“He shows the manner of the passion when He, Jesus, says, so must the Son of Man be lifted up: and this refers to the lifting up of Him on the cross. So when it says, The Son of Man must be lifted up, it also says this to indicate the manner of his death.”

Tuesday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Numbers 21:4-9
John 8:21-30

Saint Thomas Aquinas, in his Commentary on the Gospel of St. John, picks up on some subtle yet very relevant details mentioned in our first reading from Numbers 21 about the Bronze Serpent, which I wish to explore with you this morning. In this Commentary, he cites 3 instances in which Jesus refers to Himself as being ‘lifted up’ in fulfillment of this Old Testament event via typological analogy.

By way of review: Typology in religion is a method of biblical interpretation where persons, events, or institutions (types) in the Old Testament are viewed as divinely intended patterns that foreshadow or prefigure greater realities (anti-types) in the New Testament, specifically centered on Jesus Christ or the Church. It links the two testaments, viewing Old Testament history as a “shadow” of the New Testament’s “realities.”

Aquinas’ first citation of this ‘lifting up’ type of event, and the most detailed one, occurs when he examines John 3:14. He states: “[Jesus] takes the symbol from the old law (the serpent), in order to adapt it to help Nicodemus understand what Jesus ’ mission was. He, Jesus, says, Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert…” This refers to Numbers (21:5) when the Lord God, faced with the Jewish people saying, “We are sick of this useless food, sent serpents to punish them; and when the people came to Moses and he interceded with the Lord who then commanded that for a remedy, they make a serpent of bronze; and this was to serve both as a remedy against those serpents - and - as a symbol of the Lord’s passion.” He, God saw, per Aquinas, this ‘temporal’ [or in my own words ‘temporary’] punishment – the sending of serpents, was designed to correct their wayward behavior and re-orient them, and centuries later us, by example, back towards God!

As you may recall, Saint Thomas Aquinas lived from 1225 to 1274 and was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and theologian known as the “Angelic Doctor,” who famously synthesized Aristotelian philosophy with Christian theology. As a major scholastic thinker, he argued that faith and reason are complementary, notably in his masterwork, Summa Theologica.

With that as an introduction, here are the details of Aquinas’ logic, plus some of my own much poorer offerings, which I would like us to explore this morning.

I believe that much of Aquinas’ first ‘lifting up’ citation’s discussion and teaching points used early on in his John 3:14 comments apply equally to our John chapter 8 reading this morning. So let’s start by taking a close look at what Aquinas has to say about Jesus’ nighttime meeting with Nicodemus in John 3:14 and His first use of the ‘lifted up’ symbol in His conversation to help Nicodemus understand His mission.

Aquinas begins: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, referring to Numbers (21:5), when the Lord, faced with the Jewish people who were saying, We are sick of this useless food, and He, God, sent serpents to punish them; and the people subsequently came to Moses asking him to intercede with the Lord. The Lord commanded that, for a remedy, they make a serpent of bronze; and this was to serve both as a remedy against those serpents and as a symbol of the Lord’s passion [Aquinas’ word, but mine is: anger]! Hence [Aquinas says] it, [this bronze serpent] was lifted up as a sign (see NM 21:9).”

He goes on: “Now it is characteristic of serpents that they are poisonous, but not so the serpent ‘of bronze’, although it was a symbol of a poisonous serpent. So, too, Christ did not have sin, which is also a poison: Sin, when it is fully developed, brings forth deaths (As 1:15) but Jesus had only the likeness of sin as it says: God sent his own Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh (Rom 8:3). And thus Christ had the effect of the serpent against this insurgence of inflamed concupiscences.”

How about that phrase from Aquinas to describe/give us a word picture of mankind’s ever-present sin problem: Insurgence of inflamed concupiscences! What a mouthful of descriptive 13th-century talk!

But don’t let his language cause you to miss the very important point Aquinas makes here: Jesus is the permanent/eternal solution to our sin problem!

Aquinas continues on: “He shows the manner of the passion when He, Jesus, says, so must the Son of Man be lifted up: and this refers to the lifting up of Him on the cross. So when it says, The Son of Man must be lifted up, it also says this to indicate the manner of his death.”

He willed to die lifted up, first of all, to cleanse the heavens: for since he had [please note: the past tense here] cleansed the things on earth by the sanctity of his life, the things of the air were left to be [future tense] cleansed by His death: through Him He should reconcile all things to Himself, whether on earth or in the heavens, making peace through His blood (Col 1:20). Secondly, to triumph over the demons who prepare for war in the air: the prince of the power of the air (Mph 2:2). Thirdly, He wished to die lifted up to draw our hearts to Himself: [Because] if I am lifted up from the earth, [I]will draw all to myself. (John 12:32, from our reading)

And fourthly, because in the death of the cross He was lifted up in the sense that there He triumphed over his enemies; so it is not called a death, but ‘a lifting up’: He will drink from the stream on the way, therefore He will lift up His head (quoting from PS 109:7).

Fifthly, He willed to die lifted up because the cross was the reason for His being lifted up, i.e., exalted: He became obedient to the Father even to death, the death of the cross; on account of which God has exalted him (per Phil 2:8).

Now, Aquinas reasons, the fruit of Christ’s passion is eternal life; hence He [Jesus] says, so that everyone who believes in Him, [by] performing good works, may not be lost, but have eternal life. And this fruit corresponds to the fruit of the symbolic serpent. For whoever looked upon the serpent of bronze was freed from poison, and his life was preserved. But, [in contrast] he who looks upon the lifted up Son of Man, and believes in the crucified Christ, he is freed from poison and sin: “Whoever believes in Me will never die”, and is preserved for eternal life. But these things have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and so that believing, you may have [eternal] life in His name (John 20:31).”

All the foregoing quoted text was said by Saint Thomas Aquinas!

Lastly, I noticed that the Communion Antiphon for today’s Mass is from John 12:32: When I am lifted from earth, I will draw all to Myself, says the Lord.

This scripture quote is the last of the 3 of Aquinas’ ‘lifted up’ citations in his Commentary. Coincidence that it is used in today’s Mass? I think not!

In closing, I believe that Saint Thomas Aquinas, this morning, is advising each of us to draw from our 3 Mass readings this morning the ability to see any and all the Temporal or temporary Punishments — the sending of ‘serpents’, for example into our lives — that we experience as something designed to correct our wayward behavior and re-orient us back towards God.

Eternal punishment, however, is something quite different. It is something that we choose when we remain in a state of sin until death.

Fortunately, for us, Christ has removed the eternal penalty if only we turn to Him and have faith in everything that He has delivered to us through His teachings, per Mark 10:52.

In closing, per Aquinas: Jesus, the God-man, is “Our Eternal Solution” because: If Jesus were only just another man alone, He could not have bridged the infinite, sin-caused chasm between God and man.

Therefore, if He were only the spiritual God, Aquinas reasons, He would not have been able to give us the physical example of selfless love to the point of bodily death.

But by being both God and man, Jesus made God immediately available to us and gave us a living, breathing, physical example of how to live and love!

So, the next time you look at a crucifix (especially during this Easter), reflect on the lengths that Jesus was willing to go out of love for each of us and that Jesus allowed Himself to be killed in order to give each of us the ability to live forever with Him!

Thus, the serpent on the pole was only a temporary fix for a temporary problem.

Whereas, Jesus Christ lifted up in crucifixion is the eternal fix for our otherwise inescapable sin problem. Or, as Saint Thomas Aquinas would say it, Jesus Christ is our eternal: ‘Insurgence of inflamed concupiscences’ solution!

Leave a comment

Jesus is clearly saying here that being on the “inside” is not just a matter of location but of relationship. That relationship is not by blood, but by identification with “the Way” that Jesus is teaching them. To be a Christian is to enter a new family with stronger ties than those of blood, where everyone is seen as a brother or sister.

Tuesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
2 Samuel 6:12b-15, 17-19
Mark 3:31-35

In today’s reading from 2nd Samuel, chapter 6, we see David, now successfully, bringing the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem with immense joy, priestly reverence, and public sacrifice, marking a sharp shift from his previous, careless, and disrespectful loading of the Ark on a cart, as if it were common cargo.

These six things stood out to me in this Old Testament reading.

1. This time, David follows Mosaic Law (per Numbers 4) by having Levites carry the Ark on their shoulders to maintain its holiness.

2. Frequent Sacrifice: Catholic commentators, such as Haydock, note that David offered a sacrifice every six paces as a sign of his extreme caution and atonement for his earlier transportation error.

3. David as a Priest-King type of model (see v. 14, 17-18).

4. Please note that Catholic tradition often views David’s actions here, in this event, and elsewhere, as a type (a foreshadowing) of Christ, the true High Priest and King long promised by God. Concerning God’s presence (dwelling place) in the Ark and later in the Eucharist. The whole procession of bringing the Ark—the dwelling place of God’s presence into the heart of the kingdom (Jerusalem) should be seen here, I believe, as a pre-figurement of the New Covenant, where the Lord dwells among His present-day people in the Eucharist.

5. The Holy Abandonment that David’s “leaping and dancing” shows is a total surrender to joy in the Divine Presence. Bishop Barron and other commentators emphasize that David’s dance was not for self-glory but to honor God.

6. Lastly, the distribution of bread, meat, and raisin cakes to “the whole multitude” serves as a biblical model for communal celebration (as in the Eucharist) and other hospitality in a liturgical/church event. These acts should ensure that every person—man and woman—shares in the physical and spiritual blessings of God’s presence.

Our Gospel reading from Mark contains an incident that many people back in Jesus’ day would have found rather puzzling. Jesus’ mother and his “brethren” (male relatives like cousins who, according to other sources, were not Mary's biological children) show up to see him.

