On the Seventeenth Sunday Per Annum

II KINGS 4:42-44

A man came from Baal-shalishah
bringing to Elisha, the man of God,
twenty barley loaves made from the firstfruits,
and fresh grain in the ear.
Elisha said, “Give it to the people to eat.”
But his servant objected,
“How can I set this before a hundred people?”
Elisha insisted, “Give it to the people to eat.”
“For thus says the LORD,
‘They shall eat and there shall be some left over.’”
And when they had eaten, there was some left over,
as the LORD had said.

Ephesians 4:1-6

Brothers and sisters:
I, a prisoner for the Lord,
urge you to live in a manner worthy of the call you have received,
with all humility and gentleness, with patience,
bearing with one another through love,
striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace:
one body and one Spirit,
as you were also called to the one hope of your call;
one Lord, one faith, one baptism;
one God and Father of all,
who is over all and through all and in all.


John 6:1-15

Jesus went across the Sea of Galilee.
A large crowd followed him,
because they saw the signs he was performing on the sick.
Jesus went up on the mountain,
and there he sat down with his disciples.
The Jewish feast of Passover was near.
When Jesus raised his eyes
and saw that a large crowd was coming to him,
he said to Philip,
“Where can we buy enough food for them to eat?”
He said this to test him,
because he himself knew what he was going to do.
Philip answered him,
“Two hundred days’ wages worth of food would not be enough
for each of them to have a little.”
One of his disciples,
Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter, said to him,
“There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish;
but what good are these for so many?”
Jesus said, “Have the people recline.”
Now there was a great deal of grass in that place.
So the men reclined, about five thousand in number.
Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks,
and distributed them to those who were reclining,
and also as much of the fish as they wanted.
When they had had their fill, he said to his disciples,
“Gather the fragments left over,
so that nothing will be wasted.”
So they collected them,
and filled twelve wicker baskets with fragments
from the five barley loaves
that had been more than they could eat.
When the people saw the sign he had done, they said,
“This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.”
Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry him off
to make him king,
he withdrew again to the mountain alone.

On the Sixteenth Sunday Per Annum

Jeremiah 23:1-6

Woe to the shepherds
who mislead and scatter the flock of my pasture,
says the LORD.
Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of Israel,
against the shepherds who shepherd my people:
You have scattered my sheep and driven them away.
You have not cared for them,
but I will take care to punish your evil deeds.
I myself will gather the remnant of my flock
from all the lands to which I have driven them
and bring them back to their meadow;
there they shall increase and multiply.
I will appoint shepherds for them who will shepherd them
so that they need no longer fear and tremble;
and none shall be missing, says the LORD.

Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD,
when I will raise up a righteous shoot to David;
as king he shall reign and govern wisely,
he shall do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah shall be saved,
Israel shall dwell in security.
This is the name they give him:
“The LORD our justice.”



Ephesians 2:13-18

Brothers and sisters:
In Christ Jesus you who once were far off
have become near by the blood of Christ.

For he is our peace, he who made both one
and broke down the dividing wall of enmity, through his flesh,
abolishing the law with its commandments and legal claims,
that he might create in himself one new person in place of the two,
thus establishing peace,
and might reconcile both with God,
in one body, through the cross,
putting that enmity to death by it.
He came and preached peace to you who were far off
and peace to those who were near,
for through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.

You have scattered my sheep. . .I myself will gather the remnant of my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them. . .and none shall be missing, says the LORD.

These are very powerful sayings. God's people are scattered by the misguided actions of incompetent, perhaps even evil, shepherds. But God will bring back those people from all the lands to which he has driven them. Even in the hands of misguided, incompetent, or even evil shepherds, God's people are still fully in the sight, mercy, and providence of God.

I, myself, will gather them.

Today, Paul teaches that even Gentiles, who are far off, have been brought near in Christ. Reading Paul, 2000 years later, it is hard to remember that we are the gentiles of whom he speaks. We, the vast majority of Christians, who are so aware, so sure of our insider status forget that we are the descendants of people who were considered utterly alien to the People of God. Paul asserts for us today that Christ's death has broken down this barrier between the inside and outside. Christ invites the former inside and the former outside into a new communio, a true membership in the family of God.

Jews of the First Century were scandalized by Paul's teaching that Gentiles should be welcomed into God's family. When we read Paul today, how are we scandalized? Are we still angry at the Jews, because they were not so happy to let us in? We, who understand ourselves so clearly to be in; who are we pushing out, today? Where does that reconciling power of the cross need to meet us today?

What barriers are we building today, that Christ is tearing down by means of his death on the cross.

I myself will gather my flock from all the lands to which I have driven them and none shall be missing, says the LORD.

On remembrance

Benjamin Wren

Sometime of the Society of Jesus
Priest
Teacher
Pain in the Ass
Husband
Father
Friend
Reposed in the Lord July 20, 2006

God reigns!
The people proclaim,
with great Joy!
Alleluia!

His life overcomes our death,
His Holy Cross conquers hell!

Alleluia
Alleluia
Alleluia

Christ, all praise to you!

On a quote worth mentioning

I've been reading a terribly engaging book this weekend called, Good Omens, written by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Regular readers will know of my fondness for Terry Pratchett, I highly recommend Good Omens, not the least for insights like the following, found on page 157:

Newt had always suspected that people who regularly used the word "community" were using it in a very specific sense that excluded him and everyone he knew.

I've spent my share of time among Jesuits, Franciscans, Anglicans, Dominicans, Texans, soaking up incalculable hours of exegesis / eisegesis while sitting innocently in Church, riding in the car, or simply watching TV. All of those worthies make rather free use of that powerful word, community. But I can't swear that any of them have ever truly meant to embrace me in that circle.

