Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B

MARK 6:1-6

WHEN I WAS ABOUT TWELVE, I READ A BOOK CALLED “MR. BLUE” BY MILES CONNOLLY. MAYBE SOME OF YOU OLDER PEOPLE REMEMBER THAT BOOK. IT WAS FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1928, AND REMAINED IN PRINT UNTIL 1980. I REMEMBER THE STORY NOT BECAUSE OF THE DESCRIPTION OF MR. BLUE AS A MODERN-DAY SAINT FRANCIS, BUT ABECAUSE OF A STORY WITHIN THE NOVEL WHICH IS TOLD BY MR. BLUE. HE SPEAKS OF A FUTURE WHERE THE GOVERNMENT HAS HERDED ALL HUMAN BEINGS INTO GIANT CITIES, WHERE ALL THEIR BASIC NEEDS ARE PROVIDED. THEY GET A PROTEIN MIXTURE TO EAT AND WATER LACED WITH VITAMINS TO DRINK. THERE IS AN ACTIVE EFFORT TO WIPE OUT ALL RELIGIONS AND TURN EVERYONE'S DEVOTION TO THE STATE. THERE ARE STILL A FEW PARTS OF THE WORLD WHERE THE GOVERNMENT HAS NOT REACHED, AND THE STORY BEGINS WITH THE CAPTURE OF A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE FROM ONE OF THESE AREAS. THE MEN AND WOMEN ARE ASSIGNED JOBS, AND THE HERO WORKS AS A LABORER. HE MANAGES TO SNEAK OFF AND IN A TINY BIT OF DIRT HE GROWS A FEW GRAINS OF WHEAT AND STARTS A GRAPE VINE. ONE OF HIS CO-WORKERS NOTICES THIS, AND AFTER A WHILE, DECIDES TO TELL THE AUTHORITIES OF THIS UNAUTHORIZED ACTIVITY. AS THE POLICE COME SEARCHING FOR THE RENEGADE, HE IS ON THE ROOF OF THE BUILDING. HE HAS A TINY CUP CONTAINING JUICE FROM A SINGLE GRAPE, AND SOME OF THE GRAIN, GROUND WITH STONE AND FORMED INTO A WAFER WITH A LITTLE WATER; AND JUST AS THE POLICE ARE ABOUT TO BURST IN ON HIM, HE HOLDS THEM UP AND SAYS, “THIS IS MY BODY...THIS IS MY BLOOD.” AND THE SKY IS FILLED WITH JESUS AND THE HOST OF HEAVEN COMING WITH TRUMPET BLASTS TO END THE WORLD. FOR THE MAN WAS A PRIEST, AND HAD JUST SAID THE LAST MASS.

ONE OF THE MOST SCANDALOUS LINES IN SCRIPTURE, I THINK, IS IN THE GOSPEL TODAY. IT SAYS, “HE WAS NOT ABLE TO PERFORM ANY MIGHTY DEED THERE, APART FROM CURING A FEW SICK PEOPLE...” I THINK FOR THOSE OF US WHO KNOW JESUS TO BE BOTH GOD AND MAN, WHEN IT SAYS HE ISN'T ABLE TO DO SOMETHING, IT IS KIND OF A SHOCKING STATEMENT. SO WHAT DO WE MAKE OF THIS?

THE GOSPEL IMPLIES THAT JESUS CAN'T DO ANY MIGHTY DEEDS EITHER BECAUSE EVERYONE IS TOO FAMILIAR WITH HIM, OR BECAUSE OF THEIR LACK OF FAITH, AND MAYBE THE TWO ARE BASICALLY THE SAME REASON. THERE ARE, OF COURSE, OTHER PLACES IN THE GOSPELS WHERE JESUS ATTRIBUTES A MIRACLE TO THE FAITH OF THE PERSON WHO IS BEING CURED. BUT THEN AGAIN, THERE ARE MANY OTHER MIRACLES WHERE FAITH IS NOT MENTIONED, OR WHERE FAITH SEEMS UNLIKELY, AS WITH THE RAISING OF THE LITTLE GIRL THAT WE HEARD ABOUT LAST WEEK, OR THE RAISING OF LAZARUS.

THE GOSPEL OF MARK IS THE ONE GOSPEL THAT PORTRAYS JESUS AS BEING A LITTLE FALLIBLE, OR PERHAPS A BETTER WAY OF PUTTING IT, AS TRULY HUMAN. THERE ARE OTHER PASSAGES, LIKE THE ONE WHERE HE CURES A BLIND PERSON, BUT HAS TO DO IT TWICE, SINCE THE FIRST TIME THE PERSON COULD SEE, BUT NOT AT ALL CLEARLY. AND THERE ARE OTHER SUCH CURIOUS PASSAGES, THAT STAND IN SUCH CONTRAST WITH THE OTHER THREE GOSPELS. JOHN'S GOSPEL OF COURSE, IS ALMOST THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE; NOTHING IS BEYOND JESUS' POWER, AND HE DOESN'T HAVE TO LAY HANDS ON ANYONE, DOESN'T HAVE TO MAKE MUD TO COVER THE EYES, OR STICK HIS FINGERS IN THE EARS OF THE PERSON TO RELIEVE HIS DEAFNESS. IN JOHN, JESUS SIMPLY SAYS THE WORDS; THERE IS NOTHING THERE ABOUT FAITH. SO WE HAVE THESE VERY DIFFERENT PICTURES OF JESUS.

MARK AND JOHN ARE ALSO SEPARATED BY MANY YEARS, SCHOLARS TELL US. MARK WAS WRITTEN ABOUT 30 TO 40 YEARS AFTER JESUS DIED; JOHN ABOUT 70 TO 100 YEARS. BY THE TIME JOHN WAS WRITING THE CHURCH HAD BEEN REFLECTING ON JESUS FOR QUITE A WHILE; WHEN MARK WROTE, THE CHURCH WAS STILL YOUNG, AND PROBABLY THERE WERE STILL PEOPLE AROUND WHO ACTUALLY REMEMBERED SEEING AND HEARING JESUS.

WELL, THAT'S ALL INTERESTING HISTORY, AT LEAST TO ME. BUT JESUS, NOT BEING ABLE TO DO MIGHTY DEEDS? THIS IS WHAT I THINK. WHEN JESUS BECAME A HUMAN BEING, HE HAD TO TAKE ON LIMITATIONS, BECAUSE HUMAN BEINGS ARE LIMITED. WE ARE SUBJECT TO PAIN, DISEASE, IGNORANCE, TEMPTATION .. AND MUCH AS WE LIKE TO THINK OF JESUS AS THE GOD-LIKE PERSON DESCRIBED IN JOHN, IT'S MORE LIKELY THAT HE WAS MORE LIKE THE HUMAN BEING IN MARK. AND WHILE HE COULD WORK MIRACLES, HIS MIRACLES OF HEALING SEEMED TO REQUIRE THE CONSENT OF THE PERSON BEING HEALED, IN OTHER WORDS, FAITH. AND THAT IS AS IT SHOULD BE; GOD RESPECTS WE HUMAN BEINGS SO MUCH THAT HE DEFERS TO OUR FREE WILL, EVEN WHEN WE MAKE STUPID OR SINFUL CHOICES. AS A GOOD FATHER, THIS MAY BREAK HIS HEART, BUT HE STILL GIVES US OUR INHERITANCE AND WATCHES US WANDER OFF TO ANOTHER COUNTRY, HOPING WE WILL RETURN.

THE PEOPLE OF NAZARETH SAW JESUS AS THE KID WHO GREW UP THERE, DISAPPEARED FOR A WHILE, AND NOW WAS BACK, PUTTING ON AIRS. WHERE DID HE GET THIS STUFF, THEY ASK. HE'S ONLY A CARPENTER AFTER ALL. AND JESUS STOOD READY TO GIVE THEM EVERYTHING THEY NEEDED, BUT COULD NOT, BECAUSE HE HAD DELIBERATELY TAKEN ON THAT LIMITATION – HE COULD ONLY WORK MIRACLES IF THE PERSON BELIEVED HE COULD.

AND THAT HAS IMPLICATIONS FOR US. WE CLAIM TO BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS PRESENT UNDER THE APPEARANCE OF BREAD AND WINE, PRESENT JUST AS HE WAS TO THOSE ANCESTORS OF OURS IN THE TOWN OF NAZARETH. YET AN OUTSIDE OBSERVER COULD HARDLY BE BLAMED FOR THINKING THAT WE DON'T REALLY BELIEVE THIS. AFTER ALL, A LOT OF US COME TO CHURCH ON SUNDAY DRESSED FOR A DAY AT THE BEACH. SOME OF US CARRY ON A CONVERSATION DURING MASS. SOME OF US RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST WITH HARDLY ANY THOUGHT. WE COME LATE, WE LEAVE EARLY, AND WE LET OUR MINDS WANDER. AND AS WE SPEND OUR WEEKLY 45 MINUTES WORSHIPING THE GOD-MAN WHO DIED FOR US, SO THAT WE COULD ENTER HEAVEN, WE GLANCE AT OUR WATCHES, WONDERING IF THE BATTERY NEEDS CHANGING.

