Sunday, October 31, 2010

Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

THIRTY FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, CYCLE C
LUKE 19:1-10

NOBODY REALLY LIKES TAX COLLECTORS. IT’S TRUE NOW, AND IT WAS TRUE IN JESUS’ TIME. THE WAY THINGS WORKED WAS THAT THE ROMAN EMPEROR WOULD DECIDE HOW MUCH TAX HE WOULD REQUIRE FROM HIS SUBJECTS. THIS AMOUNT WOULD BE DIVIDED UP AMONG THE LOCAL GOVERNORS, WHO IN TURN WOULD DECIDE ON HOW MUCH TAX EACH INDIVIDUAL ADULT MALE HAD TO COME UP WITH. THE COLLECTION OF THESE TAXES WOULD BE TURNED OVER TO A NATIVE, WHO WOULD BE GIVEN A CONTINGENT OF ROMAN SOLDIERS TO HELP WITH THE COLLECTION. THE TAX COLLECTOR WOULD LOSE HIS JOB AND POSSIBLY MORE, IF HE DID NOT COLLECT THE REQUIRED TAXES. ON THE OTHER HAND, ANYTHING HE COLLECTED IN EXCESS HE COULD KEEP; THAT WAS HIS PAY. AND HE COULD DEFINITELY INCREASE THE ENTHUSIASM OF THE ROMAN SOLDIERS TO HELP COLLECT TAXES BY SHARING SOME OF THE EXCESS WITH THEM. ALTHOUGH ROMAN LAW SPECIFIED THE PERCENTAGE OF THE TAKE THAT THE TAX COLLECTOR COULD KEEP, IN DAYS WHEN TAXES WERE OFTEN MEASURED IN GRAIN AND CATTLE, AND PEOPLE WERE ILLITERATE, AND THERE WAS NO REAL ENFORCEMENT, TAX COLLECTORS COULD BECOME QUITE WEALTHY.
THERE WERE PROBABLY HONEST TAX COLLECTORS, AND PERHAPS ZACCHEUS WAS ONE; OUR GOSPEL PASSAGE DOESN’T REALLY SAY. BUT ONE THING IS SURE; IF HE WAS THE CHIEF TAX COLLECTOR, AND IF HE WAS A RICH MAN, HE WAS NOT REGARDED AS HONEST, AND HE HAD FEW FRIENDS AMONG HIS FELLOW JEWS. HE MAY HAVE BEEN BARRED FROM ATTENDING THE SYNAGOGUE; HE PROBABLY DIDN’T VENTURE OUT IN PUBLIC UNLESS HE HAD HIS ROMAN SOLDIERS WITH HIM; AND IN GENERAL, HE MUST HAVE LED A LONELY LIFE. BUT ZACCHEUS MAY HAVE FIGURED IT WAS ALL WORTH IT; HE HAD MONEY TO BURN.
SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS WAS A GREAT SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR, AND IN FACT WORKED WITH SAINT THERESA OF AVILA, AMONG MANY OTHERS. A SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR IS SOMEONE WHO TRIES TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE BECOME CLOSER TO GOD, REFORM THEIR LIVES, AND REALIZE THEIR POTENTIAL AS SPIRITUAL PEOPLE. MOST SPIRITUAL DIRECTORS START BY EXAMINING THE LIFE OF THE DIRECTEE, OR CLIENT. USUALLY IT’S NOT HARD TO FIND AN AREA WHERE THINGS ARE LACKING; WHERE THERE IS SELFISHNESS, DISHONESTY, LAZINESS, DISTRACTION – ALL THOSE HABITS WHICH BOG PEOPLE DOWN AND LEAD THEM INTO SIN. AND WHEN THESE ARE POINTED OUT, AND PLANS ARE MADE TO OVERCOME THEM, THE CLIENT REVIEWS HIS PROGRESS WITH THE DIRECTOR, AND THE DIRECTOR TRIES TO HELP THE CLIENT SEE WHERE GOD IS WORKING IN HIS LIFE. IT IS A GOOD SYSTEM. BUT JOHN OF THE CROSS DID IT DIFFERENTLY. HE STARTED OUT BY FINDING THE VERY BEST THING ABOUT THE PERSON BEING DIRECTED. HE CONCENTRATED ON THAT, AND ENCOURAGED THE PERSON TO DEVELOP AND EXPAND THAT PART OF HIS SOUL. IF THE PERSON HAD A GREAT TALENT, WELL, HOW CAN IT BE HONED AND MADE BETTER, FOR GOD’S SAKE? AND BY CONCENTRATING ON THIS, THE FAULTS AND BAD HABITS GRADUALLY DISAPPEARED. AFTER ALL, IF IT WAS EASY TO OVERCOME BAD HABITS, WE’D DO IT. ON THE OTHER HAND, IT’S MUCH MORE PLEASANT TO BUILD UP WHAT IS ALREADY GOOD; SOMETIMES ALL WE NEED IS ENCOURAGEMENT AND PERMISSION.