On the Fifteenth Sunday Per Annum

Amos 7:12

Amaziah, priest of Bethel, said to Amos,
“Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah!
There earn your bread by prophesying,
but never again prophesy in Bethel;
for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.”
Amos answered Amaziah, “I was no prophet,
nor have I belonged to a company of prophets;
I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores.
The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me,
Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”

Ephesians 1:3-14

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him.
In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace
that he granted us in the beloved.
In him we have redemption by his blood,
the forgiveness of transgressions,
in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us.
In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us
the mystery of his will in accord with his favor
that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times,
to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.

In him we were also chosen,
destined in accord with the purpose of the One
who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,
so that we might exist for the praise of his glory,
we who first hoped in Christ.
In him you also, who have heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him,
were sealed with the promised holy Spirit,
which is the first installment of our inheritance
toward redemption as God’s possession, to the praise of his glory.

Mark 6:7-13

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began
to send them out two by two
and gave them authority over unclean spirits.
He instructed them to take nothing for the journey
but a walking stick—
no food, no sack, no money in their belts.
They were, however, to wear sandals
but not a second tunic.

He said to them,
“Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave.
Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you,
leave there and shake the dust off your feet
in testimony against them.”
So they went off and preached repentance.
The Twelve drove out many demons,
and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

On the Fourteenth Sunday Per Annum

II Corinthians 12:6-10

But if I wish to boast, I will not be a fool, for I will be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think better of me than what is seen in me or heard from me, even considering the exceptional character of the revelations. Therefore, to keep me from being too elated, a thorn was given to me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I appealed to the Lord about this, that it would leave me, but he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities for the sake of Christ; for whenever I am weak, then I am strong.

Mark 6:1-6

He left that place and came to his home town, and his disciples followed him. On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, ‘Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?’ And they took offence at him.
Then Jesus said to them, ‘Prophets are not without honour, except in their home town, and among their own kin, and in their own house.’ And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. And he was amazed at their unbelief.
Then he went about among the villages teaching.

Each of us comes with weaknesses, anti-virtues, faults. Which, if any, of these can be described as a thorn in the flesh, is a mystery too deep for me. We are not perfect, whole, complete, but are works in progress. Paul grappled with his impediment, was it ugliness, flatulence, a stammer, some have suggested it was something sexual--whatever it was, Paul grappled with this Thorn in the Flesh fully in the sight of God and came to some peace about it.

Perhaps, today we should rejoice for the gifts we have been given and ask God to give us that peace he desired for Paul.

On the Feast of another Monarch

Do not forget that when sovereigns are at war they can no longer busy themselves with their administration; justice is not distributed; no care is taken of the people; and this alone is your sovereign charge, this the main point of your duty as kings.

Born in 1271 to the royal family of Aragon, Elizabeth was married to Denis, King of Portugal, at the age of twelve. She bore him two children: Alfonso and Constance. She is chiefly remembered for her piety, loyalty, and her commitment to the work for peace. Throughout her life Elizabeth was attentive to the needs of pilgrims and the poor of Portugal; she was ardent in calls for redistribution of land.

Elizabeth was able to prevent war between Portugal and Castille at least four times by mediating with the kings. In 1320, Elizabeth's son, Alfonso, at 20 years of age, organized and led a revolution against his father's government. Torn between the love and loyalty of the two, Elizabeth sought to negotiate a truce; however, because her husband, King Denis, no longer trusted her motives, he banished her from the kingdom. Five years later, Denis fell ill. Despite many years of public infidelity and her exile, Elizabeth forgave her husband and nursed him daily throughout his final illness.

Following Denis' death, Elizabeth distributed her property to the poor and retired as a Franciscan tertiary to a monastery of the Poor Clares she had founded at Coimbra. In 1336, though weak with age and illness, she set out from the convent in the hopes of negotiating a lasting peace between her son Alfonso, now king of Portugal, and his son-in-law, the king of Castile. She succeeded in her mission, but the exertions and heat were too much for her ailing body and she died before she could return to the enclosure at Coimbra. Elizabeth was buried in Coimbra, where she had often humbly served the Poor Clares at table.

The Collect:

Father of peace and love, you gave saint Elizabeth the gift of reconciling enemies.
By the help of her prayers, give us courage to work for justice and equity among nations, and so bring lasting peace to your sons and daughters.
We make our prayer through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you, Father, and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

On the Anniversary of the Rebellion

The legitimate Government of George III was formally and irrevocably set aside in thirteen of the American Colonies by treasonous rebellion on July 4, 1776. We in North America, and indeed all the world, continue to live in the shadow of this event.

Certainly a day worthy of remembrance. For some a day of celebration--I am thoroughly committed to fireworks. But also a day to remember the countless thousands of loyal hearts living at that time who were witness to the rending of their Nation, who lost lives, livelihoods, and property in an effort to remain loyal to their King.

The Collect:

Eternal God, through whose mighty power our fathers won their liberties of old; Grant, we beseech thee, that we and all the people of this land may have grace to maintain these liberties in righteousness and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

On the Thirteenth Sunday Per Annum

Wisdom 1:13-15; 2:23-24

God did not make death,
nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living.
For he fashioned all things that they might have being;
and the creatures of the world are wholesome,
and there is not a destructive drug among them
nor any domain of the netherworld on earth,
for justice is undying.
For God formed man to be imperishable;
the image of his own nature he made him.
But by the envy of the devil, death entered the world,
and they who belong to his company experience it.

On the Feast of Blessed Junipero Serra

The Oration:

Most High and Glorious God,
your servant Junipero Serra
brought the gospel of Christ
to the peoples of Mexico and California
and firmly established the Church among them:
By his intercession,
and through the example of his evangelical zeal,
inspire us to be faithful witnesses of Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.