Meditation for Sept. 7, Tuesday. Lectionary # 438: Meditation for Sept. 8, Birth of the Blessed Virgin Mary
149:1b-2,3-4,5-6a and 9b. Luke 6:12-19:
Our Synoptic Gospels list the twelve apostles, but John does not group them
as such. Individuals are called especially in chapter 1. However, Luke does
emphasize the twelve apostles and focuses on apostles in the Acts of the
Apostles, his second great inspired work. Luke tells us Jesus goes to the
mountain ( a place of prayer for Jesus and his companions) and after
spending the night in prayers he names the twelve who follow him day in and
day out. These twelve were called specifically and some had special roles
after spending time with the Lord.The twelve would be faithful for the most
part to bring his Good News (the Gospel) to others.
In the early churches that were formed there were apocryphal writings that
give us legends about the apostles and almost every one has a gospel named
after him--even Judas Iscariot! Thomas and Matthew are associated with
India, Peter with Rome and Antioch in Syria, Andrew with Greece, and the
others with other parts of the known world at that time.
In Luke we hear of the choice of the Twelve Apostles just before Jesus
gives us the Lukan form of the beatitudes not on the mountain as in Matthew
but on the plain. Luke also sandwiches in between these two events the
healings, exorcisms, and hope that Jesus gives to the poor who depend on
God alone. We, too, can be compared to the apostles in our calling to bring
the Good News to others who surround us in our everyday tasks. We have
memorized the beatitudes and probably are aware there are two different
lists, the Matthean one, and the Lukan set. They are our own blueprint for
living the life of a disciple and apostle of Jesus today. They are not
impossible or idealistic but really down to earth and are concerned with
issues that we face today--issues of justice, social behavior, personal
holiness, and how we give hope to those who mourn because of deaths in the
family. These beatitudes are dispostions of grace working within our
hearts and minds and making life meaningful for us and for others who
experience our beatitude way of life. We are called to be agents of Jesus'
redeeming words and actions.
We can call upon the original set of apostles through our belief that our
prayers are heard by them and that they do intercede for us when called
upon. This is our teaching called the Communion of Saints. It is those
first apostles who brought our ancestors into the churches of the past and
then we received our faith through our parents and grandparents and as a
priest had the custom of saying, " And the beat goes on...." (Fr. Tony
Perfetto,S.M.) Amen.
Scripture: Lectionary for the Feast of the Birthday of the Blessed Virgin
Mary # 636. Micah 5:1-4a or Romans 8:28-30. Psalm 13:6abc Gospel of
Matthew 1:1-16 or 18-23:
Genealogies are important in the Old Testament and Matthew, the most Jewish
of the Gospels, introduces us to the genealogy of Jesus which is totally
dependent on those in the Old Testament. It is only when Mary enters this
family tree that something new and different is said about her in both
conformity with the other four women mentioned but also in constrast to
them. The important verse of the genealogy in Matthew that shows the
uniqueness of Mary is verse 16: "Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of
Mary. OF HER WAS BORN JESUS WHO IS CALLED THE MESSIAH." This verse is the
first explicit literal text that shows us the virgin birth of Jesus. She
is never to be separated from him in our scriptural and theological
thinking. It is this union of their two hearts that assures us of sound
marian teaching that is founded on the historical truth of the Gospel. The
Messiah belongs to the lineage of David and is among the chosen anointed
ones stemming from David's kingship. Mary's birth is not presented in the
canonical scriptures but is found in an early second century apocryphal
gospel called the protogospel of James. This text is not referred to in
the celebration of the feast, but it is the earliest text that tell us of
her parents Joachim and Ann and of her birth and early years before and
after the Annunciation. The Eastern Churches do use this text and have
many homilies based on it. Mary is the Mother of the Messiah according to
the Gospel of Matthew. St. Mark says simply Jesus is the "Son of Mary."
All of chapter one of Matthew is central to who Mary is and how she fits
into the genealogy of Jesus, the anointed Davidic Messiah.
Mary, as Vatican II, declares is to be seen as bringing Jesus into the
world and has a role thereby in salvation history. A good review of many
of the marian passages in Scripture are presented in the document of
Vatican II on the role of Mary in chapter 8 of Lumen Gentium, the
Constitution on the Church. It is an easy read and shows us who Mary is for
us and for the world. Chapter 8 thus helps the reader to situate Mary in
her proper and non-exaggerated role in the mission of Jesus. She is the
mother of the Messiah and also his first faithful disciple.
The Matthean genealogy starts with our ancestors in the faith, the
patriarchs, continues with the davidic kings of Israel and brings us into
the personal appearance of Mary within the context of the other four women
mentioned in the genealogy. It leads us to see how Joseph, her espoused
husband is a righteous person who comes to understand Mary's pregnancy
through the agency of an angel in a dream. We see that Jesus stems from
the Israelites with all of the limitations that is expressed in the lives
of those mentioned. The human is all too apparent; the divine is only
perceived through the eyes of faith.
St. Alphonsus Ligouri helps us see Mary in the light of faith: "If we wish
to recover lost grace, let us seek Mary, by whom this grace is found. She
never lost the divine grace; she always possessed it." Amen.
posted by Fr. Bert SM at 7:33 AM
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