Today's Readings
What does Jesus mean when he says that "it is impossible that a prophet should die outside of Jerusalem"? Many prophets died outside of Jerusalem throughout history. The translation could be improved to "it is not permitted that a prophet perish outside of Jerusalem."
The first change from "impossible" to "not permitted" stresses that this is part of Jesus' mission. The Pharisees warn him to get out of town before King Herod kills him; Jesus is going to leave and go to Jerusalem, but because this is the will of the Father, not because King Herod wants to get rid of him. Jesus is telling them that he will leave town, but not because he is afraid. He is compelled to keep going until he reaches Jerusalem.
The second change from "die" to "perish" emphasizes that Jesus is speaking about being killed. Only Jerusalem is religious enough to kill a prophet. In another town, Jesus would have been welcomed or feared. Only Jerusalem has the capability to really understand his teaching and actually reject it. The Pharisees warn Jesus to leave before Herod kills him. Jesus will leave, not to escape death but to meet death on his own terms.
A third point, not an issue of translation but of nuance, is the use of "a prophet". Greek has no word for "a" so the text merely says "prophet". In English, the the sentence sounds like a general rule for prophets, but the original is open to something different.
Moses promised the Israelites that someday a prophet like him would come to teach them the will of God, to complete the work of Moses. None of the prophets of Israel had ever fulfilled this role. Not even the greatest, not Elijah or Elisha or Jeremiah nor any other prophet spoke with the authority of Moses as a man directly passing on the will of God.
The Torah ends by saying that this promise has never been fulfilled, that the Lord never raised up a prophet like Moses to whom he spoke face to face. Now Jesus is saying that he must go to Jerusalem because a prophet is not allowed to perish elsewhere. This is no general rule. Jesus is telling the Pharisees that he is the prophet promised by Moses, so he must go to Jerusalem to die.
Jesus is the prophet promised by Moses; he is the king promised to David; he is the priest promised in the psalms; he is the Son of Man revealed to Daniel; he is the son promised to Eve; he is the suffering servant spoken of in Isaiah; he is the just man prophesied in the book of Wisdom; he is the Lamb of God pointed out by John. He is the fulfillment of the Old Testament and the New Testament is a covenant in his blood. He is not afraid of Herod. He is going to Jerusalem to die because that is the will of God. He going to Jerusalem to die because that was what we needed.
Daily Homilies
Showing posts with label Israel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Israel. Show all posts
August 14, 2011 - Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
Today’s Gospel is disturbing, which is to say that from the rest of the Gospel we have a certain image and understanding of Jesus and today’s Gospel disturbs that. If this were the only story we had about Jesus, our whole image of him would be very different. There are various ways that people try to make sense of this passage, but few of them make any sense at all.
Was Jesus grouchy? No! Jesus, who died meekly upon the Cross, who came to serve and not to be served, who loved us so much that he died for us, was never grouchy. Was this just a saying in his time, and not as offensive as it seems to us? “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” No! Jesus always was careful about what he said, and, actually, the phrase is far, far more offensive in the original than it is now.
Was Jesus racist? He grew up in a culture that hated foreigners; did he learn to hate from the culture around him? No! Those who defend this idea suggest that the woman here taught Jesus a valuable lesson, but Jesus was not a man of his time, and, when he grew up, he grew in wisdom, age, and grace, not in prejudice, selfishness, and hatred.
Jesus just knew what words would be perfect here. Whether he is speaking to the woman at the well or inviting a new disciple, Jesus always knew just what to say to elicit the response he was looking for. God does test us. He puts challenges in our way so that we might grow as we deal with them, exercises that are difficult at the time, but make us a better person for having gone through them. We should follow the example of this woman when God tests us: be persistent, humble, and just a little bit clever: “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”
Perhaps Jesus was leading the woman into a deeper faith herself, or, perhaps, he knew that she had a faith so deep that it could withstand a little trial, and he wanted to use this opportunity to show the disciples how deep her faith was. He says, “O Woman, great is your faith!” Did this surprise the disciples? Jesus is paying her a compliment that he does not give out lightly. He more often says, even to his own disciples, “You of little faith.”
