Could This Be You?
Long ago, biblical scholars saw two levels of the healing of the blind man in today’s Gospel. First, it describes the physical healing of a 39 year old man who was born blind. Yet, in the story, more than physical sight is given. The man born blind us brought to the illumination of faith by Jesus as he gradually comes to accept Jesus as the Son of Man, even more, the Lord.
The season of Lent has, as one of its origins, a 40 day period of intense preparation by catechumens (tyro-Christians) for the reception of the Sacraments of Initation, viz., Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, during the Easter Vigil from Holy Saturday into Easter Sunday morning.
Some of the names by which Baptism was called in early Christianity was the “Sacrament of Illumination and Enlightenment.” The custom of lighting the small baptismal candle from the Paschal Candle is the vestige of this former sacramental name.
Notice the story of the man born blind. The healing takes place bear a pool and it involves a washing with water. While Jesus only appears twice in the story, He is ever the Subject of the story because of the controversy over the identity of the Healer. While Jesus speaks to the man directly twice, the man only sees Jesus once because he was still blind in the first encounter.
Something curious happens as the story unfolds. As more grief is heaped upon the man, he calls Jesus “that man”, then, a “prophet”, then, “from God”, then,”Son of Man”, then, “Lord”. Like the Samaritan woman last week, the blind man’s faith develops because of the influence of Jesus. The blind man is a symbol of what we are all called to be as disciples of Jesus.
In the latter portions of the fourth Gospel, we start to hear of the “beloved disciple”, one who is the model disciple, the one whom we are all called to be. Much conjecture has been made about the identity of the beloved disciple.
Traditionally, the Fourth Gospel has been attributed to the Apostle John (hence, its unofficial name.) However, all the Gospels are anonymous documents as we are not sure of the identity of any of the evangelists. As a result, some thought that the Apostle John was humbly remaining anonymous in his self-description.
Another opinion is that perhaps, Lazarus, the dead man raised to life in John 11 was the beloved disciple. (This last of Jesus’ 7 signs is the immediate trigger which results in the death and Resurrection of Jesus.)Neither Lazarus nor the beloved disciple had been mentioned earlier in the Gospel.
Still, another opinion is that, perhaps, it is our hero, the blind man, in today’s Gospel, who is the beloved disciple. He is favorable presented in the Gospel as a Jewish disciple who receives initial illumination and enlightenment from Jesus (Whom he cannot see) near a pool of water. As the pressure mounts, his faith in Jesus grows. Finally, in the closing scene today, he “sees” Jesus Who obviously loves him and Whom he obviously loves in return.
The question in the Gospel today is not, “Is the man born blind the beloved disciple?” Maybe yes or no.
Rather, the real question is “Am I the beloved disciple?” 031002 AD jfq
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Refelction 031002AD
Could This Be You?
Long ago, biblical scholars saw two levels of the healing of the blind man in today’s Gospel. First, it describes the physical healing of a 39 year old man who was born blind. Yet, in the story, more than physical sight is given. The man born blind us brought to the illumination of faith by Jesus as he gradually comes to accept Jesus as the Son of Man, even more, the Lord.
The season of Lent has, as one of its origins, a 40 day period of intense preparation by catechumens (tyro-Christians) for the reception of the Sacraments of Initation, viz., Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, during the Easter Vigil from Holy Saturday into Easter Sunday morning.
Some of the names by which Baptism was called in early Christianity was the “Sacrament of Illumination and Enlightenment.” The custom of lighting the small baptismal candle from the Paschal Candle is the vestige of this former sacramental name.
Notice the story of the man born blind. The healing takes place bear a pool and it involves a washing with water. While Jesus only appears twice in the story, He is ever the Subject of the story because of the controversy over the identity of the Healer. While Jesus speaks to the man directly twice, the man only sees Jesus once because he was still blind in the first encounter.
Something curious happens as the story unfolds. As more grief is heaped upon the man, he calls Jesus “that man”, then, a “prophet”, then, “from God”, then,”Son of Man”, then, “Lord”. Like the Samaritan woman last week, the blind man’s faith develops because of the influence of Jesus. The blind man is a symbol of what we are all called to be as disciples of Jesus.
In the latter portions of the fourth Gospel, we start to hear of the “beloved disciple”, one who is the model disciple, the one whom we are all called to be. Much conjecture has been made about the identity of the beloved disciple.
Traditionally, the Fourth Gospel has been attributed to the Apostle John (hence, its unofficial name.) However, all the Gospels are anonymous documents as we are not sure of the identity of any of the evangelists. As a result, some thought that the Apostle John was humbly remaining anonymous in his self-description.
Another opinion is that perhaps, Lazarus, the dead man raised to life in John 11 was the bekoved disciple. (This last of Jesus’ 7 signs is the immediate trigger which results in the death and Resurrection of Jesus.)Neither Lazarus nor the beloved disciple had been mentioned earlier in the Gospel.
Still, another opinion is that, perhaps, it is our hero, the blind man, in today’s Gospel, who is the beloved disciple. He is favorable presented in the Gospel as a Jewish disciple who receives initial illumination and enlightenment from Jesus (Whom he cannot see) near a pool of water. As the pressure mounts, his faith in Jesus grows. Finally, in the closing scene today, he “sees” Jesus Who obviously loves him and Whom he obviously loves in return.
The question in the Gospel today is not, “Is the man born blind the beloved disciple?” Maybe yes or no.
Rather, the real question is “Am I the beloved disciple?” 031002 AD jfq
Long ago, biblical scholars saw two levels of the healing of the blind man in today’s Gospel. First, it describes the physical healing of a 39 year old man who was born blind. Yet, in the story, more than physical sight is given. The man born blind us brought to the illumination of faith by Jesus as he gradually comes to accept Jesus as the Son of Man, even more, the Lord.
