Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A

MATTHEW 13:14-21
WHEN MY FAMILY WAS YOUNG AND WE WERE TRAVELING, WE WOULD FREQUENTLY STOP AT MACDONALDS, OR BURGER KING, OR SOMETIMES, WENDY'S. THE KIDS LIKED MACDONALD'S THE BEST, AND THE GRANDCHILDREN FOLLOW IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS. I LIKED IT BEST WHEN I TRAVELED WITH MY CHILDREN AS WELL, BUT NOT BECAUSE OF THE FOOD, THE PRIZES, OR THE PLAYGROUNDS. I LIKED IT BECAUSE IT WAS THE FASTEST FAST FOOD RESTAURANT. AT BURGER KING, IF I HAD IT MY WAY, THEY COOKED TO ORDER; AT MACDONALDS, THEY JUST GRABBED WHAT I WANTED OFF THE SHELF. AT WENDY'S TOO, EVERYTHING WAS MORE DELIBERATE AND TOOK LONGER. ON SUNDAYS AFTER CHURCH WE WOULD SOMETIMES GO TO FRIENDLY'S, WHERE THE FIFTEEN MINUTE WAIT FOR BREAKFAST WAS PUNCTUATED BY TRIPS TO THE BATHROOM, FIGHTS, THINGS DROPPED ON THE FLOOR. MACDONALD'S WAS A PARENT'S DREAM.
SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE SEEN THE MOVIE “SUPERSIZE ME” WHICH WAS A DOCUMENTARY ABOUT A MAN WHO EATS NOTHING BUT FAST FOOD FOR A MONTH. AT THE END OF THAT TIME, HE SEEMS TO HAVE GAINED A LARGE AMOUNT OF WEIGHT, LOST HIS STAMINA, BECOME SHORT OF BREATH, AND IN GENERAL, AGED TEN YEARS. THE POINT WAS THAT FAST FOOD, AT LEAST AS A STEADY DIET, WAS NOT GOOD FOR YOU, I GUESS.
IN TODAY'S GOSPEL, JESUS FEEDS THE CROWDS SLOW FOOD. THINK ABOUT THE GOSPEL STORY. HE HAS GONE TO A DESERTED PLACE TO MOURN HIS COUSIN, JOHN. HIS HEART IS HEAVY, HIS EYES TEAR UP; BECAUSE JESUS IS A HUMAN BEING LIKE YOU AND I. BUT THE CROWDS HAVE FOLLOWED HIM, AND THEY JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH. SO JESUS PUTS ASIDE HIS GRIEF, AND BEGINS TO ATTEND TO THEM. HE HEALS THEIR SICK, ONE BY ONE, WITH A TOUCH, A KIND WORD; OUT OF THE DEPTHS OF HIS SADNESS, HE LIFTS THE SADNESS FROM OTHERS, SLOWLY, INDIVIDUALLY. HE PREACHES TO THEM AND TELLS THEM ABOUT THE KINGDOM, ABOUT THE FATHER OF MERCY AND LOVE AND TENDERNESS; ABOUT THE CERTAINTY THAT JUSTICE WILL BE DONE IN THE END, NOTHING ELSE WOULD DO FOR THE FATHER OF JUSTICE. AND THE DAY IS GETTING LONG, AND THE APOSTLES ARE GETTING WORRIED. “LORD,” THEY SAY, “YOU BETTER QUIT WHAT YOUR DOING AND LET THESE PEOPLE GET OUT OF HERE SO THEY CAN GET SOMETHING TO EAT BEFORE BEDTIME.” MAYBE THEY WERE THINKING THAT IT WAS TIME FOR THEM TO GET OUT OF THERE AND GET SOMETHING TO EAT BEFORE BEDTIME, AND THEY COULDN'T DO IT UNTIL JESUS STOPPED PREACHING AND HEALING.
THEY WANTED A QUICK SOLUTION TO THEIR PROBLEM. BUT JESUS ONLY FEEDS SLOW FOOD. “YOU FEED THEM,” JESUS SAYS TO HIS APOSTLES. AND THEN HE MAKES THE CROWD GET COMFORTABLE – THEY HAVE TO RECLINE, NOT EAT STANDING UP, NOT PUT FOOD IN THEIR MOUTHS WITH ONE HAND AND STEER THEIR CARS WITH THE OTHER. AND THEN VERY SLOWLY AND DELIBERATELY, HE TAKES THE BIT OF FOOD THAT THE APOSTLES HAVE ROUNDED UP, SAYS A NICE, DELIBERATE BLESSING, BREAKS IT UP AND HAS THE TWELVE GO OUT AND HAND EACH OF THE 5000 MEN, NOT COUNTING THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN, ENOUGH FOOD TO SATISFY ALL OF THEM. AND THEN AFTER THE LEISURELY MEAL, HE MAKES THEM GO BACK, AND THEY GATHER UP TWELVE BASKETS OF LEFT-OVERS. THIS FEEDING OF THE 5000 WAS MIRACULOUS, BUT THINK HOW MUCH TIME IT TOOK! SLOW FOOD. BUT SATISFYING FOOD, ABUNDANT FOOD, LEAVING THE CROWDS RUBBING THEIR BELLIES AND SMACKING THEIR LIPS AND NOT ABLE TO EAT ANOTHER BITE.
SOME OF US COME TO MASS ON SUNDAY AND WE WALK IN LATE AND LEAVE EARLY, OUR MINDS THINK ABOUT WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO AFTER MASS, OR ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED BEFORE; AND THEN WE RECEIVE COMMUNION LIKE WE WOULD EAT A MEAL OF FAST FOOD, A BITE, A SWALLOW, AND OFF WE GO. AND WE NEVER ALLOW JESUS TO FILL US UP, TO SATISFY US, TO GIVE US THE DELIGHT THAT HE CAN GIVE US.
WHAT A MIRACLE IT WOULD BE IF WE WOULD SLOW DOWN WHEN WE RECEIVE THIS EUCHARIST, AND ALLOW JESUS TO SPEAK TO OUR HEARTS. WHAT A GRACE IF WE THOUGHT ABOUT HOW THE FATHER AND THE SPIRIT UNITE WITH THE SON AND WE FIND OURSELVES AT THE VERY CENTER OF THE TRINITY. IF WE WOULD STOP AND FEEL THE OVERWHELMING, EVEN FOOLISH LOVE THAT GOD SHOWS US WHEN HE GIVES US HIS SON JESUS TO BE OUR FOOD, WOULDN'T ANY PROBLEM TURN INTO NOTHING?
THE EUCHARIST IS THE VERY CENTER OF OUR CHRISTIAN LIFE, IT IS THE MOMENT WHEN GOD BREAKS INTO OUR WORLD, OUR LIVES, IT IS THE SOURCE OF POWER THAT ALLOWED MARTYRS TO LAUGH AT DEATH, AND THE SAINTS TO BE SUPERHEROES, DOING IMPOSSIBLE THINGS THAT CAN'T BE EXPLAINED ANY OTHER WAY. AND WE WHO ARE IN DESPERATE NEED OF THAT POWER PASS BY THIS SOURCE OF INFINITE POWER, THIS BLAZING SUN, WITHOUT EVEN PICKING UP A LITTLE OF THE LIGHT, THE HEAT, THE ENERGY.
IF YOU HUNGER FOR PATIENCE, JESUS WILL FEED YOU; IF YOU HUNGER FOR AN END TO ANGER, OR SADNESS OR DEPRESSION, HE HAS WHAT YOU NEED. DO YOU WANT FORGIVENESS? DO YOU WANT THE STRENGTH TO CARRY ON EVEN THOUGH NOTHING IS GOING WELL? IF YOU RECLINE AND WAIT, THE FOOD YOU LONG FOR WILL BE BROUGHT TO YOU.
GOD ONLY OFFERS FOOD THAT NOURISHES, THAT FILLS YOU UP, THAT SATISFIES THE HUNGER IN YOU, IF YOU TAKE THE TIME TO RECEIVE IT, IF YOU EAT IT SLOWLY AND DELIBERATELY, IN THE PRESENCE OF THE ONE WHO FEEDS YOU.
