MARK 9:2-10
WHO IS YOUR GOD? IF YOU LOOK INTO YOUR OWN IMAGINATION, YOU PROBABLY ARE LIKE ME; YOU HAVE A CERTAIN DOMINANT PICTURE OF GOD THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN PUT INTO YOUR HEAD WHEN YOU WERE SMALL. THE FACT THAT YOU COME TO CHURCH MEANS THAT YOU TAKE GOD SERIOUSLY – BUT AGAIN, WHICH GOD?
THE FIRST COMMANDMENT TELLS US THAT WE ARE NOT TO HAVE FALSE GODS, WHICH MEANS TO US MODERNS THAT WE ARE TO STRIVE TO UNDERSTAND GOD AS HE TRULY IS, EVEN THOUGH WE WON'T REALLY REACH THAT POINT IN THIS LIFE.
IS YOUR GOD ONE WHO IS COUNTING ALL YOUR MISSTEPS AND ALL YOUR GOOD DEEDS, AND LIKE A COSMIC COMPUTER, THE BALANCE WILL DETERMINE YOUR FATE IN THE NEXT LIFE? IT'S NOT AN UNCOMMON VIEW OF GOD, CERTAINLY HELD BY MANY OLDER CATHOLICS, AND BY MANY FUNDAMENTALISTS. BUT IT'S ALSO THE DOMINANT IDEA IN HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM, WHERE INDEED WHAT YOU DO IN THIS LIFE ADDS UP TO A BALANCE, AND PRECISELY DETERMINES YOUR FATE IN THE NEXT. BUT THAT ISN'T REALLY THE CHRISTIAN GOD.
IS YOUR GOD ONE WHO DEMANDS THAT YOU BELONG TO A PARTICULAR PEOPLE, A PARTICULAR RELIGION, THAT YOU FOLLOW PARTICULAR CUSTOMS? THERE ARE CHRISTIAN GROUPS THAT BELIEVE THIS, AND CERTAINLY IT WAS A POPULAR BELIEF WHEN I WAS GROWING UP; WE CATHOLICS, BY VIRTUE OF BEING CATHOLICS, HAD A DEFINITE ADVANTAGE OVER OUR NEIGHBORS. THIS WAS NOT REALLY WHAT THE CHURCH TAUGHT, BUT IT WAS CERTAINLY WHAT A LOT OF US BELIEVED. THIS KIND OF GOD IS CERTAINLY THE GOD OF MUSLIMS, WHO OFFICIALLY BELIEVE THAT ANYONE WHO ISN'T A MUSLIM IS GOING TO HELL – IT'S IN THE KORAN.
OR IS YOUR GOD ONE WHOSE GREATEST CONCERNS HAVE TO DO WITH PEOPLE BEING POLITICALLY CORRECT; WITH THE CONQUEST OF GLOBAL WARMING; WITH UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE AND EDUCATION; A GOD WHO IS PRO CHOICE, A GOD WHO IS FOR GAY MARRIAGE, A GOD WHO WANTS AMNESTY FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. AND FOR OTHERS, THAT GOD REWARDS THOSE WHO WORK HARD AND PUNISHES THOSE WHO DON'T; AND LOVES THE UNITED STATES AND DOESN'T REALLY THINK TOO MUCH OF ALL THOSE OTHER COUNTRIES; AND WHOSE IDEA OF CHARITY IS TO MAKE SURE THAT NO ONE STARVES OR FREEZES TO DEATH, BUT AFTER THAT, YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHOSE GOD IS MERELY A REFLECTION OF THEIR OWN BELIEFS, THEIR OWN DEEPLY HELD OPINIONS. THE GOD IN THE MIRROR.
AND THEN THERE ARE THOSE FOR WHOM GOD IS AN INDULGENT GRANDFATHER, WHO DISMISSES ALL OUR FAULTS AND FAILURES, WHO CONDONES OUR BAD BEHAVIOR, WHO IS ALWAYS THERE FOR US BUT DOESN'T CARE IF WE GO OFF ON OUR OWN, BECAUSE WHEN WE COME BACK, HE IS THERE WITH WIDE OPEN ARMS. AND WE DON'T HAVE TO DO A THING ABOUT IT.
TODAY OUR READINGS GIVE US A PICTURE OF HOW GOD REALLY IS. IN THE DAYS OF ABRAHAM, WE KNOW THAT THE SACRIFICE OF ONE'S CHILD WAS CONDONED; RECORDS FROM THIS TIME SHOW THAT KINGS UNDER THREAT OF MILITARY DEFEAT WOULD DO THIS. THE GOD OF ABRAHAM DEMANDS THAT HE SACRIFICE HIS ONLY SON, AND ABRAHAM, NOT SURPRISED BY THIS, SETS OUT TO OBEY. BUT GOD CHANGES THE WHOLE EQUATION; IT WASN'T THE SACRIFICE HE WANTED, IT WAS ABRAHAM'S WILLINGNESS, HIS FAITH, THAT GOD WANTED. AND GOD REWARDS HIM WITH ASTONISHING, OVERWHELMING GENEROSITY. ABRAHAM WILL HAVE DESCENDANTS AS COUNTLESS AS THE STARS IN THE SKY OR THE SANDS ON THE SEASHORE. PRETTY IMPRESSIVE FOR AN OLD MAN WHO HAS ONE SON. WELL, WE ALL KNOW GOD IS GENEROUS, BUT AS ST. PAUL TELLS US WHEN HE WRITES ABOUT ABRAHAM, GOD IS GENEROUS TO THOSE WHO PUT HIM FIRST, WHICH IS THE REAL MEANING OF THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC.
IN THE RESPONSORIAL PSALM, WE HEAR, “PRECIOUS IN THE EYES OF THE LORD IS THE DEATH OF HIS FAITHFUL ONES.” PRECIOUS. WHY WOULD DEATH BE PRECIOUS UNLESS GOD MEANT FOR SOMETHING GREATER THAN LIFE TO COME OUT OF DEATH? THAT'S THE POINT. GOD WILL NEVER ABANDON THOSE WHO ARE FAITHFUL, EVEN IN DEATH AND BEYOND. WE HAVE NOTHING TO BE CONCERNED ABOUT. NOT ONLY ARE WE PRECIOUS, BUT OUR DEATHS ARE PRECIOUS.
IN THE EPISTLE, PAUL TELLS US THAT IF GOD IS FOR US, WHO CAN BE AGAINST US? AND IF GOD ACQUITS US, WHO CAN CONDEMN US? GOD HANDED HIS ONLY SON OVER FOR US, SO HOW CAN HE POSSIBLY NOT GIVE US EVERYTHING ELSE? GOD DOES NOT SIT IN HEAVEN AND COUNT OUR FAULTS, HE HAS ALREADY JUDGED US, AND THANKS TO JESUS, HE HAS PRONOUNCED US NOT GUILTY, WE ARE SET FREE.
AND FINALLY, WE SEE THE AMAZING MIRACLE OF THE TRANSFIGURATION. JESUS IS REVEALED AS GOD'S BELOVED; BUT AFTER JESUS DIES AND RISES FROM THE DEAD, AND AFTER HE ESTABLISHES HIS CHURCH ON PENTECOST, YOU AND I BECOME PART OF HIS BODY, WE BECOME IDENTIFIED WITH JESUS; WE ARE WASHED IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB, AND OUR GARMENTS ALSO BECOME WHITE AS SNOW, AS WE ARE TOLD IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION. AND IF WE HEAR GOD WHISPERING IN OUR EAR, “YOU ARE MY BELOVED,” WE CAN BE SURE THAT IT IS AUTHENTIC, THAT IT IS NO ILLUSION.
GOD ASKS VERY LITTLE OF YOU AND I IN EXCHANGE FOR HIS OVERWHELMING GENEROSITY. ALL HE WANTS FROM US IS OUR LOVE. ALL HE EXPECTS IS THAT THE MORE HE LOVES US, THE MORE WE WILL LOVE EACH OTHER – THAT, AFTER ALL, IS THE MEANING OF “WHATSOEVER YOU DO FOR THE LEAST OF MY BROTHERS, THAT YOU DO FOR ME.” AND IF WE SIN, HE FORGIVES US WITHOUT A SECOND THOUGHT – IF WE SEEK FORGIVENESS. AND IF WE DEMONSTRATE OUR LOVE IN LITTLE WAYS, HE POURS OUT HIS BLESSINGS ON US, AS HE DID ON ABRAHAM.
SURE, GOD CARES ABOUT THE WORLD, ABOUT POLLUTION, ABOUT HOW WE TAKE CARE OF OUR INHERITANCE. HE CARES ABOUT THE FACT THAT A HUGE NUMBER OF OUR FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS LIVE IN CONDITIONS WHICH DESTROY THEIR HUMANITY, WHICH REDUCE THEIR POTENTIAL. HE CARES ABOUT THE THINGS WE CARE ABOUT.
BUT WHAT HE CARES ABOUT PRIMARILY WHETHER WE LOVE ENOUGH SO THAT HIS LOVE FOR US CAN SHOWER US WITH BLESSINGS. BECAUSE HE KNOWS THAT IF WE TRULY LOVE, ALL THOSE OTHER GOOD THINGS WE LONG FOR WILL COME ABOUT.
WHO IS YOUR GOD? IF IT IS NOT THE GOD DESCRIBED IN THESE HOLY WRITINGS, IT IS A FALSE GOD.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Monday, March 2, 2009
First Sunday in Lent, cycle B
MARK 1:12-15
TODAY WE HEAR MARK'S VERSION OF THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS AFTER HIS BAPTISM. YOU REMEMBER HOW MATTHEW AND LUKE BOTH TALKED ABOUT THE DEVIL OFFERING VARIOUS TEMPTATIONS TO JESUS, AND HOW JESUS ANSWERED EACH ONE. MARK DOESN'T MENTION ANY OF THAT. HE JUST SAYS THAT THE SPIRIT SENT JESUS INTO THE DESERT, WHERE HE WAS TEMPTED BY SATAN, LIVED AMONG WILD BEASTS, AND WAS MINISTERED TO BY ANGELS. AFTER THIS, HE COMES BACK TO CIVILIZATION AND BEGINS PREACHING THE CALL TO REPENTANCE AND THE PROCLAMATION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. SO WHY DIDN'T MARK MENTION ALL THOSE DIFFERENT TEMPTATIONS – MAKING STONES INTO BREAD, JUMPING OFF THE TOWER OF THE TEMPLE, BOWING DOWN TO WORSHIP SATAN SO THAT HE WOULD MAKE JESUS THE RULER OF THE EARTH?
PERHAPS MARK WANTS HIS READERS TO CONTRAST JESUS WITH ADAM. AFTER ALL, ADAM WAS WITH WILD BEASTS, AND SUCCUMBED TO THE TEMPTATION OF SATAN, AND WAS DRIVEN OUT OF THE GARDEN BY AN ANGEL. HE WENT FROM A SITUATION WHERE HE WAS THE RULER OF NATURE, THE ONE WHO NAMED THE BEASTS, THE ONE WHO TENDED THE GARDEN OF EDEN, TO A SITUATION WHERE HE WOULD EARN HIS BREAD BY HIS LABOR, WHERE THE BEASTS NO LONGER OBEYED HIM, AND WHERE HE WAS CUT OFF FROM CONTACT WITH THE HEAVENLY POWERS. JESUS TRAVELS IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION – HE REJECTS SATAN'S TEMPTATIONS, HE IS NOT HARMED BY THE WILD BEASTS, AND HE IS MINISTERED TO BY ANGELS. JUST AS ADAM WENT OUT OF THE GARDEN TO BRING SIN AND DEATH TO HIS DESCENDANTS, JESUS LEAVES THE DESERT TO BRING THE GOOD NEWS OF SALVATION AND THE CALL TO REPENTANCE TO THE DESCENDANTS OF ADAM.
WELL, THAT'S INTERESTING, BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU AND I? MARK WAS WRITING TO THE CHRISTIANS OF ROME. THEY WERE A MIXTURE OF JEWISH AND PAGAN CONVERTS. THEY WERE PERSECUTED BY THE ROMANS, AND DESPISED BY THE JEWS. THEY WERE SHUNNED BY FRIENDS AND RELATIVES, THEY WERE DENIED GOOD JOBS, AND EVERY NOW AND THEN THE EMPEROR WOULD LAUNCH A PERSECUTION AND ROUND UP A FEW CHRISTIANS TO FEED TO THE LIONS. IN OTHER WORDS, IT WAS NOT SURPRISING THAT MANY OF THESE CHRISTIANS RELAPSED. THAT WAS THE TEMPTATION THEY FACED EVERY DAY, AND SOME OF THEM GAVE IN.
GIVING IN TO TEMPTATION IS NATURAL TO US HUMAN BEINGS. IT IS SO NATURAL THAT THE BOOK OF GENESIS SAYS THAT IT IS PART OF BEING HUMAN; ADAM AND EVE GAVE IN TO TEMPTATION EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE SINLESS, EVEN THOUGH THEY HAD MUCH BETTER BRAINS THAN WE DO; AND EVEN THOUGH THEY WALKED AND TALKED WITH GOD HIMSELF. AND YET JESUS OVERCAME TEMPTATION, SO WE KNOW THAT IT IS POSSIBLE. JESUS WAS DRIVEN INTO THE DESERT BY THE SPIRIT TO UNDERGO TEMPTATION, AND HE RESISTED. HOW WAS THIS POSSIBLE? IF WE READ THE STORY MATTHEW WRITES ABOUT JESUS TEMPTATION, THE DEVIL TEMPTED HIM AFTER HE HAD FASTED FOR FORTY DAYS. AND THAT IS THE SECRET FOR RESISTING TEMPTATION.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO FAST? IT ISN'T JUST GIVING UP FOOD OR EATING LESS. IT ISN'T JUST SAYING MORE PRAYERS OR DOING MORE SPIRITUAL READING. IT ISN'T JUST GIVING MONEY TO THOSE WHO NEED IT MORE THAN WE DO. FUNDAMENTALLY FASTING IS FINDING SOMETHING IN OUR LIVES TO WHICH WE ARE ATTRACTED, AND GIVING IT UP FOR A PERIOD OF TIME. THIS MAY BE FOOD, OR TOBACCO, OR ALCOHOL. IT MAY BE READING THE BIBLE INSTEAD OF WATCHING SPORTS ON TELEVISION. BUT WHATEVER IT IS, THE POINT IS THAT WE ENTER INTO A BATTLE; WE CHOOSE DELIBERATELY TO NOT DO WHAT COMES NATURALLY. AND THERE ARE TREMENDOUS BENEFITS THAT COME FROM THIS SORT OF BATTLE.
