MATTHEW 251-13
ONE DAY A PRIEST WAS SPEAKING ABOUT THE STORY OF THE FIVE WISE AND FIVE FOOLISH VIRGINS. AT THE END OF HIS SERMON, HE ASKED THEM, “AFTER WHAT YOU'VE HEARD, WHERE WOULD YOU RATHER BE? INSIDE THE HOUSE, ENJOYING THE FEAST, OR OUT IN THE DARK WITH THE FIVE FOOLISH YOUNG WOMEN?” A YOUNG MEN IN THE AUDIENCE REPLIED, “I'M THINKING.”
WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE, EXAM TIME WAS ALWAYS STRESSFUL. I WOULD USUALLY BE TAKING SIX COURSES AT A TIME, AND ALL THE EXAMS WOULD BE SCHEDULED OVER A THREE DAY PERIOD. THAT MEANT THAT I HAD TO STUDY MY SIX DIFFERENT TOPICS, AND HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION ON HAND SO THAT I COULD DO WELL. I WOULD NOT GETA LOT OF SLEEP DURING THIS TIME. AND WHEN YOU DON'T GET SLEEP, AND YOU ARE UNDER A LOT OF STRESS, YOU CAN HAVE INTERESTING DREAMS. ONE RECURRENT DREAM WAS THAT I HAD ACTUALLY REGISTERED FOR A COURSE THAT I HAD COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT. I HADN'T GONE TO THE CLASSES, I HADN'T STUDIED – BUT I WAS STILL SCHEDULED TO TAKE THE TEST. I WOULD WAKE UP IN A COLD SWEAT.
WE AREN'T AT ALL FAMILIAR WITH THE SCENE JESUS DESCRIBES, BUT TO HIS HEARERS IT WAS COMMONPLACE. IN THE LITTLE VILLAGES A WEDDING WAS A VERY BIG DEAL. IT WAS AN OCCASION FOR PUTTING ASIDE ALL THE CARES OF DAILY LIFE AND SPENDING A WEEK HAVING A PARTY. YOU REMEMBER THE WEDDING FEAST AT CANA. WHAT WE DON'T REALIZE IS HOW MUCH WINE WAS BEING CONSUMED; IT WASN'T JUST A CHAMPAGNE TOAST AND TWO DRINK TICKETS AT THE OPEN BAR. THE WINE THAT JESUS MIRACULOUSLY MADE FROM WATER AMOUNTED TO ABOUT SIXTY GALLONS OR SO. AND OF COURSE, THE PARTY HAD BEEN GOING ON A WHILE EVEN BEFORE THIS HAPPENED.
THE WEDDING WAS NOT SCHEDULED FOR A CERTAIN TIME; IT WAS ONLY APPROXIMATE. THE BRIDESMAIDS WOULD BE ATTENDING THE BRIDE, MAKING SURE HER HAIR WAS PUT UP JUST RIGHT, HER GOWN WAS READY TO WEAR, AND HER LAST MINUTE NERVOUSNESS WAS QUIETED. AND THEN THEY WOULD GO OUT TO WAIT FOR THE BRIDEGROOM. IT WAS SORT OF A GAME; HIS JOB WAS TO SURPRISE EVERYBODY AND THEIRS WAS NOT TO BE SURPRISED. AT SOME POINT THE FRIENDS OF THE BRIDEGROOM WOULD ANNOUNCE THAT THE GROOM WAS COMING, AND THE BRIDESMAIDS WOULD GREET HIM AND ESCORT HIM BACK INTO THE HALL WHERE THE BRIDE AWAITED HIM. IN A SOCIETY WHERE THERE WAS VERY LITTLE LEISURE, WEDDING PARTIES WERE ONE OF THE PLACES WHERE YOUNG MEN AND YOUNG WOMEN COULD MEET EACH OTHER. THE PEOPLE WHO HEARD JESUS COULD FEEL WHAT A TRAGEDY IT WOULD BE FOR THESE YOUNG WOMEN TO MISS THE CHANCE TO MEET POTENTIAL HUSBANDS; THEY DIDN'T JUST MISS THE PARTY; THEY MISSED OUT ON THEIR FUTURE HAPPINESS, ALL BECAUSE THEY HADN'T BEEN PREPARED.
I THINK THE STORY REALLY TELLS US TWO VERY IMPORTANT THINGS. FIRST, THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU CAN'T PUT OFF. WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, WE WERE OFTEN TOLD STORIES ABOUT DEATHBED CONVERSIONS; SOMEONE HAD LIVED A TERRIBLE LIFE, AND AT THE LAST MINUTE, MADE A PERFECT CONFESSION AND WENT RIGHT TO HEAVEN. WE WERE ENCOURAGED TO MAKE NINE “FIRST FRIDAYS” BECAUSE A PROMISE HAD BEEN MADE BY THE BLESSED MOTHER THAT THOSE WHO DID SO WOULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE BEFORE THEY DIED. AND MAYBE AN INDIRECT EFFECT OF THESE IDEAS WAS INDEED THE NOTION THAT WE COULD “PUT OFF” REALLY, REALLY BECOMING CHRISTIAN UNTIL LATER IN LIFE. AFTER ALL, THAT'S WHAT AUGUSTINE DID, AND NOW HE'S A GREAT SAINT.