JESUS SEES ZACCHEUS IN A TREE; HE IS A SMALL MAN, BOTH IN PHYSICAL SIZE, AND PROBABLY IN HIS SOUL. HE KNOWS EVERYONE HATES HIM, AND HE HAS DECIDED HE DOESN’T CARE. HE GOES HOME AND COUNTS HIS MONEY AND HIS POSSESSIONS, IGNORING THAT DESIRE FOR HUMAN COMPANIONSHIP, FOR A CLOSE FRIEND. AND YOU CAN BE SURE THAT JESUS KNOWS ABOUT ZACCHEUS; SOME OF HIS COMPANIONS HAVE PROBABLY ALREADY IDENTIFIED THE MAN IN THE TREE, PERHAPS WITH A FEW CURSES. AND JESUS SEES HOW ISOLATED AND LONELY THE LITTLE MAN IS, AND RATHER THAN CONDEMN HIM, OFFERS HIM HIS FRIENDSHIP, OFFERS TABLE FELLOWSHIP. “COME DOWN,” HE SAYS, “FOR I MUST STAY IN YOUR HOUSE.”
ZACCHEUS IS NOT ONLY UP A TREE, HE IS ON THE FENCE. HE HAD BEEN CURIOUS ABOUT JESUS; HE HAD BEEN A WILLING BYSTANDER. BUT NOW HE HAS A DECISION TO MAKE. DOES HE ACCEPT THE OFFER? AND IN ACCEPTING, ZACCHEUS CHANGES. JESUS SEES THAT THERE IS GOOD IN THE MAN, AND ZACCHEUS RESPONDS FROM HIS GOOD NATURE. “I WILL GIVE HALF MY WEALTH TO THE POOR, AND IF I HAVE CHEATED ANYONE, I WILL REPAY THEM FOUR TIMES OVER.” AND DESPITE THE GRUMBLING OF THE GOOD PEOPLE OF THE TOWN, JESUS AND HIS APOSTLES JOIN ZACCHEUS, AND PROBABLY OTHER OUTCASTS, IN A BANQUET IN ZACCHEUS’ HOME – MAYBE THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS THAT ZACCHEUS WAS SURROUNDED BY FRIENDLY PEOPLE AND GOOD CHEER.
CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA, A FATHER OF THE CHURCH WHO LIVED ABOUT 150 YEARS AFTER CHRIST, SAID THAT ZACCHEUS WAS THE APOSTLE NAMED MATTHIAS, WHO WAS APPOINTED TO REPLACE JUDAS ISCARIOT AFTER THE RESURRECTION. THERE IS ANOTHER STORY FROM THE EARLY DAYS OF THE CHURCH THAT ZACCHEUS WAS THE FIRST BISHOP OF CASAREA. IN ANY EVENT, THE ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS CHANGED HIS LIFE.
JESUS GIVES US A VERY PRACTICAL LESSON HERE. LOOK AT THE PEOPLE YOU MEET, AND FIND THE GOOD IN THEM. CALL OUT TO THAT GOOD, AND THEY WILL BECOME BETTER PEOPLE. LOOK AT THE BAD, ON THE OTHER HAND, AND THEY CAN ONLY BECOME WORSE. AN OLD SAYING: “TREAT SOMEONE AS THEY ARE, AND THEY WILL BECOME WORSE; TREAT THEM AS THEY OUGHT TO BE, AND THEY WILL BECOME BETTER.” AND ANOTHER LESSON: JESUS LOOKS AT WHAT IS GOOD IN YOU AND I, AND INVITES US TO BECOME BETTER; HE DOES NOT LOOK AT WHAT IS BAD AND CONDEMN US.