So Jesus’ words need not be too disturbing when considered this way, but what is going on with this division between Israel and the Gentiles? The Israelites were the chosen people. Out of all the nations on earth, God picked them, the descendants of Jacob, to be his own people. Why did he choose them? There are two reasons given consistently in the Scriptures. They were chosen because of the faith of the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they were chosen because they were a small, unimportant nation. God could not have accomplished his plan with a large, powerful country, like Egypt or Rome.
God took this people, and, after 400 years of slavery, he brought them into the Promised Land with great power. Then, for the next 1000 years, he let them be conquered and freed them over and over again. The whole Old Testament is basically the story of all the times that Israel was conquered and won back their freedom. Then he let them be conquered by Babylon, who took the Jews away from their land. Jerusalem was destroyed, not one stone was left on top of another, but then, after 70 years, Babylon was conquered, and God brought them back to the Promised Land. They lived there for 500 more years, always under the power of some empire or another.
Being God’s people was never an easy proposition. He was harder on Israel than any other nation. Being God’s people did not mean that Israel would be rich or powerful. It meant that they would learn over the course of 2000 years more about God and who he was than the rest of the world combined. By the time of Jesus, Israel understood important concepts like mercy and forgiveness. The religions of the pagans still tried to trade animal sacrifices for money, yet even in the Roman and Greek cultures we can see the influence of the Jews. They became a leaven in the world, preparing the world to receive the Gospel. If Jesus had come without all this preparation, no one would have understood his ministry. Even though most of the Jews rejected the Gospel, the millions of Gentiles were only able to be converted through the ministry of the Jews who had accepted it.
In the psalm today, we sang, “O God, let all the nations praise you!” When that was written, it was far-off hope; today it is the reality. In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah proclaims that, “The nations will join themselves to the LORD.” When this was first written down, it surely seemed very unlikely, but today the prophet Isaiah was read right here in Mahopac, New York – the other side of the world from where it was written. We are the fulfillment of these prophecies.
In the past 2000 years, there has often been conflicts between the Jews and the Christians. Many times Christians persecuted the Jews, often using spurious theological justification for what they had done. This is not acceptable. Israel remains forever God’s chosen people. Although we, the Church, are now God’s chosen people, Israel does not lose its status. Someday, all of Israel will join the Church. Until that day, we preach the Gospel to all, Jews and Gentiles, but those Jews who do not freely accept the Gospel should be respected as the people whom God used to convert the world.
St. Paul, in the second reading, tells us that as the Jews were used by God to convert the Gentiles, so the Gentiles will be used to convert the Jews. In other words, when we Christians, Jews and Gentiles, start living our faith, not merely avoiding sins but really loving each other as ourselves and God above all else, then the Jews will see this and become Christian. Indeed, not only the Jews but the whole world. The very best way to preach the Gospel is to live the Gospel. No one would be able to resist joining the Church if we all were shining forth as the light of the world and the salt of the earth.
Today’s Gospel is disturbing, which is to say that from the rest of the Gospel we have a certain image and understanding of Jesus and today’s Gospel disturbs that. If this were the only story we had about Jesus, our whole image of him would be very different. There are various ways that people try to make sense of this passage, but few of them make any sense at all.
Was Jesus grouchy? No! Jesus, who died meekly upon the Cross, who came to serve and not to be served, who loved us so much that he died for us, was never grouchy. Was this just a saying in his time, and not as offensive as it seems to us? “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” No! Jesus always was careful about what he said, and, actually, the phrase is far, far more offensive in the original than it is now.
Was Jesus racist? He grew up in a culture that hated foreigners; did he learn to hate from the culture around him? No! Those who defend this idea suggest that the woman here taught Jesus a valuable lesson, but Jesus was not a man of his time, and, when he grew up, he grew in wisdom, age, and grace, not in prejudice, selfishness, and hatred.
