THE PING!Posted on 11/15/2004 8:20:10 AM PST by Salvation
What you will be doing each day of this thread is an ancient form of praying the Scriptures.
The first reflection of the day has somethings to do with the general topic. The second reflection of the day may be a reflection on the Readings for that day.
(I am pre-dating these and will post several each day so that the dates will coincide with the Gospel readings. Sorry about this -- I just got the materials yesterday.)
We simply read slowkt=y until something catches us. We takj to God about it for as long as it lasts. Then we read on, slowly, until something else catches us. And so on, until our time for prayer is finished.
Doing this for six minutes a day can have good effects. Take more time if you wish.
Stewardship.............................
Oops, I wanted to fix the spelling and typing errors there. Oh, well.
Feast of St. Luke
One of the New Testament letters (the Letter too the Colossians) mentions “Luke, the beloved physicians.” Scholars aren’t sure if this is the same person who wrote the Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. Some have felt that traces of medical terms in that Gospel hint that the author was a physician.
Another tradition identifies Luke as an artist, but this is of much later origin and seems more legend than fact.
The most authentic information about Luke comes from looking at the style and content of his Gospel.
• Luke was a well-educated person who knew Greek well. He was also a skillful writer.
• Luke stressed the compassion of Jesus. He repeatedly underscores the kindness of Jesus towards the lowly. He is the only Gospel writer to include the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal Son.
• Luke repeatedly teaches that to know Jesus is to love him. For example, the “good thief” on the cross knew Jesus very briefly, but was drawn to him.
Luke clearly intended his Gospel (Volume I, the story of Jesus) to flow into the Acts of the Apostles (Volume II, the story of the Church), but in Bibles today, they are separated by John’s Gospel.
The Feast of St. Luke is celebrated on October 18th.
The word “stewardship” is the English translation of a secular Greek term formed from two words ”manage” and “house”. A steward is someone who manages someone else’s house (that is, all the owner’s possessions.)
The word “steward” (or “stewardship”) is found 87 times in the New Testament. For example, Paul speaks of himself as a “steward of the Gospel.” He has received the “good news” from the Lord, and it has been given to him so that he can share it with others.
In the two passages of Luke’s Gospel, it is even on the lips of Jesus.
New Testament writers use the words “steward” and “stewardship” to make the point that all people are God’s stewards, because everything that exists belongs to God.
Laws about ownership can help to keep good order in society. But legal “Ownership” can be deceptive. A person only “owns” something in the sense that other human beings can’t claim it for themselves. For example, to take another person’s car is auto theft.
But in relation to God, no one ultimately owns anything. God is the owner of everything that exists. God created it, and it is God who continually keeps it in existence.
That is the fundamental meaning of stewardship. Everything belongs to God.
Widows in the Bible
The status of a woman, while never high in ancient times, became especially difficult if she became widowed. Although on rare occasions, a widow might be wealthy, for the most part, widows struggled financially and usually could not inherit her husband’s estate. Her status as a daughter or wife had been dependent upon her father or husband. At one time, a widow was even considered part of her eldest son’s inheritance.
In the Old Testament times, if a woman became widowed and had no children, she could either remain as part of her late husband’s family or return to her own family. She could also remarry.
A widow had no man to defend her rights in the legal system or with creditors.
While all that seems harsh, the Old Testament law was also firm in warning against the mistreatment of widows. The women were to be cared for…much as the people had responsibility for the care of orphans. For example, whatever was left after the first harvest could be gleaned by the widow.
The New Testament also reiterates the widow’s need for assistance…and the responsibility of the people and the early Church to provide that aid. Following Jesus’ death and resurrection, the first seven deacons appointed were required to care for widows.
Eventually, widows were honored in the early Church, which gave rise to a special group who were required to be at least 60 years old, give themselves to prayer day and night, not remarry, show hospitality, and help the needy.
Sorry -- but I guess I goofed on trying to allign with the dates. The readings and reflections don't necessarily fit the dates. My mistake.