FIRST, WE STRENGTHEN OUR ABILITY TO CONTROL OUR OWN BEHAVIOR. SECOND, WE INCREASE OUR ABILITY TO CONTROL OUR OWN DESTINY. THIRD, WE LOOSEN THE TIES WHICH KEEP US FROM GIVING OURSELVES TO GOD; OR TO PUT IT ANOTHER WAY, WE MAKE SPACE FOR GOD TO ENTER OUR LIVES. AND FINALLY WE HAVE LESS TROUBLE DEALING WITH TEMPTATION IN THE FUTURE, BECAUSE WE HAVE BECOME STRONGER. ADAM AND EVE, TWO INDIVIDUALS WHO HAD TREMENDOUS ADVANTAGES OVER YOU AND I, DID NOT FAST, AND THEY FELL. JESUS FASTED, AND HE TRIUMPHED.
AND THOSE ARE ADVANTAGES TO US. WHEN JESUS FASTED, AND OVERCAME TEMPTATION, THE FATHER USED HIM TO BRING THE GOOD NEWS TO THE WORLD. AND WHEN WE FAST, THE SAME THING CAN HAPPEN; GOD CHOOSES TO USE THOSE WHO HAVE GONE THROUGH THIS SPIRITUAL BOOT CAMP TO BUILD UP HIS KINGDOM.
SO HOW ARE YOU GOING TO FAST THIS LENT? LET ME GIVE YOU A POSSIBILITY. IF YOU DON'T SAY THE ROSARY, WHY DON'T YOU MAKE IT A POINT TO SAY IT EVERY DAY DURING LENT? THE POSITIVE SIDE IS THAT YOU WILL MAKE A TIME EVERY DAY TO PRAY FOR WHATEVER YOU WANT – YOUR FAMILY, HEALING FOR YOU OR A FRIEND OR RELATIVE; OUR COUNTRY, WHICH REALLY NEEDS PRAYERS. YOU WILL MEDITATE ON THE LIFE OF JESUS EVERY DAY – IT WILL BE LIKE READING THE GOSPEL, AND MAYBE IT WILL LEAD YOU TO READ THE GOSPELS. YOU WILL DISCIPLINE YOUR WILL, BECAUSE IT IS NOT EASY, EVEN FOR THOSE OF US WHO HAVE BEEN SAYING THE ROSARY FOR YEARS, TO BE STILL AND CONCENTRATE. RIGHT AWAY YOU BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT THINGS YOU WOULD RATHER BE DOING. THEN YOU PUT THOSE THINGS OUT OF YOUR MIND, AND OTHER DISTRACTIONS COME. BUT YOU DO THIS OVER AND OVER, AND GRADUALLY YOU BEGIN TO DEVELOP SPIRITUAL MUSCLES. AND WHEN YOU ARE TEMPTED, YOU REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE GOING TO BE SAYING THE ROSARY LATER, AND YOU HAVE MORE STRENGTH TO RESIST THE TEMPTATION.
WE COULD TALK ABOUT MANY ACTIVITIES THAT WOULD ACCOMPLISH THE FAST TO WHICH WE ARE CALLED. THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT WE CHOOSE SOMETHING THAT SHAKES US UP, SOMETHING THAT HELPS US DETACH OURSELVES FROM THINGS THAT HOLD US DOWN; SOMETHING THAT MAKES US STRONGER. AND THEN, AS WITH JESUS, GOD WILL GIVE US A GREATER ROLE IN PROCLAIMING THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN THROUGH OUR LIVES AND OUR WORKS.
TODAY WE HEAR MARK'S VERSION OF THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS AFTER HIS BAPTISM. YOU REMEMBER HOW MATTHEW AND LUKE BOTH TALKED ABOUT THE DEVIL OFFERING VARIOUS TEMPTATIONS TO JESUS, AND HOW JESUS ANSWERED EACH ONE. MARK DOESN'T MENTION ANY OF THAT. HE JUST SAYS THAT THE SPIRIT SENT JESUS INTO THE DESERT, WHERE HE WAS TEMPTED BY SATAN, LIVED AMONG WILD BEASTS, AND WAS MINISTERED TO BY ANGELS. AFTER THIS, HE COMES BACK TO CIVILIZATION AND BEGINS PREACHING THE CALL TO REPENTANCE AND THE PROCLAMATION OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. SO WHY DIDN'T MARK MENTION ALL THOSE DIFFERENT TEMPTATIONS – MAKING STONES INTO BREAD, JUMPING OFF THE TOWER OF THE TEMPLE, BOWING DOWN TO WORSHIP SATAN SO THAT HE WOULD MAKE JESUS THE RULER OF THE EARTH?
PERHAPS MARK WANTS HIS READERS TO CONTRAST JESUS WITH ADAM. AFTER ALL, ADAM WAS WITH WILD BEASTS, AND SUCCUMBED TO THE TEMPTATION OF SATAN, AND WAS DRIVEN OUT OF THE GARDEN BY AN ANGEL. HE WENT FROM A SITUATION WHERE HE WAS THE RULER OF NATURE, THE ONE WHO NAMED THE BEASTS, THE ONE WHO TENDED THE GARDEN OF EDEN, TO A SITUATION WHERE HE WOULD EARN HIS BREAD BY HIS LABOR, WHERE THE BEASTS NO LONGER OBEYED HIM, AND WHERE HE WAS CUT OFF FROM CONTACT WITH THE HEAVENLY POWERS. JESUS TRAVELS IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION – HE REJECTS SATAN'S TEMPTATIONS, HE IS NOT HARMED BY THE WILD BEASTS, AND HE IS MINISTERED TO BY ANGELS. JUST AS ADAM WENT OUT OF THE GARDEN TO BRING SIN AND DEATH TO HIS DESCENDANTS, JESUS LEAVES THE DESERT TO BRING THE GOOD NEWS OF SALVATION AND THE CALL TO REPENTANCE TO THE DESCENDANTS OF ADAM.
WELL, THAT'S INTERESTING, BUT WHAT DOES THAT MEAN TO YOU AND I? MARK WAS WRITING TO THE CHRISTIANS OF ROME. THEY WERE A MIXTURE OF JEWISH AND PAGAN CONVERTS. THEY WERE PERSECUTED BY THE ROMANS, AND DESPISED BY THE JEWS. THEY WERE SHUNNED BY FRIENDS AND RELATIVES, THEY WERE DENIED GOOD JOBS, AND EVERY NOW AND THEN THE EMPEROR WOULD LAUNCH A PERSECUTION AND ROUND UP A FEW CHRISTIANS TO FEED TO THE LIONS. IN OTHER WORDS, IT WAS NOT SURPRISING THAT MANY OF THESE CHRISTIANS RELAPSED. THAT WAS THE TEMPTATION THEY FACED EVERY DAY, AND SOME OF THEM GAVE IN.
GIVING IN TO TEMPTATION IS NATURAL TO US HUMAN BEINGS. IT IS SO NATURAL THAT THE BOOK OF GENESIS SAYS THAT IT IS PART OF BEING HUMAN; ADAM AND EVE GAVE IN TO TEMPTATION EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE SINLESS, EVEN THOUGH THEY HAD MUCH BETTER BRAINS THAN WE DO; AND EVEN THOUGH THEY WALKED AND TALKED WITH GOD HIMSELF. AND YET JESUS OVERCAME TEMPTATION, SO WE KNOW THAT IT IS POSSIBLE. JESUS WAS DRIVEN INTO THE DESERT BY THE SPIRIT TO UNDERGO TEMPTATION, AND HE RESISTED. HOW WAS THIS POSSIBLE? IF WE READ THE STORY MATTHEW WRITES ABOUT JESUS TEMPTATION, THE DEVIL TEMPTED HIM AFTER HE HAD FASTED FOR FORTY DAYS. AND THAT IS THE SECRET FOR RESISTING TEMPTATION.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO FAST? IT ISN'T JUST GIVING UP FOOD OR EATING LESS. IT ISN'T JUST SAYING MORE PRAYERS OR DOING MORE SPIRITUAL READING. IT ISN'T JUST GIVING MONEY TO THOSE WHO NEED IT MORE THAN WE DO. FUNDAMENTALLY FASTING IS FINDING SOMETHING IN OUR LIVES TO WHICH WE ARE ATTRACTED, AND GIVING IT UP FOR A PERIOD OF TIME. THIS MAY BE FOOD, OR TOBACCO, OR ALCOHOL. IT MAY BE READING THE BIBLE INSTEAD OF WATCHING SPORTS ON TELEVISION. BUT WHATEVER IT IS, THE POINT IS THAT WE ENTER INTO A BATTLE; WE CHOOSE DELIBERATELY TO NOT DO WHAT COMES NATURALLY. AND THERE ARE TREMENDOUS BENEFITS THAT COME FROM THIS SORT OF BATTLE.
FIRST, WE STRENGTHEN OUR ABILITY TO CONTROL OUR OWN BEHAVIOR. SECOND, WE INCREASE OUR ABILITY TO CONTROL OUR OWN DESTINY. THIRD, WE LOOSEN THE TIES WHICH KEEP US FROM GIVING OURSELVES TO GOD; OR TO PUT IT ANOTHER WAY, WE MAKE SPACE FOR GOD TO ENTER OUR LIVES. AND FINALLY WE HAVE LESS TROUBLE DEALING WITH TEMPTATION IN THE FUTURE, BECAUSE WE HAVE BECOME STRONGER. ADAM AND EVE, TWO INDIVIDUALS WHO HAD TREMENDOUS ADVANTAGES OVER YOU AND I, DID NOT FAST, AND THEY FELL. JESUS FASTED, AND HE TRIUMPHED.
AND THOSE ARE ADVANTAGES TO US. WHEN JESUS FASTED, AND OVERCAME TEMPTATION, THE FATHER USED HIM TO BRING THE GOOD NEWS TO THE WORLD. AND WHEN WE FAST, THE SAME THING CAN HAPPEN; GOD CHOOSES TO USE THOSE WHO HAVE GONE THROUGH THIS SPIRITUAL BOOT CAMP TO BUILD UP HIS KINGDOM.
SO HOW ARE YOU GOING TO FAST THIS LENT? LET ME GIVE YOU A POSSIBILITY. IF YOU DON'T SAY THE ROSARY, WHY DON'T YOU MAKE IT A POINT TO SAY IT EVERY DAY DURING LENT? THE POSITIVE SIDE IS THAT YOU WILL MAKE A TIME EVERY DAY TO PRAY FOR WHATEVER YOU WANT – YOUR FAMILY, HEALING FOR YOU OR A FRIEND OR RELATIVE; OUR COUNTRY, WHICH REALLY NEEDS PRAYERS. YOU WILL MEDITATE ON THE LIFE OF JESUS EVERY DAY – IT WILL BE LIKE READING THE GOSPEL, AND MAYBE IT WILL LEAD YOU TO READ THE GOSPELS. YOU WILL DISCIPLINE YOUR WILL, BECAUSE IT IS NOT EASY, EVEN FOR THOSE OF US WHO HAVE BEEN SAYING THE ROSARY FOR YEARS, TO BE STILL AND CONCENTRATE. RIGHT AWAY YOU BEGIN TO THINK ABOUT THINGS YOU WOULD RATHER BE DOING. THEN YOU PUT THOSE THINGS OUT OF YOUR MIND, AND OTHER DISTRACTIONS COME. BUT YOU DO THIS OVER AND OVER, AND GRADUALLY YOU BEGIN TO DEVELOP SPIRITUAL MUSCLES. AND WHEN YOU ARE TEMPTED, YOU REMEMBER THAT YOU ARE GOING TO BE SAYING THE ROSARY LATER, AND YOU HAVE MORE STRENGTH TO RESIST THE TEMPTATION.
WE COULD TALK ABOUT MANY ACTIVITIES THAT WOULD ACCOMPLISH THE FAST TO WHICH WE ARE CALLED. THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT WE CHOOSE SOMETHING THAT SHAKES US UP, SOMETHING THAT HELPS US DETACH OURSELVES FROM THINGS THAT HOLD US DOWN; SOMETHING THAT MAKES US STRONGER. AND THEN, AS WITH JESUS, GOD WILL GIVE US A GREATER ROLE IN PROCLAIMING THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN THROUGH OUR LIVES AND OUR WORKS.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B
MARK 1:40-45
WHEN I WAS GROWING UP IN MONTANA, WE HAD AN ABUNDANCE OF DIOCESAN PRIESTS, AND WE HAD A CATHOLIC COLLEGE THAT WAS THE BISHOP'S PRIDE AND JOY. HE HAD SENT SEVERAL OF THE DIOCESAN PRIESTS OFF TO GET ADVANCED DEGREES IN EVERYTHING FROM BIOLOGY TO LIBRARY SCIENCE, AND THEY MADE UP THE BULK OF THE FACULTY OF THE COLLEGE. I REMEMBER HOW THEY LIVED IN A BUILDING WHERE EACH HAD HIS SET OF ROOMS AND IN THE BASEMENT THERE WAS A CHAPEL WITH SIXTEEN ALTARS, SO THAT THEY COULD ALL SAY THEIR MORNING MASSES IN LATIN AND GET ON WITH THEIR TEACHING WORK.
AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, MOST OF THESE PRIESTS DID NOT DO MUCH PASTORAL WORK. SOME OF THEM SPENT THEIR ENTIRE CAREERS AS PROFESSORS.
