JOHN 10:27-30
TODAY WE HEAR A VERY SHORT GOSPEL, BUT ITS MESSAGE IS SO IMPORTANT. LOOK AT THOSE PROMISES! IF YOU ARE ONE OF HIS SHEEP, HE WILL GIVE YOU ETERNAL LIFE. IF YOU ARE ONE OF HIS SHEEP, NO ONE CAN TAKE YOU OUT OF HIS HAND. IF YOU ARE ONE OF HIS SHEEP, NO ONE CAN TAKE YOU OUT OF THE FATHER'S HAND. SO IT BECOMES A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH FOR YOU AND I TO KNOW WHETHER WE ARE HIS SHEEP, RIGHT?
JESUS GIVES US A CLUE; HIS SHEEP HEAR HIS VOICE.
JESUS WAS THINKING ABOUT SOMETHING HE MUST HAVE WITNESSED MANY TIMES WHEN HE WAS OUT WALKING IN THE COUNTRYSIDE. EVERY SHEPHERD HAD A FEW SHEEP. EVERY DAY THE SHEPHERD WOULD TAKE HIS SHEEP OUT LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO GRAZE. AT NIGHT, IN ORDER TO MAKE SURE THE SHEEP WERE SAFE AND THE SHEPHERD COULD GET SOME SLEEP, EACH SHEPHERD WOULD MEET UP WITH SEVERAL OTHERS, AND THEY WOULD PUT ALL THEIR SHEEP IN A PLACE WHERE THEY COULDN'T GET TOO FAR, AND ONE OF THEM WOULD SIT GUARD FOR A WHILE, THEN WAKE UP ANOTHER, AND SO ON, THROUGH THE NIGHT. IN THE MORNING EACH SHEPHERD WOULD CALL HIS SHEEP, AND THEY WOULD COME OUT AND FOLLOW HIM OFF TO NEW FEEDING GROUNDS. IT WAS FLAWLESS; THE SHEEP SORTED THEMSELVES OUT BECAUSE THEY RECOGNIZED THEIR SHEPHERD.
NOW WHEN A NEWBORN LAMB JOINED THE FLOCK, THERE WAS ONLY ONE VOICE HE HEARD – HIS MOTHER'S. LAMBS WOULD WANDER OFF FROM THE FLOCK AND ONLY THE MOTHER COULD CALL THEM BACK. SO HOW DID A LAMB LEARN TO HEAR THE SHEPHERD'S VOICE? AS THEY GOT OLDER, THEY LEARNED FROM THE OTHER SHEEP, THAT THE SHEPHERD WAS DEPENDABLE, LED THEM TO FOOD AND WATER, SAW TO IT THAT THEIR INJURIES WERE PATCHED UP, WATCHED OVER THEM WHILE THEY GRAZED, OCCASIONALLY FOUGHT OFF WILD DOGS AND SOMETIMES HUMANS. EVEN FOR A DUMB SHEEP, IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT IT WAS A LOT BETTER TO FOLLOW THE SHEPHERD THAN TO GO OFF ON YOUR OWN.
AND THAT BRINGS US TO HUMAN BEINGS. MOST OF US ARE STILL LAMBS, AT LEAST WE AREN'T FULL GROWN SHEEP. AND THERE ARE MANY VOICES OUT THERE. WE HEAR PLENTY OF VOICES. HOW CAN WE TELL THE VOICE OF OUR SHEPHERD? REMEMBER, THIS IS A LIFE AND DEATH SITUATION. IF A LAMB DOESN'T LEARN IT'S SHEPHERD'S VOICE, IT WILL DIE. IT WILL HEAR THE VOICE OF A BIRD IN THE FOREST AND FOLLOW THAT – RIGHT TO A WOLF. SO MAYBE OUR BEST BET IF WE WANT TO LEARN TO HEAR THE VOICE OF OUR SHEPHERD IS TO LOOK HARD AND FIND PEOPLE WHO DO HEAR HIS VOICE.
HUMAN BEINGS HAVE AN INNER SENSE THAT WE WERE GIVEN BY GOD. WE CAN TELL WHEN SOMEONE IS HOLY. WE KNOW THIS ON AN ALMOST INSTINCTUAL LEVEL. IN THE MIDDLE AGES, PEOPLE COMPARED THIS SENSE TO THE SENSE OF SMELL – THEY CALLED IT “THE ODOR OF SANCTITY”. BUT LIKE ANY SENSE WE DON'T USE MUCH, WE HAVE TO TRAIN IT A BIT. WE NEED TO ASSOCIATE WITH OTHER PEOPLE WHO ARE SEARCHING FOR THE VOICE, SOME WHO HEAR IT A LITTLE BIT, SOME A LITTLE MORE. FINDING OUR SHEPHERD'S VOICE IS NOT SOMETHING WE CAN DO ALONE. WE HAVE TO HELP EACH OTHER, AND WE HAVE TO LET OURSELVES BE HELPED.
IF YOUR RELIGIOUS LIFE IS CONFINED TO 45 MINUTES ON THE WEEKEND; IF YOU ARE ONE OF THOSE CHRISTIANS WHO DOESN'T REALLY LIKE TO HANG OUT WITH OTHER CHRISTIANS, IF YOU CAN'T IDENTIFY SOMEONE WHO IS A POTENTIAL ROLE MODEL, AN EXAMPLE FOR YOU TO FOLLOW, YOU MIGHT RISK NEVER HEARING HIS VOICE, AND BEING LOST.
BECOMING ONE OF HIS SHEEP, BECOMING A MATURE CHRISTIAN, REQUIRES WORK. THE WORK IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN THINK OF DOING. IT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOUR JOB, YOUR KIDS, YOUR SPOUSE. THAT DOESN'T MEAN YOU NEGLECT THESE OTHER IMPORTANT PARTS OF YOUR LIFE, BUT YOU BETTER MAKE TIME FOR BECOMING A SHEEP. YOU BETTER HAVE A PLAN.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE SOME REGULAR INTERACTION WITH OTHERS WHO ARE SEARCHING FOR THE VOICE, FIND AN OPPORTUNITY OR MAKE ONE. IN SOME PARISHES, AND IN SOME PROTESTANT CHURCHES, PEOPLE FORM BASE COMMUNITIES – A FEW FAMILIES WHO MEET REGULARLY FOR BIBLE STUDY, CONVERSATION ABOUT WHERE THEY ARE IN THEIR PURSUIT OF HOLINESS, OPPORTUNITIES TO BOUNCE IDEAS OFF OF EACH OTHER. IF YOU FEEL CALLED TO FORM SUCH A COMMUNITY, GET IN TOUCH WITH SOMEONE ON THE PARISH STAFF AND WE'LL HELP – I'LL HELP. IF YOU FEEL A NEED FOR SPIRITUAL DIRECTION, OR WANT TO TRY IT OUT, CALL ONE OF US AND WE'LL FIND YOU A SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR. A SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR IS NOT SOMEONE WHO IS HOLIER THAN YOU, IT'S SOMEONE WHO CAN HELP YOU SEE WHERE YOU ARE ON YOUR JOURNEY TO CHRIST, AND HELP YOU SEE WHERE YOU SHOULD GO NEXT.
THEN THERE ARE GROUPS WHO DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO A RULE OF LIFE – THIRD ORDER GROUPS, LIKE THIRD ORDER FRANCISCANS, OR DOMINICANS, OR CARMELITES. AND THERE ARE CHARISMATIC GROUPS. I HOPE BY NEXT SUNDAY YOU WILL HAVE LOOKED AT YOUR LIFE AND MADE A DECISION ABOUT PUTTING MORE EFFORT INTO HEARING YOUR SHEPHERD'S VOICE.
THERE IS A STORY ABOUT A PAIR OF OLD COWBOYS SITTING BY A DYING CAMPFIRE; THERE WERE JUST A FEW RED COALS SCATTERED AROUND. ONE OF THE COWBOYS SAID, “I DON'T NEED OTHER PEOPLE TO FIND GOD. I JUST GO OFF BY MYSELF AND PRAY.” THE OTHER COWBOY GOT TO HIS FEET AND SLOWLY KICKED THE GLOWING COALS TOGETHER. TN A FEW MOMENTS THEY BURST INTO FLAME.
IN THE WEEK AFTER EASTER WE HEAR THAT WONDERFUL GOSPEL ABOUT THE TWO DISCIPLES GOING TO EMMAUS. JESUS JOINS THEM, AND THEY CONVERSE WITH EACH OTHER. IT IS TRUE THAT JESUS TEACHES, BUT IT IS BACK AND FORTH, QUESTIONS, ANSWERS, COMMENTS, OBSERVATIONS; AND THE DISCIPLES GET LOST IN THE CONVERSATION AND BEFORE THEY KNOW IT THEY ARE HOME, AND SITTING DOWN TO SUPPER. AFTER JESUS LEAVES THEM, THEY TURN TO EACH OTHER AND SAY, “WERE NOT OUR HEARTS BURNING WITHIN US?” HEARTS BURNING! THAT IS WHAT WE WANT, THAT IS OUR GOAL, THAT IS A SIGN THAT OUR SHEPHERD'S VOICE IS REACHING US. IT DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN, IT REQUIRES OTHER CHRISTIANS, BECAUSE WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER IN HIS NAME, THERE JESUS IS.
IF WE WANT TO RECEIVE THE PROMISES OF JESUS, WE HAVE TO BE HIS SHEEP, AND TO BE HIS SHEEP, WE HAVE TO HEAR HIS VOICE. AND TO HEAR HIS VOICE, WE HAVE TO LEARN FROM OTHERS ON THE WAY. THERE ISN'T ANY OTHER WAY. THERE ISN'T ANYTHING MORE IMPORTANT.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Third Sunday of Easter, cycle C
JOHN 21:1-19
MANY YEARS AGO I CARED FOR A YOUNG WOMAN WITH ACUTE LEUKEMIA. SHE HAD THE KIND THAT IN THOSE DAYS COULD BE CURED SOMETIMES, AND AFTER SHE HAD RECEIVED TWO YEARS OF CHEMOTHERAPY, SHE WAS GOING STRONG, IN REMISSION, AND THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE. ANOTHER YEAR WENT BY AND THINGS LOOKED GOOD, AND SHE GOT MARRIED. TWO YEARS LATER, SHE WAS PREGNANT, AND SHE AND HER HUSBAND WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO THEIR FIRST CHILD. AND THEN, ABOUT THREE MONTHS INTO THE PREGNANCY, THE LEUKEMIA RETURNED. DID I MENTION THAT SHE WAS A PRACTICING CATHOLIC, AS WAS HER HUSBAND? THEY WERE ADVISED BY THEIR PASTOR THAT SINCE CARRYING THE CHILD TO TERM WOULD PUT HER LIFE IN GRAVE DANGER AND MAYBE EVEN CAUSE HER DEATH, A THERAPEUTIC ABORTION WOULD BE PERMISSIBLE. IN FACT, THERE WAS A PRETTY GOOD CHANCE THAT THE CHILD WOULD NOT MAKE IT EITHER – IF SHE RECEIVED CHEMOTHERAPY, THAT WOULD PUT THE CHILD AT RISK OF VERY SERIOUS OR EVEN FATAL BIRTH DEFECTS, AND IF SHE DIDN'T SHE PROBABLY WOULDN'T LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO BRING THE CHILD TO A POINT WHERE IT COULD LIVE. AND THE COUPLE DECIDED TO PUT EVERYTHING IN GOD'S HANDS. WE TREATED HER WITH JUST ENOUGH DRUG TO KEEP THE WHITE CELL COUNT UNDER CONTROL; AND WHEN IT WAS DECIDED THAT THE CHILD COULD BE DELIVERED SAFELY, SHE WENT THROUGH A CAESARIAN SECTION. AND A BEAUTIFUL CHILD WAS BROUGHT INTO THE WORLD. I REMEMBER AS WE TRIED TO GET HER DISEASE INTO REMISSION HER HUSBAND WOULD BRING THE BABY TO HER AND HER FACE WOULD LIGHT UP AS SHE HELD HIM. BUT WE WEREN'T SUCCESSFUL. SHE DIED. I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THE HUSBAND AND THE BABY. I LOST TOUCH WITH THEM A LONG TIME AGO.
SAINT PETER WAS FISHING, DOING WHAT HE DID BEST. A LONG TIME AGO, IT SEEMED, JESUS TOOK HIM AWAY FROM HIS LIVELIHOOD AND PROMISED THAT HE WOULD BECOME A FISHER OF MEN. AND IT SEEMED AS THOUGH THE WHOLE ENTERPRISE WAS OVER, AND SINCE THEY HAD NO IDEA OF WHAT TO DO NEXT, THEY WERE SETTLING INTO THEIR OLD PREDICTABLE LIVES. AND THEN THIS JESUS RISES FROM THE DEAD AND FEEDS THEM BREAKFAST. AND HE CALLS THEM “CHILDREN”, WHICH HE HAD NEVER DONE BEFORE. AND THEN HE ASKS PETER, “DO YOU LOVE ME MORE THAN THESE?” IS HE POINTING TO THE OTHER APOSTLES? OR IS HE POINTING TO THE FISHING BOATS, THE SEA, THE NETS? I DON'T KNOW. AND WHEN PETER SAYS THAT HE DOES LOVE JESUS, HIS LIFE NO LONGER IS HIS OWN; HE IS TOLD TO FEED JESUS' LAMBS. AND TWICE MORE THIS DRAMA IS CARRIED OUT, AND PETER IS TOLD FIRST TO TEND JESUS SHEEP, AND THEN TO FEED HIS SHEEP. AND JESUS GOES ON TO TELL HIM THAT FROM NOW ON, IT WILL NOT BE LIKE BEFORE, WHEN PETER WAS HIS OWN MAN. IF HE REALLY LOVED JESUS, IF HE REALLY ACCEPTED THE COMMISSION HE WAS GIVEN, THEN HIS LIFE WOULDN'T BE HIS OWN, HE WOULD GO WHERE HE DID NOT WANT TO GO, EVEN TO CRUCIFIXION, JOHN HINTS.