IF YOU ARE HERE FOR FAST FOOD, IF YOU GRAB YOUR LUNCH AND GET OUT OF HERE AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN, YOU WON'T GET MUCH OUT OF IT. YOU MAY BE SUPERSIZED, BUT YOU WON'T BE FED. IF YOU RECEIVE THE BREAD OF HEAVEN AND IN THAT MOMENT OPEN YOURSELF TO GOD'S LOVE, LISTEN TO HIS WHISPERED WORDS, SPEAK TO HIM FROM YOUR HEART, AND TAKE THE TIME TO LET HIM GIVE YOU THE FOOD YOU NEED, YOU WILL RECEIVE MORE THAN YOU EVER DREAMED OF, BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT HE PROMISED, THAT IS WHAT HE DID FOR THOSE PEOPLE ON A HILLSIDE IN GALILEE 2000 YEARS AGO WHEN THEY RELAXED ON THE GRASS AND ATE THE SLOW FOOD THAT JESUS PREPARED FOR THEM WITH HIS OWN HANDS.

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A

MATTHEW 13:44-52
DURING THE LAST FEW SUNDAYS JESUS HAS BEEN TELLING THE CROWDS ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. HE HAS BEEN USING PARABLES. A COUPLE OF SUNDAYS AGO, HE EXPLAINED TO THE DISCIPLES THAT HE SPOKE IN PARABLES SO THAT THOSE WHO HEARD WOULD NOT UNDERSTAND, SO THAT THOSE WHO SAW WOULD NOT REALLY SEE. LAST SUNDAY, WE ARE TOLD THAT HE SPOKE IN PARABLES SO THAT HE WOULD FULFILL THE PROPHECY THAT SAID, “I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES, I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE CREATION OF THE WORLD.” AND TODAY WE HEAR ANOTHER PASSAGE DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND: "THEREFORE EVERY TEACHER OF THE LAW WHO HAS BEEN INSTRUCTED ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS LIKE THE OWNER OF A HOUSE WHO BRINGS OUT OF HIS STOREROOM NEW TREASURES AS WELL AS OLD."
IF WE LISTEN TO THE THREE PARABLES IN TODAY'S GOSPEL, THEY SEEM OBVIOUS ENOUGH. IF WE TREASURE SOMETHING ENOUGH, WE WILL GIVE UP OTHER GOOD THINGS IN ORDER TO POSSESS IT. HAVE ANY OF US ACTUALLY DONE THAT? WELL, PROBABLY. MANY OF US SACRIFICED A GREAT DEAL TO GET THROUGH OUR EDUCATION; SOME OF US UPROOTED OUR FAMILY AND LEFT LOVED ONES BECAUSE OF A JOB. AND MANY OF US, (AND I CAN ONLY SPEAK FOR MEN, NOT HAVING ACTUALLY BEEN A WOMAN) HAVE GIVEN UP OTHER GOOD THINGS IN ORDER TO MARRY THE WOMAN WITH WHOM WE FELL IN LOVE. YOU WOMEN SHOULD APPRECIATE THAT SOME OF US HAVE GIVEN UP NIGHTS OUT WITH THE GUYS, LEARNED TO EAT WITH KNIVES AND FORKS, LEARNED TO DANCE, SAT THROUGH SAPPY MOVIES – ALL FOR YOU. BUT WE'VE ALL HAD THE EXPERIENCE OF “SELLING ALL WE HAVE IN ORDER TO POSSESS A TREASURE”. THE TREASURE CHEST IN THE FIELD, THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE – AND THEN THIS SEEMINGLY UNRELATED PARABLE ABOUT DRAGGING IN A NETFUL OF FISH AND PATIENTLY SORTING THE GOOD FROM THE BAD – IT SOUNDS A LOT LIKE THE PARABLE OF THE WHEAT AND THE WEEDS.
BUT THINK ABOUT THE CONTEXT. WE CAN BARELY IMAGINE WHAT IT WAS LIKE FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE OF JESUS' TIME. THE ROMANS TOOK PART OF WHAT YOU PRODUCED IN TAXATION. THE TEMPLE, WITH THE HELP OF THE ROMAN SOLDIERS, TOOK ANOTHER PART. THE KING TOOK EVEN MORE. YOU HAD NO CHOICE. IF YOU REBELLED, YOU MIGHT END UP DEAD, OR EVEN WORSE, CRIPPLED AND UNABLE TO EARN A LIVING. MOST PEOPLE LIVED DAY BY DAY. IF YOU DIDN'T WORK, YOU WOULD BE HUNGRY, BECAUSE YOU COULDN'T REALLY SAVE ANYTHING. AND IF YOU EVEN THOUGHT OF REBELLING, YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO LOOK FAR TO SEE ONE OF YOUR COUNTRYMEN HANGING ON A CROSS AS A WARNING TO YOU. AND THE SITUATION SEEMED SO HOPELESS. THERE WAS NO WAY OUT. IN OUR TIME AND PLACE WE ARE DISTRACTED BY TELEVISION, SPORTS, AND CONSTANT ENTERTAINMENT; WE HAVE THE SENSE THAT WE ARE SECURE, THE FEELING THAT WE ARE FREE; WE ACTUALLY HAVE LEISURE, AND POSSESSIONS BEYOND A SINGLE SCRAP OF CLOTH TO WEAR; NONE OF US FEAR GOING TO BED HUNGRY. NONE OF US EXPECT THAT OUR GOVERNMENT WILL COME IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT AND SPIRIT US AWAY. BUT THE PEOPLE OF JESUS TIME KNEW VERY WELL WHAT WE SHOULD KNOW, BUT DON'T; WHEN YOU REALLY LOOK AT YOUR LIFE, YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES, THINGS AREN'T REALLY DIFFERENT. WE ARE NEVER SECURE, WE'LL ALL END UP WITH NOTHING, WE'LL ALL END UP—ITS NOT PLEASANT BUT TRUE—WE'LL ALL END UP DEAD.
THE PARABLES OF JESUS DESCRIBE A VERY DIFFERENT FUTURE. JESUS TELLS HIS LISTENERS THAT THERE WILL BE A TIME WHEN JUSTICE HAPPENS, WHEN EVERYTHING THAT IS WRONG WILL BE MADE RIGHT. HE TELLS US THAT IN THAT TIME, WE WILL SEE WHO IS GOOD AND WHO ISN'T; THE GOOD WILL GET WHAT'S COMING TO THEM, AND SO WILL THE BAD. JESUS PROMISES THIS, AND SO IT MUST BE TRUE.
JESUS IS NOT THE FIRST TO SPEAK ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. SIMILAR IDEAS CAN BE FOUND IN THE PROPHETIC WRITINGS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. SO THE PEOPLE WHO HEARD JESUS PROBABLY LISTENED TO THESE PARABLES AS YOU AND I MIGHT LISTEN TO AN OLD FAVORITE STORY. YES, WE WOULD SAY, WOULDN'T THAT BE A GREAT WORLD, WOULDN'T IT BE WONDERFUL IF IT WERE ALL TRUE. BUT WE WOULD MISS THE POINT; WE WOULD HEAR BUT NOT UNDERSTAND. BECAUSE THE RADICAL IDEA THE JESUS IS TELLING US IS THAT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS HERE, RIGHT NOW, RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THINGS, THERE FOR THE TAKING. AND ALL IT REQUIRES IS – EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT. BECAUSE THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS ABOUT WHAT YOU TREASURE, WHAT YOU ARE WILLING TO GIVE UP FOR IT. AND JESUS DOESN'T EVEN WANT YOUR MONEY OR YOUR CAR OR YOUR HOME. IF YOU WANT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, THEN YOU HAVE TO CREATE IT. IT'S EASY. YOU FULFILL THE NEEDS OF YOUR NEIGHBOR. YOU LOOK AT YOUR NEIGHBOR AND YOU SEE JESUS. YOU KEEP AT IT, WORKING AT CREATING THE KINGDOM SMALL STEP BY SMALL STEP, AND ONE DAY YOU FIND THAT YOU ARE IN IT, YOU ARE ALREADY THERE. THAT IS THE PROMISE OF JESUS.
