A reflection for the 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, year A. The readings are: Sirach 15:15-20; Psalm 119; 1 Corinthians 2:6-10 and Matthew 5:17-37.
Has anyone been watching the Olympics? I’m not a huge sports fan, but I’ve been following the Olympics (I have the app). But you know what I’ve been thinking about? All the rules. There are so many rules. There are rules in each individual sport, but there are also Olympic rules. There are rules about points and round robins and what the athletes can eat and not eat and even about what they can wear. I heard that there is an unspoken rule about how everyone must wear their country’s colours. Sport are fun and the Olympics are about pushing our limits as human beings, but we wouldn’t have any of that without all the rules.
I have to be honest because I didn’t come up with this on my own. I just read a book called The Catechism of Hockey by Alyssa Bormes (published by ACS Books). In it she speaks about all the rules of sport, using hockey as an example. So, let’s take hockey, that Olympic sport that all Canadians are watching. There are so many rules in hockey; rules about how many players can be on the ice at a given time and how long they can be on the ice; rules about penalties and power plays; about cross-checking, slashing and high-sticking; there are rules about overtime ad sudden death and when you go to shoot outs. There are even rules for the players when they’re off the ice – those of you who have kids in hockey leagues know all about the rules about what the kids have to wear on their way to the games and how early they need to be there and what happens if you miss a practice. There are even rules for parents and how much they have to volunteer and what fees have to be paid… there are a lot of rules. But no one complains, because we know that the rules are there for a reason. Hockey rules are there to protect the integrity of the sport. They are there to protect the players. The rules are there so that the players can be free to play the game.
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A reflection for the 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A. The readings are Isaiah 49:3, 5-6; Psalm 40; 1 Corinthians 1:1-3 and John 1:29-34.
Who do you think of when you think of Jesus? What image comes to mind? For me it’s Ted Neeley from Jesus Christ Superstar. Is it Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in the Passion of the Christ? What is your image of Jesus? Is he a tree-huggin’, sandal-wearin’, peace-lovin’, granola-eatin’, kumbaya singin’ hippie or is he a king sitting on a throne? Is he a warrior or is he a Santa Claus figure who gives us gifts if we’re good? When you think of Jesus, do you think of a lion or do you think of a lamb? Because in today’s Gospel, John the Baptist sees Jesus and he says, “Behold the Lamb of God…” And we sing it at every Mass, “Lamb of God you take away the sins of the world…” and it’s in the Gloria, “Lord, God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father”. We hear it at every Mass, “This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world…” but we don’t really think of Jesus as a lamb, do we? Jesus is a shepherd, but, a lamb? God as a sheep? Really? God is not a sheep. Sheep are dumb (and I mean, they are not very intelligent animals). And lambs are defenceless. If you had to choose between being a lion or a lamb, which would you choose? I would choose a lion. No one messes with a lion.
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Lecturas: Lucas 2:1-14 y Mateo 1:1-25
Ya llegó la Navidad y todas esas preocupaciones que tenemos; la comida; los invitados; la familia, los regalos – se multiplican. Pero se supone que Jesús nació para traernos la paz. Pero en este tiempo del año, a veces, lo que menos sentimos es paz.
Y venimos a misa para por lo menos tener un momentito de paz. Esperamos escuchar en el Evangelio esa linda historia de navidad con los ángeles y el cielo estrellado; con los pastorcitos y los corderitos (o nos imaginamos que si hay pastores, debe haber corderitos). Pero en vez de esa linda historia, escuchamos esta larga lista de nombres: ¡Los antepasados de Jesús! Todos esos nombres que no se pueden pronunciar: Jeconías, Zorobabel y Roboam. ¡42 nombres! ¿Qué tiene que ver todo eso con la Navidad?
Bueno, tiene que ver con la paciencia de Dios; con su fidelidad y su plan. Y de eso se trata la Navidad: De la paciencia de Dios, de su fidelidad y de su plan. Es una lectura que nos recuerda que Dios es más grande que todos nosotros y nuestros planes. En los antepasados de Jesús tenemos a todos los héroes y a todos los mafiosos de la historia Hebrea. Tenemos a todos los santos y a todos los pecadores. Comenzando con el más grande, Abraham, el papá de todo el pueblo Judío. Abraham tuvo una fe increíble. Y su hijo Isaac también fue un grande. Pero el hijo de Isaac, Jacob, fue un medio mentiroso y hijo mayor de Jacob, Judá fue el querido hermano a quien se le ocurrió la gran idea de vender a su hermanito José a la esclavitud. El que le sigue a Judá, Fares fue uno que nació porque Judá se acostó con su nuera, Tamar, pensando que era una prostituta. Y así seguimos con unos antepasados no muy perfectos hasta llegar al rey David; el gran rey David; grande y lujurioso que se acuesta con la esposa de Urías (que casualmente era uno de sus amigos y generales) y cuando se entera que está embarazada hace unos arreglos para que Urías muera en el campo de batalla. Pero es uno de los hijos de David con la esposa de Urías que llega a ser el gran rey Salomón, uno de los grandes reyes de Israel. Y de ahí seguimos con todos los mafiosos y desastrosos hijos, nietos y bisnietos de Salomón cuyos pecados llevaron a la división de Israel y Judea y al exilio en Babilonia. Y del exilio, catorce generaciones más tarde nace San José que se casa con esa adolescente que ya estaba embarazada…
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![Gaetano Gandolfi [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://deaconpedro.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/josephs_dream_painting_by_gaetano_gandolfi_c-_1790.jpg?w=497&h=278)
‘Joseph’s Dream’ by Gaetano Gandolfi, c.1790.
Thinking about Nelson Mandela the last couple of weeks I was reminded of a quote that I always thought was his, from his 1994 inaugural speech. I knew it was from a poem by Marianne Wilkinson, but I thought Mandela had quoted her: “Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate, but that we are powerful beyond belief.” Turns out Mandela never said those words or quoted Marianne Wilkinson, still, I find those words so inspiring. And I wonder what is it about some words that they have the power to inspire. Recently I read a blog article that spoke about Martin Luther’s famous 1963 “I have a dream” speech and how inspirational it was. I’ve heard a story that Dr. King had a different speech prepared that day. He had already begun that speech when the Gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, who was sitting close by, yelled at him to “tell them about the dream, Martin.” The rest is history. It was an inspirational speech. The blog article explained that Dr. King could have titled his speech, “I have a complaint”, and God knows he had a lot to complain about, but instead he chose to tell us about the dream. Complaints don’t inspire us. Had he done an “I have a complaint” speech no one would have remembered it. But we remember “I have a dream.” And I guess that’s why I am also inspired by the “our greatest fear” poem.
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