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Greetings, SBT Readers:
The Black Friday signs are everywhere, in all the main commercial spots on the Maltese islands. Walking through Sliema yesterday in search of a new umbrella, I noted the slashed prices displayed in high-end boutiques and even in more modest establishments. The black signage seemed strangely out of place, especially when juxtaposed with Christmas decorations which were also omnipresent. For some shoppers, the hunt for bargains was on; for others, the countdown to Christmas had begun, bringing with it all the stress of gift-buying. Just a few days before, there were neither Black Friday signs nor Christmas trees; somehow, life seemed simpler, less cluttered, less stressful...
Pushing my way through the throngs of shoppers, I finally found myself on a quiet street where I could breathe -- and think. The problem with consuming, I concluded, is not just the drain on our bank accounts; rather, it is the "drain on the brain." When the urge to shop takes over, it literally stifles our reflective abilities, narrowing our focus to finding bargains. Like any addiction, it reduces our capacity to respond to others while limiting our awareness of what is happening in the rest of the world, especially in war zones like Gaza, Ukraine and the other 30 or so areas of conflict. It also makes us less self-aware, unable to see that we are engaging in the same behaviors that we find so objectionable in others.
Perhaps this is precisely why we need Giving Tuesday!
Many Blessings!
Elizabeth
SCRIPTURE REFLECTION
Link to Readings
Thus says the Lord:
I myself will tend my sheep.
Just as a shepherd tends his flock
when among his scattered sheep,
so I will tend my sheep, rescuing
them from every place where they were scattered
when it was cloudy and dark.
I myself will pasture my sheep;
I myself will give them rest, says the Lord God.
The lost I will seek out,
bring back the strays,
the injured I will bind up,
but those that are sleek and strong I will destroy,
shepherding them with justice.
As for you, my sheep, says the Lord,
I will judge between one sheep and another,
between rams and goats.
Ez 34:11-12, 15-17
It is paradoxical that true worship consists not of pomp, circumstance and ceremony, nor of ritual and public displays of piety, nor of devotional practices and hours spent in prayer; rather, Jesus emphasizes that it is caring for the poor and afflicted that really draws us closer to God's heart and makes us "righteous" in God's sight. Just as the Good Shepherd goes in search of the lost and scattered, of the injured and those without status, so his disciples must do likewise. Moreover, even more amazing, in tending to our marginalized brothers and sisters we are tending to the Lord himself.
The Corporal Works of Mercy leave no room for ambiguity. We will be judged on how we treat others. This goes beyond merely feeling sorry for the afflicted, or simply making financial contributions or even praying for them. What is called for -- hard as this may seem-- is to "touch" the wounds of those who are bleeding just as the Good Samaritan in Lk 10:29-37 binds the wounds of the injured traveler he encounters on the road to Jericho.
To "touch the wounds" of another sometimes involves literally extending physical care of some kind -- treating an injury, for example, or extending a helping hand to someone with mobility issues. However, there are broader applications to this concept. We encounter the wounded Christ in multiple ways -- in those who are sick, or grieving, or feeling hopeless, or experiencing oppression of any kind. To touch the wounds of those who are suffering means to see them, to acknowledge them, to communicate not pity but empathy; it means to lift up those who are bowed down, to stand with those who are alone, to weep with those who are mourning, to point the way to those who are lost, to be the light in darkness ...
Jesus healed by touching wounds, not just physically (e.g. the healing of the deaf/ mute man in Mk 7:31-37) but by being fully present to the afflicted, always treating them with compassion and respect. "Touching wounds" is not about fixing things -- though that is always a plus -- but about SEEING another's suffering and responding with the whole of one's self. It is about HEARING another's pain and LISTENING to their story, even if we have heard it before and even if it is not particularly interesting. It entails CROSSING OVER into the other person's experience, even if it is so very different from our own.
The Feast of Christ the King reminds us that Jesus' Kingdom is not based on power, wealth and prestige; nor does it extend to vast territories guarded by armies and stockpiles of lethal weapons. Rather, his domain is the human heart while his true subjects are those who love their neighbors. He is the Lord of immigrants, refugees, and displaced people; of victims of war and violence; of those who are oppressed and exploited; of the poor, hungry and homeless; of those who are sick or grieving; of those who are lost and forsaken...
Come, let us worship...
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