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| “St Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata “ by Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1635 |
Commentary:
Reading 1: Nehemiah 2:1-8
Commentary on Neh 2:1-8
This reading from the Book of Nehemiah is one of the “Memoirs” of Nehemiah depicting his request to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and the Temple. Nehemiah was contemporary of Ezra, a layman called to extraordinary service and effort. He demonstrates a constant faith that God was supporting him.
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 137:1-2, 3, 4-5, 6
R. (6ab) Let my tongue be silenced if I ever forget you!
The sadness that drove Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem to rebuild is reflected in this communal lament. The people of God, dispersed throughout the region, recall the joys of being in God’s presence in Zion (Jerusalem). We feel in this hymn our own anticipation of being together in God’s presence as a community of faith.
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Gospel: Luke 9:57-62
Commentary on Lk 9:57-62
This passage from St. Luke’s Gospel gives us three sayings of Jesus about the requirement to place the values of Christian discipleship above all other requirements of life. Proclaiming the Kingdom of God must come before even family obligations.
In the first, “Foxes have dens…” Jesus does not deceive anyone – he lives in poverty, dedicated to his mission.
The second, “Let the dead bury their dead,” is a play on words: let the spiritually dead bury the physically dead. Jesus message is the message of life. This saying was never intended to be taken literally as filial piety is deeply ingrained in Jewish life.
In the third saying; “No one who…looks to what was left behind,” Jesus demands more than Elisha (see 1 Kings 19:19-21). “Plowing for the Kingdom demands sacrifice.” [4]
CCC: Lk 9:58 544
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Reflection:
The three different scripture passages we are given today combine to show us a call and an attitude. Follow the logic here: Jesus, in the Gospel, tells us that our faith in him and the call to discipleship must color all of our actions since it is first in our lives. The Psalmist sings of our inner longing, to be in God’s presence as a result of that call. And in Nehemiah, we see the fruits of one who listens to that call and places his life at the service of God. It is a call and an attitude.
As in much of Holy Scripture and the Teaching Magisterium of the Church the lessons are presented in their perfect or absolute state. Jesus, after all, is our example and the one whom we are called to emulate. In him, God’s perfect love is expressed to us, and since he was also true man, his perfect love for God was also given as our example. The call is daunting.
We see the call and the attitude as a requirement in our lives. It is the bar set by Jesus and the Saints, like St. Francis of Assisi whose memorial we celebrate, that we hope to follow. But how? We are not perfect as our Savior was perfect. We are not heroic as so many of the saints were heroic in life (Or...perhaps we are but are just not trying hard enough). Still, the call is there and Jesus asks that our attitude of love for others and humble service to all be what inspires our actions.
Taken as a whole, we could never hope to achieve the sort of perfect attitude of love driving all that we do. But taken incrementally, one piece at a time, we can move in the right direction. Our challenge is to first place ourselves on a scale. Where are we in our attitude of love for others, where are we in our actions that glorify the Father? Once we recognize were we are, we pray that God will help us become a little better - today. Each day we weigh ourselves on that scale and each day we try for just the tiniest improvement in our quest to become more like the saints who were much like us and ultimately more like Christ our ideal.
Today we are challenged to follow Jesus, to place his glory and that of the Father first in our lives. To do that we know that our attitude must become more like our Savior’s, whose every action has pointed to His Father and the Heavenly Kingdom to which we are all called. Today we hope for baby steps in the right direction.
Pax
[1] The picture used today is “St Francis of Assisi Receiving the Stigmata “ by Peter Paul Rubens, c. 1635
[2] S.S Commemoratio
[4] See Jerome Biblical Commentary, Prentice Hall, Inc., © 1968, 44:97.
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