2016/08/28 — 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time — Year C

The first reading and the gospel speak of humility and helping the poor; the second reading is about the community within which we worship.


The second reading — Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a — is the last of four selections from Hebrews 11 and 12 that were proclaimed on the 19 through the 22nd Sundays. (We also hear readings from Hebrews on Christmas, Good Friday, five Sundays in Year B, and 24 successive weekdays in odd-numbered years.) This passage contrasts God's appearance at Mount Sinai, when he gave the Law, and the heavenly worship in which we participate in our liturgy. At Sinai God was unapproachable (except by Moses) and the manifestation of his presence was terrifying to the people. But now God has made himself approachable, and the assembly of angels and saints is joyful. We join this assembly through Jesus and the covenant ratified by the shedding of his blood, which is figuratively sprinkled on us when we receive it in holy Communion.


The first reading — Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29 — begins with a recommendation similar to the advice Jesus seemingly gives in the gospel: humility will win you love. Next, though, it tells us that God favors those who are humble. One aspect of humility is knowing your limitations. Finally, there is a seemingly abrupt turn to a recommendation of almsgiving.

The responsorial psalm — verses taken from Psalm 68 — picks up the thought of the poor and needy: the beneficiaries of our almsgiving. God cares for them; his blessings on the land are for their good.


The gospel pericope — Luke 14:1, 7-14 — has two sections after the initial verse setting the scene: the advice to the guests, and the advice to the host. The advice to the guests, taken literally, seems strange coming from Jesus. But the message is not to be taken literally, however effective such a tactic might be in certain contexts. It becomes clearer when we realize, as St. Paul says in Philippians 2:5-11, that Jesus is the one who took the lowest place: laying aside divinity, becoming human, and accepting death by crucifixion. Then the host of the eternal banquet called him to the highest position. We, too, must not cling to our status; we must be willing to accept whatever cross comes our way for the sake of others. This is easy to say, but not at all easy to do.

The advice to the host furnishes a way for taking the advice given to the guests. As in the first reading, the advice is to give to the needy — which is truly giving because one doesn't receive comparable value in return. This is what Jesus did when he humbled himself. He brought us all to the banquet with the Father, despite the fact that none of us has any way of repaying him. We are all recipients of God's mercy and should try to show it to others. Humility includes realizing that we're not inherently better than anybody else, and we don't deserve to be better off than they are.

2016/04/10 — 3rd Sunday of Easter — Year C

This Sunday's readings continue the pattern from last Sunday: first reading from Acts, second from Revelation, and Gospel from John. This will also be followed in the remaining Sundays of Easter, except where the Ascension is transferred to the Seventh Sunday. It seems to me that the readings of a  particular Sunday were not selected to develop a particular theme. Each stands on its own, although it may be possible to see some resonances between some of them.



The first reading — Acts 5:27-32, 40b-41 — brings us some of the account of the second appearance of the apostles before the Sanhedrin. Peter and John had healed a cripple and proclaimed that Jesus was the Lord through whose power it was done. The Sanhedrin had ordered them to stop preaching in the name of Jesus. When they persisted, they were brought in again, and today's reading gives the account of this second appearance, leaving out the speech of Gamaliel, who warned the Sanhedrin that if the apostles' preaching was from God, they would be opposing God if they opposed the apostles. It also  omits a line that says the Sanhedrin had the apostles flogged before releasing them, which lets us know what the line about suffering dishonor for the sake of the name means. Peter's speech is a synopsis of the more extensive proclamations reported elsewhere in Acts.

It is because the apostles have seen the risen Lord (one instance being given in today's gospel) that they can stand firm in the face of the Sanhedrin's orders, threats, and punishment. We, too, must be prepared to stand firm when our faith is challenged.


In the responsorial psalm — verses from Ps. 30 — we have a prayer that reflects the apostles' thanksgiving after their release.



The second reading — Revelation 5:11-14 — gives us a view , in language and images that may be figurative rather than literal, of what is happening in heaven. Jesus is the Lamb, prefigured by the Israelites' Paschal lamb, who is slain but who saves us from death not only by giving his flesh and blood, but also by rising from the dead, thus conquering death. The whole universe recognizes his glory. Chapter 4 of Revelation presented a scene in which 24 elders worshipped God who was seated on his throne surrounded by four living creatures — one like a lion, one like an ox, one with a human face, and one like an eagle in flight. The appearance of the living creatures recalls Ezekiel's vision of four living creatures, each of which had all four faces (Ezekiel 1:1-28). In chapter 10, Ezekiel again has a vision in which he realizes that they are cherubim. Beginning with St. Irenaeus in the second century, it has been common to see the four living creatures of Revelation as representing the four evangelists: the lion, Mark; the ox, Luke; the human, Matthew; and the eagle, John. Scholars think that in context they are intended to be angels that govern the physical world, while the elders represent the Church. In this reading, then, their worship symbolizes that of humanity and all creatures of the universe, now directed to Jesus, and joined to that of the angels.

