Wisdom 3:1-9
The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. But they are in peace. For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. In the time of their visitation they shall shine, and shall dart about as sparks through stubble; they shall judge nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord shall be their King forever. Those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love: because grace and mercy are with his holy ones, and his care is with his elect.
Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b 3b-4, 5, 6
R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.
Romans 5:5-11
Brothers and sisters: Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For Christ, while we were still helpless, died at the appointed time for the ungodly. Indeed, only with difficulty does one die for a just person, though perhaps for a good person one might even find courage to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. How much more then, since we are now justified by his Blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life. Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
Matthew 25:34
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come, you who are blessed by my Father;
inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
John 6:37-40
Jesus said to the crowds: “Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”
Wisdom 3:1-9
The Book of Wisdom, sometimes referred to as The Wisdom of Solomon, was composed approximately 100 years before Christ. It is believed to have originated from Alexandria, one of the largest Jewish communities formed out of the diaspora. Most scholars agree that the original language of composition was Greek. The author was a Jew-ish teacher living in a Greek speaking area who had an in depth understanding of Hebrew Scripture. The book gives us additional insight into the deeper meaning of Hebrew words and truths as articulated in the Greek lan-guage. A particular example is the word that we translate as being in English. The Greek word is eimi and it means to be, to exist, or being. The word, as used in Hebrews 11:6, means to exist without contingency. “But with-out faith it is impossible to please Him, for anyone who approaches God must believe that He exists (eimi) and that He rewards those who seek Him.” (Heb 11: 6). This is significant in that God reveals Himself as “I Am who Am,” (Hebrew ehyeh aser ehyeh), the One whose nature is to be, i.e. being itself and therefore existing without contingency.
In verse 1:14 God is assuring us that He wants to share His life with us, “For He fashioned all things that they might have being (eimi).” (Wis 1: 14). Jesus, in words captured by St. John the beloved disciple, further states this in the famous passage John 3:16, “For God so love the world that He gave his only Son, so that those who believe in Him might not perish but might have eternal life.” Wisdom states in verse 2:23, “For God formed man to be im-perishable; the image of His own nature he made him.” (Wis 2: 23). Being, to be, eternal life, imperishable, are all terms that describe God’s nature, a nature that He desires to share with us. In the creation story of Genesis God clearly reveals that He is the source of our being, “The Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being (nepes/psyche/soul).” (Gn 2:7).
The souls of the just are in the hand of God, and no torment shall touch them. The Greek word that is trans-lated as souls in this verse is psyche. Psyche is the Greek translation of the Hebrew nepes. The Greek phi-losophy further articulates the understanding of the psyche adds to the revelation of nepes in Sacred Scrip-ture. Nepes/psyche/soul is the individual human receptor of divine life, the receptor of the breath of God. The Greek word that is translated in this verse as just is dikaios. Dikaios is often translated as righteous. It means to be in right or correct relationship.
They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead; and their passing away was thought an affliction and their going forth from us, utter destruction. The Greek word translated as foolish in this verse is aphron. Aphron means quite literally unwise and is sometimes translated as ignorant, senseless, foolish, or silly.
But they are in peace. The Greek word that is translated here as peace is eirene. Eirene is the word that Je-sus uses when He speaks of peace in the Gospels. It is a common translation of the Hebrew/Aramaic word shalom. The Hebrew understanding of the word is that God is the source of true peace. Shalom also con-notes a state of completeness and wellness. The Prophet Isaiah speaks of the just man entering into this state of being. “The just man perishes, but no one takes it to heart; devout men are swept away, with no one giv-ing it a thought. Though he is taken from the presence of evil, that just man enters into peace (shalom).” (Is 57: 1-2).
For if before men, indeed, they be punished, yet is their hope full of immortality; chastised a little, they shall be greatly blessed, because God tried them and found them worthy of himself. As gold in the furnace, he proved them, and as sacrificial offerings he took them to himself. The Greek word that is translated as tried in this passage is peirazō. Peirazō is the same word that is used in the Gospels to describe Jesus being tried/tested by the devil in the desert. As this passage suggests peirazō was also used to describe the fire testing or tempering of metals to burn off the impurities. The molecules return purer and more aligned and therefore the substance is hardened. “The crucible for silver, and the furnace for gold, but the tester of the hearts is the Lord.” (Prov 17: 3).
