MATTHEW 22:15-21
USUALLY WHEN THIS GOSPEL IS THE SUBJECT OF A SERMON, SEVERAL THINGS SEEM TO BE AUTOMATIC. FIRST, IT IS SAID THAT THE PHARISEES AND THE HERODIANS WERE TRYING TO TRAP JESUS. IF HE SAID NOT TO PAY THE CENSUS TAX, HE WOULD GET IN TROUBLE WITH THE ROMANS. IF HE SAID TO PAY IT, HE WOULD LOSE THE ATTENTION OF MANY DEVOTED JEWS WHO WERE HIS FOLLOWERS. THE SECOND THING WE HEAR IS THAT JESUS VERY CLEVERLY ANSWERED HIS QUESTIONERS, SORT OF THROWING THE QUESTION BACK AT THEM; AND THIRD, WE HEAR THE WORDS “RENDER UNTO CAESAR THE THINGS THAT ARE CAESAR'S, AND UNTO GOD THE THINGS THAT ARE GOD'S.” AND THAT SEEMS LIKE A VERY WISE STATEMENT – IT'S BEEN USED TO JUSTIFY SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE, TO SILENCE CRITICS OF ROE VS. WADE, TO GIVE REASON FOR NOT ALLOWING PRAYER IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, AND IT IS THE MARCHING CRY NOT OF CHRISTIANS, BUT OF SECULARISTS WHO WANT NO VESTIGE OF RELIGION IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE.
BUT SOMETIMES WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE SITUATION WITHOUT THESE BUILT IN PREJUDICES, YOU MAY SEE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MESSAGE. FIRST, THERE IS SOMETHING FUNNY HERE ABOUT PHARISEES AND HERODIANS COMING TOGETHER TO TRAP JESUS. THEY WERE ABOUT AS FAR APART POLITICALLY AND RELIGIOUSLY AS WAS POSSIBLE. THE PHARISEES SCRUPULOUSLY FOLLOWED THE LAW, KEPT THEMSELVES APART FROM ANYONE WHO WASN'T A PHARISEE, AND WERE DEEPLY INTO PURITY RITUALS. THEY WERE ALSO PACIFISTS OF SORT, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD NEVER PAY THE CENSUS TAX; BUT THEY PAID IT, GRUDGINGLY. THE HERODIANS, ON THE OTHER HAND, BELIEVED THAT THE BEST THING TO DO IF YOU WERE A JEW WAS TO ADAPT TO THE CULTURE AROUND YOU. THEY DRESSED LIKE THE ROMANS, THEY PARTICIPATED IN ROMAN CULTURE, AND THEY WILLINGLY PAID THE TAX. THEIR ATTITUDE WAS THAT BEING JEWISH WAS A PRIVATE, SPIRITUAL AFFAIR.
AND THE TWO GROUPS ASK JESUS A QUESTION TO SEE WHICH SIDE HE AGREES WITH? THEY ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT ROMAN LAW, NOW. THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT JEWISH LAW. THE PHARISEES VIOLATED JEWISH LAW, AT LEAST BY THEIR INTERPRETATION, EVERY TIME THEY PAID THE CENSUS TAX. SO THE QUESTION IS REALLY, CAN YOU BE A GOOD JEW AND STILL PAY THE CENSUS TAX?
NOW JESUS CALLS THEM HYPOCRITES. WE WOULDN'T LIKE TO BE CALLED THAT, BUT THE WORD IN HIS TIME MEANT SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT. IT REFERRED TO PEOPLE WHO PRETENDED TO BE SOMETHING THEY WERE NOT. IT WAS A TERM FOR ACTORS IN DRAMAS. AND JESUS CALLS THEM HYPOCRITES BECAUSE THEY ARE CARRYING AROUND COINS WHICH HAVE THE GRAVEN IMAGE OF CAESAR, AND AN INSCRIPTION THAT SAYS CAESAR IS DIVINE. JUST BY CARRYING THE COIN, IF YOU GET REALLY LITERAL, THEY ARE VIOLATING TWO OF THE MOST SACRED COMMANDMENTS.
AND THEN JESUS ASKS, “WHOSE IMAGE AND WHOSE INSCRIPTION IS ON THIS COIN?” THEY SAY, “CAESAR'S.” AND THEN HE MAKES HIS FAMOUS STATEMENT. BUT WHAT MUST HAVE REALLY RESONATED WITH HIS LISTENERS WAS THE LAST PART – RENDER TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S. BECAUSE ALL JEWS, HERODIANS AND PHARISEES, SADUCCEES AND ESSENES, ALL JEWS COULD AGREE ON ONE THING: “THE LORD'S IS THE EARTH AND ITS FULLNESS” AS THE PSALM SAYS. EVERYTHING BELONGS TO GOD, AND THE REAL QUESTION IS HOW TO WE GIVE BACK EVERYTHING WE'VE BEEN GIVEN TO GOD? HOW DO WE RENDER WHAT IS GOD'S TO GOD.
I THINK THIS IS THE WAY THINGS REALLY WENT THAT DAY, BECAUSE JESUS IN MANY OTHER CONFRONTATIONS WITH THE PHARISEES AND OTHERS GOES FOR THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW, NOT THE LETTER. REMEMBER THE WOMAN WITH SEVEN HUSBANDS? OR HIS ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, “WHICH IS THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT?” OR EVEN THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, “WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?” PEOPLE LOOKED FOR A LITERAL ANSWER, AND HE GAVE THEM A SPIRITUAL ONE. SO JESUS IS NOT TALKING ABOUT POLITICS HERE.
BUT IF THE COIN WITH CAESAR'S IMAGE IN SOME WAY BELONGS TO CAESAR, WHAT ABOUT YOU AND I, WHO WERE STAMPED WITH THE IMAGE OF CHRIST AT OUR BAPTISM? YOU AND I ARE THE COINS, YOU AND I ARE THE TREASURE, OF GOD'S KINGDOM. IF THE COIN WITH CAESAR'S IMAGE IS USED TO BUILD UP THE ROMAN EMPIRE, THEN YOU AND I RENDER TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S WHEN WE WORK FOR HIS KINGDOM.
WE RENDER TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S WHEN WE SET ASIDE REGULAR TIME EVERY DAY TO PRAY, TO MEDITATE, TO DO SPIRITUAL READING. THE ONLY WAY WE CAN CULTIVATE A LIVING RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS IS TO MAKE TIME FOR HIM, TO LISTEN TO HIM, TO CONVERSE WITH HIM.
WE RENDER TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S WHEN WE ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIPS. ALL RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER PEOPLE ARE LOVE IN ACTION, AND WHERE LOVE IS, GOD IS. HOW MANY HUSBANDS AND WIVES LET THEIR RELATIONSHIP BECOME ROUTINE AND ORDINARY, BECAUSE THEY'VE STOPPED WORKING AT IT? HOW MANY PEOPLE WHO WERE ONCE GREAT FRIENDS DRIFT APART BECAUSE OF CHANGES IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THEIR LIVES, OR SEPARATION BY DISTANCE? GOD CALLS US TO UNITY WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH HIM, AND THAT BEGINS IN THE RELATIONSHIPS WE HAVE.
WE RENDER TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S BY BRINGING OUR CHRISTIANITY INTO THE WORLD, BY DELIBERATELY CONSIDERING WHAT THE CHURCH TEACHES AND WHAT JESUS TAUGHT, WHEN WE ACT AS CITIZENS. WHETHER IT IS EXERCISING OUR RIGHT TO VOTE, GIVING SOME OF OUR SURPLUS TO CHARITY, STANDING UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT WHEN WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY, ALL OF THAT SHOULD COME OUT OF OUR CONSTANT STRUGGLE TO KNOW THE MIND AND HEART OF CHRIST, NOT OUT OF OUR OWN REASONING POWER OR EMOTIONAL REACTION.
SO TODAY, LET US ASK, “WHAT IS GOD'S?” AND WE WILL HEAR THE ANSWER, “EVERYTHING”. AND LET US SEE THE MARK ON OUR SOULS, THE IMAGE OF JESUS CHRIST, AND KNOW THAT EVERYTHING ABOUT US IS GOD'S, AND ALL THAT REALLY MATTERS IS THAT WE TAKE WHAT WE HAVE BEEN LOANED, OUR BODIES, OUR LOVED ONES, OUR FRIENDS, AND OUR SOCIETY, AND GIVE IT BACK TO GOD.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
28th Sunday in Ordinary Time cycle A
MATTHEW 22:1-14
THAT PASSAGE FROM ISAIAH IS A DESCRIPTION OF HEAVEN, RIGHT? A WONDERFUL BANQUET, WITH FINE WINES; THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH, THE WIPING AWAY OF EVERY TEAR, AND ETERNAL JOY. SO FAR, SO GOOD. WHICH ONE OF US WOULD HAVE IT ANY DIFFERENTLY? AND ISAIAH DOESN'T EVEN MENTION THE FACT THAT WITH ALL THAT WONDERFUL FOOD AND WINE, NO ONE IS GOING TO GET FAT OR INTOXICATED; NO HEART DISEASE, NO LIVER FAILURE.
BUT THEN WE GET TO THE GOSPEL, AND THE PICTURE IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. REMEMBER THAT JESUS IS SPEAKING TO THE JEWISH LEADERS, AND HE HAS BEEN GIVING THEM EXAMPLE AFTER EXAMPLE OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. AND EVERY PARABLE SEEMS TO CONTAIN A LITTLE DIG AT THEM. LAST WEEK THE THE TENANTS OF THE VINYARD MISTREATED THE OWNER'S SERVANTS AND KILLED HIS SON. THIS WEEK THOSE INITIALLY INVITED TO THE WEDDING FEAST DON'T COME. THEY DON'T COME, NOT FOR GOOD REASONS, BUT ROUTINE THINGS – THE FARM, THE BUSINESS. AND OF THOSE WHO DON'T COME, SOME LAY HANDS ON THE KING'S SERVANTS, AND MISTREAT THEM AND MURDER THEM. SO AFTER THE KING EXPLODES WITH RAGE AND KILLS ALL OF THOSE INVITED TO THE FEAST, AND BURNS THEIR CITY, HE DRAGS IN EVERYONE HE CAN FIND, OFF THE STREETS AND OUT OF THE ALLEYS. HE DOESN'T CARE IF THEY ARE GOOD OR BAD.
UP TO THIS POINT, THE STORY MAKES SENSE TO US. THE USUAL INTERPRETATION IS THAT JESUS IS REMINDING THE JEWISH LEADERS OF THE HISTORY OF THE ISRAELITES. THEIR OWN SCRIPTURES SPEAK TO THE FACT THAT THE PEOPLE WERE NEVER FAITHFUL FOR VERY LONG, AND NO MATTER WHAT GOD DOES, THEY KEEP FALLING BACK INTO THEIR OLD WAYS. AND WHEN GOD SENDS PROPHETS, THE PROPHETS ARE MISTREATED, AND SOMETIMES PUT TO DEATH. AND WE CHRISTIANS SEE SALVATION HISTORY FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE; GOD OPENED SALVATION UP TO US GENTILES AFTER THE ISREALITES FAILED TO BE THE PEOPLE GOD WANTED THEM TO BE. WELL, MAYBE SO. BUT JESUS DOESN'T TELL PARABLES JUST SO WE CAN FEEL SUPERIOR TO THE ISRAELITES OF JESUS' TIME.
AND THEN THERE IS THIS MAN, THE MAN WITHOUT A WEDDING GARMENT, WHO CANNOT EVEN SAY WHY HE IS NOT WEARING ONE. THERE REALLY IS NO EXCUSE FOR HIM. THE KING, IN THOSE DAYS, PROVIDED THE WEDDING GARMENTS FOR HIS GUESTS. THEY WEREN'T TUXEDOS AND FORMAL GOWNS, BUT RATHER, A SORT OF OUTER GARMENT THAT YOU WORE OVER YOUR CLOTHES. IT WAS A SIGN THAT YOU ACCEPTED THE KING'S HOSPITALITY. SO IT WAS A MAJOR INSULT TO COME TO THE BANQUET, BUT NOT WEAR THE GARMENT, AND THE MAN ENDS UP OUT IN THE STREET.
AND THERE HAVE BEEN MANY SPECULATIONS ABOUT THIS LAST EVENT. ST. AUGUSTINE SAYS THE GARMENT REPRESENTS CHARITY; MARTIN LUTHER SAID IT REPRESENTED FAITH. ST. PAUL TALKS ABOUT “PUTTING ON CHRIST” AND BEING CLOTHED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS”. AND MAYBE THAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE, THE WHOLE POINT OF CHRISTIAN LIFE IS TO BECOME LIKE CHRIST. IF WE AREN'T MAKING AN EFFORT TO DO THIS, WE HAVE NO RIGHT TO CALL OURSELVES CHRISTIAN. AND OF COURSE THE WAY WE IMITATE CHRIST IS TO KNOW HIM, THROUGH THE GOSPELS AND THE CHURCH; AND TO CHANGE OUR BEHAVIOR, THROUGH PRAYER, THROUGH CULTIVATING NEW HABITS AND GETTING RID OF OLD ONES, ALL IN KEEPING WITH THAT KNOWING.
THE KING GIVES A GREAT BANQUET. EVERYONE IS INVITED, GOOD AND BAD ALIKE. AND THE ONLY CONDITION IS THAT WE PUT ON CHRIST. AND EVEN THIS IS SOMETHING GOD DOES TO US IF WE LET HIM.
SO WHERE ARE WE IN THIS HEAVENLY BANQUET?
ARE WE THOSE WHO HAVE REFUSED THE INVITATION? OUR LIVES ARE SO BUSY, SO TIED UP WITH OUR JOBS, OUR FAMILIES, OUR ACTIVITIES, THAT WE HAVE VERY LITTLE PRAYER LIFE, HARDLY ANY TIME FOR REFLECTION, MEDITATION, OR SPIRITUAL READING. WE'LL NEVER HAVE TIME TO GET TO KNOW CHRIST AND BEGIN THE PROCESS OF TRANSFORMING OURSELVES INTO HIM.
