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Daily Scripture

+ 21st Week in Ordinary Time

Every day is a gift and a blessing.

Readings: I Corinthians 1:1-9 Psalm 145:2-7 Matthew 24:42-51

I give thanks to my god always on your account for the grace of God bestowed on you in Christ Jesus, that in him you were enriched in every way, with all discourse and all knowledge, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gifts as you wait for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” [I Cor 1:4-5, 7]

My mother used to say that every day is a gift and a blessing—an opportunity for grace indeed, many graces.

I suppose it’s all according to one’s perspective. The greatest challenge in life is to find something to be thankful for every day. This is particularly difficult during stressful times and certainly during illness of one kind or another.

I think I may have shared difference between a hermit and a nightclub performer. The hermit wakes up at dawn and says, “Thank you, God!” The nightclub entertainer wakes up at noon and says, “Good God, morning?”

There is so much going on in the world at large and in our own particular worlds to bring anxiety and stress. It’s hard work to maintain balance. An active spiritual life based on the confidence that nothing can happen today that can defeat us if we are grounded in the belief that God’s presence is abiding but it’s difficult and sometimes terrifying to let go.

I still remember the first time I road my two-wheeler bike without my dad holding on to the seat. We started off—I, confident that he hand was firmly attached to the seat. I had ridden almost a full block before I realized that he had let go and there I was, gliding down the street. It’s that way with God. We just need to remain conscious that God’s ‘hand’ is not a crutch but that God’s grace within us is real.

Some days it seems as if we are starting all over again.

Feast of Christ the King 'C'

Sunday November 25, 2007

The end of his life was just the beginning of our life.

We started out with him Bethlehem. Along with shepherds, we ‘oo’d’ and aah’d’. We didn’t mind the aroma of sheep and cows. Even the sweet fragrance of mown hay didn’t filter out the stale odor of unkempt herdsmen. We didn’t mind it—not for a minute. It was an artist’s dream, an apt subject for a poet’s reflection and a Hallmark Christmas card; a living Christmas carol.

This was the new born king of Israel, of David’s line, the long awaited messiah, “destined for the rise and fall of many in Israel,” sent to set captives free, declare a year of favor establish a new dominion, the Dominion of God.

One month from today we will go ‘back’ to the manger and sing carols at his side: “Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth!” I have received two Christmas cards already!

But today we are not celebrating the birth of a king but commemorating the death of the Savior. Was this child of promise a myth, a flagrant deception, a concoction of story-writers and poets to appease prophets and the longsuffering people of Israel awaiting liberation from the tyranny of Roman rule?

Indeed, we believe he was indeed the child of promise, no fraudulent deceiver. We believe in Jesus Christ, uniquely one with God who for us and for our salvation became one with humanity that we might become like God.

It is still politically correct among many to celebrate or shall we say, recognize the birth of Jesus. Indeed, it is expedient for some to do so in order to keep the economy going. The nomenclature for the feast is changing. “Merry Christmas” has given way to “Happy Holidays.” A woman in England went to the jewelry store to purchase a gold cross. The young salesman asked her if she wanted a plain cross or the one with the little man on it. He didn’t have a clue.

But lest we sink into unnecessary cynicism or sarcasm unbecoming a preacher and unfair to legitimate entrepreneurs and hardworking retailers, suffice it to say that true religion remains as much a challenge today as it did in the time of Jesus who came to authenticate true religion in the face of legalism and the human will to dominate.

True religion was at the core of Jesus’ teaching, the heart and soul of his mission and ministry not only to the people of Israel but also to all humanity. However, he was not into kingdom building nor was it his mission to impose a political system. Time and time again, he resisted attempts even by observers to crown him king. He insisted over and over again that his “kingdom was not of this world.” Ultimately, the thorn bush became his crown; the cross became his throne.

The Scriptures this weekend provide a lens through which we are invited to reflect on why Jesus lived so faithfully and died so shamefully.

We are invited to go back center stage to the Book of Samuel for the early portrait or prototype of the Christ yet to come. It is a prophetic view of his mission and ministry. “All the tribes of Israel came to David in Hebron, and said: ‘Look, we are your bond and flesh… it was you who led out Israel and brought it in.’ The Lord said to you: It is you who shall be shepherd of my people Israel, you who shall be ruler over Israel.’ ”

Jesus was born in the line of David, but this man born among shepherds was himself destined to be a shepherd not of sheep or of royal subjects but of the souls of sinners. He was concerned with the inner life of humans that connected with the inner life with God as he himself was connected.

He knew that we cannot be linked to God and it not be reflected in our outer life. He was a servant shepherd, not lording it over the sheep but leading with the gentle wisdom that comes from above. “A bruised reed he shall not break.” [Isaiah 42:3]

We are invited to refocus on the true identity of the Jesus of Nazareth through the lens of Luke’s Gospel, the Jesus who preached not from a bully pulpit but from a pulpit of pain and suffering - not that suffering was his call and ultimate destiny. It was not, but it was inextricably connected to his commitment to life and to justice. Jews and gentiles alike could not fathom his style; could not accept his message or his method. Indeed, he became a threat to their way of life.

In order to grasp the full significance of Jesus’ life, we need to turn to the beautiful baptismal hymn of Paul addressed to the Colossians.

“For in Christ all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through Christ to reconcile to God’s own self all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.”

The celebration of this feast at the conclusion of the liturgical year is not capricious but a suitable preparation for the celebration of the Bethlehem event on December 25th. The cross was not the end of the road for Jesus-not for him and not for us. It was for him and can be for us a transforming experience.

This feast is meant to be provocative, to get us to think about the implications of our relationship with Jesus. It is meant to be corrective of false notions of Jesus, plastic images that may have crept into our spirituality— Jesus as a knight in shining armor or as a warm fuzzie.

This feast challenges us to get to know the Jesus of the four gospels, not just know “about” him. We need to pray the gospels, not just study them. We need to live the gospel, not just listen to them.

During this time of violence and war, when one decision can mean the death of thousands or more, we need to make sure that we on the same page as Jesus so that we do not lose our heads but more important that we no lose heart or allow fear to rule our lives.

We need true believers who know not just about the shepherd but who know the Shepherd. We need people who know the servant-shepherd who in the prophecy of Isaiah: “A bruised reed or quench a smoldering wick he will not crush” until justice is established on the earth. [Isaiah 42: 3-4]

No, we are not at the end of the road or at the end of our rope. The story is still unfolding and it will not conclude until all God’s children are safely home at the banquet table in eternity.