WE ALL KNOW WHAT WE SHOULD DO; WE ALL KNOW HOW WE COULD BE BETTER CHRISTIANS, HOW WE COULD SPEND MORE TIME IN PRAYER, MEDITATION, READING SCRIPTURE, DOING GOOD WORKS. BUT WE PUT OFF CHANGING OUR LIVES, BECAUSE AFTER ALL, IT DOES TAKE WORK, AND WE HAVE OTHER THINGS TO DO. BUT IN ADDITION TO BEING PREPARED FOR OUR ULTIMATE END, FOR THAT END OF LIFE WHICH COULD COME IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE, THERE IS ANOTHER KIND OF PREPAREDNESS. EVERY DAY THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE A NEIGHBOR, TO HELP SOMEONE OUT, TO GIVE A KIND WORD TO SOMEONE; AND SO OFTEN WE AREN'T PREPARED, WE MISS THOSE MOMENTS WHEN WE CAN BE GOD'S GRACE TO SOMEONE ELSE. THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU CAN'T PUT OFF.
AND THE SECOND POINT IS THAT THERE ARE SOME THINGS FOR WHICH WE CAN'T DEPEND ON OTHERS. THE FOOLISH VIRGINS WANTED TO BORROW OIL FROM THEIR WISE SISTERS. IN JESUS' STORY, IT COULDN'T BE DONE. THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO MANAGE TO GET OUT OF TROUBLE BECAUSE SOMEONE HELPS THEM OUT. IT CERTAINLY SEEMS TO BE TRUE OF YOUNG PEOPLE WHO NEED A LOAN FROM MOM AND DAD, BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE DECENT JOBS, OR CREDIT, BUT STILL FOR LIFE TO GO ON A NEED MUST BE FULFILLED. AND WE PROBABLY ALL KNOW PEOPLE WHO JUST CAN'T GET IT TOGETHER, AND CONTINUE TO DEPEND ON SIBLINGS, OR EVEN ADULT CHILDREN, IN ORDER TO GET ALONG. BUT WITH RESPECT TO OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS, THAT RELATIONSHIP ON WHICH OUR WHOLE ETERNITY DEPENDS, WHETHER OR NOT WE WILL LIVE IN LIGHT FOR ALL ETERNITY OR LIVE IN DARKNESS AND LONELINESS, NO ONE, NOT EVEN GOD, CAN STEP IN AND CREATE THAT RELATIONSHIP FOR US. BECAUSE FORMING A RELATIONSHIP REQUIRES THE FREE ACT OF MY WILL, AND GOD HAS GIVEN ME THAT FREEDOM, FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE.
THE THING THAT IS SO SAD ABOUT THIS STORY OF JESUS' IS THAT THE FOOLISH VIRGINS HAD THEIR HEARTS IN THE RIGHT PLACE. THEY MEANT WELL. THEY DID NOT FORGET THE EXTRA OIL ON PURPOSE. BUT IT DIDN'T MATTER; GOOD INTENTIONS WERE NOT ENOUGH TO GET THEM IN TO THE PARTY.
THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT CAN'T BE PUT OFF. THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT NO ONE CAN HELP US WITH. AND GOOD INTENTIONS ARE NOT ENOUGH TO GET US IN TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. THOSE ARE VERY IMPORTANT TRUTHS WHICH SHOULD ENGAGE US THIS WEEK, AS WE GO BACK INTO THE WORLD. THE BRIDEGROOM IS COMING; WE DON'T KNOW WHEN; AND WE NEED TO TAKE STOCK: ARE WE READY? WE ONLY HAVE THIS ONE CHANCE.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
MATTHEW 23:1-12
MUMMAR KADAFI WAS THE ABSOLUTE RULER OF LIBYA FOR FORTY TWO YEARS. I WAS JUST FINISHING MEDICAL SCHOOL WHEN HE CAME TO POWER, THE LEADER OF A GROUP OF MIDDLE-LEVEL MILITARY MEN WHO OVERTHREW THE KING. HE MOVED RAPIDLY TO CONSOLIDATE HIS POWER, AND IT WASN'T TOO HARD, BECAUSE THE PEOPLE OF LIBYA THOUGHT THAT ANYTHING WOULD BE BETTER THAN WHAT THEY HAD BEFORE. AND INITIALLY, KADAFI DIDN'T DISAPPOINT THEM. I REMEMBER READING AN ARTICLE NOW AND THEN ABOUT THE REVOLUTION KADAFI WAS BRINGING ABOUT. HE WAS BUILDING SCHOOLS, TRYING TO DEVELOP THE OIL INDUSTRY, MODERNIZING CITIES. AND IN THOSE DAYS HE HAD A HUGE AMOUNT OF SUPPORT. BUT SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE SOMETHING CHANGED. HE BEGAN REPRESSING THE BEDOIN POPULATION, A MINORITY GROUP. ONCE WHERE HE WAS THE LEADER OF A GROUP OF PEOPLE TRYING TO CHANGE THE COUNTRY, HE TRANSITIONED TO BECOME THE ABSOLUTE RULER; THOSE HE DIDN'T KILL HE EXILED. AND AT SOME POINT HE MUST HAVE BELIEVED HE WAS SO IMPORTANT, SO WISE, THAT HE GENERATED A TEXT CALLED “THE GREEN BOOK” WHICH CONTAINED HIS IDEAS ABOUT HOW SOCIETY SHOULD BE ORGANIZED AND RUN. EVERYONE HAD TO STUDY THIS BOOK, AND YOU COULD EVEN GET AN ADVANCED DEGREE IN IT AT THE UNIVERSITY SO THAT YOU COULD GO OUT AND TEACH IT. AND KADAFI ENDED UP A PARANOID, A TERRORIST, AND UNFORTUNATELY, A CLOWN FIGURE TO MOST OF THOSE WHO OBSERVED HIM.
