LUKE 15:1-3, 11-32
DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE TELEVISION PROGRAM, THE SIMPSONS? I'M SURE NO ONE HERE ACTUALLY WATCHES IT, BUT I REMEMBER AN EPISODE THAT I THINK HAS SOME BEARING ON TODAY'S GOSPEL. THE SIMPSONS BELONG TO A NON-DENOMINATIONAL CHURCH. MARGE, THE WIFE AND MOTHER, IS MUCH MORE INTERESTED IN RELIGION THAN HER FAMILY. THE DAUGHTER, LISA, CONSIDERS HERSELF A BUDDHIST, AND HOMER, THE FATHER, IS GIVEN TO MAKING UP QUOTES FROM THE BIBLE WHEN HE THINKS IT MIGHT GET HIM SOMEWHERE.
IN THE EPISODE I'M THINKING OF, HOMER AND HIS SON BART RESCUE A PRIEST, AND ARE QUICKLY CONVINCED TO CONVERT. THE PRIEST TELLS THEM THAT CATHOLICS CAN DANCE, DRINK BEER, AND GENERALLY CAN DO ABOUT ANYTHING, BECAUSE THEY CAN ALWAYS GO TO CONFESSION AND START ALL OVER. THIS SEEMS LIKE A GOOD DEAL TO HOMER AND BART. EVENTUALLY MARGE HAS A DREAM. SHE IS IN PROTESTANT HEAVEN, HAS A SMALL HARP, IS GIVEN A CUP OF TEA AND A ROCKING CHAIR. SHE SEES OVER ON THE NEXT CLOUD THE CATHOLIC HEAVEN, WHERE HOMER AND BART AND JESUS HIMSELF ARE ALL HAVING A WILD PARTY. I DON'T KNOW WHETHER HOMER AND BART EVER CONVERTED; THE SIMPSONS PROGRAM IS NOT BIG ON CONTINUITY.
AS I WAS READING THE STORY OF THE PRODIGAL SON LAST WEEK, I REALIZED THAT I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE LIKED THE YOUNGER SON. HE BLEW HIS INHERITANCE BECAUSE HE WAS INTERESTED IN NOW, IN HOW MUCH FUN HE COULD HAVE. HE WASN'T WORRIED ABOUT TOMORROW. AND WHEN THINGS GET DESPERATE, HE KNEW WHERE TO GO, WHAT TO SAY, WHAT TO DO. HE'LL NEVER BE RICH, BUT YOU CAN BET HE WILL HAVE FUN, HE WILL ENJOY LIFE. AND IN THE END OF THIS STORY, HE IS HAVING A WONDERFUL TIME AT THE PARTY THE FATHER HAS THROWN FOR HIM, STILL NOT THINKING ABOUT TOMORROW, JUST ENJOYING HIS GOOD FORTUNE.
AND I PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE LIKED THE OLDER BROTHER. HE ACCUSES HIS FATHER OF NOT EVEN GIVING HIM A GOAT TO CELEBRATE WITH HIS FRIENDS, BUT I SUSPECT HE DIDN'T HAVE ANY FRIENDS, OR IF HE DID, HE WOULD NOT HAVE WASTED A GOAT ON THEM. HE REFERS TO HIS BROTHER AS “THIS SON OF YOURS” BECAUSE HE CAN'T STAND THE TASTE OF THE WORDS, “MY BROTHER.” HE PROBABLY KNEW TO THE PENNY HOW MUCH HIS FATHER'S PROPERTY WAS WORTH, AND WAS JUST WAITING TO TAKE OVER. THE FATHER REJOICED THAT THE YOUNGER SON HAD RETURNED; THAT WAS A REACTION OF UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. BUT THE FATHER'S REACTION TO THE OLDER SON'S COMPLAINT IS ONE OF DUTY -- “ALL THAT I HAVE IS YOURS”. THAT STATEMENT DOES NOT HAVE THE RING OF LOVE IN IT, DOES IT?
THE TWO SONS HAVE VASTLY DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES, AND MAYBE NOTHING COULD CHANGE EITHER OF THEM VERY MUCH. BUT I WOULD SUBMIT THAT ONE OF THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THEM IS FIXABLE; THE YOUNGER SON IS FORGIVEN, THE OLDER SON IS NOT. JESUS TALKED ABOUT THIS IN OTHER PLACES AS WELL, WHEN HE SAID THAT HE DID NOT COME FOR THE RIGHTEOUS, BUT FOR SINNERS; AND HE POINTED OUT THE TAX COLLECTOR SITTING IN THE BACK OF THE TEMPLE, AND SAID THAT HE WOULD BE FAVORED OVER THE PHARISEE. AND JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED IN PART, BECAUSE HE CHALLENGED THE GOOD PEOPLE OF HIS TIME, WHO WERE GOOD, WHO WORKED VERY HARD TO WORSHIP GOD PERFECTLY AND LIVE ACCORDING TO GOD'S LAW. THE PEOPLE JESUS CRITICIZED FASTED, GAVE ALMS, PRAYED, AND WERE VERY SINCERE. BUT THEY DID NOT SEE THAT THEY NEEDED FORGIVENESS.
LOOK HOW THE PRODIGAL SON ACCEPTS FORGIVENESS. HE COMES TO HIS FATHER WITH NOTHING, AND HE EXPECTS NOTHING. HE IS JUST HOPING THAT HE COULD BE A SERVANT IN THE HOUSE, A PERSON WHO WAS ALLOWED TO HAVE A ROOF OVER HIS HEAD AND A COUPLE OF MEALS EVERY DAY. AND HE THROWS HIMSELF ON THE MERCY OF HIS FATHER, KNOWING THAT HE HAS NO CLAIM ON HIM FOR ANYTHING. AND HE IS FORGIVEN, AND HE ACCEPTS FORGIVENESS, AND HE ENTERS IN TO THE FATHER'S BANQUET.
THE OLDER SON HAS DONE EVERYTHING RIGHT, AND BELIEVES THAT BECAUSE OF THIS, HE IS ENTITLED. HE DOESN'T NEED FORGIVENESS. BUT THAT IS JESUS' POINT. EVERYONE NEEDS FORGIVENESS, NO MATTER HOW GOOD YOU THINK YOU ARE. AND IF THE OLDER SON FELL ON HIS KNEES IN FRONT OF THE FATHER AND ADMITTED THAT HE TOO NEEDED FORGIVENESS, HE WOULD RECEIVE FORGIVENESS AS WELL, AND HE WOULD BE CHANGED AND HE WOULD JOYFULLY GO IN AND ENJOY THE BANQUET. THE YOUNGER SON IS WILLING TO TELL HIS FATHER WHAT HE HAS DONE WRONG; THE OLDER SON DOESN'T BELIEVE HE HAS DONE ANYTHING WRONG.
