September 9, 2018

 September 9, 2018 23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time B Isaiah 35: 4-7; James 2: 1-5; Mark 7: 31-37 How do I react when I am in the presence of someone ‘famous’? Do I feel more important? How do I feel when people give me a compliment? How do I feel in crowds? How do I feel in a crowded church? How do I feel when I am surrounded by people who are trying to get my attention? How do I treat the people that come into my life each day? Do I find myself treating people differently according to my preferences? How would I react if I was in the presence of Jesus in one of His scriptural scenes? Would I try to get to the front of the crowd? What would I do if He spoke to me? What would I do if someone famous spoke to me? Am I open to all people who come into my presence each day? Do I ever reflect on how God views them? If Jesus followed me through a ‘normal’ day would He spend time with the same people I did? Would He be conscious of those who were hurting? Am I conscious of those who are hurting? Faith and Action…my faith must be seen. I can say that I love God, but what does that mean if the people in my life do not see my love? We feel that there is a tension between faith and action yet truly living as Jesus is living love. Am I doing this? Isaiah’s reading today comes before the final years of the kingdom of Judah. The people had refused to listen to God and to follow the Covenant by not living the Commandments. The prophets had been urgently reminding the people to grow stronger in their faith. Why should they…they are enjoying their life…it is so easy to satisfy one’s wants and desires. The kingdom was about to collapse and its people exiled to Babylon. Hearing Isaiah, they are frightened. It is too late. But already Isaiah reminds the people that God does not abandon them. He never has, never will. The closing verses today portray even a greater deliverance than the Exodus from Egypt. The frightened hearers have nothing to fear for God comes as savior of His people. Will they listen and follow His ways…His Covenant…His Commandments? So I ask myself what is my motivation? Am I concerned with myself or living out the commandments? St. James is responding to the pervasive social system that he is facing in first century Israel. It is just as valuable to each one of us. James is usually called “brother of the Lord”. He was the leader of the Jewish Christian community in Jerusalem and Acts of the Apostles states that he is the authorized spokesman for the Jewish Christian position in the early Church. He was stoned to death in 62 AD. He forcefully and beautifully states that Jesus lived and taught that all people are loved by God. There should be no preferential treatment for the wealthy over the poor. If the community is to reflect God’s vision, it must do away with any and all divisions. God’s love is for all and His plan is for all. Membership in the Christian community should not reflect favorites or caste systems. James states it firmly in his opening and closing lines: “…show no partiality as you adhere to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ….Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters Did not God choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that He promised to those who love Him?” Jesus made it very clear that God desires all creation to be in heaven and He came to heal, free and reconcile all creation. Am I a healing person? Am I making peace in love? Is it about God’s plan for creation or mine? Am I afraid to love? Isaiah promised today that God would heal the deaf and the blind and that people would proclaim His goodness and love. God’s vision is very clear. We are all part of His plan and we are to share God’s total, unconditional love. In the Gospel, Jesus performed a miracle making a deaf person hear and also be able to speak but there is much more happening. His actions are those that are promised in Isaiah and are now coming true. God is restoring the world. Jesus is showing this and living this. This restoration goes beyond the Jewish nation and includes the Gentiles, meaning all people. We are all part of God’s vision and God’s plan. We see this in the Gospel today. Mark starts out by telling us Jesus’ itinerary. He had just left the district of Tyre and was going through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee in the district of the Decapolis, the ten cities around the Sea of Galilee. Jesus is not welcome in the Jewish areas so He tends to make His way to places where the gentiles lived. How terribly strange: the Jews rejected Jesus…they felt they knew scripture and would naturally know all about the Messiah and where and when He would come. So they didn’t accept Jesus. The Gentiles did accept Jesus and today bring a man suffering from deafness and some kind of speech impediment. They, the Gentiles, believed that Jesus could heal this man. The Jews wouldn’t bother. Now to the people, miracle working was always understood to be about power. One who could perform miracles had this power. Yet not all power was good. A number of times, those opposed to Jesus accused Him of healing through the power of Satan. Those who believed in Jesus knew that His power was from God. There is a reason why Jesus includes special details in today’s miracle. Jesus knows the ritual procedure and follows it carefully. The result is that the man is totally healed of both his deafness and his speech impediment. Then Jesus tells the people not to tell anyone, yet they all saw the miracle. He does not want miracle working to be His fundamental identity. Scholars refer to this as the Messianic secret. Who really is this Jesus? This will not be revealed until after His death and resurrection. He will then be revealed as the Messiah, the Son of God ‘who does all things well.’ So I reflect on: • What experiences have opened my ears to hear God speaking to me? • What experiences have opened my eyes to let me know God is present to me in a special way? • How have I ‘loosened my tongue’ to proclaim my faith in glory and praise? • What are the hallmarks of a genuine Christian community? • Am I a part of bringing God to my community? • Do I find myself ministering to the physical needs of those in the community or do I leave this to others to do? Why? • How can I help someone who is completely wrapped up in their possessions, to the neglect of their faith life? Sacred Space 2018 states: “Jesus heals this man in private, whereas in other encounters His work is quite public. Why did He take this man aside? What needs did the man have that others may not have noticed? I pray to grow in my ability to be attentive to others, especially those I’m trying to help. ‘He has done everything well.’ This recalls the Genesis creation story, in which God ‘does all things well.’ Now the new creation is dawning in Jesus, and I am one who is being restored. If this does not bring me joy, what will?”