WHEN I LIVED IN BUFFALO, I KNEW A YOUNG SCIENTIST WHO HAD A DEEP DEVOTION TO JESUS. AFTER HE RAISED HIS FAMILY, HE STARTED WORKING IN A DOWNTOWN MISSION AMONG THE HOMELESS AND DESTITUTE. ONE DAY WITH THE CONSENT OF HIS WIFE, HE GAVE UP HIS JOB AND BEGAN TO DEVOTE HIMSELF FULL-TIME TO HIS MINISTRY. IT BEGAN WITH JUST HIM. GRADUALLY SOME OTHERS JOINED IN THE WORK. SOON, LIKE A MIRACLE, HE HAD ACQUIRED THE USE OF A COMPLEX OF PARISH BUILDINGS WHICH HAD BEEN CLOSED. DONATIONS CAME TO HIS MINISTRY USUALLY IN THE NICK OF TIME, TO FORESTALL A CREDITOR OR TO BUY SOMETHING THAT WAS DESPERATELY NEEDED. AND THE PEOPLE HE SERVED, SOME CHANGED THEIR LIVES, AND SOME JOINED HIS EFFORTS, AND SOME ADDED TO THE SUPPORT. YOU CAN READ ALL ABOUT THIS ON THE INTERNET, WHERE WHAT HE HAS DONE WAS CHRONICLED BY A REPORTER WHEN HE WAS NAMED “ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR” BY THE CATHOLIC COLLEGE FROM WHICH HE GRADUATED. I SPOKE WITH HIM OVER THE PHONE A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO. HE LIVES IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. I ENVY HIM.
SO YOU HAVE HEARD JESUS DESCRIBE THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN OVER THESE PAST FEW SUNDAYS. IF YOU ARE NOT MOVED TO BEGIN THE PROCESS OF SELLING EVERYTHING YOU HAVE TO POSSESS THE GREAT TREASURE, THEN YOU HAVE EYES, BUT YOU HAVEN'T SEEN, YOU HAVE EARS BUT YOU CAN'T HEAR. BUT IF YOU HAVE UNDERSTOOD, THEN YOU YOURSELF CAN BEGIN TO BE LIKE THE HOUSEHOLDER WHO FINDS IN HIS STOREROOM NOT ONLY THE STUFF HE PUT THERE, BUT THINGS THAT HE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WERE THERE – NEW THINGS, BECAUSE THAT IS THE LAST PART OF THE SECRET – IF YOU GO LOOKING FOR THE KINGDOM, IT WILL FIND YOU.

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A

MATTHEW 13:24-33
MY WIFE AND I HAVE DIFFERENT ATTITUDES ABOUT WEEDS. SHE THINKS THAT IF YOU GO OUT AND RIP THEM UP ALL SUMMER LONG, YOUR YARD WILL LOOK A LOT BETTER. SO WHEN THE WEATHER IS JUST RIGHT SHE LIKES TO GO OUT, USUALLY RECRUITING MY DAUGHTER AND EVEN ME IF I CAN'T FIND SOMETHING ELSE TO DO, AND RIP UP WEEDS. SHE FEELS VERY VIRTUOUS DOING THIS.
I ON THE OTHER HAND THINK THAT WHEN YOU HAVE A LAWN FULL OF WEEDS AND YOU MOW IT, IT LOOKS ENOUGH LIKE REGULAR GRASS TO PASS, AND THE TRICK IS TO MOW IT JUST OFTEN ENOUGH SO IT DOESN'T GET TOO SHABBY. AND IF YOU HAVE BUSHES WITH WEEDS GROWING IN THEM, A HEDGE TRIMMER SHOULD TAKE CARE OF THE PROBLEM. ONCE IN A WHILE YOU HAVE TO REMOVE THE TOP OF A WEED, BUT THAT'S EASILY DONE WITH SHEARS AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO WRESTLE WITH THE ROOT. BECAUSE IN MY EXPERIENCE YOU CAN PULL UP ALL THE ROOTS YOU WANT, AND THE WEEDS WILL KEEP COMING BACK.
SO I AM ON THE SIDE OF THE HOUSEHOLDER. LET THE WEEDS AND WHEAT GROW TOGETHER UNTIL THE VERY LAST MINUTE, THEN SEPARATE THEM.
WHEN JESUS TOLD THE PARABLE OF THE WEEDS, HIS HEARERS HAD A SPECIFIC IMAGE IN MIND. FIRST OF ALL, ENEMIES DID DO THIS SORT OF THING. THEY WOULD SEW A SPECIFIC WEED, CALLED DARNEL, WHICH WAS REALLY HARD TO TELL FROM WHEAT UNTIL IT MATURED. IT EVEN BORE SEEDS, WHICH MADE PEOPLE SICK OF SOME OF IT GOT MILLED ALONG WITH THE WHEAT. AND THE DARNEL HAD A STRONGER ROOT SYSTEM THAN WHEAT, SO IF YOU PULLED IT UP, YOU WOULD MOST LIKELY PULL UP THE WHEAT PLANT GROWING NEXT TO IT. IF YOU WERE IMPATIENT, YOU COULD GET OUT THERE AND WORK AT IT, ONE WEED AT A TIME, AND AS YOU COLLECTED THE WEEDS, YOU WOULD PROBABLY FEEL VIRTUOUS; OR YOU COULD WAIT UNTIL THE DIFFERENCE WAS OBVIOUS, HARVEST IT ALL, AND THEN SEPARATE THE DARNEL FROM THE WHEAT IN A MUCH EASIER EFFORT.
SO ONE LESSON, PERHAPS, IS THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE PATIENCE. THERE ARE THOSE WHO WANT TO WEED, THEY ARE HAPPIEST WHEN SEPARATING THE GOOD FROM THE BAD, FIGURATIVELY OR LITERALLY. MAYBE IT IS IN CONVERSATION, WHEN WE TALK ABOUT “US” AND “THEM”. MAYBE IT IS IN ACTION, WHEN WE CLOSE THE DOORS OF FRIENDSHIP TO THOSE WHO WE SEE AS MORALLY QUESTIONABLE. MAYBE IT IS JUST IN OUR MINDS, WHEN WE JUDGE. BUT JESUS TELLS US THAT DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN THOSE WHO ARE GOOD AND THOSE WHO ARE EVIL IS A JOB FOR THE FATHER AND HIS ANGELS, NOT FOR US; AND IT WILL NOT TAKE PLACE UNTIL ALL THE EVIDENCE IS IN, AT THE END OF TIME.
AND ANOTHER LESSON, PERHAPS, IS THAT THERE IS A GODLY PURPOSE IN HAVING THE GOOD AND THE EVIL GROWING TOGETHER. WE KNOW THAT WHEN YOU PLANT DIFFERENT SPECIES IN THE SAME GARDEN, THERE IS COMPETION FOR LIGHT AND WATER, AND WHILE SOME PLANTS DIE, THOSE THAT REMAIN ARE STRONGER. THE GOOD ARE MADE BETTER BY GROWING ALONGSIDE THE EVIL ONES, ALTHOUGH THERE ARE DANGERS, THERE ARE TEMPATIONS, AND WE NEED GOD'S GRACE TO AVOID LOSING GROUND. BUT THE EVIL ONES ARE INFLUENCED BY THE GOOD AS WELL, AND BECAUSE EVIL AND GOOD GROW TOGETHER, THERE IS THE POSSIBILITY OF REDEMPTION FOR THE WEEDS, THE CHANCE TO BECOME WHEAT AND BE PART OF THE HARVEST.
