MATTHEW 15:21-28
THIS IS THE ONLY TIME IN THE SCRIPTURES WHEN WE ARE TOLD THAT JESUS VENTURED OUT OF THE LAND OF ISRAEL. WHEN HE WENT INTO THE DISTRICT OF THE SAMARITANS, THAT WAS STILL CONSIDERED ISRAEL. BUT TYRE AND SIDON WERE IN LEBANON, AND THIS WAS DEFINITELY PAGAN TERRITORY. IF YOU WERE TO READ THE EARLIER PART OF THIS CHAPTER YOU WOULD HAVE HEARD JESUS LECTURING THE PHARISEES THAT IT IS WHAT COMES OUT OF A MAN THAT MAKES HIM UNCLEAN, NOT WHAT GOES IN. YOU WOULD HAVE HEARD HIM TELL THEM THAT THEIR PRACTICE OF SUPPORTING THE TEMPLE RATHER THAN HELPING THEIR PARENTS OUT IN THEIR OLD AGE WAS WRONG. IF YOU HAD READ FURTHER IN THIS CHAPTER, YOU WOULD HAVE HEARD OF JESUS FEEDING 4000 PEOPLE WITH SEVEN LOAVES AND A FEW FISH. SO IT IS NO WONDER THAT MATTHEW PUTS THIS STORY HERE, KIND OF AN ILLUSTRATION OF WHAT HE HAS BEEN TELLING THE PHARISEES – THAT FAITH IS WHAT IS IMPORTANT, NOT A BOOK FULL OF RULES; AND THAT GOD WILL LOOK AFTER HIS PEOPLE.
SO JESUS WAS IN LEBANON TO GET AWAY FROM THE CROWDS, TO GET A BREAK FROM THE PEOPLE WHO WERE CONSTANTLY ASKING FOR MIRACLES, TO GET AWAY FROM THE PHARISEES, WHO WERE ALWAYS TESTING, ARGUING, INSULTING.
AND A WOMAN COMES UP, SHOUTING, CRYING, MAKING A NUISANCE OF HERSELF. AND JESUS DOES NOT SEEM TO BE HIS USUAL SELF. FIRST, HE IGNORES HER. THEN HE INSULTS HER. IT IS NOT AS TERRIBLE AN INSULT AS IT MAY SOUND IN ENGLISH, SINCE IN THE GREEK TEXT THE WORD “DOG” IS MORE LIKE “PUPPY”. BUT JESUS KNOWS THAT JEWS CONSIDER GENTILES “DOGS”, BECAUSE UNLIKE JEWS, THEY EAT ANYTHING, THEY DON'T PRACTICE THE RITUALS OF PURITY, THEY ARE JUST UNCLEAN.
AND HE RECOGNIZES SEVERAL THINGS ABOUT THIS WOMAN. FIRST, SHE LOVES. SHE OBVIOUSLY LOVES HER DAUGHTER ENOUGH TO GO WAY OUT ON A LIMB. SHE IS A PAGAN, APPROACHING A JEW. SHE IS A WOMAN, SPEAKING TO A MAN IN PUBLIC. SHE HAS NOTHING TO TRADE, AND SHE IS ASKING FOR SOMETHING. SHE HAS A LOT OF NERVE.
SECOND, SHE HAS FAITH. SHE BEGINS BY RECOGNIZING JESUS AS “THE SON OF DAVID”. SHE ENDS BY CALLING HIM LORD. AND THROUGH IT ALL SHE NEVER STOPS BELIEVING THAT HE CAN ANSWER HER PRAYER, THAT HE WILL. SHE WILL NOT TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER.
SHE HAS PERSISTENCE. THE APOSTLES WANT HER TO BE SILENT, HER OWN TOWNSPEOPLE ARE WONDERING WHY SHE IS MAKING A FOOL OF HERSELF, OR PERHAPS, WHY SHE IS NOT GOING TO THE PRIESTS OF THEIR OWN GODS. HER FRIENDS AND RELATIVES ARE PROBABLY READY TO DISOWN HER FOR HER BEHAVIOR.
AND EVEN THOUGH SHE IS DESPERATE FOR HER DAUGHTER, SHE HAS A LIGHTNESS OF HEART. HER REPLY TO JESUS MUST HAVE MADE HIM SMILE, JUST AS SHE MUST HAVE SMILED WHEN SHE SAID IT. “PLEASE LORD, FOR EVEN THE PUPPIES EAT THE SCRAPS THAT FALL FROM THE MASTER'S TABLE”. CHEERFULNESS IS A REAL CHRISTIAN VIRTUE, BECAUSE CHEERFULNESS, EVEN IN THE FACE OF SUFFERING, OF DESPERATION, IS THE RECOGNITION THAT AS GOD'S CHILDREN WE REALLY CAN'T BE HURT, THAT EVEN IF WE DON'T GET OUR WAY, WE WILL SOMEDAY SEE THAT GOD'S WAY IS BETTER. CHEERFULNESS IS A CONSEQUENCE OF TRUST IN THE GOODNESS OF OUR FATHER.
AND, AFTER BEING IGNORED, SHE IS RECOGNIZED; BUT AFTER BEING RECOGNIZED, SHE IS INSULTED, SHE IS REFUSED. BUT AFTER THAT, HER PRAYER IS GRANTED, AND SHE IS COMMENDED FOR HER GREAT FAITH.
AND I LIKE TO THINK THAT THIS MAY HAVE BEEN A TURNING POINT IN JESUS' LIFE. IT MAY HAVE BEEN THE TIME WHEN HE BEGAN THINKING THAT PERHAPS HIS MINISTRY WAS TO MORE THAN THE JEWS, PERHAPS IT EXTENDED BEYOND THAT PARTICULAR RACE. I DON'T WANT TO SHAKE ANYONE'S FAITH, BUT JESUS, AS A HUMAN BEING, DID LEARN. WE KNOW HE LEARNED TO SPEAK, TO WALK, TO BE A CARPENTER, TO UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPTURES. IT ISN'T A STRETCH TO SAY THAT HIS UNDERSTANDING OF HIS MINISTRY UNFOLDED AS WELL, JUST LIKE IT DOES FOR EACH OF US. GOD SPEAKS TO US THROUGH THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF OUR LIFE, THROUGH THE PEOPLE WE MEET, THROUGH THE THINGS WE EXPERIENCE. AND HE DID AS WELL TO JESUS.
THE PRAYER OF THE CANAANITE WOMAN FOR HER DAUGHTER, WHO WAS TORMENTED BY DEMONS, WAS ANSWERED. PERHAPS IT WAS ANSWERED TO A FAR GREATER DEGREE THAN SHE COULD EVER HAVE IMAGINED. NOT ONLY WAS HER DAUGHTER HEALED, NOT ONLY WAS HER FAITH COMMENDED, BUT AFTER THE RESURRECTION, PERHAPS THIS MOMENT WAS ONE OF THE MOMENTS WHICH LED TO THE RISEN CHRIST COMMISSIONING HIS APOSTLES TO GO TO ALL NATIONS, NOT JUST ISRAEL. MAYBE THE CANAANITE WOMAN'S PRAYER IS THE REASON YOU AND I ARE CHRISTIANS TODAY.
GOD ALWAYS ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS; JESUS TOLD US THAT. SOMETIMES HE DOES EXACTLY WHAT WE ASK OF HIM; AND OTHER TIMES, IT SEEMS AS THOUGH HE HASN'T HEARD US. SOMETIMES WHEN WE ASK FOR SOMETHING, HE SEEMS TO GIVE US JUST THE OPPOSITE. BUT ONE THING WE KNOW IS THAT OUR PRAYERS WILL BE ANSWERED, ANSWERED WITH ABUNDANT LOVE.
SO LET US PRAY WITH LOVE, LOVE FOR GOD, LOVE FOR THOSE FOR WHOM WE PRAY. LET US PRAY WITH FAITH, WITH THE CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE THAT GOD WILL MAKE RIGHT WHAT IS WRONG, WILL ANSWER OUR PRAYERS AS JESUS PROMISED; LET US BE PERSISTENT; THE WORD “NO” NEVER MEANS ANYTHING TO A CHILD. AND WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD. AND LET US HAVE CHEERFULNESS, LIGHTNESS OF HEART, BECAUSE WE ACCEPT THAT WE ARE CREATURES, THAT WE ARE BEGGARS, THAT WE HAVE NOTHING TO OFFER IN RETURN; AND WHEN WE TRULY REALIZE HOW EMPTY WE ARE, THEN GOD WILL FILL US UP.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Feast of the Assumption of Mary
IF YOU WERE TO GO TO A SUNDAY SERVICE AT FIRST CHURCH DOWN THE STREET, IT WOULD CONSIST OF MUSIC, READING OF SCRIPTURES, A FAIRLY LONG SERMON, AND MAYBE ONCE A MONTH A EUCHARISTIC SERVICE. IF YOU WERE TO PARTAKE OF THE BREAD AND WINE, YOU WOULD COME TO THE TABLE AND TAKE IT IN YOUR OWN HANDS AND CONSUME IT. THE UNDERSTANDING YOU WOULD HAVE WOULD BE THAT THIS CEREMONY IS A SYMBOL, BUT ONLY A SYMBOL. SINCE IT IS ONLY A SYMBOL, IT CAN BE DONE IN DIFFERENT WAYS, AND ANYONE CAN TAKE PART IN IT. THE SUNDAY SERVICE THAT OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN FIRST CHURCH PARTICIPATE IN IS A SERVICE DESIGNED FOR THE PEOPLE IN THE CONGREGATION; THE PURPOSE IS TO HELP THEM BECOME MORE MORAL INDIVIDUALS, TO GAIN DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE SCRIPTURES, AND TO BE UPLIFTED BY THE MUSIC SO THAT THEY CAN HAVE SOME SENSE OF THE DIVINE, OF GOD'S PRESENCE. ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE PRAISEWORTHY GOALS.
BUT WHEN YOU GO TO A CATHOLIC SUNDAY SERVICE, IF IT IS DONE WITH REVERENCE AND IF THE CONGREGATION TRULY UNDERSTANDS WHAT IS GOING ON, THE SERVICE IS NOT FOR THE PEOPLE, IT IS A SERVICE OF WORSHIP, OF PRAISE, OF ADORATION, A SERVICE FOR GOD. AS SUCH IT BECOMES SACRED, AND IF IT IS SACRED, THEN EVERY GESTURE, EVERY WORD BECOMES IMPORTANT, AND WE UNDERSTAND THE BREAD AND WINE TO BECOME THE PRESENCE OF GOD IN OUR VERY MIDST, THE BREAD AND WINE BECOME THE FLESH AND BLOOD OF JESUS – NOT IN SYMBOL, BUT IN REALITY. SO IT IS NOT IMPORTANT THAT THE HOMILY BE BRILLIANT; IT IS NOT IMPORTANT THAT THE PEOPLE ARE EDIFIED OR UPLIFTED; IT IS NOT EVEN IMPORTANT THAT THE PEOPLE CARRY AWAY A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OR A GREATER COMMITMENT TO BEHAVIOR PLEASING TO GOD; THESE ARE ALL GOOD THINGS, AND AS HUMAN BEINGS, WE HOPE THEY COME ABOUT; BUT WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THAT GOD BE GLORIFIED, AND THAT IS THE MAIN CENTRAL PURPOSE OF THE MASS AND THAT IS THE REASON JESUS HIMSELF GAVE FOR COMING TO THE WORLD, THAT THE FATHER BE GLORIFIED.
