LUKE 15:1-32
I AM ALWAYS FASCINATED BY PEOPLE WHO HAVE OBSESSIONS. SOMETIMES WE THINK THAT REFERS TO A MENTAL ILLNESS, AND SOMETIMES IT DOES; BUT WE ALL KNOW PEOPLE WHOSE OBSESSION IS BENIGN AND SOMETIMES A SOURCE OF GREAT PLEASURE. MY GRANDMOTHER COLLECTED ORNAMENTAL SALT AND PEPPER SHAKERS. SHE LET IT BE KNOWN THAT FOR CHRISTMAS AND BIRTHDAYS, SALT AND PEPPER SHAKERS WOULD BE WONDERFUL GIFTS. PEOPLE WHO WENT AWAY ON TRIPS WOULD BRING HER BACK SALT AND PEPPER SHAKERS. SHE HAD TWO LARGE DISPLAY CASES CRAMMED WITH THESE LITTLE FIGURINES SHAPED LIKE BIRDS OR BEARS OR BEER CANS, OR JUST ABOUT ANYTHING ELSE YOU COULD MENTION. WHEN I WAS SMALL, I COULD SPEND A LOT OF TIME LOOKING AT HER COLLECTION, SO FULL OF VARIETY, AND SHE HAD A STORY ABOUT WHERE EACH SET CAME FROM.
WHEN SHE DIED, NO ONE REALLY WANTED HER COLLECTION, AND I BELIEVE IT WAS BOXED UP AND SHIPPED TO HER DAUGHTER WHO HAS ALSO PASSED AWAY, AND WHO KNOWS WHATEVER HAPPENED TO IT?
TODAY'S GOSPEL TELLS US ABOUT GOD'S OBSESSION. GOD IS OBSESSED WITH US. HE MOVES HEAVEN AND EARTH TO GATHER US TO HIMSELF. I THINK WE CAN ALL SEE THAT IN THE THREE STORIES JESUS TELLS, EACH ONE WITH THE REFRAIN, REJOICE, OR CELEBRATE! WHAT WAS LOST IS NOW FOUND!”
BUT WHY THREE STORIES? CERTAINLY ANY ONE OF THEM WOULD HAVE MADE THE POINT. BUT I THINK JESUS TOLD THREE STORIES FOR A REASON.
THE SHEEP, THE COIN AND THE WAYWARD SON ARE NOT INTERESTED IN BEING FOUND. AND I THINK MOST OF US, DESPITE WHAT WE MAY SAY, DESPITE EVEN WHAT WE DO, ARE DEEP DOWN A LITTLE WORRIED ABOUT BEING GATHERED INTO GOD'S COLLECTION. WE LIKE BEING IN CHARGE. EVEN WHEN WE TRY TO LIVE A GOOD LIFE AND MAKE GOOD CHOICES, THE FACT THAT WE MAKE THE CHOICES AND THAT WE COULD CHOOSE OTHERWISE PLEASES US. WE RIGHTLY SUSPECT THAT SOMETHING WILL CHANGE IF WE SURRENDER COMPLETELY TO GOD. OUR WILL WON'T BE OUR OWN ANYMORE; TO MAKE OTHER CHOICES THAN THE ONES GOD MAKES WILL NO LONGER BE A POSSIBILITY. JESUS, WHO COMPLETELY SURRENDERED TO GOD, MADE SEVERAL STATEMENTS TO THIS EFFECT: “MY FOOD AND DRINK IS TO DO THE WILL OF THE FATHER; NOT MY WILL, BUT YOUR WILL BE DONE; FOR I HAVE COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN NOT TO DO MY WILL. BUT THE WILL OF HIM WHO SENT ME.” AND YET EACH OF US STRUGGLES MOST OF OUR LIVES TRYING TO SURRENDER OUR WILL TO GOD. NONE OF US CAN USE THE EXCUSE THAT WE DON'T KNOW GOD'S WILL. WITH EVERY CHOICE WE MAKE, GOD'S WILL IS USUALLY CLEAR, AND IF IT'S NOT, THAT'S WHAT THE CHURCH IS FOR. THE PROBLEM IS NOT THAT WE DON'T KNOW GOD'S WILL, BUT THAT WE DON'T WANT TO KNOW IT.
THE COIN IS PASSIVE. DID IT FALL OFF A TABLE OR OUT OF A PURSE? WHATEVER HAPPENED, IT JUST LIES THERE; IT DOESN'T COOPERATE WITH OR OPPOSE THE EFFORTS OF THE WOMAN AND HER BROOM. HER FRANTIC SWEEPING MEANS NOTHING TO IT. AND SOME OF US ARE LIKE THAT. GOD, WE SAY, LEAVE ME ALONE. I DON'T WANT TO THINK ABOUT YOU AND YOUR OBSESSION WITH ME. MAYBE SOMEDAY IN THE FUTURE, BUT AS FOR RIGHT NOW, I HAVE ENOUGH ON MY PLATE.
THE SHEEP IS DISTRACTED. SHE LEAVES THE FLOCK IN PURSUIT OF A MOUTHFUL OF THIS AND A TASTE OF THAT; AND SOONER OR LATER, SHE'S COMPLETELY LOST. AND SOME OF US ARE LIKE THAT AS WELL. WE HAVE A SORT OF A DESIRE TO DRAW CLOSER TO GOD, TO PRAY MORE, TO GET TO THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE; WE INTEND TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE BIBLE. WE PLAN TO GET INVOLVED IN SOME PARISH ACTIVITY, OR MAKE A CURSILLO, OR IN SOME WAY START TO TAKE OUR SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT MORE SERIOUSLY. BUT WE DON'T HAVE A PLAN, AND ONE DAY LEADS TO ANOTHER, AND WE ARE CONSTANTLY DISTRACTED BY THE THINGS THAT CATCH OUR ATTENTION, AND DESPITE OUR INTENTIONS, NOTHING HAPPENS. AND ONE DAY WE WAKE UP IN THE TWILIGHT OF OUR LIVES AND REALIZE THAT WE ARE NO NEARER TO OUR LORD THAN WE WERE WHEN WE WERE YOUNG.
AND THE YOUNG MAN MAKES A DECISION TO LEAVE HIS FATHER'S HOUSE AND DEPEND ON HIS OWN RESOURCES, AFTER, OF COURSE, SQUANDERING EVERYTHING HIS FATHER GAVE HIM. AND WE SEE THIS ALL THE TIME AS OUR YOUNG PEOPLE LEAVE THE CHURCH AFTER CONFIRMATION, AS ONCE FAITHFUL CHURCH-GOERS STOP GOING BECAUSE THEY DISAGREE WITH THE BISHOP ABOUT CLOSING A CHURCH, OR ABOUT HOW A CONTROVERSY IS HANDLED. AND WE MAY TURN AGAINST OUR FATHER'S HOUSE, OUR CHURCH, IN OTHER WAYS; THERE ARE MANY TIMES WHEN THE CHURCH TAKES ONE POSITION AND THE WORLD ANOTHER. WE CATHOLICS AREN'T VERY DIFFERENT FROM OUR NEIGHBORS IN THE WAY WE REGARD SO CALLED GAY MARRIAGE, ABORTION, AND MANY OTHER TOPICS. INSTEAD OF LEARNING ABOUT WHY THE CHURCH TEACHES THE WAY IT DOES, WE REFLEXIVELY ASSUME THAT THE CHURCH IS HOPELESSLY OUT OF DATE AND DOESN'T HAVE MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THE WORLD IN WHICH WE LIVE.
SO JESUS IS SAYING THAT THERE ARE DIFFERENT WAYS OF RESISTING GOD'S OBSESSION WITH US. BUT GOD DOESN'T GIVE UP; HE LEAVES THE 99 SHEEP TO FIND THE ONE THAT IS LOST – SOMETHING NO HUMAN SHEPHERD WOULD DO. HE SWEEPS THE ENTIRE HOUSE LOOKING FOR A LOST COIN; IT WOULD HAVE TO BE REALLY VALUABLE FOR ME TO DO THAT; I WOULDN'T DO IT FOR A QUARTER OR EVEN ONE OF THOSE ONE DOLLAR COINS THAT YOU GET NOW AND THEN. BUT FOR THE PERSON WHO DELIBERATELY REJECTS HIM, GOD ACTS DIFFERENTLY; HE WAITS, HE CHOOSES TO WAIT FOR THE RETURN OF THAT PERSON. BECAUSE AS MUCH AS GOD IS OBSESSED WITH US, HE LOVES US SO MUCH THAT HE ALLOWS US THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR DELIBERATE CHOICES; BECAUSE IF WE ARE IN GOD'S IMAGE AND LIKENESS, WE MUST BE FREE TO CHOOSE.
OVER THE PAST FEW SUNDAYS JESUS HAS BEEN TELLING US ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD. TWO SUNDAYS AGO HE TOLD US TO INVITE THE OUTCASTS TO OUR FEAST AND TO HUMBLE OURSELVES. LAST SUNDAY HE TOLD US THAT UNLESS WE HATED OUR FAMILY AND EVEN OUR OWN LIVES, WE COULDN'T ENTER THE KINGDOM; BUT TODAY HE OFFERS REASSURANCE; WE DON'T HAVE TO FIND THE KINGDOM ALONE. WE HAVE A GOD WHO WILL NEVER GIVE UP. WE HAVE A GOD WHO PLUNGED FROM HEAVEN TO EARTH, WHO THREW OFF HIS GODHOOD TO BE ONE OF US, WHO WHEN THE ONLY WAY TO SAVE US WAS TO DIE IN OUR PLACE, CHOSE TO DIE FOR US. BUT HAVING DONE ALL THAT, HE STILL WAITS BY THE ROAD FOR US TO RETURN TO HIM AND SURRENDER OUR WILLS SO THAT HE CAN GIVE US EVERYTHING.
AND YET SO MANY CHOOSE TO REMAIN IN THAT FOREIGN LAND AND FIGHT WITH PIGS OVER WHAT WE EAT, WHEN WE COULD BE FEASTING IN OUR FATHER'S HOME.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C
LUKE 14:25-33
IF YOU WANT TO BE A DISCIPLE, YOU HAVE TO HATE YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR LIFE, TAKE UP YOUR CROSS AND GO WHERE JESUS GOES – TO CALVARY. AND JESUS WARNS THAT WE BETTER MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS WHAT WE REALLY WANT TO DO – BECAUSE IT WILL TAKE EVERYTHING WE HAVE.
AND IMMEDIATELY OUR MINDS GO TO PEOPLE LIKE SAINT FRANCIS, OR MOTHER THERESA, OR MARTYRS, OR MISSIONARIES OR MONKS. BECAUSE SURELY, WE SAY, WE CAN'T DO THIS – OR MAYBE WE COULD, BUT FACE IT, WE DON'T WANT TO. SO WE PUT THIS TROUBLING GOSPEL ASIDE AND TRY NOT TO THINK ABOUT IT. IT'S EASIER TO LISTEN TO JESUS TELL US SOOTHING THINGS, LIKE “MY YOKE IS LIGHT AND MY BURDEN IS SWEET”.
LUIGI QUATTROCHI MET MARIA CORSINI WHEN HE WAS 25 AND SHE WAS 21. BOTH WERE WELL-EDUCATED; LUIGI WAS A LAWYER AND MARIA HAD A DEGREE IN EDUCATION. THEY MARRIED IN 1905. IN RAPID SUCCESSION THEY HAD THREE CHILDREN. LATER A FOURTH WOULD BE BORN, AND SINCE THE DOCTORS DIDN'T THINK MARIA OR THE BABY WOULD SURVIVE, THEY ADVISED AN ABORTION. THE COUPLE REFUSED, AND THE BABY AND MARIA SURVIVED. LUIGI WAS HEAVILY INVOLVED IN HIS CAREER, AND ENTERED GOVERNMENT SERVICE. MARIA, IN ADDITION TO RAISING HER FAMILY, FOUND TIME TO PROMOTE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS ESPECIALLY FOR UNDERPRIVILEGED CHILDREN IN ROME. THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES THEY THREW PARTIES FOR THEIR FRIENDS, AND TOOK THEIR CHILDREN CAMPING; THEY LIVED SIMPLY, BUT WERE COMFORTABLY MIDDLE CLASS. THEY GOT IN THE HABIT OF A DAILY ROSARY, PARTICIPATED IN A HOLY HOUR BEFORE THE BLESSED SACRAMENT ONCE A WEEK, AND WENT ON A PILGRIMAGE TO LOURDES. WHEN LUIGI DIED IN 1951 OF A HEART ATTACK, HE WAS DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE ITALIAN STATE. MARIA SPENT THE LATER PART OF HER LIFE AS A CO-FOUNDER OF THE SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY IN ROME. DURING WORLD WAR II THEY WERE HEAVILY INVOLVED IN HELPING SETTLE REFUGEES.
PEOPLE WHO KNEW THEM RECALLED THEIR GENEROSITY, SENSE OF HUMOR, AND OBVIOUS LOVE FOR EACH OTHER AND FOR THEIR FAMILY; THEIR CHILDREN DESCRIBED THEM AS WONDERFUL PARENTS.
POPE JOHN PAUL II IN AN UNPRECEDENTED ACT, BEATIFIED THIS COUPLE IN 2001, AND THEIR FEAST DAY IS THE DAY OF THEIR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY, NOVEMBER 25TH.
THE REASON TO THINK ABOUT LUIGI AND MARIA IN THE CONTEXT OF THIS GOSPEL IS THAT THEY TOO WERE DISCIPLES; BUT YOU AND I KNOW PEOPLE JUST LIKE THEM, MANY IN THIS PARISH. BECAUSE MOST OF US ARE CALLED TO BE DISCIPLES THROUGH OUR ORDINARY LIVES, AND I THINK IT MAY BE HARDER TO BE A DISCIPLE IN ORDINARY LIFE THAN TO BE A SAINT FRANCIS OR MOTHER THERESA, A MARTYR OR A MISSIONARY OR A MONK.
JESUS CALLS US TO DISCIPLESHIP RIGHT WHERE WE ARE. THERE WILL BE MOMENTS WHEN WE HAVE TO HATE OUR LIVES AND OUR LOVED ONES – HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A MARRIAGE WHERE ONE SPOUSE SACRIFICES EVERYTHING FOR THE SAKE OF THE OTHER, WHO MAY BE SICK, MAY BE MENTALLY ILL, MAY BE VERY DIFFICULT TO LOVE; OR WHERE A CHILD BETRAYS EVERY VALUE THE PARENTS TRIED TO INSTILL – THERE ARE TIMES WHEN THE ONLY REASON YOU CAN LOVE SOMEONE IS BECAUSE YOU PUT JESUS FIRST, WHO COMMANDED THAT WE LOVE EACH OTHER. THERE WILL BE TIMES WHEN YOU WORK AT A JOB YOU HATE, OR FEEL THAT YOU CAN'T CLEAN UP ONE MORE GLASS OF SPILLED MILK; AND YOU WILL BE BEARING YOUR CROSS, YOU WILL BE ENTERING INTO THE CRUCIFIXION ALONGSIDE JESUS. AND EACH MORNING, YOU WILL HAVE TO MARSHAL ALL YOUR STRENGTH TO GET THROUGH THE DAY, NOT JUST TO GET THROUGH IT, BUT TO DO EACH TASK AS WELL AS POSSIBLE, TO NOT JUST APPEAR CHEERFUL, BUT TO BE CHEERFUL; AND SOME DAYS YOU WILL STRUGGLE TO SEE GOD'S PLAN FOR YOU THAT DAY. OH, TO BE A MARTYR AND DIE IN A GLORIOUS MOMENT FOR GOD! INSTEAD, WE DIE A LITTLE AT A TIME, DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY.
