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Throwing Stones At Obedience

My preadolescents love to challenge my parental authority. If I request they pick up the toys littered all over the basement floor or wash the dirty dishes, they respond, “Why should I have to do that? Who are you to tell me to get to work?”

“I’m your mother,” I say. “Now please do what I’ve asked. Obey.”

Is this how Jesus must have felt in today’s Gospel, like He always having to explain and defend Himself to the unbelieving crowds who questioned His authority?

Jesus says to the people, “Whoever keeps my word will never see death.”

And the people respond, “Now we are sure that you are depressed, that you are possessed. Abraham died, as did the prophets, yet you say, “Whoever keeps my word will never taste death.” Are you greater than our father Abraham, who died, or the prophets, who died? Who do you make yourself out to be?”

With patience, Jesus tells the people: “I am the Son of God, who is our Father. I know God and I keep his commandments….amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.”

The people responded by throwing stones at Jesus.

In the same way, when we direct our children to follow our commands because we know what’s best for them, they may balk. They may, like the people did to Jesus, even throw proverbial stones. But let us follow Jesus’s example and not give up. Let us not lose sight of the vision, of directing our children to heaven, even amidst their protest or wayward attitudes. Let us have confidence that, like Jesus, we really do know what’s best for them.

Lord, how am I like the people who threw stones at Jesus?

Lord, today help me abandon my preadolescent tendencies. Help me trust that the one directing me is the God of the universe, our Savior, and our King.

 

obedienceColleen Duggan, wife and mother of six children, is a freelance writer for various Catholic publications. She blogs at www.colleenmurphyduggan.com, about life as an imperfect mother to many. [Today’s reflection is used with permission by Catholicmom.com.]

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Trusting in the Other Side of Obedience

 

“Behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it is through the Holy Spirit that this child has been conceived in her. She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sons.” When Joseph awoke, he did as the angel of the lord had commanded him and took his wife into his home.” – Mat. 1:17- 24

Today the Church celebrates the Solemnity  of Saint Joseph. Little is known about Joseph, and no words of his are recorded in Scripture. We do know that he was a man of love, faith and obedience. In his human frailty, he must also have experienced fear and doubt.

In fact, scripture tells us that when Joseph discovered that the Blessed Virgin Mary was pregnant he “decided to divorce her quietly” until an angel appeared to him. How was Joseph able to change his mind and be obedient to God’s call, rather than believing his dream was perhaps the result of rotten goat’s milk before bed?  Looking at Scripture again, Joseph is described as “a righteous man.” Righteous, selfless and obedient, Joseph stepped out in faith, supporting Mary and God’s plan for their family.

“Someone’s faith stands on the other side of our obedience,” a friend commented after Bible study years ago. His comment remains with me, bubbling to the surface when questions arise in my faith or trials last longer than it seems I can possibly bear.

Marriage is a great platform for faith and obedience. In this Sacrament, husband and wife vow to remain faithful “for better for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.” The grace of this Sacrament compels spouses to stay true to these promises “until death do us part.” So when tough times come – and they will  – I can stand firm, trusting in God’s plan of salvation and knowing that my obedience is planting seeds not only for today, but for our family in generations yet to come, just as generations past impact us today.

God led Joseph and Mary down one unexpected path after another. They knew their son was special, yet instead of being prideful, Joseph and Mary showed great humility in following Jewish law. They took their son to the temple in Jerusalem, just as all Jewish parents at that time did with their firstborn sons.

At this presentation, Simeon’s faith was rewarded specifically because of Joseph and Mary’s obedience. “Every male that opens the womb shall be consecrated to the Lord.” Simeon, being a righteous man, had trust in the Lord’s promise that he should not see death before he had seen the Messiah of the Lord.” Simeon’s faith was standing on the other side of Joseph and Mary’s obedience.

