Fourth Sunday in Lent, Cycle C

LUKE 15:1-3, 11-32

SOME PEOPLE SAY THAT THE STORY OF THE PRODIGAL SON, WHICH WE JUST HEARD, IS THE GREATEST OF PARABLES, A MASTERPIECE OF A SHORT STORY. AND IT IS PRETTY HARD TO FORGET – YOU WILL HEAR PEOPLE WHO COME FROM DIFFERENT FAITHS – MUSLIMS, JEWS, HINDUS – WHO'VE HEARD THIS STORY AND BEEN MOVED BY IT. IT IS TRULY A UNIVERSAL STORY. AND YOU CAN LOOK AT IT FROM DIFFERENT STANDPOINTS – THE PRODIGAL SON, THE FATHER, THE OLDER SON – AND OF COURSE, YOU'VE HEARD ABOUT THE FIRST GRADER WHO WAS ASKED WHO WAS THE SADDEST WHEN THE PRODIGAL SON RETURNED? THAT WOULD BE THE FATTED CALF, HE REPLIED.

THE STORY OF THE PRODIGAL SON TELLS US SOMETHING ABOUT GOD. FIRST, YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THE FATHER DIDN'T JUST LAUGH AT THE YOUNGER SON WHO WANTED HIS SHARE OF THE INHERITANCE RIGHT NOW. THAT WOULD MEAN THAT THE FATHER WOULD HAVE TO COME UP WITH ABOUT 1/3 THE VALUE OF HIS PROPERTY – POSSIBLY BY SELLING LAND OR LIVESTOCK – AND CONVERTING IT INTO CURRENCY OR GOLD OR JEWELS SO THAT IT WOULD BE PORTABLE. I CAN'T SEE MYSELF DOING THAT FOR ANY OF MY KIDS UNLESS THEY WERE IN DEEP TROUBLE. I SURE WOULDN'T DO IT IF I THOUGHT THEY WOULD SPEND IT ON ALCOHOL AND LOOSE LIVING. BUT I”M NOT GOD, AND GOD SHOWERS HIS GIFTS ON HIS PEOPLE WITHOUT REGARD TO YOUR GOODNESS OR BADNESS. I THINK GOD GIVES THE HUMAN RACE EVERYTHING WE NEED TO BE HEALTHY AND HAPPY AND TO COME TO KNOW HIM – BUT BECAUSE OF ORIGINAL SIN, WE STILL DON'T REALIZE THAT IF WE HAVE MORE THAN WE NEED, THAT MORE REALLY BELONGS TO SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T HAVE ENOUGH. THE FATHER NEVER GIVES HIS GIFTS WITH CONDITIONS ATTACHED, EVEN THOUGH WE MAY USE THEM IN A WAY THAT DOES NOT PLEASE HIM.

SECOND, MANY PEOPLE HAVE COMMENTED ON THE FACT THAT THE FATHER SPOTS THE RETURNING SON “WHILE YET HE IS AFAR OFF”. THAT MEANS THAT THE FATHER HAS BEEN WATCHING,WAITING, HOPING, PRAYING FOR THE RETURN OF HIS SON. HAD HE HEARD THAT THE SON HAD BURNED THROUGH HIS INHERITANCE? MAYBE. BUT I'M SURE HE MUST HAVE SUSPECTED SOMETHING EVEN BACK WHEN THE SON TOOK HIS INHERITANCE AND ABANDONED THE FATHER. BUT THAT DOESN'T CHANGE HIS LOVE, HIS UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. EVEN WHEN THE SON TURNED HIS BACK ON THE FATHER, EVEN WHEN THE SON TOOK WHAT HE HAD BEEN GIVEN AND WASTED IT, EVEN WHEN HE TURNED AGAINST EVERYTHING HIS FATHER HAD TAUGHT HIM – THE FATHER STILL LOVED HIM – AND WHEN HE CAME BACK, ALL WAS FORGIVEN, AND TO PROVE IT, A CELEBRATION WAS SET IN MOTION.

THE THIRD ISSUE: HOW MUCH DOES OUR FATHER LOVE US? HE LOVES YOU AS MUCH AS HE LOVES THE BLESSED MOTHER. HE ALSO LOVES SATAN AS MUCH AS HE LOVES THE BLESSED MOTHER. THAT'S BECAUSE GOD IS LOVE, AND HE LOVES HIS CREATURES UNCONDITIONALLY. IF HE DIDN'T, SAINT THOMAS AQUINAS TELLS US, WE WOULD CEASE TO EXIST.

WHEN I WAS GOING TO COLLEGE A COUPLE OF GENERATIONS AGO, MY FRIENDS AND I CAME BACK FROM MASS ON SUNDAY. IN THOSE DAYS THEY DIDN'T HAVE SATURDAY OR SUNDAY EVENING MASSES. THEY ONLY HAD THEM ON SUNDAY MORNING. ALL OF US KNEW THAT IF YOU MISSED MASS ON SUNDAY, THAT WAS A MORTAL SIN, UNLESS YOU HAD A REALLY GOOD EXCUSE. AND MORTAL SINS MEANT THAT YOU WERE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR SOUL. SO WHEN WE GOT BACK TO THE DORM, WE NOTICED THAT ONE OF OUR NUMBER WAS STILL SLEEPING. WE PROMPTLY WOKE HIM UP TO TELL HIM THAT IF HE REALLY HURRIED HE MIGHT BE ABLE TO MAKE THE LAST MASS. HE ROLLED OVER AND TOLD US HE WASN'T GOING. WE WERE SHOCKED. HE TOLD US THAT GOD LOVED HIM, AND GOD WOULD NEVER SEND SOMEONE HE LOVED TO HELL.

SO IF GOD LOVES YOU AND I AS MUCH AS HE LOVES THE BLESSED MOTHER, WHY BE GOOD? AFTER ALL, I THINK MOST OF US SECRETLY FEEL THAT OUR GOOD BEHAVIOR, OUR GOOD WORKS, OUR AVOIDING SIN – ALL OF THIS IS RELATED TO WHETHER WE ARE SAVED OR NOT. EVEN THOUGH I KNOW BETTER, I THINK PART OF ME STILL FEELS THAT WAY AFTER ALL THESE YEARS. SO THAT IS AN IMPORTANT QUESTION, IF GOD LOVES US UNCONDITIONALLY – WHY BE GOOD?

I THINK THE STORY OF THE PRODIGAL SON ANSWERS THAT AS WELL. THE YOUNGER SON EVENTUALLY RESPONDS TO THE FATHER'S LOVE – EVEN IF FOR LESS THAN PURE REASONS – HE WANTS TO EAT – BY THROWING HIMSELF ON THE FATHER'S MERCY. HE CHANGES HIS LIFE IN RESPONSE TO THE FATHER'S LOVE – HE REPENTS. AND OF COURSE THE FATHER RESPONDS WITH EVEN MORE LOVE. BUT THE OLDER SON, WHO, IF YOU REMEMBER ALSO RECEIVED HIS SHARE OF THE INHERITANCE, WHICH ACCORDING TO JEWISH LAW WOULD HAVE BEEN ABOUT HALF OF THE TOTAL – RESPONDS TO THE FATHER'S LOVE BY HOLDING HIS BROTHER IN CONTEMPT, AND BY EXTENSION, HIS FATHER AS WELL. WHEN HE IS INVITED INTO THE BANQUET, HE REFUSES, PREFERRING TO BROOD AND BE UNHAPPY, ANGRY AT HIS FATHER AND HIS BROTHER.

AND THAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE BLESSED MOTHER AND SATAN. SHE SAID, “LET IT BE DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD,” PUTTING ALL HER TRUST IN GOD, LOVING GOD IN RETURN FOR HIS LOVING HER. AND HER TRUST MUST HAVE BEEN TESTED OVER AND OVER AGAIN. PREGNANT WITHOUT A HUSBAND, RISKING THE LOSS OF THE MAN WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO MARRY HER; GIVING BIRTH IN A STABLE, FAR FROM HOME; RELOCATING TO EGYPT, LOSING JESUS IN JERUSALEM – AND OF COURSE, WATCHING HIM DIE – AND ALWAYS, ALWAYS SAYING, “LET IT BE DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.” AND SATAN, CREATED OUT OF GOD'S LOVE AS THE GREATEST ANGEL – THE LIGHT BEARER, LUCIFER – WHEN HE HEARS THAT GOD INTENDS TO BECOME A HUMAN BEING, SAYS, “I WILL NOT SERVE!” AND IN HIS ANGER AND CONTEMPT, CREATES HELL FOR HIMSELF.

