Sunday 05-04-24

In Acts 6.1–7, first reading for 4/24/05, we read that Hellenists —  probably Palestinian Jews who spoke only Greek — complain because their widows weren’t being taken care of properly, as was apparently expected: the early Christians took care of their own.  Did welfare workers ignore those who said, “No spicka da Hebrew?” 

That’s when The Twelve named seven deacons — to preach the word, not apparently to take care of widows.  Puzzling, this.

In 1st Peter 2.4–9, Peter, himself called once a rock, calls Jesus “a living stone” and urges his readers to become like living stones themselves, “built into a spiritual house . . . to offer spiritual sacrifices.”  He further calls Jesus “the stone that the builders rejected” and calls readers “a royal priesthood,” essentially a new Israel.

There has been argument over several centuries about this rock-stone business, much of it aimed at firming up or undermining papal claims.  We Catholics have learned to be circumspect on the point, but not all, to be sure, as neither have all Protestants, leaving us all to hope for the best, neither surrendering to nor lording over others.

In John 14.1–12, Jesus’ father’s house has “many dwelling places,” once “mansions.”  This is a case of demystifying and gutting a translation.  And what does it do to Teresa of Avila and other Christian greats who made much of mansions?  It’s also going pedestrian with a vengeance.  O Lord, take me into your dwelling place?  Wouldn’t you rather enter his mansion?

A preacher might point out that this is Jesus as his most dogmatic: "I am the way and the truth and the life.”  Not a way or a truth, etc.  He’s very sure of himself here.  Christians are to be not so sure?

Nor does Jesus hesitate to call God a father — he does it in this passage 12 times — which is more than some priests can manage with their beloved gender-neutral language, of which I would love to have examples right now but don’t.  So more later . . .

Quoting Scripture

BIRTH AND RESURRECTION . . . Scripture 8/15, feast of Assumption, was much about pregnancy and childbirth. Revelation 11 (19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab) had a wild depiction of a woman "clothed with the sun" who "wailed aloud [how else?] with pain" as she labored to deliver her child. Watching is "a huge red dragon with seven heads and ten horns" and a crown on each head. With a sweep of his tail (maybe more than one sweep), he clears out a third of the sky, sending stars screaming towards earth. He watches so that he can eat this baby up as soon as he comes forth. The baby does come forth but somehow eludes the dragon and is "caught up to God and his throne." The woman eludes him too, fleeing to a "desert" refuge.

At which point a loud heavenly voice proclaims, "Now have salvation and power come, and the Kingdom of our God and the authority of his Anointed One." For sheer drama, could Spielberg or George Lucas do better? Pregnancy came in the third reading, Luke 1 (39-56), where Elizabeth feels her unborn leap in her womb at the approach of her cousin Mary, who is also pregnant. "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb," she blurts, providing one of the opening lines of the "Hail, Mary" -- best known these days as a desperation pass but once part and parcel of every Catholic's prayer ammo.

Mary responds with something out of the Old Testament: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord." In Latin this is "Magnificat anima mea," and so we have the Magnificat, now in the reformed church largely ignored. (So what, progress is the important thing.) The middle reading, 1 Cor 15 (20-27), is about neither pregnancy nor childbirth but resurrection from the dead and how Christ was "the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." That falling asleep is very important, of course.

But the pregnancy-childbirth concept is a good jumping-off point for the preacher's discussing abortion, detailing alarming stats and asking people to think it over. Preacher might even note that it’s this-many years since our highest court decided voters may not choose (thus anti-choice?!) to outlaw abortion, because it's nobody’s business but the pregnant woman what she does with her unborn, least of all society's at large but it's between her and her doctor, and not even her priest, minister, or rabbi.

This latter could lead to mention of the bone tossed to pro-ab supporters by Ill. Attorney General Lisa Madigan in her campaign, namely her promise, never fulfilled, of suing abortion-counsellors, as did her New York counterpart. These points could all be made without emotion, in a reasoning tone, for which there is room in pulpits along with the rousing and inspirational. The preacher might also ask the congregation to consider to what extent they feel alienated from the dominant culture and whether they might consider taking abortion-permissiveness into account when voting, this also in an inquiring and not at all hectoring tone.

NARROWGATE . . . 8/22/2004, we had Isaiah 66 (18-21) talking up inclusion: "I will send [survivors of conquest by Yahweh (God)] to the nations," that is, Gentiles, non-Jews, throughout the world. These "shall proclaim my glory among the nations." Some of them will be chosen as priests and levites. But we also have Luke 13 (22-30), in which Jesus talks exclusion, which is a downer, to be sure. Jesus speaks of the "narrow gate" and the excluded, who are told, "I do not know where you [come] from. . . . Depart from me. . . !" We hear of "wailing and grinding of teeth" and being "cast out." This is tough talk and definitely lends support to the hard-liners in our midst known variously as conservative or orthodox Catholics, Protestant fundamentalists, right-wing fanatics. Truly we need (at least) two thousand years of commentary to bring ourselves up to speed on this. And truly we do not need a glossing over and ignoring of unpleasant truths. The quandary is not removed by glossing things over. It goes against our devotion to reason and the reasonable. Finally, in Hebrews 12 (5-7, 11-13) we have that which is also disconcerting (but maybe not, knowing what we do about bad things happening even to good people), namely that those "whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges." Naturally, says Hebrews 12. That's what fathers do. They discipline their sons. At the time it's nothing to feel good about, but "later it brings the peaceful fruit of righteousness." All in all, the day's readings (21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C) are more troubling that consoling, except for this: Bad things happen, which is not news. They are for our own good, or can be, which grim as it sounds can be consoling. We just have to believe it.

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Available at Xlibris.com: Priests at Work: Catholic Pastors Tell How They Apply Church Law in Difficult Cases, by Jim Bowman -- . $18.69 in paper. (Formerly Bending the Rules: What American Priests Tell American Catholics)