Commitment

                         13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                  A cycle

 

      

Today’s first reading from the Book of Kings is about Elisha, one of the greatest of the Hebrew prophets. Elisha is often regarded as a precursor of Christ mainly because of his miraculous healings. In our reading today we have only half the story about the prophet’s encounter with the woman of Shunem. We are told that in response to the woman’s hospitality. Elisha promises that the childless woman will bear a son.  

 

In the passages that follow we see that the woman finds it hard to believe but, sure enough, she does conceive and bear a son a year later. But in a few years her boy is struck down with a severe headache while working in the fields with his father. He is brought home, put to bed and appears to be dying. The grief stricken mother then summons Elisha from a nearby town. When Elisha finally arrives, he restores the young boy to life in much the same way that Jesus would do for the son of the widow of Nain centuries later. For her generous hospitality, the Woman of Shunem had indeed received a prophet’s reward.

 

This first reading leads into today’s gospel where Jesus speaks about receiving a prophet’s reward. Before we go any further, we have to deal with the seemingly harsh words he says in this passage from Matthew. 

 

Whoever loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me,

and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;

and whoever does not take up his cross

and follow after me is not worthy of me.

 

We must understand that at the beginning of this chapter Jesus has named and called the Apostles. The rest of the chapter deals with his instructions for those who would follow him on his mission. Like anyone else asking others to embark on a significant and even perilous mission, Jesus asks his followers to understand what they are getting into before taking on the responsibility. 

 

He is telling them that they will meet opposition not only from strangers and enemies but also from their own loved ones. He is also saying that once they embark on the journey, they will not be able to look back. To follow him and take up his cross will involve a total commitment.

 

We all understand the importance of commitment in life. Coaches preach it to their athletes. They tell them that they must be willing to sacrifice and give up things in order to reach their goal. Usually, the most successful athletes are those who are most committed to their goals. They won’t let anything stand in their way even if their friends and loved ones do not give full support, or urge them to take it easy. To be successful in sports or anything else requires commitment. In a way, only when we sacrifice ourselves for some greater goal do we really find out what we’re made of or who we really are. 

 

We don’t have to be athletes to understand the nature of commitment. Ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things in their everyday lives even though they might not realize it. Last week we celebrated Father’s Day and what takes more commitment and self-sacrifice than being a father, except maybe being a mother.

 

The saints are models of commitment. Years ago, I heard a story about a man on a crowded airplane waiting to take off. As usual, the cabin was noisy before take-off but all of a sudden the cabin turned quiet. He wondered why and looked up to see two nuns wearing blue and white saris walking down the aisle toward his seat. It was Mother Teresa and a companion and they sat down next to him.

 

They immediately took out their rosaries and began to recite the decades in a low voice. Although Catholic the man was an admittedly lukewarm one, but he couldn’t help following along as they recited the prayers. When they finished, Mother Teresa asked him if he prayed the rosary daily. He said that he didn’t, and so she handed him her own beads and said, “You will now.” His life was change by this brief encounter with a prophet who had given up all to take up her cross and follow Jesus. 

 

Another saint who gave up all for Jesus was St. Paul. His greatest regret was that his own people rejected him. They beat him, imprisoned him, and even turned him over to pagans to be martyred. In today’s passage from the letter to the Christian community in Rome he tells them that they should be aware that since they have been baptized into death with Christ, they will also experience a new life with him. In that new life, they will love father and mother, son and daughter more than they could ever have imagined.

 

###

Reading 1. 2 Kings 4: 8-11, 14-16a

Reading II. Romans 6: 3-4, 8-11

Gospel. Matthew 10:37-42 (a prophet’s reward).

Talitha Koum

                  13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                  B cycle

 

      

Starting last week and continuing on for this week and the weeks to come, we will be going through the gospel of Mark almost word for word. In his teaching Jesus mainly relied on parables as a way to convey his core message.  Even so, many of his hearers were mystified by the parables. However, his actions usually spoke louder than his words although they often also left the onlookers mystified.

