Two Ways Of Living

"Blessed is the man 

who does not go where the wicked gather,

or stand in the way of sinners,

or sit where the scoffers sit!

Instead, he finds delight in the law of YAHWEH

and meditates day and night 

on HIS commandments.

He is like a tree beside a brook

producing its fruit in due season,

its leaves never withering.

Everything he does is a success.

But it is different with the wicked.

They are like chaff

driven away by the wind.

For YAHWEH knows the way of the righteous

but cuts off the way of the wicked."

- Psalm 1:1-2. 3. 4. 6

(The sharp contrast between the virtuous and the wicked is characteristic of the Hebrew thought and its uncompromising literary expression.  The psalmist was conscious of the mixture of good and bad in himself and in others around him.  As St. Paul said much later--and he spoke for everyone--'I can want to do what is right, but I am unable to do it' [Romans 7:18].  Aware of this tension in ourselves, we recite this psalm with a feeling of hypocrisy.  This is no proclamation of one's own virtue but a constant self-reminder that we all have a choice.  We may never reach the extremes either of virtue or of vice, but we are at every moment making for one or the other.  It is salutary to remind ourselves what the end of each road is.  It is better still to remember that we have a powerful companion along the virtuous road, but along the wicked one, we are alone.) 

On-Site

On-Track 

Woe To You, Pharisees!

"As JESUS was speaking, a Pharisee asked HIM to have a meal with him.  So,
HE went and sat at table.  The Pharisee then wondered why JESUS did not first wash HIS hands before dinner.  But the LORD said to him, 'So then, you Pharisees, you clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside yourselves you are full of greed and evil.  Fools!  HE who made the outside, also made the inside.  But according to you, by the mere giving of alms everything is made clean'." - Luke 11:37-41   

 

(Scripture does not demand these ritual purifications that Mark also mentions in 7:3, but the teachers of JESUS' time insisted they were necessary.  JESUS rebels against these new religious obligations.  Why do they not pay more attention to inner purification?) 

On-Site

The Comparison Of Sarah And Hagar

"It says that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman, the other by the free woman, his wife.  The son of the slave woman was born in the ordinary way; but the son of the free woman was born in fulfillment of GOD's promise.

Here we have an allegory and the figures of two covenants.  The first is the one from Mount Sinai, represented through Hagar: her children have slavery for their lot.  We know that Hagar was from Mount Sinai in Arabia: she stands for the present city of Jerusalem which is in slavery with her children.

But the Jerusalem above, who is our mother, is free.  And Scripture says of her: Rejoice, barren woman without children, break forth in shouts of joy, you who do not know the pains of childbirth, for many shall be the children of the forsaken mother, more than of the married woman.

You, dearly beloved, are children of the promise, like Isaac.  But as at that time the child born according to the flesh persecuted Isaac, who was born according to the spirit, so is it now.  And what does Scripture say?  Cast out the slave woman and her son, for the son of the slave cannot share the inheritance with the son of the free woman.

Brethren, we are not children of the slave woman, but of the free woman.

CHRIST freed us to make us really free.  So, remain firm and do not submit again the yoke of slavery." - Galatians 4:22-5:1  

At the start of sacred history is Abraham's faith and the promise GOD made to him.  It should be noted that this promise was not to be inherited in the same way as family goods, which had to be distributed among all the children.  The promise will not come to Ishmael born like any other.  [Paul says: "born according to the flesh".]  Rather, what GOD promised was only destined for the son of promise, Isaac: the one who was born through a miraculous and free intervention of GOD.  Thus, from the very beginning of the Bible, we see that we do not come to faith and to GOD's inheritance because we have a right to them, but through grace.

By clinging to their religious observances, the Jews were forgetting that they were, above all, the people of the promise.  Chosen by GOD in preference to other people, their mission was to announce that there are promises of GOD for all nations.  They were wrong in thinking thus: since we are chosen by GOD, let everyone do what we do and observe our practices.  Instead, they should have shared their hopes with others; they should have taught others to believe in GOD's promise and not put their trust in particular religious practices.

Hagar, the slave woman who gave birth to Ishmael, ancestor of the Arabs, becomes the image of the people of the first covenant, people who received the Law on Mount Sinai in Arabia: they did not achieve true freedom and held the earthly Jerusalem as their capital.

While Sarah, the free woman, with her son Isaac, born according to the divine promise, represents GOD's new covenant with those who believe in HIS promises.  These are the free people, the Christians who wait for the heavenly Jerusalem.

Ishmael persecuted Isaac and Abraham sent him away.  This means: the inadequately converted Jews are disturbing the Galatians; the Church, then, has to send them away.)

On-Site

I Prayed And Wisdom Was Given To Me

"I prayed and understanding was given to me; I asked earnestly, and the spirit of Wisdom came to me.

I preferred her to scepters and thrones, and I considered wealth as nothing compared with her.

I preferred her to any jewel of inestimable value, since gold beside her is nothing but a few grains of sand, and silver but mud.  I loved her more than wealth and beauty and even preferred her to light, because her radiance never dies.

