Weekly Reflection 012603AD

Sunday January 26, 2003AD

Third Sunday in Greentime

A Credo and /or a Petition

Now that we have completed the Advent-Christmas-Epiphany Cycle of our liturgical year, we begin a segment inappropriately called “Ordinary Time”. A more proper name would be “Ordinal Time” since the weeks between now and Ash Wednesday. A more appropriate name is “Greentime”, a time of Hope. Haven’t we lived in the New Testament since the Death and Resurrection of the Lord, c. 30 AD? Ordinary time?

We know from the Christian Scriptures (aka New Testament) that some of the earliest Christian communities concluded their celebrations of the Eucharist with a 4-syllable prayer in the Aramaic language. The word was Maranatha The Aramaic word was maintained even when the lingua franca of the Roman Empire, viz., Koine (everyday) Greek was used in Christian communications. For example, the 27 documents of the New Testament were written originally in Greek, not in Hebrew, nor Aramaic, nor Latin.

However, what does the word “Maranatha” mean? It can be translated two ways. 1) It can be a profession of faith that translates into English as “The Lord (Jesus) is coming.” 2) It can be a prayer of urgent petition, “Come, Lord Jesus”.

It is difficult for us to comprehend, but the earliest generations of the Jesus-movement, for the most part, believed that the Second Coming of the Lord would happen sooner rather than later. (A clear example of this is St Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians, in which he clearly expects to be around for Christ’s Second Coming. The sense of urgency characterized St Paul’s mission. This urgency has slipped away from most Christians. We do not really expect to be around for the end of the age. (What would you think if you saw someone with a sign warning, “Repent. The end is near”?) Still…

We can learn from our earliest ancestors. by concluding our Eucharists by re-connecting with the ancient tradition of the “Maranatha”.

We live in an in-between time. We believe that God’s Kingdom is here (even now, but not yet!!) We are obviously not living in what anyone (including God the Father) would consider the Golden Age.

We can retrieve our Christian belief that the Lord Jesus will come again (when God’s Will will be done). We can also remind ourselves that the Coming of the Lord at the End will be salvific (and thus, desirable) for us all.

However, as we enter Ordinal Time (Greentime) once again, let us use the Maranatha as a credal reminder that the Lord Jesus is with us even now (Emmanuel – God with us is the cry of Advent and Christmas.). It can also be a petition to Jesus to come with us always as we face the world each day.

May our Catholic Community of faith echo the Maranatha in our daily lives. Say it 5, 10, 15, 20, 24 times a day. God will show us that, indeed, the Lord comes to us again

and again. 012603 AD jfq

Weekly Reflection 011903AD

Sunday, January 19, 2003AD

Second Sunday in Greentime

Signs of the Times

Jesuit theologian, Avery Cardinal Dulles, who teaches at Fordham University in the Bronx, wrote about a significant contribution of the American Catholic Church to world Christianity. He describes our contribution as the recovery of the model of the Church as the “Little Flock of the Good Shepherd.”

He cited the growth in post Vatican II days in the USA of such movements as the following: Charismatic Prayer, Marriage Encounter, Cursillo, Contemplative Outreach, and others. These groups, Cardinal Dulles said, were energized by the Spirit and respond to Jesus, the Good Shepherd as individuals and individuals in community and communities of individuals.

Our society of America in 2003 AD is fast-paced. However, there might be certain signal markers that the Good Shepherd might be holding up for us to heed as we hear His Voice.

1) We try to recall God’s constant Presence in our lives. However, when our brains are traveling at 100 mph with legitimate things to do, then, it is prudent to make some adjustments. We need time to parcel each day to remember the immanent, yet transcendent, Divine Presence in our daily lives. We can learn from Islamics who pray five times a day. When we rise in the morning and retire in the evening, we should thank God for the gift of life. When we eat our three squares daily, we should thank God for the gift of food. We need time for religious consciousness.

2) We need time for solitude, silence and surrender to God in the course of our lives. (Each of these is definitely counter-cultural. Crowds, noise and control seem characteristic of the good life in our culture. We need time to rest our brains and our batteries recharged by the Good Shepherd to remind (teach??) us of the fact that our lives are not about us.

We need to be aware that all our ethics and morality are to based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As Pope John Paul teaches, there are no moral free zones for individuals or nations when it comes to living with others politically, economically and legally. At home, at work, at school, wherever our life’s journey brings us, the Good Shepherd energizes us to live His Gospel each day in every way.

4) Finally, the Good Shepherd energizes us to be sensitive to those whose lives are less than what God wants for them. “Sharing our gifts from God” is characteristic behavior for Catholics. Compassionate solidarity is not peripherals, but basic for Catholics.

It is important for us to remember often the many blessings that God has bestowed upon us in terms of great relative prosperity, comfortable lifestyles and tremendous opportunities. These blessings do not assure us of salvation. However, they make demands upon us as the Little Flock of the Good Shepherd to thank God responsibly and generously again and again each day. 011903 AD jfq

A Prayer for 2003 AD

Spirit of God, we long to mend the broken circle,

to heal the fractures in the world around us and within our own souls.

We ask You this in the Name of Jesus the Lord of History. AMEN.

Weekly Reflection 011203AD

Sunday, January 12, 2003AD

Baptism of the Lord

Oh the Times! the Customs!