AND ARE WE NOT BEING LIKE THOSE PEOPLE IN NAZARETH? IS OUR FAMILIARITY WITH THE EUCHARIST KEEPING US FROM RECOGNIZING THAT THIS MAN, PRESENT UNDER THE APPEARANCE OF BREAD AND WINE, IS REALLY GOD, THE GOD WHO WANTS TO HEAL US, TO CONSOLE US, TO GIVE US EVERY GOOD THING?

WHAT KIND OF MIRACLES ARE WE MISSING, BECAUSE OF OUR LACK OF FAITH? I SUSPECT, MANY, BECAUSE MIRACLES STILL HAPPEN, ALTHOUGH THEY SEEM FEW AND FAR BETWEEN.

TODAY IS A GOOD TIME TO PRAY THAT WE RECEIVE THE GRACE TO RECOGNIZE JESUS FOR WHO HE REALLY IS, AND PRAY FOR THE GIFT OF FAITH THAT ALLOWS US TO BE REALLY PRESENT TO HIM. AND PERHAPS WE MIGHT EVEN PRAY WITH FEAR AND TREMBLING, OF COURSE, THAT DURING OUR LIFE-TIMES THE DAY WILL COME WHEN THE OLD ORDER IS PUT TO DEATH AND THE NEW WORLD IS FINALLY REALIZED, WHERE CHRIST COMES IN TRIUMPH TO BRING ABOUT HIS KINGDOM FOREVER.

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B

MARK 5:21-43

ON MY MOTHER'S SIDE OF MY FAMILY, THERE WERE THIRTY-THREE COUSINS. I THINK IF WE HAD TO TAKE A VOTE ON OUR FAVORITE UNCLE, IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN MY UNCLE PAUL. HIS SEVEN KIDS WOULD HAVE TO BE BARRED FROM VOTING, OF COURSE, AND SERIOUSLY, I MAY BE COMPLETELY WRONG ABOUT HOW THE VOTE WOULD TURN OUT. I WAS FOND OF ALL MY RELATIVES BUT EVEN WHEN I WAS SMALL, I LOVED TO VISIT UNCLE PAUL, WHO OPERATED A FARM ABOUT SEVEN MILES FROM WHERE I GREW UP. AND WHEN I TRY TO PUT REASONS FOR THIS, I COME UP WITH ONE; HE NEVER SEEMED TOO BUSY TO STOP AND TALK TO ME, GIVING ME HIS FULL AND SERIOUS ATTENTION. THOSE MOMENTS CAME NOW AND THEN WITH MY PARENTS. BUT USUALLY EACH WAS PREOCCUPIED WITH SOME ADULT CONCERN, OR THEY WERE EXHAUSTED AT THE END OF A BUSY DAY. BUT UNCLE PAUL WOULD PUT DOWN WHAT HE WAS DOING, OR PERHAPS INVOLVE ME IN WHATEVER TASK HE WAS CARRYING OUT. HE'D SHOW ME HOW TO MILK A COW, OR TIGHTEN A BARBED WIRE FENCE, OR EVEN DRIVE AN OLD MODEL A FORD THAT HE KEPT ON THE FARM. AND I WASN'T UNIQUE. I SAW HIM DO THIS OVER AND OVER AGAIN WITH PEOPLE WHO WOULD STOP BY. SO IT WAS NO WONDER THAT ALL THROUGH MY GROWING UP VISITING UNCLE PAUL WAS A HIGH POINT.

DO YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND GOD? SURE, GOD IS PRESENT IN THE EUCHARIST AND IN THE WORD, AND IN THE COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS. BUT GOD IS PRESENT ONLY IN THE PRESENT, IN THE NOW, IN THE MOMENT. FOR GOD THERE IS NO PAST, NO FUTURE; THAT'S WHY IN ANSWER TO MOSES' QUESTION, HE REPLIED, “I AM”, NOT “I WAS AND I WILL BE. YOU AND I ARE MADE IN GOD'S IMAGE AND LIKENESS, AND THE PAST DOESN'T EXIST, AND THE FUTURE DOESN'T EXIST; THEY ARE ONLY MEMORIES AND EXPECTATIONS. BUT FOR SOME REASON, WE HUMAN BEINGS LIVE MOST OF OUR LIVES IN THE PAST AND THE FUTURE, IN PLACES THAT DON'T EXIST. WE CARRY AROUND MEMORIES THAT DRAG US DOWN; RESENTMENTS, REGRETS, SOMETIMES MOMENTS WE LIVE OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN OUR MINDS, GOOD TIMES, BAD TIMES; AND WE ALL HAVE LISTS OF ALL THE THINGS WE ARE GOING TO DO WHEN THE FUTURE COMES, WHEN WE FINISH THIS PROJECT, WHEN WE RETIRE, WHEN WE GET THE MORTGAGE PAID OFF. AND BECAUSE OF THIS WE MISS THE PRESENT, WE MISS WHERE GOD IS, AND WHERE WE REALLY LIVE.

IN THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN, JESUS DESCRIBES A PRIEST AND A LEVITE WHO PASS A STRANGER LYING IN THE ROAD, BEATEN NEARLY TO DEATH. THERE ARE MANY EXPLANATIONS FOR THIS; PERHAPS THEY WORRIED ABOUT THIS MAN BEING A DECOY, AND IF THEY STOPPED TO HELP, THEY WOULD BE ROBBED; PERHAPS THEY WERE HYPOCRITES, WHO PREACHED CHARITY BUT DIDN'T PRACTICE IT. BUT I THINK JESUS USED A PRIEST AND LEVITE IN THIS STORY DELIBERATELY; BECAUSE A PRIEST WOULD BE HURRYING TO JERUSALEM TO TAKE HIS PLACE IN WORSHIP, AND THAT WAS SUPREMELY IMPORTANT, AND HE HAD TO BE RITUALLY CLEAN, AND HE WOULD BECOME UNCLEAN IF HE STOPPED TO HELP THIS MAN. THE LEVITE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR DISTRIBUTING SOME OF THE TREASURY OF THE TEMPLE TO THE POOR; AND HE WAS ON A MISSION AS WELL. THEY WERE LIVING IN THE FUTURE AND THEY MISSED THE MOMENT IN THE PRESENT WHEN THEY MIGHT ENCOUNTER GOD, THEY MIGHT MINISTER TO GOD, IN THE PERSON OF THE MAN BEATEN BY ROBBERS.

AND IN TODAY'S GOSPEL, WE SEE JESUS BEING PULLED ALONG FRANTICALLY BY ONE JARIUS, AN OFFICIAL OF THE LOCAL SYNAGOGUE. HIS DAUGHTER WAS DYING, AND JESUS WAS HIS ONLY HOPE. BUT JESUS STOPS, AND SAYS, “WHO TOUCHED ME?” AND PROCEEDS TO HAVE A CONVERSATION WITH A WOMAN WHO WAS NOT ONLY IN POVERTY BECAUSE SHE HAD SPENT ALL HER MONEY ON DOCTORS, BUT WAS UNCLEAN BECAUSE OF CHRONIC BLEEDING, AND THEREFORE AN OUTCAST. AND EVERYONE ELSE IS LIVING IN THE FUTURE, TRYING TO GET JESUS TO MOVE ALONG, TO GET TO THE DAUGHTER OF JARIUS BEFORE SHE DIES. BUT JESUS IS WHERE GOD IS, IN THE NOW, IN THE PRESENT. AND IN GOD'S OWN TIME, JESUS MOVES ON TO BRING THE YOUNG GIRL BACK TO LIFE. AND EVEN HERE JESUS LIVES IN THE PRESENT, AND ONLY HE NOTICES THAT THE PARENTS ARE DUMFOUNDED, AND THE LITTLE GIRL IS HUNGRY, AND HE TELLS THE PARENTS, GIVE HER SOMETHING TO EAT; PUT ASIDE WHAT JUST HAPPENED; BE A PARENT IN THE PRESENT.

AND THIS IS ONLY ONE OF THE MIRACLES OF JESUS. NO MATTER WHAT HE IS DOING, NO MATTER WHO HE IS TALKING TO, IF SOMEONE COMES TO HIM WITH A NEED, HE PUTS THINGS ON HOLD AND ATTENDS TO THAT NEED. HE NEVER TELLS ANYONE TO GET IN LINE, OR CHECK WITH HIM LATER, OR COME BACK IN THE MORNING.