The season of Lent has, as one of its origins, a 40 day period of intense preparation by catechumens (tyro-Christians) for the reception of the Sacraments of Initation, viz., Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist, during the Easter Vigil from Holy Saturday into Easter Sunday morning.
Some of the names by which Baptism was called in early Christianity was the “Sacrament of Illumination and Enlightenment.” The custom of lighting the small baptismal candle from the Paschal Candle is the vestige of this former sacramental name.
Notice the story of the man born blind. The healing takes place bear a pool and it involves a washing with water. While Jesus only appears twice in the story, He is ever the Subject of the story because of the controversy over the identity of the Healer. While Jesus speaks to the man directly twice, the man only sees Jesus once because he was still blind in the first encounter.
Something curious happens as the story unfolds. As more grief is heaped upon the man, he calls Jesus “that man”, then, a “prophet”, then, “from God”, then,”Son of Man”, then, “Lord”. Like the Samaritan woman last week, the blind man’s faith develops because of the influence of Jesus. The blind man is a symbol of what we are all called to be as disciples of Jesus.
In the latter portions of the fourth Gospel, we start to hear of the “beloved disciple”, one who is the model disciple, the one whom we are all called to be. Much conjecture has been made about the identity of the beloved disciple.
Traditionally, the Fourth Gospel has been attributed to the Apostle John (hence, its unofficial name.) However, all the Gospels are anonymous documents as we are not sure of the identity of any of the evangelists. As a result, some thought that the Apostle John was humbly remaining anonymous in his self-description.
Another opinion is that perhaps, Lazarus, the dead man raised to life in John 11 was the bekoved disciple. (This last of Jesus’ 7 signs is the immediate trigger which results in the death and Resurrection of Jesus.)Neither Lazarus nor the beloved disciple had been mentioned earlier in the Gospel.
Still, another opinion is that, perhaps, it is our hero, the blind man, in today’s Gospel, who is the beloved disciple. He is favorable presented in the Gospel as a Jewish disciple who receives initial illumination and enlightenment from Jesus (Whom he cannot see) near a pool of water. As the pressure mounts, his faith in Jesus grows. Finally, in the closing scene today, he “sees” Jesus Who obviously loves him and Whom he obviously loves in return.
The question in the Gospel today is not, “Is the man born blind the beloved disciple?” Maybe yes or no.
Rather, the real question is “Am I the beloved disciple?” 031002 AD jfq
Friday, December 24, 2010
Weekly Reflection -- Holy Family Sunday, 122610AD
A Dad (and Dads) for All Seasons
Scripture studies are discovering new insights about the role of St Joseph, the foster-father of the Christ Child. Usually, we imagine him as the “Strong Silent” Type, because he speaks no words. However, the adage had to be true then as it is now, “values are caught, not taught”. Though taciturn, St Jospeh did a great job with his young Ward!! What might St Joseph have taught Jesus?
First, of all, we know that St Joseph was an observant Jew. We know that the Holy Family went up to Jerusalem to celebrate annually the Passover. We know that Jesus was part of an extended family, because relatives traveled in the caravan. Since St Joseph went to the Temple, it is a safe presumption that he went to synagogue every Friday evening. He would have observed other big feast days as well, such as Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkoth. The adult Jesus was very comfortable in synagogues, a religious locus. The young Jesus, in addition, knew lots about the Scriptures. Recall when he was with the teachers of the Law.
In addition, most of the people back then seem to have been tenant farmers, ‘people of the land” “Ame Haaretz” . (Some say that nearly 90% of the population addressed by Jesus were in this category.)
However, St Joseph had a trade and worked with his hands. The correct translation of the word used for his occupation in Greek is tektonos. It means craftsman. However, its usage is not limited to that alone. While it can present a picture of the Holy Family, comfy at home in Nazareth with a carpentry shop attached or nearby, there are alternative possibilities.
Some think that the word can also be translated as craftsman, artisan, even hardhat, viz., a construction worker. We know now that much building was done in the area near Nazareth. Within a few miles was the city of Sepphoris (not even mentioned in the Scriptures). Some speculate that if St Joseph were, indeed, a construction worker, he would have brought Jesus along as a tyro, a novice, a rookie to work on construction sites. Jesus and His foster father would have had a broader experience of the world than just Nazareth. Jesus saw a bigger picture.
In addition, St Joseph would have shared with Jesus what we call the Noble Truths of Human Life. 1) Life gets tough (in Nazareth and in all other places, even here and now, as the world sadly learned in the fall of 2008! ). Don’t expect the good life to maintain itself. 2) God would be acknowledged by Jesus (as by St Joseph) as the Central Point of Reference of Jesus’ universe. 3) Jesus’ Life was not about Him; He was about life (and death and Resurrection!!)
Probably, it was Mary and Joseph who taught Jesus the Third Way of Conflict Resolution, viz., try to create a Win-Win scenario rather than revert to reptilian brain, Fight or Flight.
As we celebrated Mary’s conception in the womb of her mother, St Anne, we realized by a special grace that Mary passed on no baggage or junk to her Child. (By extension, St Joseph could be saluted the same way, by God’s grace, as well.)
Obviously, the Foster Father of the Child Jesus was an extraordinary role model for his Young Charge. The first person called Abba (Dada) by Jesus would have been St Joseph. Jesus later teaches us (here and now) to address God Our Creator, Mainstay and Goal by the same term, Abba!!
