"My friend, how is it that you came in here without a wedding garment?" Mt 22:12
The gospel about the street person who accepts an invitation to a wedding but does not bother to wear a wedding garment is always puzzling. Why would an king, angry and disillusioned with friends and tribes people who refused to come to his son's wedding, dismiss someone who accepts his invitation for a seemingly innocuous fault? There are as many answers to this question as there are people posing it.
Some suggest that the man without a wedding garment represents the Jewish leaders who refused even to entertain the idea that God would act outside of their authority or understanding. In this case, pride gets in the way of integirty. Most of us have been in this situation ourselves more than a few times.
Others cite the ancient custom that everyone who came to a wedding was given something to wear, making it clear that anyone without a wedding garment was openly dismissive of the king's generosity. But the interpretation that is most intriguing proposes that the man without the wedding garment is resisting an interior conversion. Unless we accept God's call to change our lives and proclaim the good news, we have no right to come to the wedding. Not wearing a wedding garment is a sign of arrogance that condemns us.
Today, listen for the master's call to the wedding and find a wedding garment!
What makes you reluctant to accept God's invitation to the wedding feast?
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
All is Gift
"‘These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’....Are you envious because I am generous?’" Mt 20:16a
Upon first reading Matthew's parable about the laborers who worked only an hour and received a full days wage, we are puzzled. Trained to believe that when we work hard we will receive our reward, Jesus' story turns our expectations upside down, and that is the point. The parable is not about the workers at all. It is about God and God's generosity, and its purpose is twofold: to remind us that God is good beyond our imagination and to challenge us to live more generously than we have in the past.
Upon first reading Matthew's parable about the laborers who worked only an hour and received a full days wage, we are puzzled. Trained to believe that when we work hard we will receive our reward, Jesus' story turns our expectations upside down, and that is the point. The parable is not about the workers at all. It is about God and God's generosity, and its purpose is twofold: to remind us that God is good beyond our imagination and to challenge us to live more generously than we have in the past.
No matter how hard we try to understand God's greatness, the scriptures keep reminding us that God and God's graciousness have no parallels in human life, and while it is helpful to think of metaphors and similes that open up our understanding, they will always fail to capture the fullness of God's goodness. Most of us have gazed at a sunrise, sunset, the ocean or a majestic mountain and been unable to describe what we experience. The grandeur and power of nature defies description, and the love of God's is even more impossible to label or name. Only awe and silence seem a proper and fitting response.
What we can and must do is accept God's challenge to live lives of limitless generosity and learn how to spend the love we have been given with humility and delight. While a tall order, even this is possible with God's help.
Today, give someone something they have not deserved or earned.
Do you have a favorite way or story to desribe God's generosity/
Monday, August 15, 2016
The Last shall be First
"Many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” Mt 19:30
Coming as it does at the end of Jesus' teaching about the danger of wealth and the disciples' questions about their reward, the challenge not to seek the first place in anything is an important Gospel lesson. Jesus is clear when he warns his followers not to worry about the issues that can so easily consume them. Whether they struggle for financial security or want assurances that the path they are following is a good one, Jesus' disciples must remember that God's promise to them is not first about this world, but about the next.
At the same time, we need to be careful when interpreting this passage. Jewish leaders at the time of Jesus used their modest wealth, knowledge of the law and religious authority as weapons to frighten and intimidate the underclass, and more than anything else, Jesus condemned this behavior. The purpose of the Law was to assure believers that God was their companion and guide and they had nothing to fear from any civil power, even their oppressors, if they lived the law with joy.
For Christians, the call is direct. Jesus, as the fulfillment of the law, is the one who must be at the center of our lives. Nothing we can gain in the world can substitute for this relationship. As long as we are willing to enter into the mystery of God's love in Christ and submit ourselves to him, we have nothing to fear.
Today, remember who you are before God and be grateful for your faith.
Which spiritual practices help you counter your pride?
Sunday, August 14, 2016
The Assumption of Mary
"A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child and wailed aloud in pain as she labored to give birth." Rev 12: 1-2
In recent years it is clear to me that the worst thing we can do to Sts Francis and Clare is to rob them of their humanity, and unfortunately many of their biographers do just this. The same is true of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Anxious to tame a strong, courageous woman, we make her in our image rather than God's, and when we do this, we strip her of her greatness and power. Listening to the Magnificat can help us avoid this travesty.
When Mary cries: "The Lord has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty," she reminds us to be humble and remember that there is only one God. Our task is not to control the world but to serve those most in need, and Mary demonstrates this early in John's gospel when she demands that Jesus help a young newly married couple who are running out of wine. Not only does Jesus respond, he makes enough wine to quench the thirst of an entire village.
The feast of the Assumption is the culmination of Mary's journey. Faithful her entire life to the Lord to whom she gave birth, she is exalted for living her life with absolute integrity, for suffering, for enduring, for celebrating all that God is. Mary is a model for us, not because she lacks passion or humanity, but because she listened to God despite the cost to her reputation and standing in the community. Mary feared nothing because she knew she was living a life of faith and love for all. More important, if we listen, she continues to teach us these lessons today.
Today, ask God to help you live the Gospel despite the cost.
What about Mary most moves you to live the Gospel without fear?
In recent years it is clear to me that the worst thing we can do to Sts Francis and Clare is to rob them of their humanity, and unfortunately many of their biographers do just this. The same is true of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. Anxious to tame a strong, courageous woman, we make her in our image rather than God's, and when we do this, we strip her of her greatness and power. Listening to the Magnificat can help us avoid this travesty.
When Mary cries: "The Lord has cast down the mighty from their thrones, and has lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty," she reminds us to be humble and remember that there is only one God. Our task is not to control the world but to serve those most in need, and Mary demonstrates this early in John's gospel when she demands that Jesus help a young newly married couple who are running out of wine. Not only does Jesus respond, he makes enough wine to quench the thirst of an entire village.
The feast of the Assumption is the culmination of Mary's journey. Faithful her entire life to the Lord to whom she gave birth, she is exalted for living her life with absolute integrity, for suffering, for enduring, for celebrating all that God is. Mary is a model for us, not because she lacks passion or humanity, but because she listened to God despite the cost to her reputation and standing in the community. Mary feared nothing because she knew she was living a life of faith and love for all. More important, if we listen, she continues to teach us these lessons today.
Today, ask God to help you live the Gospel despite the cost.
What about Mary most moves you to live the Gospel without fear?
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