Monday, November 19, 2012

Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B

MARK 14:24-32
WHENEVER WE CELEBRATE MASS TOGETHER WE MAKE CHRIST PRESENT. FIRST, HE IS PRESENT IN OUR ASSEMBLY; WHEREVER TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER IN MY NAME, HE SAID, THERE I AM. SECOND, HE IS PRESENT IN THE WORD. WE BELIEVE THAT GOD IS PRESENT IN THE SCRIPTURES, ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY ARE PROCLAIMED. THE WORDS IN THE BIBLE ARE JUST WORDS UNTIL THEY ARE HEARD; JESUS BECOMES PRESENT IN THE WORD WHEN IT IS HEARD; WHEN WE INTERACT WITH IT. AND JESUS IS PRESENT IN THE BREAD AND WINE, OR MORE ACCURATELY, HE IS PRESENT UNDER THE APPEARANCE OF BREAD AND WINE, WHICH NO LONGER EXISTS WHEN OUR PRIEST PRONOUNCES THE WORDS OF CONSECRATION. JESUS IN HIS INFINITE LOVE FOR US, FOUND A WAY TO BE WITH US NOT IN SOME METAPHORICAL SENSE BUT PHYSICALLY PRESENT, COMPLETELY PRESENT, BODY AND SOUL PRESENT. AND FINALLY JESUS IS PRESENT IN EACH ONE OF US AS WE LEAVE THIS CELEBRATION, BECAUSE OUR INTERACTION WITH JESUS IN THE ASSEMBLY, IN THE WORD, AND IN THE EUCHARIST, TOGETHER WITH OUR BAPTISM, MAKES US OTHER CHRISTS, AND WE GO FORTH TO CARRY OUT HIS WORK IN THE WORLD, TO BUILD UP HIS KINGDOM. THAT'S WHY GOD MADE US – AS THE OLD CATECHISM SAID, HE MADE US TO KNOW, LOVE, AND SERVE HIM IN THIS WORLD, AND TO BE HAPPY WITH HIM IN THE NEXT. THAT'S WHAT JESUS DID, AND THAT'S WHAT WE ARE CALLED TO DO.
IT'S NO WONDER WE CALL OUR WEEKLY EUCHARIST A CELEBRATION. WE MAY NOT FEEL LIKE WE ARE CELEBRATING, BUT WHAT COULD BE A GREATER EVENT THAN BEING IN HE PRESENCE OF THE SON OF GOD?
BUT TODAY OUR GOSPEL READINGS REMIND US OF SOMETHING ELSE; THE SON OF MAN HAS NOT YET COME TO US IN HIS GREAT TRIUMPH. BUT WE DON'T KNOW WHEN THIS WILL HAPPEN.
OUR ASSEMBLY IS NEVER COMPLETE. WE GO TO DIFFERENT MASSES; MANY OF OUR PARISHIONERS DON'T JOIN US AT ALL, AND OTHERS HAVE MOVED TO OTHER PARISHES. MANY PEOPLE WE LOVE, PARENTS, CHILDREN, BROTHERS AND SISTERS, DEAR FRIENDS, CANNOT BE IN OUR ASSEMBLY BECAUSE OF DISTANCE, ILLNESS, OR BECAUSE THEY HAVE REJECTED OUR COMMON FAITH.
AND WHILE IT IS TRUE THAT WE HEAR THE WORD, WE ONLY HEAR A LITTLE, JUST ENOUGH HOPEFULLY TO WHET OUR APPETITES. WE HEAR WHAT GOD MEANS TO TELL US, BUT ONLY A LITTLE BIT. AFTER WE HAVE HEARD THE WORD, THERE IS STILL A GREAT GAP BETWEEN WHAT WE KNOW AND WHAT WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT GOD'S PLAN FOR US.
WHEN WE EAT HIS BODY AND DRINK HIS BLOOD, WE ARE NOT FILLED UP, OUR THIRST IS NOT QUENCHED. IT HAS ONLY BEEN A TASTE. AND WHEN WE LEAVE THE ASSEMBLY TO DO CHRIST'S DEEDS AND SPEAK HIS WORDS IN THE WORLD, DISTRACTIONS IMMEDIATELY DRAW OUR ATTENTION AWAY FROM THESE THINGS. MOST OF US WILL BE COMPLETELY “BACK TO NORMAL” THIRTY MINUTES AFTER WE LEAVE THIS SOUL-CHANGING EVENT.
OUR WEEKLY EUCHARIST IS A CELEBRATION, BUT IT IS ALSO A TIME OF MOURNING, BECAUSE WE LONG FOR JESUS TO COME AGAIN. IF WE ARE REALLY CHRISTIANS, THERE IS SOMETHING IN US THAT KNOWS THAT WE WILL NEVER BE COMPLETE, NEVER BE HAPPY, NEVER FULFILL OUR DESTINY, UNTIL HE COMES IN TRIUMPH TO ESTABLISH HIS KINGDOM, THE NEW JERUSALEM, WHERE HE WILL BE THE LIGHT THAT NEVER GOES DARK, WHERE LIVING WATER WILL FLOW FROM THE TEMPLE.