Then Jesus told a parable about the necessity to pray always without becoming weary. He said, “There was a judge in a certain town who neither feared God nor respected any human being. A widow in that twon used to come to him and say, ‘Render a just decision for me against my adversary.’ For a long time the judge was unwilling, but eventually he thought, ‘While it is true that I neither fear God nor respect any human being, because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me.’”
This parable is found only in Luke’s Gospel. It’s a strange one – God is compared to a dishonest judge!
But parables are stories that simply make a point, and you shouldn’t get lost in the details.
The point here is the long haul. Luke wrote his Gospel about 85 A. D. Peter was dead, Paul was dead, and most of the first generation of Christian leaders were dead. Once they had expected the Lord to return fairly quickly. But now Christians gradually began to realize that this was not to be.
They also remembered that Jews had talked a lot about the “Reign of God” and how this was a colossal ongoing enterprise. It may begin small (like the mustard seed) but it is meant to encompass all creation.
So, if our prayers and work for peace, justice, goodness are not immediately fulfilled, we have to condition ourselves for the long hauyl. Our smallest efforts have a cumulative effect – like the widow’s effect on the judge.
The question is…do I see myself as a long-term partner with God in this great enterprise?
That is the fundamental meaning of stewardship. Everything belongs to God.
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Join this discussion about Stewardship!
From Mother Teresa:
One night, a man came to our house to tell me that a Hindu family, a family of eight children, had not eaten anything for days. They had nothing to eat.
I took enough rice for a meal and went to their house. I could see the hungry faces, the children with their bulging eyes. The sight could not have been more dramatic! The mother took the rice from my hands, divided it in half and went out. When she came back a little later, I asked her:
: Where did you go? What did you do?”
She answered, “They also are hungry.” “They” were the people next door, a Muslim family with the same number of children to feed and who did not have any food either.
That mother was aware of the situation. She had the courage and the love to share her meager portion of rice with others. In spite of her circumstances, I think she felt very happy to share with her neighbors the little I had taken her.
Following Mother Teresa’s beatification on October 19, 2003, more than 2,000 poor people were invited to a special luncheon.
The Lord said, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says. Will not God then secure the rights of his chosen ones who call out to him day and night? Will he be slow to answer them? I tell you, He will see to it that justice is done for them speedily. But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:6-8)
When we began reading this parable yesterday, Luke said, “Then Jesus told a parable about the necessity to pray always without become weary.”
The issue here is not perpetual prayer (praying all day long) but praying over the long haul – day in, day out.
That’s what can be hard about prayer. We all pray now and then, but having a regular prayer time every day can be difficult.
Not that it’s all that hard to pray. It isn’t. Prayer is usually enjoyable. But our daily schedules can get full and when the day comes to an end, we realize that our prayer time got squeezed out again.
The key to stewardship is planned giving – giving off the top, not “what’s left over”. We might not think of prayer as part of our stewardship. Well, it is, and the fate of our prayer time day after day -- planned giving or “what’s left over” – is a good measure of whether we’ve made stewardship part of our lives.
There are 26 more days to go in these reflections on stewardship. Spend time talking to the Lord about your prayer time.
Who Were the Pharisees?
The Pharisees were neither priests nor part of the official structure of Judaism. They were an organized movement within Judaism that took a strict approach to the laws in the Torah (the first five books of the Bible, also referred to as “the Law”).
What distinguished the Pharisees was their insistence on the observance not only of the written Torah, but also of the oral interpretations that had been passed on and were ascribed to the great figures of the past (e.g. Moses). They looked upon these as a “fence surrounding the Law,” protecting it against violations.
The Pharisees insisted on an extra strict observance of the Sabbath, dietary rules, and ritual cleansings. These practices sometimes put them at odds with Jesus.
St. Paul was a Pharisee before his conversion to Christianity. He says of himself, “I lived as a Pharisee, the strictest party of our religion.” (Acts 26:5)
“Pharisee” appears to be an Aramaic word that meant “separated ones.” Some think it was a name given to this group by those who differed with them.
