Love in the Midst of Conflict - 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

One of Socrates' students asked him, "Teacher, is it better to marry or remain single?" To which the philosopher replied, "Either way, you'll regret it." Regardless of what path we have chosen in life, conflict always exists. All three readings for this Sunday's Mass were written in the midst of severe conflict and distress, and each provides a piece to the puzzle in our never ending quest for conflict resolution.

The first reading from the prophet Jeremiah presents us with the call of the prophet by God. Prophecy is never an easy task, especially in ancient Israel. The mission is to deliver a message to the powers of the day - priest and king - announcing their infidelity to God and the need to repent. Such a mission will result in certain death, and the prophet knew this fact when he received the call. Nevertheless, Jeremiah remains faithful to his call to "stand up and tell them all that I command you." Part of our baptismal call is to follow the prophetic ministry of Jesus knowing that many times that will put us in conflict with the powers of our world today. Yet, the first reading reminds us of the first message of conflict resolution: remaining faithful to God in spite of the opposition.

The Gospel text from Luke follows from last week's reading. Jesus seems to be accepted as a prophet in his home town, though they ask him to perform the prophetic signs he did in other towns. However, Jesus instead gives them the prophetic lesson: they will reject him just as their ancestors rejected God in the times of the prophets. Jesus then refers to three specific prophets called by God to perform mighty deeds not in Israel to Israelits, but to Gentiles in other lands. For this message, his own townspeople seek to kill him that very day, and here we find the second message of conflict resolution: do not fear what will happen to you. As Origen prayed many centuries ago: "We pray with all our hearts, O Lord, that you may enable us to fight to the end for truth with all our strength of our soul and body. If the time comes for our faith to be tested - since as gold is tried in the furnace, so our faith will be tested through danger and persecutions - if a persecution breaks out, grant that we may be prepared so that our house may not collapse in winter, and our dwelling not be destroyed by storms as if built upon sand. And when the winds of the devil blow...may our works stand firm, as they have done up to today if they are not undermined from within; and grant that, prepared for any trial, we manifest the love we have for you, O God, to whom belongs the glory and the power forever" (Origen, Early Christian Prayers, 61).

The second reading from Paul's letter to the Corinthians is often read at weddings since it is the Love Hymn, though we forget that Paul wrote this message to a community in the midst of internal strife. Rather than comparing whose ministry or gift is superior, Paul reminds us that love is the ultimate gift and the universal principle of ministry for all. If our work lacks love, then nothing we do will be successful or bear genuine fruit. Love must provide for us the fuel to withstand all and to see all people as children of God called to life and love with God. Our prophetic work, then, would not become self-righteous or judgmental if enflamed with divine love. This love led Jesus to the cross in order to die for an ungrateful and fickle world. This love will lead us to the same ministry of Jesus if we allow God to do so.

May the opening prayer remain in our hearts and on our lips as we minister to one another: "Father in heaven, from the days of Abraham and Moses until this gathering of your Church in prayer, you have formed a people in the image of your Son. Bless this people with the gift of your kingdom. May we serve you with our every desire and show love for one another even as you have loved us. Grant this through Christ our Lord."

The Time of Fulfillment - Third Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

It is customary for us in our times to think of the time before Jesus as the time of expectation. The people of Israel were the children of the promise awaiting the coming of the Messianic age when all would be fulfilled. All the hopes and dreams of the Messianic era would be brought to fruition by the coming of the Messiah. The readings for today shed a great deal of light on this theme.

In the first reading Ezra the priest is leading the people of Israel in prayer after returning from the Babylonian captivity. The expectations of the people were high after such a calamity, and this day of prayer was a day of thanksgiving and celebration - today is holy to the Lord. Therefore, the people should rejoice and feast, "for rejoicing in the Lord must be your strength." God has surely worked wonders for the people, as they are now free.

However, in the Gospel reading for today we see an even greater cause for rejoicing. The Messianic age has come. Jesus comes to preach in the synagogue of his home town to announce that the prophecies of Isaiah regarding the Messiah were fulfilled today in him. An even greater liberation than the one we saw in the first reading is about to happen: the captives will be set free, the blind will see, oppression will end, and the poor will receive glad tidings. The whole world will have their sins washed clean, and the captivity from the evil one will come to an end in the ministry of Jesus.