ARE WE THOSE WHO NOT ONLY REFUSE THE INVITATION, BUT MISTREAT HIS MESSENGERS? SOME OF US DO THAT. OUR PASTORS, OUR BISHOPS, OUR HOLY FATHER ARE MESSENGERS; THEY SPEAK TO US WITH THE VOICE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. WE CATHOLICS BELIEVE THAT THE SACRAMENT OF ORDINATION CONFERS UPON THEM THE GRACES THEY NEED TO SHEPHERD THE PEOPLE GOD ENTRUSTS TO THEM. BUT SOME OF US CHOOSE TO PUBLICLY CONTRADICT THEM, IGNORE THEM, OR SOMETIMES EVEN DO A LITTLE CHARACTER ASSASSINATION. AND SOME OF US ARE CAFETERIA CATHOLICS, WHO PICK AND CHOOSE AMONG THE TEACHINGS OF THE CHURCH SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO CHANGE OUR MINDS OR OUR HEARTS.
ARE WE THE WEDDING GUEST WHO IS NOT WEARING THE GARMENT, THE ONE WHO DOES ALL THE RIGHT THINGS, THE ONE WHO PRAYS AND COMES TO THE EUCHARIST AND DOES HIS OR HER DEVOTIONAL READING AND DOES EVERYTHING YOU WOULD EXPECT OF AN OUTSTANDING CATHOLIC; BUT NEVER CHANGES, NEVER LOSES THAT SELF-CENTEREDNESS, NEVER WORKS AND STRUGGLES TO MAKE THOSE INTERIOR CHANGES THAT HAVE TO BE MADE IN ORDER TO PUT ON CHRIST, AND YEARS GO BY AND THE PRAYER IS JUST THE SAME, “LORD, I THANK YOU THAT I AM NOT LIKE THE REST OF MEN.”
WHEN YOU WERE BAPTIZED, YOU WERE GIVEN A WHITE ROBE, A WEDDING GARMENT. THAT WAS A SYMBOL FOR YOU, A SIGN THAT YOUR DESTINY WAS TO PUT ON CHRIST, TO COVER YOURSELF WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS, SO THAT WHEN GOD THE FATHER LOOKED UPON YOU, HE WOULD SEE HIS SON, JESUS. AND TODAY WE NEED TO ASK WHETHER WE ARE STILL WEARING THAT GARMENT, WHETHER WE STILL ARE RESPONDING TO THE INVITATION OF THE KING.
THAT PASSAGE FROM ISAIAH IS A DESCRIPTION OF HEAVEN, RIGHT? A WONDERFUL BANQUET, WITH FINE WINES; THE DESTRUCTION OF DEATH, THE WIPING AWAY OF EVERY TEAR, AND ETERNAL JOY. SO FAR, SO GOOD. WHICH ONE OF US WOULD HAVE IT ANY DIFFERENTLY? AND ISAIAH DOESN'T EVEN MENTION THE FACT THAT WITH ALL THAT WONDERFUL FOOD AND WINE, NO ONE IS GOING TO GET FAT OR INTOXICATED; NO HEART DISEASE, NO LIVER FAILURE.
BUT THEN WE GET TO THE GOSPEL, AND THE PICTURE IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT. REMEMBER THAT JESUS IS SPEAKING TO THE JEWISH LEADERS, AND HE HAS BEEN GIVING THEM EXAMPLE AFTER EXAMPLE OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. AND EVERY PARABLE SEEMS TO CONTAIN A LITTLE DIG AT THEM. LAST WEEK THE THE TENANTS OF THE VINYARD MISTREATED THE OWNER'S SERVANTS AND KILLED HIS SON. THIS WEEK THOSE INITIALLY INVITED TO THE WEDDING FEAST DON'T COME. THEY DON'T COME, NOT FOR GOOD REASONS, BUT ROUTINE THINGS – THE FARM, THE BUSINESS. AND OF THOSE WHO DON'T COME, SOME LAY HANDS ON THE KING'S SERVANTS, AND MISTREAT THEM AND MURDER THEM. SO AFTER THE KING EXPLODES WITH RAGE AND KILLS ALL OF THOSE INVITED TO THE FEAST, AND BURNS THEIR CITY, HE DRAGS IN EVERYONE HE CAN FIND, OFF THE STREETS AND OUT OF THE ALLEYS. HE DOESN'T CARE IF THEY ARE GOOD OR BAD.
UP TO THIS POINT, THE STORY MAKES SENSE TO US. THE USUAL INTERPRETATION IS THAT JESUS IS REMINDING THE JEWISH LEADERS OF THE HISTORY OF THE ISRAELITES. THEIR OWN SCRIPTURES SPEAK TO THE FACT THAT THE PEOPLE WERE NEVER FAITHFUL FOR VERY LONG, AND NO MATTER WHAT GOD DOES, THEY KEEP FALLING BACK INTO THEIR OLD WAYS. AND WHEN GOD SENDS PROPHETS, THE PROPHETS ARE MISTREATED, AND SOMETIMES PUT TO DEATH. AND WE CHRISTIANS SEE SALVATION HISTORY FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE; GOD OPENED SALVATION UP TO US GENTILES AFTER THE ISREALITES FAILED TO BE THE PEOPLE GOD WANTED THEM TO BE. WELL, MAYBE SO. BUT JESUS DOESN'T TELL PARABLES JUST SO WE CAN FEEL SUPERIOR TO THE ISRAELITES OF JESUS' TIME.
AND THEN THERE IS THIS MAN, THE MAN WITHOUT A WEDDING GARMENT, WHO CANNOT EVEN SAY WHY HE IS NOT WEARING ONE. THERE REALLY IS NO EXCUSE FOR HIM. THE KING, IN THOSE DAYS, PROVIDED THE WEDDING GARMENTS FOR HIS GUESTS. THEY WEREN'T TUXEDOS AND FORMAL GOWNS, BUT RATHER, A SORT OF OUTER GARMENT THAT YOU WORE OVER YOUR CLOTHES. IT WAS A SIGN THAT YOU ACCEPTED THE KING'S HOSPITALITY. SO IT WAS A MAJOR INSULT TO COME TO THE BANQUET, BUT NOT WEAR THE GARMENT, AND THE MAN ENDS UP OUT IN THE STREET.
AND THERE HAVE BEEN MANY SPECULATIONS ABOUT THIS LAST EVENT. ST. AUGUSTINE SAYS THE GARMENT REPRESENTS CHARITY; MARTIN LUTHER SAID IT REPRESENTED FAITH. ST. PAUL TALKS ABOUT “PUTTING ON CHRIST” AND BEING CLOTHED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS”. AND MAYBE THAT MAKES THE MOST SENSE, THE WHOLE POINT OF CHRISTIAN LIFE IS TO BECOME LIKE CHRIST. IF WE AREN'T MAKING AN EFFORT TO DO THIS, WE HAVE NO RIGHT TO CALL OURSELVES CHRISTIAN. AND OF COURSE THE WAY WE IMITATE CHRIST IS TO KNOW HIM, THROUGH THE GOSPELS AND THE CHURCH; AND TO CHANGE OUR BEHAVIOR, THROUGH PRAYER, THROUGH CULTIVATING NEW HABITS AND GETTING RID OF OLD ONES, ALL IN KEEPING WITH THAT KNOWING.
THE KING GIVES A GREAT BANQUET. EVERYONE IS INVITED, GOOD AND BAD ALIKE. AND THE ONLY CONDITION IS THAT WE PUT ON CHRIST. AND EVEN THIS IS SOMETHING GOD DOES TO US IF WE LET HIM.
SO WHERE ARE WE IN THIS HEAVENLY BANQUET?
ARE WE THOSE WHO HAVE REFUSED THE INVITATION? OUR LIVES ARE SO BUSY, SO TIED UP WITH OUR JOBS, OUR FAMILIES, OUR ACTIVITIES, THAT WE HAVE VERY LITTLE PRAYER LIFE, HARDLY ANY TIME FOR REFLECTION, MEDITATION, OR SPIRITUAL READING. WE'LL NEVER HAVE TIME TO GET TO KNOW CHRIST AND BEGIN THE PROCESS OF TRANSFORMING OURSELVES INTO HIM.
ARE WE THOSE WHO NOT ONLY REFUSE THE INVITATION, BUT MISTREAT HIS MESSENGERS? SOME OF US DO THAT. OUR PASTORS, OUR BISHOPS, OUR HOLY FATHER ARE MESSENGERS; THEY SPEAK TO US WITH THE VOICE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. WE CATHOLICS BELIEVE THAT THE SACRAMENT OF ORDINATION CONFERS UPON THEM THE GRACES THEY NEED TO SHEPHERD THE PEOPLE GOD ENTRUSTS TO THEM. BUT SOME OF US CHOOSE TO PUBLICLY CONTRADICT THEM, IGNORE THEM, OR SOMETIMES EVEN DO A LITTLE CHARACTER ASSASSINATION. AND SOME OF US ARE CAFETERIA CATHOLICS, WHO PICK AND CHOOSE AMONG THE TEACHINGS OF THE CHURCH SO THAT WE DON'T HAVE TO CHANGE OUR MINDS OR OUR HEARTS.
ARE WE THE WEDDING GUEST WHO IS NOT WEARING THE GARMENT, THE ONE WHO DOES ALL THE RIGHT THINGS, THE ONE WHO PRAYS AND COMES TO THE EUCHARIST AND DOES HIS OR HER DEVOTIONAL READING AND DOES EVERYTHING YOU WOULD EXPECT OF AN OUTSTANDING CATHOLIC; BUT NEVER CHANGES, NEVER LOSES THAT SELF-CENTEREDNESS, NEVER WORKS AND STRUGGLES TO MAKE THOSE INTERIOR CHANGES THAT HAVE TO BE MADE IN ORDER TO PUT ON CHRIST, AND YEARS GO BY AND THE PRAYER IS JUST THE SAME, “LORD, I THANK YOU THAT I AM NOT LIKE THE REST OF MEN.”
WHEN YOU WERE BAPTIZED, YOU WERE GIVEN A WHITE ROBE, A WEDDING GARMENT. THAT WAS A SYMBOL FOR YOU, A SIGN THAT YOUR DESTINY WAS TO PUT ON CHRIST, TO COVER YOURSELF WITH RIGHTEOUSNESS, SO THAT WHEN GOD THE FATHER LOOKED UPON YOU, HE WOULD SEE HIS SON, JESUS. AND TODAY WE NEED TO ASK WHETHER WE ARE STILL WEARING THAT GARMENT, WHETHER WE STILL ARE RESPONDING TO THE INVITATION OF THE KING.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A
MATTHEW 20:1-16
A FEW WEEKS AGO I RAN INTO A FORMER PARISHIONER. HE AND HIS WIFE AND KIDS MOVED TO LONGMEADOW FROM ANOTHER STATE. THEY JOINED THE PARISH, ENROLLED THEIR KIDS IN FAITH FORMATION, PARTICIPATED IN A COUPLE OF THE MINISTRIES AND SEEMED VERY DEVOTED. THEN AFTER A FEW YEARS THEY STOPPED COMING TO OUR CHURCH. THEY DIDN'T STOP BEING CATHOLICS, BUT THEY FOUND A CHURCH THAT THEY FELT WAS MORE WELCOMING. THE FORMER PARISHIONER SAID THAT THEY FELT THEY HAD REALLY TRIED, BUT THE ONLY PEOPLE THEY GOT TO KNOW WHO WERE MEMBERS OF ST. MARY'S WERE OTHER PARENTS WHO SENT THEIR CHILDREN TO THE SAME GRADE SCHOOL; THEY MET THEM THROUGH THE PARENT-TEACHERS ORGANIZATION RATHER THAN THROUGH THE PARISH. OF THOSE OTHERS, SOME HAVE MOVED TO OTHER TOWNS, SOME HAVE MOVED TO OTHER PARISHES, AND ONLY ONE COUPLE OF THAT ORIGINAL BUNCH CONTINUES TO COME TO ST. MARY'S, TO MY KNOWLEDGE.
WAS THE FORMER PARISHIONER'S EXPERIENCE A COMMON ONE? OR DID THEY JUST HAVE BAD LUCK? I DON'T KNOW, AND I AM ONLY TELLING YOU THIS BECAUSE IN SOME SENSE, WE ALL FAILED HIM AND HIS FAMILY.
TODAY, JESUS TELLS US THE FAMILIAR STORY OF THE VINEYARD OWNER WHO PAYS THE DAY LABORERS THE SAME AMOUNT, REGARDLESS OF HOW LONG THEY WORKED. IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU SYMPATHIZED WITH THE WORKERS WHO HAD BORNE THE DAY'S HEAT, AND LOGICALLY EXPECTED THAT THEY WOULD GET MORE. AND IF I HAD BEEN ONE OF THOSE WORKERS, I WOULD HAVE HAD A HARD TIME SPEAKING NICELY TO THE WORKER WHO HAD STARTED LATE IN THE AFTERNOON, AND GOTTEN EXACTLY THE SAME WAGE. AND YET, HE HAD DONE NOTHING TO OFFEND ME, AND I HAD AGREED TO THE DAY'S WAGE. WHY AM I ANGRY? WHY AM I UPSET WITH THE VINEYARD OWNER AND THE LABORER WHO WORKED MUCH LESS THAN I DID?
THE PARABLES OF JESUS ARE TRULY WORKS OF GENIUS. SO SIMPLY TOLD, AND YET, SO REVEALING OF OURSELVES, IF WE LET THEM BE MIRRORS FOR US. IT IS SO HUMAN FOR PEOPLE IN AN ORGANIZATION, EVEN IN A CHURCH, TO SEE THEMSELVES AS ABOVE SOME PEOPLE, AND MAYBE BELOW OTHERS. THE PARISHIONER WHO HAS BEEN HERE FOR FIFTY YEARS, WHO HAS DONATED THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO THE CHURCH OVER THAT TIME, HAS PUT IN COUNTLESS HOURS, SEES THE YOUNG FAMILY THAT JUST MOVED TO TOWN AND SOMEWHERE DEEP INSIDE THINKS THAT BEFORE THEY CAN BE FULL MEMBERS OF THE PARISH, THEY HAVE TO EARN THEIR CHOPS. AND IF THE LONG TIME PARISHIONER DEIGNS TO GREET THEM AT ALL, IT IS WITH A STRAINED SMILE. ANOTHER PARISHIONER IS DEEPLY INVOLVED IN PARISH ACTIVITIES, GIVING UP SEVERAL HOURS EVERY WEEK. AND AT SUNDAY MASS SHE SITS NEAR ANOTHER WOMAN WHOM, AS FAR AS SHE KNOWS, ONLY COMES TO MASS ON SUNDAYS, NEVER GETS INVOLVED IN ANYTHING. AND WHEN THEY EXCHANGE THE SIGN OF PEACE, SHE QUICKLY AVERTS HER EYES AND FOCUSES AGAIN ON THE ALTAR; THAT OTHER PERSON HAS NOT BORNE THE NOONDAY HEAT! AND ON EASTER SUNDAY, THE COUPLE WHO HAS BEEN COMING TO CHURCH EVERY SUNDAY FINDS THAT THEIR FAVORITE PEW IS OCCUPIED BY A PERFECT STRANGER, SOMEONE THAT THEY KNOW HASN'T BEEN TO CHURCH SINCE CHRISTMAS; AND AS THEY STAND IN THE AISLES, THEY FEEL RESENTMENT FOR THESE UPSTARTS, AND NEVER THINK TO WELCOME THEM AND INVITE THEM BACK.
