Thursday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Did not God choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him? But you dishonored the poor person. Are not the rich oppressing you? And do they themselves not haul you off to court? (James 2:5-6a)
And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter said to him in reply, “You are the Messiah.” Mark 8:29
PietyPentecost Prayer by Rev. John Dear, S.J. (From National Catholic Reporter Café)
“Come, Holy Spirit, send your driving wind upon us and blow away the cobwebs in our hearts and minds and give us the fresh air of the breath of Jesus.
“Come, Holy Spirit, send your blazing fire upon us so that we may burn with love and compassion for each other and love every human being everywhere.
“Come, Holy Spirit, give us new tongues to speak the good news of peace, justice and nonviolence to a world of war, injustice and violence.
“Come, Holy Spirit, send us into the streets, into the world, to share the love of God with one another, to talk about the nonviolent Jesus, to denounce the evil spirits of violence, greed, war, injustice, greed, empire and death. And then to proclaim Jesus' reign of love, mercy, disarmament, justice, nonviolence and reconciliation.
“Come, Holy Spirit, fill us with the joy of Christ, so that no matter what we're going through, no matter our problems, we may always live in you.
“Come, Holy Spirit, make us instruments of your peace. Help us to carry on the Acts of the Apostles. Make us heralds of a new world without war, poverty, nuclear weapons or global warming, a new world of love, nonviolence, justice and peace.”
http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/051508.shtml
Peter steps out in front of Jesus and faces the questions we all must face in faith, hope and love. Who do you say I am?
Who: Christ wants to know if we see him as a person? He sees us as a gift from God. How do we see Him?
Do: There is implied action connected to the question. Jesus is not asking the more simple construction of this question “Who am I?” Christ wants to know what Peter or I will do based upon the answer to the question. It is a personal question about our relationship to Jesus and what that means.
You: Jesus addresses us personally. Christ does not want some textbook catechism answer. Instead, he wants to know how we relate to Him as an individual and as our Savior.
Say: Christ is not looking for some wallflower lurking around in the shadows, dodging public testimony. Rather he is looking for someone who will stand up in front of the world and say something about Jesus to the world. He does not want someone to deny him in His hour of need. However, even if we do, he knows we, like Peter, can change.
I am: Here the question is imbedded with a hint of the answer. In the Hebrew Bible, when the name of God could not be spoken, we hear the words, “I am.” Moses first encountered this “I am” identification of God when he encountered the burning bush.
“But,” said Moses to God, “when I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' if they ask me, 'What is his name?' what am I to tell them?” God replied, “I am who am.” Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent me to you.” Exodus 3:13-14
The notes in the New American Bible explain “…Apparently this utterance is the source of the word Yahweh, the proper personal name of the God of Israel. It is commonly explained in reference to God as the absolute and necessary Being. It may be understood of God as the Source of all created beings. Out of reverence for this name, the term Adonai, “my Lord,” was later used as a substitute.
Today’s scripture readings pair our witness of faith in God to the other half of the divine/royal commandments that comes to us from Jesus. We also must probe what we will do in the world, especially how our faith related to serving the poor, the stranger and our neighbor. …However, if you fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. James 2:8
As we read in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus based his entire public ministry on serving the poor. Now he wants to know how we respond and act in the face of the “
“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.” Luke 4:18-19
We have read and studied how “the poor in Luke's gospel are associated with the downtrodden, the oppressed and afflicted, the forgotten and the neglected, and it is they who accept Jesus' message of salvation.”[1] James picks up this mantle and the challenge to us in our Cursillo action.
ActionThe United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has been working on various aspects of the 2007 Farm bill for the last two years. USCCB, and its partner organizations (National Catholic Rural Life, Catholic Relief Services, and Catholic Charities USA) have worked jointly to shape a Farm Bill policy that 1) reforms our current, broken agriculture policies to create a truly equitable system that meets the needs of domestic small and moderate-size family farm and ranch operations and rural communities, 2) fights hunger here and abroad, and 3) supports farmers and their families in developing countries.
The House and Senate are expected to vote, as early as tomorrow, on the conference report on the Farm bill, “Food Conservation and Energy Act of 2008” (H.R. 2419). USCCB and its partners NCRLC and CRS sent another letter to Congress on the areas they support and the areas where Congress failed to offer much-needed improvements.
The President has threatened to veto the legislation. Conference report language was released on Tuesday. Our advocacy on the various priorities of the Catholic community in the Farm bill has made a difference. Please read previous letters and alerts to Congress about the Farm bill on the web: http://www.usccb.org/sdwp/national/agric.shtml and contact your members of Congress to support these priorities of our Church.
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