LUKE 10:38-42
HOSPITALITY. WE HEAR THAT WORD A LOT AND DON'T THINK TOO MUCH OF IT. IT IS WHEN WE HAVE THE KIDS OVER FOR SUNDAY SUPPER, OR WHEN WE ARE TREATED PARTICULARLY WELL ON AN AIRPLANE OR IN A CITY WE VISIT. HOSPITALITY IS IN PART DEFINED BY ITS OPPOSITE – AN ATTITUDE OF COLDNESS, INDIFFERENCE, OR EVEN HOSTILITY. BUT HOSPITALITY HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH OUR RELIGION – AFTER ALL, JESUS ENDORSED IT IN HIS PARABLES AND EVEN TOOK ADVANTAGE OF IT A FEW TIMES, WHEN HE HAD SUPPER WITH A TAX COLLECTOR OR A PHARISEE, WHEN HE ALLOWED PETER'S MOTHER IN LAW TO WAIT ON HIM. JESUS ALLOWED HIMSELF TO RECEIVE HOSPITALITY.
AND IF JESUS IS THE RECIPIENT OF HOSPITALITY, HE IS NEVER ONLY A RECIPIENT. A PERSON WHO RECEIVES HOSPITALITY USUALLY GIVES SOMETHING IN RETURN.
WHENEVER I READ THE STORY OF ABRAHAM ENTERTAINING THE THREE VISITORS, I CAN'T HELP BUT SEE IN MY MIND THE FAMOUS ICON OF THE EASTERN CHURCH. IN THE FOREGROUND ARE THE THREE STRANGERS; THEY ARE SITTING AROUND A TABLE, SEEMINGLY ENGROSSED IN CONVERSATION WITH EACH OTHER. ABRAHAM IS HOVERING IN THE BACKGROUND, WAITING ON THEM. AND SARAH IS PEEKING OUT FROM THE TENT, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT SHE IS LAUGHING AS SHE HEARS THE STRANGERS PREDICT THAT NEXT YEAR SHE WILL HAVE A CHILD. THE ICON SHOWS HER TO BE A VERY OLD WOMAN.
ABRAHAM, IN PROVIDING HOSPITALITY, CREATES SPACE FOR THE STRANGERS TO BE THEMSELVES. HE DOES NOT SIT AT THE TABLE AND INJECT HIMSELF IN THEIR CONVERSATION. HE SEES TO THEIR NEEDS, AND PUTS HIMSELF AT THEIR SERVICE. WHAT THEY CHOOSE TO DO IS UP TO THEM. THOSE WHO RECEIVE HOSPITALITY IDEALLY SHOULD BE CHANGED BY IT, AND IDEALLY SHOULD FEEL GRATITUDE TOWARDS THEIR HOST; AND IDEALLY, SHOULD BE MORE HOSPITABLE IN THE FUTURE. AND THE STRANGERS SHOW THEIR GRATITUDE BY PROVIDING FOR ABRAHAM AND SARAH THEIR HEART'S DESIRE, A CHILD.
THE GOSPEL READING IS ALSO ABOUT HOSPITALITY. HERE, MARTHA AND MARY AND LAZARUS, TWO SISTERS AND A BROTHER WHO LIVE TOGETHER, OFFER JESUS AND HIS APOSTLES HOSPITALITY. THEY CREATE SPACE SO THAT JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES CAN BE THEMSELVES. AND WHEN YOU LET JESUS BE HIMSELF, HE SPEAKS WORDS OF SALVATION, WORDS WHICH YOU CAN'T IGNORE – AND MARY DOES NOT IGNORE THEM; SHE LETS JESUS BE JESUS. AND WE SEE THAT THE ONE WHO SINS AGAINST HOSPITALITY IS THE ONE WHO IS DOING ALL THE HEAVY LIFTING, MARTHA, WHO IS OUT IN THE KITCHEN PREPARING AN ELABORATE MEAL. SHE IS NOT LETTING JESUS BE JESUS. SHE IS MAKING JESUS BE THE GUEST, THE ONE WHO WILL GRACE HER TABLE, THE ONE WHO WILL FIT INTO HER MOLD. THAT IS WHAT UPSETS HER; HE IS NOT GOING ALONG WITH THE PLAN, AND MARY ISN'T HELPING, SITTING OUT THERE WITH THE MEN WHILE JESUS TEACHES. BUT LIKE THE THREE MEN WHO VISITED ABRAHAM, JESUS SHOWS HIS GRATITUDE BY GIVING THOSE AROUND HIM THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE.
OUR SUNDAY MASS IS ABOUT HOSPITALITY. OUR PARISH BUILT A BEAUTIFUL CHURCH MANY YEARS AGO, NOT FOR US, BUT BECAUSE WE WANT TO INVITE OUR LORD TO BE WITH US. WE PAY FOR OUR ORGANIST AND OUR CANTOR NOT SO MUCH SO THAT WE WILL HEAR BEAUTIFUL MUSIC, BUT SO THAT WHEN JESUS COMES INTO OUR MIDST, WE WANT TO DEMONSTRATE TO HIM THAT HIS COMPANY IS APPRECIATED. WE DO NOT WANT TO BE LIKE THE PHARISEE WHO INVITED JESUS TO SUPPER, BUT DID NOT PROVIDE WATER FOR HIS FEET AND DID NOT GREET HIM WITH A KISS. EVEN THE AIR CONDITIONING WHICH WE ENJOY IS NOT PRIMARILY FOR US, BUT RATHER, SO THAT WE CAN BE LESS DISTRACTED WHEN JESUS COMES TO US; SO WE CAN BE BETTER HOSTS. AND OF COURSE BEING HOST TO JESUS MEANS THAT WE PAY ATTENTION TO HIM, LIKE ABRAHAM WAITING ON THE THREE VISITORS, OR LIKE MARY, SITTING AT HIS FEET. AND BEING HOST TO JESUS SHOULD MEAN THAT WE DRESS APPROPRIATELY, COME BEFORE MASS STARTS, AND LEAVE AFTER MASS IS OVER. WE WOULD NEVER TREAT A GUEST IN OUR HOME THE WAY WE SOMETIMES TREAT THE GUEST WHOM WE ENTERTAIN EVERY SUNDAY.
AND AS I SAID BEFORE, HOSPITALITY IS A TWO WAY STREET. JESUS COMES INTO OUR MIDST AS GUEST, AND TURNS THE TABLES ON US. HE COMES AS OUR GUEST, BUT HE BRINGS HIS WORD, IN OUR READINGS AND IN THE HOMILY. DO WE LISTEN ATTENTIVELY? DO WE LET THE HOLY SPIRIT MOVE US? OR DO WE READ THE WORDS IN THE BOOK WHILE THEY ARE BEING SPOKEN? LISTENING IS PASSIVE, LISTENING ALLOWS THE SPIRIT TO WORK. READING IS ACTIVE, THE SPIRIT DOESN'T DO MUCH WHEN WE ARE NOT BEING OPEN TO HIM. OR DO WE SHAKE OUR WATCH AND WONDER WHEN THIS WILL ALL BE OVER.
JESUS COMES AS OUR GUEST, BUT HE BRINGS THE FOOD. WE'VE SET ASIDE SOME OF WHAT WE CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT – BREAD AND WINE, FOOD AND DRINK; BUT HE CHANGES THAT INTO HIS BODY AND BLOOD, AND SERVES US. AND SOME OF US RECEIVE THIS PRECIOUS GIFT WITH GREAT REVERENCE. WE MAKE A GESTURE OF RESPECT, LIKE A BOW. WE SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY RECEIVE THE HOST INTO OUR HANDS OR OUR MOUTHS. AFTER EATING THE BODY AND DRINKING THE BLOOD, WE SPEND A FEW MINUTES BEING OPEN TO JESUS; WE GO BACK TO OUR PEWS AND SIT IN SILENCE, OR KNEEL WITH OUR EYES CLOSED SO WE ARE NOT DISTRACTED. AND IN THOSE MOMENTS, JESUS TRANSFORMS US. AND YET OTHERS OF US TAKE THIS GIFT WITH EXTREME CASUALNESS, POPPING THE HOST INTO OUR MOUTHS AS WE RUSH FROM COMMUNION TO THE PARKING LOT. IF WE WERE A GUEST IN THE HOME OF A FRIEND, WE WOULDN'T DO THIS, WE WOULDN'T SIT DOWN TO A WONDERFUL SUPPER AND ASK FOR A DOGGIE BAG BECAUSE WE WERE IN A HURRY TO LEAVE.
PEOPLE OFTEN SYMPATHIZE WITH MARTHA; MY MOTHER WAS ONE OF THOSE. SOMEBODY HAS TO DO THE WORK, SHE WOULD SAY. BUT MARTHA, WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE GIVING HOSPITALITY, WAS NOT REALLY; SHE HAD LOWERED HER STATUS TO THAT OF THE COOK. AND BECAUSE OF THAT, SHE DID NOT RECEIVE WHAT OUR LORD, THE GUEST AND THE HOST, WANTED TO GIVE HER.
SO LET US ASK HOW WE GIVE AND RECEIVE HOSPITALITY AT SUNDAY MASS, WHEN JESUS COMES INTO OUR MIDST. LET US ASK WHETHER WE ARE LIKE MARY, WHO HAS CHOSEN THE BETTER PART.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Sunday, July 15, 2007
15th Sunday in Ordinary time cycle C
LUKE 10:25-37
ONCE THERE WAS A VILLAGE WHERE AN OLD MAN LIVED IN A SHACK AT THE EDGE OF TOWN. HE HAD A SMALL GARDEN WHICH HE TENDED, AND HE WOULD SIT AND PLAY HIS HARMONICA IN THE EVENINGS TO THE DELIGHT OF CHILDREN AND OTHERS WHO PASSED BY. WHEN HIS GARDEN GREW, HE WOULD GIVE AWAY ITS PRODUCE. HIS CLOTHING WAS OLD AND SMELLY AND IN TATTERS, SO ONE DAY THE TOWNSPEOPLE TOOK UP A COLLECTION AND BOUGHT A COMPLETE SET OF NEW CLOTHING FOR HIM. THEY WRAPPED IT IN A PACKAGE AND PUT IT ON HIS DOORSTEP AT NIGHT. THE NEXT MORNING HE TOLD HIS FRIENDS ABOUT IT WITH GREAT EXCITEMENT. “LOOK AT THE WONDERFUL CLOTHES SOMEONE LEFT ON MY STEPS,” HE EXCLAIMED. “YOU ARE VERY LUCKY,” REPLIED THE VILLAGERS. “I KNOW,” HE REPLIED. “JUST YESTERDAY I MET SOMEONE WHO COULD REALLY USE THEM.”
I THINK WE ALL KNOW PEOPLE WHO ARE ALWAYS DOING THINGS FOR OTHER PEOPLE. SOME OF THEM SEEM TO NEVER THINK OF THEMSELVES. WE KNOW PEOPLE WHO HAVE ALMOST NOTHING, BUT WILL GIVE YOU WHAT THEY CAN – SOME HOMEMADE SOUP; A MAGAZINE OR BOOK THEY PARTICULARLY ENJOYED; MAYBE THEY WOULD DROP EVERYTHING AND GO WITH SOMEONE WHO NEEDED A COMPANION ON A TRIP. AND THESE PERSONS ARE NOT WHO WE MIGHT THINK OF AS SAINTS. SOMETIMES THEY ARE VERY FLAWED. SOMETIMES THEY SEEM TO HAVE PERSONALITY DISORDERS. BUT I ENVY THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE SO GENEROUS.
THE LAWYER WAS A GOOD MAN; HE WAS INTERESTED IN GETTING TO HEAVEN. HE THOUGHT JESUS HAD SOME SECRET. BUT JESUS JUST SAID SOMETHING THAT EVERY JEW LEARNED AS A CHILD; LOVE GOD WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE, LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. THE LAWYER THOUGHT A MINUTE; IT WAS TOO SIMPLE AN ANSWER. BUT HE HAD JESUS' ATTENTION SO HE ASKED A VERY LAWYERLY QUESTION. WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?
THE LAWYER WANTED INSTRUCTIONS IN HOW TO GET TO HEAVEN. HE DIDN'T WANT TO WASTE TIME LAVISHING LOVE ON THE WRONG PEOPLE!
BUT JESUS IN TELLING THE STORY, TURNS THE TABLES. HE SAYS, “DON'T WORRY ABOUT GETTING SAVED – THAT'S MY JOB. YOU, GO OUT AND BE A NEIGHBOR.”
WE PRETTY MUCH GET JESUS' POINT. THE SAMARITAN, WHO IS FROM A PEOPLE THAT THE JEWS HATED, TURNS OUT TO BE THE NEIGHBOR. BUT WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH THE PRIEST AND THE LEVITE?
THE PRIEST HURRIED BY BECAUSE HE WAS ON HIS WAY TO PERFORM HIS PRIESTLY DUTIES, AND CONTACT WITH A STRANGER WHO WAS BLEEDING AND MIGHT EVEN DIE WOULD DESTROY HIS RITUAL PURITY, AND HE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO OFFER SACRIFICE, HE WOULD END UP DISAPPOINTING GOD. THE PRIEST HAD GOOD REASONS FOR WHAT HE DID. THE ROLE OF THE LEVITES IN THAT SOCIETY WAS TO LOOK AFTER THE WIDOWS AND ORPHANS. THEY USED SOME OF THE TEMPLE REVENUES FOR THIS SACRED DUTY. THE LEVITE WAS THINKING ABOUT ALL THE PEOPLE HE HAD TO HELP; IF HE DIDN'T GET TO JERUSALEM SO THAT HE COULD GET HIS SHARE OF THE ALLOTED MONEY AND BRING IT BACK TO HIS VILLAGE, HE COULD THINK OF A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD GO HUNGRY. SO HE HURRIED BY. AND BOTH THE PRIEST AND THE LEVITE REMEMBERED STORIES ABOUT HOW BANDITS WOULD HAVE ONE OF THEIR CREW ACT LIKE HE HAD BEEN INJURED AND WHEN SOMEONE STOPPED TO HELP, THE BANDITS WOULD EMERGE FROM THEIR HIDING PLACES AND ROB THE PERSON WHO STOPPED TO HELP, OFTEN KILLING HIM. THAT MAY BE EXACTLY WHY THE INJURED MAN HAD BEEN SET UPON BY BANDITS. HE MAY HAVE STOPPED TO HELP.
THE SAMARITAN, WE REMEMBER, WAS ON BUSINESS HIMSELF, AND COULD HAVE USED ANY OF THOSE EXCUSES FOR NOT BEING A NEIGHBOR – BUT DIDN'T.