For a few today, religion can be a mere badge of identity. There might be a family pedigree or tradition in which a particular religion is part of a self-identity. As much as ethnic background, political affiliation, club membership, religion is merely an identifier, rather than a way of life.

A startling statistic in the USA is the identification of “unchurched Catholics” as our largest religion group.

We notice their presence when families gather for weddings or baptisms. Frequently, when it is time “to pray as Jesus teaches us”, a surprising number of people do not recognize this as the segue into the Lord’s Prayer.

Sadly, with the revelation of church scandals in the past year, many now might feel that they are justified in their unchurched status. “Why should anyone listen to them?”

We hope that Catholics find our Mass as a “weekly attitude adjustment hour”. Our Church gives scandal at times. Is this a sin? Yes! Unexpected? No! Jesus “opened a hospital for sinners, not a hotel for saints.” Some medical staff have pathologies as well.

The original audience of St Mark’s Gospel apparently were Christians who were experiencing much stress because of their faith in Jesus Christ. A popular opinion is that the Gospel of St Mark was written in Rome around 69 AD. The basis of this opinion is that the Roman Church was singled out as a group of urban terrorists as scapegoats for Nero’s fire in Rome in July 64 AD. (It was during the reaction to the fire that Sts Peter and Paul were executed as urban terrorist leaders.) Roman historian Tacitus said that the crime of Christians was odium humani generis , viz., “hatred of the human race.” In addition, the fact that the founder of the Christian movement had been crucified by a Roman governor did not make the popular estimation of Christians that much better. Finally, the outgrowth of the Jesus movement from Judaism brought public relations’ problems also. Recall that Jewish urban terrorists had revolted against Roman government during the 60’s of the first century. The Roman legion led by Vespasian and, later, Titus, besieged Jerusalem as a consequence. The siege that culminated in the destruction of the Temple and the entire city was on the horizon. This guilt by association made the name of Christian risky.

The core part of Mark’s Gospel is the “Doctrine of the Cross revealed” (Mk 8-Mk 10), warning Christians that Christianity might come with a price.

The baptismal scene of Jesus by John the Baptist hints at this today. Mark tells us that, at His baptism, “the skies were torn open” as the Spirit came upon Jesus. The next time the verb “torn open” is used is when the temple veil is torn in two on Good Friday. Something cosmic and earth-shattering has occurred, worth the commitment.

These days, a few confirmation candidates have to sign in to prove they were at Mass. O the times! O the customs! 011203 AD jfq

Weekly Reflection 010503AD

Sunday, January 5, 2003AD

Epiphany of the Lord

Family in Iraq

Were there 3 Magi or more? Was one of them Black (making our Church equal opportunity 2,000 years ago)? Whence did the Magi come?

The story of the Magi fires the Catholic imagination, even after 2000 years. Taking St Matthew’s Infancy Narrative as our only source, the Jewish Messiah was first manifested and worshipped by pagan Gentiles astrologers. What’s up with that?

Titles of the Christ Child in Matthew’s Infancy Narrative are Emmanuel (God with us) as well as Son of David and Son of Abraham.

The Abraham connection is what is operative today. In the story of Abraham in Genesis, God tells Abraham and Sarah that through them, all nations of the earth will be blessed. Through Jesus, Son of Abraham and Sarah, all nations have been blessed. All are included in the Emmanuel, the God with us, Jesus Christ.

As we enter a New Year, we pray for peace. In a world threatened by wars and rumors of wars, Pope John Paul asks us to think differently than in the past. In his Day of Peace statement on January 1, 2003 AD, John Paul rejoiced in the leaps forward made in the 40 years since Blessed John XXIII published his statement Pacem in Terris, Peace on Earth. In the world of the Berlin Wall, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the nuclear arms race, Pope John seemed foolish to talk about men (and women) of good will working for basic human rights, such as listed in the UN Declaration of Human Rights in 1948.

While the world did not become perfect in the past 40 years, at least the effects of the Cold War in European communism were obviated by the Human Rights movements in Eastern Europe in 1989 and following.

Now the world faces new problems. John Paul feels that in the shaky world of 2003, with the specter of war on the immediate horizon, all people, especially world leaders, need to have a revolution in their hearts about our relationships with others. In Truth, we should acknowledge that all of us are equal in God’s eyes. In Justice, we should behave accordingly with one another. In Love, we should be willing to share with the less fortunate. In Freedom, we should act responsibly for the good of the entire human family. Everyone counts with God.

John Paul speaks of basic and universal human duties in our dealings with one another. It is not peripheral, but incumbent, for humanity to be mindful of others.

We are responsible for our human actions. In addition to our personal morals, we are responsible for the morals of the groups to which we belong. The Pope says that there are no moral “free zones” when it comes to politics, economics and justice for people. God judges actions the same.

Ironically, the ethnicity of the Magi was probably Babylonian or Chaldean, Iraqi and Irani, these days. As one person wore on a T-shirt recently, “I have family in Iraq.” Don’t we all? 010503 AD jfq

A Prayer for 2003 AD

Spirit of God, we long to mend the broken circle,

to heal the fractures in the world around us and within our own souls.

We ask You this in the Name of Jesus the Lord of History. AMEN.