AND A THIRD LESSON MAY BE THAT ALTHOUGH YOU AND I BELIEVE WE ARE WHEAT, AND WILL SOME DAY BE GATHERED INTO THE HARVEST OF OUR LORD, WE MAY NOT BE. WE MAY TURN OUT TO BE WEEDS. YOU CAN'T REALLY TELL THE DIFFERENCE UNTIL THE PLANT HAS MATURED AND BORN FRUIT. THE FRUIT MAY BE A HEAD OF WHEAT, WHICH CAN BE GROUND INTO FLOUR AND MADE INTO BREAD, OR IT MAY BE A HEAD OF DARNEL, WHICH CAN MAKE PEOPLE SICK. IN A REAL GARDEN, THE WEED AND THE WHEAT HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO GROW UP TO BE WHAT THEY ARE DESTINED TO BE. IN THE GARDEN OF OUR LORD, THERE ARE CHOICES TO BE MADE WHILE HE ALLOWS THE WHEAT AND WEEDS TO GROW ALONGSIDE OF EACH OTHER.
WE MUST CONTINUALLY TRANSFORM OURSELVES, WHICH IS ANOTHER WAY OF SAYING WE MUST CONTINUALLY REPENT, REPOSITION OURSELVES, CHANGE DIRECTION WHEN NEED BE, SO THAT WE CAN RECEIVE AND RESPOND TO ALL THE GRACES GOD GIVES US. HOW DO WE KNOW WE ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK? WE NEED SOME SORT OF PLAN TO FOLLOW, JUST LIKE WE DO WITH EVERYTHING ELSE WE TRY TO ACCOMPLISH. THAT PLAN, OF COURSE, IS THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF JESUS CHRIST. AND WE FIND THAT BEST REFLECTED IN THE CHURCH. OUR ANCESTORS IN THE FAITH KNEW THIS. ST. FRANCIS AND MANY OTHER SAINTS SET OUT CONSCIOUSLY TO IMITATE THE LIFE OF JESUS, AND MEMBERS OF RELIGIOUS ORDERS TRY TO LIVE THEIR LIVES IN SOME SENSE TO REFLECT THEIR FOUNDER AND HIS OR HER SPECIAL GIFTS, BECAUSE THE FOUNDER WAS AN IMITATOR OF CHRIST.
BUT THE OTHER TWO PARABLES TELL US THAT SECOND ONLY TO THIS TASK IS THE TASK OF TRANSFORMING THE WORLD. THE PARABLE OF THE YEAST TELLS US THAT THIS TRANSFORMATION ISN'T ABOUT NUMBERS, ABOUT FORCE; IT IS THAT WITH GOD'S POWER, WE CHRISTIANS CAN ACCOMPLISH ENORMOUS AMOUNTS JUST BY BEING CHRISTIANS IN SOCIETY. IF YOU'VE EVER MADE BREAD, YOU KNOW HOW YEAST CAN TRANSFORM FLOUR, OIL AND WATER INTO SOMETHING THAT IS ALMOST A LIVING ORGANISM, AND THE YEAST BECOMES THE CATALYST THAT TURNS WHAT IS ALMOST INDIGESTIBLE INTO SOMETHING THAT TASTES AND SMELLS DELIGHTFUL.
AND IF YOU THINK YOU AREN'T UP TO THE TASK OF BECOMING WHEAT, OR BEING YEAST, THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED TELLS US THAT NO MATTER HOW UNIMPORTANT OR INCONSEQUENTIAL WE MAY FEEL ABOUT OURSELVES, GOD CAN STILL TURN US INTO SPIRITUAL GIANTS.
SO CARRY THESE THREE PARABLES WITH YOU THIS WEEK. THINK ABOUT THEM, PRAY ABOUT THEM, AND EXAMINE YOUR OWN LIVES IN THEIR REFLECTION. THAT'S THE REASON JESUS TOLD THEM TO THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOWED HIM THEN AND TELLS THEM TO THOSE WHO FOLLOW HIM NOW.

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A

MATTHEW 13:1-23
JESUS TOLD PARABLES FOR A REASON. EVERY PARABLE IS THE ANSWER TO A QUESTION, BUT ALWAYS A QUESTION THAT DOES NOT HAVE A SATISFYING ANSWER – KIND OF LIKE LIFE IN GENERAL. A LAWYER ASKS, “WHO IS OUR NEIGHBOR?” AND JESUS TELLS THE STORY OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THERE IS NO GOOD ANSWER TO THE QUESTION – DO WE SAY “EVERYONE IS OUR NEIGHBOR?” WELL, THAT IS CLEARLY NOT THE CASE – A NICE SENTIMENT, PERHAPS. DO WE SAY, “PEOPLE WHO ARE LIKE ME ARE MY NEIGHBOR?” IN A SENSE, YES, BECAUSE WE HAVE A TENDENCY TO BE MORE OPEN TO THOSE WHO ARE LIKE US, TO BE MORE LIKELY TO HELP THEM OUT, TO ASSOCIATE WITH THEM. BUT THE PARABLE ANSWERS THE QUESTION BY TELLING US NOT WHO IS OUR NEIGHBOR, BUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE NEIGHBOR. AND THEN IT IS UP TO US TO DECIDE. AND EVERY PARABLE IS LIKE THIS; FIND THE QUESTION; GO THROUGH THE ANSWERS AND SEE THAT NONE OF THEM REALLY ANSWER THE QUESTION; AND THEN GO BACK TO THE PARABLE.
SO WHAT IS THE QUESTION IN THIS WELL KNOWN PARABLE ABOUT THE SEWER AND THE SEED? WELL, IT HELPS TO READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER. IN IT, JESUS HAS BEEN DRIVING OUT DEMONS, WORKING MIRACLES, AND ALL THE WHILE TALKING ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD. THEN SOME PHARISEES AND LAWYERS COME UP TO HIM AND SAY, “TEACHER, WE WANT YOU TO DO A MIRACLE FOR US.” AND SHORTLY AFTERWARDS, WHILE JESUS IS RESPONDING TO THAT, SOMEONE TELLS HIM THAT HIS MOTHER AND BROTHERS ARE OUTSIDE AND WANT TO TALK TO HIM. ALL OF THIS IS TAKING PLACE IN THE MIDDLE OF A HUGE CROWD WHO HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING HIM AND WATCHING HIM. AND THAT IS WHEN JESUS TURNS TO THEM AND TELLS THEM THE PARABLE OF THE SEWER AND THE SEED. FOR THE CROWD FOLLOWING JESUS, HE IS KIND OF A ROCK STAR; MANY ARE ENJOYING THE SHOW, THE ARGUMENTS WITH THE PHARISEES, THE MIRACLES, THE PREACHING – IN AN AGE WITHOUT TELEVISION, A MARVELOUS WAY TO ENTERTAIN YOURSELF; AND MANY SEE THEMSELVES AS JESUS' FAN CLUB; AS THEY FOLLOW HIM ALONG THEY REINFORCE EACH OTHER, AND FEEL MORE ALIVE, MORE PURPOSEFUL. AND SOME, LIKE THE PHARISEES, WOULD LIKE TO KNOW WHAT HE CAN DO AND HOW HE CAN DO IT AND MAYBE FIGURE OUT A WAY TO USE HIS POWER FOR THEMSELVES. “WORK A MIRACLE FOR US!” AND SOME LIKE HIS MOTHER AND BROTHERS, ASSUME THAT BECAUSE THEY ARE RELATED, THEY SHOULD AUTOMATICALLY HAVE ACCESS TO HIM, OVER AND ABOVE ALL THE OTHERS. IT IS PROBABLY SAFE TO SAY THAT NEARLY EVERYONE WHO IS LISTENING TO JESUS IS ASKING, “WHAT CAN HE DO FOR ME?”
AND THE ANSWER IS THE PARABLE OF THE SEWER AND THE SEED.