They can’t join Jesus inside because the house is too crowded, so they have to stand outside and send him a message. “(The) crowd seated about him said to Him, ‘Your mother and your brethren are outside, asking for you.’” [Mark 3:32].

At this point, the ‘expected’ thing would be for Jesus to drop everything and either go see them or arrange for them to be brought to him — because they are “Family.” That would be what would be expected, back then, of Him as a dutiful son on good terms with His ‘family/kin’. Instead, Jesus does something quite ‘unexpected’:

He replied, “Who are My mother and My brethren?” And looking around on those who sat about him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brethren. Whoever does the will of God is My brother, and sister, and mother” [Mark 3:33-35].

What are we to make of this? What is Jesus really saying and doing here in our Gospel? I believe there are at least five things happening here for us to explore and see how Jesus uses each to teach us a needed spiritual lesson.

1. First, we know that many of Jesus’ natural family already thought that He may have become mad (See Mark 3:21) and that He thereby had become an embarrassment to them. So now they come to the house where Jesus is teaching, and, standing outside, send in a message asking for him. Do they just want to talk with him or perhaps even try again to remove him from these strange new non-carpenter-son things that He is now doing?

In any case, Jesus uses this opportunity to teach us a very important lesson: “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother,” or, in modern terms, is part of an expanded family-like unity with Him.

We should note that Jesus’ family is described twice in Mark as being on the “outside.” They are therefore “outsiders.” By contrast, those sitting in a circle with Jesus in the classic learning position, per Church Fathers' commentary, are on the “inside”—thus they can not only be viewed as His students but also now seen to be the “insiders” in every sense of that word.

Also, I believe Jesus is clearly saying here that being on the “inside” is not just a matter of location but of relationship. That relationship is not by blood, but by identification with “the Way” that Jesus is teaching them. To be a Christian is to enter a new family with stronger ties than those of blood, where everyone is seen as a brother or sister. Thus, an “insider” is now to be defined simply as anyone “who does the will of God.”

2. A disturbing question that might arise from this passage is the status of Jesus’ mother, Mary. Is she also to be classified as an “outsider”? The answer is an unequivocal no. We know from Luke’s Gospel that, when invited by the angel to be the mother of Jesus, Mary gave an unconditional “Yes” to the will of God by saying:

“Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38)

This was her ‘Magnificat’ or total surrender to the will of God, and it was something that she never withdrew through all the difficulties she experienced. And most of all, held to it when the “sword of sorrow” pierced her heart as she saw her own Son’s heart pierced on the Cross. She was with him to the very end and would finally get to share His joy in the Resurrection.

So, Mary is definitely on the “inside,” not because she was the mother of Jesus, but because of her total identification with His mission and being with Him from the beginning to the very end.

3. Jesus’ action raises a deep question for us to ponder: What now is His family, and who is in it?

Natural family ties are important, which is why God enshrined “Honor thy father and mother” in the Ten Commandments, but they aren’t of ultimate importance here.

What is of utmost importance is our spiritual relationship to God, and so Jesus indicates that being part of the ultimate family of God –the group of those who do God’s will– is much more important than having merely natural or family ties. The Catechism defines this ultimate family of God as what we now call “The Church” (see CCC 751-780, 830-831).

4. Since Jesus identified the criterion that makes one a member of His ultimate family, it has been natural for people to ask how Jesus’ own natural family measured up to it.

As previously mentioned, we know that his mother responded perfectly to God’s will. We also know that many of his brethren (such as His cousins James and Jude) went on to play prominent roles in the Church, so they responded well and are now “on the inside.”

5. Lastly, as interesting as it may be to know whether a given member of Jesus’ own natural family is part of His ultimate family, inside The Church is, it isn’t Jesus’ main lesson before each of us this morning.

The big, main lesson that Jesus desires each one of us individually to undertake is in the form of a question. He wants each of us to ponder, and then answer the question: Where am I? Am I “inside,” listening and learning from Him, doing the will of God, or am I on the “outside”?

Leave a comment

Isaiah 11:5 draws attention to the messianic king’s fidelity and loyalty to God’s covenant. It does this by ”justice and faithfulness” being His clothing, thus revealing the importance of them, as we read, “It is justice and faithfulness that will gird him,” and us by implication, if we are to live and work in His kingdom!

Tuesday of the First Week of Advent
Isaiah 11:1-10
Luke 10:21-24

What is the strange expression found in our reading from Romans, “from faith to faith?”

The Stump of Jesse & Return of the Seventy-Two

Every Advent, we hear about the “stump of Jesse” and the lion lying down with the lamb, but what does all of this mean? It is easy for biblical prophecies to sound like nice religious talk with some poetic flourish, but they give us little meat on the bone! However, prophecies like this one from Isaiah 11 are essential to our understanding of who Jesus is and what kind of victory He wins by His coming into the world. He is not just a nice religious teacher, but the king who brings justice for the poor and strikes the wicked with “the rod of His mouth.” His coming is a fierce arrival of judgment and the blossoming of a new era of hope and salvation. He conquers injustice and brings us into an age of perfect peace! 

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; The calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them. (Isaiah 11:6)

I bet that upon first reading of this passage, the old joke came to your mind, ‘that the leopard might lie down with the kid goat, but the kid goat won’t get much sleep’!

We chuckle at this because Isaiah gives us an image that runs counter to all our experience and expectations. Take note, though: the kingdom of God will not be what we expect! Assumptions about natural friends and enemies are no longer going to be true in the Kingdom of God. What is the modern, urban equivalent of Isaiah’s pastoral image of lamb and wolf? Black and white folks breaking bread and worshiping together? A teenage Muslim boy and an old Jewish man sharing a cup of tea? “The wolf shall be a guest of the lamb…” Wow!

But also note something new here: What is so new about the promised “mountain of the Lord” is not that the wolf and the lamb are both there, but that the wolf remains a wolf and the lamb a lamb, and yet they dwell together without harm or hurt in God’s Kingdom. Under God’s rule, conversion and obedience do not mean the loss of identity but the discovery of our true identities as one in Christ! 

A Shoot from a Stump

The prophecy we read this morning begins with a botanical reference, a shoot sprouting from a stump. This image comes from the cultivation of olive trees, an image also referred to in Psalm 128, which pictures sons, as olive shoots, around their father's table. The basic idea here is that old olive trees cease producing fruit from the main trunk and instead sprout fruit-bearing shoots from the base of the stump, which grow up around the fruitless central trunk. One olive trunk could have three, four, or more mature shoots spring up around it, like “sons” around their “father’s” table. The “stump” is not necessarily cut down; it is just unfruitful. Here in Isaiah 11, the messianic king is pictured as a shoot and Jesse (David’s father) as the stump. This is significant in that Isaiah invites us to see the Messiah not as another of David’s heirs, who have failed to be faithful to the Lord, but as ‘another David’, that is, a new son of Jesse!

My Catholic Study Bible picks up on this thought as it has a note in it which reads: “The imagery of “stump” suggests the bankruptcy of the monarchy as embodied in the historical kings, along with the need for a new beginning, to spring from the very origin from which David and his dynasty arose, that is: Jesse: David’s father.” Thus, the use of the term stump here.

Gifts of the Spirit

The second verse mentions seven attributes of the Messiah, which the Church has adopted as the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord (see Catechism, 1831). These gifts are characteristics of Christ, and are given to us, the baptized, as change agents that bring these same seven Christ-like virtues to completion in us. 

Isaiah tells us that the Messiah, like David (1 Sam 16:13), will have the spirit of the Lord. Also, the picture of an ideal messianic king recalls the prophecy of Isaiah 9:1-9. In this passage, the gifts of the Holy Spirit lay the groundwork for the messianic king’s just judgment. The three pairs of ideas in 11:2 (wisdom/understanding; counsel/strength; knowledge/fear of the Lord) are the foundations of messianic rule. The second half of v. 4 indicates the power the messianic king possesses: the power to punish evildoers and bring about justice for the oppressed. The Messiah does not just bring peace, but also judgments which set things right. The “rod of his mouth” in v. 4 is like the sword in the Messiah's mouth at the Second Coming (Rev 19:15), a symbol of His judgment. 

Isaiah 11:5 draws attention to the messianic king's fidelity and loyalty to God’s covenant. It does this by”justice and faithfulness” being His clothing, thus revealing the importance of them, as we read, “It is justice and faithfulness that will gird him,” and us by implication, if we are to live and work in His kingdom! 

The Messianic Age of Peace

As mentioned, jokingly in my opening, Isaiah paints a very idyllic, hard-to-believe scene that depicts the Messiah's reign through the behavior of animals. Once his reign is established, the carnivores will become herbivores; the predators and their prey will lie down peaceably together. It may seem that a bizarre turn has taken place: we were talking about the new David’s just judgment and equitable rule, and now we’re in a Fairy book type setting, looking at the cute animals behaving in strange ways. But the point is more symbolic than literal. The predators (wolf, leopard, lion, bear, cobra, adder) symbolize the oppressors, and the prey (lamb, kid, child, calf, cow) symbolize the oppressed. Those who had been enemies will now be friends! The oppressors will be at peace with the oppressed. After the messianic king executes His judgment, an era of peace will be ushered in. Note that in v. 9, the prophet explains that the reason that peace will reign on “all my holy mountain” (Jerusalem) is that “knowledge of the Lord” will have spread to the whole world. More about this later in my Gospel comments. The lesson here is that knowledge of God brings about peace. Of course, this final peace has only begun to be brought about through the life and proclamation of Jesus, but will come to its lasting form/fulfillment at the final judgment!

Lastly, Isaiah tells us that this messianic shoot will become a point of in-gathering, both for the dispersed people of Israel (v. 11:11-12) and for the Gentiles (v. 11:10). 

