14th Sunday

14th Sunday
July 4, 2004

Oh, that you may suck fully of the milk of her comfort, that you may nurse with delight at her abundant breasts....As nurslings, you shall be carried in her arms, and fondled in her lap; as a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you in (Isaiah 16:10-14)
• The prophet uses a metaphor in which we are cuddled and nurtured by the Most High, as a good mother would be with an infant child. Most of us probably cannot remember those earliest months of life when we either were, or were not provided that absolutely essential experience in life: being totally supported, body and soul, by a loving and devoted parent, without having to do anything to deserve it. With that experience the foundations of our ability to handle all kinds of difficult situations, play freely, love others, and work productively were laid down. Without that experience, the ordinary challenges of life present continued and often severe obstacles.
• We, children of the Most High, have no such uncertainty. There is no spiritual lottery in which some of us get what we need and others do not. All of us have this opportunity to snuggle at the breasts of God, be fondled in her lap, carried in his arms. All of us have access to this divine parent regardless of the circumstances. For some of us, because of the failures of human parents, it is more difficult to perceive or experience this.
• The prophet's metaphor refers to Israel, the chosen people of the Most High through whom, and in whom this divine nurturance takes place. By extension, this applies to all communities, large and small, formal and informal where God's truth, goodness and beauty is recognized and honored. Whenever we nurture one another, we are doing divine work. Whenever we fail to do it, we postpone the day when the prophet's vision will be fulfilled for everyone.
"I have observed Satan fall like lightning from the sky... Nevertheless, do not rejoice because the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice because your names are written in heaven." (Luke 10:1-20)
• Jesus' made this reply to his disciples after they are amazed and elated to find out how much power and authority they have when preaching in his name. He is cautioning them not to overemphasize its importance. Any power we might possess is not our own and does not come from our own strength.
• In reality we are as helpless as infants when it comes to achieving the really important things: overcoming personal obstacles, generosity, selflessness. As those of us recovering from addictions know, this overcoming of the demons only occurs when we acknowledge our helplessness, and give up struggling. We prevail only because our names are written in heaven. The "spirits" will only prevail as long as we think that we can struggle against them successfully on our own.

Thirteenth Sunday Reflections

June 27, 2004

"Then Elisha left and followed Elijah as his attendant (1 Kings 19:19-21). "No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:51-62).
• Elisha, receives a call to follow the great prophet Elijah. He leaves off work in his field, slaughters his twelve oxen (a possession representing considerable wealth), gives them as food for his servants and becomes Elijah's disciple. Jesus' alludes to this in his comment to his disciples, after they lamely ask him if they should "call down fire from heaven to consume them". Like Elijah with Elisha, Jesus shows no patience with their ignorance or hesitation. The faithful disciple, like Jesus, does not even have a hole to crawl into, and is left exposed to the uncertainties of the world. In both cases the point is clear: discipleship and entrance into the kingdom of God requires radical renunciation. Like Elisha, we are not even given a moment to say our goodbyes, get our affairs in order, or pause to complete unfinished tasks.
• Recently a close friend of mine and I shared in leading a retreat on the theme of diminishment as a condition of entering the kingdom of God. We both realized how feeling, or actually being, homeless is a kind of diminishment. We also acknowledged that anything we might lose in the process we stand to gain back a hundred fold, as Jesus promised in another place in the Gospel. Most of us, again like Elisha, and Jesus' disciples, do not usually intentionally choose detach ourselves from all that we know, cherish and enjoy in order to follow the promptings of the Spirit, and to serve others. Such a choice runs entirely counter to everything the culture of the world supports and rewards.
"... so stand firm and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery...live by the spirit and you will certainly not gratify the desire of the flesh" (Gal 5:1, 13-18)
• St. Paul refers in this passage to the struggle between "flesh" and "spirit". This has often been taken as a reference to some conflict between body and soul. Another interpretation of "flesh" is that is a spirit of self-centeredness, a misguided sense of personal independence, or alienation from the divine center of our personal being, and our corporate lives. "Live by the spirit..." What a concept, again counter to what we experience all around us. The "yoke of slavery" which Elisha left behind to follow God's prophet is another way to understand St. Paul's reference to the desire of the flesh and the promptings of the spirit.
• What if we were to renounce, as Jesus clearly taught, "raining down fire from heaven" as our response to opposition and rejection? How would our lives look, our opinions change, our communities transform if we were able to leave our convenient, treasured, homes and follow these inner promptings without looking back.