Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

August 18, 2013

Jeremiah 38:4-6, 8-10; Psalm 40; Hebrews 12:1-4; Luke 12:49-53

Jeremiah is depicted as a prophet of passion, much the way Jesus is the bringer of the flame that kindles other fires. Jeremiah is accused of demoralizing the soldiers and destabilizing the city’s welfare, but he decides to stay the course and declare to the people what God asked him to say. His critics conspire to put him to death, but the well-tempered king spares his life by sentencing him to be imprisoned in a mud-filled cistern where either travelers will rescue him or he will die of starvation. The good and conscientious king, after a few days, lifts him out of the cistern and sets him free.

Some of the charges against Jeremiah were correct. What if we had he same degree of passion for Gospel values that Jeremiah preached and we put them into action? It would radically destabilize economies. A more equitable distribution of wealth and resources would create social upheaval with no guarantees that equal protection of individuals would result. Caring for those who are most needy in society would mean that the wealthiest in society would relinquish their properties for the common good. As you would expect, people would resist such efforts and would silence those who suggest such preposterous ideas.

Jesus also preaches the need for passion and to take God’s wishes seriously. He sees the flame in the hearts of some and cannot wait for the day when it takes greater hold of the entire world. He puts in terms that we don’t like to hear because we want the best for our families even if some members are estranged or at odds with others. We instinctually want our families to pull together and we believe they will in due time, and it jars us when Jesus comes to incite division and destruction by fire. Jesus, we reason, the bringer of peace, cannot be the source of division.

Our families are divided – sometimes over petty issues we cannot remember and sometimes for ideological and religious beliefs. Priests in the sacrament of reconciliation often hear of family members who want other family members to return to the faith. They express great heartache because faith remains a central part of their lives. It seems to me that Jesus is active in each of those family members. One person will do what she thinks is the best way to live out her faith by going to church and keeping the commandments, while another steps away and searches for and explores the ways in which his life has greater meaning – with or without faith. Christ is active in both the searching and wandering as well as those who stay put and worship in comfortable ways. Fortunately for most people, the solid foundation of a religious education stays with a person throughout life and a person who is a seeker eventually returns to the bedrock of faith of their youth. Events of ultimacy (birth of a child/death of a loved one/heart attack or debilitating illness) force people to confront life and death issues of faith. Whether they come to belief or fall away, God is still active in mysterious ways. We can trust that God is doing the very best to bring each person closer to the divine truths.

The Letter from Hebrews assures us that we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses who are urging on us in the faith and helping us to avoid greater sin and clinging to burdens that weigh us down. We need all the strength to carry on and to persevere because of the many forces that divide us, especially suffering that causes us to close in on ourselves. The author of Hebrews says that we have not suffered enough. Well, we don’t like to suffer or experience pain, even if it is for the sake of the kingdom, but we’ll accept it if it is from Christ or to benefit his kingdom.

We do have to accept the flame from Christ that does consume and destroys. It is a light that sheds light on areas and sometimes the awareness this brings can become painful. Our church in its transition is experiencing pain in some areas as Pope Francis sheds light on negative aspects on those who have usurped power and authority and used them for their own pursuits. He is telling us that we must obey the Church of Christ rather than customs and traditions that benefit a few in influential areas within Church leadership. He calls for division now so that we may have peace in the future. His Spirit of fire is cleansing hearts and undoing a system that has wronged many.   

      When a prophetic voice speaks, opposition rises and suffering sets in. Fortunately, we know we have a great cloud of witnesses to support us. Better than that, we have Jesus Christ himself who continues to light those purifying flames that brings justice to light. His flames may burn a little and incite the passions and cause family rifts, but he is doing it to bring others may see God’s desire for unity, mercy, and understanding. We know that Christ will not give up on us until we create a better, more loving, enriched world.                                                                                                             

Themes for this Week’s Masses

First Reading: The Israelites began to worship Baal, which angered the Lord so he sent plunderers who despoiled them. Everything they did turned into disaster and they were filled with distress. The Lord sent them judges to govern. When they listened to him, the prospered, but they seldom heeded their words. An angel in a dream called Gideon to save Israel and he took the news with great disbelief. Gideon prepared a kid and unleavened cakes for a sacrifice and put it on the altar when the Lord came and touched it and consumed the offering. The citizens of Shechem came together to make Abimelech a king by the terebinth at the memorial pillar. Jotham stood up to protest telling a parable about the trees who went to anoint a king over themselves. It ended in disaster. Jephthah prayed to God to deliver the Ammonites into his power and the Lord did, however Jephthah’s prayer was that he would dedicate the first person he saw upon his triumphal return from battle to the Lord. He was devastated when he returned and first saw his daughter. In the book of Ruth, Noami was left with her two sons after her husband died. One of them married Ruth, but Naomi’s sons also died. When Naomi was about the return, she was stunned that Ruth would remain with her. ~ On the feast of Bartholomew, the angel took John to the heavens to see the bride of Christ, heavenly Jerusalem, and each of the four walls contained three gates inscribed with the names of the Twelve Apostles.