THERE WAS ONE PRIEST, THOUGH, THAT HAD THE HEART OF A PASTOR. FATHER RYAN WAS A PROFESSOR OF HISTORY DURING THE DAY, BUT ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK, HE WOULD PUT ON AN OLD GREEN SWEATER AND GO DOWN TO THE SOUTH END OF TOWN WHERE THERE WERE A LOT OF CHEAP BARS AND HOMELESS PEOPLE (WE USED TO CALL THEM BUMS IN THOSE DAYS). HE WOULD FIND SOMEONE WHO WAS REALLY DOWN AND OUT, AND INVITE THAT PERSON INTO ONE OF THE BARS, AND TRY TO GET A MEAL INTO HIM. HE WOULD TALK WITH THE PERSON, NOT TRYING TO CONVERT HIM OR PREACH TO HIM, BUT EXPRESSING A GENUINE INTEREST IN THE MAN AND HIS STORY. HE WOULD USUALLY SLIP THE MAN A FEW DOLLARS AND DISAPPEAR INTO THE NIGHT, BACK TO THE COLLEGE. A FEW PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT HIS HOBBY AND GAVE HIM A FEW DOLLARS TO REPLACE THOSE HE GAVE AWAY. ONE WAS A BAR OWNER WHO WAS MY FATHER'S BOYHOOD FRIEND. THAT'S HOW I KNEW. BUT EVERYONE CAME TO KNOW ABOUT THIS AT HIS FUNERAL EULOGY, WHEN IN ADDITION TO THE CLERGY AND LAITY, RELATIVES AND FORMER STUDENTS, SEVERAL UNKEMPT, DIRTY, AND ROUGH LOOKING MEN IN THE BACK OF THE CHURCH LISTENED AS HIS STORY WAS FINALLY MADE PUBLIC.
IN THE GOSPEL STORY TODAY, WE SEE TWO MIRACLES. ONE IS OBVIOUS, THE HEALING OF THE LEPER. THE SECOND IS LESS OBVIOUS – THE ACTION OF JESUS WHICH BRINGS THE LEPER BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY. IN OUR FIRST READING, WE HEARD JUST A LITTLE OF THE LEPROSY LAWS OF THE JEWS. THERE WERE MANY OTHERS, INCLUDING THE LAW THAT ALLOWED YOU TO DRIVE A LEPER OUT OF YOUR TOWN IF HE CAME IN, AS THIS MAN HAD DONE. THERE WERE LAWS ABOUT WHAT YOU HAD TO DO IF YOU ACCIDENTALLY TOUCHED, OR WERE TOUCHED, BY A LEPER. AT THE VERY LEAST, YOU BECAME RITUALLY UNCLEAN, AND COULD NOT GO INTO THE TEMPLE AND OFFER SACRIFICE UNTIL YOU HAD BECOME CLEAN AGAIN, USUALLY AFTER A SUFFICIENT PASSAGE OF TIME AND A SACRIFICE. THERE WAS NO WELFARE, AND LEPERS COULD NOT WORK, AND IT WAS EVEN HARD FOR THEM TO BE BEGGARS SINCE THEY COULD NOT GO INTO TOWNS. THEY TRULY LIVED LIKE ANIMALS, MANY OF THEM LIVING OFF OF INSECTS AND LEAVES, AND OCCASIONALLY A FAMILY MEMBER MIGHT HAVE LEFT SOMETHING FOR THEM – BUT THEY COULD NOT COME CLOSE ENOUGH TO TOUCH. THERE WAS A REASON THEY WERE CALLED “UNTOUCHABLES” AND THE LEPERS, BEING DEEPLY CONDITIONED BY THE SOCIETY THEY GREW UP IN, DIDN'T DARE TOUCH EACH OTHER, EITHER.
CAN YOU IMAGINE? BEING DEPRIVED OF TOUCHING OTHER HUMAN BEINGS IS A BIG DEPRIVATION INDEED. BABIES WHO AREN'T TOUCHED CAN WITHER AWAY AND DIE. CHILDREN WHO AREN'T TOUCHED DEVELOP SERIOUS PERSONALITY DISORDERS. MARRIED PEOPLE WHO ARE MAD AT EACH OTHER SAY “DON'T TOUCH ME!” BECAUSE TOUCHING AND BEING TOUCHED IS PART OF THE JOY OF MARRIAGE.
WHEN THE LEPER APPROACHES JESUS, HE SAYS, HESITANTLY, HOPING, “LORD, IF YOU WISH, YOU CAN HEAL ME.” THE LEPER HAS BEEN LIVING A DEATH, WORSE THAN REAL DEATH, PERHAPS; AND HE NO LONGER CARED WHAT HAPPENED; IF HE WERE TO BE STONED AND DRIVEN OUT OF TOWN FOR APPROACHING JESUS, SO BE IT. AND IF JESUS REFUSED TO HEAL HIM, WELL, HE HAD TRIED. BUT JESUS TOUCHED HIM! AND IN THAT SIMPLE MOVEMENT, THE LEPER BECAME PART OF THE COMMUNITY AGAIN, THE LEPER RE-ENTERED THE HUMAN RACE. JESUS VIOLATED THE LAWS OF LEVITICUS, TOOK ON THE UNCLEANNESS OF THE MAN, AND ENTERED HIS WORLD. SO JESUS WORKED TWO MIRACLES THAT DAY; HE CURED THE LEPROSY, WHICH HE COULD HAVE DONE WITH A WORD, FROM AFAR; BUT HE ALSO TOUCHED THE MAN, RESCUING HIM FROM THE LIVING DEATH OF HIS ISOLATION.
FATHER RYAN UNDERSTOOD WHAT JESUS TAUGHT US THAT DAY. CURING A DISEASE OF THE BODY OR THE MIND IS A WONDERFUL THING, I KNOW, HAVING CURED A FEW AND HAVING HAD ONE OR TWO OF MY OWN CURED. BUT ALL OF US CAN WORK THE MIRACLE JESUS WORKED, THE MIRACLE THAT FATHER RYAN WORKED OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN THOSE EVENINGS AT THE SOUTH END OF HELENA, MONTANA.
IF YOU READ THE GOSPELS, YOU HAVE TO AGREE THAT JESUS WENT OUT OF HIS WAY FOR THE PEOPLE ON THE MARGINS. BEGGARS, LEPERS, BLIND, LAME, PROSTITUTES, TAX COLLECTORS, EVEN A WOMAN WITH A BLEEDING DISORDER, AND THERE WAS NO ONE IN JEWISH SOCIETY THAT COULD BE LOWER THAN THAT). AND SO OFTEN, HE WOULD BEGIN HIS INTERACTION WITH THEM BY TOUCHING THEM. AND YOU KNOW, THE GOSPELS ONLY HINT AT WHAT REALLY HAPPENED. I IMAGINE JESUS STOPPING AND SPOKE TO THESE PEOPLE, JUST SMALL TALK, JUST SHOWING THEM THAT HE WAS INTERESTED IN WHO THEY REALLY WERE, WHAT THEY THOUGHT. AND THE GOSPEL WRITERS COULDN'T RECORD EVERYTHING, SO WE DON'T HEAR ABOUT THOSE KIND OF MOMENTS. BUT JESUS IS THE KIND OF GUY WHO WOULD GO INTO A BAR, AND SIT DOWN NEXT TO THE DIRTIEST, LONELIEST DRUNK THERE, AND TALK TO HIM.
JESUS LIVES IN YOU AND I. EVERY ONE OF US WILL MEET A LEPER THIS WEEK WHO NEEDS TO BE TOUCHED, WHO NEEDS TO BE INVITED BACK INTO THE HUMAN COMMUNITY. WE WILL FEEL JESUS TRYING TO USE OUR HANDS TO TOUCH THAT PERSON, OUR WORDS TO SHOW THAT PERSON HE OR SHE IS NOT ALONE, AND OUR EARS TO LISTEN TO THAT PERSON'S STORY. WILL WE RESIST AND GO ON OUR WAY, OR WILL WE ALLOW JESUS TO ACT IN US AND PERFORM ANOTHER MIRACLE?
WHEN I WAS GROWING UP IN MONTANA, WE HAD AN ABUNDANCE OF DIOCESAN PRIESTS, AND WE HAD A CATHOLIC COLLEGE THAT WAS THE BISHOP'S PRIDE AND JOY. HE HAD SENT SEVERAL OF THE DIOCESAN PRIESTS OFF TO GET ADVANCED DEGREES IN EVERYTHING FROM BIOLOGY TO LIBRARY SCIENCE, AND THEY MADE UP THE BULK OF THE FACULTY OF THE COLLEGE. I REMEMBER HOW THEY LIVED IN A BUILDING WHERE EACH HAD HIS SET OF ROOMS AND IN THE BASEMENT THERE WAS A CHAPEL WITH SIXTEEN ALTARS, SO THAT THEY COULD ALL SAY THEIR MORNING MASSES IN LATIN AND GET ON WITH THEIR TEACHING WORK.
AS YOU MIGHT IMAGINE, MOST OF THESE PRIESTS DID NOT DO MUCH PASTORAL WORK. SOME OF THEM SPENT THEIR ENTIRE CAREERS AS PROFESSORS.
THERE WAS ONE PRIEST, THOUGH, THAT HAD THE HEART OF A PASTOR. FATHER RYAN WAS A PROFESSOR OF HISTORY DURING THE DAY, BUT ONCE OR TWICE A WEEK, HE WOULD PUT ON AN OLD GREEN SWEATER AND GO DOWN TO THE SOUTH END OF TOWN WHERE THERE WERE A LOT OF CHEAP BARS AND HOMELESS PEOPLE (WE USED TO CALL THEM BUMS IN THOSE DAYS). HE WOULD FIND SOMEONE WHO WAS REALLY DOWN AND OUT, AND INVITE THAT PERSON INTO ONE OF THE BARS, AND TRY TO GET A MEAL INTO HIM. HE WOULD TALK WITH THE PERSON, NOT TRYING TO CONVERT HIM OR PREACH TO HIM, BUT EXPRESSING A GENUINE INTEREST IN THE MAN AND HIS STORY. HE WOULD USUALLY SLIP THE MAN A FEW DOLLARS AND DISAPPEAR INTO THE NIGHT, BACK TO THE COLLEGE. A FEW PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT HIS HOBBY AND GAVE HIM A FEW DOLLARS TO REPLACE THOSE HE GAVE AWAY. ONE WAS A BAR OWNER WHO WAS MY FATHER'S BOYHOOD FRIEND. THAT'S HOW I KNEW. BUT EVERYONE CAME TO KNOW ABOUT THIS AT HIS FUNERAL EULOGY, WHEN IN ADDITION TO THE CLERGY AND LAITY, RELATIVES AND FORMER STUDENTS, SEVERAL UNKEMPT, DIRTY, AND ROUGH LOOKING MEN IN THE BACK OF THE CHURCH LISTENED AS HIS STORY WAS FINALLY MADE PUBLIC.
IN THE GOSPEL STORY TODAY, WE SEE TWO MIRACLES. ONE IS OBVIOUS, THE HEALING OF THE LEPER. THE SECOND IS LESS OBVIOUS – THE ACTION OF JESUS WHICH BRINGS THE LEPER BACK INTO THE COMMUNITY. IN OUR FIRST READING, WE HEARD JUST A LITTLE OF THE LEPROSY LAWS OF THE JEWS. THERE WERE MANY OTHERS, INCLUDING THE LAW THAT ALLOWED YOU TO DRIVE A LEPER OUT OF YOUR TOWN IF HE CAME IN, AS THIS MAN HAD DONE. THERE WERE LAWS ABOUT WHAT YOU HAD TO DO IF YOU ACCIDENTALLY TOUCHED, OR WERE TOUCHED, BY A LEPER. AT THE VERY LEAST, YOU BECAME RITUALLY UNCLEAN, AND COULD NOT GO INTO THE TEMPLE AND OFFER SACRIFICE UNTIL YOU HAD BECOME CLEAN AGAIN, USUALLY AFTER A SUFFICIENT PASSAGE OF TIME AND A SACRIFICE. THERE WAS NO WELFARE, AND LEPERS COULD NOT WORK, AND IT WAS EVEN HARD FOR THEM TO BE BEGGARS SINCE THEY COULD NOT GO INTO TOWNS. THEY TRULY LIVED LIKE ANIMALS, MANY OF THEM LIVING OFF OF INSECTS AND LEAVES, AND OCCASIONALLY A FAMILY MEMBER MIGHT HAVE LEFT SOMETHING FOR THEM – BUT THEY COULD NOT COME CLOSE ENOUGH TO TOUCH. THERE WAS A REASON THEY WERE CALLED “UNTOUCHABLES” AND THE LEPERS, BEING DEEPLY CONDITIONED BY THE SOCIETY THEY GREW UP IN, DIDN'T DARE TOUCH EACH OTHER, EITHER.
CAN YOU IMAGINE? BEING DEPRIVED OF TOUCHING OTHER HUMAN BEINGS IS A BIG DEPRIVATION INDEED. BABIES WHO AREN'T TOUCHED CAN WITHER AWAY AND DIE. CHILDREN WHO AREN'T TOUCHED DEVELOP SERIOUS PERSONALITY DISORDERS. MARRIED PEOPLE WHO ARE MAD AT EACH OTHER SAY “DON'T TOUCH ME!” BECAUSE TOUCHING AND BEING TOUCHED IS PART OF THE JOY OF MARRIAGE.
WHEN THE LEPER APPROACHES JESUS, HE SAYS, HESITANTLY, HOPING, “LORD, IF YOU WISH, YOU CAN HEAL ME.” THE LEPER HAS BEEN LIVING A DEATH, WORSE THAN REAL DEATH, PERHAPS; AND HE NO LONGER CARED WHAT HAPPENED; IF HE WERE TO BE STONED AND DRIVEN OUT OF TOWN FOR APPROACHING JESUS, SO BE IT. AND IF JESUS REFUSED TO HEAL HIM, WELL, HE HAD TRIED. BUT JESUS TOUCHED HIM! AND IN THAT SIMPLE MOVEMENT, THE LEPER BECAME PART OF THE COMMUNITY AGAIN, THE LEPER RE-ENTERED THE HUMAN RACE. JESUS VIOLATED THE LAWS OF LEVITICUS, TOOK ON THE UNCLEANNESS OF THE MAN, AND ENTERED HIS WORLD. SO JESUS WORKED TWO MIRACLES THAT DAY; HE CURED THE LEPROSY, WHICH HE COULD HAVE DONE WITH A WORD, FROM AFAR; BUT HE ALSO TOUCHED THE MAN, RESCUING HIM FROM THE LIVING DEATH OF HIS ISOLATION.
FATHER RYAN UNDERSTOOD WHAT JESUS TAUGHT US THAT DAY. CURING A DISEASE OF THE BODY OR THE MIND IS A WONDERFUL THING, I KNOW, HAVING CURED A FEW AND HAVING HAD ONE OR TWO OF MY OWN CURED. BUT ALL OF US CAN WORK THE MIRACLE JESUS WORKED, THE MIRACLE THAT FATHER RYAN WORKED OVER AND OVER AGAIN IN THOSE EVENINGS AT THE SOUTH END OF HELENA, MONTANA.
