Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 27, 2007, Cycle C
12:31-13:13. Luke 4:21-30
In reflecting on the exciting readings for the day, the theme of the
prophetic vocation struck me the most. We start with Jeremiah, a prophet
who suffered very much and was rejected often by the leaders and possible
put to death by them. He was dedicated to this prophetic vocation even
before he was born according to the text. In the Gospel, Jesus takes a
prophetic role as he calls the listeners to a total conversion to God and
shows them how the mercy of God reached to people outside the Chosen People
of God, namely, to a widow in Zarepath and to Naaman, the Syrian. He takes
these examples from the life of Elihah and Elisha. The listeners cannot
stand this excoriation and try to run him out of town onto a precipice, but
Jesus walks straight through in safety. His time has not yet come.
Prophets give their lives totally to God in an unconditional and
sacrificial way. There may be prophets today among us and we must be ready
to listen to their voice which, if true, expresses the will of God often in
a challenging way. For us in the United States, it may be the question of
how to relate justly and with integrity with other nations; or how to
become aware of the needs of those who are homeless and poor not only here
but in other countries. I believe peacemakers are prophetic. Prophets and
those who are peacemakers are not wimps. Another area of concern for a
prophet today is the selfish individualism that is possible for many of us
who can spend our time on our own comforts rather than reaching out in a
relationship of love and concern. Prophets listen carefully to God and are
able to make lifelong decisions. Today many great minds and good people who
are young are afraid to make a lifetime decisions to worthy vocations.
This hurts society and continues the selfish trends we feel around us.
Sports, computer games, partying to excess are some things we can look at
and realize life demands more of our time for important issues in social
justice and peace concerns. Jesus was in danger for what he spoke. So,
too, Jeremiah. Are we willing to reflect daily on the word of God and its
call to challenge ourselves to be prophetic? A prophet gives his or her
entire life to God and carries out the word of God which is as sharp as a
two edged sword. In our own vocation whatever it may be, we are to learn
from the prophets likes Jeremiah, Isaiah, Micah, and from Jesus that a
relationship with God is most important. It calls for unconditionally trust
in God. This leads us to confront ourselves and our lifestyle before we
can make sense or challenge someone else. "To thine ownself be true."
Prophetic inspiration does not come at an easy price but it is necessary if
we are to bring social justice and peace to our world. We can begin by
being people of integrity, truth, and holiness. Alone this is an
impossible call, but with God all things are possible. Amen.
Saturday, January 27, Feast of St. Angela Merici. Scriptures for the day:
Hebrew 11:1-2,8-19. Psalm from Benedictus of Luke 1:69-70-75. Mark 4:35-41.
The theme of faith jumps out at us today both in the Epistle to the Hebrews
and in the Gospel of Mark. This virtue which is a foundation to our
relationship to God is extolled beautifully and at length in our first
reading. The first line can act as a lighting-rod for us throughout the
hours of the day. "Faith is confident assurance concerning what we hope
for , and conviction about things we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1). To
demonstrate his point the inspired author gives us examples in the great
ancestors of Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, and Jacob. Abraham, however, is the
exemplar and he is the one focused upon for the gift of faith which is not
a credal or doctrinal faith but a relationship of trust with the living
God. Abraham is the father of faith for Muslims, Jews, and Christians.
Abraham imparts this faith and generates it in Sarah, Isaac, Jacob and all
of us. We need to respond to the gift of faith as they did with utmost
trust that God is always faithful to his promises. Like me you probably
noticed that Jesus is not mentioned in this section about faith, he is only
implied through the symbolism of one of the ancestors--Isaac. It is
through both Isaac's and Abraham's willingness to sacrifice everything they
hoped for that God shows them how much he cares for us and is not
interested in any human sacrifice. Life in all its aspects should always
be revered as the Creator's gift not ours. I found the last sentence
giving me hope for even a life beyond death: "He (Abraham) reasoned that
God was able to raise from the dead, and so he received Isaac back as a
symbol." The Catholic tradition sees this sacrifice as symbolic of that of
Jesus in type and symbol. It is also a most revered and honored event in
Judaism and is deeply pondered over. It is known as the "Akedah" or binding
in the event of Isaac being bound by his father Abraham.( Gen.22) Perhaps,
we all can dedicate some moments during this day to thank God for the
precious gift of our faith given to those who believe in a loving and
merciful God who lives in Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Jesus, and Mary.
Amen.
posted by Fr. Bert SM at 11:51 AM
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