THE HARDEST PART OF FOLLOWING JESUS IS THAT THE MORE WE LOVE HIM, THE MORE WE FOLLOW HIM, THE MORE WE FIND OURSELVES GOING WHERE WE DO NOT WANT TO GO. MY PATIENT CHOSE TO FOLLOW JESUS MORE PERFECTLY; SHE COULD HAVE HAD AN ABORTION AND PERHAPS THE DISEASE COULD HAVE BEEN CONTROLLED AND SHE COULD HAVE GONE THROUGH A BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT AND SHE WOULD BE HERE TODAY. SHE KNEW ALL THAT, BUT CHOSE TO RISK HER LIFE, INDEED, GIVE UP HER LIFE, SO THAT HER CHILD COULD LIVE. AND THAT IS THE STORY YOU FIND WHEN YOU EXAMINE THE LIVES OF ANY OF THE SAINTS. THERE SEEMS TO BE A RULE, THAT IF YOU REALLY LOVE JESUS, YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF GOING WHERE YOU DO NOT WANT TO GO. SOMETIMES A SAINT MAY HAVE SEEMED TO LIVE “HAPPILY EVER AFTER”, ALTHOUGH THAT'S RARE; BUT MOST OF THE TIME, IN CHOOSING JESUS, THEY EITHER LEFT BEHIND SOMETHING PRECIOUS, OR WENT INTO A FUTURE WHERE THINGS WOULD ALMOST CERTAINLY PUT THEM AT RISK. THINK OF THOMAS MORE WHO CHOSE TO DIE, RATHER THAN BETRAY HIS CHURCH AND HIS LORD. THINK OF FRANCIS, WHO CHOSE THE LIFE OF A BEGGAR, WHO ESTRANGED HIMSELF FROM HIS FAMILY, RATHER THAN BETRAY THE CALL HE HAD FROM JESUS.
IT IS POSSIBLE, OF COURSE, TO HOLD BACK. THE RICH YOUNG MAN DID, AND SO DID MANY WHO LISTENED TO JESUS AND SAW HIS MIRACLES. BUT HOLDING BACK FROM HIS INVITATION, WITHHOLDING OUR LOVE, IS NO GUARANTEE OF FUTURE HAPPINESS. IT CERTAINLY DIDN'T WORK OUT FOR JUDAS.
IF WE LET OURSELVES REALLY LOVE JESUS, WE WILL SURRENDER TO HIM, AND WILL LET HIM USE US AS HE WISHES. AND VERY OFTEN WHAT HE WISHES WILL TURN OUT TO BE DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE WISHED. AND THE MORE WE LOVE, THE MORE HE WILL ASK OF US, AND SOMETIMES THERE SEEMS TO BE NO REWARD FOR OUR LOVE. WHEN WE READ ABOUT SAINT PETER IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, OR WHEN WE HEAR PAUL'S RECOLLECTIONS OF HIS MEETINGS WITH PETER, IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE PETER'S SHEEP FEEDING WAS ANY EASIER THAN IT IS FOR OUR POPE. HE WAS ALWAYS LEARNING, ALWAYS BEING PUT TO TEST, ALWAYS BEING CONTRADICTED. BUT THAT IS PRETTY MUCH WHAT JESUS PROMISED; IF YOU REALLY LOVE, OUT OF YOUR LOVE WILL GROW THE DESIRE TO SERVE, AND AS YOU SERVE, YOU WILL RUN INTO OBSTACLES, AND YOU WILL BE LEAD WHERE YOU DO NOT WANT TO GO.
BUT THERE IS NO OTHER GAME IN TOWN. WE CAN'T SIT ON THE FENCE, WE CAN'T KEEP PUTTING OFF THAT SELF-SURRENDERING LOVE THAT JESUS ASKS OF US. THE FUTURE FOR A LOVER OF JESUS MAY BE FRIGHTENING ON THIS EARTH, IN THIS LIFE. IT MAY MEAN MARTYRDOM, OR MAYBE SLOW DEATH BY A THOUSAND LITTLE THINGS. IT WILL MEAN THAT WE ARE LEAD WHERE WE DO NOT WANT TO GO. BUT WE HAVE JESUS' ASSURANCE THAT THIS KIND OF LOVE WILL NOT GO UNREWARDED, BECAUSE THIS KIND OF LOVE IS THE LOVE THAT MAKES US LIKE JESUS HIMSELF, AND JESUS WILL BRING THOSE WHO ARE HIS THROUGH DEATH TO RESURRECTION INTO ETERNAL LIFE.
MANY YEARS AGO I CARED FOR A YOUNG WOMAN WITH ACUTE LEUKEMIA. SHE HAD THE KIND THAT IN THOSE DAYS COULD BE CURED SOMETIMES, AND AFTER SHE HAD RECEIVED TWO YEARS OF CHEMOTHERAPY, SHE WAS GOING STRONG, IN REMISSION, AND THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF DISEASE. ANOTHER YEAR WENT BY AND THINGS LOOKED GOOD, AND SHE GOT MARRIED. TWO YEARS LATER, SHE WAS PREGNANT, AND SHE AND HER HUSBAND WERE LOOKING FORWARD TO THEIR FIRST CHILD. AND THEN, ABOUT THREE MONTHS INTO THE PREGNANCY, THE LEUKEMIA RETURNED. DID I MENTION THAT SHE WAS A PRACTICING CATHOLIC, AS WAS HER HUSBAND? THEY WERE ADVISED BY THEIR PASTOR THAT SINCE CARRYING THE CHILD TO TERM WOULD PUT HER LIFE IN GRAVE DANGER AND MAYBE EVEN CAUSE HER DEATH, A THERAPEUTIC ABORTION WOULD BE PERMISSIBLE. IN FACT, THERE WAS A PRETTY GOOD CHANCE THAT THE CHILD WOULD NOT MAKE IT EITHER – IF SHE RECEIVED CHEMOTHERAPY, THAT WOULD PUT THE CHILD AT RISK OF VERY SERIOUS OR EVEN FATAL BIRTH DEFECTS, AND IF SHE DIDN'T SHE PROBABLY WOULDN'T LIVE LONG ENOUGH TO BRING THE CHILD TO A POINT WHERE IT COULD LIVE. AND THE COUPLE DECIDED TO PUT EVERYTHING IN GOD'S HANDS. WE TREATED HER WITH JUST ENOUGH DRUG TO KEEP THE WHITE CELL COUNT UNDER CONTROL; AND WHEN IT WAS DECIDED THAT THE CHILD COULD BE DELIVERED SAFELY, SHE WENT THROUGH A CAESARIAN SECTION. AND A BEAUTIFUL CHILD WAS BROUGHT INTO THE WORLD. I REMEMBER AS WE TRIED TO GET HER DISEASE INTO REMISSION HER HUSBAND WOULD BRING THE BABY TO HER AND HER FACE WOULD LIGHT UP AS SHE HELD HIM. BUT WE WEREN'T SUCCESSFUL. SHE DIED. I DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THE HUSBAND AND THE BABY. I LOST TOUCH WITH THEM A LONG TIME AGO.
SAINT PETER WAS FISHING, DOING WHAT HE DID BEST. A LONG TIME AGO, IT SEEMED, JESUS TOOK HIM AWAY FROM HIS LIVELIHOOD AND PROMISED THAT HE WOULD BECOME A FISHER OF MEN. AND IT SEEMED AS THOUGH THE WHOLE ENTERPRISE WAS OVER, AND SINCE THEY HAD NO IDEA OF WHAT TO DO NEXT, THEY WERE SETTLING INTO THEIR OLD PREDICTABLE LIVES. AND THEN THIS JESUS RISES FROM THE DEAD AND FEEDS THEM BREAKFAST. AND HE CALLS THEM “CHILDREN”, WHICH HE HAD NEVER DONE BEFORE. AND THEN HE ASKS PETER, “DO YOU LOVE ME MORE THAN THESE?” IS HE POINTING TO THE OTHER APOSTLES? OR IS HE POINTING TO THE FISHING BOATS, THE SEA, THE NETS? I DON'T KNOW. AND WHEN PETER SAYS THAT HE DOES LOVE JESUS, HIS LIFE NO LONGER IS HIS OWN; HE IS TOLD TO FEED JESUS' LAMBS. AND TWICE MORE THIS DRAMA IS CARRIED OUT, AND PETER IS TOLD FIRST TO TEND JESUS SHEEP, AND THEN TO FEED HIS SHEEP. AND JESUS GOES ON TO TELL HIM THAT FROM NOW ON, IT WILL NOT BE LIKE BEFORE, WHEN PETER WAS HIS OWN MAN. IF HE REALLY LOVED JESUS, IF HE REALLY ACCEPTED THE COMMISSION HE WAS GIVEN, THEN HIS LIFE WOULDN'T BE HIS OWN, HE WOULD GO WHERE HE DID NOT WANT TO GO, EVEN TO CRUCIFIXION, JOHN HINTS.
THE HARDEST PART OF FOLLOWING JESUS IS THAT THE MORE WE LOVE HIM, THE MORE WE FOLLOW HIM, THE MORE WE FIND OURSELVES GOING WHERE WE DO NOT WANT TO GO. MY PATIENT CHOSE TO FOLLOW JESUS MORE PERFECTLY; SHE COULD HAVE HAD AN ABORTION AND PERHAPS THE DISEASE COULD HAVE BEEN CONTROLLED AND SHE COULD HAVE GONE THROUGH A BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT AND SHE WOULD BE HERE TODAY. SHE KNEW ALL THAT, BUT CHOSE TO RISK HER LIFE, INDEED, GIVE UP HER LIFE, SO THAT HER CHILD COULD LIVE. AND THAT IS THE STORY YOU FIND WHEN YOU EXAMINE THE LIVES OF ANY OF THE SAINTS. THERE SEEMS TO BE A RULE, THAT IF YOU REALLY LOVE JESUS, YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF GOING WHERE YOU DO NOT WANT TO GO. SOMETIMES A SAINT MAY HAVE SEEMED TO LIVE “HAPPILY EVER AFTER”, ALTHOUGH THAT'S RARE; BUT MOST OF THE TIME, IN CHOOSING JESUS, THEY EITHER LEFT BEHIND SOMETHING PRECIOUS, OR WENT INTO A FUTURE WHERE THINGS WOULD ALMOST CERTAINLY PUT THEM AT RISK. THINK OF THOMAS MORE WHO CHOSE TO DIE, RATHER THAN BETRAY HIS CHURCH AND HIS LORD. THINK OF FRANCIS, WHO CHOSE THE LIFE OF A BEGGAR, WHO ESTRANGED HIMSELF FROM HIS FAMILY, RATHER THAN BETRAY THE CALL HE HAD FROM JESUS.
IT IS POSSIBLE, OF COURSE, TO HOLD BACK. THE RICH YOUNG MAN DID, AND SO DID MANY WHO LISTENED TO JESUS AND SAW HIS MIRACLES. BUT HOLDING BACK FROM HIS INVITATION, WITHHOLDING OUR LOVE, IS NO GUARANTEE OF FUTURE HAPPINESS. IT CERTAINLY DIDN'T WORK OUT FOR JUDAS.
IF WE LET OURSELVES REALLY LOVE JESUS, WE WILL SURRENDER TO HIM, AND WILL LET HIM USE US AS HE WISHES. AND VERY OFTEN WHAT HE WISHES WILL TURN OUT TO BE DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE WISHED. AND THE MORE WE LOVE, THE MORE HE WILL ASK OF US, AND SOMETIMES THERE SEEMS TO BE NO REWARD FOR OUR LOVE. WHEN WE READ ABOUT SAINT PETER IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, OR WHEN WE HEAR PAUL'S RECOLLECTIONS OF HIS MEETINGS WITH PETER, IT DOESN'T LOOK LIKE PETER'S SHEEP FEEDING WAS ANY EASIER THAN IT IS FOR OUR POPE. HE WAS ALWAYS LEARNING, ALWAYS BEING PUT TO TEST, ALWAYS BEING CONTRADICTED. BUT THAT IS PRETTY MUCH WHAT JESUS PROMISED; IF YOU REALLY LOVE, OUT OF YOUR LOVE WILL GROW THE DESIRE TO SERVE, AND AS YOU SERVE, YOU WILL RUN INTO OBSTACLES, AND YOU WILL BE LEAD WHERE YOU DO NOT WANT TO GO.
BUT THERE IS NO OTHER GAME IN TOWN. WE CAN'T SIT ON THE FENCE, WE CAN'T KEEP PUTTING OFF THAT SELF-SURRENDERING LOVE THAT JESUS ASKS OF US. THE FUTURE FOR A LOVER OF JESUS MAY BE FRIGHTENING ON THIS EARTH, IN THIS LIFE. IT MAY MEAN MARTYRDOM, OR MAYBE SLOW DEATH BY A THOUSAND LITTLE THINGS. IT WILL MEAN THAT WE ARE LEAD WHERE WE DO NOT WANT TO GO. BUT WE HAVE JESUS' ASSURANCE THAT THIS KIND OF LOVE WILL NOT GO UNREWARDED, BECAUSE THIS KIND OF LOVE IS THE LOVE THAT MAKES US LIKE JESUS HIMSELF, AND JESUS WILL BRING THOSE WHO ARE HIS THROUGH DEATH TO RESURRECTION INTO ETERNAL LIFE.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Second Sunday of Easter, cycle C
JOHN 20:19-31
THERE WERE SOME BRILLIANT PHILOSOPHERS IN EUROPE DURING THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURY. IT WAS A TIME WHEN THE WORLD WAS BEING TURNED UPSIDE DOWN. THE REFORMATION HAD NOT HAPPENED THAT LONG AGO, AND THERE WERE STILL BITTER FEELINGS BETWEEN CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANTS; AND EVERY COUNTRY IN EUROPE BELONGED TO ONE CAMP OR ANOTHER. RELIGION, ONCE THE GREAT UNIFIER, WAS NOW A DIVIDER. MODERN SCIENCE HAD BEGUN TO EMERGE AS WELL, AND IT WAS BECOMING INCREASINGLY OBVIOUS THAT THE HISTORY THAT WAS REPORTED IN THE BIBLE COULD NOT BE PROVEN AND IN MANY CASES, HAD BEEN DIS PROVEN. AND PEOPLE HAD BEGUN TO STUDY THE BIBLE FROM THE STANDPOINT OF WHAT WAS CALLED THE HISTORICAL CRITICAL METHOD. BY LOOKING CAREFULLY AT THE TEXT, IT WAS CLEAR THAT MOSES COULDN'T HAVE WRITTEN THE FIRST FIVE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT; AND WHEN YOU LOOKED AT THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, THE THREE EPISTLES, AND THE BOOK OF REVELATION, IT WAS CLEAR THAT THERE WAS MORE THAN ONE AUTHOR HERE.