This ministry continues in the mission of the Church. Paul reminds the early Christian community that in baptism we are brought into the ministry of Jesus and we all perform specific functions within the body of Christ. Just as a body has many parts that perform separate functions to make the entire body work well, so the Church has many ministries that have specific functions to make the body of Christ work well. What unites all the ministries is the mission of Jesus that is our mission: we are sent to proclaim liberty to captives, recovery of sight to the blind, freedom from oppression, and to bring good news to the poor.

The mission of the Church - the mission of Jesus - is to every person and to the whole person. Our mission is both material - providing for the poor and the needs of others - and to the spirit - to liberate people from sin. As Pope John Paul II noted in his first encyclical Redemptor Hominis, "In Christ and through Christ God has revealed himself fully to mankind and has definitively drawn close to it; at the same time, in Christ and through Christ man has acquired full awareness of his dignity, of the heights to which he is raised, of the surpassing worth of his own humanity, and of the meaning of his existence. All of us who are Christ's followers must therefore meet and unite around him. This unity in the various fields of the life, tradition, structures, and discipline of the individual Christian Churches and ecclesial communities cannotbe brought about without effective work aimed at getting to know each other and removing the obstacles blocking the way to perfect unity. However, we can and must immediately reach and display to the world our unity in proclaiming the mystery of Christ, in revealing the divine dimension and also the human dimension of the Redemption, and in struggling with unwearying perseverance for the dignity of each human being has reached and continually reach in Christ, namely the dignity of both the grace of divine adoption and the inner truth of humanity, a truth which - if in the common awareness of the modern world it has been given such fundamental importance - for us is still clearer in the light of the reality that is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the stable principle and fixed centre of the mission that God himself has entrusted to man. We must all share in this mission and concentrate all our forces on it, since it is more necessary than ever and, in spite of the opposition, more awaited than ever" (#11).

May we go forth inspired by the prayer of the liturgy: "Almighty Father, the love you offer always exceeds the furthest expression of our human longing, for you are greater than the human heart. Direct each thought, each effort of our life, so that the limits of our faults and weaknesses may not obscure the vision of your glory or keep us from the peace you have promised. We ask this through Christ our Lord."

Do Whatever He Tells You - 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year C

Today we begin the season of Ordinary Time, a Sunday in which we can find a theme for the entire liturgical year and the entire Christian life. In the Gospel we find such an overarching theme, spoken by the mother of Jesus: "Do whatever he tells you."

The first reading from Isaiah was written after the Israelites had returned from the Babylonian captivity. The hopes and expectations that they had in earlier prophetic works regarding their return were soon dashed at the daunting tasks that awaited them in Israel. The reality of return and rebuilding did not meet the expectations they had imagined. The prophet then provides the people with the true purpose of their expectations: in the Messianic age to come. The Messianic age was pictured as a wedding feast, the image of love when a bride comes together with her groom in complete love and joy. In that time, the relationship between God and his people will be transformed from one of servitude to one of spousal love.

The Gospel text provides us with the fulfillment of that Messianic expectation. John situates the beginning of Jesus' public ministry at a wedding feast in Cana of Galilee. The region of Galilee suffered the most under Roman occupation, and thus the poverty and hardship of the people here was more severe. Thus, when the wine runs out at the wedding feast few people are surprised. However, what is surprising is the resolution to the problem. Mary points out the problem to Jesus without asking for anything, then advises everyone to do whatever he tells you. At first, Jesus is reluctant to intervene, since it was not his hour, i.e. the time for his death and resurrection which is the full realization of the Messianic expectation.

Yet, in a sense, this time was his hour, for the entire life and ministry of Jesus was a redemptive act. In fact, Pope John Paul II saw in this story a redemptive act in minature. "At Cana in Galilee there is shown only one aspect of human need, apparently a tiny one of little importance: 'They have no wine'. But it has symbolic value: this coming to the aid of human needs means, at the same time, bringing those needs within the radius of Christ's Messianic mission and salvific power. Thus, there is a mediation. Mary places herself between her Son and mankind in the reality of their wants, needs, and sufferings. In her position as mother, she puts herself 'in the middle', that is to say, she acts as a mediatrix, not as an outsider. She knows that in this way she can point out to her Son the needs of mankind, and in fact, she has the right to do so" (Redemptoris Mater, #20).

