A Lectio Divina Approach to the Sunday Liturgy
BREAKING THE BREAD OF THE WORD (Series 8, n. 37)
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C – August 8, 2010 ***
“The Call to Vigilant Faith”
BIBLE READINGS
Wis 18:6-9 // Heb 11:1-2, 8-19 // Lk 12:32-48
(N.B. Series 8 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 C from the perspective of the Second Reading. For reflections on the Sunday liturgy of Year C based on the Gospel reading, please scroll up to the “ARCHIVES” above and open Series 2. For reflections based on the Old Testament reading, open Series 5.)
I. BIBLICO-LITURGICAL REFLECTIONS
Our spiritual journey continues at the Sunday celebration of the Eucharist. In last week’s liturgy, we saw that “wisdom” is a characteristic quality of Christian discipleship. The gift of wisdom enables us to set our priorities right and requires that we “seek what is above”. This Sunday’s liturgy invites us to be attentive to the demands of faith and heed the call to vigilant faith. Indeed, Christian faith entails readiness and expectation of eternal glory.
Today’s Second Reading (Heb 11:1-2, 8-19) introduces us into the meaning of faith. According to the author of the letter to the Hebrews, faith assures us of the reality of what is hoped for and gives evidence of things not seen. God’s own assurances are behind the object of our faith. Though we may not understand the events of our lives, we trust in the benevolent God and his saving word. Abraham and other patriarchs manifested great faith in God’s oath of salvation, which was fulfilled in due time. We therefore imitate our great ancestors in faith.
Harold Buetow comments: “Faith entails leaving behind all things that are less than God in order to be able to accept the God who contains all things … Faith gives a new outlook, a new set of values, a new world of meaning … Faith is backed by the best evidence in the world: God’s word. Most of the rest of the reading from the letter to the Hebrews is an illustration of its definition of faith. Faith puts us into the world of such First Testament models as Abraham and his wife Sarah. God promised Abraham that he would father a Son through whom his descendants would be as numerous as the stars. Because it was God speaking, the couple believed. But they were in the dark as to how and when God would fulfill His promise … And as they waited they relied on their confident assurance concerning what they hoped for. Only when their confident assurance was stretched to the limit – when Sarah was long past the age of child bearing and Abraham as good as dead – did God fulfill His promises of so many years earlier … God, to test Abraham even further, some years later asked him to give his young son Isaac as a living sacrifice. Despite his hope that through Isaac he would have descendants, he proposed to do so as God asked. It was only at the last moment that God prevented him from going through with his sacrifice. We, like Abraham, should let go and let God!”
The demands of faith likewise challenged Moses and the Israelites through the events of the Passover. The sad plight they experienced under the Egyptians was unbearable and the oppressors’ power seemed invincible. The Lord God promised to “pass over” them and deliver them from slavery. The Old Testament reading (Wis 18:6-9) extols the Lord’s act of deliverance of his people and the Israelites’ trust in God’s saving promise. On the night of the Exodus, the Israelites symbolized their trust in the divine power by celebrating the “Passover meal” commanded them by the Lord and which makes present ritually God’s mighty deeds.
Aelred Rosser explains: “This reading from the Book of Wisdom celebrates the long-promised deliverance that came to Israel on that fateful night. It celebrates the fidelity of God in fulfilling that promise. And it looks ahead confidently to the time when our final deliverance will come – when the promised Messiah will come in glory to restore and establish Israel in complete fullness.”
Jesus, the promised Messiah and our true liberator from sin and death, is the faith-filled person par excellence. Today he invites us to deepen our faith and calls us anew to vigilant faith (Lk 12:32-48). The liturgical scholar Adrian Nocent explicates: “Each is called, during the night of faith, to stand ready for the final encounter unto which God calls. This invitation and summons is most important. Everything else must take second place when it comes to having one’s lamp lit and trimmed, to being a faithful steward, to being always alert and watchful by the light of faith. That is the lesson of today’s celebration. The whole existence of the Church is a long, seemingly endless watch in which, century after century, she awaits her encounter with the Lord. She is ever alert and ready, confident as she is of the glory in store for her. Christ has promised that glory; more than that, he enables his Church to perceive the sign of it in the Eucharistic sacrifice.”
