August 3, 2010
By Beth DeCristofaro
Thus says the LORD: See! I will restore the tents of Jacob, … You shall be my people, and I will be your God. (Jeremiah 30:22)
Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught (Peter), and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14: 31)
(Jesus) said in reply, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Matthew 15:13,14)
Piety
I thank you for this day, Lord. May I launch out with enthusiasm and remember to keep my eyes on you. May I refrain from making judgments in light of my own resources and thus begin to sink. May I not settle for swimming with difficulty, full of anxious, worried or restless effort. Help me instead to trust that you are by me and to walk with you, my Divine Friend. (adapted from Living in the Question, M. Basil Pennington, p. 67).
Study
Today we have the two gospel readings from which to choose. The first tells of Peter’s leap out of the boat to go to Jesus on top of the water. When Peter’s human common sense returned to him saying “What the heck am I doing walking on top of the sea” and he sank, Jesus raised him to safety. In the second reading Jesus taught the disciples that the teaching authority of the leaders, who put their own tradition before the laws of God, is no longer credible.
It seems to me that both of these passages include a theme of deliverance, just as does Jeremiah’s message from God. God is always there for us. When times are bad and we are drowning, it is so often hard to sense God’s presence. We might have difficulties keeping up our spiritual practices or prayer. The water might overtop our heads so we cannot see. But Jesus is always there coming toward us through night, through storm, through pain, through doubt.
Jesus gives the disciples freedom from complicated and self-serving customs. It is not formulas which lead us to God. It is the grace and love which God plants through the workings of the Holy Spirit in our heart which leads us out of the pit. Our study, piety and action which are inspired by the heart movement of the Spirit keep us from being blind.
Action
In Jeremiah’s time, the news was bad. Oppression, hunger, and despair were the daily lot of a people who wondered if God had forgotten them. How can we reach out in the freedom God gives us, empowered by the Holy Spirit and modeled by the generous love of Jesus to those who are oppressed, hungry, despairing? And might we consider that that person might be us?
In the current, heated political debate over immigration reform, sometimes the fact that undocumented workers are just men and women looking for a better life is lost. Is it a matter of the blind leading the blind because we cling to a belief that what is ours is ours? The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ Committee on Migration has publicly applauded the recent court decision to block parts of Arizona’s new immigration law. Let your members in congress know that reform is needed and must take human rights into account. From the USCCB website:
"It is the right decision,” Bishop Wester said. “Any law that provides legal cover to profiling affects all members of our communities, including legal residents and citizens. It is a very slippery slope. What is needed now is for Congress and the Administration to live up to their responsibilities and address this issue by passing immigration reform."
The U.S. Catholic bishops believe that any comprehensive immigration reform bill should contain the following elements: a legalization program that gives migrant workers and their families an opportunity to earn legal permanent residency and eventual citizenship; a new worker visa program that protects the labor rights of both U.S. and foreign workers and gives participants the option to earn permanent residency; reform of the U.S. family-based immigration system to reduce waiting times for family reunification; and restoration of due process protections for immigrants, including asylum-seekers. In the longer term, policies that address the root causes of migration, such as the lack of sustainable development in sending nations, should also be part of the equation. http://www.usccb.org/comm/archives/2010/10-144.shtml