 

Last week we saw that he calmed a storm while sailing on the Sea of Galilee with his disciples. Although they were experienced fishermen, the disciples were terrified by the raging storm but then were mystified when Jesus rebuked the storm and calmed the waters. They asked themselves “what kind of a man is this?” Being observant Jews they could never imagine that Jesus was anything but a man who had magical powers. However, the disciples could hardly have imagined that the magical powers of Jesus would even extend to life and death. 

 

Today’s first reading from the Book of Wisdom gives us an insight into the traditional Jewish teaching on death. 

 

God did not make death,

Nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living…

For God formed man to be imperishable;

The image of His own nature he made him.

 

In other words, we were meant to be immortal but somehow sin entered into the world, and death is one of the consequences of sin for both the good and the bad.

 

Anyone who had trouble believing that Jesus could calm a storm at sea will have even more trouble with the two miracles recorded in today’s gospel. In the first case, after Jesus lands on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, he is surrounded by crowds who have heard of his reputation. A synagogue official works his way through the crowd and begs Jesus to come to his home and heal his daughter who is “at the point of death.” The official believes that Jesus just has to lay his hands on the child to heal her.

 

Jesus agrees to accompany the man home but on the way they are met by people who inform them that the girl has died and that there is no need to trouble Jesus any further. However, Jesus disregards the news and tells the father, “Do not be afraid, just have faith.” When they arrive at the house, they are met by a crowd of weeping mourners who ridicule Jesus when he tells them that the child “is not dead but asleep.” He puts all the mourners out and then enters the girl’s room with just her father and mother, and his three disciples, Peter, James, and John. Mark was a disciple of Peter and here is his account of what happened.

 

He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means,“Little girl, I say to you, arise!” The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.

 

Just as at the storm at sea, the onlookers were “utterly astounded.” Not only does Jesus seem to have power over the wind and the waves; he also has power over death, the great enemy of us all. I know that there are some who will say that there must have been a natural cause for the girl’s recovery. Perhaps she was in a coma. But then how could Jesus have known the girl’s condition or been so confident that he could save her? How could he have pressed on even after he was informed that the girl had died? If this was a natural case of healing, how could he have known that merely touching the girl would bring her out of the coma?

 

The answer to these questions might be found in the other cure featured in today’s gospel. 

On the way to the girl’s home a woman who had suffered from hemorrhages for twelve years came through the crowd surrounding Jesus hoping that if she could only touch his clothes, she might be healed. When she touched his cloak, she was healed immediately without a word from Jesus. He only sensed that power had gone out of him and turned around to ask, “who has touched my clothes”?

 

Even after miracles like these it appears that the crowds and the disciples could not realize who He was. At the most I suspect they thought of him as a great magician. It would take his own resurrection before they finally began to realize where his power came from. 

 

In our time it is easy to think of Jesus as a good man who went about saying good things and doing good deeds. But Mark’s gospel will not let us leave it at that. Why do we underestimate Jesus today? Why do people feel it’s ok to ignore him or even ridicule him as the mourners did before he revived the little girl? Why do modern TV personalities think they can insult and demean someone who never hurt a fly and spent his life for others even to the point of torture and death on a cross?

 

In today’s second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, the disciple is urging the community in Corinth to provide assistance to their fellow Christians who are not so well off. He uses Jesus as an example they should follow.

 

For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ,

That though he was rich, for your sake He became poor,

So that by his poverty you might become rich.

 

For those who believe, the power is still coming out of Jesus.

 

###

Reading 1.  Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24

Reading II. 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15

Gospel. Mark 5: 21-43 (Talitha koum) 

A Prophet's Reward

                         13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                  A cycle

 

      

Today’s first reading from the Book of Kings is about Elisha, the greatest of the Hebrew prophets. Elisha is often regarded as a precursor of Christ mainly because of his miraculous healings. In our reading today we have only half the story about the prophet’s encounter with the woman of Shunem. We are told that in response to the woman’s hospitality. Elisha promises that the childless woman will bear a son.  

