Ordinary 24

Ordinary 24
September 17, 2006

by Jude Siciliano, OP

Isaiah 50: 5-9a
Psalm 59
James 2: 2: 14-18
Mk. 8: 27-35

Prenote: We are pleased to announce that one of our friars, R.B. Williams, OP has begun writing reflections on the daily liturgical readings. His concise comments are posted early in the morning and will be helpful for those who want some input on the daily scriptures. Go to
http://www.opsouth.org/ Or http:///www.judeop.org and click on “Daily Reflections.”

Dear Preachers: The first reading, from Isaiah, sounds like it should be included in the Psalter as a psalm of lament. The person speaking is distraught. At first, the subject of the passage seems to be the one speaking. But, on closer reflection, the subject and chief actor is God.

God is the source of the gift named in the opening line: “The Lord God opened my ear that I may hear and I have not rebelled.” How did the servant get the remarkable faith exhibited in the reading? It is a faith so firm that it is not shaken or cowered by abuse, contention and suffering. The speaker answers the question for us and names the source. His/her ears were first opened by God and as a result, the servant could hear God’s Word. Hearing and receiving God’s Word is the source of empowering and persevering faith. A person does the good they do because God had given the gift of faith—the source of, what James calls today, “works.” Isaiah says, God “opens my ear”—our openness is from God and this has consequences in our lives.

The servant in Isaiah vividly describes the fruits of this gift of hearing. Even though the person is undergoing suffering and persecution, he/she does not turn away from God. Some people think if we cooperate with God and live a good life that we will get “blessings” in this life—a life with fewer travails and sufferings. But the faithful servant first gets the gift from God, a “blessing,” and then shows the fruits of that gift—trust in God despite abuse.

Openness to God didn’t avert suffering. But despite afflictions, the faithful one believes that God is present, “upholds” and even stands on his/her side against all naysayers. When we are suffering we might think we have done something wrong and God is punishing us. Not so for the servant of God; in fact, as in the case of the servant, we may be suffering because we are doing something right and paying the consequences. Here at this Eucharist we voice our faith. Here we bring our pains, suffering and struggles to believe in God’s fidelity. We are grateful that our ears have been opened to God’s Word, especially today when we are reminded, “...the Lord God is my help.”

As I drive long distances in the car I frequently search for radio programs to distract me. Sometimes I pick up preachers on local radio stations. I am stuck by some who promise health, healing and prosperity to those who “truly believe in Jesus.” (They also ask for contributions for their “ministry of God’s blessings!”) I call to mind faithful people I have known who have gotten ill or prayed for loved ones in need and have been disappointed by the outcome of their prayer. The same is true for those who have made difficult, but proper, decisions based on their Christian beliefs about justice and mercy. Sometimes the costs have been high. I guess those radio preachers would say these people just didn’t have enough faith, or that they had sinned in some way, hence God didn’t “bless” them by answering their prayers. These preachers seem to suggest that if God were on our side, bad things wouldn’t happen to us.

But we just heard the faithful Isaian servant say that bad things were happening. Nevertheless, he/she continued to believe that God was with them, helping them through their trials. In Mark’s gospel Jesus is that faithful servant and is acclaimed by Peter as the anointed one of God, the messiah. Jesus tells Peter that suffering and death await him at the hands of their religious leaders, “the elders, chief priests and scribes.” Imagine Peter’s confusion. How could one so blessed by God, indeed the messiah, undergo suffering and death? It just didn’t compute in Peter’s mind; good people were supposed to be favored by God.

The messiah was supposed to make things right for a long-suffering people, not undergo suffering and death himself. How could the one representing God not gain acceptance from their leaders? How could the people not turn their hearts and loyalties to Jesus? And still worse, how could God let God’s own beloved suffer pain and rejection? Wasn’t the messiah supposed to finally set things right and bring God’s order to a chaotic world? Wasn’t the messiah supposed to free captives and give liberty to those enslaved by oppressors? What’s all this talk about the “...Son of Man must suffer greatly?”

Who could blame Peter for being confused and wanting Jesus to stop teaching in this way? Would God really let the healer and wonder worker Jesus be a failure in his divine project? And more. How could losing a life actually save it? Peter must have concluded that Jesus was talking nonsense. Peter’s vision was blurred. Perhaps ours is too today as we hear Jesus say the same things to us as he said to Peter. We too may share Peter’s confusion and lack of vision, we who live in a world whose motto is borrowed from a commercial, “Be ALL that you can be.” It defies logic and doesn’t make sense to deny self and lose one’s life. Unless one is a disciple of Jesus. Then one comes to see the divine logic of what Jesus is saying today, “Whoever wishes to save his/her life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.”

