FULLY CATHOLIC

Today we begin that part of the liturgical year dedicated to the celebration of WAITING. Waiting is not something which we normally celebrate; we like to have things instantly. Nature however tells us that waiting is important, the long process of maturation is essential if created beings, persons and others are to come to perfection. There is nothing worse than a forced ripe mango or any fruit for that matter. We have to learn to wait in all aspects of life be these aspects the professional, emotional intellectual, physical etc. Being compared to a forced ripened fruit is not very complementary.

To understand the Gospel reading for today it is necessary to understand the concept of Kingship in the Old Testament among the Jews. For the Jews the chief role of the King was to protect the defenseless, the widows and orphans, and all those who found themselves for whatever reason on margins of society. The King was meant to rule in such a way that a just and equitable society was secured. In this way the vocation of Israel, to model for the world a just and harmonious society, would be maintained.  This concept of Kingship is totally different to the concept of Kingship among other nations in which the King was the one with all the power and ruled in such a way as to ensure that the power of the King was solidified and augmented. It was because of these differing concepts of Kingship that Jesus could say to Pilate, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”

As one gets older the issue of death becomes more prominent in one’s thoughts. Questions like, “what happens after death? And will I be judged compassionately? Will I go to heaven or hell? Come around with increasing frequency. We try not to be absorbed by these questions but they return from time to time. The questions are often linked to another, which is how have I lived? Have I done what is necessary to fulfill my purpose in life?

Recently persons were asked what they would do if they won the jackpot in the local lottery which was calculated to be fourteen million or thereabouts. Some persons said that the first thing that they would do would be to give some of their winnings to the poor; others had other priorities in which the poor did not figure. In fact there are many stories throughout the world in which persons who have won lotteries have spent all their winning on frivolities and have found themselves penniless after a short period of time.

Ambition is fairly common among young persons and at times they are open enough to express their ambitions to us more mature persons. These moments can be moments in which we teach some very important truths about leadership and what it entails. The gospel passage given to us for our meditation this week gives us the example of Jesus dealing with the ambitions of two of the disciples, James and John.