TODAY IS THE FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION OF MARY, THE DAY WE CELEBRATE THE DOGMA THAT MARY DID NOT EXPERIENCE CORRUPTION AFTER HER DEATH, BUT WAS TAKEN BODY AND SOUL INTO HEAVEN. THERE ARE NO RELICS OF MARY; THERE CAN'T BE; HER BODY IS WHERE ALL OUR BODIES WILL BE AT THE END OF TIME, AFTER THE GENERAL RESURRECTION OF THE FAITHFUL. SHE HAS GONE WHERE WE WILL SOMEDAY GO. WE DON'T KNOW WHERE, WE DON'T KNOW HOW, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT IT WILL HAPPEN. THE SCRIPTURES SPEAK OF IT, AND THE CHURCH PROCLAIMS IT, AND THE FEAST DAY WE CELEBRATE REMINDS US OF IT. ARE THERE OTHER BODIES IN HEAVEN? PROBABLY. OBVIOUSLY, JESUS IS THERE. IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, ELIJAH WAS TAKEN UP INTO HEAVEN IN A FLAMING CHARIOT. IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS WE READ OF A MAN NAMED ENOCH WHO ALSO SEEMS TO HAVE ENTERED HEAVEN WITHOUT THE SEPARATION OF BODY FROM SOUL. THE CHURCH DOES NOT SAY THAT MARY IS THE ONLY ONE WHOSE BODY IS IN HEAVEN. BUT THE CHURCH SAYS THAT THIS IS A MATTER OF DOCTRINE FOR US TO BELIEVE THAT SHE IS IN HEAVEN, BODY AND SOUL.
SO WHY? WHY SHOULD WE BELIEVE THAT MARY WAS TAKEN UP TO HEAVEN BODY AND SOUL? WE CAN FIGURE THAT OUT. SHE WAS FREE FROM ORIGINAL SIN, SO SHE WAS NOT SUBJECT TO THE CORRUPTION AND DEATH THAT IS THE LOT OF HUMAN BEINGS. SHE WAS THE MOTHER OF GOD, SO IT MAKES PERFECTLY GOOD SENSE THAT IF JESUS INTENDED FOR HIS FOLLOWERS TO JOIN HIM IN HEAVEN BODY AND SOUL, AND THAT IS THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN BE A COMPLETE HUMAN BEING, HE WOULD ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN TO HIS SINLESS MOTHER A LITTLE BIT AHEAD OF TIME; WOULDN'T YOU DO THIS FOR YOUR MOTHER IF YOU COULD? AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE SEE IN THIS MYSTERY A PROMISE MADE TO US, THAT IF JESUS CAN RAISE HIMSELF, AND IF HE CAN RAISE HIS MOTHER, WELL, HE CAN RAISE US.
BUT THERE IS ANOTHER PART TO THIS. IN MARY'S SONG THAT WE HEAR TODAY, SHE SAYS, “MY SOUL PROCLAIMS THE GLORY OF THE LORD, MY SPIRIT REJOICES IN GOD MY SAVIOR.” THE ONLY THING MARY EVERY WANTED TO DO IN LIFE WAS TO GLORIFY GOD, TO REJOICE IN HIM, TO REVEL IN THE FACT THAT HE WAS THE SAVIOR OF ISRAEL, THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD, HER OWN PERSONAL SAVIOR. HER SONG TELLS US THAT THIS WAS WHY SHE LIVED, THIS WAS THE PRINCIPLE THAT GOVERNED HER WHOLE LIFE. MARY WAS TOTALLY OTHER-CENTERED; SHE WAS THE EMBODIMENT OF THE STATEMENT BY JOHN THE BAPTIST -- “HE MUST INCREASE, I MUST DECREASE.” IF YOU HAD ASKED MARY WHAT SHE WANTED TO DO WITH HER LIFE, SHE WOULD NOT HAVE UNDERSTOOD THE QUESTION. THE WHOLE REASON SHE EXISTED, SHE KNEW, WAS TO GLORIFY GOD, TO REJOICE IN GOD. NOTHING ELSE MATTERED.
WE ENLIGHTENED WESTERNERS HAVE A VERY HARD TIME WITH THIS. EVEN THE MOST DEVOUT AMONG US HAVE A HARD TIME, GIVEN OUR BACKGROUND AND UPBRINGING, TO GRASP THIS CONCEPT. EVEN IN DEEPEST PRAYER, IT IS STILL, “DO SOMETHING FOR ME, GOD.” EVEN WHEN WE COME TO MASS WE SAY TO OURSELVES, “THAT SERMON WASN'T VERY GOOD, THAT PRIEST WASN'T AS REVERENT AS I WOULD HAVE LIKED, THAT MASS WENT ON TOO LONG, OR DIDN'T LAST LONG ENOUGH; THAT MUSIC WAS JUST NOT UP TO PAR.” AND WE GO OUT SAYING “THAT MASS REALLY DID SOMETHING FOR ME, OR THAT MASS WAS A WASTE OF MY TIME.”
BUT WHEN WE CONTEMPLATE THE ASSUMPTION, WHEN WE LISTEN CAREFULLY TO THE WORDS OF MARY'S SONG, WE REALIZE THAT THOSE THOUGHTS ARE ENTIRELY OFF THE MARK. GOD IS NOT FOR US, WE ARE FOR GOD. AND IF WE THINK OTHERWISE, THEN WE HAVE A FALSE IDEA OF REALITY, AND WHEN WE HAVE A FALSE IDEA OF REALITY, WE ARE BASICALLY PSYCHOTIC, SCHIZOPHRENIC.
MARY WAS THE MOST LEVEL-HEADED, THE MOST SANE OF PEOPLE. SHE DID NOT HAVE EVEN A THOUGHT THAT WAS NOT A TRUE REFLECTION OF REALITY. SHE KNEW TRUTH, UNCLOUDED BY FALSEHOOD. AND SHE KNEW THAT GOD WAS TO BE GLORIFIED, GOD WAS TO BE REJOICED IN. THAT WAS THE ROLE OF THE CREATURE.
AND THAT IS WHY WE COME TO MASS – SIMPLY TO GLORIFY GOD AND REJOICE IN HIS SAVING OF US. IF WE WANT TO LEARN, IF WE WANT TO BE EDIFIED, IF WE WANT TO HEAR BEAUTIFUL MUSIC, IF WE WANT TO HEAR POWERFUL SERMONS – NONE OF THOSE ARE REASONS TO COME TO HOLY MASS. THE ONLY REASON IS THAT IN THIS RITUAL GIVEN BY JESUS TO HIS APOSTLES 2000 YEARS AGO, WE GLORIFY GOD AND WE REJOICE THAT HE SAVES US. THAT IS HOW MARY LIVED HER LIFE, AND AS A RESULT, WAS ASSUMED INTO HEAVEN, BECAUSE SHE DID THIS PERFECTLY. AND ON THIS FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION. WE NEED TO ASK OURSELVES WHETHER THIS IS OUR UNDERSTANDING AS WELL, AS TO WHY WE WORSHIP. BECAUSE WE ARE HERE TO GLORIFY GOD, TO REJOICE IN HIS SAVING POWER. IF WE THINK OTHERWISE, WE HAD BETTER LISTEN TO OUR MOTHER MARY ONCE AGAIN.
BUT WHEN YOU GO TO A CATHOLIC SUNDAY SERVICE, IF IT IS DONE WITH REVERENCE AND IF THE CONGREGATION TRULY UNDERSTANDS WHAT IS GOING ON, THE SERVICE IS NOT FOR THE PEOPLE, IT IS A SERVICE OF WORSHIP, OF PRAISE, OF ADORATION, A SERVICE FOR GOD. AS SUCH IT BECOMES SACRED, AND IF IT IS SACRED, THEN EVERY GESTURE, EVERY WORD BECOMES IMPORTANT, AND WE UNDERSTAND THE BREAD AND WINE TO BECOME THE PRESENCE OF GOD IN OUR VERY MIDST, THE BREAD AND WINE BECOME THE FLESH AND BLOOD OF JESUS – NOT IN SYMBOL, BUT IN REALITY. SO IT IS NOT IMPORTANT THAT THE HOMILY BE BRILLIANT; IT IS NOT IMPORTANT THAT THE PEOPLE ARE EDIFIED OR UPLIFTED; IT IS NOT EVEN IMPORTANT THAT THE PEOPLE CARRY AWAY A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OR A GREATER COMMITMENT TO BEHAVIOR PLEASING TO GOD; THESE ARE ALL GOOD THINGS, AND AS HUMAN BEINGS, WE HOPE THEY COME ABOUT; BUT WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THAT GOD BE GLORIFIED, AND THAT IS THE MAIN CENTRAL PURPOSE OF THE MASS AND THAT IS THE REASON JESUS HIMSELF GAVE FOR COMING TO THE WORLD, THAT THE FATHER BE GLORIFIED.
TODAY IS THE FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION OF MARY, THE DAY WE CELEBRATE THE DOGMA THAT MARY DID NOT EXPERIENCE CORRUPTION AFTER HER DEATH, BUT WAS TAKEN BODY AND SOUL INTO HEAVEN. THERE ARE NO RELICS OF MARY; THERE CAN'T BE; HER BODY IS WHERE ALL OUR BODIES WILL BE AT THE END OF TIME, AFTER THE GENERAL RESURRECTION OF THE FAITHFUL. SHE HAS GONE WHERE WE WILL SOMEDAY GO. WE DON'T KNOW WHERE, WE DON'T KNOW HOW, BUT WE DO KNOW THAT IT WILL HAPPEN. THE SCRIPTURES SPEAK OF IT, AND THE CHURCH PROCLAIMS IT, AND THE FEAST DAY WE CELEBRATE REMINDS US OF IT. ARE THERE OTHER BODIES IN HEAVEN? PROBABLY. OBVIOUSLY, JESUS IS THERE. IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, ELIJAH WAS TAKEN UP INTO HEAVEN IN A FLAMING CHARIOT. IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS WE READ OF A MAN NAMED ENOCH WHO ALSO SEEMS TO HAVE ENTERED HEAVEN WITHOUT THE SEPARATION OF BODY FROM SOUL. THE CHURCH DOES NOT SAY THAT MARY IS THE ONLY ONE WHOSE BODY IS IN HEAVEN. BUT THE CHURCH SAYS THAT THIS IS A MATTER OF DOCTRINE FOR US TO BELIEVE THAT SHE IS IN HEAVEN, BODY AND SOUL.
SO WHY? WHY SHOULD WE BELIEVE THAT MARY WAS TAKEN UP TO HEAVEN BODY AND SOUL? WE CAN FIGURE THAT OUT. SHE WAS FREE FROM ORIGINAL SIN, SO SHE WAS NOT SUBJECT TO THE CORRUPTION AND DEATH THAT IS THE LOT OF HUMAN BEINGS. SHE WAS THE MOTHER OF GOD, SO IT MAKES PERFECTLY GOOD SENSE THAT IF JESUS INTENDED FOR HIS FOLLOWERS TO JOIN HIM IN HEAVEN BODY AND SOUL, AND THAT IS THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN BE A COMPLETE HUMAN BEING, HE WOULD ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN TO HIS SINLESS MOTHER A LITTLE BIT AHEAD OF TIME; WOULDN'T YOU DO THIS FOR YOUR MOTHER IF YOU COULD? AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, WE SEE IN THIS MYSTERY A PROMISE MADE TO US, THAT IF JESUS CAN RAISE HIMSELF, AND IF HE CAN RAISE HIS MOTHER, WELL, HE CAN RAISE US.
BUT THERE IS ANOTHER PART TO THIS. IN MARY'S SONG THAT WE HEAR TODAY, SHE SAYS, “MY SOUL PROCLAIMS THE GLORY OF THE LORD, MY SPIRIT REJOICES IN GOD MY SAVIOR.” THE ONLY THING MARY EVERY WANTED TO DO IN LIFE WAS TO GLORIFY GOD, TO REJOICE IN HIM, TO REVEL IN THE FACT THAT HE WAS THE SAVIOR OF ISRAEL, THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD, HER OWN PERSONAL SAVIOR. HER SONG TELLS US THAT THIS WAS WHY SHE LIVED, THIS WAS THE PRINCIPLE THAT GOVERNED HER WHOLE LIFE. MARY WAS TOTALLY OTHER-CENTERED; SHE WAS THE EMBODIMENT OF THE STATEMENT BY JOHN THE BAPTIST -- “HE MUST INCREASE, I MUST DECREASE.” IF YOU HAD ASKED MARY WHAT SHE WANTED TO DO WITH HER LIFE, SHE WOULD NOT HAVE UNDERSTOOD THE QUESTION. THE WHOLE REASON SHE EXISTED, SHE KNEW, WAS TO GLORIFY GOD, TO REJOICE IN GOD. NOTHING ELSE MATTERED.
