Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time: February 24, 2019
LOVE IS HARD WORK
What Jesus asks in this week end Gospel is different from how we would instinctively respond to someone who wrongs or mistreats us or how our world has taught us to respond. When someone hurts us, Jesus says to forgive them; when given the opportunity to win at another’s expense, Jesus asks us to be compassionate; when someone does something we consider evil or sinful, Jesus insists that we neither judge nor condemn them but to love them just the same; when we do something good for someone, Jesus cautions us to expect nothing in return. Jesus pleads with us to “absorb” whatever evil is done to us and not respond in kind, so that the conflict ends with us. To be a disciple of Jesus means having the courage and generosity of heart to put aside suspicion and mistrust and move beyond the anger and bigotry that deaden us. In every relationship, in every set of circumstances, the faithful disciple of Jesus seeks to break that destructive rut of hatred and distrust by taking that often formidable first step to love, to trust, to heal, to be reconciled with those from whom we are separated. As God takes the initiative in saving us, we must, if we are to be faithful disciples of God’s Son, take the same initiative in our relationships with one another.
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time: February 17, 2019
THE PARADOX OF CHRISTIAN LIFE
St. Luke’s Sermon on the Plain and St. Mathew’s Sermon on the Mount closely correspond. Both start with a series of beatitudes. Of course, there are differences between the versions, but at the same time, they are a series of bombshells. Each one is a challenge. They are spoken in an electric atmosphere. They are not quite stars, but flashes of lightening followed by a thunder of surprise and amazement. They take the accepted standards and turn them upside down. The people Jesus calls happy, the world will call wretched; and the people Jesus called wretched, the world will call happy. To talk like that is to put an end to the world’s values altogether. If you set your heart and bend all your whole energies to obtain the things which the world values, you will get them—but that is all you will ever get. On the other hand, you set your heart and bend all your energies to be utterly loyal to God and true to Christ, you will run into all kinds of trouble; you may by the world’s standards look unhappy, but much of your payment is still to come; and it will be joy eternal. It is Jesus’ teaching that the joy of heaven will amply compensate for the trouble of earth. The question is: “Will you be happy in the world’s way, or in Christ’s way?”
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time: February 10, 2019
HOPE AGAINST HOPE
The declaration of trust was what made the miraculous catch of fish that followed possible. We may assume that Jesus smiled a little, indicating that he understood Peter’s point and still wanted the fisherman to take the boat out into deeper water. So Peter obeyed. This time, however, instead of pulling up an empty net, Peter and Andrew found the net was filled to bursting point, and they had to ask the help of their partners, Zebedee’s sons James and John, to help them bring in the catch. Simon Peter understood the message very quickly. Confronted by the size of the catch, he recognized the presence of God before him and became convinced of his own pride and self-centeredness, that is, of his sinfulness. We find the same response in all the weekend readings. Isaiah, seeing the glory of God in his vision, says
, “What a wretched state I am in! I am lost, for I am a man of unclean lips……and my eyes have looked at the King, the Lord of hosts.”Paul, not particularly known for his modesty, says,
“I am the least of the Apostles…..I hardly deserve the name apostle.”Peter begs Jesus to go away . His simple confession
---“Leave me Lord, I am a sinful man.”…marks a turning point in his life, and becomes a model for our response to Jesus. Jesus seized the opportunity to proclaim Peter’s mission, a call Peter was able to receive because he had seen the tremendous power of God. Thus Peter became the first person in the Gospel to acknowledge his sinfulness. He is also the first apostle to be called by Jesus. The Gospel passage conclude with an inspiring image of commitment
: “When they brought their boats to the shore, they left everything and followed him” (Lk 5:11).
