June 28, 2010
Memorial of Saint Irenaeus, bishop and martyr
Thus says the LORD: For three crimes of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke my word; Because they sell the just man for silver, and the poor man for a pair of sandals. They trample the heads of the weak into the dust of the earth, and force the lowly out of the way. Son and father go to the same prostitute, profaning my holy name. Amos 2:6-7
A scribe approached and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” Another of (his) disciples said to him, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But Jesus answered him, “Follow me, and let the dead bury their dead.” Matthew 8:19-22
Piety
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWddmjGFl-o&feature=related (English)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APKvYvGPEmU&feature=related (Spanish)
Lord, When You Came To The Seashore / Pescador Des Hombres
by Cesareo Gabarain
Lord, when you came to the seashore you weren't seeking the wise or the wealthy, but only asking that I might follow.
REFRAIN (English): O Lord, in my eyes you were gazing, Kindly smiling, my name you were saying; All I treasured, I have left on the sand there; Close to you, I will find other seas.
Lord, you knew what my boat carried: neither money nor weapons for fighting, but nets for fishing my daily labor. (REFRAIN)
Lord, have you need of my labor, hands for service, a heart made for loving, my arms for lifting the poor and broken? (REFRAIN)
Lord, send me where you would have me, to a village, or heart of the city; I will remember that you are with me. (REFRAIN)
Study
We are hearing some pretty harsh words from Jesus….words which would keep people from even carrying out what we have traditionally known as the spiritual works of mercy like burying the dead. Reading passages like this one makes me wonder if Jesus really means what he says or is he just being emphatic to make a point.
As much as I want to wish he was just taking a flair for the dramatic, the more you compare what Jesus did in his life to what we do in our life, it is hard to conclude he is just making a point.
Matthew 8 is a wake-up call. Follow me. If you don’t believe what Jesus says, believe in this message because of what he does. Follow me. As much as he might wish for the cup of crucifixion to pass him by, Jesus accepts the cup. He does not get a chance to say good-bye to his mother until he is hanging from a tree by three nails.
Jesus chose to accept his accusations no matter how harsh and unjust with silence. He put on the crown of thorns, the purple robe. He stood by for his scourging with a whip and then in an already weakened state, took up his cross and carried it up the hill until he was nailed to it.
The Cursillo movement has a tendency to stress leadership. Maybe the only leader in Cursillo is the one we are asked to follow. Maybe we should rename that Saturday talk “Followers.” Maybe the School of Leaders should be renamed the School of Followers. The God of the Hebrew Bible etched a covenant in stone, a covenant that said “Walk with me.” No matter what you do, I will not revoke my invitation. Jesus turned up that covenant a notch or three with his actions and his command, “Follow me.”
Action
What are you doing to “Follow” this week? Remember in your prayers those high school and college students and their chaperones who are on or are preparing to go on a work camp experience at their parish or diocesan level. They have answered the call to go where the Lord and his children need.
While their friends are content to earn money in a summer job or soak up the sun at poolside, they have given up a week or more to travel in cramped cars and vans to a strange area of the state, country, or world to answer the call to arms – because the Lord asked and has need of their labor, their hands for service, their hearts for loving, their arms for lifting the poor and broken. Pray for them this week and the people that they are helping.
