A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 9, n. 51)
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A – November 13, 2011 *
“The Day of the Lord”
BIBLE READINGS
Prv 3:10-13, 19-20, 30-31 // I Thes 5:1-6 // Mt 25:14-30
(N.B. Series 9 of BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD: A LECTIO DIVINA APPROACH TO THE SUNDAY LITURGY includes a prayerful study of the Sunday liturgy of Year A from the perspective of the Second Reading. For reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year A based on the Gospel reading, please scroll up to the “ARCHIVES” above and open Series 3. For reflections based on the Old Testament reading, open Series 6.)
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS: A Pastoral Tool for the LECTIO
Today is the second to the last Sunday of the liturgical year. As the Church year is about to reach its completion, the liturgy fittingly focuses on the “last things”. It encourages us to prepare worthily for the “Day of the Lord”, which could be a day of wrath or a day of grace for anyone – depending on one’s personal response to God’s saving love.
The Old Testament reading (Prv 3:10-13, 19-20, 30-31) presents the ideal wife – God-fearing, hardworking, personally dedicated, resourceful and fruitful. The exemplary wife is a model of energetic faithfulness and creative response to divine initiative. The biblical scholar Eugene Maly comments: “The heart of our reading is that this woman, who had been caught up in a covenant relationship with her people’s God, had generously responded to his love by giving herself in the best way she knew how. Her works said something about her inner life.” Indeed, the fruitfulness of her good deeds gives us a glimpse of the beauty of her soul and the integrity of her personal relationship with God.
The Gospel parable (Mt 25:14-30) depicts the creative genius of God’s faithful servants as well as the disappointing cowardice of the feckless. The faithful servants were industrious and resourceful – like the worthy wife of the Book of Proverbs. Their creative use of talents inspires us to be pro-active in dealing with the affairs of God’s kingdom. The “hole-in-the-ground” solution of the “play-it-safe” servant was downright disappointing. He did not dare to invest his talent, probably taking refuge in the rationalization that “what little talent I have will never be missed”. But this is not so.
According to the poet Michel Quoist (cf. “Breath of Life”) and paraphrasing him, if each note of music were to say “one note does not make a symphony”, there would be no symphony; if each word were to say “one word does not make a book”, there would be no book; if each brick were to say “one brick does not make a wall”, there would be no house; if each seed were to say “one grain does not make a field of corn”, there would be no harvest; if each one were to say “one act of love cannot save mankind”, there would never be justice and peace on earth.
Hence, with regards to the kingdom of God, we cannot remain uninvolved or partially involved; rather, we must be totally involved. Absolute personal commitment is required for salvation. It is exigent that we fully invest our talents to promote creatively and energetically the reign of God.
In the same vein, Saint Paul exhorted the Thessalonians to stay awake and sober. They must be personally involved and absolutely ready for the Day of the Lord. It will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. The Day of the Lord has a twofold connotation: salvation for the just and judgment for the evil ones. The authors of the book Days of the Lord, vol. 4, remark: “For certain people, it will be catastrophic because, living heedlessly – in peace and quiet, as they see it – they will be taken unawares. For others who remain watchful, this coming will hold no surprise. It will happen in the night of the world; but Christians are not in darkness, for they are the children of light. They behave as in full day light. They remain at all times spiritually awake, ready to welcome the Lord as a friend they have waited for; to him, they will joyfully open the door.”
The following story is a powerful example of how a believer prepared himself for the Day of the Lord (cf. Deena Burnett Bailey, “September 11 Journeys of Faith: A Glimpse of Heaven” in GUIDEPOSTS, September 2011, p. 60-61). It came unexpectedly, but when it came he was ready.
I was married to Tom Burnett, one of the passengers on United Airlines Flight 93. Terrorists hijacked the plane, intending to fly it to Washington D.C., perhaps aiming for the White House. Tom managed to call me several times from the plane and he told me that he and other passengers were going to try to wrest control of the cockpit from the hijackers. Thanks to the bravery of those passengers, the plane didn’t reach its target but instead crashed in a field in rural Pennsylvania, killing all aboard.
