Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

September 16, 2018

September 16, 2018

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September 16, 2018

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cecilia

Cecilia

González-Andrieu

González-Andrieu

I like the old saying that to be a Christian means to face the world with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other.  The relationship between the ancient text and the present moment brings the words of Scripture to life and gives them renewed relevance in our time and in our place.  Connecting the two helps us not only to see our own issues better, but also to remember that the poor folk of Galilee had a tangible reason for sitting at the feet of Jesus and asking him questions.  They were not interested in theories but wanted hope in their daily lives, because they were vulnerable and most often powerless. Today’s readings bear witness to a people that had suffered for generations, and who were seeking God’s response to that suffering.  As we hear in the Gospel, Jesus was God’s eloquent answer, sent to walk with them, know them, heal them, and love them.

So, what are the newspaper headlines I want to hold in my hand to weave in with today’s Scriptures? I will speak from my concrete reality, just as the Scriptures speak from theirs. September 15th is the start of “Hispanic,” or as I prefer, “Latino Heritage Month” in the United States.  In years past this was a time devoted to celebrating Latinx, foods, arts, and milestones and to remember the long history of a people born from cultures that met for the first time on the American continent five centuries ago: indigenous communities, Iberian colonists and African slaves.  Through that painful and violent encounter, a new mixed-race people was born in this American hemisphere.  Like our forebears in the Bible, these communities have told their stories, both joyful and sorrowful, and this year of 2018, Latino communities in the United States are telling a very particular story.  Today’s readings are providentially fitting for a community that is grieving a hostile national climate that has particularly affected Latinx persons in very painful ways.  I want us to reflect together on what such a moment in our collective life on this continent may mean by the light of the Sacred Scriptures.

Like Isaiah declares in today’s first reading (Isaiah 50:5-9), being targeted, buffeted and spit upon was nothing new to the prophets.  And “distress and sorrow” was an all too familiar experience for the Israelites and their descendants as they tried to build vibrant communities for their families, while living with the constant violence and indignities of neighboring powers wanting to subjugate them. The Psalms, like today’s Psalm 116, are full of heart-rending laments that remind us of such times: when the community sought freedom from death, from tears, from all that would destroy them and cried out to God.  Both readings reflect the history of salvation, of God’s vision for the creation God made and nurtures, as they reached for the strength to endure and survive, finding their help in God.  As these Scriptures speak of the unnecessary and cruel pain that we humans inflict upon one another, they accomplish two things, which have direct bearing on our situation today.  

First, these readings don’t allow us to look away.  Isaiah and the psalmist present us with compelling images of the suffering of those who are assaulted by the powerful.  The communities telling us these stories are not squeamish, they don’t pull any punches, they say “look here, we are beaten, we are humiliated, they try to shame us, we are distressed and sorrowful.  See what suffering we are bearing.”  They turn our eyes to the immigrant ripped away from her children; the asylum seeker who finds no comfort; the community of the vulnerable poor who are called names and vilified.  They invite us to see with new eyes.

Second, the readings teach us about enduring faith.  Isaiah and the psalmist know a God who is not the God of prosperity, not the God of the powerful, not the God of the comfortable.  Theirs is not a flimsy faith.  Theirs is not the kind of faith that looks for its advantage, making deals with God and that when things become difficult denies God.  Theirs is the kind of faith we see in persons walking for months across a continent searching for a way to feed their children, seeking to shield them from violence. The faith we hear in the Guatemalan mother finally reunited with her young daughter, as they both kneel “Thank you beloved Lord, thank you King of Kings, thank you Christ, thank you my Lord Jesus, thank you for this beautiful gift.”[1]

Finally, the reading from the Letter of James joined with Mark’s recounting of a pivotal moment for Jesus and his friends (Mk 8:27-35) can lead us to reflect on the cost of discipleship: the risks the early Church, and we, must be willing to take if we are to call ourselves Jesus’ friends.

We follow Jesus only when our works match our words.  

Seeing the suffering as we have, being moved by the power of endurance and the courage of our forebears in faith, we are called to act.  As the author of James enjoins us: “I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works” (Js 2:18).  In the Gospel Jesus confirms the risky nature of following him, “whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mk 8:34).  