AND IN THE TIME WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, THERE WAS INCREASING CONTACT WITH OTHER SOCIETIES, AND OTHER RELIGIONS, AND OTHER SACRED SCRIPTURES. AND IT BECAME A PROJECT OF THESE PHILOSOPHERS TO FIND THE “NATURAL RELIGION” OF MANKIND, THE RELIGION THAT WAS BEHIND ALL THE RELIGIONS IN THE WORLD. IF YOU TOOK AWAY THE SCRIPTURES AND THE PROPHETS AND THE SPECIAL ROLE OF JESUS, YOU COULD FIND WHAT WAS THERE IN THE BEGINNING. AND HEGEL AND KANT AMONG OTHERS, USED THEIR TALENTS TO DEVELOP A REASONABLE APPROACH TO RELIGION, A RELIGION IN WHICH NO FAITH WAS NECESSARY. OF COURSE, ONCE YOU REMOVE FAITH FROM RELIGION, YOU SOON FIND YOU DON'T NEED RELIGION EITHER, AND IN THE NEXT GENERATION, KARL MARX, SIGMUND FREUD, AND FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE CARRIED THE LOGIC FURTHER AND DECIDED THAT RELIGION OF ANY SORT WAS NOT ONLY FOOLISH, BUT POSITIVELY HARMFUL.
WHEN I READ THE RESURRECTION ACCOUNTS, I'M ALWAYS PUZZLED AS TO WHY JESUS WAS SO HARD ON THOMAS. MARY MAGDALEN DIDN'T BELIEVE UNTIL SHE ACTUALLY MET HIM IN THE GARDEN; AND THE APOSTLES DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO THINK UNTIL JESUS APPEARED TO THEM IN THE UPPER ROOM. BUT IT SEEMS THOMAS WAS SINGLED OUT FOR HIS LACK OF FAITH. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?
I THINK THE DIFFERENCE IS IN WHAT THOMAS SAYS. THE OTHERS STARTED OUT NOT BELIEVING, BUT WHEN JESUS APPEARED TO THEM, THEY BELIEVED. AND THOMAS MIGHT HAVE BEEN LIKE THAT ALSO; HE MIGHT HAVE NOT BELIEVED, BUT WONDERED, AND AT SOME POINT, JESUS MAY HAVE APPEARED TO HIM, AND HIS REACTION MIGHT HAVE BEEN LIKE THOSE OF THE APOSTLES. BUT THOMAS, HEARING THE TESTIMONY OF HIS FRIENDS, FRIENDS HE HAD KNOWN FOR A LONG TIME, FRIENDS WHOM HE KNEW TO BE HONEST, REFUSED TO BELIEVE, IN FACT LAID DOWN THE CONDITIONS WHICH WOULD BE NECESSARY FOR HIM TO BE CONVINCED. AS IT TURNED OUT, HIS CONDITIONS WERE NOT MET BY JESUS, ALTHOUGH JESUS OFFERED; AND THOMAS BELIEVED WHEN JESUS APPEARED TO HIM, JUST AS HAD HAPPENED WITH THE OTHER APOSTLES.
CHRISTIANITY IS A REVEALED RELIGION. CHRISTIANITY DEPENDS ON BELIEF IN THINGS WE CAN'T PROVE, THINGS WE CAN'T SEE. ONCE REVELATION IS GONE, IT ISN'T CHRISTIANITY ANYMORE, AS THE PHILOSOPHERS KNEW. BUT TO BE A CHRISTIAN IS TO ACCEPT SOME THINGS AS TRUE THAT WE WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO PROVE. LONG BEFORE OUR BRILLIANT PHILOSOPHERS, THOMAS AQUINAS AND OTHERS TRIED TO SHOW THAT THE TRUTHS OF CHRISTIANITY WERE REASONABLE. HEGEL AND KANT TRIED TO SHOW THAT RELIGION, AT LEAST BARE BONES RELIGION WAS REASONABLE. BUT I REMEMBER IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, SAINT PAUL ONCE TRIED TO BE REASONABLE WHEN PREACHING TO THE ATHENIANS. AND THEY MET HIS REASONABLENESS WITH NEITHER AGREEMENT NOR DISAGREEMENT; BECAUSE FAITH CAN'T BE BUILT ON REASON. AND SAINT PAUL RESOLVED AFTER THIS THAT HE WOULD ONLY PREACH CHRIST, AND HIM CRUCIFIED.
I THINK MANY OF US WHO GO TO CHURCH FAITHFULLY, WHO CONSIDER OURSELVES GOOD CATHOLICS, AREN'T TOO DIFFERENT FROM THOMAS. WE HAVE A CERTAIN FAITH, A TENTATIVE FAITH, BUT IT'S NOT A BURNING FAITH, IT'S NOT THE FAITH OF THE APOSTLES, WHO EXCLAIM, “WE HAVE SEEN THE LORD!” AND CANNOT BE MADE TO SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP. AND MAYBE WE FEEL THAT IF WE COULD ONLY WITNESS A MIRACLE, IF SOMETHING WOULD HAPPEN THAT WAS CONVINCING BEYOND ALL DOUBT, THEN WE COULD REALLY COMMIT OURSELVES. SO WE HOLD BACK A BIT; WE BELIEVE IN GOD, WE BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, AND WE ARE NICE PEOPLE.
ONCE THERE WAS A MAN WHO ANSWERED JESUS' QUESTION ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT HE BELIEVED, WITH THE WORDS, “I BELIEVE, LORD. HELP MY UNBELIEF!” AND THAT IS OUR ONLY RECOURSE. NO AMOUNT OF REASON CAN STRENGTHEN OUR FAITH. IF WE ARE ALLOWED TO SEE THE WOUNDS, WE WILL INSIST ON TOUCHING THEM; IF WE ARE ALLOWED TO PUT OUR FINGERS IN THE WOUNDS, WE WILL INSIST ON PUTTING OUR HAND IN JESUS' SIDE. BUT ONE THING CAN STRENGTHEN FAITH. THAT IS TO LIVE OUR FAITH, TO LIVE THE WAY WE IMAGINE A PERSON OF FAITH LIVES. AND IF WE LIVE THIS WAY, WE ARE PRAYING, “I BELIEVE, LORD. HELP MY UNBELIEF.” AND WITH TIME OUR FAITH GROWS RICHER AND DEEPER.
FOR A PERSON WHO BELIEVES, NO PROOF IS NECESSARY; FOR A PERSON WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE, NO PROOF IS SUFFICIENT.
WE ARE ALL LOCKED IN THE UPPER ROOM, FEARFUL OF WHAT LIES OUTSIDE. WE DISTRACT OURSELVES WITH THE HERE AND NOW, WITH BEING BUSY AND DOING THINGS, WITH FAMILY AND TELEVISION AND TRAVEL AND ANYTHING THAT KEEPS US FROM CONFRONTING THE LOCKED, EMPTY ROOM IN WHICH WE FIND OURSELVES. WE CAN SAY, “I WILL NOT BELIEVE, UNLESS JESUS CHRIST MEETS MY CONDITIONS. UNTIL THEN, I WILL BE CONTENT WITH THE WAY THINGS ARE, WITH THE WAY I LEAD MY LIFE. OR WE CAN SAY, “I WILL BELIEVE, HELP MY UNBELIEF” AND JESUS WILL COME INTO OUR LOCKED EMPTY ROOM AND STRENGTHEN OUR FAITH SO THAT WE CAN BE JESUS FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD, SO THAT WE CAN GIVE JESUS HANDS AND FEET AND EYES AND EARS, SO THAT WE CAN BREAK OUT OF THE EMPTY ROOM AND SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS THROUGH OUR WORDS AND OUR ACTIONS. BECAUSE WHEN WE SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS, WE BEGAN TO BE UNITED TO JESUS MORE COMPLETELY. SO LEAVE HERE TODAY BELIEVING IN THE RESURRECTION, BELIEVING THAT OUR FOUNDER DIED, REALLY DIED, AND WAS BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE, AND RESOLVE TO TELL SOMEONE ABOUT YOUR FAITH. IT GETS EASIER THE MORE YOU DO IT.
THERE WERE SOME BRILLIANT PHILOSOPHERS IN EUROPE DURING THE 18TH AND 19TH CENTURY. IT WAS A TIME WHEN THE WORLD WAS BEING TURNED UPSIDE DOWN. THE REFORMATION HAD NOT HAPPENED THAT LONG AGO, AND THERE WERE STILL BITTER FEELINGS BETWEEN CATHOLICS AND PROTESTANTS; AND EVERY COUNTRY IN EUROPE BELONGED TO ONE CAMP OR ANOTHER. RELIGION, ONCE THE GREAT UNIFIER, WAS NOW A DIVIDER. MODERN SCIENCE HAD BEGUN TO EMERGE AS WELL, AND IT WAS BECOMING INCREASINGLY OBVIOUS THAT THE HISTORY THAT WAS REPORTED IN THE BIBLE COULD NOT BE PROVEN AND IN MANY CASES, HAD BEEN DIS PROVEN. AND PEOPLE HAD BEGUN TO STUDY THE BIBLE FROM THE STANDPOINT OF WHAT WAS CALLED THE HISTORICAL CRITICAL METHOD. BY LOOKING CAREFULLY AT THE TEXT, IT WAS CLEAR THAT MOSES COULDN'T HAVE WRITTEN THE FIRST FIVE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT; AND WHEN YOU LOOKED AT THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, THE THREE EPISTLES, AND THE BOOK OF REVELATION, IT WAS CLEAR THAT THERE WAS MORE THAN ONE AUTHOR HERE.
AND IN THE TIME WE ARE TALKING ABOUT, THERE WAS INCREASING CONTACT WITH OTHER SOCIETIES, AND OTHER RELIGIONS, AND OTHER SACRED SCRIPTURES. AND IT BECAME A PROJECT OF THESE PHILOSOPHERS TO FIND THE “NATURAL RELIGION” OF MANKIND, THE RELIGION THAT WAS BEHIND ALL THE RELIGIONS IN THE WORLD. IF YOU TOOK AWAY THE SCRIPTURES AND THE PROPHETS AND THE SPECIAL ROLE OF JESUS, YOU COULD FIND WHAT WAS THERE IN THE BEGINNING. AND HEGEL AND KANT AMONG OTHERS, USED THEIR TALENTS TO DEVELOP A REASONABLE APPROACH TO RELIGION, A RELIGION IN WHICH NO FAITH WAS NECESSARY. OF COURSE, ONCE YOU REMOVE FAITH FROM RELIGION, YOU SOON FIND YOU DON'T NEED RELIGION EITHER, AND IN THE NEXT GENERATION, KARL MARX, SIGMUND FREUD, AND FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE CARRIED THE LOGIC FURTHER AND DECIDED THAT RELIGION OF ANY SORT WAS NOT ONLY FOOLISH, BUT POSITIVELY HARMFUL.
WHEN I READ THE RESURRECTION ACCOUNTS, I'M ALWAYS PUZZLED AS TO WHY JESUS WAS SO HARD ON THOMAS. MARY MAGDALEN DIDN'T BELIEVE UNTIL SHE ACTUALLY MET HIM IN THE GARDEN; AND THE APOSTLES DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO THINK UNTIL JESUS APPEARED TO THEM IN THE UPPER ROOM. BUT IT SEEMS THOMAS WAS SINGLED OUT FOR HIS LACK OF FAITH. WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?
I THINK THE DIFFERENCE IS IN WHAT THOMAS SAYS. THE OTHERS STARTED OUT NOT BELIEVING, BUT WHEN JESUS APPEARED TO THEM, THEY BELIEVED. AND THOMAS MIGHT HAVE BEEN LIKE THAT ALSO; HE MIGHT HAVE NOT BELIEVED, BUT WONDERED, AND AT SOME POINT, JESUS MAY HAVE APPEARED TO HIM, AND HIS REACTION MIGHT HAVE BEEN LIKE THOSE OF THE APOSTLES. BUT THOMAS, HEARING THE TESTIMONY OF HIS FRIENDS, FRIENDS HE HAD KNOWN FOR A LONG TIME, FRIENDS WHOM HE KNEW TO BE HONEST, REFUSED TO BELIEVE, IN FACT LAID DOWN THE CONDITIONS WHICH WOULD BE NECESSARY FOR HIM TO BE CONVINCED. AS IT TURNED OUT, HIS CONDITIONS WERE NOT MET BY JESUS, ALTHOUGH JESUS OFFERED; AND THOMAS BELIEVED WHEN JESUS APPEARED TO HIM, JUST AS HAD HAPPENED WITH THE OTHER APOSTLES.
CHRISTIANITY IS A REVEALED RELIGION. CHRISTIANITY DEPENDS ON BELIEF IN THINGS WE CAN'T PROVE, THINGS WE CAN'T SEE. ONCE REVELATION IS GONE, IT ISN'T CHRISTIANITY ANYMORE, AS THE PHILOSOPHERS KNEW. BUT TO BE A CHRISTIAN IS TO ACCEPT SOME THINGS AS TRUE THAT WE WILL NEVER BE ABLE TO PROVE. LONG BEFORE OUR BRILLIANT PHILOSOPHERS, THOMAS AQUINAS AND OTHERS TRIED TO SHOW THAT THE TRUTHS OF CHRISTIANITY WERE REASONABLE. HEGEL AND KANT TRIED TO SHOW THAT RELIGION, AT LEAST BARE BONES RELIGION WAS REASONABLE. BUT I REMEMBER IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, SAINT PAUL ONCE TRIED TO BE REASONABLE WHEN PREACHING TO THE ATHENIANS. AND THEY MET HIS REASONABLENESS WITH NEITHER AGREEMENT NOR DISAGREEMENT; BECAUSE FAITH CAN'T BE BUILT ON REASON. AND SAINT PAUL RESOLVED AFTER THIS THAT HE WOULD ONLY PREACH CHRIST, AND HIM CRUCIFIED.
I THINK MANY OF US WHO GO TO CHURCH FAITHFULLY, WHO CONSIDER OURSELVES GOOD CATHOLICS, AREN'T TOO DIFFERENT FROM THOMAS. WE HAVE A CERTAIN FAITH, A TENTATIVE FAITH, BUT IT'S NOT A BURNING FAITH, IT'S NOT THE FAITH OF THE APOSTLES, WHO EXCLAIM, “WE HAVE SEEN THE LORD!” AND CANNOT BE MADE TO SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP. AND MAYBE WE FEEL THAT IF WE COULD ONLY WITNESS A MIRACLE, IF SOMETHING WOULD HAPPEN THAT WAS CONVINCING BEYOND ALL DOUBT, THEN WE COULD REALLY COMMIT OURSELVES. SO WE HOLD BACK A BIT; WE BELIEVE IN GOD, WE BELIEVE IN JESUS CHRIST, AND WE ARE NICE PEOPLE.