In the time of their visitation they shall shine and shall dart about as sparks through stubble; they shall judge nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord shall be their King forever. “The Ancient One arrived; judge-ment was pronounced in favor of the holy ones of the Most High, and the time came when the holy ones pos-sessed the Kingdom.” (Dan 7: 22).
Those who trust in him shall understand truth, and the faithful shall abide with him in love: because grace and mercy are with his holy ones, and his care is with his elect. The Greek word that is trans-lated as truth is this passage is alethia. Jesus proclaimed Himself as the Truth (Alethia). (See Jn 14: 6). The Greek word that is translated as faithful is pistos. The word pistos as it evolved in Sacred Scripture has come to mean an indwelling connection with divine life. The Greek word that is translated as abide is prosmeno. The Greek word that is translated as love is agape. In the Last Supper Discourse Jesus spoke of abiding in His love (agape).
Psalm 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6
This beautiful hymn portrays Yahweh as a Good Shepherd and a caring and generous host. It is believed to have been composed during or shortly following the Exile. During the time of the Exile the people of Judah and Israel are scattered all over the Near East and they long for Yahweh to gather them together and lead them home. Ref-erences to kings and political leaders as shepherds was common at this time in the Near East. Political leaders were also known to be generous hosts of lavish feasts from time to time. In the wake of incredible political tur-moil and unrest there is a longing for Yahweh to intervene, to shepherd and lead to feed His flock.
Certainly the 23rd Psalm is one of the most famous and oft quoted passages in all Sacred Scripture. It resonates with every human soul as we wander through the darkness and uncertainties of this life. It also portrays the reali-ty of God who is always on the horizon of our lives calling us to follow Him. God wants to walk with us to lead us and guide us. God wants to feed us, to fulfill the deepest longing, the hunger and thirst in our hearts for God Himself. The table of plenty, the fulfillment of all our desires, His love, is always set before us. It is up to us to come to recognize the voice of the Shepherd and to follow that voice. That is the challenge today amid the noise of so many conflicting voices.
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. The Hebrew word that is translated in this verse and throughout this psalm as LORD is Yahweh. The image of Yahweh as shepherd came into vogue through the Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel during the Babylonian Exile. “Like a shepherd He feeds His flock; in His arms He gathers the lambs, carrying them in His bosom, and leading the ewes with care.” (Is 40: 11). “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, proclaim it on distant coasts, and say: He who scatters Isra-el, now gathers them together, He guards them as a shepherd his flock.” (Jer 31: 10). “For thus says the Lord God; I Myself will look after and tend My sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend My sheep. I will rescue them from every place where they are scattered when it was cloudy and dark.” (Ez 34: 11-12). The Hebrew word that is translated in this verse as verdant is deshea. Deshea is often translated as green. Deshea describes green growth or lush vegetation, i.e., as pasture that would be very nourishing for sheep or other grazing animals. A similar image appears in Ezekiel. “In good pastures will I pasture them, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing ground.” (Ez 34: 14). The Hebrew word translated as restful in this verse is menuhah. Menuhah describes a place of quiet or resting place, relative to water it describes a body of water with no visible current, which would be a good place for an animal to drink. The Hebrew word that is translated as refreshes is shewabeb. Shewabeb is sometimes translated as restores. Shewabeb means to turn back as to restore to original per-fection. The Hebrew word translated in this verse as soul is nepes. Nepes first appears in the creation story in Genesis. “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (hay nepes). The soul was created by God to be a receptor of His Spirit. To restore the soul to its original state before the fall is the goal of life eternal, sharing in di-vine life.
He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage. The Hebrew word that is translat-ed as paths in this verse is magal. Magal describes a firm path as one made by wagon traffic. It has evolved in scripture to suggest a solid path for the spiritual life. “On the way of wisdom I direct you, I lead you on straightforward paths (magal).” (Prov 4: 11). “On the way of duty I walk, along the paths (magal) of jus-tice.” (Prov 8: 20). The Hebrew word that is translated as the phrase at my side is immad. Immad is often translated with. It also can mean to be in or within as in indwelling presence. The Prophet Isaiah speaks of this promise of God. “When you pass through the water, I will be with you; in the rivers you shall not drown. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your savior.” (Is 43: 2-3). The Prophet Micah speaks of God shepherding with His staff. “Shepherd Your people with Your staff, the flock of Your inher-itance.” (Mic 7: 14).
Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD for years to come. The Hebrew word that is translated in this verse as goodness is tob. Tob means good, pleasant, desirable, pleasing, beautiful, and prosperous. The Hebrew word translated as kindness is the fa-miliar word hesed. Hesed is often used to describe the steadfast love of God. It also connotes kindness, fi-delity, loyalty, mercy, favor, and ultimate goodness. The Hebrew word that is translated as dwell is shimvabed. Shimvabed suggests returning to a place of being, to restore or turn back to. This further adds to the idea of restoring the soul to an original state of purity.
Romans 5:5-11
Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. This verse calls to mind several Psalms. “In You our ancestors trusted; they trusted and You rescued them. To You they cried out and they escaped; in You they trusted and were not disappointed.” (Ps 22: 5-6). “Preserve my life and rescue me; do not let me be disgraced, for I trust in You.” (Ps 25: 20). “Sustain me by Your promise that I may live; do not disappoint me in my hope.” (Ps 119: 116).
For Christ, while we were still helpless, died at the appointed time for the ungodly. “The way we came to know love was that He laid down His life for us…” (1 Jn 3: 16a). “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love for us, even though we were dead in our transgres-sions, brought us to life with Christ.” (Eph 2: 4-5).
But God proves his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. The Greek word that is translated in this verse as proves is synistemi. Synistemi at its root means to stand with. This has great implications in that God shows His love for us by entering into our fallen human condition and takes our sins to the Cross. Only Emmanuel (God with us) could accom-plish our salvation.
How much more then, since we are now justified by his Blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath. Indeed, if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, how much more, once reconciled, will we be saved by his life. The Greek word that is translated here as justified is dikaioo. Dikaioo appears 15 times in Romans and 24 times in the rest of the NT. Dikaioo means to acquit, vindicate or make righteous. The Greek word that is translated in this passage as saved is sozo. Sozo means to deliver, heal, make well, or restore to original state. This has implications along with Psalm 23, to restore the soul to its original pure state prior to the fall. The Greek word that is translated here as reconciled is katallasso. Katallasso, as its English meaning suggests, means to make things right between two beings. Once we are made one with Jesus, we are able to die and rise with Him. “Always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being given up to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh.” (2 Cor 4: 10-11).
Not only that, but we also boast of God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. The Greek word that is translated in this verse as boast is kaucha-omai. Kauchaomai is sometimes translated as rejoice. It means to boast, rejoice, to vaunt with load tongue. “And all this is from God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Christ and given to us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconcili-ation.” (2 Cor 5: 18-19).
Romans 6:3-9
To understand our pericope today it is important to read Paul’s introduction to this section. “What shall we say then? Are we to continue to sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who have died to sin still live in it?” (Rom 6: 1-2).
Are you unaware that we who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? The Greek word that is translated in this verse as baptism is baptizo. Baptizo literally means to dip in or under water, to immerse. The common understanding is a symbolism of dying and rising, of wash-ing away the old and coming out new and refreshed or restored. John the Baptist was preaching a baptism of repentance, of washing away sins. Jesus entered the waters of our baptism in solidarity with the human condition. To unite with Him in baptism is to share in His death and in His resur-rection.
We were indeed buried with him through baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might live in newness of life. The Greek word that is translated as newness is kainotes. Romans is the only place that this word appears in the NT. It means to make new or refresh. The Greek word that is translated as life is zoe. Zoe is the word that is used to describe life in the Spirit, contrasted with the Greek word bios which is used to describe biological life. “So, whoever is in Christ is a new creation: the old things have passed away; be-hold new things have come.” (2 Cor 5: 17).
If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. “Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Col 3: 2-3). “Their minds are occupied with earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a savior, the Lord Christ Jesus. He will change our lowly body to conform with His glorified body by the power that enables Him also to bring all things into subjection to Himself” (Phil 3: 20-21).
John 6:37-40
Our Gospel pericope is taken from the heart of the Bread of Life Discourse of John’s Gospel. Some experts claim that the Bread of Life Discourse begins with Verse 35 with Jesus proclaiming, “I Am the Bread of Life.” Verses 35-47 are referenced as an invitation to faith and verses 48-58 as an invitation to the Eucharist. I have always looked at the entirety of Chapter 6 as the Bread of Life Discourse.
