Saturday of the Seventh Week in Ordinary Time Year 2 BVM 2024

Title

Caring for the Family

Outline

Our first reading is memorable for me

I had been interested in healing prayer for something like 8 years and had seen several people healed. In Oct 1979 I was ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church. The next Monday as I sat in prayer and meditation on the floor I had a locution in which God asked me what had happened and what were the duties of a priest. With a James commentary manuscript on my desk about ready to be sent to the publisher I spontaneously said, “To pray for healing?” I heard “Umm huh.” Then silence. A couple hours later a priest from our Episcopal Church called, “Peter, now that you are a priest could you take a healing Eucharist for me next Wednesday?” That was my first Eucharist and there was a significant healing.

But let us look at the elements in God’s care for his family

If suffering persecution, pray

If feeling great, sing praise

If sick, call the presbyters

They are or the one who comes is to (1) “pray over him” and (2) anoint him with oil “in the name of the Lord” and (3) apparently give him a chance for confession, since it will be picked up in verse 16 and their forgiveness, if they exist, is guaranteed. Notice there is no power in the ritual per se, for “the Lord will raise him up.”

While I am thankful for the rite and its carefulness in the Catholic Church, I had no rite, only the text in James, nor experience with confession, but the Lord raised the woman up.

But the Lord did it. And he does things in his timing and in his way. There is no guarantee of immediacy or outcome. We pray, “Your will be done.”

However the following verses encourage us that even though simply weak people of God we are to do this, to pray for one another and confess our sins to one another. We are given further encouragement through Elijah.

James concludes his book with a jump back to confession: bring back the straying (needed before confession) and in doing that you, weak and sinful though you are, will “save his soul from death” and “cover a multitude of sins.”

Now look at our gospel

Jesus is doing the sort of thing James points to. We do not know if the people were bringing children because of illness or because they wanted Jesus’ blessing, but the disciples tried to stop them, perhaps because children were at the bottom of social standing. They could not do any, they could not benefit the movement.

No, said Jesus (indignant), let them come, do not hinder them or forbid them. They are part of the family, “for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” And their open acceptance of me makes them your teachers: “I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.” I love the next sentence, “Then he embraced them and blessed them, placing his hands on them.” I love giving children blessings at communion.

So, Sisters, always turn to or bring to God

Come to Jesus yourself or bring others. Bring your good times and bad times, including perhaps someone who does not like you because you are a Sister. Bring the sick, and if they cannot come bring the presbyters to them. Bring those who have strayed, doing so with gentleness and wisdom. And especially bring children, learning from their openness to Jesus.

[You can see why abuse of children, especially by clergy, is a horrific sin.]

Church people sometimes favor the powerful, the well-bread, the influential, the well-heeled, which means the church people need conversion. Let us favor the persecuted, the weak, the sick, the sinful, and especially the children, for of such is the kingdom of God.