BUT HERE'S THE THING. EVERYONE NEEDS FORGIVENESS. THE VERY FACT THAT YOU ARE A FEW POUNDS OVERWEIGHT, SLEEP IN A WARM BED, HAVE A CAR AND A GOOD JOB -- YOU NEED FORGIVENESS FOR THAT – BECAUSE THERE ARE A SOME OF YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS OUT THERE WHO ARE SLEEPING UNDER BRIDGES, TRUDGE FROM PLACE TO PLACE IN WORN OUT SHOES OR EVEN IN BARE FEET; HAVE NOTHING, AND SOMETIMES GO TWO OR THREE DAYS WITHOUT ANYTHING TO EAT. AND THAT SHOULDN'T BE, AND THAT IS PARTLY YOUR FAULT. IF YOU HAVE NOT LOVED GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, SOUL, MIND, AND STRENGTH, AND YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF, AND WHO HAS, YOU AND I NEED FORGIVENESS.
OUR LOVING FATHER WAITS FOR US, HOPES THAT WE WILL COME HOME; HE HOLDS OUT HIS FORGIVENESS UNCONDITIONALLY. BUT FORGIVENESS IS A KIND OF LOVE, IT CANNOT BE A ONE-WAY THING. IT REQUIRES SOMEONE TO OFFER FORGIVENESS, AND SOMEONE TO ACCEPT IT. AND IF I AM TO ACCEPT IT, I HAVE TO HAVE A CLEAR IDEA AS TO WHY I NEED FORGIVENESS. AND THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT OF OUR SACRAMENT OF RECONCILIATION. IT'S TRUE THAT GOD IS ALWAYS WILLING TO FORGIVE US; BUT IF WE DON'T GO OVER OUR MOTIVES AND OUR BEHAVIOR, AND CLEARLY IDENTIFY WHY WE NEED FORGIVENESS, AND HAVE THE INTENTION OF TRYING TO IMPROVE OUR LIVES, THE INTERACTION CANNOT TAKE PLACE. GOD WILL STILL GIVE US EVERYTHING WE NEED, HE WILL STILL HOLD OUT HIS OFFER; BUT WE CAN'T ENTER IN TO THE BANQUET UNTIL WE HAVE ACCEPTED THE FORGIVENESS THAT WE NEED. SO GO TO THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE AND GET IN THE HABIT OF BEING FORGIVEN; AND THEN WHEN YOU AND I ACCEPT THAT WE ARE SINNERS, WE WILL BE FORGIVEN SINNERS, WE WILL ENTER INTO A FORETASTE OF HEAVEN HERE ON EARTH.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Third Sunday in Lent, cycle C
LUKE 13:1-9
THERE IS A BUMPER STICKER YOU WILL SEE NOW AND THEN, BUT I CAN'T TELL YOU WHAT IT SAYS IN CHURCH. IT COMES FROM A SCENE IN THE MOVIE “FOREST GUMP” WHEN FOREST, WHO IS NOT TERRIBLY BRIGHT BUT VERY WISE, ACCIDENTALLY STEPS IN SOMETHING ON THE SIDEWALK THAT HAD BEEN LEFT THERE BY A DOG. HIS COMPANION POINTS THIS OUT, AND FOREST REPLIES WITH THOSE TWO WORDS WHICH ARE SOMETHING LIKE “MANURE HAPPENS.” IN OUR GOSPEL, IT SEEMS AS THOUGH SOME OF THE PEOPLE WITH JESUS MUST HAVE ASKED HIM ABOUT THE TWO DISASTERS ON EVERYONE'S MIND. SOME JEWS, BUILDING A TOWER FOR THE ROMANS, HAD DIED WHEN THE TOWER COLLAPSED. AND SOME JEWS FROM GALILEE HAD BEEN SLAUGHTERED IN THE TEMPLE WHEN THEY WERE TRYING TO OFFER SACRIFICE. “JESUS,” THE PEOPLE ASKED, “HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THIS?” DID THE JEWS WHO WERE BUILDING THE TOWER DIE BECAUSE THEY WERE WORKING FOR THE ROMANS? WHAT DID THOSE GALILEANS DO THAT BROUGHT SUCH DISGRACE UPON THEM AND UPON THE TEMPLE ITSELF? BECAUSE IN JESUS' TIME ANYTHING THAT HAPPENED HAPPENED FOR A REASON, AND ANYTHING THAT HAPPENED TO PEOPLE WAS OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE GOD WAS EITHER REWARDING THEM OR PUNISHING THEM, OR SOMETIMES, REWARDING OR PUNISHING A CHILD OR A PARENT.
AND JESUS REPLIES, SOMETHING LIKE THE STATEMENT MADE BY FOREST GUMP, “MANURE HAPPENS.” THE JEWS THAT BUILT THE TOWER AND THE GALILEANS WHO WERE SLAUGHTERED, THEY WEREN'T ANY DIFFERENT THAN THE REST OF US. AND JESUS GOES ON TO SAY THAT WE ARE ALL IN THE SAME BOAT, SOONER OR LATER, ALL OF US WILL EXPERIENCE MANURE HAPPENING, AND IF WE KNOW WHAT IS GOOD FOR US, WE HAD BETTER LOOK AT WHAT WE ARE DOING RIGHT NOW, RIGHT HERE; ARE WE REPENTING? ARE WE LIVING LIVES OF SELFISHNESS OR GIVING AWAY OURSELVES; ARE WE WASTING OUR TIME, OR USING OUR TIME WELL? ARE WE BEING GENEROUS WITH GOD AND OUR NEIGHBOR, OR ARE WE COUNTING UP OUR GOOD FORTUNE AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET MORE. IN SHORT, ARE WE TRYING TO WALK WITH GOD, OR ARE WE GOING OUR OWN WAY. BECAUSE JUST LIKE THOSE TOWER-BUILDING JEWS AND SLAUGHTERED GALILEANS, MANURE HAPPENS. WE'D BETTER BE READY.
AND JESUS GOES ON TO PREACH THE PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE. THINK ABOUT THAT STORY FOR A MINUTE. IT'S RELATED TO WHAT HAS JUST BEEN GOING ON. WHICH ONE ARE YOU? THE OWNER OF THE ORCHARD, THE GARDENER, OR THE FIG TREE? FIG TREES GENERALLY GROW FOR ABOUT THREE TO FIVE YEARS BEFORE THEY BEGIN BEARING FRUIT. ONCE THEY START, THERE ARE FIGS ON THE TREE FOR TEN MONTHS OUT OF THE YEAR, WHICH WAS THE REASON THEY WERE PLANTED ALL OVER THE MIDDLE EAST; THEY WERE A MAJOR SOURCE OF FOOD. IN THOSE DAYS, PEOPLE DIDN'T KNOW THAT THE FLOWERS OF THE TREE HAD TO BE FERTILIZED BY WASPS CARRYING POLLEN FROM ANOTHER TREE. AND WHEN THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN, THE TREE COULD NOT BEAR FRUIT. SO WHEN A TREE FAILED TO BEAR, IT WAS GENERALLY CONSIDERED WORTHLESS AND CUT DOWN.
USUALLY THE OWNER OF THE VINEYARD IS THOUGHT TO REPRESENT GOD THE FATHER, AND JESUS IS THE ONE TENDING THE TREE, AND THE TREE IS THE NATION OF ISRAEL, OR PERHAPS YOU AND I. IT IS A PARABLE OF MERCY. AND THAT'S ONE WAY TO LOOK AT IT.