Jesus just knew what words would be perfect here. Whether he is speaking to the woman at the well or inviting a new disciple, Jesus always knew just what to say to elicit the response he was looking for. God does test us. He puts challenges in our way so that we might grow as we deal with them, exercises that are difficult at the time, but make us a better person for having gone through them. We should follow the example of this woman when God tests us: be persistent, humble, and just a little bit clever: “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”
Perhaps Jesus was leading the woman into a deeper faith herself, or, perhaps, he knew that she had a faith so deep that it could withstand a little trial, and he wanted to use this opportunity to show the disciples how deep her faith was. He says, “O Woman, great is your faith!” Did this surprise the disciples? Jesus is paying her a compliment that he does not give out lightly. He more often says, even to his own disciples, “You of little faith.”
So Jesus’ words need not be too disturbing when considered this way, but what is going on with this division between Israel and the Gentiles? The Israelites were the chosen people. Out of all the nations on earth, God picked them, the descendants of Jacob, to be his own people. Why did he choose them? There are two reasons given consistently in the Scriptures. They were chosen because of the faith of the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and they were chosen because they were a small, unimportant nation. God could not have accomplished his plan with a large, powerful country, like Egypt or Rome.
God took this people, and, after 400 years of slavery, he brought them into the Promised Land with great power. Then, for the next 1000 years, he let them be conquered and freed them over and over again. The whole Old Testament is basically the story of all the times that Israel was conquered and won back their freedom. Then he let them be conquered by Babylon, who took the Jews away from their land. Jerusalem was destroyed, not one stone was left on top of another, but then, after 70 years, Babylon was conquered, and God brought them back to the Promised Land. They lived there for 500 more years, always under the power of some empire or another.
Being God’s people was never an easy proposition. He was harder on Israel than any other nation. Being God’s people did not mean that Israel would be rich or powerful. It meant that they would learn over the course of 2000 years more about God and who he was than the rest of the world combined. By the time of Jesus, Israel understood important concepts like mercy and forgiveness. The religions of the pagans still tried to trade animal sacrifices for money, yet even in the Roman and Greek cultures we can see the influence of the Jews. They became a leaven in the world, preparing the world to receive the Gospel. If Jesus had come without all this preparation, no one would have understood his ministry. Even though most of the Jews rejected the Gospel, the millions of Gentiles were only able to be converted through the ministry of the Jews who had accepted it.
In the psalm today, we sang, “O God, let all the nations praise you!” When that was written, it was far-off hope; today it is the reality. In the first reading, the prophet Isaiah proclaims that, “The nations will join themselves to the LORD.” When this was first written down, it surely seemed very unlikely, but today the prophet Isaiah was read right here in Mahopac, New York – the other side of the world from where it was written. We are the fulfillment of these prophecies.
In the past 2000 years, there has often been conflicts between the Jews and the Christians. Many times Christians persecuted the Jews, often using spurious theological justification for what they had done. This is not acceptable. Israel remains forever God’s chosen people. Although we, the Church, are now God’s chosen people, Israel does not lose its status. Someday, all of Israel will join the Church. Until that day, we preach the Gospel to all, Jews and Gentiles, but those Jews who do not freely accept the Gospel should be respected as the people whom God used to convert the world.
St. Paul, in the second reading, tells us that as the Jews were used by God to convert the Gentiles, so the Gentiles will be used to convert the Jews. In other words, when we Christians, Jews and Gentiles, start living our faith, not merely avoiding sins but really loving each other as ourselves and God above all else, then the Jews will see this and become Christian. Indeed, not only the Jews but the whole world. The very best way to preach the Gospel is to live the Gospel. No one would be able to resist joining the Church if we all were shining forth as the light of the world and the salt of the earth.
August 7, 2011 - Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
St. Paul makes an amazing claim in this part of his letter to the Romans, and it is not said in a careless way. He says that if his people, the Israelites, could all be converted, he would be willing to go to Hell himself. Of course, his being cut off from Christ would not help them in any way, but the sentiment is clear. He is sincerely saddened that, although tens of thousands of Israelites became Christians, the majority did not.
