Come aside to me, you untutored, and take up lodging in the house of instruction;
How long will you deprive yourself of wisdom’s food, how long endure such bitter thirst?
We remember the verses from Proverbs 9: Wisdom has set up her house and prepared her banquet.
I open my mouth and speak of her: gain wisdom for yourselves at no cost.
Take her yoke upon your neck; that your mind may receive her teaching.
Wisdom has sent her handmaidens to invite all who long for her consolation. (Proverbs 9)
For she is close to those who seek her, and the one who is in earnest finds her.
See for yourselves! I have labored only a little, but have found much.
Acquire but a little instruction, and you will win silver and gold through her.
Wisdom asks that we abandon our foolishness; she invites us to choose her path. (Proverbs 9)
May your soul rejoice in God’s mercy; do not be ashamed to give him praise.
Work at your tasks in due season, and in his own time God will give you your reward.
Wisdom knows that patience and openness to God bring us insight, understanding, strength and peace. Let us be faithful to the gift of God’s wisdom. Let us share in the hope of God’s Wisdom. And let us rest in the love and joy of Wisdom’s care.
This week we have looked at the many ways in which Jesus wants to heal us. We have seen him give sight to those who are blind, hearing to those who are deaf, and movement to those who are paralyzed. All he asks in return is that we use the gifts he freely gives us to bear fruit for the kingdom. Today we look at a Favorite adapted from a reflection written onOctober 26, 2009.
In today’s reading we come across a story that is troubling for some: the sudden way in which Jesus withers a fig tree that has not produced fruit. Here Jesus has just entered Jerusalem and has cleansed the temple of the money changers. In the next portion of this story we will see Jesus’ authority questioned and we will sit at the Master’s feet to listen to a series of parables. Footnotes tell us that we might see Jesus’ actions here as ill-tempered and arbitrary, but it is really a prophetic act portending the judgment that is to come upon Israel “that with all its apparent piety lacks the fruit of good deeds and will soon bear the punishment of its fruitlessness”. (Senior 45) Here too, besides this obvious portending of the future, Jesus affirms the amazing power of faith – that if we believe we too might cause trees to wither and mountains to be lifted up. What we read is a strange dichotomy that causes us to think . . . a tool which any good teacher will use: The placement of a puzzle before students so that they might be called to think outside of the normal typical story. What is Jesus doing when he withers the tree?
We might pose the theory that Jesus would win more converts if he had caused the tree to flourish; but then we miss the importance of our own free will. We, like the fig tree, have been planted in our particular place. We, like the fig tree, may have to exert ourselves to bear fruit. We, like the fig tree, will be held to an accounting of our stewardship of the gifts we have been given.
In one of our favorite stories, Queen Esther shrinks from the work she sees lying before her because she fears the loss of her own life and the lives of her fellow Jewish exiles. When she balks, her uncle Mordecai reminds her: Even if you now remain silent, relief and deliverance will some to the Jews from another source; but you and your father’s house will perish. Who knows but it was for a time like this you obtained the royal dignity? (Esther 4:14) Who knows for which moment in time our gifts are meant? Who are we to parcel them out in a miserly fashion or to decide to keep these gifts safely tucked away for ourselves?
In Luke 12:48 at the close of the parable about the watchful servant, we hear Jesus remind us that much will be demanded of those who have been given much. We might think of this today as we move through our many small and big chores. What is it we have been given that we are asked to share? What can we do to be certain to produce fruit with the gifts we are given? And do we ourselves have the faith to wither trees and move mountains?
Tomorrow, a gentle mastery.
Senior, Donald, ed. THE CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE. New York, Oxford University Press, 1990.45. Print.
Then Jesus said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.”
Scholars speculate about Jesus’ request that those he cures tell no one about their healing. We find this request in a number of places in Matthew: 12:15-16, 16:20, 17:9 and we notice that neither Jesus nor Matthew rebuke the exuberance of those who receive Jesus’ gift. In the HARPERCOLLINS BIBLE COMMENTARY we find this statement: “[T]hough Jesus did not seek to attain ‘celebrity status’ for his miraculous powers, the effects of his works were simply too marvelous to be kept a secret”. (Meeks 881)
Perhaps we need to point this out to those who are our sports and entertainment icons. Celebrity is a gift to be treasured and used well.
Catholic monk welcomes Muslim worshipers in a church in Nice
Many crowds followed him, and he cured all of them, and he ordered them not to make him known. (Matthew 12:15-16) Then he sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah. (Matthew 16:20)
In the CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE commentary tells us that, “To this [Matthew] adds a full citation from the First Servant Song (Is 42, 1-4) . . . emphasizing the meekness of Jesus, the Servant of the Lord, and foretelling the extension of his mission to the Gentiles”. (Senior 26)
Perhaps we need to point this out to those who would be our social or political leaders. Power is strongest when used in service to the poor and broken.
As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” (Matthew 17:9)
Others speculate that Jesus was waiting until a particular moment to reveal his true nature to the world. Again from the CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE commentary: “[O]nly in the light if Jesus’ resurrection can the meaning of his life and mission be truly understood; until then no testimony to the vision will lead people to faith”. (Senior 37)
Perhaps we need to point this out to our religious leaders. Influence is purest when used in the Spirit of the Living God.