THE PHARISEES AND THE SCRIBES DID NOT START OUT TO IMPOSE HEAVY BURDENS, TO SEEK OUT HONORS, TO WALK AROUND WITH THE SYMBOLS OF THEIR OFFICES EXAGGERATED AND DECORATED. I IMAGINE WHEN THEY FIRST DISCERNED A VOCATION TO TEACH THE LAW, BOTH BY WORD AND EXAMPLE, THEY WERE VERY SINCERE, THEY SAW THEMSELVES AS DOING GOD'S WORK, AND INDEED THEY WERE. BUT AFTER A WHILE, JESUS CONDEMNS THEM. HE CALLS THEM HYPOCRITES IN MATTHEW'S GOSPEL, BUT THAT WORD DOESN'T QUITE HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS WE MIGHT EXPECT IN ENGLISH, THE IDEA OF SAYING ONE THING AND DOING THE OPPOSITE. THE WORD JESUS PROBABLY USED MEANT SOMETHING LIKE “ACTOR”. THE PHARISEES DID NOT SAY ONE THING AND DO ANOTHER. THEY WERE VERY HARD ON THEMSELVES; BUT THE WAY THEY TREATED THOSE TO WHOM THEY WERE RESPONSIBLE DEMONSTRATED THAT EVEN THOUGH THEY FASTED AND GAVE ALMS AND RIGOROUSLY FOLLOWED THE LAW, THERE HAD BEEN NO INNER CONVERSION.
AND I THINK THAT IS THE LESSON JESUS IS TEACHING US TODAY. BEWARE OF POWER, OF POSITIONS OF LEADERSHIP; BEWARE WHEN SOMEONE IS HONORING YOU. EVEN IF YOU ARE A SAINT, YOU ARE RISKING YOUR SOUL. MOTHER THERESA, CERTAINLY A MODERN SAINT, WAS KNOWN TO HAVE A VERY STRONG SENSE OF HER OWN RIGHTNESS WHERE HER MINISTRY WAS CONCERNED; IF YOU WANTED TO WORK WITH HER, IT WAS “MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY”. JOHN PAUL II WAS KNOWN TO BE IMPULSIVE; SOME OF THE THINGS HE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO DO WERE FORTUNATELY NOT DONE BECAUSE OF COOLER HEADS IN THE VATICAN. EVEN SAINT FRANCIS WAS A LITTLE BIT CORRUPTED BY POWER AND HONOR AND LEADERSHIP, TO THE EXTENT THAT HIS BROTHERS QUIETLY DEMOTED HIM FROM RUNNING THE ORDER IN HIS LATER YEARS.
THERE IS THAT OLD SAYING, “POWER CORRUPTS, AND ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY.” JESUS LOOKS AT THE PHARISEES; ON ONE LEVEL, HE RECOGNIZES HOW ZEALOUS THEY ARE TO TEACH AND PASS ON THE LAW. YOU COULD COUNT ON THE FACT THAT A PHARISEE WOULD NEVER TELL YOU SOMETHING ABOUT THE LAW THAT WASN'T TRUE. SO HE TELLS HIS FOLLOWERS TO LISTEN TO THEM, PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT THEY SAY. BUT HE POINTS OUT THAT THEY HAVE SUCCUMBED TO THE CORRUPTING INFLUENCE OF THEIR POSITIONS. THEY HAVE REACHED THE POINT WHERE THEY BELIEVE THEY ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS, THAT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO TELL PEOPLE WHAT TO DO, THAT THE HONORS WHICH THEY RECEIVE ARE THINGS THEY DESERVE. AND AMONG JESUS' FOLLOWERS, THERE IS TO BE NONE OF THIS, OR AT LEAST THE VERY LEAST. TITLES OF HONOR ARE OUT; JESUS WOULD NOT APPROVE OF SIGNS OF AUTHORITY. AND AN AUTHENTIC LEADER IS CHARACTERIZED BY ONE THING -- THAT HE OR SHE IS FIRST OF ALL A SERVANT.
