January 29, 2006: FOURTH SUNDAY OF THE YEAR

Readings
Deuteronomy 18:15-20
I Corinthians 7:32-35
Mark 1:21-28

Jesus' death and resurrection was not only an earth-shaking event for him, it provided a parallel experience for his followers. Among other things, it forced them to look from a completely different perspective at the Jesus they had known during his earthly ministry. The prophetic dimension of his personality began to fade into the background of their minds, replaced by something they rarely dared to imagine before Good Friday and Easter Sunday: his divinity. The longer our Christian sacred authors reflected on Jesus, the more they concentrated on the divine and lost contact with the prophetic.

Yet during Jesus' earthly ministry it was his role as prophet which most impressed people. When he asked his disciples how people were judging him, most thought he fit the image of the prophets of old. Being Jews, those with whom Jesus lived and to whom he preached understood the necessity of having prophets in their midst. Yahweh normally worked through prophets. God's will was conveyed to people by God positioning prophets among them.

That's why today's Deuteronomy Reading is so significant. Though we usually think of Moses as a leader and liberator, the community he led and freed from slavery would also have emphasized his prophetic ministry. Like all prophets, he was their conscience: the person who pointed out the future implications of their present actions. Without prophets, they would wander aimlessly through life, uncertain of the direction Yahweh wanted them to go.

As Moses is dying, they're no longer worried about freedom. Moses had been Yahweh's agent in achieving their liberation. That job had been taken care of. What they'd miss most would be Moses' prophetic input in their daily lives. Because of his imminent death, they could only fall back on Yahweh's promise to ". . . raise up for you a prophet like (Moses) from among your kin, and put my words in his mouth . . . ." In other words, God will see to it that they'd always have prophets in their communities.

No wonder Jesus' first disciples often reflected on today's Deuteronomy passage when they tried to figure out the role he was playing in their lives.

Their original emphasis on prophecy seems to be one of the reasons Mark chose an exorcism as Jesus' first miracle. As with the other three gospels, the first miracle sets the evangelist's theme for his work. Because Mark believes Jesus' followers should imitate him, he stresses that the #1 way we're to carry on Jesus' prophetic ministry is by eradicating evil wherever we find it. This is symbolized by Jesus getting rid of the evil demon which controls the man in the Capernaum synagogue. Though it's impossible to imitate Jesus' divinity, whenever we get rid of even the smallest evil in our lives, we're carrying on his human, prophetic ministry.

Even Paul seems to be emphasizing Jesus' prophetic dimension when he writes to the Corinthians about being "anxious about the things of the Lord." The Apostle believes we should let nothing hold us back from pointing our lives in the direction Jesus had pointed his own life.

Of course, when Paul advises people not to let marriage distract them from pursuing good, he's presuming Jesus will quickly return in the Parousia; something few of us presume today. As a good Jew, the Apostle thought no one should live a long, natural life and not be married. But at this point in his ministry, he simply didn't think anyone would live a long, natural life. No matter his beliefs, in verse 35 he still reminds his readers that non-marrying because of the imminent Parousia is simply a suggestion, not a command.

The recently deceased Catholic reformer, Patty Crowley, once perfectly summarized prophetic discipleship. "I say the only important thing is Jesus' message, and the rest of the rules are for the birds. So give food to the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, help the sick and visit those in prison. That's what I do."

January 22, 2006: THIRD SUNDAY OF THE YEAR

Readings
Jonah 3:1-5, 10
I Corinthians 7:29-31
Mark 1:14-20

Going all the way back to Abraham's first encounter with Yahweh in Genesis 12, "call narratives" comprise some of the most important passages in Scripture. They're either described or presumed by every sacred author. Such an event is essential to their message.

It's no accident, for instance, that almost immediately after Mark describes God's baptismal annunciation to Jesus, he has the Galilean carpenter begin his public ministry by calling others to help him carry out his commission.

