August 23, 2010
Monday of the Twenty-first Week in Ordinary Time
“…[W]e ourselves boast of you in the churches of God regarding your endurance and faith in all your persecutions and the afflictions you endure. This is evidence of the just judgment of God, so that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God for which you are suffering.” 2 Thessalonians 1:4-5
One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it; one who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it; one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who is seated on it. Matthew 23:20-22
Piety
Psalm 96:1-5
Sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth.
Sing to the LORD, bless his name; announce his salvation day after day.
Tell God's glory among the nations; among all peoples, God's marvelous deeds.
For great is the LORD and highly to be praised, to be feared above all gods.
For the gods of the nations all do nothing, but the LORD made the heavens.
Study
Congruency means two items fit together smoothly. Night follows day. Today, we have two studies of the lack of congruency – where there is friction between the items detailed in the first reading and again in the Gospel.
To better understand both passages, it helps to remember the words we were left with in the Sunday Gospel this week. “For behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last.” (Luke 13:30)
In the first reading, persecutions and afflictions are held up as evidence of the just judgment of God. Usually, political leaders bestow prizes on those whom they favor. They grant them land, money, titles, and stripes on their sleeves. However, our table-turning Lord does just the opposite. To show how worthy we are, Jesus asks us to emulate Jesus. He will gladly make room for us on the cross but he only asks us to pick it up and carry it daily, not to hang next to him.
The Good News today poses an even more difficult lesson. Jesus has previously told us that we should not swear at all. So how can the Lord measure out degrees of oath-making or oath-taking which are acceptable?
But I say to you, do not swear at all; not by heaven, for it is God's throne; nor by the earth, for it is his footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Do not swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Matthew 5:34-36
Today’s admonition, however, does not reverse this statement from earlier in Matthew’s Gospel. It in fact is just further evidence of Jesus mocking the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees whose actions do not follow congruently from their words. As the notes in the New American Bible reiterate, since Jesus forbids all oaths to his disciples, this statement does not set up an inconsistent standard for Christian conduct, but ridicules the Pharisees on their own terms.
Action
The Cursillo tripod helps us to focus our lives on a congruent symbol. Our lives of piety, study and action must build off each of the other legs and strengthen the other phases in our lives. Just like the Mass provides for us the divine strengthening food each week (or each day), Cursillo provides additional human tools for our spiritual lives that will help us be stronger for the journey. We need both the divine and human reinforcement because we do not know what “persecutions and afflictions” we might face as evidence of God’s love and His judgment that we are worthy of heaven.
In addition to the tripod ideal of a balanced life of piety, study and action, Jesus knows that we can not stay on the narrow path or enter through the narrow gate without help. That is why Jesus provides his followers with the divine intervention from the Holy Spirit after he is gone. For Cursillistas, the Holy Spirit also is aided by the human intervention of our Group Reunion, our parish Ultreya and our diocesan Ultreya.
As we wind our way through the last weeks of “official” summer (as opposed to meteorological summer which lasts until late September), what are you doing to continue to be nourished and to nourish others? Is your group meeting this time of year or have you taken a break due to vacations? What else will sustain you until your group begins meeting again?
How can you support others? Did you know that a new men’s team has begun formation in order to bring Cursillo to more candidates this fall? That team can use your help in recruiting candidates for the October weekend as well as through your Palanca supporting its formation. Check out the team page here for updates.
We have to be careful not to sing the same song that everyone else might be singing. We don’t always need a new song. We just have to remember the words to the songs we have. And sing them loudly.
