Sunday Gospel Reflection, September 30, 2018: Whoever is not against us is for us...

 Whoever is not against us is for us… 

What does it mean to act in the name of God? 

   In the Book of Numbers, Moses needs help:  he’s having trouble dealing with the people of Israel, so God takes some of the spirit that is on Moses and bestows it on seventy elders – even on the two who are absent that day, Eldad and Medad, who then go on to prophesy in the camp.  Joshua objects:  Moses, my lord, stop them.  But Moses knows that God has worked beyond human expectations, laying God’s spirit on all seventy men, and they are changed by it:  they are able to play a part in God’s activity, sharing Moses’ burden and acting in the name of God, for the sake of other.  That spirit will enable them to embrace the precepts of the Lord described in Psalm 19, precepts that give joy to the heart, allowing them full participation in God’s plan.

   Jesus’ disciple John is similarly misguided.  Teacher, he says in Mark’s Gospel, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.  John’s thinking is out of focus; Jesus works beyond human expectations, allowing the man to perform mighty deeds in his name.  Look at the good that is done in my name, Jesus is telling John – transcend the limitations you have set on these circumstances and be willing to change, be willing to see the positive effect that that man might have on another.  And beware any limitations that might cause you to do harm!  The community to which James writes is not all that different:  they, too, are misguided, unclear about the effect their actions are having on others.  They have blinded themselves to reality, living only for self, ignoring the cries of the harvesters who suffer because of their actions, and the corrosion of their hearts will be a testimony against them.  James’ job is to help them see clearly, that they might act with justice in the name of God.

   God always works beyond our limited human expectations, and we aren’t always aware of God’s actions.  But if we strive to live in a way that brings joy to God, aware of the good we and others are capable of, then we will be able to participate in God’s plan, and act in God’s name.   Would that God might bestow his spirit on us all!

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.

Image source:  www.wordle.net

Sunday Gospel Reflection, September 27, 2015: Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets!

  Would that all thepeople of the Lord were prophets!  

Who is called to serve?  

  

In our Old Testament reading from Numbers, the Lord bestows the spirit on seventy elders, including two -- Eldad and Medad -- who weren't even present around the tent of meeting, and the seventy go forth prophesying, praising God in mystic exaltation, transported by the fervor of their new ministry.  Would that all the people were prophets, Moses says in response to Joshua's complaint, Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all!

As ministers of the people, those called must embrace the precepts of the Lord, each of which gives us insight into God's attributes:  like God's law, God is perfect, trustworthy, enduring, true.  If we are diligent in keeping these precepts, Psalm 19 suggests, we will become a faint reflection of who God is; cleansed, we will become blameless and innocent. Some of the people in James' community clearly have not embraced God's law; they will weep and wail over their impending miseries, rather than be equipped for ministry; they are not ready to serve.

Jesus recognizes the existence of the sinful and godless in his own time:  If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off.  Yet Jesus discounts no one who performs a mighty deed in his name:  Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink will surely not lose his reward.  In Mark's Gospel, the ministers of the Lord are those who embrace service, genuinely called by the Spirit to pay attention to the lowly, to serve the needy, to drive out the demons of injustice and fear.  In so doing, they will be transformed -- and so, should we join them, will we.

What opportunity to serve is calling you today?

Image source:  Wordle

Sunday Gospel Reflection, September 20, 2015: The Lord upholds my life...

  The Lord upholds my life…  

Who's directing your life, anyway?  

  When, in our reading from Wisdom this Sunday, the wicked beset the just one, they do so because the prophet has taken them to task for failing to engage with God, for failing in relationship.  But when they put the prophet to the test, they are really testing God.  Is relationship worth it?, they seem to ask?  Is it worth it to follow God's law, to allow God to direct your life?  Psalm 54 suggests that it is:  The Lord upholds my life, David prays.  In contrast to the ruthless, the psalmist lives justly, setting God before his eyes, and therefore trusts that God will save him, that relationship will be his salvation.

  In Mark's Gospel, Jesus similarly takes the disciples to task for losing sight of God and God's direction when he realizes they have been discussing who is the greatest among them.  Their human experience is rooted in self-direction; Jesus wants to redirect their focus, calling them to the humility that will allow them to submit to a God-directed, rather than a self-directed life.  Like children, who are completely dependent, open to God, we need to remain focused, open to what James calls the wisdom from above, which is pure, peaceable, gentle, and compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, so that our relationship with God can direct our relationship with other. 

  How willing are we to let God direct our existence?  We can answer this only insofar as we receive others openly, in peace, as we receive Jesus himself, our arms around him, embracing the relationship he has to offer, trusting in his love and mercy.

This post is based on Fr. Pat's Scripture class.

Image source:  Wordle

Sunday Gospel Reflection, March 1, 2015: From the cloud came a voice...

From the cloud came a voice...

Do you understand God? 

It’s pretty impossible to get your head around God’s promises.  Take the story of Abraham, in this Sunday’s first reading from Genesis.  God has given Abraham a son in his old age, only to ask him to sacrifice Isaac on a height God will point out to him.  What?  How can that possibly make sense?  But Abraham does not question God, not once:  he has embraced God over all, and follows God’s instructions to the letter.  Yes, the messenger stops him mid-deed.  But ultimately, the story is about Abraham believing – having faith – when he cannot possibly understand God’s plan.  He doesn’t need to get his head around God’s request:  he simply trusts.  The psalmist likewise believes, even when he cannot understand; he keeps the faith, even when afflicted, knowing that precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones (Psalm 116), trusting in God’s infinite mercy in his time of difficulty.

Jesus is the son of [God’s] handmaid:  born into the slavery that is human existence, Jesus takes this identity on fully; like the psalmist, he will know great affliction.  Paul recognizes this in his letter to the Romans:  God did not spare his own son, handing him over for us all.  Unlike Isaac, God allowed Jesus to be sacrificed, to die and be raised.  Is this a reality we can get our heads around?  Is it, really?  Or is God’s love simply greater than anything we can imagine?  The disciples certainly don’t get it, even when they are on the mountain with Jesus in Mark's Gospel.  Having heard him predict his own Passion, they witness his Transfiguration before their very eyes.  Peter hardly knew what to say, and the disciples will continue to question what rising from the dead meant in the aftermath of this remarkable event.  Although they hear God’s statement – Listen to him – they really have no clue what it all means.  Not yet.

It is a part of the human condition to live with doubt, to be overwhelmed by the ineffable – it’s hard to get what God is about in our lives.  Understanding the revelation, comprehending what God has done – sending his son, handing him over, raising him – takes time, and we’re still working it.  Hang in there… In the end, it will surely be worth it!

This post is based on Fr. Pat's Scripture class.
Image source:  Wordle