Reflections on the readings for Sunday 09/22/19

September 22, 2019 • 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time
First Reading: Amos 8:4–7
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 113:1–2, 4–6, 7–8 (cf. 1a, 7b)
Second Reading: 1 Timothy 2:1–8
Gospel Acclamation: cf. 2 Corinthians 8:9
Gospel: Luke 16:1–13

When I read the first reading from the Book of the Prophet Amos, I thought to myself, “Wow, this sounds like what I see going on in America!” The readings for this Sunday are about God’s concerns for the plight of the poor, needy and powerless, and for the souls and destiny — temporal and eternal — of those with wealth, power and privilege. Why is God so concerned about the first group, the poor, needy and powerless? Because often the second group takes advantage of of them, because the rich and powerful can shape the government, economy, society and culture to their own benefit, at the expense of the poor. He warns the second group to change their ways, because their souls and destinies depend on it.

First Reading

And that is what is going on in this first reading. Amos, a prophet who is a shepherd by trade (and thus one of the first group) in the Southern Kingdom of Judah, has been called by God to warn the Northern Kingdom of Israel of their impending disaster because of their sins.

This Sunday’s passage focuses on all-consuming greed that takes advantage of those seeking one of the necessities of life: food. In America, it is happening with all kinds of necessities, like medical care, housing, energy, etc.

In the reading, the rich grain merchants are so greedy that they chafe at the restrictions placed upon their economic activities by their religion. Money has first place in their lives over God and human beings.

When I was a kid growing up in a small town in New Jersey, we had what were known as the “Blue Laws,” which required all businesses, with a few exceptions for travel related ones, to be closed on Sunday, so that people would hopefully spend the day attending worship services and engaging in restorative activities. Now many businesses are open 24/7/365. Workers are working in shifts around the clock.

Another thing these merchants were doing was rigging the system to maximize profits while giving their customers less for their money. They were diminishing the ephah, the dry unit for measuring grains, so that people were receiving less for the same amount of money. Have you noticed how they have been doing that in the grocery industry in recent years?

The lowly and the poor of Israel had been reduced from real people to commodities to support the rich and powerful. They must have their Gucci sandals and precious metals!

These rich farmers were supposed to leave the gleanings, left over wheat products in the fields and on the threshing floors, so that the poor and needy could pick through them and find missed grains of wheat. Not these guys, they made sure nothing was left behind.

The Northern Kingdom did not repent, and after many warnings, they were conquered by the Assyrians and carried off into captivity, never to return. They became the “Lost Tribes” of Israel.

It would be easy to conclude that, if we are not rich, we’re off the hook. But God and the Catholic Church are concerned with all societal, commercial, governmental and cultural structures that have injustice and oppression built in, of which we can be enablers by our indifference, apathy and participation. We need to examine our lives to see whether we are seeking to alleviate and minimize injustice and oppression as much as it is within our power with God’s help to do so.

Responsorial Psalm

The Psalm reflects on God’s concern for the poor and lowly and praises Him for it. God wants equity and justice, and He will accomplish it, if not in this life then in the next. He will raise and lift the lowly and the poor and seat them with princes at the banquet table. Lifting the poor from the dunghills recalls the multitudes of the poor around the world living in garbage dumps. There are Christian organizations and charities seeking to improve the lives of these people, but they are too few to meet the staggering need.

Second Reading

Here we see God’s concern for all. There is no partiality with God. He desires us to pray for all people, for our leaders, for a peaceful and orderly society and for the salvation of all. God makes it clear that He desires all to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. The Old Testament also echoes this desire of God. “Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather that they should turn from their ways and live?” (Ezekiel 18:23). “Say to them, As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from their ways and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways; for why will you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11)

The prayers of the Church reflect this emphasis through the prayers of the Mass, in the Our Father (forgive us our trespasses), the Hail Mary (pray for us sinners) and the Fatima prayer (Lead all souls to heaven…).

Gospel Acclamation

“Though our Lord Jesus Christ was rich, he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Jesus, as always, is our example of what He is asking us to do.

Gospel

A lot of people are troubled by the story of the unfaithful steward and don’t know what to do with it. Jesus seems to condone the steward’s unauthorized discounting of the debts owed his master, in order to give him a place to live after he gets fired and evicted by his master for cause. But even the steward’s master is impressed by the steward’s regard for his future, and his resourcefulness in securing it.