MUMMAR KADAFI WAS THE ABSOLUTE RULER OF LIBYA FOR FORTY TWO YEARS. I WAS JUST FINISHING MEDICAL SCHOOL WHEN HE CAME TO POWER, THE LEADER OF A GROUP OF MIDDLE-LEVEL MILITARY MEN WHO OVERTHREW THE KING. HE MOVED RAPIDLY TO CONSOLIDATE HIS POWER, AND IT WASN'T TOO HARD, BECAUSE THE PEOPLE OF LIBYA THOUGHT THAT ANYTHING WOULD BE BETTER THAN WHAT THEY HAD BEFORE. AND INITIALLY, KADAFI DIDN'T DISAPPOINT THEM. I REMEMBER READING AN ARTICLE NOW AND THEN ABOUT THE REVOLUTION KADAFI WAS BRINGING ABOUT. HE WAS BUILDING SCHOOLS, TRYING TO DEVELOP THE OIL INDUSTRY, MODERNIZING CITIES. AND IN THOSE DAYS HE HAD A HUGE AMOUNT OF SUPPORT. BUT SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE SOMETHING CHANGED. HE BEGAN REPRESSING THE BEDOIN POPULATION, A MINORITY GROUP. ONCE WHERE HE WAS THE LEADER OF A GROUP OF PEOPLE TRYING TO CHANGE THE COUNTRY, HE TRANSITIONED TO BECOME THE ABSOLUTE RULER; THOSE HE DIDN'T KILL HE EXILED. AND AT SOME POINT HE MUST HAVE BELIEVED HE WAS SO IMPORTANT, SO WISE, THAT HE GENERATED A TEXT CALLED “THE GREEN BOOK” WHICH CONTAINED HIS IDEAS ABOUT HOW SOCIETY SHOULD BE ORGANIZED AND RUN. EVERYONE HAD TO STUDY THIS BOOK, AND YOU COULD EVEN GET AN ADVANCED DEGREE IN IT AT THE UNIVERSITY SO THAT YOU COULD GO OUT AND TEACH IT. AND KADAFI ENDED UP A PARANOID, A TERRORIST, AND UNFORTUNATELY, A CLOWN FIGURE TO MOST OF THOSE WHO OBSERVED HIM.
THE PHARISEES AND THE SCRIBES DID NOT START OUT TO IMPOSE HEAVY BURDENS, TO SEEK OUT HONORS, TO WALK AROUND WITH THE SYMBOLS OF THEIR OFFICES EXAGGERATED AND DECORATED. I IMAGINE WHEN THEY FIRST DISCERNED A VOCATION TO TEACH THE LAW, BOTH BY WORD AND EXAMPLE, THEY WERE VERY SINCERE, THEY SAW THEMSELVES AS DOING GOD'S WORK, AND INDEED THEY WERE. BUT AFTER A WHILE, JESUS CONDEMNS THEM. HE CALLS THEM HYPOCRITES IN MATTHEW'S GOSPEL, BUT THAT WORD DOESN'T QUITE HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS WE MIGHT EXPECT IN ENGLISH, THE IDEA OF SAYING ONE THING AND DOING THE OPPOSITE. THE WORD JESUS PROBABLY USED MEANT SOMETHING LIKE “ACTOR”. THE PHARISEES DID NOT SAY ONE THING AND DO ANOTHER. THEY WERE VERY HARD ON THEMSELVES; BUT THE WAY THEY TREATED THOSE TO WHOM THEY WERE RESPONSIBLE DEMONSTRATED THAT EVEN THOUGH THEY FASTED AND GAVE ALMS AND RIGOROUSLY FOLLOWED THE LAW, THERE HAD BEEN NO INNER CONVERSION.
AND I THINK THAT IS THE LESSON JESUS IS TEACHING US TODAY. BEWARE OF POWER, OF POSITIONS OF LEADERSHIP; BEWARE WHEN SOMEONE IS HONORING YOU. EVEN IF YOU ARE A SAINT, YOU ARE RISKING YOUR SOUL. MOTHER THERESA, CERTAINLY A MODERN SAINT, WAS KNOWN TO HAVE A VERY STRONG SENSE OF HER OWN RIGHTNESS WHERE HER MINISTRY WAS CONCERNED; IF YOU WANTED TO WORK WITH HER, IT WAS “MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY”. JOHN PAUL II WAS KNOWN TO BE IMPULSIVE; SOME OF THE THINGS HE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO DO WERE FORTUNATELY NOT DONE BECAUSE OF COOLER HEADS IN THE VATICAN. EVEN SAINT FRANCIS WAS A LITTLE BIT CORRUPTED BY POWER AND HONOR AND LEADERSHIP, TO THE EXTENT THAT HIS BROTHERS QUIETLY DEMOTED HIM FROM RUNNING THE ORDER IN HIS LATER YEARS.