WHEN YOU THINK OF THE GREAT MYSTERY OF THE TRINITY – THE FATHER WHO IS LOVE, GENERATES THE SON FROM ALL ETERNITY. AND THE SON, BEING THE PERFECT IMAGE OF THE FATHER, IS LOVE AND HIS ACT OF LOVE IS TO BECOME ONE OF US, SUFFER AND DIE, SO THAT ALL OF CREATION, NOT JUST PEOPLE, CAN BE RETURNED TO THE FATHER. AND THE LOVE BETWEEN THEM IS BREATHED FORTH AS THE HOLY SPIRIT, TO GATHER UP AND MAKE HOLY ALL THAT GOD HAS DONE. AND THAT IS WHY WE SHOULD BE GOOD, REALLY. BECAUSE THE SON HAS MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO RETURN TO THE FATHER, TOGETHER WITH ALL THAT THE FATHER HAS GIVEN US. WHEN WE EMBRACE THIS POSSIBILITY, AND SET OUT TO MAKE IT OUR REALITY, THEN WE TOO LIVE IN RESPONSE TO GOD'S LOVE; WE LIVE LIVES OF SURRENDERING TO HIS WILL, EMPTYING OURSELVES OUT FOR OUR LOVED ONES – BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT LOVE IS ALL ABOUT. WHEN WE REFUSE THIS INVITATION, WE REMAIN LOCKED IN OURSELVES, LIKE THE OLDER SON, BITTER, ANGRY, AND ALONE IN THE DARK, LISTENING TO THE GLORIOUS CELEBRATION THAT WE WILL NEVER LET OURSELVES ATTEND, BECAUSE IT WOULD MEAN ASKING FORGIVENESS AND REALLY MEANING IT.

Third Sunday in Lent, Cycle C

LUKE 13:1-9

I HAVEN'T THOUGHT ABOUT MY FRIEND PHIL FOR YEARS AND YEARS. I THINK I WAS IN THE THIRD GRADE WHEN PHIL STOPPED COMING TO SCHOOL. WE HEARD HE WAS SICK. THEN WE GOT INVITED TO A BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR HIM. HE WAS IN A WHEEL CHAIR; HIS HEAD WAS SHAVED; HE HAD A BIG SCAR ON HIS SCALP, AND HE COULDN'T REALLY TALK, JUST GRUNT. BUT YOU COULD TELL HE KNEW US AND HIS SMILE SHOWED HE WAS ENJOYING THINGS. A FEW WEEKS LATER OUR TEACHER TOOK US OUT OF CLASS AND WE MARCHED OVER TO THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH TO ATTEND HIS FUNERAL. I FELT SAD, BECAUSE PHIL HAD BEEN A FRIEND – NOT A VERY CLOSE FRIEND, BUT A FRIEND, NEVERTHELESS – BUT I HAD ANOTHER SENSATION – I WAS GLAD IT WAS HIM AND NOT ME. AND I FELT BAD ABOUT THAT FEELING AS WELL. I WAS TOO YOUNG TO ANALYZE OR RATIONALIZE THESE FEELINGS. BUT HAD I BEEN OLDER I MIGHT HAVE ASKED, WHY DID THIS HAPPEN TO PHIL AND NOT TO ME? AND I MIGHT HAVE CONCLUDED THAT PHIL HAD DONE SOMETHING WRONG, OR PERHAPS, THAT I WAS DOING SOMETHING RIGHT. MY MIND WOULD HAVE STRUGGLED UNTIL I FOUND AN ANSWER I COULD LIVE WITH.

WHEN JESUS IS TALKING TO THE CROWDS TODAY, THERE ARE TWO EVENTS ON EVERYONE'S MIND. IT'S KIND OF LIKE RIGHT NOW, YOU CAN'T TURN AROUND WITHOUT HEARING ABOUT THE POPE RESIGNING; OR A FEW WEEKS AGO, THE MASSACRE DOWN IN SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. IT SEEMS AS THOUGH PEOPLE IN THOSE DAYS WEREN'T SO DIFFERENT FROM PEOPLE IN OUR DAY. IF THERE IS A DISASTER, WE WANT TO HEAR ABOUT IT, PONDER IT, TALK ABOUT IT, AND WE FEEL COMPELLED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT, ANYTHING, IF WE THINK WE CAN. IT'S FUNNY THAT GOOD THINGS THAT HAPPEN DON'T GET NEARLY THE PRESS OR THE ATTENTION. THERE IS A WORD FOR THIS TENDENCY – OF COURSE IT'S A GERMAN WORD – SCHADENFREUDE. THIS IS THE COMBINATION OF RELIEF AND GUILT THAT COMES WHEN SOMEONE ELSE GETS THE BULLET THAT YOU COULD HAVE JUST AS EASILY GOTTEN.

JESUS UNDERSTANDS US. HE UNDERSTOOD THE PEOPLE THEN AS WELL. HE TOOK TWO EVENTS THAT WERE IN THE NEWS – THE SLAUGHTER OF THE GALATIAN PILGRIMS, AND THE DISASTER WITH THE TOWER OF SILOAM. IN ONE SITUATION, THE PEOPLE MUST HAVE WONDERED HOW GOD COULD ALLOW SUCH A THING TO HAPPEN IN THE HOLIEST PLACE ON EARTH, THE TEMPLE? AND PERHAPS WITH THE OTHER, THE EVENT SEEMED SO RANDOM AND MINDLESS THAT IT WAS EVEN MORE FRIGHTENING; YOU CAN BLAME PILATE, BUT WHO DO YOU BLAME WHEN A TOWER COLLAPSES?

MAYBE THAT'S WHY, EVEN TODAY, PEOPLE ARE STILL SUPERSTITIOUS. IT'S A WAY OF FEELING YOU HAVE SOME CONTROL OVER THINGS WHICH CAN'T BE CONTROLLED.

AND HE SAID, “WHEN YOU HEAR ABOUT THESE KINDS OF THINGS, DON'T WASTE TIME WONDERING WHY. INSTEAD, LET THEM REMIND YOU THAT IT COULD HAVE BEEN YOU, AND IF YOU DON'T CHANGE YOUR THINKING, SOONER OR LATER IT WILL BE YOU. BECAUSE THE FIRST STEP IN GRASPING THE EVERLASTING LIFE THAT IS AVAILABLE TO US THROUGH JESUS IS TO WAKE UP, CHANGE THE WAY WE LOOK AT THE WORLD, BREAK OUR DESTRUCTIVE HABITS, BREAK OUT OF OUR ROUTINE. THE WORST THING, JESUS IS SAYING, IS TO LIVE TODAY LIKE YOU DID YESTERDAY, AND TOMORROW LIKE YOU DID TODAY. IF YOU STUMBLE THROUGH LIFE, ALWAYS PROMISING THAT TOMORROW YOU WILL BE DIFFERENT, TOMORROW YOU WILL GET SERIOUS ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH CHRIST, TOMORROW YOU WILL BE MORE ATTENTIVE TO YOUR NEIGHBOR, TO YOUR WIFE, TO YOUR KIDS, THAT TOMORROW WILL NEVER COME. REPENTANCE, CHANGING YOUR MIND, HAS TO START NOW, OR IT WON'T START. BECAUSE WE CAN ONLY CHANGE THE WAY THINGS ARE GOING IN THE PRESENT.

AND THEN JESUS GOES FURTHER. IN THE PARABLE ABOUT THE FIG TREE, HE ASSURES US THAT THE MOMENT WE DO MAKE UP OUR MINDS TO REPENT, TO CHANGE THE WAY WE THINK, TO CHANGE THE WAY WE DO THINGS, HE WILL BE THERE TO HELP. AND I THINK EVERY ONE OF US HAS HAD THAT EXPERIENCE SOME TIME OR ANOTHER – A TIME WHEN WE STOPPED THINKING ABOUT OURSELVES, OUR AMBITIONS, WHETHER WE HAD ENOUGH RETIREMENT INCOME, WHAT KIND OF NEW CAR WE WERE GOING TO BUY – AND STARTED THINKING OF SOMEONE ELSE AND THEIR NEEDS. MOST OF US WHO HAVE BEEN MARRIED EXPERIENCED THAT AT LEAST DURING OUR COURTSHIP AND HONEYMOON – A TIME WE REMEMBER AS BEING VERY HAPPY, AND MOSTLY BECAUSE WE TOOK DELIGHT IN SHOWING OUR SPOUSE THAT WE LOVED HIM OR HER. THAT'S WHAT BEARING FRUIT IS ALL ABOUT. JESUS HIMSELF TOLD US THAT WHAT REALLY MATTERED IS WHETHER WE GAVE FOOD TO THE HUNGRY, DRINK TO THE THIRSTY, VISITED THE SICK AND IMPRISONED. BUT IT ISN'T JUST A MATTER OF DOING THESE THINGS; IT IS DOING THEM WITH A CHANGE OF OUR MIND – DOING THEM OUT OF LOVE, DOING THEM BECAUSE WE HAVE GENUINELY CHANGED OUR MIND SO THAT WE HAVE THE MIND OF JESUS WHO CAME TO SERVE, NOT TO BE SERVED. THAT IS WHAT REPENTANCE IS ABOUT, CHANGING OUR MIND.