WE ENLIGHTENED WESTERNERS HAVE A VERY HARD TIME WITH THIS. EVEN THE MOST DEVOUT AMONG US HAVE A HARD TIME, GIVEN OUR BACKGROUND AND UPBRINGING, TO GRASP THIS CONCEPT. EVEN IN DEEPEST PRAYER, IT IS STILL, “DO SOMETHING FOR ME, GOD.” EVEN WHEN WE COME TO MASS WE SAY TO OURSELVES, “THAT SERMON WASN'T VERY GOOD, THAT PRIEST WASN'T AS REVERENT AS I WOULD HAVE LIKED, THAT MASS WENT ON TOO LONG, OR DIDN'T LAST LONG ENOUGH; THAT MUSIC WAS JUST NOT UP TO PAR.” AND WE GO OUT SAYING “THAT MASS REALLY DID SOMETHING FOR ME, OR THAT MASS WAS A WASTE OF MY TIME.”
BUT WHEN WE CONTEMPLATE THE ASSUMPTION, WHEN WE LISTEN CAREFULLY TO THE WORDS OF MARY'S SONG, WE REALIZE THAT THOSE THOUGHTS ARE ENTIRELY OFF THE MARK. GOD IS NOT FOR US, WE ARE FOR GOD. AND IF WE THINK OTHERWISE, THEN WE HAVE A FALSE IDEA OF REALITY, AND WHEN WE HAVE A FALSE IDEA OF REALITY, WE ARE BASICALLY PSYCHOTIC, SCHIZOPHRENIC.
MARY WAS THE MOST LEVEL-HEADED, THE MOST SANE OF PEOPLE. SHE DID NOT HAVE EVEN A THOUGHT THAT WAS NOT A TRUE REFLECTION OF REALITY. SHE KNEW TRUTH, UNCLOUDED BY FALSEHOOD. AND SHE KNEW THAT GOD WAS TO BE GLORIFIED, GOD WAS TO BE REJOICED IN. THAT WAS THE ROLE OF THE CREATURE.
AND THAT IS WHY WE COME TO MASS – SIMPLY TO GLORIFY GOD AND REJOICE IN HIS SAVING OF US. IF WE WANT TO LEARN, IF WE WANT TO BE EDIFIED, IF WE WANT TO HEAR BEAUTIFUL MUSIC, IF WE WANT TO HEAR POWERFUL SERMONS – NONE OF THOSE ARE REASONS TO COME TO HOLY MASS. THE ONLY REASON IS THAT IN THIS RITUAL GIVEN BY JESUS TO HIS APOSTLES 2000 YEARS AGO, WE GLORIFY GOD AND WE REJOICE THAT HE SAVES US. THAT IS HOW MARY LIVED HER LIFE, AND AS A RESULT, WAS ASSUMED INTO HEAVEN, BECAUSE SHE DID THIS PERFECTLY. AND ON THIS FEAST OF THE ASSUMPTION. WE NEED TO ASK OURSELVES WHETHER THIS IS OUR UNDERSTANDING AS WELL, AS TO WHY WE WORSHIP. BECAUSE WE ARE HERE TO GLORIFY GOD, TO REJOICE IN HIS SAVING POWER. IF WE THINK OTHERWISE, WE HAD BETTER LISTEN TO OUR MOTHER MARY ONCE AGAIN.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A
Matthew 14:22-33
THERE WAS A MONK WHO TOLD HIS BROTHERS THAT HE WAS GOING UP ON A MOUNTAIN TO MEDITATE. SEVERAL WEEKS LATER TWO OF HIS FELLOW MONKS SAW HIM CROSSING THE RIVER – HE WAS WALKING ON WATER. “WELL”, SAID ONE TO THE OTHER, “I SEE THAT BROTHER MICHAEL IS JUST AS STINGY AS EVER – WON'T EVEN PAY TWENTY FIVE CENTS TO TAKE THE FERRY!”
WHEN I THINK BACK TO ONE OF MY EARLIEST MEMORIES, IT IS A FRAGMENT; I DON'T KNOW WHAT CAME BEFORE OR AFTER; BUT IT IS ALWAYS ASSOCIATED WITH GREAT EMOTION. I WAS ABOUT FOUR, I THINK, AND MY MOTHER AND FATHER AND MY SISTER WERE SPENDING OUR VACATION IN A CABIN ON THE EDGE OF A MOUNTAIN LAKE IN MONTANA. WE WERE ALL OUT ON THE LAKE IN A ROW BOAT. ALL OF A SUDDEN THE SKY DARKENED AND THE WIND BEGAN TO BLOW AND THE BOAT STARTED TO ROCK. MY DAD BEGAN ROWING FRANTICALLY TO THE SHORE, AND MY MOTHER CLUTCHED MY LITTLE SISTER TO PROTECT HER FROM THE RAIN. NOW AND THEN A LITTLE WAVE WOULD SLOP OVER THE EDGE OF THE BOAT AND SPLASH ME. WE GOT BACK TO THE SHORE AND RAN FOR THE CABIN. WE WATCHED THE STORM PLAY OUT ON THE LAKE, AND EVEN THEN I KNEW THAT WE HAD HAD A 'NEAR MISS'.
TO THE JEWS, THE SEA, WHETHER THE SEA OF GALILEE OR THE MEDITERRANEAN, HAD A CERTAIN FEARSOME QUALITY TO IT. THEIR COLLECTIVE MEMORY WAS FILLED WITH WARNINGS: GOD STARTED CREATION BY SEPARATING THE LAND FROM THE SEA; THE LAND WAS WHERE THE DRAMA OF SALVATION WOULD PLAY OUT; THE SEA WAS THE ENEMY OF THE LAND. THE SEA HAD DROWNED THE EGYPTIANS AND SAVED THE ISRAELITES, TO BE TRUE; BUT AGAIN, A REMINDER OF ITS TREACHEROUSNESS. ONE OF THEIR PSALMS REFERS TO THE LEVIATHAN, A MONSTER WHO LURKS IN THE SEA; AND JONAH HAD HIS ADVENTURE WITH THE OCEAN AND THE WHALE.
THE APOSTLES WERE A BIT UNUSUAL, SINCE SOME OF THEM MADE THEIR LIVING OFF THE SEA; BUT FISHERMEN STAYED WITHIN SIGHT OF SHORE, BECAUSE THAT WAS WHERE THE MOST FISH WERE ANYWAY, AND IT WAS A LOT SAFER. IT WAS ALMOST UNHEARD OF FOR EVEN FISHERMEN TO CROSS THE SEA. THAT IS WHY MATTHEW EMPHASIZES THAT JESUS MADE THEM GET IN THE BOAT AND SET OUT ACROSS THE SEA, BECAUSE THE APOSTLES WOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT ON THEIR OWN, YOU CAN BE SURE.
THE FACT IS THAT WHEN THE STORM CAME UP, IN ADDITION TO THE FEAR THAT ANYONE WOULD HAVE, THERE WAS A SPIRITUAL DREAD AS WELL; THEY HAD NO BUSINESS, AS JEWS, OUT ON THE STORMY SEA. THEY WERE THERE AGAINST THEIR OWN WILL, FACING CHAOS, COMPLETELY HELPLESS.
IT IS INTO THIS HOPELESS SITUATION THAT JESUS COMES, WALKING ON THE WATER. THE SEAS BEGAN TO CALM. IN A WAY, THE MIRACLE IS NOT THAT JESUS WALKS ON WATER SO MUCH AS THAT JESUS IS PRESENT IN A LITERALLY GOD-FORSAKEN SITUATION. THIS STORY MEANT EXACTLY THAT TO THE EARLY CHURCH, WHERE THE IDEA OF THE CHURCH BEING A BOAT TO RESCUE CHRISTIANS FROM A HOSTILE WORLD WAS A MAJOR THEME.
BUT THEN WE HAVE THE PECULIAR EPISODE WITHIN THE EPISODE; PETER ASKS JESUS TO CALL HIM AND BOLDLY STEPS OUT ONTO THE WATER, ONLY TO SINK WHEN HE REALIZES WHAT IS GOING ON. AND AS PETER IS BEING HAULED OUT OF THE WATER, HE IS CHASTISED FOR HIS LACK OF FAITH, WHEN IN REALITY, HE IS THE ONLY ONE OF THE APOSTLES WHO HAD SUFFICIENT FAITH TO STEP OUT ON THE WATER. WHAT IS GING ON HERE?
THERE ARE TWELVE APOSTLES IN THE BOAT. THEY DID NOT RECOGNIZE JESUS, THEY THOUGHT HE WAS A GHOST. ONCE THEY REALIZE THAT IT IS JESUS, ONLY PETER IS BRAVE ENOUGH, FOOLISH ENOUGH, TO GET OUT OF THE BOAT AND TRUST JESUS. HIS FAITH IS NOT ENOUGH, HE FAILS AT WHAT HE ATTEMPTS. BUT HE STILL HAS ENOUGH FAITH TO CALL UPON THE LORD; AS HE SINKS UNDER THE WATER, HE TURNS TO THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SAVE HIM. IN MY MIND I SEE JESUS REACHING FOR PETER'S ARM WHICH IS THE ONLY PART OF HIM STILL ABOVE THE WATER; AND JESUS PULLS HIM UP, TO STAND ON THE WATER ONCE AGAIN, SUCCESSFULLY, AS LONG AS HE HOLDS ON TO JESUS, AND THEY BOTH CLIMB INTO THE BOAT.
WHAT DID PETER LEARN THAT DAY? HE LEARNED THAT HIS FAITH WAS WEAK, THAT'S FOR SURE. BUT HE ALSO LEARNED THAT WHEN YOU STEP OUT IN FAITH, JESUS WILL BE THERE TO HELP, TO SAVE, TO MAKE RIGHT. HE LEARNED THAT AS JESUS WORKS WITH YOU, HE TEACHES YOU, CHANGES YOU, DIRECTS YOU, AND SHAPES YOU TO GO ON TO GREATER WORKS, AS PETER DID. AND I SUSPECT THAT AS JESUS AND PETER STEPPED BACK INTO THE BOAT, THE BOAT THAT REPRESENTS THE CHURCH, THE BOAT THAT CONTAINED A LOT OF PEW-SITTERS WHO WERE NOT WILLING TO STEP OUT AND ANSWER THE CALL OF JESUS, HE MUST HAVE FELT JUST A LITTLE SATISFACTION EVEN AS HE WAS STILL SMARTING FROM BEING TOLD THAT HIS FAITH WAS NOT ENOUGH. IT WOULD BE SOMEDAY, HE THOUGHT TO HIMSELF. SOMEDAY HIS FAITH WOULD BE STRONG ENOUGH, TO WALK ON WATER, TO HEAL THE SICK, TO RAISE THE DEAD, TO DIE FOR HIS LORD, IF IT CAME TO THAT. AND YOU AND I KNOW THAT HIS FAITH DID BECOME STRONG ENOUGH.
PETER'S STORY IS TOLD OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS; OVER AND OVER AGAIN, A SAINT STEPS OUT TO FIX SOMETHING THAT NEEDS FIXING, TO CHALLENGE POWER, TO TRY TO HEAL A CITY DYING OF THE PLAGUE; AND WE SEE THEM FALTER AND FAIL AND SOMETIMES DIE, BUT IF THEY SURVIVE, THEY GO ON, MAYBE TO TAKE ON THE SAME PROJECT, MAYBE TO TAKE ON A DIFFERENT ONE, BUT ALWAYS GROWING, ALWAYS DEEPENING THEIR FAITH, ALWAYS BEING FORMED BY JESUS. AND IT IS A FRIGHTENING, SCARY WAY TO LIVE, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, A MARVELOUS AND TOTALLY SATISFYING ADVENTURE. OF COURSE IT IS A LOT SAFER TO STAY IN THE BOAT AND WATCH.
THERE WAS A MONK WHO TOLD HIS BROTHERS THAT HE WAS GOING UP ON A MOUNTAIN TO MEDITATE. SEVERAL WEEKS LATER TWO OF HIS FELLOW MONKS SAW HIM CROSSING THE RIVER – HE WAS WALKING ON WATER. “WELL”, SAID ONE TO THE OTHER, “I SEE THAT BROTHER MICHAEL IS JUST AS STINGY AS EVER – WON'T EVEN PAY TWENTY FIVE CENTS TO TAKE THE FERRY!”
