thoughts and observations on the daily readings
Wednesday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Charles Lwanga and Companions (Photo credit Philipp Jakob) In the passage from Mark 12, we again see Jesus’ opponents trying to entrap Him with words. They imagine that their question is clever, but Jesus once again eludes the trap and reveals the fundamental dishonesty of His opponents. They have chosen sophistry over truth. They do not oppose Jesus because His words or deeds go against God, but because His authenticity challenges their personal privilege and power. We have honest rhetoric in the passage from Paul’s letter to Timothy. We have been enriched because Paul needed to use letter writing to communicate with his far-flung communities and their leaders. In this passage, we see words that communicate truths of encouragement and exhortation. This rhetoric is powerful because it is founded on the truth of Paul’s ministry and his close trusting relationship with his communities. This is not clever debate, but the wisdom of love. On this memorial when we remember the courage of new Christians who suffered terrible martyrdom we have the added witness of martyrs who lived (and died) the truth of the message Paul wrote to Timothy. Charles Lwanga gave his life to protect the innocent and to proclaim his abiding faith in Jesus. He strengthened, and was strengthened by, the companions that shared in his suffering at the hands of a delusional tyrant. In our own day, there is far too much cleverness among our pundits and leaders and far too little wisdom to be found in our culture or in the violence of the moment. Perhaps this is a moment to seek the intercession of Saint Charles Lwanga to help us to have courage and faith. Like him, and Paul, we know Him in whom we have believed. It is His wisdom, the wisdom of love that has been entrusted to us.
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Tuesday of the 9th Week of Ordinary Time
Readings may be found here This passage in the gospels is an immediately recognizable even in secular settings. Rightly and wrongly, the language and imagery of the exchange between Jesus and His opponents has been taken up in debates about taxation, the legitimacy of authority, opposition to totalitarianism, and many other debates in many other contexts. Because the passage is so often drawn into those other debates, it is important to hear it in its original context if we wish to do it justice. Jesus belonged to conquered people, subject to oppression and injustice by a vastly wealthier and more powerful Roman Empire. Many of His fellow Jews of the day considered it a moral and religious imperative to openly or covertly oppose that oppression. Other accommodated themselves to the overwhelming power of Roman authority and then risked the wrath of their fellow Jews. Openly threatening Roman rule might see you executed by the authorities. Open support of their oppression might bring a knife in a dark alley from an aggrieved fellow countryman. In this passage “Pharisees” and “Herodians” approach Jesus to test Him. This is surprising given that they represent the two poles of the ideological fight. Somehow, these two bitter enemies find common. Their question, as the passage indicates, is a trap that hopes to force Jesus to take one side or the other, allowing His opponents to denounce Him either to the Roman authorities or to violent revolutionaries. Jesus defeats them at their own rhetorical game. He asks them to bring a denarius for Him to see. The fact that they readily possess this valuable coin – one used primarily by the Roman soldiers and officials – is telling. Next Jesus counters their question with one of His own: “whose image is this?” With their answer, they fall into Jesus’ trap. The coin is stamped with Roman propaganda promoting false claims about the divine authority of the Roman Emperor – “the son of the divine Augustus.” Jesus simply acknowledges that the coin belongs to the Emperor while reminding His listeners of their duty to God. In this brilliant turn of events, Jesus’ authority and wisdom are front and center. In the gospels, we do not see Jesus railing against Roman oppression or joining the aggrieved revolutionaries of His day. We do, however, see two critical truths that respond to that environment of injustice, oppression, and violence. The first is the contrast between “the son of the divine Augustus” who claims absolute sovereignty over the world and the true Son of God Who is the Lord of Love and teaches that authority is service and that power is found in the gift of self. The second truth is that Jesus does in fact seek a revolution. His revolution, though, is not about returning hatred and violence for hatred and violence. His revolution is one that overturns hearts. To “render unto God” is to see our selfishness and hatred overturned by love, compassion, and generosity. Monday of the 9th Week in Ordinary Time
Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church Readings may be found here Are you afraid of God? If we are honest, the reality of God is overwhelming. The Scriptures certainly make it clear that God is awesome and frightening. Old Testament ritual law presumes that entering the presence of God unworthily is deadly – hence the care and reverence surrounding the Holy of Holies. The Absolute, the Infinite, frightens us who are mere mortal creatures. How many of us rest easy with the notion that God sees and knows every dark corner of our hearts? In the passage from Genesis, Adam hides from God because he is naked. He is afraid to appear before God defenseless, revealed. We might say this is irrational given that God Who created Adam already knew him and had provided life and protection. He should not fear and yet he does. That passage of Adam’s fear is paired with the passage from John 19 describing the death of Jesus on the cross. Jesus is stripped and defenseless and tormented with the worst kind of violence. This New Adam does not fear to be vulnerable and naked before God or us. We see His glory - the courage and beauty of trusting love and total offering for our sake. This glory is reflected in His mother who does not fear to accompany her son in this most painful moment. She offers a model of trust and openness and He entrusts us to her as our mother. They say that crisis lays bare the heart. Maybe this is a moment for all of us to bare our hearts to the Lord – to trust the One |
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