I THINK THIS GOSPEL TELLS US THAT JESUS IS ALWAYS WILLING TO GIVE US A SECOND CHANCE; AND PERHAPS A THIRD AND A FOURTH; MAYBE THERE IS NO LIMIT TO SECOND CHANCES – WHILE WE LIVE. AND MAYBE IF WE DON'T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHANCES WE ARE GIVEN, WE WILL STOP NOTICING WHEN THEY ARE GIVEN TO US.

I THINK ABOUT MY FRIEND PHIL, THOSE MANY MANY YEARS AGO. HE'D BEEN BAPTIZED, HE'D MADE HIS FIRST COMMUNION AND HIS FIRST CONFESSION, AND PERHAPS MANY MORE – IN THOSE DAYS CATHOLICS USUALLY WENT TO MASS EVERY WEEK AND CONFESSION AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH. AND EVEN AT THAT YOUNG AGE, HE AND I WERE GIVEN SECOND CHANCES, CHANCES TO CHANGE OUR MIND TO THE MIND OF CHRIST. OF COURSE WE WERE JUST LITTLE KIDS AND OUR IMPACT ON THE WORLD, EVEN ON OUR IMMEDIATE SURROUNDINGS COULD NOT BE VERY GREAT AT ALL. BUT EVEN THEN, WE WOKE UP, WE MADE CHOICES, WE DECIDED WHETHER WE WERE GOING TO BE OBEDIENT TO OUR PARENTS, WHETHER WE WERE GOING TO BE PEACEMAKERS OR TROUBLEMAKERS AT SCHOOL, WHETHER WE WERE GOING TO PUT EXTRA EFFORT INTO OUR HOMEWORK, OR JUST GET BY – EVEN THEN WE HAD A CHOICE TO PUT ON CHRIST AS MUCH AS WE LITTLE CHILDREN COULD. AND I REMEMBER PHIL AT HIS BIRTHDAY PARTY, UNABLE TO TALK, UNABLE TO GET OUT OF HIS WHEELCHAIR, BUT WITH EYES STILL BRIGHT WITH MAYBE A LITTLE SENSE OF MISCHIEF; AND A BIG SMILE ON HIS FACE. AND I LIKE TO THINK HE TOOK ADVANTAGE OF HIS SECOND CHANCE BEFORE HE HAD RUN HIS RACE AND FINISHED HIS COURSE.

AND TODAY I HOPE EACH OF US CHANGES OUR MIND – BECAUSE WHILE WE ARE ALIVE, WE CAN ALWAYS DO BETTER, WE CAN ALWAYS LOVE MORE, SERVE MORE, BECOME MORE AND MORE LIKE CHRIST.

Second Sunday of Lent, Cycle C

LUKE 9:28B-36

I WENT TO MY EYE DOCTOR A FEW WEEKS AGO. IT WAS GETTING HARD TO READ, ESPECIALLY IN THE MORNING. HE DID THE USUAL TESTS AND PRESCRIBED ME A NEW PAIR OF GLASSES, WHICH HAVE GREATLY HELPED THE PROBLEM. BUT HE ALSO SENT ME TO A SPECIALIST WHO DID EVERY KIND OF TEST YOU COULD IMAGINE AND TOLD ME I HAVE GLAUCOMA. HEARING AIDS, EYE DROPS, BLOOD PRESSURE AND CHOLESTEROL AND THYROID PILLS – AND TO THINK THAT ALL THIS HAS HAPPENED SINCE I TURNED 65 AND DECIDED TO GET A COMPLETE CHECK UP. BUT I'M NOT COMPLAINING, WELL, MAYBE A LITTLE.

IT'S INTERESTING HOW THEY FIT GLASSES. THE REASON YOU NEED THEM IN THE FIRST PLACE IS BECAUSE THE LENSES OF YOUR EYES DON'T BEHAVE THE WAY THEY SHOULD. AS A RESULT, YOU HAVE BLURRED VISION – MAYBE YOU ARE NEARSIGHTED, OR FARSIGHTED, OR HAVE ASTIGMATISM; WHATEVER THE PROBLEM, THE OPTICIAN BASICALLY CREATES A LENS WHICH DISTORTS THE LIGHT IN A COMPLEMENTARY WAY. NORMAL EYES LOOKING OUT OF MY EYEGLASSES WOULD SEE NOTHING BUT BLUR. JOHN CALVIN, THE FOUNDER OF THE PRESBYTERIANISM, HELD THAT SOMETHING LIKE THAT IS THE FATE OF EVERY HUMAN BEING AS A RESULT OF ORIGINAL SIN. WE DO NOT SEE THE WAY THINGS REALLY ARE; REALITY FOR US IS DISTORTED, ILLOGICAL, AND FRAGMENTED. SOME PEOPLE KNOW THAT THEY AREN'T SEEING THE WAY THEY WERE MEANT TO. OTHERS TAKE WHAT THEY SEE AND DECIDE THAT THIS IS REALITY. AND THEY GO THROUGH LIFE OPERATING UNDER FALSE PRETENSES.

IF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE GOSPELS, ESPECIALLY THE GOSPEL OF MARK, IT'S INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THE APOSTLES NEVER QUITE GET WHAT JESUS IS ABOUT. MY FAVORITE EXAMPLE IS WHEN JAMES AND JOHN ASK JESUS “LORD, DO YOU WANT US TO CALL DOWN FIRE FROM HEAVEN TO DESTROY THEM?” BUT THE GOSPEL WRITERS RECORD MANY EXAMPLES.

SO WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT MOUNTAIN 2000 YEARS AGO? DID A MIRACLE TAKE PLACE SO THAT JESUS CHANGED HIS APPEARANCE? OR DID A MIRACLE TAKE PLACE SO THAT FOR A MOMENT PETER, JAMES AND JOHN SAW THINGS CLEARLY, WITHOUT THE DISTORTION WE ARE ALL BORN WITH? I LIKE TO BELIEVE IT'S THE SECOND. THE REASON IS THAT I THINK THE TRANSFIGURATION KEEPS HAPPENING. WE CERTAINLY HAVE EXAMPLES FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES DOWN TO THE PRESENT WHEN IT SEEMS THAT GOD ALLOWED HIS PEOPLE TO SEE CLEARLY; REMEMBER THE STORIES AFTER THE RESURRECTION? JESUS APPEARING IN THE LOCKED ROOM, JESUS LIFTING THE VEIL SO THAT MARY MAGDALEN SAW THAT HE WAS NOT THE GARDENER, HE WAS THE LORD? THE TRAVELERS TO EMMAUS ONLY RECOGNIZED HIM WHEN HE TOOK BREAD AND BROKE IT. AND RIGHT DOWN TO THE PRESENT, WHEN SISTER FAUSTINA, THE APOSTLE OF DIVINE MERCY, WAS SHOWN AN IMAGE OF CHRIST AND TOLD TO HAVE IT PAINTED. THE PAINTER WHO WAS TO CREATE THIS IMAGE TOOK SEVEN TRIES BEFORE SHE THOUGHT THE IMAGE RESEMBLED HER OWN VISION.