MOST OF US ARE CALLED TO WORK IN THE WORLD. FATHER ESCRIVA, THE FOUNDER OF OPUS DEI AND NOW A SAINT, SPENT HIS LIFE TRYING TO SHOW PEOPLE HOW WORK WAS NOT SOMETHING THAT HAD TO BE DONE SO THAT WE COULD DEVOTE OURSELVES TO PRAYER AND CHARITY DURING OUR SPARE TIME; WORK IN THE WORLD WAS IN FACT THE WAY MOST OF US ARE GOING TO BE SANCTIFIED. A CHRISTIAN DOES THE WORK TO WHICH HE OR SHE IS CALLED WITH THE INTENTION OF DOING IT AS WELL AS IT CAN BE DONE. AND HOLINESS COMES ABOUT AS A RESULT. FIRST, THE CHRISTIAN MAKES THE WORK HOLY, BECAUSE IT IS AS THOUGH JESUS HIMSELF IS DOING IT; WE ARE AFTER ALL, MEMBERS OF THE BODY OF CHRIST, BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF THE LORD. SECOND, THE CHRISTIAN MAKES HIMSELF OR HERSELF HOLY BECAUSE OF THE WORK, NOT IN SPITE OF IT. BECAUSE HUMAN BEINGS ARE MEANT TO WORK; GOD TOLD ADAM, BEFORE ORIGINAL SIN TOOK PLACE, THAT HE WAS TO CULTIVATE AND TEND TO THE GARDEN OF EDEN. WHEN WE WORK, WE ARE VERY CLOSE TO GOD BECAUSE NO MATTER HOW DEMEANING THE TASK MAY SEEM TO BE, WORK IS CREATIVE. AND WE ARE VERY CLOSE TO MARY AND JOSEPH, WHO WORKED ALL THEIR LIVES. FINALLY, THE CHRISTIAN MAKES THE WORLD HOLY THROUGH WORK. BECAUSE WE ARE CALLED TO BUILD THE KINGDOM OF GOD. THAT ISN'T PIE IN THE SKY; IT ISN'T THE SAME THING AS GOING TO HEAVEN. EACH OF US SHOULD HAVE A CLEAR IDEA HOW THE WORK WE DO FITS INTO GOD'S PLAN FOR THE WORLD. AND IT DOES. AND WHEN WE GO ABOUT OUR WORK KNOWING THAT REPRESENTING A PERSON IN COURT OR FIXING A BROKEN SINK, OR MAKING IT POSSIBLE FOR OUR FELLOW CITIZENS TO PURCHASE SOME GOOD OR SERVICE THAT ENHANCES THEIR LIVES AND SAVES THEM TIME, WE BEGAN TO SEE THE BIG PICTURE; THE KINGDOM THAT JESUS DIED TO ESTABLISH CAN ONLY HAPPEN IF WE DO OUR WORK IN THE WORLD, AND THAT'S HOW WE MAKE THE WORLD HOLY.
IT'S VERY HARD TO BE A DISCIPLE OF JESUS. IT TAKES EVERYTHING WE HAVE. BUT WE DON'T HAVE TO ENVY THE GREAT SAINTS WHO DID SPECTACULAR THINGS. LIKE BLESSED LUIGI AND BLESSED MARIA QUATROCCHI, IF WE LIVE OUR ORDINARY LIVES WITH EXTRAORDINARY LOVE, THAT IS ALL JESUS WANTS.
THIS IS LABOR DAY WEEKEND. WE HONOR HUMAN LABOR BECAUSE LABOR IS THE REASON GOD PUT US HERE, AND OUR OWN LABOR IS THE MEANS BY WHICH WE BECOME DISCIPLES AND WE BRING ABOUT GOD'S KINGDOM. SO LET US ASK BLESSED LUIGI AND MARIA FOR A RENEWED APPRECIATION FOR THIS WONDERFUL GIFT GOD HAS GIVEN US TO MAKE US HOLY.
IF YOU WANT TO BE A DISCIPLE, YOU HAVE TO HATE YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR LIFE, TAKE UP YOUR CROSS AND GO WHERE JESUS GOES – TO CALVARY. AND JESUS WARNS THAT WE BETTER MAKE SURE THAT THIS IS WHAT WE REALLY WANT TO DO – BECAUSE IT WILL TAKE EVERYTHING WE HAVE.
AND IMMEDIATELY OUR MINDS GO TO PEOPLE LIKE SAINT FRANCIS, OR MOTHER THERESA, OR MARTYRS, OR MISSIONARIES OR MONKS. BECAUSE SURELY, WE SAY, WE CAN'T DO THIS – OR MAYBE WE COULD, BUT FACE IT, WE DON'T WANT TO. SO WE PUT THIS TROUBLING GOSPEL ASIDE AND TRY NOT TO THINK ABOUT IT. IT'S EASIER TO LISTEN TO JESUS TELL US SOOTHING THINGS, LIKE “MY YOKE IS LIGHT AND MY BURDEN IS SWEET”.
LUIGI QUATTROCHI MET MARIA CORSINI WHEN HE WAS 25 AND SHE WAS 21. BOTH WERE WELL-EDUCATED; LUIGI WAS A LAWYER AND MARIA HAD A DEGREE IN EDUCATION. THEY MARRIED IN 1905. IN RAPID SUCCESSION THEY HAD THREE CHILDREN. LATER A FOURTH WOULD BE BORN, AND SINCE THE DOCTORS DIDN'T THINK MARIA OR THE BABY WOULD SURVIVE, THEY ADVISED AN ABORTION. THE COUPLE REFUSED, AND THE BABY AND MARIA SURVIVED. LUIGI WAS HEAVILY INVOLVED IN HIS CAREER, AND ENTERED GOVERNMENT SERVICE. MARIA, IN ADDITION TO RAISING HER FAMILY, FOUND TIME TO PROMOTE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS ESPECIALLY FOR UNDERPRIVILEGED CHILDREN IN ROME. THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES THEY THREW PARTIES FOR THEIR FRIENDS, AND TOOK THEIR CHILDREN CAMPING; THEY LIVED SIMPLY, BUT WERE COMFORTABLY MIDDLE CLASS. THEY GOT IN THE HABIT OF A DAILY ROSARY, PARTICIPATED IN A HOLY HOUR BEFORE THE BLESSED SACRAMENT ONCE A WEEK, AND WENT ON A PILGRIMAGE TO LOURDES. WHEN LUIGI DIED IN 1951 OF A HEART ATTACK, HE WAS DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE ITALIAN STATE. MARIA SPENT THE LATER PART OF HER LIFE AS A CO-FOUNDER OF THE SACRED HEART UNIVERSITY IN ROME. DURING WORLD WAR II THEY WERE HEAVILY INVOLVED IN HELPING SETTLE REFUGEES.
PEOPLE WHO KNEW THEM RECALLED THEIR GENEROSITY, SENSE OF HUMOR, AND OBVIOUS LOVE FOR EACH OTHER AND FOR THEIR FAMILY; THEIR CHILDREN DESCRIBED THEM AS WONDERFUL PARENTS.
POPE JOHN PAUL II IN AN UNPRECEDENTED ACT, BEATIFIED THIS COUPLE IN 2001, AND THEIR FEAST DAY IS THE DAY OF THEIR WEDDING ANNIVERSARY, NOVEMBER 25TH.
THE REASON TO THINK ABOUT LUIGI AND MARIA IN THE CONTEXT OF THIS GOSPEL IS THAT THEY TOO WERE DISCIPLES; BUT YOU AND I KNOW PEOPLE JUST LIKE THEM, MANY IN THIS PARISH. BECAUSE MOST OF US ARE CALLED TO BE DISCIPLES THROUGH OUR ORDINARY LIVES, AND I THINK IT MAY BE HARDER TO BE A DISCIPLE IN ORDINARY LIFE THAN TO BE A SAINT FRANCIS OR MOTHER THERESA, A MARTYR OR A MISSIONARY OR A MONK.
JESUS CALLS US TO DISCIPLESHIP RIGHT WHERE WE ARE. THERE WILL BE MOMENTS WHEN WE HAVE TO HATE OUR LIVES AND OUR LOVED ONES – HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A MARRIAGE WHERE ONE SPOUSE SACRIFICES EVERYTHING FOR THE SAKE OF THE OTHER, WHO MAY BE SICK, MAY BE MENTALLY ILL, MAY BE VERY DIFFICULT TO LOVE; OR WHERE A CHILD BETRAYS EVERY VALUE THE PARENTS TRIED TO INSTILL – THERE ARE TIMES WHEN THE ONLY REASON YOU CAN LOVE SOMEONE IS BECAUSE YOU PUT JESUS FIRST, WHO COMMANDED THAT WE LOVE EACH OTHER. THERE WILL BE TIMES WHEN YOU WORK AT A JOB YOU HATE, OR FEEL THAT YOU CAN'T CLEAN UP ONE MORE GLASS OF SPILLED MILK; AND YOU WILL BE BEARING YOUR CROSS, YOU WILL BE ENTERING INTO THE CRUCIFIXION ALONGSIDE JESUS. AND EACH MORNING, YOU WILL HAVE TO MARSHAL ALL YOUR STRENGTH TO GET THROUGH THE DAY, NOT JUST TO GET THROUGH IT, BUT TO DO EACH TASK AS WELL AS POSSIBLE, TO NOT JUST APPEAR CHEERFUL, BUT TO BE CHEERFUL; AND SOME DAYS YOU WILL STRUGGLE TO SEE GOD'S PLAN FOR YOU THAT DAY. OH, TO BE A MARTYR AND DIE IN A GLORIOUS MOMENT FOR GOD! INSTEAD, WE DIE A LITTLE AT A TIME, DAY AFTER DAY AFTER DAY.
MOST OF US ARE CALLED TO WORK IN THE WORLD. FATHER ESCRIVA, THE FOUNDER OF OPUS DEI AND NOW A SAINT, SPENT HIS LIFE TRYING TO SHOW PEOPLE HOW WORK WAS NOT SOMETHING THAT HAD TO BE DONE SO THAT WE COULD DEVOTE OURSELVES TO PRAYER AND CHARITY DURING OUR SPARE TIME; WORK IN THE WORLD WAS IN FACT THE WAY MOST OF US ARE GOING TO BE SANCTIFIED. A CHRISTIAN DOES THE WORK TO WHICH HE OR SHE IS CALLED WITH THE INTENTION OF DOING IT AS WELL AS IT CAN BE DONE. AND HOLINESS COMES ABOUT AS A RESULT. FIRST, THE CHRISTIAN MAKES THE WORK HOLY, BECAUSE IT IS AS THOUGH JESUS HIMSELF IS DOING IT; WE ARE AFTER ALL, MEMBERS OF THE BODY OF CHRIST, BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF THE LORD. SECOND, THE CHRISTIAN MAKES HIMSELF OR HERSELF HOLY BECAUSE OF THE WORK, NOT IN SPITE OF IT. BECAUSE HUMAN BEINGS ARE MEANT TO WORK; GOD TOLD ADAM, BEFORE ORIGINAL SIN TOOK PLACE, THAT HE WAS TO CULTIVATE AND TEND TO THE GARDEN OF EDEN. WHEN WE WORK, WE ARE VERY CLOSE TO GOD BECAUSE NO MATTER HOW DEMEANING THE TASK MAY SEEM TO BE, WORK IS CREATIVE. AND WE ARE VERY CLOSE TO MARY AND JOSEPH, WHO WORKED ALL THEIR LIVES. FINALLY, THE CHRISTIAN MAKES THE WORLD HOLY THROUGH WORK. BECAUSE WE ARE CALLED TO BUILD THE KINGDOM OF GOD. THAT ISN'T PIE IN THE SKY; IT ISN'T THE SAME THING AS GOING TO HEAVEN. EACH OF US SHOULD HAVE A CLEAR IDEA HOW THE WORK WE DO FITS INTO GOD'S PLAN FOR THE WORLD. AND IT DOES. AND WHEN WE GO ABOUT OUR WORK KNOWING THAT REPRESENTING A PERSON IN COURT OR FIXING A BROKEN SINK, OR MAKING IT POSSIBLE FOR OUR FELLOW CITIZENS TO PURCHASE SOME GOOD OR SERVICE THAT ENHANCES THEIR LIVES AND SAVES THEM TIME, WE BEGAN TO SEE THE BIG PICTURE; THE KINGDOM THAT JESUS DIED TO ESTABLISH CAN ONLY HAPPEN IF WE DO OUR WORK IN THE WORLD, AND THAT'S HOW WE MAKE THE WORLD HOLY.
IT'S VERY HARD TO BE A DISCIPLE OF JESUS. IT TAKES EVERYTHING WE HAVE. BUT WE DON'T HAVE TO ENVY THE GREAT SAINTS WHO DID SPECTACULAR THINGS. LIKE BLESSED LUIGI AND BLESSED MARIA QUATROCCHI, IF WE LIVE OUR ORDINARY LIVES WITH EXTRAORDINARY LOVE, THAT IS ALL JESUS WANTS.
THIS IS LABOR DAY WEEKEND. WE HONOR HUMAN LABOR BECAUSE LABOR IS THE REASON GOD PUT US HERE, AND OUR OWN LABOR IS THE MEANS BY WHICH WE BECOME DISCIPLES AND WE BRING ABOUT GOD'S KINGDOM. SO LET US ASK BLESSED LUIGI AND MARIA FOR A RENEWED APPRECIATION FOR THIS WONDERFUL GIFT GOD HAS GIVEN US TO MAKE US HOLY.
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C
LUKE 14:1, 7-14
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IT TAKES A LOT TO CIVILIZE US. I CAN REMEMBER MY MOTHER TELLING ME TO EAT WITH MY MOUTH CLOSED, TO GET MY ELBOWS OFF THE TABLE, NOT TO TALK WITH MY MOUTH FULL – ALL ARBITRARY RULES; IN SOME SOCIETIES IT'S CONSIDERED BAD FORM TO EAT WITH YOUR LEFT HAND, OR TO TELL YOUR HOST YOU CAN'T EAT ANOTHER BITE. BUT EVERY SOCIETY HAS ITS ARBITRARY RULES, RULES ABOUT EATING, RULES ABOUT HOW MEN AND WOMEN INTERACT IN PUBLIC, RULES ABOUT HOW WE SPEAK TO EACH OTHER. AND WHEN SOMEONE DOESN'T FOLLOW THE RULES, PEOPLE AROUND HIM OR HER ARE MADE VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. HERE'S AN EXPERIMENT. NEXT TIME YOU ARE TALKING TO SOMEONE, MOVE CLOSER, OR MOVE FURTHER AWAY; THE OTHER PERSON WILL UNCONSCIOUSLY ADJUST SO THAT THE SAME DISTANCE BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU WILL BE MAINTAINED. ONE OF THE REASONS WE ARE A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH PEOPLE FROM THE MIDDLE EAST IS BECAUSE THERE, PEOPLE STAND CLOSER TO EACH OTHER WHEN THEY ARE SPEAKING.