Jesus wants us to have a similar regard for our eternal destiny in how we handle the world’s money and goods under our control. His concern for us is similar to God’s concern for Israel in the first reading. He wants us to make it to the Father’s house, where He is preparing a place for us. Sooner or later, we must leave this world. Have we given as serious consideration to our eternal destiny and preparing for it as the unfaithful steward gave to his temporal one?

Are we storing up judgment and risking eternal separation from God, or are we securing our place in heaven by how we use mammon in the service of our King, by using it to alleviate poverty and injustice? Are we mastering mammon in obedient service to our King and his Kingdom values, or is it mastering us?

Some will be troubled by Jesus using the adjective “unrighteous” with the noun, mammon or riches. But love of money is a root of all kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10) and a great temptation that ensnares and causes the fall of many, both rich and poor alike. Much of the money circulating around has been gotten through unscrupulous means, even if “legal.”

Why can’t we serve both God and Mammon? Because they lead in different directions. It is like a person standing with one foot on an unsecured boat and the other foot on a fixed dock.

We need to examine ourselves and pray with David, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23–24).

The Jesus Prayer

The Jesus Prayer - Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

This prayer sustained me during a time of intense spiritual warfare when I couldn’t focus on anything like reading the Bible or coming up with my own words to pray. I felt utterly worthless. I was exceedingly anxious. Satan was making his accusations. This prayer was all I could hang on to. It was a ray of light and hope in a dark place. For it reminded me of the prayer of the publican which it is in part. Jesus said that that man went home justified. It also reminded me that Jesus came into the world to save sinners and to seek out those who were lost. So the prayer was addressed to Him who was and is my hope. This period lasted a couple of months. And I prayed the prayer continuously, over and over. And Jesus brought me through.

Then recently, I had a panic attack with lots of physiological sensations. I knew what it was but the only prayer I was capable of praying was the Jesus Prayer. I prayed it quietly over and over until I was stabilized. It enabled me to hold onto His hand in the midst of the crisis, the runaway feelings.

I thought I would share in case anyone is in a similar situation.

Easter Sunday - April 21, 2019

April 21, 2019 • Easter Sunday
First Reading: Acts 10:34a, 37–43
Psalm: Psalm 118:1–2, 16–17, 22–23 (24)
Second Reading: Colossians 3:1-4
Gospel Acclamation: cf. 1 Corinthians 5:7b-8a
Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed;
let us then feast with joy in the Lord.
Gospel: John 20:1-9

I loved Easter Sunday as a kid growing up in a small town Presbyterian church sitting up on a hill surrounded by a cemetery. We had a pipe organ and choir, and we would sing “Christ the Lord is Risen Today.” Everyone was excited and celebrating, with an air of expectation. I envisioned the graves surrounding the church miraculously opening up and the resurrected occupants in their newly glorified bodies joining our hymn of praise and soaring now where Christ has led, following our exalted head. “O death, where is thy sting?! O grave, where is thy victory?!”

Death and grave have been defeated and conquered! They have been swallowed up by Life, Eternal Life through the resurrection of our Lord, Savior and Friend, Jesus Christ! Not surprisingly, this victory is the topic of the readings for Easter Sunday.

The First Reading records the message that the Apostle Peter brought to Cornelius, the devout God-fearing Roman centurion, and the people gathered at his house, a mostly Gentile gathering. Peter had come at their request to give them the Gospel, and God had to give Peter a miraculous vision to convince him it was okay to go with them.

Peter begins with a very brief summary of the life, ministry, death, resurrection and subsequent presence of Jesus with his disciples and followers, eating and drinking with them. He also tells of the disciples’ commissioning by Jesus as preachers and witnesses and a brief summary of the message, which is that Jesus has been appointed judge of the living and the dead, and that He is offering forgiveness to those who believe in Him. It is a masterful summary of the Gospel, in which the resurrection is the pivotal event. That is good, because the Holy Spirit immediately falls upon Cornelius and his family and friends, and the sermon time is over.

The resurrection of Jesus and His victory over sin and death are something that should be a central focal point in our lives throughout the year, not just during the Easter season. Jesus, our everlasting Lord, has become the cornerstone of our faith. He wants us to enter into a restored, everlasting relationship with Him.

Psalm 118 is a Messianic psalm; it looks forward to and celebrates the mercy and resurrection of Jesus, in which we share. The psalmist is one of the prophets that Peter spoke about in Acts 10 as pointing to Jesus.