JESUS INTERPRETS HIS OWN PARABLE FOR THE APOSTLES WHO ASK. BUT THAT IS JUST THE FIRST LEVEL OF INTERPRETATION. IS JESUS TELLING US THAT THERE ARE FOUR KINDS OF PEOPLE, THE ONES WHO HEAR THE WORD AND NOTHING HAPPENS, THE ONES WHO EMBRACE IT ENTHUSIASTICALLY, BUT SOON GO ON TO ANOTHER ENTHUSIASM; THE ONES WHO GROW LIKE CRAZY BUT SOON GET BOGGED DOWN WITH OTHER THINGS; AND THE ONES WHO BEAR FRUIT? IF THAT IS WHAT HE MEANS, ITS KIND OF SAD, BECAUSE IT IMPLIES THAT THERE ISN'T ANYTHING I CAN DO TO CHANGE WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN; IT IMPLIES PREDESTINATION.
BUT WHEN WE THINK OF THE QUESTION, “WHAT CAN JESUS DO FOR ME?”, ANOTHER SORT OF ANSWER SPRINGS TO MIND. JESUS IS SAYING THAT HE'S ALREADY DONE HIS PART – AFTER ALL, IF YOU WERE A FARMER, YOU WOULD NOT THROW YOUR SEED ON ROCKY GROUND, OR ON A ROAD TO BE TRAMPLED UPON, OR INTO A THORN BUSH. THAT WASTED SEED COULD HAVE BEEN MADE INTO BREAD, OR USED TO SEED ANOTHER FIELD. BUT IF JESUS IS THE FARMER, HE CASTS THE SEED ON EVEN THE MOST UNPROMISING SOIL, PRECISELY BECAUSE SOMETHING CAN HAPPEN, THE SEED NEEDN'T COME TO NOTHING. BECAUSE YOU AND I ARE NOT REALLY THE GROUND, BUT WE ARE THE GARDENERS; AND IF OUR SHARE OF THE SEED IS NOT BEARING FRUIT, THEN WE ARE THE ONLY ONES WHO CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT; WE NEED TO MOVE OUR GARDEN TO A BETTER SPOT, WE NEED TO CULTIVATE AND NOURISH THE SOIL AND TEAR OUT THE WEEDS SO THAT THE SEED CAN GROW AND BEAR FRUIT.
ALL OF US CAN RECOGNIZE TIMES WHEN THE WORD OF GOD HAS GONE IN ONE EAR AND OUT THE OTHER; WHEN THE WORD OF GOD MADE ME RESOLVE TO CHANGE, AND I WENT OUT AND SAID A ROSARY, OR MAYBE WENT TO THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MANY YEARS. BUT A FEW DAYS GO BY, AND NOTHING REALLY HAS CHANGED. AND I'VE BEEN THERE WHEN THE WORD OF GOD SEEMED TO TAKE ROOT AND FOR A WHILE IT SEEMED AS THOUGH I COULD PRACTICALLY FEEL JESUS WALKING WITH ME – UNTIL THE STOCK MARKET STARTED TO FALL APART, OR I GOT SICK, OR SOMETHING NEW DEMANDED MY ATTENTION, AND I DRIFTED AWAY; AND I'VE HAD SOME TIMES IN MY LIFE WHERE I THINK THE WORD OF GOD THAT I HEARD REALLY DID BEAR FRUIT, WHERE MY GARDEN WAS IN SHAPE TO MAKE THE SEED YIELD MORE THAN I WOULD HAVE EVER EXPECTED IT TO.
THE SEWER ALWAYS SEWS THE SEED. MY JOB IS TO PREPARE THE GARDEN. AND I HAVE TO PREPARE THE SAME WAY THE SAINTS PREPARED; I ASK MYSELF EVERY EVENING WHETHER I'VE DONE WHAT GOD WANTED THAT DAY, OR WHAT I WANTED. I RESOLVE EVERY MORNING TO TRY TO LISTEN MORE CLOSELY TO GOD THAT DAY. AND I PRAY, AND PRAY, AND PRAY, ASKING FOR GUIDANCE, ASKING FOR STRENGTH. AND WHEN I FALL, I GET UP AGAIN. AND IF I DON'T KNOW A LITTLE ABOUT THE BIBLE, AND IF I DON'T KNOW WHAT MY CHURCH TEACHES AND WHY, AND IF I DON'T TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SACRAMENTS OF PENANCE AND THE HOLY EUCHARIST, I'M CERTAINLY CONDEMNING MY GARDEN TO THORNS AND ROCKS AND RAIDING BIRDS AND TRAMPLING FEET.
AND AS JESUS LOOKED AT THE CROWDS, THOSE HAPPY, SUPPORTIVE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOWED HIM EVERYWHERE, HE SAW THAT ONLY A FEW WOULD GO TO THE TROUBLE TO CREATE A GARDEN IN WHICH HIS SEEDS COULD SPROUT AND GROW AND BEAR GREAT FRUIT. AND HE LOOKS AT US THIS WAY AS WELL.
SO TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR GARDEN; CAN YOU HONESTLY SAY THAT IT IS A WELCOME PLACE FOR THE WORD OF GOD TO TAKE ROOT, TO GROW, TO FLOWER, AND TO BEAR GREAT FRUIT? AND REMEMBER, IF IT IS NOT, YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT.

Feast of Saints Peter and Paul, 2008

OVER ON MY LEFT, YOU CAN SEE SAINT PETER HOLDING THE KEYS TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, THE GOLDEN KEY REPRESENTING THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS THAT COMES FROM JESUS SHEDDING HIS BLOOD, AND THE SILVER KEY THE PRIESTHOOD WHICH ADMINISTERS THE SACRAMENTS THAT HELP US TO UNTANGLE OURSELVES FROM THE WORLD, WHICH ALWAYS TRIES TO DRAG US DOWN. AND THERE IS SAINT PAUL HOLDING A SWORD AND A SCROLL, THE SWORD REPRESENTING HIS LIFE BEFORE HIS CONVERSION, THE SCROLL, HIS LIFE AFTERWARDS. TODAY THE FEAST OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL IS CONSIDERED BY THE CHURCH SO IMPORTANT THAT IT TAKES THE PLACE OF THE THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME. CERTAINLY WE SHOULD HONOR THESE TWO GREAT MEN WHO FROM A HUMAN STANDPOINT, FOUNDED THE CHURCH. PETER WAS THE FIRST POPE, PAUL THE PRE-EMINENT MISSIONARY.
BUT THE CHURCH DOES NOT SET UP FEAST DAYS JUST TO HONOR SOMEONE. THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING IN THE FEAST DAY THAT HAS SOMETHING FOR US TO THINK ABOUT, TO PONDER, TO PUT INTO OUR OWN LIVES. AND THIS FEAST IS NO EXCEPTION.
WE CAN THINK OF MANY PEOPLE WE CALL SAINTS WHO LIVED IN THE TIME OF CHRIST. THE APOSTLES, ST JOHN THE BAPTIST, SAINTS MARTHA, MARY, ELIZABETH, MARY MAGDALEN, SAINT JOSEPH – BUT THE ONLY ONES WE KNOW WELL, AS REAL HUMAN BEINGS, ARE SAINT PETER AND SAINT PAUL. SAINT PETER WE KNOW THROUGH HIS WORDS AND DEEDS AS RECORDED BY THE GOSPELS AND THE BOOK OF ACTS, AND WE KNOW A LITTLE ABOUT HIM BECAUSE PAUL WROTE ABOUT HIM. SAINT PAUL WE KNOW PRIMARILY BY HIS WRITINGS, AND SECONDARILY FROM THE BOOK OF ACTS. WE KNOW THAT SAINT PETER WAS A LITTLE HOT-HEADED, IMPULSIVE; HE WAS PRONE TO MISUNDERSTAND JESUS. HE WAS UNEDUCATED, AND SPOKE WITH A HILLBILLY ACCENT, BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT THE GALILEANS WERE TO THE PEOPLE FROM JERUSALEM. HE HAD A GREAT HEART. WE CAN ALL PICTURE PETER, AND WE CAN ALL THINK OF PEOPLE WE KNOW WHO ARE LIKE HIM. SAINT PAUL WAS SORT OF A FANATIC; HE WAS A PHARISEE, THE WORST KIND OF PHARISEE, THE KIND THAT JESUS WAS ALWAYS TALKING AGAINST. HE WAS A NIT-PICKER, HE KNEW HIS LAW, AND HE CONSIDERED HIMSELF BETTER IN DOING WHAT THE LAW SAID THAN ANYONE ELSE. HE WAS SO ZEALOUS FOR HIS RELIGION THAT HE STOOD BY WHILE STEPHEN WAS STONED, AND PROBABLY SAID, “GOOD RIDDANCE!” AND HE DASHED OFF TO ANTIOCH TO BRING BACK THOSE CHRISTIANS WHO IN HIS MIND WERE HERETICS, TO BE TRIED AND PUNISHED IN JERUSALEM, WHERE THE JEWISH AUTHORITIES HAD THAT RIGHT.
