Link to Mass Readings: http://www.usccb.org/nab/071711.shtml
What is our hope?
In this week’s Gospel, Jesus lays out the kingdom of Heaven in clear black and white. He tells us that there are children of the kingdom, and children of the evil one; the children of the evil one are those who cause others to sin and all evildoers. These are the ones who will be condemned to hell.
The readings last week and this week emphasize that there are only two choices in life; we are either of God or against Him. If we do not listen to the message of salvation and act on it, we will suffer for our evil because our God is a God of justice.
It’s not a comforting image of God. If this is all we had, God would not be our hope but our fear. And while Scripture says that “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” it is just the beginning. Read these words of the First Reading again:
“But though you are master of might, you judge with clemency, and with much lenience you govern us; for power, whenever you will, attends you. And you taught your people, by these deeds, that those who are just must be kind; and you gave your children good ground for hope that you would permit repentance for their sins.”
Who of us could hope to be spared, if everyone who sins and causes others to sin will be condemned? But our God is NOT just the God of justice, but also of mercy; “You, O Lord, are good and forgiving,/ abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.” His strength is not that of the tyrant, who must punish all trespassers because he is fearful of rebellion. The strength of our God is complete in its confidence, and is strong enough not to fear sinners, but to love and pity them. This is what we hear in the Psalm, and they are not just empty words.
Sometimes, it is easy to think that God judges us like the worst kind of gym teacher. We think that God sets impossible standards, and then punishes us when we fall short. But God isn’t like that, God is like the yeast that makes bread rise. Alone, the bread remains flat and when it bakes it will be hard. But with yeast, the bread rises and becomes soft and fluffy. Yeast makes bread better; God makes us better, lifts us when we cannot lift ourselves.
We are not as we should be. We are weak, and sometimes we deny God because we want to be better liked. Sometimes we sin because it’s harder not to. Sometimes we hate goodness, and we hurt ourselves or others simply because it is bad. But God, in infinite power, does not immediately punish us but comes to the aid of our weakness. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us, and is there even when we would reject Him. God does not give up on us.
The kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed. Though it may start out small and weak within us, it can grow larger than we can imagine, and we can a shelter for all those looking for Christ.
Our hope is the strength of God, because the God of justice taught us the just must be kind. His strength, though it starts out small within us, can grow until we have the strength to follow Him. His strength gives us power against sin, and courage against despair. Our hope is the strength of God, that is strong enough to show mercy.
Showing posts with label sixteenth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sixteenth. Show all posts
Monday, July 25, 2011
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Link to Mass Readings: http://www.usccb.org/nab/071011.shtml
“My word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.”
It’s important to know that the readings in each liturgical season fit together as a whole. Now that we are in Ordinary Time, each week’s Sunday reading will build upon the next. Last week the readings showed us that life with Christ is different than life without Him: “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” But they didn’t explain what that meant, not really. This week, the readings show us that living with Christ means listening to the Word of God, because that is part of what changes us.
The first reading explains why the Word of God is so important: “My word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.” We have been given Scripture, and read Scripture at Mass, for our salvation. God’s word is effective, and understanding it changes us. When we soak in God’s word, and allow it to change us, we become amazing. Scripture describes the change using farming language.
The Psalm shows us symbolically how we are transformed by God’s word. Our paths overflow with a rich harvest, the fields are garmented with flocks, and the valleys are blanketed with grain. We are MORE with Christ than we are on our own, and God’s Word is the rain that helps us to grow into what we were always meant to be.
Last week we recognized that life isn’t easy. Much of this is because we are still being transformed with Christ. We are sinners, and we are still fighting for our salvation. This is why Paul says that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us; because Heaven is coming. Heaven is coming and we must be ready for it!
The readings today should be listened to closely, and though they don’t apply solely to Mass, we should think about how we listen to Scripture in that context. When Jesus talks about those who hear God’s Word in the parable of the sower, how do we listen to the readings? Do our eyes glaze over? Do we listen intently but forget the message after Mass? Do we try to live out the Scripture during the week between Masses? We should never forget that Mass is not a duty, but a respite from our work in the world. Mass is where we take strength from the Eucharist, the Word, and the fellowship of the Lord for our life with Christ. Our duty isn’t over at the end of Mass, but just beginning!