On this celebration of Saint Joseph and throughout the Lenten season, let us ask our Lord to strengthen our faith and help us to grow in love, which bears the fruit of obedience. Staying close to Jesus on our journey, we will hear the voice of the Holy Spirit telling us when to act and which way to go. Jesus, Mary, Joseph, pray for us.

 

Amy Oatley is a wife, mother, and Secular Franciscan (OFS), passionate about social justice, advocating for the dignity of every human life. She encounters Christ through Prison and Jail Ministry in the Diocese of Grand Rapids and as a Sidewalk Advocate for Life. A journalist for the past thirty years, she is currently a freelance writer for FAITH Magazine and works at St. Thomas the Apostle Parish. Her home parish is Our Lady of Consolation in Rockford, Michigan.

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The Humility of Lent

Orthodox Christians joke that they can always identify the new converts; they are the ones looking forward to Lent! I am a Latin rite deacon but am bi-ritual and serve not only my own parish but the Omaha Byzantine Catholic Community. Thus, I have been introduced to Meatfare week and Cheesefare week which precedes Lent and during which the Eastern rite Catholic eventually excludes meat, then dairy products, and ultimately fish and eggs, too. So, it is different than our practices in the Western rite where we fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and abstain from meat on those days and all the other Fridays in Lent.  Of course, it is not really about these external practices as it is about the heart. I have seen people at a typical Friday night fish fry during Lent eat the largest plate of food they probably ate all week, all the time keeping the rule of abstinence, since there was no meat on their plate. This, to me, always seems to miss the point of abstinence but I do not know people’s individual lives and practices so who am I to judge?

However, I do know my own heart and here is where the Lenten rubber meets the road. Like everyone else, I keep the fasts and the calls to abstinence and add my own disciplines that help me lead a more penitential life during this season but I know that these externals are effective only if they help me bore down in my life to the real practices of Lent to which we are called.

Isaiah tells us that the place to begin is to listen to God. After standing in his presence, the light reveals my uncleanness so the prophet says, “Wash yourselves clean!” Okay, could you be a bit more specific? How do I do that? “Cease doing evil; learn to do good.” Examples please? “Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.” He could have probably added welcoming the immigrant to that list but I get the drift. What Lenten practices do I have that are designed to bring justice to those who need an advocate, someone to support their cause against oppression? I have a friend who decided one Lent to carry money on him and stop to talk with every homeless-looking person he saw, offering them a few dollars but, more importantly, he felt, a kind word. There are many people who are pretty much on their own and God’s view has always been that those who support those individuals are honoring him. So, what exactly can I do? The prophet says, “Come now, let us set things right, says the Lord.” God wants his children to set things right. What needs to be set right in my world? If I do this, the prophet declares that, although my sins are crimson red, they may become white as wool. But I must be willing, I must obey, I must work to set things right.

Jesus once referred to religious leaders who “tie up heavy burdens to carry and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them.” Everything they do is a show. His call to us during Lent is to become the greatest, namely, a servant. Learn during Lent to humble yourself. That may or may not be directly related to the Lenten practices that we choose for our own edification and growth. But it is absolutely part and parcel to the charge to set things right. Without that, what difference does the rest of what we do make?

 


Our guest blogger today is George Butterfield:

humiltyI am the Legal Reference Librarian at the Creighton University Law School Library and have been here since August of 2007. I also teach Legal Research to first year law students and Advanced Legal Research to second and third year law students. My wife, Deb, and I have been married since 1970. She grew up in Oklahoma City and I migrated south from southwestern Pennsylvania. God has blessed us with three children and four living grandchildren. I spent the first thirty years of our marriage as a minister so our family moved a lot. We have lived in several states, including Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, and California. We tend to enjoy wherever we happen to be at the time. I enjoy walking, reading, listening to audio books, playing with my Pekingese, Max, and seeing my grandkids grow up. I am a Catholic deacon, having been ordained by Archbishop George Lucas on May 5, 2012. My wife Deb and I are parishioners at St. Gerald in Ralston, Nebraska. [This blog has been generously shared by Creighton University Online Ministries.)