Monthly Archives: January 2025

Presenting One’s Gift; Presenting One’s Self

Leave a reply

Dear Folks,
This is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, when Mary and Joseph present Jesus in the Temple, a familiar story. We can easily skip over the text that talks about the Law that says,
“Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord” calling for sacrificing “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons (Luke 2:23).” What’s that about? In Exodus 13:2-12 we see the command to ransom the firstborn and connects it to the exodus from Egypt and God’s saving action. The firstborn belongs to him.
We know that in those days, it was common to sacrifice one’s child to the gods, notably Molech. When we look at bad things that were going on in the Old Testament, It’s important to remember that what was going on in the surrounding cultures was worse, much worse.
We all know the story of the testing of Abraham, in which God commands Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac but stops him at the last minute. This showed first that Abraham was completely dedicated to obeying God, whatever the cost. Second, this was God rejecting the practices of child sacrifice. In the Law of Moses, God commanded, “you shall not offer any of your offspring for immolation to Molech, thus profaning the name of your God. I am the Lord (Lev. 18:21).” In Leviticus 20:1-5, God will use stronger language and fierce sanctions. Ezekiel 16:20-21 and 20:26 tell us that the Israelites sometimes broke that commandment. Being surrounded by larger, stronger adversaries, it was tempting to think that imitating their practices would give them power. God rejected that, and in its place was the practice of redeeming the first born.
That is behind the practice of presenting the child in the temple. This foreshadows the day when Jesus sacrifices Himself for us. God Himself would give His only begotten Son for our sake.
I have already recommended Katy Faust’s book “Pro-Child Politics.” It is a series of essays claiming that many current practices sacrifice the wellbeing of children for the sake of adult desires. Each one is by someone knowledgeable in the particular area, so even if you don’t agree with every position taken, I suggest it would present a powerful challenge. If we have a hard time believing or understanding how the ancients could practice child sacrifice, let us ponder what our society accepts today.
As we reflect on Jesus’ presentation in the temple, how might God be calling for us to care for children today?
Blessings,
Fr. Jim

The Torah and the Gospel

Leave a reply

Dear Folks,
Our first reading this Sunday is from Nehemiah and describes when the Israelites came back from exile and had to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and the temple. In the wreckage of the temple, they found a copy of the law. When the Bible talks about the law, it’s talking about the Torah. A rabbi told me that translating “Torah” as “law” does not really convey the meaning. He said that sin is missing the target and Torah is hitting the target. The Torah
is the first five books of the Bible (also called the Pentateuch) and is a central reference point in the Bible. Whenever it speaks of God’s precepts, statutes, and decrees, this is what they mean. When Mary and Joseph bring Jesus to the Temple in obedience to the Law of
the Lord (Luke 2:22-38), it is this law, which Mary and Joseph faithfully followed. When Jesus disputes with the Pharisees over picking grain on the Sabbath, they are arguing about the proper interpretation of the Torah (which is suspect is a longstanding rabbinic tradition). In the Old Testament, one was considered righteous (in right relationship with God) if one followed the Torah.
Psalm 1 (quite short) and Psalm 119 (somewhat longer, the longest chapter in the Bible) are hymns to the Torah. They both teach that the Torah is the way to blessedness in a way that Jesus invokes when He says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit…” This blessedness is the fullness of life to which God calls us.
For Christians, Jesus is the new Torah. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) is modeled after the presentation of the Law of Moses Compare with Exodus 20: up on a mountain, starting with the Ten Commandment
(pocket sized version) then longer elaboration. Jesus goes up a mountain, gives the Beatitudes (pocket sized version) and then elaborates on them. St. Paul will argue that righteousness comes not from following the Law of Moses, but from faithfulness to Jesus.
We come to the fullness of life and right relationship with God through a love relationship with Jesus. This includes learning Jesus’ teaching, which is not just the four Gospels (John 21:25), but I would claim that the whole of the Catholic faith is the truth about Jesus (explanation and defense of that position is for another day). It would include spending time with Jesus, sharing ourselves. It would include encountering Him in the sacraments. It would include putting our lives into His hands, continually inviting Him to transform us however He wants and sending us to serve Him however He wants. This gives us the fullness of freedom (John 8:32), the fullness of life (John 10:10), and the fullness of joy (John
15:11; 16:22; 17:13).
Blessings,
Fr. Jim

