Today's readings: Sirach 44: 1, 9-13 and Mark 11:11-26
Scripture is important to me. I feel like it can always help, comfort, or challenge us when we feel like our faith is becoming too comfortable. Today's scripture is interesting. The first one deals with people who are forgotten by history:
"Now will I praise those godly men,
our ancestors, each in his own time.
But of others there is no memory,
for when they ceased, they ceased.
And they are as though they had not lived,
they and their children after them.
Yet these also were godly men
whose virtues have not been forgotten;
Their wealth remains in their families,
their heritage with their descendants;
Through God’s covenant with them their family endures,
their posterity, for their sake.
And for all time their progeny will endure,
their glory will never be blotted out."
The first part of that passage hit a very particular chord with me this week. On Monday, my boyfriend and I ended our 6 month long relationship. I'll admit that I still don't understand why it ended, and it's going to take a little while for me to move on from it. The beginning of the passage reminded me of relationships that end. They can be your whole world one day, and the next...they completely cease to exist. I found this strange reality when I left college last May. The people I spent every single day of my life with suddenly picked up and moved all around the country. Lives can change in an instant, and even those who are your entire world can one day be nonexistant.
I don't mean to make this sound depressing, but it struck me in an interesting way today than it might have a few weeks ago. It reinforces for me even more strongly the constancy and universal steadfastness of God. All things in this world may pass away, but God never does. So, even if the first part of this reflection makes us sad, the greater reality is the steady nature of God...and that's worth thinking about.
The second reading is a pretty famous one because it's so uncharacteristic of Jesus. It's the one where he curses te fig tree and then flips over tables. Now, I really like this passage because it shows the humanity of Jesus and illustrates him as a person who is keenly aware of injustices and corruption. As a growing theologian with liberation theology tendencies from time to time, I really identify with this passage. Some people don't like it because it shows Jesus' anger, frustration, and violence. Though it's not my favorite depiction of him, I appreciate it because it shows us, the readers, that the earliest followers of Christ saw him as more than just a man, and more than just God. They saw sometone dynamic, relatable, and clearly full of wisdom. Jesus was pissed because the money changers were making a profit off of the public's religious devotion. That, my friends, is a glimpse into what can happen when people get in the way of the Spirit. We turn beautiful spirituality into a business opportunity, and then we wonder why Jesus was so mad. This passage is a really good reminder for me that my work for the Church should NEVER be about me, or my co-workers, or even about the financial needs of the organization. It's always about God. I think people in ministry can lose sight of that pretty easily, so we need readings like this to remind us of our true goal.
That's about it for today. Keep being open to experiences of the Holy.
Peace,
Liz
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