On Bible Selections From Sunday Mass
Oct 3rd, 2004
CycleC: 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Habakkuk 1:2-3;2:2-4; Psalm 95; 2 Timothy 1:6-8,13-14; Luke 17:5-10
Part I: 'Write down the vision clearly' 'As we gather each liturgy to `remember Jesus'... to fulfill his command, "Do this in memory of me," we do more than that. We obey Paul's counsel to "guard" the rich gospel message "we have in Christ Jesus." This deposit is symbolized and summarized for us in the Nicene Creed. We can meditate on it throughout the course of Holy Scripture, where "the vision" has been "written down clearly upon the tablets." We celebrate this tradition, this vision -- this `rich trust' -- in an especially powerful way in our Sunday assemblies. Here where we hear the vision read in the lections, explained in the homily and eaten in the Eucharist, we drink deeply of this rich, nourishing ore. It has the power to heal, console, strengthen, encourage. Here we "stir into flame" the holy gifts of Word and Sacrament, our fellowship with God. Here we give thanks for the Spirit, who alone can help us guard this heritage. As we bathe in this vision, we can draw courage to face life, especially when -- as the prophet writes, "misery, violence and discord" (1stReading) threaten to rob us of God's good news. In those times especially, we need to meditate on the rest of the prophet's counsel: "If (the fulfillment of the vision) delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late." Surely such a word is balm for the soul, food for the journey, a shield against life's sorrows and frustrations. "The Spirit God has given us," we hear today, "is not one of cowardice, but rather of power and love and self-control." (2ndReading) Finally, Jesus tells us in our gospel the simplest of all ways to move life's "immovable mountains" -- faith, even as small as a mustard seed! (Jesus also reminds us to be sure to give God the credit when the mulberry tree jumps in the ocean.) And when we realize we are indeed "guarding the deposit," let us say, "We are unprofitable servants," we have only done what we should have. Part II:Why me?
"How long, O Lord? I cry for help but you do not listen! I cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not intervene. Why do you let me see ruin; why must I look at misery?" -- The prophet Habakkuk
Who of us has not felt this way? Which one of us has not either said, been tempted -- (or will be tempted) -- to say: "Why me?!" Sometimes it doesn't even take something colossal, like cancer... or the collapse of the World Trade Center, to prod us to these words: Why us? Why me?
Paul gives us an answer in the second reading: Writing Timothy, but talking to me, he says: "Bear your share of hardship for the gospel." Not on your own, mind you, "but with the strength that comes from God." And Jesus cautions us against being puffed up when we do right and meet with trouble, by saying, Tell yourself "We have done what we were obliged to do." Did he not warn us, "No one can be my disciple unless he takes up his cross daily and follows me"?
There are many words in Paul's letters that help us make friends with the cross, but none more powerful than these: "I fill up in my flesh that which is lacking in the sufferings of Christ for the sake of his Body, the Church." (Colos 1:24) What does this mean? Jesus bears witness to the power of God by dying on the cross and rising again. By the `one sacrifice' he redeemed us, but he grants us the "privilege" of sharing in this redemption. Jesus suffers again, in a multitude of different ways, in each one of us. Why me? Because no one has been asked until now to bear this particular cross. Now is our chance to shine, my oportunity to help Jesus carry the cross.
Part III: Spanish: Espera a Dios!
El domingo pasado, las lecturas nos hablaron de la pobreza y la riqueza. Hoy, nos hablan solo de la riqueza -- la riqueza mejor, el regalo mejor de Dios -- la fe. En las palabras de la segunda lectura: "El precioso deposito de la fe." Que significa, "La fe"? Significa muchas cosas, pero, mas simple, significa "entregarnos a Dios." En la primera lectura, el Profeta Habacuc dice: "Hasta cuando, Senor, te pedir‚ socorro sin que tu me hagas caso?" "La fe" no significa, sempre, "Pide y recibiras." Muchas veces significa, "Espera." El profeta dice, "Si la ayuda se demora en llegar, esperala, pues vendra ciertamente y sin retraso." La fe significa, "Pide --- espera --- dejate a Dios." En la segunda lectura, de la carta a Timoteo, San Pablo nos habla mas, sobre la vida de fe: "Dios no nos dio un espiritu de timidez, sino un espiritu de fortaleza, de amor y de buen juicio." La fe significa "Espera," pero tambien "Sigue adelante." En el evangelio, Jesus nos habla del poder de la fe. "Si tuvieran fe del tamano de un grano de mostaza, le dirian a ese arbol, `Arrancate y plantate en el mar,' y el arbol obedeceria." Tenemos esa fe, con Su poder, y debemos usarla. Pero, Jesus continua, para que no seamos orgullosos, "Cuando hayan hecho todo lo que les ha sido mandado, digan: "Somos servidores que no haciamos falta; solo hicimos lo que debiamos hacer." Tenemos la fe, el gran regalo de Dios, con su poder, con su fortaleza. Pero sin embargo, somos como ninos en las manos de Dios, y por eso, y sobretodo, tenemos que entregarnos a Dios.