BUT TODAY JESUS ALSO REMINDS US THAT CHRISTIANS MUST BE READY; WE MUST BE ALERT; WE MUST LOOK AROUND US FOR SIGNS OF HIS PRESENCE, SIGNS THAT HE IS WORKING IN OUR WORLD.
OUR WEEKLY MASS IS A TIME FOR REJOICING AND A TIME FOR MOURNING. BUT THE REST OF THE WEEK SHOULD BE FOR NEITHER. WHEN WE LEAVE OUR ASSEMBLY WE GO ABOUT THE DAILY TASK OF DOING CHRISTIANITY. I LIKE TO TAKE A LONG RIDE ON MY BICYCLE EVERY NOW AND THEN. IT ISN'T BECAUSE I WANT TO GO SOMEWHERE; IN FACT, I ALWAYS END UP BACK AT HOME. BUT WHEN I'M ON THE BIKE, I AM FOCUSED ON THE MOMENT. YOU'VE GOT TO WATCH OUT FOR CARS AND TRUCKS. IF YOU ARE ON A BIKE, YOU HAVE TO BE A LITTLE PARANOID, BECAUSE THERE IS ONLY ONE WINNER WHEN YOU AND A CAR TRY TO OCCUPY THE SAME SPACE. AND YOU HAVE TO LOOK OUT FOR POTHOLES AND OTHER IRREGULARITIES IN THE ROAD. SOMETHING THAT YOU WOULD BARELY FEEL IN A CAR JARS YOUR BONES ON A BIKE, AND CAN KNOCK YOU FOR A LOOP. BUT YOU ARE REWARDED BY SIGHTS AND SMELLS AND SOUNDS THAT YOU ENCOUNTER ON YOUR RIDE. YOU EXPERIENCE THE BEAUTY THAT SOMEONE HAS CREATED IN HIS FRONT YARD WITH LOVING ATTENTION TO DETAIL; YOU SMELL PINE TREES, AND CHIMNEY SMOKE, AND ONCE IN A WHILE YOU MIGHT GET A WHIFF OF PIZZA AS YOU ROLL PAST A PIZZA PARLOR.
IF YOU WANT TO BE A CHRISTIAN, IT'S SORT OF THE SAME THING. YOU NEED TO FOCUS. YOU NEED TO BE ALERT TO THOSE TEMPTATIONS WHICH CAN THROW YOU OFF STRIDE, THOSE MOMENTS WHEN YOU REACT WITH ANGER; THOSE TRAPS OF SELFISHNESS, THOSE TIMES WHEN WE KNOW WE SHOULD BE DOING SOMETHING BUT WE ARE TOO LAZY TO DO IT. LIVING IN THE WORLD IS FULL OF POTHOLES AND TRAFFIC. BEING A CHRISTIAN MEANS THAT WE CULTIVATE A SENSITIVITY TO WHAT KEEPS US FROM DOING WHAT GOD WANTS US TO DO – WE HAVE TO BECOME A LITTLE PARANOID, WE HAVE TO KNOW THAT THE WORLD, THE FLESH, AND DEVIL CONSPIRE TO KEEP US FROM WHAT GOD WANTS OF US.
AND THERE ARE REWARDS. IT'S FUNNY, BUT WHEN YOU BEGIN TO LIVE AS A CHRISTIAN, YOU FIND JOY. WHEN YOU OFFER A COMPLEMENT TO SOMEONE WHO HAS DONE YOU A SERVICE, YOU ARE REWARDED. WHEN YOU EXTEND YOURSELF FOR AN ELDERLY FRIEND OR RELATIVE WHO CAN'T GET AROUND ANY MORE, YOU FIND JOY AS YOU GIVE JOY. AND WHEN YOU DO YOUR TASKS AS WELL AS YOU CAN BECAUSE YOU ARE ANOTHER CHRIST, AND ONLY YOUR BEST IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR GOD, YOU FIND JOY IN EVERYTHING YOU DO, FROM YOUR OCCUPATION, TO EVEN THE MOST MENIAL TASKS; NOTHING A HUMAN BEING CAN DO IS TOO SMALL, TOO INSIGNIFICANT, TO BE TAKEN UP INTO GOD'S PLAN. FINDING JOY IN BEING A CHRISTIAN SHOULD BE NO SURPRISE. JESUS TOLD US THAT HIS JOY WOULD BE IN US, AND OUR JOY WOULD BE COMPLETE.
BEING A CHRISTIAN TAKES PLACE IN THE VAST EMPTINESS BETWEEN THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS AND THE MOMENT WHEN HE COMES AGAIN. IT TAKES PLACE NOT WHEN WE CELEBRATE THE PRESENCE OF JESUS, OR WHEN WE MOURN THAT HIS KINGDOM IS STILL FAR FROM NOW. IT TAKES PLACE BETWEEN OUR WEEKLY CELEBRATION AS WE GO ABOUT OUR ORDINARY LIVES.
TODAY LET US REMIND OURSELVES THAT TO BE CHRISTIAN IS AN IDENTITY, YES, BUT ALSO A PROCESS, A WAY OF LIFE, AND REQUIRES CONSCIOUS EFFORT ON OUR PARTS. OUR MASS WHERE WE ENCOUNTER CHRIST IS WHAT GETS US FROM ONE WEEKEND TO THE NEXT IN THIS LONG JOURNEY.