Now to our Gospel reading from Luke

To fully understand what’s going on here in this morning’s speech of Our Lord’s (Luke 10:1-13, 17-20), we must go back and read the immediately preceding verses. There, we read that Our Lord has gathered back together the seventy-two of his disciples, whom He sent out to preach repentance for the coming Kingdom. He had sent them out with nothing: no sack, no money bag, not even sandals. He wanted them to rely on his strength, not their own. They experienced great success! Results like: “Even the demons are subject to us because of your name …”(Luke 10:17).

The Joy of Jesus

So, when the 72 who had gone out, return, they share with Jesus the joy of their  experience (Lk 10: 17, 21). 

We read of Jesus’ own profound joy, which came from seeing the joy of His friends as He saw their faces and listened to their experiences when they returned. 

It is not a superficial joy. It came from the Holy Spirit as a major transition had occurred! The disciples have shared in Jesus’ own God given mission after their return from a daring missionary venture.

The result of the 72 should remind each of us that: No matter how weak or unprepared we think we are, with Jesus, we have everything we need to joyfully accomplish whatever He asks us to do!

About The Little Ones

Jesus mentions “ Little Children”. Who are the “Little Children here? I believe that they are the seventy-two disciples who return from the mission. They are not like the Pharisee. They are simple fishermen, farmers, and everyday people with little education. But the ‘Little Children’ are people, like us, who have a relationship with and understand the things and workings of God!

In Luke 10:22, Jesus says: “Yes, Father, for such has been Your gracious will ...” I believe that this is a very important phrase. It pleases the Father because the other little ones, out in the world, understood the 72 who were sent to them! Therefore, if the great of the world want to understand the things of the Kingdom, they should become the students of these 72, or their follow-on ‘little ones’ who will present through the ages Jesus’ teachings! Do you sense a ‘Torch’ being passed here among current and future ‘Little Ones’? I do!

Then, Jesus looks at them and says, “Blessed are you!” And why are they blessed? Because they are seeing things which the prophets would have liked to see, but did not see. And what did they get to see? They saw the Kingdom (which we pray for every time in the Our Father prayer when we say: “... Thy Kingdom come ...”) as the 72 went about the countryside curing the sick, consoling the afflicted, teaching truth, and expelling evil. 

Three Saint Augustine, Church Father & Doctor of the Church Comments on the 72 Sent Forth by Jesus 

Prophecy Fulfillment: Augustine saw the 72’s mission as the fulfillment of prophecies, particularly from the Psalms, such as “In his presence shall fall down the Ethiopians, and his enemies shall lick the earth” (Psalm 72:9, which was Psalm 71 in the Vulgate used by Augustine). He interpreted “Ethiopians” as a people from the “ends of the earth,” to represent ALL distant nations that would come to adore Christ. 

Apostolic Authority: Augustine saw the mission of the disciples, including the 72, as a work of Christ, as they were performing all their good works “in the name of (that is ‘authority of’) Jesus”; thereby, they affirmed Jesus’ words that: “Without me [Christ] you can do nothing”. He highlights that they, the 72, were given power to heal and preach the Kingdom of God, and their joy upon return was rooted in their connection to Christ and His earthly mission given to Him by His Father, which He then passed on through the Apostles to the Christian Church!

Number Symbolism: Augustine discussed how the number of disciples sent out (cited here as 72), signifies, per the ‘Table of Nations’ found in Genesis 10, all the 72 nations of the Earth known at that time. Their mission, therefore, foreshadowed the spread of the Gospel to all humanity, just as Isaiah had prophesied in our reading this morning from Isaiah 11! 

Leave a comment

Without the good news of the Gospel, and without the power that is in the Gospel, there can be no salvation, no freedom from sin, no redemption, and no life. The power of the Gospel is the theme of Paul’s letter to the Romans and the ambition of his life.

Tuesday of the Twenty-eighth Week in Ordinary Time
Romans 1:16-25
Luke 11:37-41

What is the strange expression found in our reading from Romans “from faith to faith?”

In today’s Gospel reading from Luke, Jesus, in the ordinary course of events, I believe would never have had a problem with performing this washing ritual. But, it is likely that here He is deliberately sets the stage, so to speak, to making a point. It allows Him to draw attention to the fact that a person’s virtue is not to be judged by his performance or non-performance of an external cup cleansing rite. We are not to judge a book by its cover!

Jesus set up the Pharisee, who invited Him to dinner, and his other Pharisee friends in attendance, to teach them about something that they all needed to personally re-learn/correct in their understanding of being pure and clean. That is: Their Holiness! Alms giving cleanses any inner defilement and thus accomplishes what ritual washings cannot.

They have forgotten the spiritual fact that, as Jesus reminds them, “Give Alms and Everything Will Be Clean,” which is rooted in the Old Testament. The Book of Tobit teaches: “alms giving saves one from death and expiates every sin” (Tobit 12:9). This is echoed in the Book of Sirach, which says: “alms atone for sins” (Sirach 3:29).

The Old Testament alms giving was like the Sacrament of Confession is to us in the New.

Jesus tells this man, via this graphic ‘cup’ image, that Pharisees concentrate on making sure that the outside of the cup is clean while inside it is full of all kinds of depravity and corruption (like the judgmental thoughts in this man’s mind and the sinister plotting that the Pharisees in general were directing against Jesus). God is as much, if not much more, concerned about the inside as the outside.

Thus, Jesus says: So give as alms those things that are within, and then everything will be clean for you. When the inside is clean, there is no need to worry about the outside. Giving alms can be a positive act of kindness to another person, an act of love or compassion. Plus, it neutralizes greed!

It is so easy to judge people, including our fellow-Catholics, by their observance or non-observance of certain Christian customs, which of themselves are of a non-moral nature. In the past, for instance, we might have criticized a woman for not wearing a hat in church, or a priest for appearing without his Roman collar. Today, some might be scandalized because a person goes to communion after having a cup of coffee with cream & sugar in it, versus plain black, which is ok, within the designated one hour of fasting, or for some still, eating meat on Friday, even though the ‘law’ does not require it. We need to recognize that most of the passages in the Gospel attacking the Pharisees are really directed against ‘pharisees’ in our Christian communities, not to mention the pharisee in our own hearts!

Elsewhere, Jesus has told us not to judge because it is very difficult for us to know what is going on within another person’s mind/spirit. What Jesus is really emphasizing here is the inner spirit and motivation. Once that is right, everything else will be taken care of inside of our own cups (our relationship with Him and our neighbors)!

This phrase, “from faith to faith” in our New American Standard (NAS) Bible version of Romans 1:17, is the same as in the King James Version and the Christian Standard Bible. But, the English Standard Version uses the wording “from faith for faith” instead, while the New International Version uses the phrase: “by faith from first to last.” They add more clarity to what’s going on here. And perhaps the most meaningful rendering of this phrase in today’s reader, in my opinion, is found in the New Living Translation (NLT): “from start to finish, by faith.”

To fully understand the meaning that Saint Paul had in mind, consider the phrase in its context. In the first chapter of Paul’s letter to the Romans, the apostle introduces himself to the church in Rome. While many of the believers there would have heard of Paul, they had not yet met him personally. In preparation for a future visit, Paul wants the members of the church to know him sufficiently to discern fact from fiction concerning his identity.

The high point of Paul’s introductory greeting to the church in Rome is his words: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: for Jew first and then [note the time ordered sequence] Greek” [or Gentile]. This Gospel or Good News tells us how God makes us right in His sight.

Nothing mattered more to Paul than fulfilling God’s will for his life, which was to preach this Good News of salvation. Without the good news of the Gospel, and without the power that is in the Gospel, there can be no salvation, no freedom from sin, no redemption, and no life. The power of the Gospel is the theme of Paul’s letter to the Romans and the ambition of his life.

Paul writes with full knowledge that the church in Rome is facing persecution and suffering under Roman oppression. Many of the believers there are experiencing humiliation and shame because of their faith in Christ. Paul wants them to be assured that the worldly power of Rome cannot hold a candle to the mighty power of God—the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That Gospel is God’s limitless power directed toward the salvation of men and women. For every person who believes, whether Jew or Gentile, man or woman, black or white, the Gospel effectively becomes the saving power of God.

Paul tells the Roman Christians that “in the Gospel the righteousness of God is revealed.” Righteousness is thus a complete and total work of God. Humans tend to view righteousness as something we can achieve by our own merit or actions. But the righteousness of God is different. It is a gift from God of ‘right standing’ before Him. It is our choice to accept and open this ‘gift’, or not.

In this background, the exact meaning of Paul’s phrase from faith to faith has been debated, with several plausible explanations proposed.

Let’s now look at some of these plausible explanations and follow that up with comments from the Catholic Catechism to understand our phrase: ‘from faith to faith’.

One author from GotQuestions.org said it meant: “From the faith of God, who makes the offer of salvation, to the faith of men, who receive it” and then act on in out of their belief system. In simpler terms, “Salvation comes from God’s faith (or faithfulness) to our faith.” He went on to say that “Salvation is accomplished through God’s faithfulness,” which comes first, and then to our faith, which is in response to that.

Other authors believe that Paul had in mind the spreading of faith through evangelism: “From the faith of one believer to another.” A third and widely accepted understanding is that from faith to faith speaks of a progressive, growing development of faith “from one degree of faith to another” akin to the “ever-increasing glory” per 2 Corinthians 3:18 which reads: “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

Still, another view is that Paul meant that from day one of our journey of faith until the very last day, we (the righteous) must live by faith. Whether we are brand-new followers of Christ or seasoned, mature believers who have walked with the Lord for many years, we must trust God “from start to finish” and rely on His mighty power—the power of the Gospel—to change our lives and the lives of those we encounter.