WHEN I THINK BACK TO ONE OF MY EARLIEST MEMORIES, IT IS A FRAGMENT; I DON'T KNOW WHAT CAME BEFORE OR AFTER; BUT IT IS ALWAYS ASSOCIATED WITH GREAT EMOTION. I WAS ABOUT FOUR, I THINK, AND MY MOTHER AND FATHER AND MY SISTER WERE SPENDING OUR VACATION IN A CABIN ON THE EDGE OF A MOUNTAIN LAKE IN MONTANA. WE WERE ALL OUT ON THE LAKE IN A ROW BOAT. ALL OF A SUDDEN THE SKY DARKENED AND THE WIND BEGAN TO BLOW AND THE BOAT STARTED TO ROCK. MY DAD BEGAN ROWING FRANTICALLY TO THE SHORE, AND MY MOTHER CLUTCHED MY LITTLE SISTER TO PROTECT HER FROM THE RAIN. NOW AND THEN A LITTLE WAVE WOULD SLOP OVER THE EDGE OF THE BOAT AND SPLASH ME. WE GOT BACK TO THE SHORE AND RAN FOR THE CABIN. WE WATCHED THE STORM PLAY OUT ON THE LAKE, AND EVEN THEN I KNEW THAT WE HAD HAD A 'NEAR MISS'.
TO THE JEWS, THE SEA, WHETHER THE SEA OF GALILEE OR THE MEDITERRANEAN, HAD A CERTAIN FEARSOME QUALITY TO IT. THEIR COLLECTIVE MEMORY WAS FILLED WITH WARNINGS: GOD STARTED CREATION BY SEPARATING THE LAND FROM THE SEA; THE LAND WAS WHERE THE DRAMA OF SALVATION WOULD PLAY OUT; THE SEA WAS THE ENEMY OF THE LAND. THE SEA HAD DROWNED THE EGYPTIANS AND SAVED THE ISRAELITES, TO BE TRUE; BUT AGAIN, A REMINDER OF ITS TREACHEROUSNESS. ONE OF THEIR PSALMS REFERS TO THE LEVIATHAN, A MONSTER WHO LURKS IN THE SEA; AND JONAH HAD HIS ADVENTURE WITH THE OCEAN AND THE WHALE.
THE APOSTLES WERE A BIT UNUSUAL, SINCE SOME OF THEM MADE THEIR LIVING OFF THE SEA; BUT FISHERMEN STAYED WITHIN SIGHT OF SHORE, BECAUSE THAT WAS WHERE THE MOST FISH WERE ANYWAY, AND IT WAS A LOT SAFER. IT WAS ALMOST UNHEARD OF FOR EVEN FISHERMEN TO CROSS THE SEA. THAT IS WHY MATTHEW EMPHASIZES THAT JESUS MADE THEM GET IN THE BOAT AND SET OUT ACROSS THE SEA, BECAUSE THE APOSTLES WOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT ON THEIR OWN, YOU CAN BE SURE.
THE FACT IS THAT WHEN THE STORM CAME UP, IN ADDITION TO THE FEAR THAT ANYONE WOULD HAVE, THERE WAS A SPIRITUAL DREAD AS WELL; THEY HAD NO BUSINESS, AS JEWS, OUT ON THE STORMY SEA. THEY WERE THERE AGAINST THEIR OWN WILL, FACING CHAOS, COMPLETELY HELPLESS.
IT IS INTO THIS HOPELESS SITUATION THAT JESUS COMES, WALKING ON THE WATER. THE SEAS BEGAN TO CALM. IN A WAY, THE MIRACLE IS NOT THAT JESUS WALKS ON WATER SO MUCH AS THAT JESUS IS PRESENT IN A LITERALLY GOD-FORSAKEN SITUATION. THIS STORY MEANT EXACTLY THAT TO THE EARLY CHURCH, WHERE THE IDEA OF THE CHURCH BEING A BOAT TO RESCUE CHRISTIANS FROM A HOSTILE WORLD WAS A MAJOR THEME.
BUT THEN WE HAVE THE PECULIAR EPISODE WITHIN THE EPISODE; PETER ASKS JESUS TO CALL HIM AND BOLDLY STEPS OUT ONTO THE WATER, ONLY TO SINK WHEN HE REALIZES WHAT IS GOING ON. AND AS PETER IS BEING HAULED OUT OF THE WATER, HE IS CHASTISED FOR HIS LACK OF FAITH, WHEN IN REALITY, HE IS THE ONLY ONE OF THE APOSTLES WHO HAD SUFFICIENT FAITH TO STEP OUT ON THE WATER. WHAT IS GING ON HERE?
THERE ARE TWELVE APOSTLES IN THE BOAT. THEY DID NOT RECOGNIZE JESUS, THEY THOUGHT HE WAS A GHOST. ONCE THEY REALIZE THAT IT IS JESUS, ONLY PETER IS BRAVE ENOUGH, FOOLISH ENOUGH, TO GET OUT OF THE BOAT AND TRUST JESUS. HIS FAITH IS NOT ENOUGH, HE FAILS AT WHAT HE ATTEMPTS. BUT HE STILL HAS ENOUGH FAITH TO CALL UPON THE LORD; AS HE SINKS UNDER THE WATER, HE TURNS TO THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SAVE HIM. IN MY MIND I SEE JESUS REACHING FOR PETER'S ARM WHICH IS THE ONLY PART OF HIM STILL ABOVE THE WATER; AND JESUS PULLS HIM UP, TO STAND ON THE WATER ONCE AGAIN, SUCCESSFULLY, AS LONG AS HE HOLDS ON TO JESUS, AND THEY BOTH CLIMB INTO THE BOAT.
WHAT DID PETER LEARN THAT DAY? HE LEARNED THAT HIS FAITH WAS WEAK, THAT'S FOR SURE. BUT HE ALSO LEARNED THAT WHEN YOU STEP OUT IN FAITH, JESUS WILL BE THERE TO HELP, TO SAVE, TO MAKE RIGHT. HE LEARNED THAT AS JESUS WORKS WITH YOU, HE TEACHES YOU, CHANGES YOU, DIRECTS YOU, AND SHAPES YOU TO GO ON TO GREATER WORKS, AS PETER DID. AND I SUSPECT THAT AS JESUS AND PETER STEPPED BACK INTO THE BOAT, THE BOAT THAT REPRESENTS THE CHURCH, THE BOAT THAT CONTAINED A LOT OF PEW-SITTERS WHO WERE NOT WILLING TO STEP OUT AND ANSWER THE CALL OF JESUS, HE MUST HAVE FELT JUST A LITTLE SATISFACTION EVEN AS HE WAS STILL SMARTING FROM BEING TOLD THAT HIS FAITH WAS NOT ENOUGH. IT WOULD BE SOMEDAY, HE THOUGHT TO HIMSELF. SOMEDAY HIS FAITH WOULD BE STRONG ENOUGH, TO WALK ON WATER, TO HEAL THE SICK, TO RAISE THE DEAD, TO DIE FOR HIS LORD, IF IT CAME TO THAT. AND YOU AND I KNOW THAT HIS FAITH DID BECOME STRONG ENOUGH.
PETER'S STORY IS TOLD OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS; OVER AND OVER AGAIN, A SAINT STEPS OUT TO FIX SOMETHING THAT NEEDS FIXING, TO CHALLENGE POWER, TO TRY TO HEAL A CITY DYING OF THE PLAGUE; AND WE SEE THEM FALTER AND FAIL AND SOMETIMES DIE, BUT IF THEY SURVIVE, THEY GO ON, MAYBE TO TAKE ON THE SAME PROJECT, MAYBE TO TAKE ON A DIFFERENT ONE, BUT ALWAYS GROWING, ALWAYS DEEPENING THEIR FAITH, ALWAYS BEING FORMED BY JESUS. AND IT IS A FRIGHTENING, SCARY WAY TO LIVE, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, A MARVELOUS AND TOTALLY SATISFYING ADVENTURE. OF COURSE IT IS A LOT SAFER TO STAY IN THE BOAT AND WATCH.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A
MATTHEW 13:14-21
WHEN MY FAMILY WAS YOUNG AND WE WERE TRAVELING, WE WOULD FREQUENTLY STOP AT MACDONALDS, OR BURGER KING, OR SOMETIMES, WENDY'S. THE KIDS LIKED MACDONALD'S THE BEST, AND THE GRANDCHILDREN FOLLOW IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS. I LIKED IT BEST WHEN I TRAVELED WITH MY CHILDREN AS WELL, BUT NOT BECAUSE OF THE FOOD, THE PRIZES, OR THE PLAYGROUNDS. I LIKED IT BECAUSE IT WAS THE FASTEST FAST FOOD RESTAURANT. AT BURGER KING, IF I HAD IT MY WAY, THEY COOKED TO ORDER; AT MACDONALDS, THEY JUST GRABBED WHAT I WANTED OFF THE SHELF. AT WENDY'S TOO, EVERYTHING WAS MORE DELIBERATE AND TOOK LONGER. ON SUNDAYS AFTER CHURCH WE WOULD SOMETIMES GO TO FRIENDLY'S, WHERE THE FIFTEEN MINUTE WAIT FOR BREAKFAST WAS PUNCTUATED BY TRIPS TO THE BATHROOM, FIGHTS, THINGS DROPPED ON THE FLOOR. MACDONALD'S WAS A PARENT'S DREAM.
SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE SEEN THE MOVIE “SUPERSIZE ME” WHICH WAS A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT A MAN WHO EATS NOTHING BUT FAST FOOD FOR A MONTH. AT THE END OF THAT TIME, HE SEEMS TO HAVE GAINED A LARGE AMOUNT OF WEIGHT, LOST HIS STAMINA, BECOME SHORT OF BREATH, AND IN GENERAL, AGED TEN YEARS. THE POINT WAS THAT FAST FOOD, AT LEAST AS A STEADY DIET, WAS NOT GOOD FOR YOU, I GUESS.
IN TODAY'S GOSPEL, JESUS FEEDS THE CROWDS SLOW FOOD. THINK ABOUT THE GOSPEL STORY. HE HAS GONE TO A DESERTED PLACE TO MOURN HIS COUSIN, JOHN. HIS HEART IS HEAVY, HIS EYES TEAR UP; BECAUSE JESUS IS A HUMAN BEING LIKE YOU AND I. BUT THE CROWDS HAVE FOLLOWED HIM, AND THEY JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH. SO JESUS PUTS ASIDE HIS GRIEF, AND BEGINS TO ATTEND TO THEM. HE HEALS THEIR SICK, ONE BY ONE, WITH A TOUCH, A KIND WORD; OUT OF THE DEPTHS OF HIS SADNESS, HE LIFTS THE SADNESS FROM OTHERS, SLOWLY, INDIVIDUALLY. HE PREACHES TO THEM AND TELLS THEM ABOUT THE KINGDOM, ABOUT THE FATHER OF MERCY AND LOVE AND TENDERNESS; ABOUT THE CERTAINTY THAT JUSTICE WILL BE DONE IN THE END, NOTHING ELSE WOULD DO FOR THE FATHER OF JUSTICE. AND THE DAY IS GETTING LONG, AND THE APOSTLES ARE GETTING WORRIED. “LORD,” THEY SAY, “YOU BETTER QUIT WHAT YOUR DOING AND LET THESE PEOPLE GET OUT OF HERE SO THEY CAN GET SOMETHING TO EAT BEFORE BEDTIME.” MAYBE THEY WERE THINKING THAT IT WAS TIME FOR THEM TO GET OUT OF THERE AND GET SOMETHING TO EAT BEFORE BEDTIME, AND THEY COULDN'T DO IT UNTIL JESUS STOPPED PREACHING AND HEALING.
THEY WANTED A QUICK SOLUTION TO THEIR PROBLEM. BUT JESUS ONLY FEEDS SLOW FOOD. “YOU FEED THEM,” JESUS SAYS TO HIS APOSTLES. AND THEN HE MAKES THE CROWD GET COMFORTABLE – THEY HAVE TO RECLINE, NOT EAT STANDING UP, NOT PUT FOOD IN THEIR MOUTHS WITH ONE HAND AND STEER THEIR CARS WITH THE OTHER. AND THEN VERY SLOWLY AND DELIBERATELY, HE TAKES THE BIT OF FOOD THAT THE APOSTLES HAVE ROUNDED UP, SAYS A NICE, DELIBERATE BLESSING, BREAKS IT UP AND HAS THE TWELVE GO OUT AND HAND EACH OF THE 5000 MEN, NOT COUNTING THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN, ENOUGH FOOD TO SATISFY ALL OF THEM. AND THEN AFTER THE LEISURELY MEAL, HE MAKES THEM GO BACK, AND THEY GATHER UP TWELVE BASKETS OF LEFT-OVERS. THIS FEEDING OF THE 5000 WAS MIRACULOUS, BUT THINK HOW MUCH TIME IT TOOK! SLOW FOOD. BUT SATISFYING FOOD, ABUNDANT FOOD, LEAVING THE CROWDS RUBBING THEIR BELLIES AND SMACKING THEIR LIPS AND NOT ABLE TO EAT ANOTHER BITE.