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

LUKE 18:9-14
HOW MANY OF YOU DRIVE A CAR? WOULD YOU SAY YOU ARE A BAD DRIVER, AN AVERAGE DRIVER, OR A GOOD DRIVER? I WON’T ASK FOR A SHOW OF HANDS, BUT STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT WHEN THAT QUESTION IS ASKED, 90 PERCENT OF THOSE WHO ANSWER CLAIM TO BE BETTER THAN AVERAGE. THEY DID A SIMILAR STUDY WITH COLLEGE PROFESSORS, ASKING MORE EXPLICITLY WHETHER THEY SAW THEMSELVES AS A GOOD TEACHER, AN AVERAGE TEACHER, OR A TEACHER WHO NEEDED WORK. AS YOU MIGHT GUESS, MORE THAN 90% CONSIDERED THEMSELVES ABOVE AVERAGE.
I THINK YOU WOULD FIND THAT MOST PEOPLE CONSIDER THEMSELVES ABOVE AVERAGE WHEN IT IS ABOUT SOMETHING THEY CARE ABOUT. GARRISON KEELER NOTED THAT IN LAKE WOEBEGON, THAT FICTIONAL CITY IN MIDDLE AMERICA, 90 PERCENT OF THE CHILDREN WERE ABOVE AVERAGE.
THIS FEELING THAT WE HAVE, THAT WE ARE ABOVE AVERAGE IN THINGS WE CARE ABOUT, IS PROBABLY HEALTHY. IF I CONSIDERED MYSELF A BAD DRIVER, AND I MIGHT POINT OUT THAT MY OPINION ABOUT MY DRIVING SKILLS IS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF MY WIFE, I WOULD PROBABLY NEVER VENTURE OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY; AND IF I THOUGHT I WAS JUST AN AVERAGE DOCTOR, I WOULD BE AFRAID OF TAKING CARE OF PATIENTS.
THE PHARISEE CONSIDERS HIMSELF SPIRITUALLY SUPERIOR TO MOST OF HIS FELLOW JEWS. AND HE HAS REASON TO THINK THIS. HE LISTS THE REASONS, AND HE COMPARES HIMSELF TO THE KINDS OF PEOPLE WHO CLEARLY AREN’T TRYING VERY HARD TO MEET THE MARK. THE PHARISEE TRIES TO MEET THE MARK; HE HOLDS HIMSELF TO HIGH STANDARDS, AND KEEPS ALL THE LAWS, AND GIVES GENEROUSLY. WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE? HE EVEN THANKS GOD FOR HIS SITUATION – I THINK ITS INTERESTING THAT HE THANKS GOD THAT HE IS NOT LIKE THE REST OF MEN. SOME PEOPLE THINK THE PHARISEE BELIEVES THAT HIS SPIRITUAL GROWTH COMES FROM HIS OWN EFFORTS, BUT RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF HIS PRAYER, HE ACKNOWLEDGES THAT GOD HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT – MAYBE EVERYTHING.
BUT THE PHARISEE IS NOT JUSTIFIED, HIS PRAYERS AND ALMSGIVING AND MORAL UPRIGHTNESS ARE FOR NOTHING. HIS PRAYER IS NOT HEARD, JESUS TELLS US.
I WONDER IF ANY OF US EVER THANK GOD THAT WE ARE NOT LIKE THE REST OF MEN, OR EVEN SOME OF THE REST OF MEN. I THANK GOD THAT I HAVE A WONDERFUL WIFE AND KIDS I AM PROUD OF, AND GOOD HEALTH, AND A PROFESSION I LOVE. IS THAT WRONG? THERE ARE CERTAINLY A LOT OF PEOPLE AROUND, EVEN HERE IN LONGMEADOW, THAT I WOULD NOT WANT TO TRADE PLACES WITH; I’M VERY GRATEFUL TO GOD I’M NOT LIKE THEM. SHOULD I NOT THANK GOD FOR WHAT HE HAS GIVEN TO ME? IT WASN’T THAT LONG AGO THAT IT SEEMED AS THOUGH JESUS WAS DISAPPOINTED IN THE NINE LEPERS WHO DID NOT RETURN TO THANK GOD FOR THEIR HEALING. MIGHT THEY HAVE ALSO SAID, “THANK YOU THAT I AM NO LONGER LIKE THE REST OF LEPERS?”