THERE IS THAT OLD SAYING, “POWER CORRUPTS, AND ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY.” JESUS LOOKS AT THE PHARISEES; ON ONE LEVEL, HE RECOGNIZES HOW ZEALOUS THEY ARE TO TEACH AND PASS ON THE LAW. YOU COULD COUNT ON THE FACT THAT A PHARISEE WOULD NEVER TELL YOU SOMETHING ABOUT THE LAW THAT WASN'T TRUE. SO HE TELLS HIS FOLLOWERS TO LISTEN TO THEM, PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT THEY SAY. BUT HE POINTS OUT THAT THEY HAVE SUCCUMBED TO THE CORRUPTING INFLUENCE OF THEIR POSITIONS. THEY HAVE REACHED THE POINT WHERE THEY BELIEVE THEY ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS, THAT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO TELL PEOPLE WHAT TO DO, THAT THE HONORS WHICH THEY RECEIVE ARE THINGS THEY DESERVE. AND AMONG JESUS' FOLLOWERS, THERE IS TO BE NONE OF THIS, OR AT LEAST THE VERY LEAST. TITLES OF HONOR ARE OUT; JESUS WOULD NOT APPROVE OF SIGNS OF AUTHORITY. AND AN AUTHENTIC LEADER IS CHARACTERIZED BY ONE THING -- THAT HE OR SHE IS FIRST OF ALL A SERVANT.
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.
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.
Twent-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
MATTHEW 22:15-21
I ENJOYED MY TIME IN COLLEGE. I HAD SPENT MOST OF MY LIFE IN MONTANA, SO YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT WHEN I WENT AWAY TO WASHINGTON, D.C., AT THE AGE OF 17, IT WAS A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE FOR ME. I MAJORED IN BIOLOGY, BUT I WAS FASCINATED BY HISTORY, THEOLOGY, AND PHILOSOPHY. YOU CAN'T ARGUE MUCH ABOUT HARD SCIENCE, BUT IN THOSE LATE NIGHT SESSIONS IN THE DORMITORY WE WOULD TACKLE ALL MANNER OF QUESTIONS THAT HAD NO ANSWERS. WHEN WE DISCUSSED RELIGION, OF COURSE, EVEN THOUGH WE WERE ALL CATHOLICS AND REASONABLY SERIOUS CATHOLICS AT THAT, WE ALL HAD DIFFERENT OPINIONS ABOUT THE RUSTLINGS GOING ON IN THE CHURCH AS IT PREPARED FOR THE VATICAN COUNCIL.
AND WHENEVER WE TALKED ABOUT RELIGION, I WOULD FEEL HOLY. THE MORE I KNEW ABOUT THE BIBLE, THE HOLIER I'D FEEL. I WOULD DIVE INTO THOMAS AQUINAS, BECAUSE HE WAS THE PHILOSOPHER WE STUDIED MOST AT CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY, AND THAT WOULD MAKE ME FEEL HOLY. AND IT WAS A GOOD FEELING. AND I'D GO HOME TO MONTANA DURING THE SUMMER AND OVERWHELM MY PARENTS WITH MY NEW KNOWLEDGE. AND THAT WOULD MAKE ME FEEL AS THOUGH I WERE ON THE SIDE OF THE ANGELS.
BUT I WASN'T. I LOOK BACK AND SEE THAT ALL THAT KNOWLEDGE WAS OF COURSE A GOOD THING. BUT IT WASN'T HELPING MY PRAYER LIFE, IT WASN'T GETTING ME CLOSER TO GOD, IT WASN'T ENCOURAGING ME TO SERVE MY NEIGHBOR. IT HAD BECOME A SUBSTITUTE FOR REAL RELIGION.
WHEN WE HEAR THIS GOSPEL, IT IS OFTEN FOLLOWED WITH A SERMON ABOUT PATRIOTISM, OR THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. WE SOMETIMES INTERPRET JESUS' WORDS TO MEAN THAT THERE IS A SHARP DIVISION IN SOCIETY BETWEEN RELIGION AND EVERYTHING ELSE. AND THESE WORDS HAVE BEEN USED TO JUSTIFY ALL SORTS OF THINGS. BUT I DON'T THINK JESUS WAS TALKING ABOUT ANY OF THIS. THE PHARISEES SPENT A LOT OF TIME ARGUING WITH EACH OTHER ABOUT HOW TO FOLLOW THE LAW. THIS TOOK UP MOST OF THEIR TIME. THIS STILL GOES ON, AS YOU MAY KNOW, ESPECIALLY IN ISRAEL, WHERE AMONG THE ULTRA-ORTHODOX, IT IS ALMOST A SIN FOR A YOUNG MAN TO HOLD DOWN A JOB. NO, HIS MISSION IS TO SPEND MOST OF HIS WAKING MOMENTS STUDYING SCRIPTURE AND THE TALMUD. THIS HAS BECOME A SUBSTITUTE FOR REAL RELIGION. AND WHEN THE PHARISEES POSE THE QUESTION TO JESUS, IT IS TRUE THAT THEY WERE TRYING TO TRAP HIM. IF HE CAME DOWN ON ONE SIDE, HE WOULD BE A REBEL, A SUBVERSIVE. IF HE CAME DOWN ON THE OTHER, HE WOULD BE TURNED ON BY THE COMMON PEOPLE, WHO RESENTED PAYING TAXES TO THEIR OPPRESSORS. SINCE THE ROMAN EMPEROR WAS CONSIDERED A GOD, IT WAS ALMOST BLASPHEMOUS TO PAY TAXES.