The following story illustrates models of vigilant faith in today’s situation (cf. Patricia Normile, “Caregivers Need Care Too” in SAINT ANTHONY MESSENGER, May 2010, p. 22-26). Both the caregiver and the dying person are animated with dynamic faith and lively vigilance. In our preparation for the eternal encounter with God, we must trust in his goodness, mercy and saving promise. The faith of a Christian is rooted, informed and deepened by the word of God spoken in his Son Jesus Christ.
Caregivers often share with patients the wisdom of Scripture and God’s mercy. A hospice visitor, Deacon Amado Lim of Blue Ash, Ohio, knew Richard well. World War II veteran, great story teller, man with a fine sense of humor, Richard (name has been changed) was a joy to visit. Then one evening Deacon Lim noted that he looked unusually sad. “I asked him why”, says the deacon. He said, “I was afraid.”
Richard continued, “I’ve shared many stories, but there’s one story I’ve not told you or anyone.” When Richard’s unit attacked a Nazi hiding place in Belgium, they met heavy fire and his best friend was mortally wounded. “I became livid”, Richard said. “I entered the building with my gun blazing. I saw two Nazi soldiers fall. I rushed toward them. They sprawled on the floor, covered with blood. I saw their faces. They were barely 12 years old – children! They didn’t say anything, just looked at me. Their faces were pleading, begging for mercy. My adrenaline pumped furiously. I shot them both. The faces of those boys have haunted me ever since. I cannot erase their images from my mind. Now I’m dying. I’m afraid to stand before God. He’ll never forgive me for what I did to those boys.”
Deacon Lim invited Richard to describe God. To Richard, God was a just God who rewards good and punishes evil. Voice trembling, Richard said that he couldn’t imagine God forgiving anyone who hurts children. Deacon Lim asked Richard to read aloud Bible stories describing God’s mercy. When the repentant criminal crucified on Calvary begged, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom”, Jesus replied, “Amen I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Lk 23:42-43). Richard wept. When Deacon Lim returned later, Richard smiled. “I’m no longer afraid. Jesus forgave the criminal. He forgives me because he knows how sorry I am.” Richard died two days later.
II. POINTS FOR THE EXAMINATION OF THE HEART
1. Do we meditate on the meaning of the Passover event for us Christian disciples? Like the Israelites through the events of the Exodus, do we put our trust in God’s benevolent promise of salvation?
2. How does the faith of Abraham, Sarah and other ancestors impact us? Like Abraham, our father in faith, are we ready to “let God and let go”? Do we experience in our daily life the assertion of the author of the letter to the Hebrews: “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen”?
3. Do we respond fully to Jesus’ call to vigilant faith? How do we prepare for the triumphant return of the Son of Man who comes unexpectedly? Do we believe in the promise of the Divine Master that the Father is pleased to give us the kingdom and that we ought not to be afraid any longer?
III. PRAYING WITH THE WORD
Leader: Loving Father,
how great was the faith of Abraham, Sarah and our ancestors
in your saving promise.
You are loving, gracious and kind.
You are true to your promise
and made Abraham the father of descendants
as numerous as the sand on the seashore and the stars on the sky.
We praise you for your faithfulness.
At the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt,
you manifested anew your tremendous power.
Great is your love – love without end!
You liberated the Israelites from oppression and slavery to Egypt.
You made them your covenant people.
Your chosen people
put their faith in your gracious oath to be their Savior
and waited for the coming Messiah.
In the fullness of time,
the promised Messiah became flesh and dwelt among us.
Your Son Jesus Christ is our true liberator.
By his obedient faith in your saving will
and by his paschal sacrifice on the cross,
he saved us all.
By his blood outpoured on the cross,
he made us people of the new covenant,
destined for eternal glory.
Help us to heed the call of Jesus
to live our faith in vigilance and readiness
for the advent of your kingdom of love, justice and peace.
Guide us to seek the things above.
Inform and deepen our faith by your living Word spoken in your Son Jesus.
Make us your faithful servants and your true adorers,
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.
“Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” (Heb 11:1)
V. TOWARDS LIFE TRANSFORMATION
A. ACTION PLAN: Pray that Christian disciples may learn to live in vigilant faith for the Lord’s coming. By our commitment to pursue justice, seek peace, protect human rights and give preferential concern to the poor and needy, let us allow our vigilant faith to make an impact on today’s fragmented society and prepare them for the definitive coming of the Lord’s kingdom at the end time.
B. ACTION PLAN: That we may grasp more deeply the meaning of the call to vigilant faith and be able to respond to it, 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 C, vol. 6, # 37).
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