SUMMER IS UPON US, AND WE HAVE GOOD WEATHER AND MOST OF US HAVE A LITTLE LESS PRESSURE THAN WE DO IN THE REST OF THE YEAR. THE ACTIVITIES OF OUR KIDS HAVE BEEN CUT BACK; OUR COLLEAGUES TAKE VACATIONS AS DO WE, SO THE WORKPLACE ISN'T SO FRENETIC; AND SOMETIMES WE CAN'T HELP BUT BE KNOCKED OVER BY A GLORIOUS, BEAUTIFUL DAY, OR A BACK YARD FULL OF FLOWERS, OR OLD FRIENDS PASSING THROUGH; SUMMER IS A TIME FOR US TO RE-FOCUS ON THE PRESENT, ON WHERE GOD IS. WE HAVE THIS WONDERFUL SEASON WHEN GOD TELLS US TO GO OUT FOR A WALK, TO SIT AND ENJOY EACH OTHER'S COMPANY, TO TAKE THE KIDS TO THE BEACH; TO LIVE MORE COMPLETELY IN THE PRESENT, THE PRESENT WHERE GOD IS. AND LIKEWISE, IT'S A TIME WHEN WE NEED TO LOOK AROUND AT THE OPPORTUNITIES GOD GIVES US FOR WORKING MIRACLES FOR EACH OTHER; A KIND WORD, AN ACT OF CHARITY, A REACHING OUT; BECAUSE WE ARE MADE IN GOD'S IMAGE, AND THE PRESENT IS REALLY THE ONLY PLACE WE CAN ACTUALLY ALL DO GOD'S WORK.

MY UNCLE PAUL WAS A SUCCESSFUL FARMER. HE INVESTED IN REAL ESTATE AND WAS A PARTNER IN A COUPLE OF BUSINESSES, BESIDES. AFTER HIS KIDS WERE RAISED, HE AND MY AUNT DID A LOT OF TRAVELING, AND AFTER SHE PASSED AWAY AND HE STARTED TO FEEL HIS AGE, HE HAD ENOUGH MONEY PUT ASIDE TO AFFORD AN ASSISTED LIVING FACILITY. HE WAS A GOOD BUSINESSMAN AND A VERY PRUDENT FARMER, WHO ALWAYS SEEMED TO KNOW WHAT CROPS OR LIVESTOCK WOULD BRING THE MOST RETURN. BUT HE HAD THE GIFT OF LIVING IN THE PRESENT, AND THAT MEANT THAT HE COULD PUT DOWN WHAT HE WAS DOING, AND GIVE HIS FULL AND UNDIVIDED ATTENTION TO A NINE YEAR OLD NEPHEW. IN A WORLD WHERE YOU ARE JUST A KID, AND ALL THE ADULTS WERE PREOCCUPIED WITH BEING ADULTS AND DOING ADULT THINGS, HE OFFERED ME THE MIRACLE OF TAKING ME SERIOUSLY, OF LISTENING TO WHAT I HAD TO SAY. SOMETHING LIKE JESUS DID FOR THE WOMAN IN TODAY'S GOSPEL, I SUPPOSE.

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

MARK 4:26-34

TODAY IS FATHER'S DAY. IT DOESN'T GET AS MUCH PLAY AS MOTHER'S DAY, AND THAT'S FINE. WE FATHERS PROBABLY DON'T PUT NEARLY AS MUCH DIRECT EFFORT INTO RAISING OUR CHILDREN THAN DO THEIR MOTHERS. ON THE OTHER HAND, MOST OF US HAVE BEEN THE MAJOR BREADWINNER, THE DISCIPLINARIAN, AND THE ONE WHO TAKES THE KIDS OFF THEIR MOTHER'S HANDS ONCE IN A WHILE SO THAT SHE CAN REST OR CATCH UP ON OTHER THINGS. A LONG OR SHORT TIME AGO WE AND OUR WIVES MADE THE DECISION TO HAVE CHILDREN, AND WITH GOD'S HELP, CHILDREN CAME ALONG. EVERY DAY WE DO WHAT WE MUST; AND EVERY EVENING WE GO TO BED KNOWING THAT WE COULD HAVE DONE MORE. THERE ARE ALL THOSE MOMENTS WHEN WE COULD HAVE SPENT TIME WITH THE KIDS BUT DIDN'T BECAUSE SOMETHING ELSE SEEMED MORE IMPORTANT AT THE TIME. THERE ARE THOSE TIMES WHEN BECAUSE OF A TEMPER FRAYED AT THE WORKPLACE WE OVER-REACTED TO SOMETHING THAT NORMALLY WOULDN'T HAVE MADE US LOOK UP FROM OUR NEWSPAPER. AND WE GO TO BED GRATEFUL THAT OUR CHILDREN HAVE SHORT MEMORIES AND ARE DISPOSED TO LOVE US AND LOOK UP TO US REGARDLESS OF OUR MANY FAULTS.

AND AS THE GOSPEL SAYS, WE SEW THE SEED AND SLEEP AND RISE AND THE SEED GROWS AND YIELDS FRUIT, WE KNOW NOT HOW. AND WE OLDER FATHERS LOOK AT OUR CHILDREN, AT THEIR INDEPENDENCE, THEIR SEPARATE AND UNIQUE PERSONALITIES; WE REJOICE IN THEIR JOY, WE FEEL THEIR PAIN; AND SOMETIMES WE GRIEVE BECAUSE THEY LEAVE THE CHURCH OR FIND THEMSELVES IN FAILED MARRIAGES OR DIE BEFORE WE DO. AND WE RECOGNIZE THAT GOD HAS THE GREATEST HAND IN HOW THINGS ARE GOING TO TURN OUT FOR THEM, AND WE ARE JUST INSTRUMENTS.

THERE IS A MOMENT IN SCRIPTURE WHEN THE NOTION OF FATHERHOOD TURNS UPSIDE DOWN. REFERRING TO GOD AS FATHER WAS NOT VERY COMMON AMONG THE PEOPLE OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. FOR THEM, A FATHER WAS, WELL, LIKE FATHER ABRAHAM. ABRAHAM COULD COMMAND HIS WIFE TO JOIN THE HAREM OF THE LOCAL PRINCE; IF SHE WAS NOT FERTILE, HE COULD TAKE HER MAIDSERVANT. AND WHEN HE HAD A SON BY THIS MAIDSERVANT, AND SARAH BECAME UPSET, HE HAD NO COMPUNCTION AGAINST DRIVING THE SON AND HIS MOTHER INTO THE DESERT, PRESUMABLY TO DIE. AND STRONG AS ABRAHAM'S FAITH WAS, THERE IS STILL SOMETHING SHOCKING, AFTER ALL THESE CENTURIES, TO IMAGINE HIM ABOUT TO KILL THE SON HE LOVED BECAUSE HE WAS COMMANDED BY GOD TO DO SO. AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT OTHER EXAMPLES OF FATHERS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, AMONG THE PATRIARCHS, AMONG THE KINGS, THEY WERE DESPOTS TO THEIR CHILDREN AS WELL AS TO THEIR WIVES. DAVID'S FAVORITE SON, ABSOLOM, REBELLED AGAINST HIM AND TRIED TO TAKE OVER THE KINGDOM. IN THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS, FATHERS HAVE THE RIGHT TO PUT THEIR SONS TO DEATH FOR CURSING THEM. IN THE PSALMS, THERE ARE A FEW REFERENCES TO GOD AS FATHER, BUT MOST OF THEM HAVE TO DO WITH GOD DISCIPLINING HIS CHILDREN, OR INSTRUCTING THEM.

BUT SOMETHING CHANGED, AND IT CHANGED NOT WITH JESUS, BUT WITH JOSEPH. FOR JOSEPH WAS THE NEW KIND OF FATHER. HIS WIFE AND SON DID NOT EXIST FOR HIM, BUT HE FOR THEM. HE WAS A JUST MAN FROM THE BEGINNING; WHEN HE BELIEVED MARY HAD BEEN MADE PREGNANT BY ANOTHER MAN, HE DID NOT TAKE THE REMEDY HE COULD HAVE, WHICH WAS TO DEMAND THAT SHE BE STONED, OR EVEN, DEMAND THAT SHE BE CAST OUT OF THE VILLAGE. HE MADE UP HIS MIND TO TELL PEOPLE THAT SHE WAS CARRYING HIS CHILD, BUT THEY JUST COULDN'T GET ALONG ANY MORE. JOSEPH WOULD TAKE THE SHAME AND THE GUILT. AND JOSEPH ALWAYS LOOKED TO GOD FOR HIS DIRECTION, RATHER THAN HIMSELF. WE HAVE FIVE INSTANCES IN WHICH JOSEPH MADE DECISIONS BASED UP HIS DREAMS, DECISIONS WHICH HE NEVER WOULD HAVE MADE IF HE WERE PURSUING HIS OWN INTERESTS. AND WE CAN ONLY IMAGINE THOSE YEARS IN NAZARETH, WHEN JOSEPH TAUGHT JESUS HIS TRADE, WHEN JOSEPH HELPED JESUS STUDY THE HOLY BOOKS OF ISRAEL, WHEN JOSEPH TREATED MARY AS A REAL HUMAN BEING AND EQUAL PARTNER, RATHER THAN AS HIS PERSONAL POSSESSION, HIS SLAVE – THE WAY WOMEN WERE USUALLY TREATED IN THOSE DAYS.