 

In the passages that follow we see that the woman finds it hard to believe but, sure enough, she does conceive and bear a son a year later. But in a few years her boy is struck down with a severe headache while working in the fields with his father. He is brought home, put to bed and appears to be dying. The grief stricken mother then summons Elisha from a nearby town. When Elisha finally arrives, he restores the young boy to life in much the same way that Jesus would do for the son of the widow of Nain centuries later. For her generous hospitality, the Woman of Shunem had indeed received a prophet’s reward.

 

This first reading leads into today’s gospel where Jesus speaks about receiving a prophet’s reward. Before we go any further, we have to deal with the seemingly harsh words he says in this passage from Matthew. 

 

Whoever loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me,

and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;

and whoever does not take up his cross

and follow after me is not worthy of me.

 

We must understand that at the beginning of this chapter Jesus has named and called the Apostles. The rest of the chapter deals with his instructions for those who would follow him on his mission. Like anyone else asking others to embark on a significant and even perilous mission, Jesus asks his followers to understand what they are getting into before taking on the responsibility. 

 

He is telling them that they will meet opposition not only from strangers and enemies but also from their own loved ones. He is also saying that once they embark on the journey, they will not be able to look back. To follow him and take up his cross will involve a total commitment.

 

We all understand the importance of commitment in life. Coaches preach it to their athletes. They tell them that they must be willing to sacrifice and give up things in order to reach their goal. Usually, the most successful athletes are those who are most committed to their goals. They won’t let anything stand in their way even if their friends and loved ones do not give full support, or urge them to take it easy. To be successful in sports or anything else requires commitment. In a way, only when we sacrifice ourselves for some greater goal do we really find out what we’re made of or who we really are. 

 

We don’t have to be athletes to understand the nature of commitment. Ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things in their everyday lives even though they might not realize it. Last week we celebrated Father’s Day and what takes more commitment and self-sacrifice than being a father, except maybe being a mother.

 

The saints are models of commitment. Years ago, I heard a story about a man on a crowded airplane waiting to take off. As usual, the cabin was noisy before take-off but all of a sudden the cabin turned quiet. He wondered why and looked up to see two nuns wearing blue and white saris walking down the aisle toward his seat. It was Mother Teresa and a companion and they sat down next to him.

 

They immediately took out their rosaries and began to recite the decades in a low voice. Although Catholic the man was an admittedly lukewarm one, but he couldn’t help following along as they recited the prayers. When they finished, Mother Teresa asked him if he prayed the rosary daily. He said that he didn’t, and so she handed him her own beads and said, “You will now.” His life was change by this brief encounter with a prophet who had given up all to take up her cross and follow Jesus. 

 

Another saint who gave up all for Jesus was St. Paul. His greatest regret was that his own people rejected him. They beat him, imprisoned him, and even turned him over to pagans to be martyred. In today’s passage from the letter to the Christian community in Rome he tells them that they should be aware that since they have been baptized into death with Christ, they will also experience a new life with him. In that new life, they will love father and mother, son and daughter more than they could ever have imagined.

 

###

Reading 1. 2 Kings 4: 8-11, 14-16a

Reading II. Romans 6: 3-4, 8-11

Gospel. Matthew 10:37-42 (a prophet’s reward).

Don't Look Back

 

                  13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                  C cycle

 

Elijah was one of the great prophets in the Old Testament. In his time--about 700 years before the birth of Christ-- the Jewish people, their leaders, and their priests had departed from their ancient faith to follow strange gods. Elijah stood virtually alone against this apostasy. Jewish tradition held that Elijah would one day return to usher in a new age. 

 

In today's first reading Elijah, at the request of the Lord, chooses Elisha to be his successor. The young man is working, he is plowing a field, when Elijah calls him by throwing his cloak over him. Elisha understands that he has been called but only asks that he be allowed to kiss his father and mother good-bye. Elijah's response indicates that Elisha is under no compulsion. He is free to do what he wants. He has to choose. In his own way, by slaughtering the oxen, he sells all he has and gives it to the poor. Then "Elisha left and followed Elijah." 