The Apostle Paul tells us in the Second Reading, from Colossians 3, that we who believe have already been raised with Jesus, because of His resurrection, from our former way of life — a way which led to separation and death. We need to focus on what lies ahead for us in heaven and live based on that future and goal. We are on a journey to our heavenly home, the Father’s house, with a place prepared for us by none other than Jesus Himself, who will come to us and welcome us home at the end of our earthly lives. Therefore, we need to set our minds and hearts on those things. If we don’t, then we will keep our attachments to the things of this world, the familiar, and think less and less about the glorious future God has in store for us.

Thankfully, the Catholic way of life keeps pointing us to that future through references in the prayers of the liturgy, the Glorious Mysteries in the Rosary which we meditate upon on Wednesdays and Sundays and in many other prayers, hymns, songs, readings, artworks and devotions.

Finally, the Gospel reading from John 20 shows that we are not alone in our difficulties to really observe and believe the Good News of the resurrection of Jesus. Mary of Magdala thinks the authorities have taken His body away and have placed it in an unknown location. So she runs to Peter and John and reports it. They in turn run to the tomb to see for themselves. John lets Peter enter first even though he arrived first. The commentators see this act as John’s acknowledgement of the special position Jesus gave to Peter. Then John says he entered, saw and believed. But what did he believe — Mary’s report or that Jesus was resurrected? Most of the commentators I checked were silent on this verse, except Haydock, who said that John believed Mary’s report. There are three reasons that this seems likely:

• Verse 9, which John himself added by way of explanation. “For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.”
• Verse 10, their actions afterwards. “Then the disciples returned home.”
• Verse 19, what they were still doing later that evening. They were hiding out in fear.

I think there’s a tendency to want to see the disciples being quicker on the uptake, more faith-filled on Easter morning. But we have an advantage over them. We know how their story turned out, while they were living it.

They were flesh and blood, like us, and struggled, like us. They went on to continue and finish their marathons of faith, and we must do likewise, looking towards the finish line.

This is my first Easter without our oldest son with me in this world, but I am confident that I shall see him again in the Father’s house. He is alive because of Jesus and His mercy and resurrection.

The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time – February 3, 2019

Here is a reflection on last Sunday’s readings that I posted in the forum of the Coming Home Network.

The Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time – February 3, 2019

First Reading: Jeremiah 1:4-5, 17-19

Psalm: Psalm 71:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 15, 17 (cf. 15ab)

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13

Alleluia: Luke 4:18

Gospel: Luke 4:21-30

The second reading and the Gospel for this Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time are continuations from the previous Sunday’s readings. There are a number of themes in these readings but the main one is our call by God to be prophets in the midst of opposition to our message and doubt concerning our suitability for our call, going even to people deemed unworthy. We are motivated by God’s merciful love for us to share His love with all those around us.

You may be thinking, wait a minute, I’m not called to the prophetic mission. Yes, we all are according to the Catechism paragraph 783. Jesus Christ is the one whom the Father anointed with the Holy Spirit and established as priest, prophet, and king. The whole People of God participates in these three offices of Christ and bears the responsibilities for mission and service that flow from them.

We may have different gifts as we learned last Sunday but we are all heralds, prophets and witnesses of the Gospel by what we say and what we do and what we leave undone. The only question is what kind of message are we presenting.

But there are some things we need to know that will help us in our mission and service in the readings.

The first thing we glean from the first reading is that none of us are unplanned by God. He had us in mind before we were even conceived and He has a plan for our lives for good and not for evil. Keep in mind that our life in this world may be hard. That was certainly the case for Jeremiah because he was to proclaim God’s message to those who didn’t want to hear it. Keep in mind though that we are immortals. Our body, which is important contrary to current opinion, may die but it will raised and transformed. This world is not our home, we’re just passing through as the old hymn goes.

God makes it clear In His call that He will be sustaining and protecting Jeremiah as he fulfills God’s mission for him. The same is true for us.

The Psalm is a prayer we can use to pray for the same care that He provided for Jeremiah as we seek to carry out God’s missions for us. Just remember He gets to decide when our mission is done and it’s time to come home. God has always been with us even when we felt and thought we were alone. And He will be with us always even to the end of the age. We can proclaim his justice, salvation and wondrous deeds.

Last Sunday’s second reading was from 1 Corinthians 12 on the spiritual gifts the Holy Spirit confers upon us. This Sunday’s reading is about how those gifts are to be exercised with and in love. Otherwise they will be caricature of what they’re supposed to be. The list of love’s attributes is a good resource for our examination of conscience for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and for a reality check of our relationships and ministry.

