First
reading: Zechariah 12.10-11
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 62
Second
reading: Galatians 3.26-29
Gospel: Luke
9.18-24
The
scene for the first reading is part of an oracle or warning given by Zachariah
to the people who have returned from the Babylonian captivity. The part of the warning just before today’s
reading is that God has intervened to protect Jerusalem from invading armies. The bodies of the slain would-be invaders are
strewn everywhere. It is at this point
that the reading begins. Notice, God has not put a spirit of rejoicing in the
hearts of the people. No, God has poured
out a spirit of compassion and supplication for their slain and wounded
enemies.
Think of
the people of Jerusalem
as people of any era, including our own.
This reading suggests that our God inspires us to have compassion for the
fallen, even those that may be perceived as enemies. Our God want us to weep for them as if they
were our own children or members of our families. Further our compassion is to be
communal. We should mourn for them as
the ancient community lamented the death of King Josaih at a village in the
plain of Megiddo.
In our
day, the common folk of the world are a beleaguered people. We are assaulted by corporate and political
policies that promote overconsumption, especially of commodities with built in
obsolescence; policies that treat whole populations of people as disposable
obstacles to the economic progress of a transnational few.
We have witnessed
some of the ecological disasters that result from these policies: nuclear
reactor accidents; oil spills, global warming, etc. It is easy to have compassion for the
innocent victims of disasters, like our brothers and sisters in Calgary. They have suffered immense loss due to the
flooding. We are not only called to keep
them in our prayers, we are called to go three steps further.
First, we
are called to work together to change the current unhealthy corporate and
political landscape. Second, we are
called to have compassion as we would for an errant child, rather than demonize
the business and government leaders, who put profit before people. Lastly, as a community we have to support
each other in the first two steps.
Our
second reading enhances this theme. We
should have compassion because we all house the Breath of God, even though some
of us may have forgotten. This passage in
Paul’s letter to the Galatians is usually taught to mean that because we are
Christians, there is no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or
female. However, let us consider that the
passage has a broader meaning; and that is: because we believe in Jesus, we are
to see the Divine spark within all people.
We are
all made in the image and likeness of God, including corporate and political
leaders, and all those that cause harm.
We don’t have to agree with what they do; but love requires that we care
enough to help them open their minds. Unbridled
accumulation and lust for power creates a veil that impairs inner vision. This veil prevents them from seeing that the
image of God and the Oneness of God is reflected in the oneness of creation. The desire for money and power has blinded
many to the True Object of their Desire.
As Saint
Augustine states “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is
restless until it rests in you.”
Today’s Gospel tells us that it’s not going to be
easy. Jesus tells us that he was
rejected by the powers of his day; that he is to suffer greatly and die at their
hands. Further, Jesus says, “If any want to become my followers, let them
deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want
to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will
save it”.
Although some are called to give their lives, most of us
are not called to be martyrs in the literal sense. But we are called to take up the cross of
stripping ourselves of those things within us that keep us from becoming
members of the Beloved community.
For most of us, our busyness makes us negligent in caring
for each other. Jesus said, “let them deny themselves and take up their
cross daily”. Jesus was talking
about transforming our daily lives. For
example, e-mail has made us negligent.
How often these days do we just pick up the phone or take the time to
actually visit our friends? Not that I’m
calling friends or family “a cross”, but following Jesus can be as simple as
taking the time to call a friend or family member to see how they’re doing. If we don’t care about those close to us, how
can we care about others? If we can’t
give what love asks of us by giving a little of our time, we will be
ill-prepared if Love ever asks more of us. Great transformations begin with small steps.
Please add your own thoughts
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