“Fear
not, my children; call out to God! He
who brought this upon you will remember you.
As your hearts have been disposed to stray from God, turn now ten times
the more to seek him; For he who has brought disaster upon you will, in
saving you, bring you back enduring joy.” Baruch 4:27-29
Turning
to the disciples in private he said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you
see. For I say to you, many prophets and
kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you
hear, but did not hear it.”
Luke 10:23-24
Piety
O, my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you.
I detest all my sins because of your just punishment, but most of all because
they offend you, my God, who are all-good and deserving of all my love. I
firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to sin no more and to
avoid the near occasion of sin. (Act of Contrition)
Study
The tension between the political leadership of the day
and Jesus has been evident throughout Luke’s Gospel. From the minute he set foot into the temple
and reinterpreted the words of Isaiah to those gathered in Nazareth forward, the
message that Jesus preached differed from the needs of those in power in the church,
the Roman army and the government. Remember
Herod – who executed Jesus’ cousin – still sought to learn more about
Jesus.
Today, Jesus reminds the disciples privately that they
are in the middle of that tug of war.
They have seen what others did not, heard what others did not. The “others” desired to see if but there was
some speck of dust in their eye that prevented them from seeing. There was some cotton in their ears that
prevented them from hearing. Recall the rich
man Dives from last Sunday…the Kingdom of God sat outside his gate in the person
of the poor beggar Lazarus. Yet he did
not lift one brick to build the kingdom by feeding Lazarus.
Action
Sources in the New American Bible explain that Baruch’s
letters were probably compiled two hundred years before Christ. Their distractions to serving God were daily
survival. Growing food. Hunting Dinner. Their temptations were driven from
deprivation -- stealing food from those who had it in abundance. Seeking liberty if they were captured by the belligerent
Roman army or other enemy and forced into service/slavery.
They had no mortgage brokers or credit cards. No NCIS to watch on TV, let alone Netflix,
YouTube, or Amazon Prime. They had no
Playstation. They had no 401K account to
monitor. They had no multi-car garage
filled with Chevys and Fords and Toyotas and Hondas to maintain and pay for. They had no Xbox or iPhone. They were not bombarded with advertising
messages to separate us from our time and our treasure. These do not provide enduring joy but only
transient happiness. We can enjoy one
moment at a time. However, if we
surrender some of our choices to God’s, we still may be “reasonably happy in
this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.” (Reinhold Niebuhr, The Serenity Prayer)
Then or now, our rebellion is a revolt against the
discipline and sincerity needed to clear away the distractions from life that
obstruct us from hearing, seeing and encountering the Lord.
In the Act of Contrition, we acknowledge that firmly
resolve to “avoid the near occasion of sin.”
Like the disciples, we, too, are standing on the point of tension. Other messages can drown out the Good
News. Other sights can blind us to the emerging
Kingdom. Let us resolve today to see the
Kingdom around us and to hear the word of God spoke to us through others.
What distraction or wealth and power can you clear away
today? Because just like we need to
clear away these obstacles to God’s friendship so we can hear Him, we also want
God to hear us.
Behold,
you desire true sincerity; and secretly you teach me wisdom. Cleanse me with hyssop, that I may be
pure; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
You will let me hear gladness and joy; the bones you have crushed will
rejoice. Psalm 51:8-10
No comments:
Post a Comment