Scripture Reflection for July 25 (Ordinary Time) and one for St. James the Greater July 25, 2008

Scripture: Friday of 16th week in Ordinary Time. Jeremiah 3:14-17. Psalm is
Jeremiah 31:10-13. Matthew 13:18-23. Lectionary 399:

Two images emerge from the readings for this day. From Jeremiah we
have the image of sheperding or shepherds and from the Gospel we have the
image of the Sower--a parable of Jesus and an interpretation of Matthew.
Jeremiah's image is found both in the first reading and in the
excerpt used from the prophet as the Psalm Response and its verses. This
offers us a continuity in the image of shepherding. God, of course, is the
supreme shepherd who watches over God's chosen people, Israel. We can
relate this image to two oft recited psalms, Psalm 23: "The Lord is my
Shepherd" and Psalm 95 which is an excellent Invitatory or a great way of
greeting God as we say a prayer upon awakening. God's appointment of good
shepherds like Jeremiah, Isaiah, and other prophets is the way the people
are guided, cared for and protected. Jeremiah has high hopes for having
all peoples gathered into the flock of God's people. Jeremiah tells us,
"At that time they will call Jerusalem God's throne; there all the nations
will be gathered together to honor the name of the Lord in Jerusalem and
they will no longer walk in their hardhearted wickedness." (Jeremiah 3:17).
The Psalm verse taken from Jeremiah also continues the image of a shepherd
and a flock:"And they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall
flow into the goodness of the Lord, to the corn, and to the wine, and to
the oil, and to the young of the flock and of the herd; and their soul
shall be a watered garden and they shall not pine any more at
all." (Jeremiah 31:11).
The Gospel gives us the second image of God as the Sower. The various
field with different types of soil and the reception of the seeds scattered
so freely is now given an allegorical interpretation. This shows us the
work of the Evangelist taking a simple parable of Jesus which has one main
thrust and giving each of its elements a specific meaning. Allegory was
probably used in the early church to make the parables understandable for a
later audience. For us, we look to the last example where the seed
actually produces a great harvest of one hundred, sixty, or thirty fold.
We ulitmately have to come to that point in our lives and thus achieve our
purpose as part of God's wonderful gift of life given to us so freely and
abundantly. Amen.

Feast of St. James the Greater, July 25.

Scripture: II Corinthians 4:7-15. Psalm 126:1-2,2-3,4-5,6. Matthew
20:20-28. Lectionary # 605.

The Apostle James is the first apostle to be martyred by Herod
Agrippa in the year 42. He was the brother of John and his father was named
Zebedee who owned a boat and was a fisherman with his two sons. They are
among the first ones to be called by Jesus and also had the privilege of
being alone with him on several occasions. They were present at the
raising of the daughter of Jairus back to life (Mark 5:37; Lue 8:51); the
transfiguration (Matthew 17:1; Luke 9:28-36; Mark 9:2-8); and the agony of
Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37; Mark 13:43). He may be a cousin of Jesus and his
mother possibly a sister of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The Evangelists do
have differences on the exact relationship among the kindred in their
relationships with Jesus! The Holy Spirit works with the individual gifts
and genius of each inspireed writer and they do have different
perspectives. Thanks be to God!
St. James is the privileged patron of Spain and his missionary
travels associate him with Zaragossa (named after Caesar Augustus) and the
sanctuary of St. James of Compostella. There is a story about an ancient
cemetery there where an early holy person was buried and is understood to
have been James. St. Paul testifies that James the Greater experienced an
appearance of Jesus at the Resurrection (I Cor.15:7).
The first reading from II Corinthians is easily applied to the
sufferings and death of James and is a marvelous exposition of how we too
can fit into the Paschal Mysteries of Jesus through our faith. The only
way to see suffering in a meaningful way is to see them in the light of
Jesus' own sufferings which show us how much he loves each one of us. James
is the person we reflect upon to help us understand the mystery of
suffering and death on this feast. We review his cooperation with Jesus
during the active ministry year or two and then are edified by his death in
Jerusalem at the hands of Herod Agrippa. We also can pray for all of our
friends named James or the equivalent of that name. Amen.