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time: February 03, 2019
AMAZEMENT TURNING TO HATRED
The first reaction of the people in the synagogue to Jesus’ words was one of astonishment. They were amazed that one of their fellow villagers could speak with such grace and eloquence and with such authority. St. Luke says they
were “amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips,”because they knew him only as a carpenter from a poor family, with no formal training in Mosaic Law. But their amazement turned into displeasure when, during his “Inaugural Address” or “Mission Statement,” Jesus took upon himself the identity of a prophet, different from the image of the miracle-worker that people wished to see. Like the other prophets of the past, Jesus called upon people to relinquish their selfishness, faithlessness, their lack of justice and mercy (Mic 6:6-8), and their sinfulness. Hence their displeasure turned into anger when Jesus claimed that he was the promised Messiah of Isaiah’s prophecy. They challenged his Messianic claim asking
, “Isn’t this the son of Joseph?”They could not understand how a mere carpenter could be the Messiah who would liberate them from Roman rule and reestablish the Davidic kingdom. Jesus explained their attitude by
saying “No prophet is accepted in his native place.”In response to his townsmen’s skepticism, Jesus referred to the Biblical storied of how God blessed two gentiles, while rejecting the many Jews in similar situations The reason for this was that Gentiles were more open to the prophets than the Jewish people.
Third Sunday in Ordinary Time: January 27, 2019
THE SYNAGOGUE WORSHIP
The Jews had only one main Temple, located in Jerusalem, for offering sacrifices to God and for celebrating the major feasts. Throughout the rest of the country, however, there were synagogues, one for every ten families or more, where the community, particularly the men, could offer Sabbath prayers and study the Scriptures. It was customary for the men to sit in the central part of the synagogue, where the scrolls were kept. The women and children sat in a separate area on the side of the synagogue. It was the Jewish custom for the reader to stand while reading and to sit down while teaching (Mt 13:54; Mk 6:1). The synagogue liturgy was based on seven readings. The first four were from the Law (the Torah or Pentateuch) followed by explanations given by the rabbi, who was the teacher of the Law. The second set of readings, taken from the prophets, could be read and interpreted by any circumcised male over thirty years of age. It was in this second capacity that Jesus read and preached on the passage from Isaiah (61:1-2a). Naturally, the people of his native place were curious to hear from this carpenter-turned-prophet who had grown up among them, and who, supposedly, had worked miracles throughout Galilee. St. Luke reports that Jesus returned to Galilee
in the power of the Spirit,and news of him spread throughout the whole region.
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,”Jesus said
, “because He has anointed me…”“This power of the Spirit” was absolutely essential in order for Jesus to complete his mission.
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time: January 20, 2019
SYMBOLIC MEANING OF THE MIRACLE AT CANA AS VIEWED BY THE FATHERS OF THE
CHURCH
The
fruit of the vineis used in the Old Testament as an emblem of the joy associated with the Messianic age and a gift and blessing of God (Deut 7:13, Ps 105
). The water in the jarsrepresents the old order of Jewish law and custom (Jer 31:12, Hosea 14:7, Amos 9:13), which Jesus was to replace with something better, namely his sweet and inspiring Gospel.
The fact that
the abundant wine(120 gallons) provided by Christ was of
such superior qualityand taste also reveals the glory, satisfaction, sufficiency, and lavishness of the grace, Divine Life, He provides to sinners. Since it is God who provides, we will lack nothing; however, He requires that we give Him all that we have. There are three steps found in the text which lead us to the sufficiency of Christ: a) Ask God for help. b) Obey His commands. C) Expect Him to be glorified as He provides.
Mary’s comments
, “They have no wine’and
“Do whatever He tells you,”can be understood as a reflection on the barrenness of the Jewish purification rituals and as a directive to look to Jesus as the new means of salvation.
The
new winemade by Jesus signifies the “new rich wine” of the Gospel and it points to the “wine of the New Covenant” and the “Bread of Life” which Jesus provides for his disciples at the Lord’s supper or Eucharist. The
winethat Jesus had to offer, namely, his words and deeds, was far superior to any other teaching or wisdom. This first sign is the manifestation of the grace and truth that has come through Jesus Christ, and serves as a summons to us all to join the celebration. It also points to the Messianic banquet, which Jesus will provide at the end of the age when he comes again in glory.