God, Yahweh. Matthew includes Ruth in Jesus’ genealogy to remind us that God’s ultimate plan is to include diverse nations in his family tree. Ruth is in many ways what Israel was called to be. And she is also what we are called to be. Faithful, trusting, persistent, loving, and always returning home.
Ruth and Naomi return to Bethlehem at the start of the barley harvest – a harvest that plays an important part in the story that is unfolding – and the town celebrates this return. Recalling that women without men were less valuable than animals in these ancient times, we can only be in awe of their courage in the face of tragedy, their obedience in the face of impossibility, and their trust in the face of overwhelming odds. Ruth and Naomi return to Bethlehem, and in so doing they return to God. As we pause in our Jeremiah journey, let us consider the value of this homecoming.
Adapted from a reflection written on August 14, 2007.
David evidently was in denial about his son Absalom. All we need do to read about this young man’s abuse of the status and power given to him is leaf back a few pages to Chapters 13 through 18 to read the details of his story. It is not positive. Yet, David mourns the loss of this child, ignoring the horror that Absalom played out even against his own father. We watch David struggle with the reality he does not want to see and now in this reading we watch David give over to his grief completely. We wonder – does he mourn the loss of what actually was? Or does he mourn the loss of what might have been? We have no way of knowing.
The Noontimes 