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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.

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time 'C'

Sunday July 25, 2010

“Please listen to the voicemail prompt”

“Hello! You have reached the voice mailbox of Father Lasch. At the sound of the tone, please speak your name and phone number slowly and clearly before you start your message. It will be helpful if you repeat you name and phone number at the conclusion of your message, spelling your name if necessary—slowly and clearly Thank you.”

How many callers do you think are attentive to this voice prompt? My current estimate is 5%! Not infrequently, I receive a message such as this: “Hi. It’s Mary or John. I’m calling to speak with you about …” and then two or three minutes later, “Oh, yes, my phone number is 817-365-4378!” spoken with the speed of lightening! I have listened to some messages five times before getting it right. My ADD and dyslexia doesn’t help. But to be fair and balanced, I must indict myself in this regard. When I make a phone call, more often than not, I am so concerned about the clarity and brevity of my own message I fail to observe my own protocol.

This observation has applications to other ordinary daily conversational exchanges that are more often monologues on the part of one person or the other. Extroverts tend not to be good listeners; but neither are introverts in their own comfort zone. And once again, in the interest of fairness and balance, I find it difficult to listen to someone without rehearsing mentally how I want to respond.

The readings for this weekend require not only a listening ear but an attentive heart. In fact, someone has said that the ears of an attentive mind and a sensitive heart are far more important than the ears attached to the head because these internal faculties enable us to “hear” more than what is being said or read.

At first shot, the message seems to be about persistence and perseverance in prayer. In fact, it is more about the persistence of God than of Abraham. He really didn’t need to assure God that he was worthy of God’s favor or, on the other hand, confess his unworthiness in order to win God’s attention and favor.

Although he held God in ‘awe,’ Abraham was not afraid of God. The biblical word for ‘fear’ is properly translated as ‘awe’ or deep reverence’ rather than ‘fear.’ The author of the Book of Genesis last week and this week demonstrates God’s endless patience, mercy, and compassion. “Oh, do not let the Lord be angry if I speak just once more. Suppose ten are found there. The Lord answered, ‘For the sake of ten I will not destroy it.’” This is all hyperbole—a sort of biblical cartoon, if you will.

The message is not about our need to bargain with God but about the incomparable compassion of the God of all the ages; the God who ultimately instilled this compassion in the person of Jesus who in fact embodied the Spirit of God, Jesus the obedient one, i.e., the one who “listened” attentively to the heartbeat of God deep within his being and responded to every situation in a manner consonant with God’s will and God’s love. God wants intimacy with humanity. This is amply demonstrated through God’s incarnational love for humanity in Christ.

It was not surprising then that as John the Baptist and other religious leaders taught their disciples to pray, Jesus would be asked by his disciples to teach them how to pray.

The prayer is intimate and immediate and deals with the present. “Our Father, you are holy; let your dominion be honored and respected today… Give us the sustenance we need to get through the day! Forgive us now and help us to be forgiving toward others; do not let us be tried beyond our endurance.”

Jesus prayed in his native Aramaic. Spoken Hebrew had died out about three hundred years before Jesus.

The words of the Our Father are among the most revered and most quoted in English and in many languages and cultures. But there is more to this prayer than the English or Latin or another other western languages are able to convey. It was a prayer that truly ‘engaged’ Jesus with the mystery of God. The Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic contains the hidden wisdom of Jesus. It provides a lens into his thinking and into his mystical thought. The Lord’s Prayer helps us to create our own sacred space as we pray and to consecrate our day and our life to God, and dedicate ourselves to holiness and a healthy self, a healthy “I am.” When we become conscious of our breathing as we pray, we reconnect with God as the source of life within the context of nature and the entire cosmos.

The example given by Jesus in the ensuing parable again seems to be about perseverance and persistence but in reality it is about intimacy with God. Friends can wake one another up in the middle of the night and when they ask for fish, they are not going to receive a snake; when they ask for bread, they are not going to receive a stone. Get the point? God wants us to have everything we need for life’s journey. More than this, God wants us to be filled with the same spirit that filled Jesus. Indeed, God wants us to be his other self too.

Author and spiritual mentor, Neil Douglas Klotz in his excellent retreat entitled “Original Prayer – Teachings and Meditations on the Aramaic Words of Jesus” offers this alternative translation that is faithful to the core of the Lord’s Prayer:

O Breathing Life, your Name shines everywhere!

Release a space to plant your Presence here.

Envision your “I Can” now.

Embody your desire in every light and form.

Grow through us this moment’s bread and wisdom.

Until the knots of failure binding us,

as we release the strands we hold of others faults.

Help us not forget our Source,

yet free us from not being in the present.

From you arises every vision, power, and song,

from gathering to gathering.

Amen: may our future actions grow from here!

[Sounds True, PO Box 8010, Boulder Co 80306 www.soundstrue.com]

So, if you are hearing what I’m hearings, the message is about the persistence of God’s love and the greatness of our call to become like God in Christ. Prayer than is more a disposition of mind, heart, and soul rather than a pattern of words and or a series of petitions. It is the attentive listening and acceptance of all that God wants for us. Nothing less!

May that same Spirit that beats in the heart of Jesus’ reign in your minds and hearts today and always that others may come to know the faithfulness of God.