The readings present some demanding words. God is Holy. We are to be perfect as God our Father is perfect.
The Law was designed to restrain people from getting carried away with punishment for crimes. But with Jesus coming to fulfill the Law, we now view the Law differently. In Jesus, we, God's people, are His Temple, a vessel carrying His presence into the world. We must go beyond the Law, and beyond ourselves, to show lovingkindness toward all, those who do right and those who do wrong, just as God does, because that is what He did for us when we were once lost in sin. God's wisdom, granted through His Spirit, and so unlike the world's wisdom, is what carries us beyond ourselves.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
February 16, 2014: Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Jesus says in the Gospel reading in Matthew 5 that He has "come to fulfill the Law".
The other two readings shed some light on what this means. St. Paul writes that God has revealed to us a measure of His almighty wisdom by His Spirit, which allows us to see the Law for what it really is. Jesus speaks to this when He explains what various parts of the law are to mean in life.
The Law is intended to be a channel by which we attain Eternal Life, doing those good deeds that show we are on that pathway, good deeds spoken of in the reading from Sirach. God gives us free will, so we can obey the Law as a means to Eternal Life.
The other two readings shed some light on what this means. St. Paul writes that God has revealed to us a measure of His almighty wisdom by His Spirit, which allows us to see the Law for what it really is. Jesus speaks to this when He explains what various parts of the law are to mean in life.
The Law is intended to be a channel by which we attain Eternal Life, doing those good deeds that show we are on that pathway, good deeds spoken of in the reading from Sirach. God gives us free will, so we can obey the Law as a means to Eternal Life.
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
February 9, 2014: Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time
We are presented once again with the well-known Gospel reading from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew that speaks of the metaphors of salt and light. They represent a reality for us as people of Christian faith. We are light and salt, not just called to be.
One commentary I encountered said salt was used in religious offerings in the ancient Near East. We offer ourselves up to God, and stand out as a distinct flavoring in the world, as light that shines forth. This is our purpose in this world and this life, to do good works to help those in need, as the reading in Isaiah speaks to. Otherwise, we don't really have any purpose. Salt that doesn't give a saltiness to anything is useless. Just so, a light is used to shine, not to be hidden.
So we shine as lights, yet not to bring attention to ourselves, but to God, who has put that light in us. It is an attitude expressed by St. Paul in the 2nd reading, who says that he preaches, not so bring attention to any powerful style he might use to express his message, but to magnify God.
P.S. I couldn't help but think of the song "Carry your Candle", as it fits well the theme of these readings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVqR6kTu8lE
One commentary I encountered said salt was used in religious offerings in the ancient Near East. We offer ourselves up to God, and stand out as a distinct flavoring in the world, as light that shines forth. This is our purpose in this world and this life, to do good works to help those in need, as the reading in Isaiah speaks to. Otherwise, we don't really have any purpose. Salt that doesn't give a saltiness to anything is useless. Just so, a light is used to shine, not to be hidden.
So we shine as lights, yet not to bring attention to ourselves, but to God, who has put that light in us. It is an attitude expressed by St. Paul in the 2nd reading, who says that he preaches, not so bring attention to any powerful style he might use to express his message, but to magnify God.
P.S. I couldn't help but think of the song "Carry your Candle", as it fits well the theme of these readings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVqR6kTu8lE
Monday, February 3, 2014
February 2, 2014: Feast of the Presentation of the Lord/Candlemas
It's been 40 days since Christmas, the celebration of Christ's birth, and so we celebrate a special occasion instead of the usual lectionary cycle for this Sunday. It's an occasion which functions as an extension of the Christmas Season. For me, that makes it very important, and I kind of wish it was emphasized a little more in the liturgical calendar every year.
Mary and Joseph go to the Temple in Jerusalem to fulfill the requirements of the Law, and it becomes a awesome time for them as their child's special role is acclaimed, by Simeon and Anna, two righteous people to whom God reveals Himself. It is another Manifestation of God in Jesus, just like the Feasts of the Christmas Season.
Father Barrron created a series called Catholicism, and the first episode is entitled "Amazed and Afraid", which is based on a passage in Mark 10, where the disciples are both amazed and afraid of Jesus. I think something similar can be applied to the meaning of this feast. It's amazing that God is actually coming to us, in the form of a humble baby named Jesus. Yet Jesus is more than just a baby: He grows up to suffer greatly and die on the Cross, so that we can be purified from evil and sin to be presented pleasing and righteous before God. In these two contrasting things, we acclaim Jesus Christ as the Light who brings us Salvation, to all the world, just like Simeon did.
Mary and Joseph go to the Temple in Jerusalem to fulfill the requirements of the Law, and it becomes a awesome time for them as their child's special role is acclaimed, by Simeon and Anna, two righteous people to whom God reveals Himself. It is another Manifestation of God in Jesus, just like the Feasts of the Christmas Season.
Father Barrron created a series called Catholicism, and the first episode is entitled "Amazed and Afraid", which is based on a passage in Mark 10, where the disciples are both amazed and afraid of Jesus. I think something similar can be applied to the meaning of this feast. It's amazing that God is actually coming to us, in the form of a humble baby named Jesus. Yet Jesus is more than just a baby: He grows up to suffer greatly and die on the Cross, so that we can be purified from evil and sin to be presented pleasing and righteous before God. In these two contrasting things, we acclaim Jesus Christ as the Light who brings us Salvation, to all the world, just like Simeon did.
Monday, January 27, 2014
January 26, 2014: Third Sunday in Ordinary Time
A light has shone upon a people in darkness, writes the prophet Isaiah, in the first reading. In the context of the Gospel reading from Matthew, which quotes that passage from Isaiah, we know this light to be Jesus Christ, who came calling for repentance on account of the Kingdom at hand.