As we pick up with verse 37 this weekend it is important to keep in mind the setting. Jesus had just fed the crowd along the western shore of the sea of Tiberias. The following scene finds Jesus walking on water to join his disciples who are traveling north to Capernaum along the northwestern coast. We are told that the crowd followed in boats. Many experts point out that it would have taken quite a flo-tilla to transport such a crowd. Perhaps the vast majority followed on foot. Maybe the boats are men-tioned in that the boat often is symbolic of the Church. Without Jesus in the boat the sea was stormy. With Him in the boat the sea is calmed.
In the first interaction with the crowd Jesus clarifies the distinction between physical sustenance that sustains biological life and Spiritual sustenance that He provides, food for eternal life. Jesus empha-sizes the need to believe in order to possess this life. Herein lies the truth upon which the Bread of Life Discourse and in fact all of John’s Gospel is focused. In this conversation it is important to point out that there are two distinct words in Greek that we translate as life. One is bios which is used to describe physical or biological life. The other word for life is zoe. This word appears often in John’s Gospel and is used to describe life in the Spirit, the fullness of life and life eternal.
The heart of the Bread of Life Discourse is summed up by Jesus is verse 35. Jesus exclaims, “I AM the Bread of Life.” This is one of several I AM statements of Jesus as captured by St. John. I AM is ego eimi in the original Greek. Those who heard those words from Jesus for the first time would have recognized the claim of Jesus to divinity. They echo the revelation of God in Exodus 3:14, I AM who I AM., in Hebrew ehyeh asher ehyeh, in Greek ego eimi. As St. Thomas Aquinas pointed out God is revealing Himself as being itself, the one whose very nature is to be. In the creation story God breathed His life breath into man and man became a living being. St. John points out in the prologue of His Gospel, “In the beginning (arche) was (eimi) the Word (logos) and all things came into being (eimi) through Him… what came into being through Him was life (zoe). Jesus is revealing to us that He is God and He is the source of all being, all life.
Bread is the sustenance of life. When Jesus reveals that He is the Bread of Life He is revealing to us that He is also the sustainer of life. Just as the body needs bread for physical nourishment and biolog-ical life, so must the soul be nourished and sustained in real life, life in the Spirit. Jesus proclaims that He is the true Bread from heaven. The Greek word for true is alethia. The English translation does not capture the depth of the word alethia. It has a connotation of ultimate reality, i.e. what is re-ally real and immutable. When Jesus proclaims, “I AM the Way and the Truth (Alethia) and the Life (Zoe),” He is clearly stating that He is God, steadfast and immutable and infinite. Jesus is not one way among many; He is the Way.
Jesus makes it clear that faith, i.e. belief is necessary to possess eternal life (zoe). “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that those who believe in Him might not perish but have eternal life (zoe). (Jn 3: 16). In verse 29 Jesus proclaims the importance that “You believe in the one He sent.” The present subjunctive pisteuete (“believe”) has a durative meaning. The believing must go on. Among many, see Brown, Gospel 1:262.1 As I have pointed out often the idea of faith or belief in scripture at its deepest level means to abide in the indwelling Spirit of God. This is precisely what Jesus is offering to us in the gift of His being; body, blood, soul and divinity in the Holy Eucharist the Bread of Life (Zoe).
1. Moloney, Harrington; The Gospel of John; Sacra Pagina Series; L.P.; Collegeville, MN; page 211.
One of the things that I love about living in God’s country (Northern Michigan) is the change of seasons. Fall is my favorite time of the year. Once the bugs are gone, I put my bike away for the season and start hiking in the woods. Being in the woods day after day is a good way to ex-perience changing nature. South of here, most leaves have fallen, making it easier to spot elusive partridge.
There is an interesting line in our first reading today from the Book of Wisdom that goes like this: “The souls of the just are in the hands of God… They seemed, in the view of the foolish, to be dead.” When walking through the woods the deciduous trees appear to the foolish to be dead, but we know from experience that the leaves will come back in the spring and nature that looks so dead and dormant now will once again be teaming with life. We who have been on this earth for a few years are very familiar with the cycles of nature and of life.