In the first Eucharistic prayer, there is a sentence which asks that our offering (the consecrated elements, the Body and Blood of Christ) may   be carried to God's altar in heaven so that all who participate in the reception of Communion from this altar on earth may be filled with heavenly grace and blessing. Our worship is a sharing of the worship of God in heaven: one meaning of the "communion of saints" referred to in the creed.



The gospel — John 21:1-19 — presents three parts of a post-resurrection appearance of Jesus: a miraculous catch of fish, a meal of fish and bread, and a dialogue of Jesus and Peter.

The catch of fish recalls the catch of fish which took place at the call of Peter, Andrew, and the sons of Zebedee (James and John) in Luke 5:1-11. In both, the fishermen have caught nothing all night, but Jesus tells them where to lower the net, resulting in a catch so large that they cannot haul the net into the boat. In Luke, Peter confesses his sinfulness. In John, the beloved disciple recognizes that the man on shore is the Lord.

In John 6: 1-14, Jesus feeds a large crowd with five barley loaves and two fish, which leads to their recognition of him as one promised by God in Deuteronomy 18:15 (see also Malachi 3:1&23). That previous miracle occasioned the Bread of Life discourse in which Jesus identified himself as the bread of life, whose flesh and blood he would give for the life of the world — whoever consumed them would possess eternal life. At the Last Supper and on Calvary, Jesus fulfilled his promise, and after his resurrection, the disciples in Emmaus recognized him in the breaking of the bread — Luke 24:35. Thus the miraculous meal of fish and bread symbolizes the flesh and blood of Jesus in the Eucharist.

In the scene of the call of Matthew, Matthew acknowledged that he was a sinner. He is again a sinner, having denied Jesus three times. Now Jesus undoes that denial by requiring a threefold declaration of love. But it doesn't only mean that Peter's denial of Jesus is forgiven. Peter's leadership of the post-resurrection community of Jesus' followers is affirmed three times as well. Jesus is the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-18) who has laid down his life for his sheep and taken it up again. Now Peter becomes the shepherd.

Finally, Jesus tells Peter what he can expect. Just as Jesus was bound and executed, so, in his turn, will Peter suffer a similar end (with, of course, the promise of eternal life given in John 6).


So Jesus in effect constitutes his Church around the sacred meal of his body and blood with Peter as the shepherd. The success of the disciples as "fishers of men" depends on Jesus.

Why Go to Church (or Mosque, or Shul)

Last week I noticed a leaflet at church titled "Why do we 'have to' go to Mass?" Most of the reasons given can also apply to other weekly worship services, although some of them apply just to people in churches which have Eucharist in which the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. Anyhow, I thought I'd share. I'll quote the  one-line reasons and then add my own comments in place of the leaflet's explanation.

1. God asks us to make one day holy. It's good to step back from our everyday busyness and remind ourselves that God is in charge.

2. Jesus gives us the gift of himself. In churches where the sacrament is the Body and Blood of the Lord, this is what he commanded us to do in memory of him, and it is the greatest gift imaginable.

3. We need to be part of a community. When we gather for worship we are satisfying our need to be in communion with other people. We realize that we are not alone.

4. God has a special message for us. We hear the scriptures and the preaching. Through them God can inspire us and impact our lives. The same words can have different meanings for different people.

5. We need to talk to God. We talk to God when we sing the hymns, when we recite the prayers, when we join our hearts to the prayers others say, and when we speak to him from the depths of our hearts.

6. People need our prayers. When we pray for other people during the worship service, we are praying as members of a community, which joins us in our prayer. The whole community of believers (including those who are distant and those who have gone before) prays with us.

7. We need to stand up for what we believe. In an increasingly secularized world, we give witness to our faith by setting aside the time for worship and visibly joining with our fellow believers.

8. We need to acknowledge that we make mistakes. I'm not sure about other forms of worship, but at Mass we ask God to have mercy on us. We are admitting that we have done wrong and need his forgiveness — which he will not refuse.

9. We need ritual in our lives. The sameness of the worship format week after week can be comforting and reassuring. It shows us that there is some stability in our lives. It allows the meaning of the worship to penetrate our souls at the same time it lets the changing elements such as the readings to stand out.

10. We need to experience something bigger than ourselves. At worship we are offering our lives to God. We are encouraged to live our faith in our daily lives. We can be helped to see meaning and purpose in our lives as they are part of God's will for the world.

We Christians believe that we that it is in and through Jesus that we receive these benefits as God's gift to us. We Catholics believe that this happens because the Mass makes Jesus' saving death and resurrection sacramentally present to us so that we participate in them as members of his body.