IF YOU READ THE GOSPELS, YOU HAVE TO AGREE THAT JESUS WENT OUT OF HIS WAY FOR THE PEOPLE ON THE MARGINS. BEGGARS, LEPERS, BLIND, LAME, PROSTITUTES, TAX COLLECTORS, EVEN A WOMAN WITH A BLEEDING DISORDER, AND THERE WAS NO ONE IN JEWISH SOCIETY THAT COULD BE LOWER THAN THAT). AND SO OFTEN, HE WOULD BEGIN HIS INTERACTION WITH THEM BY TOUCHING THEM. AND YOU KNOW, THE GOSPELS ONLY HINT AT WHAT REALLY HAPPENED. I IMAGINE JESUS STOPPING AND SPOKE TO THESE PEOPLE, JUST SMALL TALK, JUST SHOWING THEM THAT HE WAS INTERESTED IN WHO THEY REALLY WERE, WHAT THEY THOUGHT. AND THE GOSPEL WRITERS COULDN'T RECORD EVERYTHING, SO WE DON'T HEAR ABOUT THOSE KIND OF MOMENTS. BUT JESUS IS THE KIND OF GUY WHO WOULD GO INTO A BAR, AND SIT DOWN NEXT TO THE DIRTIEST, LONELIEST DRUNK THERE, AND TALK TO HIM.
JESUS LIVES IN YOU AND I. EVERY ONE OF US WILL MEET A LEPER THIS WEEK WHO NEEDS TO BE TOUCHED, WHO NEEDS TO BE INVITED BACK INTO THE HUMAN COMMUNITY. WE WILL FEEL JESUS TRYING TO USE OUR HANDS TO TOUCH THAT PERSON, OUR WORDS TO SHOW THAT PERSON HE OR SHE IS NOT ALONE, AND OUR EARS TO LISTEN TO THAT PERSON'S STORY. WILL WE RESIST AND GO ON OUR WAY, OR WILL WE ALLOW JESUS TO ACT IN US AND PERFORM ANOTHER MIRACLE?
Monday, February 9, 2009
Fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time, cycle B
MARK 1:29-39
IN THIS PART OF THE GOSPEL OF MARK WE ARE SHOWN A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JESUS. HE HAD EXPELLED AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT FROM A POSSESSED MAN, THEN WENT TO PETER'S HOUSE AND CURED HIS MOTHER IN LAW, THEN SPENT TIME CURING, DRIVING OUT DEMONS, AND PERFORMING OTHER GOOD WORKS; AND FINALLY, WITHDRAWING TO SPEND TIME WITH HIS HEAVENLY FATHER. AND WHEN HIS DISCIPLES FIND HIM, HE TELLS THEM THAT THEY HAVE TO MOVE ON, THEY HAVE TO VISIT OTHER TOWNS AND PERFORM OTHER HEALINGS AND PREACH THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. AND ALL THE WHILE THERE IS PRESSURE. AS JESUS' FAME GROWS, WE WILL SEE LATER THAT THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS OF THAT TIME TRY TO DISTRACT HIM BY POSING SPECULATIVE QUESTIONS, BY GIVING HIM PUZZLES TO SOLVE; THE PAGAN AUTHORITIES ARE ALWAYS HOVERING IN THE BACKGROUND, CONTENT TO LEAVE THINGS AS THEY ARE UP TO THE POINT THAT THEY PERCEIVE JESUS AS SOMEONE WHO MIGHT MAKE TROUBLE FOR THEM; AND THE ORDINARY PEOPLE WHO COME FROM FAR AND NEAR TO BE HEALED, TO MARVEL AT HIS WORDS, TO WATCH THE MIRACLES; AND WE SENSE THAT MOST OF THEM ARE THERE FOR THE SPECTACLE, OR TO GET SOMETHING, AND FEW ARE INTERESTED IN CHANGING THEIR LIVES IN ORDER TO BRING ABOUT THE KINGDOM THAT JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT.
IN A WAY, JESUS' LIFE IS VERY MUCH LIKE YOURS AND MINE. WE WAKE UP EVERY MORNING, WE DO OUR STUFF, THE DAY GOES BY, AND WE LOOK BACK AND SAY, “WHAT DID I ACCOMPLISH TODAY?” AND VERY OFTEN THE ANSWER COMES BACK, “NOT VERY MUCH”. AND WE SEE THAT WE ALSO HAVE DISTRACTIONS. THERE ARE OBSTACLES TO BE OVERCOME, THERE ARE UNAPPRECIATIVE PEOPLE; SOMETIMES FAMILY MEMBERS AND CO-WORKERS ALMOST SEEM TO DELIBERATELY KEEP US FROM DOING WHAT WE SET OUT TO DO.
BUT JESUS KNEW SOMETHING THAT MANY OF US PROBABLY DON'T. JESUS KNEW THAT WHEN THE PRESSURE REACHED A CERTAIN POINT; WHEN HE HAD DONE ALL THAT HE COULD POSSIBLY DO, WHEN HE FELT FRUSTRATED BECAUSE HE KNEW HE WASN'T GETTING THROUGH TO MOST OF THE PEOPLE FOLLOWING HIM, INCLUDING HIS APOSTLES, THERE WAS A PLACE TO GO TO BE RENEWED, TO REFRESH HIMSELF. AND SO WE HEAR ABOUT HIM “WITHDRAWING TO PRAY” OR “SPENDING THE NIGHT IN PRAYER”. FOR JESUS, HIMSELF THE SECOND PERSON OF THE TRINITY, BEING IN COMMUNION WITH THE FATHER WAS NOT ONLY THE BEST WAY HE HAD TO RENEW HIMSELF, BUT IT WAS A GUARANTEE THAT HE WAS ON THE RIGHT PATH. BECAUSE, YOU SEE, SPENDING TIME IN COMMUNION WITH THE FATHER IS A TWO-WAY CONVERSATION. YOU SPEAK, THEN YOU LISTEN; AND WHEN YOU DON'T SEEM TO BE GETTING A RESPONSE, YOU CALL TO MIND WHEN GOD SPOKE TO YOU BEFORE – A SERMON YOU MAY HAVE HEARD, A PASSAGE FROM THE BIBLE THAT PARTICULARLY TOUCHED YOU; SOME SPIRITUAL READING YOU MAY HAVE DONE – BECAUSE GOD HAS SPOKEN TO EACH OF US, AND WILL SPEAK AGAIN, OF THAT WE MAY BE SURE. IT IS ONLY OUR LISTENING THAT NEEDS WORK.
TODAY IS WORLD MARRIAGE DAY. OUR CHURCH CALLS US, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF US WHO ARE MARRIED, TO REFLECT ON THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSIONS OF MARRIAGE, TO THINK ABOUT THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY.
IF YOU'VE BEEN MARRIED A LONG TIME, LIKE I HAVE, YOU KNOW THAT THE DAYS GO BY FAIRLY QUICKLY. YOU CAN HARDLY REMEMBER HOW YOU FELT BACK WHEN YOU WERE ENGAGED AND FIRST MARRIED. ARE THERE DAYS WHEN YOU HARDLY SPEAK TO YOUR SPOUSE? YOU ARE BOTH BUSY, YOU'VE SAID ABOUT ALL THERE IS TO SAY TO EACH OTHER, AND YOU ARE NOT MAD OR ANYTHING, YOU ARE JUST DISTRACTED. ARE THERE TIMES WHEN YOU MEAN TO SAY OR DO SOMETHING TO SHOW YOUR SPOUSE THAT YOU STILL LOVE HIM OR HER, BUT LIFE GETS IN THE WAY. ARE THERE TIMES WHEN THE DAY COMES TO AN END AND MUCH AS YOU LOVE YOUR SPOUSE, YOU JUST WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE?
I THINK IF WE ARE HONEST, WE KNOW THAT MUCH OF THE LIFE OF A COUPLE IS LIKE THE LIFE OF JESUS; AS THE YEARS GO BY NOT ONLY DO THERE SEEM TO BE LESS OPPORTUNITIES TO BE ALONE WITH THE OTHER, THERE IS EVEN LESS OF A DESIRE. IT MAY MAKE US FEEL GUILTY, BUT IT SHOULDN'T IF OUR MARRIAGE HAS MATURED AS IT IS MEANT TO. BECAUSE A COUPLE IN THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY ARE LIKE CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH; OVER THE YEARS, THE CHURCH LEARNS MORE AND MORE ABOUT HER SPOUSE, AND EMBRACES MORE AND MORE WHAT HER SPOUSE HAS IN MIND FOR THE WORLD. AND IN THE END, THE CHURCH, THE BODY OF CHRIST, WILL BECOME ONE WITH HER HEAD. IN THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY, THE SAME HAPPENS. IN THE BEGINNING, TWO STRANGERS BEGIN TO LEARN ABOUT EACH OTHER, ABOUT THEIR LONGINGS AND DESIRES, ABOUT THEIR VIRTUES AND THEIR FAILINGS. OVER TIME, IN A GOOD MARRIAGE, EACH LEARNS TO ACCEPT THE OTHER, WARTS AND ALL, AND IN A GREAT MARRIAGE, EACH LEARNS TO LOVE THE FAULTS AND FAILINGS OF THE OTHER, INSOFAR AS THESE STEM FROM THAT PERSON'S UNIQUENESS. AND EACH GRADUALLY IDENTIFIES WITH THE OTHER, SO THAT WHERE ONE IS, THERE IS THE OTHER; SO THAT THEIR CHILDREN CANNOT IMAGINE A WORLD IN WHICH ONLY ONE EXISTED; THEY HAVE BECOME ONE.
BUT FOR A MARRIAGE TO GROW, FOR MATRIMONY TO BECOME ALL THAT IT CAN BE, THE COUPLE HAS TO MAKE ROOM FOR GOD. THE HUNDREDS OF DISTRACTIONS THAT EAT UP ALL YOUR TIME, THE DEMANDS OF JOB, OF CHILDREN, OF BILL-PAYING, OF MAINTENANCE – ALL HAVE TO BE CONFRONTED AND DEALT WITH, OF COURSE; BUT THERE MUST E TIME TO WITHDRAW AND PRAY, TO COMMUNE WITH GOD, NOT JUST INDIVIDUALLY, BUT AS A COUPLE.
ONE OF THE THINGS MARRIED COUPLES SHOULD SERIOUSLY CONSIDER IS TO MAKE AN ANNUAL RETREAT TOGETHER. IF YOU HAVE SMALL CHILDREN, IT IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT; FIND SOMEONE TO CARE FOR THEM, AND GET AWAY TO BE WITH EACH OTHER IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD. MARRIED COUPLES SHOULD FIND TIME TO PRAY TOGETHER EVERY DAY; THE FAMILY ROSARY IS A WONDERFUL DEVOTION, ESPECIALLY IF YOU TAKE TIME TO REFLECT TOGETHER ON THE MYSTERIES AND WHAT THEY MAY BE TELLING YOU THAT DAY, ABOUT YOUR LIFE.
JESUS TODAY SETS AN EXAMPLE NOT ONLY FOR INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIANS BUT FOR MARRIED COUPLES; AFTER YOU HAVE ATTENDED TO ALL THE GOOD THINGS THAT YOU ARE GIVEN TO DO, AFTER YOU HAVE MET ALL THE CHALLENGES GOD GIVES YOU, THEN TAKE EACH OTHER'S HAND AND WITHDRAW INTO THE PRESENCE OF THE FATHER, AND PRAY.
IN THIS PART OF THE GOSPEL OF MARK WE ARE SHOWN A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JESUS. HE HAD EXPELLED AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT FROM A POSSESSED MAN, THEN WENT TO PETER'S HOUSE AND CURED HIS MOTHER IN LAW, THEN SPENT TIME CURING, DRIVING OUT DEMONS, AND PERFORMING OTHER GOOD WORKS; AND FINALLY, WITHDRAWING TO SPEND TIME WITH HIS HEAVENLY FATHER. AND WHEN HIS DISCIPLES FIND HIM, HE TELLS THEM THAT THEY HAVE TO MOVE ON, THEY HAVE TO VISIT OTHER TOWNS AND PERFORM OTHER HEALINGS AND PREACH THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. AND ALL THE WHILE THERE IS PRESSURE. AS JESUS' FAME GROWS, WE WILL SEE LATER THAT THE RELIGIOUS LEADERS OF THAT TIME TRY TO DISTRACT HIM BY POSING SPECULATIVE QUESTIONS, BY GIVING HIM PUZZLES TO SOLVE; THE PAGAN AUTHORITIES ARE ALWAYS HOVERING IN THE BACKGROUND, CONTENT TO LEAVE THINGS AS THEY ARE UP TO THE POINT THAT THEY PERCEIVE JESUS AS SOMEONE WHO MIGHT MAKE TROUBLE FOR THEM; AND THE ORDINARY PEOPLE WHO COME FROM FAR AND NEAR TO BE HEALED, TO MARVEL AT HIS WORDS, TO WATCH THE MIRACLES; AND WE SENSE THAT MOST OF THEM ARE THERE FOR THE SPECTACLE, OR TO GET SOMETHING, AND FEW ARE INTERESTED IN CHANGING THEIR LIVES IN ORDER TO BRING ABOUT THE KINGDOM THAT JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT.
IN A WAY, JESUS' LIFE IS VERY MUCH LIKE YOURS AND MINE. WE WAKE UP EVERY MORNING, WE DO OUR STUFF, THE DAY GOES BY, AND WE LOOK BACK AND SAY, “WHAT DID I ACCOMPLISH TODAY?” AND VERY OFTEN THE ANSWER COMES BACK, “NOT VERY MUCH”. AND WE SEE THAT WE ALSO HAVE DISTRACTIONS. THERE ARE OBSTACLES TO BE OVERCOME, THERE ARE UNAPPRECIATIVE PEOPLE; SOMETIMES FAMILY MEMBERS AND CO-WORKERS ALMOST SEEM TO DELIBERATELY KEEP US FROM DOING WHAT WE SET OUT TO DO.
