Wednesday, January 21 2015 - Memorial of St. Agnes Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 Matthew 13:44-46 Reflection: Like almost all peoples throughout history, the Jewish people believed that sacrifice was one of the essential elements for dealing with sin and setting humanity free. The person who offers sacrifices to God on behalf of the people is called a priest. Thus, priests are an essential part of Gods plan of salvation. Consequently, because Jesus is the Savior of the world, He must be a priest. For the Jews, all priests descended from the tribe of Levi. Yet Jesus was from the tribe of Judah. How can Jesus be a priest? In the book of Genesis, we hear about the priest Melchizedek. He was a priest before there were the tribes of Israel. He was a mysterious figure without father, mother or ancestry, without beginning of days or end of life (Heb 7:3). The psalmist prophesied that Melchizedeks priesthood would continue (Ps 110:4). The writer of the book of Hebrews proclaimed that Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek. Jesus sacrificed Himself on the altar of the cross. He is truly the Savior of the world, and we who are baptized into Him share in His priesthood (see 1 Pt 2:9; Rv 5:10). In Christ, we are priests in the order of Melchizedek. Alleluia! The vague they at the beginning of the gospel reading is clarified at the end of the passage, as the Pharisees took counsel with the Herodians. It looks like the Herodians were not present in the synagogue, since the Pharisees had to go out to take counsel with them. These they are asked a question: Is it permitted to do good on the Sabbath...? But they remained silent. Their silence is surprising, since they had confronted Jesus in the past, and so it smacks of passive aggressiveness. Their real reaction, their anger, explodes at the end of the episode, as they take counsel to put Jesus to death. Is it permitted...? Permitted speaks of norms and rules. In yesterday’s gospel reading Jesus asserted that rules (Sabbath) are for people, not people for the rules (Sabbath). For one thing, they themselves would on the Sabbath untie an ox to water it and would pull a sheep from a well. Rules have the potential of bringing out two opposite reactions: (a) Absolute absolutism: all rules are absolutes. The Sabbath is the Sabbath. No exceptions, no ifs or buts. (b) Absolute relativism: no rule deserves being taken seriously. Norms/rules are simply creatures, they are not God. In Spiritual Exercises, we are offered guidelines for the use of creatures: use them to the extent that they help you to achieve the purpose for which we were created and abstain from using them to the extent that they hinder you from achieving that purpose. That is an appropriate guideline. God is the only real absolute. Our articulations of God’s will are not such. Christians have traditionally celebrated Sunday as the Lords Day, to commemorate Gods work of redemption in Jesus Christ and the new work of creation he accomplished through Christs death and resurrection. Taking our sabbath rest is a way of expressing honor to God for all that he has done for us. Such rest however does not exempt us from our love for our neighbor. If we truly love the Lord above all else, then the love of God will overflow to love of neighbor as well. Do you honor the Lord in the way you celebrate Sunday, the Lords Day and in the way you treat you neighbor? Lord Jesus, in your victory over sin and death on the cross and in your resurrection you give us the assurance of sharing in the eternal rest of heaven. Transform my heart with your love that I may freely serve my neighbor for his good and find joy and refreshment in the celebration of Sunday as the Lords Day.
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 06:36:42 +0000
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