Sister Ana Cloughly is the Director of the Contemplative Vision Ministry at Benet Hill Monastery in Colorado Springs, CO. She facilitates courses in contemplative prayer practices and Christian mysticism, leads group retreats and is a Spiritual Director. She is a member of the planning committee for the 100th Anniversary Celebration of the Federation of St. Scholastica.August 29, 2021
Ana Cloughly, OSB, Sisters of Benet Hill Monastery, Colorado Springs, CO
Cleanliness is close to godliness.
Today we hear the Pharisees and scribes challenging Jesus about the behavior of his disciples. They are not following the traditions of cleanliness. The laws, observances, statutes, and decrees found in the Pentateuch are much more than a set of rules for the Jewish people. They shape a way of life in much the same way as the teachings of Jesus in the gospels and by extension, the Rule of St. Benedict shapes our lives. Boys and sometime girls learned to live these mandates from God primarily in their home, at the synagogue, and in some places Torah school. So, for Jesus’ disciples to disregard the cleanliness tradition was problematic. For the Pharisees and scribes observing both the laws and the tradition was a mark of a true teacher. Disregarding the cleanliness observances diminished Jesus’ credibility as a teacher.
The sequence of Sunday readings has been a bit out of sequence. In the reading cycle dedicated to the Gospel of Mark, we take a five-week break and focus on the 6th and 7th chapters in the Gospel of John. However, last Sunday we interrupted the course of those five weeks with John’s gospel and celebrated the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. So, to gain perspective on today’s gospel reading, I am going to do a bit of back tracking to the portion of John’s gospel that we missed.
Most of the time the Sunday liturgy takes precedence over any feast day that lands of a Sunday. This Sunday is different. Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. I fall short of saying that I am disappointed because we are missing a pivotal moment in the series of five weeks devoted to exploring the sixth chapter in the Gospel of John. I fall short of my disappointment because the feast of the Assumption of Mary is such a great opportunity to celebrate Mary’s life, her love for God and her unyielding trust in the saving power of God even to the moment of her death. I promise I will try to bring the portion of John’s gospel that we miss today together in next week’s reflection.
We are continuing the sixth chapter of St. John’s gospel today. In the past two weeks we have heard about Jesus multiplying bread for a group of five thousand people and then we heard Jesus telling the people not the work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life. Today’s gospel reading gets to the heart of the matter. Jesus begins to shift the conversation from earthly concerns to the tremendous gift of God’s love standing there before the people.
We are in an interesting time in the Church’s calendar of readings, (the lectionary). We interrupt the gospel of St. Mark and take a few weeks to be with the gospel of St. John. Last week, Jesus went to an out of the way place and the people follow him. He taught the people. As the day went on, Jesus realized the people needed something to eat. The disciples were perplexed when Jesus told them to get enough food for a crowd of five thousand people. Then a little boy provided a small amount of bread and some fish. Jesus had the people sit in groups and he proceeded to bless the food and have his disciples distribute it to the people. By then end of their meal, there was enough crusts of bread to fill twelve baskets.
In 1994, about 800,000 people were slaughtered in Rwanda by ethnic Hutus. They were targeting members of the minority Tutsi community, as well as their political opponents, irrespective of their ethnic origin. The sheer enormity of the massacre shocked the whole world. Right after the news broke, I was with a priest who had just returned to the United States after ministering in Rwanda for over a decade. The news shocked him to his very core. Tearfully, he told me of his sorrow and distress.
“His Heart was Moved…”
The 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time and happens to be the Feast of St. Benedict as well. So, I thought reflecting on both gospel readings might be interesting. The gospel for this Sunday is Mark 6:7-13. Jesus sends the twelve out by twos to preach repentance to towns and villages. He gives them power over unclean spirits and oil that aides in healing the sick. Jesus tells them not to take extra clothes or money and to depend on the hospitality of the towns people.
Years ago, I was a campus minister in Colorado Springs, Colorado. For me, it was a great joy to have a few minutes to visit with the parents of our students about to graduate. Many of our students had deeply spiritual lives and their depth of faith showed in significant acts of service. There is one young man in particular that I remember. Anyone who knew him, knew he was very committed to his faith. The night before graduation, his mother and I had a short conversation. Instead of saying all the things one usually says to parents, I started to share how much I admired her son and the way he lives out his Christianity. She stopped me and said, “Everyone thinks he’s a saint, but we know better.” When I looked a little confused, she nudged me with her elbow and said, “You know, we mothers really know our children.” I smiled and went on about something else. Going home afterward, today’s gospel (Mark 6: 1-6) echoed in my mind.
Reading from the book of Wisdom today we hear “God did not make death, nor does God rejoice in the destruction of the living. For God fashioned all things that they might have being; and the creatures of the world are wholesome, and there is not a destructive drug among them nor any domain of the netherworld on earth, for justice is undying.” This passage is reassuring. It helps to know that God’s intentions in creating everything is that it be “wholesome” and the underlying source of creation is justice.
When I close my eyes and try to imagine Jesus sleeping on a cushion in the stern of a boat, I picture a boat like the ones in the new series The Chosen. (I’m not in any way associated with the show except to say I enjoy watching it.) The boat is large enough to hold several people and the fish they catch. I can easily imagine the boat taking on water and the men trying to empty it, fighting a losing battle. What is hard for me to imagine is that Jesus sleeping through the storm. He must have been very tired. As they wake Jesus, his disciples ask him “Do you not care that we are perishing?” 
We celebrated the Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ last week. Such a beautiful feast, reminding us that God in Christ is both incarnate and divine which, as we become aware, extends to God’s presence in all of creation. God is in all from atoms to altar.
The years 2020 and 21 have focused worldwide attention on the fragility of both humankind and the planet. The world has changed. I have changed as well. I have found myself reflecting on my faith in an all-loving God and on my respect for the power of nature. The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood encapsulates my thoughts over the this very trying time in our history because it brings into focus the true nature of Jesus the Christ.
Doctrinal development is one of my favorite ways of studying Church history. I read the efforts of Church Fathers and Mothers as they try with a sincere desire to grasp the mystery of the Triune God through reason. In these often-roving confessions and dissertations of our wise predecessors, I find interesting ideas but little real time knowledge to which I can relate.