BUT JESUS KNEW SOMETHING THAT MANY OF US PROBABLY DON'T. JESUS KNEW THAT WHEN THE PRESSURE REACHED A CERTAIN POINT; WHEN HE HAD DONE ALL THAT HE COULD POSSIBLY DO, WHEN HE FELT FRUSTRATED BECAUSE HE KNEW HE WASN'T GETTING THROUGH TO MOST OF THE PEOPLE FOLLOWING HIM, INCLUDING HIS APOSTLES, THERE WAS A PLACE TO GO TO BE RENEWED, TO REFRESH HIMSELF. AND SO WE HEAR ABOUT HIM “WITHDRAWING TO PRAY” OR “SPENDING THE NIGHT IN PRAYER”. FOR JESUS, HIMSELF THE SECOND PERSON OF THE TRINITY, BEING IN COMMUNION WITH THE FATHER WAS NOT ONLY THE BEST WAY HE HAD TO RENEW HIMSELF, BUT IT WAS A GUARANTEE THAT HE WAS ON THE RIGHT PATH. BECAUSE, YOU SEE, SPENDING TIME IN COMMUNION WITH THE FATHER IS A TWO-WAY CONVERSATION. YOU SPEAK, THEN YOU LISTEN; AND WHEN YOU DON'T SEEM TO BE GETTING A RESPONSE, YOU CALL TO MIND WHEN GOD SPOKE TO YOU BEFORE – A SERMON YOU MAY HAVE HEARD, A PASSAGE FROM THE BIBLE THAT PARTICULARLY TOUCHED YOU; SOME SPIRITUAL READING YOU MAY HAVE DONE – BECAUSE GOD HAS SPOKEN TO EACH OF US, AND WILL SPEAK AGAIN, OF THAT WE MAY BE SURE. IT IS ONLY OUR LISTENING THAT NEEDS WORK.
TODAY IS WORLD MARRIAGE DAY. OUR CHURCH CALLS US, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF US WHO ARE MARRIED, TO REFLECT ON THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSIONS OF MARRIAGE, TO THINK ABOUT THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY.
IF YOU'VE BEEN MARRIED A LONG TIME, LIKE I HAVE, YOU KNOW THAT THE DAYS GO BY FAIRLY QUICKLY. YOU CAN HARDLY REMEMBER HOW YOU FELT BACK WHEN YOU WERE ENGAGED AND FIRST MARRIED. ARE THERE DAYS WHEN YOU HARDLY SPEAK TO YOUR SPOUSE? YOU ARE BOTH BUSY, YOU'VE SAID ABOUT ALL THERE IS TO SAY TO EACH OTHER, AND YOU ARE NOT MAD OR ANYTHING, YOU ARE JUST DISTRACTED. ARE THERE TIMES WHEN YOU MEAN TO SAY OR DO SOMETHING TO SHOW YOUR SPOUSE THAT YOU STILL LOVE HIM OR HER, BUT LIFE GETS IN THE WAY. ARE THERE TIMES WHEN THE DAY COMES TO AN END AND MUCH AS YOU LOVE YOUR SPOUSE, YOU JUST WANT TO BE LEFT ALONE?
I THINK IF WE ARE HONEST, WE KNOW THAT MUCH OF THE LIFE OF A COUPLE IS LIKE THE LIFE OF JESUS; AS THE YEARS GO BY NOT ONLY DO THERE SEEM TO BE LESS OPPORTUNITIES TO BE ALONE WITH THE OTHER, THERE IS EVEN LESS OF A DESIRE. IT MAY MAKE US FEEL GUILTY, BUT IT SHOULDN'T IF OUR MARRIAGE HAS MATURED AS IT IS MEANT TO. BECAUSE A COUPLE IN THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY ARE LIKE CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH; OVER THE YEARS, THE CHURCH LEARNS MORE AND MORE ABOUT HER SPOUSE, AND EMBRACES MORE AND MORE WHAT HER SPOUSE HAS IN MIND FOR THE WORLD. AND IN THE END, THE CHURCH, THE BODY OF CHRIST, WILL BECOME ONE WITH HER HEAD. IN THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY, THE SAME HAPPENS. IN THE BEGINNING, TWO STRANGERS BEGIN TO LEARN ABOUT EACH OTHER, ABOUT THEIR LONGINGS AND DESIRES, ABOUT THEIR VIRTUES AND THEIR FAILINGS. OVER TIME, IN A GOOD MARRIAGE, EACH LEARNS TO ACCEPT THE OTHER, WARTS AND ALL, AND IN A GREAT MARRIAGE, EACH LEARNS TO LOVE THE FAULTS AND FAILINGS OF THE OTHER, INSOFAR AS THESE STEM FROM THAT PERSON'S UNIQUENESS. AND EACH GRADUALLY IDENTIFIES WITH THE OTHER, SO THAT WHERE ONE IS, THERE IS THE OTHER; SO THAT THEIR CHILDREN CANNOT IMAGINE A WORLD IN WHICH ONLY ONE EXISTED; THEY HAVE BECOME ONE.
BUT FOR A MARRIAGE TO GROW, FOR MATRIMONY TO BECOME ALL THAT IT CAN BE, THE COUPLE HAS TO MAKE ROOM FOR GOD. THE HUNDREDS OF DISTRACTIONS THAT EAT UP ALL YOUR TIME, THE DEMANDS OF JOB, OF CHILDREN, OF BILL-PAYING, OF MAINTENANCE – ALL HAVE TO BE CONFRONTED AND DEALT WITH, OF COURSE; BUT THERE MUST E TIME TO WITHDRAW AND PRAY, TO COMMUNE WITH GOD, NOT JUST INDIVIDUALLY, BUT AS A COUPLE.
ONE OF THE THINGS MARRIED COUPLES SHOULD SERIOUSLY CONSIDER IS TO MAKE AN ANNUAL RETREAT TOGETHER. IF YOU HAVE SMALL CHILDREN, IT IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT; FIND SOMEONE TO CARE FOR THEM, AND GET AWAY TO BE WITH EACH OTHER IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD. MARRIED COUPLES SHOULD FIND TIME TO PRAY TOGETHER EVERY DAY; THE FAMILY ROSARY IS A WONDERFUL DEVOTION, ESPECIALLY IF YOU TAKE TIME TO REFLECT TOGETHER ON THE MYSTERIES AND WHAT THEY MAY BE TELLING YOU THAT DAY, ABOUT YOUR LIFE.
JESUS TODAY SETS AN EXAMPLE NOT ONLY FOR INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIANS BUT FOR MARRIED COUPLES; AFTER YOU HAVE ATTENDED TO ALL THE GOOD THINGS THAT YOU ARE GIVEN TO DO, AFTER YOU HAVE MET ALL THE CHALLENGES GOD GIVES YOU, THEN TAKE EACH OTHER'S HAND AND WITHDRAW INTO THE PRESENCE OF THE FATHER, AND PRAY.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, cycle B
MARK 1:21-28
MARK DOES NOT USE THE WORD FOR DEMON OR DEVIL IN THIS GOSPEL. HE REFERS TO “UNCLEAN SPIRITS”. SOMETIMES WE IMAGINE THAT THESE ARE DEMONS OR DEVILS, AND WE MAY INVOLUNTARILY SMILE AS WE THINK OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN DEMONS, OR WE MAY FEEL GRATEFUL THAT THEY AREN'T ALL AROUND US ANY MORE – BUT WHATEVER WE THINK, WE ALL BELIEVE THAT THE DAYS OF BEING POSSESSED BY UNCLEAN SPIRITS ARE OVER. BUT LET'S LOOK AT UNCLEAN SPIRITS FOR A MINUTE. IN MARK'S GOSPEL, THEY POSSESS HUMANS AND ANIMALS – CONSIDER THE PIGS THAT ABSORBED THE SPIRITS WHICH JESUS DROVE OUT. THERE IS A DANGER THAT THEY MIGHT RETURN TO THE PERSON FROM WHOM THEY HAVE BEEN EXPELLED, BRINGING EVEN STRONGER UNCLEAN SPIRITS WITH THEM.
SO TODAY WE MEET AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT, WHO SAYS, WITH THE VOCAL CHORDS AND TONGUE OF THE MAN POSSESSED, “WHAT HAVE YOU TO DO WITH US, JESUS OF NAZARETH? HAVE YOU COME TO DESTROY US?”
DO YOU EVER FEEL LIKE THAT UNCLEAN SPIRIT? SOMETIMES I DO. MAYBE I HAVE AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT. MAYBE IT ISN'T SOMETHING WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT BECAUSE IT HAPPENED 2000 YEARS AGO.
BECAUSE THERE ARE TIMES WHEN I EXPRESS THE SAME SENTIMENTS. WHAT HAVE YOU TO DO WITH ME, JESUS OF NAZARETH? I KNOW YOU, I KNOW WHAT YOU WANT OF ME, I KNOW YOU CALL ME TO CHANGE MY LIFE, TO SERVE MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS, TO DEVELOP A DEEPER RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU. I KNOW YOU WANT ME TO LAY UP TREASURE IN HEAVEN, WHERE IT REALLY MATTERS. YOU DEMAND A LOT FROM ME, JESUS. YOU EVEN TELL ME THAT IF I FOLLOW YOU THE WAY YOU WANT TO BE FOLLOWED, I WILL BE PERSECUTED, AND MAYBE EVEN PUT TO DEATH.
WHAT HAVE YOU TO DO WITH ME, JESUS OF NAZARETH? WOULDN'T IT BE WONDERFUL, MY UNCLEAN SPIRIT TELLS ME, IF I DID NOT HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS, BUT COULD JUST GO ON ABOUT MY ORDINARY BUSINESS. SOMETIMES I EVEN ENVY THOSE WHO DON'T BELIEVE, OR THOSE WHO CLAIM TO BELIEVE BUT SOMEHOW THE BELIEFS BASICALLY CONFIRM WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO ANYWAY. IF I COULD ONLY CONVINCE MYSELF THAT WHAT I WANT TO DO IS WHAT JESUS WANTS ME TO DO. IF I COULD ONLY REALLY BELIEVE THAT THERE WAS NO NEED TO CHANGE MYSELF, NO NEED TO DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT. I GIVE MONEY AND TIME TO THE CHURCH AND TO CHARITY; I TRY TO BE THE BEST PHYSICIAN I CAN BE, I TRY TO BE KIND AND LOVING TO MY FAMILY AND TO EVERYONE I MEET. BUT JESUS WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE, NO MATTER WHAT I GIVE, HE JUST WANTS MORE. HE WANTS THAT LITTLE CORE THAT I CALL “ME”, THAT BIT OF ME THAT WANTS TO BE LEFT ALONE, TO CURL UP WITH A GOOD BOOK AND A DRINK, THE PART OF ME THAT LOOKS OUT FOR NUMBER ONE; THE PART OF ME THAT WOULD LIKE TO NEVER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT MONEY AGAIN, THE PART OF ME THAT NEVER WANTS TO EXPERIENCE ILL HEALTH, NEVER WANTS TO DIE, EVEN IF IT MEANS HEAVEN. JESUS OF NAZARETH, HAVE YOU COME TO DESTROY ME?
BUT THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT JESUS COMES TO DO. HE WANTS TO DESTROY THAT PART THAT RESISTS HIM, THE PART THAT WANTS TO BE LEFT ALONE. HE WANTS TO RIP IT OUT OF US AND FILL IT WITH HIMSELF. AND THAT IS GOING TO BE PAINFUL, I'M SURE, WHICH IS WHY I DREAD IT, WHY I WANT TO PUT IT OFF. WHEN IT HAPPENS, WHEN THE UNCLEAN SPIRIT LEAVES ME, IT WILL HURT!
THERE IS AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT IN ALL OF US, A SPIRIT THAT CRIES OUT, “LEAVE ME ALONE, JESUS! LET ME KEEP WHAT IS MINE; ISN'T IT ENOUGH THAT I GO TO MASS ON SUNDAY, THAT I LIVE A GOOD LIFE, THAT I KEEP THE TEN COMMANDMENTS? BUT JESUS WANTS TO DESTROY THE PART OF YOU, THE PART OF ME, THAT WANTS TO KEEP HIM AWAY, THAT WANTS TO EXCLUDE HIM.
SOME OF YOU MAY REMEMBER THE EPIC “LORD OF THE RING.” YOU MAY HAVE READ IT, AS I DID, OR YOU MAY HAVE SEEN THE MOVIES BASED ON THE BOOK. IN THE STORY, THERE IS A RING WHICH GIVES ITS WEARER SUPERNATURAL POWERS, INCLUDING THE POWER OF INVISIBILITY. THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT WHEN THE POWER IS USED, THERE ARE CHANGES THAT TAKE PLACE IN THE PERSON, CHANGES FOR THE WORSE. THE WEARER BECOMES SELFISH, VIEWS OTHERS WITH SUSPICION, BEGINS TO PULL AWAY FROM OTHERS. AND WHILE THIS IS APPARENT TO THE HERO OF THE EPIC, THERE IS A CREATURE NAMED GOLEM WHO REPRESENTS THE VERY END OF THE CHANGE THE RING BRINGS ABOUT IN A PERSON. GOLEM IS SMALL, DRIED UP, UGLY, AND ENTIRELY CENTERED ON KEEPING THE RING, TO THE POINT WHERE HIS LIFE MEANS NOTHING WITHOUT IT.
THE RING IS THE UNCLEAN SPIRIT IN EACH OF US, THAT JESUS WANTS TO DRIVE OUT.
FOR SOME OF US, THIS WILL TAKE OUR WHOLE LIVES, BUT I THINK ALL OF US CAN SEE THAT AS LONG AS WE HAVE THIS UNCLEAN SPIRIT, WE CAN'T BECOME FULLY UNITED WITH JESUS. BUT HOW CAN WE TELL THAT IT IS BEING DRIVEN OUT? MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHAT TO WE NEED TO HAVE HAPPEN IF WE ARE TO HAVE THE SPIRIT DRIVEN OUT OF US?