It is clear that we are at a crucial point in Mark’s gospel. Jesus has begun to focus his attention on a more intense formation of his disciples. From this point on they will get a clearer idea of what discipleship means; Jesus is giving them sight. The context of a gospel story can help translate its meaning. Today’s passage follows immediately after Jesus cures the blind man at Bethsaida (8:22-26). This context suggests that Jesus is dealing with another blind person--- Peter. Jesus will have to give Peter spiritual sight, as he gave physical sight to the blind man. The cure of the blind man is a curious one since it takes a couple of “treatments” by Jesus for the blind man to see perfectly, “...his sight was restored and he could see everything clearly” (8:25). Peter and the disciples are going to need on-going “treatments” if they are ever going to see Jesus clearly and become followers of the Lord.

It is encouraging to know that, though Peter completely misunderstood who Jesus was and what is mission to the world was, Jesus didn’t give up on him and the others and go looking for better candidates. Mark is suggesting that becoming a disciple is a process of coming to sight. The reason we come to worship is to have Jesus once again teach us what our discipleship entails so that we can practice it in our daily lives. We ask to be touched again and again by Jesus and we surrender our lives to the kind of discipleship he describes—dying to self and losing life for his sake. We are always in the process of getting our vision clarified. Or, as Isaiah, using another physical sense, would put it: God is opening our ears so that we may hear.

It is obvious that when Jesus asks, “Who do people say that I am?” and, “But who do you say that I am?” —he isn’t asking idle questions, something to fill up the time as they walk along the road. After all, they are going to Jerusalem, the very place where the things Jesus describes will take place. Peter’s quick answer seems correct, at first, but we learn the real answer is much more complex. Peter and the disciples will have to keep quiet for a while; they have more to learn. It is also obvious from what Jesus says to them, at this stage of instruction: he is not going to be a quick fix for people’s problems.

But instead, for the sake of others, he will enter into human pain, loss and death and give sight to those of us following behind. He is inviting us to let go of our notions of who we think Jesus ought to be for us and accept him as Mark is revealing him—one who accepts the cross and invites us to do the same. This gospel is telling us that divine logic makes more sense than human logic and it offers us a life we could never reason to or achieve on our own.

BOTH A QUOTE AND A BOOK

Taylor, Barbara Brown. The Preaching Life. Boston: Cowley, 1993. A personal reflection on the joys and struggles of the preaching life told by one of the better known preachers in the U.S. today.

“The quality of the [preacher and congregation’s] life together ­the memories, conversations, experiences and hopes they share­ is the fabric from which the sermon is made. The preacher is their parson, their representative person, who never gets into the pulpit without them. Whatever else the sermon is about, it is first of all abo\ut them, because they are the community in whose midst the preacher stands. In a very real way, the preacher would have no voice without them. By calling someone to preach to them and aby listening to that person week after week a congregation gives their minister both the authority to speak and a relationship from which to speak, so that every sermon begins and ends with them.” - Barbara Brown Taylor, Page 77.

JUSTICE NOTES

IF YOU WERE A MEMBER OF THE DOMINICAN ORDER
We got this letter from the Master of our Order recently. I thought I would invite you to look over our O.P shoulders to get a peek.

August 8, 2006, Feast of Our Father St. Dominic

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God".

My brothers and sisters: I am writing to you at a time when violence and war are escalating in the Middle East and the world is in a state of deep crisis. Thousands of innocent people have been killed, wounded or have lost their homes. It is an uncertain and critical time, one which calls us to deepen our faith in a God of peace and in hope that peace will return to the region and to other troubled areas of our world.

More and more, the Dominican Family is being urged to raise the call for Peace and to be the peacemakers that our Lord Jesus Christ calls us to be in Matthew's Gospel. How can we be peacemakers in this time?

At the request of the International Dominican Commission for Justice and Peace I invite all Dominicans around the world to join together in prayer for peace on September 21, 2006, a day designated by the United Nations as International Day of Peace.

As a sign of solidarity and in hope that peace may come to our world, we are asking all the members of the Dominican Family around the world to join us in a simple gesture of prayer for peace. We believe, as you do, that Jesus Christ calls us to be peacemakers and praying together is a sign of our belief that peace is possible.