Gospel: A young man approached Jesus and asked what he could do to inherit eternal life as he has already kept all the commandments from his youth. Jesus tells him that he has to sell all his goods and give the money to the poor, and then he can come follow him. Jesus then instructed his disciples that it was harder for anyone to enter the kingdom of heaven if they were rich. He describes the kingdom like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard. He continued hiring everyone throughout the day and paid everyone the same wage, even though those who showed up first were very upset at the injustice. He then said the kingdom of heaven is like a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. Many invited guests refused to come and more people were invited, however some showed up improperly dressed. When the Pharisees heard that Jesus silenced the Sadducees, they tested him on the greatest commandment. Jesus summed it up: Love your God as intensely as you can, then love your neighbor as intensely as you love yourselves. ~ On Bartholomew’s feast, we hear about Philip calling Nathaniel to meet Jesus. At first Nathaniel protests in disbelief, but instantly comes to know that Jesus is the Son of God, the King of Israel.

Saints of the Week

August 18: Alberto Hurtado Cruchaga, S.J., priest (1901-1952), was a Chilean Jesuit priest, lawyer, writer and social worker who was born in the Basque region in Spain. He established Hogar de Cristo, that housed at-risk children, whether orphaned or not, and provided them food and shelter. Hurtado also supported the rise of labor union and labor rights in Chile.

August 19: John Eudes, priest (1601-1680) preached missions, heard confessions, and assisted the sick and dying. He founded a new religious order for women, which includes Our Lady of Charity and the Good Shepherd Sisters. He eventually left the Oratorians to found the Congregation of Jesus and Mary. 

August 20: Bernard, Abbot and Doctor (1090-1153) became a Benedictine abbey in Citeaux because of its strict observance. He was sent to set up a new monastery in Clairvaux with 12 other monks. He wrote theological treatises, sermons, letters, and commentaries that dominated the thought of Europe. His writings had a tremendous influence of Catholic spirituality.

August 21: Pius X, pope (1835-1914), was an Italian parish priest for 17 years before he became bishop of Mantua, the cardinal patriarch of Venice, and eventually pope. He urged frequent communion for adults, sacramental catechesis for children, and continued education for everyone. He is known for rigid political policies that put him at odds with a dynamically changing world that led to World War I.

August 22: The Queenship of Mary concludes the octave of the principal feast of Mary as she celebrates her installation as queen and mother of all creation. This feast was placed on our calendar in 1954 following the dogmatic proclamation of the Assumption.

August 23: Rose of Lima (1586-1617) was the first canonized saint of the New World. She had Spanish immigrant parents in Lima. Rose joined the Dominicans and lived in her parents' garden to support them while she took care of the sick and the poor. As a girl, she had many mystical experiences as she practiced an austere life. She also had many periods of darkness and desolation.

August 24: Bartholomew (First Century), according to the Acts of the Apostles, is listed as one of the Twelve Disciples though no one for sure knows who he is. Some associate him with Philip, though other Gospel accounts contradict this point. John's Gospel refers to him as Nathaniel - a Israelite without guile.

This Week in Jesuit History

·      Aug. 18, 1952: The death of Alberto Hurtado, writer, retreat director, trade unionist and founder of "El Hogar de Christo," a movement to help the homeless in Chile.

·      Aug. 19, 1846: At Melgar, near Burgos, the birth of Fr. Luis Martin, 24th General of the Society.

·      Aug. 20, 1891: At Santiago, Chile, the government of Balmaceda ordered the Jesuit College to be closed.

·      Aug. 21, 1616: At Pont a Mousson in Lorraine died Fr. William Murdoch, a Scotchman, who when only 10 years of age was imprisoned seven months for the faith and cruelly beaten by the order of a Protestant bishop. St. Ignatius is said to have appeared to him and encouraged him to bear the cross bravely.

·      Aug. 22, 1872: Jesuits were expelled from Germany during the Bismarckian Kulturkampf.

·      Aug. 23, 1558: In the First General Congregation, the question was discussed about the General's office being triennial, and the introduction of Choir, as proposed by Pope Paul IV, and it was decreed that the Constitutions ought to remain unaltered.

·      Aug. 24, 1544: Peter Faber arrived in Lisbon.