FIRST, WE HAVE TO IDENTIFY THE UNCLEAN SPIRIT; WE HAVE TO LOCATE WITHIN OURSELVES THAT WHICH WE SIMPLY WON'T GIVE UP. WHAT IS IT ABOUT ME THAT LOSING WOULD SEEM TO THREATEN MY VERY IDENTITY? ITS NOT HARD TO DISCOVER. IDENTIFY ALL YOUR HABITS, EVERYTHING THAT SPRINGS FROM YOU WHEN YOU ARE OFF GUARD, OR TIRED. LOOK AT THE KINDS OF REACTIONS YOU HAVE TO OTHER PEOPLE – ESPECIALLY THOSE IN YOUR OWN HOUSEHOLD. LOOK AT THOSE THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF THAT YOU HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT CHANGING FOR THE LAST TWENTY YEARS, BUT HAVE NEVER REALLY TRIED TO CHANGE. SOMEWHERE IN THERE, YOU WILL DISCOVER YOUR UNCLEAN SPIRIT, THE SPIRIT THAT OCCUPIES IN YOURSELF WHAT YOU NOW THINK IS YOUR PRECIOUS CENTER, BUT WHICH JESUS DESIRES TO FILL UP. IF YOU GO THROUGH THIS REFLECTIVE PROCESS, IF YOU BEGIN TO SEE HOW YOUR UNCLEAN SPIRIT HOLDS YOU DOWN, THAT IS A BEGINNING, THAT CAN BE TAKEN TO JESUS, AND INSTEAD OF SAYING “WHAT HAVE YOU TO DO WITH ME? HAVE YOU COME TO DESTROY ME?” YOU MAY EVEN HAVE THE COURAGE TO SAY, “REMOVE IT FROM ME, LORD, EVEN IF THERE WILL BE PAIN, EVEN IF IT MEANS LOSING WHAT I THINK IS THE VERY CENTER OF MY BEING. BECAUSE ONLY THEN CAN I HOPE TO REALLY BE UNITED WITH YOU, AND YOU YOURSELF HAVE PROMISED THAT YOU AND THE FATHER WILL COME TO DWELL WITH ME; YOU YOURSELF HAVE PROMISED THAT ONLY BY UNION WITH YOU CAN I TRANSCEND MY ORDINARY LIFE; ONLY THEN CAN I ENTER ETERNITY.
MARK DOES NOT USE THE WORD FOR DEMON OR DEVIL IN THIS GOSPEL. HE REFERS TO “UNCLEAN SPIRITS”. SOMETIMES WE IMAGINE THAT THESE ARE DEMONS OR DEVILS, AND WE MAY INVOLUNTARILY SMILE AS WE THINK OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN DEMONS, OR WE MAY FEEL GRATEFUL THAT THEY AREN'T ALL AROUND US ANY MORE – BUT WHATEVER WE THINK, WE ALL BELIEVE THAT THE DAYS OF BEING POSSESSED BY UNCLEAN SPIRITS ARE OVER. BUT LET'S LOOK AT UNCLEAN SPIRITS FOR A MINUTE. IN MARK'S GOSPEL, THEY POSSESS HUMANS AND ANIMALS – CONSIDER THE PIGS THAT ABSORBED THE SPIRITS WHICH JESUS DROVE OUT. THERE IS A DANGER THAT THEY MIGHT RETURN TO THE PERSON FROM WHOM THEY HAVE BEEN EXPELLED, BRINGING EVEN STRONGER UNCLEAN SPIRITS WITH THEM.
SO TODAY WE MEET AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT, WHO SAYS, WITH THE VOCAL CHORDS AND TONGUE OF THE MAN POSSESSED, “WHAT HAVE YOU TO DO WITH US, JESUS OF NAZARETH? HAVE YOU COME TO DESTROY US?”
DO YOU EVER FEEL LIKE THAT UNCLEAN SPIRIT? SOMETIMES I DO. MAYBE I HAVE AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT. MAYBE IT ISN'T SOMETHING WE DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT BECAUSE IT HAPPENED 2000 YEARS AGO.
BECAUSE THERE ARE TIMES WHEN I EXPRESS THE SAME SENTIMENTS. WHAT HAVE YOU TO DO WITH ME, JESUS OF NAZARETH? I KNOW YOU, I KNOW WHAT YOU WANT OF ME, I KNOW YOU CALL ME TO CHANGE MY LIFE, TO SERVE MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS, TO DEVELOP A DEEPER RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU. I KNOW YOU WANT ME TO LAY UP TREASURE IN HEAVEN, WHERE IT REALLY MATTERS. YOU DEMAND A LOT FROM ME, JESUS. YOU EVEN TELL ME THAT IF I FOLLOW YOU THE WAY YOU WANT TO BE FOLLOWED, I WILL BE PERSECUTED, AND MAYBE EVEN PUT TO DEATH.
WHAT HAVE YOU TO DO WITH ME, JESUS OF NAZARETH? WOULDN'T IT BE WONDERFUL, MY UNCLEAN SPIRIT TELLS ME, IF I DID NOT HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS, BUT COULD JUST GO ON ABOUT MY ORDINARY BUSINESS. SOMETIMES I EVEN ENVY THOSE WHO DON'T BELIEVE, OR THOSE WHO CLAIM TO BELIEVE BUT SOMEHOW THE BELIEFS BASICALLY CONFIRM WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO ANYWAY. IF I COULD ONLY CONVINCE MYSELF THAT WHAT I WANT TO DO IS WHAT JESUS WANTS ME TO DO. IF I COULD ONLY REALLY BELIEVE THAT THERE WAS NO NEED TO CHANGE MYSELF, NO NEED TO DO ANYTHING DIFFERENT. I GIVE MONEY AND TIME TO THE CHURCH AND TO CHARITY; I TRY TO BE THE BEST PHYSICIAN I CAN BE, I TRY TO BE KIND AND LOVING TO MY FAMILY AND TO EVERYONE I MEET. BUT JESUS WON'T LEAVE ME ALONE, NO MATTER WHAT I GIVE, HE JUST WANTS MORE. HE WANTS THAT LITTLE CORE THAT I CALL “ME”, THAT BIT OF ME THAT WANTS TO BE LEFT ALONE, TO CURL UP WITH A GOOD BOOK AND A DRINK, THE PART OF ME THAT LOOKS OUT FOR NUMBER ONE; THE PART OF ME THAT WOULD LIKE TO NEVER HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT MONEY AGAIN, THE PART OF ME THAT NEVER WANTS TO EXPERIENCE ILL HEALTH, NEVER WANTS TO DIE, EVEN IF IT MEANS HEAVEN. JESUS OF NAZARETH, HAVE YOU COME TO DESTROY ME?
BUT THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT JESUS COMES TO DO. HE WANTS TO DESTROY THAT PART THAT RESISTS HIM, THE PART THAT WANTS TO BE LEFT ALONE. HE WANTS TO RIP IT OUT OF US AND FILL IT WITH HIMSELF. AND THAT IS GOING TO BE PAINFUL, I'M SURE, WHICH IS WHY I DREAD IT, WHY I WANT TO PUT IT OFF. WHEN IT HAPPENS, WHEN THE UNCLEAN SPIRIT LEAVES ME, IT WILL HURT!
THERE IS AN UNCLEAN SPIRIT IN ALL OF US, A SPIRIT THAT CRIES OUT, “LEAVE ME ALONE, JESUS! LET ME KEEP WHAT IS MINE; ISN'T IT ENOUGH THAT I GO TO MASS ON SUNDAY, THAT I LIVE A GOOD LIFE, THAT I KEEP THE TEN COMMANDMENTS? BUT JESUS WANTS TO DESTROY THE PART OF YOU, THE PART OF ME, THAT WANTS TO KEEP HIM AWAY, THAT WANTS TO EXCLUDE HIM.
SOME OF YOU MAY REMEMBER THE EPIC “LORD OF THE RING.” YOU MAY HAVE READ IT, AS I DID, OR YOU MAY HAVE SEEN THE MOVIES BASED ON THE BOOK. IN THE STORY, THERE IS A RING WHICH GIVES ITS WEARER SUPERNATURAL POWERS, INCLUDING THE POWER OF INVISIBILITY. THE ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT WHEN THE POWER IS USED, THERE ARE CHANGES THAT TAKE PLACE IN THE PERSON, CHANGES FOR THE WORSE. THE WEARER BECOMES SELFISH, VIEWS OTHERS WITH SUSPICION, BEGINS TO PULL AWAY FROM OTHERS. AND WHILE THIS IS APPARENT TO THE HERO OF THE EPIC, THERE IS A CREATURE NAMED GOLEM WHO REPRESENTS THE VERY END OF THE CHANGE THE RING BRINGS ABOUT IN A PERSON. GOLEM IS SMALL, DRIED UP, UGLY, AND ENTIRELY CENTERED ON KEEPING THE RING, TO THE POINT WHERE HIS LIFE MEANS NOTHING WITHOUT IT.
THE RING IS THE UNCLEAN SPIRIT IN EACH OF US, THAT JESUS WANTS TO DRIVE OUT.
FOR SOME OF US, THIS WILL TAKE OUR WHOLE LIVES, BUT I THINK ALL OF US CAN SEE THAT AS LONG AS WE HAVE THIS UNCLEAN SPIRIT, WE CAN'T BECOME FULLY UNITED WITH JESUS. BUT HOW CAN WE TELL THAT IT IS BEING DRIVEN OUT? MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHAT TO WE NEED TO HAVE HAPPEN IF WE ARE TO HAVE THE SPIRIT DRIVEN OUT OF US?
FIRST, WE HAVE TO IDENTIFY THE UNCLEAN SPIRIT; WE HAVE TO LOCATE WITHIN OURSELVES THAT WHICH WE SIMPLY WON'T GIVE UP. WHAT IS IT ABOUT ME THAT LOSING WOULD SEEM TO THREATEN MY VERY IDENTITY? ITS NOT HARD TO DISCOVER. IDENTIFY ALL YOUR HABITS, EVERYTHING THAT SPRINGS FROM YOU WHEN YOU ARE OFF GUARD, OR TIRED. LOOK AT THE KINDS OF REACTIONS YOU HAVE TO OTHER PEOPLE – ESPECIALLY THOSE IN YOUR OWN HOUSEHOLD. LOOK AT THOSE THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF THAT YOU HAVE THOUGHT ABOUT CHANGING FOR THE LAST TWENTY YEARS, BUT HAVE NEVER REALLY TRIED TO CHANGE. SOMEWHERE IN THERE, YOU WILL DISCOVER YOUR UNCLEAN SPIRIT, THE SPIRIT THAT OCCUPIES IN YOURSELF WHAT YOU NOW THINK IS YOUR PRECIOUS CENTER, BUT WHICH JESUS DESIRES TO FILL UP. IF YOU GO THROUGH THIS REFLECTIVE PROCESS, IF YOU BEGIN TO SEE HOW YOUR UNCLEAN SPIRIT HOLDS YOU DOWN, THAT IS A BEGINNING, THAT CAN BE TAKEN TO JESUS, AND INSTEAD OF SAYING “WHAT HAVE YOU TO DO WITH ME? HAVE YOU COME TO DESTROY ME?” YOU MAY EVEN HAVE THE COURAGE TO SAY, “REMOVE IT FROM ME, LORD, EVEN IF THERE WILL BE PAIN, EVEN IF IT MEANS LOSING WHAT I THINK IS THE VERY CENTER OF MY BEING. BECAUSE ONLY THEN CAN I HOPE TO REALLY BE UNITED WITH YOU, AND YOU YOURSELF HAVE PROMISED THAT YOU AND THE FATHER WILL COME TO DWELL WITH ME; YOU YOURSELF HAVE PROMISED THAT ONLY BY UNION WITH YOU CAN I TRANSCEND MY ORDINARY LIFE; ONLY THEN CAN I ENTER ETERNITY.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul
JANUARY 25TH, 2009
BECAUSE THIS IS THE YEAR OF ST. PAUL, THE CHURCH GIVES US AN OPTION THIS SUNDAY; WE CAN EITHER CELEBRATE THE THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, OR WE CAN CELEBRATE THE FEAST OF THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL. IN A REGULAR YEAR THE SUNDAY WOULD TRUMP THE FEAST.
I'M SURE YOU REMEMBER THE STORY. ST. PAUL HAS BEEN GIVEN A MISSION BY THE JEWISH LEADERS IN JERUSALEM – GO TO DAMASCUS AND ROUND UP ALL THOSE CHRISTIANS AND BRING THEM BACK SO THAT THEY CAN BE PUNISHED. AND THEN PAUL SEES A BRILLIANT LIGHT THAT BLINDS HIM, AND AS HE IS LAYING THERE IN THE DUST, HE HEARS THE WORDS, “SAUL, WHY DO YOU PERSECUTE ME?” HE IS THEN LED TO A CHRISTIAN NAMED ANANIAS WHO PRAYS OVER HIM AND “SOMETHING LIKE SCALES” FALL FROM HIS EYES. AND EVENTUALLY PAUL RETURNS TO JERUSALEM, CONVINCES THE APOSTLES THAT HE IS THE REAL THING, AND RECEIVES THE COMMISSION FROM PETER TO GO TO THE GENTILES. AND AT LEAST PARTLY BECAUSE OF PAUL, THE CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT EVENTUALLY LEFT ITS JEWISH ROOTS AND SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
BUT PAUL HIMSELF DOES NOT MENTION THE LIGHT OR THE BLINDNESS OR ANY OF THESE DRAMATIC EVENTS WHEN HE IS WRITING ABOUT HIS CONVERSION, AND HIS WRITING IS MUCH EARLIER IS THAN THE STORY IN LUKE. BUT HE DOES MENTION THAT HE RECEIVED A DIRECT REVELATION FROM JESUS CHRIST, THAT HE BECAME CONVINCED OF THE RESURRECTION. BUT DID PAUL REALLY CONVERT? WAS THERE A MOMENT WHEN HE TURNED HIS BACK ON JUDAISM AND BECAME A CHRISTIAN? WE SEE IT THAT WAY, BUT PAUL DIDN'T. DURING PAUL'S LIFETIME, THE CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT WAS A BRANCH OF JUDAISM, JUST LIKE THE PHARISEES, THE ESSENES, THE SADDUCEES – AND MANY OTHER SECTS. IN FACT, IN HIS EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS, ONE OF HIS LAST WRITINGS, HE IS WRITING TO JEWISH CHRISTIANS IN ROME, AND INSISTS THAT HIS GOSPEL IS NOT A DEPARTURE FROM JUDAISM, AND THAT HE CONSIDERS HIMSELF A JEW IN GOOD STANDING. SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PAUL'S CONVERSION, WE ARE READING SOMETHING INTO THAT EVENT THAT PROBABLY WASN'T REALLY THERE.
BUT SOMETHING HAPPENED TO PAUL. SOMETHING MADE HIM CHANGE HIS WHOLE LIFE, PUT HIMSELF IN DANGER OVER AND OVER AGAIN, FIGHT WITH PAGANS AND PHARISEES AND EVEN FELLOW CHRISTIANS OVER THE MESSAGE THAT JESUS BROUGHT INTO THE WORLD. AND WHAT HAPPENED CAN'T REALLY BE KNOWN; PAUL REFERS TO HIS CONVERSION ONLY BRIEFLY, AND WITHOUT SPECIFICS; AND THE STORY IN LUKE IS PROBABLY MORE THEOLOGY THAN HISTORY.