I THINK THAT'S THE WHOLE PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH. EVER SINCE JESUS FOUNDED THE CHURCH, IT HAS HELD UP FOR HUMAN BEINGS ANOTHER WAY OF LOOKING AT THE WORLD. IT'S TRUE THAT PEOPLE IN THE CHURCH OFTEN DISTORTED THE IMAGE, OR WATERED IT DOWN SO MUCH THAT IT DIDN'T LOOK THAT DIFFERENT FROM THE WORLD, AND THAT STILL GOES ON TODAY. BUT THE IMAGE OF THE WAY THINGS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE IS STILL THERE FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO SEE. YOU DON'T HAVE TO LOOK FAR TO FIND PEOPLE WHO HAVE SEEN SOMETHING OF THE WAY THINGS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE. RIGHT HERE IN THIS PARISH YOU CAN FIND PEOPLE WHO SEE THAT JESUS IS PRESENT IN THOSE WHO ARE SICK, ABANDONED, HUNGRY, LONELY – AND BECAUSE THEY SEE THAT THEY DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. WE HAVE THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN CAPTURED BY THE VISION ON THE MOUNTAIN AND CAN'T WAIT TO SHARE IT WITH OTHERS – OUR TEACHERS IN THE SCHOOL, THE PEOPLE WHO DEDICATE THEIR TIME TO FAITH FORMATION. AND WE HAVE STILL OTHERS WHO HAVE SEEN THE VISION AND TRY TO BRING THAT WAY OF LOOKING AT THINGS TO THEIR LAW PRACTICES AND THEIR MEDICAL OFFICES AND THEIR BUSINESSES AND WORK PLACES. AND WE SEE MARRIED COUPLES WHO BECAUSE THEY'VE SEEN THE VISION REFLECT THE LOVE CHRIST HAS FOR HIS CHURCH IN THEIR OWN SELF-SACRIFICIAL LOVE. AND NONE OF THIS WOULD HAPPEN IF THEY HAD NOT CAUGHT A GLIMPSE OF THE FIGURE ON THE MOUNTAIN ALWAYS BEING POINTED OUT, HOWEVER IMPERFECTLY, BY THE CHURCH.

PETER, JAMES AND JOHN WERE SO OVERWHELMED BY WHAT THEY SAW THAT THEY WERE OVERCOME; LUKE SAYS THAT PETER DID NOT KNOW WHAT HE WAS SAYING; MATTHEW SAYS THAT THEY FELL ON THEIR FACES BECAUSE THEY WERE SO AFRAID. MANY OF US MEMBERS OF THE CHURCH HAVE THE SAME REACTION; WE DON'T WANT TO SEE THE WHOLE PICTURE; WE WOULD RATHER FALL ON OUR FACES; WE WOULD SAY WITH PETER, LET'S COVER UP THE VISION SO THAT IT DOESN'T THREATEN, SO THAT IT DOESN'T CONFRONT ME WITH HAVING TO CHANGE MY LIFE.

WHEN PETER, JAMES AND JOHN CAME DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAIN THEY DIDN'T REALLY CHANGE MUCH AT FIRST. THEY WERE STILL THE SAME OLD FISHERMEN. WHEN JESUS WANTED TO WASH THEIR FEET, PETER PROTESTED – YOU WILL NEVER WASH MY FEET! AND WHEN THE SERVANT GIRL CHALLENGED PETER IN THAT COURTYARD ON HOLY THURSDAY NIGHT, PETER INSISTED HE DID NOT KNOW JESUS. BUT MONTHS AND YEARS WENT BY, AND THEY COULD NEVER REALLY FORGET WHAT THEY HAD SEEN, AND WITH TIME THEY THEMSELVES FORMED THE CHURCH, THEY THEMSELVES BECAME BOLD AND PROCLAIMED THE GOSPEL; THEY THEMSELVES GAVE UP THEIR OWN LIVES. THEY THEMSELVES WERE TRANSFIGURED. SAINT PAUL, WHO ALSO HAD A DRAMATIC EXPERIENCE OF JESUS, SO DRAMATIC THAT HE BECAME BLIND FOR A TIME, RECOGNIZED THAT HE WAS TRANSFIGURED HIMSELF. HE TOLD HIS CORINTHIANS, “BE IMITATORS OF ME, JUST AS I AM OF CHRIST.”

OUR CHURCH HOLDS UP THE SCRIPTURES, HER TRADITIONS, AND HER SAINTS, ALL SO THAT WE CAN EXPERIENCE THE TRANSFIGURATION, SO THAT WE CAN SEE HOW THINGS SHOULD BE, SO THAT WE CAN REALLY KNOW THE LORD JESUS. THE TRANSFIGURATION GOES ON DOWN THROUGH TIME, WHEREVER THE GOSPEL IS PREACHED. SOME OF US WILL FALL ON OUR FACES; SOME OF US WILL TRY TO COVER UP WHAT WE SEE SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO FACE IT; BUT SOME OF US GAZE ON JESUS AS HE REALLY IS, THE VERY PRESENCE OF THE LIVING GOD, THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIGHT, AND ALLOW OURSELVES TO BE TRANSFIGURED.

AND THAT SHOULD BE OUR PRAYER TODAY – TRANSFIGURE US, LORD, SO THAT YOUR GLORY SHINES THROUGH US TO THE WORLD. TRANSFIGURE US SO THAT WE WILL BE THE GLASSES THROUGH WHICH OUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS WILL SEE HOW THINGS ARE REALLY SUPPOSED TO BE.

First Sunday in Lent, cycle C

LUKE 4:1-13

ON ASH WEDNESDAY I GAVE OUT ASHES TO ABOUT 100 PEOPLE IN A NURSING HOME. SOME OF THEM HAD ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE, AND I KNOW THEY WEREN'T EVEN AWARE THAT THEY WERE RECEIVING ASHES. MANY OTHERS WERE OLD, FRAIL, VICTIMS OF STROKES OR PARKINSON'S DISEASE; MANY WERE BEDRIDDEN, NOT EVEN ABLE TO FEED THEMSELVES. AND I GAVE THEM ASHES, TELLING THEM TO REMEMBER THAT THEY WERE DUST, AND UNTO DUST THEY WOULD RETURN.

TODAY'S GOSPEL SHOWS JESUS FACING TEMPTATION. THE CHURCH PUTS THE STORY OF HIS TEMPTATION ON THE FIRST SUNDAY OF LENT. THAT MEANS IT IS IMPORTANT, THAT WE NEED TO PAY ATTENTION. THERE IS AN ESSENTIAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEMPTATION AND LENT. WHEN I WAS IN FOURTH GRADE, ONE OF MY CLASSMATES, A GIRL NAMED SANDRA, WAS ASKED WHAT SHE WAS GIVING UP FOR LENT. SHE REPLIED, “CANDY”. OUR TEACHER ASKED, “WHY ARE YOU GIVING UP CANDY?” SANDRA REPLIED, “BECAUSE MY DENTIST TOLD ME TO.” OUR TEACHER TOLD US THAT WE SHOULDN'T GIVE UP THINGS FOR REASONS LIKE THAT; WE SHOULD GIVE THEM UP AS OFFERINGS TO GOD. BUT I THINK SANDRA WAS ON TO SOMETHING. LENT, AFTER ALL, IS NOT FOR GOD, WHO DOESN'T NEED ANYTHING. IT IS FOR US. AND IT IS ALL ABOUT TEMPTATION.

WE THINK OF TEMPTATION IN PLEURAL TERMS; TEMPTATIONS TO COMMIT SINS; TEMPTATIONS TO DO NOTHING WHEN WE SHOULD DO SOMETHING; TEMPTATIONS TO DO JUST ENOUGH TO GET BY INSTEAD OF DOING OUR BEST. WE HAVE TEMPTATIONS TO FEEL SORRY FOR OURSELVES, TO WALLOW IN OUR ANGER, TO LOOK DOWN ON SOMEONE. WE ALL HAVE THEM, EVEN WHEN WE NEVER GIVE IN TO THEM; BUT IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU PROBABLY GIVE IN TO THEM NOW AND THEN. OF COURSE, IF YOU ARE LIKE JESUS, YOU DON'T.

AND YOU AND I ARE SUPPOSED TO USE OUR LENTEN JOURNEY TO BECOME STRONGER IN RESISTING TEMPTATION. JESUS DEMONSTRATES FOR US WHAT IS NECESSARY. HE HAS JUST FINISHED A FORTY DAY FAST, DURING WHICH TIME IN ADDITION TO FASTING, HE DID A LOT OF PRAYING. AFTER ALL, IT WAS IN THIS DESERT EXPERIENCE THAT GOD REVEALED TO HIM WHAT HIS MINISTRY WOULD BE ALL ABOUT. AND JESUS USES THE WORD OF GOD TO NIP TEMPTATION IN THE BUD. “IT IS WRITTEN, ONE DOES NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE; IT IS WRITTEN, YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND HIM ALONE SHALL YOU SERVE; “IT ALSO SAYS, YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.”

PRAYER AND FASTING TO MAKE YOU STRONG, AND KNOWING THE WORD OF GOD TO GIVE YOU GUIDANCE. THAT'S WHAT KEPT JESUS FROM GIVING IN TO TEMPTATION.

SO WHAT DO WE DO?

