Sunday

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

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Today’s Readings teach us that those who are “persons of disinterest” in the eyes of the world are always of interest to God, and a true source of good and virtue in the world. In today’s First Reading the Lord tells Israel that if they truly want safety and security, they must seek justice, humility, and his law. The unjust are destined for destruction by their own iniquity. Justice is about giving each person their due, and making amends when we haven’t. It’s about always seeking to do the right thing without a lot of angst or hand wringing, even when doing the right thing is hard. Sometimes doing the right thing seems to put us in the minority. The Lord says today that being the minority is not a problem. If being honest and doing the right thing puts us in the minority, it is a minority the Lord himself shelters. The “remnant” mentioned in today’s First Reading are those Israelites, that minority, who strive to do the right thing and who’ll be the seed of the new People of God when the Messiah comes.

In today’s Second Reading Paul reminds the Christians of their humble beginnings. They were “persons of disinterest” before the Lord came and made them strong and wise in him. Our Lord revealed that the Gospel was for everyone, no matter what their background, social standing, wealth, or talents were. That meant salvation and glory were for all. Paul reminds the Corinthians today that this lofty calling should not go to their head. They have no importance that they did not receive from Our Lord. If there’s any pride to show, it’s to be proud of Our Lord. Christians are often seen by the worldly as foolish, weak, and uninteresting. Yet these “persons of disinterest” show the power of God through living a holy, simple life that often leaves the worldly envious and questioning their own happiness and choices in life.

In the eyes of the world, and, often in the eyes of these “persons of disinterest” it seems they are giving up something and receiving nothing in return, but in today’s Gospel we see that the beatitudes are promises to those “persons of disinterest” that all their legitimate and noble aspirations will be fulfilled. Each description of someone “blessed” in our Lord’s estimation is not a description of striving to be interesting, but striving for something nobler and persevering when faced by trials and difficulties. Living a “blessed” life brings benefits that cannot be obtained in any other way. They are the path to a relationship with God, and Heaven itself. It’s through our humility and “disinterestedness” that the Lord shines in our lives and in the lives of others.

If you run down the list of today’s Beatitudes and remove the words “Heaven” and “God” from Our Lord’s promises you have a pretty good list of what the worldly want too. They want power, satisfaction, security, happiness and comfort, but they’re not seeking it in God, and ultimately they’ll fail. As believers we can fall into the same trap. We can strive for a “kingdom,” but not the kingdom of Heaven, and as believers we know that every other kingdom fades away. We need not even consider all the wrong turns we take in life seeking a kingdom that will fade away, if we ever achieve that “kingdom” at all. The Beatitudes are attitudes that become our road map to everything noble and truly worthwhile. Meditate on them this week and see how you can “beatify” your outlook and get on track for true success: a holy life from here to Heaven. It will help others get on track too.

Readings: Zephaniah 2:3, 3:12–13; Psalm 146:6–10; 1 Corinthians 1:26–31; Matthew 5:1–12a. See also 10th Week of Ordinary Time, Monday, Year II,  All Saints and 10th Week in Ordinary Time, Monday.

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

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Today’s readings teach us that Our Lord has come to bring us light, liberty, and unity.

In today’s First Reading Isaiah speaks of the moment when Israel will be delivered from the prolonged darkness and oppression it has suffered as a result of its infidelity to God. The darkness of Israel was giving way to a great light, symbolizing the passage from sorrow and oppression to freedom and joy. That moment is described as being like the joy of the harvest: a harvest is the end of a great deal of work, patience, and anxiety. You never know how the weather will fare, whether locusts are on the horizon, and so on. You work hard, but in the end you need the Lord to bring the harvest to completion. Isaiah also makes it clear that the great light is also a liberation from oppression and slavery, evoking indirectly the joy the Israelites felt when they were led out of Egypt by Moses at the Lord’s command. In describing Midian Isaiah is referring to the story of Gideon in the Book of Judges (see Judges 8-9). Gideon defeated the Midianites with a small, select force, and credited the Lord with the victory. Isaiah uses this story to show that it is the Lord who’ll deliver Israel from oppression, not their own strength or prowess.

In today’s Second Reading Paul shows that the Lord does not just liberate us. He also wants us united around him and working with him. Paul is chiding the Corinthians because they are claiming some special provenance based on whoever baptized them or whoever was the most eloquent preacher. Their evangelizers want them united in mind and purpose around Christ and his Gospel as Christians. They were baptized in Christ, not in Paul, Cephas, or Apollos. In doing that they are giving credit where credit is due: Paul rightly reminds them that it was Christ who was crucified for their sins, not him. If they don’t give credit where credit is due, people will not be led to Christ.

In today’s Gospel Our Lord is revealed by Matthew to be that light of liberation and joy spoken of by Isaiah. The fulfillment of a prophecy is not always textbook; it doesn’t happen to the letter. Everything Our Lord said, did, and lived during his earthly mission has something to say, and, in this case, settling in Capernaum shows that light of liberation arriving to a people with a pagan past, an allusion to the darkness and oppression caused by their past infidelities. Our Lord also calls his first disciples today. His light draws others to him not only so that they can see the way, but so that they can someday light the way to Christ as well.

Let’s ask Our Lord today to help us light the path to him so that others may follow him.

Readings: Isaiah 8:23–9:3; Psalm 27:1, 4, 13–14; 1 Corinthians 1:10–13, 17; Matthew 4:12–23.

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

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Today’s readings teach us not only that we were born to serve and to shine, but that we were created for that purpose. If we embrace that calling Our Lord will exceed all our expectations, because his plans not only encompass our noble ones, but goes way beyond them. We see that in the case of St. John the Baptist, and we also see it in the calling of every believer.