 

Who could not see the similarity between this episode and today's gospel? Chapter 9 of St. Luke's gospel is full of the signs and wonders that Jesus worked. The most incredible sign was the multiplication of the loaves and fishes when Jesus fed the multitude. Many in the crowd thought that Elijah had returned. Afterwards, Jesus asked the disciples, "who do you say that I am?" Right after Peter replied that Jesus is the "Christ of God," St. Luke tells us that our Lord took Peter, James, and John up the mountain where He was transfigured or glorified. At the Transfiguration Moses and Elijah appeared talking with Jesus. We don't have that reading today because the Church always has reserved the Transfiguration for the second Sunday of Lent.

 

Unfortunately, when they come down from the mountain, Jesus finds that people, even his followers, do not understand. A man has to beg Him to free his son from an evil spirit because the disciples had not been able. Jesus "healed the boy and restored him to his father." Next the disciples can't believe Him when he again says that He "is to be betrayed into the hands of men." Finally, they even start arguing among themselves about "which of them was the greatest." Again Jesus has to rebuke them: "he who is the least among you, he is the greatest."  

 

This is the background to our gospel today where Jesus sets out on the "journey to Jerusalem." His first stop is a Samaritan village. Samaritans were Jews who long before had intermarried with non-Jews and accepted strange gods. Here we see our Lord's standard operating procedure. When they refuse to welcome Him, when they turn their backs on Him, and fail to offer Him even common hospitality, He just moves on to the next village. It's their choice. 

 

Then St. Luke tells us of three individuals who express a desire to follow Jesus. The stories are brief and puzzling and have been subject to much interpretation. I don't think that Jesus wants us to disregard our basic human obligations. My guess is that Jesus knew that his would-be followers were offering excuses or having second thoughts. "Let me go first and bury my father," or "first let me say farewell to my family at home."

 

Jesus says to the fearful, to the undecided, to the waverers among us, "don't look back,""seize the moment," "strike while the iron is hot." He actually uses a proverb that was old even in His day, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God." In a famous parable He spoke of a merchant who was willing to give up everything he had in order to gain the  "pearl of great price."

 

For St. Paul the "pearl of great price" is our freedom. Our journey to Jerusalem is a journey to find our freedom. It's strange that although we live in a world that values freedom above everything else, we actually possess so little of it. It's not just that so many people in the world live under tyrants and despots, or that so many are victims of poverty and hunger. Even here in the greatest and wealthiest country in the world's history, so many of us are enslaved to one addiction or another. 

 

Could it be that our emphasis on "self-esteem" has led us down the wrong path?

 A children's doctor suggested as much in a newspaper column the other day. We have to recognize that the basic principles of religion are at odds with the world today, just as in the time of Elijah or St. Paul. Self-sacrifice, not self-esteem, is at the heart of Christianity. Last week our Lord said that we must lose our life in order to find it.

 

This week St. Paul reminds us that our flesh (our individual desires) is at war with the Spirit. He says that Spirit and flesh "are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want." Anyone on a diet looking at the dessert menu will understand the "war" that goes on within us. Anyone mindlessly flicking through the TV channels for hours will be hard pressed to explain to themselves how they could waste so much of the valuable time that has been allotted to them.

 

Today, St. Paul's advice to the Galatians and to us is, "serve one another through love." True freedom is found in the "Golden Rule." "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Wouldn't our children be happier today if they were taught to esteem their parents, relatives, teachers, and neighbors rather than themselves? Wouldn't we be happier?

 

###

Reading 1. 1 Kings 19: 16b, 19-21

Reading II. Galatians 5: 1, 13-18

Gospel. Luke 9: 51-62 (Let the dead bury their dead). 