SO WHAT IS JESUS DOING TODAY? IT SOUNDS LIKE HE'S GIVING SOME POINTERS ABOUT MANNERS. BUT MANNERS, IMPORTANT AS THEY ARE FOR THE SMOOTH FUNCTIONING OF A SOCIETY, SEEM LIKE RELATIVELY UNIMPORTANT THINGS FOR THE LORD OF CREATION TO SPEND TIME ON.
BUT JESUS HAD FOUND A TEACHABLE MOMENT, AND HE WAS NOT GOING TO LET IT GO TO WASTE.
YOU AND I ARE FAR REMOVED FROM THE FIRST CENTURY IN PALESTINE. IF PEOPLE CAME TO A PARTY WE GAVE AND JOSTLED AND PUSHED TO GET AS CLOSE TO THE HOST AS POSSIBLE, IT WOULD BE CONSIDERED EXTREMELY IMPOLITE. BUT THAT WAS ACTUALLY NORMAL BEHAVIOR IN THAT TIME AND PLACE. IF YOU WERE INVITED TO A PARTY, YOU KNEW YOU HAD A BOND WITH THE HOST, AND IT WAS CONSIDERED GOOD FORM TO TRY TO SIT AS CLOSE TO HIM AS POSSIBLE. IT WAS A SIGN THAT YOU APPRECIATED HIS FRIENDSHIP, AND THE HONOR HE HAD GIVEN YOU BY INVITING YOU. THE JOSTLING AS PEOPLE TRIED TO SIT CLOSE TO THE HEAD OF THE TABLE WAS NOT MALICIOUS; IT WAS EVEN FRIENDLY, AND THERE WOULD BE PRETEND ARGUMENTS ABOUT WHICH ONE SHOULD GIVE WAY TO THE NEXT; “I'M HIS FIRST COUSIN, I SHOULD SIT HIGHER THAN YOU!” “BUT I'M HIS SON-IN-LAW, THAT GIVES ME A HIGHER PLACE.” SOMETIMES OTHERS WOULD JOIN IN THESE ARGUMENTS SIDING WITH ONE OR THE OTHER.
AND INDEED, AS JESUS POINTS OUT, SOMETIMES THE HOST WOULD ASK SOMEONE TO MAKE ROOM FOR A SPECIAL GUEST, AND IF EVERYONE HAD ALREADY FOUND A PLACE, THAT PERSON WOULD HAVE TO MOVE TO THE FARTHEST SPOT. AND THIS WAS MORE THAN EMBARRASSMENT, IT WAS AN INSULT; THE HOST WAS MAKING VERY LITTLE OF THE RELATIONSHIP YOU THOUGHT YOU HAD HAD.
WE DON'T IDENTIFY WITH THE GUESTS AT THE BANQUET. WE CAN'T SEE OURSELVES BEHAVING IN THIS WAY AT ALL. BUT WE DO IDENTIFY WITH THE BEHAVIOR OF THE HOST. LIKE HIM, WE INVITE TO OUR DINNER PARTIES ONLY THOSE PEOPLE WE KNOW AND LIKE. WE MAY SOMETIMES HAVE A FRIEND OVER WHO CAN'T INVITE US TO HER HOUSE, BUT WE DO SO BECAUSE OF FRIENDSHIP, AND SO WE ARE PAID BACK; WE WANT TO GET TOGETHER AND SOCIALIZE AND THE PRICE IS A SUPPER. AND BY EXTENSION, OUR CHARITY IS SIMILAR. WE PICK AND CHOOSE WHO WE WILL HELP. IT'S MUCH EASIER TO GIVE MONEY TO A CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION THAN TO GET OUR HANDS DIRTY HELPING PEOPLE WHO ARE UNLIKEABLE, OR WHO HAVE BROUGHT THEIR MISERY ON THEMSELVES THROUGH DRUGS OR ALCOHOL; OR PEOPLE WHO AREN'T LIKE US – IMMIGRANTS FROM COUNTRIES HALF-WAY AROUND THE WORLD, DISPLACED PERSONS.
WE SEE OURSELVES AS CHARITABLE, BUT WE PICK AND CHOOSE WHERE OUR CHARITY GOES, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT OUR HELP TO GO TO WASTE; IF WE HELP SOMEBODY, THEY BETTER STAY HELPED!
JESUS IS TEACHING US THE MANNERS OF THE SOCIETY IN WHICH WE ALL HOPE TO LIVE, THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. THERE, WHEN WE FIND OURSELVES AT THE BANQUET, WE WILL SUDDENLY SEE OUR TRUE RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR HOST-- WE WILL FEEL PRETTY SMALL WHEN WE THINK OF THE RELATIONSHIP WE REALLY HAVE, AS OPPOSED TO THE ONE WE THOUGHT WE HAD. WE WILL REMEMBER THE TIMES WHEN WE TURNED AWAY FROM OPPORTUNITIES TO GET TO KNOW OUR HOST BETTER, OPPORTUNITIES TO PROVE OUR FRIENDSHIP IN SERVICE, OPPORTUNITIES TO FURTHER HIS IDEALS, HIS PLAN. WE WILL REMEMBER THE TIMES WHEN WE PUT OURSELVES FIRST, AND GAVE LITTLE THOUGHT TO OUR HOST. WE WILL TAKE OUR SEAT AT THE FOOT OF THE TABLE, AND IF WE ARE ASKED TO COME UP HIGHER, IT WILL BE A GENUINE SURPRISE.
AND AS WE LOOK AROUND THE BANQUET HALL AND SEE THE REST OF THE GUESTS, HEROIC MARTYRS, FOUNDERS OF RELIGIOUS ORDERS, MISSIONARIES, NOT TO MENTION PARISH PRIESTS, SELF-SACRIFICINGMOTHERS AND FATHERS – ALL THE PEOPLE WHO POURED THEMSELVES OUT FOR THEIR FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS IN THE NAME OF OUR HOST, WE WILL FEEL OVERWHELMED BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN INVITED TO THE BANQUET – AND WE HAVE NOTHING TO GIVE BACK, NOTHING WITH WHICH TO RECIPROCATE.
IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, THE MANNERS ARE DIFFERENT THAN THEY ARE IN OUR SOCIETY. THERE PEOPLE KNOW THEMSELVES; THEY KNOW THEIR FAULTS AND LIMITATIONS, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, THEY KNOW WHERE THEY STAND IN RELATION TO OUR FATHER; THEY KNOW HOW MUCH THEY ARE LOVED, THEY KNOW THAT IN RESPONSE TO THIS LOVE THEY SHOULD GIVE EVERYTHING BACK, AND THEY KNOW TO WHAT EXTENT THEY HAVEN'T MET THAT MARK. AND NO ONE IN THE KINGDOM CAN LOOK AT ANOTHER PERSON AND HONESTLY SAY, “I SHOULD BE CLOSER TO THE HOST THAN YOU. AND THAT IS HUMILITY – TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF OURSELVES AS WE APPEAR IN GOD'S EYES.
IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, OUR HOST OVERLOOKS OUR LIMITATIONS; HE LOVES US EVEN THOUGH WE AREN'T VERY LOVABLE AT ALL. HE INVITES US TO THE BANQUET WHERE THERE IS NO HOPE OF US RECIPROCATING; HE PICKS US UP AND DRESSES US IN A FINE ROBE AND THROWS US A FEAST, WHEN WE HAD BEEN HOPING AGAINST HOPE THAT MAYBE HE WOULD AT LEAST LET US BE SERVANTS IN HIS MANSION.
AND THAT IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE TWO PIECES OF ADVICE OUR LORD GIVES THE GUESTS AND THE HOST AT THAT DINNER PARTY IN PALESTINE SO LONG AGO. LOOK AT THE OTHER PERSON, AND NEVER FOR A MINUTE ALLOW A COMPARISON TO ENTER YOUR MIND. AS FAR AS YOU KNOW, THAT PERSON DESERVES TO SIT CLOSER TO THE HOST THAN YOU DO. AND IF YOU LOOK AT YOURSELF HONESTLY, YOU KNOW THAT YOUR PLACE IS LOW, AND YOU'RE LUCKY TO BE INVITED AT ALL.
AND SINCE YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED, YOU WHO DON'T DESERVE EVEN THE LOWEST SEAT IN THE BANQUET HALL, IT MAKES SENSE IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN TO IMITATE YOUR HOST, WHO INVITED YOU WHEN YOU HAD NO WAY OF REPAYING. SO WHEN YOU SERVE, WHEN YOU ARE MOVED TO ACTS OF CHARITY, DO LIKEWISE; BECAUSE IN SERVING THOSE THAT NO ONE ELSE WANTS TO SERVE, YOU SERVE YOUR HOST, AND YOU STRENGTHEN THAT RELATIONSHIP, AND MAYBE YOU WILL HEAR THOSE WORDS SOMEDAY, “FRIEND, COME UP HIGHER.”
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IT TAKES A LOT TO CIVILIZE US. I CAN REMEMBER MY MOTHER TELLING ME TO EAT WITH MY MOUTH CLOSED, TO GET MY ELBOWS OFF THE TABLE, NOT TO TALK WITH MY MOUTH FULL – ALL ARBITRARY RULES; IN SOME SOCIETIES IT'S CONSIDERED BAD FORM TO EAT WITH YOUR LEFT HAND, OR TO TELL YOUR HOST YOU CAN'T EAT ANOTHER BITE. BUT EVERY SOCIETY HAS ITS ARBITRARY RULES, RULES ABOUT EATING, RULES ABOUT HOW MEN AND WOMEN INTERACT IN PUBLIC, RULES ABOUT HOW WE SPEAK TO EACH OTHER. AND WHEN SOMEONE DOESN'T FOLLOW THE RULES, PEOPLE AROUND HIM OR HER ARE MADE VERY UNCOMFORTABLE. HERE'S AN EXPERIMENT. NEXT TIME YOU ARE TALKING TO SOMEONE, MOVE CLOSER, OR MOVE FURTHER AWAY; THE OTHER PERSON WILL UNCONSCIOUSLY ADJUST SO THAT THE SAME DISTANCE BETWEEN THE TWO OF YOU WILL BE MAINTAINED. ONE OF THE REASONS WE ARE A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE WITH PEOPLE FROM THE MIDDLE EAST IS BECAUSE THERE, PEOPLE STAND CLOSER TO EACH OTHER WHEN THEY ARE SPEAKING.
SO WHAT IS JESUS DOING TODAY? IT SOUNDS LIKE HE'S GIVING SOME POINTERS ABOUT MANNERS. BUT MANNERS, IMPORTANT AS THEY ARE FOR THE SMOOTH FUNCTIONING OF A SOCIETY, SEEM LIKE RELATIVELY UNIMPORTANT THINGS FOR THE LORD OF CREATION TO SPEND TIME ON.
BUT JESUS HAD FOUND A TEACHABLE MOMENT, AND HE WAS NOT GOING TO LET IT GO TO WASTE.
YOU AND I ARE FAR REMOVED FROM THE FIRST CENTURY IN PALESTINE. IF PEOPLE CAME TO A PARTY WE GAVE AND JOSTLED AND PUSHED TO GET AS CLOSE TO THE HOST AS POSSIBLE, IT WOULD BE CONSIDERED EXTREMELY IMPOLITE. BUT THAT WAS ACTUALLY NORMAL BEHAVIOR IN THAT TIME AND PLACE. IF YOU WERE INVITED TO A PARTY, YOU KNEW YOU HAD A BOND WITH THE HOST, AND IT WAS CONSIDERED GOOD FORM TO TRY TO SIT AS CLOSE TO HIM AS POSSIBLE. IT WAS A SIGN THAT YOU APPRECIATED HIS FRIENDSHIP, AND THE HONOR HE HAD GIVEN YOU BY INVITING YOU. THE JOSTLING AS PEOPLE TRIED TO SIT CLOSE TO THE HEAD OF THE TABLE WAS NOT MALICIOUS; IT WAS EVEN FRIENDLY, AND THERE WOULD BE PRETEND ARGUMENTS ABOUT WHICH ONE SHOULD GIVE WAY TO THE NEXT; “I'M HIS FIRST COUSIN, I SHOULD SIT HIGHER THAN YOU!” “BUT I'M HIS SON-IN-LAW, THAT GIVES ME A HIGHER PLACE.” SOMETIMES OTHERS WOULD JOIN IN THESE ARGUMENTS SIDING WITH ONE OR THE OTHER.
AND INDEED, AS JESUS POINTS OUT, SOMETIMES THE HOST WOULD ASK SOMEONE TO MAKE ROOM FOR A SPECIAL GUEST, AND IF EVERYONE HAD ALREADY FOUND A PLACE, THAT PERSON WOULD HAVE TO MOVE TO THE FARTHEST SPOT. AND THIS WAS MORE THAN EMBARRASSMENT, IT WAS AN INSULT; THE HOST WAS MAKING VERY LITTLE OF THE RELATIONSHIP YOU THOUGHT YOU HAD HAD.
WE DON'T IDENTIFY WITH THE GUESTS AT THE BANQUET. WE CAN'T SEE OURSELVES BEHAVING IN THIS WAY AT ALL. BUT WE DO IDENTIFY WITH THE BEHAVIOR OF THE HOST. LIKE HIM, WE INVITE TO OUR DINNER PARTIES ONLY THOSE PEOPLE WE KNOW AND LIKE. WE MAY SOMETIMES HAVE A FRIEND OVER WHO CAN'T INVITE US TO HER HOUSE, BUT WE DO SO BECAUSE OF FRIENDSHIP, AND SO WE ARE PAID BACK; WE WANT TO GET TOGETHER AND SOCIALIZE AND THE PRICE IS A SUPPER. AND BY EXTENSION, OUR CHARITY IS SIMILAR. WE PICK AND CHOOSE WHO WE WILL HELP. IT'S MUCH EASIER TO GIVE MONEY TO A CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION THAN TO GET OUR HANDS DIRTY HELPING PEOPLE WHO ARE UNLIKEABLE, OR WHO HAVE BROUGHT THEIR MISERY ON THEMSELVES THROUGH DRUGS OR ALCOHOL; OR PEOPLE WHO AREN'T LIKE US – IMMIGRANTS FROM COUNTRIES HALF-WAY AROUND THE WORLD, DISPLACED PERSONS.
WE SEE OURSELVES AS CHARITABLE, BUT WE PICK AND CHOOSE WHERE OUR CHARITY GOES, BECAUSE WE DON'T WANT OUR HELP TO GO TO WASTE; IF WE HELP SOMEBODY, THEY BETTER STAY HELPED!