IT ISN'T IMPORTANT WHAT WE DO. IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE DO SOMETHING, AND THAT WE DO IT EVERY DAY. IN THIS YEAR OF THE FAITH, PERHAPS LEARNING MORE ABOUT A PARTICULAR PART OF YOUR FAITH MIGHT BE USEFUL. WHY DOES THE CHURCH TEACH THAT GOD IS A TRINITY? WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ME? OR PRAYER. MAYBE IT'S TIME TO GET RE-ACQUAINTED WITH THAT ANCIENT PRAYER, THE ROSARY AGAIN. FIFTEEN MINUTES A DAY? CAN YOU FIND TIME FOR THAT? TO MEDITATE WITH MARY ON THE LIFE OF JESUS? IF YOU CAN'T YOU ARE WAY TOO BUSY. MAYBE IT IS GIVING SOMETHING UP, SOMETHING THAT WE DO EVERY DAY, SOMETHING THAT HAS BECOME SO MUCH A ROUTINE THAT WE CAN'T IMAGINE BEING WITHOUT IT. IT'S ONLY FOR SIX WEEKS; AND IF YOU WANT TO BE A STICKLER ABOUT IT, IT'S ONLY FOR A WEEK AT A TIME, BECAUSE SUNDAY ISN'T LENT. IF YOU GIVE UP YOUR EVENING MARTINI, YOU CAN STILL HAVE ONE ON SUNDAY. MAYBE IT'S GETTING TO MASS EVERY MORNING. THAT'S A HALF-HOUR GIVE OR TAKE.

SO WE EXERCISE, WE BUILD UP STRENGTH TO RESIST TEMPTATION. YOU AND I ARE GIVEN OUR HUMAN NATURE AND WE KNOW THAT BEING HUMAN GETS US INTO TROUBLE MORE OFTEN THEN NOT. SAINT JOSEMARIA ESCRIVA COMPARED OUR HUMANITY TO A DONKEY, STUBBORN, WILLFUL, DIFFICULT TO WORK WITH; AND OUR TASK IS TO LEAD THE DONKEY, NOT BE LED BY IT. THAT'S WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO DURING LENT.

BUT WHY? WHY NOT JUST INDULGE OURSELVES? WHY DO WE REALLY NEED TO EXERCISE OUR SPIRITUAL MUSCLES? AFTER ALL, MOST OF US PROBABLY THINK WE ARE PRETTY GOOD THE WAY WE ARE. I DOUBT THAT ANYONE IN THIS CHURCH REALLY BELIEVES THEY ARE IN DANGER OF GOING TO HELL.

I THINK ABOUT THOSE PEOPLE TO WHOM I ADMINISTERED ASHES. AND I THINK THERE IS ONLY ONE TEMPTATION. THAT IS THE TEMPTATION THAT TELLS US WE ARE WORTHLESS, THAT WE ARE JUST LUMPS OF MEAT LIVING OUT OUR DAYS. IT'S ON THE SURFACE THERE IN THE NURSING HOME; AND I SUSPECT IT IS A CONSTANT TEMPTATION TO MANY OF THOSE WHO STILL HAVE MENTAL FACULTIES, BUT CAN REALLY DO NOTHING FOR THEMSELVES. BUT IT'S A TEMPTATION WE ALL HAVE. IN FACT WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THE MORE COMMON FACES OF TEMPTATION – MONEY, POWER, FAME, PLEASURE – DON'T THEY ALL START FROM THE IDEA THAT ACQUIRING THEM MAKES US SPECIAL IN SOME WAY? THAT WE NEED THEM TO BE COMPLETE – AND BY EXTENSION, THAT IF WE DON'T GET THEM, WE ARE WORTHLESS, WE DON'T COUNT?

THAT'S THE VOICE OF SATAN. THAT'S THE VOICE JESUS HEARD – IF YOU ARE WORTH ANYTHING, YOU NEED TO HAVE POWER, ADMIRATION, STUFF. THAT'S ALWAYS WHAT TEMPTATION IS ABOUT.

HENRI NOUWEN, THE GREAT SPIRITUAL WRITER, SAID THIS: “ … THE GREATEST TRAP IN OUR LIFE IS NOT SUCCESS, POPULARITY, OR POWER, BUT SELF-REJECTION. SUCCESS, POPULARITY, AND POWER CAN INDEED PRESENT A GREAT TEMPTATION, BUT THEIR SEDUCTIVE QUALITY OFTEN COMES FROM THE WAY THEY ARE PART OF THE MUCH LARGER TEMPTATION TO SELF-REJECTION. WHEN WE HAVE COME TO BELIEVE IN THE VOICES THAT CALL US WORTHLESS AND UNLOVABLE, THEN SUCCESS, POPULARITY, AND POWER ARE EASILY PERCEIVED AS ATTRACTIVE SOLUTIONS. [BUT} … AS SOON AS SOMEONE ACCUSES ME OR CRITICIZES ME, AS SOON AS I AM REJECTED, LEFT ALONE, OR ABANDONED, I FIND MYSELF THINKING, "WELL, THAT PROVES ONCE AGAIN THAT I AM A NOBODY." ... I AM NO GOOD... I DESERVE TO BE PUSHED ASIDE, FORGOTTEN, REJECTED, AND ABANDONED. SELF-REJECTION IS THE GREATEST ENEMY OF THE SPIRITUAL LIFE BECAUSE IT CONTRADICTS THE SACRED VOICE THAT CALLS US THE "BELOVED." BEING THE BELOVED CONSTITUTES THE CORE TRUTH OF OUR EXISTENCE.” THAT'S THE SECRET JESUS KNEW IN THE FACE OF TEMPTATION; HE HAD HEARD “THIS IS MY BELOVED” AT HIS BAPTISM.

WHEN I PASSED OUT ASHES TO THE PATIENTS IN THE NURSING HOME, AFTER I TOLD THEM TO REMEMBER THAT THEY WERE DUST, AND WOULD RETURN TO DUST, I FOUND MYSELF SAYING “GOD LOVES YOU” OR “GOD BLESS YOU.” BECAUSE EVEN THE ONES WHO HAVE LOST THE USE OF THEIR BODIES OR THEIR MINDS NEED TO BE REMINDED THAT WHILE WE MAY INDEED BE DESTINED TO BECOME DUST; WE ARE STILL THE BELOVED SONS OR DAUGHTERS OF THE FATHER.

SO PLEASE TAKE LENT SERIOUSLY. DO SOMETHING EVERY DAY. AND YOU WILL BEGIN TO HEAR YOURSELF BEING CALLED “BELOVED” BY THE FATHER. AND THERE ISN'T ANYTHING BETTER THAN THAT.

Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time, cycle C

FIFTH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME, CYCLE C

LUKE 5:1-11

DO YOU REMEMBER THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT? THERE ARE SEVEN: WISDOM, UNDERSTANDING, COUNSEL, FORTITUDE, KNOWLEDGE, PIETY, AND FEAR OF THE LORD. THESE GIFTS MOVE US INTO THE REALM OF THE SUPERNATURAL, AND HELP US TO DEVELOP OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. ULTIMATELY THEY COME TO US AS A RESULT OF THE PASSION OF CHRIST. BRIEFLY, WISDOM ALLOWS US TO PROPERLY VALUE THINGS AS THEY PERTAIN TO OUR ULTIMATE DESTINY; UNDERSTANDING TELLS US WHY WE VALUE THEM; COUNSEL HELPS US MOVE IN THE DIRECTION THAT WISDOM LAYS OUT FOR US; FORTITUDE HELPS US OVERCOME DIFFICULTIES ALONG THE WAY, KNOWLEDGE HELPS US TO SEE INTO THE DEEPER TRUTHS OF OUR FAITH, PIETY HELPS US TO FORM A REALISTIC RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD – CREATURE TO CREATOR; AND FEAR OF THE LORD – WELL, THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO SPEND SOME TIME ON TODAY.

THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WERE FIRST DESCRIBED IN THE BOOK OF ISAIAH. THE HEBREW WORD WHICH IS TRANSLATED AS “FEAR OF THE LORD” CAN ALSO BE TRANSLATED AS AWE, AND IS RELATED TO THE WORD THAT MEANS “HOLY”. AND TODAY WE SEE SAINT PETER EXPERIENCING THIS GIFT OF THE SPIRIT. REMEMBER THAT PETER HAS ALREADY JOINED JESUS; JUST BEFORE THIS STORY, JESUS HAD HEALED PETER'S MOTHER-IN-LAW. AND NOW, IN RESPONSE TO THE MIRACULOUS CATCH OF FISH, PETER, WHO HAS WITNESSED JESUS HEALING PEOPLE AND ALREADY HEAR HIM TEACHING, AND IN FACT ALREADY COMMITTED HIMSELF TO FOLLOWING JESUS, FALLS TO HIS KNEES AND PRAYS THAT JESUS DEPART FROM HIM, FOR HE IS A SINFUL MAN.

