Listen to What He Has to Say
Oct. 17: Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr
St. Ignatius was among the first generation of Christians after the apostles; in fact, he probably personally knew John the Apostle. When he became bishop in 77, he the third bishop of Antioch. Like, ever.
He served during a time of persecution, when many Christians were martyred. When mass executions didn’t seem to deter them, the emperor decided to execute many in the leadership, including the Bishop of Antioch.
Similar to Paul’s epistle today, Ignatius wrote several letters on his way to Rome. We only consider the writing of the apostolic generation to be biblical revelation, but his writings were still full of insight and inspiration to the persecuted Christians of the early Church—
“Let me be food for the wild beasts, for they are my way to God. I am God’s wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become Christ’s pure bread. Pray to Christ for me that the animals will be the means of making me a sacrificial victim for God.”
Reading 1
Rom 1:16-25
Brothers and sisters: I am not ashamed of the Gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: for Jew first, and then Greek. For in it is revealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith; as it is written, "The one who is righteous by faith will live."
The wrath of God is indeed being revealed from heaven against every impiety and wickedness of those who suppress the truth by their wickedness. For what can be known about God is evident to them, because God made it evident to them. Ever since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes of eternal power and divinity have been able to be understood and perceived in what he has made. As a result, they have no excuse; for although they knew God they did not accord him glory as God or give him thanks. Instead, they became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened. While claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image of mortal man or of birds or of four-legged animals or of snakes.
Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and revered and worshiped the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
It is possible to know God to some degree through observations of nature and human reason. Aquinas formulated five proofs for the existence of God, none of which are “because the Bible says so.”
This is why the heathens “have no excuse.” Without revelation, they wouldn’t know how to properly worship God, but they should certainly know not oppress the poor, live decadently, execute religious minorities for sport, and so on.
Most of all, though, even if they don’t know God, they should know not to worship statutes of men or birds. Their conception of God should be transcendent, not limited. As should ours. We’re not likely to worship stone idols, but putting anything ahead of God is a sin; it makes us worth than the heathens, because we have received revelation.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 19:2-3, 4-5
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
Day pours out the word to day,
and night to night imparts knowledge.
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
Not a word nor a discourse
whose voice is not heard;
Through all the earth their voice resounds,
and to the ends of the world, their message.
R. The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
Nature itself testifies to God’s glory. No words are necessary to understand its witness.
I told a story about this last summer—
years ago, I was talking with my college roommate about God. He was agnostic about the whole religion thing, and he asked me, “OK, even if God exists, how would we know anything about him?”
I thought a moment and said, “Well, just look around. The same way you can learn about an artist by studying at his art, you can learn about God by studying creation.”
“Like, you can watch a Spielberg movie and know he has daddy issues?”
“Did you just compare Steven Spielberg to God? And all of creation to Jaws?”1
“And the Lord said to Noah…
Alleluia
Heb 4:12
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The word of God is living and effective,
able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Oftentimes, we read scripture and find it a little disturbing, to see ourselves reflected in the villainous or negative characters there. Good! That’s the first step.
Gospel
Lk 11:37-41
After Jesus had spoken, a Pharisee invited him to dine at his home. He entered and reclined at table to eat. The Pharisee was amazed to see that he did not observe the prescribed washing before the meal.
The Lord said to him, "Oh you Pharisees! Although you cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, inside you are filled with plunder and evil. You fools! Did not the maker of the outside also make the inside? But as to what is within, give alms, and behold, everything will be clean for you."
This continues yesterday’s story, where Jesus warned that the people would receive the sign of Jonah, because they were an evil generation. And yet, this Pharisee invited Jesus home!
Pharisees are usually portrayed as the bad guys, but I like to think this particular pharisee was acting in good faith. After all, he didn’t condemn Jesus for not washing His hands; he was just amazed.
So, I think he invited Jesus over for dinner to hear more. That’s a good start. We should always want to hear more from Jesus. When this section concludes on Thursday, however, we’ll find he hears more than he wanted.
When we read or hear something challenging in the Bible, especially the Gospels, we need to respond like this pharisee did. Invite Jesus into our homes, into our hearts, and really listen to what he has to say, even if it’s not pleasant to hear.