JESUS IS TEACHING US THE MANNERS OF THE SOCIETY IN WHICH WE ALL HOPE TO LIVE, THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. THERE, WHEN WE FIND OURSELVES AT THE BANQUET, WE WILL SUDDENLY SEE OUR TRUE RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR HOST-- WE WILL FEEL PRETTY SMALL WHEN WE THINK OF THE RELATIONSHIP WE REALLY HAVE, AS OPPOSED TO THE ONE WE THOUGHT WE HAD. WE WILL REMEMBER THE TIMES WHEN WE TURNED AWAY FROM OPPORTUNITIES TO GET TO KNOW OUR HOST BETTER, OPPORTUNITIES TO PROVE OUR FRIENDSHIP IN SERVICE, OPPORTUNITIES TO FURTHER HIS IDEALS, HIS PLAN. WE WILL REMEMBER THE TIMES WHEN WE PUT OURSELVES FIRST, AND GAVE LITTLE THOUGHT TO OUR HOST. WE WILL TAKE OUR SEAT AT THE FOOT OF THE TABLE, AND IF WE ARE ASKED TO COME UP HIGHER, IT WILL BE A GENUINE SURPRISE.
AND AS WE LOOK AROUND THE BANQUET HALL AND SEE THE REST OF THE GUESTS, HEROIC MARTYRS, FOUNDERS OF RELIGIOUS ORDERS, MISSIONARIES, NOT TO MENTION PARISH PRIESTS, SELF-SACRIFICINGMOTHERS AND FATHERS – ALL THE PEOPLE WHO POURED THEMSELVES OUT FOR THEIR FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS IN THE NAME OF OUR HOST, WE WILL FEEL OVERWHELMED BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN INVITED TO THE BANQUET – AND WE HAVE NOTHING TO GIVE BACK, NOTHING WITH WHICH TO RECIPROCATE.
IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, THE MANNERS ARE DIFFERENT THAN THEY ARE IN OUR SOCIETY. THERE PEOPLE KNOW THEMSELVES; THEY KNOW THEIR FAULTS AND LIMITATIONS, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY, THEY KNOW WHERE THEY STAND IN RELATION TO OUR FATHER; THEY KNOW HOW MUCH THEY ARE LOVED, THEY KNOW THAT IN RESPONSE TO THIS LOVE THEY SHOULD GIVE EVERYTHING BACK, AND THEY KNOW TO WHAT EXTENT THEY HAVEN'T MET THAT MARK. AND NO ONE IN THE KINGDOM CAN LOOK AT ANOTHER PERSON AND HONESTLY SAY, “I SHOULD BE CLOSER TO THE HOST THAN YOU. AND THAT IS HUMILITY – TRUE KNOWLEDGE OF OURSELVES AS WE APPEAR IN GOD'S EYES.
IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, OUR HOST OVERLOOKS OUR LIMITATIONS; HE LOVES US EVEN THOUGH WE AREN'T VERY LOVABLE AT ALL. HE INVITES US TO THE BANQUET WHERE THERE IS NO HOPE OF US RECIPROCATING; HE PICKS US UP AND DRESSES US IN A FINE ROBE AND THROWS US A FEAST, WHEN WE HAD BEEN HOPING AGAINST HOPE THAT MAYBE HE WOULD AT LEAST LET US BE SERVANTS IN HIS MANSION.
AND THAT IS THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE TWO PIECES OF ADVICE OUR LORD GIVES THE GUESTS AND THE HOST AT THAT DINNER PARTY IN PALESTINE SO LONG AGO. LOOK AT THE OTHER PERSON, AND NEVER FOR A MINUTE ALLOW A COMPARISON TO ENTER YOUR MIND. AS FAR AS YOU KNOW, THAT PERSON DESERVES TO SIT CLOSER TO THE HOST THAN YOU DO. AND IF YOU LOOK AT YOURSELF HONESTLY, YOU KNOW THAT YOUR PLACE IS LOW, AND YOU'RE LUCKY TO BE INVITED AT ALL.
AND SINCE YOU HAVE BEEN INVITED, YOU WHO DON'T DESERVE EVEN THE LOWEST SEAT IN THE BANQUET HALL, IT MAKES SENSE IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN TO IMITATE YOUR HOST, WHO INVITED YOU WHEN YOU HAD NO WAY OF REPAYING. SO WHEN YOU SERVE, WHEN YOU ARE MOVED TO ACTS OF CHARITY, DO LIKEWISE; BECAUSE IN SERVING THOSE THAT NO ONE ELSE WANTS TO SERVE, YOU SERVE YOUR HOST, AND YOU STRENGTHEN THAT RELATIONSHIP, AND MAYBE YOU WILL HEAR THOSE WORDS SOMEDAY, “FRIEND, COME UP HIGHER.”
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Twenty first Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C
LUKE 13:22-30
I READ AN ARTICLE RECENTLY IN WHICH THE AUTHOR SAID THAT MOST PEOPLE DON’T BELIEVE IN GOD. HE SAID THIS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH WHETHER OR NOT THERE WAS A GOD, IT WAS AN OBSERVATION THAT WAS EASILY PROVEN. IF YOU ARE DRIVING ALONG A ROAD AND SEE A SIGN THAT SAYS “BRIDGE OUT” YOU DON’T KEEP BARRELING ALONG; YOU BELIEVE THE SIGN, YOU STOP YOUR CAR, YOU CHANGE YOUR BEHAVIOR. BUT IF GOD SAYS FOR YOU TO DO SOMETHING OR NOT TO DO IT, MOST PEOPLE DON’T PAY MUCH ATTENTION. THAT DOESN’T MEAN WE ARE ALL NOTORIOUS SINNERS, ALTHOUGH WE CERTAINLY ARE SINNERS, BUT IT DOES MEAN THAT MOST OF US AREN’T MAKING ANY ATTEMPT TO CHANGE OURSELVES IN RESPONSE TO THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS. DOES THAT MEAN WE DON’T BELIEVE IN GOD? WHAT DO YOU THINK?
TODAY JESUS IS ASKED A QUESTION: “LORD, WILL ONLY A FEW PEOPLE BE SAVED?” AND HE DOES NOT ANSWER THE QUESTION. RATHER, HE PAINTS A PICTURE, A PICTURE MUCH MORE FAMILIAR TO HIS HEARERS THAN TO US. BUT LET ME SPEAK ABOUT TWO OTHER GOSPEL PASSAGES FOR A SECOND. IN MATTHEW, AT THE END OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT, JESUS TELLS HIS HEARERS TO “ENTER THROUGH THE NARROW GATE, BECAUSE WIDE IS THE GATE AND BROAD THE ROAD THAT LEADS TO DESTRUCTION”. AND IN LUKE, ONLY A FEW SUNDAYS AGO, JESUS TOLD THE PARABLE OF THE PERSISTENT NEIGHBOR WHO KNOCKED ON THE DOOR UNTIL THE HOUSEHOLDER GOT UP TO GET HIM THE BREAD HE HAD REQUESTED. IN TODAY’S GOSPEL PASSAGE, IT SEEMS AS THOUGH JESUS MAY BE CONTRADICTING HIMSELF; HERE THE PEOPLE ARE KNOCKING, AND THEY ARE BEING DENIED ENTRANCE, WHILE OTHERS ARE STREAMING INTO THE BANQUET – THE PATRIARCHS AND THE PROPHETS AND PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER.
TOWNS AND CITIES IN PALESTINE HAD WALLS AROUND THEM. USUALLY THERE WERE ONE OR MORE “GATES” WHICH WERE OPENED IN THE DAY AND CLOSED AT NIGHT. THESE WERE THE WIDE GATES. DURING THE DAY, GUARDS STOOD AT ATTENTION, READY TO CLOSE THE GATES IF THERE WAS A THREAT. BUT THERE WERE OTHER ENTRANCES INTO THE CITY WHICH WERE NARROW; SOMETIMES YOU HAD TO WORK YOUR WAY IN SIDEWAYS, OR STOOP VERY LOW, AND COULD ONLY GET IN ONE AT A TIME. IF YOU WANTED TO GET IN THROUGH A NARROW GATE, NOT ONLY WAS IT A STRUGGLE, BUT YOU HAD TO HAVE SOMEONE ON THE INSIDE WHO WOULD KNOW YOU WERE COMING, OR YOU TOOK A CHANCE THAT YOU WOULD BE HIT WITH A CLUB OR RUN THROUGH WITH A SPEAR.
AND THAT’S THE POINT. THE PEOPLE STANDING ON THE OUTSIDE SAYING THAT THEY HAVE EATEN AND DRUNK IN THE COMPANY OF THE LORD, AND THAT HE HAS TAUGHT IN THEIR STREETS, ARE APPEALING TO THE ONE ON THE INSIDE TO LET THEM IN, TO GIVE THEM SAFE PASSAGE. BUT NOTICE THAT THEY DON’T SAY THEY LEARNED ANYTHING THAT JESUS TAUGHT; THEY PRESUME THAT HE KNOWS THEM BECAUSE HE MOVED AMONG THEM. IT’S NOT OBVIOUS THAT THEY’VE MADE ANY CHANGE IN THEMSELVES. AND JESUS SAYS “I DO NOT KNOW WHERE YOU ARE FROM; DEPART FROM ME, YOU EVILDOERS.” JESUS DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THEM, AND CONSIDERS THEM FOREIGNERS, AND WILL NOT ADMIT THEM TO THE BANQUET.
AND THEY STAY OUTSIDE, FRUSTRATED AND ANGRY, BUT HELPLESS TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT THEIR PREDICAMENT. BUT THE STORY ENDS ON A HOPEFUL NOTE: “FOR BEHOLD, SOME ARE LAST WHO WILL BE FIRST, AND SOME ARE FIRST WHO WILL BE LAST.”
SO KNOCKING WORKS, AS IN THE CASE OF THE PERSISTENT NEIGHBOR, WHEN YOU KNOW THE ONE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GATE. IT DOESN’T WORK WHEN HE DOESN’T RECOGNIZE YOU, WHEN THERE IS NO RELATIONSHIP.
SO WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS? FIRST, WHEN WE TAKE THIS GOSPEL STORY AND THE SECTION FROM ISAIAH THAT WE HEARD EARLIER, IT’S OBVIOUS THAT GOD WANTS EVERYONE TO COME TO HIS BANQUET. SECOND, YOU CAN’T GET THERE THROUGH THE WIDE GATE. THE WIDE GATE, THE EASY PASSAGE, MIGHT GET YOU INTO THE CITY, BUT THAT ONLY GETS YOU A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE BANQUET. THERE IS NO WAY TO GET INTO THE HALL WITHOUT SOMEONE TO LEAD YOU THERE THROUGH THE NARROW GATE. THIRD, GETTING THROUGH THE NARROW GATE REQUIRES STRIVING – IT’S NOT EASY. THE GREEK WORD FOR STRIVING IS RELATED TO THE ENGLISH WORD “AGONY”. IT’S NOT EASY BECAUSE IT REQUIRES BELIEVING IN GOD, JUST LIKE YOU BELIEVE THE SIGN THAT SAYS THE BRIDGE IS OUT. IT REQUIRES MORE THAN COMING TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY, MORE THAN WISHES; IT REQUIRES A STRUGGLE, TO LEARN WHAT GOD WANTS FOR YOU, AND THEN TO DO IT. THIS MEANS LISTENING TO THE CHURCH, READING THE WORD OF GOD, AND EXAMINING OURSELVES TO SEE WHERE WE CAN CHANGE SO AS TO BE MORE LIKE JESUS CHRIST. THEN JESUS WILL RECOGNIZE US WHEN WE DO GOD’S WILL – AS HE SAID, “THE ONE WHO DOES THE WILL OF THE FATHER IS MY BROTHER AND SISTER AND MOTHER AS WELL”. AND HE WILL HELP US THROUGH THE NARROW GATE, INTO THE BANQUET WHERE PEOPLE WILL STREAM FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. IF WE AREN’T RECOGNIZED, WELL, WE HAVE TO GO TO THE BACK OF THE LINE AND START OVER AGAIN; SOME WHO ARE FIRST WILL BE LAST. MAYBE WE WILL HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE, OR TWO, OR THREE. BUT MAYBE WE ONLY HAVE ONE CHANCE, ONE OPPORTUNITY TO BE RECOGNIZED BY OUR FRIEND ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE NARROW GATE.
I READ AN ARTICLE RECENTLY IN WHICH THE AUTHOR SAID THAT MOST PEOPLE DON’T BELIEVE IN GOD. HE SAID THIS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH WHETHER OR NOT THERE WAS A GOD, IT WAS AN OBSERVATION THAT WAS EASILY PROVEN. IF YOU ARE DRIVING ALONG A ROAD AND SEE A SIGN THAT SAYS “BRIDGE OUT” YOU DON’T KEEP BARRELING ALONG; YOU BELIEVE THE SIGN, YOU STOP YOUR CAR, YOU CHANGE YOUR BEHAVIOR. BUT IF GOD SAYS FOR YOU TO DO SOMETHING OR NOT TO DO IT, MOST PEOPLE DON’T PAY MUCH ATTENTION. THAT DOESN’T MEAN WE ARE ALL NOTORIOUS SINNERS, ALTHOUGH WE CERTAINLY ARE SINNERS, BUT IT DOES MEAN THAT MOST OF US AREN’T MAKING ANY ATTEMPT TO CHANGE OURSELVES IN RESPONSE TO THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS. DOES THAT MEAN WE DON’T BELIEVE IN GOD? WHAT DO YOU THINK?
TODAY JESUS IS ASKED A QUESTION: “LORD, WILL ONLY A FEW PEOPLE BE SAVED?” AND HE DOES NOT ANSWER THE QUESTION. RATHER, HE PAINTS A PICTURE, A PICTURE MUCH MORE FAMILIAR TO HIS HEARERS THAN TO US. BUT LET ME SPEAK ABOUT TWO OTHER GOSPEL PASSAGES FOR A SECOND. IN MATTHEW, AT THE END OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT, JESUS TELLS HIS HEARERS TO “ENTER THROUGH THE NARROW GATE, BECAUSE WIDE IS THE GATE AND BROAD THE ROAD THAT LEADS TO DESTRUCTION”. AND IN LUKE, ONLY A FEW SUNDAYS AGO, JESUS TOLD THE PARABLE OF THE PERSISTENT NEIGHBOR WHO KNOCKED ON THE DOOR UNTIL THE HOUSEHOLDER GOT UP TO GET HIM THE BREAD HE HAD REQUESTED. IN TODAY’S GOSPEL PASSAGE, IT SEEMS AS THOUGH JESUS MAY BE CONTRADICTING HIMSELF; HERE THE PEOPLE ARE KNOCKING, AND THEY ARE BEING DENIED ENTRANCE, WHILE OTHERS ARE STREAMING INTO THE BANQUET – THE PATRIARCHS AND THE PROPHETS AND PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER.
TOWNS AND CITIES IN PALESTINE HAD WALLS AROUND THEM. USUALLY THERE WERE ONE OR MORE “GATES” WHICH WERE OPENED IN THE DAY AND CLOSED AT NIGHT. THESE WERE THE WIDE GATES. DURING THE DAY, GUARDS STOOD AT ATTENTION, READY TO CLOSE THE GATES IF THERE WAS A THREAT. BUT THERE WERE OTHER ENTRANCES INTO THE CITY WHICH WERE NARROW; SOMETIMES YOU HAD TO WORK YOUR WAY IN SIDEWAYS, OR STOOP VERY LOW, AND COULD ONLY GET IN ONE AT A TIME. IF YOU WANTED TO GET IN THROUGH A NARROW GATE, NOT ONLY WAS IT A STRUGGLE, BUT YOU HAD TO HAVE SOMEONE ON THE INSIDE WHO WOULD KNOW YOU WERE COMING, OR YOU TOOK A CHANCE THAT YOU WOULD BE HIT WITH A CLUB OR RUN THROUGH WITH A SPEAR.
