He is the Truth
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September 27, 2018In the Last Supper discourse, Jesus tells us that he is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Today’s readings invite us to meditate on what it means that he is the Truth. What are the ramifications of the truth being a set of rules that has the Person of Jesus Christ as its divine author? To the extent that we see Jesus, recognize him, know him, and commune with him we are able to see things in the truth and perceive reality clearly. The more we know him and love him, the more we know and love the truth in all things.
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1st Reading Reflection Discussion 2nd Readin Reflection Digging Deeper Gospel Reflection Join us for FORMED Fellowship + Lunch
(Sunday @ 12:00 noon in the Hall)
First Reading ReflectionThe context of Numbers 11 is vital for understanding the portion of the chapter that we read for this Sunday. Chapter 11 begins with complaints made by the Israelites and Moses, and then God responds to these complaints. The part of that chapter in this Sunday’s reading gives God’s solution to the three complaints. The solution doesn’t make much sense unless we realize the problem, that is, the three complaints that precede it.
The first complaint is made by the Israelites about the food they are given during their sojourn in the desert. Their only provision is the manna that God miraculously provides. The Israelites are ungrateful for the bread that is given to them from Heaven, so they weep and complain about it and foolishly long for the days when they were slaves in Egypt eating meat. They lament that they are free men fasting on bread (manna).
Moses, because he is tired of their grumbling, in turn complains to God about how difficult it is to lead such ungrateful, selfish people. How does God receive Moses’s complaint? He rebukes them for being ungrateful people who do not trust in his word (Numbers 11:23).
God then bestows the Holy Spirit on seventy elders to help Moses share the burden of leading the people to the Promised Land and in doing God’s will. In other words, the only way for God’s people to complete their journey to the Promised Land (a foreshadowing for us of Heaven) is by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. And the leaders of God’s people (who are a priestly people, pointing forward to the priesthood of the New Covenant) are commissioned by the reception of the Spirit through God’s mediator Moses (who is a type of the coming Messiah, Jesus).
The problem with the Israelite people is that they have fundamentally rejected the mission that God has given to them. In Exodus 4:22, God says to the Israelite people, “Israel is my ϐirstborn son.” This relationship is realized in a covenant at the foot of Mt. Sinai, when God says to his people, “You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). Nevertheless, the Israelites reject this covenant with God in Exodus 32, when they make a golden calf (an idol) and worship it. For this reason, Moses tells Joshua in Numbers 11:29, “Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all!” Moses is reminding the people that they have forgotten God’s call to be a priestly nation; this is why not all the people have received the spirit of God..
Second Reading Reflection
This reading from James encourages us to avoid his harsh words! James is a stern and passionate preacher of repentance, following a Jewish prophetic style. In speaking of the tongue and its capacity to do evil, James says, “It exists among our members as a whole universe of malice. The tongue defiles the entire body. Its flames encircle our course from birth, and its fire is kindled by hell.” This kind of judgment should make us reconsider any habits of gossiping. Sometimes we like to ignore the consequences of sin, citing the fact that we are essentially a “good person.” Our materialistic culture lulls us into a false sense of security about our positions, including the integrity of our moral lives.
In this passage, James is rebuking wealthy landowners who love their money more than they love God. Because our culture is so materialistic, we too can often love our money, wealth, and possessions more than we love God. Thus, James’s rebuke is timely for us and should provide good reϐlection as we consider the hierarchy of our loves.
Gospel Reflection
In the first part of this Gospel reading, the disciples come to Jesus about someone who is casting out demons in his name, even though this individual is not a visible member of the group of disciples. Jesus uses this moment to teach the disciples that he is the source of our unity in Faith. When St. Paul says that we are members of the Body of Christ, he means that our unity is a consequence of Christ’s action in us and for us. Jesus likewise says, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you” (John 15:16). In the end, God is entirely free to distribute His grace as He wishes.
The person expelling the demons in Jesus’s name may not have been a visible member of the disciples, but his faith in Christ and his actions testifying to his faith are effective because of the power of the name of Jesus (Philippians 2:9-11). This same theme is present in the first reading from Numbers, in which God’s power is shown to be effective in accordance with his will, apart from human expectations. God’s Divine Providence should be a source of joy for us. The story of the “other exorcist” should remind us that God’s grace is always a gift, and it is never something that is earned. In the New Covenant, we receive the grace of God through the reception of the sacraments, which are the normative way to obtain eternal life. In accordance with Lumen Gentium 8, we can say the following: “This Church constituted and organized in the world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him, although many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure.” In other words, elements of truth can exist outside the visible walls of the Church in the sacrament, which means that God can work through individuals who are outside the Church, although these graces always flow through the Catholic Church.
MEDITATION & DISCUSSION:
How have you experienced these worldly ideas about relativism? Have you noticed this kind of thinking in yourself or in others around you?
Is it difficult for you to think that your faith possesses the fullness of the truth while other religions possess only parts? The world proclaims that we only have unity through toleration. What will actually enable unity, according to the Church?DIGGING DEEPER:
Spiritual Works of MercyMercy is to show compassion for and attempt to alleviate another’s misery. Catholic tradition lists seven corporal (bodily) works of mercy and seven spiritual works of mercy. The spiritual works of mercy apply particularly to preaching of the Gospel as true. They are: to instruct the ignorant, to counsel the doubtful, to admonish sinners, to bear wrongs patiently, to forgive offences willingly, to comfort the affl icted, to pray for the living and the dead.
Encourage your participants to prayer with these works of mercy, to look into them more deeply, and to ponder how each one is truly an act of mercy.
Reflections reprinted with permission from Opening the Word at Formed.org .
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