THE REAL PROBLEM WITH THE PHARISEE IS PRIDE, NOT HIS PRAYER OF THANKS. AND WE CAN SEE WHAT THE PRIDE IS DOING TO HIM, JUST BE LISTENING TO HIS PRAYER AND OBSERVING THE SCENE. FIRST, THE PHARISEE IS LOOKING AT WHAT HE’S DONE, NOT AT WHAT HE STILL LACKS. PRIDE STUNTS SPIRITUAL GROWTH, AND OUR PHARISEE IS STUNTED. SECOND, PRIDE SEPARATES US FROM OTHERS. THE PHARISEE SEES HIMSELF AS SEPARATE FROM HIS FELLOW HUMAN BEING, THE TAX COLLECTOR. THERE IS NO ONE WHO IS NOT IN NEED OF A SAVIOR, NOT MOTHER THERESA, NOT THE POPE – NOT EVEN THE BLESSED MOTHER. THAT IS THE FACT THAT UNITES US ALL. THIRD, PRIDE SEPARATES US FROM GOD. THE PHARISEE SEEMS TO BE LAYING OUT ALL THE THINGS HE DOES FOR GOD. DOES HE THINK THIS WILL OBLIGATE GOD TO HIM? DOES HE THINK THERE IS ANYTHING HE GIVES TO GOD THAT GOD DID NOT FIRST GIVE HIM? WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, HIS UNDERSTANDING OF GOD IS VERY FLAWED, AND YOU CAN’T VERY WELL BECOME UNITED TO A GOD WHO DOESN’T REALLY EXIST.
THE PHARISEE IS NOT MADE RIGHT BY HIS PRAYER, BECAUSE OF HIS OWN PRIDE, NOT BECAUSE GOD REJECTS HIM.
IN CONTRAST, THE TAX COLLECTOR SEES ONLY THAT HE IS A SINNER, THAT HE IS IN NEED OF A SAVIOR, AND THAT HE CAN’T DO ANYTHING HIMSELF. THE PHARISEE SEES WHAT HE HAS ACCOMPLISHED; THE TAX COLLECTOR SEES THAT WHAT HE HAS DONE, WHAT HE COULD STILL DO, WOULD NOT EVEN BE A DROP IN THE BUCKET WHEN COMPARED WITH WHAT STILL REMAINS TO BE DONE. THE TAX COLLECTOR IS HUMBLE; THE WORD IS RELATED TO THE LATIN WORD “HUMUS” WHICH MEANS “SOIL”. THE TAX COLLECTOR RECOGNIZES THAT HIS ONLY CHANCE IS TO GET OUT OF THE WAY AND LET GOD WORK. HE SEES THAT ALL HE CAN BE IS SOIL, WAITING FOR THE GARDENER TO DO THE PLANTING, WATERING, WEEDING, AND HARVESTING. AND IT IS THIS ATTITUDE THAT JUSTIFIES HIM, THAT MAKES HIM RIGHT WITH GOD.
I THINK IT IS ALL RIGHT TO HAVE A HEALTHY EGO. CERTAINLY A LOT GETS DONE BY THOSE PEOPLE WHO THINK THAT THEY ARE MORE CAPABLE THAN 90% OF THE POPULATION. I SUSPECT POPE JOHN PAUL II HAD A HEALTHY EGO. BUT A HEALTHY EGO IS NOT PRIDE, THE GREAT SEPARATOR. THE REAL POINT IS THAT, NO MATTER WHAT OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS, NO MATTER WHAT OUR SKILLS OR TALENTS OR GOOD FORTUNE, WE APPRECIATE IN OUR VERY SOULS THAT WE ARE ENTIRELY AT THE MERCY OF GOD, AND THAT ANY HOPE WE HAVE OF ETERNAL LIFE IS BECAUSE THE FATHER GAVE US HIS SON TO DIE FOR US. THERE IS STILL SOME PHARISEE LEFT IN ME. GOD HELP ME BE THE TAX COLLECTOR.