AND THAT’S THE POINT. THE PEOPLE STANDING ON THE OUTSIDE SAYING THAT THEY HAVE EATEN AND DRUNK IN THE COMPANY OF THE LORD, AND THAT HE HAS TAUGHT IN THEIR STREETS, ARE APPEALING TO THE ONE ON THE INSIDE TO LET THEM IN, TO GIVE THEM SAFE PASSAGE. BUT NOTICE THAT THEY DON’T SAY THEY LEARNED ANYTHING THAT JESUS TAUGHT; THEY PRESUME THAT HE KNOWS THEM BECAUSE HE MOVED AMONG THEM. IT’S NOT OBVIOUS THAT THEY’VE MADE ANY CHANGE IN THEMSELVES. AND JESUS SAYS “I DO NOT KNOW WHERE YOU ARE FROM; DEPART FROM ME, YOU EVILDOERS.” JESUS DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THEM, AND CONSIDERS THEM FOREIGNERS, AND WILL NOT ADMIT THEM TO THE BANQUET.
AND THEY STAY OUTSIDE, FRUSTRATED AND ANGRY, BUT HELPLESS TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT THEIR PREDICAMENT. BUT THE STORY ENDS ON A HOPEFUL NOTE: “FOR BEHOLD, SOME ARE LAST WHO WILL BE FIRST, AND SOME ARE FIRST WHO WILL BE LAST.”
SO KNOCKING WORKS, AS IN THE CASE OF THE PERSISTENT NEIGHBOR, WHEN YOU KNOW THE ONE ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GATE. IT DOESN’T WORK WHEN HE DOESN’T RECOGNIZE YOU, WHEN THERE IS NO RELATIONSHIP.
SO WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS? FIRST, WHEN WE TAKE THIS GOSPEL STORY AND THE SECTION FROM ISAIAH THAT WE HEARD EARLIER, IT’S OBVIOUS THAT GOD WANTS EVERYONE TO COME TO HIS BANQUET. SECOND, YOU CAN’T GET THERE THROUGH THE WIDE GATE. THE WIDE GATE, THE EASY PASSAGE, MIGHT GET YOU INTO THE CITY, BUT THAT ONLY GETS YOU A LITTLE CLOSER TO THE BANQUET. THERE IS NO WAY TO GET INTO THE HALL WITHOUT SOMEONE TO LEAD YOU THERE THROUGH THE NARROW GATE. THIRD, GETTING THROUGH THE NARROW GATE REQUIRES STRIVING – IT’S NOT EASY. THE GREEK WORD FOR STRIVING IS RELATED TO THE ENGLISH WORD “AGONY”. IT’S NOT EASY BECAUSE IT REQUIRES BELIEVING IN GOD, JUST LIKE YOU BELIEVE THE SIGN THAT SAYS THE BRIDGE IS OUT. IT REQUIRES MORE THAN COMING TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY, MORE THAN WISHES; IT REQUIRES A STRUGGLE, TO LEARN WHAT GOD WANTS FOR YOU, AND THEN TO DO IT. THIS MEANS LISTENING TO THE CHURCH, READING THE WORD OF GOD, AND EXAMINING OURSELVES TO SEE WHERE WE CAN CHANGE SO AS TO BE MORE LIKE JESUS CHRIST. THEN JESUS WILL RECOGNIZE US WHEN WE DO GOD’S WILL – AS HE SAID, “THE ONE WHO DOES THE WILL OF THE FATHER IS MY BROTHER AND SISTER AND MOTHER AS WELL”. AND HE WILL HELP US THROUGH THE NARROW GATE, INTO THE BANQUET WHERE PEOPLE WILL STREAM FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. IF WE AREN’T RECOGNIZED, WELL, WE HAVE TO GO TO THE BACK OF THE LINE AND START OVER AGAIN; SOME WHO ARE FIRST WILL BE LAST. MAYBE WE WILL HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE, OR TWO, OR THREE. BUT MAYBE WE ONLY HAVE ONE CHANCE, ONE OPPORTUNITY TO BE RECOGNIZED BY OUR FRIEND ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE NARROW GATE.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Ninteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C
LUKE 12:32-48
WHEN YOU CHECK YOUR EMAIL, YOU PROBABLY GET A NOTICE IN BROKEN ENGLISH ABOUT ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK TELLING YOU THAT A NIGERIAN LAWYER HAS SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS JUST SITTING THERE WAITING FOR YOU TO CLAIM. IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU DON'T REPLY, YOU JUST DELETE. WE AMERICANS ARE PRETTY SUSPICIOUS ABOUT GETTING SOMETHING FOR NOTHING. WE READ ABOUT PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN SCAMMED AND LOST THEIR LIFE'S SAVINGS.
BUT JESUS TELLS US TODAY THAT WE ARE BEING OFFERED SOMETHING FOR NOTHING – THE KINGDOM WHICH THE FATHER IS PLEASED TO GIVE US. WE DON'T HAVE TO DO A THING; WE DON'T HAVE TO GIVE HIM OUR CREDIT CARD NUMBER OR SEND A FINDER'S FEE.
BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THERE IS A CATCH. WE MAY HAVE THE KINGDOM, BUT BECAUSE OF THAT, CERTAIN THINGS ARE EXPECTED OF US.
THE KEY IS IN THE VERY FIRST WORDS – “DO NOT BE AFRAID ANY LONGER”. HOW MUCH TIME DO WE SPEND BEING AFRAID? I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT SHAKING IN OUR BOOTS FEAR. I'M TALKING ABOUT THE PARADE OF CONCERNS THAT ARE ALMOST NATURAL TO US, AND THAT GO WITH LIVING IN OUR WORLD. I WONDER WHAT THAT NEW PAIN IN MY ARM IS? I AM GOING TO HAVE TO GET MY CAR TO THE SHOP. I HOPE I HAVE ENOUGH MONEY IN THE BANK TO COVER MY BILLS THIS MONTH. I WISH MY DAUGHTER WOULD CALL. LIKE BACKGROUND MUSIC, THESE LITTLE FEARS OR CONCERNS DANCE THROUGH OUR HEADS, DISTRACTING US, TORMENTING US, KEEPING US FROM BEING FOCUSED. SO JESUS BEGINS BY SAYING, “HERE IS A FACT. YOU ALREADY HAVE THE KINGDOM. THERE ISN'T ANYTHING TO FEAR.”
AND ONCE WE CLEAR AWAY THE FEARS, HE SAYS THAT INSTEAD OF SPENDING SO MUCH SPIRITUAL ENERGY ON ALL THOSE LITTLE THINGS THAT WILL NEVER MATTER IN THE LONG RUN, SINCE WE ALREADY POSSESS THE KINGDOM, WE CAN LIVE THERE, WE CAN PUT OUR HEARTS THERE, AND KNOW THAT WHAT WE DO IN THE KINGDOM IS PERMANENT; IT WILL BE LIKE A TREASURE THAT NEVER FADES AWAY.
A STORY: IN A VILLAGE LIVED A HANDYMAN, AND ONE NIGHT AN ANGEL CAME AND SAID “I'VE COME TO BRING YOU TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.” THE HANDYMAN REPLIED, “COULD YOU COME BACK LATER? I HAVE TO FIX MY NEIGHBOR'S ROOF; SHE'S A WIDOW AND CAN'T DO IT HERSELF.” THE ANGEL LEFT. A WHILE LATER, HE RETURNED. THE HANDYMAN BEGGED OFF AGAIN, SAYING, “I DON'T WANT TO SEEM UNGRATEFUL, BUT I PROMISED TO HELP A FARMERS GET IN HIS CROP. HE BROKE HIS LEG AND CAN'T DO IT HIMSELF.” THE ANGEL LEFT AGAIN. THIS WENT ON FOR YEARS, UNTIL FINALLY THE HANDYMAN WAS OLD AND TIRED. THE ANGEL APPEARED AND THE HANDYMAN SAID, “I'M READY NOW. TAKE ME TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.” THE ANGEL LAUGHED. “WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'VE BEEN FOR THE LAST FIFTY YEARS?”
AND JESUS CAUTIONS US. IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE READY. SOME PEOPLE WOULD SAY THAT IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE READY BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHEN WE ARE GOING TO DIE OR WHEN OUR WORLD WILL END, AND IF WE ARE CAUGHT UNAWARES, WE COULD BE REALLY SORRY, SORRY FOR ALL ETERNITY. BUT I THINK JESUS IS SAYING LIVE AS THOUGH EVERY MINUTE IS YOUR LAST, BECAUSE THEN YOU WILL LIVE FULLY, YOU WILL TREASURE EVERY MOMENT YOU ARE GIVEN; YOU WILL JUDGE ALL YOUR ACTIONS BY THE STANDARD – IS THIS WHAT I SHOULD BE DOING WITH THE PRECIOUS TIME I'M GIVEN, WITH THE FINITE ENERGY I HAVE? IT'S A GREAT WAY TO EXAMINE YOUR CONSCIENCE.
ONCE A FRIAR ASKED SAINT FRANCIS WHAT HE WOULD DO IF HE FOUND OUT THAT HE ONLY HAD A DAY TO LIVE? HE REPLIED, “FIRST, I'D FINISH HOEING THIS GARDEN.” FRANCIS HAD EXAMINED HIS OPTIONS IN THE LIGHT OF THAT POSSIBILITY, AND DECIDED LONG BEFORE THE QUESTION WAS POSED, THAT THIS WAS WHAT HE WAS SUPPOSED TO DO AT THAT TIME. IT ISN'T THAT WE HAVE TO DO SPECTACULAR OR PROFOUND THINGS; IT'S THAT WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF HOW WE USE OUR TIME, HOW WE SPEND OUR ENERGY. EVEN HUMBLE TASKS ARE AT HOME IN GOD'S KINGDOM. RECREATION IS ESPECIALLY AT HOME, BECAUSE ONLY IN RECREATION CAN WE APPRECIATE BEAUTY, WHICH IS A MAJOR ATTRIBUTE OF GOD. WE ARE ALL AWARE OF USING TIME BADLY. I'M NOT GOING TO GIVE YOU A LIST, BECAUSE IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, AND YOU ARE, YOU ALREADY KNOW WHEN YOU ARE “WASTING” TIME; AND WHEN YOU WASTE TIME, YOU ARE NOT READY FOR THE KINGDOM.
AND FINALLY, JESUS TELLS US THAT IF WE ARE GIVEN MUCH, MUCH IS EXPECTED OF US. JESUS HAS JUST USED THE IMAGE OF THE MASTER MAKING HIS FAITHFUL SERVANTS SIT DOWN AT THE BANQUET AND THEN WAITING ON THEM. NOW HE INDICATES THAT THIS IS THE ROLE OF HIS FOLLOWERS AS WELL – TO DISTRIBUTE THE FOOD ALLOWANCE AT THE PROPER TIME TO ONE'S FELLOW SERVANTS. IT'S A GREAT IMAGE. WE CAN USE WHAT WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR FELLOW SERVANTS, OR WE CAN ABUSE THEM BY IGNORING THEIR NEEDS, BY HOARDING WHAT WE HAVE ACCUMULATED. SO I HAVE ONE MORE STORY.
A RICH UNCLE LEFT A YOUNG COUPLE A MILLION DOLLARS. THEY TALKED ABOUT IT AND DECIDED THAT SINCE THEY DIDN'T EXPECT IT, AND SINCE THEY HAD GOOD CAREERS AND WOULD PROBABLY NEVER REALLY NEED THE MONEY, THEY WOULD GIVE IT AWAY. SO THEY WENT TO THEIR PASTOR AND OFFERED TO GIVE IT TO THE CHURCH. THE PASTOR TOLD THEM HE WOULDN'T ACCEPT IT, AND THEY WERE NOT TO GIVE IT AWAY TO ANYONE ELSE, BUT RATHER, GO HOME AND THINK ABOUT IT SOME MORE. SO THEY DID. THEY WENT BACK AND SAID THEY HADN'T CHANGED THEIR MINDS. THE PASTOR THEN TOLD THEM THAT IF THEY REALLY DIDN'T WANT THE MONEY, THEY SHOULD GIVE AWAY A LITTLE AT A TIME, ALL THROUGH THEIR LIVES, BECAUSE THEY WOULD DO A LOT MORE GOOD FOR OTHERS AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, FOR THEMSELVES THAN IF THEY GAVE IT ALL AWAY AT ONCE.
TODAY'S GOSPEL IS ABOUT LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. DON'T LOSE YOUR FOCUS; YOU'VE GOT EVERYTHING THAT MATTERS, THE KINGDOM. SINCE THAT IS THE CASE, CONCENTRATE ON WHAT ADVANCES THE KINGDOM, NOT ON THINGS THAT DON'T MATTER; LIVE AS THOUGH EACH MINUTE IS YOUR LAST – NOT BECAUSE EVERY MOMENT HAS TO BE SPENT IN PRAYER AND GOOD WORKS, BUT BECAUSE THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO JUDGE HOW YOU USE YOUR TIME; AND REMEMBER THAT IF THE MASTER IS GOING TO RETURN AND WAIT ON YOU, YOU SHOULD WAIT ON EACH OTHER UNTIL HE COMES. ISN'T THAT A GREAT GOSPEL? ISN'T THAT GOOD NEWS?
WHEN YOU CHECK YOUR EMAIL, YOU PROBABLY GET A NOTICE IN BROKEN ENGLISH ABOUT ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK TELLING YOU THAT A NIGERIAN LAWYER HAS SEVERAL THOUSAND DOLLARS JUST SITTING THERE WAITING FOR YOU TO CLAIM. IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU DON'T REPLY, YOU JUST DELETE. WE AMERICANS ARE PRETTY SUSPICIOUS ABOUT GETTING SOMETHING FOR NOTHING. WE READ ABOUT PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN SCAMMED AND LOST THEIR LIFE'S SAVINGS.
BUT JESUS TELLS US TODAY THAT WE ARE BEING OFFERED SOMETHING FOR NOTHING – THE KINGDOM WHICH THE FATHER IS PLEASED TO GIVE US. WE DON'T HAVE TO DO A THING; WE DON'T HAVE TO GIVE HIM OUR CREDIT CARD NUMBER OR SEND A FINDER'S FEE.
BUT IT SEEMS LIKE THERE IS A CATCH. WE MAY HAVE THE KINGDOM, BUT BECAUSE OF THAT, CERTAIN THINGS ARE EXPECTED OF US.
THE KEY IS IN THE VERY FIRST WORDS – “DO NOT BE AFRAID ANY LONGER”. HOW MUCH TIME DO WE SPEND BEING AFRAID? I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT SHAKING IN OUR BOOTS FEAR. I'M TALKING ABOUT THE PARADE OF CONCERNS THAT ARE ALMOST NATURAL TO US, AND THAT GO WITH LIVING IN OUR WORLD. I WONDER WHAT THAT NEW PAIN IN MY ARM IS? I AM GOING TO HAVE TO GET MY CAR TO THE SHOP. I HOPE I HAVE ENOUGH MONEY IN THE BANK TO COVER MY BILLS THIS MONTH. I WISH MY DAUGHTER WOULD CALL. LIKE BACKGROUND MUSIC, THESE LITTLE FEARS OR CONCERNS DANCE THROUGH OUR HEADS, DISTRACTING US, TORMENTING US, KEEPING US FROM BEING FOCUSED. SO JESUS BEGINS BY SAYING, “HERE IS A FACT. YOU ALREADY HAVE THE KINGDOM. THERE ISN'T ANYTHING TO FEAR.”