Jesus first invites Simon and his brother Andrew to ". . . come after me, and I will make you fishers of human beings." Daniel Harrington points out in the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, "This (fishers of human beings) metaphor is best interpreted against the background of their occupation . . . ." In other words, Jesus wasn't saying that he was sending them out to "catch" people. He simply was trying to impress upon them that people would replace fish at the center of their lives.

This is a key element in all biblical calls: the person called must readjust his or her priorities. What once was important is now peripheral; what formerly was on the perimeter is now at the center.

Having been preconditioned in my early life and later seminary training to hear today's gospel narrative as Jesus calling his first four "priests," I missed much of what Mark was trying to convey in the passage. Jesus is calling them to be his first Christians, not his first priests. Every element in the narrative applies to every person who agrees to be a follower of Jesus. This is how all Christians are expected to react to the call they receive.

That's why much in made of the fact that, along with the first set of brothers, James and John ". . . left their father Zebedee in the boat along with the hired men and followed him." None of the four sets a date in the future to change their occupation, or asks for time to dispose of their assets. Their response to Jesus' call is immediate and total.

Yet perhaps the most fascinating element of biblical calls is that the called are never informed exactly where or to what they're being called. Our sacred authors believe it's essential that calls be "generic." The only specific element is that "you're to follow me." God always invites us to follow a person, not a system or a program, but a living person.

That personal element is at the root of Jonah's problem. He doesn't particularly like Yahweh's personality. That's why he originally "ran away from Yahweh." The prophet demands some predictability in God; specifically that Yahweh should carry out the word he gives the prophet to proclaim.

In the case of Jonah's mission to the Ninevites, Yahweh's message is clear: "Forty days more and Nineveh will be destroyed!" We can only imagine how disturbing it is for the prophet to discover that ". . . God repented of the evil had threatened to do to them, he did not carry it out." Unpredictable things happen when one gives oneself to a person instead of a theological system. Perhaps every call from God should be accompanied with the warning, "Hang on!" Lord knows (literally) where it's going to take us!

No wonder Paul warns his Corinthian community about the rough, jolting faith-ride they're beginning. It's like nothing they've experienced before. ". . . Let those having wives act as not having them, those weeping as not weeping . . ." Once one says "Yes!" to God, things will never be the same; the unexpected will be the expected.

Maybe it would be good to paraphrase John Donne's well-known poetic line, "Never send to know for whom the bell tolls . . ." Today we should hear, "Never send to know whom God calls. God calls you."

January 15, 2006: SECOND SUNDAY OF THE YEAR

Readings
I Samuel 3:3b-10, 19
I Corinthians 6:13c-20
John 1:35-42

We can identify with Jesus' first disciples in today's gospel pericope. Who hasn't experienced and treasured a moment of discovery in their lives - something both surprising and life-changing? In this case, the three men discover that the man they'd know only as a carpenter, a fellow disciple of John the Baptizer, is actually the Messiah whom Jews had been anticipating for centuries.

After his eye-opening encounter with Jesus, Andrew seeks out his brother Simon and tells him, "We have found the Messiah." He quickly brings him to Jesus, who looks at him and says, "You are Simon, son of John; Your name shall be Cephas (which is translated Rock)."

It's significant that John the Evangelist immediately tells us about Simon's name change. It goes hand in glove with the discovery dimension of the narrative. Considering the biblical belief that someone's name is synonymous with someone's personality, Simon is no longer Simon once he finds out who Jesus really is. Such a discovery will change anyone who experiences it.

In the same way, Paul's reason for speaking against sexual immorality springs from his discovery that the Christian is part of the body of Christ. Remember how Luke describes Paul's conversion in Acts 9? The basis of his turnabout revolves around the discovery that the people he's persecuting are actually the manifestation of the risen Jesus. The line that determines the rest of the Apostle's life and ministry is Jesus' statement, "I am Jesus whom you are persecuting!" (9:5) That insight forces him not only to look at himself with different eyes, but also to begin seeing Christians from a totally different perspective. There's an identification between the risen Jesus and the Christian which even today we rarely acknowledge. Thankfully, Paul, as a good Christian, believes and acts on this.