Today, as we face political regimes at home and abroad that assail human rights, attack the vulnerable, and deny our common humanity, we must, each of us, discern prayerfully what following Jesus will mean in our context. Our faith will become deeper and more real, by the same measure that our works communicate the reign of God. A transformed reality that fulfills the hopes of the ancients and our hopes too.  

Here, now, what will you risk?


[1]I translate from CNN video posted on 7/5/18. “CNN EXCLUSIVE: Mother and daughter reunite after being separated at the US border.”

Me gusta el dicho que dice que el cristiano debe de caminar por el mundo con la Biblia en una mano y el periódico en la otra.  La relación entre el texto bíblico y nuestro entorno hace que las palabras de las Sagradas Escrituras cobren nueva vida y nos ayuden a discernir como vivir en nuestro momento y en nuestro medio ambiente. Conectar a los dos, nos ayuda a ver nuestra situación mas claramente y también a recordar que las comunidades pobres de Galilea tenían razones muy particulares que los llevaban a sentarse a los pies de Jesús y hacerle preguntas.  A ellos no les interesaban las teorías, pero buscaban alguna esperanza en sus vidas, porque vivían existencias de mucha vulnerabilidad, donde carecían de poder.  Las lecturas para la misa de hoy dan testimonio a un pueblo que había sufrido mucho por varias generaciones, y que anhelaba oír la respuesta de Dios a estos sufrimientos.  Como escuchamos en el evangelio de hoy, Jesús es la respuesta amorosa de Dios, quien es enviado a caminar con ellos, conocerlos, curarlos y amarlos.

¿Entonces, cuales son los titulares del periódico de hoy que quiero mirar a la luz de las Escrituras?  Voy a hablar desde mi cotidiano, igual que lo hacen los textos bíblicos. El 15 de septiembre da comienzo al Mes de la Herencia Hispana, o el Mes de la Herencia Latina en los Estados Unidos.  En tiempos pasados durante estos días celebrábamos con las comidas, artes y momentos importantes de nuestros pueblos, pueblos que nacieron de culturas que se encontraron por primera vez en el continente de América hace mas de quinientos años: las comunidades indígenas, los colonos que venían de la península de Iberia y los esclavos africanos.  Por causa de este encuentro que fue doloroso y violento, un nuevo pueblo de razas mixtas nació en este hemisferio.  Al igual que nuestros antepasados en la Biblia, estas comunidades han contado sus historias, con alegrías y dolores, y este año de 2018, las comunidades Latinas en los Estados Unidos estamos pasando por momentos desafiantes. Las lecturas de hoy nos hablan directamente, porque somos una comunidad que gime bajo el peso de actitudes adversarias y violentas y que nos afectan muy de cerca. Quiero que meditemos juntos acerca de qué podemos ver mas claramente en este momento, que afecta a la vida de todo el continente, cuando lo alumbramos con la luz de las Sagradas Escrituras.

Como el profeta Isaías declara en la primera lectura (Isaías 50:5-9), ser amenazado, golpeado y ultrajado no era nada nuevo para los profetas.  Y ser humillados y heridos era algo demasiado conocido en la vida de los israelitas y sus descendientes, mientras ellos trataban de construir comunidades saludables para sus familias, viviendo bajo la amenaza constante de pueblos vecinos que los violentaban tratando de subyugarlos.  Los Salmos, como el Salmo 116 que leemos hoy, se desbordan de lamentos desgarradores relatando momentos en los que las comunidades buscaban librarse de la muerte, de las lagrimas, de todo lo que buscaba destruirles y le pedían ayuda a Dios.  Ambas lecturas nos presentan a la historia de la salvación, la visión de Dios para la creación que Dios ha hecho y sostiene, mientras la comunidad pide la fuerza para sobrevivir, y la encuentra en Dios.  Las lecturas hablan del sufrimiento, cruel y sin razón, que los seres humanos nos causamos los unos a los otros, y nos ayudan a ver dos cosas que nos pueden ayudar con nuestra situación de hoy.  

Primero, las lecturas no nos permiten apartar nuestros ojos. Isaías y el escritor del salmo plasman imágenes inolvidables de aquellos que sufren bajo la agresión de los poderosos. Las comunidades que nos cuentan esta historia no son melindrosas, nos dicen la verdad, exclaman “míranos aquí, nos golpean, nos humillan, vivimos vidas llenas de dolor y de tristeza.  Ve cuanto sufrimiento nos agobia.”  Las lecturas nos ponen de frente a la inmigrante a quien le arrebatan a sus hijos, al que busca asilo y es rechazado; la comunidad de los pobres y vulnerables a quienes se les insulta y abusa.  Nos invitan a ver a la realidad con ojos nuevos.