AND ONCE WE CLEAR AWAY THE FEARS, HE SAYS THAT INSTEAD OF SPENDING SO MUCH SPIRITUAL ENERGY ON ALL THOSE LITTLE THINGS THAT WILL NEVER MATTER IN THE LONG RUN, SINCE WE ALREADY POSSESS THE KINGDOM, WE CAN LIVE THERE, WE CAN PUT OUR HEARTS THERE, AND KNOW THAT WHAT WE DO IN THE KINGDOM IS PERMANENT; IT WILL BE LIKE A TREASURE THAT NEVER FADES AWAY.
A STORY: IN A VILLAGE LIVED A HANDYMAN, AND ONE NIGHT AN ANGEL CAME AND SAID “I'VE COME TO BRING YOU TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.” THE HANDYMAN REPLIED, “COULD YOU COME BACK LATER? I HAVE TO FIX MY NEIGHBOR'S ROOF; SHE'S A WIDOW AND CAN'T DO IT HERSELF.” THE ANGEL LEFT. A WHILE LATER, HE RETURNED. THE HANDYMAN BEGGED OFF AGAIN, SAYING, “I DON'T WANT TO SEEM UNGRATEFUL, BUT I PROMISED TO HELP A FARMERS GET IN HIS CROP. HE BROKE HIS LEG AND CAN'T DO IT HIMSELF.” THE ANGEL LEFT AGAIN. THIS WENT ON FOR YEARS, UNTIL FINALLY THE HANDYMAN WAS OLD AND TIRED. THE ANGEL APPEARED AND THE HANDYMAN SAID, “I'M READY NOW. TAKE ME TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.” THE ANGEL LAUGHED. “WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'VE BEEN FOR THE LAST FIFTY YEARS?”
AND JESUS CAUTIONS US. IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE READY. SOME PEOPLE WOULD SAY THAT IT'S IMPORTANT TO BE READY BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW WHEN WE ARE GOING TO DIE OR WHEN OUR WORLD WILL END, AND IF WE ARE CAUGHT UNAWARES, WE COULD BE REALLY SORRY, SORRY FOR ALL ETERNITY. BUT I THINK JESUS IS SAYING LIVE AS THOUGH EVERY MINUTE IS YOUR LAST, BECAUSE THEN YOU WILL LIVE FULLY, YOU WILL TREASURE EVERY MOMENT YOU ARE GIVEN; YOU WILL JUDGE ALL YOUR ACTIONS BY THE STANDARD – IS THIS WHAT I SHOULD BE DOING WITH THE PRECIOUS TIME I'M GIVEN, WITH THE FINITE ENERGY I HAVE? IT'S A GREAT WAY TO EXAMINE YOUR CONSCIENCE.
ONCE A FRIAR ASKED SAINT FRANCIS WHAT HE WOULD DO IF HE FOUND OUT THAT HE ONLY HAD A DAY TO LIVE? HE REPLIED, “FIRST, I'D FINISH HOEING THIS GARDEN.” FRANCIS HAD EXAMINED HIS OPTIONS IN THE LIGHT OF THAT POSSIBILITY, AND DECIDED LONG BEFORE THE QUESTION WAS POSED, THAT THIS WAS WHAT HE WAS SUPPOSED TO DO AT THAT TIME. IT ISN'T THAT WE HAVE TO DO SPECTACULAR OR PROFOUND THINGS; IT'S THAT WE HAVE TO BE MINDFUL OF HOW WE USE OUR TIME, HOW WE SPEND OUR ENERGY. EVEN HUMBLE TASKS ARE AT HOME IN GOD'S KINGDOM. RECREATION IS ESPECIALLY AT HOME, BECAUSE ONLY IN RECREATION CAN WE APPRECIATE BEAUTY, WHICH IS A MAJOR ATTRIBUTE OF GOD. WE ARE ALL AWARE OF USING TIME BADLY. I'M NOT GOING TO GIVE YOU A LIST, BECAUSE IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, AND YOU ARE, YOU ALREADY KNOW WHEN YOU ARE “WASTING” TIME; AND WHEN YOU WASTE TIME, YOU ARE NOT READY FOR THE KINGDOM.
AND FINALLY, JESUS TELLS US THAT IF WE ARE GIVEN MUCH, MUCH IS EXPECTED OF US. JESUS HAS JUST USED THE IMAGE OF THE MASTER MAKING HIS FAITHFUL SERVANTS SIT DOWN AT THE BANQUET AND THEN WAITING ON THEM. NOW HE INDICATES THAT THIS IS THE ROLE OF HIS FOLLOWERS AS WELL – TO DISTRIBUTE THE FOOD ALLOWANCE AT THE PROPER TIME TO ONE'S FELLOW SERVANTS. IT'S A GREAT IMAGE. WE CAN USE WHAT WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO MEET THE NEEDS OF OUR FELLOW SERVANTS, OR WE CAN ABUSE THEM BY IGNORING THEIR NEEDS, BY HOARDING WHAT WE HAVE ACCUMULATED. SO I HAVE ONE MORE STORY.
A RICH UNCLE LEFT A YOUNG COUPLE A MILLION DOLLARS. THEY TALKED ABOUT IT AND DECIDED THAT SINCE THEY DIDN'T EXPECT IT, AND SINCE THEY HAD GOOD CAREERS AND WOULD PROBABLY NEVER REALLY NEED THE MONEY, THEY WOULD GIVE IT AWAY. SO THEY WENT TO THEIR PASTOR AND OFFERED TO GIVE IT TO THE CHURCH. THE PASTOR TOLD THEM HE WOULDN'T ACCEPT IT, AND THEY WERE NOT TO GIVE IT AWAY TO ANYONE ELSE, BUT RATHER, GO HOME AND THINK ABOUT IT SOME MORE. SO THEY DID. THEY WENT BACK AND SAID THEY HADN'T CHANGED THEIR MINDS. THE PASTOR THEN TOLD THEM THAT IF THEY REALLY DIDN'T WANT THE MONEY, THEY SHOULD GIVE AWAY A LITTLE AT A TIME, ALL THROUGH THEIR LIVES, BECAUSE THEY WOULD DO A LOT MORE GOOD FOR OTHERS AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, FOR THEMSELVES THAN IF THEY GAVE IT ALL AWAY AT ONCE.
TODAY'S GOSPEL IS ABOUT LIVING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. DON'T LOSE YOUR FOCUS; YOU'VE GOT EVERYTHING THAT MATTERS, THE KINGDOM. SINCE THAT IS THE CASE, CONCENTRATE ON WHAT ADVANCES THE KINGDOM, NOT ON THINGS THAT DON'T MATTER; LIVE AS THOUGH EACH MINUTE IS YOUR LAST – NOT BECAUSE EVERY MOMENT HAS TO BE SPENT IN PRAYER AND GOOD WORKS, BUT BECAUSE THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO JUDGE HOW YOU USE YOUR TIME; AND REMEMBER THAT IF THE MASTER IS GOING TO RETURN AND WAIT ON YOU, YOU SHOULD WAIT ON EACH OTHER UNTIL HE COMES. ISN'T THAT A GREAT GOSPEL? ISN'T THAT GOOD NEWS?
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C
LUKE 12:13-21
SOME OF YOU OLD-TIMERS MAY REMEMBER BLACK AND WHITE TELEVISION AND THE PROGRAM “TWILIGHT ZONE”. EVERY WEEK A DIFFERENT STORY WOULD BE PRESENTED; IT WAS ALWAYS SPOOKY AND ALMOST NEVER HAD A HAPPY ENDING. I STILL REMEMBER ONE STORY. THE WORLD WAS ON THE BRINK OF NUCLEAR WAR. THE UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA HAD JUST GIVEN UP ON YET ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO WORK OUT A PEACE TREATY. IT LOOKED HOPELESS, AND THE MAIN CHARACTER IN THE STORY HAD BUILT AN ELABORATE BOMB SHELTER THAT COULD KEEP HIM AND HIS FAMILY ALIVE FOR THIRTY YEARS. HE SUSPECTED THAT AFTER THE NUCLEAR WAR THE FEW SURVIVORS WOULD BE SAVAGES, AND IF THEY DISCOVERED HIM, THEY WOULD STOP AT NOTHING TO GET INTO THE BOMB SHELTER AND TAKE EVERYTHING HE HAD, SO HE DESIGNED IT SO THAT THERE WOULD BE NO WAY ANYONE COULD COMMUNICATE WITH HIM FROM THE OUTSIDE. HE FIGURED THIRTY YEARS WOULD BE ABOUT LONG ENOUGH TO MAKE SURE THAT THE RADIOACTIVITY FROM THE BOMBS HAD GOTTEN DOWN TO MANAGEABLE LEVELS, AND THE REMAINS OF THE HUMAN RACE WOULD HAVE EITHER DESTROYED EACH OTHER OR STARTED CIVILIZATION ANEW. AND HE PLANNED TO EMERGE AND WITH HIS SUPERIOR TECHNOLOGY HE WAS SURE HE COULD LIVE OUT HIS LIFE WITHOUT PROBLEMS. AS HE TRIED TO URGE HIS WIFE AND KIDS INTO THE SHELTER, THEY REBELLED, AND SO HE WENT IN HIMSELF. THIRTY YEARS WENT BY, AND WHEN HE CAME OUT IT WAS TO A BEAUTIFUL WORLD WHERE EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT, AND HE WAS GREETED BY HIS WIFE, WHO HADN'T AGED, AND HIS KIDS, WHO WERE YOUNG ADULTS. JUST BEFORE THE NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST, THE WORLD WAS VISITED BY PEOPLE FROM OUTER SPACE, WHO GAVE THE WORLD MIRACULOUS GIFTS – CLEAN ENERGY WITHOUT LIMIT, MACHINES THAT MADE WORK AND POVERTY A THING OF THE PAST; AND MEDICINES THAT CURED ALL HUMAN ILLS, AND GAVE PEOPLE IMMORTALITY. THE ONLY LIMIT WAS THAT THE MEDICINES ONLY WORKED ON PEOPLE WHO WERE 50 YEARS OLD OR YOUNGER.
JESUS ISN'T AGAINST RICH PEOPLE. THE MAN IN TODAY'S STORY IS RICH, BUT THERE ISN'T ANY INDICATION HE GOT HIS WEALTH IN ANY WAY THAT HURT OTHER PEOPLE. AND IF YOU REMEMBER THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS, THE RICH MAN SPEAKS TO ABRAHAM, WHO IS IN HEAVEN, AND ABRAHAM WAS ONE OF THE RICHEST PEOPLE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. BUT JESUS SAYS THAT GOD CALLS HIM A FOOL. WHY?
IN OUR ENGLISH BIBLE THE WORD “FOOL” APPEARS IN MANY PLACES. BUT IN GREEK, THREE DIFFERENT WORDS ARE TRANSLATED AS FOOL. ONE MEANS, ROUGHLY, TO BE UNTELLIGENT. THE SECOND MEANS ROUGHLY, TO BE CARELESS. AND A THIRD MEANS LITERALLY, TO MISINTERPRET, TO BELIEVE WRONGLY. AND IT IS THIS THIRD MEANING THAT JESUS EMPLOYS HERE.
LISTEN TO THE RICH MAN. IN HIS SPEECH, HE SAYS “I” OR “ME” OR USES THE WORD “YOU” ABOUT HIMSELF, FIFTEEN TIMES. YOU GET THE FEELING THAT FOR HIM THERE IS NO ONE ELSE IN HIS LIFE, AT LEAST NO ONE WHO MATTERS. HE IS SO INTO HIMSELF THAT HE EVEN TALKS ABOUT WHAT HE IS GOING TO SAY TO HIMSELF WHEN HE GETS HIS NEW BARNS BUILT AND HIS HARVEST PUT AWAY – “THEN I SHALL STORE MY GRAIN AND OTHER GOODS AND SHALL SAY TO MYSELF, 'NOW, AS FOR YOU, YOU HAVE SO MANY GOOD THINGS STORED UP FOR MANY YEARS, REST, EAT, DRINK, AND BE MERRY!'” TO ME THAT SOUNDS A LITTLE PATHOLOGICAL. AND GOD SHOWS HIM HE BELIEVES WRONGLY, HE IS A FOOL. BECAUSE YOU CAN'T CONTROL YOUR LIFE, YOU CAN'T FIND PERFECT SECURITY, NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY TO CONTROL THINGS, THERE IS A CANCER CELL GROWING IN YOU, A DRIVER ON A CELL PHONE WHO DOESN'T SEE YOU, AN ECONOMIC DISASTER THAT DESTROYS THE VALUE OF YOUR SAVINGS – IF YOU THINK THERE IS ANY WAY YOU CAN REACH THAT POINT WHERE YOU CAN REST, EAT, DRINK, AND BE MERRY, YOU MISINTERPRET, YOU BELIEVE WRONGLY, YOU ARE A FOOL.
THE MAN IN THE BOMB SHELTER NOT ONLY SPENT THIRTY YEARS COMPLETELY ALONE, BUT BECAUSE HE LEFT THE REST OF HUMANITY BEHIND, HE MISSED OUT ON THE TRANSFORMATION OF EARTH INTO A PARADISE. I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING LIKE JESUS' MESSAGE HERE.
JESUS IS SPEAKING TO A MAN WHO HAS ONE THING ON HIS MIND – “MAKE MY BROTHER GIVE ME WHAT IS MINE” AND AT THE END OF THE STORY, JESUS SAYS THAT THE BIG MISTAKE IS TO BE “NOT RICH IN WHAT MATTERS TO GOD”.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT MATTERS TO GOD, OR HOW TO BE RICH IN THAT? HERE ARE A FEW THINGS THAT MATTER TO GOD. “BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS, BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR JUSTICE.” I DESIRE MERCY, NOT SACRIFICE.” “WHATEVER YOU DO TO THE LEAST OF MY BROTHERS, YOU DO TO ME.” DO YOU KNOW WHAT MATTERS TO GOD? “LET THE CHILDREN ALONE, AND DO NOT HINDER THEM FROM COMING TO ME; FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN BELONGS TO SUCH AS THESE." A LITTLE CHILD NOTICES, A LITTLE CHILD APPRECIATES THE MOMENT, THE BEAUTY OF A FLOWER, THE TASTE OF A STRAWBERRY, THE EMBRACE OF A MOTHER. NO MATTER WHAT YOUR CONDITION, GOD DOES CONSTANTLY SURROUND YOU WITH SIGNS OF HIS LOVE. AND IF YOU FAIL TO NOTICE THEM, THEN YOU ARE POOR IN WHAT MATTERS TO GOD.