SOME OF US COME TO MASS ON SUNDAY AND WE WALK IN LATE AND LEAVE EARLY, OUR MINDS THINK ABOUT WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO AFTER MASS, OR ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE; AND THEN WE RECEIVE COMMUNION LIKE WE WOULD EAT A MEAL OF FAST FOOD, A BITE, A SWALLOW, AND OFF WE GO. AND WE NEVER ALLOW JESUS TO FILL US UP, TO SATISFY US, TO GIVE US THE DELIGHT THAT HE CAN GIVE US.
WHAT A MIRACLE IT WOULD BE IF WE WOULD SLOW DOWN WHEN WE RECEIVE THIS EUCHARIST, AND ALLOW JESUS TO SPEAK TO OUR HEARTS. WHAT A GRACE IF WE THOUGHT ABOUT HOW THE FATHER AND THE SPIRIT UNITE WITH THE SON AND WE FIND OURSELVES AT THE VERY CENTER OF THE TRINITY. IF WE WOULD STOP AND FEEL THE OVERWHELMING, EVEN FOOLISH LOVE THAT GOD SHOWS US WHEN HE GIVES US HIS SON JESUS TO BE OUR FOOD, WOULDN'T ANY PROBLEM TURN INTO NOTHING?
THE EUCHARIST IS THE VERY CENTER OF OUR CHRISTIAN LIFE, IT IS THE MOMENT WHEN GOD BREAKS INTO OUR WORLD, OUR LIVES, IT IS THE SOURCE OF POWER THAT ALLOWED MARTYRS TO LAUGH AT DEATH, AND THE SAINTS TO BE SUPERHEROES, DOING IMPOSSIBLE THINGS THAT CAN'T BE EXPLAINED ANY OTHER WAY. AND WE WHO ARE IN DESPERATE NEED OF THAT POWER PASS BY THIS SOURCE OF INFINITE POWER, THIS BLAZING SUN, WITHOUT EVEN PICKING UP A LITTLE OF THE LIGHT, THE HEAT, THE ENERGY.
IF YOU HUNGER FOR PATIENCE, JESUS WILL FEED YOU; IF YOU HUNGER FOR AN END TO ANGER, OR SADNESS OR DEPRESSION, HE HAS WHAT YOU NEED. DO YOU WANT FORGIVENESS? DO YOU WANT THE STRENGTH TO CARRY ON EVEN THOUGH NOTHING IS GOING WELL? IF YOU RECLINE AND WAIT, THE FOOD YOU LONG FOR WILL BE BROUGHT TO YOU.
GOD ONLY OFFERS FOOD THAT NOURISHES, THAT FILLS YOU UP, THAT SATISFIES THE HUNGER IN YOU, IF YOU TAKE THE TIME TO RECEIVE IT, IF YOU EAT IT SLOWLY AND DELIBERATELY, IN THE PRESENCE OF THE ONE WHO FEEDS YOU.
IF YOU ARE HERE FOR FAST FOOD, IF YOU GRAB YOUR LUNCH AND GET OUT OF HERE AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN, YOU WON'T GET MUCH OUT OF IT. YOU MAY BE SUPERSIZED, BUT YOU WON'T BE FED. IF YOU RECEIVE THE BREAD OF HEAVEN AND IN THAT MOMENT OPEN YOURSELF TO GOD'S LOVE, LISTEN TO HIS WHISPERED WORDS, SPEAK TO HIM FROM YOUR HEART, AND TAKE THE TIME TO LET HIM GIVE YOU THE FOOD YOU NEED, YOU WILL RECEIVE MORE THAN YOU EVER DREAMED OF, BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT HE PROMISED, THAT IS WHAT HE DID FOR THOSE PEOPLE ON A HILLSIDE IN GALILEE 2000 YEARS AGO WHEN THEY RELAXED ON THE GRASS AND ATE THE SLOW FOOD THAT JESUS PREPARED FOR THEM WITH HIS OWN HANDS.
WHEN MY FAMILY WAS YOUNG AND WE WERE TRAVELING, WE WOULD FREQUENTLY STOP AT MACDONALDS, OR BURGER KING, OR SOMETIMES, WENDY'S. THE KIDS LIKED MACDONALD'S THE BEST, AND THE GRANDCHILDREN FOLLOW IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS. I LIKED IT BEST WHEN I TRAVELED WITH MY CHILDREN AS WELL, BUT NOT BECAUSE OF THE FOOD, THE PRIZES, OR THE PLAYGROUNDS. I LIKED IT BECAUSE IT WAS THE FASTEST FAST FOOD RESTAURANT. AT BURGER KING, IF I HAD IT MY WAY, THEY COOKED TO ORDER; AT MACDONALDS, THEY JUST GRABBED WHAT I WANTED OFF THE SHELF. AT WENDY'S TOO, EVERYTHING WAS MORE DELIBERATE AND TOOK LONGER. ON SUNDAYS AFTER CHURCH WE WOULD SOMETIMES GO TO FRIENDLY'S, WHERE THE FIFTEEN MINUTE WAIT FOR BREAKFAST WAS PUNCTUATED BY TRIPS TO THE BATHROOM, FIGHTS, THINGS DROPPED ON THE FLOOR. MACDONALD'S WAS A PARENT'S DREAM.
SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE SEEN THE MOVIE “SUPERSIZE ME” WHICH WAS A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT A MAN WHO EATS NOTHING BUT FAST FOOD FOR A MONTH. AT THE END OF THAT TIME, HE SEEMS TO HAVE GAINED A LARGE AMOUNT OF WEIGHT, LOST HIS STAMINA, BECOME SHORT OF BREATH, AND IN GENERAL, AGED TEN YEARS. THE POINT WAS THAT FAST FOOD, AT LEAST AS A STEADY DIET, WAS NOT GOOD FOR YOU, I GUESS.
IN TODAY'S GOSPEL, JESUS FEEDS THE CROWDS SLOW FOOD. THINK ABOUT THE GOSPEL STORY. HE HAS GONE TO A DESERTED PLACE TO MOURN HIS COUSIN, JOHN. HIS HEART IS HEAVY, HIS EYES TEAR UP; BECAUSE JESUS IS A HUMAN BEING LIKE YOU AND I. BUT THE CROWDS HAVE FOLLOWED HIM, AND THEY JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH. SO JESUS PUTS ASIDE HIS GRIEF, AND BEGINS TO ATTEND TO THEM. HE HEALS THEIR SICK, ONE BY ONE, WITH A TOUCH, A KIND WORD; OUT OF THE DEPTHS OF HIS SADNESS, HE LIFTS THE SADNESS FROM OTHERS, SLOWLY, INDIVIDUALLY. HE PREACHES TO THEM AND TELLS THEM ABOUT THE KINGDOM, ABOUT THE FATHER OF MERCY AND LOVE AND TENDERNESS; ABOUT THE CERTAINTY THAT JUSTICE WILL BE DONE IN THE END, NOTHING ELSE WOULD DO FOR THE FATHER OF JUSTICE. AND THE DAY IS GETTING LONG, AND THE APOSTLES ARE GETTING WORRIED. “LORD,” THEY SAY, “YOU BETTER QUIT WHAT YOUR DOING AND LET THESE PEOPLE GET OUT OF HERE SO THEY CAN GET SOMETHING TO EAT BEFORE BEDTIME.” MAYBE THEY WERE THINKING THAT IT WAS TIME FOR THEM TO GET OUT OF THERE AND GET SOMETHING TO EAT BEFORE BEDTIME, AND THEY COULDN'T DO IT UNTIL JESUS STOPPED PREACHING AND HEALING.
THEY WANTED A QUICK SOLUTION TO THEIR PROBLEM. BUT JESUS ONLY FEEDS SLOW FOOD. “YOU FEED THEM,” JESUS SAYS TO HIS APOSTLES. AND THEN HE MAKES THE CROWD GET COMFORTABLE – THEY HAVE TO RECLINE, NOT EAT STANDING UP, NOT PUT FOOD IN THEIR MOUTHS WITH ONE HAND AND STEER THEIR CARS WITH THE OTHER. AND THEN VERY SLOWLY AND DELIBERATELY, HE TAKES THE BIT OF FOOD THAT THE APOSTLES HAVE ROUNDED UP, SAYS A NICE, DELIBERATE BLESSING, BREAKS IT UP AND HAS THE TWELVE GO OUT AND HAND EACH OF THE 5000 MEN, NOT COUNTING THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN, ENOUGH FOOD TO SATISFY ALL OF THEM. AND THEN AFTER THE LEISURELY MEAL, HE MAKES THEM GO BACK, AND THEY GATHER UP TWELVE BASKETS OF LEFT-OVERS. THIS FEEDING OF THE 5000 WAS MIRACULOUS, BUT THINK HOW MUCH TIME IT TOOK! SLOW FOOD. BUT SATISFYING FOOD, ABUNDANT FOOD, LEAVING THE CROWDS RUBBING THEIR BELLIES AND SMACKING THEIR LIPS AND NOT ABLE TO EAT ANOTHER BITE.
SOME OF US COME TO MASS ON SUNDAY AND WE WALK IN LATE AND LEAVE EARLY, OUR MINDS THINK ABOUT WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO AFTER MASS, OR ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE; AND THEN WE RECEIVE COMMUNION LIKE WE WOULD EAT A MEAL OF FAST FOOD, A BITE, A SWALLOW, AND OFF WE GO. AND WE NEVER ALLOW JESUS TO FILL US UP, TO SATISFY US, TO GIVE US THE DELIGHT THAT HE CAN GIVE US.
WHAT A MIRACLE IT WOULD BE IF WE WOULD SLOW DOWN WHEN WE RECEIVE THIS EUCHARIST, AND ALLOW JESUS TO SPEAK TO OUR HEARTS. WHAT A GRACE IF WE THOUGHT ABOUT HOW THE FATHER AND THE SPIRIT UNITE WITH THE SON AND WE FIND OURSELVES AT THE VERY CENTER OF THE TRINITY. IF WE WOULD STOP AND FEEL THE OVERWHELMING, EVEN FOOLISH LOVE THAT GOD SHOWS US WHEN HE GIVES US HIS SON JESUS TO BE OUR FOOD, WOULDN'T ANY PROBLEM TURN INTO NOTHING?
THE EUCHARIST IS THE VERY CENTER OF OUR CHRISTIAN LIFE, IT IS THE MOMENT WHEN GOD BREAKS INTO OUR WORLD, OUR LIVES, IT IS THE SOURCE OF POWER THAT ALLOWED MARTYRS TO LAUGH AT DEATH, AND THE SAINTS TO BE SUPERHEROES, DOING IMPOSSIBLE THINGS THAT CAN'T BE EXPLAINED ANY OTHER WAY. AND WE WHO ARE IN DESPERATE NEED OF THAT POWER PASS BY THIS SOURCE OF INFINITE POWER, THIS BLAZING SUN, WITHOUT EVEN PICKING UP A LITTLE OF THE LIGHT, THE HEAT, THE ENERGY.
IF YOU HUNGER FOR PATIENCE, JESUS WILL FEED YOU; IF YOU HUNGER FOR AN END TO ANGER, OR SADNESS OR DEPRESSION, HE HAS WHAT YOU NEED. DO YOU WANT FORGIVENESS? DO YOU WANT THE STRENGTH TO CARRY ON EVEN THOUGH NOTHING IS GOING WELL? IF YOU RECLINE AND WAIT, THE FOOD YOU LONG FOR WILL BE BROUGHT TO YOU.
