Pastor's Letter 20230122- 22 January 2023 - Discipleship

[Father Michael]

January 22^nd, 2023

3^rd Sunday in Ordinary ‘Time

A Message from Father ^_†Michael

Today’s Theme:  “Discipleship”

Reflections on Today’s Scripture

(Isaiah 8: 23-9:3  Greater joy comes after sadness, and a deeper appreciation of God is found in His “absence.”  He taught the lessons of freedom through slavery’s chains and let His people discover light through the lessons of darkness.

As naturally occurring phenomena, light and darkness, as well as harvest and famine, have readily lent themselves to Scriptural authors as symbols for goodness and evil, life and death, salvation and punishment, etc.  The role of the Messiah was to bring “a great light” to the people, who “walked in the darkness” of sin.  As such, this prefigures Jesus’ ministry in the world.

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(1 Corinthians1:10-17)  Those who bring the Good News to others must be faithful and worthy of it.  Jesus drew” people into a community of believers who heard a consistent “message,” in preference to those who became enamored of one or another of the “messengers.” 

^†Paul had total conversion as the goal for his ministry.  When met with resistance, he presented the Good News of salvation more fervently, hoping to gather those who were resistant.  Directly confronting each factional group he encountered, ^†Paul reminded Christians of their basic unity was to be found in Christ, rather than any particular minister.

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(Matthew 4: 12-23)  To preach the most eloquent news the world would ever know, Jesus chose simple Galilean fishermen.  From this group, He began His Church, who, in turn, were called to discover the hidden values in the world’s “least likely.” 

^†Matthew shaped his Gospel with the intention of proclaiming Jesus as the fulfillment of all Israel’s centuries-old expectations.  Using a series of “fulfillment-quotations,” drawn from the Hebrew Scriptures, he provided us with a clue to the origin and purpose of Jesus’ work, and proved He was the Messiah.  Today, we hear how our Blessed Lord met people within the context of their daily lives, and called them to be heralds of His message of salvation (disciples,) to the world.  Similarly, He comes to us, as we are, and summons our assistance in this holy task.  

The Arrival of the Light

History is littered with examples of people who brought darkness into the world through their teachings.  Jesus’ teaching was, in contrast, truly a source of light to all who accepted Him. 

He showed the light of forgiveness and reconciliation when He said: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” 

He rejected the darkness of neglect and indifference, urging people to care for one another in His parable of the Good Samaritan.  The sick and wounded were rescued from their pain and illness and brought into the light of wellbeing.  

He rejected the darkness of domination and oppression, and urged those in positions of leadership not to lord it over people, but to serve them with gentleness and humility, in His teaching on authority.  Outcasts of society, suffering the darkness of rejection came into the acceptance of the community.

But, above all, it was through His deeds and encounters with people that He manifested His luminous goodness.  Those who came to Him in the “darkness” of sin went away bathed in the “light” of God’s grace and love.  Zacchaeus was clutched from greed and selfishness; Martha and Mary were brought out of their grief; and the Good Thief was called from hopelessness into the light of heaven.  

By rising from the dead, Christ scattered the darkness of the grave, and promised those who follow Him they will never walk in darkness, but always have the light of life.

But not everyone has welcomed Jesus’ light.  Sadly, some still refuse it, and remain mired in sin.  His call for repentance reminds us to acknowledge our emptiness and welcome Him to light our lives.  By living in His bright light, we become a source of light to others—disciples who bring a lamp for their steps and a light for their paths.

Continual Need for Salvation

Each of us has a “place” in our lives where we keep old hurts, hates, painful memories and fears locked away—our “messy basement,” or “unkempt attic,” if you will.  Even the “tidiest” home has its “junk drawers,” in which we place miscellaneous tidbits of our lives.  We don’t often talk about these areas, but instead, cover them and hide them away.  Yet, our “dark areas” are those that have the most need of light, and would benefit most from it.  

By extension, society has dark areas of fear, pain, illness, sin, guilt, loneliness, and so on, that it pretends not to notice.  One has only to consider the myriad homeless people living in our cities for a blatant example.

By introspection, however, we can assume our individual psyches are cluttered with such blights—"unwanted baggage,” to use common parlance.  Sometimes, it prevents us from becoming totally fulfilled human beings.  Occasionally, people are so encumbered by their hidden-away regrets and failings, they cannot function in the world.  It’s not difficult to understand how such conditions often spawn loneliness and despair.

That is why even the most “complete” people among us are “in need” of the salvation brought by the Light of Christ.  No matter how high one has risen in the hierarchy of human development (re: Maslow,) still, there remains the need for further refinement.  One of the guiding principles of Buddhism is that one can never attain “perfection.”  To guard against the anomie of such futility, Buddha reminds his followers that the reward is the continual pursuit.  

Similarly, for Christian disciples, we never lose the forgiveness of God due to our frailty as human beings.  His love for us is unconditional.  The only requirement that pervades our entire lives is that we recognize our need for His sanctifying grace, and constantly struggle to become more perfect individuals.  We must incorporate our beliefs into our daily routine, and share them with others—if not overtly, by example.  This too, is discipleship.  We become a beacon of truth to those who will look to us for confirmation.  Not everyone is endowed with the personality to preach, or reiterate memorized Scripture verses, but our very lives can stand as witness.

Though completion of the task may be beyond our mortal abilities, we are reminded to be aware of our insufficiencies and continually strive to do better.  It is for this very reason the Church fathers provided us the opportunity, at the beginning of every Holy Mass celebration, to receive General Absolution of our sins.  Focusing on our lowly status is not meant to humiliate us, but to give us perspective, and be illuminated with the light of Jesus.  

May God Richly Bless You!

Give Me the Wings of Faith.docx