Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

MATTHEW 22:34-40
KARL BARTH WAS A GERMAN THEOLOGIAN, SOMEONE WHO POPE BENEDICT CALLED THE GREATEST THEOLOGIAN OF THE 20TH CENTURY. FROM POPE BENEDICT, HIMSELF A GREAT THEOLOGIAN, THAT IS HIGH PRAISE INDEED. BARTH WAS A LUTHERAN, AND A PASTOR FOR MUCH OF HIS LIFE; HE DIDN'T LIVE IN AN IVORY TOWER. BUT HE WAS FAMOUS AND WELL KNOWN DURING HIS LIFETIME. ONCE SOMEONE ASKED HIM WHAT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT TRUTH IN CHRISTIANITY. I'M SURE THEY EXPECTED SOMETHING PROFOUND AND DEEP. BUT BARTH REPLIED BY SINGING THE LINES OF A GERMAN SONG, WHICH IS TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH: JESUS LOVES ME, THIS I KNOW, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO.”
SOMETHING SIMILAR WAS GOING ON WITH JESUS AND THE PHARISEES, ONLY MORE HOSTILE. IF JESUS NAMED A PARTICULAR COMMANDMENT AS THE GREATEST, THEY WOULD CONDEMN HIM, SINCE ALL THE COMMANDMENTS WERE THE WORD OF GOD. TO ELEVATE ONE WAS TO LOWER THE OTHERS; THAT WOULD BE BLASPHEMY. BUT IF HE SAID SOMETHING LIKE “THEY ARE ALL EQUAL” THAT WOULD BE A COP-OUT; EVEN THE PHARISEES GAVE PRIORITY TO SOME COMMANDMENTS OVER OTHERS. OF THE 630 RECOGNIZED COMMANDMENTS, THEY RANGED FROM THOSE HAVING TO DO WITH RITUAL PURITY TO THOSE HAVING TO DO WITH LIFE AND DEATH; THE PHARISEES, AS JESUS RECOGNIZED, WOULD SET ASIDE SOME COMMANDMENTS WHEN SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT WAS AT STAKE. “WHO AMONG YOU, IF HIS WORK ANIMAL HAD FALLEN INTO A PIT, WOULD NOT LIFT HIM OUT ON THE SABBATH?” BUT LIKE KARL BARTH, JESUS GAVE A VERY SIMPLE ANSWER. BECAUSE IF YOU WERE A JEWISH KID, YOU KNEW THE SHEMA: YOU SHALL LOVE GOD WITH YOUR WHOLE HEART, SOUL, AND STRENGTH. AND THE JEWS OF JESUS' TIME ALL ACCEPTED THE OBLIGATION TO TREAT OTHERS AS YOU WOULD BE TREATED; TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. SO JESUS AGAIN WINS THE ARGUMENT BY APPEALING TO WHAT THEY ALL KNEW, WHAT THEY ALL PROCLAIMED EVERY DAY.
BUT JESUS DOES AN INTERESTING THING. HE ADDS A TERM TO THE SHEMA. HE SAYS “YOU SHALL LOVE GOD WITH YOUR WHOLE HEART, SOUL, MIND, AND STRENGTH.
DID YOU EVER THINK WHAT THIS IMPLIES? GOD DOESN'T NEED OUR LOVE; HE DOESN'T NEED ANYTHING FROM US. THE ONLY REASON WE EXIST IS BECAUSE HE IS COMPLETE AND PERFECT LOVE, AND NOT ONLY WANTS US TO EXIST, HE WANTS US TO TAKE WHAT HE GIVES US AND MAKE IT PERFECT, WITH HIS HELP. IN OTHER WORDS, HE WANTS US TO BE PERFECTLY HAPPY. AND IF WE LOVE GOD, THAT SHOULD BE OUR GOAL AS WELL, TO BE HAPPY. MAYBE PERFECTLY HAPPY IS NOT POSSIBLE HERE ON EARTH, BUT WE CAN ALL BE HAPPIER THAN WE ARE NOW. AND GOD TELLS US HOW; HIS WILL FOR US IS NOT HIDDEN, IT'S OBVIOUS.
HEART – HAPPINESS IS PRESENT IN GOOD RELATIONSHIPS. BUT RELATIONSHIPS NEED TO BE CULTIVATED. A HUSBAND AND WIFE NEED TO SPEND TIME TOGETHER; GOOD FRIENDS NEED TO COMMUNICATE AND “HANG OUT”. BUT I SUSPECT IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU CAN THINK OF A LOT OF GOOD RELATIONSHIPS THAT YOU'VE LET SLIP – MAYBE EVEN THE ONE WITH YOUR SPOUSE – BECAUSE IT'S TOO MUCH WORK, OR YOU'RE TOO BUSY, OR THERE IS SOME UNRESOLVED ISSUE BETWEEN YOU.
