14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Readings: Isaiah 66:10-14; Psalm65; Galatians 6:14-18; Luke 10:1-12, 17-20
Jesus's instruction to his disciples, 'salute no one on the road', seems odd for three reasons. One, it seems rude. Two, it seems unChristian! And three, it seems like a very bad strategy for people who have been sent out to preach.
They are to be single-minded, focused, intent on the mission they have been set. They are not to be distracted from that task even by good things. We see this urgency in the lives of the prophets and as a result many of them are 'odd'. They do not quite fit into the normal patterns of life. There is an urgency in their task and a single-mindedness in their pursuit of it. There are many distractions, even very good ones, from which they must keep themselves free and detached if they are to concentrate on their work. The Word of God has taken possession of them and they do seem possessed at times.
The kingdom of God which is very near is also very odd. It is not just an endorsement of the way things are. If it is about a new life and if it is about a grace coming from God then there will not be a perfect fit between the world and the kingdom. Something new is being announced, something different, something strange, something not heard before.
Jesus's teaching is not then practical in the sense in which the world might want things to be practical. It is not an alternative social, political, philosophical, or economic arrangement although it has implications for all those things. It alerts us to the deepest level there is, the love of God 'deep down things', and invites us to live from there, so giving us a new and unexpected freedom. It is not an alternative way of acting, an alternative way of making community. It raises questions about all acting, about all ways of making community.
The preaching of the gospel is, at its heart, the love of God abroad in the world. So it will be odd and strange, very near (nearer than we can imagine) but troubling, puzzling, new, a matter of grace.
Congrats on excellent blog. Very curious if the liberalisation of the tridentine rite will have any effect on life at Blackfriars.... Is there any possibility we might see the Dominican rite celebrated there again...?
ReplyDeleteThank you. Those words struck me yesterday.
ReplyDeleteMy PP preached on missing Mass being a mortal sin. Brave man as the church was full of visitors for a christening. He made comments about the hatch-match-despatch Catholics (he didn't call them that, but essentially that was what he was saying). He didn't go all the way with the message and explain why missing Mass was so bad-why the peace would be returned to those taking out the message-but I was struck by his courage in preaching on this at all.
God bless
What a wonderful thought.... one of the most beautiful and ancient liturgies celebrated again in the English Province of the Order of Preachers.....
ReplyDeletefocused, intent on a mission, undistracted...Imagine a workforce like that.
ReplyDeleteSeriously though this year I have had but just one aim. I want to study.
This will always be my aim and sometimes I am very single minded indeed. This tends to annoy those I love most quite a lot. Focusing in busy life is always hard, but sometimes you have to take the long view.
(Hang on..where did i hear that before? Oscar Romero? Oh yes.)
I also meant to say that your thoughts are just marvellous. This e - ministry lark is really reaching people who would never have come across Church/Jesus/Religion before. Amen to that.
ReplyDeleteWhat sort of obedient citizens are we called to be in this new Kingdom? Surly we will be shown how to be free slaves. Our new Master will be ourselves in our new freedom to chose the will of God ingrained and buried deep inside our human condition that is blurredly enslaved by our earthly conditions.
ReplyDelete