AND THEN THERE IS THE COUPLE WHO HAS JUST MOVED INTO TOWN, AND COME TO CHURCH WITH THEIR CHILDREN SUNDAY AFTER SUNDAY, AND AFTER MASS ARE NEVER ASKED, “WHERE DO YOU LIVE? WHAT DO YOU DO? OR TOLD “YOUR CHILDREN ARE SO WELL BEHAVED” OR “WE HAVE TO GET TOGETHER” OR “LETS GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER.”
BECAUSE WHAT KEEPS US APART IS JUST WHAT JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT; SOMEONE NEEDS TO MAKE THE FIRST MOVE TO CHANGE STRANGERS TO FRIENDS, AND PERHAPS WE DON'T DO IT BECAUSE WHEN WE COME TO MASS TOGETHER, THERE IS NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN THOSE WHO HAVE BORNE THE HEAT OF THE NOONDAY SUN (WHICH MOST OF US FEEL WE HAVE) AND THOSE OTHERS WHO HAVE ONLY BEEN LABORING FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS. (WHICH PROBABLY BETTER DESCRIBES MOST OF US.)
BUT THE PARABLE TELLS US SOMETHING ELSE. IT TELLS US THAT GOD, THE OWNER OF THE VINEYARD, IS NOT THE LEAST BIT INTERESTED IN PAYING US WHAT WE DESERVE, OR THINK WE DESERVE. WHATEVER WE CHOOSE TO DO FOR OUR WONDERFUL GOD, HE WILL GIVE US WHAT WE NEED, JUST AS WE ASK OF HIM, GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD. AND THAT IS WHERE OUR EQUALITY LIES; THOSE OF US WHO WORK HARD FOR THE CHURCH, WHO GIVE MONEY, TIME, AND TALENT IN ABUNDANCE, WILL RECEIVE OUR REWARD – WHAT WE NEED. AND THOSE OF US WHO BARELY MANAGE TO GET TO MASS ON CHRISTMAS AND EASTER, WE WILL RECEIVE OUR REWARD AS WELL, WHAT WE NEED. AND WHEN THOSE WHO WORK HARD FOR THE CHURCH ASK THEMSELVES WHY THEY ARE DOING THIS, IT IS NOT REALLY TO RECEIVE A GREATER REWARD THAN THOSE OTHERS; AFTER ALL, HEAVEN WILL BE ALL THE REWARD WE CAN POSSIBLY NEED; IT IS INSTEAD TO BUILD UP THE BODY OF CHRIST SO THAT OUR NEIGHBORS AND OUR CHILDREN AND OUR FRIENDS WILL ALSO BE CALLED TO LIVE LIVES SO THAT THEY TOO WILL RECEIVE ALL THEY NEED. AND SO WHETHER WE HAVE BORN THE HEAT OF THE NOONDAY SUN, OR WHETHER WE WERE THOSE LAST HIRED, IF WE DON'T FORGE THOSE HUMAN BONDS WITH THE OTHER PEOPLE WHO PARTICIPATE IN THE EUCHARIST WITH US, THEN OUR LABOR IS NOT OF MUCH USE; IF WE LEAVE OUR SUNDAY LITURGY WITHOUT RENEWING, DEEPENING, OR STARTING RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR CHURCH, THEN WE HAVE FAILED, OUR PARTICIPATION IN THE LITURGY HAS NOT BORNE THE FRUIT THAT IT SHOULD.
SO I ASK OF YOU A SIMPLE THING TODAY. AT THE SIGN OF PEACE, EXCHANGE PEACE WITH SOMEONE YOU DON'T KNOW VERY WELL, SOMEONE WHOSE NAME YOU MAY NOT KNOW. AND AFTER MASS INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO EACH OTHER, TELL EACH OTHER A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF, AND SEE WHERE THAT GOES. EXCHANGE A FEW WORDS, BECAUSE AFTER ALL, YOU ARE BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN JESUS CHRIST. AND WHEN YOU LEAVE OUR CELEBRATION YOU WILL HAVE A NEW FRIEND, OR AT LEAST AN ACQUAINTANCE. AND WHEN YOU COME BACK TO MASS NEXT SUNDAY, OUR CONGREGATION WILL BE MORE WELCOMING BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU DID.
A FEW WEEKS AGO I RAN INTO A FORMER PARISHIONER. HE AND HIS WIFE AND KIDS MOVED TO LONGMEADOW FROM ANOTHER STATE. THEY JOINED THE PARISH, ENROLLED THEIR KIDS IN FAITH FORMATION, PARTICIPATED IN A COUPLE OF THE MINISTRIES AND SEEMED VERY DEVOTED. THEN AFTER A FEW YEARS THEY STOPPED COMING TO OUR CHURCH. THEY DIDN'T STOP BEING CATHOLICS, BUT THEY FOUND A CHURCH THAT THEY FELT WAS MORE WELCOMING. THE FORMER PARISHIONER SAID THAT THEY FELT THEY HAD REALLY TRIED, BUT THE ONLY PEOPLE THEY GOT TO KNOW WHO WERE MEMBERS OF ST. MARY'S WERE OTHER PARENTS WHO SENT THEIR CHILDREN TO THE SAME GRADE SCHOOL; THEY MET THEM THROUGH THE PARENT-TEACHERS ORGANIZATION RATHER THAN THROUGH THE PARISH. OF THOSE OTHERS, SOME HAVE MOVED TO OTHER TOWNS, SOME HAVE MOVED TO OTHER PARISHES, AND ONLY ONE COUPLE OF THAT ORIGINAL BUNCH CONTINUES TO COME TO ST. MARY'S, TO MY KNOWLEDGE.
WAS THE FORMER PARISHIONER'S EXPERIENCE A COMMON ONE? OR DID THEY JUST HAVE BAD LUCK? I DON'T KNOW, AND I AM ONLY TELLING YOU THIS BECAUSE IN SOME SENSE, WE ALL FAILED HIM AND HIS FAMILY.
TODAY, JESUS TELLS US THE FAMILIAR STORY OF THE VINEYARD OWNER WHO PAYS THE DAY LABORERS THE SAME AMOUNT, REGARDLESS OF HOW LONG THEY WORKED. IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU SYMPATHIZED WITH THE WORKERS WHO HAD BORNE THE DAY'S HEAT, AND LOGICALLY EXPECTED THAT THEY WOULD GET MORE. AND IF I HAD BEEN ONE OF THOSE WORKERS, I WOULD HAVE HAD A HARD TIME SPEAKING NICELY TO THE WORKER WHO HAD STARTED LATE IN THE AFTERNOON, AND GOTTEN EXACTLY THE SAME WAGE. AND YET, HE HAD DONE NOTHING TO OFFEND ME, AND I HAD AGREED TO THE DAY'S WAGE. WHY AM I ANGRY? WHY AM I UPSET WITH THE VINEYARD OWNER AND THE LABORER WHO WORKED MUCH LESS THAN I DID?
THE PARABLES OF JESUS ARE TRULY WORKS OF GENIUS. SO SIMPLY TOLD, AND YET, SO REVEALING OF OURSELVES, IF WE LET THEM BE MIRRORS FOR US. IT IS SO HUMAN FOR PEOPLE IN AN ORGANIZATION, EVEN IN A CHURCH, TO SEE THEMSELVES AS ABOVE SOME PEOPLE, AND MAYBE BELOW OTHERS. THE PARISHIONER WHO HAS BEEN HERE FOR FIFTY YEARS, WHO HAS DONATED THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO THE CHURCH OVER THAT TIME, HAS PUT IN COUNTLESS HOURS, SEES THE YOUNG FAMILY THAT JUST MOVED TO TOWN AND SOMEWHERE DEEP INSIDE THINKS THAT BEFORE THEY CAN BE FULL MEMBERS OF THE PARISH, THEY HAVE TO EARN THEIR CHOPS. AND IF THE LONG TIME PARISHIONER DEIGNS TO GREET THEM AT ALL, IT IS WITH A STRAINED SMILE. ANOTHER PARISHIONER IS DEEPLY INVOLVED IN PARISH ACTIVITIES, GIVING UP SEVERAL HOURS EVERY WEEK. AND AT SUNDAY MASS SHE SITS NEAR ANOTHER WOMAN WHOM, AS FAR AS SHE KNOWS, ONLY COMES TO MASS ON SUNDAYS, NEVER GETS INVOLVED IN ANYTHING. AND WHEN THEY EXCHANGE THE SIGN OF PEACE, SHE QUICKLY AVERTS HER EYES AND FOCUSES AGAIN ON THE ALTAR; THAT OTHER PERSON HAS NOT BORNE THE NOONDAY HEAT! AND ON EASTER SUNDAY, THE COUPLE WHO HAS BEEN COMING TO CHURCH EVERY SUNDAY FINDS THAT THEIR FAVORITE PEW IS OCCUPIED BY A PERFECT STRANGER, SOMEONE THAT THEY KNOW HASN'T BEEN TO CHURCH SINCE CHRISTMAS; AND AS THEY STAND IN THE AISLES, THEY FEEL RESENTMENT FOR THESE UPSTARTS, AND NEVER THINK TO WELCOME THEM AND INVITE THEM BACK.
AND THEN THERE IS THE COUPLE WHO HAS JUST MOVED INTO TOWN, AND COME TO CHURCH WITH THEIR CHILDREN SUNDAY AFTER SUNDAY, AND AFTER MASS ARE NEVER ASKED, “WHERE DO YOU LIVE? WHAT DO YOU DO? OR TOLD “YOUR CHILDREN ARE SO WELL BEHAVED” OR “WE HAVE TO GET TOGETHER” OR “LETS GET TO KNOW EACH OTHER.”
BECAUSE WHAT KEEPS US APART IS JUST WHAT JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT; SOMEONE NEEDS TO MAKE THE FIRST MOVE TO CHANGE STRANGERS TO FRIENDS, AND PERHAPS WE DON'T DO IT BECAUSE WHEN WE COME TO MASS TOGETHER, THERE IS NO DISTINCTION BETWEEN THOSE WHO HAVE BORNE THE HEAT OF THE NOONDAY SUN (WHICH MOST OF US FEEL WE HAVE) AND THOSE OTHERS WHO HAVE ONLY BEEN LABORING FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS. (WHICH PROBABLY BETTER DESCRIBES MOST OF US.)
BUT THE PARABLE TELLS US SOMETHING ELSE. IT TELLS US THAT GOD, THE OWNER OF THE VINEYARD, IS NOT THE LEAST BIT INTERESTED IN PAYING US WHAT WE DESERVE, OR THINK WE DESERVE. WHATEVER WE CHOOSE TO DO FOR OUR WONDERFUL GOD, HE WILL GIVE US WHAT WE NEED, JUST AS WE ASK OF HIM, GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD. AND THAT IS WHERE OUR EQUALITY LIES; THOSE OF US WHO WORK HARD FOR THE CHURCH, WHO GIVE MONEY, TIME, AND TALENT IN ABUNDANCE, WILL RECEIVE OUR REWARD – WHAT WE NEED. AND THOSE OF US WHO BARELY MANAGE TO GET TO MASS ON CHRISTMAS AND EASTER, WE WILL RECEIVE OUR REWARD AS WELL, WHAT WE NEED. AND WHEN THOSE WHO WORK HARD FOR THE CHURCH ASK THEMSELVES WHY THEY ARE DOING THIS, IT IS NOT REALLY TO RECEIVE A GREATER REWARD THAN THOSE OTHERS; AFTER ALL, HEAVEN WILL BE ALL THE REWARD WE CAN POSSIBLY NEED; IT IS INSTEAD TO BUILD UP THE BODY OF CHRIST SO THAT OUR NEIGHBORS AND OUR CHILDREN AND OUR FRIENDS WILL ALSO BE CALLED TO LIVE LIVES SO THAT THEY TOO WILL RECEIVE ALL THEY NEED. AND SO WHETHER WE HAVE BORN THE HEAT OF THE NOONDAY SUN, OR WHETHER WE WERE THOSE LAST HIRED, IF WE DON'T FORGE THOSE HUMAN BONDS WITH THE OTHER PEOPLE WHO PARTICIPATE IN THE EUCHARIST WITH US, THEN OUR LABOR IS NOT OF MUCH USE; IF WE LEAVE OUR SUNDAY LITURGY WITHOUT RENEWING, DEEPENING, OR STARTING RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE OTHER MEMBERS OF OUR CHURCH, THEN WE HAVE FAILED, OUR PARTICIPATION IN THE LITURGY HAS NOT BORNE THE FRUIT THAT IT SHOULD.