We at Mass are the seeds of the sower. It is not enough to hear God’s word, but to engage with it. If we listen, but do not understand, the devil will keep our heart from transforming with Christ. If we listen with excitement, but have no “roots” to develop our faith, we will not last, and will fall short of salvation. If we hear God’s Word, but let anxiety and the world paralyze us, then we will bear no fruit and lose salvation.
But, if we soak up God’s word, if we hear it and understand it, then we are the seeds which fall on good soil. Then God’s Word will be effective, accomplishing God’s purpose within us. We will carry the Word out into the world, and transform the world with us. Christ’s “yoke” becomes easier when we let God’s Word transform us, and guide our lives. This is the first step to living in Christ.
Let us work on being good seeds falling on good soil, to make effective God’s work upon us. Then we shall be amazing, and be fruitful for the Lord a hundred, or sixty, or thirtyfold.
“My word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.”
It’s important to know that the readings in each liturgical season fit together as a whole. Now that we are in Ordinary Time, each week’s Sunday reading will build upon the next. Last week the readings showed us that life with Christ is different than life without Him: “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” But they didn’t explain what that meant, not really. This week, the readings show us that living with Christ means listening to the Word of God, because that is part of what changes us.
The first reading explains why the Word of God is so important: “My word shall not return to me void, but shall do my will, achieving the end for which I sent it.” We have been given Scripture, and read Scripture at Mass, for our salvation. God’s word is effective, and understanding it changes us. When we soak in God’s word, and allow it to change us, we become amazing. Scripture describes the change using farming language.
The Psalm shows us symbolically how we are transformed by God’s word. Our paths overflow with a rich harvest, the fields are garmented with flocks, and the valleys are blanketed with grain. We are MORE with Christ than we are on our own, and God’s Word is the rain that helps us to grow into what we were always meant to be.
Last week we recognized that life isn’t easy. Much of this is because we are still being transformed with Christ. We are sinners, and we are still fighting for our salvation. This is why Paul says that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us; because Heaven is coming. Heaven is coming and we must be ready for it!
The readings today should be listened to closely, and though they don’t apply solely to Mass, we should think about how we listen to Scripture in that context. When Jesus talks about those who hear God’s Word in the parable of the sower, how do we listen to the readings? Do our eyes glaze over? Do we listen intently but forget the message after Mass? Do we try to live out the Scripture during the week between Masses? We should never forget that Mass is not a duty, but a respite from our work in the world. Mass is where we take strength from the Eucharist, the Word, and the fellowship of the Lord for our life with Christ. Our duty isn’t over at the end of Mass, but just beginning!
We at Mass are the seeds of the sower. It is not enough to hear God’s word, but to engage with it. If we listen, but do not understand, the devil will keep our heart from transforming with Christ. If we listen with excitement, but have no “roots” to develop our faith, we will not last, and will fall short of salvation. If we hear God’s Word, but let anxiety and the world paralyze us, then we will bear no fruit and lose salvation.
But, if we soak up God’s word, if we hear it and understand it, then we are the seeds which fall on good soil. Then God’s Word will be effective, accomplishing God’s purpose within us. We will carry the Word out into the world, and transform the world with us. Christ’s “yoke” becomes easier when we let God’s Word transform us, and guide our lives. This is the first step to living in Christ.
Let us work on being good seeds falling on good soil, to make effective God’s work upon us. Then we shall be amazing, and be fruitful for the Lord a hundred, or sixty, or thirtyfold.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Link to Mass Readings: http://www.usccb.org/nab/071810.shtml
This week’s readings present that hardest of ideas: that the good man is rewarded. It is the hardest, because it is what we are taught from childhood, and it’s what we want to believe the most. It’s what we think Christianity is. But it is also the idea we see the most betrayed, the one that hurts the most when we feel God is not living up to His bargain.
The first reading and the psalm reinforce this idea. Abraham is rewarded for being a good host to God with a son despite his old age, and the psalm intones “He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.” If we are good, and we do everything we are supposed to, follow all the rules, things will turn out well for us.
