August 23, 2015

21st Sunday in Ordinary Time B - a reflection by Fr. Leo

 

The prophet Joshua brings the Israelites to affirm their faith in the Lord.  Remembering all that God did for them they affirm, “Therefore we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.”  The Apostles too affirm their faith in Jesus saying, “You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”  These two stories are meant to stir our conviction and desire to know and serve the Lord.

 

The Israelites affirm their faith through remembering what  God had done for them in leading them out of Egypt and bringing them into their own land.  We do the same in the Liturgy.  We remember what God has done for us through Jesus’ death and resurrection.  We make that memory real again in the celebration of the Eucharist.  So it is a remembering and making present what is remembered; the love of God in Jesus Christ.

 

The Apostles affirm their faith because they experience the truth of Jesus’ words, that they are indeed the words of eternal life. For us to affirm our faith I believe that we too must experience the truth of Jesus’ words.  I also believe that Jesus’ words become true for us, not because we are told that it is God’s word and we must heed them or else, but because they ring true in the bell of our beings.

 

For example, we can read Jesus’ reiteration of the commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.”  I don’t think any of us would argue with that.  It rings true.  What may be a little more challenging is when he adds, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  It may take us a while to come to know the truth of that statement, especially if we have had difficult experiences with people in our lives, or if for some reason we find it difficult to love ourselves. 

 

Once we put ourselves out there, trusting in the transforming power of life, we may have an experience that helps us understand the truth of loving our neighbor and ourselves and how both are needed.

 

This last week I watched a documentary called, “Free the Mind.”  It shows the effects of compassion meditation developed by Dr. Richard Davidson at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.  Through the practice of meditation the brain changes in structure and response to stimulus in the brain.  It was used to help young vets regain their lost innocence after their experience of war because of what they had done or what they felt responsible for or had witnessed.  After breathing exercises and meditation they were slowly able to distinguish past experiences without the deep emotional trauma.  It was then that they could begin living again and finding pleasure in things and not sit all day wringing their hands in anxiety.  The documentary was a story of the power of compassion and love to transform and bring life to where there was only death.

 

Our faith in Jesus Christ is a faith in the power of love to bring life where there is death.  I would think that even the atheist would be on board with this if they ever experienced love, but more so for us, we who believe in a Spirit beyond ourselves who is love, who empowers love and draws us to the fullness of love.  Today I think we can affirm that and say with the Apostles, ‘Yes, Lord, I have come to believe you have the words of everlasting life!”