But, as a good Jew, Paul also is convinced of the teaching found in the earliest tradition of Genesis that two people become one body during intercourse. That's why he can't understand how Christ's members can become "members of a prostitute." As his reminds the Corinthian community, "You must know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own."

From his Jewish tradition Paul believes the prostitute and the "client" become one. From his Christian tradition Paul believes if that client is a Christian, that person is already one with Jesus. That can only mean Christ has become one with the prostitute. The implications boggle his faith.

What a discovery that identification with the risen Jesus must have been for Jesus' first disciples. Not only were they preaching Jesus' death and resurrection, but by imitating those two events, their bodies were joined to the body of the risen Jesus. What happened to one automatically happened to the other.

Essential to any discovery is the ability to listen. Those who go through life with preconceived notions about what they're going to see or hear, will see and hear only what they're expecting - guaranteeing a none-discovery life.

That's why the author of I Samuel makes a big thing about Yahweh first speaking to Samuel. After describing the "Abbot and Costello" exchange between the young boy and the priest Eli, the writer zeroes in on the core of the passage. "If you are called," the priest eventually tells the boy, "reply, 'Speak Yahweh, your servant is listening!"

In this context of discovery, it's good to remember the second century comment of St. Ignatius of Antioch: "I listen. I learn. I teach." Our sacred authors believed that faith discoveries must be preceded by lots of listening. If not, our faith teaching will quickly become suspect.

January 8, 2006: EPIPHANY

Readings
Isaiah 60:1-6
Ephesians 3:2-3a, 5-6
Matthew 2:1-12

During a recent inter-faith dialogue, someone asked me to name some good things I found in the Catholic Church. I had no difficulty giving him a list of those attributes. But his questioning me on that topic wasn’t a surprise. Addressing his unasked question, I reminded him that as a student and teacher of Scripture, I’m constantly dealing with a library of self-critical writings. After 40 years of being involved with the Bible, it’s become second nature for me to surface situations in my own church which parallel those the sacred authors surfaced and critiqued in their communities.

The Bible isn’t the only literary collection whose authors are self-critical. According to experts on the Great Books Series, one of the elements which makes this collection so great is their authors’ knack of critically examining the culture and morality which gave rise to them. For instance, the vast majority of writings about war in the series are actually anti-war. Instead of finding fault with their enemies, the writers find fault with themselves and those who share their values.

We can make the same observation about the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures. And rarely is that trait clearer than in the three readings we employ for the feast of the Epiphany.

Both Third-Isaiah and Paul of Tarsus provide us with passages which critique ancient Jewish and early Christian beliefs restricting God’s salvation to a select few.

The immediate post-exilic prophet stretches the minds of his audience. In the future, even non-Jews will become disciples of Yahweh. Addressing a totally destroyed Jerusalem, Third-Isaiah proclaims, “Nations (Gentiles) shall walk by your light, and kings by your shining radiance . . . Caravans of camels shall fill you, dromedaries from Midian and Ephah; all from Sheba shall come bearing gold and frankincense, and proclaiming the praise of Yahweh.” If all Jews were open-minded about the salvation of non-Jews, the prophet never would have delivered this oracle.

In the same way, in our Ephesians pericope Paul deals with those Christians who insist that Gentiles who wish to follow Jesus must first convert to Judaism before being baptized. From the instant of his Damascus Road experience, the Apostle began to understand “God’s secret plan . . . unknown to people in former ages but now revealed by the Spirit to the holy apostles and prophets. It is no less than this: in Christ Jesus the Gentiles are now co-heirs with the Jews, members of the same body and sharers of the promise through the preaching of the gospel.” Narrow-minded Christian is an oxymoron.