AFTER JESUS' DEATH PETER DOES NOT BECOME PERFECT, AND AFTER PAUL'S CONVERSION, HE IS STILL FULL OF FAULTS. IN FACT, I DON'T THINK PETER AND PAUL GOT ALONG ALL THAT WELL. PAUL SAYS IN GALATIANS, “WHEN I SAW THAT THEY WERE NOT ACTING IN LINE WITH THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL, I SAID TO PETER IN FRONT OF THEM ALL, "YOU ARE A JEW, YET YOU LIVE LIKE A GENTILE AND NOT LIKE A JEW. HOW IS IT, THEN, THAT YOU FORCE GENTILES TO FOLLOW JEWISH CUSTOMS?” I'M SURE PETER APPRECIATED THAT. AND PETER, IN THE SECOND LETTER, SAYS THIS OF PAUL: “HIS LETTERS CONTAIN SOME THINGS THAT ARE HARD TO UNDERSTAND, WHICH IGNORANT AND UNSTABLE PEOPLE DISTORT” WHICH WAS A CHARITABLE WAY OF SAYING THAT “I'M PRETTY SURE HE'S NOT A HERETIC”.
BUT HERE'S THE THING. PETER BY HIMSELF WAS A WELL-MEANING NOT OVERLY BRIGHT BUMBLER, WHO KNEW FISHING, BUT PROBABLY HAD AN OPINION ABOUT EVERYTHING; HE HAD A BIG MOUTH AND WHEN THE CHIPS WERE DOWN, HE HID. AND HE WAS JUST THE KIND WHO WOULD TELL JOKES ABOUT STUCK UP PHARISEES OVER A BEER WITH HIS FRIENDS, AND HE WOULD HAVE NEVER HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH PAUL. BUT PETER PLUS JESUS WAS A LEADER WHO HELD THE EARLY CHURCH TOGETHER, WHO FACED DEATH MORE THAN A FEW TIMES, WHO WAS ABLE TO STAND IN JESUS' PLACE AND PUT TOGETHER THE STRUCTURES THAT EVOLVED INTO OUR CHURCH; PETER BECAME WISE AND EVEN MANAGED TO FIND A ROLE FOR PAUL, WHO MIGHT NEVER HAVE BEEN ABLE TO LIVE IN THE JERUSALEM COMMUNITY. AND PAUL BY HIMSELF WAS A HUMORLESS FANATIC, WHO NOT ONLY PRACTICED THE HUNDREDS OF LAWS OF MOSES TO THE VERY LETTER, BUT REASONED THAT TORTURE AND DEATH WERE A FITTING REWARD FOR ANYONE WHO DEVIATED FROM THE LAW; AND HE WAS WELL EDUCATED, AND UPPER MIDDLE CLASS, JUST THE KIND WHO WOULD REALLY LOOK DOWN ON PETER; AND PAUL WITH JESUS DISCOVERED LOVE, AND WENT ON TO LIVE THE WORDS HE WROTE IN THE FIRST LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS: “LOVE IS PATIENT, LOVE IS KIND. IT DOES NOT ENVY, IT DOES NOT BOAST, IT IS NOT PROUD. IT IS NOT RUDE, IT IS NOT SELF-SEEKING, IT IS NOT EASILY ANGERED, IT KEEPS NO RECORD OF WRONGS.”
SO PERHAPS WE DON'T SO MUCH HONOR PETER AND PAUL TODAY AS WE HONOR JESUS, WHO TRANSFORMED THEM BOTH, WHO TOOK THEIR WORST CHARACTER TRAITS AND MADE SOMETHING WONDERFUL FROM THEM. PERHAPS TODAY WE HONOR THE FACT THAT JESUS IS WILLING TO TRANSFORM US AS WELL – HE MAY NOT HAVE MUCH TO WORK WITH, BUT HE DIDN'T WITH PETER OR PAUL EITHER. SO ONE OF OUR PRAYERS TODAY SHOULD BE “COMPLETE ME, LORD, AS YOU COMPLETED PETER AND PAUL, AND USE ME TO BUILD UP YOUR KINGDOM.”
AND PERHAPS TODAY WE SHOULD HONOR THE FACT THAT WHEN WE LOOK AT OTHER PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY PEOPLE WHOSE PERSONALITIES CLASH WITH OURS, PEOPLE WHO CAN'T SEEM TO DO ANYTHING RIGHT, PEOPLE WHO WHENEVER THEY OPEN THEIR MOUTHS SAY THE DUMBEST THINGS, PEOPLE WHO HAVE STREAKS OF CRUELTY, PEOPLE WHO ALWAYS PUT THEMSELVES FIRST – YOU CAN ADD TO THE LIST – MAYBE YOU ARE ON MY LIST AND I'M ON YOURS – WE ARE LOOKING AT THE RAW MATERIAL THAT JESUS CAN USE TO CREATE GREAT SAINTS, AND IF THAT IS THE CASE, HOW CAN WE NOT HONOR THE POTENTIAL FOR HOLINESS THAT WE SEE IN EVEN THOSE WE CAN HARDLY STAND?
SO GET TO KNOW PETER AND PAUL, GET TO SEE HOW VASTLY DIFFERENT THEY WERE AS PEOPLE, AND HOW JESUS USED THEM BOTH, AND TRANSFORMED THEM BOTH, AND MADE THEM INTO SAINTS. AND PRAY THAT HE WILL DO THE SAME FOR YOU AND I.

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A

MATTHEW 10:26-33
THE EUCHARISTIC CONGRESS IN QUEBEC CITY IS ENDING THIS WEEKEND. FATHER REILLY AND OUR BISHOP, AND 66 OTHER PEOPLE FROM OUR DIOCESE ARE THERE. THE CONGRESS WAS PRIVILEGED TO HEAR AN ADDRESS FROM ELIZABETH NGUYEN THI THU HONG, THE YOUNGEST SISTER OF CARDINAL FRANCIS XAVIER NGUYEN VAN THUAN, WHO DIED IN 2002, AND IS A CANDIDATE FOR BEATIFICATION. HE WAS APPOINTED BISHOP OF HO CHI MIN CITY IN VIET NAM SHORTLY BEFORE THE COMMUNISTS TOOK OVER. HE WAS IMPRISONED FOR NINE YEARS, SIX OF WHICH WERE IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT. HE WAS ALLOWED TO CORRESPOND WITH SOME OF HIS FRIENDS, AND REQUESTED THAT THEY SEND HIM SOME MEDICINE FOR HIS STOMACH, THE KIND HE TOOK EVERY MORNING. THEY SENT HIM WINE IN A BOTTLE LABELED “STOMACH MEDICINE” AND FRAGMENTS OF EUCHARISTIC BREAD. WHILE IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT, HE WOULD SAY MASS EVERY DAY WITH THESE ELEMENTS. WHEN HE WAS RELEASED TO THE GENERAL PRISON POPULATION, HE GATHERED TOGETHER CATHOLIC PRISONERS AND WOULD SAY MASS FOR THEM IN SECRET, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT; AND HE CONTINUED TO MINISTER NOT ONLY TO CATHOLICS, BUT TO ANY PRISONER WHO NEEDED HIM. DURING ALL THIS TIME, HE CORRESPONDED WITH HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY, AND THE GENERAL TONE OF HIS WRITINGS WERE THAT HE WAS NOT AFRAID, HE WAS CONTENT, HE WAS IN FACT HAPPY, BECAUSE OF THE CONSTANT COMPANIONSHIP OF JESUS. WHEN HE WAS RELEASED AND EXILED FROM VIET NAM, HE BECAME THE PREFECT IN CHARGE OF THE JUSTICE AND PEACE COMMISSION IN THE VATICAN, A JOB HE HELD UNTIL HE DIED.