WE MIGHT NOT BE CAPABLE OF BECOMING THE KIND OF NEIGHBORS THAT JESUS CALLS US TO BE RIGHT NOW. BUT WE CAN SORT OUT WHAT KEEPS US FROM THAT GOAL. IS OUR EXCUSE THAT WE ARE DOING SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT AS THE PRIEST THOUGHT HE WAS DOING? WE DON'T USUALLY PUT OUR RELIGIOUS DUTIES OVER SOMETHING LIKE THIS, BUT MANY OF US ARE INVOLVED IN CAUSES WHICH WE THINK ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, AND THEY OCCUPY OUR THOUGHTS AND OUR TIMES, AND WE DON'T SEE OUR NEIGHBOR'S NEED. POLITICS, GLOBAL WARMING – YOU NAME THE CAUSE. IS OUR EXCUSE THAT WE ARE ALREADY GIVING? MANY OF US USE OUR MONEY AND OUR TIME TO HELP A SOUP KITCHEN, A SHELTER, A MISSION SOCIETY; OUR ALMA MATER. AND WE DON'T SEE OUR NEIGHBOR'S NEED. AND OF COURSE MANY OF US FEAR GETTING INVOLVED ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, ESPECIALLY WHEN OUR NEIGHBOR IS ANNOYING, DIRTY, A LITTLE INSANE; AND WE LOOK AWAY.
AND MAYBE WE'VE TRIED TO HELP BEFORE, AND SOMETHING BAD HAS COME OF IT. THERE IS THAT OLD SAYING THAT NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED. WE MIGHT IDENTIFY WITH THE POOR MAN WHO MAY HAVE STOPPED TO HELP SOMEONE ELSE AND WAS BEATEN AND ROBBED AND LEFT FOR DEAD.
TODAY WE SHOULD LEAVE OUR CHURCH, NOT THINKING ABOUT OUR FAILINGS AS A NEIGHBOR; VERY FEW OF US ARE PERFECT NEIGHBORS. INSTEAD WE SHOULD ASK HOW WE ARE LIKE THE PRIEST AND THE LEVITE – NOT EVIL MEN, BUT GOOD MEN – WHO HAVE GOOD REASONS FOR PASSING THE NEIGHBOR. AND THEN WE NEED TO PRAY THAT JESUS WILL SHARPEN OUR VISION SO THAT WITHOUT NEGLECTING THE GOOD THINGS WE DO, THE GOOD CAUSES WE SUPPORT, THE CHARITIES IN WHICH WE INVEST, WE SEE OUR NEIGHBOR WITH A COMPASSIONATE HEART, AND REALIZE THAT NOTHING IS SO IMPORTANT AS THAT MOMENT. AND MAY GOD SHARPEN OUR VISION EVEN FURTHER SO THAT WE RECOGNIZE WHO IS THERE AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, BEATEN AND ROBBED AND LEFT FOR DEAD. AND SEE THAT THE PERSON IS JESUS CHRIST.
ONCE THERE WAS A VILLAGE WHERE AN OLD MAN LIVED IN A SHACK AT THE EDGE OF TOWN. HE HAD A SMALL GARDEN WHICH HE TENDED, AND HE WOULD SIT AND PLAY HIS HARMONICA IN THE EVENINGS TO THE DELIGHT OF CHILDREN AND OTHERS WHO PASSED BY. WHEN HIS GARDEN GREW, HE WOULD GIVE AWAY ITS PRODUCE. HIS CLOTHING WAS OLD AND SMELLY AND IN TATTERS, SO ONE DAY THE TOWNSPEOPLE TOOK UP A COLLECTION AND BOUGHT A COMPLETE SET OF NEW CLOTHING FOR HIM. THEY WRAPPED IT IN A PACKAGE AND PUT IT ON HIS DOORSTEP AT NIGHT. THE NEXT MORNING HE TOLD HIS FRIENDS ABOUT IT WITH GREAT EXCITEMENT. “LOOK AT THE WONDERFUL CLOTHES SOMEONE LEFT ON MY STEPS,” HE EXCLAIMED. “YOU ARE VERY LUCKY,” REPLIED THE VILLAGERS. “I KNOW,” HE REPLIED. “JUST YESTERDAY I MET SOMEONE WHO COULD REALLY USE THEM.”
I THINK WE ALL KNOW PEOPLE WHO ARE ALWAYS DOING THINGS FOR OTHER PEOPLE. SOME OF THEM SEEM TO NEVER THINK OF THEMSELVES. WE KNOW PEOPLE WHO HAVE ALMOST NOTHING, BUT WILL GIVE YOU WHAT THEY CAN – SOME HOMEMADE SOUP; A MAGAZINE OR BOOK THEY PARTICULARLY ENJOYED; MAYBE THEY WOULD DROP EVERYTHING AND GO WITH SOMEONE WHO NEEDED A COMPANION ON A TRIP. AND THESE PERSONS ARE NOT WHO WE MIGHT THINK OF AS SAINTS. SOMETIMES THEY ARE VERY FLAWED. SOMETIMES THEY SEEM TO HAVE PERSONALITY DISORDERS. BUT I ENVY THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE SO GENEROUS.
THE LAWYER WAS A GOOD MAN; HE WAS INTERESTED IN GETTING TO HEAVEN. HE THOUGHT JESUS HAD SOME SECRET. BUT JESUS JUST SAID SOMETHING THAT EVERY JEW LEARNED AS A CHILD; LOVE GOD WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE, LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. THE LAWYER THOUGHT A MINUTE; IT WAS TOO SIMPLE AN ANSWER. BUT HE HAD JESUS' ATTENTION SO HE ASKED A VERY LAWYERLY QUESTION. WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?
THE LAWYER WANTED INSTRUCTIONS IN HOW TO GET TO HEAVEN. HE DIDN'T WANT TO WASTE TIME LAVISHING LOVE ON THE WRONG PEOPLE!
BUT JESUS IN TELLING THE STORY, TURNS THE TABLES. HE SAYS, “DON'T WORRY ABOUT GETTING SAVED – THAT'S MY JOB. YOU, GO OUT AND BE A NEIGHBOR.”
WE PRETTY MUCH GET JESUS' POINT. THE SAMARITAN, WHO IS FROM A PEOPLE THAT THE JEWS HATED, TURNS OUT TO BE THE NEIGHBOR. BUT WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH THE PRIEST AND THE LEVITE?
THE PRIEST HURRIED BY BECAUSE HE WAS ON HIS WAY TO PERFORM HIS PRIESTLY DUTIES, AND CONTACT WITH A STRANGER WHO WAS BLEEDING AND MIGHT EVEN DIE WOULD DESTROY HIS RITUAL PURITY, AND HE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO OFFER SACRIFICE, HE WOULD END UP DISAPPOINTING GOD. THE PRIEST HAD GOOD REASONS FOR WHAT HE DID. THE ROLE OF THE LEVITES IN THAT SOCIETY WAS TO LOOK AFTER THE WIDOWS AND ORPHANS. THEY USED SOME OF THE TEMPLE REVENUES FOR THIS SACRED DUTY. THE LEVITE WAS THINKING ABOUT ALL THE PEOPLE HE HAD TO HELP; IF HE DIDN'T GET TO JERUSALEM SO THAT HE COULD GET HIS SHARE OF THE ALLOTED MONEY AND BRING IT BACK TO HIS VILLAGE, HE COULD THINK OF A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD GO HUNGRY. SO HE HURRIED BY. AND BOTH THE PRIEST AND THE LEVITE REMEMBERED STORIES ABOUT HOW BANDITS WOULD HAVE ONE OF THEIR CREW ACT LIKE HE HAD BEEN INJURED AND WHEN SOMEONE STOPPED TO HELP, THE BANDITS WOULD EMERGE FROM THEIR HIDING PLACES AND ROB THE PERSON WHO STOPPED TO HELP, OFTEN KILLING HIM. THAT MAY BE EXACTLY WHY THE INJURED MAN HAD BEEN SET UPON BY BANDITS. HE MAY HAVE STOPPED TO HELP.
THE SAMARITAN, WE REMEMBER, WAS ON BUSINESS HIMSELF, AND COULD HAVE USED ANY OF THOSE EXCUSES FOR NOT BEING A NEIGHBOR – BUT DIDN'T.
WE MIGHT NOT BE CAPABLE OF BECOMING THE KIND OF NEIGHBORS THAT JESUS CALLS US TO BE RIGHT NOW. BUT WE CAN SORT OUT WHAT KEEPS US FROM THAT GOAL. IS OUR EXCUSE THAT WE ARE DOING SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT AS THE PRIEST THOUGHT HE WAS DOING? WE DON'T USUALLY PUT OUR RELIGIOUS DUTIES OVER SOMETHING LIKE THIS, BUT MANY OF US ARE INVOLVED IN CAUSES WHICH WE THINK ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, AND THEY OCCUPY OUR THOUGHTS AND OUR TIMES, AND WE DON'T SEE OUR NEIGHBOR'S NEED. POLITICS, GLOBAL WARMING – YOU NAME THE CAUSE. IS OUR EXCUSE THAT WE ARE ALREADY GIVING? MANY OF US USE OUR MONEY AND OUR TIME TO HELP A SOUP KITCHEN, A SHELTER, A MISSION SOCIETY; OUR ALMA MATER. AND WE DON'T SEE OUR NEIGHBOR'S NEED. AND OF COURSE MANY OF US FEAR GETTING INVOLVED ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, ESPECIALLY WHEN OUR NEIGHBOR IS ANNOYING, DIRTY, A LITTLE INSANE; AND WE LOOK AWAY.
AND MAYBE WE'VE TRIED TO HELP BEFORE, AND SOMETHING BAD HAS COME OF IT. THERE IS THAT OLD SAYING THAT NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED. WE MIGHT IDENTIFY WITH THE POOR MAN WHO MAY HAVE STOPPED TO HELP SOMEONE ELSE AND WAS BEATEN AND ROBBED AND LEFT FOR DEAD.
TODAY WE SHOULD LEAVE OUR CHURCH, NOT THINKING ABOUT OUR FAILINGS AS A NEIGHBOR; VERY FEW OF US ARE PERFECT NEIGHBORS. INSTEAD WE SHOULD ASK HOW WE ARE LIKE THE PRIEST AND THE LEVITE – NOT EVIL MEN, BUT GOOD MEN – WHO HAVE GOOD REASONS FOR PASSING THE NEIGHBOR. AND THEN WE NEED TO PRAY THAT JESUS WILL SHARPEN OUR VISION SO THAT WITHOUT NEGLECTING THE GOOD THINGS WE DO, THE GOOD CAUSES WE SUPPORT, THE CHARITIES IN WHICH WE INVEST, WE SEE OUR NEIGHBOR WITH A COMPASSIONATE HEART, AND REALIZE THAT NOTHING IS SO IMPORTANT AS THAT MOMENT. AND MAY GOD SHARPEN OUR VISION EVEN FURTHER SO THAT WE RECOGNIZE WHO IS THERE AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, BEATEN AND ROBBED AND LEFT FOR DEAD. AND SEE THAT THE PERSON IS JESUS CHRIST.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
LUKE 10: 1-12, 17-20
IN THE EARLY DAYS OF OUR COUNTRY, THE CONGREGATIONALIST DENOMINATION WAS VERY PROMINENT IN NEW ENGLAND. WHEN PRESBYTERIANS CAME FROM ENGLAND, THEY RECOGNIZED THAT THEY WERE VERY SIMILAR TO CONGREGATIONALISTS, SO THEY MADE A DEAL. THEY WOULD EVANGELIZE THE REST OF THE COUNTRY AND NOT COMPETE WITH THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. PRESBYTERIANS IN THOSE DAYS HAD A WELL DEVELOPED THEOLOGY AND THEIR MINISTERS WERE VERY WELL EDUCATED. THEY WOULD LOAD THEIR BOOKS ONTO RAILROAD CARS AND GO WHEREVER THE TRAIN COULD TAKE THEM.
IN THE MEANTIME, THE METHODISTS WERE COMING TO THE UNITED STATES AS WELL. IF YOU WANTED TO BE A METHODIST PREACHER, YOU DIDN'T NEED A TREMENDOUS EDUCATION; YOU HAD TO HAVE SINCERITY AND A FAMILIARITY WITH THE BIBLE. THE AVERAGE METHODIST PREACHER HAD ABOUT A YEAR OF EDUCATION. AS METHODIST CHURCHES WERE ESTABLISHED, THE FOUNDING PREACHER WOULD BE EVENTUALLY REPLACED BY A BETTER TRAINED MINISTER AND THE CHURCH WOULD BECOME ESTABLISHED.
THE METHODIST PREACHERS RODE HORSES AND WENT WHEREVER THERE WERE PEOPLE; AND THEIR COLLECTION OF BOOKS INCLUDED ONLY WHAT THEY COULD PUT IN THEIR SADDLEBAGS – A BIBLE, A FEW TRACTS, MAYBE A HYMNAL. IT IS NO WONDER THAT THE METHODIST DENOMINATION SO VASTLY OUTNUMBERED THE PRESBYTERIANS IN THOSE DAYS.
THERE ARE TWO THINGS THAT JESUS ASKS OF HIS DISCIPLES. AND IT IS SIGNIFICANT THAT HE IS SPEAKING TO SEVENTY DISCIPLES, NOT THE TWELVE APOSTLES. HE IS SPEAKING NOT JUST TO THE PRIESTS AND BISHOPS, BUT TO ALL HIS FOLLOWERS. THE FIRST THING JESUS ASKS IS THAT PREACHING THE KINGDOM IS A MATTER OF GREAT URGENCY. IT IS SO URGENT THAT HE DOES NOT WANT HIS FOLLOWERS TO BE WEIGHED DOWN BY ANYTHING THAT MIGHT SLOW THEM DOWN. HE DOESN'T WANT HIS FOLLOWERS TO WASTE TIME WHERE THEY ARE NOT WELCOMED, BUT TO MOVE ON AND MAKE THE MOST EFFICIENT USE OF THEIR TIME.
THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOWED JESUS KNEW BIG THINGS WERE IN THE AIR; THEY EXPECTED THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD WAS ABOUT TO BREAK THROUGH AND REPLACE ALL THE IMPERFECT HUMAN ATTEMPTS AT BUILDING A WORLD IN WHICH MEN AND WOMEN COULD LIVE IN PEACE AND DIGNITY. THEY HAD A SENSE OF URGENCY, THEY FELT THAT THEY HAD THIS ONE CHANCE TO SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS.