Talitha Koum

                       13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                   

 

Starting last week and continuing on for this week and the weeks to come, we will be going through the gospel of Mark almost word for word. In his teaching Jesus mainly relied on parables as a way to convey his core message.  Even so, many of his hearers were mystified by the parables. However, his actions usually spoke louder than his words although they often also left the onlookers mystified.

 

Last week we saw that he calmed a storm while sailing on the Sea of Galilee with his disciples. Although they were experienced fishermen, the disciples were terrified by the raging storm but then were mystified when Jesus rebuked the storm and calmed the waters. They asked themselves “what kind of a man is this?” Being observant Jews they could never imagine that Jesus was anything but a man who had magical powers. However, the disciples could hardly have imagined that the magical powers of Jesus would even extend to life and death. 

 

Today’s first reading from the Book of Wisdom gives us an insight into the traditional Jewish teaching on death. 

 

God did not make death,

Nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living…

For God formed man to be imperishable;

The image of His own nature he made him.

 

In other words, we were meant to be immortal but somehow sin entered into the world, and death is one of the consequences of sin for both the good and the bad.

 

Anyone who had trouble believing that Jesus could calm a storm at sea will have even more trouble with the two miracles recorded in today’s gospel. In the first case, after Jesus lands on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, he is surrounded by crowds who have heard of his reputation. A synagogue official works his way through the crowd and begs Jesus to come to his home and heal his daughter who is “at the point of death.” The official believes that Jesus just has to lay his hands on the child to heal her.

 

Jesus agrees to accompany the man home but on the way they are met by people who inform them that the girl has died and that there is no need to trouble Jesus any further. However, Jesus disregards the news and tells the father, “Do not be afraid, just have faith.” When they arrive at the house, they are met by a crowd of weeping mourners who ridicule Jesus when he tells them that the child “is not dead but asleep.” He puts all the mourners out and then enters the girl’s room with just her father and mother, and his three disciples, Peter, James, and John. Mark was a disciple of Peter and here is his account of what happened.

He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means,

“Little girl, I say to you, arise!” The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.

 

Just as at the storm at sea, the onlookers were “utterly astounded.” Not only does Jesus seem to have power over the wind and the waves; he also has power over death, the great enemy of us all. I know that there are some who will say that there must have been a natural cause for the girl’s recovery. Perhaps she was in a coma. But then how could Jesus have known the girl’s condition or been so confident that he could save her? How could he have pressed on even after he was informed that the girl had died? If this was a natural case of healing, how could he have known that merely touching the girl would bring her out of the coma?

 

The answer to these questions might be found in the other cure featured in today’s gospel. 

On the way to the girl’s home a woman who had suffered from hemorrhages for twelve years came through the crowd surrounding Jesus hoping that if she could only touch his clothes, she might be healed. When she touched his cloak, she was healed immediately without a word from Jesus. He only sensed that power had gone out of him and turned around to ask, “who has touched my clothes”?

 

Even after miracles like these it appears that the crowds and the disciples could not realize who He was. At the most I suspect they thought of him as a great magician. It would take his own resurrection before they finally began to realize where his power came from. 

 

In our time it is easy to think of Jesus as a good man who went about saying good things and doing good deeds. But Mark’s gospel will not let us leave it at that. Why do we underestimate Jesus today? Why do people feel it’s ok to ignore him or even ridicule him as the mourners did before he revived the little girl? Why do modern TV personalities think they can insult and demean someone who never hurt a fly and spent his life for others even to the point of torture and death on a cross?

 

In today’s second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, the disciple is urging the community in Corinth to provide assistance to their fellow Christians who are not so well off. He uses Jesus as an example they should follow.

 

For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ,

That though he was rich, for your sake He became poor,

So that by his poverty you might become rich.

 

For those who believe, the power is still coming out of Jesus.

 

 ###

B Cycle:

Reading 1.  Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24

Reading II. 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15

Gospel. Mark 5: 21-43 (Talitha koum)

A Prophet's Reward

                                    13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                                    A cycle

            

Today’s first reading from the Book of Kings is about Elisha, the greatest of the Hebrew prophets. Elisha is often regarded as a precursor of Christ mainly because of his miraculous healings. In our reading today we have only half the story about the prophet’s encounter with the woman of Shunem. We are told that in response to the woman’s hospitality. Elisha promises that the childless woman will bear a son.  