CARDINAL VAN THUAN TOOK JESUS' TEACHING LITERALLY; “DO NOT LET MEN INTIMIDATE YOU; WHAT I TELL YOU IN DARKNESS, SPEAK IN THE LIGHT; DON'T FEAR THOSE WHO CAN DESTROY THE BODY; IF YOU ACKNOWLEDGE ME BEFORE MEN, I WILL ACKNOWLEDGE YOU BEFORE MY FATHER IN HEAVEN.
HAVE YOU AND I IDENTIFIED OUR FEARS? WE ALL HAVE THEM. I FEAR GROWING OLD, AND LOSING MY STRENGTH, MY MENTAL AND PHYSICAL ABILITIES. I FEAR WHETHER I WILL HAVE ENOUGH TO HAVE A COMFORTABLE RETIREMENT. I FEAR WHETHER OUR COUNTRY IS GOING TO LAST, OR WHETHER, AS IT SEEMS MORE AND MORE LIKELY, IT IS GOING TO IMPLODE AS WE CAN'T AFFORD ENERGY, AS THE GAP BETWEEN RICH AND POOR INCREASES, AS VIOLENCE BECOMES PART OF OUR DAILY LIVES. I COULD MAKE ALONG LIST OF MY FEARS, WHICH I MOSTLY TRY TO IGNORE, BUT EVERY NOW AND THEN ONE OF THEM WILL SURFACE LIKE A GHOST IN A HAUNTED HOUSE, AND REMIND ME HOW FRAGILE EVERYTHING IS.
BUT FEAR IS NOT CHRISTIAN. JESUS TELLS US, HE COMMANDS US, NOT TO FEAR, NOT TO BE INTIMIDATED. AND HE TELLS US HOW. HE SAYS, MAKE IT YOUR BUSINESS TO PROCLAIM WHAT HE HAS REVEALED TO YOU. BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN CREATED FOR, TO PROCLAIM THE GOOD NEWS, WITH YOUR WORDS, WITH YOUR LIFE. THE GOOD NEWS WILL BE PROCLAIMED, WHETHER YOU DO IT OR NOT. BUT IF YOU DO IT, YOU ARE ACKNOWLEDGING JESUS BEFORE MEN, AND JESUS PROMISES THAT THIS WILL NOT BE FORGOTTEN. HE ASSURES US THAT NO POWER EXCEPT THE FATHER CAN AFFECT US WHERE WE REALLY LIVE, IN THAT PART OF OUR BEING WE CALL OUR SOUL. AND HE REMINDS US THAT THE FATHER LOOKS AT EACH ONE OF US WITH GREAT LOVE, AND CARES ABOUT EVERY HAIR ON OUR HEADS, EVERYTHING ABOUT US, GOOD AND NOT SO GOOD. IN ANOTHER PART OF SCRIPTURE, IT SAYS THAT THE FATHER TAKES DELIGHT IN US.
AND FEAR IS WHAT KEEPS US FROM DOING WHAT JESUS ASKS. CAN YOU THINK OF ANY TIME DURING THE PAST WEEK WHEN YOU FAILED TO PROCLAIM WHAT YOU'VE BEEN TAUGHT? WHEN YOU FAILED TO ACKNOWLEDGE JESUS BEFORE MEN? I CAN. THIS LAST WEEK, I'VE HURT A FEW FEELINGS – VERY UNCHRISTIAN; I HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO SPEAK UP WHEN SOMEONE MADE AN IGNORANT REMARK ABOUT CHRISTIANITY, BUT IT DIDN'T SEEM LIKE THE RIGHT TIME OR PLACE. I COULD TELL THAT ONE OF MY CO-WORKERS WAS TROUBLED, BUT I DIDN'T WANT TO GET INVOLVED, SO I ACTED AS THOUGH I WASN'T AWARE OF HER PROBLEM. I AM SURE THAT IF YOU LOOK AT YOUR WEEK, YOU COULD THINK OF TIMES WHEN YOU FAILED TO PROCLAIM WHAT YOU'VE BEEN TAUGHT AS WELL.
JESUS CAME INTO THE WORLD AND DESIGNATED HIS APOSTLES TO BEGIN THE GREAT WORK OF BRINGING ABOUT HIS KINGDOM. THE KINGDOM WILL COME, THAT IS A PROMISE. AND IT WILL COME BECAUSE OF THE WORK OF THE APOSTLES, OF THE SAINTS, OF YOU AND I. THE KINGDOM, IN FACT, IS WHAT HUMAN BEINGS ARE FOR – AND IT IS FOR US HUMAN BEINGS. THE KINGDOM IS PEACE, AND JUSTICE, AND SUFFICIENT RESOURCES FOR ALL, SO THAT EVERY PERSON CAN REALIZE ALL OF HIS OR HER HUMAN POTENTIAL. BUT PERHAPS THE CHIEF CHARACTERISTIC OF THE KINGDOM IS THAT THOSE WHO ARE IN IT WILL HAVE NO FEAR BECAUSE THE WORDS JESUS SPEAKS TODAY WILL BE PART OF THEIR MAKE-UP; THEY WILL BE MUCH MORE THAN WORDS, THEY WILL BE AT THE CORE OF OUR LIVES. AND THE MOST AMAZING THING IS THAT WE CAN ENTER THAT KINGDOM NOW, EVEN IF NO ONE ELSE DOES.
SO WHAT ARE YOUR FEARS? HOW HAVE YOU FAILED TO PROCLAIM WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN TAUGHT? HOW HAVE YOU FAILED TO ACKNOWLEDGE JESUS BEFORE MEN? AND FINALLY, AS YOU THINK ABOUT THE KINGDOM, DO YOU FIND YOURSELF HUNGERING AND THIRSTING FOR IT? BECAUSE THAT IS THE BEGINNING – TO IMAGINE THE WORLD THAT COULD BE, THAT SHOULD BE, THE WORLD WHERE JESUS IS KING AND THERE IS NOTHING HIDDEN, AND THERE IS NO FEAR.

