A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy

 

 

BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 7, n. 13)

7th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B – February 22, 2009 *

 

“He is God’s YES!”

 

BIBLE READINGS

Is 43:18-19, 21-22, 24b-25 // II Cor 1:18-22 // Mk 2:1-12

 

 

 

(N.B. Series 7 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 B from the perspective of the Second Reading. For other reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year B, please go to the PDDM Web Archives: WWW.PDDM.US and open Series 1  & 4.)

 

 

 

I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS

 

We continue the proclamation of the Pauline passages within the Sunday liturgy and today’s selection is taken from the Second Letter to the Corinthians (II Cor 1:18-22). Composed in Macedonia after leaving Ephesus (cf. Acts 20:1-3), probably in the autumn of 57 A.D., this remarkable letter manifests most intensely Paul’s passionate human character – his sensitivity and vulnerability, his depth and affection, his ardent reactions and strong emotions. In this Year of St. Paul, it is opportune to pay special attention to the structure and the socio-ecclesial context of this letter.

 

In the GOOD NEWS BIBLE introduction to this letter, we read: “Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians was written during a difficult period in his relation with the church at Corinth. Some members of the church had evidently made strong attacks against Paul, but he shows his deep longing for reconciliation and expresses his great joy when this is brought about. In the first part of the letter Paul discusses his relationship with the church at Corinth, explaining why he had responded with severity to insult and opposition in the church and expressing his joy that this severity had resulted in repentance and reconciliation. Then he appeals to the church for a generous offering to help the needy Christians in Judea. In the final chapters Paul defends his apostleship against a few people at Corinth who had set themselves up as true apostles, while accusing Paul of being a false one.”

 

In this Sunday’s reading from St. Paul, the Apostle affirms his credibility by appealing to the integrity of God’s “YES”, made incarnate in his beloved Son Jesus Christ, into whom Paul was totally configured. Accused of being fickle and not true to his word, the deeply aggrieved Paul asserted that the change concerning his planned visit to the Corinthians was motivated by charity and his concern for the good of the Christian community. It was definitely not a sign of fickleness or insincerity. Indeed, Paul’s credibility and integrity come from God, whose faithfulness is fully manifested in his Son Jesus Christ and whose gift of the Holy Spirit is a guarantee and a pledge of our future glory.

 

The biblical scholar Mary Ann Getty comments: “Paul’s solemnity is extreme because of the seriousness of the charge against him. His testimony rests on God’s word which, above all, established the relationship between the Corinthians and their apostle. God anointed Paul an apostle, and the Corinthian ministry sealed this apostleship. The love of God poured into human hearts by the Holy Spirit will enable the Corinthians to accept Paul. The Spirit is the first fruits, the payment or pledge of our final inheritance. Paul’s word can be trusted. But it was out of love for the Corinthians that Paul’s plans were changed. The Apostle is convinced that love is the only thing that cannot hurt another. Thus, charity is the only thing that offers adequate explanation of Paul’s change of plans. Charity qualifies and relativizes even the most cherished projects such as Paul’s ardent desire to see the Corinthians. When Paul decided that a visit to them would suggest that he was trying to dominate the Corinthians’ faith, he abandoned his plans for the time being. His physical presence with them was relatively unimportant; the only essential was that they stood firm in their faith.”

 

The Son of God Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word, is God’s “YES”. It is he who is the “YES” to all of God’s promises, accomplishing the Father’s messianic plan. Through the same Jesus Christ our loving “AMEN” response is directed to God for his greater glory. In this Sunday’s Gospel episode of the healing of the paralytic and the forgiveness of his sins (Mk 2:1-12), we see God’s benevolent “YES” fully at work – healing the infirmity of the total person, both body and soul. The messianic activities of Jesus to forgive sins and restore the person to a total integrity evoke the beauty and newness that we could glimpse in the Old Testament reading (Is 43:18-19, 21-22, 24b-25) about the Lord God who wipes out our offenses and remembers our sins no more.

 

In the following story, replete with charm and inspiration, we can see the “YES” forgiving stance of Jesus at work in the lives of a remarkable couple, who are marked with moral integrity and animated by Christian charity (cf. Lola Walter, “Tale of Two Houses” in GUIDEPOSTS, Large Print Edition, December 1997, p. 169-180). The young couple Lola and Glenn, struggling through financial constraint and the effects of the Great Depression, had to resort to the arrangement of a used-car dealer when their old vehicle broke down beyond repair.

 

The sign at the lot advertised easy credit, just what we needed. The owner, a husky man in his mid 30’s, treated us like old friends. He picked out a good, clean Chevrolet sedan. “This one’ll do you real fine,” he promised, and we settled on a price before heading to his office. “My wife will type up the contract,” he said, gesturing to the prim blond woman who smiled at us shyly as she slipped onto a stool. In minutes she pulled the paper from the roller bar. Ceremoniously her husband passed the contract to Glenn. “If the details are agreeable to you, sir …” he said. We met our payments faithfully – paid to the car dealer in person, in cash - and rejoiced when half the coupons in the credit book were gone. (…)

 

Not long after, we got a strange visitor. “I’m a bank officer, ma’am,” the man explained. “I’d like to talk to you and your husband about your car payments.” I wiped my hands on my apron. What is there to talk about? The contract was filed in our strong box with other important papers; the deal was legitimate. But something told me this man didn’t have good news. “Please come in,” I said warily. I held the screen door and called my husband. “This man’s come from the bank,” I filled Glenn in as we sat down around the kitchen table. “Oh?” Glenn said. “And what brings you out this afternoon?” The man explained that our car dealer had financed his business through the bank, and the bank owned the contract we signed. “We’ve not received a single payment on that car, Mr. and Mrs. Walters. You’re a year delinquent on the loan – with interest.” “There must be some mistake,” Glenn said. “No mistake, Mr. Walters. I’m sorry to have to tell you that unless you bring the debt up to date, the bank will repossess the car.” (…) I tried to calm down while Glenn saw the bank officer to the door. Surely the dealer had some explanation.

