Word to the Wise
Wednesday, February 5, 2025 - Wednesday in the 4th Week in Ordinary Time
[Heb 12:4-7, 11-15 and Mark 6:1-6]So strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees. Make straight paths for your feet, that what is lame may not be dislocated but healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for that holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one be deprived of the grace of God, that no bitter root spring up and cause trouble, through which many may become defiled. [Hebrews ]
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2025 ST. AGATHA, virgin and martyr
Towards its end, after much deep reflection on the theological significance of Jesus' death and resurrection for Christian-Jewish minds, the Letter to the Hebrews goes into a strong "pep talk" mode. The basic message is: "Hang in there!" "Persevere no matter what!" A couple of lines earlier than the quote above, we read: "In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood!... Endure your trials as 'discipline!'" The community in question was probably the one in Rome, which endured persecution from time to time, depending on who was emperor! Christianity was not "legalized" in the Roman Empire until 313 A.D. when Constantine issued the Edict of Milan. Christians were refusing to participate in rituals involving "emperor worship." This continues to be a problem in our time. Five Catholic bishops in Nicaragua have been exiled by the government there because they oppose the current dictator. One's employment in our own country may depend on one's political loyalty no matter what gospel principles may be violated.
When faith is shaped by politics instead of the other way around, there will be persecution. The Sermon on the Mount [Matt. 5-7] as well as the parable of the Last Judgment [Matt. 25] provide a standard by which Jesus challenged us to live. The reason we have martyrs like St. Agatha and St. Oscar Romero is that they took their faith seriously and opposed unjust political powers. The Letter to the Hebrews is addressed to us as well. AMEN
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