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A

MATTHEW 9:36-10:8
WHEN I WAS ABOUT 10, SOME OF MY CLASSMATES TOOK PRIDE IN PETTY THEFT. THEY WOULD GO INTO A STORE AND STEAL SMALL OBJECTS-- MINIATURE SQUIRT GUNS BEING ONE PRIZED ITEM. AT FIRST I JUST WATCHED MY FRIENDS WITH ENVY, BUT FINALLY GOT ENOUGH NERVE TO STEAL MY FIRST SQUIRT GUN. I GOT AWAY WITH IT! A COUPLE MORE PETTY THEFTS FOLLOWED; I CAPTURED A HERSHEY BAR, A COUPLE OF ROLLS OF LIFE SAVERS, A PEN. ONE EVENING MY DAD, MY SISTER AND I WERE VISITING MY GRANDMOTHER AND GRANDFATHER. GETTING BORED WITH GROWN UP TALK, SHE AND I ASKED TO BE ALLOWED TO GO TO THE LITTLE CORNER STORE. AS USUAL, SHE WENT OVER TO THE CANDY COUNTER AND LOOKED AT CANDY, WHILE I STUDIED THE COMIC BOOKS. IT OCCURRED TO ME THAT SINCE I WAS AN ACCOMPLISHED THIEF, I SHOULD HAVE NO PROBLEM IN STUFFING A FEW OF MY FAVORITE COMIC BOOKS UNDER MY JACKET. I DID. AS WE WALKED OUT THE DOOR, I FELT A HAND GRAB MY SHOULDER. I WAS BUSTED! I HAD VISIONS OF GOING TO JAIL, OF ENDING UP IN REFORM SCHOOL, OF A LIFE RUINED. MY SISTER WAS CRYING. I MAY HAVE BEEN AS WELL. THE STORE OWNER KEPT ASKING ME MY NAME, AND WHEN I BLUBBERED IT OUT, HE ASKED ME HOW HE COULD GET IN TOUCH WITH MY PARENTS. I GAVE HIM MY GRANDMOTHER'S NUMBER. OVER THE NEXT FEW MINUTES, SEVERAL PAINFUL HOURS WENT BY, AND THEN MY DAD SHOWED UP. THE STORE OWNER WAS ANGRY, AND HE LET MY FATHER KNOW HOW UPSET HE WAS THAT KIDS WERE TAKING THINGS FROM HIS STORE, AND HE COULDN'T JUST BLAME THE KIDS, IT WAS THEIR PARENTS FAULT AS WELL. MY FATHER STOOD THERE AND DIDN'T SAY A WORD. WHEN THE MAN FINISHED, MY DAD APOLOGIZED ON MY BEHALF, AND SINCE NOTHING HAD ACTUALLY BEEN STOLEN, I WAS ALLOWED TO GO. MY FATHER WAS VERY QUIET. I KNEW I WOULD BE GROUNDED, I KNEW I WOULD BE PUNISHED, AND MOST OF ALL, I KNEW THAT WHEN MY MOTHER FOUND OUT, I WOULD REALLY BE IN TROUBLE. AND THEN HE SPOKE. “I'M DISAPPOINTED,” HE SAID. “I THOUGHT YOU NEW BETTER.” I TOLD HIM THAT I DID, AND I PROMISED THAT I'D NEVER STEAL ANYTHING AGAIN. AND I NEVER DID, NOT BECAUSE I WAS AFRAID OF GETTING CAUGHT, BUT BECAUSE I NEVER WANTED TO DISAPPOINT MY FATHER LIKE THAT AGAIN. MY FATHER DIDN'T PUNISH ME, DIDN'T GROUND ME, DIDN'T EVEN TELL MY MOTHER. IN FACT, HE NEVER MENTIONED IT AGAIN. IT WAS AS THOUGH HE FORGOT ALL ABOUT IT.
I LEARNED SOME THINGS THAT DAY. I WITNESSED MY FATHER BEING HUMILIATED IN MY PLACE; I LEARNED THAT HE LOVED ME AND FORGAVE ME COMPLETELY; AND I HAD A SENSE AT TEN YEARS OLD THAT MY FATHER WOULD BE THERE TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT WHEN I WENT WRONG.
THAT IS WHAT ST. PAUL IS TALKING ABOUT; IT IS PRECISELY IN THIS THAT GOD PROVES HIS LOVE FOR US; WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS, CHRIST DIED FOR US. AND IN THE GOSPEL, JESUS DEMONSTRATES THIS; HE IS MOVED WITH PITY FOR THE PEOPLE WHO ARE LEADERLESS, WHO SEEM TO HAVE NO DIRECTION, NO PURPOSE. HE GIVES HIS APOSTLES A SHARE IN HIS POWER, AND SENDS THEM OUT TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND.
THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. WHAT JESUS WANTS EVERYONE TO KNOW IS THAT WE HAVE A FATHER WHO LOVES US, WHO IS THERE WITH US, SHARING OUR JOYS AND OUR PAINS, A FATHER WHO IN THE PERSON OF HIS SON TAKES ON HIMSELF WHAT WE DESERVE FOR DISOBEYING HIM, FOR OFFENDING HIM; A FATHER WHO GUARANTEES THAT NO MATTER HOW THINGS LOOK NOW, ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER TO FULFILL HIS PURPOSE.
IN ANOTHER PART OF THE GOSPEL, YOU REMEMBER WHEN JOHN THE BAPTIST SENDS HIS DISCIPLES TO ASK JESUS IF HE IS THE ONE WHO IS TO COME, THE ONE WHO IS TO USHER IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD; AND HE REPLIES, GO TELL JOHN WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN, THE LAME WALK, THE BLIND SEE, THE POOR HAVE THE GOOD NEWS PREACHED TO THEM. THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS THERE WHEN WE DO THE WORKS OF JESUS, WHEN WE LIVE AS YOU MIGHT EXPECT SOMEONE TO LIVE WHO HAS SO WONDERFUL, SO GREAT A FATHER.
WHEN ONE OF MY DAUGHTERS WAS ABOUT TEN, I GOT A CALL FROM A LOCAL CLOTHING STORE, ASKING ME TO COME DOWN BECAUSE MY DAUGHTER HAD BEEN CAUGHT WALKING OUT OF THE STORE WITH A SCARF THAT SHE HAD NOT PAID FOR. WHEN I WENT IN, SHE SITTING ON A CHAIR WITH TEARS RUNNING DOWN HER FACE, BARELY ABLE TO CATCH HER BREATH FOR CRYING. THE MANAGER LECTURED ME ABOUT MY RESPONSIBILITIES AS A FATHER, AND I WAS TEMPTED TO POINT OUT THAT SHE WAS JUST A KID, AND THERE HAD BEEN NO REAL HARM DONE, AND I WOULD TAKE CARE OF MAKING SURE SHE WAS ADEQUATELY PUNISHED. BUT OF COURSE I COULD NOT FORGET HOW MY OWN FATHER HAD HANDLED THE SITUATION; SO I EVENTUALLY APOLOGIZED, ACCEPTED THE BLAME, AND WALKED OUT WITH MY DAUGHTER. AND AS I WAS THINKING UP THE PUNISHMENT I WAS GOING TO GIVE HER, I LOOKED AT HER AND KNEW THAT SHE HAD LEARNED HER LESSON, AND I TOLD HER THAT I WAS DISAPPOINTED, AND THAT SHE KNEW BETTER, AND THEN I LET IT GO.
JESUS SAID, “THE GIFT YOU HAVE RECEIVED, GIVE AS A GIFT”.
JESUS COMMISSIONED HIS APOSTLES AND US TO ANNOUNCE THAT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND. IF WE ARE TO DO THAT, WE NEED TO EXPERIENCE THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IN OUR OWN LIVES, AS I DID SO MANY YEARS AGO, AS MY DAUGHTER DID. WE NEED TO REFLECT ON THE FATHER WHO LOVES US AND GIVES EVERYTHING TO US. WE NEED TO LOOK AT ALL THE GIFTS THAT HE HAS GIVEN US, EVEN SOMETIMES THOSE THINGS WHICH WE DON'T SEE AS GIFTS RIGHT AWAY – BECAUSE SOMETIMES AN ILLNESS IS A GIFT, LOSING SOMETHING IS A GIFT, AND THERE ARE GIFTS THAT WE NEVER REALIZE ARE GIFTS UNTIL MANY YEARS LATER. IN FACT, OUR WHOLE LIFE IS A GIFT, EVERYTHING IN IT IS A GIFT. THAT IS THE PROMISE OF THE KINGDOM.
AND EVERY TIME WE DO A WORK OF GOD, A WORK OF HEALING, A WORK OF INCLUDING SOMEONE WHO HAS BEEN EXCLUDED, A WORK OF BRINGING A PERSON WHO WAS DEAD TO THE LIFE THAT IS JESUS – THERE ARE SO MANY OPPORTUNITIES -- WE SHOW THAT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND.
AND FEW OF US MEET THE MARK. SO LET US PRAY TODAY THAT WE WILL TAKE SERIOUSLY THE MISSION THAT JESUS GIVES US. AFTER ALL, EVERYTHING JESUS DID AND CONTINUES TO DO, HAS ONLY ONE PURPOSE, TO SHOW THE GLORY OF THE FATHER. AND THAT IS WHAT HE WANTS US TO DO AS WELL.