AND JOSEPH ONLY KNEW THAT THIS CHILD WAS SPECIAL BECAUSE OF HIS DREAMS. JESUS, AFTER ALL, WAS LIKE US IN ALL THINGS BUT SIN. AND JOSEPH GOT UP EVERY MORNING AND PUT IN A LONG DAY AT WORK, SPENT SOME TIME STUDYING, PRAYED IN THE SYNAGOGUE ON SATURDAYS, MADE THE ODD PILGRIMAGE TO JERUSALEM, AND HE WORRIED ABOUT BILLS, AND TRIED TO WALK THE LINE WITH JESUS BETWEEN BEING A DISCIPLINARIAN AND BEING SOMEONE JESUS COULD COME TO WITH HIS QUESTIONS AND TROUBLES. JOSEPH HAS BEEN WHERE ALL OF US FATHERS HAVE BEEN.

AND JOSEPH GREW SICK AND DIED, AND ON HIS DEATHBED HE LOOKED AT THIS SON, WHO HAD GROWN TO BE A GOOD MAN, A GOOD CARPENTER, AND A DECENT HUMAN BEING; BUT NOTHING SPECIAL, NOT YET. AND JOSEPH THOUGHT TO HIMSELF, IT IS AS IF A MAN WERE TO SCATTER SEED ON THE LAND, AND IT WOULD SPROUT AND GROW, HE KNOWS NOT HOW.

AND MAYBE JESUS WAS THE FIRST TO KNOW A NEW KIND OF FATHER, A FATHER SO CLOSE, SO LOVING, SO CARING; A FATHER WHO PUT HIMSELF COMPLETELY AT THE SERVICE OF HIS WIFE AND SON; A FATHER WHO LAID DOWN HIS LIFE FOR THOSE HE LOVED. AND WHEN JESUS WAS DESCRIBING GOD, THE IMAGE THAT CAME CLOSEST TO WHAT JESUS KNEW GOD TO BE WAS FATHER, THE ESSENCE OF FATHERHOOD, REFLECTED WITH SUCH CLARITY IN THE HUMBLE CARPENTER, JOSEPH.

BEING A FATHER IS AN AWESOME RESPONSIBILITY AND A GREAT PRIVILEGE. TOGETHER WITH THEIR MOTHER, A FATHER IS RESPONSIBLE FOR CREATING AN ENVIRONMENT WHICH UNDER THE BEST OF CIRCUMSTANCES WILL RAISE UP SAINTS. HE DOES THIS BY PROVIDING THE MATERIAL NEEDS OF THE FAMILY; HE DOES THIS EVEN MORE BY BEING A ROLE MODEL FOR HIS CHILDREN; AND HE DOES THIS MOST SUCCESSFULLY BY GIVING HIMSELF UP, EMPTYING HIMSELF OUT, DAY AFTER DAY, IN IMITATION OF GOD THE FATHER. AND A FATHER DOES ALL HE CAN, KNOWING THAT, LIKE JOSEPH, HE WILL PROBABLY NEVER SEE THE FRUITS OF HIS EFFORTS; BUT HIS CHILDREN AND HIS CHILDREN'S CHILDREN WILL ALL BEAR HIS MARK, FOR GOOD OR FOR BAD.

MAY WE FATHERS LIVE IN SUCH A WAY THAT WHEN OUR CHILDREN SAY THE LORD'S PRAYER, THEY IMAGINE OUR FACES WHEN THEY SAY THE WORDS, “OUR FATHER”.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

Body and Blood of Christ, 2012

MARK 14:12-16; 22-26

I DON'T KNOW IF ANY OF YOU HAVE SEEN THE MOVIE “THE AVENGERS”. WE SELDOM GO TO MOVIES, BUT WE ALLOWED OURSELVES TO BE TALKED INTO TAKING SOME OF THE GRANDCHILDREN TO THE THIS ONE. IT WAS LOUD, HAD LOTS OF ACTION; IT WAS A REAL VISUAL TREAT SHOWING WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH COMPUTERS THESE DAYS; AND THERE WAS ENOUGH HUMOR TO KEEP US OLD ADULTS AMUSED AS WELL AS THE KIDS. THE STORY IS THAT IRON MAN SAVES NEW YORK FROM AN ATOM BOMB BY GRABBING THE BOMB AND FLYING IT HIGH INTO OUTER SPACE, WHERE IT EXPLODES. UNFORTUNATELY, IT CREATES A PASSAGE THROUGH WHICH COME SOME PRETTY AWFUL ALIENS, INTENT ON TAKING OVER THE EARTH. DESPITE DESTRUCTION OF BUILDINGS AND SHOOTING OF RAY GUNS THAT VAPORIZE EVERYTHING IN SIGHT, AND DESPITE SUPERHEROES GETTING SLAMMED INTO BRICK WALLS, NOBODY GETS HURT, NOT EVEN ANY OF THE BYSTANDERS, AT LEAST SO YOU CAN TELL. THE SUPERHEROES ARE ALL HAVING A TERRIBLE TIME AND IT LOOKS LIKE EARTH IS GOING TO BE TAKEN OVER BY REALLY UGLY MACHINES, BUT AT THE LAST MINUTE, THEY DECIDE TO WORK TOGETHER, AND ONCE THIS HAPPENS, THE SPACE MONSTERS ARE HANDILY DEFEATED AND THE HOLE IN OUTER SPACE CLOSED UP.

TODAY WE CELEBRATE THE FEAST OF THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST. ALTHOUGH WE CELEBRATE THE HOLY EUCHARIST EVERY DAY, AND MOST OF US GET TO MASS ON SUNDAYS, THE CHURCH INVITES US TO CONSIDER THIS SACRAMENT IN GREATER DEPTH ONE DAY EVERY YEAR. AND THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS WE COULD TALK ABOUT. BUT I WOULD LIKE TO THINK ABOUT ONE THING TODAY. WE CALL THIS SACRAMENT THE EUCHARIST, THE TABLE OF THE LORD, THE SACRED MEAL, BUT TODAY WE WILL THINK ABOUT ONE OF THE NAMES FOR IT, HOLY COMMUNION.

WE BELIEVE AS CATHOLICS THAT RECEIVING THE BREAD AND WINE, OR EITHER, IS THE SAME THING AS RECEIVING JESUS. WE BELIEVE, IN FACT, THAT THE ELEMENTS OF BREAD AND WINE BECOME JESUS, SO THAT DESPITE THE APPEARANCE, THE UNDERLYING SUBSTANCE CHANGES. AND AS WE RECEIVE THE BODY AND BLOOD INTO OUR OWN BODIES, WE BECOME LINKED WITH JESUS IN A MOST INTIMATE WAY.

AND THERE IS ANOTHER MYSTERY HERE. JESUS, NOW RISEN FROM THE DEAD, BODY AND BLOOD, SOUL AND DIVINITY, CANNOT BE DIVIDED, CANNOT BE SPLIT UP AND PORTIONED OUT; SO WHEN I RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION, IN A VERY REAL WAY, YOU, AND ALL OF US WHO RECEIVE HOLY COMMUNION, PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE, STEP OUT OF TIME AND SPACE AND BECOME ONE; THERE IS ONLY ONE JESUS.

AND THE THIRD POINT IS THAT UNLIKE WHEN WE EAT ORDINARY FOOD, WHICH IS CHANGED INTO OUR BODIES, WHEN WE CONSUME THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS, WE TAKE IN HIS LIFE, WE BECOME PART OF HIS BODY, THE MYSTICAL BODY.

OTHER CHRISTIANS BELIEVE OTHER THINGS ABOUT THE EUCHARIST. OUR ORTHODOX BROTHERS AGREE WITH US, BUT DON'T TRY TO EXPLAIN HOW IT HAPPENS. LUTHERANS BELIEVE THAT THE BREAD AND WINE REMAIN, BUT JESUS BECOMES PRESENT; AND MANY CHRISTIANS SIMPLY SEE HOLY COMMUNION AS A SYMBOLIC ACTION. BUT JESUS DID SAY, “THIS IS MY BODY” AND HE DID SAY, “UNLESS YOU EAT MY FLESH AND DRINK MY BLOOD, YOU SHALL NOT HAVE LIFE IN YOU.” WE CATHOLICS, I GUESS, HAVE ALWAYS TAKEN HIM AT HIS WORD.