A ray of light cut through the darkness of that day for me – Tom’s faith. In the months leading up to September 11 a profound change had come over him, a deepening of his connection to God. At the time neither he nor I understood why. Then on September 11, it became clear to me.
Tom grew up Catholic. Unlike me, raised a Baptist, he seldom talked about his faith, though his rock-solid commitment to God was one of the things that drew me to him. After we married and had kids, I would go to church with him and I began to understand how he drew spiritual sustenance from the liturgy. The public prayer and sharing of faith experiences that I’d grown up with just wasn’t part of his makeup.
One day in the fall of 2000 Tom got home from work and said, “Deena, have you noticed that I haven’t been coming home for lunch lately?” We lived in California, where Tom was an executive at a medical-device company. Though he traveled frequently on business, whenever he was at the office he made a point of heading home to have lunch with me.
“I figured you were busy”, I said. “Actually, I’ve been going to Mass”, he said. I looked at him, puzzled. He went on, “A parish near the office has a noon Mass and I’ve been attending every day.”
“Why?” I asked. Tom paused. “I don’t know how else to say this. I feel like God is trying to tell me something. Maybe if I go to church every day, I’ll be able to hear better.”
Now I was really surprised. Tom never talked like this. “What do you think it is?” I asked. “I don’t know”, he said. “I have some sense that it’s going to affect a lot of people. And … well, this is the weird part, I think it might even involve the White House somehow.”
I had no idea what to make of this. Neither did Tom. Still, he kept attending Mass daily. He prayed more often and more openly, and we talked a lot about his growing relationship with God.
Tom never grew any more certain about the message being sent to him. But that didn’t matter. What mattered was the wonderful closeness that he shared with me.
That’s why even as the events of September 11 were unfolding, I had no doubt about the source of Tom’s courage about Flight 93 that day. And I believe his experience offers a ray of light through any darkness. A light that shines through my life even now, and forever.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART: A Pastoral Tool for the MEDITATIO
How does the figure of the God-fearing exemplary wife of the Book of Proverbs inspire me? Will I try to imitate her? How?
What lessons do I derive from the actions of the faithful servants in the Gospel parable? What lessons do I glean from the stance of the “one-talented servant”?
How do I prepare for the Day of the Lord so that it will not overtake me like a thief in the night?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the ORATIO
Leader: O loving God,
we thank you for the beautiful example
of the exemplary wife who works with loving hands.
She fears you in a holy way.
By her good deeds,
she gives you praise.
O mighty God,
we thank you for the energetic creativity
and wholehearted dedication
of the “multi-talented servants”.
They teach us to be fruitfully involved
in the affairs of your kingdom.
Deliver us from the perverted logic of the “play-it-safe” servant
who prefers to dig a hole in the ground
and makes your treasure idle.
That we may make a real impact in today’s history,
may we be personally involved in making your kingdom come.
Help us to use our talents fully and creatively
for the service of the Gospel.
Thank you for the life-witness of Saint Paul
who exhorts us to be ready for the Day of the Lord.
As children of light,
may we imitate him in living the life of Christ
and radiate his Gospel to the world.
Please do not allow the Day of the Lord
to overtake us as a thief,
but rather, let it be for us a saving grace.
For the kingdom, the power and glory are yours,
now and forever.
Assembly: Amen.
IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD: A Pastoral Tool for the CONTEMPLATIO
The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.
“The day of the Lord will come like a thief at night.” (cf. I Thes 5:2b)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION: A Pastoral Tool for the ACTIO
ACTION PLAN: Pray for the grace of a holy death and for greater readiness for the coming of the Day of the Lord. By your acts of justice, kindness and compassion, manifest that you are children of light, eager to welcome the Day of the Lord.
ACTION PLAN: That we may deeply experience the Day of the Lord as a grace event, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM website (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year A, vol. 7, # 51).
Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang PDDM
PIAE DISCIPULAE DIVINI MAGISTRI
SISTER DISCIPLES OF THE DIVINE MASTER
60 Sunset Ave., Staten Island, NY 10314
Tel. (718) 494-8597 // (718) 761-2323
Website: WWW.PDDM.US