He makes the point that Israel, more than any other nation, ought to come to believe in Jesus: they were the people he spent 2000 years preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ, they are the ones who wrote the Old Testament; they lived through all the events contained therein; they were the ones who received the Law; all the great prophets were Israelites; and, above all, Jesus himself was a Jew. The Jews preserved the promises of God for 100 generations, but most failed to believe when the promises were fulfilled in their midst.
But it is not that the word of God has failed. God was speaking, but they were not listening. We know this because so many people did hear the word of God and come to believe in Jesus Christ. There was a word to hear, and it was a powerful word, strong enough to change the world. If some people did not hear the word, they were not listening.
In our first reading today, Elijah was listening. He was at the end of his rope, so he climbed a mountain and went in a cave and waited to hear the word of God. Along comes a strong wind blowing rocks around, picking up boulders and throwing them down. Then there was an earthquake. Then there was a fire, a forest fire perhaps, or maybe a meteor crashing to earth. But Elijah was not fooled by the strong wind or the earthquake or the fire. Many people would be fooled. Many people try to figure out what a tornado or an earthquake mean. Elijah knows to wait in silence. Then he hears the still, small voice, the tiny whispering sound, and he recognizes the voice of God.
If we are going to hear the word of God, we need silence. How else do we expect to hear the voice of God? We certainly cannot hear him if we are talking. We cannot hear him over the sound of the television. We modern people are always talking or watching television or going to the movies or getting in our cars and turning on the radio. When exactly does God have a chance to tell us what we need to hear? We will not shove it down our throats. He will not shout over the radio or TV. He will not interrupt us. He will continue speaking his word forever, but we will not hear it until we stop and listen.
We need to spend time in silence, listening to the word of God. We need more than a minute or two, while our mind is still full of the day’s thoughts; we need significant time in silence, until we can hear the voice of God. At first, silence is difficult, but then it becomes addictive. Eventually we learn to recognize God’s whispers, which we hear not with our ears but deep in our souls.
Listening patiently for God’s word is not wasted time. It is the opposite of wasting time. As we enter into the silence, waiting patiently to hear God’s voice, we can begin by knowing that he exists. Jesus says in the gospel today “It is I. Do not be afraid.” This is a logical translation of the text, but it is not the most literal translation. This translation implies that Jesus is saying, “Don’t worry. It’s not a ghost; it’s just me.” What Jesus actually says is more profound, “I am. Do not be afraid.” When Jesus sees the apostles, they are afraid, so he reminds them of this most important fact: “I am. I exist.” Jesus exists, therefore we do not need to be afraid. We ought to walk through this world with an unshakable confidence. There is no reason to be afraid, not really afraid. I am not saying that bad things will never happen. Bad things do happen, but Jesus continues existing. He continues loving us. No matter what, Jesus Christ loves us.
The apostles were afraid because they thought that they were alone. They thought that they were alone and a ghost was coming toward them on the water. Jesus reminds them that they are never alone. We are never alone. When we have problems, God knows all about them. When we sit in silence waiting for God, God is sitting there with us. God is never far off. It might seem like he is miles away, but he is closer to us than we are to ourselves. He knows our needs, our burdens, and our fears better than we could ever know them. It is not as if God is busy, as if we are waiting in silence for God to be ready for us. We are waiting in silence with God for us to be ready for God.
This is Christian prayer. Many Christians do not seem to know what prayer really is. It is waiting in silence to hear God speak, waiting with God in silence, knowing that God is next to us, that God is in us. Prayer is not about getting God to do what we want, but finding out what God wants. God has a word for each of us, a word that could change us, that could make us who we wish we were. This word of God is not without power, but it will only have effect if we can quiet ourself down long enough to hear it.
