Daily Retreat 08/17/08
2008 Aug 17 SUN: TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Is 56: 1. 6-7/ Ps 66(67): 2-3. 5. 6. 8 (4)/ Rom 11: 13-15. 29-32/ Mt 15: 21-28
From today’s readings: “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.... O God, let all the nations praise You.... The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.... Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! ”
The God of All People
In His plan of salvation, God once chose a people, and made them His own, establishing His holy covenant with them. Beginning with Abraham, God patiently provided the Hebrews with His special revelation, guidance, and protection. But this divine favor was not something to be selfishly hoarded, for God’s election of the Jewish people also gave them the responsibility to share that light of revelation with all the gentiles.
Isaiah prophesied about this, sharing the clear word of the Lord: “The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, ministering to Him, loving the name of the LORD, and becoming His servants-- all who keep the Sabbath free from profanation and hold to My covenant, them I will bring to My holy mountain and make joyful in My house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar, for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples!”
But understandably, this idea took awhile to catch on. It seems most Jews were more comfortable with a simple “us vs. them” mentality. If a pagan wanted to become a Jew, that was fine, and there were provisions for that, and over the centuries, many enlightened and inspired heathens were drawn to the Jewish faith both by the truth of revelation and the faithful witness of individual Jews. But historically, Judaism has never been a proselytizing religion - very few Jews have set out with the specific intention of making converts to their faith.
But then Christ came with the fullness of divine revelation, and He was most explicit with His apostles that the proclamation of Gospel, the Good News, was to begin among the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but not stop with them - from there, the message was to go forth to the very ends of the earth! As St. Paul and the other apostles grasped more and more the implications of God’s intentions in creating and redeeming the world (the whole world - even the gentiles!), the Church became ardent with the missionary zeal that is a holy hallmark of the Christian faith.
Tragically, that burning desire to share the faith has at times successfully been hijacked by the Devil. Faith is most fundamentally a gift from God, but over the centuries, Satan has convinced many Christians to forget this, and instead, to look down on others with a “holier-than-thou” attitude that pushes people away, instead of drawing them to the Saving God who humbled Himself. The Gospels never mention one instance of Jesus using physical force to make a point, but instead of following Emmanuel’s way of winning souls with charity, some Christians have shamefully forced conversions with the point of the sword, and others have proselytized only for the most selfish reasons. Worst of all, the Jewish people themselves have suffered some of the greatest violence and injustice at the hands of Christians who inexcusably forgot the words of that Jew who said, “Whatsoever you do to the least of My brothers, that you do unto Me!”
Yes, the burning desire to share the faith has at times been hijacked by the Devil, leading some in our own times to conclude that the whole mission of evangelization should discreetly be aborted. But Satan’s successes don’t imply that we Christians should no longer share our faith! Evangelizing and living and passing on the faith is a sacred responsibility, now more than ever!
For, when an orchestra is playing a beautiful symphony, if even a number of rotten musicians play sour notes, that certainly reflects badly on the individuals, but it doesn’t mean the music itself ought to stop. Rather than mutely retiring from the scene, the conductor must then lead all the faithful players to do their utmost to restore the broken beauty, to leave the listeners with the sound of grace notes to cover the cacophony of the sirens of sin.
Yes, our divine Lord still marks the beat, and like all the greatest maestros, He’s more than a showy soloist - He’s a composer and conductor who brings His music to life by leading and inspiring every member to strive for perfection! He needs some of us to be the brass, trumpeting His overture loud and clear! But He also looks for some of us to whistle with the woodwinds in gently calming the most troubled hearts, while others are to sing with the strings His enchanting beauty, or march with the drummers beating His refrain of love and mercy, love and mercy!
Let none of us fail to join in, for every one of us has an essential part to play in God’s symphony - even the unpretentious triangle is sorely missed if he fails to chime in his one note on time! So our divine Conductor continues to insist that each and every one of His followers play their part with passion in the unfinished symphony of His mission, for although He Himself was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel, He sent His followers to shepherd in all the nations of the world, piping His melody of meekness and charity, His harmony of peace and piety, His rhythm of truth and morality, His music for all the world!