BUT THOSE WHO WERE SPECULATING AS TO WHY THE TOWER BUILDERS AND THE SLAUGHTERED GALILEANS HAD DIED WERE JUDGING; THEY WERE LIKE THE OWNER OF THE VINEYARD, WHO KNEW ENOUGH TO SAY THAT YOU SHOULD GIVE A FIG TREE THREE YEARS, BUT KNEW VERY LITTLE MORE THAN THAT ABOUT GROWING FIG TREES. AND WE AREN'T DIFFERENT; WE OFTEN CATCH OURSELVES WONDERING WHAT SOMEONE DID TO DESERVE WHAT HAPPENED. SOMETIMES WE CRY OUT, “WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?” WHEN WE SEE SOMEONE BETTER OFF THAN WE ARE, SOMETIMES WE SAY, “HE DOESN'T DESERVE THAT.” AND I THINK THAT IS THE POINT JESUS IS MAKING. HE SAYS THAT THE GARDENER PROMISES THE VINEYARD OWNER THAT HE WILL CULTIVATE THE GROUND AND FERTILIZE THE TREE, AND THEN IT MAY BEAR FRUIT. IN OTHER WORDS, WHEN MANURE HAPPENS, IT ISN'T BECAUSE GOD IS REACHING OUT TO STOMP OUT SINNERS, OR HARM THOSE WHO DON'T TOE THE LINE. THAT ISN'T GOD, THAT HASN'T GOT ANYTHING TO DO WITH GOD. BUT RATHER, WHEN MANURE HAPPENS, IT MAY BE A SIGN THAT GOD IS WORKING TO HELP SOMEONE BEAR FRUIT. IF GOD EVER CHOOSES TO INFLICT SOME SORT OF TRIBULATION ON SOMEONE, THAT WOULD BE THE REASON; NEVER IN ORDER TO PUNISH OR DESTROY.
SO A WAY TO LOOK AT THIS PARABLE IS TO SEE OURSELVES NOT ONLY IN THE TREE, TO WHICH MANURE WILL SOON BE HAPPENING, BUT WILL BE ADMINISTERED BY A LOVING GARDENER WHO ONLY WANTS THE BEST FOR US, THE BEST BEING THAT WE WILL BEAR FRUIT, THAT WE WILL BRING ABOUT OUR PART OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, THAT WE WILL LIVE SO THAT WE WILL ENTER IN TO OUR MASTER'S JOY; BUT WE ARE ALSO THE OWNER OF THE VINEYARD, NOT REALLY ABLE TO SEE WHAT GOD IS PLANNING, BUT QUICK TO JUDGE AND QUICK TO CONDEMN. AND ALL THE WHILE THE GARDENER IS AT WORK, BRINGING GOOD OUT OF EVIL, BRINGING SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING, CONSTANTLY DOING EVERYTHING HE CAN TO HELP US ACHIEVE OUR DESTINY AND OUR HEART'S DESIRE.
COULD GOD KEEP MANURE FROM HAPPENING? COULD HE PREVENT THE DEATHS OF THE TOWER BUILDERS AND THE SLAUGHTERED GALILEANS? HE COULD. BUT ONLY AT THE COST OF FREEDOM, ONLY AT THE COST OF DESTROYING WITHIN THEM THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD. BECAUSE GOD MADE US LIKE HIMSELF, FREE, ABLE TO CHOOSE, BUT OF NECESSITY, IF WE CHOOSE, WE EXPERIENCE THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR CHOICE. WHEN WE ARE MORTAL, THAT MEANS SUFFERING AND DEATH; AND THE CHOICES OF OTHERS AFFECT US AS WELL. BUT GOD GIVES US FREEDOM, FREEDOM TO CHOOSE LIFE OR CHOOSE DEATH. AND SINCE FREEDOM IS WHAT MAKES US LIKE GOD, WE SHOULD NEVER GET UPSET WITH GOD BECAUSE MANURE HAPPENS. WHEN MANURE HAPPENS, WE CAN ONLY TELL OURSELVES THAT IT WAS NOT GOD'S INTENTION TO HARM US, BUT RATHER, THE CONSEQUENCES OF HUMAN FREEDOM. BUT WHEN MANURE HAPPENS, GOD WILL IN SOME WAY BRING GOOD OUT OF IT. AND THAT'S A PROMISE, THAT IS A GUARANTEE, AND ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS LOOK TO THAT BODY HANGING LIFELESS ON THE CROSS, AND FLASH FORWARD TO THAT GLORIOUS DAY OF RESURRECTION.
THERE IS A BUMPER STICKER YOU WILL SEE NOW AND THEN, BUT I CAN'T TELL YOU WHAT IT SAYS IN CHURCH. IT COMES FROM A SCENE IN THE MOVIE “FOREST GUMP” WHEN FOREST, WHO IS NOT TERRIBLY BRIGHT BUT VERY WISE, ACCIDENTALLY STEPS IN SOMETHING ON THE SIDEWALK THAT HAD BEEN LEFT THERE BY A DOG. HIS COMPANION POINTS THIS OUT, AND FOREST REPLIES WITH THOSE TWO WORDS WHICH ARE SOMETHING LIKE “MANURE HAPPENS.” IN OUR GOSPEL, IT SEEMS AS THOUGH SOME OF THE PEOPLE WITH JESUS MUST HAVE ASKED HIM ABOUT THE TWO DISASTERS ON EVERYONE'S MIND. SOME JEWS, BUILDING A TOWER FOR THE ROMANS, HAD DIED WHEN THE TOWER COLLAPSED. AND SOME JEWS FROM GALILEE HAD BEEN SLAUGHTERED IN THE TEMPLE WHEN THEY WERE TRYING TO OFFER SACRIFICE. “JESUS,” THE PEOPLE ASKED, “HOW DO YOU EXPLAIN THIS?” DID THE JEWS WHO WERE BUILDING THE TOWER DIE BECAUSE THEY WERE WORKING FOR THE ROMANS? WHAT DID THOSE GALILEANS DO THAT BROUGHT SUCH DISGRACE UPON THEM AND UPON THE TEMPLE ITSELF? BECAUSE IN JESUS' TIME ANYTHING THAT HAPPENED HAPPENED FOR A REASON, AND ANYTHING THAT HAPPENED TO PEOPLE WAS OBVIOUSLY BECAUSE GOD WAS EITHER REWARDING THEM OR PUNISHING THEM, OR SOMETIMES, REWARDING OR PUNISHING A CHILD OR A PARENT.
