2022-Aug-7: Nineteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time

 

Opening prayer

Heavenly Father, send forth your Spirit to enlighten our minds
and dispose our hearts to accept your truth.
Help us to listen to one another with openness and honesty,
eager to learn from the talents and intuitions that you have given each of us. Never let differences of opinion diminish our mutual esteem and love.
May we leave this meeting with more knowledge and love for you and your Son.
In the unity of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Theme of the liturgy 

The readings invite us to reflect on how our Christian faith today demands a serious examination and estrangement from modern American ideals of exceptionalism and unbridled consumerism values, just as it caused the estrangement of Abraham from the land of his father, the Israelites from false Gods and later from the pax Romana and the imperial cult in the first century.

Wisdom 18:6-9

The Book of Wisdom, or the Wisdom of Solomon, is a Jewish work written in Greek and most likely composed in Alexandria, Egypt about 50 years before Christ. The author wrote in Greek, in a style patterned on that of Hebrew verse. At times he speaks in the person of Solomon, placing his teachings on the lips of the wise king of Hebrew tradition in order to emphasize their value. His profound knowledge of the earlier Old Testament writings is reflected in almost every line of the book

The night of the Passover is the night of the tenth plague against Egypt where Moses forewarned the faithful to await their redemption from slavery, that they might have an abiding faith in God’s oaths and rejoice in their fulfillment. The Passover meal sealed a special covenant for the generation of Moses by agreeing to the divine law.

Psalm 33

Psalms 32 and 33 are two of the few classic praise psalms in Book I of the Psalter (Psalms 1-41), which is dominated by lament forms. 

Psalm 32:10 ends with the affirmation that “steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the LORD.”

Psalm 33 continues with this theme reaffirming the ultimate reality that “God is love”, so when we praise God his steadfast love fills the Earth. The first 11 verses, which are left out in today's passage, invite the faithful to praise God (verses 1-3) and provide reasons for God's greatness (verses 4-12) and God's goodness (verses 13-19). The psalm ends with an affirmation of trust (verses 20-21) and a request to God (verse 22). The psalmist cautions against the conflation of Yahweh’s strength with a nation’s military strength.  In today's world that elevates materialism, it takes courage to place one's trust in God rather than rely upon self-assertion and acquisitiveness as a measure of success. Witness the spending of $800 billion on defence - more than the next 11 countries combined - all in the name of increased security.

In the story of ancient Israel despite the cry of the prophets, we know how Yahweh chose to punish even his chosen people when they no longer reflect his call for righteousness and justice. Psalm 33 in its entirety asks us today: in whom do we trust? 

Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-12

Today’s passage in the letter to the Hebrews is a summons to faith and a word of encouragement to a community that appears to have grown weary of waiting while living a Christian life. The community to whom Hebrews was written had undergone great hardship, including public ridicule, confiscation of property, and imprisonment (10:32-34). Because of the pressures put upon the community, some had apostatized (6:4-6), and others avoided worship (10:25). Still others were weary of the suffering and disheartened by the delay in the coming of the Lord that would confirm their belief (3:14), a belief that came at great cost. 

We are told that faith is “the realization (Greek hypostasis) of things hoped for, the evidence (Greek elenchus) of things not seen”

Faith leads to decisive action, even and especially when there is no tangible or visible support for that action. A stumbling block for the rational and scientific non-believer always seeking proof within their limited understanding.

Verses 8–10 allude to Abraham’s migration from Ur, the familiar land of his ancestors to an unknown land, the land of God’s promise. Even though he did not know where he was going (verse 8), he went out. His active response made him into a foreigner or sojourner, a fate shared by Isaac and Jacob as well (verse 9). 

In verses 11–12, Abraham and Sarah’s acceptance of God’s promise of an heir is an additional example of faith. But this great obedience never really paid off during Abraham’s and Sarah's lifetime. He never possessed that land of promise. Instead, he dwelt there as a foreigner, living in tents (Hebrews 11:9). Moreover, and even more powerfully unsatisfying is the fact that Abraham waited for his real inheritance, the city built by God himself, but never did attain it in his lifetime. Yet because they kept their eyes on the heavenly city, and not their present land nor the country of their origin, God was proud to remain in relationship with them.

Luke 12:32-48

Today's passage begins with a delightful statement found only in Luke: “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). The emphasis on selling possessions and using the proceeds to give alms is distinctively Lukan. According to him, “almsgiving” involves more than charity in a condescending or transactional way but more as a way of true solidarity with the poor. Remove the conditions of poverty rather than write checks as a salve or balm.

Unlike Matthew 25:1-13 and Mark 13:34-37 where Jesus tells the parable about slaves awaiting vigilantly for the return of their lord, the passage by Luke talks about a role reversal where the master Our Lord will gird himself and wait on the slaves.

In the final movement, Jesus continues to discuss the need for readiness using the metaphor of a thief who comes without warning as a surprise.