In the passages that follow we see that the woman finds it hard to believe but, sure enough, she does conceive and bear a son a year later. But in a few years her boy is struck down with a severe headache while working in the fields with his father. He is brought home, put to bed and appears to be dying. The grief stricken mother then summons Elisha from a nearby town. When Elisha finally arrives, he restores the young boy to life in much the same way that Jesus would do for the son of the widow of Nain centuries later. For her generous hospitality, the Woman of Shunem had indeed received a prophet’s reward.

This first reading leads into today’s gospel where Jesus speaks about receiving a prophet’s reward. Before we go any further, we have to deal with the seemingly harsh words he says in this passage from Matthew. 

Whoever loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me,

and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;

and whoever does not take up his cross

and follow after me is not worthy of me.

We must understand that at the beginning of this chapter Jesus has named and called the Apostles. The rest of the chapter deals with his instructions for those who would follow him on his mission. Like anyone else asking others to embark on a significant and even perilous mission, Jesus asks his followers to understand what they are getting into before taking on the responsibility. 

He is telling them that they will meet opposition not only from strangers and enemies but also from their own loved ones. He is also saying that once they embark on the journey, they will not be able to look back. To follow him and take up his cross will involve a total commitment.

We all understand the importance of commitment in life. Coaches preach it to their athletes. They tell them that they must be willing to sacrifice and give up things in order to reach their goal. Usually, the most successful athletes are those who are most committed to their goals. They won’t let anything stand in their way even if their friends and loved ones do not give full support, or urge them to take it easy. To be successful in sports or anything else requires commitment. In a way, only when we sacrifice ourselves for some greater goal do we really find out what we’re made of or who we really are. 

We don’t have to be athletes to understand the nature of commitment. Ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things in their everyday lives even though they might not realize it. Last week we celebrated Father’s Day and what takes more commitment and self-sacrifice than being a father, except maybe being a mother.

The saints are models of commitment. I just heard a story about a man on a crowded airplane waiting to take off. As usual, the cabin was noisy before take-off but all of a sudden the cabin turned quiet. He wondered why and looked up to see two nuns wearing blue and white saris walking down the aisle toward his seat. It was Mother Teresa and a companion and they sat down next to him.

They immediately took out their rosaries and began to recite the decades in a low voice. Although Catholic the man was an admittedly lukewarm one, but he couldn’t help following along as they recited the prayers. When they finished, Mother Teresa asked him if he prayed the rosary daily. He said that he didn’t, and so she handed him her own beads and said, “You will now.” His life was change by this brief encounter with a prophet who had given up all to take up her cross and follow Jesus. 

Another saint who gave up all for Jesus was St. Paul. His greatest regret was that his own people rejected him. They beat him, imprisoned him, and even turned him over to pagans to be martyred. In today’s passage from the letter to the Christian community in Rome he tells them that they should be aware that since they have been baptized into death with Christ, they will also experience a new life with him. In that new life, they will love father and mother, son and daughter more than they could ever have imagined.

###

Reading 1. 2 Kings 4: 8-11, 14-16a

Reading II. Romans 6: 3-4, 8-11

Gospel. Matthew 10:37-42 (a prophet’s reward).

A Hand to the Plow

                                    13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                                   

            

Elijah was one of the great prophets in the Old Testament. In his time--about 700 years before the birth of Christ-- the Jewish people, their leaders, and their priests had departed from their ancient faith to follow strange gods. Elijah stood virtually alone against this apostasy. Jewish tradition held that Elijah would one day return to usher in a new age. 