Is 56: 1. 6-7/ Ps 66(67): 2-3. 5. 6. 8 (4)/ Rom 11: 13-15. 29-32/ Mt 15: 21-28
From today’s readings: “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.... O God, let all the nations praise You.... The gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.... Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! ”
The God of All People
In His plan of salvation, God once chose a people, and made them His own, establishing His holy covenant with them. Beginning with Abraham, God patiently provided the Hebrews with His special revelation, guidance, and protection. But this divine favor was not something to be selfishly hoarded, for God’s election of the Jewish people also gave them the responsibility to share that light of revelation with all the gentiles.
Isaiah prophesied about this, sharing the clear word of the Lord: “The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, ministering to Him, loving the name of the LORD, and becoming His servants-- all who keep the Sabbath free from profanation and hold to My covenant, them I will bring to My holy mountain and make joyful in My house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar, for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples!”
But understandably, this idea took awhile to catch on. It seems most Jews were more comfortable with a simple “us vs. them” mentality. If a pagan wanted to become a Jew, that was fine, and there were provisions for that, and over the centuries, many enlightened and inspired heathens were drawn to the Jewish faith both by the truth of revelation and the faithful witness of individual Jews. But historically, Judaism has never been a proselytizing religion - very few Jews have set out with the specific intention of making converts to their faith.
But then Christ came with the fullness of divine revelation, and He was most explicit with His apostles that the proclamation of Gospel, the Good News, was to begin among the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but not stop with them - from there, the message was to go forth to the very ends of the earth! As St. Paul and the other apostles grasped more and more the implications of God’s intentions in creating and redeeming the world (the whole world - even the gentiles!), the Church became ardent with the missionary zeal that is a holy hallmark of the Christian faith.
Tragically, that burning desire to share the faith has at times successfully been hijacked by the Devil. Faith is most fundamentally a gift from God, but over the centuries, Satan has convinced many Christians to forget this, and instead, to look down on others with a “holier-than-thou” attitude that pushes people away, instead of drawing them to the Saving God who humbled Himself. The Gospels never mention one instance of Jesus using physical force to make a point, but instead of following Emmanuel’s way of winning souls with charity, some Christians have shamefully forced conversions with the point of the sword, and others have proselytized only for the most selfish reasons. Worst of all, the Jewish people themselves have suffered some of the greatest violence and injustice at the hands of Christians who inexcusably forgot the words of that Jew who said, “Whatsoever you do to the least of My brothers, that you do unto Me!”
Yes, the burning desire to share the faith has at times been hijacked by the Devil, leading some in our own times to conclude that the whole mission of evangelization should discreetly be aborted. But Satan’s successes don’t imply that we Christians should no longer share our faith! Evangelizing and living and passing on the faith is a sacred responsibility, now more than ever!
For, when an orchestra is playing a beautiful symphony, if even a number of rotten musicians play sour notes, that certainly reflects badly on the individuals, but it doesn’t mean the music itself ought to stop. Rather than mutely retiring from the scene, the conductor must then lead all the faithful players to do their utmost to restore the broken beauty, to leave the listeners with the sound of grace notes to cover the cacophony of the sirens of sin.
Yes, our divine Lord still marks the beat, and like all the greatest maestros, He’s more than a showy soloist - He’s a composer and conductor who brings His music to life by leading and inspiring every member to strive for perfection! He needs some of us to be the brass, trumpeting His overture loud and clear! But He also looks for some of us to whistle with the woodwinds in gently calming the most troubled hearts, while others are to sing with the strings His enchanting beauty, or march with the drummers beating His refrain of love and mercy, love and mercy!
Let none of us fail to join in, for every one of us has an essential part to play in God’s symphony - even the unpretentious triangle is sorely missed if he fails to chime in his one note on time! So our divine Conductor continues to insist that each and every one of His followers play their part with passion in the unfinished symphony of His mission, for although He Himself was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel, He sent His followers to shepherd in all the nations of the world, piping His melody of meekness and charity, His harmony of peace and piety, His rhythm of truth and morality, His music for all the world!
posted by FrPitstick | 8/16/2008
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