GOD ONLY OFFERS FOOD THAT NOURISHES, THAT FILLS YOU UP, THAT SATISFIES THE HUNGER IN YOU, IF YOU TAKE THE TIME TO RECEIVE IT, IF YOU EAT IT SLOWLY AND DELIBERATELY, IN THE PRESENCE OF THE ONE WHO FEEDS YOU.
IF YOU ARE HERE FOR FAST FOOD, IF YOU GRAB YOUR LUNCH AND GET OUT OF HERE AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN, YOU WON'T GET MUCH OUT OF IT. YOU MAY BE SUPERSIZED, BUT YOU WON'T BE FED. IF YOU RECEIVE THE BREAD OF HEAVEN AND IN THAT MOMENT OPEN YOURSELF TO GOD'S LOVE, LISTEN TO HIS WHISPERED WORDS, SPEAK TO HIM FROM YOUR HEART, AND TAKE THE TIME TO LET HIM GIVE YOU THE FOOD YOU NEED, YOU WILL RECEIVE MORE THAN YOU EVER DREAMED OF, BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT HE PROMISED, THAT IS WHAT HE DID FOR THOSE PEOPLE ON A HILLSIDE IN GALILEE 2000 YEARS AGO WHEN THEY RELAXED ON THE GRASS AND ATE THE SLOW FOOD THAT JESUS PREPARED FOR THEM WITH HIS OWN HANDS.
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.
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.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A
MATTHEW 13:24-33
MY WIFE AND I HAVE DIFFERENT ATTITUDES ABOUT WEEDS. SHE THINKS THAT IF YOU GO OUT AND RIP THEM UP ALL SUMMER LONG, YOUR YARD WILL LOOK A LOT BETTER. SO WHEN THE WEATHER IS JUST RIGHT SHE LIKES TO GO OUT, USUALLY RECRUITING MY DAUGHTER AND EVEN ME IF I CAN'T FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO DO, AND RIP UP WEEDS. SHE FEELS VERY VIRTUOUS DOING THIS.
I ON THE OTHER HAND THINK THAT WHEN YOU HAVE A LAWN FULL OF WEEDS AND YOU MOW IT, IT LOOKS ENOUGH LIKE REGULAR GRASS TO PASS, AND THE TRICK IS TO MOW IT JUST OFTEN ENOUGH SO IT DOESN'T GET TOO SHABBY. AND IF YOU HAVE BUSHES WITH WEEDS GROWING IN THEM, A HEDGE TRIMMER SHOULD TAKE CARE OF THE PROBLEM. ONCE IN A WHILE YOU HAVE TO REMOVE THE TOP OF A WEED, BUT THAT'S EASILY DONE WITH SHEARS AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO WRESTLE WITH THE ROOT. BECAUSE IN MY EXPERIENCE YOU CAN PULL UP ALL THE ROOTS YOU WANT, AND THE WEEDS WILL KEEP COMING BACK.
SO I AM ON THE SIDE OF THE HOUSEHOLDER. LET THE WEEDS AND WHEAT GROW TOGETHER UNTIL THE VERY LAST MINUTE, THEN SEPARATE THEM.
WHEN JESUS TOLD THE PARABLE OF THE WEEDS, HIS HEARERS HAD A SPECIFIC IMAGE IN MIND. FIRST OF ALL, ENEMIES DID DO THIS SORT OF THING. THEY WOULD SEW A SPECIFIC WEED, CALLED DARNEL, WHICH WAS REALLY HARD TO TELL FROM WHEAT UNTIL IT MATURED. IT EVEN BORE SEEDS, WHICH MADE PEOPLE SICK OF SOME OF IT GOT MILLED ALONG WITH THE WHEAT. AND THE DARNEL HAD A STRONGER ROOT SYSTEM THAN WHEAT, SO IF YOU PULLED IT UP, YOU WOULD MOST LIKELY PULL UP THE WHEAT PLANT GROWING NEXT TO IT. IF YOU WERE IMPATIENT, YOU COULD GET OUT THERE AND WORK AT IT, ONE WEED AT A TIME, AND AS YOU COLLECTED THE WEEDS, YOU WOULD PROBABLY FEEL VIRTUOUS; OR YOU COULD WAIT UNTIL THE DIFFERENCE WAS OBVIOUS, HARVEST IT ALL, AND THEN SEPARATE THE DARNEL FROM THE WHEAT IN A MUCH EASIER EFFORT.
SO ONE LESSON, PERHAPS, IS THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE PATIENCE. THERE ARE THOSE WHO WANT TO WEED, THEY ARE HAPPIEST WHEN SEPARATING THE GOOD FROM THE BAD, FIGURATIVELY OR LITERALLY. MAYBE IT IS IN CONVERSATION, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT “US” AND “THEM”. MAYBE IT IS IN ACTION, WHEN WE CLOSE THE DOORS OF FRIENDSHIP TO THOSE WHO WE SEE AS MORALLY QUESTIONABLE. MAYBE IT IS JUST IN OUR MINDS, WHEN WE JUDGE. BUT JESUS TELLS US THAT DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN THOSE WHO ARE GOOD AND THOSE WHO ARE EVIL IS A JOB FOR THE FATHER AND HIS ANGELS, NOT FOR US; AND IT WILL NOT TAKE PLACE UNTIL ALL THE EVIDENCE IS IN, AT THE END OF TIME.
AND ANOTHER LESSON, PERHAPS, IS THAT THERE IS A GODLY PURPOSE IN HAVING THE GOOD AND THE EVIL GROWING TOGETHER. WE KNOW THAT WHEN YOU PLANT DIFFERENT SPECIES IN THE SAME GARDEN, THERE IS COMPETION FOR LIGHT AND WATER, AND WHILE SOME PLANTS DIE, THOSE THAT REMAIN ARE STRONGER. THE GOOD ARE MADE BETTER BY GROWING ALONGSIDE THE EVIL ONES, ALTHOUGH THERE ARE DANGERS, THERE ARE TEMPATIONS, AND WE NEED GOD'S GRACE TO AVOID LOSING GROUND. BUT THE EVIL ONES ARE INFLUENCED BY THE GOOD AS WELL, AND BECAUSE EVIL AND GOOD GROW TOGETHER, THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF REDEMPTION FOR THE WEEDS, THE CHANCE TO BECOME WHEAT AND BE PART OF THE HARVEST.
AND A THIRD LESSON MAY BE THAT ALTHOUGH YOU AND I BELIEVE WE ARE WHEAT, AND WILL SOME DAY BE GATHERED INTO THE HARVEST OF OUR LORD, WE MAY NOT BE. WE MAY TURN OUT TO BE WEEDS. YOU CAN'T REALLY TELL THE DIFFERENCE UNTIL THE PLANT HAS MATURED AND BORN FRUIT. THE FRUIT MAY BE A HEAD OF WHEAT, WHICH CAN BE GROUND INTO FLOUR AND MADE INTO BREAD, OR IT MAY BE A HEAD OF DARNEL, WHICH CAN MAKE PEOPLE SICK. IN A REAL GARDEN, THE WEED AND THE WHEAT HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO GROW UP TO BE WHAT THEY ARE DESTINED TO BE. IN THE GARDEN OF OUR LORD, THERE ARE CHOICES TO BE MADE WHILE HE ALLOWS THE WHEAT AND WEEDS TO GROW ALONGSIDE OF EACH OTHER.
WE MUST CONTINUALLY TRANSFORM OURSELVES, WHICH IS ANOTHER WAY OF SAYING WE MUST CONTINUALLY REPENT, REPOSITION OURSELVES, CHANGE DIRECTION WHEN NEED BE, SO THAT WE CAN RECEIVE AND RESPOND TO ALL THE GRACES GOD GIVES US. HOW DO WE KNOW WE ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK? WE NEED SOME SORT OF PLAN TO FOLLOW, JUST LIKE WE DO WITH EVERYTHING ELSE WE TRY TO ACCOMPLISH. THAT PLAN, OF COURSE, IS THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF JESUS CHRIST. AND WE FIND THAT BEST REFLECTED IN THE CHURCH. OUR ANCESTORS IN THE FAITH KNEW THIS. ST. FRANCIS AND MANY OTHER SAINTS SET OUT CONSCIOUSLY TO IMITATE THE LIFE OF JESUS, AND MEMBERS OF RELIGIOUS ORDERS TRY TO LIVE THEIR LIVES IN SOME SENSE TO REFLECT THEIR FOUNDER AND HIS OR HER SPECIAL GIFTS, BECAUSE THE FOUNDER WAS AN IMITATOR OF CHRIST.
BUT THE OTHER TWO PARABLES TELL US THAT SECOND ONLY TO THIS TASK IS THE TASK OF TRANSFORMING THE WORLD. THE PARABLE OF THE YEAST TELLS US THAT THIS TRANSFORMATION ISN'T ABOUT NUMBERS, ABOUT FORCE; IT IS THAT WITH GOD'S POWER, WE CHRISTIANS CAN ACCOMPLISH ENORMOUS AMOUNTS JUST BY BEING CHRISTIANS IN SOCIETY. IF YOU'VE EVER MADE BREAD, YOU KNOW HOW YEAST CAN TRANSFORM FLOUR, OIL AND WATER INTO SOMETHING THAT IS ALMOST A LIVING ORGANISM, AND THE YEAST BECOMES THE CATALYST THAT TURNS WHAT IS ALMOST INDIGESTIBLE INTO SOMETHING THAT TASTES AND SMELLS DELIGHTFUL.
AND IF YOU THINK YOU AREN'T UP TO THE TASK OF BECOMING WHEAT, OR BEING YEAST, THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED TELLS US THAT NO MATTER HOW UNIMPORTANT OR INCONSEQUENTIAL WE MAY FEEL ABOUT OURSELVES, GOD CAN STILL TURN US INTO SPIRITUAL GIANTS.
SO CARRY THESE THREE PARABLES WITH YOU THIS WEEK. THINK ABOUT THEM, PRAY ABOUT THEM, AND EXAMINE YOUR OWN LIVES IN THEIR REFLECTION. THAT'S THE REASON JESUS TOLD THEM TO THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOWED HIM THEN AND TELLS THEM TO THOSE WHO FOLLOW HIM NOW.
MY WIFE AND I HAVE DIFFERENT ATTITUDES ABOUT WEEDS. SHE THINKS THAT IF YOU GO OUT AND RIP THEM UP ALL SUMMER LONG, YOUR YARD WILL LOOK A LOT BETTER. SO WHEN THE WEATHER IS JUST RIGHT SHE LIKES TO GO OUT, USUALLY RECRUITING MY DAUGHTER AND EVEN ME IF I CAN'T FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO DO, AND RIP UP WEEDS. SHE FEELS VERY VIRTUOUS DOING THIS.
I ON THE OTHER HAND THINK THAT WHEN YOU HAVE A LAWN FULL OF WEEDS AND YOU MOW IT, IT LOOKS ENOUGH LIKE REGULAR GRASS TO PASS, AND THE TRICK IS TO MOW IT JUST OFTEN ENOUGH SO IT DOESN'T GET TOO SHABBY. AND IF YOU HAVE BUSHES WITH WEEDS GROWING IN THEM, A HEDGE TRIMMER SHOULD TAKE CARE OF THE PROBLEM. ONCE IN A WHILE YOU HAVE TO REMOVE THE TOP OF A WEED, BUT THAT'S EASILY DONE WITH SHEARS AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO WRESTLE WITH THE ROOT. BECAUSE IN MY EXPERIENCE YOU CAN PULL UP ALL THE ROOTS YOU WANT, AND THE WEEDS WILL KEEP COMING BACK.
SO I AM ON THE SIDE OF THE HOUSEHOLDER. LET THE WEEDS AND WHEAT GROW TOGETHER UNTIL THE VERY LAST MINUTE, THEN SEPARATE THEM.