BUT WHY? WHY DID JESUS DO THIS?

JESUS BECAME A HUMAN BEING 2000 YEARS AGO IN PALESTINE FOR ONE REASON, AND THAT WAS TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN GOD AND MAN, AND MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR HUMAN BEINGS TO ENTER INTO THE LIFE OF GOD HIMSELF. HE FOUNDED THE CHURCH, HE TAUGHT, HE HEALED, AND HE SUFFERED AND DIED FOR THIS PURPOSE. AND HE USHERED IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD, WHICH HE TOLD US WAS NOT LOCATED FAR OFF IN THE SKY SOMEWHERE, OR AFTER DEATH, BUT IT WAS RIGHT HERE, AMONG US. OUR MOTHER MARY DESCRIBED THE KINGDOM; IT WAS WHERE THE MIGHTY WOULD BE PULLED DOWN AND THE WEAK AND SUFFERING WOULD BE RAISED UP; JESUS COMPARED IT TO A BANQUET TO WHICH EVERYONE WAS INVITED; AND IN FACT EVERY TIME CHRISTIANS ENACT THE EUCHARIST, WHATEVER ELSE THEY BELIEVE ABOUT IT THEOLOGICALLY, THEY SEE THIS AS LOOKING FORWARD TO THAT BANQUET, WHERE EVERYONE IS CONTENT, WHERE ALL THAT DIVIDES US, ALL THAT HURTS US, IS FOREVER FORGOTTEN.

AND AFTER JESUS DIED AND ROSE FROM THE DEAD, THE TINY CHURCH BEGAN TO GROW, AND BY FITS AND STARTS BEGAN TO REMAKE THE WORLD. BUT SOMETHING SEEMS TO HAVE GONE WRONG. WE CATHOLICS MAKE UP ENOUGH OF THE POPULATION OF THIS COUNTRY, AND IN FACT, OF MANY COUNTRIES, SO THAT IF WE WORKED TOGETHER AROUND THE PRINCIPLES THAT CHRIST LGAVE US, WE COULD CHANGE THE WORLD, WE COULD USHER IN HIS KINGDOM. IT'S NOT PIE IN THE SKY. ALTHOUGH I THINK JESUS KNEW IT WOULD NEVER BE FULLY REALIZED IN THIS LIFE, HE DID EXPECT THAT HIS PEOPLE WOULD NEVER STAND BY AND WATCH PEOPLE STARVE WHEN THEY COULD HELP IT. HE DID EXPECT THAT HIS PEOPLE WOULD NOT ALLOW INNOCENT BABIES TO DIE, SOMETIMES BECAUSE THEY WERE MEMBERS OF THE SEX WHICH THE PARENTS HAD DECIDED THEY DID NOT WANT. HE DID EXPECT THAT HIS PEOPLE WOULD DO EVERYTHING THEY COULD TO MAKE A BETTER WORLD, RATHER THAN GET DISTRACTED BY POLITICS, OR EVEN DIFFERENCES IN RELIGION. AND WE AREN'T DOING A VERY GOOD JOB.

BEFORE THEY JOIN FORCES TO BATTLE THE ENEMY, THE AVENGERS ARE PROUD OF THEIR INDEPENDENCE. EACH OF THEM HAS NO NEED OF ANYONE ELSE, AND EACH REVELS IN HIS OR HER OWN POWER. BUT THE REALITY IS THAT EVEN WITH GREAT POWER, NOTHING SERIOUS WILL BE ACHIEVED UNTIL ALL BAND TOGETHER, UNTIL ALL REALIZE THEIR INTERDEPENDENCE. AND ONLY THEN DO THE TIDES OF BATTLE TURN, AND THE POWERS THAT BELONG TO EACH ACTUALLY MEAN SOMETHING.

JESUS GIVES US, THE MEMBERS OF HIS BODY, THE TASK OF BUILDING HIS KINGDOM. THIS IS WHAT WE ARE FOR, THIS IS OUR PURPOSE IN LIFE. JESUS GIVES US THE THINGS WE NEED TO DO THIS. OUR BAPTISM IS OUR COMMISSION; WE BECOME PART OF A LARGER PURPOSE. OUR CONFIRMATION EQUIPS US WITH POWER, WITH THE GIFT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. OUR EUCHARIST IS OUR FOOD AND DRINK, WHICH STRENGTHEN US AND INDEED TRANSFORM US SO THAT OUR EVERY ACTION TRANSCENDS SPACE AND TIME, SO THAT WE BECOME POTENTIAL HEIRS OF HEAVEN AND MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE THE RIGHT TO SIT WITH MARY AND THE SAINTS IN THE HEART OF THE TRINITY. AND EVERY TIME WE RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST, WE ARE THUS TRANSFORMED.

SO LET US TODAY THINK THROUGH THE IMPLICATIONS OF WHAT WE EAT AND WHAT WE DRINK WHEN WE PARTAKE OF THIS SACRAMENT. AND LET US NEVER TAKE IT FOR GRANTED AGAIN.

Trinity Sunday cycle B, 2012

MATTHEW 28:16-20

ALL REPUTABLE PHYSICISTS SUPPORT THE BIG BANG THEORY, WHICH SAYS THAT THE UNIVERSE BEGAN AT A CERTAIN MOMENT, BEFORE WHICH THERE WAS NOTHING, NO TIME, NO SPACE, NO MATTER. BUT WHAT BOTHERS THEM ABOUT THIS THEORY IS THE FACT THAT THERE ARE CERTAIN NUMBERS, WHICH ARE CALLED FUNDAMENTAL CONSTANTS, WHICH SEEM TOTALLY ARBITRARY; AND IF YOU CHANGED THEM BY JUST A LITTLE BIT, YOU CAN SHOW THAT YOU WOULD NOT HAVE THE UNIVERSE WE KNOW OF, AND WE WOULDN'T BE AROUND TO WORRY ABOUT THAT. THIS BOTHERS PEOPLE WHO HATE TO SEE THE HAND OF GOD INVOLVED IN ANYTHING. NEWSWEEK JUST RECENTLY RAN AN ARTICLE ABOUT THE “MULTIVERSE” THEORY. THIS THEORY SAYS THAT IF YOU CHANGE THE VALUES OF THE FUNDAMENTAL CONSTANTS AND PLUG THEM INTO THE EQUATIONS WHICH DESCRIBE THE PROPERTIES OF THE UNIVERSE, YOU CAN COME UP WITH DIFFERENT POSSIBLE UNIVERSES. IN FACT, YOU CAN COME UP WITH AT LEAST ONE FOLLOWED BY 500 ZERO'S WORTH OF DIFFERENT POSSIBILITIES. (THE NUMBER OF ATOMS IN THE UNIVERSE WE LIVE IN IS ESTIMATED TO BE BETWEEN 1 FOLLOWED BY 78 TO 1 FOLLOWED BY 80; A BILLION IS 1 FOLLOWED BY NINE ZEROS.) THE MULITIVERSE THEORY SAYS THAT ALL THESE UNIVERSES EXIST, SO IT IS NOT AT ALL SURPRISING THAT OUT OF THAT INCREDIBLE NUMBER, THERE WOULD BE AT LEAST ONE LIKE OURS. OF COURSE THERE IS NO WAY AT ALL TO PROVE THIS THEORY, SINCE BY DEFINITION WE CANNOT EVER DETECT ONE OF THESE OTHER UNIVERSES, BUT MORE AND MORE PHYSICISTS LIKE IT BECAUSE YOU DON'T NEED A FIRST CAUSE, A PRIME MOVER – AS STEPHEN HAWKING SAID, WE DON'T NEED GOD ANYMORE.

WELL, WE CHRISTIANS HAVE AN EVEN BETTER THEORY, AND OURS IS EVEN MORE DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND. IT IS THE TRINITY. AND UNLIKE THE MULTIVERSE THEORY, THERE IS EVIDENCE FOR THE TRINITY – NOT STRICTLY SPEAKING, SCIENTIFIC, BUT LOGICAL AND DERIVED FROM SCRIPTURE AND REASON, AS WELL AS EXPERIENCE. AND WE WILL NEVER KNOW WHETHER THE MULTIVERSE EXISTS OR NOT, BUT WE WILL SOMEDAY EXPERIENCE THE TRINITY.