In today's first reading Elijah, at the request of the Lord, chooses Elisha to be his successor. The young man is working, he is plowing a field, when Elijah calls him by throwing his cloak over him. Elisha understands that he has been called but only asks that he be allowed to kiss his father and mother good-bye. Elijah's response indicates that Elisha is under no compulsion. He is free to do what he wants. He has to choose. In his own way, by slaughtering the oxen, he sells all he has and gives it to the poor. Then "Elisha left and followed Elijah." 

Who could not see the similarity between this episode and today's gospel? Chapter 9 of St. Luke's gospel is full of the signs and wonders that Jesus worked. The most incredible sign was the multiplication of the loaves and fishes when Jesus fed the multitude. Many in the crowd thought that Elijah had returned. Afterwards, Jesus asked the disciples, "who do you say that I am?" Right after Peter replied that Jesus is the "Christ of God," St. Luke tells us that our Lord took Peter, James, and John up the mountain where He was transfigured or glorified. At the Transfiguration Moses and Elijah appeared talking with Jesus. We don't have that reading today because the Church always has reserved the Transfiguration for the second Sunday of Lent.

Unfortunately, when they come down from the mountain, Jesus finds that people, even his followers, do not understand. A man has to beg Him to free his son from an evil spirit because the disciples had not been able. Jesus "healed the boy and restored him to his father." Next the disciples can't believe Him when he again says that He "is to be betrayed into the hands of men." Finally, they even start arguing among themselves about "which of them was the greatest." Again Jesus has to rebuke them: "he who is the least among you, he is the greatest."  

This is the background to our gospel today where Jesus sets out on the "journey to Jerusalem." His first stop is a Samaritan village. Samaritans were Jews who long before had intermarried with non-Jews and accepted strange gods. Here we see our Lord's standard operating procedure. When they refuse to welcome Him, when they turn their backs on Him, and fail to offer Him even common hospitality, He just moves on to the next village. It's their choice. 

Then St. Luke tells us of three individuals who express a desire to follow Jesus. The stories are brief and puzzling and have been subject to much interpretation. I don't think that Jesus wants us to disregard our basic human obligations. My guess is that Jesus knew that his would-be followers were offering excuses or having second thoughts. "Let me go first and bury my father," or "first let me say farewell to my family at home."

Jesus says to the fearful, to the undecided, to the waverers among us, "don't look back,"

"seize the moment," "strike while the iron is hot." He actually uses a proverb that was old even in His day, "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God." In a famous parable He spoke of a merchant who was willing to give up everything he had in order to gain the  "pearl of great price."

For St. Paul the "pearl of great price" is our freedom. Our journey to Jerusalem is a journey to find our freedom. It's strange that although we live in a world that values freedom above everything else, we actually possess so little of it. It's not just that so many people in the world live under tyrants and despots, or that so many are victims of poverty and hunger. Even here in the greatest and wealthiest country in the world's history, so many of us are enslaved to one addiction or another. 

Could it be that our emphasis on "self-esteem" has led us down the wrong path?

 A children's doctor suggested as much in a newspaper column the other day. We have to recognize that the basic principles of religion are at odds with the world today, just as in the time of Elijah or St. Paul. Self-sacrifice, not self-esteem, is at the heart of Christianity. Last week our Lord said that we must lose our life in order to find it.

This week St. Paul reminds us that our flesh (our individual desires) is at war with the Spirit. He says that Spirit and flesh "are opposed to each other, so that you may not do what you want." Anyone on a diet looking at the dessert menu will understand the "war" that goes on within us. Anyone mindlessly flicking through the TV channels for hours will be hard pressed to explain to themselves how they could waste so much of the valuable time that has been allotted to them.

Today, St. Paul's advice to the Galatians and to us is, "serve one another through love." True freedom is found in the "Golden Rule." "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Wouldn't our children be happier today if they were taught to esteem their parents, relatives, teachers, and neighbors rather than themselves? Wouldn't we be happier?

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Reading 1. 1 Kings 19: 16b, 19-21

Reading II. Galatians 5: 1, 13-18

Gospel. Luke 9: 51-62 (Let the dead bury their dead).

