Jesus said to them: “Offer no resistance to one who is evil. When someone strikes you on your right cheek, turn the other one to them as well. If anyone wants to go to law with you over your tunic, hand them your cloak as well. Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with theme for two miles. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not turn your back on one who wants to borrow.”
Although the word “reverence” is not specifically mentioned in our readings, it summarizes their core message.
Jezebel has no reverence for human life. She is a conspirator, thief, and murderer. Jezebel has no moral code and only one interest in life – herself.
Jesus calls his followers to be the antithesis of Jezebel. We are to so reverence life and truth that we become like Jesus. We are to be peaceful, non-violent, forgiving, and generous – even toward the “jezebels” of this world.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
Wow! No easy challenge, but nonetheless essential for discipleship! We ask Jesus to give us insight into any selfishness in our hearts, and the courage to live according to his mandate.
Prose: from Dorothy Day
“The greatest challenge of the day is: how to bring about a revolution of the heart, a revolution which has to start with each one of us?
When we begin to take the lowest place, to wash the feet of others, to love our brothers and sisters with that burning love, that passion, which led to the Cross, then we can truly say, ‘Now I have begun.'”
The just one shall flourish like the palm tree, like a cedar of Lebanon shall they grow. They that are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. Psalm 92:13-14
This verse from Psalm 92 ties together all our readings for today.
In the passage from Exodus, God takes a tiny twig, protects and nourishes it, and it flourishes. The analogy describes God’s relationship with Israel and with us. We are called to flourish in the Kingdom of God.
In Corinthians, Paul expresses the conviction that we will receive our recompense according to how we flourish in response to God’s grace.
And in our Gospel, Jesus teaches that our faith – God’s gift to us – is the small seed that flourishes into eternal life, the fullness of life in God.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We realize that each of these flourishings begins with a tiny hope – a twig, a courageous aspiration, a mustard seed.
Such is life. It is the small but consistent acts of faith, hope, and love that eventually yield abundant harvest. – embracing us with all Creation in God’s complete Love.
Poetry: Mustard Seed – Meister Eckhart
I.
In the Beginning High above understanding Is ever the Word. O rich treasure, There the Beginning always bore the Beginning. O Father’s Breast, From thy delight The Word ever flows! Yet the bosom Retains the Word, truly.
II.
From the two as one source, The fire of love. The bond of both, Known to both, Flows the All-Sweet Spirit Co-equal, Undivided The Three are One. Do you understand why? No. It best understands itself.
III.
The bond of three Causes deep fear. Of this circle There is no understanding. Here is a depth without ground. Check and mate To time, forms, place! The wondrous circle Is the Principle, Its point never moves.
IV.
The mountain of this point Ascend without activity. O intellect! The road leads you Into a marvelous desert, So broad, so wide, It stretches out immeasurably. The desert has, Neither time nor place, Its mode of being is singular.
V.
The good desert No foot disturbs it, Created being Never enters there: It is, and no one knows why.
It is here, it is there, It is far, it is near, It is deep, it is high, It is in such a way That it is neither this nor that.
VI.
It is light, it is clear, It is totally dark, It is unnamed, It is unknown, Free of beginning or end. It stands still, Pure, unclothed. Who knows its dwelling? Let him come forth And tells us what sort it is.
VII.
Become like a child, Become deaf, become blind. Your own something Must become nothing; Drive away all something, all nothing! Leave place, leave time, Avoid even image! Go without a way On the narrow path, Then you will find the desert’s track.
VIII.
O my soul, Go out, let God in! Sink all my something In God’s nothing. Sink in the bottomless flood! If I flee from You, You come to me. If I lose myself, Then I find You, O Goodness above being!
Music: The Ride of the Valkyries – Richard Wagner
I love to listen to this masterpiece when I imagine God opening heaven to all Creation at the end of time.
Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Matthew 5: 23-24
Jesus teaches a profound lesson in today’s Gospel. We cannot be in balance with God if we are out of balance with our neighbor.
In the “court” of God’s justice, that balance resides not in judgment or vengeance. It resides in a love beyond “liking” — in reconciliation, forgiveness, mercy, patience, hospitality, reverence, and service toward one another.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We realize that we can’t like everybody. We can’t feel good toward everybody. We can’t approve of everybody. But we can choose to be Christlike to everybody.
May we grow in that grace, inspired by the awareness that we are One in God with all Creation.
Poetry: One Hundred Love Sonnets: XVII – Pablo Neruda
I don’t love you as if you were a rose of salt, topaz, or arrow of carnations that propagate fire: I love you as one loves certain obscure things, secretly, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom but carries the light of those flowers, hidden, within itself, and thanks to your love the tight aroma that arose from the earth lives dimly in my body.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where, I love you directly without problems or pride: I love you like this because I don’t know any other way to love, except in this form in which I am not nor are you, so close that your hand upon my chest is mine, so close that your eyes close with my dreams.
You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. Matthew 5:14-16
Jesus tells us to let our light shine before others. Is this an invitation to show off or be prideful? Definitely not. It is a call to shine with “beatitudenal goodness” that gives glory to God.
