Aug 29 - The Passion of St. John the Baptist

 + St. John the Baptist was a cousin of Jesus Christ, son of Zachary, a priest of the order of Abiah, whose job in the temple was to burn incense; and of Elizabeth, a descendent of Aaron. John was a Prophet – the last of the great prophets of the Old Testament, for he literally pointed to Christ on the banks of the Jordan and said: Behold, the Lamb of God, it is he who takes away the sins of the world: follow him!

 

Before this time, John converted many to a way that would propel them towards Christ when he did in fact arrive and he baptized men and women for the forgiveness of their sins (which would be fully effected by Christ’s death and resurrection). And, of course, he baptized Jesus himself, not that he had any sins, but as a sign that baptism would be required of all future members of his church, and as a way to inaugurate his own public ministry among the people of Israel.

 

Now that Jesus ministry had begun, John’s job was pretty much finished except for his greatest act of faith and love for his cousin that he could make: his martyrdom. He was imprisoned because he had condemned King Herod Antipas for his marriage to Herodias, which was both adulterous and incestuous. She was not only his niece, but also the wife of his brother, who was still alive. At Herodias’s insistence, Herod imprisoned John. Later, during a banquet the king made a public promise that he could not retract: telling Heordias’s daughter, who danced provocatively in front of him, that he would give her anything she wanted. Herodias told her daughter to ask for the beheading of John in prison. And so, John the Baptizer “lost his head” to “save the king’s face” in front of his guests.

 

This feast is celebrated by both the Eastern and Western Churches – in which John has always been held in very high esteem.

 

The first reading makes a seeming contrary prophecy: they will fight against you, but not prevail over you, for I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord. Did John the Baptist, therefore, win or lose in his confrontation with King Herod? He won, of course: even though one loses his physical life for the sake of the Kingdom, God delivers the soul intact and joyful to him as a specially granted reward. To give one’s life for Christ and his Kingdom is the greatest of all gifts one can give to God, and he accepts it as such and rewards the giver with a crown of glory! In effect, St. John the Baptist became the patron saint of marriage, and speaking truth to power with today’s feast – may we imitate and follow St. John the Baptist all the way into the kingdom because we too defend marriage as God gives it, and speaking truth to power even if it “cancels” us in the estimation of the world: our crown, our glory will be great in the Kingdom prepared for us.

 

 

Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

 

 

Aug 25 - 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

 TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – AUGUST 25, 2024

 

I –We will serve the Lord, for his is our God.

R –Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

II – This is a great mystery, regarding Christ and the Church.

A – Your words, Lord, are Spirit and life; you have the words of everlasting life.

G –To whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

                       

+ We reach the grand conclusion of the great Discourse on the Most Holy Eucharist today, as it is related to us in the Gospel of St. John. This doctrine and reality are central and essential to Jesus whole mission. He came into the world to redeem it and to give it the “key to life.” The Eucharistic presence of his own real Body and Blood in transubstantiated elements of bread and wine is that key! It is not a secret key, nor an invisible key, but it does take something very special in order to see it, use it and operate it: it takes faith, simple faith! Faith being the gift of God and our cooperation with it, which gives the ability to see all things as God sees them, as they really are; and to use them the way he intends for them to be used.

 

It is quite apparent that many of Jesus’ disciples did not accept the gift of faith, and so they could not use it; and therefore their only course of action was to murmur about his insistence that they eat his real flesh and drink his real blood, and so they walk away confused and probably a bit annoyed that following Jesus around for so long a time ended with this impasse. Jesus then makes reference to how things are seen with the eyes of faith, rather than the human eyes: all things, but especially religious things must have something to do with “Spirit and life” – these things are “super-natural” – these things are the fruit of the activation of a simple and real faith! 

 

And so, Jesus says to those who wander away, then “go, go, but remember I told you that no one can come to me and remain unless it is granted him by my Father,” apparently, for the time being, it has not been granted to you – but maybe, in time; I will pray for you for a time in the future when you will be more pliant to the action of the Spirit in your life.

 

And you, he then turns to the Apostles and says, do you want to go too? After I have very carefully given you the benefit of countless hours of “private lessons” and practical experience even on difficult matters to understand – do you want to leave me too? But then Peter, speaking for the rest, as he always did said to him: Lord, to whom shall we go (quo vadis?), you have the words of eternal life; we have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God. How relieved Jesus must have been, we can see him smiling at Peter now, and the others, and saying to them: thank you, for your sakes, thank you, and you shall see and hear even greater things in the very near future!

 

The first reading today, in a sense gives us another decision made for God, rather than against him, a walking away: Joshua, addressing the elders of the tribes of Israel said: decide who you will serve from now on (which way are you going to go?); but as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord. Any other kind of life, such as the kind the other tribes were involved in, just did not seem right to Joshua – and so he made his choice and God was very pleased. And, because of Joshua’s example, the rest of the tribes chose the Lord too.

 

Sometimes, it takes a simple straightforward statement in favor of God and his ways for others to activate faith, to “get onboard” – like Joshua, like Peter, like all the Apostles and their successors – and billions of disciples of Christ throughout the ages – we too can influence others to set their sights on heavenly goals, and to modify their earthly sojourn in order for it to end up in the right place at the right time!

 

Taste and see the goodness of the Lord, and then tell everyone you can about it, and let them know that it is for them too!