Greater Than the Temple...

~~~ Exodus 11:10—12:14 ~~~ Psalm 116 ~~~ Matthew 12:1-8 ~~~

 

I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.

Worship in the temple was important to the people.
The temple is where they went to hear the scriptures.
The temple is where they received instruction in the many laws and rituals.
The temple is a building...an inanimate object.

Jesus was indeed greater than the temple.
 He was the living breathing walking talking temple.
He was the personification of the temple.
 

Jesus was responding to criticism for breaking the law
concerning keeping the Sabbath holy.
He and his followers picked a few handfuls of grain
as they walked across the field.
For this they were greatly judged as breaking the law.

When you have Jesus in your midst; whatever he does
is okay to follow likewise.
The Pharisees, however, were preoccupied
with the rules...each and every little letter of the rules.
We can even find this happening today.
Could it be that Jesus wants us to be understanding and compassionate?
The disciples were hungry...they were out on the road...
they may not have even been thinking about what day it was.

I know people who get confused about what day it is after they retire.
If they were out traveling with Jesus they had abandoned their regular routine.
They were on his schedule...they were following him.

Jesus says he wants more than dotted i's and crossed t's,
 he wants mercy, not sacrifice. 

 

The God who changes names and is unbound by time tells
Moses and Aaron the calendar was to be changed.
He is marking the calendar with his redemption story.

'...This month shall stand at the head of your calendar;
you shall reckon it the first month of the year...' 

 

 God is delivering his people out of the land of slavery.
As slaves they had no need of a calendar
because they were only allowed to do what they were told.
A calendar is useful for making plans...
keeping appointments.

You cannot set your own life as a slave.
But in the land of milk and honey everything would be different.

The blood of their paschal lamb would be the mark that would save them.

The psalmist sings my favorite psalm 116 today.
How can I make a return to the Lord
for all the good he has done?

 

 The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.

 

Blessings for us today are in the cup of salvation...
the very blood of our Paschal Lamb, Jesus.
Take the cup of salvation for he is greater than the temple. 

 He is here leading us through the fields of grain.
How I cherish the Eucharistic Celebration
of receiving his body and blood.

Merciful Servant

 

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

~~~ Isaiah 53:10-11 ~~~ Psalm 33 ~~~ Hebrews 4:14-16 ~~~ Mark 10: 35-45 ~~~

 

Jesus came as a servant to our world,

but not even his closest disciples had a handle on that fact.

In their eagerness to be favored by Jesus they made ridiculous requests.

 

They actually expected Jesus to do whatever served them well...

whatever they thought was in their best interest.

We should find great comfort with James and John

because if they could not

understand why Jesus came to earth,

maybe we should be less harsh on ourselves.

 

Even though Jesus had told them before that

he was going up to Jerusalem to die;

they continued to insist that they 'could drink the same cup'.

 

"You do not know what you are asking.
Can you drink the cup that I drink
or be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?"
They said to him, "We can."

 

Previously these same disciples had been reprimanded by Jesus

for arguing among themselves about which one of them was the greatest.

They just could not get the point that Jesus was going to suffer.

He was going to suffer unto his death.

It is probably safe to say that none of them; neither James or John

would have taken his place on the cross.

 

They looked upon Jesus as they had looked upon other rulers...

they all had a chosen few that sat with them in the place of honor.

But Jesus was not like any of the previous rulers.

Jesus was not going to have a kingdom littered with appointed positions.

Jesus was not going to rule as any earthly king would rule.

 

"...the Son of Man did not come to be served
but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

 

 The disciples wanted to be given special places of honor,

but Jesus came to give us special graces.

Jesus became one of us so that he could truly understand

what it meant to be human.

Jesus wanted us to be able to identify with him

 in our human joys and sufferings.

 

It was clear that Jesus was not impressed with the material things of this world.

Having special places and granting special favors for a chosen few 

were not part of his plan.

He came that we might all have share in the salvation blessing

he would secure for each of us. 

 

 

We do not have to sit at the right or the left of Jesus to be the

recipients of his mercy, grace, and love.

The cup Jesus drank for us was the cup full of pain and agony

for all the sins of the whole world.

Jesus was doing the will of the Father

when he came down from heaven.

Jesus was doing the will of the Father

when he walked the long road to Calvary. 

 

Jesus was doing the will of the Father when he stretched his arms

reaching out to the right and to the left.

His outstretched arms embraced all of eternity

before those very disciples who wanted their own special favors.

 

If you want 'special' favors from the Lord then prehaps you should

examine if you are doing the will of God the Father.

Are you serving the needs of those around you?

 

The suffering of our one Lord was way beyond our comprehension.

 

"...through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,
and their guilt he shall bear."

 

Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.