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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]
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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.

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Orindary Time 'A'

Sunday October 12, 2008

“Feast or famine?”

Enjoying a feast on the top of a mountain is an interesting metaphor. My experiences of mountaintop meals have not always been pleasant. The combination of thin air and mountain fever makes food less appetizing on Pike’s Peak in the Rockies and on Mount Pilatus in the Alps. Nevertheless, the biblical metaphor of a feast on the top of a mountain still has meaning despite the thin air and lack of oxygen.

In our Judeo-Christian biblical tradition, the metaphorical mountain is where God and humanity meet on special occasions. The encounters of Abraham, Moses, and Elias with God on Mount Mariah, Sinai and Carmel changed their lives forever. The evangelists used the mounts of the Transfiguration, the Beatitudes and Calvary to facilitate significant exchanges between Jesus, his ‘Father’ and his followers.

Meals were also the setting for important events in both the Old and New Testaments. The sharing of food was more than a social gathering. It was a significant religious event, a sacred exchange. Those who ate together were bonded in friendship and commitment. So true was this that if a thief inadvertently ate something while robbing a home, he or she would cease burglary and become a meal-partner. More than likely this is a bit of exaggeration on the part of some ancient biblical commentator but it makes abundantly clear the sacred meaning of the meal.

The metaphorical combination of the mountain and the meal confirmed and strengthened the bond between participants and God and among participants themselves. The banquet was tangible evidence of God’s provident care and the assurance of God’s blessing.

In the mind of early Christians, Israel’s vision of a God-given banquet of salvation was epitomized in the meals that Jesus shared with his friends especially in that final meal with his disciples on the night before he died. This is no doubt why Matthew used the wedding banquet as a metaphor for the kingdom of God.

Who were the invited guests in the parable?

I assume they were the relatives and friends of the king’s son and his bride. It was customary to send a preliminary announcement of the wedding to the guests. The time was not announced. I suppose it was similar to the announcement of an engagement. It served only to alert everyone to the coming wedding feast.

But when the invitation arrived, those who had been invited were too busy. This should not be too difficult to understand. Who among us has not made similar choices? We are all busy people with an outrageous daily agenda that often threatens our timetable and table time with God. It’s not that we are up to no good. Indeed, we may be up to much good but in the process fail to appreciate the importance of table talk with God and with the other members of our faith family.

Then again, perhaps they were put off by the prospect of loud music by the band. I have attended wedding receptions during which the band was so loud that the guests had to go to the lobby to talk. Whenever I am invited to invoke the blessing at a wedding reception, I add a prayer, tongue-in-cheek, for the wonderful musicians – that the music will be loud enough to have fun and soft enough for us to talk! Everyone applauds except the musicians, of course.

In the face of the Jewish Law, Jesus redefined the protocol for the feast and established the guest list for the ultimate banquet, the symbol of the solidarity to be enjoyed by all the members of God’s ‘kindom.’

The feast is open to everyone—to rich and poor, young and old, saint and sinner. It is a table at which everyone has a place and where all the other tables of humanity are connected. We’re in good company!

When I was a pastor, I used to ask the children, “Where is the most important table in the parish?” They would point to the Eucharist table. Then I would ask them where is the second most important table in the parish? And they would respond, at home. And the third most important table? With a bit of prompting, they would respond, the table of humanity. Then I would tell them to “keep the tables connected.”

We need to bring our family stories to this table and we need to bring the God stories to our family table so that we can reach out in service to the tables of humanity wherever the need is the greatest.

I always enjoyed mealtime at home. Every meal was special and had its particular ritual but long Sunday breakfasts, longer Sunday dinners, and family parties whenever they occurred were the best. Most of these gatherings took place around our table in our oversized kitchen where everyone gathered for talk, laughs, music and dance and of course, a good meal. There were no videos or DVDs in those days, just a couple of box cameras and faded photos. The memories are more colorful and much more lasting.

At God’s table, no one goes hungry; enemies find ways to converse. Bridges are built between disparate nations. It is where justice and mercy meet.

In a polarized world in which the forces of nature and the apocalyptic rhetoric of Armageddon seems to be moving us inevitably toward a world conflagration, physical as well as financial. God cries out from the mountaintop: “Stop your bickering; take the higher road, come to the table and know that there is wisdom a-plenty for everyone.”

In a church wounded by sin and torn by dissent, God cries out, “Cast your care upon me and know that in me your souls will find rest.”

Now more than ever, we need to break the bread of God’s wisdom and share the bread of God’s life that together we may find the courage to confront those who would divide us further and the compassion to heal the hurts that have torn open the wounds of the Christ who lived faithfully and died freely so that we might be free to be faithful.

But what about the ‘friend’ that came in without a wedding garment? What was that all about?

Commentators differ on the details but all seem to agree that it was Matthew’s way of reinforcing the demands of the gospel – unless you take up your cross daily and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. In other words, we need to arrive at table with the proper mindset and our hearts ready to absorb the mystery that unfolds in this assembly every week, indeed, every day.

We need to do our homework. We must be willing to seek the truth that brings freedom. We must climb the mountain where God dwells so that we might be able to see the world as God sees the world. We must not hide behind the façade of hypocrisy nor behind pious words that sound sweet but are nothing more than cotton candy with no substance, devoid of meaning—empty rhetoric. We must be willing to challenge the arrogance of political and religious leadership on both sides of the aisle with clarity and charity. As one of my colleagues, Sister Marie, put it, “Take up your stress and follow me!”

Jesus remains the prototype for us as a church. He is the exemplar of all that we can become as individuals committed to the establishment of God’s dominion of peace.

The key of course is in our daily practice of the faith in little things. To be faithful is to be truly free.

“May God fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father/Mother be glory in Jesus’ name forever and ever. Amen.”