AFTER 2000 YEARS, IT DOESN'T SEEM SO URGENT ANYMORE. JESUS HASN'T COME AGAIN, THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS STILL ARRIVING, HASN'T ARRIVED YET. WE THINK WE HAVE PLENTY OF TIME.
BUT WE DON'T. WE ARE JUST LIKE THOSE DISCIPLES, WE HAVE OUR LIFETIMES TO SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS, NO MORE; AND MANY OF OUR FELLOW MEN HAVE ONLY ONE CHANCE TO HEAR THE GOOD NEWS – WHEN WE ANNOUNCE IT. IF WE DO NOT PREACH THROUGH OUR WORDS AND ACTIONS, WHO WILL? IF WE DO NOT SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS, WHO ELSE WILL? GOD INVITES EACH OF US TO ENTER INTO HIS MINISTRY, IN A WAY THAT NO ONE ELSE CAN DUPLICATE.
ST ALPHONSUS LIGUORI MADE A VOW WHEN HE WAS FIRST ORDAINED THAT HE WOULD NEVER WASTE TIME. AND HE DIDN'T. HE WAS A TIRELESS PREACHER AND WRITER, RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONVERSION OF MANY HEARTS. HE HAD A SENSE OF URGENCY. THE SAME IS TRUE OF ST. MAXIMILLIAN KOLBE. HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A VAST ENTERPRISE ALL AIMED AT INCREASING THE DEVOTION OF PEOPLE TO JESUS THROUGH MARY. WHEN YOU READ HIS BIOGRAPHY, HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS LEAVE US BREATHLESS. HE HAD A SENSE OF URGENCY.
THE SECOND THING THAT JESUS ASKS OF HIS DISCIPLES IS A SENSE OF JOY. WHEN THE DISCIPLES RETURN, THEY ARE OVERJOYED. THEY HAVE BEEN CASTING OUT DEMONS, THEY HAVE HEALED THE SICK, PEOPLE HAVE RESPONDED TO THEM. WHEN WE WORK FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, WHEN OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH JESUS BEARS FRUIT, WE EXPERIENCE JOY, A JOY WE CAN'T EXPERIENCE DOING ANYTHING ELSE. JESUS HIMSELF REJOICES IN OUR SUCCESSES, AS HE DOES WITH HIS DISCIPLES IN THIS GOSPEL READING.
WHEN YOU AND I SEE THAT SOMEONE CHANGES FOR THE BETTER BECAUSE OF SOMETHING WE SAID OR DID, WE EXPERIENCE JOY. WE CAN SPEND HUGE AMOUNTS OF TIME WITHOUT SUCCESS, BUT EVEN A LITTLE SUCCESS BRINGS US JOY.
THE MARKS OF A DISCIPLE INCLUDE A SENSE OF URGENCY AND A SENSE OF JOY. NOTHING SHOULD STAND IN OUR WAY IN PREACHING THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. EVERY TIME WE ENCOUNTER ANOTHER HUMAN BEING, EVEN MEMBERS OF OUR FAMILY, EVEN PERFECT STRANGERS, WE SHOULD ASK, WHAT CAN I DO TO BRING JESUS TO THIS PERSON, WHAT CAN I DO TO BRING THIS PERSON CLOSER TO JESUS? WE DON'T HAVE TO BE FANATICS; WE JUST HAVE TO BE CONSCIOUS OF THE FACT THAT THIS MOMENT MAY BE THE GRACE FILLED ONE, THE ONE WHERE JESUS WANTS TO ACT THROUGH US ON THIS OTHER PERSON. IF WE ARE CONSCIOUS OF THAT IDEA, THE LORD WILL SHOW US THE WAY.
AND WE MUST BE JOYFUL. WHERE URGENCY TELLS US TO TAKE EACH MOMENT SERIOUSLY, JOY TELLS US TO TAKE OURSELVES LESS THAN SERIOUSLY. JOY REMINDS US THAT GOD IS IN CHARGE AND WE ARE INSTRUMENTS; AND AS LONG AS WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE INSTRUMENTS, WHATEVER GOD DOES WITH US WILL BE ALL RIGHT. AND WHEN WE SEE GOD WORKING THROUGH US, CAN ANYTHING BE BETTER? WHEN WE SEE HIS WILL BEING DONE, CAN WE ASK FOR ANYTHING MORE?
TODAY LET US PRAY THAT WE WILL BE BETTER DISCIPLES, THAT WE WILL FELL URGENCY IN OUR MISSION, AND THAT WE WILL EXPERIENCE THE JOY OF HAVING GOD WORK THROUGH US.
IN THE EARLY DAYS OF OUR COUNTRY, THE CONGREGATIONALIST DENOMINATION WAS VERY PROMINENT IN NEW ENGLAND. WHEN PRESBYTERIANS CAME FROM ENGLAND, THEY RECOGNIZED THAT THEY WERE VERY SIMILAR TO CONGREGATIONALISTS, SO THEY MADE A DEAL. THEY WOULD EVANGELIZE THE REST OF THE COUNTRY AND NOT COMPETE WITH THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. PRESBYTERIANS IN THOSE DAYS HAD A WELL DEVELOPED THEOLOGY AND THEIR MINISTERS WERE VERY WELL EDUCATED. THEY WOULD LOAD THEIR BOOKS ONTO RAILROAD CARS AND GO WHEREVER THE TRAIN COULD TAKE THEM.
IN THE MEANTIME, THE METHODISTS WERE COMING TO THE UNITED STATES AS WELL. IF YOU WANTED TO BE A METHODIST PREACHER, YOU DIDN'T NEED A TREMENDOUS EDUCATION; YOU HAD TO HAVE SINCERITY AND A FAMILIARITY WITH THE BIBLE. THE AVERAGE METHODIST PREACHER HAD ABOUT A YEAR OF EDUCATION. AS METHODIST CHURCHES WERE ESTABLISHED, THE FOUNDING PREACHER WOULD BE EVENTUALLY REPLACED BY A BETTER TRAINED MINISTER AND THE CHURCH WOULD BECOME ESTABLISHED.
THE METHODIST PREACHERS RODE HORSES AND WENT WHEREVER THERE WERE PEOPLE; AND THEIR COLLECTION OF BOOKS INCLUDED ONLY WHAT THEY COULD PUT IN THEIR SADDLEBAGS – A BIBLE, A FEW TRACTS, MAYBE A HYMNAL. IT IS NO WONDER THAT THE METHODIST DENOMINATION SO VASTLY OUTNUMBERED THE PRESBYTERIANS IN THOSE DAYS.
THERE ARE TWO THINGS THAT JESUS ASKS OF HIS DISCIPLES. AND IT IS SIGNIFICANT THAT HE IS SPEAKING TO SEVENTY DISCIPLES, NOT THE TWELVE APOSTLES. HE IS SPEAKING NOT JUST TO THE PRIESTS AND BISHOPS, BUT TO ALL HIS FOLLOWERS. THE FIRST THING JESUS ASKS IS THAT PREACHING THE KINGDOM IS A MATTER OF GREAT URGENCY. IT IS SO URGENT THAT HE DOES NOT WANT HIS FOLLOWERS TO BE WEIGHED DOWN BY ANYTHING THAT MIGHT SLOW THEM DOWN. HE DOESN'T WANT HIS FOLLOWERS TO WASTE TIME WHERE THEY ARE NOT WELCOMED, BUT TO MOVE ON AND MAKE THE MOST EFFICIENT USE OF THEIR TIME.
THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOWED JESUS KNEW BIG THINGS WERE IN THE AIR; THEY EXPECTED THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD WAS ABOUT TO BREAK THROUGH AND REPLACE ALL THE IMPERFECT HUMAN ATTEMPTS AT BUILDING A WORLD IN WHICH MEN AND WOMEN COULD LIVE IN PEACE AND DIGNITY. THEY HAD A SENSE OF URGENCY, THEY FELT THAT THEY HAD THIS ONE CHANCE TO SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS.
AFTER 2000 YEARS, IT DOESN'T SEEM SO URGENT ANYMORE. JESUS HASN'T COME AGAIN, THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS STILL ARRIVING, HASN'T ARRIVED YET. WE THINK WE HAVE PLENTY OF TIME.
BUT WE DON'T. WE ARE JUST LIKE THOSE DISCIPLES, WE HAVE OUR LIFETIMES TO SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS, NO MORE; AND MANY OF OUR FELLOW MEN HAVE ONLY ONE CHANCE TO HEAR THE GOOD NEWS – WHEN WE ANNOUNCE IT. IF WE DO NOT PREACH THROUGH OUR WORDS AND ACTIONS, WHO WILL? IF WE DO NOT SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS, WHO ELSE WILL? GOD INVITES EACH OF US TO ENTER INTO HIS MINISTRY, IN A WAY THAT NO ONE ELSE CAN DUPLICATE.
ST ALPHONSUS LIGUORI MADE A VOW WHEN HE WAS FIRST ORDAINED THAT HE WOULD NEVER WASTE TIME. AND HE DIDN'T. HE WAS A TIRELESS PREACHER AND WRITER, RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONVERSION OF MANY HEARTS. HE HAD A SENSE OF URGENCY. THE SAME IS TRUE OF ST. MAXIMILLIAN KOLBE. HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A VAST ENTERPRISE ALL AIMED AT INCREASING THE DEVOTION OF PEOPLE TO JESUS THROUGH MARY. WHEN YOU READ HIS BIOGRAPHY, HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS LEAVE US BREATHLESS. HE HAD A SENSE OF URGENCY.
THE SECOND THING THAT JESUS ASKS OF HIS DISCIPLES IS A SENSE OF JOY. WHEN THE DISCIPLES RETURN, THEY ARE OVERJOYED. THEY HAVE BEEN CASTING OUT DEMONS, THEY HAVE HEALED THE SICK, PEOPLE HAVE RESPONDED TO THEM. WHEN WE WORK FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, WHEN OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH JESUS BEARS FRUIT, WE EXPERIENCE JOY, A JOY WE CAN'T EXPERIENCE DOING ANYTHING ELSE. JESUS HIMSELF REJOICES IN OUR SUCCESSES, AS HE DOES WITH HIS DISCIPLES IN THIS GOSPEL READING.
WHEN YOU AND I SEE THAT SOMEONE CHANGES FOR THE BETTER BECAUSE OF SOMETHING WE SAID OR DID, WE EXPERIENCE JOY. WE CAN SPEND HUGE AMOUNTS OF TIME WITHOUT SUCCESS, BUT EVEN A LITTLE SUCCESS BRINGS US JOY.
THE MARKS OF A DISCIPLE INCLUDE A SENSE OF URGENCY AND A SENSE OF JOY. NOTHING SHOULD STAND IN OUR WAY IN PREACHING THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. EVERY TIME WE ENCOUNTER ANOTHER HUMAN BEING, EVEN MEMBERS OF OUR FAMILY, EVEN PERFECT STRANGERS, WE SHOULD ASK, WHAT CAN I DO TO BRING JESUS TO THIS PERSON, WHAT CAN I DO TO BRING THIS PERSON CLOSER TO JESUS? WE DON'T HAVE TO BE FANATICS; WE JUST HAVE TO BE CONSCIOUS OF THE FACT THAT THIS MOMENT MAY BE THE GRACE FILLED ONE, THE ONE WHERE JESUS WANTS TO ACT THROUGH US ON THIS OTHER PERSON. IF WE ARE CONSCIOUS OF THAT IDEA, THE LORD WILL SHOW US THE WAY.
AND WE MUST BE JOYFUL. WHERE URGENCY TELLS US TO TAKE EACH MOMENT SERIOUSLY, JOY TELLS US TO TAKE OURSELVES LESS THAN SERIOUSLY. JOY REMINDS US THAT GOD IS IN CHARGE AND WE ARE INSTRUMENTS; AND AS LONG AS WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE INSTRUMENTS, WHATEVER GOD DOES WITH US WILL BE ALL RIGHT. AND WHEN WE SEE GOD WORKING THROUGH US, CAN ANYTHING BE BETTER? WHEN WE SEE HIS WILL BEING DONE, CAN WE ASK FOR ANYTHING MORE?
TODAY LET US PRAY THAT WE WILL BE BETTER DISCIPLES, THAT WE WILL FELL URGENCY IN OUR MISSION, AND THAT WE WILL EXPERIENCE THE JOY OF HAVING GOD WORK THROUGH US.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C
LUKE 9:51-62
IF YOU DIG AROUND IN BIBLICAL COMMENTARIES ABOUT TODAY'S READINGS YOU FIND THAT THE GOSPEL READING MORE OR LESS RECALLS THE PROPHET ELIJAH. WHEN JAMES AND JOHN WANT TO CALL DOWN FIRE ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE SAMARITAN TOWN, WE CAN REMEMBER THAT ELIJAH DID EXACTLY THAT TO THE MESSENGERS FROM THE KING OF ISRAEL, WHO WAS HIS ENEMY. WHEN WE HEAR THAT JESUS SAYS THAT HE HAS NOWHERE TO LAY HIS HEAD, WE ARE REMINDED THAT ELIJAH WAS KNOWN AS THE TISHBITE, WHICH HAD THE CONNOTATION “STRANGER”. THERE WAS A PLACE CALLED TISHBE, BUT IN ELIJAH'S TIME IT WAS ALL BUT ABANDONED, AND PEOPLE WHO SEEMED TO COME OUT OF NOWHERE WERE CALLED TISHBITES. AND FINALLY, WE SEE THAT ELIJAH LETS ELISHA GO BACK AND SAY GOODBYE TO HIS FAMILY, IN CONTRAST TO JESUS, WHO INSISTS THAT PREACHING THE GOSPEL COMES BEFORE ALL FAMILY OBLIGATIONS.
IN OTHER WORDS, IS LUKE DELIBERATELY TRYING TO GET HIS READERS TO SEE THAT JESUS, BOTH IN A POSITIVE AND A NEGATIVE SENSE, GOES BEYOND ELIJAH?
THE PROPHET CAN AVENGE HIMSELF ON HIS ENEMIES WITH GOD'S POWER. JESUS WILL NOT AVENGE HIMSELF. THE PROPHET MAY BE A STRANGER, BUT JESUS IS EVEN MORE SO; HE HAS NO HOME. AND THE PROPHET ALLOWS HIS DISCIPLE TO TEND TO HUMAN NEEDS BEFORE SETTING OUT ON HIS VOCATION, BUT JESUS DOES NOT.
