Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A

MATTHEW 13:44-52
DURING THE LAST FEW SUNDAYS JESUS HAS BEEN TELLING THE CROWDS ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. HE HAS BEEN USING PARABLES. A COUPLE OF SUNDAYS AGO, HE EXPLAINED TO THE DISCIPLES THAT HE SPOKE IN PARABLES SO THAT THOSE WHO HEARD WOULD NOT UNDERSTAND, SO THAT THOSE WHO SAW WOULD NOT REALLY SEE. LAST SUNDAY, WE ARE TOLD THAT HE SPOKE IN PARABLES SO THAT HE WOULD FULFILL THE PROPHECY THAT SAID, “I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES, I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE CREATION OF THE WORLD.” AND TODAY WE HEAR ANOTHER PASSAGE DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND: "THEREFORE EVERY TEACHER OF THE LAW WHO HAS BEEN INSTRUCTED ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE THE OWNER OF A HOUSE WHO BRINGS OUT OF HIS STOREROOM NEW TREASURES AS WELL AS OLD."
IF WE LISTEN TO THE THREE PARABLES IN TODAY'S GOSPEL, THEY SEEM OBVIOUS ENOUGH. IF WE TREASURE SOMETHING ENOUGH, WE WILL GIVE UP OTHER GOOD THINGS IN ORDER TO POSSESS IT. HAVE ANY OF US ACTUALLY DONE THAT? WELL, PROBABLY. MANY OF US SACRIFICED A GREAT DEAL TO GET THROUGH OUR EDUCATION; SOME OF US UPROOTED OUR FAMILY AND LEFT LOVED ONES BECAUSE OF A JOB. AND MANY OF US, (AND I CAN ONLY SPEAK FOR MEN, NOT HAVING ACTUALLY BEEN A WOMAN) HAVE GIVEN UP OTHER GOOD THINGS IN ORDER TO MARRY THE WOMAN WITH WHOM WE FELL IN LOVE. YOU WOMEN SHOULD APPRECIATE THAT SOME OF US HAVE GIVEN UP NIGHTS OUT WITH THE GUYS, LEARNED TO EAT WITH KNIVES AND FORKS, LEARNED TO DANCE, SAT THROUGH SAPPY MOVIES – ALL FOR YOU. BUT WE'VE ALL HAD THE EXPERIENCE OF “SELLING ALL WE HAVE IN ORDER TO POSSESS A TREASURE”. THE TREASURE CHEST IN THE FIELD, THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE – AND THEN THIS SEEMINGLY UNRELATED PARABLE ABOUT DRAGGING IN A NETFUL OF FISH AND PATIENTLY SORTING THE GOOD FROM THE BAD – IT SOUNDS A LOT LIKE THE PARABLE OF THE WHEAT AND THE WEEDS.
BUT THINK ABOUT THE CONTEXT. WE CAN BARELY IMAGINE WHAT IT WAS LIKE FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE OF JESUS' TIME. THE ROMANS TOOK PART OF WHAT YOU PRODUCED IN TAXATION. THE TEMPLE, WITH THE HELP OF THE ROMAN SOLDIERS, TOOK ANOTHER PART. THE KING TOOK EVEN MORE. YOU HAD NO CHOICE. IF YOU REBELLED, YOU MIGHT END UP DEAD, OR EVEN WORSE, CRIPPLED AND UNABLE TO EARN A LIVING. MOST PEOPLE LIVED DAY BY DAY. IF YOU DIDN'T WORK, YOU WOULD BE HUNGRY, BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T REALLY SAVE ANYTHING. AND IF YOU EVEN THOUGHT OF REBELLING, YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO LOOK FAR TO SEE ONE OF YOUR COUNTRYMEN HANGING ON A CROSS AS A WARNING TO YOU. AND THE SITUATION SEEMED SO HOPELESS. THERE WAS NO WAY OUT. IN OUR TIME AND PLACE WE ARE DISTRACTED BY TELEVISION, SPORTS, AND CONSTANT ENTERTAINMENT; WE HAVE THE SENSE THAT WE ARE SECURE, THE FEELING THAT WE ARE FREE; WE ACTUALLY HAVE LEISURE, AND POSSESSIONS BEYOND A SINGLE SCRAP OF CLOTH TO WEAR; NONE OF US FEAR GOING TO BED HUNGRY. NONE OF US EXPECT THAT OUR GOVERNMENT WILL COME IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT AND SPIRIT US AWAY. BUT THE PEOPLE OF JESUS TIME KNEW VERY WELL WHAT WE SHOULD KNOW, BUT DON'T; WHEN YOU REALLY LOOK AT YOUR LIFE, YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES, THINGS AREN'T REALLY DIFFERENT. WE ARE NEVER SECURE, WE'LL ALL END UP WITH NOTHING, WE'LL ALL END UP—ITS NOT PLEASANT BUT TRUE—WE'LL ALL END UP DEAD.