The Gospel reading is a continuation of Jesus reading of His call from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah to the people in the synagogue of His hometown, Nazareth. The people at first are amazed at the reading and Jesus applying it to Himself. Then they begin to say to themselves .”wait a minute, we know this guy and he’s not that special.” Jesus anticipates they will be asking for a sign such as a miracle next and confronts them on their unbelief stating that they are like Israel in the days of the prophets Elijah and Elisha who were then sent to the Gentiles. Jesus also makes the observation that their response is typical. “No prophet is accepted in his hometown.” Matthew 13 and Mark 6 also record this event and note that Jesus was unable to do many miracles there due to their unbelief. John notes of Israel in general that this was their response. “He came to what was His own but His own people did not accept Him.”

The people of Nazareth are furious at Jesus and try to hurl Him down a steep hill but He escapes through them. Jesus experiences unbelief and opposition just like Jeremiah and many of us. But as you can see His Heavenly Father took care of Him until it was time to call Him home. Jesus was eventually killed but God raised Him from the dead and Jesus ascended into heaven.

So don’t be disheartened if your testimony is not accepted among your own family and friends, Jeremiah and Jesus have gone before you. Love those who oppose you and pray for them. Live out your faith in obedience to Jesus before them. I have seen miracles happen as the scales fall off people’s eyes and they begin to see.

May God bless you and keep you close to His heart of love.

A Cure for the Wandering Heart

The Fourth Sunday in Advent – December 23, 2018

First Reading: Micah 5:1-4a

Psalm: Psalm 80:2-3, 15-16, 18-19 (4)

Second Reading: Hebrews 10:5-10

Alleluia: Luke 1:38

Gospel: Luke 1:39-45

A Cure for the Wandering Heart

One of my favorite hymns is Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing by Robert Robinson.

It is a hymn of aspiration wanting God to provide a way to keep us close to Him and to guide us safely home while recognizing that it will be a daunting task because we have wandering hearts that have a hard time staying focused on God as our hearts desire. A portion of a verse below shows his struggle and his plea to God to provide a cure.

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.
Here’s my heart, O take and seal it. Seal it for Thy courts above.

Today’s readings are about God’s cure for the wandering hearts in Israel and in us today in events leading up to the birth of His Son, our King and Shepherd, on Christmas Day.

The first reading is from the Book of the Prophet Micah where he has finished pronouncing judgement against Judah and its leaders for their wandering hearts and the sins it causes and is now declaring God’s plan for salvation for them in the form of a ruler who is origin is from of old, from ancient times.

I can imagine the Israelites saying, “How long, O Lord?” And the Lord says, “until the time when she who is to give birth has borne.” In other words, when Mary has borne her son, Jesus. 

And the rest of His kindred shall return to the children of Israel. The Catholic Haydock Commentary sees the rest of His kindred as possibly referring to the Inclusion of the Gentiles.

This new ruler will stand firm and shepherd His flock by the strength of the Lord, in the majestic name of the Lord, His God. In other words, with God’s power and authority.

The result of this king’s reign will be that His people will remain and no longer wander for His greatness shall reach to the ends of the earth and he shall reconcile them to God and be their peace. This prophecy encompasses the entire reign of Jesus from His first coming through His Second coming and on into eternity.

The selection from Psalm 80 seems to be embracing this Messianic prophecy using many of the same thoughts. We cry out in response Lord, make us turn to you; let us see Your face and we shall be saved. And they will see God’s face in Jesus.

The writer to the Hebrews in the second reading contrasts the old covenant with the new covenant in that God gives the Messiah, the Christ, a body to offer once for all in order to consecrate us to God. The characteristic of Christ and His new covenant is the declaration, “Behold, I come to do Your will.” Not our will but His, in accordance with the Our Father.

The Alleluia and the Gospel reading celebrate the trusting, consecrating obedience of Mary, the One who is to give birth, as she embraces God’s will for her life, setting aside her own to become the mother of Jesus, our Ruler and Shepherd.

What is the cure for the wandering heart? It is a path, following Jesus and Mary and all the Saints on pilgrimage to the Father’s house where we will find our hearts’ desire in its fullness.

The First Sunday in Advent – December 2, 2018

The First Sunday in Advent – December 2, 2018

First Reading: Jeremiah 33:14-16

Psalm: Psalm 25:4-5, 8-9, 10, 14 (1b)

Second Reading: 1 Thessalonians 3:12-4:2

Alleluia: Psalm 85:8

Gospel: Luke 21:25-28, 34-36

This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent, the period in which we prepare ourselves to celebrate the first coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ at Christmas.  It is a time of identification, remembrance and preparation.  

Identification because as the Catechism says we are seeking through the liturgical calendar, through the holy days, through the liturgy, through prayerful meditation on the Scriptures to travel back in time and relive the Biblical and historical events with the people who went through them.

