Dt 34:1-12
Moses went up from the plains of Moab to Mount Nebo, the headland of Pisgah which faces Jericho, and the LORD showed him all the land—Gilead, and as far as Dan, all Naphtali, the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Western Sea, the Negeb, the circuit of the Jordan with the lowlands at Jericho, city of palms, and as far as Zoar.
The LORD then said to him, “This is the land which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that I would give to their descendants. I have let you feast your eyes upon it, but you shall not cross over.” So there, in the land of Moab, Moses, the servant of the LORD, died as the LORD had said; and he was buried in the ravine opposite Beth-peor in the land of Moab, but to this day no one knows the place of his burial.
Moses was one hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were undimmed and his vigor unabated. For thirty days the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab, till they had completed the period of grief and mourning for Moses.
Now Joshua, son of Nun, was filled with the spirit of wisdom, since Moses had laid his hands upon him; and so the children of Israel gave him their obedience, thus carrying out the LORD’s command to Moses. Since then no prophet has arisen in Israel like Moses,whom the LORD knew face to face. He had no equal in all the signs and wonders the LORD sent him to perform in the land of Egypt against Pharaoh and all his servants and against all his land, and for the might and the terrifying power that Moses exhibited in the sight of all Israel.
Mt 18:15-20
Jesus said to his disciples: “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell the Church. If he refuses to listen even to the Church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.
Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again, amen, I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything for which they are to pray, it shall be granted to them by my heavenly Father. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Anyone who sets out on the journey of becoming like Jesus embraces certain spiritual practices. Service to others, prayer, worship, meditation on Scripture, and other disciplines become important to us. At first, many of these practices are exciting and life-changing. We eat up the scriptures. We cannot get enough time for prayer. We are filled with love for the Spirit who works through these practices and shapes us into the image of Jesus Christ. You see this fervor in a lot of converts, especially.
Then something happens: our disciplines become ordinary. They become such a part of who we are that we can do them in our sleep (and, it seems we often do). This reminds me of the sermon at last Wednesday's Mass in Simi Valley when Father joked about most of us waiting until bedtime to say the rosary and we end up falling asleep before we're finished with the Apostle's Creed! Why not find time during the day--or even better--the morning to say the rosary when our meditations can help us through the day? The holy fire that used to fill our hearts becomes a distant memory. We don’t really expect much to happen—so we don’t keep looking as fervently as we did for His presence in our lives—we just assume He’s there, and so we ignore Him--until we want something FROM Him. Instead of using the fire to fan our flames of LOVE for God, we use it to give us a "warm glow" to help us forget what our praise is for!
The first reading is about Moses’ final days. Although he could not enter the promised land because of sin, the Lord knew Moses face to face. He was a man of terrifying power and might, yet a man who also had a spirit of wisdom. He lived to be a hundred and twenty yet “his eyes were undimmed and his vigor unabated. His relationship with God was so intense that he had to cover his face so that the people could look at him.
Blessed be God who fills our souls with fire. How does He do that? There is a time to say one’s little prayers and do one’s little disciplines but there is also a time to stand in the midst of the congregation and shout joyfully to God, sing praise to his name, and loudly sound his praise. I am trying to do my part in this with this blog. I hope I can continue for a long time. I really enjoy writing it and it gives me the excuse I need to start my own meditations on His daily Word.
Worship does not always have to be loud and include shouts but praise has a way of breaking through the ordinary humdrum of even solid spiritual practices. Every now and then we need to be filled with fire. I felt this fire after last Sunday’s sermon. In fact, I still feel the warmth! Father Rainwater was at the top of his game. Real fire and brimstone stuff, but also material that hit me close to home! I was so moved I had to give him a “thumbs up” after Mass, and a “Great, passionate sermon, Father!” This compliment seemed to fan his fire into a great big smile of satisfaction that he reached at least one more soul.
The gospel reading envisions a time when brothers and sisters in the Church do not listen to each other and will not receive correction. (Today? I’m thinking Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, Ted Kennedy, et al. in the stronger sense, and our “separated bretheren” in the lesser sense.) Jesus sets forth a process for winning them back. Father Mitch Pacwa from EWTN had a good point on this today. He was asked, “How do we treat the pagans and tax collectors?” The caller was under the impression that if they fail to listen to the correction time after time we should shun them. But Father Pacwa pointed out that they still have souls created in the image and likeness of God and are deserving of stronger evangelization and prayer, not isolation from the Church. The Church receives the power to bind and loose in heaven and on earth. She can pray to God and know that God will listen. How can this be? Why can two or three agree in prayer and expect the heavens to open and the earth to move beneath their feet? Because Jesus is in the midst of them. The fire of God is the soul of the Church and through Jesus, the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church becomes all flame.
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