And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him. (Mark 8:27-30)
Muslim faithful walk behind a religious man as they attend Mass in tribute to slain priest
Jesus asks his closest followers to refrain from announcing his presence to the world. From the CATHOLIC STUDY BIBLE commentary: “Jesus acknowledges this identification [as messiah] but prohibits [the disciples] from making his messianic office known to avoid confusing it with ambiguous contemporary ideas on the nature of that office”. (Senior 81)
Perhaps we need to point this out to ourselves. Humility, sacrifice, and an authentic reverence for the Way that the Living God asks us to live. These are the marks of authentic leaders and followers.
Our modern society and instant global communication have brought a new tension to our lives; but they have also brought a rapid means of connecting with others in a positive and healing way. We must look for constructive strategies to form solidarity with those who carry the good fruits of Christ’s story into the world. “Tell no one,” Jesus said in the beginning of the ministry. Now that his resurrection has begun the transformation of the world, we must not lose heart. Now we must tell everyone we know the Good News that Jesus is among us, calling each of us to a life of faith, hope, peace and love.
Representatives of the Muslim community go to Catholic Mass at Milan’s Santa Maria
Today, let us consider an act of solidarity we might make with others as we speak to our own entertainment, sports, political, social, and spiritual leaders and ask for lasting peace that transforms society.
Jesus icon in St. Saviour Church: Chora, Istanbul, Turkey
The stories of Jesus’ healing are perhaps the most loved. They tell us in the modern era what we want and need to hear. Miracles happen. Outrageous hope is possible. Love changes everything. Faith, the cornerstone of discipleship, rises from our constant communication with God and brings reward greater than any power, wealth or fame. But to all of this goodness and compassion too many of us are too often blinded by the lures of the world that surrounds us. So great is God’s love for each of us that we are given the daily opportunity to choose Mammon or God. The blind men in today’s story choose God.
THE MESSAGE translation brings this familiar story home in a powerful way.
Two men cry follow Jesus and cry out to him, pleading for sight so they might more fully enter life. And so Jesus said to them, “Do you really believe I can do this?” They said, “Why, yes, Master!”
How often do we ask for God’s help? How often do we reply, “Why, yes, Master!”
St. Saviour Church: Jesus heals Two Blind Men
He touched their eyes and said, “Become what you believe.” It happened. They saw. Then Jesus became very stern. “Don’t let a soul know how this happened.” But they were hardly out the door before they started blabbing it to everyone they met.
Do we believe that we become what we believe? Do we covet what others have or what others are?
It happened. They saw.
Does our worldly doubt overcome our spirit’s hope? Do we turn to God when we are in turmoil or fear? Do we blab the good news to others or hold it for ourselves? Do we ask for sight and wisdom only to ignore or abuse the gift once it is given? Do we decide that Jesus’ ancient words do not suit our modern world?
Become what you believe.
St. Saviour Church in Chora, Istanbul, Turkey
We are so often blind to so much that takes place around us and this is not surprising since the world is a dichotomy of faith-inspiring creation and the frightening ugliness of evil. But we are created in God’s image, created to rise to the hope of God’s creation, created to sing in harmony with God’s Spirit. So rather than reject with cynicism the possibility of Jesus’ presence in our lives, let us share – as do these two cured men – the goodness and enormity of God’s love. When we find that we are blind . . . let us ask for Jesus’ healing . . . and let us celebrate the miracle of his love.
Compare THE MESSAGE translation of these verses with others using the scripture link and the drop-down menus to see how Jesus speaks to us today through this story.
Tomorrow, why does Jesus ask these men to keep silent about the miracle of their healing.
From Richard Rohr’s Daily Reflection on July 26, 2016 which is taken from his book Falling Upward: A Spirituality of the Two Halves of Life. (Rohr 60-61) Rohr, like Christ, calls us to fall upward in faith.
In the divine economy of grace, it is imperfection, sin, and failure that become the base metal and raw material for the redemption experience itself. Much of organized religion, however, tends to be peopled by folks who have a mania for some ideal order, which is never true, so they seldom are happy or content. This focus on perfection makes you anal retentive, to use Freud’s rude phrase, because you can never be happy with life as it is.
Rohr, like Christ, calls us to fall upward in compassion.
Real life is filled with people who are disabled (if you live long enough, you too will inevitably be “disabled” in some way), people with mental illness, people who practice other customs or religions, and people who experience their sexuality differently than you do. Organized religion has not been known for its inclusiveness or for being very comfortable with diversity. Yet pluriformity, multiplicity, and diversity is the only world there is! It is rather amazing that we can miss, deny, or ignore what is in plain sight everywhere. Even in nature, we are confounded by wildness and seek to bring the “frontier,” farms, and gardens into uniformity.
Rohr, like Christ, calls us to fall upward in transformation.