AND THIS IS ALL PREFACED BY THE STATEMENT THAT JESUS RESOLUTELY HEADED FOR JERUSALEM, BECAUSE THE DAYS FOR HIM BEING TAKEN UP WERE BEING FULFILLED – JESUS MARCHES INTO THE CITY WHERE HE KNOWS HE WILL BE PUT TO DEATH. ELIJAH, WHEN HE LEARNED THAT THE KING SOUGHT TO PUT HIM TO DEATH, FLEES INTO THE MOUNTAINS.
MOST OF US, WHEN WE THINK OF JESUS, SEE HIM AS SOMEONE WHO LOVES US, WHO PROTECTS US, WHO LEADS US. HE IS THERE IN OUR GRIEF, HE FORGIVES OUR FAILINGS, HE CARRIES OUR BURDENS. THAT IMAGE SEEMS SO DIFFERENT FROM THE IMAGE OF JESUS IN THIS GOSPEL READING. HE REBUKES HIS DISCIPLES; HE TELLS ONE WOULD-BE DISCIPLE THAT IF HE FOLLOWS JESUS, HE WILL BE HOMELESS; ANOTHER, HE DEMANDS THAT HE LET THE DEAD BURY THE DEAD, BUT YOU, COME AND PREACH THE GOSPEL. AND TO A THIRD, HE SAYS IN EFFECT THAT IF YOU ARE GOING TO SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR PARENTS, THEN YOU AREN'T WORTHY OF BEING MY DISCIPLE. IF JESUS HAD BEEN NICER, WE MIGHT BE TALKING ABOUT THE 15 APOSTLES INSTEAD OF ONLY TWELVE.
IF WE TAKE JESUS' WORDS AND ACTIONS AT FACE VALUE AND MEASURE OUR OWN LIVES AGAINST THEM, I AM SURE WE ALL COME UP VERY SHORT, EVEN OUR PASTOR, EVEN OUR BISHOP.
BUT JESUS IS DESCRIBING FOR US AN ATTITUDE WE MUST INTERIORIZE, A WAY OF SEEING THE WORLD WHICH IS ESSENTIAL IF WE ARE TO BE DISCIPLES. HE IS NOT SAYING THAT WE CAN'T HAVE HOMES, OR FUNERALS, OR LONG GOODBYES.
HE IS TELLING US THAT WE CANNOT USE POWER OR COERCION TO SPREAD THE GOSPEL. IT IS OUR JOB TO PREACH THE GOSPEL. IF THE SAMARITANS REJECT US, OR THE VILLAGERS WHO WITNESSED THE DEMONS ENTERING THE SWINE AND CAUSING THEM TO DIVE INTO THE SEA BEG US TO LEAVE, WE HAVE DONE OUR PART, THE REST IS UP TO THE HOLY SPIRIT. BUT IF WE DO NOT PREACH THE GOSPEL, THEN WE HAVE FAILED.
HE IS TELLING US THAT A DISCIPLE SHOULD BE AT HOME WHEREVER HE FINDS HIMSELF; OR PERHAPS HE SHOULD NOT BE AT HOME EVEN IN HIS OWN HOME. A DISCIPLE SHOULD HAVE HIS EYES FIXED ON THAT HEAVENLY HOME, WHERE HE TRULY BELONGS. THIS WORLD SHOULD NEVER BE THE BE ALL AND END ALL OF LIFE.
AT A TIME WHERE IT WAS A SACRED OBLIGATION TO BURY THE DEAD, HE IS TELLING US THAT A DISCIPLE NEEDS TO BE AWARE THAT TRADITIONS AND HABITS AND PERSONAL BELIEFS CAN GET IN THE WAY OF GOSPEL LIVING. SOMETIMES WE NEED TO STEP BACK AND ASK WHAT IS OF GOD AND WHAT IS NOT. THE PHARISEES BEGAN WELL, AND HAD GOOD REASONS FOR WHAT THEY DID. BUT AFTER A TIME, DOING WHAT THEY DID BECAME REASON ENOUGH, AND THEY ENDED UP PRISONERS OF RITUALS AND RULES TO THE POINT WHERE THEY HURT THEMSELVES AND THOSE AROUND THEM WITH THEIR RIGID LEGALISM.
AND HE IS TELLING US THAT WE HAVE TO BEWARE OF EXCUSES, THE EXCUSES OTHERS MAKE FOR US AND THOSE WE MAKE FOR OURSELVES. BUT FIRST LET ME SAY FAREWELL TO MY FAMILY; I'LL GET INVOLVED WHEN THE KIDS FINALLY LEAVE HOME; I'M GOING TO GET INTO SOME SORT OF MINISTRY AFTER I RETIRE; I REALLY WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MY FAITH, BUT I'M TOO BUSY NOW. SOMEONE WHO PLOWED IN THE DAYS OF JESUS AND EVEN NOW HAS TO AIM THE PLOW TOWARDS A POINT ON THE HORIZON; YOU HAVE TO DO THAT OR THE FURROW YOU CREATE WILL BE CROOKED AND WANDER ALL OVER THE PLACE. WITH EVERYTHING WE DO, WE NEED TO KEEP OUR EYES FIXED ON JESUS, ON OUR ULTIMATE GOAL, AND ASK HOW WHAT WE ARE DOING IS MOVING US CLOSER TO THE GOAL. IT IS A GREAT WAY TO SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE; JUST STOP DOING ANYTHING THAT ISN'T BRINGING YOU CLOSER TO YOUR SALVATION.
THERE IS A WONDERFUL STORY ABOUT MOTHER THERESA. SHE WAS INVITED TO ATTEND A MEETING IN CALCUTTA OF INDIAN LEADERS. THE SUBJECT WAS HOW TO END HUNGER IN INDIA. AS SHE WAS ABOUT TO ENTER THE BUILDING, SHE SAW A MAN LYING ON THE SIDEWALK, SKIN AND BONES, OBVIOUSLY DYING. SHE GOT ONE OF HER SISTERS AND THEY BROUGHT THE MAN TO HER LITTLE HOSPICE AND TENDED TO HIS NEEDS AND COMFORTED HIM AND FED HIM BITS OF FOOD AND WATER. HE WAS TOO FAR GONE TO RECOVER, AND DIED ABOUT TWO DAYS LATER, AND OF COURSE THE CONFERENCE WAS OVER. ALL THOSE DIGNITARIES HAD PASSED BY THE STARVING MAN IN THEIR HURRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO END HUNGER IN INDIA, BUT MOTHER THERESA KNEW THAT IF YOU WANTED TO END HUNGER, YOU HAD TO FEED THE HUNGRY THAT YOU FOUND; NO EXCUSES. SHE KEPT HER EYES ON THE POINT ON THE HORIZON.
THIS WEEK WE CELEBRATE OUR WONDERFUL COUNTRY. WE SEE, UNFORTUNATELY, THAT IN MANY WAYS SHE IS NOT PERFECT, SHE IS GOING ASTRAY. ISSUES OF MORALITY, ISSUES OF EQUALITY, OF SO MANY UNMET NEEDS AND WASTING OF RESOURCES THREATEN WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN US. RELIGION AND PATRIOTISM ARE ALIKE IN THAT BOTH BEGIN WITH HAPPY EMOTIONS BUT BOTH END UP EXPECTING SOMETHING FROM US IN RETURN. SO LET US PRAY THAT OUR COUNTRY GO BACK TO BEING THAT BEACON, THAT EXAMPLE TO THE WORLD THAT IT WAS MEANT TO BE.
IF YOU DIG AROUND IN BIBLICAL COMMENTARIES ABOUT TODAY'S READINGS YOU FIND THAT THE GOSPEL READING MORE OR LESS RECALLS THE PROPHET ELIJAH. WHEN JAMES AND JOHN WANT TO CALL DOWN FIRE ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE SAMARITAN TOWN, WE CAN REMEMBER THAT ELIJAH DID EXACTLY THAT TO THE MESSENGERS FROM THE KING OF ISRAEL, WHO WAS HIS ENEMY. WHEN WE HEAR THAT JESUS SAYS THAT HE HAS NOWHERE TO LAY HIS HEAD, WE ARE REMINDED THAT ELIJAH WAS KNOWN AS THE TISHBITE, WHICH HAD THE CONNOTATION “STRANGER”. THERE WAS A PLACE CALLED TISHBE, BUT IN ELIJAH'S TIME IT WAS ALL BUT ABANDONED, AND PEOPLE WHO SEEMED TO COME OUT OF NOWHERE WERE CALLED TISHBITES. AND FINALLY, WE SEE THAT ELIJAH LETS ELISHA GO BACK AND SAY GOODBYE TO HIS FAMILY, IN CONTRAST TO JESUS, WHO INSISTS THAT PREACHING THE GOSPEL COMES BEFORE ALL FAMILY OBLIGATIONS.
IN OTHER WORDS, IS LUKE DELIBERATELY TRYING TO GET HIS READERS TO SEE THAT JESUS, BOTH IN A POSITIVE AND A NEGATIVE SENSE, GOES BEYOND ELIJAH?
THE PROPHET CAN AVENGE HIMSELF ON HIS ENEMIES WITH GOD'S POWER. JESUS WILL NOT AVENGE HIMSELF. THE PROPHET MAY BE A STRANGER, BUT JESUS IS EVEN MORE SO; HE HAS NO HOME. AND THE PROPHET ALLOWS HIS DISCIPLE TO TEND TO HUMAN NEEDS BEFORE SETTING OUT ON HIS VOCATION, BUT JESUS DOES NOT.
AND THIS IS ALL PREFACED BY THE STATEMENT THAT JESUS RESOLUTELY HEADED FOR JERUSALEM, BECAUSE THE DAYS FOR HIM BEING TAKEN UP WERE BEING FULFILLED – JESUS MARCHES INTO THE CITY WHERE HE KNOWS HE WILL BE PUT TO DEATH. ELIJAH, WHEN HE LEARNED THAT THE KING SOUGHT TO PUT HIM TO DEATH, FLEES INTO THE MOUNTAINS.
MOST OF US, WHEN WE THINK OF JESUS, SEE HIM AS SOMEONE WHO LOVES US, WHO PROTECTS US, WHO LEADS US. HE IS THERE IN OUR GRIEF, HE FORGIVES OUR FAILINGS, HE CARRIES OUR BURDENS. THAT IMAGE SEEMS SO DIFFERENT FROM THE IMAGE OF JESUS IN THIS GOSPEL READING. HE REBUKES HIS DISCIPLES; HE TELLS ONE WOULD-BE DISCIPLE THAT IF HE FOLLOWS JESUS, HE WILL BE HOMELESS; ANOTHER, HE DEMANDS THAT HE LET THE DEAD BURY THE DEAD, BUT YOU, COME AND PREACH THE GOSPEL. AND TO A THIRD, HE SAYS IN EFFECT THAT IF YOU ARE GOING TO SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR PARENTS, THEN YOU AREN'T WORTHY OF BEING MY DISCIPLE. IF JESUS HAD BEEN NICER, WE MIGHT BE TALKING ABOUT THE 15 APOSTLES INSTEAD OF ONLY TWELVE.
IF WE TAKE JESUS' WORDS AND ACTIONS AT FACE VALUE AND MEASURE OUR OWN LIVES AGAINST THEM, I AM SURE WE ALL COME UP VERY SHORT, EVEN OUR PASTOR, EVEN OUR BISHOP.
BUT JESUS IS DESCRIBING FOR US AN ATTITUDE WE MUST INTERIORIZE, A WAY OF SEEING THE WORLD WHICH IS ESSENTIAL IF WE ARE TO BE DISCIPLES. HE IS NOT SAYING THAT WE CAN'T HAVE HOMES, OR FUNERALS, OR LONG GOODBYES.
HE IS TELLING US THAT WE CANNOT USE POWER OR COERCION TO SPREAD THE GOSPEL. IT IS OUR JOB TO PREACH THE GOSPEL. IF THE SAMARITANS REJECT US, OR THE VILLAGERS WHO WITNESSED THE DEMONS ENTERING THE SWINE AND CAUSING THEM TO DIVE INTO THE SEA BEG US TO LEAVE, WE HAVE DONE OUR PART, THE REST IS UP TO THE HOLY SPIRIT. BUT IF WE DO NOT PREACH THE GOSPEL, THEN WE HAVE FAILED.
HE IS TELLING US THAT A DISCIPLE SHOULD BE AT HOME WHEREVER HE FINDS HIMSELF; OR PERHAPS HE SHOULD NOT BE AT HOME EVEN IN HIS OWN HOME. A DISCIPLE SHOULD HAVE HIS EYES FIXED ON THAT HEAVENLY HOME, WHERE HE TRULY BELONGS. THIS WORLD SHOULD NEVER BE THE BE ALL AND END ALL OF LIFE.
AT A TIME WHERE IT WAS A SACRED OBLIGATION TO BURY THE DEAD, HE IS TELLING US THAT A DISCIPLE NEEDS TO BE AWARE THAT TRADITIONS AND HABITS AND PERSONAL BELIEFS CAN GET IN THE WAY OF GOSPEL LIVING. SOMETIMES WE NEED TO STEP BACK AND ASK WHAT IS OF GOD AND WHAT IS NOT. THE PHARISEES BEGAN WELL, AND HAD GOOD REASONS FOR WHAT THEY DID. BUT AFTER A TIME, DOING WHAT THEY DID BECAME REASON ENOUGH, AND THEY ENDED UP PRISONERS OF RITUALS AND RULES TO THE POINT WHERE THEY HURT THEMSELVES AND THOSE AROUND THEM WITH THEIR RIGID LEGALISM.
AND HE IS TELLING US THAT WE HAVE TO BEWARE OF EXCUSES, THE EXCUSES OTHERS MAKE FOR US AND THOSE WE MAKE FOR OURSELVES. BUT FIRST LET ME SAY FAREWELL TO MY FAMILY; I'LL GET INVOLVED WHEN THE KIDS FINALLY LEAVE HOME; I'M GOING TO GET INTO SOME SORT OF MINISTRY AFTER I RETIRE; I REALLY WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MY FAITH, BUT I'M TOO BUSY NOW. SOMEONE WHO PLOWED IN THE DAYS OF JESUS AND EVEN NOW HAS TO AIM THE PLOW TOWARDS A POINT ON THE HORIZON; YOU HAVE TO DO THAT OR THE FURROW YOU CREATE WILL BE CROOKED AND WANDER ALL OVER THE PLACE. WITH EVERYTHING WE DO, WE NEED TO KEEP OUR EYES FIXED ON JESUS, ON OUR ULTIMATE GOAL, AND ASK HOW WHAT WE ARE DOING IS MOVING US CLOSER TO THE GOAL. IT IS A GREAT WAY TO SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE; JUST STOP DOING ANYTHING THAT ISN'T BRINGING YOU CLOSER TO YOUR SALVATION.