I prefer ‘From Start to Finish’, which was the last translation we looked at.

The Catholic Catechism in paragraph 1814 states: Faith is the theological virtue by which we believe in God and believe all that he has said and revealed to us, and that Holy Church proposes for our belief, because He is truth itself. By faith “man freely commits his entire self to God.” For this reason the believer seeks to know and do God’s will. “The righteous shall live by faith.” Living faith “work[s] through charity.”

1815: The gift of faith remains in one who has not sinned against it. But “faith apart from works is dead” (per James 2:26) when it is deprived of hope and love, faith does not fully unite the believer to Christ and does not make him a living member of his Body.

1816: The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live on it, but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it, and spread it: “All however must be prepared to confess Christ before men and to follow him along the way of the Cross, amidst the persecutions which the Church never lacks.” Service of and witness to the faith are necessary for salvation: “So every one who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”

26. We begin our profession of faith by saying: “I believe” or “We believe”. Before expounding the Church’s faith, as confessed in the Creed, celebrated in the liturgy and lived in observance of God’s commandments and in prayer, we must first ask what “to believe” means. Faith is man’s response to God, who reveals himself and gives himself to man, at the same time bringing man a superabundant light as he searches for the ultimate meaning of his life. Thus we shall consider first that search (Chapter One), then the divine Revelation by which God comes to meet man (Chapter Two), and finally the response of faith [by man]. (Chapter Three).

30. “Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.” (Psalm 105) Although man can forget God or reject him, He never ceases to call every man to seek him, so as to find life and happiness. But this search for God demands of man every effort of intellect, a sound will, “an upright heart”, as well as the witness of others who teach him to seek God. “You are great, O Lord, and greatly to be praised: great is your power and your wisdom is without measure. And man, so small a part of your creation, wants to praise you: this man, though clothed with mortality and bearing the evidence of sin and the proof that you withstand the proud. Despite everything, man, though but a small a part of your creation, wants to praise you. You yourself encourage him to delight in your praise, for you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.” (Saint Agustine)

And lastly, as per Matthew 10 32-33: “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you’ …

I interpret ‘I never knew you’ to mean: ‘I never had a faith-driven relationship with you’ either directly, via prayer and service, or indirectly, through charity/alms to a neighbor. Which is alluded to in our Gospel reading; thus, tying these two readings together, in my opinion, when Jesus says: “You fools! Did not the maker of the outside [of both the cup and more importantly you] also make the inside[of you – your spirit/soul]? But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything [both outside (your adherence to the Law) and inside (your knowledge/relationship with God)] will be clean for you.”

Leave a comment

First, the desire to become like Him: though created in His image, we are restored to His likeness by grace; and we must respond to this grace. Second, develop the disposition of a humble and trusting heart that enables us "to turn and become like children": for it is to "little children" that the Father is revealed.

Tuesday of the Nineteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Deuteronomy 31:1-8
Matthew18:1-5, 10, 12-14

“Don’t be a baby!”
“You’re a big boy now!”
“Grow up!”

None of the above words were ever spoken by our Savior in any of the Gospels. Instead, both the Bible and the Catholic Catechism tell us that becoming like a little child is a necessary prerequisite for entry into the kingdom of heaven.

Plus, the Bible tells us, I contend in several places, that Jesus identified little children with Himself. This should give us pause, careful, prayerful, pensive pause to grasp. So, let us wait and explore the topic: “To whom does entry into the kingdom of heaven belong?”

“Whom does Our Lord say 'is fit' and thus invited to enter and possess the Kingdom of Heaven?” And, how does He measure this 'qualification'?

A large portion of the answer to these questions is in our Gospel reading this morning:

Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the Kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven. And whoever receives one child such as this in My name receives Me.

In this Reading, we also find an interesting addition in His invitation, which He expands upon in Mark 9:37: Whoever receives one child such as this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me receives not Me but the One who sent Me.

Added to our Gospel, we find in CCC 1265-71 that: In a strict sense, any baptized Christian is an Adopted Child of God and thus a member of his Church. As through baptism we become “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4). The baptized are members of “a chosen race . . . God’s own people” (1 Pet.2:9 & Rom. 12:4-5). And thus each believer has a guardian angel (per CCC 336 and Mt. 18:10).

Some more relevant criteria are cited in CCC 526: To become a child in relation to God is the condition for entering the kingdom. For this, we must humble ourselves and become little. Even more: to become 'children of God' we must be 'born from above' or 'born of God'. Only when Christ is formed in us will the mystery of Christmas be fulfilled in us. Christmas is the mystery of this 'marvelous exchange' …

There is not only an 'invite' to a party but a promise of 'much holy company' like angels and Christ Himself who will travel with us to 'His, so to speak, after-life Christmas Party'.

The Catechism also comments extensively on this 'Adopted Child' reality in its section on the Our Father Prayer. In CCC 2782 we find: We can adore the Father because He has caused us to be reborn to His life by adopting us as His children in His only Son: by Baptism, He incorporates us into the Body of His Christ; through the anointing of His Spirit who flows from the head to the members, He makes us other "Christs."

However, we need to keep one thing in mind: That this incorporation into God's family does come with some responsibilities, as para 2784-5 explains: Our adoption requires that we strive to follow God's will in our lives as: The free gift of adoption requires, on our part, continual conversion and a new life. Praying to our Father should develop in us two new and fundamental dispositions:

First, the desire to become like Him: though created in His image, we are restored to His likeness by grace; and we must respond to this grace. Second, develop the disposition of a humble and trusting heart that enables us "to turn and become like children": for it is to "little children" that the Father is revealed.

So I suspect that there is something of great value here to study about the characteristic of being a little child, or childlikeness that Christ values.

Our Gospel Reading for this morning begins with our Lord rebuking the ambitious aspirations of the Apostles. It shows the means of attaining true greatness hereafter, through the example of humility. He does this by showing how dear to Him is this unpretentious trust, dependence, and openness that a typical child has towards his parents. He then adds that we should not give scandal to any of these, our child-like brethren, as their angels will be witnesses against us. And, lastly, by touching on the parable of 'The Lost Sheep', Matthew shows us the length that God is willing to go to save just one of His lost children [read: who have become what we now call 'a sinner'].

Let's now look at the Reference Note tied to the phrase 'Become like children' in verse Mt.18:3 of the Catholic Study Bible, which reads:

The child here is being held up as as a model for the disciples not because of any supposed innocence of children, but, because of their complete dependence on, and [more importantly] trust in their parents. So must the disciples be, in respect to God!

Saint Thomas Aquinas has a lot to say about this topic. First of all, Aquinas tells us that children are not pretentious; they do not put on airs; they are themselves. Secondly, they are pure, not dominated by unchaste desires, and so they are true friends to one another. They are not manipulators. Thirdly, they do not hold grudges. They forget wrongs quickly. They are happy to ignore the morning’s scuffles to play again in the afternoon. All of this amounts to the virtue, Aquinas reminds us, called humility — a key virtue which Aquinas notes that the Savior impressed on His followers continually in His teachings while He was with them.

The account we read today is found in three of the four Gospels, so, from this fact, we can infer that it must be of some great importance.

Later in His life, Jesus turns from words to example and demonstrates His childlike humility in His passion and death, and maybe even more amazingly in His quick pardoning and kind blessing of those who had just days before abandoned and denied Him. Did you hear the forgetfulness here: What a great example. It also makes me think of the grace given to each of us in the Sacrament of Confession.

St. Thérèse of Lisieux, whom Pope Pius XI called the “greatest saint of modern times” and whom St. John Paul II declared a Doctor of the Church, taught 'The Little Way' of spiritual childhood. This is not just some kind of devotional attitude; it's about becoming like the Triune God, in whose image we are made and who dwells in us by grace she said.

Frequently, Thérèse would recall the image of a little child and how we should be like that child, trusting in our loving Father, always striving for Heaven, even when we make mistakes. She wrote: You may think of a little child that is learning to stand but does not yet know how to walk. In his desire to reach the top of the stairs to find his mother, he lifts his little foot to climb the first step. It is all in vain, and at each renewed effort, he falls.

Well, be like that little child. [And here is the important part] Always, always keep lifting your foot to climb the ladder of holiness. Do not imagine that you can mount even the first step. All God asks of you is goodwill. From the top of the ladder, He looks lovingly upon you, and soon, touched by your fruitless efforts, He will Himself come down, and, taking you in His Arms, will carry you up the ladder to His Kingdom, where you will never leave Him. But - should you ever cease to raise your foot, you will be left behind on the earth.

So, how can you become a saint? Just be yourself, without putting on airs; be pure and trusting; forgive offenses. Then you will be humble, like a little child, and thus fit for lifting by God to His Heavenly Kingdom!

I ask you: “How hard is that?” It's just Kids’ stuff!

Leave a comment

The presence of light in darkness is unmistakable, like the taste of salt. Likewise, the presence of Christians in the world must be like a light in the darkness, not only in the sense that the truth of God’s Word brings light to the darkened hearts of sinful man (see John 1:1-10), but also in the sense that our good deeds must be evident for all to see, as Matthew 5 requests.

Tuesday of the Tenth Week in Ordinary Time
2 Corinthians 1:18-22
Matthew 5:13-16

In Tuesday's gospel reading, we heard Jesus say two things to His disciples:

“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” He also went on to say to them this second thing: “You are the light of the world.”

Jesus is saying, by implication, to every Christian that we have two primary duties in life. First, we must daily work/strive for personal holiness. And second, we must help show/light the path to help others grow in the virtue called holiness — the 'salt of the earth' and the 'light of the world.'

