http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/081412.cfm
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| Eastbound on I-64, Louisville, KY Sunday Morning |
In Louisiana Vic, the gardener, managed the parish grounds, cutting the grass, trimming trees and bushes, and raising a vegetable garden. I could rely on him for a steady supply of okra, tomatoes and cabbage throughout the growing season. I rarely asked Vic to do anything; he always found work to do.
But occasionally I might ask him to work on this or that little project. Invariably my friend would drop whatever he was doing and throw himself at the new task. He did this because he loved to work, he loved the Church, and he had a profound respect for the priesthood. Whatever Vic thought was important was not nearly as important to him as the new project I gave him.
Jesus, the son of man, had that same spirit of obedience as he pursued his Father's mission. He never gave a thought to what he wanted to do, as he said in the Gospel of John, i do not seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me.
Obedience has an unpleasant ring in our highly individualized culture. It sounds of oppression and tyranny. Freedom is supposed to be the opposite of obedience and we cultivate freedom from the day of birth until the day we die. The unswaddled baby can wave his arms and legs in every direction, freely and madly searching for boundaries where there are none. Parents ask their five year old children what they want for supper. Finally, at the end of life, we demand of our patients, "Tell us how much life support you want!" as if anyone can anticipate the last moments of his life. The free, rational person is supposed to know these things.
Freedom is a romantic ideal; obedience is a religious one. The Christian finds her freedom in God's will, in sailing with the Spirit that filled the prophets, sages and saints. Obedient freedom impelled Mary to visit Elizabeth and drove Jesus into the desert. Our freedom is to please the Beloved; what could be more satisfying or delightful than to give pleasure to God?
On this memorial of Saint Maximillian Kolbe we remember the martyred Conventual Franciscan who volunteered to take the place of a condemned man in a Nazi death camp. Blessed John Paul II described him as a "martyr for love." The Saint had consecrated his life to Jesus through Mary and wanted only to give glory to God. The Lord heard his prayer and rushed him into Heaven on the eve of the Saint's favorite solemnity, The Assumption of Mary.
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| Hi ho, hi ho It's off to work we go |
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.