SO I ASK OF YOU A SIMPLE THING TODAY. AT THE SIGN OF PEACE, EXCHANGE PEACE WITH SOMEONE YOU DON'T KNOW VERY WELL, SOMEONE WHOSE NAME YOU MAY NOT KNOW. AND AFTER MASS INTRODUCE YOURSELF TO EACH OTHER, TELL EACH OTHER A LITTLE ABOUT YOURSELF, AND SEE WHERE THAT GOES. EXCHANGE A FEW WORDS, BECAUSE AFTER ALL, YOU ARE BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN JESUS CHRIST. AND WHEN YOU LEAVE OUR CELEBRATION YOU WILL HAVE A NEW FRIEND, OR AT LEAST AN ACQUAINTANCE. AND WHEN YOU COME BACK TO MASS NEXT SUNDAY, OUR CONGREGATION WILL BE MORE WELCOMING BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU DID.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Exaltation of the Holy Cross
JOHN 3:13-17
IF YOU WERE A SINCERE BUDDHIST, YOU WOULD SPEND YOUR LIFE TRYING TO GET RID OF ALL DESIRE, BECAUSE TO A BUDDHIST, DESIRE IS THE REASON FOR UNHAPPINESS. IF YOU WERE A MUSLIM, YOU WOULD EXPLAIN THE BAD PARTS OF LIFE BY REFERRING TO FATE, THE ABSOLUTE, UNFETTERED WILL OF GOD THAT NO ONE CAN DO ANYTHING ABOUT. MOHAMMED HIMSELF SAID THAT IF GOD WANTED TO SEND A NEWBORN BABY TO HELL, WE HAD NO REASON TO QUESTION HIS ACTION. IF YOU WERE A HINDU, YOU WOULD SAY THAT UNHAPPINESS IS ONLY A DREAM, AND EVENTUALLY THE SOUL THAT IS IN ALL LIVING BEINGS WILL WAKE UP TO PERFECT BLISS. AND IF YOU WERE JEWISH, UNHAPPINESS IS PART OF LIFE, AND WE CAN ONLY HOPE FOR THE TIME IN THE FUTURE WHEN ALL WRONGS WILL BE RIGHTED AND THE WORDS OF THE PROPHETS WILL BE FULFILLED.
THE RELIGIONS OF MAN ALL ATTEMPT TO ANSWER THAT FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION – WHY ARE WE UNHAPPY, AND WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT? AND IT ISN'T JUST RELIGIONS THAT TRY TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION; SECULAR SOCIETY THINKS IT HAS ANSWERS AS WELL. IF YOU ARE UNHAPPY, IT IS BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE STUFF, AND IF YOU GO GET STUFF, YOU WILL BE HAPPY. IF YOU ARE UNHAPPY, IT MAY BE A PROBLEM WITH YOUR BRAIN'S CHEMISTRY, AND THERE ARE PILLS TO FIX THAT. IF YOU ARE UNHAPPY AND SOMEONE ELSE IS HAPPY, YOU WILL BE HAPPIER IF HE OR SHE IS MADE TO BE UNHAPPY.
THERE ARE CHRISTIANS AND CHRISTIAN SECTS THAT BELIEVE HAPPINESS LIES IN KNOWING THAT YOU ARE SAVED, OR BEING BAPTIZED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT, OR DEVELOPING A RELATIONSHIP WITH A JESUS WHO DOESN'T JUDGE, WHO IS ALL WARM AND FUZZY AND JUST DYING TO DO WHATEVER WE ASK HIM TO. AND OF COURSE, ALL OF US CHRISTIANS BELIEVE THAT REAL HAPPINESS LIES IN THE NEXT LIFE, AND SOME OF US EVEN FEEL THAT THIS LIFE SHOULD BE A VEIL OF TEARS.
BUT TODAY WE HONOR THE HOLY CROSS. WE REMEMBER JESUS BEING JUDGED, STRIPPED OF HIS CLOTHING, MOCKED, BEATEN, AND MADE TO CARRY THAT CROSS THROUGH THE STREETS OF JERUSALEM. WE REMEMBER THE NAILS THAT FIXED HIM TO IT, WE REMEMBER HIM HANGING FOR THREE HOURS, NEVER BEING ABLE TO TAKE A DEEP BREATH, AND GRADUALLY SUFFOCATING. WE HEAR HIM CRY OUT, “MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME.” AND WE SEE HIS BODY, FINALLY, TAKEN DOWN AND PUT IN THE ARMS OF HIS WEEPING MOTHER.
AND WE MIGHT ASK, WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH HAPPINESS? WHY DO WE HONOR THE CROSS, THAT INSTRUMENT OF DEATH, OF TORTURE? WHY IS THE CROSS DISPLAYED IN OUR HOMES, IN OUR CHURCH, USUALLY, AMONG US CATHOLICS, WITH A REPRESENTATION OF JESUS' BODY ON IT?
HOW DOES CHRISTIANITY ANSWER THE QUESTION, WHY ARE WE UNHAPPY, AND WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?
I THINK WE HAVE A UNIQUE ANSWER, ONE NOT SHARED BY ANY OTHER RELIGION, OR BY SECULAR SOCIETY. WE SAY THAT TRUE HAPPINESS CAN ONLY HAPPEN WHEN WE EMBRACE THE CROSS. WHY IS THAT? BECAUSE IN EMBRACING THE CROSS, WE BECOME CAUGHT UP IN THE REALITY THAT JESUS EXPERIENCED, AND WE HAVE TO DO THAT IF WE ARE TO JOIN HIM IN HIS RESURRECTION; SO THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE ARE HEADED FOR RESURRECTION IN JESUS CAN MAKE EVEN THE MOST TERRIBLE OF HUMAN CIRCUMSTANCES NOT ONLY BEARABLE, BUT A SOURCE OF JOY. ONE PHILOSOPHER SAID THAT A SOUL IN PURGATORY WAS HAPPIER THAN ANY PERSON STILL ALIVE, BECAUSE HE KNEW HIS DESTINY IN HEAVEN WAS ASSURED.
ST. PAUL KNEW THIS. ALL THROUGH HIS EPISTLES HE REFERS TO THE JOY HE RECEIVES FROM HIS SUFFERING; THE GLORY THAT COMES OUT OF HIS HUMAN WEAKNESS; HOW HE HAS GOTTEN TO THE POINT WHERE IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER TO HIM WHETHER HE LIVES OR DIES, BECAUSE HIS DEEPEST LONGING IS TO BE WITH JESUS.
BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO EMBRACE THE CROSS? WELL, THERE ISN'T ANYONE IN THIS CONGREGATION WHO IS NOT SUFFERING IN SOME WAY RIGHT NOW. YOU MAY BE COMING DOWN WITH A COLD; YOU MAY HAVE ARTHRITIS. YOU MAY BE GETTING OLD AND LOSING PARTS OF YOURSELF. YOU MAY BE YOUNG AND BORED BY HAVING TO COME TO CHURCH WHEN YOU COULD BE DOING SOMETHING A LOT MORE FUN. YOU MAY HAVE HAD A QUARREL WITH YOUR SPOUSE AND YOU ARE FEELING BADLY BECAUSE YOU STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN BACK TO YOUR NORMAL RELATIONSHIP.
BUT WE CAN SUFFER ALONE, OR WE CAN UNITE THAT SUFFERING TO THE SUFFERING OF JESUS; WHEN WE REALIZE THAT ALL OF THESE LITTLE CROSSES ARE BRIDGES TO JESUS' CROSS, AND THEREFORE TO HIS RESURRECTION, THEY CAN LEAD US TO JOY; WHEN WE OFFER ALL THESE LITTLE BITS OF SUFFERING SO THAT THE BODY OF CHRIST WILL SUFFER LESS, THERE CAN BE JOY IN THAT. AND SOME OF US ARE CALLED TO GREATER CROSSES THAN OTHERS, AND ALL OF US WILL BE ASKED SOMETIME IN OUR LIVES TO EMBRACE A GREAT CROSS, AND AS FRIGHTENING AS THAT SEEMS TO BE, THE GRACE WILL BE THERE TO UNITE THAT CROSS TO THE CROSS OF JESUS, AND GOD WILLING, WE WILL FIND OURSELVES RUSHING TOWARDS CALVARY SO THAT OUR SUFFERING WILL BE WITH HIM, AND OUR RESURRECTION AS WELL.
GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE US HIS ONLY SON. JESUS LOVES US SO MUCH THAT HE GIVES HIMSELF UP FOR US. BY BECOMING ONE OF US, JESUS MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR EACH OF US TO TURN ALL OUR SUFFERING INTO JOY, NOT IN SOME FUTURE TIME, NOT BY DESTROYING PART OF WHAT MAKES US HUMAN, NOT BY BLINDLY ACCEPTING A FATE OVER WHICH WE HAVE NO CONTROL IN THE HOPES THAT AN ARBITRARY GOD MIGHT CHOOSE TO LET US JOIN HIM IN PARADISE – HE MADE IT POSSIBLE TO FIND JOY WITHIN OUR VERY SUFFERING, BECAUSE HE SUFFERS IN US, AND WHEN WE REALIZE THAT, THERE CAN BE ONLY JOY.
I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF TAKING CARE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE DYING. ONCE IN A WHILE, I SEE WHAT I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT; AS DEATH GETS CLOSER, AS SUFFERING INCREASES, SOMETIMES A PARADOXICAL JOY IS THERE AS WELL.
SO TODAY LET US PRAY TO GOD THAT WE WILL LEARN TO EMBRACE THE CROSS, THE SIGN THAT THERE CAN BE HAPPINESS IN SUFFERING, AND LIFE CAN BE FOUND IN DEATH, BECAUSE WHERE THE CROSS IS, THERE JESUS IS, AND WHERE JESUS IS, THERE IS RESURRECTION.
IF YOU WERE A SINCERE BUDDHIST, YOU WOULD SPEND YOUR LIFE TRYING TO GET RID OF ALL DESIRE, BECAUSE TO A BUDDHIST, DESIRE IS THE REASON FOR UNHAPPINESS. IF YOU WERE A MUSLIM, YOU WOULD EXPLAIN THE BAD PARTS OF LIFE BY REFERRING TO FATE, THE ABSOLUTE, UNFETTERED WILL OF GOD THAT NO ONE CAN DO ANYTHING ABOUT. MOHAMMED HIMSELF SAID THAT IF GOD WANTED TO SEND A NEWBORN BABY TO HELL, WE HAD NO REASON TO QUESTION HIS ACTION. IF YOU WERE A HINDU, YOU WOULD SAY THAT UNHAPPINESS IS ONLY A DREAM, AND EVENTUALLY THE SOUL THAT IS IN ALL LIVING BEINGS WILL WAKE UP TO PERFECT BLISS. AND IF YOU WERE JEWISH, UNHAPPINESS IS PART OF LIFE, AND WE CAN ONLY HOPE FOR THE TIME IN THE FUTURE WHEN ALL WRONGS WILL BE RIGHTED AND THE WORDS OF THE PROPHETS WILL BE FULFILLED.
THE RELIGIONS OF MAN ALL ATTEMPT TO ANSWER THAT FUNDAMENTAL QUESTION – WHY ARE WE UNHAPPY, AND WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT? AND IT ISN'T JUST RELIGIONS THAT TRY TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION; SECULAR SOCIETY THINKS IT HAS ANSWERS AS WELL. IF YOU ARE UNHAPPY, IT IS BECAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE STUFF, AND IF YOU GO GET STUFF, YOU WILL BE HAPPY. IF YOU ARE UNHAPPY, IT MAY BE A PROBLEM WITH YOUR BRAIN'S CHEMISTRY, AND THERE ARE PILLS TO FIX THAT. IF YOU ARE UNHAPPY AND SOMEONE ELSE IS HAPPY, YOU WILL BE HAPPIER IF HE OR SHE IS MADE TO BE UNHAPPY.
THERE ARE CHRISTIANS AND CHRISTIAN SECTS THAT BELIEVE HAPPINESS LIES IN KNOWING THAT YOU ARE SAVED, OR BEING BAPTIZED IN THE HOLY SPIRIT, OR DEVELOPING A RELATIONSHIP WITH A JESUS WHO DOESN'T JUDGE, WHO IS ALL WARM AND FUZZY AND JUST DYING TO DO WHATEVER WE ASK HIM TO. AND OF COURSE, ALL OF US CHRISTIANS BELIEVE THAT REAL HAPPINESS LIES IN THE NEXT LIFE, AND SOME OF US EVEN FEEL THAT THIS LIFE SHOULD BE A VEIL OF TEARS.
BUT TODAY WE HONOR THE HOLY CROSS. WE REMEMBER JESUS BEING JUDGED, STRIPPED OF HIS CLOTHING, MOCKED, BEATEN, AND MADE TO CARRY THAT CROSS THROUGH THE STREETS OF JERUSALEM. WE REMEMBER THE NAILS THAT FIXED HIM TO IT, WE REMEMBER HIM HANGING FOR THREE HOURS, NEVER BEING ABLE TO TAKE A DEEP BREATH, AND GRADUALLY SUFFOCATING. WE HEAR HIM CRY OUT, “MY GOD, WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME.” AND WE SEE HIS BODY, FINALLY, TAKEN DOWN AND PUT IN THE ARMS OF HIS WEEPING MOTHER.
AND WE MIGHT ASK, WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH HAPPINESS? WHY DO WE HONOR THE CROSS, THAT INSTRUMENT OF DEATH, OF TORTURE? WHY IS THE CROSS DISPLAYED IN OUR HOMES, IN OUR CHURCH, USUALLY, AMONG US CATHOLICS, WITH A REPRESENTATION OF JESUS' BODY ON IT?
HOW DOES CHRISTIANITY ANSWER THE QUESTION, WHY ARE WE UNHAPPY, AND WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?
I THINK WE HAVE A UNIQUE ANSWER, ONE NOT SHARED BY ANY OTHER RELIGION, OR BY SECULAR SOCIETY. WE SAY THAT TRUE HAPPINESS CAN ONLY HAPPEN WHEN WE EMBRACE THE CROSS. WHY IS THAT? BECAUSE IN EMBRACING THE CROSS, WE BECOME CAUGHT UP IN THE REALITY THAT JESUS EXPERIENCED, AND WE HAVE TO DO THAT IF WE ARE TO JOIN HIM IN HIS RESURRECTION; SO THE KNOWLEDGE THAT WE ARE HEADED FOR RESURRECTION IN JESUS CAN MAKE EVEN THE MOST TERRIBLE OF HUMAN CIRCUMSTANCES NOT ONLY BEARABLE, BUT A SOURCE OF JOY. ONE PHILOSOPHER SAID THAT A SOUL IN PURGATORY WAS HAPPIER THAN ANY PERSON STILL ALIVE, BECAUSE HE KNEW HIS DESTINY IN HEAVEN WAS ASSURED.