BUT JESUS IS SPEAKING TO THE PHARISEES ABOUT THEIR VERY PREMISE, NOT LAYING DOWN SOME NEW RULE ABOUT THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. IT IS PRECISELY THIS KIND OF QUESTION THAT OCCUPIED THEM; QUESTIONS WHICH COULD BE ARGUED OVER FOR DAYS ON END; QUESTIONS WHICH THE SACRED SCRIPTURES COULD BE USED TO SUPPORT ALMOST ANY POSITION; AND QUESTIONS WHICH IN THE END HAD NO REAL ANSWER.
AND JESUS SPEAKS THOSE FAMOUS WORDS, “GIVE TO CAESAR WHAT IS CAESAR’S AND TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S”, TO CALL THEM BACK TO REAL RELIGION.
REAL RELIGION IS NOT GETTING A PHD IN THEOLOGY, OR BEING A GREAT MISSIONARY, OR WRITING SPIRITUAL SELF-HELP BOOKS. REAL RELIGION IS NOT MARCHING IN A PRO-LIFE DEMONSTRATION, OR FEEDING THE HUNGRY, OR VISITING THE SICK OR IMPRISONED. DON'T GET ME WRONG, THOSE ARE ALL WONDERFUL THINGS, AND THEY MIGHT INDEED STEM FROM RELIGIOUS VALUES; BUT, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO BELIEVE IN GOD TO DO ANY OF THESE THINGS. AND THE DANGER IS ALWAYS THAT WE CONFUSE THINGS LIKE THIS WITH REAL RELIGION.
JESUS REMINDS THE PHARISEES THAT AS THEY STUDY THE SCRIPTURES AND DEVELOP LAWS FOR EVERY KIND OF HUMAN ACTIVITY, AS THEY ARGUE FAR INTO THE NIGHT ABOUT THE MEANING OF A PASSAGE IN GENESIS, THEY AREN'T RENDERING UNTO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S. AND THE PHARISEES, YOU MAY NOT KNOW, WERE CHARITABLE. THEY DID CARE ABOUT THE SICK, AND THE WIDOWS AND ORPHANS. AND THEY MADE RULES ABOUT HOW YOU WENT ABOUT GIVING CHARITY, AND THEY ARGUED OVER THOSE RULES AS WELL. AND JESUS REMINDED THEM THAT EVEN HERE THEY WERE NOT RENDERING UNTO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S.
YOU AND I ARE CREATURES. WE ARE TOTALLY DEPENDENT ON GOD. LIFE MAY NOT BE SO BAD FOR US RIGHT NOW, BUT EVERYTHING IS CONTINGENT; OUR WORLD COULD COMPLETELY CHANGE TOMORROW. AS CREATURES, WE OWE OUR CREATOR. WHAT IS IT THAT WE OWE HIM? THE OLD CATECHISM GAVE US THE ANSWER IN A SIMPLE STATEMENT THOSE OF US WHO ARE OLD ENOUGH CAN ALWAYS DREDGE UP FROM OUR BRAINS: WE WERE CREATED TO KNOW, LOVE AND SERVE HIM IN THIS WORLD, AND BE HAPPY FOREVER WITH HIM IN THE NEXT.
KNOWING GOD REQUIRES PRAYER, REFLECTION, MEDITATION; IT TAKES TIME, IT MUST BE A PRIORITY. AND IF WE TRULY KNOW GOD, IT LEADS TO LOVING HIM, AND IF WE TRULY LOVE HIM, IT LEADS TO SERVING HIM. AND IF WE AREN'T LOVING, IF WE AREN'T SERVING, THEN WE PROBABLY DON'T KNOW HIM, WE PROBABLY HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT WE ARE CREATURES. WE HAVE PUT GOD INTO A BOX AND WE OPEN IT UP ON SUNDAY MORNING AND CLOSE IT DOWN AFTER WE PAY OUR WEEKLY DUES. AND WE THINK THAT BECAUSE WE GET THROUGH THE WEEK WITHOUT SERIOUS SIN, BECAUSE WE TAKE CARE OF OUR FAMILIES, BECAUSE WE MAY BE GIVING OUR TIME AND EFFORTS TO SOME CAUSE, WE ARE OK. BUT JESUS REMINDS US THAT WE HAVE TO CONSTANTLY EXAMINE OURSELVES, AND ASK THE QUESTION, ARE WE RENDERING TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S? ARE WE TAKING SERIOUSLY OUR DUTY TO WORSHIP, TO GIVE OURSELVES OVER TO HIM, TO ALLOW HIS HOLY SPIRIT TO USE US? ARE WE TRYING TO KNOW HIS WILL FOR US, AND TRYING TO CARRY IT OUT?