THERE IS A WONDERFUL STORY ABOUT MOTHER THERESA. SHE WAS INVITED TO ATTEND A MEETING IN CALCUTTA OF INDIAN LEADERS. THE SUBJECT WAS HOW TO END HUNGER IN INDIA. AS SHE WAS ABOUT TO ENTER THE BUILDING, SHE SAW A MAN LYING ON THE SIDEWALK, SKIN AND BONES, OBVIOUSLY DYING. SHE GOT ONE OF HER SISTERS AND THEY BROUGHT THE MAN TO HER LITTLE HOSPICE AND TENDED TO HIS NEEDS AND COMFORTED HIM AND FED HIM BITS OF FOOD AND WATER. HE WAS TOO FAR GONE TO RECOVER, AND DIED ABOUT TWO DAYS LATER, AND OF COURSE THE CONFERENCE WAS OVER. ALL THOSE DIGNITARIES HAD PASSED BY THE STARVING MAN IN THEIR HURRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO END HUNGER IN INDIA, BUT MOTHER THERESA KNEW THAT IF YOU WANTED TO END HUNGER, YOU HAD TO FEED THE HUNGRY THAT YOU FOUND; NO EXCUSES. SHE KEPT HER EYES ON THE POINT ON THE HORIZON.
THIS WEEK WE CELEBRATE OUR WONDERFUL COUNTRY. WE SEE, UNFORTUNATELY, THAT IN MANY WAYS SHE IS NOT PERFECT, SHE IS GOING ASTRAY. ISSUES OF MORALITY, ISSUES OF EQUALITY, OF SO MANY UNMET NEEDS AND WASTING OF RESOURCES THREATEN WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN US. RELIGION AND PATRIOTISM ARE ALIKE IN THAT BOTH BEGIN WITH HAPPY EMOTIONS BUT BOTH END UP EXPECTING SOMETHING FROM US IN RETURN. SO LET US PRAY THAT OUR COUNTRY GO BACK TO BEING THAT BEACON, THAT EXAMPLE TO THE WORLD THAT IT WAS MEANT TO BE.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Feast of John the Baptist
JOHN THE BAPTIST
THE CHURCH CELEBRATES THE BIRTH OF THREE PEOPLE, OUT OF ALL THE SAINTS AND APOSTLES. THESE WERE JESUS, MARY, AND JOHN THE BAPTIST. WE CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND JESUS AND MARY, BUT WHY JOHN THE BAPTIST? AND WHY IS THAT BIRTH CELEBRATED AT ALMOST THE EXACT TIME THAT THE DAYS BEGIN TO GET SHORTER?
JESUS AND MARY AND JOHN HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON. ALL WERE BORN WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN. JESUS BECAUSE HE WAS GOD, AND GOD CAN HAVE NO PART OF SIN; MARY, BECAUSE FROM THE MOMENT OF CONCEPTION THE SAVING GRACES OF JESUS WERE APPLIED, AND SHE WAS CONCEIVED WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN; AND JOHN, WHOM THE CHURCH TEACHES WAS CLEANSED FROM ORIGINAL SIN IN HIS MOTHER'S WOMB. THE NAME JOHN IN HEBREW MEANS “FAVORED OF GOD” -- NOT TOO DIFFERENT FROM THE GREETING OF THE ANGEL TO MARY AT THE ANNUNCIATION.
JESUS ONCE REFERRED TO JOHN AS THE GREATEST MAN EVER BORN OF WOMAN UP TO THAT TIME. HIS FATHER, INSPIRED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, SAID THAT HE WOULD BE THE PROPHET OF THE MOST HIGH.
MOST OF US, WHEN WE THINK OF JOHN, REMEMBER THAT HE LEAPED IN HIS MOTHER'S WOMB WHEN MARY, PREGNANT WITH JESUS, CAME TO VISIT ELIZABETH. WE REMEMBER THAT JOHN CAME OUT OF THE DESERT WEARING CAMEL'S HAIR AND EATING LOCUSTS AND HONEY; WE REMEMBER THAT HE WAS A FIERY, AND PERHAPS VERY TROUBLING PREACHER, WHO WAS NEVER AFRAID TO SPEAK THE TRUTH – AND IN FACT, THAT IS WHY HE WAS PUT TO DEATH – BECAUSE HE CONDEMNED HEROD FOR MARRYING HIS BROTHER'S WIFE. JOHN SEEMS TO BE A DISTANT, COLD, ECCENTRIC FIGURE, AND HE SEEMS HARD TO LOVE, HARD TO RELATE TO.
SO WHAT ARE WE TO MAKE OF THIS JOHN THE BAPTIST, WHOM THE CHURCH DIRECTS US TO HONOR TODAY, TO THE POINT WHERE HIS FEAST SUPERSEDES THE REGULAR SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME THAT WE WOULD NORMALLY CELEBRATE TODAY?
MAYBE OUR IMPRESSION OF JOHN IS NOT ACCURATE. AFTER ALL, HE HAD NO TROUBLE ATTRACTING FOLLOWERS. SEVERAL OF THE APOSTLES WHO FOLLOWED JESUS HAD ORIGINALLY FOLLOWED JOHN, ANDREW AMONG THEM. IN THE DAYS OF THE EARLY CHURCH, WE SEE THE APOSTLES LIKE PAUL WHO WERE OUT ON MISSION, RUNNING ACROSS PEOPLE WHO WERE FOLLOWERS OF JOHN, WHO HAD BEEN BAPTIZED BY JOHN, BUT DID NOT KNOW THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS. THE SCRIPTURES TELL US THAT EVEN THOUGH JOHN TOLD HEROD THAT HE WAS LIVING IN SIN TO HAVE MARRIED HIS BROTHER'S WIFE, HEROD LIKED TO LISTEN TO JOHN. JOHN MUST HAVE BEEN A VERY CHARISMATIC FIGURE WHO CHANGED THE HEARTS OF MANY PEOPLE, WHO REKINDLED THEIR DESIRE TO SERVE GOD. AND HUMANLY SPEAKING, JOHN PREPARED THE SOIL FOR JESUS; PEOPLE WHO LISTENED TO JOHN, WHO REFORMED THEIR LIVES ACCORDING TO JOHN'S PROPHETIC PREACHING, WERE READY FOR JESUS.
MARY WAS THE ONE WHO GAVE JESUS A BODY, AND WHO FORMED HIS MIND AND CONSCIENCE AFTER HE WAS BORN. JOHN WAS THE ONE WHO PREPARED A PORTION OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE TO BECOME THE CHURCH IN RESPONSE TO JESUS' ACTION. THE CHURCH HAS NEVER FORGOTTEN.
SO WHAT SHOULD WE THINK ABOUT ON THIS FEAST OF THE GREATEST OF MEN BORN OF WOMEN UP UNTIL THE TIME OF JESUS?
WE SHOULD REMEMBER HIS PREACHING – HE PREACHED THAT WE SHOULD CHANGE OUR LIVES, WE SHOULD REPENT OF OUR SINS, IN ORDER TO PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD. I ALWAYS LIKED THE PASSAGE WHERE THE TAX COLLECTORS ASKED HIM, “WHAT THEN SHALL WE DO?” AND HE DID NOT SAY, “GO AND LIVE IN THE DESERT” OR “GIVE UP EVERYTHING” -- HE SAID, TAKE ONLY WHAT YOU ARE ENTITLED TO. AND WHEN THE SOLDIERS ASKED THE SAME QUESTION, HE SAID, “BE CONTENT WITH YOUR SALARY, AND DO NOT EXTORT PEOPLE”. JOHN DID NOT DEMAND THAT HIS FOLLOWERS BE SPIRITUAL ATHLETES; HE MERELY CALLED THEM TO LIVE THEIR STATES OF LIFE AS WELL AS THEY POSSIBLY COULD. THAT IS REPENTANCE, THAT IS A CHANGE OF HEART.
WE SHOULD REMEMBER HIS OBEDIENCE – WHEN JESUS CAME DOWN TO BE BAPTIZED, JOHN SAID, “YOU SHOULD BE THE ONE BAPTIZING ME”. AND JESUS COMMANDED HIM TO BAPTIZE HIM ANYWAY.
WE SHOULD REMEMBER WHAT JOHN SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES WHEN JESUS PASSED BY – BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD” AND “HE MUST INCREASE, I MUST DECREASE.” JOHN KNEW HIS ROLE IN RELATIONSHIP TO GOD; HE WAS SECONDARY, HE WAS NOT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE; HE WAS A SERVANT, HIS LIFE MEANT NOTHING UNLESS HE DID GOD'S WILL.
AND WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT JOHN WAS NOT AFRAID OF SPEAKING THE TRUTH, EVEN TO SOMEONE WHO HAD THE POWER TO TAKE HIS LIFE. IF JOHN LIVED TODAY, ITS HARD TO BELIEVE HE WOULD BE SILENT, LIKE WE CATHOLICS ARE, WHEN OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES PROMOTE HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE AND ABORTION, AND ALLOW PEOPLE TO GO WITHOUT HEALTH CARE AND THE BASIC NECESSITIES OF LIFE IN THE RICHEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. IT MIGHT BE THAT JOHN WOULD BE CRITICIZING US CATHOLICS MORE THAN THE WORLD AT LARGE, BECAUSE WE KNOW BETTER; WE ARE THE ONES WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO BE CHANGING THE WORLD FOR JESUS.
AND PERHAPS WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT JOHN, ESPECIALLY FAVORED BY GOD, CLEANSED FROM SIN IN HIS MOTHER'S WOMB, DESTINED FOR ALL ETERNITY TO PLAY A CENTRAL ROLE IN SALVATION HISTORY, IN THE END WAS LOCKED IN JAIL AND HAD HIS HEAD CHOPPED OFF. AND JESUS DIED ON A CROSS, AND MARY SAW HER ONLY SON PUT TO DEATH, AND MOST OF THE APOSTLES WERE EXECUTED, AND OUR ANCESTORS IN THE EARLY CHURCH FREQUENTLY DIED BY BEING BURNED, OR CRUCIFIED, OR THROWN TO THE LIONS. BEING A FAVORED ONE OF GOD IS NOT THE SAME THING AS BEING A FAVORED ONE IN THE WORLD. IN FACT, SOMETIMES I THINK THAT WHEN WE ARE NOT BEING PERSECUTED, WHEN WE DO NOT HAVE A CROSS TO CARRY, MAYBE THAT IS A SIGN THAT WE ARE NOT ON THE RIGHT TRACK.
JOHN'S BIRTHDAY IS JUST AFTER THE SUMMER SOLSTICE. THAT MEANS THAT FROM NOW ON THERE IS LESS LIGHT EACH DAY, UNTIL CHRISTMAS, WHEN THE DAYLIGHT BEGINS TO INCREASE ONCE AGAIN. JOHN IS THE LAST OF THE GREAT PROPHETS, AND HE ENDS THAT AGE AS HE PREPARES THE WAY FOR JESUS, WHO ENLIGHTENS THE WORLD WITH NEW LIGHT.
LET US PRAY TODAY TO ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST TO WORK AMONG US AND ONCE AGAIN PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD.
THE CHURCH CELEBRATES THE BIRTH OF THREE PEOPLE, OUT OF ALL THE SAINTS AND APOSTLES. THESE WERE JESUS, MARY, AND JOHN THE BAPTIST. WE CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND JESUS AND MARY, BUT WHY JOHN THE BAPTIST? AND WHY IS THAT BIRTH CELEBRATED AT ALMOST THE EXACT TIME THAT THE DAYS BEGIN TO GET SHORTER?
JESUS AND MARY AND JOHN HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON. ALL WERE BORN WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN. JESUS BECAUSE HE WAS GOD, AND GOD CAN HAVE NO PART OF SIN; MARY, BECAUSE FROM THE MOMENT OF CONCEPTION THE SAVING GRACES OF JESUS WERE APPLIED, AND SHE WAS CONCEIVED WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN; AND JOHN, WHOM THE CHURCH TEACHES WAS CLEANSED FROM ORIGINAL SIN IN HIS MOTHER'S WOMB. THE NAME JOHN IN HEBREW MEANS “FAVORED OF GOD” -- NOT TOO DIFFERENT FROM THE GREETING OF THE ANGEL TO MARY AT THE ANNUNCIATION.
JESUS ONCE REFERRED TO JOHN AS THE GREATEST MAN EVER BORN OF WOMAN UP TO THAT TIME. HIS FATHER, INSPIRED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, SAID THAT HE WOULD BE THE PROPHET OF THE MOST HIGH.
MOST OF US, WHEN WE THINK OF JOHN, REMEMBER THAT HE LEAPED IN HIS MOTHER'S WOMB WHEN MARY, PREGNANT WITH JESUS, CAME TO VISIT ELIZABETH. WE REMEMBER THAT JOHN CAME OUT OF THE DESERT WEARING CAMEL'S HAIR AND EATING LOCUSTS AND HONEY; WE REMEMBER THAT HE WAS A FIERY, AND PERHAPS VERY TROUBLING PREACHER, WHO WAS NEVER AFRAID TO SPEAK THE TRUTH – AND IN FACT, THAT IS WHY HE WAS PUT TO DEATH – BECAUSE HE CONDEMNED HEROD FOR MARRYING HIS BROTHER'S WIFE. JOHN SEEMS TO BE A DISTANT, COLD, ECCENTRIC FIGURE, AND HE SEEMS HARD TO LOVE, HARD TO RELATE TO.
SO WHAT ARE WE TO MAKE OF THIS JOHN THE BAPTIST, WHOM THE CHURCH DIRECTS US TO HONOR TODAY, TO THE POINT WHERE HIS FEAST SUPERSEDES THE REGULAR SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME THAT WE WOULD NORMALLY CELEBRATE TODAY?
MAYBE OUR IMPRESSION OF JOHN IS NOT ACCURATE. AFTER ALL, HE HAD NO TROUBLE ATTRACTING FOLLOWERS. SEVERAL OF THE APOSTLES WHO FOLLOWED JESUS HAD ORIGINALLY FOLLOWED JOHN, ANDREW AMONG THEM. IN THE DAYS OF THE EARLY CHURCH, WE SEE THE APOSTLES LIKE PAUL WHO WERE OUT ON MISSION, RUNNING ACROSS PEOPLE WHO WERE FOLLOWERS OF JOHN, WHO HAD BEEN BAPTIZED BY JOHN, BUT DID NOT KNOW THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS. THE SCRIPTURES TELL US THAT EVEN THOUGH JOHN TOLD HEROD THAT HE WAS LIVING IN SIN TO HAVE MARRIED HIS BROTHER'S WIFE, HEROD LIKED TO LISTEN TO JOHN. JOHN MUST HAVE BEEN A VERY CHARISMATIC FIGURE WHO CHANGED THE HEARTS OF MANY PEOPLE, WHO REKINDLED THEIR DESIRE TO SERVE GOD. AND HUMANLY SPEAKING, JOHN PREPARED THE SOIL FOR JESUS; PEOPLE WHO LISTENED TO JOHN, WHO REFORMED THEIR LIVES ACCORDING TO JOHN'S PROPHETIC PREACHING, WERE READY FOR JESUS.