THE STORY OF THE RICH FOOL IS NOT ABOUT GREED, OR THE EVILS OF WEALTH. IT IS ABOUT THE WAY THAT OUR DESIRE FOR SECURITY CAN LITERALLY DESTROY OUR HUMANITY, BY DISTRACTING US FROM BECOMING PARTNERS WITH GOD IN BRINGING ABOUT HIS KINGDOM, BY MAKING US IGNORE OUR LOVED ONES, AND BY DISTRACTING US FROM THE SIGNS OF LOVE WITH WHICH GOD SURROUNDS US. AND HOW SAD TO HAVE LIVED OUR LIFE SEEKING SECURITY, AND FINDING AT THE END OF OUR LIFE THAT WE HAVE NO SECURITY, THAT WE HAVE NO TREASURE STORED UP IN HEAVEN.
THERE WAS A POOR WIDOW WHO PUT HER LAST TWO PENNIES IN THE TREASURY OF THE TEMPLE. THERE WAS A RICH FOOL WHO TOOK ALL HIS WEALTH AND STORED IT UP AND PLANNED TO ENJOY HIMSELF FOR MANY YEARS TO COME. AND YOU AND I ARE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THESE TWO EXTREMES. AND WHAT WILL GOD SAY TO US? “SHE HAS GIVEN MORE THAN ALL THE REST, FOR SHE HAS GIVEN ALL SHE HAS” OR “YOU FOOL, TONIGHT YOUR LIFE WILL BE DEMANDED OF YOU, AND THE THINGS YOU HAVE ACQUIRED, TO WHOM WILL THEY BELONG?”
SOME OF YOU OLD-TIMERS MAY REMEMBER BLACK AND WHITE TELEVISION AND THE PROGRAM “TWILIGHT ZONE”. EVERY WEEK A DIFFERENT STORY WOULD BE PRESENTED; IT WAS ALWAYS SPOOKY AND ALMOST NEVER HAD A HAPPY ENDING. I STILL REMEMBER ONE STORY. THE WORLD WAS ON THE BRINK OF NUCLEAR WAR. THE UNITED STATES AND RUSSIA HAD JUST GIVEN UP ON YET ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO WORK OUT A PEACE TREATY. IT LOOKED HOPELESS, AND THE MAIN CHARACTER IN THE STORY HAD BUILT AN ELABORATE BOMB SHELTER THAT COULD KEEP HIM AND HIS FAMILY ALIVE FOR THIRTY YEARS. HE SUSPECTED THAT AFTER THE NUCLEAR WAR THE FEW SURVIVORS WOULD BE SAVAGES, AND IF THEY DISCOVERED HIM, THEY WOULD STOP AT NOTHING TO GET INTO THE BOMB SHELTER AND TAKE EVERYTHING HE HAD, SO HE DESIGNED IT SO THAT THERE WOULD BE NO WAY ANYONE COULD COMMUNICATE WITH HIM FROM THE OUTSIDE. HE FIGURED THIRTY YEARS WOULD BE ABOUT LONG ENOUGH TO MAKE SURE THAT THE RADIOACTIVITY FROM THE BOMBS HAD GOTTEN DOWN TO MANAGEABLE LEVELS, AND THE REMAINS OF THE HUMAN RACE WOULD HAVE EITHER DESTROYED EACH OTHER OR STARTED CIVILIZATION ANEW. AND HE PLANNED TO EMERGE AND WITH HIS SUPERIOR TECHNOLOGY HE WAS SURE HE COULD LIVE OUT HIS LIFE WITHOUT PROBLEMS. AS HE TRIED TO URGE HIS WIFE AND KIDS INTO THE SHELTER, THEY REBELLED, AND SO HE WENT IN HIMSELF. THIRTY YEARS WENT BY, AND WHEN HE CAME OUT IT WAS TO A BEAUTIFUL WORLD WHERE EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT, AND HE WAS GREETED BY HIS WIFE, WHO HADN'T AGED, AND HIS KIDS, WHO WERE YOUNG ADULTS. JUST BEFORE THE NUCLEAR HOLOCAUST, THE WORLD WAS VISITED BY PEOPLE FROM OUTER SPACE, WHO GAVE THE WORLD MIRACULOUS GIFTS – CLEAN ENERGY WITHOUT LIMIT, MACHINES THAT MADE WORK AND POVERTY A THING OF THE PAST; AND MEDICINES THAT CURED ALL HUMAN ILLS, AND GAVE PEOPLE IMMORTALITY. THE ONLY LIMIT WAS THAT THE MEDICINES ONLY WORKED ON PEOPLE WHO WERE 50 YEARS OLD OR YOUNGER.
JESUS ISN'T AGAINST RICH PEOPLE. THE MAN IN TODAY'S STORY IS RICH, BUT THERE ISN'T ANY INDICATION HE GOT HIS WEALTH IN ANY WAY THAT HURT OTHER PEOPLE. AND IF YOU REMEMBER THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS, THE RICH MAN SPEAKS TO ABRAHAM, WHO IS IN HEAVEN, AND ABRAHAM WAS ONE OF THE RICHEST PEOPLE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. BUT JESUS SAYS THAT GOD CALLS HIM A FOOL. WHY?
IN OUR ENGLISH BIBLE THE WORD “FOOL” APPEARS IN MANY PLACES. BUT IN GREEK, THREE DIFFERENT WORDS ARE TRANSLATED AS FOOL. ONE MEANS, ROUGHLY, TO BE UNTELLIGENT. THE SECOND MEANS ROUGHLY, TO BE CARELESS. AND A THIRD MEANS LITERALLY, TO MISINTERPRET, TO BELIEVE WRONGLY. AND IT IS THIS THIRD MEANING THAT JESUS EMPLOYS HERE.
LISTEN TO THE RICH MAN. IN HIS SPEECH, HE SAYS “I” OR “ME” OR USES THE WORD “YOU” ABOUT HIMSELF, FIFTEEN TIMES. YOU GET THE FEELING THAT FOR HIM THERE IS NO ONE ELSE IN HIS LIFE, AT LEAST NO ONE WHO MATTERS. HE IS SO INTO HIMSELF THAT HE EVEN TALKS ABOUT WHAT HE IS GOING TO SAY TO HIMSELF WHEN HE GETS HIS NEW BARNS BUILT AND HIS HARVEST PUT AWAY – “THEN I SHALL STORE MY GRAIN AND OTHER GOODS AND SHALL SAY TO MYSELF, 'NOW, AS FOR YOU, YOU HAVE SO MANY GOOD THINGS STORED UP FOR MANY YEARS, REST, EAT, DRINK, AND BE MERRY!'” TO ME THAT SOUNDS A LITTLE PATHOLOGICAL. AND GOD SHOWS HIM HE BELIEVES WRONGLY, HE IS A FOOL. BECAUSE YOU CAN'T CONTROL YOUR LIFE, YOU CAN'T FIND PERFECT SECURITY, NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY TO CONTROL THINGS, THERE IS A CANCER CELL GROWING IN YOU, A DRIVER ON A CELL PHONE WHO DOESN'T SEE YOU, AN ECONOMIC DISASTER THAT DESTROYS THE VALUE OF YOUR SAVINGS – IF YOU THINK THERE IS ANY WAY YOU CAN REACH THAT POINT WHERE YOU CAN REST, EAT, DRINK, AND BE MERRY, YOU MISINTERPRET, YOU BELIEVE WRONGLY, YOU ARE A FOOL.
THE MAN IN THE BOMB SHELTER NOT ONLY SPENT THIRTY YEARS COMPLETELY ALONE, BUT BECAUSE HE LEFT THE REST OF HUMANITY BEHIND, HE MISSED OUT ON THE TRANSFORMATION OF EARTH INTO A PARADISE. I THINK THAT IS SOMETHING LIKE JESUS' MESSAGE HERE.
JESUS IS SPEAKING TO A MAN WHO HAS ONE THING ON HIS MIND – “MAKE MY BROTHER GIVE ME WHAT IS MINE” AND AT THE END OF THE STORY, JESUS SAYS THAT THE BIG MISTAKE IS TO BE “NOT RICH IN WHAT MATTERS TO GOD”.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT MATTERS TO GOD, OR HOW TO BE RICH IN THAT? HERE ARE A FEW THINGS THAT MATTER TO GOD. “BLESSED ARE THE PEACEMAKERS, BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR JUSTICE.” I DESIRE MERCY, NOT SACRIFICE.” “WHATEVER YOU DO TO THE LEAST OF MY BROTHERS, YOU DO TO ME.” DO YOU KNOW WHAT MATTERS TO GOD? “LET THE CHILDREN ALONE, AND DO NOT HINDER THEM FROM COMING TO ME; FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN BELONGS TO SUCH AS THESE." A LITTLE CHILD NOTICES, A LITTLE CHILD APPRECIATES THE MOMENT, THE BEAUTY OF A FLOWER, THE TASTE OF A STRAWBERRY, THE EMBRACE OF A MOTHER. NO MATTER WHAT YOUR CONDITION, GOD DOES CONSTANTLY SURROUND YOU WITH SIGNS OF HIS LOVE. AND IF YOU FAIL TO NOTICE THEM, THEN YOU ARE POOR IN WHAT MATTERS TO GOD.
THE STORY OF THE RICH FOOL IS NOT ABOUT GREED, OR THE EVILS OF WEALTH. IT IS ABOUT THE WAY THAT OUR DESIRE FOR SECURITY CAN LITERALLY DESTROY OUR HUMANITY, BY DISTRACTING US FROM BECOMING PARTNERS WITH GOD IN BRINGING ABOUT HIS KINGDOM, BY MAKING US IGNORE OUR LOVED ONES, AND BY DISTRACTING US FROM THE SIGNS OF LOVE WITH WHICH GOD SURROUNDS US. AND HOW SAD TO HAVE LIVED OUR LIFE SEEKING SECURITY, AND FINDING AT THE END OF OUR LIFE THAT WE HAVE NO SECURITY, THAT WE HAVE NO TREASURE STORED UP IN HEAVEN.
THERE WAS A POOR WIDOW WHO PUT HER LAST TWO PENNIES IN THE TREASURY OF THE TEMPLE. THERE WAS A RICH FOOL WHO TOOK ALL HIS WEALTH AND STORED IT UP AND PLANNED TO ENJOY HIMSELF FOR MANY YEARS TO COME. AND YOU AND I ARE SOMEWHERE BETWEEN THESE TWO EXTREMES. AND WHAT WILL GOD SAY TO US? “SHE HAS GIVEN MORE THAN ALL THE REST, FOR SHE HAS GIVEN ALL SHE HAS” OR “YOU FOOL, TONIGHT YOUR LIFE WILL BE DEMANDED OF YOU, AND THE THINGS YOU HAVE ACQUIRED, TO WHOM WILL THEY BELONG?”
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C
LUKE 11:1- 13
THEY SAY THAT GOD ALWAYS ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS. THE ANSWERS ARE YES, NO, NOT RIGHT NOW, AND YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING.
OUR GOSPEL TODAY INVITES US TO THINK ABOUT PRAYER. WHILE I AM SURE THAT GOD HEARS MY PRAYERS, MY OWN EXPERIENCE, WHICH IS PROBABLY YOURS AS WELL, IS THAT GOD DOESN'T USUALLY SAY YES. AND YET, WE ARE ASSURED BY JESUS THAT WHATEVER WE ASK THE FATHER IN HIS NAME WILL BE GRANTED; AND IF WE KNOCK, IT WILL BE OPENED; MANY PASSAGES IN THE GOSPELS AND IN FACT THROUGHOUT SCRIPTURE, INSIST THAT GOD WILL ANSWER OUR PRAYERS.
BUT I THINK IT DEPENDS ON THE PRAYER. FIRST OF ALL, WE CAN'T EXPECT GOD TO CHANGE NATURAL LAW. IF HE CHANGED THE LAWS OF NATURE OR SUSPENDED THEM, EVERY TIME ONE OF US ASKS HIM SOMETHING, THE WORLD WOULD BE PRETTY CHAOTIC. WE'D HAVE RAIN ON THE FARMS AND SUNNY DAYS IN THE CITIES, ALL AT THE SAME TIME. SKIERS WOULD HAVE SNOW AND GOLFERS WOULD HAVE SPRING ALL AT THE SAME TIME. AND THESE EXAMPLES ARE SORT OF SILLY, BUT WE COULD SAY THE SAME THING ABOUT LIFE AND DEATH, ABOUT BEING SPARED FROM HURRICANES AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS. GOD WON'T USUALLY SUSPEND HIS OWN LAWS.
SECOND, GOD WON'T TAKE AWAY OUR NATURE AS FREE BEINGS. IF WE ARE FREE TO MAKE CHOICES, THEN THE FREEDOM IS ONLY REAL IF THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR CHOICES ARE REAL. IF I CHOOSE TO EXERCISE AND EAT RIGHT, I CAN EXPECT MY BODY TO BECOME HEALTHIER. MY CHOICE HAS CONSEQUENCES. BUT IF I CHOOSE TO SMOKE, I CAN EXPECT A HIGHER LIKELIHOOD OF CANCER, HEART DISEASE, EMPHYSEMA, ULCERS, AND BAD COMPLEXION. MY CHOICE HAS CONSEQUENCES. AND IF I PRAY THAT MY CHOICES NOT HAVE THE CONSEQUENCES THAT FOLLOW, THEN I AM PRAYING THAT GOD WILL TAKE AWAY MY FREEDOM, AND HE WON'T. IT'S ONE OF THE GIFTS THAT MAKE US IN HIS IMAGE AND LIKENESS.
SO IF GOD WON'T USUALLY SUSPEND NATURAL LAW, AND WON'T USUALLY SPARE US FROM THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR FREEDOM, WHAT GOOD IS PRAYER? ARE WE JUST WASTING OUR BREATH? ARE WE JUST GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS? IN HIGH SCHOOL I WENT TO A CATHOLIC SCHOOL, AND BEFORE PLAYING A FOOTBALL GAME WE USED TO GET IN THE HUDDLE AND PRAY THAT WE WOULD WIN, AND THAT NO ONE WOULD GET HURT. GOD HAD ABOUT A 50% RESPONSE RATE TO THAT PRAYER, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, EVEN WHEN WE WERE PLAYING AGAINST A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEAM.
THE APOSTLES HAVE WITNESSED THAT JESUS SPENDS A LOT OF TIME PRAYING. IT WASN'T UNUSUAL FOR DISCIPLES OF A RABBI TO ASK THEIR TEACHER TO GIVE THEM A PRAYER TO SAY, AND THE DISCIPLES ASK JESUS THE SAME THING – TEACH US TO PRAY. IF WE WERE READING A MORE ACCURATE TRANSLATION OF THIS GOSPEL, WE WOULD HEAR JESUS SAYING, “PRAY IN THIS WAY,” BEFORE HE GIVES THEM THE LORD'S PRAYER. WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT THE LORD'S PRAYER IS A MODEL OF PRAYER, NOT PRIMARILY MEANT BY JESUS TO BE OUR PRAYER.