ONCE THERE WAS A MAN WHO ANSWERED JESUS' QUESTION ABOUT WHETHER OR NOT HE BELIEVED, WITH THE WORDS, “I BELIEVE, LORD. HELP MY UNBELIEF!” AND THAT IS OUR ONLY RECOURSE. NO AMOUNT OF REASON CAN STRENGTHEN OUR FAITH. IF WE ARE ALLOWED TO SEE THE WOUNDS, WE WILL INSIST ON TOUCHING THEM; IF WE ARE ALLOWED TO PUT OUR FINGERS IN THE WOUNDS, WE WILL INSIST ON PUTTING OUR HAND IN JESUS' SIDE. BUT ONE THING CAN STRENGTHEN FAITH. THAT IS TO LIVE OUR FAITH, TO LIVE THE WAY WE IMAGINE A PERSON OF FAITH LIVES. AND IF WE LIVE THIS WAY, WE ARE PRAYING, “I BELIEVE, LORD. HELP MY UNBELIEF.” AND WITH TIME OUR FAITH GROWS RICHER AND DEEPER.
FOR A PERSON WHO BELIEVES, NO PROOF IS NECESSARY; FOR A PERSON WHO DOES NOT BELIEVE, NO PROOF IS SUFFICIENT.
WE ARE ALL LOCKED IN THE UPPER ROOM, FEARFUL OF WHAT LIES OUTSIDE. WE DISTRACT OURSELVES WITH THE HERE AND NOW, WITH BEING BUSY AND DOING THINGS, WITH FAMILY AND TELEVISION AND TRAVEL AND ANYTHING THAT KEEPS US FROM CONFRONTING THE LOCKED, EMPTY ROOM IN WHICH WE FIND OURSELVES. WE CAN SAY, “I WILL NOT BELIEVE, UNLESS JESUS CHRIST MEETS MY CONDITIONS. UNTIL THEN, I WILL BE CONTENT WITH THE WAY THINGS ARE, WITH THE WAY I LEAD MY LIFE. OR WE CAN SAY, “I WILL BELIEVE, HELP MY UNBELIEF” AND JESUS WILL COME INTO OUR LOCKED EMPTY ROOM AND STRENGTHEN OUR FAITH SO THAT WE CAN BE JESUS FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD, SO THAT WE CAN GIVE JESUS HANDS AND FEET AND EYES AND EARS, SO THAT WE CAN BREAK OUT OF THE EMPTY ROOM AND SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS THROUGH OUR WORDS AND OUR ACTIONS. BECAUSE WHEN WE SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS, WE BEGAN TO BE UNITED TO JESUS MORE COMPLETELY. SO LEAVE HERE TODAY BELIEVING IN THE RESURRECTION, BELIEVING THAT OUR FOUNDER DIED, REALLY DIED, AND WAS BROUGHT BACK TO LIFE, AND RESOLVE TO TELL SOMEONE ABOUT YOUR FAITH. IT GETS EASIER THE MORE YOU DO IT.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Easter Sunday, 2010
JOHN 20:1-9
MARY MAGDALEN SAW THE EMPTY TOMB AND CONCLUDED THAT SOMEONE HAD COME AND TAKEN AWAY THE BODY OF JESUS. PETER SAW THE EMPTY TOMB AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT HE THOUGHT; IT DOESN'T SAY. BUT I GUESS WE COULD ASSUME THAT HE PROBABLY THOUGHT THE SAME AS MARY. WE ARE TOLD THAT THE BELOVED DISCIPLE, THE ONE WHOM JESUS LOVED, WITNESSED THE SAME SCENE, THE BURIAL CLOTHS NEATLY FOLDED AND THE HEAD COVERING ROLLED UP AND PUT IN A SEPARATE PLACE. IT SAYS THAT HE BELIEVED, BUT BELIEVED WHAT? BECAUSE THE NEXT SENTENCE TELLS US THAT NONE OF THEM UNDERSTOOD.
WHAT WAS IT, THEN, THAT THE BELOVED DISCIPLE BELIEVED?
LAST NIGHT WE CELEBRATED THE EASTER VIGIL. IF YOU'VE BEEN TO ONE, YOU KNOW THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL READINGS FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT. ONE TELLS THE STORY OF ABRAHAM AND ISAAC. PUT YOURSELF IN ABRAHAM'S SHOES. A LIFETIME AGO HE HAD LEFT HOME TO LIVE THE LIFE OF A WANDERER; HE DID SO BECAUSE HE HAD HAD AN EXPERIENCE. HE WAS TOLD THAT HE WOULD BE THE FATHER OF A GREAT NATION. THERE WAS A TIME WHEN HE THOUGHT THAT THE PROMISE WAS GOING TO BE FULFILLED. HE HAD A CHILD BY SARAH'S SLAVE, A BOY NAMED ISHMAEL. BUT SARAH, IN A JEALOUS RAGE, INSISTED THAT HE DRIVE THE WOMAN AND HER CHILD AWAY, AND ABRAHAM HAD NO IDEA WHETHER THE BOY WAS ALIVE OR DEAD. AGAIN, HE HAD BEEN PROMISED THAT THEY WOULD BE TAKEN CARE OF, BUT IT WAS NO CONSOLATION. AND THEN FINALLY, LONG AFTER HE AND SARAH HAD GIVEN UP HOPE OF HAVING A CHILD, THEY WERE TOLD BY STRANGERS THAT A CHILD WOULD BE BORN, AND SO ONE WAS. ABRAHAM WAS ABOUT 90.
AND NOW, THIS SELF-SAME GOD, THE GOD WHO HAD STARTED THE WHOLE THING, HAD TOLD HIM TO TAKE HIS ONLY SON AND SACRIFICE HIM. THAT SOUNDS APPALLING TO US, OF COURSE. BUT IT WASN'T OUT OF THE QUESTION IN THOSE DAYS TO SACRIFICE A CHILD TO A GOD. THE SCRIPTURE EVEN TELLS US THAT GOD RECOGNIZED THAT ABRAHAM LOVED ISAAC. SO ABRAHAM, WITHOUT ANY EXPLANATION TO SARAH, OR THE PEOPLE WHO TRAVELED WITH HIM, TOOK ISAAC AND SOME FIREWOOD AND A KNIFE AND STARTED UP THE MOUNTAIN. BECAUSE NO EXPLANATION WOULD BE BELIEVED, NO EXPLANATION MADE SENSE – NOT EVEN TO ABRAHAM.
WAS THIS BLIND FAITH? COULD YOU DO THIS? EVEN IF GOD HIMSELF ASKED YOU TO DO THIS? I DON'T THINK I COULD. AND I THINK ALL OF US HAVE A PROBLEM UNDERSTANDING ABRAHAM.
SO WHAT IS THIS FAITH OF ABRAHAM? I THINK ABRAHAM WENT UP THE MOUNTAIN WITH HIS SON, WITH THE FIREWOOD, WITH THE KNIFE, BECAUSE HE HAD FAITH. HE HAD MORE FAITH THAN I DO, BECAUSE HE TRUSTED THAT WHATEVER HAPPENED, GOD WOULD KEEP HIS PROMISE. FAITH, FOR ABRAHAM, WAS SOMETHING LIKE FALLING IN LOVE. WHEN YOU FALL IN LOVE, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE WILL HOLD, BUT YOU MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT KNOWING.
REAL FAITH IS COMPLICATED. FIRST OF ALL, IT'S NOT LOGICAL AT ALL. YOU CAN'T REALLY FIND A REASON FOR BELIEVING. IF SOMEONE GIVES YOU A REASON, SOMEONE ELSE CAN GIVE YOU A REASON FOR NOT BELIEVING. FAITH IS ROLLING THE DICE, IT IS DECIDING TO BELIEVE SOMETHING, AND TO BELIEVE IT STRONGLY ENOUGH TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE. AFTER MOTHER THERESA PASSED AWAY, SOME OF HER CORRESPONDENCE WAS PUBLISHED. IN THESE PRIVATE LETTERS TO HER SPIRITUAL ADVISER, IT WAS CLEAR THAT MOTHER THERESA LIVED IN PAIN, BECAUSE SHE HAD EXPERIENCED NOTHING TO CONVINCE HER THAT HER FAITH WAS JUSTIFIED. AND YET, SHE KEPT FAITH, SHE LIVED HER FAITH, AND CRIED HERSELF TO SLEEP AT NIGHT. AND HER FAITH MADE HER DO THINGS THAT THE OTHER SIX BILLION PEOPLE ON THE EARTH WOULD NEVER DO.
THERE AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE OPEN TOMB, THE BELOVED DISCIPLE DID NOT CONCLUDE THAT JESUS' BODY WAS TAKEN AWAY. HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO THINK, BUT HE DID BELIEVE. HE BELIEVED THAT JESUS CHRIST WOULD KEEP HIS PROMISES, THAT SOMEHOW EVEN THOUGH HE HAD SEEN THE MAN DIE, HE HAD WITNESSED THE SPEAR THRUST IN HIS SIDE, HE HAD WATCHED AS THE BODY WAS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS, WRAPPED IN LINEN, EMBALMED, AND PUT IN THE TOMB – THE BELOVED DISCIPLE STILL BELIEVED THAT GOD WOULD MAKE IT RIGHT, THAT SOMEHOW GOD WOULD TURN THIS TRAGEDY INTO SOMETHING GOOD. THE BELOVED DISCIPLE HAD THE SAME KIND OF FAITH AS ABRAHAM.
WE CHRISTIANS BELIEVE THAT JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD, AND WHEN HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD, THIS WAS NOT A METAPHOR, THIS WAS NOT SOME GHOSTLY THING. IT WAS NOT THE FACT THAT THE APOSTLES SUDDENLY FELT AS THOUGH JESUS HAD NEVER REALLY DIED, BUT WAS LIVING ON IN THEM. AND WHEN JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD, WE ARE TOLD THAT ABOUT 500 PEOPLE WITNESSED THIS. AND WHEN SAINT PAUL WAS WRITING HIS LETTERS, HE STATES THAT MANY OF THEM ARE STILL AROUND, PEOPLE WHO SAW AND TOUCHED AND HEARD THE RISEN JESUS. BUT WITNESSING THE RISEN JESUS IS ONE THING. FAITH IN THE RESURRECTION IS ANOTHER. BECAUSE IF IT DOESN'T DO SOMETHING TO US, THEN IT IS MERELY A CURIOSITY. WHEN WE STAND BEFORE THE EMPTY TOMB, WE DON'T UNDERSTAND EITHER. THE FACT THAT SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE TRIED TO EXPLAIN THE RESURRECTION AWAY JUST MEANS THAT THEY DON'T WANT TO MAKE THAT LEAP OF FAITH THAT JESUS DID RISE FROM THE DEAD IN A REAL SENSE, NOT IN SOME SYMBOLIC OR METAPHORICAL SENSE. AND OUR BELIEF IN THE RESURRECTION HAS CONSEQUENCES. IF WE BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS, THEN WE MUST BELIEVE IN EVERYTHING JESUS SAID BEFORE HE WAS PUT TO DEATH. IF WE BELIEVE, WE KNOW THAT WE WILL RISE AGAIN, IN OUR BODIES, BECAUSE JESUS PROMISED IT AND HE SAID, “WHERE I AM, THERE SHALL MY SERVANT BE.” IF WE BELIEVE, WE KNOW THAT GOD IS IN CHARGE, AND GOD CAN AND WILL TAKE THE WORST DISASTERS, THE GREATEST TRAGEDIES, AND BRING GOOD OUT OF THEM. IT'S NOT LOGICAL, IT'S AGAINST EVERYTHING IN OUR EXPERIENCE, BUT THAT IS WHAT ABRAHAM BELIEVED, AND THAT IS WHAT THE BELOVED DISCIPLE BELIEVED, AND AFTER JESUS APPEARED TO THE APOSTLES IT IS WHAT THEY BELIEVED, BECAUSE THEY SAW THE DEATH OF JESUS, THEY SAW AN INNOCENT MAN PUT TO DEATH; AND THEY SAW HIM RISE AGAIN. THEY BELIEVED STRONGLY ENOUGH TO GO OUT AND PREACH AND TEACH AND ULTIMATELY DIE, STILL BELIEVING.
SO TODAY, WE CONFRONT THE EMPTY TOMB. IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. BUT DO WE ASSUME THAT SOMEONE TOOK THE BODY AWAY? OR DO WE HAVE THE FAITH THAT GOD WILL ACT IN OUR HISTORY TO BRING GOOD OUT OF EVIL, EVEN IF WE DON'T KNOW HOW?
MARY MAGDALEN SAW THE EMPTY TOMB AND CONCLUDED THAT SOMEONE HAD COME AND TAKEN AWAY THE BODY OF JESUS. PETER SAW THE EMPTY TOMB AND WE DON'T KNOW WHAT HE THOUGHT; IT DOESN'T SAY. BUT I GUESS WE COULD ASSUME THAT HE PROBABLY THOUGHT THE SAME AS MARY. WE ARE TOLD THAT THE BELOVED DISCIPLE, THE ONE WHOM JESUS LOVED, WITNESSED THE SAME SCENE, THE BURIAL CLOTHS NEATLY FOLDED AND THE HEAD COVERING ROLLED UP AND PUT IN A SEPARATE PLACE. IT SAYS THAT HE BELIEVED, BUT BELIEVED WHAT? BECAUSE THE NEXT SENTENCE TELLS US THAT NONE OF THEM UNDERSTOOD.
WHAT WAS IT, THEN, THAT THE BELOVED DISCIPLE BELIEVED?
LAST NIGHT WE CELEBRATED THE EASTER VIGIL. IF YOU'VE BEEN TO ONE, YOU KNOW THAT THERE ARE SEVERAL READINGS FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT. ONE TELLS THE STORY OF ABRAHAM AND ISAAC. PUT YOURSELF IN ABRAHAM'S SHOES. A LIFETIME AGO HE HAD LEFT HOME TO LIVE THE LIFE OF A WANDERER; HE DID SO BECAUSE HE HAD HAD AN EXPERIENCE. HE WAS TOLD THAT HE WOULD BE THE FATHER OF A GREAT NATION. THERE WAS A TIME WHEN HE THOUGHT THAT THE PROMISE WAS GOING TO BE FULFILLED. HE HAD A CHILD BY SARAH'S SLAVE, A BOY NAMED ISHMAEL. BUT SARAH, IN A JEALOUS RAGE, INSISTED THAT HE DRIVE THE WOMAN AND HER CHILD AWAY, AND ABRAHAM HAD NO IDEA WHETHER THE BOY WAS ALIVE OR DEAD. AGAIN, HE HAD BEEN PROMISED THAT THEY WOULD BE TAKEN CARE OF, BUT IT WAS NO CONSOLATION. AND THEN FINALLY, LONG AFTER HE AND SARAH HAD GIVEN UP HOPE OF HAVING A CHILD, THEY WERE TOLD BY STRANGERS THAT A CHILD WOULD BE BORN, AND SO ONE WAS. ABRAHAM WAS ABOUT 90.