Remembrance because often we forget who God is, who we are and what His plans are for us.  We have forgotten our destination in the tyranny of the present.  And so the cycles of the liturgical years call us back to remembrance, to get our bearings once again and to remember what is really important, our eternal relationship with our Creator and Destiny, the God who loves us and gave Himself for us.

Preparation because not only do we need to get ready to properly celebrate the first coming of Jesus at Christmas but we also need to get ourselves ready for His second coming which is now over 2,000 years closer than it was at the birth of Jesus in the manger.

And these things are what today’s readings are about.

The first reading from the Book of Jeremiah which was written to give the Israelites hope in the midst of the judgments and exile that were coming upon them because what was right and just weren’t what had been happening in Israel.  And so the Lord speaking through Jeremiah reassures the people of Israel and Judah that His promise of a Messiah is still going to come true for them in spite of their unfaithfulness.

This prophecy looks forward to both the first and second comings of Jesus.  Jesus came the first time in the incarnation as our Savior but His people by and large weren’t ready, they missed the day of their visitation.  And so even though the Messiah came, the people weren’t ready so Judah could be made safe and Jerusalem secure.  They weren’t ready for righteous and justice to be established in their land by their King.  A second coming is necessary.  The first coming was an introduction, Behold your King, Behold the Lamb of God who take away the sins of the world.  The Second Coming is when Jesus will come as a conquering king to establish righteousness and justice so that Judah will be safe and Jerusalem secure.

The Psalm for today reveals the character of our King who guides and instructs the open, trusting and teachable ones in gentleness and kindness.  They are the ones who will be ready for the day of their visitation.

The Thessalonians are doing well as the Apostle Paul writes to them in the second reading.  They are abundant in love towards one another and all.  They have been receptive to the instructions and spiritual direction provided by Saint Paul and his companions.  They are conducting themselves in manner pleasing to God.  But the Apostle Paul who is familiar with his own human frailty and theirs isn’t about to become complacent and so he prays fervently for them.  There is more that God wants to pour out in their lives.  He wants them to be ready for the second coming which he mentions in this passage.

Jesus in the Gospel reading exhorts His disciples and us to be ready for His second coming and for the tribulations leading up to it.  We need to maintain our vigilance and pray and conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel.  Jesus and Paul understand our weakness and the temptations that beckon us to turn aside from the salvation God has planned for us.

Jesus has done everything and is doing everything He can to lead us to heaven, to the Father’s house.  This Advent is another invitation to draw near to Him, to identify, to remember, to prepare for what He has for us in the future.

Handling the sneaker waves of life

When I was a kid growing up in New Jersey, my parents used to take us to the Jersey shore to see my grandparents on my dad’s side and during the summer we would go wading in the Atlantic Ocean.  Occasionally a sneaker wave would catch me off guard and tumble me head over heels, bounce me off the bottom a few times and fill my hair and ears with sand.  While I was being tumbled under the water, I often couldn’t tell which way was up until things settled down a bit.  

Life tends to be a lot like the ocean sending sneaker waves to turn us upside down and tumble us so that we lose our bearings.  

One pastor friend of ours shared candidly in one of his sermons that a lot of mornings he woke up like an unbeliever until he was able to spend some time with the Lord to get his bearings.  

The Catholic Church considers the creeds to be prayers to help us get our bearings and figure out which way is up, who we are and who God is as we encounter the sneaker waves of life.  One of the earliest creeds is the Apostles Creed and I find it to have a very stabilizing influence in my life when I pray it to God in the morning.  It helps me to remember my Creator, who He is and all that He has provided for me on my journey.  I am not alone on the journey.  He’s with me and so are my brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the ages to this present day.  And the Creed reminds me that God’s plans for me are for my good, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting.  Amen.  

Praying the Creed helps me move from being a sleepy, clueless unbeliever to a believer with a mission as I navigate the sneaker waves of the day.

So when I am praying the Apostles Creed alone, I pray it as below in order to more clearly address it to God. I also drop the archaic English to make more like I am just talking to God as I declare my faith in Him and His plan of salvation for us all.

I believe in You, God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. And in You, Lord Jesus Christ, His Only Son, Our Lord. You were conceived by the Holy Spirit. You were born of the Virgin Mary. You suffered under Pontius Pilate. You were crucified, died and were buried. You descended into hell. The third day you rose again from the dead. You ascended into heaven and are seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence shall You come to judge the living and the dead.  I believe in You, Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. Amen