Monday of the Twenty-second Week in Ordinary Time
I am a bit of a news junkie. I read newspapers and watch several news channels nearly every day. Recently, I have
decided it is too much for me. I can get hooked on certain stories and events around the world and, before I know it, I feel the need to check in a little too often at the expense of my peace of mind and heart. One of the problems is that I feel the need to take sides on whatever issue is being discussed and I know I only have part of the story. When I looked at the readings today, I realized that this is where I actually live—only knowing part of the story. How can I make judgments when so much of the truth is hidden from me? I really only know part of the story.
Today’s Gospel is one of my favorite readings from the entire New Testament. It’s one of those passages that relates so much that it brings tears to my eyes and I can barely read it without choking up. Jesus stands in the temple reading a Scripture from Isaiah declaring his mission. The people are amazed! As the passage progresses, Jesus loses more and more of the people’s esteem as he relates the deeper truth of what he has proclaimed. Just as the prophets who preceded him, his message of salvation will be preached to the people of Israel. And just as the prophets before him, his message will actually be ‘received’ by those who are not of the nation of Israel. He reminds the people of Elijah and the widow and Elisha and Naaman the Syrian. These ‘outsiders’ are offered the word of God and receive it in their hearts; they live in the righteousness of God and the Israelites miss the point. The people in the synagogue who were listening to Jesus with such amazement turn against him and actually try to run him over a cliff. They could not fathom that anyone outside the nation of Israel could be included in God’s plan. And so this raises questions about so much of what I hear on the news and situations in my own personal life. As I ponder this please bear with me!
The story of Michael Brown which has dominated the news for the last few weeks is terribly disturbing. Riots in the streets, police brutality, racial injustice, and outside instigators are all part of the news. I have two brothers-in-law who are policemen and not a day goes by that I do not pray for their safety. I also have friends who are persons of color and have experienced racial profiling as well as unjustified traffic stops. Where is my heart when it comes to taking sides in all of this? Another disturbing item is the rise of a group called ISIL in the Middle East.
They are depicted as savage and evil and destructive to anyone who lives outside of their ideology. There is no question this group has demonstrated their proclivity for evil. Where is my heart when it comes to taking sides on this issue? What about the immigrant children from Central America? What about the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians? About Russia and Ukraine?
I cannot know what is in another person’s heart or what they have endured. There are many people in my own community that have suffered such terrible abuse and neglect in their own families that they have not been able to allow God to raise them above the results of it. What I do know for certain is that Jesus came in the flesh and sacrificed himself for all humanity. I do know that even the person I find most undeserving and despicable can find redemption through Jesus. I cannot write-off anyone! Nor can I write-off any group of people. I do not hold the key to the Kingdom to the exclusion of others. When I find myself tempted to do this I am not seeing as God sees. Also, I am not being open to the wisdom of God that St Paul talks about in the today’s reading from l Corinthians—“ that your faith may not rest on human wisdom but on the power of God”.
I may know when an act is evil. I may know when I see injustice. But I cannot know what God’s plan is for that person or group of people is to the point of making judgments across the board. I only know part of the story. What I can do is examine my own heart. I can pay attention to the stirrings within me that reveal the brokenness and/or prejudice that prevent me from seeing the truth of what Jesus has revealed. I can take each encounter with another person as an encounter with Christ and promote the deeper truth of what he reveals—that he came for all of us. Not one is excluded from this gift. This day, I pray my heart will receive the fullness of truth that has been revealed by Jesus rather than that ‘part of the story’ I hear from others.
--Gail Lyman