Consider salt. Salt serves as a preservative and also adds flavor to food. It does so by entering the food and, in a sense, becoming part of it—disappearing, if you will. So it must be with us. First, our Lord must enter our lives (through Baptism, I am going to argue) and preserve us from the corruption of sin. But as He does so, He will also bring out our resulting goodness in a way that the 'flavor' of our holiness positively impacts others. In this way, we will be used as salt for others. This is especially true when we do works of charity.

Paragraph 1243 in the Catholic Catechism on Baptism states: ... the candle, lit from the Easter candle, [and given to the newly baptized person] signifies that Christ has enlightened the neophyte [and] in him the baptized are “the light of the world” per Matthew 5.

'Becoming salt and light' in the world. What does that look like?

Like so many other phrases borrowed from the Bible—such as being “the apple of the eye,” or “a wolf in sheep’s clothing”—much of the original significance of meaning has been lost to us, simply because of the passage of time and the natural differences between cultures then and now. Plus, being separated by thousands of miles and years.

Before refrigeration, in the ancient world, salt was a highly prized commodity and a necessary ingredient in the building of empires, as it was recognized that both humans and animals required daily access to salt to survive. Armies on campaign didn’t have time to hunt and gather food. So they carried it with them. Salted meats, fish, cheese, and vegetables provided most of the food to fuel armies at that time. Additionally, salt was a crucial ingredient for the production of leather, which was used in the crafting of military items such as tents, armor, slings, footwear, shield covers, and horse gear.

Salt played such a vital role in the expansion of the Roman Empire that soldiers were sometimes paid with salt, from which we derive the saying that a hard worker is “worth his salt.” This “salt-as-money” idea is the origin of our modern word “salary.” Even the word soldier comes from a French word for salt, “sel,” which descended from the Latin root word for salt, “sal," which, in turn, was derived from the Roman goddess of health, “Salus.” We derive modern words like salve, salutary & salvation from the same origins.

The city of Rome itself was founded on the banks of the Tiber, in part, because of its proximity to salt. It was established adjacent to an ancient Bronze Age road that had been a historic “salt highway.” Wherever the Romans went, salt went with them—and everywhere they went, they also sought out new sources of salt.

By the time of Jesus, fish processed in salt from the Sea of Galilee was being shipped throughout the Roman Empire. The salted fish from this region became so famous that they were referred to by a name that meant “the place of salted fish.”

Salt was used then, as it is now, as a flavor enhancer. In the same way that salt enhances the flavor of the food it seasons, the followers of Christ should stand out as those who “enhance” the taste of life in this world. Christians, living under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and in obedience to Christ, will inevitably influence the world for good, just like salt has a positive influence on the flavor of the food it seasons.

In the analogy of “bring light to the world,” the good works of Christ’s followers are to shine for all to see. The verses we just read this morning from Matthew 5 highlight this truth: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a bushel basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”

The idea here is similar to being salt, except in a different dimension. The presence of light in darkness is unmistakable, like the taste of salt. Likewise, the presence of Christians in the world must be like a light in the darkness, not only in the sense that the truth of God’s Word brings light to the darkened hearts of sinful man (see John 1:1-10), but also in the sense that our good deeds must be evident for all to see, as Matthew 5 requests.

The concern is not that Christians should stand out for their own glory, but that those who looked upon their actions might “glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Something to keep in mind.

In biblical times, salt was also used in Scripture to symbolize covenant, purity, and wisdom. For instance, Leviticus 2:13 records that salt was used as an essential part of the sacrificial system. It reads: “You are to season each of your grain offerings with salt. You must not omit from your grain offering the salt of the covenant of your God; you are to add salt to each of your offerings.” This practice of needing a "salt of the covenant" signified to people at that time the enduring and preserving nature of God's promises.

In Genesis, we see salt representing purification and judgment, as Lot's wife was turned into a pillar of salt, a consequence of disobedience, symbolizing the purifying judgment of God. Similarly, in Judges, Abimelech sowed the city of Shechem with salt, rendering it barren and symbolizing destruction.

So, salt wasn’t just a condiment. People knew that salt was necessary not only for life itself, but also valuable for interacting with God.

From the opening verses of the Bible, light is a powerful biblical symbol representing truth, holiness, and the presence of God. We see this from Genesis, where God commands, “Let there be light,” to the depiction of Jesus as the “light of the world” in the New Testament; light signifies divine revelation and guidance.

Furthermore, Jesus calls each of us, His followers, to reflect His light. In the Matthew 5 reading, He instructs, “You are the light of the world. … people do not light a lamp and put it under a bushel basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, … to glorify your Father in heaven.” Believers are instructed to live righteous lives that are visibly evident, illuminating the world with the truth and love of God.

The dual imagery of salt and light in the teachings of Jesus thus emphasizes the transformative impact His followers are to have on the world. As salt, they preserve and purify; as light, they reveal and guide. These metaphors call us Christians to live distinctively, influencing society with the values of the Kingdom of God!

Did you know that salt is also a sign of wisdom?

One of the Church’s little-known sacramentals is blessed salt. In the time of St. Augustine, under the Old Roman Rite, blessed salt (as a sign of wisdom) was placed on the tongue as a part of baptism. Augustine writes in his Confessions that during his baptism, he was marked with the Sign of Christ's Cross and anointed with Christ's salt. The priest said, “Take this salt as a sign of wisdom. May it be for you likewise a token that foreshadows everlasting life.” In the Roman Rite of 1962, blessed salt can still be requested during Baptism in the ceremony. Thus, still another and novel symbolic meaning of salt: wisdom.

Saint Thérèse of Lisieux tells us in her autobiography: “I see now that true charity consists in bearing with the faults of those about us, never being surprised at their weaknesses, but edified at the least sign of their virtue.' She believed that this was especially the way we act as salt and light to others. We help to preserve others from sin by being merciful to them when they are weak. We enrich their lives by seeing their goodness and rejoicing in it. And we do so in a hidden way. By our gentleness and compassion, our kindness and mercy, she said, we preserve them and others and help all to grow in God’s abundant grace. And, she further said: 'We will most often do so, without them even realizing that God is using us. Thus giving all the glory to God!”

God's dual call to us is to take on the salt of holiness and to bring the light of the Holy Spirit into our lives. His will, I believe, is for each of us to be blessed salt and then allow that holiness from Him, given to each of us at our Baptism to flavor and shine forth upon others, and, then: we will each indeed bring glory to our heavenly Father by being 'the salt of the earth and the light of the world' — but if and only if — we do not, symbolically, put our lit, Baptismal candle under a bushel basket, but, put it on a lamp stand, like the larger Easter candle is on, from which our smaller candle was prevously lit!

Leave a comment

How should we, as lay-persons, prepare ourselves to best, day in and out, 'go and proclaim the Gospel'? What should guide our interactions with people as we act as 'Ambassadors of Jesus'?

Saturday in the Octave of Easter
Acts 4:13-21
Mark 16:9-15

In an opening, an overview type of statement, I heard in this morning's Readings a very daunting command from the Lord: “GO into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature”! Imagine how this initially strikes the cowering Apostles who rejected Mary Magdalene’s witness!

Next, I note the amazing growth in courage of these same Apostles that we now hear about in our Acts Reading! What has happened, you may ask, in the period between Mark 16 and Acts 4? The answer lies, I believe, in our Psalm 118 reading where we hear: “My strength and my courage is the Lord and He has been My Savior”!

Note: the Catechism cites this very verse as its reference for the Cardinal Virtue of Fortitude which is also 1 of the 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit! More about this Virtue later. Also, I find it very interesting that the Psalmist, inspired by the same Spirit centuries prior, sang: “I shall not die, but live, and declare the works [a word for the Gospel at that time] of the Lord.” Just like He (the Spirit) centuries later ennobled the Apostles to be recognized as Jesus' companions, known for their boldness and “remarkable sign,” which even the hard-hearted Sanhedrin could not deny.

Our Gospel details that in the eyes of many people, Mary Magdalene personifies a person of low reputation at that time. Like the twelve Apostles, she too has an unpleasant background, but a person’s background or status in life is not important to Jesus. This is because Jesus has the power to transform. That is why when Jesus healed her, she became one of the most loyal disciples of the Lord. Indeed, a person who has been forgiven much, loves much (per Luke 7:47). Also, please note that she was given the privilege to be the first announcer of the good news of the resurrection.

Yet when Mary Magdalene shared with the Apostles what she saw and heard at the tomb, no one appeared to believe her. Perhaps her background came back to the Apostles’ mind, or maybe they thought she was hallucinating. People do not forget easily, plus, many times, they look at the messenger rather than the message.

The Apostles were incredulous about the resurrection story at that time, even after their two companions had been on the road to Emmaus. Yet Jesus is very patient with them. He does not easily give up on His people. So He appeared to all of them and, after rebuking them for their doubting, gave them the new mission: “To GO and proclaim the good news [or GOSPEL] to every creature”!

For those who doubt, the Lord gives them enough time to decide. Recall the picture of Jesus standing outside and knocking at the door of our hearts (per Revelation 3:20) until we acknowledge Him! I'm sure that you have seen this classic picture. Good thing for us that He is very patient, and ever loving, and that He never gives up on us!

In our Acts' Reading, the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council, reacts to a now very different Peter and John. Despite being uneducated men, their boldness in preaching about Jesus and performing miracles astonishes them! Yet they cannot punish them because of the lack of legal grounds and the growing popularity of the Christian movement. The Sanhedrin's attempts to silence Peter and John are ultimately unsuccessful, highlighting the growing power, courage, and influence of the early Christian Church.