WHAT WOULD MAKE YOU AND I CHANGE INTO ANOTHER PAUL? WHAT KIND OF EVENT WOULD MAKE US CHANGE OUR LIVES FOREVER? I DON'T THINK BEING TEMPORARILY BLINDED WOULD DO IT. I'M NOT SURE HEARING A VOICE FROM THE HEAVENS WOULD DO IT. THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE AROUND WHO HAVE HAD NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES AND GONE BACK TO THEIR SAME OLD LIVES; THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD PROFOUND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES AND THEY NEVER TOOK. JESUS HIMSELF TALKS ABOUT THE SEED THAT FALLS AMONG THORNS, THE SEED THAT FALLS ON THE ROAD – SEED THAT MAY GERMINATE FOR A TIME, BUT NEVER BEARS FRUIT. NO, ITS HARD TO IMAGINE THAT A SINGLE EVENT WOULD CHANGE PAUL, OR ANYONE, SO MUCH. AFTER ALL, THE APOSTLES SPENT THREE YEARS IN THE PRESENCE OF JESUS HIMSELF, AND STILL DESERTED HIM AT THE CRUCIFIXION. AND REMEMBER JUDAS – WITNESS TO ALL THE MIRACLES, SOMEONE WHO HEARD EVERY SERMON JESUS PREACHED – AND STILL HE BETRAYED HIM AT THE END.
MAYBE THERE IS ANOTHER WAY TO UNDERSTAND THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL. WHEN LUKE TELLS US THAT PAUL WAS GIVEN A MISSION BY THE JEWISH LEADERS TO GO INTO ANOTHER COUNTRY AND DRAG BACK CHRISTIANS, THIS IS A LITTLE HARD TO BELIEVE, NOT TO MENTION THAT IT PROBABLY VIOLATED ALL KINDS OF ROMAN LAWS. BUT IF HIS MISSION HAD BEEN TO GO TO DAMASCUS AND TRY TO PERSUADE THOSE WHO FOLLOWED JESUS THAT THEY SHOULD LEAVE THEIR HERESY AND COME BACK TO THE TRUE FAITH, THAT'S MORE BELIEVABLE. AFTER ALL, PAUL WAS A PHARISEE, AND IN THOSE DAYS, PHARISEES OFTEN WENT ON MISSIONS TO BRING OTHERS INTO THE “TRUE FAITH” AS THEY SAW IT. IN THE GOSPEL, JESUS MENTIONS HOW THE PHARISEES WOULD CROSS AN OCEAN TO MAKE A CONVERT. SO PAUL GETS TO DAMASCUS, AND THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY WELCOMES HIM, SEES THAT HE IS TAKEN CARE OF, AND PAUL, WHO KNOWS THE BIBLE BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS, DISCOVERS THAT THEY ARE LIVING THE WAY PEOPLE WERE SUPPOSED TO LIVE AT THE END OF TIME; JEWS AND GENTILES TOGETHER; MEN AND WOMEN, SLAVE AND FREE – THERE WERE NO DISTINCTIONS. AND THE COMMUNITY WAS FOUNDED ON LOVE, EVERYONE LOOKED OUT FOR EACH OTHER, AND EVERYONE PUT UP WITH EACH OTHER'S FAULTS, AND EVERYONE PRACTICING WHAT THEY PREACHED. AND AS PAUL WENT AROUND TO OTHER COMMUNITIES, HE SAW THE SAME THING; THESE PEOPLE WERE LIVING THE WAY THE PROPHETS SAID THE WORLD WOULD BE AT THE END OF TIME. AND PAUL RECOGNIZED THAT THE RISEN CHRIST WAS LIVING AMONG THESE PEOPLE; THAT THE MESSIAH HAD COME, AND THAT THE WORLD WAS FOREVER CHANGED.
WE SOMETIMES THINK THAT PAUL WAS THE REAL FOUNDER OF CHRISTIANITY, BUT THERE WERE CHRISTIANS IN MANY PLACES EVEN BEFORE PAUL WAS CONVERTED. MAYBE THE REASON FOR THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL WAS HIS EXPERIENCE WITH THOSE ANONYMOUS FIRST CHRISTIANS WHO CONVINCED HIM BY THEIR LIVES AND THEIR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER THAT THE MESSIAH OF THE JEWS HAD INDEED COME INTO THE WORLD, AND CONTINUED TO LIVE, RESURRECTED, AMONG HIS PEOPLE.
SO ON THIS FEAST OF THE CONVERSION OF ST PAUL, LET US ASK OURSELVES, ARE WE THE KIND OF COMMUNITY THAT WOULD PROVE TO A MODERN DAY PAUL THAT THE MESSIAH HAD COME, THAT JESUS CHRIST LIVES FOREVER AMONG HIS PEOPLE?
BECAUSE THIS IS THE YEAR OF ST. PAUL, THE CHURCH GIVES US AN OPTION THIS SUNDAY; WE CAN EITHER CELEBRATE THE THIRD SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, OR WE CAN CELEBRATE THE FEAST OF THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL. IN A REGULAR YEAR THE SUNDAY WOULD TRUMP THE FEAST.
I'M SURE YOU REMEMBER THE STORY. ST. PAUL HAS BEEN GIVEN A MISSION BY THE JEWISH LEADERS IN JERUSALEM – GO TO DAMASCUS AND ROUND UP ALL THOSE CHRISTIANS AND BRING THEM BACK SO THAT THEY CAN BE PUNISHED. AND THEN PAUL SEES A BRILLIANT LIGHT THAT BLINDS HIM, AND AS HE IS LAYING THERE IN THE DUST, HE HEARS THE WORDS, “SAUL, WHY DO YOU PERSECUTE ME?” HE IS THEN LED TO A CHRISTIAN NAMED ANANIAS WHO PRAYS OVER HIM AND “SOMETHING LIKE SCALES” FALL FROM HIS EYES. AND EVENTUALLY PAUL RETURNS TO JERUSALEM, CONVINCES THE APOSTLES THAT HE IS THE REAL THING, AND RECEIVES THE COMMISSION FROM PETER TO GO TO THE GENTILES. AND AT LEAST PARTLY BECAUSE OF PAUL, THE CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT EVENTUALLY LEFT ITS JEWISH ROOTS AND SPREAD THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
BUT PAUL HIMSELF DOES NOT MENTION THE LIGHT OR THE BLINDNESS OR ANY OF THESE DRAMATIC EVENTS WHEN HE IS WRITING ABOUT HIS CONVERSION, AND HIS WRITING IS MUCH EARLIER IS THAN THE STORY IN LUKE. BUT HE DOES MENTION THAT HE RECEIVED A DIRECT REVELATION FROM JESUS CHRIST, THAT HE BECAME CONVINCED OF THE RESURRECTION. BUT DID PAUL REALLY CONVERT? WAS THERE A MOMENT WHEN HE TURNED HIS BACK ON JUDAISM AND BECAME A CHRISTIAN? WE SEE IT THAT WAY, BUT PAUL DIDN'T. DURING PAUL'S LIFETIME, THE CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT WAS A BRANCH OF JUDAISM, JUST LIKE THE PHARISEES, THE ESSENES, THE SADDUCEES – AND MANY OTHER SECTS. IN FACT, IN HIS EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS, ONE OF HIS LAST WRITINGS, HE IS WRITING TO JEWISH CHRISTIANS IN ROME, AND INSISTS THAT HIS GOSPEL IS NOT A DEPARTURE FROM JUDAISM, AND THAT HE CONSIDERS HIMSELF A JEW IN GOOD STANDING. SO WHEN WE TALK ABOUT PAUL'S CONVERSION, WE ARE READING SOMETHING INTO THAT EVENT THAT PROBABLY WASN'T REALLY THERE.
BUT SOMETHING HAPPENED TO PAUL. SOMETHING MADE HIM CHANGE HIS WHOLE LIFE, PUT HIMSELF IN DANGER OVER AND OVER AGAIN, FIGHT WITH PAGANS AND PHARISEES AND EVEN FELLOW CHRISTIANS OVER THE MESSAGE THAT JESUS BROUGHT INTO THE WORLD. AND WHAT HAPPENED CAN'T REALLY BE KNOWN; PAUL REFERS TO HIS CONVERSION ONLY BRIEFLY, AND WITHOUT SPECIFICS; AND THE STORY IN LUKE IS PROBABLY MORE THEOLOGY THAN HISTORY.
WHAT WOULD MAKE YOU AND I CHANGE INTO ANOTHER PAUL? WHAT KIND OF EVENT WOULD MAKE US CHANGE OUR LIVES FOREVER? I DON'T THINK BEING TEMPORARILY BLINDED WOULD DO IT. I'M NOT SURE HEARING A VOICE FROM THE HEAVENS WOULD DO IT. THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE AROUND WHO HAVE HAD NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES AND GONE BACK TO THEIR SAME OLD LIVES; THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE HAD PROFOUND RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCES AND THEY NEVER TOOK. JESUS HIMSELF TALKS ABOUT THE SEED THAT FALLS AMONG THORNS, THE SEED THAT FALLS ON THE ROAD – SEED THAT MAY GERMINATE FOR A TIME, BUT NEVER BEARS FRUIT. NO, ITS HARD TO IMAGINE THAT A SINGLE EVENT WOULD CHANGE PAUL, OR ANYONE, SO MUCH. AFTER ALL, THE APOSTLES SPENT THREE YEARS IN THE PRESENCE OF JESUS HIMSELF, AND STILL DESERTED HIM AT THE CRUCIFIXION. AND REMEMBER JUDAS – WITNESS TO ALL THE MIRACLES, SOMEONE WHO HEARD EVERY SERMON JESUS PREACHED – AND STILL HE BETRAYED HIM AT THE END.
MAYBE THERE IS ANOTHER WAY TO UNDERSTAND THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL. WHEN LUKE TELLS US THAT PAUL WAS GIVEN A MISSION BY THE JEWISH LEADERS TO GO INTO ANOTHER COUNTRY AND DRAG BACK CHRISTIANS, THIS IS A LITTLE HARD TO BELIEVE, NOT TO MENTION THAT IT PROBABLY VIOLATED ALL KINDS OF ROMAN LAWS. BUT IF HIS MISSION HAD BEEN TO GO TO DAMASCUS AND TRY TO PERSUADE THOSE WHO FOLLOWED JESUS THAT THEY SHOULD LEAVE THEIR HERESY AND COME BACK TO THE TRUE FAITH, THAT'S MORE BELIEVABLE. AFTER ALL, PAUL WAS A PHARISEE, AND IN THOSE DAYS, PHARISEES OFTEN WENT ON MISSIONS TO BRING OTHERS INTO THE “TRUE FAITH” AS THEY SAW IT. IN THE GOSPEL, JESUS MENTIONS HOW THE PHARISEES WOULD CROSS AN OCEAN TO MAKE A CONVERT. SO PAUL GETS TO DAMASCUS, AND THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY WELCOMES HIM, SEES THAT HE IS TAKEN CARE OF, AND PAUL, WHO KNOWS THE BIBLE BACKWARDS AND FORWARDS, DISCOVERS THAT THEY ARE LIVING THE WAY PEOPLE WERE SUPPOSED TO LIVE AT THE END OF TIME; JEWS AND GENTILES TOGETHER; MEN AND WOMEN, SLAVE AND FREE – THERE WERE NO DISTINCTIONS. AND THE COMMUNITY WAS FOUNDED ON LOVE, EVERYONE LOOKED OUT FOR EACH OTHER, AND EVERYONE PUT UP WITH EACH OTHER'S FAULTS, AND EVERYONE PRACTICING WHAT THEY PREACHED. AND AS PAUL WENT AROUND TO OTHER COMMUNITIES, HE SAW THE SAME THING; THESE PEOPLE WERE LIVING THE WAY THE PROPHETS SAID THE WORLD WOULD BE AT THE END OF TIME. AND PAUL RECOGNIZED THAT THE RISEN CHRIST WAS LIVING AMONG THESE PEOPLE; THAT THE MESSIAH HAD COME, AND THAT THE WORLD WAS FOREVER CHANGED.
WE SOMETIMES THINK THAT PAUL WAS THE REAL FOUNDER OF CHRISTIANITY, BUT THERE WERE CHRISTIANS IN MANY PLACES EVEN BEFORE PAUL WAS CONVERTED. MAYBE THE REASON FOR THE CONVERSION OF ST. PAUL WAS HIS EXPERIENCE WITH THOSE ANONYMOUS FIRST CHRISTIANS WHO CONVINCED HIM BY THEIR LIVES AND THEIR LOVE FOR EACH OTHER THAT THE MESSIAH OF THE JEWS HAD INDEED COME INTO THE WORLD, AND CONTINUED TO LIVE, RESURRECTED, AMONG HIS PEOPLE.
SO ON THIS FEAST OF THE CONVERSION OF ST PAUL, LET US ASK OURSELVES, ARE WE THE KIND OF COMMUNITY THAT WOULD PROVE TO A MODERN DAY PAUL THAT THE MESSIAH HAD COME, THAT JESUS CHRIST LIVES FOREVER AMONG HIS PEOPLE?
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B
JOHN 1:35-42
TODAY WE HEAR ABOUT THE CALL OF SAMUEL TO SERVE GOD AS THE LAST OF THE JUDGES. WE ALSO HEAR ABOUT THE CALL OF ANDREW AND PETER TO FOLLOW JESUS. AND ST PAUL TALKS ABOUT HONORING GOD WITH OUR BODIES. IS THERE A THEME THAT RUNS THROUGH ALL THE READINGS?
ANDREW THE APOSTLE TELLS PETER, “WE HAVE FOUND THE MESSIAH”. SO THE QUESTION COMES TO MIND, “WHAT IS THE MESSIAH?” THE JEWS BELIEVED THAT THE MESSIAH WAS A FIGURE WHO WAS GOING TO ENTER HISTORY AND MAKE RIGHT EVERYTHING THAT WAS WRONG. HE MIGHT COME AS A KING, PROPHET, PRIEST, OR ALL THREE, BUT HIS PRESENCE WOULD USHER IN A NEW AGE, AN AGE WHEN THINGS WOULD BE MADE RIGHT.