AND NOW, THIS SELF-SAME GOD, THE GOD WHO HAD STARTED THE WHOLE THING, HAD TOLD HIM TO TAKE HIS ONLY SON AND SACRIFICE HIM. THAT SOUNDS APPALLING TO US, OF COURSE. BUT IT WASN'T OUT OF THE QUESTION IN THOSE DAYS TO SACRIFICE A CHILD TO A GOD. THE SCRIPTURE EVEN TELLS US THAT GOD RECOGNIZED THAT ABRAHAM LOVED ISAAC. SO ABRAHAM, WITHOUT ANY EXPLANATION TO SARAH, OR THE PEOPLE WHO TRAVELED WITH HIM, TOOK ISAAC AND SOME FIREWOOD AND A KNIFE AND STARTED UP THE MOUNTAIN. BECAUSE NO EXPLANATION WOULD BE BELIEVED, NO EXPLANATION MADE SENSE – NOT EVEN TO ABRAHAM.
WAS THIS BLIND FAITH? COULD YOU DO THIS? EVEN IF GOD HIMSELF ASKED YOU TO DO THIS? I DON'T THINK I COULD. AND I THINK ALL OF US HAVE A PROBLEM UNDERSTANDING ABRAHAM.
SO WHAT IS THIS FAITH OF ABRAHAM? I THINK ABRAHAM WENT UP THE MOUNTAIN WITH HIS SON, WITH THE FIREWOOD, WITH THE KNIFE, BECAUSE HE HAD FAITH. HE HAD MORE FAITH THAN I DO, BECAUSE HE TRUSTED THAT WHATEVER HAPPENED, GOD WOULD KEEP HIS PROMISE. FAITH, FOR ABRAHAM, WAS SOMETHING LIKE FALLING IN LOVE. WHEN YOU FALL IN LOVE, YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FUTURE WILL HOLD, BUT YOU MOVE FORWARD WITHOUT KNOWING.
REAL FAITH IS COMPLICATED. FIRST OF ALL, IT'S NOT LOGICAL AT ALL. YOU CAN'T REALLY FIND A REASON FOR BELIEVING. IF SOMEONE GIVES YOU A REASON, SOMEONE ELSE CAN GIVE YOU A REASON FOR NOT BELIEVING. FAITH IS ROLLING THE DICE, IT IS DECIDING TO BELIEVE SOMETHING, AND TO BELIEVE IT STRONGLY ENOUGH TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE. AFTER MOTHER THERESA PASSED AWAY, SOME OF HER CORRESPONDENCE WAS PUBLISHED. IN THESE PRIVATE LETTERS TO HER SPIRITUAL ADVISER, IT WAS CLEAR THAT MOTHER THERESA LIVED IN PAIN, BECAUSE SHE HAD EXPERIENCED NOTHING TO CONVINCE HER THAT HER FAITH WAS JUSTIFIED. AND YET, SHE KEPT FAITH, SHE LIVED HER FAITH, AND CRIED HERSELF TO SLEEP AT NIGHT. AND HER FAITH MADE HER DO THINGS THAT THE OTHER SIX BILLION PEOPLE ON THE EARTH WOULD NEVER DO.
THERE AT THE ENTRANCE TO THE OPEN TOMB, THE BELOVED DISCIPLE DID NOT CONCLUDE THAT JESUS' BODY WAS TAKEN AWAY. HE DIDN'T KNOW WHAT TO THINK, BUT HE DID BELIEVE. HE BELIEVED THAT JESUS CHRIST WOULD KEEP HIS PROMISES, THAT SOMEHOW EVEN THOUGH HE HAD SEEN THE MAN DIE, HE HAD WITNESSED THE SPEAR THRUST IN HIS SIDE, HE HAD WATCHED AS THE BODY WAS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS, WRAPPED IN LINEN, EMBALMED, AND PUT IN THE TOMB – THE BELOVED DISCIPLE STILL BELIEVED THAT GOD WOULD MAKE IT RIGHT, THAT SOMEHOW GOD WOULD TURN THIS TRAGEDY INTO SOMETHING GOOD. THE BELOVED DISCIPLE HAD THE SAME KIND OF FAITH AS ABRAHAM.
WE CHRISTIANS BELIEVE THAT JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD, AND WHEN HE ROSE FROM THE DEAD, THIS WAS NOT A METAPHOR, THIS WAS NOT SOME GHOSTLY THING. IT WAS NOT THE FACT THAT THE APOSTLES SUDDENLY FELT AS THOUGH JESUS HAD NEVER REALLY DIED, BUT WAS LIVING ON IN THEM. AND WHEN JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD, WE ARE TOLD THAT ABOUT 500 PEOPLE WITNESSED THIS. AND WHEN SAINT PAUL WAS WRITING HIS LETTERS, HE STATES THAT MANY OF THEM ARE STILL AROUND, PEOPLE WHO SAW AND TOUCHED AND HEARD THE RISEN JESUS. BUT WITNESSING THE RISEN JESUS IS ONE THING. FAITH IN THE RESURRECTION IS ANOTHER. BECAUSE IF IT DOESN'T DO SOMETHING TO US, THEN IT IS MERELY A CURIOSITY. WHEN WE STAND BEFORE THE EMPTY TOMB, WE DON'T UNDERSTAND EITHER. THE FACT THAT SO MANY PEOPLE HAVE TRIED TO EXPLAIN THE RESURRECTION AWAY JUST MEANS THAT THEY DON'T WANT TO MAKE THAT LEAP OF FAITH THAT JESUS DID RISE FROM THE DEAD IN A REAL SENSE, NOT IN SOME SYMBOLIC OR METAPHORICAL SENSE. AND OUR BELIEF IN THE RESURRECTION HAS CONSEQUENCES. IF WE BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS, THEN WE MUST BELIEVE IN EVERYTHING JESUS SAID BEFORE HE WAS PUT TO DEATH. IF WE BELIEVE, WE KNOW THAT WE WILL RISE AGAIN, IN OUR BODIES, BECAUSE JESUS PROMISED IT AND HE SAID, “WHERE I AM, THERE SHALL MY SERVANT BE.” IF WE BELIEVE, WE KNOW THAT GOD IS IN CHARGE, AND GOD CAN AND WILL TAKE THE WORST DISASTERS, THE GREATEST TRAGEDIES, AND BRING GOOD OUT OF THEM. IT'S NOT LOGICAL, IT'S AGAINST EVERYTHING IN OUR EXPERIENCE, BUT THAT IS WHAT ABRAHAM BELIEVED, AND THAT IS WHAT THE BELOVED DISCIPLE BELIEVED, AND AFTER JESUS APPEARED TO THE APOSTLES IT IS WHAT THEY BELIEVED, BECAUSE THEY SAW THE DEATH OF JESUS, THEY SAW AN INNOCENT MAN PUT TO DEATH; AND THEY SAW HIM RISE AGAIN. THEY BELIEVED STRONGLY ENOUGH TO GO OUT AND PREACH AND TEACH AND ULTIMATELY DIE, STILL BELIEVING.
SO TODAY, WE CONFRONT THE EMPTY TOMB. IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. BUT DO WE ASSUME THAT SOMEONE TOOK THE BODY AWAY? OR DO WE HAVE THE FAITH THAT GOD WILL ACT IN OUR HISTORY TO BRING GOOD OUT OF EVIL, EVEN IF WE DON'T KNOW HOW?
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Palm Sunday, cycle C
Luke 22:14 - 23:56
TODAY WE HEAR THE STORY OF JESUS' LAST HOURS, FROM THE LAST SUPPER TO HIS BURIAL. HE HAS BEEN BETRAYED, CAPTURED, JUDGED, MADE TO CARRY HIS CROSS, AND EXECUTED. PETER HAS DENIED THAT HE EVEN KNEW HIM. ALL HIS FRIENDS ARE WATCHING FROM A DISTANCE, TOO AFRAID TO COME NEAR. ONLY THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM APPROACH HIM. JESUS HANGS ON THE CROSS, ABANDONED, AND THEN DIES.
WE CHRISTIANS, OF COURSE, SEE THE TRAGEDY OF AN INNOCENT MAN, WHO ALSO HAPPENS TO BE GOD, BEING DELIBERATELY AND CRUELLY PUT TO DEATH. WE KNOW OUR SINS PUT HIM THERE, AND THAT STILL DOESN'T STOP US FROM SINNING. BUT WE ALSO SEE THAT THIS MOMENT IS THE GREATEST MOMENT OF ALL TIME, BECAUSE THANKS TO JESUS' DEATH, WE OVERCOME DEATH, WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENTER INTO ETERNAL LIFE, JESUS' OWN LIFE. IN FACT, FOR MOST OF US, THAT HAS ALREADY STARTED; OUR BAPTISM IS A SOLEMN PLEDGE FROM GOD THAT HE SEES US AS HIS ADOPTED SONS AND DAUGHTERS, AND LIKE THE FATHER OF THE PRODIGAL SON, HE WATCHES US FROM AFAR AND WAITS FOR US TO TURN BACK TO HIM SO THAT HE CAN FORGIVE US.
THE RULERS OF THE PEOPLE SEE JESUS HANGING ON THE CROSS, AND CRY OUT “HE SAVED OTHERS, NOW LET HIM SAVE HIMSELF, IF HE IS THE CHOSEN ONE, THE CHRIST OF GOD.” THE RULERS OF THE PEOPLE, THE PRIESTS, THE SCRIBES, THE PHARISEES, THE OFFICIALS OF HEROD'S COURT – THEY SEE THEMSELVES AS ABOVE THE FRAY; THEY LEAD AFFLUENT LIVES, THEY DON'T GET THEIR HANDS DIRTY; THEY COUNT ON THEIR POSITION AND THEIR WEALTH, AND THEIR OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW TO SAVE THEMSELVES. CERTAINLY THEY DON'T LOOK TO THE MAN DYING ON THE CROSS TO SAVE THEM. IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.
THE SOLDIERS, PERHAPS MORE SYMPATHETIC TRY TO OFFER HIM WINE. THEY ARE FROM DISTANT LANDS, AND THEY KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE PEOPLE THEY CONTROL. THEY'VE HEARD RUMORS, AND THEY SEE THE SIGN ABOVE HIS HEAD, “KING OF THE JEWS”. “IF YOU ARE THE KING OF THE JEWS,” THEY SAY, “SAVE YOURSELF.” BECAUSE THE SOLDIERS DO NOT NEED TO LOOK ELSEWHERE FOR SALVATION; THEY ARE STRONG, THEY HAVE WEAPONS, AND THEY HAVE THE FORCE OF THE GREATEST EMPIRE THE EARTH HAS SEEN BEHIND THEM. AND WHATEVER THEY BELIEVE ABOUT THE NEXT LIFE, IF THEY HAVE ANY BELIEF AT ALL, THEY ASSUME THAT SINCE THEY SERVE THE EMPEROR, AND THE EMPEROR IS A DIVINE PERSON, THEIR FUTURE IS ASSURED, AS FAR AS IT CAN BE IN HUMAN TERMS.
ONE THIEF, CONDEMNED TO DEATH, DYING, JOINS THE MOCKERY. “IF YOU ARE THE CHRIST, SAVE YOURSELF AND US!” HE LONG AGO GAVE UP ANY HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE; HE DECIDED THAT WHAT SALVATION HE COULD EXPECT CAME HERE ON EARTH, BY HIS OWN HANDS. AND HE KNEW THAT DEATH WAS THE END, AND HE WOULD JUST CEASE TO BE. THE VERY THOUGHT THAT THERE WAS A “SALVATION” ANGERED HIM. RIGHT THERE ON THE NEXT CROSS OVER WAS PROOF THAT THERE WAS NO FUTURE AFTER DEATH; THE VERY ONE WHO PROMISED THAT IS HANGING THERE DYING.
THE OTHER THIEF CRIES OUT, “JESUS, REMEMBER ME WHEN YOU COME INTO YOUR KINGDOM.” HE TOO HAS LONG AGO GIVEN UP HIS RELIGION, HIS HOPES FOR ANYTHING AFTER THIS LIFE. BUT HE SEES SOMEONE WHO HE KNOWS IS INNOCENT – PILATE SAID SO, HEROD SAID SO. AND YET HE IS DYING ON A CROSS. THE GOOD THIEF SEES THE CROSS, NOT AS AN INSTRUMENT OF TORTURE, BUT AS A THRONE ON WHICH A KING REIGNS. AND HE IS PROMISED, WITH THE NEXT BUT LAST WORDS THAT JESUS UTTERS, “TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE.”
THE GOOD THIEF RECOGNIZED WHAT WE ALL HAVE TO LEARN AND RELEARN; OUR SALVATION COMES THROUGH THE CROSS. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO RESURRECTION. ALL OF US HAVE HAD CROSSES, OR WILL HAVE THEM, OR ARE HAVING CROSSES TO CARRY RIGHT NOW. MAYBE AN ILLNESS, MAYBE A FRACTURED RELATIONSHIP, MAYBE A CHILD WHO SEEMS HOPELESSLY LOST. MAYBE IT'S THE BODY THAT IS WEARING OUT, AND WILL NEVER GET BACK TO THAT WONDERFUL HEALTH THAT WE TOOK FOR GRANTED WHEN WE WERE YOUNG. MAYBE IT'S WORRY ABOUT MONEY, ABOUT A JOB THAT I MIGHT LOSE.
TURN YOUR HEAD AND LOOK AT THE ONE NEXT TO YOU, ON THE CROSS, INNOCENT, AND ASK HIM TO REMEMBER YOU. AND GOD WILLING, HE WILL SAY, “BEHOLD, TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE.”
TODAY WE HEAR THE STORY OF JESUS' LAST HOURS, FROM THE LAST SUPPER TO HIS BURIAL. HE HAS BEEN BETRAYED, CAPTURED, JUDGED, MADE TO CARRY HIS CROSS, AND EXECUTED. PETER HAS DENIED THAT HE EVEN KNEW HIM. ALL HIS FRIENDS ARE WATCHING FROM A DISTANCE, TOO AFRAID TO COME NEAR. ONLY THE DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM APPROACH HIM. JESUS HANGS ON THE CROSS, ABANDONED, AND THEN DIES.
