The Seasons: A Poem

Posted by on
Sunrise over Amazing Grasses Family Farm The mad Artist wields His brush, Painted colors rush, To life and give flush, Before the quiet autumn hush. The life seems to pour, As colors fall to the floor, To be seen no more, Outside the dark, grey door. Brightness from below, Sun upon the snow, High, cold clouds blow, Flakes and ice appear to grow. The man melts with little seen, Underneath, pale, grey green, Hides life in dark unseen, Waits for warmth and to careen. Buds on branches show, Patience starts to grow, Trickles, streams and veins flow, Bringing fruits of melted snow. Sprung to life it springs, Bees, birds, sound rings, Lush green flings, Its gift bounty brings. Green growth gives one last rush, Underneath the Painter's brush. The mad Artist wields His brush, before the quiet autumn hush. More poetry is available from James M. Hahn in  The Last Dragon and Other Poems  available now. My new book of cryptogram puzzles " Secret Messages from the Saints " is avai
0

Christ the Mountain, Peter the Rock

Posted by on
Readings for the Twenty-First Sunday of Ordinary Time

In today's readings there is a lot of talk of keys, binding, and loosing. The Church puts the First Reading and the Gospel together to show us that the office of the Pope is not something new.

Just as in the days of Isaiah there was a king and a prime minister, so in the Kingdom of God we have Christ the King who appoints His prime minster, Peter. Jesus gives Peter the keys of the Kingdom and this is not to be taken lightly. He is giving Peter His own authority just as God, through the prophet, gave authority to Eliakim over the kingdom of David - not as king but as second in command, a prime minister.

There is another reading from the Old Testament that sheds light on today's Gospel. This reading seems to be what Jesus is hinting at when speaking to Peter. The reading comes from the book of Daniel when Daniel describes to King Nebuchadnezzar the dream the king had of a statue made of various materials. Each material represents a new king, a new nation but the stone that destroys all represents the Kingdom of God.

"While you looked at the statue, a stone which was hewn from a mountain without a hand being put to it, struck its iron and tile feet, breaking them in pieces. The iron, tile, bronze, silver, and gold all crumbled at once, fine as the chaff on the threshing floor in summer, and the wind blew them away without leaving a trace. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth." Daniel 2:34-35

Jesus says to Peter, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father." Peter's answer is no mere human answer. Jesus sees in this answer the hand of His Father hewing Peter, setting Peter apart, carving out the rock upon which the Church will be built.

What is interesting in the reading from Daniel is the identification between the mountain and the rock or stone. The rock is hewn from the mountain yet the rock becomes the mountain. There is such a close identification between the rock and the mountain that it is hard to tell at times if they are two separate things, two separate identities. This is how we must see the Peterine office. The Pope, the successor of Peter, the Rock, comes from Christ and in turn seeks to fill the world with Christ.

What is really interesting is the fact that if we read the verses of Isaiah previous the ones read at Mass (19-22) we find this passage (15b-16) - Up, go to that official, Shebna, master of the palace, Who has hewn for himself a sepulcher on a height and carved his tomb in the rock: "What are you doing here, and what people have you here, that here you have hewn for yourself a tomb?" Here we have some of the same wording - hewn, rock, official, palace (denoting kingdom). Yet we find that God is upset with Shebna. Is it because he has carved a tomb? Certainly not. In reading the entire chapter we can surmise that Shebna has tried to carve for himself a position of authority but God is telling him it will be his death. Why? God gives authority to whom He chooses. God hews the rock upon which to build His Kingdom not man.

Comments

Post a Comment