FEAR OF THE LORD IS A DIFFICULT GIFT TO GRASP. THERE WAS A PHILOSOPHER NAMED RUDOLPH OTTO WHO WROTE A BOOK CALLED “THE IDEA OF THE HOLY”. IN IT HE TALKED ABOUT A UNIVERSAL HUMAN EXPERIENCE, A SENSE OF GREAT ATTRACTION AND AT THE SAME TIME, A DESIRE TO BE SOMEWHERE ELSE; A FEELING OF SMALLNESS IN THE FACE OF SOMETHING OVERWHELMING; A FEELING OF BEING LIFTED OUT OF THE ORDINARY INTO A STATE OF BEING IN WHICH THERE SEEMED TO BE NO LIMITATIONS. AND WHILE IT'S HARD TO DESCRIBE, I THINK WE'VE ALL HAD THIS EXPERIENCE, MORE THAN ONCE. PERHAPS AT THE TIME OF A WEDDING; PERHAPS ON A MOUNTAINTOP, OR ON THE SEASHORE WATCHING WAVES ROLL IN; PERHAPS DURING A FIERCE THUNDER AND LIGHTNING STORM; PERHAPS DURING THE PERFORMANCE OF AN EXQUISITE PIECE OF MUSIC. PEOPLE LIKE SAINT FRANCIS SEEMED TO HAVE SUCH EXPERIENCES ALL THE TIME – ALMOST ANYTHING IN NATURE COULD TRIGGER AN OVERWHELMING SENSE OF WONDER IN HIM.

THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ARE MEANT TO BE EXERCISED. YOU RECEIVED THE GIFT OF WISDOM FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT, BUT UNLESS YOU EXERCISE THE GIFT, YOU DON'T BECOME WISE; AND THE SAME CAN BE SAID FOR THE OTHER GIFTS. IF COUNSEL TELLS US WHAT TO DO, AND WE DON'T EXERCISE FORTITUDE TO DO IT, WE'LL BE FRUSTRATED IN OUR SPIRITUAL LIVES. SO WHAT ABOUT THIS GIFT CALLED “FEAR OF THE LORD”? HOW DO WE EXERCISE IT? WHY SHOULD WE?

THE THINGS I DESCRIBED BEFORE, POSSIBLE MOMENTS WHEN YOU MIGHT HAVE EXPERIENCED THIS SENSE OF AWE THAT SOMETIMES SPRINGS UP IN US, ARE NATURAL REACTIONS TO THINGS THAT WE SEE, THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO US. BUT THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IS TO UNDERSTAND THAT THIS SENSE OF AWE IN THE PRESENCE OF NATURE, OF BEAUTIFUL MUSIC, OF PROFOUND EMOTIONAL EVENTS, IS AT THE SAME TIME A SENSE OF GOD'S PRESENCE IN HIS CREATION. AND THE ABILITY TO EXPERIENCE THIS CAN BE INCREASED; WE CAN BECOME MORE SENSITIVE TO GOD'S PRESENCE.

HOW DO WE DO THAT? FIRST, WE LOOK FOR THAT SENSE, AND ALLOW OURSELVES TO EXPERIENCE IT. THE ENEMY OF “FEAR OF THE LORD” IS CYNICISM. WHEN WE EXPERIENCE AWE, WE NEED TO STOP AND FEEL IT AND LET OURSELVES BE MOVED BY IT. WE NEED TO CONSCIOUSLY RECOGNIZE THAT GOD IS PRESENT TO US IN A SPECIAL WAY WHEN THIS HAPPENS. AND WE NEED TO ACKNOWLEDGE IN THOSE MOMENTS THAT WE ARE CREATURES AND WE BELONG TO GOD. IF THERE IS A PARTICULAR ACTIVITY OR EVENT THAT GENERATES THOSE MOMENTS IN US, WE SHOULD INCREASE OUR EXPOSURE TO IT. IF WE HAVE THAT SENSE WHEN WE LISTEN TO BEAUTIFUL MUSIC, THEN WE SHOULD LISTEN MORE; IF WE FIND IT WHEN WE ARE ON A MOUNTAIN TOP, WE NEED TO SPEND MORE TIME ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP.

AS WE NURTURE THE ABILITY OF OUR SOULS TO SENSE GOD'S PRESENCE, IT WILL HAPPEN MORE OFTEN; AND WE WILL BEGIN TO NOTE THAT PRESENCE IN OTHER MOMENTS, PERHAPS MOMENTS WHICH HAD NOT TRIGGERED IT BEFORE.

ALL THE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT ARE FOR US, SO FEAR OF THE LORD MUST BE AS WELL. WHEN WE BEGIN TO RECOGNIZE THE PRESENCE OF GOD ON MORE THAN A MERELY INTELLECTUAL LEVEL, THERE IS AN EFFECT ON OUR SOULS. LIKE SAINT PETER, WE BEGIN TO SEE OURSELVES SIMULTANEOUSLY AS LOVED BY GOD AND AT THE SAME TIME, AS SINNERS. WE ARE DEEPLY ATTRACTED TO THE ONE WHO LOVES US, AND WE REALIZE THAT WE NEED FORGIVENESS. THIS IS REALISTIC; THIS IS THE WAY WE REALLY ARE.

SO FEAR OF THE LORD IS THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT THAT LEADS US TO EXERCISE ALL THE OTHER GIFTS. FOR WHEN WE REALIZE WHAT GOD HAS IN STORE FOR US AND THAT THERE IS SOMETHING BEYOND OUR MATERIAL EXISTENCE, THEN WE HAVE A REASON TO EXERCISE THE OTHER GIFTS SO THAT WE CAN REALLY FILL UP THE EMPTINESS IN OUR HEARTS; SO THAT WE CAN REALLY BE COMPLETED IN OUR HUMANITY.

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C

LUKE 4:21-30

WHY DID THE PEOPLE IN JESUS' TOWN GET SO MAD AT HIM? HE DOESN'T SEEM TO SAY ANYTHING THAT MIGHT CAUSE THEM TO WANT TO KILL HIM. HOW DID WE GO FROM “ALL WERE AMAZED AT THE GRACIOUS WORDS THAT CAME FROM HIS MOUTH” TO “WHEN THEY HEARD THIS, THEY WERE ALL FILLED WITH FURY”?

RECENTLY OUR SAINT JOSEPH'S SOCIETY HEARD A TALK BY FATHER PETER NARANJO, WHO WAS JUST RECENTLY ORDAINED. FATHER NARANJO HAD BEEN A MEMBER OF THE CHURCH OF LATTER DAY SAINTS, THE MORMONS. HE TOLD US THAT THE BEGINNING OF HIS CONVERSION CAME ABOUT WHEN ONE OF THE MORMON ELDERS LAUGHINGLY TOLD HIM THAT CATHOLICS BELIEVED THAT THE BREAD AND WINE BECAME THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. FATHER NARANJO LAUGHED AS WELL, AND THEN LOOKED AT HIS BIBLE. AS A MORMON ELDER, HE HAD STUDIED THE BIBLE AVIDLY, AND IT WAS HIS HABIT TO MAKE NOTES IN THE MARGINS. HE SAW THAT THERE WAS A LARGE SECTION OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN THAT HE HAD NEVER WRITTEN IN. THIS WAS THE SECTION IN WHICH JESUS TALKS ABOUT HIMSELF BEING THE BREAD OF LIFE, AND TELLS THE CROWDS THAT UNLESS THEY EAT HIS BODY AND DRINK HIS BLOOD, THEY WILL NOT HAVE LIFE IN THEM; AND WHEN THE CROWD LEAVES BECAUSE THIS IS A HARD SAYING, HE ASKS HIS APOSTLES IF THEY WILL LEAVE AS WELL. YOU REMEMBER ALL THAT. THE POINT IS THAT WHILE HE WAS A MORMON, HE NEVER SPENT ANY TIME ON THIS PART OF SCRIPTURE.