We can take Jesus’s words as an invitation to spiritual transparency. We should, by our actions and choices, proclaim that we live in faith, hope, charity, and gratitude. The important part of the lampstand is the flame that it lifts up. So too with us – the important part of our faith is the witness it gives to the Gospel.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We pray for the simplicity and integrity of soul that allows God to shine through us.
Poetry: Let Your Light Shine – Marianne Williamson
Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us, it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.
Music: We Are the Light of the World – Jean A. Greif
When Israel was a child I loved him, out of Egypt I called my son. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk, who took them in my arms; I drew them with human cords, with bands of love; I fostered them like one who raises an infant to his cheeks; Yet, though I stooped to feed my child, they did not know that I was their healer. Hosea 11:1;3-4
Our readings today invite us to pray with the profoundly beautiful image of the Sacred Heart, the mystery of divinity and humanity united in the person of Jesus. The tenderness of Hosea flows into Paul’s description of the “inscrutable riches of Christ”. These passages culminate in John’s depiction of the unbroken body of Jesus on the Cross.
Together, these readings present us with the mystery of love fulfilled by sacrifice, a reality we may resist in our lives, but one that is nevertheless true. All love entails sacrifice. Jesus loves us completely and sacrificed his Sacred Heart completely for that Love.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We pray to grow in our understanding of the Cross and of the mystery of Love as revealed to us in the Sacred Heart.
Poetry: To the Sacred Heart of Jesus – Thérèse of Lisieux, translated by Donald Kinney, OCD
At the holy sepulchre, Mary Magdalene, Searching for her Jesus, stooped down in tears. The angels wanted to console her sorrow, But nothing could calm her grief. Bright angels, it was not you Whom this fervent soul came searching for. She wanted to see the Lord of the Angels, To take him in her arms, to carry him far away.
Close by the tomb, the last one to stay, She had come well before dawn. Her God also came, veiling his light. Mary could not vanquish him in love! Showing her at first his Blessed Face, Soon just one word sprang from his Heart, Whispering the sweet name of: Mary, Jesus gave her back her peace, her happinesss.
O my God, one day, like Mary Magdalene, I wanted to see you and come close to you. I looked down over the immense plain Where I sought the Master and King, And I cried, seeing the pure wave, The starry azure, the flower, and the bird. “Bright nature, if I do not see God, You are nothing to me but a vast tomb.”
I need a heart burning with tenderness Who will be my support forever, Who loves everything in me, even my weakness… And who never leaves me day or night.” I could find no creature Who could always love me and never die. I must have a God who takes on my nature And becomes my brother and is able to suffer!
You heard me, only Friend whom I love. To ravish my heart, you became man. You shed your blood, what a supreme mystery!… And you still live for me on the Altar. If I cannot see the brilliance of your Face Or hear your sweet voice, O my God, I can live by your grace, I can rest on your Sacred Heart!
O Heart of Jesus, treasure of tenderness, You Yourself are my happiness, my only hope. You who knew how to charm my tender youth, Stay near me till the last night. Lord, to you alone I’ve given my life, And all my desires are well known to you. It’s in your ever-infinite goodness That I want to lose myself, O Heart of Jesus!
Ah! I know well all our righteousness Is worthless in your sight. To give value to my sacrifices, I want to cast them into your Divine Heart. You did not find your angels without blemish. In the midst of lightning you gave your law!… I hide myself in your Sacred Heart, Jesus. I do not fear, my virtue is You!…
To be able to gaze on your glory, I know we have to pass through fire. So I, for my purgatory, Choose your burning love, O heart of my God! On leaving this life, my exiled soul Would like to make an act of pure love, And then, flying away to Heaven, its Homeland, Enter straightaway into your Heart.
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for you. Mark 14: 22-24
Prose: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin – ‘The Priest’, in Writings in Time of War
Your life is so much stronger than ours that it dominates us, absorbs us, and assimilates us to itself…. Although I might have imagined that it was I who held the consecrated Bread and gave myself its nourishment, I now see with blinding clarity that it is the Bread that takes hold of me and draws me to itself.
Music: Ave Verum Corpus – attributed to Pope Innocent (13th century); set to music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (18th century); performed here by The Romanian Foundation for Excellence in Music
Ave verum corpus, natum de Maria Virgine, vere passum, immolatum in cruce pro homine cuius latus perforatum fluxit aqua et sanguine: esto nobis praegustatum in mortis examine.
[O Iesu dulcis, O Iesu pie, O Iesu, fili Mariae. Miserere mei. Amen]
Hail, true Body, born of the Virgin Mary, having truly suffered, sacrificed on the cross for mankind, from whose pierced side water and blood flowed: Be for us a sweet foretaste in the trial of death!
[O sweet Jesus, O holy Jesus, O Jesus, son of Mary, have mercy on me. Amen.]