AND JESUS REPLIES, SOMETHING LIKE THE STATEMENT MADE BY FOREST GUMP, “MANURE HAPPENS.” THE JEWS THAT BUILT THE TOWER AND THE GALILEANS WHO WERE SLAUGHTERED, THEY WEREN'T ANY DIFFERENT THAN THE REST OF US. AND JESUS GOES ON TO SAY THAT WE ARE ALL IN THE SAME BOAT, SOONER OR LATER, ALL OF US WILL EXPERIENCE MANURE HAPPENING, AND IF WE KNOW WHAT IS GOOD FOR US, WE HAD BETTER LOOK AT WHAT WE ARE DOING RIGHT NOW, RIGHT HERE; ARE WE REPENTING? ARE WE LIVING LIVES OF SELFISHNESS OR GIVING AWAY OURSELVES; ARE WE WASTING OUR TIME, OR USING OUR TIME WELL? ARE WE BEING GENEROUS WITH GOD AND OUR NEIGHBOR, OR ARE WE COUNTING UP OUR GOOD FORTUNE AND TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET MORE. IN SHORT, ARE WE TRYING TO WALK WITH GOD, OR ARE WE GOING OUR OWN WAY. BECAUSE JUST LIKE THOSE TOWER-BUILDING JEWS AND SLAUGHTERED GALILEANS, MANURE HAPPENS. WE'D BETTER BE READY.
AND JESUS GOES ON TO PREACH THE PARABLE OF THE FIG TREE. THINK ABOUT THAT STORY FOR A MINUTE. IT'S RELATED TO WHAT HAS JUST BEEN GOING ON. WHICH ONE ARE YOU? THE OWNER OF THE ORCHARD, THE GARDENER, OR THE FIG TREE? FIG TREES GENERALLY GROW FOR ABOUT THREE TO FIVE YEARS BEFORE THEY BEGIN BEARING FRUIT. ONCE THEY START, THERE ARE FIGS ON THE TREE FOR TEN MONTHS OUT OF THE YEAR, WHICH WAS THE REASON THEY WERE PLANTED ALL OVER THE MIDDLE EAST; THEY WERE A MAJOR SOURCE OF FOOD. IN THOSE DAYS, PEOPLE DIDN'T KNOW THAT THE FLOWERS OF THE TREE HAD TO BE FERTILIZED BY WASPS CARRYING POLLEN FROM ANOTHER TREE. AND WHEN THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN, THE TREE COULD NOT BEAR FRUIT. SO WHEN A TREE FAILED TO BEAR, IT WAS GENERALLY CONSIDERED WORTHLESS AND CUT DOWN.
USUALLY THE OWNER OF THE VINEYARD IS THOUGHT TO REPRESENT GOD THE FATHER, AND JESUS IS THE ONE TENDING THE TREE, AND THE TREE IS THE NATION OF ISRAEL, OR PERHAPS YOU AND I. IT IS A PARABLE OF MERCY. AND THAT'S ONE WAY TO LOOK AT IT.
BUT THOSE WHO WERE SPECULATING AS TO WHY THE TOWER BUILDERS AND THE SLAUGHTERED GALILEANS HAD DIED WERE JUDGING; THEY WERE LIKE THE OWNER OF THE VINEYARD, WHO KNEW ENOUGH TO SAY THAT YOU SHOULD GIVE A FIG TREE THREE YEARS, BUT KNEW VERY LITTLE MORE THAN THAT ABOUT GROWING FIG TREES. AND WE AREN'T DIFFERENT; WE OFTEN CATCH OURSELVES WONDERING WHAT SOMEONE DID TO DESERVE WHAT HAPPENED. SOMETIMES WE CRY OUT, “WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?” WHEN WE SEE SOMEONE BETTER OFF THAN WE ARE, SOMETIMES WE SAY, “HE DOESN'T DESERVE THAT.” AND I THINK THAT IS THE POINT JESUS IS MAKING. HE SAYS THAT THE GARDENER PROMISES THE VINEYARD OWNER THAT HE WILL CULTIVATE THE GROUND AND FERTILIZE THE TREE, AND THEN IT MAY BEAR FRUIT. IN OTHER WORDS, WHEN MANURE HAPPENS, IT ISN'T BECAUSE GOD IS REACHING OUT TO STOMP OUT SINNERS, OR HARM THOSE WHO DON'T TOE THE LINE. THAT ISN'T GOD, THAT HASN'T GOT ANYTHING TO DO WITH GOD. BUT RATHER, WHEN MANURE HAPPENS, IT MAY BE A SIGN THAT GOD IS WORKING TO HELP SOMEONE BEAR FRUIT. IF GOD EVER CHOOSES TO INFLICT SOME SORT OF TRIBULATION ON SOMEONE, THAT WOULD BE THE REASON; NEVER IN ORDER TO PUNISH OR DESTROY.
SO A WAY TO LOOK AT THIS PARABLE IS TO SEE OURSELVES NOT ONLY IN THE TREE, TO WHICH MANURE WILL SOON BE HAPPENING, BUT WILL BE ADMINISTERED BY A LOVING GARDENER WHO ONLY WANTS THE BEST FOR US, THE BEST BEING THAT WE WILL BEAR FRUIT, THAT WE WILL BRING ABOUT OUR PART OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, THAT WE WILL LIVE SO THAT WE WILL ENTER IN TO OUR MASTER'S JOY; BUT WE ARE ALSO THE OWNER OF THE VINEYARD, NOT REALLY ABLE TO SEE WHAT GOD IS PLANNING, BUT QUICK TO JUDGE AND QUICK TO CONDEMN. AND ALL THE WHILE THE GARDENER IS AT WORK, BRINGING GOOD OUT OF EVIL, BRINGING SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING, CONSTANTLY DOING EVERYTHING HE CAN TO HELP US ACHIEVE OUR DESTINY AND OUR HEART'S DESIRE.
COULD GOD KEEP MANURE FROM HAPPENING? COULD HE PREVENT THE DEATHS OF THE TOWER BUILDERS AND THE SLAUGHTERED GALILEANS? HE COULD. BUT ONLY AT THE COST OF FREEDOM, ONLY AT THE COST OF DESTROYING WITHIN THEM THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD. BECAUSE GOD MADE US LIKE HIMSELF, FREE, ABLE TO CHOOSE, BUT OF NECESSITY, IF WE CHOOSE, WE EXPERIENCE THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR CHOICE. WHEN WE ARE MORTAL, THAT MEANS SUFFERING AND DEATH; AND THE CHOICES OF OTHERS AFFECT US AS WELL. BUT GOD GIVES US FREEDOM, FREEDOM TO CHOOSE LIFE OR CHOOSE DEATH. AND SINCE FREEDOM IS WHAT MAKES US LIKE GOD, WE SHOULD NEVER GET UPSET WITH GOD BECAUSE MANURE HAPPENS. WHEN MANURE HAPPENS, WE CAN ONLY TELL OURSELVES THAT IT WAS NOT GOD'S INTENTION TO HARM US, BUT RATHER, THE CONSEQUENCES OF HUMAN FREEDOM. BUT WHEN MANURE HAPPENS, GOD WILL IN SOME WAY BRING GOOD OUT OF IT. AND THAT'S A PROMISE, THAT IS A GUARANTEE, AND ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS LOOK TO THAT BODY HANGING LIFELESS ON THE CROSS, AND FLASH FORWARD TO THAT GLORIOUS DAY OF RESURRECTION.