The Church calls us to contemplate the seasons of life during this time of the year. We are challenged to reflect on our own mortality. As the Psalm goes, “Lord, help us to know the short-ness of our days that we may gain wisdom of heart.” True wisdom comes with the awareness of where we came from and where we are going. We are called to live our lives knowing that this world is not our permanent dwelling place.
My grandmother always used to say that she could experience the here-after. She said that she would often walk into a room, look around and ask herself: “What am I here after?” Now she is enjoying the real here-after. This I know because she was a woman of great faith.
Long before we were called Christians, we were called the Easter people, the people of the Resurrection. We live life from the vantage point of the empty tomb. Our faith gives us a master vision for life, sometimes called the Christian vision. We are able to look back at the Cross of Good Friday from the reality of the Easter experience. The risen Lord appeared to the apostles and to others to show us a world beyond the grave.
This weekend we celebrate the great Feast of All Souls. We are called to remember and pray for those souls who have gone before us. As a parish community it is important that we support each other and walk with those who have lost a loved one in recent months. A few years ago I lost my father in mid-October and All Souls Day took on deeper meaning as I heard his name read at Mass, as I carried his memorial candle over to the dinner, as I joined my mother and sib-lings during that special time. I recall how comforting it was to feel the prayers and support of so many people.
Thank you to all who offer prayers and words of comfort to those who mourn and are sad-dened by loss. May God bless you all for your kindness!
In Christ’s Love,
As a priest I feel strongly that God has been calling me to assure people of His amazing love for them. As I ask God daily in prayer what He wants me to communicate, repeatedly I hear the re-sponse of God, “Tell them how much I love them and tell them often. Everyone exists because of My love. I do not want a world without them.”
During most of my years of priesthood I have been blessed to be the pastor of a parish with a Catholic elementary school. One of my great joys was celebrating the school Mass with the children at least weekly. At every Mass I would assure the children that God loved them, and that God did not want a world without them. Once during one of my homilies I asked a rhetorical question, “how often have I told you that God loves you.” The little girl that had a knak for answering without being called on blurted out, “About a bajillion times.”
A mother of one of our school families was killed in a tragic domestic accident. That evening, I was sitting with the father, two young children, ages 6 and 7, and the grandparents. There were no words to comfort the shock and grief that we all felt. The seven-year-old child looked at me in the silence and asked, “Father, if God does not want a world without my mother, how come she is gone, and I will never see her again?” I will never forget the look on that child’s face. I had no answer.
That night I was not able to sleep. I was holding the bible in my hand and was moved to read the Book of Job. Like Job, I was angry with God and was searching for answers. Job demands a meet-ing with God and God grants his wish. In the end Job stands in awe and says, “I have dealt with things that I do not understand; things too wonderful for me, which I cannot know.” (Job 42:3). The standard answer to the question, why do bad things happen to good people, is that there is no answer in this life and that we are asked to have faith and trust in God. That night that answer was not good enough for me, I was demanding more from God.
About 3 a.m. I was on my third or fourth reading of the Book of Job. I was in that section that is entitled The Lord’s Speech, which covers four chapters, i.e. 38-41. God responds to Job and takes him on a whirlwind tour of creation. I fell asleep wondering why.
That morning, I had a dream. God said, “It is true, I do not want a world without Mary (deceased mom), but the world is bigger than the world that you can see right now.” When I awoke, I realized that like Job, God had taken me to a place beyond my questions, beyond my grief. To God all are alive. He is God of the living and the dead.
In the Ascension scene we are told that the Risen Lord was simply taken from their sight. Howev-er, He came to show us a world beyond physical sight and the physical senses. I now see the Incar-nation, the Paschal Mystery, and the totality of Sacred Scripture as the revelation of a world beyond the world that we can see. God wants us to know that His world, the world He desires to share with us is bigger than the world in which we now live.
Through the gift of His Paschal Mystery, through the gift of His dying and rising, through the gift of His Ascension, and through the gift of Pentecost we are able to experience this Spiritual realm. This is now possible “with the eyes of our hearts enlightened” by the Holy Spirit to see as God sees and know as God knows, and to God all are alive. It is a big and wonderful world that God wants to share with us, and for that we should all be grateful!