FIRST, WE BELIEVE IN GOD THE FATHER, THE CAUSE OF EVERYTHING. THOMAS AQUINAS SAYS THAT HE IS PURE ACT; THERE IS NO POSSIBILITY IN GOD, ONLY REALIZATION. IF THERE ARE OTHER UNIVERSES, GOD THE FATHER HAS BEEN THERE, DONE THAT. WE CANNOT USE WORDS TO DESCRIBE HIM; ALL WE CAN DO IS FEEL WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE LOOK AT THE STARS IN THE SKY, OR THE GRAND CANYON, OR A MAGNIFICENT CATHEDRAL, OR A NEWBORN BABY – WHEN YOU FEEL AWE AND WONDER, YOU ARE JUST BEGINNING TO SENSE GOD THE FATHER.

THE FATHER CREATES THE UNIVERSE, OR MULTIVERSE, OR WHATEVER; NOTHING EXISTS UNLESS HE MAKES IT TO EXIST. AND YET THE FATHER REALLY DOES ONLY ONE THING, HE GENERATES THE SON. ONE THEOLOGIAN TALKED ABOUT THE “COSMIC CHRIST”. HE HAD A DREAM THAT HE ROSE ABOVE THE EARTH AND THE SOLAR SYSTEM AND FAR INTO OUTER SPACE UNTIL HE COULD SEE THE WHOLE UNIVERSE, AND IT WAS THE FACE OF JESUS. SCRIPTURE TELLS US THAT ALL THINGS WERE MADE THROUGH HIM. EVERYTHING THAT COMES INTO BEING IS BECAUSE THE FATHER GENERATES THE SON. WE CAN NEVER KNOW THE FATHER. BUT WE CAN KNOW THE SON, WHO BROKE INTO OUR WORLD AND TOOK ON OUR HUMAN NATURE, AND TOLD THE APOSTLE PHILIP, “HE WHO HAS SEEN ME, HAS SEEN THE FATHER”. THE FATHER POURED HIMSELF OUT IN THE GENERATION OF THE SON, AND THE SON, WHO BECOMES ONE OF US, OFFERS HIMSELF TO THE FATHER IN THE CRUCIFIXION, AND IN SO DOING, OFFERS ALL OF US, AND INDEED, ALL OF THE UNIVERSE, TO THE FATHER. IN SOME MYSTERIOUS WAY, HE ALLOWS US TO BE IN ALL WAYS, PART OF HIM, PART OF HIS BODY, TO SUFFER HIS FATE, AND TO RISE WITH HIM FOREVER. THE SON, AFTER ALL, HAS ONLY ONE PURPOSE, TO BRING ALL THAT EXISTS BACK INTO A NEW AND PERFECT UNION WITH THE FATHER. AND FINALLY, THE FATHER AND THE SON SEND FORTH THE SPIRIT. THE SPIRIT ALSO HAS ONLY ONE FUNCTION – TO BRING ALL THE CREATURES OF GOD BACK TO THE SON. THE SPIRIT, LIKE THE FATHER AND THE SON, IS A PERSON; SAINT PAUL TELLS US THAT THE SPIRIT BLOWS WHERE HE WILLS. ONLY A PERSON CAN GO WHERE HE WANTS TO GO, CAN BE SELF-DIRECTED.

IT ALMOST SOUNDS LIKE THERE ARE THREE GODS; BUT THERE IS ONLY ONE; EACH PERSON IS GOD, EACH PERSON IS EQUAL, EXCEPT IN TERMS OF RELATIONSHIP; AND EACH PERSON IS ACTIVE WHERE THE OTHER PERSONS ARE ACTIVE. SAINT AUGUSTINE SUMMED IT UP AS FOLLOWS: THE FATHER IS GOD, THE SON IS GOD, THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD; THE FATHER IS NOT THE SON OR THE HOLY SPIRIT; THE SON IS NOT THE FATHER OR THE HOLY SPIRIT; THE HOLY SPIRIT IS NOT THE FATHER OR THE SON. THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD.

ONCE A YEAR THE CHURCH INVITES US TO THINK ABOUT THE TRINITY. I SPENT ALL WEEK TRYING TO DO THIS, AND I STILL HAVE A HEADACHE, WHICH WASN'T HELPED BY THINKING ABOUT THE MULTIVERSE. BUT THE TRINITY IS CENTRAL TO OUR CHRISTIAN FAITH. CATHOLICS, PROTESTANTS, AND ORTHODOX CONSIDER THIS REVELATION FUNDAMENTAL, AND LIKEWISE, MUSLIMS AND JEWS SEE THE TRINITY AND ACCUSE CHRISTIANS OF FLIRTING WITH PAGANISM.

BUT WE CAN THINK OF THE TRINITY IN A SIMPLER MORE ACCESSIBLE WAY. THE FATHER IS GOD BEYOND US, BEYOND ANYTHING WE CAN GRASP, WHO, BEING PURE LOVE, CHOOSES TO CREATE ANDSUSTAIN US AND EVERYTHING THERE IS, AND GIVES US ALL THAT WE NEED TO RETURN TO HIM. THE SON IS GOD AMONG US, WHO WALKED AND TALKED AND LIVED AND DIED AND CONTINUES TO DWELL AMONG HIS PEOPLE IN HIS WORD AND IN THE EUCHARIST, AND IN OUR FELLOW CHRISTIANS. AND THE SPIRIT IS GOD WITHIN US, WHO PROMPTS US TO RECOGNIZE THE PRESENCE OF THE SON, AND IN RECOGNIZING HIM, DRAWING NEARER TO THE FATHER. AND THERE IS ONLY ONE GOD.

WHEN ABRAHAM WAS VERY OLD, THREE STRANGERS CAME TO HIM, AND HE INVITED THEM TO REST AND HAVE SUPPER. WHILE THAT WAS GOING ON, THEY TOLD HIM THAT HIS WIFE SARAH WOULD BEAR A CHILD. THE CHURCH FATHERS AND MANY OTHER THEOLOGIANS HAVE SEEN THESE THREE STRANGERS AS REPRESENTING THE TRINITY, AND THERE IS A RUSSIAN ORTHODOX ICON WHICH SHOWS THIS EVENT.

NOTICE THAT ALL OF THE INDIVIDUALS HAVE BLUE IN THEIR CLOTHING. THIS IS THE COLOR OF DIVINITY. NOTICE THAT THE CLOTHING OF THE FATHER IS ALMOST TRANSPARENT; THE FATHER CANNOT BE GRASPED, HE IS BEYOND OUR MENTAL ABILITIES. NOTICE THAT THE SON IS VERY CLEARLY DRAWN, AND IS WEARING EARTH COLORSAS WELL AS THE DIVINE BLUE; HE IS HUMAN AND DIVINE. AND NOTICE THAT THE SPIRIT WEARS GREEN, BECAUSE HE IS LIFE-GIVING. THERE IS A HOUSE ABOVE THE FATHER; BECAUSE JESUS TOLD US THAT IN HIS FATHER'S HOUSE ARE MANY MANSIONS; THERE IS A TREE ABOVE THE SON, THE TREE OF THE CROSS. THE SON POINTS TO THE CHALICE, WHICH CONTAIN HIS BLOOD. ABOVE THE SPIRIT IS A MOUNTAIN, REPRESENTING HOLINESS, PURITY, DISTANCE FROM WHAT DRAGS US DOWN.

AND THE SON AND THE SPIRIT GAZE UPON THE FATHER, WHO SITS AT REST.

AND THERE IS A FOURTH PLACE IN THIS ICON. IT IS FOR YOU, BECAUSE SOMEDAY, GOD WILLING, YOU AND I WILL BE TAKEN UP INTO THIS TRINITY.

Pentecost, 2012

PENTECOST SUNDAY, 2012

JOHN 15:26-27; 16:12-15

SOMETHING MOMENTOUS HAPPENED THIS LAST WEEK, AT LEAST, MOMENTOUS TO MY EXTENDED FAMILY. MY UNCLE PAUL KLEFFNER PASSED AWAY AT THE AGE OF 95. HE'D BEEN ONE OF TWELVE CHILDREN, TWO OF WHOM DIED IN INFANCY. HE WAS THE LAST OF HIS GENERATION TO GO.

HE AND HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS HAD A STRONG SENSE OF FAMILY. THEY LOOKED OUT FOR EACH OTHER. ANOTHER UNCLE OF MINE HAD LEFT THE CHURCH MANY YEARS AGO; HAD BEEN MARRIED AND DIVORCED SEVERAL TIMES. WHEN HE WAS DYING, MY UNCLE PAUL TRAVELED FROM MONTANA TO CALIFORNIA TO SIT WITH HIM AND ULTIMATELY PERSUADE HIM TO RECEIVE THE LAST SACRAMENTS. ALTHOUGH HE HAD EIGHT CHILDREN OF HIS OWN, HE WAS ALWAYS WILLING TO LISTEN TO MY PROBLEMS AND GIVE ME GOOD ADVICE WHEN I WAS GROWING UP – AND I WAS ONLY ONE OF HIS NIECES AND NEPHEWS WHO HAD THAT EXPERIENCE.