The Sanhedrin, composed of Jewish religious and political leaders, is presented as initially surprised and then frustrated by Peter and John's ability to preach about Jesus and heal a man. They recognize Peter and John as ordinary, uneducated men who were followers of Jesus. The Sanhedrin's astonishment is further fueled by the fact that the healed man was standing before them, a tangible demonstration of Jesus' power and the strength of the early Christian message. They are in a difficult position. They cannot deny the evidence of the miracle, nor can they legally punish Peter and John for their actions, as they have committed no crime. Plus, the growing popularity of the Christian movement, as mentioned earlier, makes it politically risky for them to take harsh action against the Apostles. Faced with this dilemma, they order Peter and John to cease preaching in “the name of Jesus.”

This is a thinly veiled threat to the Apostles that they will face 'some sort of concocted repercussion' if they continue their actions. But Peter and John refuse to obey the order, stating they cannot keep silent about what they have seen and heard. They are unwilling to compromise their faith and disobey God's Great Commission “to go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel”, even in the face of some sort of potential punishment for them! So, the Sanhedrin ultimately releases Peter and John. This act of release underscores the growing strength, influence, and gift of courage to the early Church!

Thus, in my mind, these events witness to the gift of Fortitude to the early Church in its ongoing defiance and in the Spirit's eventual just triumph over current religious and worldly political opposition, as the contents of Psalm 118, I believe, allude to.

This brings us to the question: What is Fortitude, and where does it come from?

The Catechism states: “Fortitude is 1 of the 4 Moral or Cardinal Virtues. It ensures firmness in difficulties and constancy in the pursuit of the good. It strengthens the resolve to resist temptations and to overcome obstacles in the moral life. The virtue of Fortitude enables one to conquer fear, even fear of death, and to face trials and persecutions. It disposes us even to renounce and sacrifice our life to defend a just cause. "The Lord is my strength and my song." [Ps 118:14] "In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."[Jn 16:33]”

In case you are wondering, the other three Cardinal Virtues are: Prudence, Justice, and Temperance.

Together, they play a pivotal role and accordingly are called "cardinal or hinge virtues,” as all the other virtues are grouped around these four.

So, where does the Virtue Fortitude come from? It is one of the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. These Gifts are: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude (the gift we read about being given to the Apostles in Mark 17 today), Knowledge, Piety, and Fear of the Lord.

Initially, we received the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit in baptism, and then, they were sealed and strengthened in each of us in confirmation. CCC 1830 states that these gifts “sustain the moral life of Christians, and make man docile in following the promptings of the Holy Spirit.” Also, being a 'Gift' from the Holy Spirit, we can pray at any time for a greater outpouring of this Gift as the need arises. For a complete discussion of The Virtues, see CCC 1803-1845.

I want to finish up with some thoughts on The Great Commission we find at the end of our Gospel Reading today, when: “He [Jesus] said to them, Go into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel [or Good News] to every creature.”

How should we, as lay-persons, prepare ourselves to best, day in and out, 'go and proclaim the Gospel'? What should guide our interactions with people as we act as 'Ambassadors of Jesus'?

With the death of Pope Francis, I have decided to end by drawing on his consistent wisdom present in numerous past teachings on “How to share the Gospel.” He always says, “By being a Joyful Witness”!

For instance, in a 2023 Weekly Audience, he said, sharing the Gospel requires literally 'going out,' and witnessing to the joy of faith in person and not just sitting at home, being 'keyboard warriors' who argue with others online. He said. […We must be open to exploring new paths as we seek to share the Gospel through one of his favorite Franciscan types of his phrases, 'word and deed'.”

To that end, I think he would be 'ok' with me ending my Reflection with this poem, as it gives some solid examples of how to go and do: “Joy Filled Witnessing”!

Sermons We See

by Edgar Guest

I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day;
I'd rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way.
The eye's a better pupil and more willing than the ear,
Fine counsel is confusing, but example's always clear;
And the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds,
For to see good put in action is what everybody needs.
I soon can learn to do it if you'll let me see it done;
I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run.
And the lecture you deliver may be very wise and true,
But I'd rather get my lessons by observing what you do;
For I might misunderstand you and the high advice you give,
But there's no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.
When I see a deed of kindness, I am eager to be kind.
When a weaker brother stumbles and a strong man stays behind
Just to see if he can help him, then the wish grows strong in me
To become as big and thoughtful as I know that friend to be.
And all travelers can witness that the best of guides today
Is not the one who tells them, but the one who shows the way.
One good man teaches many, men believe what they behold;
One deed of kindness noticed is worth forty that are told.
Who stands with men of honor learns to hold his honor dear,
For right living speaks a language which to every one is clear.
Though an able speaker charms me with his eloquence, I say,
I'd rather see a sermon than to hear one, any day.

Now, that poem captures for me what I believe, Pope Francis would describe as “Joyful Witnessing”!

Leave a comment

The "childlike" attitude Jesus encourages is not about naivety or childishness, but about a complete dependence on God. A willingness to trust and receive love without conditions, and a genuine openness to learning and being guided. Thus, Mark teaches how children model the correct attitude for belonging to the Kingdom of God.

Saturday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time
Sirach 17:1-15
Mark 10:13-16

Each of us is viewed from several angles in today’s three readings. Sirach makes a series of grand, Genesis-like, very sweeping statements, about man, and includes all the animals and nations on the earth, seen from God's viewpoint. Next, our Psalm covers some of the same ground but focuses more sharply on how God views the man He has created and how He has chosen to relate to him. The Psalmist uses images found in the human family to tell us how He relates to us: that of a Father to his children. Not as an artist to his created artworks or a scientist to his grand experiment, but as a human father to his sired children.

We are not too surprised when, in our next reading, Mark presents Jesus teaching His Disciples a valuable lesson about how He views children and His desire to allow them full access to Him.

Let us now look into the details of our three readings beginning with Sirach. He is telling us that even if our material substance is earthly (dust), our shape, form, and way of acting and thinking, we should image the Divine. Sirach reaches into the details of our bodily existence: He, God, forms the human tongues, eyes, and ears and imparts an understanding heart to them. Thus, each of us possesses instruments by which we can communicate our desires and impressions of the heart. It is in our ways of interacting with one another that we manifest, most perfectly, the Divinely imparted wisdom and knowledge of the spirit, that Sirach speaks of.

As mentioned earlier, Psalm 103 uses images found in the human family to tell us how God relates to us. I especially liked, “As a father has compassion on his children ...” The word picture “children's children” is presented in this reading.

Our gospel (Mark 10:13-16) highlights the little ones or children within the human family today. About them Jesus makes a statement to inscribe in our memory: “It is to just such as these that the kingdom of God belongs.” The parents who brought their children to Jesus were, I believe, like those who bring their children for baptism in our present day. The contrast between the disciples’ gruffness and how Jesus responded to this request is striking.

The disciples wanted to turn them away, as a nuisance and a distraction, whereas Jesus lets the children come to him and wants his Church to do likewise. We must do what we can to bring children into a relationship with Jesus. Along with teaching the children, we too have much to learn from them. We have to learn to welcome the kingdom of God as children do. Children are very receptive to good things, to gifts, including the gift of the kingdom of God and the gift of the Lord Himself. They are open to these gifts, plus, very receptive of them. As we grow older, we can quickly lose receptiveness and openness to the Lord and His gifts. As adults, we have to keep on recovering it. We must keep re-learning to become like children and welcome the Lord’s gifts as openly as the children in Mark we read about today.

Mark shows Jesus teaches that He (and we should) welcomes children with open arms. To enter the Kingdom of God, one must approach with the humility, trust, and simplicity of a child, letting go of pride and self-importance to embrace God's grace and love fully. Essentially, children represent the ideal state of receptivity to God's love, which all Christians are called to emulate; therefore, they should always be welcomed! Jesus' strong reaction to the disciples' actions shows us how deeply he values children and desires for all to come to him without barriers as it says in CCC 1261.

The "childlike" attitude Jesus encourages is not about naivety or childishness, but about a complete dependence on God. A willingness to trust and receive love without conditions, and a genuine openness to learning and being guided. Thus, Mark teaches how children model the correct attitude for belonging to the Kingdom of God. CCC 699 also cites our reading in Mark as an example of imparting the Holy Spirit by laying on hands when Jesus “embraced the children and blessed them, placing His hands on them.”

In His name, the apostles will do the same as Jesus will teach them that it is by the imposition of His and their hands that the Holy Spirit is given. The Letter to the Hebrews lists the imposition of hands among the "fundamental elements" of the Apostles’ teaching. Even more pointedly, the Church has kept this sign of the invocation of the all-powerful outpouring of the Holy Spirit in all of its sacramental ceremonies. Think of how it appears in: Baptism, Marriage and the Eucharist.

On several occasions, Jesus insists on the welcome due to little ones, to children. “Anyone who welcomes one of these little children in My name, welcomes Me” (Mark 9:37). “If anyone gives so much as a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is a disciple, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward” (Matthew 10:42). He asked that no one despise the little ones (Matthew 18:10). At the last judgment the just will be welcomed for having given food “to one of the least of these brothers of Mine” (Matthew 25:40).

In the Gospels, the expression “little ones” sometimes means “children,” while other times, it means those excluded from society. It is not always easy to differentiate. But, in today's Gospel that isn't the case. Jesus is clearly talking about children in Mark 10.

First, Jesus wants us to welcome and to touch. The parents with their children in their arms drew near Jesus to ask for a blessing. The apostles told them to go elsewhere. Jesus disagrees. He corrects the disciples and welcomes the parents and their children. He touches them and embraces them. “Let the little children alone and let them come to Me; do not stop them!” (Mark 10:13-16; Matthew 19:13-15).