He then addressed this parable to those who were convinced of their own righteousness and despised everyone else. “Two people went up to the temple area to pray; one a Pharisee and the other was a tax collector. The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself, ‘O, God, I thank you that I am not like the rest of humanity – greedy, dishonest, adulterous – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I pay tithes on my whole income.’” (Luke 18:9-12)
This parable, found only in Luke, is read on the 30th Sunday of the Year in Ordinary Time, C Cycle.
It helps to remind ourselves that this is a parable. In the story, both men are talking to God and neither hears what the other is saying. Jesus, who made up the story, can have them say whatever he wishes in order to make his point. Here he has the Pharisee speak to God.
Jesus’ point is that there is a major problem with the Pharisee’s “goodness”: The man acts as though his “goodness” is his own doing.
Stewardship is not a way of handling part of my life. Stewardship is a way of life. It is a pivotal insight that changes everything – as basic as the realization that the earth is round. Simply put, it is the realization that everything comes from God, and we are blessed to be stewards of God’s gifts.
If we perform good works, it is because God’s grace enables us to do so. We can enjoy them, celebrate God’s goodness, but we must never forget the source. Then we can settle in and truly enjoy God’s goodness.
Try it for a few minutes.
THE PING!Tithing
Tithing literally means 10 percent, but is used more generally for give a fixed percentage of one’s income.
The concept of paying a tithe is not new and not strictly religious. The ancient Greeks and Romans paid tithes to their gods. The ancient people often gave a percentage of their annual harvest to the local king.
No one knows why people settled on the one-tenth figure commonly prescribed in tithing. The Old Testament refers to several formulas for almsgiving, including leaving part of the crops for gleaning.
The New Testament has no law about tithing. The early Church didn’t need mandated tithing since people freely gave to the poor because they saw whom they were assisting.
But as the Church grew and its material needs increased, the Church fathers resurrected the Old Testament teaching, and encouraged tithing as a moral obligation and something good to do.
Eventually, the Church Council of Macon in 585 A. D. ordered payment of tithes under the threat of excommunication. At the end of the eighth century Charlemagne made tithing to the Church a civil law. Initially the practice was limited to food, and eventually expanded to one’s profits and wages. The Council of Trent (1545-1563) also declared that payment of tithes was due God, and not to do so would lead to excommunication.
In the United States, only the Church in the North Central and Mississippi Valley areas ever used a tithing system. It was introduced by the French, but ended when the United States acquired these lands.
The 1983 Code of Canon Law notes that the faithful are obliged to assist the Church by providing what is necessary for charitable work.
But the toll collector stood off at a distance and would not even raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast and prayed, ‘o God, be merciful to me a sinner.’ I tell you, the latter went home justified, not the former; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:13-14)
As we continue the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, put yourself in the crowd and see how you react as you listen to the story.
Although the Pharisee comes off as a “holy person,” I probably don’t identify with him. He’s too “holy”…and a bit self-righteous.
When Jesus describes the tax collector, it’s easy for me to place myself in his shoes.
And then when I hear Jesus say that the tax collector “went home justified," I say to myself, “There’s hope for me!”
Once I recognize that everything good comes from God, then there really is hope for me because, left to myself, I’m not that good.
I can recite that offhandedly, like one of the truths we’re supposed to believe: “Everything good comes from God.” But it can come off flat.
Try this. Take a moment to think of five “goods” in your life. Then take each one and say, “This comes from God.”
It really is a different way of seeing things.
A True Story
He and his wife were in their late forties, raising a large family. And raising them well. Theirs was a family that spent a lot of time together, and anyone who ever visited their home couldn’t help but notice that they had a good time together
Job-wise he was doing fine – an office job with a large company. He wasn’t at the executive level, but it was enough to make his family “middle-income.” The lower end of that bracket, but still middle-income. And he liked what he was doing.
The whole family was involved in their parish in lots of different ways. Faithful to Sunday Mass, of course, but also ready to lend a hand in whatever needed to be done.