Today, St Joseph would have taught Jesus to love and acknowledge God 24-7-365. He would have taught Jesus to be both righteous (knew His place in relational matrix, called the universe today). He taught Him the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Mary and Joseph would have not passed on any baggage to Jesus because He does not pass any on to us. With God’s Help, can all Dads (and all others) try to do the same in 2011AD? 122610AD jfq
Scripture studies are discovering new insights about the role of St Joseph, the foster-father of the Christ Child. Usually, we imagine him as the “Strong Silent” Type, because he speaks no words. However, the adage had to be true then as it is now, “values are caught, not taught”. Though taciturn, St Jospeh did a great job with his young Ward!! What might St Joseph have taught Jesus?
First, of all, we know that St Joseph was an observant Jew. We know that the Holy Family went up to Jerusalem to celebrate annually the Passover. We know that Jesus was part of an extended family, because relatives traveled in the caravan. Since St Joseph went to the Temple, it is a safe presumption that he went to synagogue every Friday evening. He would have observed other big feast days as well, such as Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkoth. The adult Jesus was very comfortable in synagogues, a religious locus. The young Jesus, in addition, knew lots about the Scriptures. Recall when he was with the teachers of the Law.
In addition, most of the people back then seem to have been tenant farmers, ‘people of the land” “Ame Haaretz” . (Some say that nearly 90% of the population addressed by Jesus were in this category.)
However, St Joseph had a trade and worked with his hands. The correct translation of the word used for his occupation in Greek is tektonos. It means craftsman. However, its usage is not limited to that alone. While it can present a picture of the Holy Family, comfy at home in Nazareth with a carpentry shop attached or nearby, there are alternative possibilities.
Some think that the word can also be translated as craftsman, artisan, even hardhat, viz., a construction worker. We know now that much building was done in the area near Nazareth. Within a few miles was the city of Sepphoris (not even mentioned in the Scriptures). Some speculate that if St Joseph were, indeed, a construction worker, he would have brought Jesus along as a tyro, a novice, a rookie to work on construction sites. Jesus and His foster father would have had a broader experience of the world than just Nazareth. Jesus saw a bigger picture.
In addition, St Joseph would have shared with Jesus what we call the Noble Truths of Human Life. 1) Life gets tough (in Nazareth and in all other places, even here and now, as the world sadly learned in the fall of 2008! ). Don’t expect the good life to maintain itself. 2) God would be acknowledged by Jesus (as by St Joseph) as the Central Point of Reference of Jesus’ universe. 3) Jesus’ Life was not about Him; He was about life (and death and Resurrection!!)
Probably, it was Mary and Joseph who taught Jesus the Third Way of Conflict Resolution, viz., try to create a Win-Win scenario rather than revert to reptilian brain, Fight or Flight.
As we celebrated Mary’s conception in the womb of her mother, St Anne, we realized by a special grace that Mary passed on no baggage or junk to her Child. (By extension, St Joseph could be saluted the same way, by God’s grace, as well.)
Obviously, the Foster Father of the Child Jesus was an extraordinary role model for his Young Charge. The first person called Abba (Dada) by Jesus would have been St Joseph. Jesus later teaches us (here and now) to address God Our Creator, Mainstay and Goal by the same term, Abba!!
Today, St Joseph would have taught Jesus to love and acknowledge God 24-7-365. He would have taught Jesus to be both righteous (knew His place in relational matrix, called the universe today). He taught Him the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”
Mary and Joseph would have not passed on any baggage to Jesus because He does not pass any on to us. With God’s Help, can all Dads (and all others) try to do the same in 2011AD? 122610AD jfq
Christmas, 2010AD
Why Do We Celebrate?
The Jesus Movement gathers this weekend, as we have gathered for 1800 years, to celebrate today the Birth of the Messiah. God became human when the Second Person of the Trinity took flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary. What is that all about?
Father Karl Rahner wrote, in the mid-twentieth century, that each person needed to realize that the Holy Mystery of Transcendent God is the answer to the human question. We discover who we truly are, when we realize God’s place as our Origin, our Sustainer and our final Goal. Everybody is oriented to Transcendence, to Mystery, to the Absolute. Everybody is created with a certain freedom, not an absolute freedom, but a freedom relativized by the freedom of everybody else. Everybody is, however, contingent. All that we are and have is a gift and/or the result of a gift to us, which none of us has a right to demand. Christ Jesus tells us that this is the human situation and that with His Help, we walk with and in and through Him each day.
Jesus teaches that everybody is a “work in progress”, a “text in travail”, a “mass of contradictions”. God is not finished refining us until we breathe our last breath in this life.
Into our human situation, compulsed and enmeshed in addictions that are too big for us to handle on our own, God has sent His Son to straighten out the chaos. We see in the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ, God’s plan for all creation fulfilled for all of us. Christ Jesus is the Archetype, the Paradigm the Exemplar of what every human person is called to be. Through our association with Him in the Church, the Christ Quantum becomes a reality for all of us and, through us, for everyone with whom we have dealings.
First and foremost, Christ Jesus was born into the world to teach us to participate in the Paschal Mystery in, with and through Him. Death and resurrection is the reality of the universe, dictated by a God Who loves us. Through His death and Resurrection, Jesus teaches us not to fear but to live reality in a transformed way. We learn with and through Him to “surrender, let go and trust” the Divine Mystery at work in your life this very moment. We learn “to bear the pain” that is part and parcel of every human life at one time or another. We learn that, in the end, “less is better” because “more clutters” our orientation to Transcendence, to Mystery, to the Absolute.
