RENEWsletter for February 14, 2010 - 6th Ordinary

Good morning Renewers--
There's a song that goes, "You can rise / from the ashes again. You can rise / to the morning that breaks in your eyes. For what looked like your heart's demise / has turned out to be a blessing in disguise." * I have a story of a blessing in disguise. Many years ago I found myself deep in debt and unable to make ends meet. I had a Mustang with $522/mo payments from a more prosperous time and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Then the car was stolen! How could things get any worse! But you know what? My insurance company paid off based on the market value of the car. It had appreciated in value and I received a thousand dollars more than I paid for the car 18 months earlier! I paid off the car loan and couple of other little loans, and got an Escort at $221/mo. I avoided bankruptcy and eventually was able to get completely out of debt. Talk about blessings in disguise!

The readings for next Sunday which is the 6th in Ordinary Time address the prevalence of blessings, some going around in disguise, that those who trust in the Lord often find at their door. The readings are on the web at: http://www.usccb.org/nab/021410.shtml, and in your Bible at:

Jeremiah 17.5-8
Psalms 1.1-2, 3, 4, 6
1 Corinthians 15.12, 16-20
Luke 6.17, 20-26

The First Reading from Jeremiah gives some comforting words for those who feel downtrodden, neglected, or persecuted. The prophet proclaims that those in power, the in-crowd, the elite of the day, are too busy feeding off of, and preening in front of, their elite peers to take any thought for the oppressed (Jer. 17.5). But they'll have their come-uppins, because God is watching, making a list, and keeping track (v. 6). Then he assures the second-class citizens that their lot truly is a wealth of blessings from the LORD. Those who've learned they can't trust the people in power, turn to the LORD and put their trust in him (v. 7). This is a wise thing to do, because God promises that they will be drought-resistant, like a tree planted near a stream. Though no rain fall, water comes unseen up through the roots, and their leaves stay green (v. 8).

The psalmist of the Responsorial Psalm sings the same song. Blessed is the one who doesn't listen to the counsel of the wicked, who doesn't emulate their behavior, who doesn't hang out with them (Ps 1.1). But those who delight in the Law of the LORD are again like draught-resistant trees planted near water (v. 3). And again, as in the First Reading, the wicked are not so (v. 4). The wicked will not survive the judgment (v. 5), but the LORD himself is watching over the just (v. 6)!

In the Second Reading, Paul tears apart the "counsel of the wicked" who say there is no resurrection (1 Cor. 15.12). The whole passage shows how their argument is internally inconsistent. (The skipped verses say about the same thing the surrounding verses do.) Christ was presented as raised from the dead, but these scorned the idea of resurrection. "Excuse me!" says Paul. "If there's no resurrection, then Christ never rose. And if Christ never rose, then we have no salvation!" (vs. 16, 17). But Christ did rise from the dead (v. 20), and is the first fruits of... well, of that tree planted by the river whose leaves stay green and which continues to bear fruit even in draught!

The Gospel Reading from Luke relates Jesus's Beatitudes speech. (Here the skipped verses indicate that Jesus did some healing before he began his teaching.) The version of this speech in Matthew is called the Sermon on the Mount, but Luke describes the setting here as a level field (Luke 6.17). Maybe it was a stock speech that Jesus gave all over Galilee and Judea. The setting doesn't matter. The speech does. Basically it says the same thing Jeremiah and the psalmist have said. Blessed are those who are oppressed, for God is keeping track (vs. 20-23). Those who have it soft, who wallow in luxury, who abuse their power, get their reward up front (vs. 24-26). The rest will be laying up treasures in heaven. And because God is with them, they can be leaping for joy in the here and now.

Do you feel like leaping for joy? I sure didn't when I discovered my car stolen! But I did later when I got the insurance check! If we broaden our perspective, lift our eyes up from the rock-strewn path before us, we just might catch a glimpse of what God has in store for us in heaven.

May the LORD bless you so richly this week that it embarrasses you! :-)

Randy Jones
"Those who eat dessert first, will have nothing later!"

* "Blessing In Disguise" written by Gordon Kennedy, Wayne Kirkpatrick, and Billy Sprague. Copyright 1994 by PolyGram International Publishing, Inc., et al. Available on "Along the Road" CD released by Sparrow 1994.