"Sunday is a day for the Lord, not Peyton Manning or Roger Goodell." 1 Joey Scott, 1:1-5
I am trying to take Sundays not just as a day of rest, but also a day to study and learn and become closer to God.
My thoughts of the day come from the Mass and Catholic Cafe today at Our Lady of Sorrows here in Wahiawa officiated by Fr. David Lupo.
The first reading comes from the Book of Sirach 35: 12-18. In it, we are told to give within our means to the Lord, not in bribes, but of ourselves and our treasure which will be repaid sevenfold by God.
The second reading comes from 2 Timothy 4: 6-8, 16-18. It was a beautiful reading that spoke of how when St. Paul's time was ending, that he recognized it and said, "For I am already being poured out like a libation, and the time of my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." Then Paul continued a few verses later, "At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen."
The Gospel came from the Book of Luke 18: 9-14. In it was a parable spoken by the Lord, “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
All three readings can be interpreted as having a significant impact on how we view our own lives.
With the words from Sirach, we must remember that everything we earn, the fruits of our labor, should not be kept to ourselves but rather, should be shared with others. Whether it be through tithe (which all of us are guilty of forgetting) or charitable donations to the needy, we must give of our earnings. But, we must not forget that these are not to be seen or interpreted as bribes to God as it says in the reading. Lest we will be the kind of Christians that spark Reformations that shake history. (i.e. the indulgences sold to the wealthy that ignited Martin Luther.) Sirach is an interesting book of the Bible because many of us are ignorant, even of its existence due to it's exclusion from the Bibles of most Protestant denominations. Sirach comes to us from a Jewish scribe named Joshua ben Sirach or in Hellenized form, Jesus the Son of Sirach of Jerusalem. His teachings mainly reflect on ethics. In that aspect, it can be compared to Proverbs. He catches a lot of flak for his views on women and slavery. But, we have to remember that he was a man and thus was conflicted in his philosophies as many of us are when we are deciding what we believe. In one verse he may say, "Better is the wickedness of a man than a woman who does good; and it is a woman who brings shame and disgrace" Yet, on another, will say "He who acquires a wife gets his best possession,a helper fit for him and a pillar of support". Again, he is a human being and not without flaws.
With the second reading from 2 Timothy, we see the awesomeness that was Saint Paul. Paul is an interesting figure in history because he was a man of all sides. A Pharisee and Roman that persecuted Christians, Paul saw the light on a road to Damascus and soon became one of the most influential apostles in history. In 2 Timothy, we hear the eloquence of Paul in one of my favorite books in the Bible. Because this man who has spent the latter part of his life preaching the Gospel, knows that through his faith and good works, he will be rewarded with everlasting life with a crown of righteousness. I hope that when my time comes, that I will be at ease and content with the life I have lived to say that "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have kept the faith."
With the Gospel from Luke, we see a classic parable from Jesus. In it, we are told of a Pharisee in Pharisee fashion, that is gloating and praising himself for his devoutness compared to others. Kind of like today how we see people putting their devoutness on blast and scorning others for not following their same lifestyle. In my opinion, it's great that you feel that strongly about your faith but remember one word: Humility. Your devout faith kind of loses its meaning when it comes to be seen as a status symbol rather than a personal, private relationship with God. Anyways, in the reading the Pharisee compares himself to a Publican or Tax Collector. Talk about a dirty job. If you think people hate taxes now, think of how much they did back then when it wasn't just your treasure that was taken, but also your crops and livestock. The Jews didn't want to be friends with you because you were ripping them off and shaving extra funds, and the Romans didn't want to be friends with you because you were a Jew and were thought to be gipping them too. (This is paraphrased from Fr. David Lupo.) But while this Pharisee was extolling himself and his virtues, the Tax Collector simply looked to the Lord and admitted that he was a humble sinner and sought the grace of God. Who do you think received justification from God? The gloater or the humble sinner? To quote the passage again, "For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted." I am taking this and will try to remember it in the choices I make daily.
After the Mass, we had a Catholic Cafe which was very nice. I was the only haole under 30 in the room which I think was more insightful because I was able to hear the beliefs of older people from different cultures. The topic of the discussion was a relationship with Mary, Mother of God. It started with a discussion of the Rosary and what it means to each individual person. The Rosary is something that is personal and thus is unique to everyone. The Church does not tell you how to pray it besides the prayers and mysteries. One person sings while she prays, while the book nerd in me prefers to read scripture as I meditate and reflect on what each mystery means to me personally. Fr. Lupo spoke of how we as Catholics need to be careful not to worship Mary as a God, which is something I think a lot of Catholics do without realizing it. I heard the story of a 90 year old Filipino woman that said that it took until she was 80 to see Mary in a different light: as a human being that relates to us through her motherhood, good works, and suffering. This is a part of Mary that I think many forget to reflect on. That she was a woman chosen to carry the Son of God, but was still a woman. Not a God. It was a great time and I look forward to the one next month.
Remember to be humble in all that you do, and you will be exalted.
To close this posting, I leave you with a blessing:
May love and laughter light your days,
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life's passing seasons
bring the best to you and yours!