WHEN JESUS TOLD THE PARABLE OF THE WEEDS, HIS HEARERS HAD A SPECIFIC IMAGE IN MIND. FIRST OF ALL, ENEMIES DID DO THIS SORT OF THING. THEY WOULD SEW A SPECIFIC WEED, CALLED DARNEL, WHICH WAS REALLY HARD TO TELL FROM WHEAT UNTIL IT MATURED. IT EVEN BORE SEEDS, WHICH MADE PEOPLE SICK OF SOME OF IT GOT MILLED ALONG WITH THE WHEAT. AND THE DARNEL HAD A STRONGER ROOT SYSTEM THAN WHEAT, SO IF YOU PULLED IT UP, YOU WOULD MOST LIKELY PULL UP THE WHEAT PLANT GROWING NEXT TO IT. IF YOU WERE IMPATIENT, YOU COULD GET OUT THERE AND WORK AT IT, ONE WEED AT A TIME, AND AS YOU COLLECTED THE WEEDS, YOU WOULD PROBABLY FEEL VIRTUOUS; OR YOU COULD WAIT UNTIL THE DIFFERENCE WAS OBVIOUS, HARVEST IT ALL, AND THEN SEPARATE THE DARNEL FROM THE WHEAT IN A MUCH EASIER EFFORT.
SO ONE LESSON, PERHAPS, IS THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE PATIENCE. THERE ARE THOSE WHO WANT TO WEED, THEY ARE HAPPIEST WHEN SEPARATING THE GOOD FROM THE BAD, FIGURATIVELY OR LITERALLY. MAYBE IT IS IN CONVERSATION, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT “US” AND “THEM”. MAYBE IT IS IN ACTION, WHEN WE CLOSE THE DOORS OF FRIENDSHIP TO THOSE WHO WE SEE AS MORALLY QUESTIONABLE. MAYBE IT IS JUST IN OUR MINDS, WHEN WE JUDGE. BUT JESUS TELLS US THAT DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN THOSE WHO ARE GOOD AND THOSE WHO ARE EVIL IS A JOB FOR THE FATHER AND HIS ANGELS, NOT FOR US; AND IT WILL NOT TAKE PLACE UNTIL ALL THE EVIDENCE IS IN, AT THE END OF TIME.
AND ANOTHER LESSON, PERHAPS, IS THAT THERE IS A GODLY PURPOSE IN HAVING THE GOOD AND THE EVIL GROWING TOGETHER. WE KNOW THAT WHEN YOU PLANT DIFFERENT SPECIES IN THE SAME GARDEN, THERE IS COMPETION FOR LIGHT AND WATER, AND WHILE SOME PLANTS DIE, THOSE THAT REMAIN ARE STRONGER. THE GOOD ARE MADE BETTER BY GROWING ALONGSIDE THE EVIL ONES, ALTHOUGH THERE ARE DANGERS, THERE ARE TEMPATIONS, AND WE NEED GOD'S GRACE TO AVOID LOSING GROUND. BUT THE EVIL ONES ARE INFLUENCED BY THE GOOD AS WELL, AND BECAUSE EVIL AND GOOD GROW TOGETHER, THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF REDEMPTION FOR THE WEEDS, THE CHANCE TO BECOME WHEAT AND BE PART OF THE HARVEST.
AND A THIRD LESSON MAY BE THAT ALTHOUGH YOU AND I BELIEVE WE ARE WHEAT, AND WILL SOME DAY BE GATHERED INTO THE HARVEST OF OUR LORD, WE MAY NOT BE. WE MAY TURN OUT TO BE WEEDS. YOU CAN'T REALLY TELL THE DIFFERENCE UNTIL THE PLANT HAS MATURED AND BORN FRUIT. THE FRUIT MAY BE A HEAD OF WHEAT, WHICH CAN BE GROUND INTO FLOUR AND MADE INTO BREAD, OR IT MAY BE A HEAD OF DARNEL, WHICH CAN MAKE PEOPLE SICK. IN A REAL GARDEN, THE WEED AND THE WHEAT HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO GROW UP TO BE WHAT THEY ARE DESTINED TO BE. IN THE GARDEN OF OUR LORD, THERE ARE CHOICES TO BE MADE WHILE HE ALLOWS THE WHEAT AND WEEDS TO GROW ALONGSIDE OF EACH OTHER.
WE MUST CONTINUALLY TRANSFORM OURSELVES, WHICH IS ANOTHER WAY OF SAYING WE MUST CONTINUALLY REPENT, REPOSITION OURSELVES, CHANGE DIRECTION WHEN NEED BE, SO THAT WE CAN RECEIVE AND RESPOND TO ALL THE GRACES GOD GIVES US. HOW DO WE KNOW WE ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK? WE NEED SOME SORT OF PLAN TO FOLLOW, JUST LIKE WE DO WITH EVERYTHING ELSE WE TRY TO ACCOMPLISH. THAT PLAN, OF COURSE, IS THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF JESUS CHRIST. AND WE FIND THAT BEST REFLECTED IN THE CHURCH. OUR ANCESTORS IN THE FAITH KNEW THIS. ST. FRANCIS AND MANY OTHER SAINTS SET OUT CONSCIOUSLY TO IMITATE THE LIFE OF JESUS, AND MEMBERS OF RELIGIOUS ORDERS TRY TO LIVE THEIR LIVES IN SOME SENSE TO REFLECT THEIR FOUNDER AND HIS OR HER SPECIAL GIFTS, BECAUSE THE FOUNDER WAS AN IMITATOR OF CHRIST.
BUT THE OTHER TWO PARABLES TELL US THAT SECOND ONLY TO THIS TASK IS THE TASK OF TRANSFORMING THE WORLD. THE PARABLE OF THE YEAST TELLS US THAT THIS TRANSFORMATION ISN'T ABOUT NUMBERS, ABOUT FORCE; IT IS THAT WITH GOD'S POWER, WE CHRISTIANS CAN ACCOMPLISH ENORMOUS AMOUNTS JUST BY BEING CHRISTIANS IN SOCIETY. IF YOU'VE EVER MADE BREAD, YOU KNOW HOW YEAST CAN TRANSFORM FLOUR, OIL AND WATER INTO SOMETHING THAT IS ALMOST A LIVING ORGANISM, AND THE YEAST BECOMES THE CATALYST THAT TURNS WHAT IS ALMOST INDIGESTIBLE INTO SOMETHING THAT TASTES AND SMELLS DELIGHTFUL.
AND IF YOU THINK YOU AREN'T UP TO THE TASK OF BECOMING WHEAT, OR BEING YEAST, THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED TELLS US THAT NO MATTER HOW UNIMPORTANT OR INCONSEQUENTIAL WE MAY FEEL ABOUT OURSELVES, GOD CAN STILL TURN US INTO SPIRITUAL GIANTS.
SO CARRY THESE THREE PARABLES WITH YOU THIS WEEK. THINK ABOUT THEM, PRAY ABOUT THEM, AND EXAMINE YOUR OWN LIVES IN THEIR REFLECTION. THAT'S THE REASON JESUS TOLD THEM TO THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOWED HIM THEN AND TELLS THEM TO THOSE WHO FOLLOW HIM NOW.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A
MATTHEW 13:1-23
JESUS TOLD PARABLES FOR A REASON. EVERY PARABLE IS THE ANSWER TO A QUESTION, BUT ALWAYS A QUESTION THAT DOES NOT HAVE A SATISFYING ANSWER – KIND OF LIKE LIFE IN GENERAL. A LAWYER ASKS, “WHO IS OUR NEIGHBOR?” AND JESUS TELLS THE STORY OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THERE IS NO GOOD ANSWER TO THE QUESTION – DO WE SAY “EVERYONE IS OUR NEIGHBOR?” WELL, THAT IS CLEARLY NOT THE CASE – A NICE SENTIMENT, PERHAPS. DO WE SAY, “PEOPLE WHO ARE LIKE ME ARE MY NEIGHBOR?” IN A SENSE, YES, BECAUSE WE HAVE A TENDENCY TO BE MORE OPEN TO THOSE WHO ARE LIKE US, TO BE MORE LIKELY TO HELP THEM OUT, TO ASSOCIATE WITH THEM. BUT THE PARABLE ANSWERS THE QUESTION BY TELLING US NOT WHO IS OUR NEIGHBOR, BUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE NEIGHBOR. AND THEN IT IS UP TO US TO DECIDE. AND EVERY PARABLE IS LIKE THIS; FIND THE QUESTION; GO THROUGH THE ANSWERS AND SEE THAT NONE OF THEM REALLY ANSWER THE QUESTION; AND THEN GO BACK TO THE PARABLE.
SO WHAT IS THE QUESTION IN THIS WELL KNOWN PARABLE ABOUT THE SEWER AND THE SEED? WELL, IT HELPS TO READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER. IN IT, JESUS HAS BEEN DRIVING OUT DEMONS, WORKING MIRACLES, AND ALL THE WHILE TALKING ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD. THEN SOME PHARISEES AND LAWYERS COME UP TO HIM AND SAY, “TEACHER, WE WANT YOU TO DO A MIRACLE FOR US.” AND SHORTLY AFTERWARDS, WHILE JESUS IS RESPONDING TO THAT, SOMEONE TELLS HIM THAT HIS MOTHER AND BROTHERS ARE OUTSIDE AND WANT TO TALK TO HIM. ALL OF THIS IS TAKING PLACE IN THE MIDDLE OF A HUGE CROWD WHO HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING HIM AND WATCHING HIM. AND THAT IS WHEN JESUS TURNS TO THEM AND TELLS THEM THE PARABLE OF THE SEWER AND THE SEED. FOR THE CROWD FOLLOWING JESUS, HE IS KIND OF A ROCK STAR; MANY ARE ENJOYING THE SHOW, THE ARGUMENTS WITH THE PHARISEES, THE MIRACLES, THE PREACHING – IN AN AGE WITHOUT TELEVISION, A MARVELOUS WAY TO ENTERTAIN YOURSELF; AND MANY SEE THEMSELVES AS JESUS' FAN CLUB; AS THEY FOLLOW HIM ALONG THEY REINFORCE EACH OTHER, AND FEEL MORE ALIVE, MORE PURPOSEFUL. AND SOME, LIKE THE PHARISEES, WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT HE CAN DO AND HOW HE CAN DO IT AND MAYBE FIGURE OUT A WAY TO USE HIS POWER FOR THEMSELVES. “WORK A MIRACLE FOR US!” AND SOME LIKE HIS MOTHER AND BROTHERS, ASSUME THAT BECAUSE THEY ARE RELATED, THEY SHOULD AUTOMATICALLY HAVE ACCESS TO HIM, OVER AND ABOVE ALL THE OTHERS. IT IS PROBABLY SAFE TO SAY THAT NEARLY EVERYONE WHO IS LISTENING TO JESUS IS ASKING, “WHAT CAN HE DO FOR ME?”
AND THE ANSWER IS THE PARABLE OF THE SEWER AND THE SEED.
JESUS INTERPRETS HIS OWN PARABLE FOR THE APOSTLES WHO ASK. BUT THAT IS JUST THE FIRST LEVEL OF INTERPRETATION. IS JESUS TELLING US THAT THERE ARE FOUR KINDS OF PEOPLE, THE ONES WHO HEAR THE WORD AND NOTHING HAPPENS, THE ONES WHO EMBRACE IT ENTHUSIASTICALLY, BUT SOON GO ON TO ANOTHER ENTHUSIASM; THE ONES WHO GROW LIKE CRAZY BUT SOON GET BOGGED DOWN WITH OTHER THINGS; AND THE ONES WHO BEAR FRUIT? IF THAT IS WHAT HE MEANS, ITS KIND OF SAD, BECAUSE IT IMPLIES THAT THERE ISN'T ANYTHING I CAN DO TO CHANGE WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN; IT IMPLIES PREDESTINATION.
BUT WHEN WE THINK OF THE QUESTION, “WHAT CAN JESUS DO FOR ME?”, ANOTHER SORT OF ANSWER SPRINGS TO MIND. JESUS IS SAYING THAT HE'S ALREADY DONE HIS PART – AFTER ALL, IF YOU WERE A FARMER, YOU WOULD NOT THROW YOUR SEED ON ROCKY GROUND, OR ON A ROAD TO BE TRAMPLED UPON, OR INTO A THORN BUSH. THAT WASTED SEED COULD HAVE BEEN MADE INTO BREAD, OR USED TO SEED ANOTHER FIELD. BUT IF JESUS IS THE FARMER, HE CASTS THE SEED ON EVEN THE MOST UNPROMISING SOIL, PRECISELY BECAUSE SOMETHING CAN HAPPEN, THE SEED NEEDN'T COME TO NOTHING. BECAUSE YOU AND I ARE NOT REALLY THE GROUND, BUT WE ARE THE GARDENERS; AND IF OUR SHARE OF THE SEED IS NOT BEARING FRUIT, THEN WE ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT; WE NEED TO MOVE OUR GARDEN TO A BETTER SPOT, WE NEED TO CULTIVATE AND NOURISH THE SOIL AND TEAR OUT THE WEEDS SO THAT THE SEED CAN GROW AND BEAR FRUIT.