Christ Jesus teaches us to learn from Him as we live our lives. He teaches and imparts humility to those who care for it. Humility is the ability to remember ultimately that we are dust and, until dust, we shall return. He teaches and imparts obedience. Obedience is when we respond to the call of the Transcendent built into us whether we know it or not. Christ Jesus teaches and imparts the ability to pour ourselves out for others as He did. First and foremost, this means our families and our friends, but, in the long run, all men and women are family.
Mohandas Gandhi taught that the world that we envision at its best should be should be replicated in the way we live our lives each day. We should be, first, the type of person that all should be. Then, the paradox of Jesus’ words take on a deeper meaning. Yes, we realize that the Kingdom will not come in all its fullness in our lifetime and so we pray, “Thy Kingdom come”. However, we will understand that, yes, the Kingdom of God is already in our midst.
We live in “in-between”, threshold time. On the one hand, Marantha! Come, Lord Jesus; on the other hand, Emmanuel! God is with us now. Celebrate the paradox!!!!
How much God loved us when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us! God gave the greatest gift of all to you and to me. No wonder Catholics celebrate! Let’s have a party! Merry Christmas. 122510AD jfq
The Jesus Movement gathers this weekend, as we have gathered for 1800 years, to celebrate today the Birth of the Messiah. God became human when the Second Person of the Trinity took flesh and was born of the Virgin Mary. What is that all about?
Father Karl Rahner wrote, in the mid-twentieth century, that each person needed to realize that the Holy Mystery of Transcendent God is the answer to the human question. We discover who we truly are, when we realize God’s place as our Origin, our Sustainer and our final Goal. Everybody is oriented to Transcendence, to Mystery, to the Absolute. Everybody is created with a certain freedom, not an absolute freedom, but a freedom relativized by the freedom of everybody else. Everybody is, however, contingent. All that we are and have is a gift and/or the result of a gift to us, which none of us has a right to demand. Christ Jesus tells us that this is the human situation and that with His Help, we walk with and in and through Him each day.
Jesus teaches that everybody is a “work in progress”, a “text in travail”, a “mass of contradictions”. God is not finished refining us until we breathe our last breath in this life.
Into our human situation, compulsed and enmeshed in addictions that are too big for us to handle on our own, God has sent His Son to straighten out the chaos. We see in the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ, God’s plan for all creation fulfilled for all of us. Christ Jesus is the Archetype, the Paradigm the Exemplar of what every human person is called to be. Through our association with Him in the Church, the Christ Quantum becomes a reality for all of us and, through us, for everyone with whom we have dealings.
First and foremost, Christ Jesus was born into the world to teach us to participate in the Paschal Mystery in, with and through Him. Death and resurrection is the reality of the universe, dictated by a God Who loves us. Through His death and Resurrection, Jesus teaches us not to fear but to live reality in a transformed way. We learn with and through Him to “surrender, let go and trust” the Divine Mystery at work in your life this very moment. We learn “to bear the pain” that is part and parcel of every human life at one time or another. We learn that, in the end, “less is better” because “more clutters” our orientation to Transcendence, to Mystery, to the Absolute.
Christ Jesus teaches us to learn from Him as we live our lives. He teaches and imparts humility to those who care for it. Humility is the ability to remember ultimately that we are dust and, until dust, we shall return. He teaches and imparts obedience. Obedience is when we respond to the call of the Transcendent built into us whether we know it or not. Christ Jesus teaches and imparts the ability to pour ourselves out for others as He did. First and foremost, this means our families and our friends, but, in the long run, all men and women are family.
Mohandas Gandhi taught that the world that we envision at its best should be should be replicated in the way we live our lives each day. We should be, first, the type of person that all should be. Then, the paradox of Jesus’ words take on a deeper meaning. Yes, we realize that the Kingdom will not come in all its fullness in our lifetime and so we pray, “Thy Kingdom come”. However, we will understand that, yes, the Kingdom of God is already in our midst.
We live in “in-between”, threshold time. On the one hand, Marantha! Come, Lord Jesus; on the other hand, Emmanuel! God is with us now. Celebrate the paradox!!!!
How much God loved us when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us! God gave the greatest gift of all to you and to me. No wonder Catholics celebrate! Let’s have a party! Merry Christmas. 122510AD jfq
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Weekly Reflection, Dec 19, 2010AD
It’s Foster Father’s Day
Every Advent, we pause on reflect on the Fourth Sunday, just before Christmas, to reflect on the fulfillment of the Prophet Isaiah’s words in the Greek Old Testament, “The virgin shall conceive and give birth to a son. His name will be Emmanuel, viz., God with us.” However, this year’s Gospel is St Joseph’s reaction to the news of the Virgin Birth.
Joseph’s dilemma concerned his love for Mary and his righteousness as an observant Jew about Mary’s status as a putative outlaw of the Torah. His decision was to divorce Mary quietly, so that they both could get on with their lives.
However, in days of stricter Torah interpretation, Mary would have been in really big trouble. Theoretically, her violation could have brought public humiliation and execution. (Not Nice!!) (In the news today, we hear how women in some cultures are treated more punitively than men, when caught in an illicit liaison.)
St Joseph’s dilemma was his love for his bride and his commitment to Torah. St Matthew tells us that compassion was intended to triumph over Law because of his plan. However, the Annunciation to St Joseph in today’s Gospel obviates the problem. This was, indeed, a good man.
Child psychologists tell us that children’s earliest ages (from birth to 5) can be most formative in terms of self-imagery, God-imagery and one’s place in the world. There is no reason to think that such was not the case with St Joseph and his foster-child. The first person that Jesus would have addressed as Abba, Dada, was St Joseph, his foster father. Later, Jesus was so comfortable with the word that He teaches us still to address God as Abba. Jesus must have had a very positive self-image and God-image, somehow mediated through the love and care of his foster father.