MARY WAS THE ONE WHO GAVE JESUS A BODY, AND WHO FORMED HIS MIND AND CONSCIENCE AFTER HE WAS BORN. JOHN WAS THE ONE WHO PREPARED A PORTION OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE TO BECOME THE CHURCH IN RESPONSE TO JESUS' ACTION. THE CHURCH HAS NEVER FORGOTTEN.
SO WHAT SHOULD WE THINK ABOUT ON THIS FEAST OF THE GREATEST OF MEN BORN OF WOMEN UP UNTIL THE TIME OF JESUS?
WE SHOULD REMEMBER HIS PREACHING – HE PREACHED THAT WE SHOULD CHANGE OUR LIVES, WE SHOULD REPENT OF OUR SINS, IN ORDER TO PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD. I ALWAYS LIKED THE PASSAGE WHERE THE TAX COLLECTORS ASKED HIM, “WHAT THEN SHALL WE DO?” AND HE DID NOT SAY, “GO AND LIVE IN THE DESERT” OR “GIVE UP EVERYTHING” -- HE SAID, TAKE ONLY WHAT YOU ARE ENTITLED TO. AND WHEN THE SOLDIERS ASKED THE SAME QUESTION, HE SAID, “BE CONTENT WITH YOUR SALARY, AND DO NOT EXTORT PEOPLE”. JOHN DID NOT DEMAND THAT HIS FOLLOWERS BE SPIRITUAL ATHLETES; HE MERELY CALLED THEM TO LIVE THEIR STATES OF LIFE AS WELL AS THEY POSSIBLY COULD. THAT IS REPENTANCE, THAT IS A CHANGE OF HEART.
WE SHOULD REMEMBER HIS OBEDIENCE – WHEN JESUS CAME DOWN TO BE BAPTIZED, JOHN SAID, “YOU SHOULD BE THE ONE BAPTIZING ME”. AND JESUS COMMANDED HIM TO BAPTIZE HIM ANYWAY.
WE SHOULD REMEMBER WHAT JOHN SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES WHEN JESUS PASSED BY – BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD” AND “HE MUST INCREASE, I MUST DECREASE.” JOHN KNEW HIS ROLE IN RELATIONSHIP TO GOD; HE WAS SECONDARY, HE WAS NOT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE; HE WAS A SERVANT, HIS LIFE MEANT NOTHING UNLESS HE DID GOD'S WILL.
AND WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT JOHN WAS NOT AFRAID OF SPEAKING THE TRUTH, EVEN TO SOMEONE WHO HAD THE POWER TO TAKE HIS LIFE. IF JOHN LIVED TODAY, ITS HARD TO BELIEVE HE WOULD BE SILENT, LIKE WE CATHOLICS ARE, WHEN OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES PROMOTE HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE AND ABORTION, AND ALLOW PEOPLE TO GO WITHOUT HEALTH CARE AND THE BASIC NECESSITIES OF LIFE IN THE RICHEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. IT MIGHT BE THAT JOHN WOULD BE CRITICIZING US CATHOLICS MORE THAN THE WORLD AT LARGE, BECAUSE WE KNOW BETTER; WE ARE THE ONES WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO BE CHANGING THE WORLD FOR JESUS.
AND PERHAPS WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT JOHN, ESPECIALLY FAVORED BY GOD, CLEANSED FROM SIN IN HIS MOTHER'S WOMB, DESTINED FOR ALL ETERNITY TO PLAY A CENTRAL ROLE IN SALVATION HISTORY, IN THE END WAS LOCKED IN JAIL AND HAD HIS HEAD CHOPPED OFF. AND JESUS DIED ON A CROSS, AND MARY SAW HER ONLY SON PUT TO DEATH, AND MOST OF THE APOSTLES WERE EXECUTED, AND OUR ANCESTORS IN THE EARLY CHURCH FREQUENTLY DIED BY BEING BURNED, OR CRUCIFIED, OR THROWN TO THE LIONS. BEING A FAVORED ONE OF GOD IS NOT THE SAME THING AS BEING A FAVORED ONE IN THE WORLD. IN FACT, SOMETIMES I THINK THAT WHEN WE ARE NOT BEING PERSECUTED, WHEN WE DO NOT HAVE A CROSS TO CARRY, MAYBE THAT IS A SIGN THAT WE ARE NOT ON THE RIGHT TRACK.
JOHN'S BIRTHDAY IS JUST AFTER THE SUMMER SOLSTICE. THAT MEANS THAT FROM NOW ON THERE IS LESS LIGHT EACH DAY, UNTIL CHRISTMAS, WHEN THE DAYLIGHT BEGINS TO INCREASE ONCE AGAIN. JOHN IS THE LAST OF THE GREAT PROPHETS, AND HE ENDS THAT AGE AS HE PREPARES THE WAY FOR JESUS, WHO ENLIGHTENS THE WORLD WITH NEW LIGHT.
LET US PRAY TODAY TO ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST TO WORK AMONG US AND ONCE AGAIN PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
11th Sunday of Ordinary Time, cycle C
11TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, CYCLE C
LUKE 7:36 – 8:3
THE FIRST THING TO GET STRAIGHT ABOUT THIS GOSPEL PASSAGE IS THAT SIMON THE PHARISEE IS A GOOD GUY. PHARISEES CAME IN A VARIETY OF TYPES. THERE WERE THOSE WE MEET IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN WHO ARE ALWAYS TRYING TO TRIP JESUS UP, AND WHEN THEY CAN'T THEY PLOT TO HAVE HIM KILLED. WE MEET OTHER PHARISEES LIKE PAUL WHO PROBABLY DID MORE TO BUILD UP THE EARLY CHURCH THAN ANY OTHER PERSON, AND EVEN LONG AFTER HE WAS A CHRISTIAN, HE CONTINUED TO BE PROUD OF THE FACT THAT HE HAD BEEN A PHARISEE. AND THEN THERE WERE ALL OF THOSE IN THE MIDDLE SOMEWHERE.
THE DISTINGUISHING THING ABOUT PHARISEES WAS THAT THEY PUBLICLY LIVED THE LAW. THEY KNEW EVERYTHING REQUIRED OF A GOOD JEW AND THEY DID IT, AND DID IT IN SPADES. IF THE LAW SAID TO WEAR A SHAWL WITH TASSELS ON IT WHILE YOU PRAYED, THEY DID, AND WORE AN EXTRA LONG ONE. THEY ACTED IN SUCH A WAY BECAUSE THEY SAW THEMSELVES AS PEOPLE CALLED TO GIVE EXAMPLE TO THEIR FELLOW JEWS. AND OF COURSE SOME GOT TO THE POINT WHERE THEY FORGOT THEIR ORIGINS, WHERE THEY BEGAN TO TAKE PRIDE IN HOW WELL THEY PRACTICED THE LAW; WHERE THEY BECAME HYPOCRITES.
BUT HERE IS SIMON. HE IS KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE. HE ISN'T ONE OF THOSE EXTREME PHARISEES WHO WON'T EVEN EAT SUPPER WITH SOMEONE WHO IS NOT A PHARISEE; AND YET HE ISN'T LAX, EITHER. AND HE INVITES JESUS TO SUPPER, PROBABLY SINCERELY, PROBABLY OUT OF GENEROSITY – BUT HE ISN'T GOING TO GO TO GREAT LENGTHS HERE; AFTER ALL, JESUS IS NOT A PHARISEE; JESUS HAS ALREADY SCANDALIZED THE ESTABLISHMENT; AND SIMON HAS HIS REPUTATION TO THINK ABOUT. SO HE IS TORN – HE WANTS TO HAVE SUPPER AND CONVERSATION WITH THIS FASCINATING MAN, JESUS, BUT HE DOESN'T WANT PEOPLE TO THINK HE WELCOMES JESUS WITH OPEN ARMS. SO HE SETS A VERY CASUAL TABLE – MORE OF A LUNCH; AND DOES NOT OFFER JESUS THE SIGNS OF HOSPITALITY THAT WERE REQUIRED OF A HOST GIVING A FORMAL DINNER.
THERE IS ANOTHER THING ABOUT SIMON. HE BELIEVES THAT BY FOLLOWING THE LAW REALLY WELL, HE WILL BE SAVED. JESUS MAY BE AN INTERESTING PREACHER, AND THE MIRACLES HE WORKED WERE IMPRESSIVE; BUT SIMON HAS NO NEED OF A SAVIOUR. HE CAN GET TO HEAVEN ON HIS OWN.
JESUS SAYS TO SIMON, “DO YOU SEE THIS WOMAN?” AND WE ALSO LOOK AT HER. EVERYONE KNOWS SHE IS A SINNER. WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT MEANS? I THINK IF WE WERE TO TAKE A POLL, WE WOULD HAVE A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE IN THIS CHURCH WHO WOULD NAME THE SIN. SHE SELLS HERSELF FOR MONEY! IN FACT, DOWN THROUGH THE AGES, THOSE WHO COMMENTED ON THIS GOSPEL GENERALLY CONCLUDE THAT THIS IS THE CASE. BUT IT DOESN'T SAY. AND IN JESUS' TIME THERE WERE OTHER WAYS TO BE A PUBLIC SINNER. YOU MIGHT BE MARRIED TO A GENTILE. THAT GOT YOU THE LABEL. YOU MIGHT BE SOMEONE'S TROPHY WIFE, BECAUSE IN THOSE DAYS YOU COULD TAKE A SECOND WIFE IF YOU COULD AFFORD IT, WHILE KEEPING THE FIRST WIFE. YOU MIGHT EVEN BE SOMEONE WHO NEVER MARRIED, AND RAN HER OWN BUSINESS. YOU SEE, IT DIDN'T TAKE MUCH TO BE LABELED A SINNER. BUT THE REAL POINT IS THAT THIS WOMAN WAS ISOLATED, SHUNNED BY POLITE COMPANY; AND THE WHOLE SOCIETY HAS TOLD HER THAT SHE IS BEYOND REDEMPTION; THERE IS NO WAY SHE WILL ESCAPE TORMENT IN THE LIFE TO COME. AND SHE TOO HAS HEARD ABOUT JESUS, AND SHE MAKES THIS DRAMATIC ENTRANCE AND PERFORMS THOSE STRANGE ACTIONS BECAUSE SHE HAS FOUND ONE PERSON WHO ACCEPTS HER, WHO SEES BEYOND HER LABEL, WHO FORGIVES HER. ISN'T IT INTERESTING THAT JESUS DOES NOT SAY “I FORGIVE YOU” BUT SAYS, “YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN” AND EXPLAINS THAT IT IS BECAUSE OF HER GREAT LOVE. SIMON THINKS HE DOESN'T NEED A SAVIOR. THIS WOMAN KNOWS SHE NEEDS ONE.
AND THAT IS THE POINT OF THE STORY JESUS TELLS. IF YOU ARE THE RECIPIENT OF FORGIVENESS, YOU LOVE IN PROPORTION TO THAT FORGIVENESS. SIMON LOVES A LITTLE, BUT NOT MUCH; HE IS HELD DOWN BY HIS SOCIAL POSITION AND BY HIS OWN BELIEF THAT AS LONG AS HE LIVES THE LAW, HE'LL BE FINE. JESUS COMES TO SIMON, BUT IT DOESN'T APPEAR THAT IT DID SIMON MUCH GOOD. THE WOMAN LOVES GREATLY, AND DEMONSTRATES THIS LOVE – IT ISN'T JUST LIP SERVICE. SHE KNOWS THAT NO MATTER WHAT SHE DOES, SHE WILL STILL BE A SINNER; SHE KNOWS THAT IT ISN'T IN HER POWER TO BECOME RIGHTEOUS. SHE KNOWS THAT SHE NEEDS FORGIVENESS, SHE NEEDS A SAVIOR.
IT SEEMS THAT THERE ARE AT LEAST TWO TAKE-HOME POINTS HERE. THE FIRST IS THE IMPACT OF FORGIVENESS; SIMON CONDEMNS, JESUS PRONOUNCES FORGIVENESS. HAD SIMON HAD HIS WAY, THE WOMAN WOULD HAVE BEEN THROWN OUT IN THE STREET, BACK TO HER ISOLATION, BACK TO HER BROKEN LIFE, WITH NO HOPE OF GETTING OUT OF IT. ARE WE, BY FAILING TO FORGIVE, CONDEMNING OTHERS TO HURT THAT DOESN'T NEED TO BE, TO ISOLATION THAT WE COULD EASILY FIX? THE SECOND IS THAT WE AREN'T GOING TO GET CLOSE TO JESUS UNLESS WE REALIZE, DEEP IN OUR BEINGS, THAT WE NEED A SAVIOR. AND PERHAPS IT IS A GOOD TIME TO ASK YOURSELF, REALLY AND TRULY, WHETHER YOU BELIEVE YOU NEED SAVING. A LOT OF CATHOLICS ARE LIKE SIMON; THEY BELIEVE AS LONG AS THEY FOLLOW THE RULES, AVOID SERIOUS SIN, AND COME TO MASS ON SUNDAY, THINGS WILL WORK OUT. DEEP IN THEIR HEARTS THEY DON'T BELIEVE THEY ARE SINNERS, THEY DON'T BELIEVE THERE IS MUCH TO FORGIVE IN THEIR LIVES. AND THE LAST POINT IS THAT GENEROSITY AND FORGIVENESS AND LOVE ARE ALL TIED TOGETHER. JESUS MAKES IT CLEAR THAT SIMON, WHO HAS SHOWN ONLY A LITTLE GENEROSITY, WHO HAS DEMONSTRATED ONLY A LITTLE LOVE, WILL CONTINUE WITH THE BURDEN OF HIS OWN SINS, WHEREAS THE WOMAN, WHO DID THE OPPOSITE, CAN WALK AWAY KNOWING THAT SHE IS FREE OF HER SINS, EVEN IF PEOPLE STILL CALL HER A SINNER.