Next, Jesus identifies Himself with the little ones. In Mark chapter 9 Jesus says “Whoever welcomes a child, “welcomes Me.” In so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did it to Me” (Matthew 25:40).

We are to become a child (or childlike) once more. Jesus asks that the disciples become children again and accept the kingdom like a child. Failing that, He said it is impossible to enter the Kingdom of God (See: Mark 10:15, Matt 18:3 & Luke 9:46-48).

By His actions, Jesus tells us: Let the child be the teacher and we adults the students. To us, this is not the norm. To our loss, we are used to doing the opposite and miss out on a very valuable humility lesson that will be our Final Exam to get into Heaven! Jesus clued us in most strongly and directly on that fact in Matthew 18 verse 3, when He said: “Amen, (or in military terms: Listen-Up guys, this is important) I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”

In all three of our Readings, I hear parental-type advice being given. I connect to the opening two words in 'The Lord’s Prayer.’

The 'Our Father Prayer' is the “summary of the whole Gospel” (per Tertullian), and “the perfect prayer” (per Saint Thomas Aquinas). Found in the middle of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). In the form of prayer, it presents to us the essential content of the Gospel. In the Catechism, para. 2759-2865, addresses the whole prayer in line-by-line detail and makes for good reading.

Did you ever wonder “Why can we confidently draw near to God, plus dare address Him as “Our Father?” The answer in paragraphs 1 and 2759-2865 of the Catechism tells us. “In His Son and through Him, He (God the Father) invites men to become, in the Holy Spirit, His adopted children and thus heirs of His blessed life.” The rest of the above reference, lays out that, Jesus, our Redeemer, God's Only Begotten Son (per John 3:16, Hebrews 1:5 & The Nicene Creed), brings us into the Father’s presence and His Spirit makes us God's adopted children (per Ephesians 1:5, Romans 9:8 & Galatians 4:4-5).

In the first few words of the prayer, we are thrown into the deep end of the pool of Church teaching: “Our Father, who art in heaven”. If we dare to call God “our Father” (and we can, as Jesus tells us to), then we must be God's children. The Lord’s Prayer is built on these first two words, just as our whole Christian life is built on the foundation of our adoption as sons and daughters of God.

We need to be frequently reminded of the fact of this adoption. Christians say “Our Father” all the time, whether in the morning, at Mass, in a spare moment, in a Rosary, or preparing for bed. Jesus arranged this prayer so that even if we get distracted or sleepy after the first two words, we still recall the most fundamental part. By addressing God as “Abba” (as Jesus most likely taught in Hebrew) or “Our Father.”

The “Our Father & son mystery” is an ever-new sense of wonder and humble boldness, wakening in each of us the desire to act as His adopted children every time we say this prayer.

In pursuing a spiritual life, we get caught up worrying about what works we must do. Much more important than work is what we are called to be. “God’s beloved children” per 1 John 3:2. That should be the foundation of our lives as Christians, our new identity as adopted sons and daughters of the Father, by the grace of Jesus Christ, through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus has plenty to teach about how and what we should love, and, all of it flows from trusting that we have been adopted into the Family of God as His Children.

As previously mentioned, the Catholic Catechism contains a very enlightening discussion on 'The Our Father Prayer' and makes for good independent reading. Consider checking it out. Type: CCC 2759 2865 into your favorite browser.

When we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we need to be aware that we have been adopted into God's Family and can trust that we are being heard because of the Birth, Death & Resurrection of His only Son Jesus the Christ, who has secured this status for each of us to boldly call on God as: “Abba” or “Our Father.”

Leave a comment

This Sunday's Gospel reading is the same one as we just read on Saturday because, Sunday Mass Gospel readings are on a different schedule than weekday Mass readings. Thus, repeated Gospel readings may occur. If you went to Mass on Saturday, you will hear Luke 1:39-45 (the Visitation Narrative, the subject of my Reflection below) repeated as the Gospel on Sunday. Lucky you!

I ran across 15 references in the Catechism of the Catholic Church that cited our rich Gospel reading, Luke Chapter 1 verses 39-45, for today. I selected 3 to look at closely.

Para. 523 of THE MYSTERIES OF JESUS' INFANCY AND HIDDEN LIFE Section. 

St. John the Baptist is the Lord's immediate precursor or forerunner, sent to prepare his way. ^'Prophet of the Most High', John surpasses all the prophets, of whom he is the last. He inaugurates the Gospel, already from his mother's womb welcomes the coming of Christ [I will have much more on this later], and rejoices in being 'the friend of the bridegroom', whom he points out as 'the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.' Going before Jesus 'in the spirit and power of Elijah', John bears witness to Christ in his preaching, by his Baptism of conversion, and through his martyrdom.

Para. 717 of THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST IN THE FULLNESS OF TIME Section. 

"There was a man sent from God, whose name was John." John was 'filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb' [I will also comment on just when this occurred] by Christ himself, whom the Virgin Mary had just conceived [a big hint here] by the Holy Spirit. Mary's visitation to Elizabeth thus became a visit from God to his people.

Para. 2677 discusses prayers like the Ave Maria & the Rosary: 

'Hail Mary' [or 'Rejoice, Mary']: The greeting of the angel Gabriel opens this prayer. It is God himself who, through his angel as intermediary, greets Mary. Our prayer dares to take up this greeting to Mary with the regard God had for the lowliness of his humble servant and to exult in the joy he finds in her.

'Full of grace, the Lord is with thee': These two phrases of the angel's greeting shed light on one another. Mary is full of grace because the Lord is with her. The grace with which she is filled is the presence of Him who is the source of all grace. 'Rejoice ... O Daughter of Jerusalem ... the Lord your God is in your midst.' Mary, in whom the Lord himself has just made his dwelling, is the daughter of Zion in person, the ark of the covenant, the place where the glory of the Lord dwells. She is 'the dwelling of God ... with men.' … 

'Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.' After the angel's greeting, we make Elizabeth's greeting our own. "Filled with the Holy Spirit," Elizabeth is the first in the long succession of generations who have called Mary "blessed." 'Blessed is she who believed. ... '.

Even though the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) report many of the same events and episodes in Jesus’ life, one would expect many similarities here as well. However, each writer focuses on their own distinct emphasis and points of interests. Scholars say Luke’s major characteristic themes include a prominent place given to women, and the Holy Spirit.

Our Gospel reading this morning runs from just after the Annunciation and stops prior to Mary giving her famous Canticle the 'Magnificat'.

In all, Luke mentions thirteen women in his Gospel not spoken of elsewhere in other Gospels. Also, did you ever notice that Luke focuses on women from the very beginning of Jesus’ life by pointing to Mary, not Joseph, who praised God when she received Jesus' birth announcement (see Luke 1:26-38)?

The pairing of a woman's reaction to a man's is found in Luke’s birth announcements made to Zechariah (Luke 1:5-23) and to Mary (1:26-38). Luke shows us that Mary’s questioning of the messenger is rooted in faith, while Zechariah’s is not. In response, Zechariah is punished while Mary is blessed.

The miraculous conceptions and births from the closed wombs of Mary and Elizabeth described by Luke offers another interesting contrast. At the start of the Luke's Gospel, there are two women, one old, one young, both childless. The barrenness of Israel under the old law, is represented by Elizabeth, whose child will not only be the last of the prophets but he will  herald the arrival of the Messiah. Luke compares this to the virgin womb of Mary, now carrying the 'Word', the new law, the message of salvation and grace to the World.

I’m not going to turn this into a “Right to Life” speech, but I can’t pass over the reality of what happened when Mary visited Elizabeth. Here we have a response to Mary’s presence not only from Elizabeth but also from her unborn child. John the Baptist’s first testimony to Jesus, his first heralding of the King, takes place while both are unborn. Another thing, Jesus, I think, energizes and plus gives John his life's mission while both are still in the womb.

Mary’s encounter with Elizabeth also introduces us to another interesting example to reflect on as:  It is Elizabeth and Mary who are first to sing and prophesy about the Christ child. They are not just witnesses, but seem to be the very active participants in God’s redeeming purpose. Elizabeth and Mary are, I think, the most prominent characters in the first two chapters of Luke, but, strangely, Elizabeth does not appear in any of the other Gospels.

Two more thoughts.  First, a question: Why, as soon as Mary had conceived the Word in her womb, did she: 'Arise, and with haste  go to the hill country, to a city of Judah,' to visit her cousin Elizabeth? Can we not sense in Mary's haste something more that the desire to serve and support her cousin in her third trimester of pregnancy was the cause of the promptness plus seriousness with which she took this trip?

I think that Mary, knowing the grace now in her own womb, was calling her forth (I believe it to the Holy Spirit) to take that grace to the house of Zechariah, where John the Baptist (Jesus' forerunner) had been earlier conceived. Further, I believe that she divinely sensed that Jesus would need to be preceded by John externally; but interiorly, it is Jesus who must precede to John now, because he must sanctify John. It was therefore necessary, as mentioned above, that John receive from Jesus this first touch of grace while both were still unborn; thus, the haste.

Second: Please be sure to remember that Chapter 1 of Luke is the source of the Gloria and the Magnificat that were later introduced into Christian worship. Plus prayers such as the Hail Mary and the Rosary were built from it, as cited in my above Catechism reference.

Wrapping up my Reflection: We have reviewed how “The Joyful” mysteries of the Rosary begin with the Annunciation, in that holy exchange recorded by Saint Luke just before our reading this morning when Mary becomes the Mother of God. Then in the following verses of chapter 1 of Luke, where today’s Gospel begins, which is now called the Visitation, Luke reveals the second Joyful mystery of the Rosary: wherein Mary 'traveled to the hill country in haste and greeted Elizabeth.'