Tabitha Koum

                                    13th Sunday in Ordinary Time

                         

           

Starting last week and continuing on for this week and the weeks to come, we will be going through the gospel of Mark almost word for word. In his teaching Jesus mainly relied on parables as a way to convey his core message.  Even so, many of his hearers were mystified by the parables. However, his actions usually spoke louder than his words although they often also left the onlookers mystified.

Last week we saw that he calmed a storm while sailing on the Sea of Galilee with his disciples. Although they were experienced fishermen, the disciples were terrified by the raging storm but then were mystified when Jesus rebuked the storm and calmed the waters. They asked themselves “what kind of a man is this?” Being observant Jews they could never imagine that Jesus was anything but a man who had magical powers. However, the disciples could hardly have imagined that the magical powers of Jesus would even extend to life and death.

Today’s first reading from the Book of Wisdom gives us an insight into the traditional Jewish teaching on death.

God did not make death,

Nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living…

For God formed man to be imperishable;

The image of His own nature he made him.

In other words, we were meant to be immortal but somehow sin entered into the world, and death is one of the consequences of sin for both the good and the bad.

Anyone who had trouble believing that Jesus could calm a storm at sea will have even more trouble with the two miracles recorded in today’s gospel. In the first case, after Jesus lands on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, he is surrounded by crowds who have heard of his reputation. A synagogue official works his way through the crowd and begs Jesus to come to his home and heal his daughter who is “at the point of death.” The official believes that Jesus just has to lay his hands on the child to heal her.

Jesus agrees to accompany the man home but on the way they are met by people who inform them that the girl has died and that there is no need to trouble Jesus any further. However, Jesus disregards the news and tells the father, “Do not be afraid, just have faith.” When they arrive at the house, they are met by a crowd of weeping mourners who ridicule Jesus when he tells them that the child “is not dead but asleep.” He puts all the mourners out and then enters the girl’s room with just her father and mother, and his three disciples, Peter, James, and John. Mark was a disciple of Peter and here is his account of what happened.

He took the child by the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum,” which means,

“Little girl, I say to you, arise!” The girl, a child of twelve, arose immediately and walked around.

Just as at the storm at sea, the onlookers were “utterly astounded.” Not only does Jesus seem to have power over the wind and the waves; he also has power over death, the great enemy of us all. I know that there are some who will say that there must have been a natural cause for the girl’s recovery. Perhaps she was in a coma. But then how could Jesus have known the girl’s condition or been so confident that he could save her? How could he have pressed on even after he was informed that the girl had died? If this was a natural case of healing, how could he have known that merely touching the girl would bring her out of the coma?

The answer to these questions might be found in the other cure featured in today’s gospel.

On the way to the girl’s home a woman who had suffered from hemorrhages for twelve years came through the crowd surrounding Jesus hoping that if she could only touch his clothes, she might be healed. When she touched his cloak, she was healed immediately without a word from Jesus. He only sensed that power had gone out of him and turned around to ask, “who has touched my clothes”?

Even after miracles like these it appears that the crowds and the disciples could not realize who He was. At the most I suspect they thought of him as a great magician. It would take his own resurrection before they finally began to realize where his power came from.

In our time it is easy to think of Jesus as a good man who went about saying good things and doing good deeds. But Mark’s gospel will not let us leave it at that. Why do we underestimate Jesus today? Why do people feel it’s ok to ignore him or even ridicule him as the mourners did before he revived the little girl? Why do modern TV personalities think they can insult and demean someone who never hurt a fly and spent his life for others even to the point of torture and death on a cross?

In today’s second reading from St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, the disciple is urging the community in Corinth to provide assistance to their fellow Christians who are not so well off. He uses Jesus as an example they should follow.

For you know the gracious act of our Lord Jesus Christ,

That though he was rich, for your sake He became poor,

So that by his poverty you might become rich.

For those who believe, the power is still coming out of Jesus.

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Reading 1.  Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24

Reading II. 2 Corinthians 8:7, 9, 13-15

Gospel. Mark 5: 21-43 (Talitha koum)