Isaiah in today’s First Reading speaks of Israel’s calling: to serve God for his glory as well as for their own. Israel is called to be the Lord’s servant and to show God’s glory. We were created to serve the Lord and he promises we’ll be glorious in his sight and strengthened by him. That service, at times demanding and thankless, is meant to make the Lord’s glory shine far beyond ourselves. Isaiah today reminds us we’re called to be “a light to the nations,” and through that light salvation will reach to the ends of the earth. We’re called to serve and to shine out of no one’s vanity, but to help the Lord’s salvation extend to the ends of the earth.

Paul in today’s Second Reading seconds this lofty calling to serve and to shine. We serve and shine by seeking to do what the Lord asks of us and through striving to live a holy life. In his initial greeting to the Corinthians Paul identifies himself as called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ because it is God’s will that he be one. We serve the Lord by doing his will. He reminds the Corinthians that they are “called to be holy.” Through a life of holiness we become that light to the nations and help Our Lord bring that good work to completion in each person. The good work is not meant to just remain and be nourished in each one of us: it’s a gift God wants us to give to others as well. Whatever our walk of life, God calls us to be holy, as the dogmatic constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, teaches us: “The classes and duties of life are many, but holiness is one—that sanctity which is cultivated by all who are moved by the Spirit of God, and who obey the voice of the Father and worship God the Father in spirit and in truth. These people follow the poor Christ, the humble and cross-bearing Christ in order to be worthy of being sharers in His glory. Every person must walk unhesitatingly according to his own personal gifts and duties in the path of living faith, which arouses hope and works through charity” (LG 42).

John the Baptist in today’s Gospel served the Lord as his prophet and knew part of his calling was to put the spotlight on Our Lord and his mission, not on himself: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” If John the Baptist shines in the fulfillment of his mission, he shines in order to light the way to Christ, the reason for his mission. John is not just called to serve, but to shine. He does not just recognize in Our Lord the signs that the Spirit had promised him; he testifies to them so that others would also get the message. A source of illumination draws our attention, but it also illuminates something else. Our Lord himself, later in John’s Gospel, would describe John as a burning and shining lamp (see John 5:35-36), but that John was meant to shine on the path to Christ. John himself in today’s Gospel admits that the Lord outranks him before he existed before John was even created. The light of his mission pales in comparison to the true light that was coming to enlighten every man: Christ (cf. John 1:9).

Let’s ask the Lamb today to help us not only to serve, but to shine.

Readings: Isaiah 49:3, 5–6; Psalm 40:2, 4, 7–10; 1 Corinthians 1:1–3; John 1:29–34. See also Christmas, January 3rd.

Baptism of the Lord, Cycle A

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The Gospels of Mark, Luke, and Matthew recount the Baptism of Our Lord in the Jordan, but only in Matthew’s account, which we hear in today’s liturgy, does John the Baptist seem taken aback by the fact that Jesus is requesting baptism from the one who should be baptized by him. John is baptizing sinners, and he knows Our Lord is not a sinner, so why does he need baptism? Through this gesture Our Lord is expressing his solidarity with sinners; we know he will take their sins upon himself and destroy them upon the Cross, and the reality of humanity after Original Sin is that they need the grace of Christ, ordinarily through baptism, to be delivered from its effects.

Our Lord begins his public ministry by receiving his baptism at the hands of John, and this momentous occasion leads to a theophany where Son, Spirit (descending like a dove) and Father (a voice in the heavens) show they’re ready to begin the work of salvation in earnest: through the waters of baptism mankind begins its journey back to God. Thanks to Our Lord, mankind will be pleasing to the Father after a long, dark history since the Fall. The quiet work of justice prophesied by Isaiah in today’s First Reading has begun, a work that will reach beyond the Jews to all the nations, as represented by the story of Cornelius’ conversion in today’s Second Reading.

Today Our Lord’s work shifts from the Incarnation and the quiet years at Nazareth to the spotlight of his public ministry. Let’s make a resolution this year to bring his Gospel into the spotlight in our lives as well.

Readings: Isaiah 42:1–4, 6–7; Psalm 29:1–4, 9–10; Acts 10:34–38; Matthew 3:13–17. See also The Baptism of the Lord, Cycle C (1st Sunday in Ordinary Time).

 

4th Sunday of Advent, Cycle A

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As the saying goes, it is always darkest before the dawn, but the dawn also represents the light growing brighter and brighter. This Sunday the light of the Advent wreath is full because we are close to the dawn of our salvation through the birth of Our Lord: God will soon visibly be with us after nine months in his mother’s womb.

In today’s First Reading Isaiah makes a prophecy that a a virgin will conceive and bear a son named Emmanuel (“God is with us”). Matthew in today’s Gospel shows that prophecy fulfilled in Jesus, and also the source of Joseph’s confusion and dilemma: Mary’s fidelity to the marriage agreement their families had already made was called into question. Was the engagement off? Joseph was leaning in that direction when the angel helped him see the path forward: this was all part of God’s plan.

Joseph went from quietly considering his options to experiencing a revelation in the fog of a dream. Big, life-impacting decisions often go beyond our mental calculus, beyond reassuring certainties: things get fuzzy and foggy. Big decisions imply risk. We can either decide in fear and uncertainty or in faith and trust in Our Lord.

Advent is almost over. Has the Lord sent any angels to you? Christmas break and the impending New Year is a good time for making decisions in faith. God is with you.

Readings: Isaiah 7:10–14; Psalm 24:1–6; Romans 1:1–7; Matthew 1:18–24. See also Saint Joseph, Husband of Mary, Advent, December 18th, and Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.