All three of the readings for mass today are very short, and at first glance, do not have very much to say. But, they are living words that the Holy Spirit Himself opens up and brings to life. The Life that is found in these words are not an intellectual thing though. The words in scripture are Spirit and Truth. They are Living Words.
Saint Paul tells us in the first reading from Timothy: “you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth.” Certain words kind of stand out in scripture and speak to you and what the Spirit has to say to you is different each time you read the bible. The words in scripture are living words. Today, these words tell us about the household of God and how we are to behave, as the family of God. The Catholic church is one body in Christ and contains the fullness of the truth of our living God:
“Without any doubt, the mystery of our religion is great:
He was revealed in flesh, vindicated in spirit,
seen by angels, proclaimed among Gentiles,
believed in throughout the world, taken up in glory.”
This leads right into the psalm for today which continues to explain more about the household of God:
“I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
Great are the works of the Lord,
studied by all who delight in them.”
For those of us who are reading the scriptures for mass today and studying them, we are “in the company of the upright, in the congregation” even if it is on the internet. We make up a different kind of congregation, a different kind of community on the internet, yet we are still the body of Christ even here in this place. We are all passing through this life, on the same journey. We are a pilgrim people and heaven is our home. We journey through life with our family and friends, but also with one another in the Catholic church. Our lives are richer, fuller and happier when we reach out to one another wherever we are, to form community and share our lives together, both the good and the bad as well. That is what the gospel reading is about today too, except the people of that time did not see it that way.
“We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;
we wailed, and you did not weep.”
John the Baptist did not eat bread and drink wine and they thought he had a demon, but Jesus did eat bread and drink wine and they thought he was a glutton and drunkard and a friend of the worst of the sinners. The way things look are not always what they seem to be though, from the outside looking in. There are hidden truths in one another’s lives that only the Lord knows, so we should never judge one another by the surface facts of our lives. That is hard to do sometimes, but necessary if we are to be a true community that lives in the Holy Spirit, eating, drinking, dancing sometimes, weeping sometimes and supporting one another through our life’s journey.
The last verse in today’s gospel is “wisdom is vindicated by all her children”. This is the beauty of our church. Individually, we are less than perfect people, but together we are the living, breathing body of Jesus Christ. The vindication for our imperfections is not from ourselves, but from Jesus, the bridegroom of our church, who earned the right for us to be gathered together to celebrate eternal life with him and with one another. Surely we will meet one another in heaven one day and someone will play the flute (maybe the angels?) and then – we shall dance.
Today, may your spirit dance within you wherever you may go.