On the United Nations International Day of Peace, September 21, we ask the Dominican Family to hold a holy hour together in whatever circumstance s are appropriate. We encourage you to walk for peace, hold a procession, or stand on a street corner ; light candles, ring bells. Hold public prayers for peace. Invite your friends and neighbors to join you in solidarity and in a hope that peace may come to the world wherever violence and hatred are present.

I want to express my deepest support and encouragement to the International Dominican Commission for Justice and Peace who are asking us to join them on this day of peace.
We pray that you may find ways to participate in this prayer that will wrap the world in God's grace and hope.

Your brother in Christ and Dominic,
Brother Carlos Azpiroz Costa
Master of the Order

POSTCARDS TO DEATH ROW INMATES

"It is time to abandon the death penalty -- not just because of what it does to those who are executed, but because of how it diminishes all of us... We ask all Catholics--pastors, catechists, educators and parishioners -- to join us in rethinking this difficult issue and committing ourselves to pursuing justice without vengeance. With our Holy Father, we seek to build a society so committed to human life that it will not sanction the killing of any human person.
------( "Responsibility, Rehabilitation, and Restoration: A Catholic Perspective on Crime and Criminal Justice," U.S. Catholic Bishops, Nov. 2000,)
Inmates on death row are the most forgotten people in the prison system. Each week I am posting in this space several inmates’ names and locations. I invite you to write a postcard to one or more of them to let them know that: we have not forgotten them; are praying for them and their families; or, whatever personal encouragement you might like to give them. If you like, tell them you heard about them through North Carolina’s, “People of Faith Against the Death Penalty.” Thanks, Jude Siciliano, OP
Please write to:........................................
Henry L. Mc Collum #0265106 (On death row since 11/22/91)
Clinton R. Rose #0351933 (12/19/91)
Edward E. Davis #0100579 (3/12/92)
---Central Prison 1300 Western Blvd. Raleigh, NC 27606

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

CD Available: "FIRST IMPRESSIONS: PREACHING REFLECTIONS ON LITURGICAL YEAR B" This compilation, from past "First Impressions," includes two reflections on almost all Sundays and major feasts for this liturgical year.
NEW CD Available: "FIRST IMPRESSIONS: PREACHING REFLECTIONS ON LITURGICAL YEAR C." The CD contains two reflections for almost all the Sundays and major feasts of the year. In addition, there are helpful essays for preaching during the liturgical seasons (Advent, Lent, the Triduum, etc.),ten book reviews and essays on various aspects of preaching. The files are in three formats (Microsoft Word, WordPerfect and Adobe Acrobat Reader) so you should have no trouble opening them on your computer. For more information and to purchase go to: http://judeop.ispraleigh.com/

ABOUT DONATIONS: If you would like to support this ministry, please send tax deductible contributions to Jude Siciliano, O.P., Make checks to "Dominican Friars of Raleigh." Mail contributions to: Jude Siciliano, O.P., Dominican Friars of Raleigh, P.O. Box 12927, Raleigh, N.C. 27605

REGULAR INFORMATION

I get notes from people responding to these reflections. Sometimes they tell how they use "First Impressions" in their ministry and for personal use. Others respond to the reflections, make suggestions and additions. I think our readers would benefit from these additional thoughts. If you drop me a BRIEF note, I will be happy to add your thoughts and reflections to my own. (Judeop@Juno.com)

Our webpage addresses:
(Where you will find "Preachers' Exchange," which includes these reflections and Homilias Dominicales, as well as articles, book reviews and quotes pertinent to preaching.)
http://www.opsouth.org Under "Preachers' Exchange"
http://www.op.org/exchange/

"Homilias Dominicales"-- these Spanish reflections are written by four friars of the Southern Dominican Province experienced in Hispanic Ministry, Isidore Vicente, Carmen Mele, Brian Pierce and Juan Martin Torres. Like "First Impressions", "Homilias Dominicales" are a preacher's early reflections on the upcoming Sunday readings and liturgy. So, if you or a friend would like to receive "Homilias Dominicales" drop a note to John Boll, O.P. at: jboll@opsouth.org
"First Impressions" is a service to preachers and those wishing to prepare for Sunday worship. It is sponsored by the Southern Dominican Province, U.S.A. If you would like "First Impressions" sent weekly to a friend, send a note to John Boll at the above Email address.
If you would like to support this ministry, please send tax deductible contributions to:
Jude Siciliano, OP, Promoter of Preaching
Southern Dominican Province, USA
P.O. Box 12927,
Raleigh, N.C. 27605
(919) 833-1893
Make checks to: Dominican Friars of Raleigh.
Thank you.