WE CHRISTIANS, OF COURSE, SEE THE TRAGEDY OF AN INNOCENT MAN, WHO ALSO HAPPENS TO BE GOD, BEING DELIBERATELY AND CRUELLY PUT TO DEATH. WE KNOW OUR SINS PUT HIM THERE, AND THAT STILL DOESN'T STOP US FROM SINNING. BUT WE ALSO SEE THAT THIS MOMENT IS THE GREATEST MOMENT OF ALL TIME, BECAUSE THANKS TO JESUS' DEATH, WE OVERCOME DEATH, WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENTER INTO ETERNAL LIFE, JESUS' OWN LIFE. IN FACT, FOR MOST OF US, THAT HAS ALREADY STARTED; OUR BAPTISM IS A SOLEMN PLEDGE FROM GOD THAT HE SEES US AS HIS ADOPTED SONS AND DAUGHTERS, AND LIKE THE FATHER OF THE PRODIGAL SON, HE WATCHES US FROM AFAR AND WAITS FOR US TO TURN BACK TO HIM SO THAT HE CAN FORGIVE US.
THE RULERS OF THE PEOPLE SEE JESUS HANGING ON THE CROSS, AND CRY OUT “HE SAVED OTHERS, NOW LET HIM SAVE HIMSELF, IF HE IS THE CHOSEN ONE, THE CHRIST OF GOD.” THE RULERS OF THE PEOPLE, THE PRIESTS, THE SCRIBES, THE PHARISEES, THE OFFICIALS OF HEROD'S COURT – THEY SEE THEMSELVES AS ABOVE THE FRAY; THEY LEAD AFFLUENT LIVES, THEY DON'T GET THEIR HANDS DIRTY; THEY COUNT ON THEIR POSITION AND THEIR WEALTH, AND THEIR OBSERVANCE OF THE LAW TO SAVE THEMSELVES. CERTAINLY THEY DON'T LOOK TO THE MAN DYING ON THE CROSS TO SAVE THEM. IT JUST DOESN'T MAKE SENSE.
THE SOLDIERS, PERHAPS MORE SYMPATHETIC TRY TO OFFER HIM WINE. THEY ARE FROM DISTANT LANDS, AND THEY KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE PEOPLE THEY CONTROL. THEY'VE HEARD RUMORS, AND THEY SEE THE SIGN ABOVE HIS HEAD, “KING OF THE JEWS”. “IF YOU ARE THE KING OF THE JEWS,” THEY SAY, “SAVE YOURSELF.” BECAUSE THE SOLDIERS DO NOT NEED TO LOOK ELSEWHERE FOR SALVATION; THEY ARE STRONG, THEY HAVE WEAPONS, AND THEY HAVE THE FORCE OF THE GREATEST EMPIRE THE EARTH HAS SEEN BEHIND THEM. AND WHATEVER THEY BELIEVE ABOUT THE NEXT LIFE, IF THEY HAVE ANY BELIEF AT ALL, THEY ASSUME THAT SINCE THEY SERVE THE EMPEROR, AND THE EMPEROR IS A DIVINE PERSON, THEIR FUTURE IS ASSURED, AS FAR AS IT CAN BE IN HUMAN TERMS.
ONE THIEF, CONDEMNED TO DEATH, DYING, JOINS THE MOCKERY. “IF YOU ARE THE CHRIST, SAVE YOURSELF AND US!” HE LONG AGO GAVE UP ANY HOPE OF ETERNAL LIFE; HE DECIDED THAT WHAT SALVATION HE COULD EXPECT CAME HERE ON EARTH, BY HIS OWN HANDS. AND HE KNEW THAT DEATH WAS THE END, AND HE WOULD JUST CEASE TO BE. THE VERY THOUGHT THAT THERE WAS A “SALVATION” ANGERED HIM. RIGHT THERE ON THE NEXT CROSS OVER WAS PROOF THAT THERE WAS NO FUTURE AFTER DEATH; THE VERY ONE WHO PROMISED THAT IS HANGING THERE DYING.
THE OTHER THIEF CRIES OUT, “JESUS, REMEMBER ME WHEN YOU COME INTO YOUR KINGDOM.” HE TOO HAS LONG AGO GIVEN UP HIS RELIGION, HIS HOPES FOR ANYTHING AFTER THIS LIFE. BUT HE SEES SOMEONE WHO HE KNOWS IS INNOCENT – PILATE SAID SO, HEROD SAID SO. AND YET HE IS DYING ON A CROSS. THE GOOD THIEF SEES THE CROSS, NOT AS AN INSTRUMENT OF TORTURE, BUT AS A THRONE ON WHICH A KING REIGNS. AND HE IS PROMISED, WITH THE NEXT BUT LAST WORDS THAT JESUS UTTERS, “TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE.”
THE GOOD THIEF RECOGNIZED WHAT WE ALL HAVE TO LEARN AND RELEARN; OUR SALVATION COMES THROUGH THE CROSS. THERE IS NO OTHER WAY TO RESURRECTION. ALL OF US HAVE HAD CROSSES, OR WILL HAVE THEM, OR ARE HAVING CROSSES TO CARRY RIGHT NOW. MAYBE AN ILLNESS, MAYBE A FRACTURED RELATIONSHIP, MAYBE A CHILD WHO SEEMS HOPELESSLY LOST. MAYBE IT'S THE BODY THAT IS WEARING OUT, AND WILL NEVER GET BACK TO THAT WONDERFUL HEALTH THAT WE TOOK FOR GRANTED WHEN WE WERE YOUNG. MAYBE IT'S WORRY ABOUT MONEY, ABOUT A JOB THAT I MIGHT LOSE.
TURN YOUR HEAD AND LOOK AT THE ONE NEXT TO YOU, ON THE CROSS, INNOCENT, AND ASK HIM TO REMEMBER YOU. AND GOD WILLING, HE WILL SAY, “BEHOLD, TODAY YOU WILL BE WITH ME IN PARADISE.”
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Fifth Sunday of Lent, cycle C
JOHN 8:1-11
ISN'T IT FUNNY HOW THINGS CHANGE? IN THE DAYS WHEN THIS GOSPEL PASSAGE HAPPENED, ADULTERY WAS CONSIDERED BY THE JEWISH PEOPLE TO BE ONE OF THE THREE MOST SERIOUS SINS, ALONG WITH MURDER AND IDOLATRY. TODAY WE STILL CONSIDER MURDER SERIOUS, BUT IDOLATRY? WE DON'T CARE. AND ADULTERY? IF THIS WOMAN HAD BEEN ALIVE TODAY, SHE'D BE ON THE COVER OF PEOPLE MAGAZINE OR TALKING TO OPRAH ON NATIONAL TELEVISION.
IN THE GOSPEL TODAY, JESUS' ENEMIES ARE TRYING TO TRAP HIM, AND WE SEE HOW HE CLEVERLY AVOIDED THEIR TRAP. WE SEE HOW MERCIFUL JESUS IS TO THE WOMAN, WHEN HE REFUSES TO CONDEMN HER. AND WE COULD COMMENT ON THE DOUBLE STANDARD WE SEE HERE – BECAUSE IF THIS WOMAN WERE CAUGHT IN ADULTERY, THERE HAD TO BE ANOTHER PERSON INVOLVED. WHERE WAS HE?
BUT JESUS LOOKED DOWN ON THE GROUND. THINK OF IT. THE SON OF GOD, THE SINLESS ONE, FACES NOT ONLY A WOMAN WHO WAS A SINNER, BUT A MOB OF PEOPLE, ALL FULL OF SIN, ABOUT TO COMMIT STILL ANOTHER – THE SIN OF MURDER. AND JESUS MUST HAVE NEEDED TO LOOK AWAY, BECAUSE SIN IS SO TERRIBLE IN THE EYES OF GOD. AND JESUS MUST HAVE NEEDED TO LOOK AWAY, AS HE THOUGHT ABOUT HOW HE WOULD SOON BE UNDERGOING AN AGONIZING DEATH BECAUSE OF SIN, AND WHAT HE WAS SEEING RIGHT THAT MOMENT WAS ONLY A TINY FRACTION OF THE OCEAN OF SIN FOR WHICH HE WOULD DIE.
JESUS TOLD THE MOB THAT THE ONE WHO WAS WITHOUT SIN SHOULD CAST THE FIRST STONE, AND TO THEIR CREDIT, NONE OF THEM COULD STAND THERE AND TAKE UP THAT CHALLENGE. THEY SUDDENLY BECAME CONSCIOUS OF THEIR OWN SINFUL STATE.
WE HUMAN BEINGS MAKE SEVERAL MISTAKES ABOUT SIN. THE FIRST IS THAT WHEN WE THINK ABOUT SIN AT ALL, WE ARE MUCH MORE LIKELY TO CONDEMN PEOPLE FOR SEXUAL SINS THAN FOR MANY OTHER KINDS OF SIN. USUALLY WHEN WE FIND OUT THAT SOMEONE HAS COMMITTED A MURDER, WE ARE FINDING OUT THAT THEY'VE BEEN ARRESTED AND ARE IN THE HANDS OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM; THEY ARE ALREADY PAYING. BUT SEXUAL SINS REPEL US BECAUSE THE GUILTY PARTY DOESN'T SEEM TO PAY, AT LEAST PAY ENOUGH. AND IF YOU ARE A CROOKED BUSINESSMAN OR A CORRUPT POLITICIAN, WELL, THAT DOESN'T SEEM NEARLY AS BAD AS A SEXUAL SIN.
THE SECOND IS THAT WE TEND TO SEE SINS OF COMMISSION AS MUCH MORE SERIOUS THAN SINS OF OMISSION. IF WE DON'T DO SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD HAVE DONE, WE DON'T FEEL NEARLY AS GUILTY AS WHEN WE DO SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD NOT HAVE DONE. AND OUR SINS OF OMISSION ARE FAR MORE COMMON THAN SINS OF COMMISSION. EVERYONE IN THIS CHURCH CAN THINK OF SOMETHING THAT HE OR SHE SHOULD HAVE DONE OR COULD HAVE DONE WITHIN THE LAST WEEK, BUT DID NOT DO; AND IT HARDLY TROUBLES OUR CONSCIENCE AT ALL. YET JESUS CONDEMNED THOSE WHO ASKED, “LORD, WHEN DID WE SEE YOU HUNGRY AND NOT FEED YOU?” SOMETIMES OUR SINS OF OMISSION RESULT IN PEOPLE WHO DIE OF HUNGER, PEOPLE WHO NEVER ACHIEVE THEIR HUMAN POTENTIAL BECAUSE OF THEIR POVERTY, PEOPLE WHO ARE CONDEMNED TO THE MARGINS OF SOCIETY – ALL BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T BEEN GENEROUS, BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T SHARED OUR TALENTS, OR TREASURE, OUR TIME.
THE THIRD MISTAKE IS THAT WE THINK THE LONGER IT'S BEEN SINCE WE COMMITTED A SIN, THE LESS SERIOUS IT IS. IF YOU GO TO CONFESSION FREQUENTLY, YOU PROBABLY COME UP WITH A REASONABLE LIST OF SINS TO CONFESS. IF YOU JUST GO ONCE A YEAR OR LESS OFTEN, YOU PROBABLY HAVE A REALLY HARD TIME THINKING OF ANYTHING TO CONFESS. I KNOW THAT'S TRUE, BECAUSE I'VE BEEN THERE, BOTH WAYS. AND WE TEND TO LOOK BACK ON SINS COMMITTED WHILE WE WERE YOUNG AND FOOLISH WITH A SENSE OF BENIGN TOLERANCE. AND WE TEND TO DISMISS SINS COMMITTED LONG AGO AS WATER OVER THE BRIDGE.
TO GOD, OF COURSE, WHO LIVES OUTSIDE TIME, WHO SEES EVERYTHING FROM A GOD'S EYE PERSPECTIVE, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A LITTLE SIN. EVERY SIN PUTS A BARRIER BETWEEN GOD AND ME, EVERY SIN DISTURBS THE ORDER IN THE WORLD; EVERY SIN CONDEMNS JESUS TO DIE. EVERY SIN IS A HORROR TO OUR GUARDIAN ANGEL, EVEN WHEN WE DON'T GIVE IT A SECOND THOUGHT. AND I THINK THAT IS THE INSIGHT THAT THE MOB HAD WHO SURROUNDED THE WOMAN CAUGHT IN ADULTERY.
WE CATHOLICS EITHER DON'T WORRY MUCH ABOUT SIN, HAVING CONVINCED OURSELVES THAT GOD IS GOING TO FORGIVE US NO MATTER WHAT WE DO, OR IF WE DO THINK ABOUT SIN, WE TEND TO GRADE OUR SINS, AND MOST OF THE TIME, WE GIVE OURSELVES PRETTY GOOD GRADES. IN THE OLDEN DAYS, WE TALKED ABOUT VENIAL SINS AND MORTAL SINS, AND WE CATHOLIC SCHOOL KIDS COULD RATTLE OFF WHAT THERE HAD TO BE FOR A MORTAL SIN TO HAPPEN, AND WE WENT TO BED COMFORTED BY THE FACT THAT WE DID NOT DO ONE OF THOSE.
MARTIN LUTHER WAS NOT THEOLOGICALLY CORRECT WHEN HE SAID THAT EVERY SIN WAS A MORTAL SIN, BUT HE HAD THE RIGHT ATTITUDE. THE VERY FIRST THING WE HAVE TO DO IF WE WANT TO LIVE HOLY LIVES IS TO BE CONSCIOUS OF THE FACT THAT WE ARE SINNERS, AND THAT SIN IS REALLY SERIOUS. AND EVEN THOUGH WE'VE BEEN FORGIVEN AND WILL BE FORGIVEN AGAIN AND AGAIN, THANKS TO THE PASSION AND DEATH OF JESUS, WE CAN'T BE COMPLACENT. JESUS TELLS THE WOMAN CAUGHT IN ADULTERY THAT HE DOES NOT CONDEMN HER, BUT HE ALSO TELLS HER THAT SHE MUST NOT SIN AGAIN. GOD WANTS TO FORGIVE US, NO QUESTION. BUT THE PRICE OF FORGIVENESS IS A DECISION TO SIN NO MORE. TO REALLY SIN NO MORE IS PROBABLY POSSIBLE ONLY FOR A FEW OF US, BUT AS WE STRUGGLE TO SIN NO MORE, WE GAIN IN GRACE AND BECOME MORE ABLE TO RESPOND TO GOD'S VOICE WITHIN US.