ST. PAUL KNEW THIS. ALL THROUGH HIS EPISTLES HE REFERS TO THE JOY HE RECEIVES FROM HIS SUFFERING; THE GLORY THAT COMES OUT OF HIS HUMAN WEAKNESS; HOW HE HAS GOTTEN TO THE POINT WHERE IT DOESN'T REALLY MATTER TO HIM WHETHER HE LIVES OR DIES, BECAUSE HIS DEEPEST LONGING IS TO BE WITH JESUS.
BUT WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO EMBRACE THE CROSS? WELL, THERE ISN'T ANYONE IN THIS CONGREGATION WHO IS NOT SUFFERING IN SOME WAY RIGHT NOW. YOU MAY BE COMING DOWN WITH A COLD; YOU MAY HAVE ARTHRITIS. YOU MAY BE GETTING OLD AND LOSING PARTS OF YOURSELF. YOU MAY BE YOUNG AND BORED BY HAVING TO COME TO CHURCH WHEN YOU COULD BE DOING SOMETHING A LOT MORE FUN. YOU MAY HAVE HAD A QUARREL WITH YOUR SPOUSE AND YOU ARE FEELING BADLY BECAUSE YOU STILL HAVEN'T GOTTEN BACK TO YOUR NORMAL RELATIONSHIP.
BUT WE CAN SUFFER ALONE, OR WE CAN UNITE THAT SUFFERING TO THE SUFFERING OF JESUS; WHEN WE REALIZE THAT ALL OF THESE LITTLE CROSSES ARE BRIDGES TO JESUS' CROSS, AND THEREFORE TO HIS RESURRECTION, THEY CAN LEAD US TO JOY; WHEN WE OFFER ALL THESE LITTLE BITS OF SUFFERING SO THAT THE BODY OF CHRIST WILL SUFFER LESS, THERE CAN BE JOY IN THAT. AND SOME OF US ARE CALLED TO GREATER CROSSES THAN OTHERS, AND ALL OF US WILL BE ASKED SOMETIME IN OUR LIVES TO EMBRACE A GREAT CROSS, AND AS FRIGHTENING AS THAT SEEMS TO BE, THE GRACE WILL BE THERE TO UNITE THAT CROSS TO THE CROSS OF JESUS, AND GOD WILLING, WE WILL FIND OURSELVES RUSHING TOWARDS CALVARY SO THAT OUR SUFFERING WILL BE WITH HIM, AND OUR RESURRECTION AS WELL.
GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE US HIS ONLY SON. JESUS LOVES US SO MUCH THAT HE GIVES HIMSELF UP FOR US. BY BECOMING ONE OF US, JESUS MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR EACH OF US TO TURN ALL OUR SUFFERING INTO JOY, NOT IN SOME FUTURE TIME, NOT BY DESTROYING PART OF WHAT MAKES US HUMAN, NOT BY BLINDLY ACCEPTING A FATE OVER WHICH WE HAVE NO CONTROL IN THE HOPES THAT AN ARBITRARY GOD MIGHT CHOOSE TO LET US JOIN HIM IN PARADISE – HE MADE IT POSSIBLE TO FIND JOY WITHIN OUR VERY SUFFERING, BECAUSE HE SUFFERS IN US, AND WHEN WE REALIZE THAT, THERE CAN BE ONLY JOY.
I HAVE THE PRIVILEGE OF TAKING CARE OF PEOPLE WHO ARE DYING. ONCE IN A WHILE, I SEE WHAT I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT; AS DEATH GETS CLOSER, AS SUFFERING INCREASES, SOMETIMES A PARADOXICAL JOY IS THERE AS WELL.
SO TODAY LET US PRAY TO GOD THAT WE WILL LEARN TO EMBRACE THE CROSS, THE SIGN THAT THERE CAN BE HAPPINESS IN SUFFERING, AND LIFE CAN BE FOUND IN DEATH, BECAUSE WHERE THE CROSS IS, THERE JESUS IS, AND WHERE JESUS IS, THERE IS RESURRECTION.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A
MATTHEW 18:15-20
MY MOTHER CAME FROM A LARGE FAMILY. HER PARENTS WERE FIRST GENERATION AMERICANS, WHOSE OWN PARENTS HAD EMIGRATED FROM GERMANY. THEY WERE VERY ARDENT CATHOLICS, ESPECIALLY MY GRANDMOTHER, WHO IN HER YOUNGER YEARS HAD WANTED TO BECOME A NUN. OF THE TEN CHILDREN WHO SURVIVED INFANCY, NINE REMAINED PRACTICING CATHOLICS THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES. THERE ARE THREE STILL LIVING, AND I DON'T THINK ANY OF THEM WILL DEFECT IN THE TIME THEY HAVE LEFT. BUT THERE WAS ONE, ONE OF THE YOUNGER ONES, WHO JOINED THE NAVY AND SPENT A GOOD PART OF HIS CAREER FLYING FIGHTER BOMBERS; HE CRASHED FOUR PLANES, AND MARRIED FOUR TIMES DURING THE COURSE OF HIS MILITARY CAREER, AND FINALLY SETTLED DOWN IN CALIFORNIA, DRINKING HARD, SMOKING EVEN HARDER, AND HAVING CONTEMPT FOR ANYONE WHO PRACTICED A RELIGION OF ANY SORT.
IN THE COURSE OF HIS LIFE, HE ALIENATED A LOT OF PEOPLE, EVEN HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS, INCLUDING MY MOTHER. I AM SURE THERE WERE A LOT OF PRAYERS SAID FOR HIM, AND I AM SURE HIS OWN PARENTS, ESPECIALLY HIS MOTHER, WERE UP THERE IN HEAVEN DOING EVERYTHING THEY COULD.
I GOT A CALL FROM HIM ONE DAY. “I'VE GOT CANCER,” HE SAID. AND OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT YEAR, I WOULD GET A CALL, USUALLY ONCE A WEEK, SOMETIMES HE WOULD JUST TALK, SOMETIMES HE WOULD WANT ADVICE, BUT AS USUAL HIS CONVERSATION WAS PEPPERED WITH OBSCENITIES AND REFERENCES TO THE SEVENTH DAY ADVANTAGES, THE MORONS, AND THE CAT LICKERS THAT ANNOYED HIM BECAUSE THEY WENT TO CHURCH.
AT THE VERY END, AS HE LAY DYING IN THE HOSPITAL, ONE OF HIS OLDER BROTHERS CAME ALL THE WAY FROM MONTANA TO BE WITH HIM. I DON'T KNOW THE DETAILS, BUT IN THE END, HE MADE HIS CONFESSION AND RECEIVED THE LAST SACRAMENTS.
SO WHY TELL THIS STORY? I THINK IT SPEAKS TO EVERYTHING THAT JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT TODAY. FIRST, JESUS TALKS ABOUT OUR OBLIGATION TO FRATERNAL CORRECTION. WHEN YOUR BROTHER OR SISTER SINS AGAINST YOU, GO TO HIM AND TELL HIS FAULT TO HIM ALONE. IF HE LISTENS, YOU HAVE WON HIM OVER.” MOST OF US PASS UP THIS STEP. WHEN SOMEONE SINS AGAINST US, AND ANY SIN A FELLOW CHRISTIAN COMMITS IS AGAINST US, BECAUSE WE ARE ALL MEMBERS OF THE SAME BODY OF CHRIST, WE EITHER IGNORE WHAT IS GOING ON, OR WE GO STRAIGHT TO THE TOP. THERE WAS A TIME WHEN I FIRST BECAME A DEACON WHEN I PREACHED A SERMON, AND THEN NEXT THING I KNEW A LETTER HAD BEEN SENT TO THE BISHOP ACCUSING ME OF HERESY. THE INDIVIDUAL WHO TOOK OFFENSE AT WHAT I SAID DIDN'T BOTHER TO TELL ME IN PRIVATE. WITH MY UNCLE, THE REACTION TO HIS LIFE CHOICES ON THE PART OF MY OTHER UNCLES AND AUNTS WAS LIKE THAT; THEY TALKED ABOUT HIM TO EACH OTHER, BUT I DOUBT THAT ANY TOLD HIM IN PRIVATE THAT HE WAS HEADING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION, THAT HE WAS SINNING, THAT HE WAS PUTTING HIS SOUL IN DANGER.
THE SECOND THING JESUS TALKS ABOUT IS BINDING AND LOOSING. NOTICE HE IS ADDRESSING THE SAME PEOPLE THAT HE ADDRESSES WITH THE FIRST STATEMENT AND THE THIRD, SO THIS IS NOT JUST TO THE APOSTLES. IT IS ADDRESSED TO ALL OF US. YES, OF COURSE IT REFERS TO THE FACT THAT THE CHURCH, THROUGH ITS LEADERS, CAN FORGIVE SIN, CAN ADMINISTER SACRAMENTAL GRACE; BUT IT ALSO REFERS, I THINK, TO THE FACT THAT EACH OF US CAN MAKE A CHOICE; TO BE TIED TO SOMETHING-- OR TO LET IT GO. MY UNCLE WAS THE BLACK SHEEP OF THE FAMILY. HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND NIECES AND NEPHEWS ALL KNEW THIS, ALL HELD ON TO IT, AND HE DID THE SAME. ONLY AT THE END DID ONE BROTHER HAVE SUFFICIENT COURAGE TO LET GO OF THOSE CHARACTERIZATIONS AND APPROACH HIM AS THOUGH EVERYTHING WAS NEW AGAIN, AND ALL THE BAGGAGE EACH CARRIED WAS CAST ASIDE. WE ALL HAVE THE POWER TO BIND AND TO LOOSE. MOST OF US ARE VERY GOOD AT BINDING.
THE THIRD THING IS THAT JESUS PROMISES THAT WHEN TWO OF YOU AGREE ON EARTH ABOUT SOMETHING TO PRAY FOR, OUR HEAVENLY FATHER WILL GRANT IT. AND AMONG THE NINE BROTHERS AND SISTERS, AND THE 46 GRANDCHILDREN, SURELY A COMMON PRAYER WAS FOR HIS FINAL CONVERSION, SURELY THOSE WHO HAD GROWN UP WITH HIM OR KNOWN HIM HOPED AND PRAYED THAT THEY WOULD BE UNITED IN HEAVEN. AND SURELY HIS MOTHER BEFORE AND AFTER HER DEATH, NEVER STOPPED PRAYING FOR HIM. AND THE PRAYER WAS GRANTED, AND I KNOW THAT SOMEDAY IF, GOD WILLING, I GET TO HEAVEN, I WILL MEET MY UNCLE ONCE AGAIN.
JESUS IN THIS SHORT MESSAGE TELLS US WHAT KIND OF A COMMUNITY HE WANTS. HE WANTS EACH OF US TO LOVE EACH OTHER ENOUGH TO WANT THEM TO GET TO HEAVEN. WHEN WE SEE THAT A BROTHER OR SISTER IS GOING ASTRAY, HE WANTS US TO TAKE THEM ASIDE AND TELL THEM OF OUR CONCERNS. SOMETIMES WE WILL BE SHOT DOWN. MOST OF THE TIME WE WILL BE IGNORED. BUT NOW AND THEN A LIFE WILL BE CHANGED BECAUSE WE TOOK TO HEART WHAT JESUS SAID. JESUS WANTS EACH OF US TO EXAMINE WHAT BINDS US, WHAT HOLDS US DOWN, WHAT KEEPS US FROM LIVING IN HIS KINGDOM – OUR SELFISHNESS, OUR PREJUDICES, OUR FEARS, OUR UNWILLINGNESS TO FORGIVE. AND HE PROMISES THAT IF WE LET LOOSE OF THESE, IT WILL HAPPEN; WE WILL BE MADE FREE. OUR DECISIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES, EVEN IN ETERNITY.
AND FINALLY, HE CHARGES US AS A COMMUNITY TO PRAY TOGETHER. PRIVATE PRAYER IS A GOOD THING, BUT NOTE THAT IF WE WANT TO BE SURE THAT WE WILL BE ANSWERED, WE HAVE TO PRAY TOGETHER. WELL, WE DO, YOU SAY. WE DO EVERY SUNDAY AT MASS. AND I SAY, PROBABLY NOT REALLY. BECAUSE GOD HAS NO TROUBLE READING OUR HEARTS; IN FACT HE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE TO DO THAT. HE CAN TELL IF WE MEAN WHAT WE PRAY FOR BY WHAT WE DO BETWEEN NOW AND NEXT SUNDAY. DID WE PRAY FOR THE POOR? WHAT DID WE DO? DID WE PRAY FOR PEACE? HOW DID WE HELP THE CAUSE OF PEACE. DID WE PRAY FOR OUR BISHOP? AND DURING THE WEEK DID WE FIND OURSELVES FINDING FAULT WITH THE BISHOP OVER A CUP OF COFFEE WITH A FRIEND? GOD WILL ANSWER WHAT WE PRAY FOR, BUT ONLY IF WE MEAN IT.
SO THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS THIS WEEK. BECAUSE AS USUAL, THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL SURE CAN SHOW SOME DIRT AND COBWEBS IN THE DARK CORNERS OF OUR SOULS, AND ITS UP TO US TO USE THAT LIGHT AND GOD'S GRACE TO COME CLOSER TO THE LIFE JESUS WANTS FOR US.
MY MOTHER CAME FROM A LARGE FAMILY. HER PARENTS WERE FIRST GENERATION AMERICANS, WHOSE OWN PARENTS HAD EMIGRATED FROM GERMANY. THEY WERE VERY ARDENT CATHOLICS, ESPECIALLY MY GRANDMOTHER, WHO IN HER YOUNGER YEARS HAD WANTED TO BECOME A NUN. OF THE TEN CHILDREN WHO SURVIVED INFANCY, NINE REMAINED PRACTICING CATHOLICS THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES. THERE ARE THREE STILL LIVING, AND I DON'T THINK ANY OF THEM WILL DEFECT IN THE TIME THEY HAVE LEFT. BUT THERE WAS ONE, ONE OF THE YOUNGER ONES, WHO JOINED THE NAVY AND SPENT A GOOD PART OF HIS CAREER FLYING FIGHTER BOMBERS; HE CRASHED FOUR PLANES, AND MARRIED FOUR TIMES DURING THE COURSE OF HIS MILITARY CAREER, AND FINALLY SETTLED DOWN IN CALIFORNIA, DRINKING HARD, SMOKING EVEN HARDER, AND HAVING CONTEMPT FOR ANYONE WHO PRACTICED A RELIGION OF ANY SORT.