MIND – HAPPINESS IS RELATED TO BECOMING BETTER. AND WE ARE ALL GREATLY INFLUENCED BY WHAT WE PUT INTO OUR MINDS. WE WATCH TELEVISION, WE READ POLITICAL COLUMNS, WE READ ROMANCE NOVELS – WE ALL HAVE WAYS WE WASTE OUR MINDS, BUT EVEN WORSE, WE BECOME WHAT WE READ. WHAT ARE WE DOING TO PUT THE RIGHT THINGS INTO OUR MINDS; BECAUSE IF WE DO THAT, WE WILL BE HAPPIER THAN OTHERWISE.
STRENGTH – HAPPINESS IS RELATED TO HOW WE FEEL, HOW MUCH ENERGY WE HAVE. WE ALL KNOW THAT IF WE EAT RIGHT AND EXERCISE A FEW TIMES A WEEK, WE WILL FEEL BETTER AND HAVE MORE ENERGY; IF WE'RE OVERWEIGHT WE'LL FEEL BETTER IF WE LOSE; IF WE SMOKE, WE'LL HAVE MORE ENERGY IF WE STOP. BUT EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW THESE THINGS, WE DON'T DO THEM.
I SAVED SOUL FOR LAST. IF WE REALLY WANT TO BE HAPPY, WE NEED TO SEEK OUT AND DO GOD'S WILL. FOR US CATHOLICS, THE MASS IS THE SUM AND SUMMIT OF OUR CHRISTIAN LIVES. YOU WOULD THINK THAT IF WE REALLY BELIEVED THIS, WE'D APPROACH THINGS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY. WE'D PREPARE FOR MASS, BECAUSE GOD SPEAKS TO US IN THE WORD, IN THE READINGS, THE HOMILY, THE PSALMS. AND CERTAINLY WITH ALL THE RICHNESS THAT COMES TO US IN THE MASS, THERE IS SOME ONE THING WHICH SPEAKS TO US. IF WE ARE PREPARED, WE WILL HEAR IT. IF WE AREN'T, WE WON'T. PREPARATION MEANS SPENDING A LITTLE TIME WITH THE READINGS BEFORE MASS. IT MEANS COMING A LITTLE EARLY SO THAT YOU CAN QUIET YOUR MIND AND HEART, SO THAT YOU CAN ENTER INTO COMMUNION WITH OUR LORD. IT MEANS, PERHAPS, THAT YOU SPEND A FEW MINUTES AFTER MASS GIVING THANKS FOR YOUR WEEK, FOR ALL THE GOOD THAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU. WHEN YOU DON'T DO THESE THINGS, YOU WON'T GET MUCH OUT OF THE MASS.
TO LOVE GOD WITH HEART, SOUL, MIND AND STRENGTH; THOSE AREN'T JUST WORDS, THEY REPRESENT THE FOUR ASPECTS OF OUR EXISTENCE. TO LOVE GOD WITH OUR EMOTIONS, OUR SPIRIT, OUR INTELLECT, AND OUR BODY, WE NEED TO BE USING THESE GIFTS AS GOD INTENDS US TO USE THEM. AND TO USE THEM AS GOD INTENDS US TO USE THEM MEANS THAT WE SEEK OUR HAPPINESS, AND THE HAPPINESS OF OTHERS, WITH THEM. BECAUSE GOD PUTS THE DESIRE FOR HAPPINESS IN US, SO THAT WE WILL EVENTUALLY FIND HIM, WHO IS THE SOURCE OF HAPPINESS.
CHRISTIANITY ISN'T COMPLICATED; IT ISN'T ROCKET SCIENCE. WHEN WE REALLY SET OUT TO LOVE GOD, WE AREN'T TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING ABSTRACT. WE ALL KNOW WHAT GOD WANTS OF US, HOW HE WANTS US TO LOVE HIM. BUT WE ARE TOO BUSY, WE ARE TOO DISTRACTED, WE ARE TOO MUCH CAUGHT UP IN THE WORLD TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT HE IS ALWAYS TELLING US.
THIS WEEK LET US RESOLVE TO DO ONE THING TO SHOW GOD THAT WE LOVE HIM; ONE THING FOR OUR HEARTS; ONE THING FOR OUR SOULS; ONE THING FOR OUR MINDS; AND ONE THING FOR OUR STRENGTH. AND AS WE DO THIS WE WILL NOT ONLY BE LOVING GOD, WE WILL BE HAPPIER, AND IF WE ARE HAPPIER, WE ARE BECOMING BETTER PEOPLE, AND MOVING TOWARDS THAT FINAL GOAL GOD HAS FOR EACH OF US, TO LIVE IN THE TRINITY FOREVER.