SIMPLY PUT, THE JOB OF THE CHRISTIAN IS NOT TO BE SINLESS, BUT TO STRUGGLE AGAINST SIN. AND IF WE LAUGH OFF OUR OWN SINS AND FAILINGS, IF WE FAIL TO RECOGNIZE THEM, IF WE DON'T TAKE INVENTORY ONCE IN A WHILE AND MAKE PLANS TO CHANGE, WELL, WE AREN'T HEARING THE GOSPEL AND WE ARE BLOWING OUR OPPORTUNITIES TO RECEIVE GOD'S GRACE.
SO DURING THIS LENT LET US REFLECT UPON OUR SINS, AND TRY TO DEVELOP THAT GODLY PERSPECTIVE, THAT EVERY SIN IS AN AFFRONT TO GOD, AND A REASON THAT JESUS DIED. BUT LET US NOT LOSE HEART; AS LONG AS WE ARE ALIVE, OUR LORD WILL SAY THOSE HEALING WORDS, “NEITHER DO I CONDEMN YOU” BUT HE WILL ALSO SAY, “SIN NO MORE.”
ISN'T IT FUNNY HOW THINGS CHANGE? IN THE DAYS WHEN THIS GOSPEL PASSAGE HAPPENED, ADULTERY WAS CONSIDERED BY THE JEWISH PEOPLE TO BE ONE OF THE THREE MOST SERIOUS SINS, ALONG WITH MURDER AND IDOLATRY. TODAY WE STILL CONSIDER MURDER SERIOUS, BUT IDOLATRY? WE DON'T CARE. AND ADULTERY? IF THIS WOMAN HAD BEEN ALIVE TODAY, SHE'D BE ON THE COVER OF PEOPLE MAGAZINE OR TALKING TO OPRAH ON NATIONAL TELEVISION.
IN THE GOSPEL TODAY, JESUS' ENEMIES ARE TRYING TO TRAP HIM, AND WE SEE HOW HE CLEVERLY AVOIDED THEIR TRAP. WE SEE HOW MERCIFUL JESUS IS TO THE WOMAN, WHEN HE REFUSES TO CONDEMN HER. AND WE COULD COMMENT ON THE DOUBLE STANDARD WE SEE HERE – BECAUSE IF THIS WOMAN WERE CAUGHT IN ADULTERY, THERE HAD TO BE ANOTHER PERSON INVOLVED. WHERE WAS HE?
BUT JESUS LOOKED DOWN ON THE GROUND. THINK OF IT. THE SON OF GOD, THE SINLESS ONE, FACES NOT ONLY A WOMAN WHO WAS A SINNER, BUT A MOB OF PEOPLE, ALL FULL OF SIN, ABOUT TO COMMIT STILL ANOTHER – THE SIN OF MURDER. AND JESUS MUST HAVE NEEDED TO LOOK AWAY, BECAUSE SIN IS SO TERRIBLE IN THE EYES OF GOD. AND JESUS MUST HAVE NEEDED TO LOOK AWAY, AS HE THOUGHT ABOUT HOW HE WOULD SOON BE UNDERGOING AN AGONIZING DEATH BECAUSE OF SIN, AND WHAT HE WAS SEEING RIGHT THAT MOMENT WAS ONLY A TINY FRACTION OF THE OCEAN OF SIN FOR WHICH HE WOULD DIE.
JESUS TOLD THE MOB THAT THE ONE WHO WAS WITHOUT SIN SHOULD CAST THE FIRST STONE, AND TO THEIR CREDIT, NONE OF THEM COULD STAND THERE AND TAKE UP THAT CHALLENGE. THEY SUDDENLY BECAME CONSCIOUS OF THEIR OWN SINFUL STATE.
WE HUMAN BEINGS MAKE SEVERAL MISTAKES ABOUT SIN. THE FIRST IS THAT WHEN WE THINK ABOUT SIN AT ALL, WE ARE MUCH MORE LIKELY TO CONDEMN PEOPLE FOR SEXUAL SINS THAN FOR MANY OTHER KINDS OF SIN. USUALLY WHEN WE FIND OUT THAT SOMEONE HAS COMMITTED A MURDER, WE ARE FINDING OUT THAT THEY'VE BEEN ARRESTED AND ARE IN THE HANDS OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM; THEY ARE ALREADY PAYING. BUT SEXUAL SINS REPEL US BECAUSE THE GUILTY PARTY DOESN'T SEEM TO PAY, AT LEAST PAY ENOUGH. AND IF YOU ARE A CROOKED BUSINESSMAN OR A CORRUPT POLITICIAN, WELL, THAT DOESN'T SEEM NEARLY AS BAD AS A SEXUAL SIN.
THE SECOND IS THAT WE TEND TO SEE SINS OF COMMISSION AS MUCH MORE SERIOUS THAN SINS OF OMISSION. IF WE DON'T DO SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD HAVE DONE, WE DON'T FEEL NEARLY AS GUILTY AS WHEN WE DO SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD NOT HAVE DONE. AND OUR SINS OF OMISSION ARE FAR MORE COMMON THAN SINS OF COMMISSION. EVERYONE IN THIS CHURCH CAN THINK OF SOMETHING THAT HE OR SHE SHOULD HAVE DONE OR COULD HAVE DONE WITHIN THE LAST WEEK, BUT DID NOT DO; AND IT HARDLY TROUBLES OUR CONSCIENCE AT ALL. YET JESUS CONDEMNED THOSE WHO ASKED, “LORD, WHEN DID WE SEE YOU HUNGRY AND NOT FEED YOU?” SOMETIMES OUR SINS OF OMISSION RESULT IN PEOPLE WHO DIE OF HUNGER, PEOPLE WHO NEVER ACHIEVE THEIR HUMAN POTENTIAL BECAUSE OF THEIR POVERTY, PEOPLE WHO ARE CONDEMNED TO THE MARGINS OF SOCIETY – ALL BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T BEEN GENEROUS, BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T SHARED OUR TALENTS, OR TREASURE, OUR TIME.
THE THIRD MISTAKE IS THAT WE THINK THE LONGER IT'S BEEN SINCE WE COMMITTED A SIN, THE LESS SERIOUS IT IS. IF YOU GO TO CONFESSION FREQUENTLY, YOU PROBABLY COME UP WITH A REASONABLE LIST OF SINS TO CONFESS. IF YOU JUST GO ONCE A YEAR OR LESS OFTEN, YOU PROBABLY HAVE A REALLY HARD TIME THINKING OF ANYTHING TO CONFESS. I KNOW THAT'S TRUE, BECAUSE I'VE BEEN THERE, BOTH WAYS. AND WE TEND TO LOOK BACK ON SINS COMMITTED WHILE WE WERE YOUNG AND FOOLISH WITH A SENSE OF BENIGN TOLERANCE. AND WE TEND TO DISMISS SINS COMMITTED LONG AGO AS WATER OVER THE BRIDGE.
TO GOD, OF COURSE, WHO LIVES OUTSIDE TIME, WHO SEES EVERYTHING FROM A GOD'S EYE PERSPECTIVE, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A LITTLE SIN. EVERY SIN PUTS A BARRIER BETWEEN GOD AND ME, EVERY SIN DISTURBS THE ORDER IN THE WORLD; EVERY SIN CONDEMNS JESUS TO DIE. EVERY SIN IS A HORROR TO OUR GUARDIAN ANGEL, EVEN WHEN WE DON'T GIVE IT A SECOND THOUGHT. AND I THINK THAT IS THE INSIGHT THAT THE MOB HAD WHO SURROUNDED THE WOMAN CAUGHT IN ADULTERY.
WE CATHOLICS EITHER DON'T WORRY MUCH ABOUT SIN, HAVING CONVINCED OURSELVES THAT GOD IS GOING TO FORGIVE US NO MATTER WHAT WE DO, OR IF WE DO THINK ABOUT SIN, WE TEND TO GRADE OUR SINS, AND MOST OF THE TIME, WE GIVE OURSELVES PRETTY GOOD GRADES. IN THE OLDEN DAYS, WE TALKED ABOUT VENIAL SINS AND MORTAL SINS, AND WE CATHOLIC SCHOOL KIDS COULD RATTLE OFF WHAT THERE HAD TO BE FOR A MORTAL SIN TO HAPPEN, AND WE WENT TO BED COMFORTED BY THE FACT THAT WE DID NOT DO ONE OF THOSE.
MARTIN LUTHER WAS NOT THEOLOGICALLY CORRECT WHEN HE SAID THAT EVERY SIN WAS A MORTAL SIN, BUT HE HAD THE RIGHT ATTITUDE. THE VERY FIRST THING WE HAVE TO DO IF WE WANT TO LIVE HOLY LIVES IS TO BE CONSCIOUS OF THE FACT THAT WE ARE SINNERS, AND THAT SIN IS REALLY SERIOUS. AND EVEN THOUGH WE'VE BEEN FORGIVEN AND WILL BE FORGIVEN AGAIN AND AGAIN, THANKS TO THE PASSION AND DEATH OF JESUS, WE CAN'T BE COMPLACENT. JESUS TELLS THE WOMAN CAUGHT IN ADULTERY THAT HE DOES NOT CONDEMN HER, BUT HE ALSO TELLS HER THAT SHE MUST NOT SIN AGAIN. GOD WANTS TO FORGIVE US, NO QUESTION. BUT THE PRICE OF FORGIVENESS IS A DECISION TO SIN NO MORE. TO REALLY SIN NO MORE IS PROBABLY POSSIBLE ONLY FOR A FEW OF US, BUT AS WE STRUGGLE TO SIN NO MORE, WE GAIN IN GRACE AND BECOME MORE ABLE TO RESPOND TO GOD'S VOICE WITHIN US.
SIMPLY PUT, THE JOB OF THE CHRISTIAN IS NOT TO BE SINLESS, BUT TO STRUGGLE AGAINST SIN. AND IF WE LAUGH OFF OUR OWN SINS AND FAILINGS, IF WE FAIL TO RECOGNIZE THEM, IF WE DON'T TAKE INVENTORY ONCE IN A WHILE AND MAKE PLANS TO CHANGE, WELL, WE AREN'T HEARING THE GOSPEL AND WE ARE BLOWING OUR OPPORTUNITIES TO RECEIVE GOD'S GRACE.
SO DURING THIS LENT LET US REFLECT UPON OUR SINS, AND TRY TO DEVELOP THAT GODLY PERSPECTIVE, THAT EVERY SIN IS AN AFFRONT TO GOD, AND A REASON THAT JESUS DIED. BUT LET US NOT LOSE HEART; AS LONG AS WE ARE ALIVE, OUR LORD WILL SAY THOSE HEALING WORDS, “NEITHER DO I CONDEMN YOU” BUT HE WILL ALSO SAY, “SIN NO MORE.”
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Fourth Sunday in Lent, cycle C
LUKE 15:1-3, 11-32
DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE TELEVISION PROGRAM, THE SIMPSONS? I'M SURE NO ONE HERE ACTUALLY WATCHES IT, BUT I REMEMBER AN EPISODE THAT I THINK HAS SOME BEARING ON TODAY'S GOSPEL. THE SIMPSONS BELONG TO A NON-DENOMINATIONAL CHURCH. MARGE, THE WIFE AND MOTHER, IS MUCH MORE INTERESTED IN RELIGION THAN HER FAMILY. THE DAUGHTER, LISA, CONSIDERS HERSELF A BUDDHIST, AND HOMER, THE FATHER, IS GIVEN TO MAKING UP QUOTES FROM THE BIBLE WHEN HE THINKS IT MIGHT GET HIM SOMEWHERE.
IN THE EPISODE I'M THINKING OF, HOMER AND HIS SON BART RESCUE A PRIEST, AND ARE QUICKLY CONVINCED TO CONVERT. THE PRIEST TELLS THEM THAT CATHOLICS CAN DANCE, DRINK BEER, AND GENERALLY CAN DO ABOUT ANYTHING, BECAUSE THEY CAN ALWAYS GO TO CONFESSION AND START ALL OVER. THIS SEEMS LIKE A GOOD DEAL TO HOMER AND BART. EVENTUALLY MARGE HAS A DREAM. SHE IS IN PROTESTANT HEAVEN, HAS A SMALL HARP, IS GIVEN A CUP OF TEA AND A ROCKING CHAIR. SHE SEES OVER ON THE NEXT CLOUD THE CATHOLIC HEAVEN, WHERE HOMER AND BART AND JESUS HIMSELF ARE ALL HAVING A WILD PARTY. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER HOMER AND BART EVER CONVERTED; THE SIMPSONS PROGRAM IS NOT BIG ON CONTINUITY.
AS I WAS READING THE STORY OF THE PRODIGAL SON LAST WEEK, I REALIZED THAT I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE LIKED THE YOUNGER SON. HE BLEW HIS INHERITANCE BECAUSE HE WAS INTERESTED IN NOW, IN HOW MUCH FUN HE COULD HAVE. HE WASN'T WORRIED ABOUT TOMORROW. AND WHEN THINGS GET DESPERATE, HE KNEW WHERE TO GO, WHAT TO SAY, WHAT TO DO. HE'LL NEVER BE RICH, BUT YOU CAN BET HE WILL HAVE FUN, HE WILL ENJOY LIFE. AND IN THE END OF THIS STORY, HE IS HAVING A WONDERFUL TIME AT THE PARTY THE FATHER HAS THROWN FOR HIM, STILL NOT THINKING ABOUT TOMORROW, JUST ENJOYING HIS GOOD FORTUNE.
AND I PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE LIKED THE OLDER BROTHER. HE ACCUSES HIS FATHER OF NOT EVEN GIVING HIM A GOAT TO CELEBRATE WITH HIS FRIENDS, BUT I SUSPECT HE DIDN'T HAVE ANY FRIENDS, OR IF HE DID, HE WOULD NOT HAVE WASTED A GOAT ON THEM. HE REFERS TO HIS BROTHER AS “THIS SON OF YOURS” BECAUSE HE CAN'T STAND THE TASTE OF THE WORDS, “MY BROTHER.” HE PROBABLY KNEW TO THE PENNY HOW MUCH HIS FATHER'S PROPERTY WAS WORTH, AND WAS JUST WAITING TO TAKE OVER. THE FATHER REJOICED THAT THE YOUNGER SON HAD RETURNED; THAT WAS A REACTION OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. BUT THE FATHER'S REACTION TO THE OLDER SON'S COMPLAINT IS ONE OF DUTY -- “ALL THAT I HAVE IS YOURS”. THAT STATEMENT DOES NOT HAVE THE RING OF LOVE IN IT, DOES IT?