Theologians tell us that the Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of St Anne (dealing with Mary’s conception without original sin in the womb of her mother) is really an expression of the idea that Jesus turned out so well, that it had to be due to the positive environment in which He dwelt in Nazareth. One might add that the use of the word “righteous” by St Matthew in today’s Gospel is an inspired way to say the same about the positive influence of Jesus’ foster father. (The only other person called righteous in St Matthew’s Gospel is Jesus Himself when Mrs Pilate tells her husband to have nothing to do with that righteous man.
During His Youth, we can be certain that Jesus would have caught the values of Mary and Joseph big time.
Certainly, St Joseph had to have taught Jesus the Three Noble Truths. 1) Life was going to get tough for Jesus (as it does for everyone!) 2) Life did not revolve around Jesus in Nazareth. 3) Life is a process of ascent, descent and Transformation. ( We Christians call it the Paschal Mystery”). (He certainly did not teach Jesus the Religion of Nice.)
Many comment on the beating that fathers frequently take in conventional wisdom these days. Many feel that many traditional institutions, such as marriage, have undergone a scrutiny that would not have been imaginable before 1968, seen as a critical watershed year early on.
A few years ago, a book appeared, entitled Fatherless America, which theorized that the fading role of some Dads, for myriad reasons, was a germane problem to American culture because it ultimately was concerned with the traditional family, the cell of any society.
No doubt, the Holy Family was a-typical. No family could match the triad of Joseph, Mary and Jesus. However, it is appropriate that we see the husband of Mary, the foster father of the Son of God Incarnate, as an admirable example of spouse and head of household. St Joseph was righteous and compassionate, with compassion on the ascent. As most cultures know, the role of the father is formative of the child’s self-imagery, God-imagery, and one’s role in life. In the baptismal liturgy we all hear that the father, with his wife, will be the first teachers of the children in the ways of faith and hope. How important it is for parents who seriously want a religious formation for their children to realize that values are caught, not taught, particularly in the home, hopefully called the domestic church. Sad when parents drop kids off at religious education and then, drive off at dismissal time without any participation in the Sunday Eucharist. Even sadder are examples of when families attend Mass as a group, only when grandparents are visiting. Saddest of all is when families hint that religious life is a burden to be endured for the time being.
Values are caught, not taught. What happens when someone raised on the Religion of Nice, Catholic Style when the crises of life set in as they do in the life of every person?
St Joseph would tell us to listen to the seriousness of those words. He did the best he could in sharing His view of reality with the Young Jesus. He must have done a great job, because Jesus teaches us to call God Abba, the exact time that Jesus would have used for St Joseph. 121910AD jfq
Every Advent, we pause on reflect on the Fourth Sunday, just before Christmas, to reflect on the fulfillment of the Prophet Isaiah’s words in the Greek Old Testament, “The virgin shall conceive and give birth to a son. His name will be Emmanuel, viz., God with us.” However, this year’s Gospel is St Joseph’s reaction to the news of the Virgin Birth.
Joseph’s dilemma concerned his love for Mary and his righteousness as an observant Jew about Mary’s status as a putative outlaw of the Torah. His decision was to divorce Mary quietly, so that they both could get on with their lives.
However, in days of stricter Torah interpretation, Mary would have been in really big trouble. Theoretically, her violation could have brought public humiliation and execution. (Not Nice!!) (In the news today, we hear how women in some cultures are treated more punitively than men, when caught in an illicit liaison.)
St Joseph’s dilemma was his love for his bride and his commitment to Torah. St Matthew tells us that compassion was intended to triumph over Law because of his plan. However, the Annunciation to St Joseph in today’s Gospel obviates the problem. This was, indeed, a good man.
Child psychologists tell us that children’s earliest ages (from birth to 5) can be most formative in terms of self-imagery, God-imagery and one’s place in the world. There is no reason to think that such was not the case with St Joseph and his foster-child. The first person that Jesus would have addressed as Abba, Dada, was St Joseph, his foster father. Later, Jesus was so comfortable with the word that He teaches us still to address God as Abba. Jesus must have had a very positive self-image and God-image, somehow mediated through the love and care of his foster father.
Theologians tell us that the Doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of St Anne (dealing with Mary’s conception without original sin in the womb of her mother) is really an expression of the idea that Jesus turned out so well, that it had to be due to the positive environment in which He dwelt in Nazareth. One might add that the use of the word “righteous” by St Matthew in today’s Gospel is an inspired way to say the same about the positive influence of Jesus’ foster father. (The only other person called righteous in St Matthew’s Gospel is Jesus Himself when Mrs Pilate tells her husband to have nothing to do with that righteous man.
During His Youth, we can be certain that Jesus would have caught the values of Mary and Joseph big time.
Certainly, St Joseph had to have taught Jesus the Three Noble Truths. 1) Life was going to get tough for Jesus (as it does for everyone!) 2) Life did not revolve around Jesus in Nazareth. 3) Life is a process of ascent, descent and Transformation. ( We Christians call it the Paschal Mystery”). (He certainly did not teach Jesus the Religion of Nice.)
Many comment on the beating that fathers frequently take in conventional wisdom these days. Many feel that many traditional institutions, such as marriage, have undergone a scrutiny that would not have been imaginable before 1968, seen as a critical watershed year early on.
A few years ago, a book appeared, entitled Fatherless America, which theorized that the fading role of some Dads, for myriad reasons, was a germane problem to American culture because it ultimately was concerned with the traditional family, the cell of any society.