THE DEVIL HAS A GREAT WEAPON THAT HE CAN ONLY USE AGAINST GOOD CHRISTIANS; THAT IS TO MAKE THEM SPEND THEIR TIME IN ACTIVITIES AND PRACTICES WHICH AREN'T REALLY DEVELOPING THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD – BUT BECOME A SUBSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPING THAT RELATIONSHIP.
AND SO OUR TASK THIS WEEK IS TO EXAMINE OUR LIVES AND ASK WHETHER WE ARE RENDERING UNTO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S. ARE WE TAKING THE FACT THAT WE ARE CREATURES SERIOUSLY?
I ENJOYED MY TIME IN COLLEGE. I HAD SPENT MOST OF MY LIFE IN MONTANA, SO YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT WHEN I WENT AWAY TO WASHINGTON, D.C., AT THE AGE OF 17, IT WAS A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE FOR ME. I MAJORED IN BIOLOGY, BUT I WAS FASCINATED BY HISTORY, THEOLOGY, AND PHILOSOPHY. YOU CAN'T ARGUE MUCH ABOUT HARD SCIENCE, BUT IN THOSE LATE NIGHT SESSIONS IN THE DORMITORY WE WOULD TACKLE ALL MANNER OF QUESTIONS THAT HAD NO ANSWERS. WHEN WE DISCUSSED RELIGION, OF COURSE, EVEN THOUGH WE WERE ALL CATHOLICS AND REASONABLY SERIOUS CATHOLICS AT THAT, WE ALL HAD DIFFERENT OPINIONS ABOUT THE RUSTLINGS GOING ON IN THE CHURCH AS IT PREPARED FOR THE VATICAN COUNCIL.
AND WHENEVER WE TALKED ABOUT RELIGION, I WOULD FEEL HOLY. THE MORE I KNEW ABOUT THE BIBLE, THE HOLIER I'D FEEL. I WOULD DIVE INTO THOMAS AQUINAS, BECAUSE HE WAS THE PHILOSOPHER WE STUDIED MOST AT CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY, AND THAT WOULD MAKE ME FEEL HOLY. AND IT WAS A GOOD FEELING. AND I'D GO HOME TO MONTANA DURING THE SUMMER AND OVERWHELM MY PARENTS WITH MY NEW KNOWLEDGE. AND THAT WOULD MAKE ME FEEL AS THOUGH I WERE ON THE SIDE OF THE ANGELS.
BUT I WASN'T. I LOOK BACK AND SEE THAT ALL THAT KNOWLEDGE WAS OF COURSE A GOOD THING. BUT IT WASN'T HELPING MY PRAYER LIFE, IT WASN'T GETTING ME CLOSER TO GOD, IT WASN'T ENCOURAGING ME TO SERVE MY NEIGHBOR. IT HAD BECOME A SUBSTITUTE FOR REAL RELIGION.
WHEN WE HEAR THIS GOSPEL, IT IS OFTEN FOLLOWED WITH A SERMON ABOUT PATRIOTISM, OR THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. WE SOMETIMES INTERPRET JESUS' WORDS TO MEAN THAT THERE IS A SHARP DIVISION IN SOCIETY BETWEEN RELIGION AND EVERYTHING ELSE. AND THESE WORDS HAVE BEEN USED TO JUSTIFY ALL SORTS OF THINGS. BUT I DON'T THINK JESUS WAS TALKING ABOUT ANY OF THIS. THE PHARISEES SPENT A LOT OF TIME ARGUING WITH EACH OTHER ABOUT HOW TO FOLLOW THE LAW. THIS TOOK UP MOST OF THEIR TIME. THIS STILL GOES ON, AS YOU MAY KNOW, ESPECIALLY IN ISRAEL, WHERE AMONG THE ULTRA-ORTHODOX, IT IS ALMOST A SIN FOR A YOUNG MAN TO HOLD DOWN A JOB. NO, HIS MISSION IS TO SPEND MOST OF HIS WAKING MOMENTS STUDYING SCRIPTURE AND THE TALMUD. THIS HAS BECOME A SUBSTITUTE FOR REAL RELIGION. AND WHEN THE PHARISEES POSE THE QUESTION TO JESUS, IT IS TRUE THAT THEY WERE TRYING TO TRAP HIM. IF HE CAME DOWN ON ONE SIDE, HE WOULD BE A REBEL, A SUBVERSIVE. IF HE CAME DOWN ON THE OTHER, HE WOULD BE TURNED ON BY THE COMMON PEOPLE, WHO RESENTED PAYING TAXES TO THEIR OPPRESSORS. SINCE THE ROMAN EMPEROR WAS CONSIDERED A GOD, IT WAS ALMOST BLASPHEMOUS TO PAY TAXES.