Segundo, las lecturas nos enseñan acerca de la fe duradera.  Isaías y el salmista saben que Dios no es el Dios del dinero, ni el Dios de los poderosos, ni el Dios de los cómodos. La fe de ellos no es endeble. La fe de ellos no es el tipo de fe que busca su propia ventaja, tratando de sobornar a Dios y después desvaneciéndose cuando encuentra dificultades.  La fe de ellos es la fe que vemos en las personas que caminan por meses cruzando el continente para darles de comer a sus hijos y protegerlos de la violencia.  La fe que oímos en la voz de la madre guatemalteca que por fin ve a su pequeña hija de quien la habían separado por fuerza y se arrodilla exclamando “Gracias mi amado Señor, gracias rey de reyes, gracias Cristo, gracias mi señor Jesús por este hermoso regalo.”[1]

Finalmente, la lectura de la Carta de Santiago, unida al Evangelio de Marcos que nos relata un momento muy clave en la vida de Jesús (Marcos 8:27-35), nos llevan a reflexionar acerca del precio de ser discípulos:  los riesgos que tomó la Iglesia primitiva y que nosotros también tenemos que tomar, si queremos llamarnos amigos de Jesús.  

Seguimos a Jesús solo cuando nuestras acciones armonizan con nuestras palabras.

Después de ser testigos al sufrimiento, conmovidos por la resistencia y valentía de nuestras madres y padres en la fe, somos llamados a actuar. Como nos dice el autor de la carta de Santiago “yo te mostraré mi fe por mis obras” (Santiago 2:18).  En el evangelio, Jesús confirma el riesgo de seguirle, “si alguno quiere venir en pos de mí, niéguese a sí mismo, tome su cruz, y sígame” (Marcos 8:34)

Hoy, en la realidad de gobiernos aquí y por todo el mundo que violentan a los derechos humanos, atacan a los vulnerables, y niegan que compartimos la misma humanidad, tenemos que preguntarnos, ¿que quiere decir seguir a Jesús en estas circunstancias?  Nuestra fe se volverá mas profunda y mas real en la medida que nuestras obras comuniquen al reino de Dios: una realidad transformada que cumple todos los anhelos de nuestros antepasados y también nuestras esperanzas de hoy.

Aquí, y ahora, ¿estarás dispuesto a arriesgarte para seguir a Jesús?


[1]Video the CNN video 7/5/18. “CNN EXCLUSIVE: Mother and daughter reunite after being separated at the US border.”

First Reading

Is 50:5-9A

PSALM

Ps 116:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9

Second Reading

Jas 2:14-18

GOSPEL

Mk 8:27-35
Read texts at usccb.org

Cecilia González-Andrieu

Cecilia González-Andrieu

Cecilia González-Andrieu is professor of Theology and Theological Aesthetics at Loyola Marymount University.  She completed the doctorate at the Graduate Theological Union, where she combined the study of systematic theology with religion and the arts, working jointly with the department of Peninsular Studies at UC Berkeley. Her work explores systematic theology, theological aesthetics, and political theology from the particularity of the Latinx experience.  

She is the author of Bridge to Wonder: Art as a Gospel of Beauty and co-editor of Teaching Global Theologies: Power and Praxis. A scholar-activist Dr. González-Andrieu speaks and marches with those who thirst for the liberative power of theological thought in a number of interlaced areas of inquiry.  She has published scholarly articles on theological aesthetics, Latinx theology, the theology of Pope Francis and educational justice, while also writing on immigration, education and current political concerns as a contributing writer for America Magazine.

At LMU, Cecilia helps lead the university’s work with undocumented students. An active member of the board of directors of the Ignatian Solidarity Network, she co-chairs the LMU Latinx Theology and Ministry Initiative, and is the founding editor of LMU’s Say Something Theological Student Journal.  She is a member of the Academy of Catholic Hispanic Theologians of the U.S., the Catholic Theological Society of America, an advisor for  Discerning Deacons and an alumna and supporter of the Hispanic Theological Initiative.

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