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Daily Scripture

+ 5th Week in Ordinary Time

It still has meaning.

1 Kings 8:1-7, 9-13 Psalm 132:6-7, 8-10 Mark 6:53-56

The priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place beneath the wings of the cherubim in the sanctuary, the holy of holies of the temple. There was nothing in the ark but the two stone tablets which Moses had put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel. [1 Kings 8:6, 8]
_
In recent years there has been much discussion in liturgical circles about the proper location of the tabernacle in the worship space. The directives implementing the Constitution on the Liturgy by the Second Vatican Council prescribed that the tabernacle be located in prominent location in the church or chapel, preferably in a chapel dedicated to the reservation of the Blessed Sacrament and appropriate for veneration. In any case, it was not to be located on the altar table used for the celebration of the Eucharist. As a result in many churches renovations, the tabernacle was moved to the ‘side altar’ previously used for the veneration of the Blessed Virgin or St. Joseph and in some churches, it was placed on the old altar previously used for Mass. In situations the old altar was replaced with a permanent pedestal on which the tabernacle was placed.

In liturgical matters, nothing is simple. Those of a more conservative disposition insisted that the location of the Tabernacle on the side altar reduced the status of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist thereby diminishing its meaning in the devotional life of the faithful. Others of a more liberal persuasion opined that in fact, the location in a separate chapel within the church assigned to the sacrament greater prominence thereby increasing the devotional aspect. Moreover, in as much as an emphasis of the ‘action’ of the Mass as the repetition of the “Lord’s Supper” was promoted by the Council, it seemed to liturgists that the location of the tabernacle in the main sanctuary behind the free standing Eucharist table would compete with the ‘action’ of the Mass as a sacred meal.

The most recent prescriptions in the United States provide that the tabernacle be located in the main sanctuary on suitably ornate pedestal. It is ironic that in the major basilicas including the basilica of St. Peter in Rome, the tabernacle is located on a side altar that is not very prominent.

Whatever the location, it should not be a bone of contention worthy of a liturgical battle. The public and private devotion to the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist is rooted in the long tradition of the Church and should not be disparaged. In the same way in which the tablets of stone on which the Ten Commandments was symbolic of God’s presence in the temple, so too, the reservation of the Eucharist Bread has been one of the longest-standing practices of the devotional life of Catholics. It is intended to extend the meaning and the effects of the Eucharistic celebration into the life of the faithful who continue to spend time in prayerful meditation on the mysteries of the life of Jesus not the least of which is his faithfulness unto death on the cross for the salvation of the world. The two aspects of Eucharist need not be in competition. The ‘Mass’ continues to be considered a “sacrificial” meal. But we need to be clear that its connection with the passion and death of Christ even as the lamb of God is not to suggest that his death was mandated to satisfy and angry God. That in my opinion is not an appropriate application of Old Testament sacrifices. No, Jesus sacrificial death was the completion of his entire sacrificial life of unqualified and indiscriminate love in the same way as the sacrificial love of partners in marriage offer their sacrificial love to one another or in the manner that Mother Teresa offered her live in sacrificial service to victims of poverty in the streets of Calctta. It is in this sense that devotion to the Eucharist in the tabernacle takes its extended meaning.

During the celebration of the Eucharist, we become what we eat. Through our devotion to the Eucharist reserved in the tabernacle, we are reminded that the Eucharistic presence in our mind, heart and soul extends into all the good works of our lives with the hope that we too will always think and act with the same sacrificial love as did Jesus in his earthly life.

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 'A'

Sunday August 10, 2008

Prophets take courage!

We are not born with inherent fear and certainly do not come into this world with water wings. However, we acquire both healthy and unhealthy fears through early life experiences that over time shape our attitudes and our personalities. However, with the help of good mentors, we also acquire the wisdom to avoid life-threatening circumstances and develop coping mechanisms to deal with unavoidable occasions that evoke fear and anxiety.

I will never forget a ‘storm’ took place many years ago off the Jersey shore at Sea Girt. It was occasioned not by a meteorological event but by my lack of insight and foresight. It was a beautiful day but given the size of the waves, a more mature adolescent might have at least acquired a healthy fear of the undercurrents and rib tides that can occur on the shore at a moment’s notice. Storms hundred miles out in the sea can have a ripple effect at the shoreline.