As Jesus was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a sizable crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind man, the son of Timaeus, sat by the roadside begging. On hearing that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.” Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
Bartimaeus threw aside his cloak, sprang up, and came to Jesus. Jesus said to him in reply, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man replied to him, “Master, I want to see.” Jesus told him, “Go your way; your faith has saved you.”
Bartimaeus wants to be healed. He wants to see. But Jesus tells him that he is not healed by his desire, or his begging, or his good fortune in running into Jesus. Bartimaeus is healed by his faith because that faith draws forth from Jesus the Divine Power which transforms.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We can be blind in many ways.
Often we can’t see what’s right in front of us.
We can’t see why others may think differently from us
We can’t see the underlying reasons for our circumstances.
We can’t see the path to wholeness that may be obvious to others.
We can’t see the suffering world around us
We can’t see the invisible support that others give us, perhaps over our lifetime.
We can’t see the abiding presence of God in our lives
Like Bartimaeus may we call out to Jesus in faith so that he will be moved to help us SEE all that may bring us closer to the Divine Heart.
Poetry: Bartimaeus – John Newton
John Newton was an English Anglican clergyman, abolitionist, and hymn writer. He is best known as the author of the hymn “Amazing Grace,” one of the most beloved and widely sung hymns in the English language. Newton’s life was marked by a dramatic conversion experience, after which he abandoned his career in the slave trade and became an outspoken advocate for the abolition of slavery.
Mercy, O thou Son of David! Thus blind Bartimaeus prayed; Others by thy word are saved, Now to me afford thine aid: Many for his crying chid him, But he called the louder still; Till the gracious Saviour bid him Come, and ask me what you will.
Money was not what he wanted, Though by begging used to live; But he asked, and Jesus granted Alms, which none but he could give: Lord remove this grievous blindness, Let my eyes behold the day; Strait he saw, and won by kindness, Followed Jesus in the way.
O! methinks I hear him praising, Publishing to all around; Friends, is not my case amazing? What a Saviour I have found: O! that all the blind but knew him, And would be advised by me! Surely, would they hasten to him, He would cause them all to see.
Moses said to the people: “Ask now of the days of old, before your time, ever since God created man upon the earth; ask from one end of the sky to the other: Did anything so great ever happen before? Was it ever heard of? Did a people ever hear the voice of God speaking from the midst of fire, as you did, and live?
…This is why you must now know, and fix in your heart, that the LORD is God in the heavens above and on earth below, and that there is no other. Deuteronomy 4:32-33;39
Moses invites the people to fix their hearts on God Who amazes us in Divine Self-revelation.
With the solemn celebration of Trinity Sunday, the Church acknowledges the fullness of this revelation in Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier.
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
Have you ever heard the expression, “I will cover you in prayer”? When a friend says that, we are blessed with the gifts of presence, comfort, accompaniment, hope, and love.
In revealing the Trinity to us, God has covered us with the same gifts. We are called to “fix” our faith and living on this indescribable blessing, the way one would fix a tent by placing the pegs with care and attention.
Prose: from Pope Francis
We can study the whole history of salvation, we can study the whole of Theology, but without the Spirit we cannot understand.
It is the Spirit that makes us realize the truth or — in the words of Our Lord — it is the Spirit that makes us know the voice of Jesus.
Music: O Lux Beata Trinitas – An Ambrosian Hymn, arranged by Ola Gjeilo, sung by ACJC Alumni Choir (Singapore)
The Ambrosian hymns are a collection of early hymns of the Latin liturgical rites, whose core of four hymns were by Ambrose of Milan in the 4th century. The hymns of this core were enriched with another eleven to form the Old Hymnal, which spread from the Ambrosian Rite of Milan throughout Lombard Italy, Visigothic Spain, Anglo-Saxon England and the Frankish Empire during the early medieval period (6th to 8th centuries); in this context, therefore, the term “Ambrosian” does not imply authorship by Ambrose himself, to whom only four hymns are attributed with certainty, but includes all Latin hymns composed in the style of the Old Hymnal.
Beloved: Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone in good spirits? He should sing a song of praise…
…The fervent prayer of a righteous person is very powerful. Elijah was a man like us; yet he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain upon the land. Then Elijah prayed again, and the sky gave rain and the earth produced its fruit. James 5:13; 16-18
James tells us that prayer must be woven seamlessly into our lives. His remarks may remind us of Paul’s well-known exhortation to “Pray always!”
In our Gospel, Jesus tells us that a childlike innocence is essential to full union with God. In prayer, we are with God the way a child is with a loved and trusting parent. Jesus taught us this when he chose to begin his prayer, “Our Father …”
Today, in God’s Lavish Mercy:
We ask for the grace of spiritual innocence, allowing us to trust God’s Presence in every aspect of our lives. Doing this, we keep an inner recognition and dialogue with God – we “pray always”
Poetry: Praying – Mary Oliver
It doesn’t have to be the blue iris, it could be weeds in a vacant lot, or a few small stones; just pay attention, then patch
a few words together and don’t try to make them elaborate, this isn’t a contest but the doorway
into thanks, and a silence in which another voice may speak.
Lavish Mercy 