AND WE CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT PRAYER BY LOOKING AT THE LORD'S PRAYER. THE FIRST SET OF PETITIONS HAVE TO DO WITH GIVING GOD HIS RIGHTFUL PLACE IN OUR HEARTS AND IN OUR WORLD. BEING HUMAN, OUR FIRST IMPULSE IS TO ASK FOR SOMETHING FOR OURSELVES. BUT JESUS SAYS, PRAY THAT GOD IS PROPERLY HONORED, THAT THE WORLD GO ALONG WITH HIS WILL, AND THAT ALL PEOPLE WILL SUBMIT TO HIS RULE. THAT'S WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT. AND HAVING PRAYED FOR THIS, IF WE PRAY SINCERELY, WE PUT OURSELVES IN THE RIGHT FRAME OF MIND AND THE RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. THE NEXT SET OF PETITIONS ARE FOR OURSELVES. NOTICE THAT WE DON'T SAY “I” OR “ME”. WE SAY “GIVE US WHAT WE NEED TODAY FOR OUR BODY AND SPIRIT”; WE PRAY THAT WE WILL BE FORGIVEN – FORGIVEN AS WE FORGIVE OTHERS, BUT FORGIVEN FOR ALL THOSE TIMES THAT WE HAVE GONE AGAINST GOD'S WILL. WE PRAY THAT WE WILL BE KEPT FROM FURTHER SIN, AND THAT THINGS THAT WILL TRULY HARM US WILL BE KEPT FROM US. REMEMBER THAT JESUS TOLD US NOT TO FEAR WHAT CAN KILL THE BODY, BUT WHAT DESTROYS THE SOUL. THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO AVOID.
YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THE LORD'S PRAYER IS FIRST OF ALL, ABOUT GOD AND GOD'S WILL; AND ABOUT US LIVING IN CONFORMITY TO GOD'S WILL, WHICH IN THE END IS THE ONLY WAY THAT WE CAN EVER HOPE TO BE HAPPY, AND THE ONLY WAY WE CAN HOPE TO BE HAPPY FOREVER. SO THAT'S THE MODEL PRAYER.
JESUS TELLS A PARABLE ABOUT PRAYER. A MAN NEEDS SOME BREAD FOR HIS GUEST, AND GOES NEXT DOOR TO BORROW IT. BUT IT'S NIGHT, AND THE HOUSEHOLDER DOESN'T WANT TO GET UP AND OPEN THE DOOR. BUT IF THE MAN KEEPS BANGING ON THE DOOR, HE'LL EVENTUALLY GET HIS WAY, EVEN IF THE HOUSEHOLDER DOESN'T WANT TO GIVE HIM THE BREAD, BECAUSE HE'LL NEVER GET TO SLEEP OTHERWISE. I DON'T THINK THAT IS PRIMARILY ABOUT BANGING ON GOD'S DOOR TO GET OUR WAY. I DO THINK THAT IT TELLS US SOMETHING ABOUT REAL PRAYER.
GOD TAKES OUR PRAYER SERIOUSLY IF WE DO. GOD DOESN'T PAY MUCH ATTENTION IF WE DON'T. ANYONE WHO IS A PARENT KNOWS THAT SOMETIMES YOUR CHILD ASKS FOR THINGS HE DOESN'T REALLY CARE WHETHER HE GETS OR NOT. YOU CAN TELL. AND YOU DON'T STIR YOURSELF MUCH TO ANSWER THOSE REQUESTS.
HOW DOES GOD TELL WHETHER YOU ARE SERIOUS? IT'S NOT HARD. IF YOU PRAY FOR AN END TO ABORTION BUT VOTE FOR CANDIDATES WHO ARE PRO-ABORTION, GOD KNOWS YOU AREN'T SERIOUS ABOUT THAT PRAYER. IF YOU PRAY THAT YOUR CHILD WILL BE GUIDED TO MAKE GOOD CHOICES BUT YOU MAKE NO EFFORT TO EDUCATE HIM IN WISDOM BY YOUR EXAMPLE AND YOUR WORDS, YOU AREN'T SERIOUS. IF YOU PRAY FOR AN END TO POVERTY BUT GIVE NOTHING OF YOUR GOODS TO END POVERTY, WELL, YOU GET THE POINT. THE MAN WHO WANTED BREAD DIDN'T SIT IN HIS HOUSE AND HOPE THAT HE WOULD GET BREAD; HE WENT NEXT DOOR AND BANGED ON THE DOOR UNTIL HE GOT IT. THE HOUSEHOLDER KNEW HE WAS SERIOUS. GOD DOES NOT FORGIVE US OUR SINS, UNLESS HE SEES THAT WE FORGIVE, REALLY FORGIVE OTHERS. ITS LIKE THE STORY OF THE MAN WHO WAS FORGIVEN A DEBT HE COULD NOT PAY, BUT WENT OUT AND DEMANDED THAT A MUCH SMALLER DEBT BE PAID TO HIM. HE ENDED UP UNFORGIVEN.
SO BE CAREFUL HOW YOU PRAY; PRAY FROM WITHIN THE WILL OF GOD, THE PURPOSE OF GOD; PRAY THAT YOU WILL BE ALIGNED WITH GOD'S WILL. AND PRAY LIKE YOU MEAN IT; IF YOU ARE GOING TO PRAY FOR SOMETHING, THEN GET OUT AND AT LEAST MAKE AN EFFORT; THEN GOD WILL SEE THAT YOU ARE SERIOUS.
AND PERHAPS THE LAST FEW WORDS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT. ALL PRAYER, PROBABLY, BOILS DOWN TO PRAYING FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT; FOR IF THE SPIRIT LIVES IN US, THEN OUR PRAYER WILL BE RIGHT, AND OUR PRAYER WILL BE ANSWERED.
THEY SAY THAT GOD ALWAYS ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS. THE ANSWERS ARE YES, NO, NOT RIGHT NOW, AND YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING.
OUR GOSPEL TODAY INVITES US TO THINK ABOUT PRAYER. WHILE I AM SURE THAT GOD HEARS MY PRAYERS, MY OWN EXPERIENCE, WHICH IS PROBABLY YOURS AS WELL, IS THAT GOD DOESN'T USUALLY SAY YES. AND YET, WE ARE ASSURED BY JESUS THAT WHATEVER WE ASK THE FATHER IN HIS NAME WILL BE GRANTED; AND IF WE KNOCK, IT WILL BE OPENED; MANY PASSAGES IN THE GOSPELS AND IN FACT THROUGHOUT SCRIPTURE, INSIST THAT GOD WILL ANSWER OUR PRAYERS.
BUT I THINK IT DEPENDS ON THE PRAYER. FIRST OF ALL, WE CAN'T EXPECT GOD TO CHANGE NATURAL LAW. IF HE CHANGED THE LAWS OF NATURE OR SUSPENDED THEM, EVERY TIME ONE OF US ASKS HIM SOMETHING, THE WORLD WOULD BE PRETTY CHAOTIC. WE'D HAVE RAIN ON THE FARMS AND SUNNY DAYS IN THE CITIES, ALL AT THE SAME TIME. SKIERS WOULD HAVE SNOW AND GOLFERS WOULD HAVE SPRING ALL AT THE SAME TIME. AND THESE EXAMPLES ARE SORT OF SILLY, BUT WE COULD SAY THE SAME THING ABOUT LIFE AND DEATH, ABOUT BEING SPARED FROM HURRICANES AND OTHER NATURAL DISASTERS. GOD WON'T USUALLY SUSPEND HIS OWN LAWS.
SECOND, GOD WON'T TAKE AWAY OUR NATURE AS FREE BEINGS. IF WE ARE FREE TO MAKE CHOICES, THEN THE FREEDOM IS ONLY REAL IF THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR CHOICES ARE REAL. IF I CHOOSE TO EXERCISE AND EAT RIGHT, I CAN EXPECT MY BODY TO BECOME HEALTHIER. MY CHOICE HAS CONSEQUENCES. BUT IF I CHOOSE TO SMOKE, I CAN EXPECT A HIGHER LIKELIHOOD OF CANCER, HEART DISEASE, EMPHYSEMA, ULCERS, AND BAD COMPLEXION. MY CHOICE HAS CONSEQUENCES. AND IF I PRAY THAT MY CHOICES NOT HAVE THE CONSEQUENCES THAT FOLLOW, THEN I AM PRAYING THAT GOD WILL TAKE AWAY MY FREEDOM, AND HE WON'T. IT'S ONE OF THE GIFTS THAT MAKE US IN HIS IMAGE AND LIKENESS.
SO IF GOD WON'T USUALLY SUSPEND NATURAL LAW, AND WON'T USUALLY SPARE US FROM THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR FREEDOM, WHAT GOOD IS PRAYER? ARE WE JUST WASTING OUR BREATH? ARE WE JUST GOING THROUGH THE MOTIONS? IN HIGH SCHOOL I WENT TO A CATHOLIC SCHOOL, AND BEFORE PLAYING A FOOTBALL GAME WE USED TO GET IN THE HUDDLE AND PRAY THAT WE WOULD WIN, AND THAT NO ONE WOULD GET HURT. GOD HAD ABOUT A 50% RESPONSE RATE TO THAT PRAYER, IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, EVEN WHEN WE WERE PLAYING AGAINST A PUBLIC SCHOOL TEAM.
THE APOSTLES HAVE WITNESSED THAT JESUS SPENDS A LOT OF TIME PRAYING. IT WASN'T UNUSUAL FOR DISCIPLES OF A RABBI TO ASK THEIR TEACHER TO GIVE THEM A PRAYER TO SAY, AND THE DISCIPLES ASK JESUS THE SAME THING – TEACH US TO PRAY. IF WE WERE READING A MORE ACCURATE TRANSLATION OF THIS GOSPEL, WE WOULD HEAR JESUS SAYING, “PRAY IN THIS WAY,” BEFORE HE GIVES THEM THE LORD'S PRAYER. WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT THE LORD'S PRAYER IS A MODEL OF PRAYER, NOT PRIMARILY MEANT BY JESUS TO BE OUR PRAYER.
AND WE CAN LEARN MORE ABOUT PRAYER BY LOOKING AT THE LORD'S PRAYER. THE FIRST SET OF PETITIONS HAVE TO DO WITH GIVING GOD HIS RIGHTFUL PLACE IN OUR HEARTS AND IN OUR WORLD. BEING HUMAN, OUR FIRST IMPULSE IS TO ASK FOR SOMETHING FOR OURSELVES. BUT JESUS SAYS, PRAY THAT GOD IS PROPERLY HONORED, THAT THE WORLD GO ALONG WITH HIS WILL, AND THAT ALL PEOPLE WILL SUBMIT TO HIS RULE. THAT'S WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT. AND HAVING PRAYED FOR THIS, IF WE PRAY SINCERELY, WE PUT OURSELVES IN THE RIGHT FRAME OF MIND AND THE RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. THE NEXT SET OF PETITIONS ARE FOR OURSELVES. NOTICE THAT WE DON'T SAY “I” OR “ME”. WE SAY “GIVE US WHAT WE NEED TODAY FOR OUR BODY AND SPIRIT”; WE PRAY THAT WE WILL BE FORGIVEN – FORGIVEN AS WE FORGIVE OTHERS, BUT FORGIVEN FOR ALL THOSE TIMES THAT WE HAVE GONE AGAINST GOD'S WILL. WE PRAY THAT WE WILL BE KEPT FROM FURTHER SIN, AND THAT THINGS THAT WILL TRULY HARM US WILL BE KEPT FROM US. REMEMBER THAT JESUS TOLD US NOT TO FEAR WHAT CAN KILL THE BODY, BUT WHAT DESTROYS THE SOUL. THAT'S WHAT WE WANT TO AVOID.
YOU'LL NOTICE THAT THE LORD'S PRAYER IS FIRST OF ALL, ABOUT GOD AND GOD'S WILL; AND ABOUT US LIVING IN CONFORMITY TO GOD'S WILL, WHICH IN THE END IS THE ONLY WAY THAT WE CAN EVER HOPE TO BE HAPPY, AND THE ONLY WAY WE CAN HOPE TO BE HAPPY FOREVER. SO THAT'S THE MODEL PRAYER.
JESUS TELLS A PARABLE ABOUT PRAYER. A MAN NEEDS SOME BREAD FOR HIS GUEST, AND GOES NEXT DOOR TO BORROW IT. BUT IT'S NIGHT, AND THE HOUSEHOLDER DOESN'T WANT TO GET UP AND OPEN THE DOOR. BUT IF THE MAN KEEPS BANGING ON THE DOOR, HE'LL EVENTUALLY GET HIS WAY, EVEN IF THE HOUSEHOLDER DOESN'T WANT TO GIVE HIM THE BREAD, BECAUSE HE'LL NEVER GET TO SLEEP OTHERWISE. I DON'T THINK THAT IS PRIMARILY ABOUT BANGING ON GOD'S DOOR TO GET OUR WAY. I DO THINK THAT IT TELLS US SOMETHING ABOUT REAL PRAYER.
GOD TAKES OUR PRAYER SERIOUSLY IF WE DO. GOD DOESN'T PAY MUCH ATTENTION IF WE DON'T. ANYONE WHO IS A PARENT KNOWS THAT SOMETIMES YOUR CHILD ASKS FOR THINGS HE DOESN'T REALLY CARE WHETHER HE GETS OR NOT. YOU CAN TELL. AND YOU DON'T STIR YOURSELF MUCH TO ANSWER THOSE REQUESTS.
HOW DOES GOD TELL WHETHER YOU ARE SERIOUS? IT'S NOT HARD. IF YOU PRAY FOR AN END TO ABORTION BUT VOTE FOR CANDIDATES WHO ARE PRO-ABORTION, GOD KNOWS YOU AREN'T SERIOUS ABOUT THAT PRAYER. IF YOU PRAY THAT YOUR CHILD WILL BE GUIDED TO MAKE GOOD CHOICES BUT YOU MAKE NO EFFORT TO EDUCATE HIM IN WISDOM BY YOUR EXAMPLE AND YOUR WORDS, YOU AREN'T SERIOUS. IF YOU PRAY FOR AN END TO POVERTY BUT GIVE NOTHING OF YOUR GOODS TO END POVERTY, WELL, YOU GET THE POINT. THE MAN WHO WANTED BREAD DIDN'T SIT IN HIS HOUSE AND HOPE THAT HE WOULD GET BREAD; HE WENT NEXT DOOR AND BANGED ON THE DOOR UNTIL HE GOT IT. THE HOUSEHOLDER KNEW HE WAS SERIOUS. GOD DOES NOT FORGIVE US OUR SINS, UNLESS HE SEES THAT WE FORGIVE, REALLY FORGIVE OTHERS. ITS LIKE THE STORY OF THE MAN WHO WAS FORGIVEN A DEBT HE COULD NOT PAY, BUT WENT OUT AND DEMANDED THAT A MUCH SMALLER DEBT BE PAID TO HIM. HE ENDED UP UNFORGIVEN.
SO BE CAREFUL HOW YOU PRAY; PRAY FROM WITHIN THE WILL OF GOD, THE PURPOSE OF GOD; PRAY THAT YOU WILL BE ALIGNED WITH GOD'S WILL. AND PRAY LIKE YOU MEAN IT; IF YOU ARE GOING TO PRAY FOR SOMETHING, THEN GET OUT AND AT LEAST MAKE AN EFFORT; THEN GOD WILL SEE THAT YOU ARE SERIOUS.
AND PERHAPS THE LAST FEW WORDS ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT. ALL PRAYER, PROBABLY, BOILS DOWN TO PRAYING FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT; FOR IF THE SPIRIT LIVES IN US, THEN OUR PRAYER WILL BE RIGHT, AND OUR PRAYER WILL BE ANSWERED.
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