Monday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 12:38-42

“… there is something greater than Solomon here.”

If one were to choose a saying of Our Lord from elsewhere in the Gospel to summarize today’s Gospel passage, one might choose:  “Every one to whom much is given, of him will much be required” [Luke 12:48].  A more mundane way to express Jesus’ disapproval of the request for a sign would be to say that the scribes and Pharisees don’t know what they’re asking for.  It’s dangerous to ask for a sign, because with the sign comes the responsibility to follow that sign.  Signs command us to stop, or yield, or put a limit on our speed.

At the end of today’s passage, Jesus contrasts the scribes and Pharisees with “the men of Nineveh” and “the queen of the south”.  This isn’t meant to flatter the scribes and Pharisees.  The men of Nineveh and the queen of the south were not upstanding characters.  Nonetheless, the men of Nineveh were given the sign of “the preaching of Jonah”, and they responded to the sign of the prophet by repenting.  The queen of the south was given the sign of the “wisdom of Solomon”, and she responded by coming from “the ends of the earth to hear” him.

Jesus’ bottom line puts the scribes and Pharisees in their place.  As bad as the men of Nineveh and the queen of the south were, they repented when given signs by Jonah and Solomon.  Since the scribes and Pharisees will be given a far greater sign, by one who is far greater than Jonah and Solomon (not only a prophet and king, but the divine priest as well), they will be judged by a far higher standard.  Should they not repent (as up to this point in the Gospel account they had not), the conclusion is that their culpability would be far greater.  All of this reminds each of us, a Christian who has Jesus as our Way, our Truth, and our Life, how much responsibility we bear to order our life with Christ at its center.

Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 12:14-21

“‘… my beloved in whom I delight ….’”

The latter half of today’s Gospel passage is a quotation from the Old Testament.  St. Matthew the Evangelist cites Isaiah 42:1-4, a passage which echoes God the Father’s declaration at the Baptism of Jesus.  One way to reflect on these words—“my beloved in whom I delight….”—is to imagine God the Father addressing them to you.  Of course, that is only possible if your life is lived in Christ.  Understanding why God the Father might say these words to you demands reflecting on why the Father naturally says them to God the Son.

This quotation highlights a contrast between the Pharisees’ harsh opposition to Jesus and the delight God the Father takes in His servant and Son.  One of the causes of the Pharisees’ opposition is Jesus serving both the Gentiles and the Jews.  The first sentence of the quoted passage has God the Father speaking of Jesus (as the quote is applied by the evangelist) as His chosen servant.  However, the last sentence points to the relevance of Jesus’ service to the Gentiles.  It is the Father’s will that Jesus serve the Gentiles.

Of course, Jesus came not primarily to cure the sick, but to destroy the power of sin and death.  Part of the power of sin is the division between the Jews and Gentiles.  It is the power of the Spirit whom the Father “places upon” Jesus that can reconcile the races and nations of the earth.

Friday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 12:1-8

“For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath.”

The “something greater than the temple” of which Jesus speaks today is, of course, Jesus Himself.  As the Old Testament priests served in the Temple, so the disciples of Jesus serve in His Presence.  It is in serving Him, and especially in offering priestly sacrifice through Him, that all Christian works find their meaning and are rightly ordered.

Here the virtue of prudence shows its place.  Prudence is sometimes called the “charioteer of the virtues”.  A modern analogy would be to see prudence as the steering wheel of a car.  Prudence is neither the engine (which could be correlated with divine charity) nor the gearshift (temperance) nor the GPS (hope).  Nonetheless, as simple as the role of the steering wheel is, the whole vehicle depends essentially upon it.  Likewise with prudence.

The most basic level of moral decision-making is to shun evil and to do good.  Prudence is hardly needed at this level.  But the upper echelons of morality depend greatly on prudence, where the moral agent faces many good choices, and is tasked with choosing not merely the good but the best.  If we realize that Christ—that “something greater”—is always with us, then His Presence will guide our prudent choices.

The Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time [C]
Genesis 18:1-10  +  Colossians 1:24-28  +  Luke 10:38-42

“Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”

Jesus today is in the home of Martha and Mary.  These two sisters—as often is the case with siblings—are very different.  After reflecting upon these two sisters, we have to choose which of their stances to take up.

First, reflect on Martha.  Martha is physically in the same house as Jesus.  But when He speaks, instead of listening to Jesus, Martha is doing her own thing.  Martha is in the presence of Jesus, but she is not present to Him.

But what exactly is Martha doing instead of listening to Jesus?  She would certainly insist that she’s working for Jesus.  Her work is all about Jesus.  Nonetheless, she’s not doing what Jesus wants her to do.

This sets before us one of the key distinctions of the Catholic spiritual life.  This is the distinction between sincerity and fidelity.  Some persons believe that as long as they’re sincere in what they do in life, then they’re being faithful to what God wants them to do.  This is a misconception, and this misconception can lead to many dead-ends in the spiritual life.  Sincerity may be a virtue, but it is not a measure of fidelity.

Turn next to Martha’s sister Mary.  In today’s Gospel passage, Mary is in the presence of Jesus, and is also present to Jesus.  Mary shows us that the yardstick that measures our fidelity is the spiritual virtue of listening.

Mary listens to Jesus.  But what did Jesus say to her?  It’s telling that St. Luke the Evangelist does not reveal to us what Jesus said to her.  What Jesus said was for Mary alone.  But that Mary listened is for all of us to imitate:  to listen, so that we might faithfully obey God.

What the evangelist does reveal is that Mary “seated herself at the Lord’s feet and listened to his words.”  There are at least two points that the evangelist makes in this sentence.  First:  Mary was seated, not standing for service, like a waiter who takes your order.  Whatever Jesus said to her, it was not marching orders, but something so deep that Mary had to take it “sitting down”, to ponder it thoroughly.

Second:  there was no dialogue between the two.  It was not two-way communication.  The words flowed in only one direction:  from Jesus, to Mary.  And Mary listened.  Mary listened to Jesus’ words:  this is what Jesus calls “the better part”.  Today’s Gospel Reading not only makes a distinction between prayer and action, calling prayer the “better part”.

Today’s Gospel Reading also makes a distinction about two different types of prayer:  between speaking to God and listening to Him.  Listening is the “better part” and the foundational part of prayer.  In your life, when you listen to God first, and base decisions upon that prayer, then this becomes the foundation of your fidelity to God.

Thursday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 11:28-30

“… my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”

It’s a common mistake to confuse duty and virtue.  We easily take on daily duties, but sometimes we carry them out without faith that God can act through our simple efforts.  We can carry them out without hope that what God can accomplish through our efforts is much more than we can imagine, or for that matter, need to know.  To carry only the yoke of duty—without gracing our good works with the virtues—is to limit our efforts to the scope of our own understanding.

The difference between a yoke of duty that either chafes over the course of the years, or fits smoothly and firmly, is the virtues.  The virtues with which God graces the yoke of duty—both natural virtues such as fortitude, temperance, prudence, and justice, and the divine virtues of faith, hope, and love—are great strengths for our Christian life.

Our Lord Jesus asks that we reflect on the question of whom we serve in our lives.  Performing duties only for duties’ sake leads to great weariness.  To carry out our obligations in order that another might have life and might be drawn closer to God:  this is where we find rest, even in the midst of the workday.  The yoke of the Cross is the virtue of love, the greatest virtue, by which we recognize the truth of Isaiah’s prophecy that it is the Lord who has accomplished all we have done.

Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 11:25-27

“… no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

Today’s Gospel passage speaks to the power of divine revelation.  Jesus speaks directly to His Father, something rare in the four Gospel accounts.  Along with this exclamation, Jesus says, “no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

But that’s not the only reference to divine revelation.  In praising the Father, God the Son exclaims to Him that the reason for the Son’s praise is that “although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike.”