Second Sunday in Lent, cycle C
LUKE 9:28B-36
THEY WENT UP TO THE MOUNTAIN TO PRAY. SO MUCH IS HIDDEN IN THOSE WORDS. I GOOGLED MOUNT TABOR AND DISCOVERED SOME INTERESTING THINGS. MOUNT TABOR IS ABOUT 2000 FEET HIGH, NOT HUGE BY MOUNTAIN STANDARDS. BUT IT IS PRETTY MASSIVE. IT STANDS ALONE ON A PLANE IN NORTHERN ISRAEL. TODAY THERE ARE TWO SIZABLE TOWNS AT ITS BASE. IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, WE HEAR ABOUT MOUNT TABOR AS A LANDMARK, REFERRING TO THE DIVIDING POINT BETWEEN THE LAND OF THREE OF THE TWELVE TRIBES. THERE ISN'T MUCH ELSE; UNLIKE MOUNT SINAI, IT DIDN'T SEEM TO HAVE ANY GREAT SIGNIFICANCE IN THE JEWISH RELIGION.
YOU WOULD HAVE TO TRAVEL THIRTY THREE MILES TO WALK AROUND THE BASE. AND IF YOU CLIMBED IT, TO GO STRAIGHT UP WOULD BE ABOUT TWO MILES OF REALLY HARD CLIMBING, OR IF YOU WENT UP BY GOING MORE GENTLY, YOU COULD STRETCH THE JOURNEY OUT TO FIVE OR SIX MILES, THE LENGTH OF THE TRAIL TO THE TOP THAT EXISTS TODAY. IN JESUS' TIME, THOUGH, THE MOUNTAIN WAS NOT A TOURIST ATTRACTION, NOR DID IT HAVE A MONASTERY ON IT. IT WAS KIND OF WILD, COVERED WITH TIMBER. IF THERE WERE ANY PATHS, THEY WERE PROBABLY VERY ROUGH AND HARD TO NEGOTIATE. YOU CAN IMAGINE THE APOSTLES TRUDGING ALONG AFTER JESUS, WONDERING WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT.
AND WHEN THEY GOT TO THE TOP, THEY MUST HAVE BEEN WORN OUT, AND NO WONDER THEY FELL ASLEEP. BUT THEY WOKE TO AN AMAZING SIGHT, JESUS TRANSFORMED, TALKING TO MOSES AND ELIJAH.
MOSES, THE GREATEST LEADER OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE. MOSES WHO GAVE THEM THE LAW, WHO SPOKE DIRECTLY TO GOD, AND WHO WAS HIMSELF TRANSFIGURED WHEN HE WENT INTO THE TENT OF MEETING AND SPOKE WITH GOD. AFTERWORD HE HAD TO WEAR A COVERING OVER HIS FACE BECAUSE NO HUMAN BEING COULD LOOK AT HIM. AND ELIJAH, THE GREATEST PROPHET, THE ONE WHO SINGLE-HANDEDLY SAVED THE JEWISH RELIGION FROM QUEEN JEZEBEL, SHE WHO HAD ALL THE OTHER PROPHETS OF GOD PUT TO DEATH AND TRIED TO INSTITUTE THE WORSHIP OF HER OWN GOD, BAAL. AND ELIJAH WAS TRANSFIGURED, WHEN A CHARIOT OF FIRE SWOOPED DOWN AND CARRIED HIM OFF TO HEAVEN. AND PETER'S FIRST REACTION IS THAT THIS IS EVIDENCE THAT JESUS IS EQUAL TO MOSES AND ELIJAH, AND PETER, BEING A GOOD JEW, MUST HAVE THOUGHT THAT GOD WAS FINALLY KEEPING HIS PROMISE TO HIS PEOPLE; HERE WAS MOSES TO RESTORE THE NATION, AND HERE WAS ELIJAH TO RESTORE THE RELIGION, AND OF COURSE THAT MEAN THAT JESUS WAS THE KING, THE MESSIAH, THE ONE EVERYONE HAD BEEN WAITING FOR.
DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN MUMMAR KADAFFI VISITED NEW YORK LAST YEAR TO ADDRESS THE UNITED NATIONS? HE BROUGHT ALONG A TENT THAT HE WANTED TO ERECT IN CENTRAL PARK TO LIVE IN WHILE HE WAS IN NEW YORK. WE ALL THOUGHT THAT WAS PRETTY CRAZY, BUT ACTUALLY SETTING UP A TENT FOR AN HONORED GUEST IS STILL A CUSTOM IN PARTS OF THE MIDDLE EAST. PETER WANTED TO EXTEND HOSPITALITY TO THESE THREE, AS THEY PREPARED TO LEAD THE REVOLUTION.
BUT PETER HAS MADE A MISTAKE AND GOD THE FATHER HIMSELF CORRECTS HIM. MOSES AND ELIJAH ARE GONE, AND THERE IS ONLY JESUS, AND THE VOICE IN THE CLOUD SAYS, “THIS IS MY CHOSEN SON, LISTEN TO HIM.” LISTEN TO HIM ALONE, THERE ARE NO OTHERS; HE IS MY WORD, MY LAST WORD, MY ONLY WORD. AND THE VOICE OF THE FATHER, THE VOICE WHICH CREATED THE WORLD, WHICH SPOKE TO ABRAHAM AND MOSES AND THE PROPHETS, THE VOICE WHICH SPOKE AT THE BAPTISM OF JESUS; THAT VOICE IS NEVER HEARD AGAIN, BECAUSE THE FATHER HAD FINALLY SAID ALL THAT HE WOULD EVER SAY.
THERE ARE SO MANY VOICES. POLITICIANS, ADVERTISEMENTS, PUNDITS ON TELEVISION, ADVOCATES FOR THIS OR THAT. CONTRADICTING VOICES, EACH ONE TELLING US WHAT WE NEED TO DO, WHAT WE NEED TO AVOID. BUT THERE IS ONLY ONE WORD THAT MATTERS, THE WORD THAT THE FATHER SPEAKS, THE WORD THAT IS JESUS CHRIST.
HOW DO WE LISTEN? WE DON'T LISTEN LIKE WE LISTEN TO CASUAL CONVERSATION. THIS KIND OF LISTENING IS THE KIND THAT MOVES US, THE KIND THAT MAKES US CHANGE. IF WE TRULY HEAR THE WORD, WE WILL CHANGE, BECAUSE GOD'S WORD IS NEVER IN VAIN.
IF YOU AND I ARE REALLY CHRISTIANS, THEN WE SHOULD ALWAYS BE TRYING TO CARRY OUT THE COMMAND OF GOD THE FATHER TO THE APOSTLES, AND TO US. WE NEED TO PRAY, BY OURSELVES, SPEAKING TO GOD, LISTENING TO GOD. WE NEED TO BE LEARNING ABOUT JESUS, WHICH MUST TAKE US TO SACRED SCRIPTURE. WE HAVE THE OLD TESTAMENT, WHICH IS THE UNIVERSITY IN WHICH JESUS WAS EDUCATED. AND WE HAVE THE NEW TESTAMENT, IN WHICH WE CAN SEE HOW THOSE FIRST CHRISTIANS RESPONDED TO THE WORD OF THE FATHER. AND WITH THESE TOOLS, WE CAN DRAW CLOSE TO JESUS HIMSELF, AND LET HIM SPEAK TO US.
