These reflections are a result of more than 40 years of ministry as a Roman Catholic priest. Most of these years I spent in the Diocese of Charlotte which covers Western North Carolina. Now I am retired, and live in Medellín, Colombia where I continue to serve as a priest in the Archdiocese of Medellín.
Therefore, put on the armor of God,
that you may be able to resist on the evil day
and, having done everything, to hold your ground.
So stand fast with your loins girded in truth,
clothed with righteousness as a breastplate,
and your feet shod in readiness for the Gospel of peace.
In all circumstances, hold faith as a shield,
to quench all the flaming arrows of the Evil One.
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit,
which is the word of God.
(Eph 6:11-17)
In seminary we were blessed with the foremost homiletician (professor of homiletics—the study of preaching) in the country, David Buttrick (1927-2017). Saint Meinrad Seminary had received a gift of 1 million dollars from a Catholic gentleman who was tired of hearing bad homilies at Mass. With those funds Saint Meinrad brought David Buttrick to the cornfields of southern Indiana. It was David who pointed out to us that among all the instruments in the “armor of God” there was only one offensive weapon, “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” The photo today is of Rev. David Buttrick, Professor of Homiletics, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Saint Meinrad School of Theology, Divinity School of Vanderbilt University.
You are no longer strangers and sojourners,
but you are fellow citizens with the holy ones
and members of the household of God,
built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the capstone.
(Eph 2:19-20)
I love the old hymn, How Firm A Foundation. I grew up with this hymn; it’s a part of my soul. Of course, the hymn was talking about the Word of the Lord being the foundation of our lives. But I think the hymn also applies to the foundation of the Apostles and prophets through whom we have received that Word. As the Letter to the Ephesians suggests, It is Christ Jesus himself who holds the whole structure together.
Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like?
To what can I compare it?
It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden.
When it was fully grown, it became a large bush
and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.”
(Lk 13:18-19)
Ancient Israel’s image of itself was as tall as the cedars of Lebanon. What Jesus had in mind was a bit more humble . . . a mustard seed that becomes a large bush where the birds can build their nests. Of course, that’s the problem with the Kingdom of God . . . it’s not always what we expect!
Brothers and sisters:
Be kind to one another, compassionate,
forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.
Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love,
as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us
as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma .
. . . . Live as children of light.
(Eph 4:32-5:8
Receive the Light of Christ! We can all use a bit more kindness, a bit more compassion, and a lot more forgiveness.
Thus says the LORD:
"You shall not molest or oppress an alien,
for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt.
You shall not wrong any widow or orphan.
If ever you wrong them and they cry out to me,
I will surely hear their cry.
My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword;
then your own wives will be widows, and your children orphans.”
(Ex 22:22-23)
A scholar of the law tested him by asking,
"Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?"
He said to him,
"You shall love the Lord, your God.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
The second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
(Mt 22:35-39)
I grew up in the Baptist church in the Bible Belt. Scripture was always quoted. In fact, we even had Bible sword drills . . . so that we could practice looking up Bible passages as fast as possible. But I can tell you that this particular passage from Exodus was NEVER quoted, NEVER cited, and was NEVER part of our Bible sword drills. “Love God” is perfectly fine . . . the problem always is the “love neighbor” part. Of course, Jesus was asked the trick question: Which is the greatest commandment? What we generally forget is that “Love neighbor” is the same as “Love God.”
