Sunday, August 29, 2010

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Be generous because you can

“Love one another.” “Forgive everyone.” “Give to those who cannot repay you.” These sayings of Jesus seem like a lot of hard work with little reward. But nothing could be further from the truth. Have you ever left a large tip for a tired waitress or waiter? Or put money in an expired parking meter you happened to walk by? Or smiled at a store clerk who was having a difficult day? Such gestures generate feelings of gratitude and well-being that do not come any other way. If we spent only a few minutes every day thinking of a small gift we could give to someone, just imagine how our world would change! Try it today—then do it again tomorrow.

Today’s Reading: Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29; Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24a; Luke 14:1, 7-14

“You will be blessed, because they cannot repay you.”

Monday, August 30

Prophet-able news

The ancient world was filled with figures who claimed to be able to predict the future or uncover the will of their gods. One of the distinctive features of biblical prophets is that they do not possess any special power. It is not they who choose to speak for God; rather, God chooses to speak through them. Furthermore, those God chooses would often prefer to run the other way! That’s because they know, then as now, that God’s prophetic message is not often received with enthusiasm, especially when it challenges our most cherished assumptions. We like our prophets to flatter, not to challenge. Are you open to a prophetic challenge in your own life? Listen for it!

Today’s Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:1-5; Luke 4:16-30

“Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s hometown.”

Tuesday, August 31

Let Jesus rid you of your demons

“Be silent! Come out!” These words of Jesus are among his most authoritative and direct, addressed to an “unclean demon” that possessed a man who came to Jesus for help. We all have our inner demons, those voices that lie to us regularly and cleverly—voices that insist we are worthless, unlovable, not good enough, never good enough, voices that, as we grew up, “taped” their messages, mistakenly believing that they were keeping us humble or encouraging us to excel. In reality, such voices simply made us miserable and ashamed. We have recourse to various therapies to help us unlearn such ill-conceived lessons, but we also have Jesus who heals a broken spirit and rids us of those demons, his voice ringing with authority: “Shut up! Come out!” We need to do our part and give them the boot!

Today’s Reading: 1 Corinthians 2:10b-16; Luke 4:31-37

“With authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!”

Wednesday, september 1

Act your age

Saint Paul had a problem with the church at Corinth—a community he had founded and nurtured in its early years and still guided from afar. They were fighting one another. Factions had formed. It was all very troubling. Paul’s solution: Grow up. It was fine for them to drink milk when they were infants in faith, but now they were spiritual adults and it was time for solid food. They needed to recognize they were laboring for God, not one leader or another. Unity of purpose leads to unity of action, especially in matters of faith. It’s the adult thing to do.

Today’s Reading: 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10, 16-18; Matthew 23:27-32

“For we are God’s servants, working together.”

thursday, september 2

Time to clean up our act

Psalm 24 reminds us that creation is only on loan to us; it all belongs to God. This summer’s Gulf of Mexico oil disaster served as a shocking wake-up call that we haven’t taken care of what we have been loaned. If there is a bright side to the disaster, it is to see how people from all walks of life and faith traditions have come together to respond to the enormous damage. While technical know-how comes into play in responding to such disasters, ingenuity alone won’t prevent future ones from happening. That requires a shared faith commitment to take better care of what has been loaned to us, lest we lose the gift entirely.

Today’s Reading: 1 Corinthians 3:18-23; Luke 5:1-11

“The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.”

Friday, september 3

Feast of Gregory the Great, pope, doctor of the church

Who’s to judge?

If the New Testament says one thing about judgment, it’s that God has exclusive rights to it. The only one above judgment is God, so God gets to do the judging, not human creatures. Scripture is also pretty clear on the importance of praying for your enemies, and Pope Saint Gregory had an interesting point to make about both love and judgment. Don’t pray for your enemies only because you’re supposed to; pray because you really love them. “The judge of our souls considers our hearts rather than our words,” he said in a homily. “Those who do not pray for their enemies out of love are not asking anything for their benefit.” Not judging others is a good place to start really loving—and not being judged yourself.

Today’s Reading:1 Corinthians 4:1-5; Luke 5:33-39

“Do not pronounce judgment . . . before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.”

Saturday, september 4

Some rules are made to be broken

The gospels tell a story of the disciples picking corn on the sabbath and eating the grain—a sign that they were desperately hungry and also a big no-no. The Pharisees, ever vigilant, questioned Jesus about why he let his followers commit this violation of religious rules. Jesus responded first by citing the example of King David’s taking the holy bread from the Temple for his starving friends to eat. My friends are hungry, too, Jesus said; they need to eat. Then, however, he upped the ante. I, he said, can give my disciples leave to gather grain on the sabbath because I am Lord of the sabbath; the religious laws are subject to me and my mission. When it comes to giving people both the physical and spiritual food they need, real faith breaks down barriers.

Today’s Reading: 1 Corinthians 4:6b-15; Luke 6:1-5

“The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.”