People in the darkness of sin now experience the light in Jesus Christ. But it isn't just that they have light. The light shines on them so that they now experience transformation. Jesus calls them to open themselves up to a relationship with God whose reign is now being manifested on Earth, just as the disciples responded to Jesus's call further on in the Gospel reading. And Jesus is the only One who can truly transform them.
This is open to all people. It matters not what our background is, or how we come to know God, but that we have been brought to Him through one Savior, Jesus Christ, as St. Paul writes in the 2nd reading from 1 Corinthians. How timely of a message as we come off the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, annually observed from January 18-25.
People in the darkness of sin now experience the light in Jesus Christ. But it isn't just that they have light. The light shines on them so that they now experience transformation. Jesus calls them to open themselves up to a relationship with God whose reign is now being manifested on Earth, just as the disciples responded to Jesus's call further on in the Gospel reading. And Jesus is the only One who can truly transform them.
This is open to all people. It matters not what our background is, or how we come to know God, but that we have been brought to Him through one Savior, Jesus Christ, as St. Paul writes in the 2nd reading from 1 Corinthians. How timely of a message as we come off the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, annually observed from January 18-25.
Sunday, January 19, 2014
January 19, 2014: Second Sunday in Ordinary Time
God's manifestation in Jesus Christ, a theme from the Christmas Season, rubs off in today's readings. John the Baptist points to Jesus as the One who existed before everything in Creaton, and whom God has now anointed to take away the sins of the world, and transform people by baptism in the Holy Spirit.
The work that Jesus does transforms the people of God so that they are empowered to go forth to shine God's light within them in all the world, so that all may come to experience the salvation of God. This is what it means for us to be servants of God. It's not about us bringing God physical offerings, but offering ourselves in service to doing His will, as the Psalmist says in Psalm 8. We share in the anointing of Jesus, bringing salvation to the world, just as He did.
The work that Jesus does transforms the people of God so that they are empowered to go forth to shine God's light within them in all the world, so that all may come to experience the salvation of God. This is what it means for us to be servants of God. It's not about us bringing God physical offerings, but offering ourselves in service to doing His will, as the Psalmist says in Psalm 8. We share in the anointing of Jesus, bringing salvation to the world, just as He did.
Monday, January 13, 2014
January 12, 2014: Feast of the Baptism of the Lord
"Merry Christmas!"
I think it's appropriate to start this post by using that traditional greeting, as we finish the liturgical season of Christmas. Before taking down all the decorations and enter into Ordinary Time, we celebrate another Manifestation of God in Jesus, this time at His baptism. After having first encountered John the Baptist during Advent, we encounter him again at the end of the Christmas season.
The readings allude to God upending our preconceived notions about how He is supposed to work in the world. St. Peter makes himself unclean according to Jewish law by enters the home of Cornelius--gasp--a Gentile, belonging to the despised Roman establishment, working for their army as a centurion. John the Baptist, who declared Christ as more worthy than Him, is taken aback when Jesus comes to him, requesting that he baptize Him.
But Peter states to all those in Cornelius's house his realization that God has come to save all people--all people. (It's interesting to think of "dirty" Gentiles on an occasion commemorating Jesus's baptism, using water to wash someone clean.) And God has come through Jesus Christ, who submitted Himself in obedience to be righteous before God His Father--so that God is pleased to declare Jesus as His Son. And in this declaration, Jesus is given a mission to heal the sick and serve the poor, those things declared by God to the Servant in the reading from Isaiah. As people of faith baptized in Christ, we are now joined to this same mission.
Similar to the Easter season, the Christmas season progresses from a great celebration of Christ to start and then ends on a note that brings it back to us. We started this season by celebrating the birth of Christ, God Incarnate, come to Earth in the Flesh. Throughout this Christmas season, we have celebrated the manifestations of God in Christ. Now we truly realize that as people of faith, the presence of God is manifested in us. And we go forth to carry His presence before all the world.
I think it's appropriate to start this post by using that traditional greeting, as we finish the liturgical season of Christmas. Before taking down all the decorations and enter into Ordinary Time, we celebrate another Manifestation of God in Jesus, this time at His baptism. After having first encountered John the Baptist during Advent, we encounter him again at the end of the Christmas season.
The readings allude to God upending our preconceived notions about how He is supposed to work in the world. St. Peter makes himself unclean according to Jewish law by enters the home of Cornelius--gasp--a Gentile, belonging to the despised Roman establishment, working for their army as a centurion. John the Baptist, who declared Christ as more worthy than Him, is taken aback when Jesus comes to him, requesting that he baptize Him.
But Peter states to all those in Cornelius's house his realization that God has come to save all people--all people. (It's interesting to think of "dirty" Gentiles on an occasion commemorating Jesus's baptism, using water to wash someone clean.) And God has come through Jesus Christ, who submitted Himself in obedience to be righteous before God His Father--so that God is pleased to declare Jesus as His Son. And in this declaration, Jesus is given a mission to heal the sick and serve the poor, those things declared by God to the Servant in the reading from Isaiah. As people of faith baptized in Christ, we are now joined to this same mission.
Similar to the Easter season, the Christmas season progresses from a great celebration of Christ to start and then ends on a note that brings it back to us. We started this season by celebrating the birth of Christ, God Incarnate, come to Earth in the Flesh. Throughout this Christmas season, we have celebrated the manifestations of God in Christ. Now we truly realize that as people of faith, the presence of God is manifested in us. And we go forth to carry His presence before all the world.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)