"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." Mt 5:2
One cannot say too often or emphasize too much that the beatitudes are a template, a frame with which to understand all of Jesus' preaching. Very few commentators would suggest that Jesus actually spoke all of these truths at one time and in one place. Rather, the beatitudes are a compilation of Jesus' preaching which was recorded in a form that made them easy to memorize.
Without a printing press or a written form that would allow easy distribution of the sayings and teachings of Jesus, the first Christians memorized Jesus' teaching and repeated tehm often for their own well being and to announce the Gospel. While many contemporary believers still do this, it can be a dangerous practice.
When we reduce the teaching of the New Testament to a few memorized sayings, we risk creating a "bumper sticker" faith and a community that repeats catch phrases out of context and with little regard for the culture out of which they emerged. When we do this, we impose our cultural lens on a text, and use the scriptures to reinforce our own opinions rather than learn more about how God spoke at a particular time to a particular people.
Today, read all of chapter five in Matthew's Gospel.
What practice has helped you develop a real love for the Bible?
Sunday, June 9, 2013
Saturday, June 8, 2013
Widows and the Powerless
"A man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother and she was a widow." Lk 7:12
Compassion is a hallmark of the Gospel. Over and over, Jesus reaches out with mercy and kindness to those threatened with the loss of their identity, livelihood and voice. The widow he encounters whose only son has died is a powerful example of this. The vast majority of women at the time of Jesus, though honored and loved in their roles as wife and mother, lost everything if they were widowed and childless. Dependent on her husband's family for her survival, since it was her son who died, the widow has almost nowhere to turn.
It is true that a younger woman might seek a new husband, but most widows found themselves unsupported and lost. Jesus knew this and steps into the situation, seemingly without hesitation. A woman was in great need. He saw it. He saw her and responded with compassion.
The lesson for us is unmistakable. We must keep our eyes and ears open to and for all those without a voice, the poor, the ridiculed, the ignored and voiceless. For some this might mean finding a way to visit older people without families in their own neighborhood. For others, it might mean serving people with AIDS, especially those who have already been ostracized as drug addicts or homosexuals. While this is a tall order for most, the lesson Jesus teaches in reaching out to the widow whose only son has died is unavoidable. Those most in need, most deserve our love.
Today, show compassion to someone who expects nothing from you.
Who are the people in your life most in need of compassion?
Compassion is a hallmark of the Gospel. Over and over, Jesus reaches out with mercy and kindness to those threatened with the loss of their identity, livelihood and voice. The widow he encounters whose only son has died is a powerful example of this. The vast majority of women at the time of Jesus, though honored and loved in their roles as wife and mother, lost everything if they were widowed and childless. Dependent on her husband's family for her survival, since it was her son who died, the widow has almost nowhere to turn.
It is true that a younger woman might seek a new husband, but most widows found themselves unsupported and lost. Jesus knew this and steps into the situation, seemingly without hesitation. A woman was in great need. He saw it. He saw her and responded with compassion.
The lesson for us is unmistakable. We must keep our eyes and ears open to and for all those without a voice, the poor, the ridiculed, the ignored and voiceless. For some this might mean finding a way to visit older people without families in their own neighborhood. For others, it might mean serving people with AIDS, especially those who have already been ostracized as drug addicts or homosexuals. While this is a tall order for most, the lesson Jesus teaches in reaching out to the widow whose only son has died is unavoidable. Those most in need, most deserve our love.
Today, show compassion to someone who expects nothing from you.
Who are the people in your life most in need of compassion?
Friday, June 7, 2013
Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
"Prayer and fasting are good, but better than either is almsgiving accompanied by righteousness." Tb 12:8
Hearing that someone has an immaculate heart can be off putting to contemporary thinkers and believers but upon reflection we realize that it allows Mary not to worry or fret about her own burdens and concerns, but to be totally open to the needs of all her children. As Immaculate, Mary is completely other centered. Assured by the Angel that the Spirit of God had come upon her, she not only does not protect herself against the judgments of those who would question the source of her pregnancy, but relies on the Spirit for everything, especially the call to care for those given to her as her children by Christ on the cross.
Most of us realize that it is almost impossible to have what are called pure intentions because our own needs and internal conflicts get in our way. People don't marry or respond to a vocation to religious life or priesthood simply because it pleases God. Rather, we are attracted to a particular Gospel path for a wide variety of reasons, all of which will need to be purified over time. If someone marries, for instance, because of the physical beauty of the other, they gradually learn how fleeting this kind of beauty is and unless their hearts are converted in a manner that allows them to see the inner goodness of their spouse, they will find themselves growing distant from the one to whom they promised life long fidelity.
Of course, this is more obvious to most of us as we age. The smooth, vibrant skin that so attracted us to another is replaced by wrinkles and laugh lines which have their own beauty and story, but can initially be something we work hard to cover up or ignore, and this is when Mary Immaculate teaches us so much. Letting God cleanse our heart opens our eyes to see God in all of creation not just in that which please us.
Today, look in the mirror and pray, not to be made young again, but for purity of heart.
Have you been blessed to know people with undivided and other centered hearts?
Thursday, June 6, 2013
The Sacred Heart of Jesus
"I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord GOD. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal." Ez 34:14
More than anything else the feast of the Sacred Heart is an antidote, a response to the theology and spirituality of 16th and 17th century Calvinism and Jansenism that denigrated all creation and condemned most of the human family to eternal punishment. How movements like this emerge is never easy to understand, but they clearly need a strong response from the church rooted in scripture and the best of the Catholic tradition. The Feast of the Sacred Heart is the church's rejoinder.
Insisting that the heart of Jesus has no limits and wants all people to be saved, the liturgy invites us to reflect on the powerful image of God as a shepherd who yearns to find us when we are lost, help us when are hurt and heal us when we are sick. What more could we ask of God?
Although the feast of the Sacred Heart was slow to find full church approval, it was everyday people who drove it. So many believers, overwhelmed by a world that was fast becoming unbearably complex and oppressive, believers embraced the feast of the Sacred Heart which offered them hope no matter how difficult their lives might be. It can continue to offer this same consolation in the 21st century. Everyone wants to believe in a God that seeks them out and embraces them with his heart.
Today, open your heart to someone lost.
How do you understand God's love for you?
More than anything else the feast of the Sacred Heart is an antidote, a response to the theology and spirituality of 16th and 17th century Calvinism and Jansenism that denigrated all creation and condemned most of the human family to eternal punishment. How movements like this emerge is never easy to understand, but they clearly need a strong response from the church rooted in scripture and the best of the Catholic tradition. The Feast of the Sacred Heart is the church's rejoinder.
Insisting that the heart of Jesus has no limits and wants all people to be saved, the liturgy invites us to reflect on the powerful image of God as a shepherd who yearns to find us when we are lost, help us when are hurt and heal us when we are sick. What more could we ask of God?
Although the feast of the Sacred Heart was slow to find full church approval, it was everyday people who drove it. So many believers, overwhelmed by a world that was fast becoming unbearably complex and oppressive, believers embraced the feast of the Sacred Heart which offered them hope no matter how difficult their lives might be. It can continue to offer this same consolation in the 21st century. Everyone wants to believe in a God that seeks them out and embraces them with his heart.
Today, open your heart to someone lost.
How do you understand God's love for you?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)