Today’s gospel pericope contains one of the most biting, self-critical passages in all of Scripture. Remember, Matthew writes for Jewish Christians. The astrologers who come “from the east” searching for “the newborn king of the Jews” are not only Gentiles, but they’re practicing a forbidden ritual: star gazing. Yet by employing that abhorrent ritual, these non-Jews discover the Messiah which most Jews overlook, even though they practice the approved method of searching the Bible, looking for clues to his arrival.

Considering the Jewish make-up of Matthew’s community, his message is breath-taking. His original readers would have rated it “R,” unable to understand how modern, non-Jewish Christians could judge it to be “G,” the stuff from which children’s Christmas plays are made. It takes a tremendous amount of faith-maturity to admit that no matter how dedicated we are to our specific religion, God can and does work through those who live much of their lives at right angels to that religion. Matthew never intended this story to be a kid’s narrative.

No wonder those who have to explain such biblical passages are often regarded as trouble makers in their own faith communities.

January 1, 2006: MARY, MOTHER OF GOD

Readings
Numbers 6:22-27
Galatians 4:4-7
Luke 2:16-21

We have no one picture of Mary in our gospels. Each evangelist uniquely uses the mother of Jesus in a way which helps express his theology. Just as our gospels are not biographies of Jesus, neither are they biographies of Mary.

Of the four images, we Catholics are most comfortable with Luke’s portrait of Mary. The bishops of Vatican II even employed it in the last chapter of their document on the church, referring to Mary as the “type” of the church. Luke defines the perfect Christian as someone who first hears God’s word, then carries it out. Throughout the third gospel, Mary is the person who embodies that characteristic. Remember the exchange in 11:27? “While Jesus was speaking, a woman from the crowd called out and said to him, ‘Blessed is the womb that carried you and the breasts at which you nursed.’ He replied, ‘Rather, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.’”

Each evangelist demands that Mary have more than just a physical relationship with Jesus. For Luke, it’s her ability to listen and act which sets her, and all Christians, apart from others.

When we hear today’s well-known gospel pericope against the background of Luke’s portrait, we immediately notice how one comment distinguishes her from all the other people in the scene: “Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart.”

Those who put listening to God’s word at the heart of their existence eventually develop into deeply reflective individuals. The nature of God’s word forces them to think and think again. A true listening experience entails more than just memorizing biblical verses. The original sacred authors didn’t have a written word of God in front of them when they produced their works. In order to create a written word they had to constantly reflect on how God’s word permeated their whole lives, concentrating on events, situations and persons in a way others rarely did.

Luke believed the word Mary carried out encompassed her whole being. It could be as unusual as angel-sent shepherds showing up at the stable in Bethlehem, as ritualistic as a week-old baby’s circumcision, or as common as giving a child its name. For Mary, everyone and everything overflowed with God’s word; and each event of her life presented her with an opportunity to carry out that word.

That’s why Paul expects his Galatian community to find God’s word in Jesus being born as a law-abiding Jew. Ironically, Paul writes this letter in order to defend his teaching that Gentile Christians shouldn’t be obligated to keep the very Mosaic Law which Jesus observed. The reason for the apparent contradiction is simple: By accepting our humanity, Jesus joined himself to all humans, dying to his own Jewishness deeply enough to make himself one even with non-Jews. That means, if Gentiles die to themselves enough to become one with Jesus, they’ll receive the same benefits which he, God’s Son received. “As proof that you are (God’s) children, God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out, ‘Abba, Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.” All these benefits are ours just by experiencing and carrying out God’s word personified in a dying/rising Galilean carpenter. If he listened and observed, then, beginning with Mary, all his followers must listen and observe.

No wonder today’s Blessing of Aaron is one of our liturgical selections. We’re constantly blessed by God’s generous face shining on us. Yet the peace which that divine presence brings us isn’t something which turns us into immobile practitioners of religion. On the contrary, it becomes the word which motivates all our actions of faith.