THE TWO SONS HAVE VASTLY DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES, AND MAYBE NOTHING COULD CHANGE EITHER OF THEM VERY MUCH. BUT I WOULD SUBMIT THAT ONE OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THEM IS FIXABLE; THE YOUNGER SON IS FORGIVEN, THE OLDER SON IS NOT. JESUS TALKED ABOUT THIS IN OTHER PLACES AS WELL, WHEN HE SAID THAT HE DID NOT COME FOR THE RIGHTEOUS, BUT FOR SINNERS; AND HE POINTED OUT THE TAX COLLECTOR SITTING IN THE BACK OF THE TEMPLE, AND SAID THAT HE WOULD BE FAVORED OVER THE PHARISEE. AND JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED IN PART, BECAUSE HE CHALLENGED THE GOOD PEOPLE OF HIS TIME, WHO WERE GOOD, WHO WORKED VERY HARD TO WORSHIP GOD PERFECTLY AND LIVE ACCORDING TO GOD'S LAW. THE PEOPLE JESUS CRITICIZED FASTED, GAVE ALMS, PRAYED, AND WERE VERY SINCERE. BUT THEY DID NOT SEE THAT THEY NEEDED FORGIVENESS.
LOOK HOW THE PRODIGAL SON ACCEPTS FORGIVENESS. HE COMES TO HIS FATHER WITH NOTHING, AND HE EXPECTS NOTHING. HE IS JUST HOPING THAT HE COULD BE A SERVANT IN THE HOUSE, A PERSON WHO WAS ALLOWED TO HAVE A ROOF OVER HIS HEAD AND A COUPLE OF MEALS EVERY DAY. AND HE THROWS HIMSELF ON THE MERCY OF HIS FATHER, KNOWING THAT HE HAS NO CLAIM ON HIM FOR ANYTHING. AND HE IS FORGIVEN, AND HE ACCEPTS FORGIVENESS, AND HE ENTERS IN TO THE FATHER'S BANQUET.
THE OLDER SON HAS DONE EVERYTHING RIGHT, AND BELIEVES THAT BECAUSE OF THIS, HE IS ENTITLED. HE DOESN'T NEED FORGIVENESS. BUT THAT IS JESUS' POINT. EVERYONE NEEDS FORGIVENESS, NO MATTER HOW GOOD YOU THINK YOU ARE. AND IF THE OLDER SON FELL ON HIS KNEES IN FRONT OF THE FATHER AND ADMITTED THAT HE TOO NEEDED FORGIVENESS, HE WOULD RECEIVE FORGIVENESS AS WELL, AND HE WOULD BE CHANGED AND HE WOULD JOYFULLY GO IN AND ENJOY THE BANQUET. THE YOUNGER SON IS WILLING TO TELL HIS FATHER WHAT HE HAS DONE WRONG; THE OLDER SON DOESN'T BELIEVE HE HAS DONE ANYTHING WRONG.
BUT HERE'S THE THING. EVERYONE NEEDS FORGIVENESS. THE VERY FACT THAT YOU ARE A FEW POUNDS OVERWEIGHT, SLEEP IN A WARM BED, HAVE A CAR AND A GOOD JOB -- YOU NEED FORGIVENESS FOR THAT – BECAUSE THERE ARE A SOME OF YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS OUT THERE WHO ARE SLEEPING UNDER BRIDGES, TRUDGE FROM PLACE TO PLACE IN WORN OUT SHOES OR EVEN IN BARE FEET; HAVE NOTHING, AND SOMETIMES GO TWO OR THREE DAYS WITHOUT ANYTHING TO EAT. AND THAT SHOULDN'T BE, AND THAT IS PARTLY YOUR FAULT. IF YOU HAVE NOT LOVED GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, SOUL, MIND, AND STRENGTH, AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF, AND WHO HAS, YOU AND I NEED FORGIVENESS.
OUR LOVING FATHER WAITS FOR US, HOPES THAT WE WILL COME HOME; HE HOLDS OUT HIS FORGIVENESS UNCONDITIONALLY. BUT FORGIVENESS IS A KIND OF LOVE, IT CANNOT BE A ONE-WAY THING. IT REQUIRES SOMEONE TO OFFER FORGIVENESS, AND SOMEONE TO ACCEPT IT. AND IF I AM TO ACCEPT IT, I HAVE TO HAVE A CLEAR IDEA AS TO WHY I NEED FORGIVENESS. AND THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF OUR SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION. IT'S TRUE THAT GOD IS ALWAYS WILLING TO FORGIVE US; BUT IF WE DON'T GO OVER OUR MOTIVES AND OUR BEHAVIOR, AND CLEARLY IDENTIFY WHY WE NEED FORGIVENESS, AND HAVE THE INTENTION OF TRYING TO IMPROVE OUR LIVES, THE INTERACTION CANNOT TAKE PLACE. GOD WILL STILL GIVE US EVERYTHING WE NEED, HE WILL STILL HOLD OUT HIS OFFER; BUT WE CAN'T ENTER IN TO THE BANQUET UNTIL WE HAVE ACCEPTED THE FORGIVENESS THAT WE NEED. SO GO TO THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE AND GET IN THE HABIT OF BEING FORGIVEN; AND THEN WHEN YOU AND I ACCEPT THAT WE ARE SINNERS, WE WILL BE FORGIVEN SINNERS, WE WILL ENTER INTO A FORETASTE OF HEAVEN HERE ON EARTH.
DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE TELEVISION PROGRAM, THE SIMPSONS? I'M SURE NO ONE HERE ACTUALLY WATCHES IT, BUT I REMEMBER AN EPISODE THAT I THINK HAS SOME BEARING ON TODAY'S GOSPEL. THE SIMPSONS BELONG TO A NON-DENOMINATIONAL CHURCH. MARGE, THE WIFE AND MOTHER, IS MUCH MORE INTERESTED IN RELIGION THAN HER FAMILY. THE DAUGHTER, LISA, CONSIDERS HERSELF A BUDDHIST, AND HOMER, THE FATHER, IS GIVEN TO MAKING UP QUOTES FROM THE BIBLE WHEN HE THINKS IT MIGHT GET HIM SOMEWHERE.
IN THE EPISODE I'M THINKING OF, HOMER AND HIS SON BART RESCUE A PRIEST, AND ARE QUICKLY CONVINCED TO CONVERT. THE PRIEST TELLS THEM THAT CATHOLICS CAN DANCE, DRINK BEER, AND GENERALLY CAN DO ABOUT ANYTHING, BECAUSE THEY CAN ALWAYS GO TO CONFESSION AND START ALL OVER. THIS SEEMS LIKE A GOOD DEAL TO HOMER AND BART. EVENTUALLY MARGE HAS A DREAM. SHE IS IN PROTESTANT HEAVEN, HAS A SMALL HARP, IS GIVEN A CUP OF TEA AND A ROCKING CHAIR. SHE SEES OVER ON THE NEXT CLOUD THE CATHOLIC HEAVEN, WHERE HOMER AND BART AND JESUS HIMSELF ARE ALL HAVING A WILD PARTY. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER HOMER AND BART EVER CONVERTED; THE SIMPSONS PROGRAM IS NOT BIG ON CONTINUITY.
AS I WAS READING THE STORY OF THE PRODIGAL SON LAST WEEK, I REALIZED THAT I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE LIKED THE YOUNGER SON. HE BLEW HIS INHERITANCE BECAUSE HE WAS INTERESTED IN NOW, IN HOW MUCH FUN HE COULD HAVE. HE WASN'T WORRIED ABOUT TOMORROW. AND WHEN THINGS GET DESPERATE, HE KNEW WHERE TO GO, WHAT TO SAY, WHAT TO DO. HE'LL NEVER BE RICH, BUT YOU CAN BET HE WILL HAVE FUN, HE WILL ENJOY LIFE. AND IN THE END OF THIS STORY, HE IS HAVING A WONDERFUL TIME AT THE PARTY THE FATHER HAS THROWN FOR HIM, STILL NOT THINKING ABOUT TOMORROW, JUST ENJOYING HIS GOOD FORTUNE.
AND I PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE LIKED THE OLDER BROTHER. HE ACCUSES HIS FATHER OF NOT EVEN GIVING HIM A GOAT TO CELEBRATE WITH HIS FRIENDS, BUT I SUSPECT HE DIDN'T HAVE ANY FRIENDS, OR IF HE DID, HE WOULD NOT HAVE WASTED A GOAT ON THEM. HE REFERS TO HIS BROTHER AS “THIS SON OF YOURS” BECAUSE HE CAN'T STAND THE TASTE OF THE WORDS, “MY BROTHER.” HE PROBABLY KNEW TO THE PENNY HOW MUCH HIS FATHER'S PROPERTY WAS WORTH, AND WAS JUST WAITING TO TAKE OVER. THE FATHER REJOICED THAT THE YOUNGER SON HAD RETURNED; THAT WAS A REACTION OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. BUT THE FATHER'S REACTION TO THE OLDER SON'S COMPLAINT IS ONE OF DUTY -- “ALL THAT I HAVE IS YOURS”. THAT STATEMENT DOES NOT HAVE THE RING OF LOVE IN IT, DOES IT?
THE TWO SONS HAVE VASTLY DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES, AND MAYBE NOTHING COULD CHANGE EITHER OF THEM VERY MUCH. BUT I WOULD SUBMIT THAT ONE OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THEM IS FIXABLE; THE YOUNGER SON IS FORGIVEN, THE OLDER SON IS NOT. JESUS TALKED ABOUT THIS IN OTHER PLACES AS WELL, WHEN HE SAID THAT HE DID NOT COME FOR THE RIGHTEOUS, BUT FOR SINNERS; AND HE POINTED OUT THE TAX COLLECTOR SITTING IN THE BACK OF THE TEMPLE, AND SAID THAT HE WOULD BE FAVORED OVER THE PHARISEE. AND JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED IN PART, BECAUSE HE CHALLENGED THE GOOD PEOPLE OF HIS TIME, WHO WERE GOOD, WHO WORKED VERY HARD TO WORSHIP GOD PERFECTLY AND LIVE ACCORDING TO GOD'S LAW. THE PEOPLE JESUS CRITICIZED FASTED, GAVE ALMS, PRAYED, AND WERE VERY SINCERE. BUT THEY DID NOT SEE THAT THEY NEEDED FORGIVENESS.
LOOK HOW THE PRODIGAL SON ACCEPTS FORGIVENESS. HE COMES TO HIS FATHER WITH NOTHING, AND HE EXPECTS NOTHING. HE IS JUST HOPING THAT HE COULD BE A SERVANT IN THE HOUSE, A PERSON WHO WAS ALLOWED TO HAVE A ROOF OVER HIS HEAD AND A COUPLE OF MEALS EVERY DAY. AND HE THROWS HIMSELF ON THE MERCY OF HIS FATHER, KNOWING THAT HE HAS NO CLAIM ON HIM FOR ANYTHING. AND HE IS FORGIVEN, AND HE ACCEPTS FORGIVENESS, AND HE ENTERS IN TO THE FATHER'S BANQUET.
THE OLDER SON HAS DONE EVERYTHING RIGHT, AND BELIEVES THAT BECAUSE OF THIS, HE IS ENTITLED. HE DOESN'T NEED FORGIVENESS. BUT THAT IS JESUS' POINT. EVERYONE NEEDS FORGIVENESS, NO MATTER HOW GOOD YOU THINK YOU ARE. AND IF THE OLDER SON FELL ON HIS KNEES IN FRONT OF THE FATHER AND ADMITTED THAT HE TOO NEEDED FORGIVENESS, HE WOULD RECEIVE FORGIVENESS AS WELL, AND HE WOULD BE CHANGED AND HE WOULD JOYFULLY GO IN AND ENJOY THE BANQUET. THE YOUNGER SON IS WILLING TO TELL HIS FATHER WHAT HE HAS DONE WRONG; THE OLDER SON DOESN'T BELIEVE HE HAS DONE ANYTHING WRONG.
BUT HERE'S THE THING. EVERYONE NEEDS FORGIVENESS. THE VERY FACT THAT YOU ARE A FEW POUNDS OVERWEIGHT, SLEEP IN A WARM BED, HAVE A CAR AND A GOOD JOB -- YOU NEED FORGIVENESS FOR THAT – BECAUSE THERE ARE A SOME OF YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS OUT THERE WHO ARE SLEEPING UNDER BRIDGES, TRUDGE FROM PLACE TO PLACE IN WORN OUT SHOES OR EVEN IN BARE FEET; HAVE NOTHING, AND SOMETIMES GO TWO OR THREE DAYS WITHOUT ANYTHING TO EAT. AND THAT SHOULDN'T BE, AND THAT IS PARTLY YOUR FAULT. IF YOU HAVE NOT LOVED GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, SOUL, MIND, AND STRENGTH, AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF, AND WHO HAS, YOU AND I NEED FORGIVENESS.
OUR LOVING FATHER WAITS FOR US, HOPES THAT WE WILL COME HOME; HE HOLDS OUT HIS FORGIVENESS UNCONDITIONALLY. BUT FORGIVENESS IS A KIND OF LOVE, IT CANNOT BE A ONE-WAY THING. IT REQUIRES SOMEONE TO OFFER FORGIVENESS, AND SOMEONE TO ACCEPT IT. AND IF I AM TO ACCEPT IT, I HAVE TO HAVE A CLEAR IDEA AS TO WHY I NEED FORGIVENESS. AND THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF OUR SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION. IT'S TRUE THAT GOD IS ALWAYS WILLING TO FORGIVE US; BUT IF WE DON'T GO OVER OUR MOTIVES AND OUR BEHAVIOR, AND CLEARLY IDENTIFY WHY WE NEED FORGIVENESS, AND HAVE THE INTENTION OF TRYING TO IMPROVE OUR LIVES, THE INTERACTION CANNOT TAKE PLACE. GOD WILL STILL GIVE US EVERYTHING WE NEED, HE WILL STILL HOLD OUT HIS OFFER; BUT WE CAN'T ENTER IN TO THE BANQUET UNTIL WE HAVE ACCEPTED THE FORGIVENESS THAT WE NEED. SO GO TO THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE AND GET IN THE HABIT OF BEING FORGIVEN; AND THEN WHEN YOU AND I ACCEPT THAT WE ARE SINNERS, WE WILL BE FORGIVEN SINNERS, WE WILL ENTER INTO A FORETASTE OF HEAVEN HERE ON EARTH.
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