St. Paul makes an amazing claim in this part of his letter to the Romans, and it is not said in a careless way. He says that if his people, the Israelites, could all be converted, he would be willing to go to Hell himself. Of course, his being cut off from Christ would not help them in any way, but the sentiment is clear. He is sincerely saddened that, although tens of thousands of Israelites became Christians, the majority did not.
He makes the point that Israel, more than any other nation, ought to come to believe in Jesus: they were the people he spent 2000 years preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ, they are the ones who wrote the Old Testament; they lived through all the events contained therein; they were the ones who received the Law; all the great prophets were Israelites; and, above all, Jesus himself was a Jew. The Jews preserved the promises of God for 100 generations, but most failed to believe when the promises were fulfilled in their midst.
But it is not that the word of God has failed. God was speaking, but they were not listening. We know this because so many people did hear the word of God and come to believe in Jesus Christ. There was a word to hear, and it was a powerful word, strong enough to change the world. If some people did not hear the word, they were not listening.
In our first reading today, Elijah was listening. He was at the end of his rope, so he climbed a mountain and went in a cave and waited to hear the word of God. Along comes a strong wind blowing rocks around, picking up boulders and throwing them down. Then there was an earthquake. Then there was a fire, a forest fire perhaps, or maybe a meteor crashing to earth. But Elijah was not fooled by the strong wind or the earthquake or the fire. Many people would be fooled. Many people try to figure out what a tornado or an earthquake mean. Elijah knows to wait in silence. Then he hears the still, small voice, the tiny whispering sound, and he recognizes the voice of God.
If we are going to hear the word of God, we need silence. How else do we expect to hear the voice of God? We certainly cannot hear him if we are talking. We cannot hear him over the sound of the television. We modern people are always talking or watching television or going to the movies or getting in our cars and turning on the radio. When exactly does God have a chance to tell us what we need to hear? We will not shove it down our throats. He will not shout over the radio or TV. He will not interrupt us. He will continue speaking his word forever, but we will not hear it until we stop and listen.
We need to spend time in silence, listening to the word of God. We need more than a minute or two, while our mind is still full of the day’s thoughts; we need significant time in silence, until we can hear the voice of God. At first, silence is difficult, but then it becomes addictive. Eventually we learn to recognize God’s whispers, which we hear not with our ears but deep in our souls.
Listening patiently for God’s word is not wasted time. It is the opposite of wasting time. As we enter into the silence, waiting patiently to hear God’s voice, we can begin by knowing that he exists. Jesus says in the gospel today “It is I. Do not be afraid.” This is a logical translation of the text, but it is not the most literal translation. This translation implies that Jesus is saying, “Don’t worry. It’s not a ghost; it’s just me.” What Jesus actually says is more profound, “I am. Do not be afraid.” When Jesus sees the apostles, they are afraid, so he reminds them of this most important fact: “I am. I exist.” Jesus exists, therefore we do not need to be afraid. We ought to walk through this world with an unshakable confidence. There is no reason to be afraid, not really afraid. I am not saying that bad things will never happen. Bad things do happen, but Jesus continues existing. He continues loving us. No matter what, Jesus Christ loves us.
The apostles were afraid because they thought that they were alone. They thought that they were alone and a ghost was coming toward them on the water. Jesus reminds them that they are never alone. We are never alone. When we have problems, God knows all about them. When we sit in silence waiting for God, God is sitting there with us. God is never far off. It might seem like he is miles away, but he is closer to us than we are to ourselves. He knows our needs, our burdens, and our fears better than we could ever know them. It is not as if God is busy, as if we are waiting in silence for God to be ready for us. We are waiting in silence with God for us to be ready for God.
This is Christian prayer. Many Christians do not seem to know what prayer really is. It is waiting in silence to hear God speak, waiting with God in silence, knowing that God is next to us, that God is in us. Prayer is not about getting God to do what we want, but finding out what God wants. God has a word for each of us, a word that could change us, that could make us who we wish we were. This word of God is not without power, but it will only have effect if we can quiet ourself down long enough to hear it.
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