March 11, 2012
Exodus 20:1-17; Psalm
19; 1 Corinthians 1:22-25; John 2:13-25
Parishes with catechumen who will be
baptized at the Easter Vigil celebrate the First Scrutiny today. (An alternate
set of readings for Year A can be used: Exodus 17, Romans 5, John 4.)
Paul's bold proclamation in 1st
Corinthians ties the Exodus reading together with John's Gospel reading to make
sense of the peculiar aspects of our faith. He describes that the Jews expect unmistakable
revelations from God like earthquakes, thunder, and dramatic dreams, while the
Greeks rely upon their pursuit of wisdom and rationality to discern patterns of
knowledge in the world. Paul, however, says that we Christians appear
ridiculous to both the Jews who see us as stumbling blocks and to the Gentiles
who regard us as foolish because we preach that our God is a crucified one.
Christ is both the power and the wisdom of God and can be worshiped by both
Jews and Gentiles. The foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom and the
weakness of God is stronger than our human strength.
The Exodus reading begins with God
reminding the Israelites that he brought them out of slavery into freedom.
Because of that, he asks that they place no other gods, especially hand-made
graven images, before him. The commandments place stresses on the first three
because they reflect the people's response to God's. I took notice of the third
commandment, keeping holy the Sabbath, as many words are given to its
importance. Many in society have lost the sense of the Sabbath being a special
day reserved for remembrance, thanksgiving, and recreation. For me, it is a
time in which I catch up on the activities of the week that I didn't quite get
done. This reading makes me consider how poorly or well I use my time. The last
seven commandments, while important, deal with the manner by which we respect
the rights and privacy of others.
The evangelist John places the scene
where Jesus drives the merchants out of the Temple at the very start of the
Gospel. John means to illustrate the role Jesus assumes in the Passover once
the Temple has been destroyed. For a Jew, the Temple meant everything and its
destruction in 70 A.D. looms in their national consciousness. The Christian
community led by John is facing additional displacement. Their Jewish brothers
and sisters will not let them worship in their synagogues. John's community are
like refugees who have no gathering place. The entire point of this passage is
to let Christians know that the Passover can only rightly be celebrated in and
through the person of Jesus.
As a man who always preached the kingdom
of God is among us, his worldview conflicted with those dedicated to the
Temple. The kingdom of God can be celebrated wherever two or more are gathered
in his name because he is present to them. Buildings and locations no longer
essentially matter, though they are useful for ritualizing our worship. He
means to communicate the Jesus is no more present in a building than outside of
it.
The last sentences of this passage are
disturbing. While many began to believe in Jesus because of the signs he was doing
during the Passover feast, "he would not trust himself to them because he
knew them all, and did not need anyone to testify about human nature. He
himself understood it well." It tells us that "the hour" of
Jesus had not yet arrived and that he knew he was the light in the darkness who
would be rejected. It shows us that he understood human capacity for fickle judgment,
and it was the reason he came.
When we contemplate how much Christ
has done for us, it is staggering. He saves us from despair and gives us hope
in our darkest hours. I always like to turn around the questions that St.
Ignatius once asked Christ on the Cross. Instead of asking: What have I done
for Christ, What am I doing for Christ, and What am I to do for Christ, I ask:
What has Christ done for me, What is Christ doing for me, and What will Christ
do for me. I become silent in gratitude. I praise the Crucified Christ and the
wisdom of God.
Themes for this Week’s Masses
First Reading: In 2 Kings, Namaan, the army commander of king
Aram, contracts leprosy and is sent to the king of Israel for a cure. Elisha
intercepts him and instructs Namaan to wash seven times in the Jordan River.
After protesting, he decides to wash. When he is cleansed, he proclaims
"there is no God in all the earth except in Israel." In Daniel,
Azariah contends with the Lord imploring him to remember the covenant and his
promise of mercy. He calls for deliverance for the people are without hope. In
Deuteronomy, Moses speaks to the people urging them to follow the commandments
the Lord gave to them for they bring life, prosperity, and happiness. If they
stray from the path, they will undergo trials they do not want or expect.
Jeremiah tells the people they will prosper if they do what the Lord commands.
They do not listen to Lord's word for their hearts became hardened. Hosea hears
from the Lord that he will heal their defections and once more bring them back
into the fold. The people are to seek wisdom to understand what the Lord asks
of them. Hosea asks the people to return to the Lord for in the deepest part of
the Lord's heart, he cares deeply for his people.
Gospel: In Luke, Jesus
tells the people that a prophet is rejected in his hometown. He told them that
Elisha the prophet was not sent to lepers in Israel, but to Namaan the Syrian.
When Jesus is asked about the extensive nature of his teaching on forgiveness,
the tells them to parable of the king who settles his accounts with his servants.
As the king forgives debts, the people are to imitate him. In this case, a
forgiven servant beats up on another servant who owes him a debt. Jesus tells
them that he has not come to abolish the law or the prophets but to bring them
to fulfillment. When he drives out a demon from a mute man, his adversaries
accuse him to getting his power from Beelzebul. He says that as he is working
against Beelzebul, he certainly cannot be invoking his power because a divided
house cannot stand. One on the scribes then approaches Jesus to ask which is
the first of all the commandments. After he replies correctly, Jesus affirms
him and tells him he is not far from the kingdom of heaven. Jesus then
addressed a parable to those who were assured of their righteousness. He told
them of the Pharisee and the publican. The latter understand what it meant to
be remorseful and to depend on God.
Saints of the Week
March 17: Patrick, bishop (389-461), is the revered Apostle of Ireland and patron saint of many U.S.
dioceses. He
is credited for bringing the faith to all of Ireland. He was abducted and
enslaved at age 16 by pirates and taken to Ireland where he worked as a cattle
herded and shepherd in the mountains. He escaped after six years and eventually
returned to his native Britain where he became a priest. Pope Celestine sent
Patrick as a missionary to Ireland to evangelize them. Though he was under
constant risk from hostile pagans, he converted many of them and developed a
native clergy by the time of his death.
This Week in Jesuit History
·
Mar 11, 1848. In Naples, Italy, during
the 1848 revolution, 114 Jesuits, after much suffering, were put into carts and
driven ignominiously out of the city and the kingdom.
·
Mar 12, 1622. Pope Gregory XV canonized
Sts Ignatius, Francis Xavier, Teresa of Avila, and Philip Neri.
·
Mar 13, 1568. John Segura and five
companions set sail from Spain for Florida, a fertile field of martyrs. (Nine
Jesuits were killed there between 1566 and 1571.)
·
Mar 14, 1535. Ignatius received his
degree from the University of Paris.
·
Mar 15, 1632. The death of Diego Ruiz,
a great theologian, who studied on his knees.
·
Mar 16, 1649. The martyrdom in Canada
of St John de Brebeuf, apostle to the Huron Indians. Captured by the Iroquois
along with some Christian Hurons, he endured horrible tortures.
·
Mar 17, 1964. The death of Joseph
O'Callahan. He was awarded the US Medal of Honor for heroism as chaplain on the
USS Franklin, off Japan on March 19, 1945.
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