AND NOW HE'S GONE. BUT HIS FAMILY LIVES ON. WHEN WE OLDER COUSINS GET TOGETHER, ONE OF US WILL SAY SOMETHING OR DO SOMETHING, AND THE OTHERS WILL OFFER THE OPINION THAT THAT IS A TYPICAL KLEFFNER THING TO SAY OR DO. WHEN I WAS ABOUT 30 YEARS OLD, SOMEONE TOLD ME I HAD THE KLEFFNER SENSE OF HUMOR – AND I WAS GLAD TO HEAR IT, BECAUSE I REALLY ADMIRED THAT SENSE OF HUMOR IN MY MOTHER, MY UNCLES AND MY AUNTS. AND MANY OF MY COUSINS AND THEIR CHILDREN HAVE “GREEN THUMBS” AND SPEND A LOT OF TIME WITH GROWING PLANTS. ONE OF MY NON-KLEFFNER AUNTS ONCE OBSERVED THAT KLEFFNERS WERE HAPPIEST WHEN THEIR HANDS WERE DEEP IN THE DIRT.

MORE THAN 100 YEARS AGO JOSEPH KLEFFNER AND CLARA BOGNER, FIRST GENERATION AMERICANS OF GERMAN STOCK, GOT MARRIED AND BEGAN TO FORM A FAMILY. BUT EVEN THERE, THEY WERE PART OF THEIR OWN FAMILIES. IN A SENSE, THE KLEFFNER FAMILY GOES WAY BACK, AND GOES FORWARD. IT WON'T ALWAYS LOOK THE SAME, OR HAVE THE SAME NAME, BUT THERE IS SOMETHING REAL HERE, EVEN THOUGH WE CAN'T PUT OUR FINGER ON IT.

THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHOM WE CELEBRATE TODAY, IS SOMETHING LIKE THE ESSENCE OF A FAMILY. IN A HUMAN FAMILY, ALTHOUGH WE ARE ALL INDIVIDUALS, WE SHARE A COMMON STORY; WE HAVE TRAITS THAT IDENTIFY US AS MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY, LIKE A SENSE OF HUMOR OR A LOVE FOR GREEN PLANTS; WE HANG TOGETHER EVEN THOUGH IF WE WEREN'T RELATED, WE PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH EACH OTHER; AND WE LOOK OUT FOR EACH OTHER.

GOD THE FATHER GENERATES THE SON; THE LOVE THEY HAVE FOR EACH OTHER, THEIR RELATIONSHIP, IS THE HOLY SPIRIT, A PERSON EQUAL TO THE FATHER AND THE SON IN ALL WAYS EXCEPT FOR HIS PLACE IN THE TRINITY. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS ALWAYS AT WORK BUILDING UP THIS FAMILY. SAINT PAUL CALLS HIM THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION – BECAUSE HE WORKS TO MAKE SONS AND DAUGHTERS FOR THE FATHER OUT OF LOWLY HUMAN BEINGS. ONLY CHRISTIANS REFER TO GOD AS FATHER, AND WE HAVE THAT RIGHT BECAUSE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, THROUGH WHOM THE FATHER LOOKS UPON EACH OF US AS HIS OWN BELOVED CHILD.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH. HE REMINDS US OF OUR FAMILY HISTORY, OF HOW OUR OLDER BROTHER JESUS DIED FOR US. HE LIVES IN THE CHURCH JESUS FOUNDED SO THAT WE CAN BE SURE ITS TEACHINGS ARE FROM GOD. HE HELPS US DEVELOP THOSE FAMILY TRAITS WHICH MARK US AS CHRISTIANS, AS BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF JESUS. YOU HEARD THOSE FAMILY TRAITS TODAY: LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GENEROSITY, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, SELF-CONTROL.

HE IS THE SPIRIT OF LIFE. SAINT PAUL TELLS US THAT THE SAME SPIRIT WHO RAISED UP JESUS FROM THE DEAD, WILL RAISE US UP AS WELL.

AND HE IS THE SPIRIT OF GLORY. GLORY BELONGS TO GOD ALONE; BUT THE SPIRIT WHO LIVES IN US GIVES US A SHARE IN THAT GLORY. AND THERE IS GREAT CONSOLATION FOR A CHRISTIAN IN REMEMBERING THAT THE GREATEST GLORY COMES IN SUFFERING – NOWHERE DID JESUS SHOW GOD'S GLORY MORE PROFOUNDLY THAN ON THE CROSS.

MY UNCLES AND AUNTS ALWAYS ENJOYED GETTING TOGETHER, EVEN INTO THEIR OLD AGES. THEY WOULD GATHER OVER A MEAL, TEASE EACH OTHER, TELL STORIES, MAKE JOKES; THE YEARS WOULD FALL AWAY. THAT IS A TRAIT OF HAPPY FAMILIES. WHEN I VISIT MY COUSINS OR MY SISTERS, ITS THE SAME; AND I SEE MY OWN CHILDREN DOING THIS AS WELL; THEY ARE PART OF THE KLEFFNER FAMILY, BUT A NEW FAMILY AS WELL, ONE JOAN AND I STARTED BACK IN 1966. WE FEEL OUR FAMILY TIES THE STRONGEST WHEN WE GATHER TOGETHER. AND THE HOLY SPIRIT DRAWS US TOGETHER IN HOLY MASS, WHERE WE EAT TOGETHER, WHERE WE PRAISE OUR FATHER, WHERE WE LISTEN TO THE TEACHINGS OF OUR BROTHER JESUS. A PERSON BECOMES MORE THAN HIMSELF IN THE PRESENCE OF HIS FAMILY, AND THAT'S EXACTLY THE REASON THE SPIRIT BRINGS US TOGETHER – TO MAKE US MORE THAN WE COULD EVER BE BY OURSELVES ALONE.

THE FIRST FAMILY OF THE UNIVERSE, THE FATHER WHO CANNOT BE FATHER WITHOUT THE SON, AND THE SON WHO CANNOT BE SON WITHOUT THE FATHER, ARE BOUND IN THE RELATIONSHIP CALLED THE HOLY SPIRIT. AND THE HOLY SPIRIT WORKS TO CALL US INTO THE FAMILY OF GOD, THE TRINITY.

SO ON THIS FEAST OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, LET US ASK HIM THAT THOSE FAMILY TRAITS BELONGING TO THE FATHER AND THE SON WILL BECOME MORE AND MORE RECOGNIZEABLE IN US. LET US ASK THAT OUR SENSE OF FAMILY, OUR SENSE OF KINSHIP WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH JESUS AND MARY AND THE SAINTS, WILL GROW STRONGER, SO THAT WE WILL ALWAYS BE CONSCIOUS OF OUR RELATIONSHIP, SO THAT WE WILL AVOID WORDS OR ACTIONS WHICH REFLECT BADLY ON OUR FAMILY. AND LET US ASK HIM TO SHOW SOME OF GOD'S GLORY TO OTHERS THROUGH US, ESPECIALLY AT THE TIME WE SUFFER, AS WE ALL MUST SUFFER SOONER OR LATER. BECAUSE HE IS THE SPIRIT OF LIFE, AND ETERNAL LIFE IS OUR FAMILY INHERITANCE.

MY UNCLE PAUL HAS PASSED AWAY, THE LAST OF HIS GENERATION; HIS FAMILY LIVES ON, BUT WILL BECOME MORE AND MORE DILUTED AS HIS CHILDREN AND NIECES AND NEPHEWS BUILD THEIR OWN FAMILIES. BUT THE ESSENCE OF GOD'S FAMILY, THE HOLY SPIRIT, MAKES ALL THINGS NEW, AND KNITS ALL OF US INTO THE CHANGELESS FAMILY OF THE TRINITY. COME, HOLY SPIRIT, COME!

Seventh Sunday in Easter, Cycle B

JOHN 17:11-19

IF YOU WERE A MORMON MAN, YOU WOULD WEAR A GARMENT MADE OF LINEN WHICH LOOKED LIKE BOXER SHORTS BUT WITH LONGER LEGS. YOU WOULD TRY TO KEEP THIS TOUCHING YOU EVEN WHEN YOU WERE TAKING A BATH, AND WHEN YOU WANTED TO CHANGE IT, YOU WOULD TAKE ANOTHER GARMENT AND PUT IT ON WHILE REMOVING THE FIRST. SILLY, YES?