ALL OF US CAN RECOGNIZE TIMES WHEN THE WORD OF GOD HAS GONE IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER; WHEN THE WORD OF GOD MADE ME RESOLVE TO CHANGE, AND I WENT OUT AND SAID A ROSARY, OR MAYBE WENT TO THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MANY YEARS. BUT A FEW DAYS GO BY, AND NOTHING REALLY HAS CHANGED. AND I'VE BEEN THERE WHEN THE WORD OF GOD SEEMED TO TAKE ROOT AND FOR A WHILE IT SEEMED AS THOUGH I COULD PRACTICALLY FEEL JESUS WALKING WITH ME – UNTIL THE STOCK MARKET STARTED TO FALL APART, OR I GOT SICK, OR SOMETHING NEW DEMANDED MY ATTENTION, AND I DRIFTED AWAY; AND I'VE HAD SOME TIMES IN MY LIFE WHERE I THINK THE WORD OF GOD THAT I HEARD REALLY DID BEAR FRUIT, WHERE MY GARDEN WAS IN SHAPE TO MAKE THE SEED YIELD MORE THAN I WOULD HAVE EVER EXPECTED IT TO.
THE SEWER ALWAYS SEWS THE SEED. MY JOB IS TO PREPARE THE GARDEN. AND I HAVE TO PREPARE THE SAME WAY THE SAINTS PREPARED; I ASK MYSELF EVERY EVENING WHETHER I'VE DONE WHAT GOD WANTED THAT DAY, OR WHAT I WANTED. I RESOLVE EVERY MORNING TO TRY TO LISTEN MORE CLOSELY TO GOD THAT DAY. AND I PRAY, AND PRAY, AND PRAY, ASKING FOR GUIDANCE, ASKING FOR STRENGTH. AND WHEN I FALL, I GET UP AGAIN. AND IF I DON'T KNOW A LITTLE ABOUT THE BIBLE, AND IF I DON'T KNOW WHAT MY CHURCH TEACHES AND WHY, AND IF I DON'T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SACRAMENTS OF PENANCE AND THE HOLY EUCHARIST, I'M CERTAINLY CONDEMNING MY GARDEN TO THORNS AND ROCKS AND RAIDING BIRDS AND TRAMPLING FEET.
AND AS JESUS LOOKED AT THE CROWDS, THOSE HAPPY, SUPPORTIVE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOWED HIM EVERYWHERE, HE SAW THAT ONLY A FEW WOULD GO TO THE TROUBLE TO CREATE A GARDEN IN WHICH HIS SEEDS COULD SPROUT AND GROW AND BEAR GREAT FRUIT. AND HE LOOKS AT US THIS WAY AS WELL.
SO TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR GARDEN; CAN YOU HONESTLY SAY THAT IT IS A WELCOME PLACE FOR THE WORD OF GOD TO TAKE ROOT, TO GROW, TO FLOWER, AND TO BEAR GREAT FRUIT? AND REMEMBER, IF IT IS NOT, YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
JESUS TOLD PARABLES FOR A REASON. EVERY PARABLE IS THE ANSWER TO A QUESTION, BUT ALWAYS A QUESTION THAT DOES NOT HAVE A SATISFYING ANSWER – KIND OF LIKE LIFE IN GENERAL. A LAWYER ASKS, “WHO IS OUR NEIGHBOR?” AND JESUS TELLS THE STORY OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THERE IS NO GOOD ANSWER TO THE QUESTION – DO WE SAY “EVERYONE IS OUR NEIGHBOR?” WELL, THAT IS CLEARLY NOT THE CASE – A NICE SENTIMENT, PERHAPS. DO WE SAY, “PEOPLE WHO ARE LIKE ME ARE MY NEIGHBOR?” IN A SENSE, YES, BECAUSE WE HAVE A TENDENCY TO BE MORE OPEN TO THOSE WHO ARE LIKE US, TO BE MORE LIKELY TO HELP THEM OUT, TO ASSOCIATE WITH THEM. BUT THE PARABLE ANSWERS THE QUESTION BY TELLING US NOT WHO IS OUR NEIGHBOR, BUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE NEIGHBOR. AND THEN IT IS UP TO US TO DECIDE. AND EVERY PARABLE IS LIKE THIS; FIND THE QUESTION; GO THROUGH THE ANSWERS AND SEE THAT NONE OF THEM REALLY ANSWER THE QUESTION; AND THEN GO BACK TO THE PARABLE.
SO WHAT IS THE QUESTION IN THIS WELL KNOWN PARABLE ABOUT THE SEWER AND THE SEED? WELL, IT HELPS TO READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER. IN IT, JESUS HAS BEEN DRIVING OUT DEMONS, WORKING MIRACLES, AND ALL THE WHILE TALKING ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD. THEN SOME PHARISEES AND LAWYERS COME UP TO HIM AND SAY, “TEACHER, WE WANT YOU TO DO A MIRACLE FOR US.” AND SHORTLY AFTERWARDS, WHILE JESUS IS RESPONDING TO THAT, SOMEONE TELLS HIM THAT HIS MOTHER AND BROTHERS ARE OUTSIDE AND WANT TO TALK TO HIM. ALL OF THIS IS TAKING PLACE IN THE MIDDLE OF A HUGE CROWD WHO HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING HIM AND WATCHING HIM. AND THAT IS WHEN JESUS TURNS TO THEM AND TELLS THEM THE PARABLE OF THE SEWER AND THE SEED. FOR THE CROWD FOLLOWING JESUS, HE IS KIND OF A ROCK STAR; MANY ARE ENJOYING THE SHOW, THE ARGUMENTS WITH THE PHARISEES, THE MIRACLES, THE PREACHING – IN AN AGE WITHOUT TELEVISION, A MARVELOUS WAY TO ENTERTAIN YOURSELF; AND MANY SEE THEMSELVES AS JESUS' FAN CLUB; AS THEY FOLLOW HIM ALONG THEY REINFORCE EACH OTHER, AND FEEL MORE ALIVE, MORE PURPOSEFUL. AND SOME, LIKE THE PHARISEES, WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT HE CAN DO AND HOW HE CAN DO IT AND MAYBE FIGURE OUT A WAY TO USE HIS POWER FOR THEMSELVES. “WORK A MIRACLE FOR US!” AND SOME LIKE HIS MOTHER AND BROTHERS, ASSUME THAT BECAUSE THEY ARE RELATED, THEY SHOULD AUTOMATICALLY HAVE ACCESS TO HIM, OVER AND ABOVE ALL THE OTHERS. IT IS PROBABLY SAFE TO SAY THAT NEARLY EVERYONE WHO IS LISTENING TO JESUS IS ASKING, “WHAT CAN HE DO FOR ME?”
AND THE ANSWER IS THE PARABLE OF THE SEWER AND THE SEED.
JESUS INTERPRETS HIS OWN PARABLE FOR THE APOSTLES WHO ASK. BUT THAT IS JUST THE FIRST LEVEL OF INTERPRETATION. IS JESUS TELLING US THAT THERE ARE FOUR KINDS OF PEOPLE, THE ONES WHO HEAR THE WORD AND NOTHING HAPPENS, THE ONES WHO EMBRACE IT ENTHUSIASTICALLY, BUT SOON GO ON TO ANOTHER ENTHUSIASM; THE ONES WHO GROW LIKE CRAZY BUT SOON GET BOGGED DOWN WITH OTHER THINGS; AND THE ONES WHO BEAR FRUIT? IF THAT IS WHAT HE MEANS, ITS KIND OF SAD, BECAUSE IT IMPLIES THAT THERE ISN'T ANYTHING I CAN DO TO CHANGE WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN; IT IMPLIES PREDESTINATION.
BUT WHEN WE THINK OF THE QUESTION, “WHAT CAN JESUS DO FOR ME?”, ANOTHER SORT OF ANSWER SPRINGS TO MIND. JESUS IS SAYING THAT HE'S ALREADY DONE HIS PART – AFTER ALL, IF YOU WERE A FARMER, YOU WOULD NOT THROW YOUR SEED ON ROCKY GROUND, OR ON A ROAD TO BE TRAMPLED UPON, OR INTO A THORN BUSH. THAT WASTED SEED COULD HAVE BEEN MADE INTO BREAD, OR USED TO SEED ANOTHER FIELD. BUT IF JESUS IS THE FARMER, HE CASTS THE SEED ON EVEN THE MOST UNPROMISING SOIL, PRECISELY BECAUSE SOMETHING CAN HAPPEN, THE SEED NEEDN'T COME TO NOTHING. BECAUSE YOU AND I ARE NOT REALLY THE GROUND, BUT WE ARE THE GARDENERS; AND IF OUR SHARE OF THE SEED IS NOT BEARING FRUIT, THEN WE ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT; WE NEED TO MOVE OUR GARDEN TO A BETTER SPOT, WE NEED TO CULTIVATE AND NOURISH THE SOIL AND TEAR OUT THE WEEDS SO THAT THE SEED CAN GROW AND BEAR FRUIT.
ALL OF US CAN RECOGNIZE TIMES WHEN THE WORD OF GOD HAS GONE IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER; WHEN THE WORD OF GOD MADE ME RESOLVE TO CHANGE, AND I WENT OUT AND SAID A ROSARY, OR MAYBE WENT TO THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MANY YEARS. BUT A FEW DAYS GO BY, AND NOTHING REALLY HAS CHANGED. AND I'VE BEEN THERE WHEN THE WORD OF GOD SEEMED TO TAKE ROOT AND FOR A WHILE IT SEEMED AS THOUGH I COULD PRACTICALLY FEEL JESUS WALKING WITH ME – UNTIL THE STOCK MARKET STARTED TO FALL APART, OR I GOT SICK, OR SOMETHING NEW DEMANDED MY ATTENTION, AND I DRIFTED AWAY; AND I'VE HAD SOME TIMES IN MY LIFE WHERE I THINK THE WORD OF GOD THAT I HEARD REALLY DID BEAR FRUIT, WHERE MY GARDEN WAS IN SHAPE TO MAKE THE SEED YIELD MORE THAN I WOULD HAVE EVER EXPECTED IT TO.
THE SEWER ALWAYS SEWS THE SEED. MY JOB IS TO PREPARE THE GARDEN. AND I HAVE TO PREPARE THE SAME WAY THE SAINTS PREPARED; I ASK MYSELF EVERY EVENING WHETHER I'VE DONE WHAT GOD WANTED THAT DAY, OR WHAT I WANTED. I RESOLVE EVERY MORNING TO TRY TO LISTEN MORE CLOSELY TO GOD THAT DAY. AND I PRAY, AND PRAY, AND PRAY, ASKING FOR GUIDANCE, ASKING FOR STRENGTH. AND WHEN I FALL, I GET UP AGAIN. AND IF I DON'T KNOW A LITTLE ABOUT THE BIBLE, AND IF I DON'T KNOW WHAT MY CHURCH TEACHES AND WHY, AND IF I DON'T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SACRAMENTS OF PENANCE AND THE HOLY EUCHARIST, I'M CERTAINLY CONDEMNING MY GARDEN TO THORNS AND ROCKS AND RAIDING BIRDS AND TRAMPLING FEET.
AND AS JESUS LOOKED AT THE CROWDS, THOSE HAPPY, SUPPORTIVE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOWED HIM EVERYWHERE, HE SAW THAT ONLY A FEW WOULD GO TO THE TROUBLE TO CREATE A GARDEN IN WHICH HIS SEEDS COULD SPROUT AND GROW AND BEAR GREAT FRUIT. AND HE LOOKS AT US THIS WAY AS WELL.
SO TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR GARDEN; CAN YOU HONESTLY SAY THAT IT IS A WELCOME PLACE FOR THE WORD OF GOD TO TAKE ROOT, TO GROW, TO FLOWER, AND TO BEAR GREAT FRUIT? AND REMEMBER, IF IT IS NOT, YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.
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