 

But when we got to the car lot, the easy credit sign was gone. The place had been shut down. We learned the car dealer had filed for bankruptcy. More than likely he had pocketed our payments. We convinced the bank we were victims of fraud. Payments were extended another year and bank interest was waived. We started from scratch … While we made do in our barely patched house, the car dealer continued to live in his big, beautiful home. Bitterness filled my heart every time we passed it. I never saw the wife in their big fancy car anymore. Vacation? I wondered sarcastically. And then we saw her working at the assessor’s office when we went to file some documents. I had to restrain myself from telling her off. Apparently her husband didn’t need to work, for at any time of any day we saw him walking the streets in fashionable dark glasses. Trying to look debonair, I thought with contempt.

 

About the time we were again down to 12 payment slips, we were shocked to read that the car dealer had found his wife dead from an overdose of sleeping pills. I was thankful I had held my temper around the unhappy woman. The next time I saw the car dealer walking the streets near his home, decked out in his dark glasses even though the day was overcast, I was even more disgusted. If I ever got the opportunity, I would tell that man one thing: “You ought to feel ashamed of your dishonest feelings.” That would give me a great deal of satisfaction.”

 

During the next years we paid off the car debt … The first winter in our new, improved, insulated house, I cooked every holiday dish I could think of … After the blessing over the food, Glenn dished up a bowl of soup and began to eat, in silence. “Is something wrong?” I asked. “I picked up Fred.” The car dealer? We hardly ever spoke his name. “You gave that cheat a ride?” I demanded. “Why?” “You don’t understand,” Glenn said slowly. “He was lying on a snow bank in front of his house. I helped him inside. It was a mess in there. He was mumbling about his wife.” I had noticed in the last few years the dealer had grown thin and his walk had become unsteady. He seemed to let his house go too. But I had paid little attention to his troubles. My only thoughts regarding him were angry ones, focused on his dishonesty. For the first time I considered that he was a man with his own problems. “Was he drunk?” I asked. Glenn nodded. “He could have frozen to death.” (…)

 

It’s hard to reach out to someone in need – sometimes impossible, if not plainly inappropriate. But I had not even taken the first step, the step I owed it to my faith to take: After all that time I had not forgiven this man in my heart. Fred disappeared soon after Glenn stopped to help him. We never saw him again. But I think about him often, and pray for him … Forgiving him has been a step-by-step process … And if I could tell Fred only one thing, I would say, “I forgive you, completely.” It would give me a great deal of satisfaction.

 

 

 

II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART

 

  1. How do the words of consolation of the prophet Isaiah about the Lord God who wipes out our offenses and forgives our sins impact you?

 

  1. How do the acts of forgiveness and healing accomplished by Jesus on behalf of the paralytic affect you?

 

  1. How does the “YES” stance of Jesus and of the apostle Paul inspire you?

 

 

 

III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD

 

Leader: Loving Father,

we thank you for the faithfulness of Jesus Christ

to your benevolent will.

He is the gracious and faithful “YES”

that accomplished all your kind plans

and gracious promises for our healing and salvation.

Like the paralytic,

lovingly and creatively brought to Jesus by his four ingenious friends,

may we receive your forgiveness through Jesus

and hear his healing words.

With the great apostle Paul and the entire Church,

we offer to you our loving response of “AMEN”

through the same Christ,

your Son and our saving Lord.

We bless you and worship you.

We love you

and we pledge our faithful service to you,

now and forever.

 

Assembly: Amen.

 

 

IV. INTERIORIZATION OF THE WORD

 

The following is the bread of the living Word that will nourish us throughout the week. Please memorize it.

 

“For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, was not “yes” and “no”, but “yes” has been in him. For however many are the promises of God, their Yes is in him.” (II Cor 1:19-20)

 

 

V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION

 

  1. ACTION PLAN: Pray that we may all experience healing and the forgiveness of sin through our humble stance before Jesus, the “YES” of God the Father to all his promises. Through our life of integrity and charity, enable the people around you to experience the goodness of the Father’s “YES” and to give a loving response of “AMEN” to the divine love.

  2. ACTION PLAN: To help us imitate more closely Christ, God’s “YES”, and to incarnate better the healing and forgiving love of God, make an effort to spend an hour in Eucharistic Adoration. Visit the PDDM WEB site (www.pddm.us) for the EUCHARISTIC ADORATION THROUGH THE LITURGICAL YEAR: A Weekly Pastoral Tool (Year B, vol. 5, # 13).

 

 

 

Prepared by Sr. Mary Margaret Tapang  PDDM

 

 

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