Sin and salvation are correlative terms. Salvation is not sin perfectly avoided, as the ego would prefer; but in fact, salvation is sin turned on its head and used in our favor. This is how divine love transforms us. If this is not true, what hope is there for any of us? We eventually discover that the same passion which leads us away from God can also lead us back to God and to our true selves. That is one reason I have valued andtaughtthe Enneagram [1]. Like few other spiritual tools, it illustrates this transformative truth. Once you see that your “sin” and your gift are two sides of the same coin, you can never forget it.
Rohr, like Christ, calls us to fall upward in hope.
God seems to be about “turning” our loves around (in Greek,meta-noia), and using them toward the Great Love that is their true object. All lesser loves are training wheels, which are good in themselves, but still training wheels. Many of the healing stories in the New Testament are rather clear illustrations of this message and pattern. Jesus says this specifically of “the woman who was a sinner”: “Her sins, her many sins, must have been forgiven her, or she could not have shown such great love” (Luke 7:47). It seems that her false attempts at love became the school and stepping-stones to “such great love.”
Rohr, like Christ, calls us to fall upward in love.
Rohr, like Christ, calls us to see that our throwing stones have become stepping stones along The Way.
When we read this familiar story with new eyes, we see Jesus once again teach the Pharisees about how to handle the anger they feel when they want to throw stones. His capacity to forgive amazed those who saw him at work and made the Pharisees uneasy.
The others sitting at the table began to say to themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”
Jesus continues in his compassionate Way, calling others to follow.
But Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
And so today we pray for ourselves and others in the moment when we want to throw stones in anger or fear.
Merciful and forgiving God, we need the strength of your faith to sustain us through our anxiety and alarm. Abide with us in the journey of Jesus’ Way.
Compassionate and guiding God, we need the joy of your hope to nourish us through our pain and suffering. Abide with us in the pilgrimage of our lives.
Healing and transforming God, we need theconsolation of your love to carry us beyond all distrust and doubt.Abide with us in the mystery of your Spirit.
We ask this in your name. Amen.
Eleanor Roosevelt in her youth
As we consider the fear that has a way of settling into our lives with or without our noticing, we might find this interview with historian and political scientist Matthew Dallek interesting. He is interviewed by guest host Derek McGinty on a July2016 Diane Rehm show. Dallek’s book Defenseless under the Night: The Roosevelt Years and the Origins of Homeland Security explores the evolution of the response to fear that we see in the U.S. public today. Listening to this interview may give us a new perspective on our desire to throw stones.
It is in this chapter of Romans that we receive our greatest challenge of all challenges: Only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps even for a good person one might even find the courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.
We read today one of the great paradoxes of Christian living – that we receive the gifts of faith, hope, love, grace, peace and life eternal when we are willing to die to self with Christ, so that we might rise again in new life. We are reminded that none of our transgressions can turn God away. Our creator is always waiting to comfort us, save us and free us from all that makes us unhappy. It is wewho forget this as Paul reminds us in his letter to the Philippians 4:6-7: Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. The peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Commentary tells us that here we see the law and sin in proper relationship to one another – only through the sacrifice of Jesus. We may well wonder how we view our own transgressions against God, self and neighbor in light of this good news. Do we shrink from examining our conscience, afraid of what we might find to confess? Do we eagerly give ourselves over to recollection and self-questioning in order that we more fully understand our proper relationship with God through his Spirit? If the former, we take consolation from today’s Noontimethat reassures us that no human can surprise God with sin. If the latter, we do not hesitate to quiet ourselves within so that we might fully understand and believe that God wants nothing more than to love us and be loved in return.
The difficulty with genuine and authentic love is this, that it imitates Christ. It is willing to die to self even for enemies, because genuine and authentic love knows that through Christ there is always the opportunity to transform. Through Christ we are each called to rise and live again. In this way through Christ, our hearts and minds are guarded in Christ Jesus. We can find no better champion than Christ. We can find no better protector than Christ. We can find no better lover than Christ. For it is Christ who makes all difficult things possible, through his abundant and difficult love.
For some reason this chapter has popped up at Noontimeseveral times. Today, as always when this happens, we can look more closely at this reading, and this is what comes to me.
Today’s morning scripture reading is from Hebrews.
Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested. 11:1-2
I have often tried to imagine the rainbow of emotions which swept through Mary, Peter and John when they saw the empty tomb. There were so many explanations of what might have happened.
This is the time of year in which we always re-live the Resurrection story. Two thousand years after the fact, we are still experiencing the mix of doubt, fear, hope and joy which swept through the early apostolic band. They had been accompanied by Jesus in life. Now they would be accompanied by him and the Spirit for eternity.
We are surprised by the absence of something we thought existed, someone who once was a foundation, some idea that gave us meaning. We see, hear and feel the emptiness and sorrow of that loss. Slowly, and painfully, we explore the possibilities. Little by little we come to the realization that our existence is paradox. We are divine, we are human. We are human, we are divine.
We are slow to believe. We see the empty tomb. We know that our eyes do not deceive us. We can imagine the possibilities, and we dare to hope, we dare to dream, we dare to live in a way we have never lived before. The impossible becomes reality.
The Noontimes 