THE PURPOSE OF LENT IS TO DEEPEN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST. IT IS A TIME FOR DEVELOPING NEW HABITS, GETTING RID OF OLD ONES; IT IS A TIME WHERE WE ARE CALLED TO BE ATHLETES OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, FASTING AND PRAYING SO THAT WE CAN LISTEN MORE CAREFULLY.
THE APOSTLES STRUGGLED UP THAT MOUNTAIN, PUTTING ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER, UNABLE TO SEE WHERE THEY WERE GOING, TRUSTING IN JESUS TO LEAD THEM . AND WHEN THEY GOT TO THE TOP, THEY WERE SO TIRED THEY FELL ASLEEP. BUT THERE WAS JESUS, JESUS TRANSFIGURED, JESUS LOOKING AS HE REALLY DOES, BECAUSE ONCE YOU CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN, ONCE YOU STRUGGLE WITH YOUR LENTEN DISCIPLINES, YOUR PRAYERS, YOUR STUDY, YOUR WORKS, YOUR MEDITATION, YOU TOO WILL SEE JESUS AS HE REALLY IS, AND YOU WILL HEAR THE VOICE OF THE FATHER. AND AT THE END OF LENT, OUR PENANCE AND OUR DISCIPLINE HAVING BEEN OFFERED TO GOD, WE TOO CAN WITNESS JESUS RISEN FROM THE DEAD, TRANSFIGURED. AND THAT WILL STRENGTHEN OUR FAITH SO THAT WE CAN GO DOWN INTO THE VALLEY AND BUILD HIS KINGDOM, AND PROCLAIM TO OTHERS, AS THE FATHER PROCLAIMS TO US, “LISTEN TO HIM!”
THEY WENT UP TO THE MOUNTAIN TO PRAY. SO MUCH IS HIDDEN IN THOSE WORDS. I GOOGLED MOUNT TABOR AND DISCOVERED SOME INTERESTING THINGS. MOUNT TABOR IS ABOUT 2000 FEET HIGH, NOT HUGE BY MOUNTAIN STANDARDS. BUT IT IS PRETTY MASSIVE. IT STANDS ALONE ON A PLANE IN NORTHERN ISRAEL. TODAY THERE ARE TWO SIZABLE TOWNS AT ITS BASE. IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, WE HEAR ABOUT MOUNT TABOR AS A LANDMARK, REFERRING TO THE DIVIDING POINT BETWEEN THE LAND OF THREE OF THE TWELVE TRIBES. THERE ISN'T MUCH ELSE; UNLIKE MOUNT SINAI, IT DIDN'T SEEM TO HAVE ANY GREAT SIGNIFICANCE IN THE JEWISH RELIGION.
YOU WOULD HAVE TO TRAVEL THIRTY THREE MILES TO WALK AROUND THE BASE. AND IF YOU CLIMBED IT, TO GO STRAIGHT UP WOULD BE ABOUT TWO MILES OF REALLY HARD CLIMBING, OR IF YOU WENT UP BY GOING MORE GENTLY, YOU COULD STRETCH THE JOURNEY OUT TO FIVE OR SIX MILES, THE LENGTH OF THE TRAIL TO THE TOP THAT EXISTS TODAY. IN JESUS' TIME, THOUGH, THE MOUNTAIN WAS NOT A TOURIST ATTRACTION, NOR DID IT HAVE A MONASTERY ON IT. IT WAS KIND OF WILD, COVERED WITH TIMBER. IF THERE WERE ANY PATHS, THEY WERE PROBABLY VERY ROUGH AND HARD TO NEGOTIATE. YOU CAN IMAGINE THE APOSTLES TRUDGING ALONG AFTER JESUS, WONDERING WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT.
AND WHEN THEY GOT TO THE TOP, THEY MUST HAVE BEEN WORN OUT, AND NO WONDER THEY FELL ASLEEP. BUT THEY WOKE TO AN AMAZING SIGHT, JESUS TRANSFORMED, TALKING TO MOSES AND ELIJAH.
MOSES, THE GREATEST LEADER OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE. MOSES WHO GAVE THEM THE LAW, WHO SPOKE DIRECTLY TO GOD, AND WHO WAS HIMSELF TRANSFIGURED WHEN HE WENT INTO THE TENT OF MEETING AND SPOKE WITH GOD. AFTERWORD HE HAD TO WEAR A COVERING OVER HIS FACE BECAUSE NO HUMAN BEING COULD LOOK AT HIM. AND ELIJAH, THE GREATEST PROPHET, THE ONE WHO SINGLE-HANDEDLY SAVED THE JEWISH RELIGION FROM QUEEN JEZEBEL, SHE WHO HAD ALL THE OTHER PROPHETS OF GOD PUT TO DEATH AND TRIED TO INSTITUTE THE WORSHIP OF HER OWN GOD, BAAL. AND ELIJAH WAS TRANSFIGURED, WHEN A CHARIOT OF FIRE SWOOPED DOWN AND CARRIED HIM OFF TO HEAVEN. AND PETER'S FIRST REACTION IS THAT THIS IS EVIDENCE THAT JESUS IS EQUAL TO MOSES AND ELIJAH, AND PETER, BEING A GOOD JEW, MUST HAVE THOUGHT THAT GOD WAS FINALLY KEEPING HIS PROMISE TO HIS PEOPLE; HERE WAS MOSES TO RESTORE THE NATION, AND HERE WAS ELIJAH TO RESTORE THE RELIGION, AND OF COURSE THAT MEAN THAT JESUS WAS THE KING, THE MESSIAH, THE ONE EVERYONE HAD BEEN WAITING FOR.
DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN MUMMAR KADAFFI VISITED NEW YORK LAST YEAR TO ADDRESS THE UNITED NATIONS? HE BROUGHT ALONG A TENT THAT HE WANTED TO ERECT IN CENTRAL PARK TO LIVE IN WHILE HE WAS IN NEW YORK. WE ALL THOUGHT THAT WAS PRETTY CRAZY, BUT ACTUALLY SETTING UP A TENT FOR AN HONORED GUEST IS STILL A CUSTOM IN PARTS OF THE MIDDLE EAST. PETER WANTED TO EXTEND HOSPITALITY TO THESE THREE, AS THEY PREPARED TO LEAD THE REVOLUTION.
BUT PETER HAS MADE A MISTAKE AND GOD THE FATHER HIMSELF CORRECTS HIM. MOSES AND ELIJAH ARE GONE, AND THERE IS ONLY JESUS, AND THE VOICE IN THE CLOUD SAYS, “THIS IS MY CHOSEN SON, LISTEN TO HIM.” LISTEN TO HIM ALONE, THERE ARE NO OTHERS; HE IS MY WORD, MY LAST WORD, MY ONLY WORD. AND THE VOICE OF THE FATHER, THE VOICE WHICH CREATED THE WORLD, WHICH SPOKE TO ABRAHAM AND MOSES AND THE PROPHETS, THE VOICE WHICH SPOKE AT THE BAPTISM OF JESUS; THAT VOICE IS NEVER HEARD AGAIN, BECAUSE THE FATHER HAD FINALLY SAID ALL THAT HE WOULD EVER SAY.