BUT JESUS IS SPEAKING TO THE PHARISEES ABOUT THEIR VERY PREMISE, NOT LAYING DOWN SOME NEW RULE ABOUT THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. IT IS PRECISELY THIS KIND OF QUESTION THAT OCCUPIED THEM; QUESTIONS WHICH COULD BE ARGUED OVER FOR DAYS ON END; QUESTIONS WHICH THE SACRED SCRIPTURES COULD BE USED TO SUPPORT ALMOST ANY POSITION; AND QUESTIONS WHICH IN THE END HAD NO REAL ANSWER.
AND JESUS SPEAKS THOSE FAMOUS WORDS, “GIVE TO CAESAR WHAT IS CAESAR’S AND TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S”, TO CALL THEM BACK TO REAL RELIGION.
REAL RELIGION IS NOT GETTING A PHD IN THEOLOGY, OR BEING A GREAT MISSIONARY, OR WRITING SPIRITUAL SELF-HELP BOOKS. REAL RELIGION IS NOT MARCHING IN A PRO-LIFE DEMONSTRATION, OR FEEDING THE HUNGRY, OR VISITING THE SICK OR IMPRISONED. DON'T GET ME WRONG, THOSE ARE ALL WONDERFUL THINGS, AND THEY MIGHT INDEED STEM FROM RELIGIOUS VALUES; BUT, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO BELIEVE IN GOD TO DO ANY OF THESE THINGS. AND THE DANGER IS ALWAYS THAT WE CONFUSE THINGS LIKE THIS WITH REAL RELIGION.
JESUS REMINDS THE PHARISEES THAT AS THEY STUDY THE SCRIPTURES AND DEVELOP LAWS FOR EVERY KIND OF HUMAN ACTIVITY, AS THEY ARGUE FAR INTO THE NIGHT ABOUT THE MEANING OF A PASSAGE IN GENESIS, THEY AREN'T RENDERING UNTO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S. AND THE PHARISEES, YOU MAY NOT KNOW, WERE CHARITABLE. THEY DID CARE ABOUT THE SICK, AND THE WIDOWS AND ORPHANS. AND THEY MADE RULES ABOUT HOW YOU WENT ABOUT GIVING CHARITY, AND THEY ARGUED OVER THOSE RULES AS WELL. AND JESUS REMINDED THEM THAT EVEN HERE THEY WERE NOT RENDERING UNTO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S.
YOU AND I ARE CREATURES. WE ARE TOTALLY DEPENDENT ON GOD. LIFE MAY NOT BE SO BAD FOR US RIGHT NOW, BUT EVERYTHING IS CONTINGENT; OUR WORLD COULD COMPLETELY CHANGE TOMORROW. AS CREATURES, WE OWE OUR CREATOR. WHAT IS IT THAT WE OWE HIM? THE OLD CATECHISM GAVE US THE ANSWER IN A SIMPLE STATEMENT THOSE OF US WHO ARE OLD ENOUGH CAN ALWAYS DREDGE UP FROM OUR BRAINS: WE WERE CREATED TO KNOW, LOVE AND SERVE HIM IN THIS WORLD, AND BE HAPPY FOREVER WITH HIM IN THE NEXT.
KNOWING GOD REQUIRES PRAYER, REFLECTION, MEDITATION; IT TAKES TIME, IT MUST BE A PRIORITY. AND IF WE TRULY KNOW GOD, IT LEADS TO LOVING HIM, AND IF WE TRULY LOVE HIM, IT LEADS TO SERVING HIM. AND IF WE AREN'T LOVING, IF WE AREN'T SERVING, THEN WE PROBABLY DON'T KNOW HIM, WE PROBABLY HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT WE ARE CREATURES. WE HAVE PUT GOD INTO A BOX AND WE OPEN IT UP ON SUNDAY MORNING AND CLOSE IT DOWN AFTER WE PAY OUR WEEKLY DUES. AND WE THINK THAT BECAUSE WE GET THROUGH THE WEEK WITHOUT SERIOUS SIN, BECAUSE WE TAKE CARE OF OUR FAMILIES, BECAUSE WE MAY BE GIVING OUR TIME AND EFFORTS TO SOME CAUSE, WE ARE OK. BUT JESUS REMINDS US THAT WE HAVE TO CONSTANTLY EXAMINE OURSELVES, AND ASK THE QUESTION, ARE WE RENDERING TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S? ARE WE TAKING SERIOUSLY OUR DUTY TO WORSHIP, TO GIVE OURSELVES OVER TO HIM, TO ALLOW HIS HOLY SPIRIT TO USE US? ARE WE TRYING TO KNOW HIS WILL FOR US, AND TRYING TO CARRY IT OUT?
THE DEVIL HAS A GREAT WEAPON THAT HE CAN ONLY USE AGAINST GOOD CHRISTIANS; THAT IS TO MAKE THEM SPEND THEIR TIME IN ACTIVITIES AND PRACTICES WHICH AREN'T REALLY DEVELOPING THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD – BUT BECOME A SUBSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPING THAT RELATIONSHIP.
AND SO OUR TASK THIS WEEK IS TO EXAMINE OUR LIVES AND ASK WHETHER WE ARE RENDERING UNTO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S. ARE WE TAKING THE FACT THAT WE ARE CREATURES SERIOUSLY?
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