THE JEWS OF JESUS' TIME SAW THE WORLD AS FUNDAMENTALLY GOOD, BUT REALLY MESSED UP. THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE THE LIGHT OF THE NATIONS, BUT THEY WERE A TINY LITTLE PROVINCE OF ROME WITH NO REAL INFLUENCE IN THE WORLD AT LARGE. ALL THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD WERE SUPPOSED TO LEARN FROM THE JEWS, (WHO HAD HAD A SPECIAL REVELATION OF GOD) AND JERUSALEM WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE CITY TO WHICH ALL THE KINGS OF THE EARTH CAME. BUT JERUSALEM WAS A LITTLE BACKWOODS CAPITAL EXISTING ONLY BECAUSE THE ROMANS PERMITTED IT. THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOWED THE LAW WERE SUPPOSED TO BE THE EXAMPLES TO THE WHOLE WORLD, BUT THE BEST LAW FOLLOWERS, THE PHARISEES WERE A MINORITY OF THE JEWS IN JESUS' TIME. THE SUCCESSFUL JEWS WERE THE SADDUCEES, THE ONES WHO HAD BECOME LIKE THE GREEKS.
ST. PAUL HAD A VISION. WHEN YOU READ HIS WRITINGS, YOU SEE THAT THINGS WERE REVEALED TO HIM IN A FLASH, AND HE SPENT HIS WHOLE LIFE TRYING TO PUT INTO WORDS WHAT HE LEARNED. PAUL WASA PHARISEE, DEEPLY IMMERSED IN JEWISH THOUGHT OF HIS TIME. AND HE TELLS US THAT WHEN YOU DIED, YOU WOULD SPEND A PERIOD OF TIME IN A HEAVEN, BODILESS, RESTING, BEING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD, AND THEN AT SOME POINT IN TIME, AT THE END OF THE PRESENT AGE, THE MESSIAH AND ALL THOSE WHO DIED WOULD COME BACK TO THIS WORLD, AND TAKE UP WHERE THE MESSIAH HAD LEFT OFF, MAKING THINGS RIGHT.
AND MAYBE YOU DON'T KNOW IT, BUT WE CATHOLICS BELIEVE THIS BASIC IDEA. YOU AND I THINK OF HEAVEN AS A PLACE OF REST, A PLACE WHERE WE WILL SIT ON A CLOUD AND PLAY A HARP AND EAT AND DRINK WITHOUT GETTING FAT. BUT WHEN WE SAY THE CREED, WE SAY THAT WE BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY; AND THAT WE BELIEVE IN THE COMING OF CHRIST TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD.
THE SCRIPTURES TELL US THAT THERE WILL BE A TIME WHEN GOD CREATES A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH, OUT OF THE OLD ONE; JUST AS HE GIVES US NEW BODIES WHICH WILL HAVE SOME CONNECTION WITH OUR OLD ONES, BUT WILL BE LIKE THE RESURRECTED BODY OF JESUS, WITHOUT LIMITATION. THE JEWS OF JESUS' TIME AND THE EARLY CHRISTIANS BELIEVED THAT THE PEOPLE WHO BELONGED TO GOD WOULD HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE NEW CREATION; THEY WOULD HAVE A HAND IN PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTING THE WORLD OVER AGAIN, THE WORLD THAT WOULD BE DONE RIGHT, THE WORLD WHERE JUSTICE AND MERCY AND PEACE WERE THE ORDER OF THE DAY. THIS IS THE THEME OF THE BEATITUDES; BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO SORROW, FOR THEY WILL REJOICE.
SO WHAT IS THE MESSIAH? HE IS THE ONE WHO STARTS THIS PROCESS. WE CHRISTIANS BELIEVE THAT THE MOMENT CAME ABOUT TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO, AND THAT WE ARE ALREADY LIVING IN A WORLD WHERE THE WORK OF GOD TO CREATE A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH HAS ALREADY BEGUN. BECAUSE THE MESSIAH HAS COME, WHAT WE DO NOW TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT IS A BEGINNING FOR THAT TIME WHEN GOD AND ALL THE BLESSED DEAD RETURN TO EARTH TO CREATE A KINGDOM THAT WILL LAST FOREVER, WHICH WILL HAVE AS ITS KING, PRIEST, AND PROPHET, JESUS HIMSELF. AND WE WILL HAVE BODIES, BECAUSE BODIES ARE ESSENTIAL FOR US TO BE HUMAN. AND WE WILL WORK, BECAUSE THAT IS HUMAN TOO, AND WE WILL FIND JOY IN WORK AS WE BUILD UP A NEW WORLD, BECAUSE OUR WORK WILL NEVER BE IN VAIN, WILL NEVER BE FRUSTRATED. AND THAT WILL OCCUPY US FOR ALL ETERNITY.
BUT THE MOST AMAZING THING IS THAT WE CAN START RIGHT NOW. LOOK AT YOUR RELATIONSHIPS, MAKE THEM BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT, ESPECIALLY YOUR MARRIAGES, BECAUSE WHEN YOU GET TO THE NEW EARTH, YOU WILL BE MAKING EVERY RELATIONSHIP PERFECT AND BEAUTIFUL. IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS LONELY, BE THEIR COMPANION, BECAUSE IN THE NEW EARTH THERE WILL BE NO LONELINESS. IF YOU HAVE THE MEANS TO MAKE A POOR PERSON'S LIFE A LITTLE BETTER, DO IT, BECAUSE ON THE NEW EARTH, THERE WILL BE NO POVERTY. IF YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT INJUSTICE, THEN DO SO, BECAUSE IN THE WORLD TO COME, THERE WILL BE ONLY JUSTICE.
ST. PAUL TELLS US THAT THE MESSIAH WILL COME AGAIN, THE DEAD WILL BE RAISED, AND GOD'S WORLD WILL FINALLY COME ABOUT. IF WE ARE ALREADY ENGAGED IN BRINGING ABOUT THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH, WE CAN'T HELP BUT BEGIN TO FEEL THE JOY THAT WE WILL HAVE IN THAT NEW WORLD, WHERE GOD HIMSELF WILL JOIN HIS PEOPLE IN BUILDING UP THE WORLD TO COME, THE WORLD THAT WILL LAST FOREVER, THE WORLD WHERE WE WILL NEED NO SUN OR MOON, BECAUSE GOD HIMSELF WILL BE THE LIGHT.
ST. PAUL TELLS US THAT WE ARE TO GLORIFY GOD IN OUR BODIES – RIGHT NOW, TODAY. AND THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO GLORIFY GOD IN OUR BODIES – THAT IS TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT. SO LET US BEGIN TODAY.
TODAY WE HEAR ABOUT THE CALL OF SAMUEL TO SERVE GOD AS THE LAST OF THE JUDGES. WE ALSO HEAR ABOUT THE CALL OF ANDREW AND PETER TO FOLLOW JESUS. AND ST PAUL TALKS ABOUT HONORING GOD WITH OUR BODIES. IS THERE A THEME THAT RUNS THROUGH ALL THE READINGS?
ANDREW THE APOSTLE TELLS PETER, “WE HAVE FOUND THE MESSIAH”. SO THE QUESTION COMES TO MIND, “WHAT IS THE MESSIAH?” THE JEWS BELIEVED THAT THE MESSIAH WAS A FIGURE WHO WAS GOING TO ENTER HISTORY AND MAKE RIGHT EVERYTHING THAT WAS WRONG. HE MIGHT COME AS A KING, PROPHET, PRIEST, OR ALL THREE, BUT HIS PRESENCE WOULD USHER IN A NEW AGE, AN AGE WHEN THINGS WOULD BE MADE RIGHT.
THE JEWS OF JESUS' TIME SAW THE WORLD AS FUNDAMENTALLY GOOD, BUT REALLY MESSED UP. THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE THE LIGHT OF THE NATIONS, BUT THEY WERE A TINY LITTLE PROVINCE OF ROME WITH NO REAL INFLUENCE IN THE WORLD AT LARGE. ALL THE NATIONS OF THE WORLD WERE SUPPOSED TO LEARN FROM THE JEWS, (WHO HAD HAD A SPECIAL REVELATION OF GOD) AND JERUSALEM WAS SUPPOSED TO BE THE CITY TO WHICH ALL THE KINGS OF THE EARTH CAME. BUT JERUSALEM WAS A LITTLE BACKWOODS CAPITAL EXISTING ONLY BECAUSE THE ROMANS PERMITTED IT. THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOWED THE LAW WERE SUPPOSED TO BE THE EXAMPLES TO THE WHOLE WORLD, BUT THE BEST LAW FOLLOWERS, THE PHARISEES WERE A MINORITY OF THE JEWS IN JESUS' TIME. THE SUCCESSFUL JEWS WERE THE SADDUCEES, THE ONES WHO HAD BECOME LIKE THE GREEKS.
ST. PAUL HAD A VISION. WHEN YOU READ HIS WRITINGS, YOU SEE THAT THINGS WERE REVEALED TO HIM IN A FLASH, AND HE SPENT HIS WHOLE LIFE TRYING TO PUT INTO WORDS WHAT HE LEARNED. PAUL WASA PHARISEE, DEEPLY IMMERSED IN JEWISH THOUGHT OF HIS TIME. AND HE TELLS US THAT WHEN YOU DIED, YOU WOULD SPEND A PERIOD OF TIME IN A HEAVEN, BODILESS, RESTING, BEING IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD, AND THEN AT SOME POINT IN TIME, AT THE END OF THE PRESENT AGE, THE MESSIAH AND ALL THOSE WHO DIED WOULD COME BACK TO THIS WORLD, AND TAKE UP WHERE THE MESSIAH HAD LEFT OFF, MAKING THINGS RIGHT.
AND MAYBE YOU DON'T KNOW IT, BUT WE CATHOLICS BELIEVE THIS BASIC IDEA. YOU AND I THINK OF HEAVEN AS A PLACE OF REST, A PLACE WHERE WE WILL SIT ON A CLOUD AND PLAY A HARP AND EAT AND DRINK WITHOUT GETTING FAT. BUT WHEN WE SAY THE CREED, WE SAY THAT WE BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY; AND THAT WE BELIEVE IN THE COMING OF CHRIST TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD.
THE SCRIPTURES TELL US THAT THERE WILL BE A TIME WHEN GOD CREATES A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH, OUT OF THE OLD ONE; JUST AS HE GIVES US NEW BODIES WHICH WILL HAVE SOME CONNECTION WITH OUR OLD ONES, BUT WILL BE LIKE THE RESURRECTED BODY OF JESUS, WITHOUT LIMITATION. THE JEWS OF JESUS' TIME AND THE EARLY CHRISTIANS BELIEVED THAT THE PEOPLE WHO BELONGED TO GOD WOULD HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE NEW CREATION; THEY WOULD HAVE A HAND IN PLANNING AND IMPLEMENTING THE WORLD OVER AGAIN, THE WORLD THAT WOULD BE DONE RIGHT, THE WORLD WHERE JUSTICE AND MERCY AND PEACE WERE THE ORDER OF THE DAY. THIS IS THE THEME OF THE BEATITUDES; BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO SORROW, FOR THEY WILL REJOICE.
SO WHAT IS THE MESSIAH? HE IS THE ONE WHO STARTS THIS PROCESS. WE CHRISTIANS BELIEVE THAT THE MOMENT CAME ABOUT TWO THOUSAND YEARS AGO, AND THAT WE ARE ALREADY LIVING IN A WORLD WHERE THE WORK OF GOD TO CREATE A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH HAS ALREADY BEGUN. BECAUSE THE MESSIAH HAS COME, WHAT WE DO NOW TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT IS A BEGINNING FOR THAT TIME WHEN GOD AND ALL THE BLESSED DEAD RETURN TO EARTH TO CREATE A KINGDOM THAT WILL LAST FOREVER, WHICH WILL HAVE AS ITS KING, PRIEST, AND PROPHET, JESUS HIMSELF. AND WE WILL HAVE BODIES, BECAUSE BODIES ARE ESSENTIAL FOR US TO BE HUMAN. AND WE WILL WORK, BECAUSE THAT IS HUMAN TOO, AND WE WILL FIND JOY IN WORK AS WE BUILD UP A NEW WORLD, BECAUSE OUR WORK WILL NEVER BE IN VAIN, WILL NEVER BE FRUSTRATED. AND THAT WILL OCCUPY US FOR ALL ETERNITY.
BUT THE MOST AMAZING THING IS THAT WE CAN START RIGHT NOW. LOOK AT YOUR RELATIONSHIPS, MAKE THEM BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT, ESPECIALLY YOUR MARRIAGES, BECAUSE WHEN YOU GET TO THE NEW EARTH, YOU WILL BE MAKING EVERY RELATIONSHIP PERFECT AND BEAUTIFUL. IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO IS LONELY, BE THEIR COMPANION, BECAUSE IN THE NEW EARTH THERE WILL BE NO LONELINESS. IF YOU HAVE THE MEANS TO MAKE A POOR PERSON'S LIFE A LITTLE BETTER, DO IT, BECAUSE ON THE NEW EARTH, THERE WILL BE NO POVERTY. IF YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT INJUSTICE, THEN DO SO, BECAUSE IN THE WORLD TO COME, THERE WILL BE ONLY JUSTICE.
ST. PAUL TELLS US THAT THE MESSIAH WILL COME AGAIN, THE DEAD WILL BE RAISED, AND GOD'S WORLD WILL FINALLY COME ABOUT. IF WE ARE ALREADY ENGAGED IN BRINGING ABOUT THE NEW HEAVEN AND THE NEW EARTH, WE CAN'T HELP BUT BEGIN TO FEEL THE JOY THAT WE WILL HAVE IN THAT NEW WORLD, WHERE GOD HIMSELF WILL JOIN HIS PEOPLE IN BUILDING UP THE WORLD TO COME, THE WORLD THAT WILL LAST FOREVER, THE WORLD WHERE WE WILL NEED NO SUN OR MOON, BECAUSE GOD HIMSELF WILL BE THE LIGHT.
ST. PAUL TELLS US THAT WE ARE TO GLORIFY GOD IN OUR BODIES – RIGHT NOW, TODAY. AND THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO GLORIFY GOD IN OUR BODIES – THAT IS TO MAKE THINGS RIGHT. SO LET US BEGIN TODAY.
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