THERE ARE SO MANY VOICES. POLITICIANS, ADVERTISEMENTS, PUNDITS ON TELEVISION, ADVOCATES FOR THIS OR THAT. CONTRADICTING VOICES, EACH ONE TELLING US WHAT WE NEED TO DO, WHAT WE NEED TO AVOID. BUT THERE IS ONLY ONE WORD THAT MATTERS, THE WORD THAT THE FATHER SPEAKS, THE WORD THAT IS JESUS CHRIST.
HOW DO WE LISTEN? WE DON'T LISTEN LIKE WE LISTEN TO CASUAL CONVERSATION. THIS KIND OF LISTENING IS THE KIND THAT MOVES US, THE KIND THAT MAKES US CHANGE. IF WE TRULY HEAR THE WORD, WE WILL CHANGE, BECAUSE GOD'S WORD IS NEVER IN VAIN.
IF YOU AND I ARE REALLY CHRISTIANS, THEN WE SHOULD ALWAYS BE TRYING TO CARRY OUT THE COMMAND OF GOD THE FATHER TO THE APOSTLES, AND TO US. WE NEED TO PRAY, BY OURSELVES, SPEAKING TO GOD, LISTENING TO GOD. WE NEED TO BE LEARNING ABOUT JESUS, WHICH MUST TAKE US TO SACRED SCRIPTURE. WE HAVE THE OLD TESTAMENT, WHICH IS THE UNIVERSITY IN WHICH JESUS WAS EDUCATED. AND WE HAVE THE NEW TESTAMENT, IN WHICH WE CAN SEE HOW THOSE FIRST CHRISTIANS RESPONDED TO THE WORD OF THE FATHER. AND WITH THESE TOOLS, WE CAN DRAW CLOSE TO JESUS HIMSELF, AND LET HIM SPEAK TO US.
THE PURPOSE OF LENT IS TO DEEPEN OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST. IT IS A TIME FOR DEVELOPING NEW HABITS, GETTING RID OF OLD ONES; IT IS A TIME WHERE WE ARE CALLED TO BE ATHLETES OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, FASTING AND PRAYING SO THAT WE CAN LISTEN MORE CAREFULLY.
THE APOSTLES STRUGGLED UP THAT MOUNTAIN, PUTTING ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER, UNABLE TO SEE WHERE THEY WERE GOING, TRUSTING IN JESUS TO LEAD THEM . AND WHEN THEY GOT TO THE TOP, THEY WERE SO TIRED THEY FELL ASLEEP. BUT THERE WAS JESUS, JESUS TRANSFIGURED, JESUS LOOKING AS HE REALLY DOES, BECAUSE ONCE YOU CLIMB THE MOUNTAIN, ONCE YOU STRUGGLE WITH YOUR LENTEN DISCIPLINES, YOUR PRAYERS, YOUR STUDY, YOUR WORKS, YOUR MEDITATION, YOU TOO WILL SEE JESUS AS HE REALLY IS, AND YOU WILL HEAR THE VOICE OF THE FATHER. AND AT THE END OF LENT, OUR PENANCE AND OUR DISCIPLINE HAVING BEEN OFFERED TO GOD, WE TOO CAN WITNESS JESUS RISEN FROM THE DEAD, TRANSFIGURED. AND THAT WILL STRENGTHEN OUR FAITH SO THAT WE CAN GO DOWN INTO THE VALLEY AND BUILD HIS KINGDOM, AND PROCLAIM TO OTHERS, AS THE FATHER PROCLAIMS TO US, “LISTEN TO HIM!”
Saturday, February 20, 2010
First Sunday in Lent, cycle C
LUKE 4:1-13
TODAY WE HEAR THE FAMILIAR STORY OF JESUS' TEMPTATIONS WHICH OCCURRED AT THE BEGINNING OF HIS PUBIC MINISTRY. LUKE PICKS THESE TEMPTATIONS FOR THEOLOGICAL REASONS; JESUS WILL NOT USE HIS POWER TO FEED HIMSELF, BUT WE READERS KNOW THAT HE WILL MULTIPLY BREAD TO FEED OTHERS. JESUS WILL NOT WORSHIP SATAN, EVEN THOUGH IT WOULD MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO BRING ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IN AN INSTANT; NOTHING IS WORTH DISRUPTING HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FATHER. JESUS WILL NOT USE HIS POWER OVER THE ANGELS TO DEMONSTRATE HIS DIVINITY, EVEN THOUGH THAT WOULD IMMEDIATELY CREATE A LARGE FOLLOWING OF THOSE WHO WITNESSED THIS MIRACLE. JESUS WILL NOT DO ANYTHING TO FORCE US TO BELIEVE. THE TEMPTATIONS TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT JESUS, AND IN TURN SOMETHING ABOUT THE FATHER IN HEAVEN. AND OF COURSE, THEY ENCOURAGE US TO IMITATE JESUS IN OUR OWN RESPONSE TO TEMPTATION.
BUT THINK ABOUT THIS. JESUS WAS LIKE US IN ALL THINGS BUT SIN. THAT MEANS THAT HE WAS TEMPTED LIKE US, HE EXPERIENCED NOT ONLY THESE TEMPTATIONS, BUT UNDOUBTEDLY, MANY OTHERS. IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN TEMPTED TO EAT WAY MORE THAN WAS GOOD FOR YOU BECAUSE THE FOOD WAS SO GOOD, SO WAS JESUS. IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN TEMPTED TO YELL AT SOMEONE FOR DOING SOMETHING STUPID, SO WAS JESUS. IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN TEMPTED TO THINK ABOUT SOMEONE OF THE OPPOSITE SEX IN A LESS THAN PURE WAY, WELL, SO WAS JESUS. HE WAS LIKE US IN ALL THINGS, BUT SIN. HE HAD ALL OUR TEMPTATIONS, BUT UNLIKE YOU AND I HE NEVER GAVE IN TO THEM; HE NEVER LET THEM LEAD HIM INTO SIN. WHEN JESUS TAUGHT US THE LORD'S PRAYER, A PRAYER HE MAY HAVE SAID HIMSELF IN PRIVATE, HE BEGGED NOT TO BE LEAD INTO TEMPTATION; BECAUSE ALTHOUGH JESUS NEVER GAVE IN TO TEMPTATION, IT WOULD NOT BE A TEMPTATION FOR HIM IF THE TEMPTATION DID NOT TROUBLE HIM, JUST AS SEVERELY AS TEMPTATION TROUBLES US.
