Monday of the Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary time

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/091211.cfm

One of many Corvettes
on display at the MSF picnic

This is good and pleasing to God our savior,
who wills everyone to be saved
and to come to knowledge of the truth.


The First Letter of Saint Paul to Timothy reveals a church which is settling down to its new reality. The first generation of eye witnesses to Jesus were disappearing into history, much as the Veterans of the Second World War are today. Leaders of the Church, directed by the Holy Spirit, were less concerned about the Second Coming of Christ -- which seemed to be delayed. The catastrophe of Jerusalem's destruction, despite its trauma, was also receding and the end was not yet. 
Christian leaders urged their congregations to live in the old reality with a new spirit. Many scholars today doubt that Saint Paul wrote this letter; it was probably written by one of his disciples in the spirit of Paul, with an eye to the changed expectations of the Church. 
We must keep the faith; we must worship the Lord who has been revealed to us; we should not stir up resentment against us among the authorities of this world. Rather, we should pray for them and cooperate with them as far as our faith and morals will permit us. And so the author urges us:
First of all, I ask that supplications, prayers, petitions, and thanksgivings be offered for everyone, for kings and for all in authority, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life     in all devotion and dignity. 
From ancient times we have understood this teaching as a willingness to participate in public affairs, pay our taxes, vote, participate in the military to defend our homelands, and so forth. We should be model citizens working for the Common Good, rather than troublesome malcontents. Our practices of charity, patience, humility, marital fidelity, reverence for all forms of human life and piety will inspire others to join us. 
If the Kingdom of God will never be realized in this world, we can live as if we know what it will be like and are ready to welcome it. 
Jesus' healing of the centurion's servant may also be read as his willingness to live under Roman authority because,
This is good and pleasing to God our savior, who wills everyone to be saved and to come to knowledge of the truth.


Ih the long memories of our faith we know the United States is not the New Jerusalem; that it must take its place in the long history of the world; rising and falling as many empires have risen and fallen before us. 
Saint Francis, as Sister Death approached, urged his friars and sisters, "While we have time, let us do good." 
Christians today thank God for the opportunity we have to live in this world, representing God's holiness, mercy and compassion to the downhearted and fallen.