But this isn’t the message of the Church. In the second reading Paul rejoices in his sufferings, filling up in his own body what was lacking in Christ’s afflictions. He rejoices in pain, not for any personal reward, but because it is “in accordance with God’s stewardship given to me,” as part of bringing the mystery of God fully to those he is teaching. And the mystery is odd, because it is that Christ is in us, the Church, and that we should better ourselves so that we are more perfect in Christ, that we should work towards perfection when perfection is already inside of us.
In the Gospel, Martha wants what every good person wants: consolation that she is doing what is right. But Jesus gives that to Mary who is only sitting with Him. The psalm we read lists action after action that one must do to live in the presence of the Lord: slander not with the tongue, harm not your fellow man, accept no bribe against the innocent. But it is not Martha, who is doing everything right who is in the presence of God, but Mary who is uplifted. Of all God’s teachings, this is sometimes the hardest one to accept. It is not about what we are doing, but why we are doing it.
The gospel reading is rich, and many things can be learned from it. But this is one: we should not miss God where He is. We must do justice, work to build His kingdom, and do everything we see in the example of Abraham, the psalmist, and Martha. But we are not jumping hoops for God to give us treats. Abraham is uplifted because he saw God in the stranger. The psalmist treats others with the dignity given to them by God. Paul admonishes his brothers and sisters because they hold Christ within themselves. Martha is humbled because in all her good works she misses the Messiah when He is right before her eyes.
The goodness of Abraham and the psalmist come from love of God, while Martha looked for a reward. In the psalm, the just may be in the presence of the Lord but even the Lord suffered agony on the cross. Goodness is rewarded by God, yes, but goodness also involves suffering and usually much of it. Our consolation is that Christ is in us, always with us, and before us in the faces of those we serve. We must sit with Mary while we serve with Martha.
We are anxious about many things. But there is need of only one thing. To love God first, and to act from that love in the world, doing what God has commanded and Christ has shown us.
This week’s readings present that hardest of ideas: that the good man is rewarded. It is the hardest, because it is what we are taught from childhood, and it’s what we want to believe the most. It’s what we think Christianity is. But it is also the idea we see the most betrayed, the one that hurts the most when we feel God is not living up to His bargain.
The first reading and the psalm reinforce this idea. Abraham is rewarded for being a good host to God with a son despite his old age, and the psalm intones “He who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.” If we are good, and we do everything we are supposed to, follow all the rules, things will turn out well for us.
But this isn’t the message of the Church. In the second reading Paul rejoices in his sufferings, filling up in his own body what was lacking in Christ’s afflictions. He rejoices in pain, not for any personal reward, but because it is “in accordance with God’s stewardship given to me,” as part of bringing the mystery of God fully to those he is teaching. And the mystery is odd, because it is that Christ is in us, the Church, and that we should better ourselves so that we are more perfect in Christ, that we should work towards perfection when perfection is already inside of us.
In the Gospel, Martha wants what every good person wants: consolation that she is doing what is right. But Jesus gives that to Mary who is only sitting with Him. The psalm we read lists action after action that one must do to live in the presence of the Lord: slander not with the tongue, harm not your fellow man, accept no bribe against the innocent. But it is not Martha, who is doing everything right who is in the presence of God, but Mary who is uplifted. Of all God’s teachings, this is sometimes the hardest one to accept. It is not about what we are doing, but why we are doing it.
The gospel reading is rich, and many things can be learned from it. But this is one: we should not miss God where He is. We must do justice, work to build His kingdom, and do everything we see in the example of Abraham, the psalmist, and Martha. But we are not jumping hoops for God to give us treats. Abraham is uplifted because he saw God in the stranger. The psalmist treats others with the dignity given to them by God. Paul admonishes his brothers and sisters because they hold Christ within themselves. Martha is humbled because in all her good works she misses the Messiah when He is right before her eyes.
The goodness of Abraham and the psalmist come from love of God, while Martha looked for a reward. In the psalm, the just may be in the presence of the Lord but even the Lord suffered agony on the cross. Goodness is rewarded by God, yes, but goodness also involves suffering and usually much of it. Our consolation is that Christ is in us, always with us, and before us in the faces of those we serve. We must sit with Mary while we serve with Martha.
We are anxious about many things. But there is need of only one thing. To love God first, and to act from that love in the world, doing what God has commanded and Christ has shown us.
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