THE PARABLES OF JESUS DESCRIBE A VERY DIFFERENT FUTURE. JESUS TELLS HIS LISTENERS THAT THERE WILL BE A TIME WHEN JUSTICE HAPPENS, WHEN EVERYTHING THAT IS WRONG WILL BE MADE RIGHT. HE TELLS US THAT IN THAT TIME, WE WILL SEE WHO IS GOOD AND WHO ISN'T; THE GOOD WILL GET WHAT'S COMING TO THEM, AND SO WILL THE BAD. JESUS PROMISES THIS, AND SO IT MUST BE TRUE.
JESUS IS NOT THE FIRST TO SPEAK ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. SIMILAR IDEAS CAN BE FOUND IN THE PROPHETIC WRITINGS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. SO THE PEOPLE WHO HEARD JESUS PROBABLY LISTENED TO THESE PARABLES AS YOU AND I MIGHT LISTEN TO AN OLD FAVORITE STORY. YES, WE WOULD SAY, WOULDN'T THAT BE A GREAT WORLD, WOULDN'T IT BE WONDERFUL IF IT WERE ALL TRUE. BUT WE WOULD MISS THE POINT; WE WOULD HEAR BUT NOT UNDERSTAND. BECAUSE THE RADICAL IDEA THE JESUS IS TELLING US IS THAT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS HERE, RIGHT NOW, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THINGS, THERE FOR THE TAKING. AND ALL IT REQUIRES IS – EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT. BECAUSE THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS ABOUT WHAT YOU TREASURE, WHAT YOU ARE WILLING TO GIVE UP FOR IT. AND JESUS DOESN'T EVEN WANT YOUR MONEY OR YOUR CAR OR YOUR HOME. IF YOU WANT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, THEN YOU HAVE TO CREATE IT. IT'S EASY. YOU FULFILL THE NEEDS OF YOUR NEIGHBOR. YOU LOOK AT YOUR NEIGHBOR AND YOU SEE JESUS. YOU KEEP AT IT, WORKING AT CREATING THE KINGDOM SMALL STEP BY SMALL STEP, AND ONE DAY YOU FIND THAT YOU ARE IN IT, YOU ARE ALREADY THERE. THAT IS THE PROMISE OF JESUS.
WHEN I LIVED IN BUFFALO, I KNEW A YOUNG SCIENTIST WHO HAD A DEEP DEVOTION TO JESUS. AFTER HE RAISED HIS FAMILY, HE STARTED WORKING IN A DOWNTOWN MISSION AMONG THE HOMELESS AND DESTITUTE. ONE DAY WITH THE CONSENT OF HIS WIFE, HE GAVE UP HIS JOB AND BEGAN TO DEVOTE HIMSELF FULL-TIME TO HIS MINISTRY. IT BEGAN WITH JUST HIM. GRADUALLY SOME OTHERS JOINED IN THE WORK. SOON, LIKE A MIRACLE, HE HAD ACQUIRED THE USE OF A COMPLEX OF PARISH BUILDINGS WHICH HAD BEEN CLOSED. DONATIONS CAME TO HIS MINISTRY USUALLY IN THE NICK OF TIME, TO FORESTALL A CREDITOR OR TO BUY SOMETHING THAT WAS DESPERATELY NEEDED. AND THE PEOPLE HE SERVED, SOME CHANGED THEIR LIVES, AND SOME JOINED HIS EFFORTS, AND SOME ADDED TO THE SUPPORT. YOU CAN READ ALL ABOUT THIS ON THE INTERNET, WHERE WHAT HE HAS DONE WAS CHRONICLED BY A REPORTER WHEN HE WAS NAMED “ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR” BY THE CATHOLIC COLLEGE FROM WHICH HE GRADUATED. I SPOKE WITH HIM OVER THE PHONE A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO. HE LIVES IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. I ENVY HIM.
SO YOU HAVE HEARD JESUS DESCRIBE THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN OVER THESE PAST FEW SUNDAYS. IF YOU ARE NOT MOVED TO BEGIN THE PROCESS OF SELLING EVERYTHING YOU HAVE TO POSSESS THE GREAT TREASURE, THEN YOU HAVE EYES, BUT YOU HAVEN'T SEEN, YOU HAVE EARS BUT YOU CAN'T HEAR. BUT IF YOU HAVE UNDERSTOOD, THEN YOU YOURSELF CAN BEGIN TO BE LIKE THE HOUSEHOLDER WHO FINDS IN HIS STOREROOM NOT ONLY THE STUFF HE PUT THERE, BUT THINGS THAT HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WERE THERE – NEW THINGS, BECAUSE THAT IS THE LAST PART OF THE SECRET – IF YOU GO LOOKING FOR THE KINGDOM, IT WILL FIND YOU.