IN THE COURSE OF HIS LIFE, HE ALIENATED A LOT OF PEOPLE, EVEN HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS, INCLUDING MY MOTHER. I AM SURE THERE WERE A LOT OF PRAYERS SAID FOR HIM, AND I AM SURE HIS OWN PARENTS, ESPECIALLY HIS MOTHER, WERE UP THERE IN HEAVEN DOING EVERYTHING THEY COULD.
I GOT A CALL FROM HIM ONE DAY. “I'VE GOT CANCER,” HE SAID. AND OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT YEAR, I WOULD GET A CALL, USUALLY ONCE A WEEK, SOMETIMES HE WOULD JUST TALK, SOMETIMES HE WOULD WANT ADVICE, BUT AS USUAL HIS CONVERSATION WAS PEPPERED WITH OBSCENITIES AND REFERENCES TO THE SEVENTH DAY ADVANTAGES, THE MORONS, AND THE CAT LICKERS THAT ANNOYED HIM BECAUSE THEY WENT TO CHURCH.
AT THE VERY END, AS HE LAY DYING IN THE HOSPITAL, ONE OF HIS OLDER BROTHERS CAME ALL THE WAY FROM MONTANA TO BE WITH HIM. I DON'T KNOW THE DETAILS, BUT IN THE END, HE MADE HIS CONFESSION AND RECEIVED THE LAST SACRAMENTS.
SO WHY TELL THIS STORY? I THINK IT SPEAKS TO EVERYTHING THAT JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT TODAY. FIRST, JESUS TALKS ABOUT OUR OBLIGATION TO FRATERNAL CORRECTION. WHEN YOUR BROTHER OR SISTER SINS AGAINST YOU, GO TO HIM AND TELL HIS FAULT TO HIM ALONE. IF HE LISTENS, YOU HAVE WON HIM OVER.” MOST OF US PASS UP THIS STEP. WHEN SOMEONE SINS AGAINST US, AND ANY SIN A FELLOW CHRISTIAN COMMITS IS AGAINST US, BECAUSE WE ARE ALL MEMBERS OF THE SAME BODY OF CHRIST, WE EITHER IGNORE WHAT IS GOING ON, OR WE GO STRAIGHT TO THE TOP. THERE WAS A TIME WHEN I FIRST BECAME A DEACON WHEN I PREACHED A SERMON, AND THEN NEXT THING I KNEW A LETTER HAD BEEN SENT TO THE BISHOP ACCUSING ME OF HERESY. THE INDIVIDUAL WHO TOOK OFFENSE AT WHAT I SAID DIDN'T BOTHER TO TELL ME IN PRIVATE. WITH MY UNCLE, THE REACTION TO HIS LIFE CHOICES ON THE PART OF MY OTHER UNCLES AND AUNTS WAS LIKE THAT; THEY TALKED ABOUT HIM TO EACH OTHER, BUT I DOUBT THAT ANY TOLD HIM IN PRIVATE THAT HE WAS HEADING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION, THAT HE WAS SINNING, THAT HE WAS PUTTING HIS SOUL IN DANGER.
THE SECOND THING JESUS TALKS ABOUT IS BINDING AND LOOSING. NOTICE HE IS ADDRESSING THE SAME PEOPLE THAT HE ADDRESSES WITH THE FIRST STATEMENT AND THE THIRD, SO THIS IS NOT JUST TO THE APOSTLES. IT IS ADDRESSED TO ALL OF US. YES, OF COURSE IT REFERS TO THE FACT THAT THE CHURCH, THROUGH ITS LEADERS, CAN FORGIVE SIN, CAN ADMINISTER SACRAMENTAL GRACE; BUT IT ALSO REFERS, I THINK, TO THE FACT THAT EACH OF US CAN MAKE A CHOICE; TO BE TIED TO SOMETHING-- OR TO LET IT GO. MY UNCLE WAS THE BLACK SHEEP OF THE FAMILY. HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS AND NIECES AND NEPHEWS ALL KNEW THIS, ALL HELD ON TO IT, AND HE DID THE SAME. ONLY AT THE END DID ONE BROTHER HAVE SUFFICIENT COURAGE TO LET GO OF THOSE CHARACTERIZATIONS AND APPROACH HIM AS THOUGH EVERYTHING WAS NEW AGAIN, AND ALL THE BAGGAGE EACH CARRIED WAS CAST ASIDE. WE ALL HAVE THE POWER TO BIND AND TO LOOSE. MOST OF US ARE VERY GOOD AT BINDING.
THE THIRD THING IS THAT JESUS PROMISES THAT WHEN TWO OF YOU AGREE ON EARTH ABOUT SOMETHING TO PRAY FOR, OUR HEAVENLY FATHER WILL GRANT IT. AND AMONG THE NINE BROTHERS AND SISTERS, AND THE 46 GRANDCHILDREN, SURELY A COMMON PRAYER WAS FOR HIS FINAL CONVERSION, SURELY THOSE WHO HAD GROWN UP WITH HIM OR KNOWN HIM HOPED AND PRAYED THAT THEY WOULD BE UNITED IN HEAVEN. AND SURELY HIS MOTHER BEFORE AND AFTER HER DEATH, NEVER STOPPED PRAYING FOR HIM. AND THE PRAYER WAS GRANTED, AND I KNOW THAT SOMEDAY IF, GOD WILLING, I GET TO HEAVEN, I WILL MEET MY UNCLE ONCE AGAIN.
JESUS IN THIS SHORT MESSAGE TELLS US WHAT KIND OF A COMMUNITY HE WANTS. HE WANTS EACH OF US TO LOVE EACH OTHER ENOUGH TO WANT THEM TO GET TO HEAVEN. WHEN WE SEE THAT A BROTHER OR SISTER IS GOING ASTRAY, HE WANTS US TO TAKE THEM ASIDE AND TELL THEM OF OUR CONCERNS. SOMETIMES WE WILL BE SHOT DOWN. MOST OF THE TIME WE WILL BE IGNORED. BUT NOW AND THEN A LIFE WILL BE CHANGED BECAUSE WE TOOK TO HEART WHAT JESUS SAID. JESUS WANTS EACH OF US TO EXAMINE WHAT BINDS US, WHAT HOLDS US DOWN, WHAT KEEPS US FROM LIVING IN HIS KINGDOM – OUR SELFISHNESS, OUR PREJUDICES, OUR FEARS, OUR UNWILLINGNESS TO FORGIVE. AND HE PROMISES THAT IF WE LET LOOSE OF THESE, IT WILL HAPPEN; WE WILL BE MADE FREE. OUR DECISIONS HAVE CONSEQUENCES, EVEN IN ETERNITY.
AND FINALLY, HE CHARGES US AS A COMMUNITY TO PRAY TOGETHER. PRIVATE PRAYER IS A GOOD THING, BUT NOTE THAT IF WE WANT TO BE SURE THAT WE WILL BE ANSWERED, WE HAVE TO PRAY TOGETHER. WELL, WE DO, YOU SAY. WE DO EVERY SUNDAY AT MASS. AND I SAY, PROBABLY NOT REALLY. BECAUSE GOD HAS NO TROUBLE READING OUR HEARTS; IN FACT HE DOESN'T EVEN HAVE TO DO THAT. HE CAN TELL IF WE MEAN WHAT WE PRAY FOR BY WHAT WE DO BETWEEN NOW AND NEXT SUNDAY. DID WE PRAY FOR THE POOR? WHAT DID WE DO? DID WE PRAY FOR PEACE? HOW DID WE HELP THE CAUSE OF PEACE. DID WE PRAY FOR OUR BISHOP? AND DURING THE WEEK DID WE FIND OURSELVES FINDING FAULT WITH THE BISHOP OVER A CUP OF COFFEE WITH A FRIEND? GOD WILL ANSWER WHAT WE PRAY FOR, BUT ONLY IF WE MEAN IT.
SO THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS THIS WEEK. BECAUSE AS USUAL, THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL SURE CAN SHOW SOME DIRT AND COBWEBS IN THE DARK CORNERS OF OUR SOULS, AND ITS UP TO US TO USE THAT LIGHT AND GOD'S GRACE TO COME CLOSER TO THE LIFE JESUS WANTS FOR US.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A
MATTHEW 16:21-27
A FEW WEEKS AGO, FATHER REILLY CALLED MY ATTENTION TO A MORNING GLORY GROWING ON HIS PORCH. ODDLY ENOUGH, THE FIRST TIME I MET FATHER REILLY WHEN HE WAS PASTOR IN HOLYOKE, HE ALSO SHOWED ME A MORNING GLORY GROWING ON A FENCE OUTSIDE THE CHURCH. HE DIDN'T REMEMBER THAT FIRST TIME, BUT I DID, SO I GUESS MY MIND IS STILL INTACT.
HAVE YOU EVER REALLY LOOKED AT A FLOWER? BESIDES THE COLOR, AND THE COLORS RANGE ALL OVER THE VISUAL SPECTRUM, THE SHAPE, THE INTRICATE DESIGNS, THE SMELL SOMETIMES, AND THE INFINITE VARIETY ALL GO TOGETHER TO DELIGHT THE PEOPLE WHO TAKE THE TIME TO ENJOY THEM. I DON'T SPEND NEARLY ENOUGH TIME ON FLOWERS.
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, HUMAN BEINGS ARE THE ONLY CREATURES THAT CAN ENJOY FLOWERS. SCIENTISTS TELL US THAT THE ODOR AND COLOR ATTRACT INSECTS, BUT INSECTS HAVE NO BRAIN TO SPEAK OF, AND THEIR EYES ARE NOT DESIGNED FOR FINE DETAIL. BIRDS CAN SEE COLOR, BUT THEIR EYESIGHT IS DESIGNED TO DETECT MOVEMENT, AND WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE THAT THEY APPRECIATE FLOWERS. AND OF COURSE MAMMALS, MY CAT AND YOUR DOG, CANNOT SEE COLOR AT ALL, BUT LIVE IN A WORLD OF BLACK AND WHITE.
SO FLOWERS TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT THE WAY GOD THINKS. IF YOU WERE A HUMAN BEING DESIGNING THE WORLD, YOU WOULD PROBABLY GO FOR SIMPLICITY. MAYBE ONE KIND OF FLOWER, ONE KIND OF INSECT. CERTAINLY YOU WOULDN'T DESIGN A HUGE COLLECTION OF PLANTS THAT ONLY A HUMAN BEING CAN APPRECIATE AS BEAUTIFUL; BUT THAT IS HOW GOD THINKS – INFINITE VARIETY, INFINITE CREATIVITY, A UNIVERSE AS BIG AS , WELL, THE UNIVERSE, MILLIONS OF SPECIES OF LIFE HERE ON EARTH – GOD NEVER STOPS CREATING; AND WHEN WE SEE BEAUTY IN GOD'S CREATION, WE ARE CATCHING SIGHT OF GOD.
JESUS TELLS PETER THAT HE IS NOT THINKING AS GOD THINKS, BUT AS MAN THINKS. CREATION AS GOD CREATES IS JUST ONE OF THOSE STARK DIFFERENCES. PETER STUMBLES UPON ANOTHER. WE HUMAN BEINGS WOULD FEEL THAT IF WE WERE TO UNDERTAKE A GREAT WORK, THE IMPORTANT THING TO ASSURE THAT THE WORK BE COMPLETED WOULD BE THAT WE WOULD BE AROUND; WE WOULD WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE STAYED HEALTHY. BUT THAT'S NOT THE WAY GOD THINKS. GOD EMPTIES HIMSELF OUT; THE FATHER EMPTIES HIMSELF OUT IN JESUS, AND JESUS EMPTIES HIMSELF OUT ON THE CROSS FOR US, HIS CHURCH. THE GREEKS, AS USUAL, HAVE A WORD FOR THAT, IT IS KENOSIS. IT SEEMS THAT THE WAY GOD THINKS IS THAT IF YOU WANT SOMETHING IMPORTANT DONE, YOU GIVE YOURSELF UP FOR IT -- A LESSON THAT MANY OF THE SAINTS AND ALL OF THE MARTYRS TOOK TO HEART.
IF SOMEONE OFFENDS ME, AND THEN COMES TO ME TO APOLOGIZE, MY RESPONSE IS GRUDGING, CONDITIONAL FORGIVENESS, ESPECIALLY IF THE OFFENSE HAS BEEN GREAT. AS A PARENT, I WOULD ALWAYS FORGIVE MY CHILDREN, BUT THERE WOULD BE IMPOSITION OF PUNISHMENT. WHEN JOAN AND I WOULD HAVE AN ARGUMENT THAT LEFT HURT FEELINGS, WE WOULD FORGIVE EACH OTHER GRADUALLY, IN STAGES. AND I DON'T KNOW THAT THIS KIND OF FORGIVENESS IS WRONG. BUT ITS NOT THE WAY GOD THINKS. THE OLD TESTAMENT IS FULL OF EXAMPLES WHERE, BECAUSE GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE HAVE CHOSEN TO DISOBEY, TO WORSHIP OTHER GODS, JUSTICE HAD TO BE SERVED, AND PUNISHMENT DESCENDED. BUT THE CONSTANT REFRAIN OF THE PROPHETS IS THAT IF THE PEOPLE WILL ONLY TURN BACK, NOT ONLY WILL ALL BE FORGIVEN, BUT GREAT BLESSINGS WILL COME. AND OF COURSE THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE SEE IN THE STORY OF THE PRODIGAL SON. THE SON IS JUST HOPING FOR A JOB AS A SERVANT; BUT THE FATHER TREATS HIM LIKE ROYALTY, EVEN BEFORE HE CAN APOLOGIZE. PETER EXPERIENCED THIS GOD-LIKE FORGIVENESS AFTER HIS BETRAYAL OF JESUS. AND WE CONTINUE TO RECEIVE NOT JUST FORGIVENESS, BUT THE UNIQUE FORGIVENESS THAT REFLECTS HOW GOD THINKS, WHENEVER WE PARTAKE IN THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE.
