Open the Door

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authority, Come O God, House of David, House of Israel, Isaiah, Jesus, key, love, Messiah, O Antiphons, power, prophecy, salvation, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unconditional love

Today’s O Antiphon speaks of the Messiah as the Key of the House of David. Isaiah writes of the authority given to the leader of the House of David, the one who has the power to open or to shut without anyone taking that power away. The authority of this powerful leader of God’s kingdom “shall grow continually, and there shall be endless peace for the throne of David and his kingdom. He will establish and uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time onwards and forever more.” (Isaiah 9:7)

How do we understand this power? How did Jesus come in order that this prophecy would be fulfilled? Clearly his power was not the might by which earthly monarchs of earlier days manifested their authority. St. Paul speaks of the humility of the Christ (Messiah) who “emptied himself” of power in order that a new age be initiated, a new way of being triumphant.

What was the key to that new way? It could only be fueled by love. Pouring himself out in love was the example provided for us. We need only to search the gospels to find all the doors unlocked with that key of love. “Love one another as I have loved you,” Jesus said in word and deed. But we cannot only depend on the one who governs for that kind of success. Our participation is demanded. Love others as your very self. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, take care of those less fortunate…You know the terms. The freedom that comes with loving unconditionally will be the salvation of the world. Are we willing?

O Key of David and scepter of the House of Israel, you open and no one can shut; you shut and no one can open: Come and lead the prisoners from the prison house, those that dwell in darkness and the shadow of death.

A Cry Heard in Ramah

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children, Herod, jeremiah, massacre, Matthew, parents, prophecy, Ramah, sorrow, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, violence

Today is not a happy remembrance in the calendar of Church feasts. It is the commemoration of “the Holy Innocents,” the victims of Herod’s massacre of all the baby boys under two years old. Herod was determined to eliminate the possibility that someone – a “new-born” king (Jesus) – would usurp his power. Since he had no idea of where that child might be found, his rage prompted the terrible deed that left so many mothers bereft. It was a fruitless gesture, as violence always is, because Jesus and his parents were well on their way to Egypt when the massacre occurred.

This violence is replicated in our time whenever war and senseless killing happens around the world. I see in my mind’s eye faces of Syrian children in the bombed-out buildings in Aleppo. Closer to home are the images of Sandy Hook just five years ago this month. Although murder is always difficult to endure, the tragedy always seems more horrific when innocent children are killed almost before their lives have begun.

I am praying for parents today, especially for mothers who have lost a child for any reason or no reason at all. For those whose children die because of senseless violence, drug abuse, war, starvation, traffic or other accidents, suicide…so many causes that leave a gaping hole in the hearts of those left behind.

The poignant message of today’s gospel, which Matthew (MT 2:18) saw as
the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s prophecy, calls for our prayer for the sorrowing today. We cannot ignore the pain of his words that speak to the cry heard in our own day around the world: “A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation; Rachel weeping for her children, and she would not be consoled, since they were no more.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Fuller’s Lye

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clean, fuller, growth, Jesus, lessons, Malachi, openness, pain, prophecy, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, willingness

I’m thinking about laundry this morning, specifically the necessity of working really hard to get spots off clothes – usually new ones that I’ve just worn for the first or second time. It would be nice to just drop a little bleach on the salad dressing or beet juice or whatever has created the offending stain, but that only means total ruin of the garment. It might have helped the biblical fuller though – the one from the third chapter of Malachi (3:2) where “the one who is to come” will be like the refiner’s fire or like the fuller’s lye. I remember from my childhood that lye soap was the strongest kind, used in the big laundry sink where clothes got really scrubbed on the washboard. It’s a vague memory, blotted out by modern conveniences like a wringer-less washing machine and every kind of spot remover possible to human invention. Our lives have been made easier in lots of ways but it would be unfortunate to lose the meaning of this analogy in Malachi’s prophecy.

I understand the process of what happens in a refinery to produce pure gold or silver – leaving the dross behind in that hottest of hot fires. Less easy to comprehend, perhaps, in this age of progress is the work of the fuller, who not only scrubbed and picked at the material (usually wool, I think) but beat it with a stick or some other hard object to get out all the natural oils and impurities before weaving or selling it.

I think, as I look back on my life, there have been times of significant growth occasionally brought on by the pain that can accompany purification in some way.  More often, however, it is simply life experience that has taught me the lessons necessary to moving deeper in consciousness. I’ve missed some of the signs along the way, but those are the times when something more blatant happens to wake me up and helps me to let go of what holds me bound. Interestingly, as I get older, the fire seems less hot and the lye less abrasive or caustic as I welcome rather than resist the refining as a step closer to “the finished product.”

I think that might just be one of the things that Jesus came to teach us, so that as we welcome him on Sunday, we do it with an openness and a willingness to learn the hard lessons. In the end, that should stand us in good stead to greet God as brilliant garments wrapped in purest gold.

Zeal for God’s House

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crucifixion, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., God's house, Holy Week, Isaiah, Jesus, prophecy, prophets, psalm 69, zeal

In today’s first reading (Isaiah 50) the prophet speaks of all the suffering he has been willing to undergo in his vocation of prophecy. From “buffets and spitting” to violent death he is called to endure whatever comes from those who refuse the messages he [or she] is compelled to offer in the service of truth, the word of God. We know this from the prophets of our own time, mindful of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as we just remembered the 50th anniversary of the Selma March. Jesus spoke the word of God in his very being and today Psalm 69 speaks of his motivation as he continues the journey toward crucifixion. It says: I have become an outcast to my brothers, a stranger to my mother’s sons, because zeal for your house consumes me.

The word zeal (from the Greek zelos) speaks loudly to me. It has many meanings. Among them are: passion, ardor, love, fervor, fire, avidity, devotion, enthusiasm, eagerness, keenness, gusto, vigor and intensity. Today I will carry it with me in all of its iterations, pondering the level of my zeal for “God’s house” and joining myself to the mind of Jesus as I move deeper into the experience of this Holy Week.

O Root of Jesse’s Stem…Come!

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Alleluia, antiphon, God's love, Isaiah, Jesse, King David, Magnificat, Messiah, miracle, prophecy, roots, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

By Sr. Ansgar Holmberg, CSJ

Today’s “Alleluia” verse, which also appears in evening prayer as the antiphon to the Magnificat (Mary’s Song) says O Root of Jesse’s Stem, sign of God’s love for all his people, come to save us without delay! 

This is a reference to the verses in the prophet Isaiah which promise (IS 11: 1,10) that the Messiah Israel waited for would be a descendent of Jesse, father of the great King David. This was the lineage of Jesus. When a tree dies and is cut back, there sometimes remains a root that eventually puts out a tender branch. Although it seemed that the ancestral line of King David had disappeared, the prophecy was seen to be fulfilled in a very unexpected way.

For me, this lesson is often manifested in plants which seemingly have fulfilled their lifespan but in the spring put forth a new shoot, an unexpected miracle that reminds me of the creative power of life and the love of God.