We saw that Mary made this journey in the first days of her pregnancy and that  somehow, immediately upon Mary's arrival, Elizabeth knew that Mary was with child.

How did she know this? Luke gives us the answer when he writes: 'Elizabeth, filled with the Holy Spirit, cried out in a loud voice, blessed is the fruit of your womb.' That's the key, I believe, to this impossible knowledge—The Holy Spirit told Elizabeth! The same Holy Spirit who had overshadowed Mary (a few verses) earlier. The same Holy Spirit who came upon each of us at our own Baptism and offered us a portion of this same gift that Elizabeth had. Plus, maybe even a richer amount of this gift was received by each of us later on as part of the seven gifts of The Holy Spirit given to us at our Confirmation.

Determining what exactly are the seven gifts of The Holy Spirit given at Catholic Confirmation, is left as “an exercise for the Reader.” But, one of them is: spiritual knowledge: The ability “see as God sees” (a loose re-statement from the Baltimore Catechism.)

So, as each of us make our own journey towards the third Joyful Mystery, the Nativity of our Lord, I pray that we accept all Joyful gifts offered to each of us by the Holy Spirit just as Mary and Elizabeth did.

Leave a comment

INTRO: In the common interpretation of the Parable of the Fig Tree, we or Israel are the fig tree, and God is the vineyard owner. I want to change how we see things in this parable, as Jesus’ parables are rarely as straightforward as they might seem initially. They are cryptic for a reason. He says more than once that he tells parables to hide his meaning.

“The following is a paraphrase and rework of a published work by Leah D. Schade updated on the Patheos site under the section “ECO Preacher” on March 25, 2019. The article can be found at https://www.patheos.com/blogs/ecopreacher/2019/03/rethinking-parable-fruitless-tree-luke-13/.”

Saturday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Ephesians 4:7-16
Luke 13:1-9

Is God really the short-sighted vineyard's owner? If so, who is the Gardner in our parable this morning in Luke 13:1-9? Are we the barren fig tree threatened with the ax? Maybe we need to rethink some of that interpretation.

Pixabay Content License

I stand looking at that tree, shaking my head. How could this have happened? I planted a perfectly good sapling 3 years ago, and now … no fruit. It is a complete waste of soil and space. A hopeless case. Perhaps.

A significant hint of the direction we need to take as we explore the point of this parable is the Gospel Acclamation chosen for today's reading from Luke: “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord, but rather in his conversion that he may live” (Ezekiel 33:11).

With that in mind, let us proceed. What does that fig tree represent? Most commentators will say that the tree represents us or Israel, and the only point of the parable is to 'warn' each of us: You had better get busy bearing fruit, or God will cut you down because “you are a fruitless tree” needlessly using up resources and space!

That’s one take. But if we consider the previous verses, another possible view emerges more it line with this morning's Gospel Acclamation! Luke begins by telling us that some people questioned Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. “Did this suffering occur because they were the greatest sinners in all of Galilee?” they asked of Him.

Note that they didn’t question why these terrible things happened. They wanted confirmation that these people were “great sinners” and deserved it! I believe they were working under the assumption that tragic things happened because a person had done something wrong. And that a vengeful God was punishing him/her for their misdeeds. Their question to Jesus was laced with a poisonous self-righteousness, plus a very misconstrued understanding of God.

In other words, these guys brought this on themselves. And, secondly, implying, aren’t we blessed that God hasn’t yet found a reason to punish us out of His wrathful vengeance? Sadly, we still frequently see these two assumptions in operation today.

What is Jesus’ response to this twisted logic and incorrect vision of His Father?

Jesus will have none of it. I imagine Him thinking: “You think those people got what they deserved? And you’re somehow better than those people, aren't you? They were no worse than you! If that's the way things work, you deserve more to die than they did because of your holier-than-thou attitude!” And then, calming Himself, he says out loud, “Unless you repent, you too shall perish.”

This all reminds me of a memorable scene from the film Unforgiven. A young gunslinger is shaking in his boots in shock and remorse after having just shot a man dead for the first time. In a weak attempt to justify and pump himself up (just like the people questioning Jesus above do), the young man says, “Well, I reckon he had it coming.” The grizzled old gunslinger and gang leader, played by Clint Eastwood, corrects him by replying: “We all got it coming, kid.” Just like I believe Jesus said above. We all should repent while we can because we, too, have it coming. Without God's forgiveness, we, too, will perish.

Notice that Jesus tells them twice: “If you do not repent, you all will perish as they did.”

Why? Because they had two separate things to repent of:

• The same normal sins that they and the Galileans whom Pilate killed had committed over their lifetime.

• The sin of not “hallowing the Name Of God the Father” by distorting it into a vengeful, self-derived image of how they mistakenly thought God acted.

Thus, to correct this false, vengeful image of His Father, Jesus then tells this parable about the vineyard owner and the fig tree. Like many of Jesus’ parables, this cryptic little story leaves us hanging in the end.

“A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but found none. So he said to the Gardener, Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?”

“Wait,” says the Gardener. “Leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then you can cut it down.”

In the common interpretation of this Parable, we or Israel are the fig tree, and God is the vineyard owner. I want to change how we see things in this parable, as Jesus’ parables are rarely as straightforward as they might seem initially. They are cryptic for a reason. He says more than once that he tells parables to hide his meaning.

As this section of Luke is supposed to be about 'repentance,’ let's start by asking: What does 'to repent' mean? The Greek word is metanoia — to change one’s mind. Jesus tells questioners they will perish if they do not change their minds. If they do not change the way they are thinking about sin they remain stuck, believing God just all about wrath and judgment.

We know Jesus uses parables to, unknowingly to His listeners, create a crack in their spiritual worldview. A crack through which they and we can glimpse a truth in the Kingdom of God. Once we have this glimpse, our vision will be forever changed. Things shift, and our reality is altered. This shift gives us just enough room to experience metanoia — room enough to change or turn around our thinking.

Whose mind or thinking needs to be changed in this parable? Who looks at the tree and sees nothing but a fruitless waste of space? Who is ready to pronounce judgment on the tree, chop it down, and see it as deserving nothing but death? It’s not the tree that needs to change. It’s the fig tree owner whose mind the Gardener is trying to change.

This means that those people questioning Jesus in our Gospel reading are the tree’s owners. They are the ones looking at other people affected by tragedy and making wrong judgments about them, ready to chop them down, seeing them as deserving nothing but death because of their fruitlessness. That is their sinfulness.

Do you see? The owner of the tree is not God. The owner is people like us.

This parable is really about you and me. We are the ones whose minds need to be changed. We are ready to chop down that tree without a second thought. We are impatiently making demands, ready to destroy the fig tree because it is not bearing fruit per our timetable!

Sometimes I am that fig tree owner, tapping my foot with an ax in my hand, ready to start chopping. I see nothing good coming from this tree right now. I’m angry, sad, and judgmental and ready to start making wood chips fly. Hand me the ax; I’m ready to chop it down. I’m ready to give up hope.

And then I look at that Gardener and hear him.

What does the Gardener do? He springs to action! He does everything he can to prevent the owner from giving up on the tree. He pleads for the life of the tree. He hauls out the shovel and wheelbarrow. He lays out his plan for replenishing the soil with nutrients. He enthusiastically makes his case for giving the tree just one more year to bear fruit. It may be a lost cause, but he’s not ready to give up yet.

When the Gardener looks at the tree, he sees life and hope. So he does everything he can to preserve whatever potential may be left in the tree. The Gardener sees the tree through the eyes of faith and sees the possibility of new growth despite all evidence to the contrary.

The Gardener does not get distracted by being judgmental and self-righteous. The Gardener does not write off the tree as a lost cause. He gets in there, down in the muck, and gets his hands dirty. He grabs a shovel and starts digging. He rolls up his sleeves, scoops a handful of that smelly fertilizer, and fills it around the tree’s base because the Gardener knows if you throw in the towel whenever something terrible happens. If you write off a person, or a race, or an entire country because you think they deserve what they got, if you’re ready to chop down the tree every time it fails to bear the type and size of fruit you think it should, pretty soon you’ll find yourself surrounded by nothing but a bunch of dead stumps.

We should listen, instead, to the Gardener. I believe He is trying to change our minds, showing us a new perspective, trying to get us to see this tragic situation through faith. The Gardener says: Trust in God, even in the face of fruitless branches. Don’t blame the victims of tragedy. Get in there and minister to them.

This is a practical, down-to-earth faith we’re discussing here that gives second chances. It also matches our Gospel Acclamation: Take no pleasure in the wicked man’s death, instead, (not being a vengeful God) desiring his conversion that he may bear fruit and thus live!

If the vineyard owner is us, who then is the Gardner?

We get a hint from Mary Magdalene, who mistook Jesus for the Gardener when she saw him after the resurrection.

This Parable places Jesus or God The Father as the Gardener.

The Gardner teaches us: Don’t give up on ourselves or others when good things don't happen. Start again. Invest in yourself and help others grow and develop. And above all, God’s grace extends to those who find themselves in fruitless situations.

Grace is in that shovel or wheelbarrow. Grace is in the nutrients that cause us to grow!

The Gardener also says: don’t despair when bad things happen around you. Don’t cower behind closed doors out of fear that the Tower of Siloam may fall on you. Wake up each morning and say: “Okay, world, whatever you have in store for me today: 'Bring it on!' As: 'I will fear no evil, for thy rod and thy staff and thy shovel and thy wheelbarrow full of compost — they comfort me!'

I know that God has taken a crucified Jesus hanging on that dead tree and effected a miracle of transformation the likes of which the world has never seen!

I resolve that whenever I look at an empty tree and a Gardener fervently, foolishly digging around that tree, and he beckons me to come, I will put down my ax and grab my shovel!

Leave a comment