In our ministry as Christians, it is our obligation to care for the needs of mankind, no matter how small, and to bring them into the radius of Jesus' ministry and power. We have the right and obligation as baptized faithful to mediate these situations with genuine human concern and at the same time a profound spiritual outlook that transforms the ordinary into an encounter with the living God. Indeed, the Church today reminds us of that mission by providing us with the responsorial Psalm that bids us to "proclaim his marvelous deeds to all the nations". What is more, the second reading from Paul's first letter to the Corinthians provides us with all the various gifts God provides to us through the Holy Spirit, gifts we are obliged to use on behalf of others. These readings remind us that liturgy and sacramental life are not ends in themselves, but rather they are first means to an end so that we may minister to the world as Christ did, and secondly they point us to the invisible reality they signify, the heavenly Jerusalem and fullness of life with God.

May we go forth inspired by the readings, all they command, and with the opening prayer from the Mass in our hearts: Almighty and ever present Father, your watchful care reaches from end to end and orders all things in such power that even the tensions and tragedies of sin cannot frustrate your loving plans. Help us to embrace your will, give us the strength to follow your call, so that your truth may live in our hearts and reflect peace to those who believe in your love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

You Are My Beloved Son - Baptism of the Lord Year C

There are a variety of misunderstandings regarding the sacrament of baptism. One such misunderstanding is that baptism is the culmination of the spiritual life. “I am baptized, my sins are forgiven, and I am saved. There is no further obligation on my part,” people think. The readings for our feast today dispel this notion rather bluntly.

The first reading from Isaiah is not merely a description of the Suffering Servant or the future Messiah, but rather it is a call to discipleship. “I, the Lord, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.” Every single person is called by God to perform the works of justice in the world.

The Gospel reading confirms the message of the first reading. While we can clearly see the fulfillment of the Messianic expectation from Isaiah in Jesus, nevertheless the words of God the Father spoken to Jesus are words addressed to us at our baptism as well: “You are my beloved son. On you my favor rests.” We must remember that immediately after Jesus is baptized, the Spirit leads Jesus into the desert to be tempted by Satan, and then Jesus begins his public ministry. For Jesus, baptism was not the end of the road, but the beginning of his public ministry.

The same is true for Christians of every age. In our own time, the Second Vatican Council has reminded us of our baptismal obligations in no uncertain terms: “They are mistaken who, knowing that we have here no abiding city but seek the one which is to come, think that they may therefore shirk their earthly responsibilities. For they are forgetting that by the faith itself they are more obliged than ever to measure up to these duties, each according to his proper vocation. Nor, on the contrary, are they any less wide of the mark who think that religion consists in acts of worship alone and in the discharge of certain moral obligations, and who imagine they can plunge themselves into earthly affairs in such a way as to imply that these are altogether divorced from the religious life….The Christian who neglects his temporal duties, neglects his duties toward his neighbor and even God, jeopardizes his eternal salvation” (Gaudium et Spes #43).

The entire focus of the Christian life is to imitate Christ and to become Christ in all we say, do, and think. Our baptism, therefore, must imitate that of Christ’s. Jesus’ baptism led him to battle with the devil, to care for the poor and the sick, to lead people to reject sin and live for God and others, and to ultimately die for others. The Psalm today proclaims, “The Lord will bless his people with peace.” That promise can only become a reality if we conform our lives to Christ and live and die as Jesus lived and died, for it is only a heart in union with God and devoted to imitating Christ that can experience such peace.

The Church’s ritual of baptism highlights these obligations for the Christian. For most of us these words were spoken to us as infants, so let us conclude our meditation with some of the duties proclaimed to us in the baptism ritual: “This light is entrusted to you to be kept burning brightly. This child of yours has been enlightened by Christ. He is to walk always as a child of the light. May he keep the flame of faith alive in his heart (#100). The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father (#101). Through baptism and confirmation, make him your faithful follower and a witness to your gospel (#84).”