AND ONE OTHER EXAMPLE. WE HUMAN BEINGS NATURALLY LOOK TO THOSE WHO HAVE POWER, WISDOM, WEALTH, OR BRILLIANCE FOR LEADERSHIP, FOR EXAMPLES. EVEN THE APOSTLES, WHEN JESUS TOLD THEM THAT THE RICH WOULD HAVE A HARD TIME GETTING INTO HEAVEN, REPLIED, “WELL, IF THE RICH WON'T MAKE IT, WHO WILL?” THAT IS HOW HUMAN BEINGS THINK. BUT GOD THINKS DIFFERENTLY, GOD LOVES THE POOR, THE BROKEN HEARTED, THE DISADVANTAGED, THE MARGINALIZED; AND THOSE WHO ARE RICH, COMPLACENT, POWERFUL, MAYBE NOT SO MUCH. AS OUR MOTHER MARY SAID, HE HAS CAST DOWN THE MIGHTY FROM THEIR THRONES, AND HAS LIFTED UP THE LOWLY; HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS, AND THE RICH HE HAS SENT AWAY EMPTY”.
WHEN YOU READ THE WRITINGS OF ATHEISTS LIKE RICHARD DAWSON AND CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS, THEIR ARGUMENTS ARE PRETTY GOOD. BUT THE FUNDAMENTAL FLAW IS THAT THEY ARGUE AS THOUGH GOD THINKS LIKE A HUMAN BEING.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT DELIGHTS A PARENT IS WHEN A CHILD TAKES ON THEIR VALUES, THEIR GOOD HABITS, THEIR MANNER OF THINKING. THE FATHER IS NO DIFFERENT. HE WANTS US TO THINK AS HE DOES, AND TO LEARN TO DO THAT FOR MOST OF US TAKES A LIFETIME. WHEN JESUS TELLS US THAT THE ONLY WAY TO SAVE OUR LIVES IS TO LOSE THEM FOR HIM, AND IF WE WANT TO FOLLOW HIM WE NEED TO TAKE UP OUR CROSS, THOSE ARE FRIGHTENING, OFF-PUTTING THOUGHTS IF WE ARE THINKING LIKE HUMANS DO. BUT IF WE LEARN TO THINK LIKE GOD THINKS, THEN THEY BECOME ATTRACTIVE, THEY BECOME COMPELLING, AND WE WILL FIND OURSELVES GLADLY FOLLOWING THE STEPS OF OUR ELDER BROTHERS AND SISTERS, THE SAINTS.
SO THIS WEEK, THINK ABOUT HOW YOU THINK, AND ABOUT HOW GOD THINKS, AND PRAY THAT YOU WILL BE GIVEN THE GRACE TO THINK AS GOD THINKS, MAYBE JUST A LITTLE AT A TIME, BUT AT LEAST TO MOVE IN THAT DIRECTION. AND THE NEXT TIME YOU LOOK AT FLOWERS, REMEMBER THAT THE ONLY CONCEIVABLE REASON THAT YOU SEE THEM AS BRILLIANT AND BEAUTIFUL IS BECAUSE THAT IS THE WAY GOD THINKS.
A FEW WEEKS AGO, FATHER REILLY CALLED MY ATTENTION TO A MORNING GLORY GROWING ON HIS PORCH. ODDLY ENOUGH, THE FIRST TIME I MET FATHER REILLY WHEN HE WAS PASTOR IN HOLYOKE, HE ALSO SHOWED ME A MORNING GLORY GROWING ON A FENCE OUTSIDE THE CHURCH. HE DIDN'T REMEMBER THAT FIRST TIME, BUT I DID, SO I GUESS MY MIND IS STILL INTACT.
HAVE YOU EVER REALLY LOOKED AT A FLOWER? BESIDES THE COLOR, AND THE COLORS RANGE ALL OVER THE VISUAL SPECTRUM, THE SHAPE, THE INTRICATE DESIGNS, THE SMELL SOMETIMES, AND THE INFINITE VARIETY ALL GO TOGETHER TO DELIGHT THE PEOPLE WHO TAKE THE TIME TO ENJOY THEM. I DON'T SPEND NEARLY ENOUGH TIME ON FLOWERS.
WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, HUMAN BEINGS ARE THE ONLY CREATURES THAT CAN ENJOY FLOWERS. SCIENTISTS TELL US THAT THE ODOR AND COLOR ATTRACT INSECTS, BUT INSECTS HAVE NO BRAIN TO SPEAK OF, AND THEIR EYES ARE NOT DESIGNED FOR FINE DETAIL. BIRDS CAN SEE COLOR, BUT THEIR EYESIGHT IS DESIGNED TO DETECT MOVEMENT, AND WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE THAT THEY APPRECIATE FLOWERS. AND OF COURSE MAMMALS, MY CAT AND YOUR DOG, CANNOT SEE COLOR AT ALL, BUT LIVE IN A WORLD OF BLACK AND WHITE.
SO FLOWERS TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT THE WAY GOD THINKS. IF YOU WERE A HUMAN BEING DESIGNING THE WORLD, YOU WOULD PROBABLY GO FOR SIMPLICITY. MAYBE ONE KIND OF FLOWER, ONE KIND OF INSECT. CERTAINLY YOU WOULDN'T DESIGN A HUGE COLLECTION OF PLANTS THAT ONLY A HUMAN BEING CAN APPRECIATE AS BEAUTIFUL; BUT THAT IS HOW GOD THINKS – INFINITE VARIETY, INFINITE CREATIVITY, A UNIVERSE AS BIG AS , WELL, THE UNIVERSE, MILLIONS OF SPECIES OF LIFE HERE ON EARTH – GOD NEVER STOPS CREATING; AND WHEN WE SEE BEAUTY IN GOD'S CREATION, WE ARE CATCHING SIGHT OF GOD.
JESUS TELLS PETER THAT HE IS NOT THINKING AS GOD THINKS, BUT AS MAN THINKS. CREATION AS GOD CREATES IS JUST ONE OF THOSE STARK DIFFERENCES. PETER STUMBLES UPON ANOTHER. WE HUMAN BEINGS WOULD FEEL THAT IF WE WERE TO UNDERTAKE A GREAT WORK, THE IMPORTANT THING TO ASSURE THAT THE WORK BE COMPLETED WOULD BE THAT WE WOULD BE AROUND; WE WOULD WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE STAYED HEALTHY. BUT THAT'S NOT THE WAY GOD THINKS. GOD EMPTIES HIMSELF OUT; THE FATHER EMPTIES HIMSELF OUT IN JESUS, AND JESUS EMPTIES HIMSELF OUT ON THE CROSS FOR US, HIS CHURCH. THE GREEKS, AS USUAL, HAVE A WORD FOR THAT, IT IS KENOSIS. IT SEEMS THAT THE WAY GOD THINKS IS THAT IF YOU WANT SOMETHING IMPORTANT DONE, YOU GIVE YOURSELF UP FOR IT -- A LESSON THAT MANY OF THE SAINTS AND ALL OF THE MARTYRS TOOK TO HEART.
IF SOMEONE OFFENDS ME, AND THEN COMES TO ME TO APOLOGIZE, MY RESPONSE IS GRUDGING, CONDITIONAL FORGIVENESS, ESPECIALLY IF THE OFFENSE HAS BEEN GREAT. AS A PARENT, I WOULD ALWAYS FORGIVE MY CHILDREN, BUT THERE WOULD BE IMPOSITION OF PUNISHMENT. WHEN JOAN AND I WOULD HAVE AN ARGUMENT THAT LEFT HURT FEELINGS, WE WOULD FORGIVE EACH OTHER GRADUALLY, IN STAGES. AND I DON'T KNOW THAT THIS KIND OF FORGIVENESS IS WRONG. BUT ITS NOT THE WAY GOD THINKS. THE OLD TESTAMENT IS FULL OF EXAMPLES WHERE, BECAUSE GOD'S CHOSEN PEOPLE HAVE CHOSEN TO DISOBEY, TO WORSHIP OTHER GODS, JUSTICE HAD TO BE SERVED, AND PUNISHMENT DESCENDED. BUT THE CONSTANT REFRAIN OF THE PROPHETS IS THAT IF THE PEOPLE WILL ONLY TURN BACK, NOT ONLY WILL ALL BE FORGIVEN, BUT GREAT BLESSINGS WILL COME. AND OF COURSE THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE SEE IN THE STORY OF THE PRODIGAL SON. THE SON IS JUST HOPING FOR A JOB AS A SERVANT; BUT THE FATHER TREATS HIM LIKE ROYALTY, EVEN BEFORE HE CAN APOLOGIZE. PETER EXPERIENCED THIS GOD-LIKE FORGIVENESS AFTER HIS BETRAYAL OF JESUS. AND WE CONTINUE TO RECEIVE NOT JUST FORGIVENESS, BUT THE UNIQUE FORGIVENESS THAT REFLECTS HOW GOD THINKS, WHENEVER WE PARTAKE IN THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE.
AND ONE OTHER EXAMPLE. WE HUMAN BEINGS NATURALLY LOOK TO THOSE WHO HAVE POWER, WISDOM, WEALTH, OR BRILLIANCE FOR LEADERSHIP, FOR EXAMPLES. EVEN THE APOSTLES, WHEN JESUS TOLD THEM THAT THE RICH WOULD HAVE A HARD TIME GETTING INTO HEAVEN, REPLIED, “WELL, IF THE RICH WON'T MAKE IT, WHO WILL?” THAT IS HOW HUMAN BEINGS THINK. BUT GOD THINKS DIFFERENTLY, GOD LOVES THE POOR, THE BROKEN HEARTED, THE DISADVANTAGED, THE MARGINALIZED; AND THOSE WHO ARE RICH, COMPLACENT, POWERFUL, MAYBE NOT SO MUCH. AS OUR MOTHER MARY SAID, HE HAS CAST DOWN THE MIGHTY FROM THEIR THRONES, AND HAS LIFTED UP THE LOWLY; HE HAS FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS, AND THE RICH HE HAS SENT AWAY EMPTY”.
WHEN YOU READ THE WRITINGS OF ATHEISTS LIKE RICHARD DAWSON AND CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS, THEIR ARGUMENTS ARE PRETTY GOOD. BUT THE FUNDAMENTAL FLAW IS THAT THEY ARGUE AS THOUGH GOD THINKS LIKE A HUMAN BEING.
ONE OF THE THINGS THAT DELIGHTS A PARENT IS WHEN A CHILD TAKES ON THEIR VALUES, THEIR GOOD HABITS, THEIR MANNER OF THINKING. THE FATHER IS NO DIFFERENT. HE WANTS US TO THINK AS HE DOES, AND TO LEARN TO DO THAT FOR MOST OF US TAKES A LIFETIME. WHEN JESUS TELLS US THAT THE ONLY WAY TO SAVE OUR LIVES IS TO LOSE THEM FOR HIM, AND IF WE WANT TO FOLLOW HIM WE NEED TO TAKE UP OUR CROSS, THOSE ARE FRIGHTENING, OFF-PUTTING THOUGHTS IF WE ARE THINKING LIKE HUMANS DO. BUT IF WE LEARN TO THINK LIKE GOD THINKS, THEN THEY BECOME ATTRACTIVE, THEY BECOME COMPELLING, AND WE WILL FIND OURSELVES GLADLY FOLLOWING THE STEPS OF OUR ELDER BROTHERS AND SISTERS, THE SAINTS.
SO THIS WEEK, THINK ABOUT HOW YOU THINK, AND ABOUT HOW GOD THINKS, AND PRAY THAT YOU WILL BE GIVEN THE GRACE TO THINK AS GOD THINKS, MAYBE JUST A LITTLE AT A TIME, BUT AT LEAST TO MOVE IN THAT DIRECTION. AND THE NEXT TIME YOU LOOK AT FLOWERS, REMEMBER THAT THE ONLY CONCEIVABLE REASON THAT YOU SEE THEM AS BRILLIANT AND BEAUTIFUL IS BECAUSE THAT IS THE WAY GOD THINKS.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A
MATTHEW 15:21-28
THIS IS THE ONLY TIME IN THE SCRIPTURES WHEN WE ARE TOLD THAT JESUS VENTURED OUT OF THE LAND OF ISRAEL. WHEN HE WENT INTO THE DISTRICT OF THE SAMARITANS, THAT WAS STILL CONSIDERED ISRAEL. BUT TYRE AND SIDON WERE IN LEBANON, AND THIS WAS DEFINITELY PAGAN TERRITORY. IF YOU WERE TO READ THE EARLIER PART OF THIS CHAPTER YOU WOULD HAVE HEARD JESUS LECTURING THE PHARISEES THAT IT IS WHAT COMES OUT OF A MAN THAT MAKES HIM UNCLEAN, NOT WHAT GOES IN. YOU WOULD HAVE HEARD HIM TELL THEM THAT THEIR PRACTICE OF SUPPORTING THE TEMPLE RATHER THAN HELPING THEIR PARENTS OUT IN THEIR OLD AGE WAS WRONG. IF YOU HAD READ FURTHER IN THIS CHAPTER, YOU WOULD HAVE HEARD OF JESUS FEEDING 4000 PEOPLE WITH SEVEN LOAVES AND A FEW FISH. SO IT IS NO WONDER THAT MATTHEW PUTS THIS STORY HERE, KIND OF AN ILLUSTRATION OF WHAT HE HAS BEEN TELLING THE PHARISEES – THAT FAITH IS WHAT IS IMPORTANT, NOT A BOOK FULL OF RULES; AND THAT GOD WILL LOOK AFTER HIS PEOPLE.
SO JESUS WAS IN LEBANON TO GET AWAY FROM THE CROWDS, TO GET A BREAK FROM THE PEOPLE WHO WERE CONSTANTLY ASKING FOR MIRACLES, TO GET AWAY FROM THE PHARISEES, WHO WERE ALWAYS TESTING, ARGUING, INSULTING.
AND A WOMAN COMES UP, SHOUTING, CRYING, MAKING A NUISANCE OF HERSELF. AND JESUS DOES NOT SEEM TO BE HIS USUAL SELF. FIRST, HE IGNORES HER. THEN HE INSULTS HER. IT IS NOT AS TERRIBLE AN INSULT AS IT MAY SOUND IN ENGLISH, SINCE IN THE GREEK TEXT THE WORD “DOG” IS MORE LIKE “PUPPY”. BUT JESUS KNOWS THAT JEWS CONSIDER GENTILES “DOGS”, BECAUSE UNLIKE JEWS, THEY EAT ANYTHING, THEY DON'T PRACTICE THE RITUALS OF PURITY, THEY ARE JUST UNCLEAN.