The Bride and the Lamb

Leave a reply

Dear Folks,
This year most of the Gospel readings on Sunday will be from Luke, but today we slip into John to talk about the wedding of Cana. The Bible regularly uses the image of marriage for
God’s relationship with His people. We can see for instance Isaiah 62:4-5; book of Hosea, book Song of Songs, Psalm 45; Ephesians 5:29-32; Luke 5:33-35; John 3:29; Revelation 19:6-9, and Revelation 21:9-14. At the wedding at Cana, we see Mary coming to Jesus with
the problem of running out of wine. If you read Brant Pitre’s excellent book “Jesus the Bridegroom” he will explain that the responsibility for providing the wine falls to the bridegroom, so Jesus is being revealed as the bridegroom. John the Baptist will make this point in John 3:29, and then in the wedding of the bride (the Church) and the Lamb (Rev. 19:6-9; Rev. 21:9-14).
Someone once said, “If you treated your friends the way you treat God, would you have any friends?” We could ask if you treat your spouse the way you treat God, how good a marriage would you have?
I’ve recommended John Gottman’s book “Seven Principles for making Marriage Work” before. He has empirical data to back up his ideas, and they are very interesting. I wonder how some of them could be applied to our relationship with God.
Enhance your love maps. Your love map is what you know about your partner, their likes, dislikes, favorite food, favorite TV show, etc. Are we curious to know more about how God has revealed Himself and interacted with His people. This would include stories from the Bible and the lives of saints, how God calls us to worship, and what He teaches. It starts with being curious.
Nurture your fondness and admiration. What do you appreciate about your spouse? How did you first fall in love? What were good times and what attracted you to each other in the early days? How did we first come to know God? What have we found good about
Him? What have been good experiences of His work in your life?
Turn toward each other instead of away. Gottman uses the example: if your beloved calls you to the window to see a cardinal (I presume the bird) in the back yard, do you come and look, or do you roll your eyes and move on? Those experiences make a difference. How do you connect in little ways with God throughout the day? Do we let Him have a bit of attention and interest in little ways? How do we connect Him to our world?
Let your partner influence you. Have you let your partner change the way you do something, look at something, approach something? How has our relationship with God changed the way we do things?
Build shared meaning. Take the two separate life stories and weave them into one story. What is your life story? God’s story, the story of salvation, the Bible story and the story of the Church is one big tapestry. How do we see ourselves woven into it? Love relationships can be nurtured. God loves with infinite love, and we have a lot of room to grow. How might we let God have more of ourselves?
Blessings,
Fr. Jim

