Reflections on the Sunday Readings for 7/26/09 by Dawn

You can find the full scripture readings at http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/072609.shtml

When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples,
“Gather the fragments left over,
so that nothing will be wasted.”
John 6:12

This has got to be one of the best known Gospel stories. Who doesn't love the five loaves and two fish story? A miracle. For me, though, this time the one part that has really struck me is Jesus' request that the disciples pick up all that was left "so that nothing will be wasted".

I've been thinking a lot lately about the earth and all that is happening. The US bishops have created something called The Catholic Climate Covenant whose purpose is to help people to understand our moral obligation to care for both Creation and the poor, and that the two are intimately linked. That's why this part of today's Reading really stuck out for me. It's what sustainable living is all about - having adequate quality of life for today, without compromising future generations. Jesus is the Son of God - rationally, there's no need for the left-overs to be picked up, He can just make more later. But that's not what He does. He is providing us an example of what a good steward is.

In religious circles, when people talk about stewardship it's usually about money, but money is not what I'm referring to today. In the Creation story from Genesis, God creates the world and all that is in it and then sets man to be it's steward. We are responsible to God for the care of Creation. We need to remember that Creation is not our possession to do with what we'd like to. Being a good steward means not taking the easy way out which results in consuming resources at an alarming rate, but to instead pursue simpler lifestyles for ourselves while at the same time advocating for the poor who have no voice and are the people who most suffer from our over consumption.

In the Hebrew Scriptures God created the entire material world and called it very good. In today's Gospel we see Jesus being a good steward. In my opinion, the conservation went far beyond the bread and fish - it extends to minerals, fossil fuels, water, and even to human beings. How often is it that we see someone and think "I don't want to waste my time on him/her." If God has created all things, who are we to think someone or something is disposable and have no value. All things exist to give glory to God.

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Reflections on the Sunday Readings for 7/19/09

You can find the full scripture readings at http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/071909.shtml

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Psalm 23:1

One of the best known pieces of Scripture is the 23rd Psalm: The Lord is my shepherd. Countless people I know say it is their favorite. They cling to it. I, myself, find myself reciting it every time I'm afraid. It might be helpful, however to have a little more background on it, though.

1. The Lord is my Shepherd (The Lord shepherds me); I shall not want (I shall lack nothing).
“David invites you to be one of the sheep whose Shepherd is Christ and who lack no good thing. The Good Shepherd makes Himself everything for you: pasture, water of rest, food, dwelling place, and the way of righteousness, and He gives you the Comforter, distributing His grace according to your needs” (St. Gregory of Nyssa). Those who belong to Christ “have as their guide not a simple holy man, as Israel had Moses, but the Prince of Shepherds and the Teacher of doctrine, in whom are found all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (St. Cyril of Alexandria). “He shall feed His flock like a shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are young...they shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them...(Isaiah 40:11; 49:10).

2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures (He has made me to dwell in a place of verdure): He leadeth me beside the still waters (He has nourished me beside the waters of rest).
“The place of verdure (green pastures) means the ever-fresh words of Holy Scripture, which nourishes the hearts of believers and gives them spiritual strength” (St. Cyril of Alexandria). “The waters of rest means, no doubt, holy baptism, by which the weight of sin is removed.” After having fed the person who comes to Him in faith with His word, the Lord leads him to the waters of baptism, making him a sheep of His holy flock, whose destiny is only to enter into God’s rest. “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God...Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest...” (Hebrews 4:9,11). (“Rest” in both Hebrews 4 and our Psalm is “anapausis” in Greek.)

3. He restoreth my soul (He has converted my soul): He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake (He has led me...).
David speaks of his own experience: after having learned of God’s ways he strayed from the paths of righteousness and fell into deadly sin. His experience in this Psalm becomes a prophecy: anyone, no matter how far he may have strayed from God, in Christ may be converted and return to the way of righteousness and learn to do God’s will.

4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil (...though I walk in the midst of the shadow of death...): for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me (...they have comforted me).
“It is necessary for you to be buried in death with Him by baptism. But it is not really death, but a shadow and image of death” (St. Gregory of Nyssa). “For we are baptized into the death of Christ, baptism is called the shadow and image of death, in face of which there is no longer anything to fear” (St. Cyril of Alexandria). The last part of this verse refers to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. “He comforts the believer, or guides him, with the rod and staff (the Shepherd’s crook) of the Spirit, for the One who guides or comforts is the Spirit (the Paraclete – the Greek verb here is “parekalesan”) (St. Gregory of Nyssa). “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever...when He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth...” (John 14:16; 16:13 ).

5. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies (...in the presence of those that afflict me...): thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over (...thy cup which inebriates me, how excellent it is).
“What does David mean by this (“Thou hast prepared a table...”) if not the mystical and spiritual table which God has prepared for us?...He anointed thy head on the forehead with the seal of God, which thou didst receive so that thou mightest bear the seal impressed as the sign of consecration to God. And you see that David is speaking of the chalice, over which Christ said after giving thanks, “This is the chalice of my blood” (St. Cyril of Jerusalem). “Having abandoned the remains of the former error and renewed his youth like that of an eagle, the newly baptized hurriedly approaches the celestial banquet. He arrives, and seeing the altar prepared, he exclaims, ‘Thou hast prepared a table before me...’” (St. Ambrose). “In these lines the Word clearly designates the sacramental unction (chrism) and the holy sacrifice of Christ’s table” (Eusebius of Caesarea). “The Holy Spirit expresses in the Psalms the same figure of the Eucharist when the Lord’s chalice is mentioned; ‘Thy cup which inebriates me, how excellent it is!’ But the inebriation which the Lord’s chalice gives is not similar to that of profane wine. It intoxicates in such a way that it does not make one lose his reason; it leads souls to spiritual wisdom...” (St. Cyprian of Carthage). “Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine. But Peter...said unto them...these are not drunken, as ye suppose...but this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel: and it shall come to pass in the last day, saith God, I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams” (Acts 2:13-17).

6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life (...mercy shall pursue me...); and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.
“Christ, providing the soul with the wine ‘that maketh glad the heart of men,’ provokes in it that sober intoxication which elevates the dispositions of the heart from transitory to eternal things...He who has tasted, in fact, this inebriation trades the ephemeral for that which has no end and remains in the house of the Lord all the days of his life” (St. Gregory of Nyssa).

source: www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/articles/bible/dmitri_shepherd.htm

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Reflections on the Sunday Readings for 7/12/09 by Dawn

You can find the full scripture readings at http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/071209.shtml

[Jesus] instructed [the disciples] to take nothing for the journey
but a walking stick—
no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals
but not a second tunic.
Mark 6:8-9

I have always been interested in how Jesus sends out the disciples in this Gospel passage. I put myself in the place of the disciples and am terrified - what do you mean I can't take a suitcase with extra clothes, some extra money, or even a snack?!? We rarely travel without making hotel reservations or ensuring a friend or relative we could stay with will be home. Recently I ran across an article that helped me gain a better understanding of the cultural context of this passage.

In the ancient world, travel was deviant and dangerous. It was deviant because there was little reason to leave one’s ancestral dwelling where one was normally surrounded by extended family network. Everything one needed or desired was here. It was dangerous because robbers waited to ambush travellers, particularly those travelling alone (Luke 10:30). For this reason, Jesus tells his newly authorized faction members to travel in pairs. Very likely these pairs joined larger caravans for greater safety.

The instruction to travel lightly (no bread, no money, etc.) is not unusual. The needs of travellers (lodging and food) were to be provided chiefly through hospitality. Jesus continues his instruction with special attention to hospitality (e.g., “receiving” or “welcoming”).

In the Middle Eastern world, hospitality is a value extended exclusively to strangers. (Relatives and friends are extended steadfast loving kindness.) The process involves three steps: the stranger is taken under the protection of a host for a given time, transformed into a temporary guest, with hopes that the two will part friends (but parting as enemies is also possible).

The host provides lodging, food, and especially a safe haven or protection from the suspicions and possible attacks of villagers. After all, strangers are always suspected of being up to no good and plotting damage to the village.

Failure to extend hospitality in the Middle East is a serious breach of honor. Jesus’ advice to “shake off the dust on your feet as a testimony against those who would not extend hospitality” is a major insult. It effectively writes these people out of the human community. The gesture implied total rejection, hostility, and an unwillingness to be touched by anything the others have touched.

John J. Pilch of Georgetown University

This information gives me a much better understanding of what it was like. How different our cultures are! This weekend at St Bridget's and St Mary's we have Deacon Dardess who is preaching about Migrant Ministry in our Diocese. Imagine what people, who literally have nothing, must encounter as they leave everything they've known in life to enter into our world. Definite culture clash. We are so quick to judge other cultures we don't understand. Hopefully remembering we are not the only ones in this world will help us to extend hospitality to all we encounter.

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Reflections on the Sunday Readings for 7/5/09 by Dawn

You can find the full scripture readings at http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/070509.shtml

They said, "Where did this man get all this?
What kind of wisdom has been given him?
What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands!
Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary..."
Mark 6:2-3

I am so like the people from Jesus' hometown. I am so quick to dismiss things I encounter in life as ordinary, instead of seeing what is beneath the surface. The people in today's Gospel immediately dismiss Jesus because he's the guy they've known for 30 years. He lived down the street and worked as the town's carpenter - nothing extraordinary about that!

We find it best to confine our encounters with God to amazing places or events... sort of like the 4th of July fireworks. We want God to work miracles that shimmer and shine like the fireworks. What we forget is that the normative way God works is in the ordinariness of life - in the people we share a cook-out with, and the people in our own homes. We also forget we bring Christ to others - to the cashier at the grocery store, the person in the parking lot, the grouchy neighbor across the street.

The next time you're stuck behind a slow driver, instead of becoming agitated, use it as a time to reflect on the beauty of God's creation all around you. When you're in line behind the person with 300 coupons, smile at the child in the cart - you might be the only kind smile the child sees that day.

While we enjoy the fireworks this weekend be thankful for the miracles God has given you glimpses of, but also be grateful for his constant care and support that comes in the ordinariness of your life.

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