Monday, OT 21

Well, what a scathing greeting we find in today's Gospel.

The readings begin innocuously enough with Paul's opening to the Thessalonians. A staunch reminder of the occasional formailties one must endur.

Then in the Gospal comes the monstrous lambasting from Jesus that we rarely hear of in today's world, where everyone wants light and togetherness.

"Woe to you you hypocrites!"

Whoa, excuse me, can't we all just get along here?

Jesus has a stunning knack for downplaying pastoral concerns. He basically tells the religious leaders that they are leading souls to perdition by making their concerns for business and appearance.

His point, and our point today, is that we should strive to be persons of integrity. And if we are striving to be persons of integrity, conformed to Christ, then let's just do it. It's not necessarily easy, and it's not about simply pleasing people.

These teachings are difficult...

There are many points we can take up in today's readings, and many opportunities for reflection. A major starting point might be the scene wherein many of Jesus disciples decide to leave and go on'to new things; things which are easier. "These teachings are difficult, who can accept them?"

We join these 'disciples' [today] at the precise moment where they are entering into this struggle aloud, voicing their silent cries of desperation at the daring Truths presented by the master. Note what they don't say. They don't say 'These teachings are absurd." And they don't say "what foolishness!" What they say is... these teachings are difficult. How can we accept these things and these challenges?

This is a precise moment in each of our lives, the moment wherein we meet the truth of Christ, and the moment when we face our own creature comforts, habits, attitudes. It's often a daily moment, an ongoing struggle. [Virtue comes in winning that struggle, maintaining truths in our lives.]

We hear also in God's words today, of the death of Joshua. The name Joshua, derived from the Hebrew Jeshua bears the same meaning as the name Jesus. In this light we can look to Joshua and see how he strove to witness to the great ideas of truth in his own time.

If we consider the ancient Egyptians, wherein Moses dwelt along with the ancient Israelites, we might consider how closely related we are to them as a people of Faith living in difficult times. It is not uncommon to find our Faith in the papers daily; often not in the best light. And its not uncommon to have the values which our faith teaches, mocked in public circles. Our teachings are difficult, and many cannot accept them, preferring to witness to their own reasoned truths.

Moses can be seen as an illumined presence in a land of darkness, inspired by the ideals of freedom, of truth. He leads the people out of this desolation, and at the foot of the Jordan can go no further. Joshua, in his way united with the ideas of the Christ's mind, leads us into the promised land. This bears witness to the need for perseverance when divine ideas come to us. We all experience grand and enlightened ideas, by sheer nature of our Baptism, and the work of the Holy Spirit. As Moses strove to lead those ideas into reality, and as Joshua kept the course and brought those ideas into fruition, into the Promised Land, so do we take those examples into our own lives, and into our own prayerful
undertakings.

In prayer we are inspired into action; but it is up to each of us to concentrate and bring that action into fruition; to stay the course; to arrive in the promised land.

Our Faith is a challenging Faith. It is not necessarily a reasoned faith; it is revealed to us. In the revelation of it, we meet the disciples of Jesus. These teachings are difficult, how can we accept them? We can accept them by uniting ourselves with the mind of Christ; through prayer, word, action and daily conscious choice.

Or, can we also join those disciples who left Jesus. Our Christ is a demanding Christ, a challenging Christ.

Do we accept the revealed teachings of Christ, which live on in his Church? Do we accept the reasoned teachings of Man, as presented in our society? It's a daily choice, and up to each one of us. It's a daily struggle. The Father may be loving and merciful, but his son surely is demanding!

One day, I want the Promised Land in my own life, the promises of heaven. God grant us worthy.

St. Rose of Lima

St Rose of Lima

The Patron Saint of the Americas, for people ridiculed for their piety, of Peru (and actually a a few other things as well,) Rose was born in the late 1500’s in Lima, Peru. She devoted her life to God early on lived a severely penitential life, offering up her sufferings for others.

I visited her birthplace, and saw her little adobe hut, and the bed where she slept, tying her hair up to a peg in the wall so she wouldn't sleep more than two hours a night. Quite an odd woman, one might think. But there was something about her, and her relationship with God, that transcends our understanding of ordinary life.

Perhaps in today’s world, we can take that model when we pray, or when we sometimes forget that there is actually a lot of suffering in today’s world.