She brought with her all-other good things, untold riches in her hands." - Wisdom 7:7-11

 

(All this page is an invitation to seek Wisdom as one would seek a spouse: we remember that at this time sovereign rulers would "espouse" such and such divinity which allowed them at times to take possession, in the name of their spouse, of the treasures in its temple [2 Maccabees 1:14].  Seeking the Wisdom of GOD is no different from what we do when we speak of union with CHRIST: we must not forget that HE is uncreated Wisdom.  This communion is not a matter of something sentimental: it is the costly and never-ending search for the one who is the Truth.

I preferred her to any jewel of inestimable value.  See Matthew 13:44-45.)

On-Site 

Blessed Is The One Who Gave YOU Birth!

"As JESUS was speaking, a woman spoke from the crowd and said to HIM, 'Blessed is the one who gave YOU birth and nursed YOU!'  JESUS replied, 'Truly blessed are those who hear the word of GOD and keep it as well.'" - Luke 11:27-28  

(Blessed is the one who gave YOU birth!  This woman envies the mother of JESUS and is full of admiration for HIS way of speaking.  She is mistaken if she thinks that JESUS' relatives can be proud on HIS account, and she is wasting her time if she admires HIS words instead of making them her own.  So JESUS turns her towards the FATHER, whose word HE gives, and to herself, whom GOD invites to the family of HIS sons and daughters.

As for Mary, the mother of JESUS, the one who believed [1:45], she kept all the words and deeds of the LORD in her heart [Luke 2:51].

On-Site 

JESUS And Beelzebul

"One day JESUS was driving out a dumb demon.  When the demon had been driven out, the mute person could speak, and the people were amazed.  Yet some of them said, 'HE drives out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the chief of the demons.'  So, others wanted to put HIM to the test by asking HIM for a heavenly sign. 

But JESUS knew their thoughts and said to them, 'Every nation divided by civil war is on the road to ruin and will fall.  If Satan also is divided, his empire is coming to an end.  How can you say that I drive out demons by calling upon Beelzebul?  If I drive them out by Beelzebul, by whom do your fellow members drive out demons?  They will be your judge, then. 

But suppose I drive out demons by the finger of GOD; would not this mean that the kingdom of GOD has come upon you?  As long as the strong and armed man guards his house, his goods are safe.  But when a stronger one attacks and overcomes him, the challenger takes away all the weapons he relied on and disposes of his spoils.

Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me, scatters.

When the evil spirit goes out of a person, it wanders through dry lands looking for a resting place.  And finding none, it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.'  When it comes, it finds the house swept and everything in order.  Then it goes to fetch seven other spirits even worse than itself.  They move in and settle there, so that the last state of that person is worse than the first.'" - Luke 11:14-26 

(HE drives out demons by the power of Beelzebul.  More than the healings, the exorcisms unsettled the Pharisees and the Teachers of the Law.  They, the religious authorities, traveled from Jerusalem to see this JESUS for themselves.  The Jews of JESUS' time were obsessed with the belief that illness was a form of possession.  JESUS does not concern HIMSELF with distinguishing between illness and possession.  Actually, the Devil is behind all human misery.  Beelzebul, the name of an ancient idol, was a Jewish term for the Devil.

 

By the finger of GOD.  In Exodus 8:15, the same expression is used to designate the power of GOD working miracles.

 

Whoever is not with ME...  This phrase seems to contradict Luke 9:50:  Whoever is not against you is with you. In fact, in Luke 9:50, JESUS admits that HIS spiritual family goes much beyond the visible group of HIS disciples:  those who, without belonging to the church, work for the same goals, must be considered as friends.

 

In Luke 11:23, on the other hand, JESUS speaks of people who refuse to stand with HIM and HIS message and who want to remain uncommitted:  they do not join HIM, and later they will criticize HIM.

 

The Jews believed that evil spirits preferred to live in the desert or, rather, that GOD had banished them there.  Here JESUS is speaking of people who only believe for a while because they do not repent enough of their past sins.  They enjoyed listening to the word, but they did not take the costly measures that would have allowed them to heal the root of evil.)

On-Site

Knock And It Will Be Opened To You

"Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened.  For everyone who asks, receives; whoever seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.  Would any of you give a stone to your son, when he asks for bread?  Or give him a snake, when he asks for a fish?  However bad you may be, you know how to give good things to your children.  How much more, then, will your FATHER in heaven give good things to those who ask HIM!

So, do to others whatever you would that others do to you: there, you have the law and the prophets." - Matthew 7:7-12 

(Knock and it will be opened to you.  A page from Father Molinie is a commentary on this verse.  "If GOD does not open up at once, it is not because HE enjoys making us wait.  If we must persevere in prayer, it is not because we need a set number of invocations, but rather because a certain quality, a certain way of prayer is required.  If we were able to have that at the beginning, our prayer would be heard immediately.

"Prayer is the groaning of the Holy Spirit in us as Saint Paul says.  Yet, we need repetition for this groaning to open a path in our stony heart, just as the drop of water wastes away the hardest rocks.  When we have repeated the Our Father and the Hail Mary with perseverance, one day we can pray them in a way that is in perfect harmony with GOD's will.  HE HIMSELF was waiting for this groaning, the only one which can move HIM since, in fact, it comes from HIS own heart.