IF YOU WERE AN ORTHODOX JEW, YOU WOULD GROW A BEARD AND WEAR YOUR SIDEBURNS IN RINGLETS, AND ALWAYS HAVE YOUR HEAD COVERED. YOU WOULD HAVE TWO SETS OF DISHES, SO THAT IF YOU HAD A MEAL MADE WITH MILK OR CHEESE YOU'D USE ONE, AND IF IT WAS MEAT, YOU'D USE THE OTHER. STRANGE, ISN'T IT?

MEMBERS OF THE SIKH RELIGION WEAR TURBANS AND ALWAYS CARRY A LITTLE DAGGER. AND IF YOU WERE AMISH, YOU'D HAVE NO CLOTHING WITH ZIPPERS; EVERYTHING WOULD BE HOOK AND EYE.

ALL OF THESE CUSTOMS HAVE RATIONAL EXPLANATIONS, ASSUMING YOU BELONG TO THE COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS WHO PRACTICE THEM. THEY ARE BASED ON THEIR SCRIPTURES AND ON LONG STANDING CUSTOMS. WHAT THEY HAVE IN COMMON, THOUGH, IS THAT THEY ARE CONSTANT REMINDERS TO THOSE PRACTICING THEM THAT THEY ARE A PEOPLE SET APART, THAT THOUGH THEY MAY BE IN THE WORLD, THEY ARE NOT OF THE WORLD.

JESUS TELLS US THAT WE HIS FOLLOWERS DO NOT BELONG TO THE WORLD ANY MORE THAN HE DID. WHEN WE RECEIVED HIS WORD, WE BECOME CONSECRATED, AND THAT MEANS, MADE HOLY, SET ASIDE FOR SOMETHING SPECIAL. AND OF COURSE JESUS PROMISES THAT IF WE REALLY ACCEPT WHAT HE HAS GIVEN US, THE WORLD WILL HATE US, JUST AS IT HATED HIM.

THERE WAS A TIME WHEN WE CATHOLICS KNEW WE WERE CONSECRATED, WHEN WE KNEW WE WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE OF THIS WORLD. AND INDEED, A TIME WHEN WE WERE HATED IN THIS COUNTRY, BECAUSE WE WERE CATHOLICS. IT WASN'T THAT LONG AGO THAT JOHN KENNEDY PROMISED THE MINISTERIAL ASSOCIATION OF GREATER HOUSTON THAT IF HE BECAME PRESIDENT, HE WOULD NOT PUT A DIRECT PHONE LINE IN TO THE VATICAN; HE WOULD NOT TAKE ORDERS FROM THE POPE – BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT A LOT OF PEOPLE THOUGHT WOULD HAPPEN IF A CATHOLIC BECAME PRESIDENT.

WE KNEW WE WERE CONSECRATED BECAUSE MOST OF US WENT TO CATHOLIC SCHOOLS. WE WENT TO CONFESSION ON SATURDAYS. WE FASTED FROM MIDNIGHT BEFORE RECEIVING COMMUNION ON SUNDAY MORNING. GIVEN THAT WE DIDN'T WANT TO TAKE THE RISK OF ACCIDENTALLY SWALLOWING TOOTHPASTE, BAD BREATH WAS AN OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD FOR OUR PRIESTS. AND OF COURSE, WE AVOIDED MEAT ON FRIDAY, AND REFERRED TO OURSELVES AS “MACKEREL SNAPPERS”. AND WE WORE SCAPULARS, AND CARRIED ROSARIES IN OUR POCKETS AND PURSES. EVERY TIME WE TURNED AROUND, WE WOULD BE REMINDED THAT WE WERE A CONSECRATED PEOPLE, A PEOPLE WHO WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO BE OF THIS WORLD.

WELL, WE'VE GOTTEN RID OF ALL THAT STUFF. SOME OF US OLD CATHOLICS STILL KEEP A FEW OF THESE CUSTOMS, BUT IT SURE ISN'T TRUE OF YOUNGER CATHOLICS. JOAN AND I GIVE OUT ROSARIES TO THE YOUNG COUPLES WHO COME TO OUR PRE-CANA CLASSES, AND ONLY ABOUT HALF KNOW WHAT THEY ARE, AND THE MAJORITY HAVEN'T SAID A ROSARY DURING THEIR ADULT LIFE. THE WORLD CAN NO LONGER TELL THAT WE ARE CONSECRATED, THAT WE ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD. AND WE CAN'T, EITHER. OUR COMMUNITY IS NO LONGER DEFINED BY OUR CHURCH; WE ARE DEFINED BY OUR SECULAR WORLD, AND MOST OF OUR ASSOCIATIONS ARE WITH PEOPLE WHO SHARE OUR PROFESSION, OR OUR SPORTS, OR OUR HOBBIES; AND EVEN WHEN THESE PEOPLE ARE ALSO CATHOLIC, THAT FACT AND THOSE CONSEQUENCES ALMOST NEVER ENTER IN TO OUR DISCOURSE.

I DON'T KNOW WHETHER THIS CHANGE IS GOOD OR BAD. BEING OLD, I LEAN TOWARDS BAD, BECAUSE WE OLD PEOPLE DON'T LIKE CHANGE AS MUCH AS YOUNG PEOPLE. BUT THAT'S BESIDE THE POINT.

GIVEN THAT WE NO LONGER HAVE A SET OF CUSTOMS AND PRACTICES THAT DEFINE US, I THINK WE NEED TO FIND OTHER WAYS FOR US AND OUR CHILDREN TO BE REMINDED DAY AFTER DAY THAT WE ARE CALLED TO BE NOT OF THIS WORLD, THAT WE ARE CONSECRATED IN TRUTH. NOTICE IN THE GOSPEL PASSAGE THAT JESUS REPEATS HIMSELF; SO IT MUST REALLY BE IMPORTANT. HE SAYS TWICE, “THEY DO NOT BELONG TO THE WORLD ANY MORE THAN I BELONG TO THE WORLD. IF WE ARE IN SOLIDARITY WITH JESUS, WE NEED TO KEEP THIS FACT BEFORE US AT ALL TIMES.

THERE IS SUCH A THING AS CATHOLIC CULTURE. IT REVOLVES AROUND THE MASS, WHICH IS CENTRAL TO OUR WEEK. IT HAS TO DO WITH REVERENCE TO THE BLESSED SACRAMENT, WHICH IS JESUS' PRESENCE IN WHAT WAS ONCE BREAD. THE ROSARY, THE MORNING OFFERING, GRACE BEFORE AND AFTER MEALS, WEARING A SCAPULAR OR A RELIGIOUS MEDAL – INVOKING GOD'S PRESENCE DURING OUR DAY BY WHAT WE USED TO CALL “ASPIRATIONS” – JESUS, I LOVE YOU; MARY MY MOTHER, HELP ME BE LIKE JESUS; LORD, I TRUST IN YOU – THESE AND OTHER SHORT PRAYERS SHOULD COME AS NATURALLY AS BREATHING.

IF YOU ARE PARENTS, AND YOU AREN'T HELPING YOUR CHILDREN UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD, YOU MAY LOSE THEM WHEN THEY GROW UP AND SEE NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THEMSELVES AND THEIR FRIENDS. IF YOU ARE GRANDPARENTS, I HOPE YOUR GRANDCHILDREN SEE THAT ROSARY BY YOUR CHAIR AND ASK YOU WHAT IT IS FOR. AND WHATEVER YOU ARE, SINGLE, MARRIED, OLD, YOUNG – FIND WAYS TO REMIND YOURSELF THAT YOU ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD, NO MORE THAN JESUS IS. HOW CAN YOU TELL WHEN YOU HAVE IT RIGHT? WELL, THE WORLD STARTS TO HATE YOU. YOU MIGHT GET A FUNNY LOOK HERE AND THERE WHEN YOU MAKE THE SIGN OF THE CROSS AND SAY A SILENT GRACE BEFORE EATING IN A RESTAURANT. SOMEONE MAY NOTICE YOUR SCAPULAR WHEN YOU CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES IN THE LOCKER ROOM AND LAUGH AT YOUR SUPERSTITION. AND TRY TO FORM FRIENDSHIPS WITH OTHER CATHOLICS BECAUSE YOU ARE CATHOLIC, NOT BECAUSE YOU BOTH LIKE TO GOLF OR YOU BOTH HAVE KIDS IN THE SAME GRADE SCHOOL CLASS, AND TALK ABOUT YOUR FAITH AND YOUR DOUBTS, RATHER THAN KEEPING EVERYTHING HIDDEN WITHIN. WHEN WE DISCUSS OUR FAITH WITH EACH OTHER, WE ALSO STRENGTHEN EACH OTHER.

IF WE REMIND OURSELVES AND OTHERS THAT WE ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD, THERE MAY BE CONSEQUENCES WE DON'T PARTICULARLY LIKE; BUT IT WILL HELP REMIND US THAT WE BELONG TO JESUS, WHICH IS ALL THAT MATTERS IN THE LONG RUN.