No doubt, the Holy Family was a-typical. No family could match the triad of Joseph, Mary and Jesus. However, it is appropriate that we see the husband of Mary, the foster father of the Son of God Incarnate, as an admirable example of spouse and head of household. St Joseph was righteous and compassionate, with compassion on the ascent. As most cultures know, the role of the father is formative of the child’s self-imagery, God-imagery, and one’s role in life. In the baptismal liturgy we all hear that the father, with his wife, will be the first teachers of the children in the ways of faith and hope. How important it is for parents who seriously want a religious formation for their children to realize that values are caught, not taught, particularly in the home, hopefully called the domestic church. Sad when parents drop kids off at religious education and then, drive off at dismissal time without any participation in the Sunday Eucharist. Even sadder are examples of when families attend Mass as a group, only when grandparents are visiting. Saddest of all is when families hint that religious life is a burden to be endured for the time being.
Values are caught, not taught. What happens when someone raised on the Religion of Nice, Catholic Style when the crises of life set in as they do in the life of every person?
St Joseph would tell us to listen to the seriousness of those words. He did the best he could in sharing His view of reality with the Young Jesus. He must have done a great job, because Jesus teaches us to call God Abba, the exact time that Jesus would have used for St Joseph. 121910AD jfq
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Weekend Reflection 121210AD
Jack the Dipper, Encore!
Once again, this weekend, as we near our celebration of the Birth of the Messiah, we hear from Jesus’ Warm-Up Act, St John the Baptist (aka Jack the Dipper). He warns people (then and now) that the System, as it is, is not exactly what God has in mind.
Apparently, many were, indeed, responding to John’s call to repent, viz., snap out of the trance, get a (new view of) life, smell God’s coffee. “The times, still they are a-changin’”.
Flavius Josephus, a Jewish-Roman historian, wrote an account of Jewish history in which both John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth were mentioned. Josephus wrote that while the famous story of Herodias’ wife and her daughter, Salome, was quite true, there was another reason why Herod imprisoned John. It was the very simple reason that people were listening to John’s message. The long lines of people who were baptized by John, indeed, did snap out of it. St Luke tells us that soldiers and tax gatherers were those who heard John and, apparently, did start to clean up their act and behaved in a human way in the dealings with one another. King Herod’s system was based on intimidation and injustice and some of his henchpeople were hearing what John said and acted upon it by cleaning up their act.
In today’s Gospel, John, in prison, tries to get the buzz on Jesus. Of course, John would have known that Jesus had been baptized by John himself. However, John’s message was fire and brimstone, with no guarantee that God will relent from settling the score. Things cannot go on thus.
Jesus’ message was much different. His Good News was, indeed, that God has forgiven the people. What we had to do is to step forward and subscribe to God’s Alternative Wisdom (subversive) to the System, known as God’s New World Order, a New Consciousness, God’s Kingdom, incarnate in Jesus Himself. It was not for nothing that Jesus was crucified. If people were listening to John’s tough message, how would they respond to Jesus’ easier message. “Something is happening. Don’t be afraid. God is with us. Try to behave as you took all of Jesus’ Message seriously.”
This week, the imprisoned Baptist sends two of his representatives to ask Jesus whether or not Jesus is the “One Who is to come.” Jesus gives a typical response by reminding John’s envoys what has been happening with Jesus’ arrival. In fulfillment of the vision of Isaiah in our first reading this weekend, “the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk”. However, Jesus adds two others. “The dead are raised and the poor hear the Gospel”. One would expect that the mightiest acts of all would be mentioned last. What is mightier than the dead being raised? Yet, there is, according to the young Jesus, “the poor hear the Gospel.”
Now, anthropologists help biblical scholars understand the world out of which the Scriptures, both Hebrew and Christian, emanated. In Jesus’ world, probably as high as 95% of the population were sharecroppers and/or tenant farmers. Most people lived from hand to mouth. They had less than warm feelings for any of those who controlled the situation, whether it was the Romans, their collaborators in Herod’s clique or their flunkies, who did the clique’s bidding.
Jesus’ outreach was to the 95% who lived a tough existence daily. (Their lot in life has been compared to the majority of people who live in Central America and many poor in affluent nations.) It was to such, then and now, that Jesus proclaimed the Gospel (Good News??) to them. Jesus teaches that in His arrival and establishment of God’s Kingdom, things could and would ultimately be different.
Things could be different already in one’s own mind and heart if one followed what Mohandas Gandhi said, “If you want the Kingdom even sooner, try to be the person who lives the Kingdom values daily.”
Apparently, John the Baptist developed a critical mass of change agents that King Herod found threatening. Apparently, Jesus did as well because the System read into the implications of the Kingdom of God, as opposed to the Empire of Caesar. Good Friday (and Easter Sunday) was the result. (cf. the inscription over His Head.)
Gandhi meant to be encouraging, but sadly, many would feel discouragement. One should be reminded that when we are young, we want to change the world. As we mature, then, we hope to change ourselves. What John, Jesus and Gandhi tell us, try it and see! Rev. Jim Wallis would probably agree. What would Glenn Beck say? 121210AD jfq
Once again, this weekend, as we near our celebration of the Birth of the Messiah, we hear from Jesus’ Warm-Up Act, St John the Baptist (aka Jack the Dipper). He warns people (then and now) that the System, as it is, is not exactly what God has in mind.
Apparently, many were, indeed, responding to John’s call to repent, viz., snap out of the trance, get a (new view of) life, smell God’s coffee. “The times, still they are a-changin’”.