One day while having lunch at work, some of the fellows said to him, “You know, you’ve got a lot of talent, and the bosses like you. But you don’t work much overtime, and you just don’t seem to have the drive. You’re still middle-aged and you’ve got a shot at bettering yourself. You ought to go for it. You’ll have to give up some of the time you spend with your family and the other things you’re involved in for a while, but it’ll be worth it. You’ve got to make some changes. Otherwise, you’ll never get ahead.”
He said, “Ahead of what?”
People were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them, and when the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. Jesus, however, called the children to himself and said, “Let the children come to me and do not prevent them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” (Luke 18:15-17)
Let’s place ourselves inside the scene and see what details we notice. You are someone who happened to be passing by the synagogue where Jesus had been doing some teaching. Waiting for him on the outside were a couple of women who had brought their infants for a blessing. Some other women noticed this and hurried off to get their infants too.
When Jesus came out and saw this, he beamed. He took each infant in his arms, spoke to each baby as one does to an infant, and placed a hand on its head as he prayed a blessing with his eyes closed.
When the disciples saw other women coming with their infants, they went over to them and said that Jesus could only do the ones already there. He had to be moving on.
Jesus saw this as he was giving an infant back to its mother. He acted quickly. Totally ignoring the disciples, he looked straight at the women arriving and said not to worry – he had plenty of time for all of them.
It’s not simply that Jesus loved infants. He wanted everyone to know that the way a mother loves these little ones – that’s how God loves us.
Back to the pivotal truth: It’s all a gift from God.
Franklin’s Planner
In 1784 Benjamin Franklin wrote the following letter to a man name Benjamin Webb:
Dear Sir:
Your situation grieves me and I send you herewith a banknote for ten louis d’or. I do not pretend to give such a sum; I only lend it to you. When you shall return to your country, you cannot fail of getting into some business that will in time enable you to pay all your debts
In that case, when you meet with another honest man in similar distress, you must pay me by lending the sum to him, enjoining him to discharge the debt by a like operation when he shall be able and shall meet with such another opportunity.
I hope it may thus go through many hands before it meets with a knave that will stop its progress. This is a trick of mine for doing a deal of good with a little money. I am not rich enough to afford much in good works, and so am obliged to be cunning and make the most of a little.
With best wishes for your future prosperity, I am, dear sir, your most obedient servant.
B. Franklin
An official asked Jesus this question, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus answered him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery; you shall not kill; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; honor your father and your mother.’” (Luke 18:18-20)
This appears in Matthew, Mark and Luke – with considerable variations. It is Mark’s version that is read on the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, B Cycle
In Matthew’s Gospel, the person is a young man, and that is how the story is usually remembered. Here in Luke, he is an “official” – perhaps at the synagogue, or a civic leader.
Jesus cites the last part of the 10 commandments – the ones that have to do with how we treat others. Keep in mind that these commandments are on the lips of – not Moses, not Isaiah, not one of the Pharisees – but Jesus himself.
Jesus starts out by responding the fact that the man addresses Jesus as “Good Teacher.”
Here we go again. Jesus explains that the only source of goodness is God. Jesus is no exception The goodness of Jesus is the goodness of God working in him. It’s amazing how frequently Jesus teaches this.
This is a pivotal principle” All my “goods” – my character, my health, my wealth, my time, etc. – come from God and belong to God. I should enjoy them and make use of them accordingly.
The Need of the Giver to Give
One of the strangest sounding truths of stewardship is that the need of the giver to give is greater than the need of others to receive.
At first, it sounds strange. Strange but true.
Great artistic works come forth because of the need of artist to give the gifts within them
Even the Dead Sea is a dead sea because it is a dead-end, and has no outlet. It continually receives water but never gives water.
It isn’t God who needs prayer. It’s the person praying who needs prayer.
A person may be poor, rich, middle-class. But all people, to be fully human, need to give their time and skills and possessions to others. We're made that way…like a rose is made to give to others its beauty and fragrance.
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