LET US LOOK AT OUR LIVES, AT OUR GENEROSITY, AT OUT LOVE. LET US BE CONSCIOUS OF THE FACT THAT NO MATTER HOW GOOD WE THINK WE ARE, NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE DO FOR OUR CHURCH OR OUR NEIGHBOR, NOTHING WE DO IS GOING TO SAVE US. WE ALL NEED A SAVIOR. AND LET US ASK HOW WE ARE LOVING – LIKE SIMON? OR LIKE THE WOMAN KNOWN AS A SINNER.
LUKE 7:36 – 8:3
THE FIRST THING TO GET STRAIGHT ABOUT THIS GOSPEL PASSAGE IS THAT SIMON THE PHARISEE IS A GOOD GUY. PHARISEES CAME IN A VARIETY OF TYPES. THERE WERE THOSE WE MEET IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN WHO ARE ALWAYS TRYING TO TRIP JESUS UP, AND WHEN THEY CAN'T THEY PLOT TO HAVE HIM KILLED. WE MEET OTHER PHARISEES LIKE PAUL WHO PROBABLY DID MORE TO BUILD UP THE EARLY CHURCH THAN ANY OTHER PERSON, AND EVEN LONG AFTER HE WAS A CHRISTIAN, HE CONTINUED TO BE PROUD OF THE FACT THAT HE HAD BEEN A PHARISEE. AND THEN THERE WERE ALL OF THOSE IN THE MIDDLE SOMEWHERE.
THE DISTINGUISHING THING ABOUT PHARISEES WAS THAT THEY PUBLICLY LIVED THE LAW. THEY KNEW EVERYTHING REQUIRED OF A GOOD JEW AND THEY DID IT, AND DID IT IN SPADES. IF THE LAW SAID TO WEAR A SHAWL WITH TASSELS ON IT WHILE YOU PRAYED, THEY DID, AND WORE AN EXTRA LONG ONE. THEY ACTED IN SUCH A WAY BECAUSE THEY SAW THEMSELVES AS PEOPLE CALLED TO GIVE EXAMPLE TO THEIR FELLOW JEWS. AND OF COURSE SOME GOT TO THE POINT WHERE THEY FORGOT THEIR ORIGINS, WHERE THEY BEGAN TO TAKE PRIDE IN HOW WELL THEY PRACTICED THE LAW; WHERE THEY BECAME HYPOCRITES.
BUT HERE IS SIMON. HE IS KIND OF IN THE MIDDLE. HE ISN'T ONE OF THOSE EXTREME PHARISEES WHO WON'T EVEN EAT SUPPER WITH SOMEONE WHO IS NOT A PHARISEE; AND YET HE ISN'T LAX, EITHER. AND HE INVITES JESUS TO SUPPER, PROBABLY SINCERELY, PROBABLY OUT OF GENEROSITY – BUT HE ISN'T GOING TO GO TO GREAT LENGTHS HERE; AFTER ALL, JESUS IS NOT A PHARISEE; JESUS HAS ALREADY SCANDALIZED THE ESTABLISHMENT; AND SIMON HAS HIS REPUTATION TO THINK ABOUT. SO HE IS TORN – HE WANTS TO HAVE SUPPER AND CONVERSATION WITH THIS FASCINATING MAN, JESUS, BUT HE DOESN'T WANT PEOPLE TO THINK HE WELCOMES JESUS WITH OPEN ARMS. SO HE SETS A VERY CASUAL TABLE – MORE OF A LUNCH; AND DOES NOT OFFER JESUS THE SIGNS OF HOSPITALITY THAT WERE REQUIRED OF A HOST GIVING A FORMAL DINNER.
THERE IS ANOTHER THING ABOUT SIMON. HE BELIEVES THAT BY FOLLOWING THE LAW REALLY WELL, HE WILL BE SAVED. JESUS MAY BE AN INTERESTING PREACHER, AND THE MIRACLES HE WORKED WERE IMPRESSIVE; BUT SIMON HAS NO NEED OF A SAVIOUR. HE CAN GET TO HEAVEN ON HIS OWN.
JESUS SAYS TO SIMON, “DO YOU SEE THIS WOMAN?” AND WE ALSO LOOK AT HER. EVERYONE KNOWS SHE IS A SINNER. WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT MEANS? I THINK IF WE WERE TO TAKE A POLL, WE WOULD HAVE A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE IN THIS CHURCH WHO WOULD NAME THE SIN. SHE SELLS HERSELF FOR MONEY! IN FACT, DOWN THROUGH THE AGES, THOSE WHO COMMENTED ON THIS GOSPEL GENERALLY CONCLUDE THAT THIS IS THE CASE. BUT IT DOESN'T SAY. AND IN JESUS' TIME THERE WERE OTHER WAYS TO BE A PUBLIC SINNER. YOU MIGHT BE MARRIED TO A GENTILE. THAT GOT YOU THE LABEL. YOU MIGHT BE SOMEONE'S TROPHY WIFE, BECAUSE IN THOSE DAYS YOU COULD TAKE A SECOND WIFE IF YOU COULD AFFORD IT, WHILE KEEPING THE FIRST WIFE. YOU MIGHT EVEN BE SOMEONE WHO NEVER MARRIED, AND RAN HER OWN BUSINESS. YOU SEE, IT DIDN'T TAKE MUCH TO BE LABELED A SINNER. BUT THE REAL POINT IS THAT THIS WOMAN WAS ISOLATED, SHUNNED BY POLITE COMPANY; AND THE WHOLE SOCIETY HAS TOLD HER THAT SHE IS BEYOND REDEMPTION; THERE IS NO WAY SHE WILL ESCAPE TORMENT IN THE LIFE TO COME. AND SHE TOO HAS HEARD ABOUT JESUS, AND SHE MAKES THIS DRAMATIC ENTRANCE AND PERFORMS THOSE STRANGE ACTIONS BECAUSE SHE HAS FOUND ONE PERSON WHO ACCEPTS HER, WHO SEES BEYOND HER LABEL, WHO FORGIVES HER. ISN'T IT INTERESTING THAT JESUS DOES NOT SAY “I FORGIVE YOU” BUT SAYS, “YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN” AND EXPLAINS THAT IT IS BECAUSE OF HER GREAT LOVE. SIMON THINKS HE DOESN'T NEED A SAVIOR. THIS WOMAN KNOWS SHE NEEDS ONE.
AND THAT IS THE POINT OF THE STORY JESUS TELLS. IF YOU ARE THE RECIPIENT OF FORGIVENESS, YOU LOVE IN PROPORTION TO THAT FORGIVENESS. SIMON LOVES A LITTLE, BUT NOT MUCH; HE IS HELD DOWN BY HIS SOCIAL POSITION AND BY HIS OWN BELIEF THAT AS LONG AS HE LIVES THE LAW, HE'LL BE FINE. JESUS COMES TO SIMON, BUT IT DOESN'T APPEAR THAT IT DID SIMON MUCH GOOD. THE WOMAN LOVES GREATLY, AND DEMONSTRATES THIS LOVE – IT ISN'T JUST LIP SERVICE. SHE KNOWS THAT NO MATTER WHAT SHE DOES, SHE WILL STILL BE A SINNER; SHE KNOWS THAT IT ISN'T IN HER POWER TO BECOME RIGHTEOUS. SHE KNOWS THAT SHE NEEDS FORGIVENESS, SHE NEEDS A SAVIOR.
IT SEEMS THAT THERE ARE AT LEAST TWO TAKE-HOME POINTS HERE. THE FIRST IS THE IMPACT OF FORGIVENESS; SIMON CONDEMNS, JESUS PRONOUNCES FORGIVENESS. HAD SIMON HAD HIS WAY, THE WOMAN WOULD HAVE BEEN THROWN OUT IN THE STREET, BACK TO HER ISOLATION, BACK TO HER BROKEN LIFE, WITH NO HOPE OF GETTING OUT OF IT. ARE WE, BY FAILING TO FORGIVE, CONDEMNING OTHERS TO HURT THAT DOESN'T NEED TO BE, TO ISOLATION THAT WE COULD EASILY FIX? THE SECOND IS THAT WE AREN'T GOING TO GET CLOSE TO JESUS UNLESS WE REALIZE, DEEP IN OUR BEINGS, THAT WE NEED A SAVIOR. AND PERHAPS IT IS A GOOD TIME TO ASK YOURSELF, REALLY AND TRULY, WHETHER YOU BELIEVE YOU NEED SAVING. A LOT OF CATHOLICS ARE LIKE SIMON; THEY BELIEVE AS LONG AS THEY FOLLOW THE RULES, AVOID SERIOUS SIN, AND COME TO MASS ON SUNDAY, THINGS WILL WORK OUT. DEEP IN THEIR HEARTS THEY DON'T BELIEVE THEY ARE SINNERS, THEY DON'T BELIEVE THERE IS MUCH TO FORGIVE IN THEIR LIVES. AND THE LAST POINT IS THAT GENEROSITY AND FORGIVENESS AND LOVE ARE ALL TIED TOGETHER. JESUS MAKES IT CLEAR THAT SIMON, WHO HAS SHOWN ONLY A LITTLE GENEROSITY, WHO HAS DEMONSTRATED ONLY A LITTLE LOVE, WILL CONTINUE WITH THE BURDEN OF HIS OWN SINS, WHEREAS THE WOMAN, WHO DID THE OPPOSITE, CAN WALK AWAY KNOWING THAT SHE IS FREE OF HER SINS, EVEN IF PEOPLE STILL CALL HER A SINNER.
LET US LOOK AT OUR LIVES, AT OUR GENEROSITY, AT OUT LOVE. LET US BE CONSCIOUS OF THE FACT THAT NO MATTER HOW GOOD WE THINK WE ARE, NO MATTER HOW MUCH WE DO FOR OUR CHURCH OR OUR NEIGHBOR, NOTHING WE DO IS GOING TO SAVE US. WE ALL NEED A SAVIOR. AND LET US ASK HOW WE ARE LOVING – LIKE SIMON? OR LIKE THE WOMAN KNOWN AS A SINNER.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Corpus Christi (Body of Christ)
A FEW MONTHS UNDER TWO YEARS AGO I WEIGHED 35 POUNDS MORE THAN I DO NOW. MY USUAL PATTERN WAS TO FAST DURING LENT, LOSE MY WEIGHT, THEN GRADUALLY GAIN IT BACK, PLUS A FEW EXTRA POUNDS, BY THE TIME THE NEXT LENT CAME. EVERY DAY I FAITHFULLY EXERCISED BUT IT DIDN'T SEEM TO HELP. FINALLY I DECIDED THAT I JUST HAD TO CHANGE THE WAY I ATE. SO I ELIMINATED BAD THINGS FROM MY DIET. THAT MEANT NO CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES. I DON'T THINK I EVER TURNED DOWN A CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE. THE FIST ONES I REMEMBER EATING WERE WHEN I WAS ABOUT FOUR. WHERE I WORK, THEY ARE ALL OVER THE PLACE, WHENEVER PEOPLE ARE HAVING A MEETING, OR EVEN IN THE CAFETERIA – FRESHLY BAKED, LARGE, SOFT AND CHEWY.
AND WHEN I WENT ON MY DIET, I BEGAN TO FEEL SORRY FOR MYSELF. I WAS A LITTLE ANGRY. IT DIDN'T SEEM FAIR. I COULD GIVE MOST FOOD UP, BUT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES?
BUT THE WEIGHT CAME OFF, AND I FELT BETTER, AND I HAD TO PUT NEW NOTCHES IN MY BELTS. I HAVEN'T EATEN A CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE SINCE THE DAY I STARTED MY DIET.
ITS INTERESTING HOW WE RESENT DOING WHAT IS GOOD FOR US. TELL A SMOKER THAT CIGARETTES ARE BAD FOR HIS HEALTH, AND HE GETS ANGRY. TELL SOMEONE WHO IS OVERWEIGHT THAT HER LIFE COULD BE SO MUCH BETTER IF SHE COULD LOSE WEIGHT AND SHE WILL TELL YOU ITS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, WHICH, I GUESS, IT ISN'T. TELL A COUCH POTATO THAT IF HE DOESN'T GET UP AND GET MOVING, HE'S SETTING HIMSELF UP FOR A HEART ATTACK. THAT WILL MAKE HIM MAD. I KNOW BECAUSE I AM A PHYSICIAN, AND I TELL PEOPLE THESE THINGS AS PART OF MY JOB, AND THEY GET MAD OR MAKE EXCUSES BUT VERY FEW TRY TO CHANGE.
IT IS THE SAME WAY IN OUR SPIRITUAL LIVES. WE CATHOLICS BELIEVE THAT THE HOLY EUCHARIST IS THE SUMMIT OF OUR CHRISTIAN LIVES. WE BELIEVE THAT THE BREAD AND WINE BECOME THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. AND WE BELIEVE THAT JESUS LEFT HIS CHURCH WITH THIS MIRACLE, NOT TO SHOW OFF, NOT TO PROVE HE WAS GOD, BUT BECAUSE OUT OF LOVE FOR US HE WANTED TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO BECOME ONE WITH HIM, NOT JUST IN A SPIRITUAL WAY, BUT IN A WAY THAT ENCOMPASSES ALL OF ME, AND ALL OF HIM. WHEN JESUS IS PRESENT AS EUCHARIST, IT IS HIS BODY AND BLOOD, HIS SOUL, HIS DIVINITY; SINCE HIS DIVINITY IS THERE, SO IS THE FATHER AND THE HOLY SPIRIT. SINCE HIS HUMANITY IS THERE, SO IS EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER BECOME ONE WITH JESUS – HOPEFULLY YOUR ANCESTORS AND MINE; CERTAINLY THE SAINTS, THE BLESSED MOTHER, THE APOSTLES, THE HOLY ANGELS. WHEN WE RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST, WE RECEIVE HEAVEN.
AND MORE THAN THAT. THE EUCHARIST OFFERS US JESUS' OWN STRENGTH, HIS WISDOM, HIS LOVE. THESE ARE ALL THINGS JESUS PROMISED.
BUT ST. THOMAS TELLS US THAT IF A PIECE OF THE EUCHARIST FELL ON THE FLOOR AND WAS EATEN BY A MOUSE, THE ONLY THING THAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THE MOUSE IS THAT HE WOULD GAIN A COUPLE OF CALORIES. THE BENEFITS OF THE EUCHARIST ARE IN DIRECT PROPORTION TO THE PREPARATION AND THE DISPOSITION OF THE PERSON RECEIVING. BECAUSE SO MANY ARE NOT PREPARED AND NOT DISPOSED, THEY NEVER CHANGE, THEY NEVER RECEIVE THE MIRACLES THE EUCHARIST PROMISES. AND OF COURSE WHEN PEOPLE HEAR THAT THEY MAY NOT BE RECEIVING THE EUCHARIST PROPERLY, SOMETIMES THEY GET MAD OR MAKE EXCUSES.