Baptism of the Lord: New Beginning

Leave a reply

Dear Folks,
This is the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the final day of the Christmas season. I believe that Epiphany was the end of the season, and celebrated the coming of the Magi, the miracle at Cana, and the baptism of the Lord, butsomeone decided that the Baptism should have its own feast day.
I challenge everyone to read Luke chapter 3 and get a sense of John’s call to renewal. Notice his images of the axe and the tree, then the wheat and the chaff. Now if you read Psalm 1, then Luke
13:1-9. We see how the Bible reinforces lessons by the repeated use and development of imagery.
The Gospel of John does some interesting teaching on baptism.
“Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born* from above.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a person once grown old be born again? Surely he cannot
reenter his mother’s womb and be born again, can he?” Jesus answered, “Amen, amen, I say to you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit. What is born of flesh is flesh and what is born of spirit is spirit.e 7 Do not be amazed that I told you, ‘You must be born from above.’ 8 The wind* blows where it wills, and you can hear the sound it makes, but
you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit (John 3:3-8).”
The word “born” can also be translated “begotten,” as in “Abraham begat Isaac. Isaac begat Jacob…”. In Biblical times, the seed of the father determined what you were and was the key to your
identity. We see Jesus talking about this in John 8:39-44, who your father really is makes all the difference.
It is in this light, we see that baptism changes who we are, and now we are children of God.
Jesus, of course, was already the begotten Son of God, so His baptism did not transform Him. He who was without sin, took on the mantle of sinner to suffer for our sins. “But he was pierced for
our sins, crushed for our iniquity (Isaiah 53:5).” He reversed our journey to perdition so that we could be saved. We remember when people were created, they were first tested in a garden and
failed. Then with Moses, they were tested in a desert and failed. Jesus, right after His baptism, went to the desert to be tested, and passed. His journey would lead him to the garden of Gethsemane and He would pass again. Then he would be crucified to save us.
Jesus’ baptism marked the beginning of His mission, and our baptism marks the beginning of our journey as disciples, children of God. Everything follows from that. How is God calling us to renewal? What form might that take in our journey of 2025?
Blessings,
Fr Jim

Seeking the Light

Leave a reply

Dear Folks,

This is the feast of the Epiphany. We celebrate the mystery of Jesus being opened to the larger world, and the Magi are a reminder that Jesus is for everyone. We are not meant to keep the Gospel for ourselves, but to share it with the world.

I would suggest that our future as Church depends on how deeply we understand that Catholics are not meant to be customers in the Church but coworkers in mission.

First, let’s recognize that passing on the faith to the next generation requires more than people have thought. Given that so many do not practice the faith when they grow up, it is clear that running them through the programs is not getting the job done. What does it take? Let’s keep asking that question.

Many Catholics are uncomfortable with the ideas of being missionaries and evangelists. We were not trained to do this. Two thoughts: First, how can you read the New Testament and think disciples of Jesus Christ could remain in their comfort zones? Second, we don’t have to be St. Paul. There are some simples things we can do that can start us on our way.

The American bishops put out a document called “Go Make Disciples.” I suggests three goals for sharing the faith: 1.) To bring about in all Catholics such an enthusiasm for their faith that, in living their faith in Jesus, they freely share it with others, 2.) To invite all people in the United States, whatever their social or cultural background, to hear the message of salvation in Jesus Christ so they may come to join us in the fullness of the Catholic faith,

and 3.) To foster gospel values in our society, promoting the dignity of the human person, the importance of the family, and the common good of our society, so that our nation may continue to be transformed by the saving power of Jesus Christ. That is to say, we are to grow in the faith ourselves (continue to evangelize ourselves. We are not done getting evangelized until we get to heaven). We are to evangelize other people (Invite outsiders in,

and invite insiders deeper in). We are to transform society by the power of the Gospel (evangelize the culture).

I suggest four aspects of drawing people in. First, we tell the Gospel stories. We can hone our story telling skills. Our faith involves lots of great stories: Bible stories, stories of the saints, stories of our own walk with God or others that we know, stories of the history of

the Church. Stories engage people like lectures do not, and they have helped shape thinking and culture since the dawn of the human race. Second, we can work together as community. This includes how we invite, and it includes how we reconcile our differences. If we get good at that those two things, our faith community can be a very attractive haven in a hostile world. Third we can worship God. If we worship like we really mean it, like we believe we are touching the deepest transcendent reality and the core of the meaning of our lives it will show, and it will attract those hungry for deeper meaning. Finally, we can be a mighty force for helping people in need. The more we do to help those in need, and the more lovingly we do it, the more people can see the love of Jesus is at work here.

It begins by believing that the Gospel is meant for everyone, and that it is for us to bring it to them. If we accept God’s call, He can get us from wherever we are to where He wants us to go.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim