Sunday Reflection with Canon Robin Gibbons: 25th August 2024

Joshua and the Israelites, Joshua Roll, 10C Biblioteca Vaticana, Rome - Wikimedia

Twenty First Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sometimes it is best to go straight to the heart of the matter, which is why I thought it might be good to delve into our second reading from Ephesians to allow ourselves a better and more constructive discourse on what it means by talking about marriage.

I certainly do not disagree with the theme of mutual and supportive love that Paul, or whoever is the writer of the letter, suggests between partners, but I do think the imagery and language of marriage conveys something that needs context, especially in the light of human development over the centuries.

The key is that this passage is not ultimately about marriage, it is about our collective response of loving care and service towards each and everyone and to the One Lord and God of all revealed in Christ, who is likened as the bridegroom of the Ecclesia.

One key phrase is this :

" Brothers and sisters:
Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ"(Eph 5:21).

Straight away we are face to face with the Christ who makes inroads into our lives and asks us, in trust, to follow him, but pay close attention to the `Lord, whatever else we might discern in scripture, there is the overriding emphasis by the Christ on conscience, we can choose to follow or not and that is our choice. Here in that quote from Ephesians the emphasis is on mutuality, this is a starting point, for all are one under the reign of love of the One God.

A second point that we need to hold onto comes at the end of our quote from Ephesians 5:21, again the reference is the discourse about mutual love for one another, discovered poetically here in the image of husband and wife, but not exclusively so. This is perhaps summed up in the English word 'cherish', so we are to cherish each other because the root of all our cherishing is Christ's perceptive perspective of an unending love for us, the bride-people. "For no one hates his own flesh but rather nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body". (Eph 5.29,30)

This is freedom, this is the heartbeat of the Kingdom. We have heard in recent days speakers within the Democratic Convention eulogise America as the greatest country on Earth, maybe, but maybe not, there are the gaps that have not been mentioned, the first nation people who are always left out of the story and the less open, darker underbelly side of that life that fractures such a nation in so many ways. This is for them to deal with, but we must not get too seduced by this type of rose-tinted hyperbole, the words of Christ always point to the deeper question at issue. So I look beyond this type of emotional ideal of nationhood to step into the Christian vocation of a rougher-tougher choice, that of seeking my destiny as a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven-which is beyond the narrow confines of country and race. This is what Christ places before us in his emphasis that we now have to either accept or reject, that is to nourish and cherish our earth, and all its people, and all its living creatures for it belongs to the Kingdom of God. The church is part of the Kingdom, a sign and symbol of our destiny, and what Ephesians is helping us understand in that analogy of relationship is that Christ is bound totally to us in our familial membership of His body.

The gospel, as it should, forces us to face a deeper reality and here it pushes us into a zone of uneasiness, for contrary to some people's faulty idea of Jesus as an human success story, we see today in this Sunday's gospel, that not all who followed Jesus could accept his teachings, but that is human life in an imperfect world. We too sometimes shy away from difficult choices, adjust our faith to some internal religious vision of our own-often prejudicial to others who do not share our viewpoint.

So this acknowledgement that the disciples ands followers of the Christ on earth were confused, disappointed and sometimes angry with him, helps us realise that these are not bad things, but opportunities to think again to know that those we call saints found things in their faith journey difficult.

"As a result of this, many [of] his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him". (Jn 6: 66)

Is this a type of divorce, a breaking of that bond of love which Ephesians has urged us to take on board? I would suggest no! Mainly because the wider understanding of Jesus the Christ gives us glimpses of the Good Shepherd that reaches out to those in difficulty, is ever forgiving to those who fall, and empathises with our human dilemma.

This dilemma is what Joshua faced with the people of Israel, those difficult, sometimes hard choices, but because like Joshua, like the disciples, as the church in Ephesians, we are never alone, because we are bonded in that deep love with Christ. We like the people of Israel, like the Disciples, particularly Simon Peter's declaration of discipleship, have a constant and joyful hope that does not depend on our mistakes, for we are carried along by others who bear and share our burdens, whose sacrifice, goodness and mercy towards our world and its life carries us with them home to the Kingdom.

We too can say with the Israelites and Joshua: "Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods" (Jos 24:16)

knowing too that if we fall away others will scoop us up again, but perhaps we can only come to a point where we face the Christ and say what Simon Peter said: "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God." (Jn 6:68,69)

Let us place our trust in the promises of Christ the bridegroom and reach out our hand to grasp his.

Lectio

Psalm 34[a][b]

Of David. When he pretended to be insane before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.

1 I will extol the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the Lord with me;
let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.

8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
9 Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from telling lies.
14 Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are attentive to their cry;
16 but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to blot out their name from the earth.

17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

19 The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all;
20 he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.

21 Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord will rescue his servants;
no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

Thomas Merton: No Man is an Island

"One of the effects of original sin is an instinctive prejudice in favour of our own selfish desires. We see things as they are not, because we see them centered on ourselves. Fear, anxiety, greed, ambition and our hopeless need for pleasure all distort the image of reality that is reflected in our minds. Grace does not completely correct this distortion all at once: but it gives us a means of recognizing and allowing for it. And it tells us what we must do to correct it. Sincerity must be bought at a price: the humility to recognize our innumerable errors, and fidelity in tirelessly setting them right."