Daily Retreat 08/22/07
2007 Aug 22 Wed:Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary M
Jgs 9:6-15/ Ps 20(21):2-3. 4-5. 6-7/ Mt 20:1-16
From today’s readings: “Once the trees went to anoint a king over themselves.... Lord, in Your strength the king is glad.... The Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard....”
Settling for third rate
It is easy to follow a champion who seems invincible and is doing everything the way we think things should be done. It is harder to follow a leader who is self-effacing and asks us to do the “right thing”, even when difficult and counter-cultural.
There are many, for instance, who applaud the Pope when he stands tall for issues which they themselves see as worthwhile causes; however, the same people look for a more moderate “popular” standard-bearer when the Pope calls for peace, or social justice, or the upholding of Christian standards of morality, or realization of the uniqueness of Christ’s revelation.
At the end of his life, Gideon, God’s chosen champion, was offered the kingship, but he refused, preferring to follow the direction God had indicated rather than the popular whim (Judges 8:22-23). However, after Gideon’s death, his son Abimelech capitalized on the popular desire to be like everyone else and have a king. But to become king, Abimelech had to kill all his brothers, which he managed to do, except for Jotham, the youngest son of Gideon.
Now we can understand the strange “parable of the trees” narrated by Jotham in the first reading: The citizens of Shechem weren’t satisfied with the good reasons for which Gideon (and possibly some of his nobler sons) refused the kingship (as did the olive tree, fig, and vine). They kept asking around until they found someone who gave them the answer they wanted to hear (Abimelech, who like the buckthorn, was more than ready to be king!). Read the rest of chapter nine to see the tragic price of settling for an ignoble, sleazy third-rate leader who is ready to compromise principle in order to be popular! Then, ask yourself honestly if you’re shopping around for someone to tell you what you want to hear, or if you are up to the challenge of the many “hard sayings” of Jesus, such as His commitment to being ever-generous in His mercy, as the Gospel relates, or His insistence on the importance of actually eating His very flesh, the Bread of life, which was rejected by the majority as a “hard saying” (John 6:60-66).
Jgs 9:6-15/ Ps 20(21):2-3. 4-5. 6-7/ Mt 20:1-16
From today’s readings: “Once the trees went to anoint a king over themselves.... Lord, in Your strength the king is glad.... The Kingdom of Heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard....”
Settling for third rate
It is easy to follow a champion who seems invincible and is doing everything the way we think things should be done. It is harder to follow a leader who is self-effacing and asks us to do the “right thing”, even when difficult and counter-cultural.
There are many, for instance, who applaud the Pope when he stands tall for issues which they themselves see as worthwhile causes; however, the same people look for a more moderate “popular” standard-bearer when the Pope calls for peace, or social justice, or the upholding of Christian standards of morality, or realization of the uniqueness of Christ’s revelation.
At the end of his life, Gideon, God’s chosen champion, was offered the kingship, but he refused, preferring to follow the direction God had indicated rather than the popular whim (Judges 8:22-23). However, after Gideon’s death, his son Abimelech capitalized on the popular desire to be like everyone else and have a king. But to become king, Abimelech had to kill all his brothers, which he managed to do, except for Jotham, the youngest son of Gideon.
Now we can understand the strange “parable of the trees” narrated by Jotham in the first reading: The citizens of Shechem weren’t satisfied with the good reasons for which Gideon (and possibly some of his nobler sons) refused the kingship (as did the olive tree, fig, and vine). They kept asking around until they found someone who gave them the answer they wanted to hear (Abimelech, who like the buckthorn, was more than ready to be king!). Read the rest of chapter nine to see the tragic price of settling for an ignoble, sleazy third-rate leader who is ready to compromise principle in order to be popular! Then, ask yourself honestly if you’re shopping around for someone to tell you what you want to hear, or if you are up to the challenge of the many “hard sayings” of Jesus, such as His commitment to being ever-generous in His mercy, as the Gospel relates, or His insistence on the importance of actually eating His very flesh, the Bread of life, which was rejected by the majority as a “hard saying” (John 6:60-66).
posted by FrPitstick | 8/19/2007
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