JESUS HAD COME HOME. HE WAS HANDED THE SCROLL, AND HE READ FROM ISAIAH. AS PER CUSTOM, HE WOULD HAVE OFFERED A COMMENTARY ON WHAT HE HAD READ. THE ONLY PART OF IT WE HEAR ARE THE WORDS, “TODAY THIS SCRIPTURE IS FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING.” BUT I IMAGINE THAT HE ALSO TALKED ABOUT WHAT WAS GOING ON – THE BLIND WERE MADE TO SEE, THE DEAF TO HEAR, THE POOR WERE HAVING THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. JESUS' REPUTATION HAD PRECEDED HIM. AND THE PEOPLE WERE PROUD. JESUS, AFTER ALL, WAS ONE OF THEM. THEY COULD BASK IN HIS GLORY. AND AS HE PREACHED TO THEM ABOUT THE MESSAGE OF ISAIAH THE PROPHET, HE PROBABLY COVERED A LOT OF TOPICS. HE TALKED ABOUT HOW GOD DESERVED OUR WORSHIP – AND THE PEOPLE SAID, “RIGHT ON” BECAUSE THAT WAS WHAT THEY BELIEVED AS WELL. HE TALKED ABOUT HOW WE SHOULD HELP THE POOR, AND THEY AGREED; NOTHING NEW THERE. AND THEN MAYBE HE POINTED OUT THAT THERE WERE QUITE A FEW PEOPLE BEGGING ON THE STREETS OF NAZARETH – MAYBE YOU SHOULD DO SOMETHING ABOUT THEM? AND THEN MAYBE HE REMINDED THEM THAT THE SCRIPTURES TOLD THEM TO WELCOME STRANGERS, AND THERE WERE A FEW SAMARITAN FAMILIES IN TOWN, AND SO FAR, THEY WERE ANYTHING BUT WELCOMED.

AT THIS POINT, SOMEONE IN THE CROWD SAID, “IS THIS NOT THE “SON OF JOSEPH?” NOW THAT SOUNDS INNOCENT ENOUGH, BUT SOME SCHOLARS THINK THAT IN THOSE DAYS IN NAZARETH, JESUS' PARENTAGE WAS QUESTIONED; AFTER ALL, MARY HAD BEEN PRETTY FAR ALONG WHEN THE WEDDING TOOK PLACE, AND EVEN THOUGH JOSEPH CLAIMED JESUS AS HIS SON, A LOT OF PEOPLE DIDN'T BELIEVE HIM. WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN TOLD THAT IT WAS COMMON FOR ENGAGED COUPLES IN THOSE DAYS TO HAVE RELATIONS, BUT THAT WASN'T THE CASE; COUPLES WERE EXPECTED TO WAIT UNTIL THE WEDDING, JUST AS THEY USED TO IN OUR SOCIETY A DECADE OR TWO AGO. AND JOSEPH WAS KNOWN TO BE RIGHTEOUS; HE'D BE THE LAST ONE TO BREAK THAT RULE. AFTER THE RESURRECTION, JEWS AND OTHERS BROUGHT UP THESE RUMORS AGAIN TO DISCREDIT CHRISTIANITY. SO IN EFFECT THE PEOPLE WERE SAYING, “WHY SHOULD WE LISTEN TO THIS ILLEGITIMATE SON?” BECAUSE IF YOU WERE ILLEGITIMATE YOU COULDN'T BE A TEACHER OF THE LAW. THAT'S WHY JESUS SAID “YOU WILL UNDOUBTEDLY QUOTE ME THE OLD PROVERB, PHYSICIAN, HEAL YOURSELF.” A PHYSICIAN, AFTER ALL, COULD NOT HEAL HIMSELF, THAT WAS THE WHOLE POINT. IF JESUS WERE ILLEGITIMATE, HE COULD NOT MAKE HIMSELF LEGITIMATE.

BUT JESUS GOES ON; HE REFERS TO THE MIRACLES HE'S WORKED, AND THEN SAYS, “LET ME TELL YOU A COUPLE OF STORIES FROM THE BIBLE. FOR THESE WERE STORIES THEY ALL KNEW. AND GRADUALLY, THE CROWD REALIZES WHAT JESUS IS SAYING. “YOU ARE PROUD OF BEING JEWISH, OF BEING “GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE” AND THAT'S OK. BUT YOU'VE DRAWN LINES AROUND YOURSELVES AND THOSE WHO AREN'T JEWS. YOU'VE EVEN DECIDED WHO IS A GOOD JEW AND WHO ISN'T. ALL YOU DO IS ERECT WALLS BETWEEN YOURSELVES AND OTHERS. BUT GOD BREAKS DOWN THESE WALLS. TO GOD, A PAGAN GENERAL FROM SYRIA OR A PAGAN LEBANESE WIDOW IS JUST AS WORTHY OF A MIRACLE AS YOU ARE. GOD HATES LINES, GOD WANTS ALL THE WALLS BROKEN DOWN. AFTER ALL, THAT'S WHAT ISAIAH MEANT WHEN HE TALKED ABOUT HILLS BEING LEVELED AND VALLEYS FILLED, CROOKED ROADS BEING MADE STRAIGHT, ALL PEOPLE COMING TO THE NEW JERUSALEM TO WORSHIP THE LIVING GOD IN HIS TEMPLE.

AND THAT WAS TOO MUCH FOR THE CROWD. HERE WAS THIS MAN, WHO HAD GROWN UP IN THIS TOWN, WHO EVERYONE KIND OF KNEW WAS NOT REALLY THE SON OF JOSEPH, DARING TO PREACH TO THEM, DARING TO INTERPRET SCRIPTURE, DARING TO CHALLENGE THEIR WAY OF LIFE, WHICH THEY ALL BELIEVED WAS ABOUT AS GOOD AS IT COULD GET. AND TWISTING SCRIPTURE TO SUPPORT WHAT HE WAS SAYING. THAT WAS BLASPHEMY. THAT WAS A DIRECT INSULT TO GOD.

AND IN THEIR SECRET HEARTS, THEY KNEW WHAT HE WAS SAYING WAS TRUE, BUT THAT WASN'T THE POINT AT ALL; THE POINT WAS THAT GOD WAS BEING BLASPHEMED, AND BEFORE ANYONE TURNED THEIR ATTENTION TO LESSER THINGS, LIKE LIVING OUT THE SCRIPTURES, IT WAS NECESSARY TO DESTROY THE BLASPHEMER.

FATHER NARANJO BECAME A CATHOLIC AND THEN A CATHOLIC PRIEST BECAUSE HE ALLOWED THE SCRIPTURES TO CHALLENGE WHAT HE BELIEVED. UP TO THEN, HE HAD AVOIDED THE “HARD SAYINGS”. HE HAD IN FACT, PUT THEM SO FAR OUT OF HIS MIND THAT HE WAS SURPRISED WHEN HE REALIZED HE HADN'T STUDIED THEM AND PONDERED THEM. THE PEOPLE IN THE SYNAGOGUE OF NAZARETH HAD IGNORED THE IMPLICATIONS OF THEIR OWN SCRIPTURES, AND PROBABLY NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THOSE DANGEROUS AND SUBVERSIVE PASSAGES. WHEN THEY WERE READ IN THE SYNAGOGUE, THE RABBI PROBABLY PREACHED ABOUT HOW MERCIFUL GOD WAS – BUT NEVER THAT GOD CARED ABOUT GENTILES. AND UNLIKE FATHER NARANJO, WHO ALLOWED HIMSELF TO BE CHANGED BY THE SCRIPTURES, THE PEOPLE WHO HEARD JESUS REFUSED TO ALLOW THEMSELVES TO BE CHANGED, GOING SO FAR AS TO TRY TO DESTROY THE ONE WHO OPENED THE SCRIPTURES FOR THEM.

IF YOU DON'T READ THE BIBLE, I HOPE YOU WILL TAKE IT UP. I HOPE YOU WILL READ IT WITH YOUR MIND OPEN, BECAUSE IT CONTAINS A LOT OF HARD SAYINGS, THINGS THAT CHALLENGE YOU AND I. BUT EVEN IF YOU DON'T READ THE BIBLE, AT LEAST LISTEN TO THE SCRIPTURES WHEN YOU COME TO MASS; IT'S EASY TO HEAR THOSE THINGS THAT CONFIRM US IN WHAT WE BELIEVE AND HOW WE ACT; BUT LISTEN TO THE PARTS THAT CHALLENGE US, THE PARTS THAT PUT YOU AND ME TO SHAME, AND ALLOW THEM TO CHALLENGE YOU, AS THE PASSAGES FROM JOHN CHALLENGED FATHER NARANJO. OTHERWISE, JESUS WILL MOVE ON AND TAKE HIS MESSAGE TO ANOTHER TOWN, LEAVING US IN OUR COMFORT ZONE – OR OUR PRISON.

Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

MY WIFE GREW UP IN THE SUBURBS OF WASHINGTON, D.C., AND I GREW UP IN MONTANA, WHICH YOU PROBABLY KNOW ALREADY IF YOU'VE BEEN COMING TO MASS DURING THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS. I REMEMBER WHEN WE WERE FIRST BECOMING A COUPLE. IT WAS THE END OF OUR COLLEGE YEAR AND I WENT HOME; SHE CAME TO VISIT A FEW WEEKS LATER, AND IT WAS THE FIRST TIME SHE HAD EVER BEEN OUT WEST. THERE WERE SO MANY THINGS I WANTED TO SHOW HER – THINGS THAT MEANT SOMETHING TO ME BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE I HAD SPENT MY CHILDHOOD. I WANTED HER TO MEET MY RELATIVES. AND IN THE COURSE OF ALL THIS, I SAW EVERYTHING IN A NEW LIGHT; I SAW THINGS, IN A SENSE, THE WAY I WANTED HER TO SEE THEM. I HAD A DEEPER APPRECIATION FOR THE STRANGE SENSE OF HUMOR THAT RAN ON MY MOTHER'S SIDE OF THE FAMILY. I ALSO HAD A DEEPER SENSE OF EMBARRASSMENT WHEN ONE OF MY UNCLES WOULD TELL AN OFF-COLOR STORY. I RE-APPRECIATED THE BEAUTY OF THE MOUNTAINS THAT I HAD TAKEN FOR GRANTED. AND I THINK WE'VE ALL HAD THAT KIND OF EXPERIENCE. SOMETIMES IT'S WITH AN OLD FRIEND WHO VISITS AFTER A LONG ABSENCE; SOMETIMES IT'S WITH A LITTLE CHILD WHO JUST BEGINS TO BECOME AN INDEPENDENT PERSON; AND SURELY IT HAPPENS WHEN A COUPLE BEGINS TO FORM, AS IN OUR CASE. WHAT WAS COMMONPLACE AND ROUTINE BECOMES SURPRISING AND NEW.

I BRING UP THAT MEMORY BECAUSE IT SHOWS WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN YOU ARE OPEN TO SURPRISE. AND TODAY WHEN JESUS TELLS THE PEOPLE IN HIS HOME TOWN SYNAGOGUE THAT “TODAY, THIS PROPHECY IS FULFILLED AMONG YOU” HE INVITES THEM TO BE SURPRISED. AFTER ALL, THE PROPHECY TO WHICH HE REFERS IS SEVERAL HUNDRED YEARS OLD. CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW LONG THE JEWS HAD WAITED? DID THEY WAIT EXPECTANTLY OR DID THEY JUST CHALK IT UP TO ANOTHER OBSCURE WRITING THAT DIDN'T HAVE ANY IMPACT ON THEIR DAY TO DAY LIVES? PROBABLY THE LATTER. LIFE GOES ON, AND THE BLIND STILL DID NOT SEE, THE LAME STILL DID NOT WALK, AND THE POOR STILL DID NOT HAVE THE GOOD NEWS PREACHED TO THEM. AND THE GOSPEL TELLS US THAT “ALL EYES IN THE SYNAGOGUE LOOKED INTENTLY AT HIM.”

WHEN SOMEONE TELLS US THAT SOMETHING IS GOING TO HAPPEN, OUR INITIAL REACTION IS ANTICIPATION; AFTERWARD, THE ANTICIPATION DIES DOWN; AND IF THE PERSON MAKING THE PREDICTION IS CONSIDERED BY US AS AN AUTHORITY, WE MAY FIND OURSELVES MAKING EXCUSES. MAYBE THE PROPHECY WOULD HAVE COME TRUE IF WE'D BEEN BETTER PEOPLE. MAYBE IT WILL COME TRUE AT THE END OF TIME. MAYBE IT HAS ALREADY COME TRUE, BUT IN A SPIRITUAL SENSE. AND ALL OF THESE ATTITUDES WERE PRESENT AT THE TIME OF JESUS. HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH ISAIAH AND THE OTHER GREAT PROPHETS, WHEN THEIR PROPHECIES DON'T SEEM TO BE COMING TRUE? BUT JESUS IS SAYING, “THEY HAVE COME TRUE, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW.” LOOK AT THIS WITH FRESH EYES. NO WONDER ALL EYES LOOKED INTENTLY AT HIM.

NEXT SUNDAY WE WILL HEAR THE NEXT CHAPTER; THEY GO FROM BEING SPEAKING HIGHLY OF HIM, BEING AMAZED, THEN WONDERING HOW A KID FROM NAZARETH COULD BE WHAT HE CLAIMS TO BE – AND IN THE END THEY TRY TO TOSS HIM OFF A CLIFF. AND THEY GO BACK TO THEIR EVERYDAY LIVES. SURPRISE IS TOO MUCH FOR SOME PEOPLE.

I THINK OUR WEEKLY LITURGY IS SOMETHING LIKE THIS. WE COME HERE WITH EXPECTATIONS. SOME OF US WANT TO RECEIVE THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST; THAT'S THE REASON WE COME. SOME WANT TO HEAR A SERMON, OR PERHAPS WALK OUT WITH A THOUGHT TO CARRY THEM ALONG FOR THE WEEK. SOME LIKE THE MUSIC. SOME COME OUT OF HABIT OR FEAR – WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF I QUIT COMING? PARENTS COME BECAUSE THEY WANT TO SET A GOOD EXAMPLE FOR THEIR CHILDREN. AND SO ON. YOU GET THE IDEA. WE WALK IN THE DOOR WITH EXPECTATIONS AND MEASURE OUR EXPERIENCE BY HOW WELL THOSE EXPECTATIONS WERE MET.

THE PEOPLE IN JESUS' SYNAGOGUE WERE LIKE US. IT WAS SATURDAY, TIME FOR THE WEEKLY WORSHIP SERVICE. BUT THIS TIME JESUS WAS PRESENT, AND HE INVITED THEM TO BE SURPRISED, TO BE OPEN TO SOMETHING ENTIRELY NEW. NOT ONLY THAT, BUT HE WAS WHAT WAS NEW, HE WAS USHERING IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD. IN HIS PERSON AND IN HIS ACTIONS, YOU COULD TELL THE WAY IT SHOULD BE, THE WAY GOD INTENDED IT TO BE FROM THE BEGINNING. AND JESUS WAS MAKING A PROMISE – THAT HIS OLD FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS COULD BE PART OF THE KINGDOM. IF YOU DO WHAT JESUS DOES, YOU ARE IN THE KINGDOM. IF YOU HELP THE BLIND SEE, THE DEAF HEAR; IF YOU LOOK AFTER WIDOWS AND ORPHANS, IF YOU PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR BY YOUR ACTIONS AS WELL AS YOUR WORDS, YOU ARE EXPANDING THE BOUNDARIES OF THE KINGDOM. ALL THIS IS POSSIBLE BECAUSE OF THE PRESENCE OF THE KING.

WE SAY WE BELIEVE IN THE REAL PRESENCE; THAT JESUS IS PRESENT TO US IN WHAT WAS THE BREAD AND THE WINE. WE BELIEVE HE IS PRESENT IN THE WORD THAT YOU JUST HEARD. AND HE IS PRESENT IN THE PERSON NEXT TO YOU AND IN FRONT OF YOU AND BEHIND YOU. “WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED IN MY NAME, THERE I AM.” HE IS PRESENT, JUST LIKE HE WAS PRESENT IN THAT SYNAGOGUE. AND HE BRINGS THE KINGDOM, THE GREAT SURPRISE.

AND THEN THE QUESTION COMES UP, HAVE YOU EVER COME TO MASS AND AFTER IT'S ALL OVER, WALKED OUT THE DOORS A CHANGED PERSON? HAVE YOU EVER WENT AWAY WITH A NEW THOUGHT – MAYBE SOMETHING YOU HEARD, OR MAYBE SOMETHING THE HOLY SPIRIT PUT IN YOUR HEART? HAVE YOU EVER GONE OUT THE DOORS HAVING MADE A RESOLUTION TO DO SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE IN THE WORLD, SOMETHING THAT YOU KNOW YOU COULD DO, OR AT LEAST BEGIN? THAT'S WHAT MASS IS SUPPOSED TO DO. JESUS BECOMES PRESENT TO US, AND OFFERS TO SURPRISE US, TO LIFT US UP OUT OF OUR ORDINARY LIVES INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD, TO HELP US SEE THE COMMONPLACE AND THE ROUTINE WITH FRESH EYES.

AND WE HAVE A CHOICE. WE CAN SAY, “I DON'T LIKE SURPRISES. THEY ARE SCARY. THEY MESS UP MY PLANS. LET ME LISTEN TO THE MUSIC. LET ME RECEIVE COMMUNION. LET ME HAVE MY HOUR OF PEACE BEFORE THE WEEK STARTS UP AGAIN. JUST DON'T SURPRISE ME.”

OR WE CAN BE LIKE THE PEOPLE IN THE SYNAGOGUE WERE FOR ONE BRIEF MOMENT; WE CAN GAZE INTENTLY AT OUR SAVIOR AND BE OPEN TO THE SURPRISE. THE KINGDOM IS HERE, AND WE CAN BE IN IT!