Flavius Josephus, a Jewish-Roman historian, wrote an account of Jewish history in which both John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth were mentioned. Josephus wrote that while the famous story of Herodias’ wife and her daughter, Salome, was quite true, there was another reason why Herod imprisoned John. It was the very simple reason that people were listening to John’s message. The long lines of people who were baptized by John, indeed, did snap out of it. St Luke tells us that soldiers and tax gatherers were those who heard John and, apparently, did start to clean up their act and behaved in a human way in the dealings with one another. King Herod’s system was based on intimidation and injustice and some of his henchpeople were hearing what John said and acted upon it by cleaning up their act.
In today’s Gospel, John, in prison, tries to get the buzz on Jesus. Of course, John would have known that Jesus had been baptized by John himself. However, John’s message was fire and brimstone, with no guarantee that God will relent from settling the score. Things cannot go on thus.
Jesus’ message was much different. His Good News was, indeed, that God has forgiven the people. What we had to do is to step forward and subscribe to God’s Alternative Wisdom (subversive) to the System, known as God’s New World Order, a New Consciousness, God’s Kingdom, incarnate in Jesus Himself. It was not for nothing that Jesus was crucified. If people were listening to John’s tough message, how would they respond to Jesus’ easier message. “Something is happening. Don’t be afraid. God is with us. Try to behave as you took all of Jesus’ Message seriously.”
This week, the imprisoned Baptist sends two of his representatives to ask Jesus whether or not Jesus is the “One Who is to come.” Jesus gives a typical response by reminding John’s envoys what has been happening with Jesus’ arrival. In fulfillment of the vision of Isaiah in our first reading this weekend, “the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk”. However, Jesus adds two others. “The dead are raised and the poor hear the Gospel”. One would expect that the mightiest acts of all would be mentioned last. What is mightier than the dead being raised? Yet, there is, according to the young Jesus, “the poor hear the Gospel.”
Now, anthropologists help biblical scholars understand the world out of which the Scriptures, both Hebrew and Christian, emanated. In Jesus’ world, probably as high as 95% of the population were sharecroppers and/or tenant farmers. Most people lived from hand to mouth. They had less than warm feelings for any of those who controlled the situation, whether it was the Romans, their collaborators in Herod’s clique or their flunkies, who did the clique’s bidding.
Jesus’ outreach was to the 95% who lived a tough existence daily. (Their lot in life has been compared to the majority of people who live in Central America and many poor in affluent nations.) It was to such, then and now, that Jesus proclaimed the Gospel (Good News??) to them. Jesus teaches that in His arrival and establishment of God’s Kingdom, things could and would ultimately be different.
Things could be different already in one’s own mind and heart if one followed what Mohandas Gandhi said, “If you want the Kingdom even sooner, try to be the person who lives the Kingdom values daily.”
Apparently, John the Baptist developed a critical mass of change agents that King Herod found threatening. Apparently, Jesus did as well because the System read into the implications of the Kingdom of God, as opposed to the Empire of Caesar. Good Friday (and Easter Sunday) was the result. (cf. the inscription over His Head.)
Gandhi meant to be encouraging, but sadly, many would feel discouragement. One should be reminded that when we are young, we want to change the world. As we mature, then, we hope to change ourselves. What John, Jesus and Gandhi tell us, try it and see! Rev. Jim Wallis would probably agree. What would Glenn Beck say? 121210AD jfq
Friday, December 3, 2010
Weekly Reflection 120510AD
Just Before The Main Attraction
John the Baptist is the Messiah’s warm-up act, He challenges us to realize that we need to snap out of it if God is not recognized as the Center Point of Reference of our existence. The Messiah will show us how to do so and enable us at the same time to recognize reality as it really is.
John, one of our familiar Advent companions, makes his annual appearance in our Liturgy of the Word today. We do not hear from Jesus in our Gospel today, but His warm-up man is on the scene, setting the stage. St John the Baptist is back to remind us that complacency is a pax perniciosa, viz., a dangerous peace, an evaporation of faith, a comfortable faith, a middle class faith, what has devolved today into “The Religion of Nice, viz., Therapeutic, Moralistic Deism.
Not so long ago, someone said that when Jesus spoke His parable of the guests invited to the wedding banquet, all the excuses that were offered by those declining the invite were perfectly normal and typical. One man bought a field, another, some oxen, another was on his honeymoon. Yet, the Host of the banquet was annoyed because sometimes, legitimate excuses can get in the way of what one needs to do. It is a temptation to which many of us succumb. Our lives become self-absorbed and we lose sight of what is ultimately most important. Our lives become so goal-oriented (legitimate goals) that we lose a sense of priorities. Sometimes, we indulge a senseless sense of urgency that we lose sight of what is truly important.
Our culture is rapidly changing in the Third Millennium. Yet, most people are so busy and occupied with the frenetic pace of life. (This season of Advent has deteriorated into the Christmas Rush, as usual. Is this December that different for most of us than Decembers past, except maybe for bigger sales?)
Good people get caught up in the “pax perniciosa”. We are moving with such momentum that we do not even know it. We even have great excuses because of the fast pace of our lives. Still, the Baptist challenges us with the need to get our acts together; Jesus provides the Energy and the Agenda for what we need to do. In his recent encyclical, Spe Salvi (Saved by Hope), the Pope rues the fact that religion has become so individual and lost our communal ramifications. What happens with the roof falls in and one has to take a walk in the woods, as he or she experiences the left hand of God (aka the Paschal Mystery)? Perhaps, St John’s blasting and Pope Benedict’s lament can turn us on to the Gospel of Jesus (maybe for the first time).
John Lennon, whose murder occurred thirty years ago this week in NYC said wisely, Life is what happens while you are making your plans!” We all learn the meaning of those words if we don’t know them already. God has a different sense of reality than we have and, more importantly, a different sense of priorities. What we see as absolutely irrefutable and undeniable might be seen by God in a different light. We cannot expect God to fulfill all our expectations; if we try to do so, we might very well end up angry, bewildered, cynical, depressed, ambushed. Sound familiar?
Recently, a theologian spoke on the value of ancient myths in understanding the human psyche. We described God as human imagery. What else could we do? The one who reversed that was the God of Moses. When Moses experienced God’s Presence in the burning bush, atop Mt Sinai, he apparently had an awesome awakening to God’s Presence. Consciousness of this Presence, Moses was told to remove his sandals for he was standing on holy ground. Then God related how God had heard the Hebrew cries of suffering, saw what they experiencing in an unjust social and economic setting and knew what they were experiencing. (We all recall that the biblical sense of “knowing” was not just intellectual, but rather an intimate awareness.) God meant to deliver them from their plight. When Moses asked God’s Name, God replied YHWH, translated in various ways, including both God of Existence and/or God Who cannot be named. We can never crack the Divine Mystery. We can try but don’t expect success!
This sums up the message of John the Baptist today. Someone is doing something in the universe and we don’t know what. Personalizing it, Someone is doing something with me and I am not sure what. Whatever it is is not trivial and unimportant. The stakes are high.
“I have to get ready for Christmas”, a sad response such as stepping up one’s efforts to shop until you drop, rather than slow down and feel the Presence even now, but not yet. During Advent, we are all called to fervent, expectant, patient and longing for what that Someone is doing with me. We need John the Baptist today, more than ever. Hence, his appearance, this weekend and next.120510AD
John the Baptist is the Messiah’s warm-up act, He challenges us to realize that we need to snap out of it if God is not recognized as the Center Point of Reference of our existence. The Messiah will show us how to do so and enable us at the same time to recognize reality as it really is.
John, one of our familiar Advent companions, makes his annual appearance in our Liturgy of the Word today. We do not hear from Jesus in our Gospel today, but His warm-up man is on the scene, setting the stage. St John the Baptist is back to remind us that complacency is a pax perniciosa, viz., a dangerous peace, an evaporation of faith, a comfortable faith, a middle class faith, what has devolved today into “The Religion of Nice, viz., Therapeutic, Moralistic Deism.
Not so long ago, someone said that when Jesus spoke His parable of the guests invited to the wedding banquet, all the excuses that were offered by those declining the invite were perfectly normal and typical. One man bought a field, another, some oxen, another was on his honeymoon. Yet, the Host of the banquet was annoyed because sometimes, legitimate excuses can get in the way of what one needs to do. It is a temptation to which many of us succumb. Our lives become self-absorbed and we lose sight of what is ultimately most important. Our lives become so goal-oriented (legitimate goals) that we lose a sense of priorities. Sometimes, we indulge a senseless sense of urgency that we lose sight of what is truly important.
Our culture is rapidly changing in the Third Millennium. Yet, most people are so busy and occupied with the frenetic pace of life. (This season of Advent has deteriorated into the Christmas Rush, as usual. Is this December that different for most of us than Decembers past, except maybe for bigger sales?)
Good people get caught up in the “pax perniciosa”. We are moving with such momentum that we do not even know it. We even have great excuses because of the fast pace of our lives. Still, the Baptist challenges us with the need to get our acts together; Jesus provides the Energy and the Agenda for what we need to do. In his recent encyclical, Spe Salvi (Saved by Hope), the Pope rues the fact that religion has become so individual and lost our communal ramifications. What happens with the roof falls in and one has to take a walk in the woods, as he or she experiences the left hand of God (aka the Paschal Mystery)? Perhaps, St John’s blasting and Pope Benedict’s lament can turn us on to the Gospel of Jesus (maybe for the first time).
John Lennon, whose murder occurred thirty years ago this week in NYC said wisely, Life is what happens while you are making your plans!” We all learn the meaning of those words if we don’t know them already. God has a different sense of reality than we have and, more importantly, a different sense of priorities. What we see as absolutely irrefutable and undeniable might be seen by God in a different light. We cannot expect God to fulfill all our expectations; if we try to do so, we might very well end up angry, bewildered, cynical, depressed, ambushed. Sound familiar?
Recently, a theologian spoke on the value of ancient myths in understanding the human psyche. We described God as human imagery. What else could we do? The one who reversed that was the God of Moses. When Moses experienced God’s Presence in the burning bush, atop Mt Sinai, he apparently had an awesome awakening to God’s Presence. Consciousness of this Presence, Moses was told to remove his sandals for he was standing on holy ground. Then God related how God had heard the Hebrew cries of suffering, saw what they experiencing in an unjust social and economic setting and knew what they were experiencing. (We all recall that the biblical sense of “knowing” was not just intellectual, but rather an intimate awareness.) God meant to deliver them from their plight. When Moses asked God’s Name, God replied YHWH, translated in various ways, including both God of Existence and/or God Who cannot be named. We can never crack the Divine Mystery. We can try but don’t expect success!
This sums up the message of John the Baptist today. Someone is doing something in the universe and we don’t know what. Personalizing it, Someone is doing something with me and I am not sure what. Whatever it is is not trivial and unimportant. The stakes are high.
“I have to get ready for Christmas”, a sad response such as stepping up one’s efforts to shop until you drop, rather than slow down and feel the Presence even now, but not yet. During Advent, we are all called to fervent, expectant, patient and longing for what that Someone is doing with me. We need John the Baptist today, more than ever. Hence, his appearance, this weekend and next.120510AD
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)