AND HE RECOGNIZES SEVERAL THINGS ABOUT THIS WOMAN. FIRST, SHE LOVES. SHE OBVIOUSLY LOVES HER DAUGHTER ENOUGH TO GO WAY OUT ON A LIMB. SHE IS A PAGAN, APPROACHING A JEW. SHE IS A WOMAN, SPEAKING TO A MAN IN PUBLIC. SHE HAS NOTHING TO TRADE, AND SHE IS ASKING FOR SOMETHING. SHE HAS A LOT OF NERVE.
SECOND, SHE HAS FAITH. SHE BEGINS BY RECOGNIZING JESUS AS “THE SON OF DAVID”. SHE ENDS BY CALLING HIM LORD. AND THROUGH IT ALL SHE NEVER STOPS BELIEVING THAT HE CAN ANSWER HER PRAYER, THAT HE WILL. SHE WILL NOT TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER.
SHE HAS PERSISTENCE. THE APOSTLES WANT HER TO BE SILENT, HER OWN TOWNSPEOPLE ARE WONDERING WHY SHE IS MAKING A FOOL OF HERSELF, OR PERHAPS, WHY SHE IS NOT GOING TO THE PRIESTS OF THEIR OWN GODS. HER FRIENDS AND RELATIVES ARE PROBABLY READY TO DISOWN HER FOR HER BEHAVIOR.
AND EVEN THOUGH SHE IS DESPERATE FOR HER DAUGHTER, SHE HAS A LIGHTNESS OF HEART. HER REPLY TO JESUS MUST HAVE MADE HIM SMILE, JUST AS SHE MUST HAVE SMILED WHEN SHE SAID IT. “PLEASE LORD, FOR EVEN THE PUPPIES EAT THE SCRAPS THAT FALL FROM THE MASTER'S TABLE”. CHEERFULNESS IS A REAL CHRISTIAN VIRTUE, BECAUSE CHEERFULNESS, EVEN IN THE FACE OF SUFFERING, OF DESPERATION, IS THE RECOGNITION THAT AS GOD'S CHILDREN WE REALLY CAN'T BE HURT, THAT EVEN IF WE DON'T GET OUR WAY, WE WILL SOMEDAY SEE THAT GOD'S WAY IS BETTER. CHEERFULNESS IS A CONSEQUENCE OF TRUST IN THE GOODNESS OF OUR FATHER.
AND, AFTER BEING IGNORED, SHE IS RECOGNIZED; BUT AFTER BEING RECOGNIZED, SHE IS INSULTED, SHE IS REFUSED. BUT AFTER THAT, HER PRAYER IS GRANTED, AND SHE IS COMMENDED FOR HER GREAT FAITH.
AND I LIKE TO THINK THAT THIS MAY HAVE BEEN A TURNING POINT IN JESUS' LIFE. IT MAY HAVE BEEN THE TIME WHEN HE BEGAN THINKING THAT PERHAPS HIS MINISTRY WAS TO MORE THAN THE JEWS, PERHAPS IT EXTENDED BEYOND THAT PARTICULAR RACE. I DON'T WANT TO SHAKE ANYONE'S FAITH, BUT JESUS, AS A HUMAN BEING, DID LEARN. WE KNOW HE LEARNED TO SPEAK, TO WALK, TO BE A CARPENTER, TO UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPTURES. IT ISN'T A STRETCH TO SAY THAT HIS UNDERSTANDING OF HIS MINISTRY UNFOLDED AS WELL, JUST LIKE IT DOES FOR EACH OF US. GOD SPEAKS TO US THROUGH THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF OUR LIFE, THROUGH THE PEOPLE WE MEET, THROUGH THE THINGS WE EXPERIENCE. AND HE DID AS WELL TO JESUS.
THE PRAYER OF THE CANAANITE WOMAN FOR HER DAUGHTER, WHO WAS TORMENTED BY DEMONS, WAS ANSWERED. PERHAPS IT WAS ANSWERED TO A FAR GREATER DEGREE THAN SHE COULD EVER HAVE IMAGINED. NOT ONLY WAS HER DAUGHTER HEALED, NOT ONLY WAS HER FAITH COMMENDED, BUT AFTER THE RESURRECTION, PERHAPS THIS MOMENT WAS ONE OF THE MOMENTS WHICH LED TO THE RISEN CHRIST COMMISSIONING HIS APOSTLES TO GO TO ALL NATIONS, NOT JUST ISRAEL. MAYBE THE CANAANITE WOMAN'S PRAYER IS THE REASON YOU AND I ARE CHRISTIANS TODAY.
GOD ALWAYS ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS; JESUS TOLD US THAT. SOMETIMES HE DOES EXACTLY WHAT WE ASK OF HIM; AND OTHER TIMES, IT SEEMS AS THOUGH HE HASN'T HEARD US. SOMETIMES WHEN WE ASK FOR SOMETHING, HE SEEMS TO GIVE US JUST THE OPPOSITE. BUT ONE THING WE KNOW IS THAT OUR PRAYERS WILL BE ANSWERED, ANSWERED WITH ABUNDANT LOVE.
SO LET US PRAY WITH LOVE, LOVE FOR GOD, LOVE FOR THOSE FOR WHOM WE PRAY. LET US PRAY WITH FAITH, WITH THE CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE THAT GOD WILL MAKE RIGHT WHAT IS WRONG, WILL ANSWER OUR PRAYERS AS JESUS PROMISED; LET US BE PERSISTENT; THE WORD “NO” NEVER MEANS ANYTHING TO A CHILD. AND WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD. AND LET US HAVE CHEERFULNESS, LIGHTNESS OF HEART, BECAUSE WE ACCEPT THAT WE ARE CREATURES, THAT WE ARE BEGGARS, THAT WE HAVE NOTHING TO OFFER IN RETURN; AND WHEN WE TRULY REALIZE HOW EMPTY WE ARE, THEN GOD WILL FILL US UP.
THIS IS THE ONLY TIME IN THE SCRIPTURES WHEN WE ARE TOLD THAT JESUS VENTURED OUT OF THE LAND OF ISRAEL. WHEN HE WENT INTO THE DISTRICT OF THE SAMARITANS, THAT WAS STILL CONSIDERED ISRAEL. BUT TYRE AND SIDON WERE IN LEBANON, AND THIS WAS DEFINITELY PAGAN TERRITORY. IF YOU WERE TO READ THE EARLIER PART OF THIS CHAPTER YOU WOULD HAVE HEARD JESUS LECTURING THE PHARISEES THAT IT IS WHAT COMES OUT OF A MAN THAT MAKES HIM UNCLEAN, NOT WHAT GOES IN. YOU WOULD HAVE HEARD HIM TELL THEM THAT THEIR PRACTICE OF SUPPORTING THE TEMPLE RATHER THAN HELPING THEIR PARENTS OUT IN THEIR OLD AGE WAS WRONG. IF YOU HAD READ FURTHER IN THIS CHAPTER, YOU WOULD HAVE HEARD OF JESUS FEEDING 4000 PEOPLE WITH SEVEN LOAVES AND A FEW FISH. SO IT IS NO WONDER THAT MATTHEW PUTS THIS STORY HERE, KIND OF AN ILLUSTRATION OF WHAT HE HAS BEEN TELLING THE PHARISEES – THAT FAITH IS WHAT IS IMPORTANT, NOT A BOOK FULL OF RULES; AND THAT GOD WILL LOOK AFTER HIS PEOPLE.
SO JESUS WAS IN LEBANON TO GET AWAY FROM THE CROWDS, TO GET A BREAK FROM THE PEOPLE WHO WERE CONSTANTLY ASKING FOR MIRACLES, TO GET AWAY FROM THE PHARISEES, WHO WERE ALWAYS TESTING, ARGUING, INSULTING.
AND A WOMAN COMES UP, SHOUTING, CRYING, MAKING A NUISANCE OF HERSELF. AND JESUS DOES NOT SEEM TO BE HIS USUAL SELF. FIRST, HE IGNORES HER. THEN HE INSULTS HER. IT IS NOT AS TERRIBLE AN INSULT AS IT MAY SOUND IN ENGLISH, SINCE IN THE GREEK TEXT THE WORD “DOG” IS MORE LIKE “PUPPY”. BUT JESUS KNOWS THAT JEWS CONSIDER GENTILES “DOGS”, BECAUSE UNLIKE JEWS, THEY EAT ANYTHING, THEY DON'T PRACTICE THE RITUALS OF PURITY, THEY ARE JUST UNCLEAN.
AND HE RECOGNIZES SEVERAL THINGS ABOUT THIS WOMAN. FIRST, SHE LOVES. SHE OBVIOUSLY LOVES HER DAUGHTER ENOUGH TO GO WAY OUT ON A LIMB. SHE IS A PAGAN, APPROACHING A JEW. SHE IS A WOMAN, SPEAKING TO A MAN IN PUBLIC. SHE HAS NOTHING TO TRADE, AND SHE IS ASKING FOR SOMETHING. SHE HAS A LOT OF NERVE.
SECOND, SHE HAS FAITH. SHE BEGINS BY RECOGNIZING JESUS AS “THE SON OF DAVID”. SHE ENDS BY CALLING HIM LORD. AND THROUGH IT ALL SHE NEVER STOPS BELIEVING THAT HE CAN ANSWER HER PRAYER, THAT HE WILL. SHE WILL NOT TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER.
SHE HAS PERSISTENCE. THE APOSTLES WANT HER TO BE SILENT, HER OWN TOWNSPEOPLE ARE WONDERING WHY SHE IS MAKING A FOOL OF HERSELF, OR PERHAPS, WHY SHE IS NOT GOING TO THE PRIESTS OF THEIR OWN GODS. HER FRIENDS AND RELATIVES ARE PROBABLY READY TO DISOWN HER FOR HER BEHAVIOR.
AND EVEN THOUGH SHE IS DESPERATE FOR HER DAUGHTER, SHE HAS A LIGHTNESS OF HEART. HER REPLY TO JESUS MUST HAVE MADE HIM SMILE, JUST AS SHE MUST HAVE SMILED WHEN SHE SAID IT. “PLEASE LORD, FOR EVEN THE PUPPIES EAT THE SCRAPS THAT FALL FROM THE MASTER'S TABLE”. CHEERFULNESS IS A REAL CHRISTIAN VIRTUE, BECAUSE CHEERFULNESS, EVEN IN THE FACE OF SUFFERING, OF DESPERATION, IS THE RECOGNITION THAT AS GOD'S CHILDREN WE REALLY CAN'T BE HURT, THAT EVEN IF WE DON'T GET OUR WAY, WE WILL SOMEDAY SEE THAT GOD'S WAY IS BETTER. CHEERFULNESS IS A CONSEQUENCE OF TRUST IN THE GOODNESS OF OUR FATHER.
AND, AFTER BEING IGNORED, SHE IS RECOGNIZED; BUT AFTER BEING RECOGNIZED, SHE IS INSULTED, SHE IS REFUSED. BUT AFTER THAT, HER PRAYER IS GRANTED, AND SHE IS COMMENDED FOR HER GREAT FAITH.
AND I LIKE TO THINK THAT THIS MAY HAVE BEEN A TURNING POINT IN JESUS' LIFE. IT MAY HAVE BEEN THE TIME WHEN HE BEGAN THINKING THAT PERHAPS HIS MINISTRY WAS TO MORE THAN THE JEWS, PERHAPS IT EXTENDED BEYOND THAT PARTICULAR RACE. I DON'T WANT TO SHAKE ANYONE'S FAITH, BUT JESUS, AS A HUMAN BEING, DID LEARN. WE KNOW HE LEARNED TO SPEAK, TO WALK, TO BE A CARPENTER, TO UNDERSTAND THE SCRIPTURES. IT ISN'T A STRETCH TO SAY THAT HIS UNDERSTANDING OF HIS MINISTRY UNFOLDED AS WELL, JUST LIKE IT DOES FOR EACH OF US. GOD SPEAKS TO US THROUGH THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF OUR LIFE, THROUGH THE PEOPLE WE MEET, THROUGH THE THINGS WE EXPERIENCE. AND HE DID AS WELL TO JESUS.
THE PRAYER OF THE CANAANITE WOMAN FOR HER DAUGHTER, WHO WAS TORMENTED BY DEMONS, WAS ANSWERED. PERHAPS IT WAS ANSWERED TO A FAR GREATER DEGREE THAN SHE COULD EVER HAVE IMAGINED. NOT ONLY WAS HER DAUGHTER HEALED, NOT ONLY WAS HER FAITH COMMENDED, BUT AFTER THE RESURRECTION, PERHAPS THIS MOMENT WAS ONE OF THE MOMENTS WHICH LED TO THE RISEN CHRIST COMMISSIONING HIS APOSTLES TO GO TO ALL NATIONS, NOT JUST ISRAEL. MAYBE THE CANAANITE WOMAN'S PRAYER IS THE REASON YOU AND I ARE CHRISTIANS TODAY.
GOD ALWAYS ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS; JESUS TOLD US THAT. SOMETIMES HE DOES EXACTLY WHAT WE ASK OF HIM; AND OTHER TIMES, IT SEEMS AS THOUGH HE HASN'T HEARD US. SOMETIMES WHEN WE ASK FOR SOMETHING, HE SEEMS TO GIVE US JUST THE OPPOSITE. BUT ONE THING WE KNOW IS THAT OUR PRAYERS WILL BE ANSWERED, ANSWERED WITH ABUNDANT LOVE.
SO LET US PRAY WITH LOVE, LOVE FOR GOD, LOVE FOR THOSE FOR WHOM WE PRAY. LET US PRAY WITH FAITH, WITH THE CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE THAT GOD WILL MAKE RIGHT WHAT IS WRONG, WILL ANSWER OUR PRAYERS AS JESUS PROMISED; LET US BE PERSISTENT; THE WORD “NO” NEVER MEANS ANYTHING TO A CHILD. AND WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD. AND LET US HAVE CHEERFULNESS, LIGHTNESS OF HEART, BECAUSE WE ACCEPT THAT WE ARE CREATURES, THAT WE ARE BEGGARS, THAT WE HAVE NOTHING TO OFFER IN RETURN; AND WHEN WE TRULY REALIZE HOW EMPTY WE ARE, THEN GOD WILL FILL US UP.
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