ST. THOMAS TELLS US THAT IF WE WANT TO RECEIVE THE BENEFITS OF THE EUCHARIST, WE MUST NOT BE “FALSE PERSONS”. FALSE PERSONS ARE THOSE WHO SAY ONE THING AND DO ANOTHER. IF WE ARE TO GET THE MOST FROM THE EUCHARIST, WE MUST BE TRYING TO LIVE LIKE JESUS. THE CLOSER WE ARE TO JESUS, THE MORE THE EUCHARIST WILL BENEFIT US. AT THE SAME TIME, TO RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST WITHOUT THOUGHT, TO RECEIVE WHILE WE ARE IN THE STATE OF SIN, TO RECEIVE WITHOUT BELIEF – THEN THE EUCHARIST DOESN'T DO US ANY GOOD AT ALL AND MAY EVEN HARM US. ST. PAUL TELLS US THAT IF WE EAT AND DRINK THE BODY AND BLOOD UNWORTHILY, WE WILL BE EATING AND DRINKING JUDGMENT ON OURSELVES.
NOW YOU AND I KNOW ALL THIS. IF WE ARE HERE SUNDAY AFTER SUNDAY, THERE IS AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT OF US THAT REALIZES THAT SOMETHING SPECIAL GOES ON HERE DURING MASS. BUT SOME OF US NEVER QUITE MAKE IT TO MASS ON TIME. SOME OF US LIKE TO LEAVE EARLY SO AS TO BEAT THE TRAFFIC. SOME OF US READ THE BULLETIN DURING THE PARTS OF THE MASS WE FIND DULL. A LOT OF US DON'T SING, WHICH MEANS THAT WE DON'T PARTICIPATE FULLY. SOME OF US LET OUR MINDS WANDER TO OTHER PLACES AND TIMES.
AND SOME OF US COME TO CHURCH IN BEACH CLOTHES, AND SOME OF US COME TO RECEIVE AND SHOW NO REVERENCE AT ALL FOR THE MIRACLE THAT IS BEFORE US; AND I'VE SEEN PEOPLE RECEIVE WHILE CHEWING GUM.
THIS IS WHAT WE NEED TO DO IF WE ARE TO RECEIVE WORTHILY. FIRST, WE HAVE TO BE FREE FROM MORTAL SIN. IF WE ARE CONSCIOUS OF MORTAL SIN, WE NEED TO GO TO CONFESSION. SECOND, WE HAVE TO BE ENGAGED IN THE MASS. THAT MEANS SINGING, RESPONDING, JOINING OUR VOICES WITH EACH OTHER IN THE COMMON PRAYERS. THIRD, WE NEED TO ACTIVELY BELIEVE. THAT MEANS THAT WE OFFER OURSELVES, OUR JOBS, OUR FAMILIES, OUR TROUBLES, OUR JOYS, WHEN THE PRIEST IS OFFERING THE BREAD AND WINE. WE BELIEVE THAT EVERYTHING WE OFFER IS TRANSFORMED, JUST AS THE BREAD AND WINE ARE TRANSFORMED, AT THE CONSECRATION. THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHO WHO TRANFORMS THE BREAD AND WINE, CAN TRANSFORM EVERYTHING IN OUR LIVES SO THAT IT FULFILLS GOD'S PLAN. AND FINALLY, WHEN WE RECEIVE JESUS IN THE EUCHARIST, WE BELIEVE THAT HE SATISFIES OUR HUNGRY HEART, AS THE SONG GOES. ST. AUGUSTINE SAID THAT OUR HEARTS ARE RESTLESS UNTIL THEY REST IN JESUS. WHEN WE RECEIVE JESUS IN THE EUCHARIST, WE MUST DESIRE THAT HE SATISFY THAT RESTLESSNESS, THAT HE MAKE US MORE LIKE HIMSELF, THAT HE MAKE US MORE THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF HIS FATHER; BECAUSE THAT IS WHY HE GAVE US THE EUCHARIST.
AND PLEASE, BE REVERENT; BOW YOUR HEADS BEFORE YOU RECEIVE. THE HOLY EUCHARIST IS NOT A THING; HE IS ALIVE, HE IS JESUS. HANDLE HIS BODY LIKE YOU WOULD HANDLE A PRECIOUS DIAMOND OR A HELPLESS BABY. AND AFTER YOU FULFILL HIS COMMAND, AFTER YOU EAT HIS BODY AND DRINK HIS BLOOD, REST WITH HIM AWHILE. CLOSE YOUR EYES AND LISTEN; OFFER THE DEEPEST PRAYERS IN YOUR HEART; ASK HIM TO BECOME ONE WITH YOU.
TODAY MY GRANDSON DREW AND MY GRAND DAUGHTER MARYA SQUIRE ARE RECEIVING THEIR FIRST HOLY COMMUNION. THEY ARE INVITING JESUS TO LIVE IN THEM, TO WORK ON THEM, AND TO MAKE THEM INTO SAINTS.
LET US ALL PRAY THAT WE WILL APPROACH THE HOLY EUCHARIST TODAY, AS WE DID SO LONG AGO, WHEN WE RECEIVED OUR FIRST COMMUNION. AND LET US PRAY THAT JESUS THROUGH THIS COMMUNION WILL MAKE US ALL INTO SAINTS.
AND WHEN I WENT ON MY DIET, I BEGAN TO FEEL SORRY FOR MYSELF. I WAS A LITTLE ANGRY. IT DIDN'T SEEM FAIR. I COULD GIVE MOST FOOD UP, BUT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES?
BUT THE WEIGHT CAME OFF, AND I FELT BETTER, AND I HAD TO PUT NEW NOTCHES IN MY BELTS. I HAVEN'T EATEN A CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE SINCE THE DAY I STARTED MY DIET.
ITS INTERESTING HOW WE RESENT DOING WHAT IS GOOD FOR US. TELL A SMOKER THAT CIGARETTES ARE BAD FOR HIS HEALTH, AND HE GETS ANGRY. TELL SOMEONE WHO IS OVERWEIGHT THAT HER LIFE COULD BE SO MUCH BETTER IF SHE COULD LOSE WEIGHT AND SHE WILL TELL YOU ITS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS, WHICH, I GUESS, IT ISN'T. TELL A COUCH POTATO THAT IF HE DOESN'T GET UP AND GET MOVING, HE'S SETTING HIMSELF UP FOR A HEART ATTACK. THAT WILL MAKE HIM MAD. I KNOW BECAUSE I AM A PHYSICIAN, AND I TELL PEOPLE THESE THINGS AS PART OF MY JOB, AND THEY GET MAD OR MAKE EXCUSES BUT VERY FEW TRY TO CHANGE.
IT IS THE SAME WAY IN OUR SPIRITUAL LIVES. WE CATHOLICS BELIEVE THAT THE HOLY EUCHARIST IS THE SUMMIT OF OUR CHRISTIAN LIVES. WE BELIEVE THAT THE BREAD AND WINE BECOME THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. AND WE BELIEVE THAT JESUS LEFT HIS CHURCH WITH THIS MIRACLE, NOT TO SHOW OFF, NOT TO PROVE HE WAS GOD, BUT BECAUSE OUT OF LOVE FOR US HE WANTED TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR US TO BECOME ONE WITH HIM, NOT JUST IN A SPIRITUAL WAY, BUT IN A WAY THAT ENCOMPASSES ALL OF ME, AND ALL OF HIM. WHEN JESUS IS PRESENT AS EUCHARIST, IT IS HIS BODY AND BLOOD, HIS SOUL, HIS DIVINITY; SINCE HIS DIVINITY IS THERE, SO IS THE FATHER AND THE HOLY SPIRIT. SINCE HIS HUMANITY IS THERE, SO IS EVERYONE WHO HAS EVER BECOME ONE WITH JESUS – HOPEFULLY YOUR ANCESTORS AND MINE; CERTAINLY THE SAINTS, THE BLESSED MOTHER, THE APOSTLES, THE HOLY ANGELS. WHEN WE RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST, WE RECEIVE HEAVEN.
AND MORE THAN THAT. THE EUCHARIST OFFERS US JESUS' OWN STRENGTH, HIS WISDOM, HIS LOVE. THESE ARE ALL THINGS JESUS PROMISED.
BUT ST. THOMAS TELLS US THAT IF A PIECE OF THE EUCHARIST FELL ON THE FLOOR AND WAS EATEN BY A MOUSE, THE ONLY THING THAT WOULD HAPPEN TO THE MOUSE IS THAT HE WOULD GAIN A COUPLE OF CALORIES. THE BENEFITS OF THE EUCHARIST ARE IN DIRECT PROPORTION TO THE PREPARATION AND THE DISPOSITION OF THE PERSON RECEIVING. BECAUSE SO MANY ARE NOT PREPARED AND NOT DISPOSED, THEY NEVER CHANGE, THEY NEVER RECEIVE THE MIRACLES THE EUCHARIST PROMISES. AND OF COURSE WHEN PEOPLE HEAR THAT THEY MAY NOT BE RECEIVING THE EUCHARIST PROPERLY, SOMETIMES THEY GET MAD OR MAKE EXCUSES.
ST. THOMAS TELLS US THAT IF WE WANT TO RECEIVE THE BENEFITS OF THE EUCHARIST, WE MUST NOT BE “FALSE PERSONS”. FALSE PERSONS ARE THOSE WHO SAY ONE THING AND DO ANOTHER. IF WE ARE TO GET THE MOST FROM THE EUCHARIST, WE MUST BE TRYING TO LIVE LIKE JESUS. THE CLOSER WE ARE TO JESUS, THE MORE THE EUCHARIST WILL BENEFIT US. AT THE SAME TIME, TO RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST WITHOUT THOUGHT, TO RECEIVE WHILE WE ARE IN THE STATE OF SIN, TO RECEIVE WITHOUT BELIEF – THEN THE EUCHARIST DOESN'T DO US ANY GOOD AT ALL AND MAY EVEN HARM US. ST. PAUL TELLS US THAT IF WE EAT AND DRINK THE BODY AND BLOOD UNWORTHILY, WE WILL BE EATING AND DRINKING JUDGMENT ON OURSELVES.
NOW YOU AND I KNOW ALL THIS. IF WE ARE HERE SUNDAY AFTER SUNDAY, THERE IS AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT OF US THAT REALIZES THAT SOMETHING SPECIAL GOES ON HERE DURING MASS. BUT SOME OF US NEVER QUITE MAKE IT TO MASS ON TIME. SOME OF US LIKE TO LEAVE EARLY SO AS TO BEAT THE TRAFFIC. SOME OF US READ THE BULLETIN DURING THE PARTS OF THE MASS WE FIND DULL. A LOT OF US DON'T SING, WHICH MEANS THAT WE DON'T PARTICIPATE FULLY. SOME OF US LET OUR MINDS WANDER TO OTHER PLACES AND TIMES.
AND SOME OF US COME TO CHURCH IN BEACH CLOTHES, AND SOME OF US COME TO RECEIVE AND SHOW NO REVERENCE AT ALL FOR THE MIRACLE THAT IS BEFORE US; AND I'VE SEEN PEOPLE RECEIVE WHILE CHEWING GUM.
THIS IS WHAT WE NEED TO DO IF WE ARE TO RECEIVE WORTHILY. FIRST, WE HAVE TO BE FREE FROM MORTAL SIN. IF WE ARE CONSCIOUS OF MORTAL SIN, WE NEED TO GO TO CONFESSION. SECOND, WE HAVE TO BE ENGAGED IN THE MASS. THAT MEANS SINGING, RESPONDING, JOINING OUR VOICES WITH EACH OTHER IN THE COMMON PRAYERS. THIRD, WE NEED TO ACTIVELY BELIEVE. THAT MEANS THAT WE OFFER OURSELVES, OUR JOBS, OUR FAMILIES, OUR TROUBLES, OUR JOYS, WHEN THE PRIEST IS OFFERING THE BREAD AND WINE. WE BELIEVE THAT EVERYTHING WE OFFER IS TRANSFORMED, JUST AS THE BREAD AND WINE ARE TRANSFORMED, AT THE CONSECRATION. THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHO WHO TRANFORMS THE BREAD AND WINE, CAN TRANSFORM EVERYTHING IN OUR LIVES SO THAT IT FULFILLS GOD'S PLAN. AND FINALLY, WHEN WE RECEIVE JESUS IN THE EUCHARIST, WE BELIEVE THAT HE SATISFIES OUR HUNGRY HEART, AS THE SONG GOES. ST. AUGUSTINE SAID THAT OUR HEARTS ARE RESTLESS UNTIL THEY REST IN JESUS. WHEN WE RECEIVE JESUS IN THE EUCHARIST, WE MUST DESIRE THAT HE SATISFY THAT RESTLESSNESS, THAT HE MAKE US MORE LIKE HIMSELF, THAT HE MAKE US MORE THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF HIS FATHER; BECAUSE THAT IS WHY HE GAVE US THE EUCHARIST.
AND PLEASE, BE REVERENT; BOW YOUR HEADS BEFORE YOU RECEIVE. THE HOLY EUCHARIST IS NOT A THING; HE IS ALIVE, HE IS JESUS. HANDLE HIS BODY LIKE YOU WOULD HANDLE A PRECIOUS DIAMOND OR A HELPLESS BABY. AND AFTER YOU FULFILL HIS COMMAND, AFTER YOU EAT HIS BODY AND DRINK HIS BLOOD, REST WITH HIM AWHILE. CLOSE YOUR EYES AND LISTEN; OFFER THE DEEPEST PRAYERS IN YOUR HEART; ASK HIM TO BECOME ONE WITH YOU.
TODAY MY GRANDSON DREW AND MY GRAND DAUGHTER MARYA SQUIRE ARE RECEIVING THEIR FIRST HOLY COMMUNION. THEY ARE INVITING JESUS TO LIVE IN THEM, TO WORK ON THEM, AND TO MAKE THEM INTO SAINTS.
LET US ALL PRAY THAT WE WILL APPROACH THE HOLY EUCHARIST TODAY, AS WE DID SO LONG AGO, WHEN WE RECEIVED OUR FIRST COMMUNION. AND LET US PRAY THAT JESUS THROUGH THIS COMMUNION WILL MAKE US ALL INTO SAINTS.
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