God the Son rejoices because His Father has revealed hidden things to the “childlike”.  Here we have a complement to Jesus’ admonition that unless one becomes like a little child, he will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  This entrance must be connected to those hidden things that escape the vision of the wise and the learned.  The child has a capacity to see things as God wants them to be seen, and that includes the child who is God the Son, in all His divine humility.

Tuesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 11:20-24

“‘Will you be exalted to heaven?  You will go down to the nether world.’”

“Teddy Bear Jesus” remains one of the more persistent myths within lands that are culturally Catholic (as distinguished from those that are Catholic by personal conviction, sweat, and blood).  This mythic figure became flesh and dwelt among us to tell us how wonderful we are, and that we just need to have more self-esteem.  As popular as this myth is within so much of the modern Western world, it has no basis in the New Testament.  Today’s Gospel passage offers a helpful antidote.

In your hand missal, the two sentences that Jesus addresses to Capernaum may be printed in italics, drawing attention to the fact that they are a quotation from the Old Testament.  Specifically, Jesus here is quoting a very “un-teddy-bear-like” passage from the fourteenth chapter of the Prophet Isaiah.

What has prompted Jesus in today’s Gospel passage to thunder tides of woe against the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum?  Here is the more specific point for our reflection today:  failure to repent.

Jesus has been preaching repentance because it’s a prerequisite for accepting the good news of the Gospel.  No Christian should think that he doesn’t need to repent because he’s already been baptized, accepted the Gospel, and been saved.  The gift of salvation first given in the Sacrament of Baptism certainly can be lost.  But most importantly, we should remember that the motive for Jesus’ reproaches is the same as the motive for His carrying the Cross:  love for each of us.

Monday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 10:34—11:1

“Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

There is a big difference between a bribe and a gift.  A bribe is something we give to another while demanding something in return.  A gift is an expression of love with no strings attached.  A gift-giver expects nothing in return, but merely gives the gift as a sign of love that already exists between the two.

Jesus gave His life on the Cross for fallen man.  He gave His life as a gift.  In turn, He calls His disciples to give a similar gift:  “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Jesus is warning us that no one else should stand between ourselves and God.  Our gift of self must be complete.  This seems very self-evident, but can in fact demand a lot of us as Catholics.  Not even members of our family may be chosen above God.

This is a hard saying.  It would seem that Jesus expects us to pit ourselves against our family in order to choose Him.  But Jesus didn’t come to earth wanting to divide people, any more than He wanted to die on the cross for the sake of dying.  He knew, though, that there are some who refuse to choose God in their lives, and that these people can only find peace in their own hearts when they come to God.  Rather than look at Jesus’ words as pitting us against others, we realize that Jesus is telling us that if we want to draw others closer to God, we first of all have to firmly establish our own relationship with God.  Out of that relationship with God, we can work at drawing others closer to God again.

Saturday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Matthew 10:24-33

“[N]ot one [sparrow] falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.”

Jesus preaches today about Our Father’s providential knowledge and will.  “[N]ot one [sparrow] falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.”  God knows all things.  We know this abstractly, but perhaps we fail to consider all that this truth of our Faith means.

When we say that God knows all “things”, what sorts of things are we talking about?  Facts that would win God a championship on trivia shows?  Certainly God knows all objective facts about science, history, etc.  But God’s knowledge is not trivial.

God’s infinite knowledge extends to what is most personal.  God knows every action you have ever done or failed to do.  God also knows every thought you’ve ever had, and every word you’ve ever said.  He knows the hopes and desires of every human heart.  He knows of every emotion you’ve ever felt, and of the circumstances that led to those emotions.

But in human earthly providence, knowledge leads to the will.  God’s knowledge of you, as complete as it is—more complete, in fact, than even your own self-knowledge!—leads God only to love you more.  At times, we hide ourselves from God, not understanding the depth of His providential knowledge and will.  When we submit ourselves completely to God, we are more flexible in serving as an instrument of His peace.