"As long as we have not played this note, or rather, drawn it from within, GOD cannot be conquered.  It is not that GOD defends HIMSELF since HE is pure tenderness and fluidity, but as long as there is nothing similar in us, the current cannot pass between HIM and us.  Man gets tired of praying, yet if he perseveres instead of losing heart, he will gradually let go of his pride until being exhausted and overcome, he obtains much more than he could have wished for.")

On-Site

LORD, Teach Us To Pray

"One day JESUS was praying in a certain place and when HE had finished, one of HIS disciples said to HIM, 'LORD, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.'  And JESUS said to them, 'When you pray, say this:

          FATHER, hallowed be YOUR name,

          may YOUR kingdom come,

          give us each day the kind of bread we need,

          and forgive us our sins, for we also forgive all who do us wrong,

          and do not bring us to the test'." - Luke 11:1-4   

(The apostles already knew how to pray and they prayed in common, as all the Jews did, in the synagogue and at key times during the day.  Yet, in living close to JESUS they discovered a new way to live in close fellowship and they felt a need to address the FATHER differently.  JESUS waited for them to ask HIM to teach them how to pray.)

On-Site

Martha And Mary

"As JESUS and HIS disciples were on their way, HE entered a village, and a woman called Martha welcomed HIM to her house.  She had a sister named Mary, who sat down at the LORD's feet to listen to HIS words.  Martha, meanwhile, was busy with all the serving, and finally she said, 'LORD, don't YOU care that my sister has left me to do all the work?  Tell her to help me!'

But the LORD answered, 'Martha, Martha, you worry and are troubled about many things, whereas only one thing is needed.  Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her.'" - Luke 10:38-42  

(Many things seem to be necessary in a family: cleaning, preparing meals, looking after the children.  If there is no time to listen to others, what is life worth?  Perhaps we do many things in the service of GOD and our neighbor; only one thing nevertheless is necessary for us all: being available for JESUS when HE is present.

Mary has chosen the better part.  She followed only her instinct, but JESUS sees more: HE will not be there much longer, and in any case HIS presence among us is always brief.  Mary has been able to take hold of these brief moments when JESUS could be hers, and she is HIS while listening to HIM.)

On-Site   

The Good Samaritan

"Then a teacher of the Law came and began putting JESUS to the test.  And he said, 'Master, what shall I do to receive eternal life?'  JESUS replied, 'What is written in the Scripture?  How do you understand it?'  The man answered, 'It is written:  You shall love the LORD your GOD with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength and with all your mind.  And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.'  JESUS replied, 'What a good answer!  Do this and you shall live.'  The man wanted to keep up appearances, so he replied, 'Who is my neighbor?

JESUS then said, 'There was a man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell into the hands of robbers.  They stripped him and went off leaving him half-dead.

It happened that a priest was going along that road and saw the man, but passed by on the other side.  Likewise a Levite saw the man and passed by on the other side.  But a Samaritan, too, was going that way, and when he came upon the man, he was moved with compassion.  He went over to him and treated his wounds with oil and wine and wrapped them with bandages.  Then he put him on his mount and brought him to an inn where he took care of him.

The next day he had to set off, but he gave two silver coins to the innkeeper and told him:  'Take care of him and whatever you spend on him, I will repay when I come back.' 

JESUS then asked, 'Which of these three, do you think, made himself neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?'  The teacher of the Law answered, 'The one who had mercy on him.'  And JESUS said, 'Go then and do the same'." - Luke 10:25-37 

(Who is my neighbor?  The teacher of the Law expected to be given the precise limits of his obligation. Whom was he supposed to look after?  Members of his family?  People of his own race?  Or perhaps everybody?

 

It is significant that JESUS concludes HIS story with a different question:  Which of the three made himself neighbor?  It is as if HE said:  do not try to figure out who is your neighbor, listen instead to the call within you, and become a neighbor, be close to your brother or sister in need.  As long as we see the command to love as an obligation, we do not love as GOD wants.

 

Love does not consist simply in being moved by another person's distress.  Notice how the Samaritan stopped by in spite of it being a dangerous place, how he paid for the expenses and promised to take care of whatever else might be necessary.  Instead of just "being charitable" he took unconditional and uncalculated risks for a stranger.

 

On one occasion, Martin Luther King pointed out that love is not satisfied with comforting those who suffer:  "To begin with, we must be the good Samaritan to those who have fallen along the way.  This, however, is only the beginning.  Then, some day we will necessarily have to realize that the road to Jericho must be made in such a way that men and women are not constantly beaten and robbed while they are traveling along the paths of life."

 

With this example, JESUS also makes us see that, many times, those who seem to be religious officials, or who believe they fulfill the law, are incapable of loving.  It was a Samaritan, considered a heretic by the Jews, who took care of the wounded man.

 

For the Jews, neighbors were the members of Israel, their own people, dignified by sharing the same religion; in fact, this familial relationship came from "flesh and blood."  For JESUS, true love leads one to give up any discrimination.)

On-Site