I advanced unafraid into the waves and was carried beyond the point of no return. Heading toward the end of a jetty I would have drowned by the angry waves against the rocks were it not for the help of a woman better able than I to manage the turbulence of the unruly waters.

Disturbing though this incident may have been to me it is only a sample of the psychological, emotional and spiritual storms that strike all of us in the course of our short lives. Some of them are personal such as a serious illness, substance abuse, the loss of a job, the anguish of a troubled or failed marriage to name only a few.

Others are collective or societal such as racial strife in a neighborhood, political upheaval within a nation, or the threat of global terrorism.

Some storms we bring on ourselves and are associated with our own weakness or lack of insight. Others or are the result of individual or collective sin as institutional bias, corporate greed and religious intolerance.

However, the most challenging of all storms are those that test our faith, casting us under a heavy cloud and leaving us with the terrible feeling that we sink rather than swim and not make it to shore.

Elijah went to the mountain not to seek God’s help but to flee from peril. “Take my life,” he said to God. “It’s all over; I’m done in.” He waited for God to respond but the voice of God was not in the strong and wind, earthquake or fire – the biblical language associated with war and destruction. It was in the ‘sound of silence’ or as one author put it, “in the noisy sound of silence” that the Lord God spoke. “Lord, you have probed me and you know me; you knit me in my mother’s womb.” [Psalm 139]

But God would not accept Elijah’s despair nor terminate his assignment as a prophet. On the contrary, God told him to carry on. He listened, and returned to Jerusalem to complete what God asked of him. So take heart, you prophets of our age! Take heart all those in diaspora calling for church reform.

Peter’s ‘walk on the water’ was not about defying the laws of nature but about the assurance of divine protection in the person of Jesus. Caught between faith and doubt, Peter risked stepping out of the security of the boat into troubled waters.

Peter’s initiative in stepping out of the boat is important. Faith is not about sitting and waiting but about initiating and acting. Peter had to leave the boat in a “leap of faith” and enter the water in order to confront his own weakness and experience the power of the savior. Using a script similar to that of Elijah, he called out: “Lord, save me!” It’s a magnificent mantra. Take heart you prophets of our age!

Only after the reassuring words of the master did Peter and the others realize it that it was the Lord. “Truly, he is the Son of God,” an acclamation that we rightly connect with that of the centurion at the foot of the cross.

It has been stated by more than one sage that no one gets out of life alive. It’s a sobering thought that can lead to a spiritual paralysis. Another sage counters with this axiom, “Life is what you make it.” But this is a bit too Pelagian.

As with Elijah and Peter, our faith is often mixed with fear and doubt but we are never alone and there is no challenge that God and we can’t handle together – together! So prophet’s take caourage! Be brave in the face of rejection.

There are no magic potions or formulas that can replace an abiding trust in God’s presence. However, we also need to step out of the boat into the rough waters. Saint Thomas Aquinas said: “Grace builds on nature.” In other words, we need to face our challenges and embrace the pain that accompanies them in the knowledge that indeed God does help those who help themselves.

God entered a partnership with us at the first moment of our existence. This is a special kind of partnership called ‘covenant’ in which God binds himself to be faithful whether or not we remain faithful. God remains the initiator and makes up for our weakness and even our indolence. Jesus remains the fulfillment of the promise. Though he was equal to God, he emptied himself taking on the form of a slave becoming like us in all things but sin. [Philippians 2:6-10]

Faith is not a ‘disconnect’ from reality. Faith does not anesthetize pain or cover up truth. Faith demands risk and involvement. It impels us to action and empowers to direct-connect with God as our source of strength. But, in the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, for true believers, “there are no cheap graces.” Prophets take heed! Have courage! Do not be discouraged!

Whether our challenges be personal, collective; private, public; political, economic, or religious, our faith does not exempt us from diving in with courage and living with integrity.

The prayer that comes to mind is the prayer of serenity:
“Lord, give me the serenity to accept the things I can not change;
The courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference!”

Prophets take heart!