Obedience is Better
But Samuel said: "Does the LORD so delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obedience to the command of the LORD? Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission than the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22
Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. But the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast on that day. Mark 2:19-20
Piety
Cursillo Leaders’ Prayer
Lord, grant that we may understand the necessity for depth in our movement, rather than surface glory. Convince us of the truth that colorful programs do not constitute success.
My God, give us a spirit of self-sacrifice so that we may offer everything for your cause: our time, our abilities, our health and even our lives if necessary.
Instill in us courage in our initiatives, good judgment in our choice of the right means, and that determination which in spite of failures assures victory.
Move away from us the tiny rivalries, sensitivities, discourtesies, pride, everything which distracts from You, everything which divides or discourages.
Help us to maintain at a high level a meaningful supernatural and mutual charity among ourselves, so that each one will seek by preference the most humble tasks and will rejoice at the good performed by others so that all our spirits united in a common purpose will have one single sprit, Yours Jesus, and that this spirit may let us see Your attractive goodness marked in all our faces, Your warm accents in all our words, and in our lives something superior to the world, something that proclaims Your Living Presence among us. Amen.
Study
In just the second week of Ordinary Time, we see signs of the tiny rivalries, sensitivities, discourtesies, pride, and divisions that the Pharisees harbor against Jesus begin to emerge.
Old practices and customs will no longer be as important. The first reading gives us the first signal. A better way now overshadows the old ways rooted in making burnt offerings to God. The better way focuses on obedience to God's will. In the Gospel, the better way of love overshadows the old practice of fasting.
The notes in the New American Bible (Revised Edition) point out that "the bridal metaphor expresses a new relationship of love between God and his people in the person and mission of Jesus to his disciples. It is the inauguration of the new and joyful messianic time of fulfillment and the passing of the old. Any attempt at assimilating the Pharisaic practice of fasting, or of extending the discipline of John's disciples would be futile. Now that the bridegroom has arrived, disciples are urged to enjoy the new relationship. Going back to old ways would be as futile as sewing a piece of unshrunken cloth on an old cloak or pouring new wine into old wineskins with the resulting destruction of both cloth and wine (Mk 2:21–22). Fasting is rendered superfluous during the earthly ministry of Jesus; cf. Mk 2:20."[i]
They, instead, want to “discipline” or punish Jesus and his followers for not worshipping according to the old practices.
“Disciple” comes from the root word in Latin “discipulus” for a follower of Jesus Christ in his lifetime. Before that, the Latin referred to a pupil, such as students of Aristotle walking around Greece with him.
In the Old English, disciple meant a person who was learning or discerning. In its root meaning, it also is built from docere, to teach and a root meaning to turn, or drive (as in the Latin pellere). Jesus was turning people away from old practices and driving them to his new way of love.[ii]
The disciple who learns the lessons well then accepts and assists in spreading the doctrines of another. The first disciples of Christianity were the twelve members of the inner circle of Christ's followers according to the Gospel accounts. In various careers, a committed enthusiast of a school or individual also can be a disciple. For example, Wordsworth and Coleridge came from the Romantic period of English Literature. Psychiatrists might be followers of the theories advanced by Sigmund Freud. Communists might be disciples of Marx or Lenin. Pacifists might be disciples of Gandhi.
Jesus -- through his advocacy for a new way of love -- creates tension with those holding on to the old ways. Jesus is just emerging as a leader. The existing leaders of the church are not yet ready to follow him. After all, they see him only as the carpenter's son at the outset of his public ministry. The Pharisees remain loyal and supportive of the customs and practices that they learned as pupils of other teachers.
Action
What are some old ways that you retain?
Do you still use a paper map or have you started using Google Maps or Waze or other tools for directions to a new location or a drive on roads which are unfamiliar?
Do you still balance your checkbook when you receive a statement or do you rely on new tools like Quicken or Mint.com to know how you are doing with cash flow and your household budget?
Do you compute your Federal and state income taxes on paper forms or with an accountant or are you committed to using computer programs from Quicken or H&R Block to prepare your taxes?
The church is also not static. It goes through significant periods of change. In my lifetime, one of those periods was the Second Vatican Council. Another might be emerging in the way that Pope Francis is reiterating specific theology toward immigrants, the environment, the use of vernacular language in Mass, and social justice.
We can still sense today people who want to hold onto or return to past practices rather than accepting new ideas – like the need to welcome the immigrant or refugee into our universal church and humanity.
Cursillo is our short course in discipleship. What lessons have you been learning lately? What have you been teaching to others?
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