Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time (2)

Intro

heard express’ see red’?

what mean?

get angry you see red?

think bullfighting

bull, though color blind, red cape consuming focus of rage...sees nothing else but red

all attention breaking thing angers you

everything fades, tunnel vision red

like a bull chasing a red cape, anger blinds, and the matador hits us in the back

matador calm sees the big picture bests a beast that could easily trample him arehna

beast who so easily offended, so easily triggered loses the big picture by blind wrath

As Scripture and theolog

embracing anger is not always a sin, but it more often than not is

when one puffed, frothing, and trampled by it, prob sinful

that is, when seeing red

blind rage most often when comes from pride

when personally offended

As Matt 11:6 says, blessed are those who take no offense at me.

Scripture today

compares a woman and her suffering daughter to a dog, while jews real children of God.

does not mince words, and indeed

out of unworthy humanity, he first chose to adopt israelites to be his children b4 the rest

he prioritizes family b4 the rest

Lets be honest… dogs?

hes not wrong.

speaking to canaanite woman

abominable practices!

But does he have to put it like that?

can accept his blunt and rude truth to the pharisees, broods of vipers

but to this suffering mother?

do we take offense at Jesus?

If offense

We see red,

we are like the pharisees who take offense

begin to look for ways how such speakers of this truth actually violate the law themselves

finding any loophole interpretation of the law they allows them to condemn

look whenever a preacher of the truth offends someone, just like pharisees

the first thing, seeing red, the offended do is start cursing him for breakign his own law, for being judgmental, for being evil

litany of any possible faults begin to be listed

Even if we take offense, she didnt

blessed is she who did not take offense

see mind clear, not seeing the mind killing red

immediately, in humility, the reason Truth Himself gave her: even being right, it still follows that I could get but scraps

title only gave mother, the first of all women, he calls her ‘oh woman’.

commends her, and immediately, without delay, gives her everything she asked for

though told disciples that first Israelites, he finds a legit loophole for her, much as he did for his mother at the wedding of Cana doing mircacle b4 his time

as offended find loopholes to condemn, Christ and the humble canaanite finds loopholes to heal

Pharisees + Christ both strictly follow the law to the letter, but the spirit is different.

but he only loophole because great humility allowed her calm mind to see the Truth

raised by humble confession to dignity that approaches the queen of angels, comparable to God’s own mother.

blessed is she who did not take offense at Truth Himself.

easily take offense?

easily see red?

driven to find thru the anger faults in those who offend us?

or do we humble ourselfs, not taking self too seriously so we keep a clear mind?

do we see the big picture,

that the lowly exalted like the weaker matador against the raging bull in our soul?

Notes:

Me

Taking offense

anger keeps reason focused on subject of anger

bad anger (as most, thought certainly not all, is) enslaved to defending self honor

able to think clearly

act like pharisees:

what we’re bad?!?!, well YOU ARE HYPOCRIT blah blah

Matt 11:6 ‘blessed take no offense’

What happens to water when throw a rock at it?

deflated of air

loose, doesn’t hold on to its shape

bit of a splash,

takes it in

immediately returns to peace

What about ice?

puffed up, expanded with airs

cold, tense, holds on to itself stiffly

throw rock, sits on top of that ice leaving a dent or even shattering it to pieces.

God follows norm and law but not legalist

loosy goosy or by the book

by the book, but not in the overbearing stern legalistic way we think by that term

2 ways of obeying letter of law:

Pharisaical:

to hate

Christ:

to love

Does Christ violate law: no, not one iota and greatly condemns those who do

but while pharisees find loophole interpretations to add condemnation, Christ finds loophole interpretations to save

both can be said to follow the letter, but one follows the spirit with the letter, the other denies the spirit for the letter

think of parent

taking kids to doc

sending to school

making eat vegetables

go to sleep

not too much screen time

if get loose, ruin the child, and how easy to get loose and how hard to stay by the book

norms are their for their good

but if find a way that good for them, gladly find a way to loosen a norm

salvation outside faith

like Mary “Woman”

but big steps to take for loophole

Feeneyism 1940s inquisitorial condemnation of his interpretation of ‘no salvation outside church’

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