FIFTY YEARS AGO, NIKOS KAZANTZAKIS PUBLISHED A NOVEL CALLED “THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST”. THIS WAS LATER MADE INTO A MOVIE, WHICH CAUSED A GREAT DEAL OF CONTROVERSY BECAUSE OF SOME OF ITS R-RATED SCENES. BUT THE NOVEL WAS ACTUALLY A VERY PROFOUND AND VERY SPIRITUAL BOOK. IT PORTRAYED JESUS AS A PERSON WHO WENT ALL THROUGH HIS LIFE BEING TEMPTED, A JESUS WHO WAS RELUCTANT TO FOLLOW THE DESTINY CHOSEN FOR HIM BY GOD. WE HEAR A LITTLE HINT OF THIS PERHAPS WHEN JESUS SAYS “FATHER, IF YOU ARE WILLING, LET THIS CUP PASS FROM ME.” IN THE END, JESUS TRIUMPHS, HAVING ACCOMPLISHED WHAT GOD WANTED OF HIM DESPITE THE TEMPTATIONS – AND THE NOVEL GIVES YOU A FRESH APPRECIATION FOR WHAT JESUS DID – AND THE FACT THAT THE PASSION HE ENDURED STARTED WHEN HE WAS BORN, NOT ON HOLY THURSDAY NIGHT.
BUT THE GREAT SCENE IN THE BOOK AND IN THE MOVIE IS WHEN JESUS IS HANGING ON THE CROSS, AND HE HAS A VISION; HE SEES HIMSELF AS AN OLD MAN, SURROUNDED BY CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN, AND HE IS COMFORTABLE, HE IS NOT POOR; AND HIS WIFE IS MARY MAGDALENE, WHO IN THE STORY WAS ENGAGED TO HIM BEFORE HE BEGAN HIS PUBLIC LIFE. AND AS JESUS DWELLS ON THIS VISION HE UNDERSTANDS THAT THIS LIFE COULD BE HIS, EVEN NOW, BECAUSE HE HAS THE POWER OF GOD. HE COULD STEP DOWN FROM THE CROSS, GET MARRIED, HAVE CHILDREN, WORK AT THE TRADE HE KNEW WELL, AND LIVE A QUIET, NORMAL LIFE. AND THAT WAS THE HARDEST TEMPTATION OF ALL FOR JESUS. AND HE OVERCAME THAT TEMPTATION AS WELL, AND GAVE HIMSELF UP TO DEATH FOR US, IN OBEDIENCE TO HIS FATHER.
THE TEMPTATION TO NORMALCY. I THINK THAT IS A STRONG TEMPTATION FOR EACH OF US AS WELL. MOST OF US AREN'T TEMPTED TO MURDER OR STEAL OR COMMIT ADULTERY OR IF WE ARE, WE ARE SUFFICIENTLY AFRAID OF THE CONSEQUENCES SO THAT WE DON'T CARRY OUT THOSE TEMPTATIONS. BUT MOST OF US WANT A COMFORTABLE LIFE, A NICE HOME, A RELIABLE CAR, DAYS IN WHICH THE GOOD PARTS OUTNUMBER THE BAD PARTS. WE ARE TEMPTED TO LIVE IN A COCOON OF OUR OWN MAKING, WHERE OUR FIRST PRIORITY IS TO OURSELVES AND OUR FAMILIES. WE DON'T THINK ABOUT ALL THE THINGS OVER WHICH WE HAVE SO LITTLE CONTROL; THE PEOPLE WHO ARE DYING OF HUNGER; THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE LIKE ANIMALS; THE GRADUAL DESTRUCTION OF OUR WORLD BECAUSE OF OUR GREED. WE HOPE AGAINST HOPE THAT WE CAN LIVE OUT OUR LIVES BEFORE ANY OF THESE PROBLEMS GET SO BIG THAT WE CAN'T IGNORE THEM ANYMORE; AND WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS TO OUR LITTLE WORLD, WHEN OUR NORMALCY IS THREATENED, WE GET DEPRESSED, WE FEEL AS THOUGH OUR WORLD HAS COME TO AN END. ALL IT TAKES IS A BROKEN BONE, OR A CHILD WHO GETS IN TROUBLE WITH THE LAW, OR THE LOSS OF A JOB, AND WE COME TO REALIZE HOW TRUE IT IS THAT WHERE OUR HEARTS ARE, THERE IS OUR TREASURE.
WE ARE TEMPTED TO NORMALCY, AND WE CAN'T REALLY SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH WANTING A NORMAL UNEXCITING COMFORTABLE LIFE. AND PART OF OUR NORMALCY IS TO SUPPORT OUR CHURCH, MAYBE TO GIVE SOME OF OUR TIME TO A GOOD CAUSE; THOSE THINGS FILL A NEED, AND MAKE US FEEL USEFUL OR VIRTUOUS. AND THAT'S NOT WRONG EITHER.
BUT I THINK ALL OF US HEAR IN OUR HEARTS NOW AND THEN, “IS THIS ALL THERE IS?” “IS THIS THE REASON GOD GAVE ME LIFE?” “AM I DRAWING CLOSER TO GOD OR FURTHER AWAY?” “AM I LIVING FOR GOD OR FOR MYSELF?”
AND MAYBE OUR REACTION IS TO PLUNGE DEEPER INTO NORMALCY SO THAT WE CAN'T HEAR THOSE VOICES, SO THAT ONE DAY FOLLOWS THE NEXT AND WE DISTRACT OURSELVES WITH OUR TOYS AND OUR GAMES AND THEN ONE DAY ITS ALL OVER. AND THE TEMPTATION TO NORMALCY HAS SUCCEEDED; ITS KEPT US FROM BECOMING WHAT GOD WANTS OF US.
JESUS RESISTED THE STRONGEST OF TEMPTATIONS, THE TEMPTATION TO LIVE A NORMAL QUIET PLEASANT LIFE, SO THAT HE COULD DO GOD'S WILL, NOT HIS OWN. SAINT PAUL TELLS US THAT EACH OF US IS LIKE A PART OF A BODY, AND THAT SOMEHOW OUR FULFILLMENT IS WHEN WE WORK WITH EACH OTHER WITH CHRIST AS OUR HEAD, DIRECTING THE WHOLE PROJECT. AND EACH OF US IS UNIQUE, EACH OF US HAS AN IRREPLACEABLE PART IN GOD'S PLAN.
SO DURING THIS LENT LET US EXAMINE OURSELVES AND SEE WHETHER WE HAVE GIVEN IN TO THE TEMPTATION TO NORMALCY, AND IF SO, WHAT CAN WE DO TO ONCE AGAIN HEAR THE VOICE OF GOD AND PUT OURSELVES AT HIS SERVICE, AND LIVE LIVES FILLED WITH MEANING, FILLED WITH THE FIRE THAT SHOULD BURN WITHIN THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD.
TODAY WE HEAR THE FAMILIAR STORY OF JESUS' TEMPTATIONS WHICH OCCURRED AT THE BEGINNING OF HIS PUBIC MINISTRY. LUKE PICKS THESE TEMPTATIONS FOR THEOLOGICAL REASONS; JESUS WILL NOT USE HIS POWER TO FEED HIMSELF, BUT WE READERS KNOW THAT HE WILL MULTIPLY BREAD TO FEED OTHERS. JESUS WILL NOT WORSHIP SATAN, EVEN THOUGH IT WOULD MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO BRING ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IN AN INSTANT; NOTHING IS WORTH DISRUPTING HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH THE FATHER. JESUS WILL NOT USE HIS POWER OVER THE ANGELS TO DEMONSTRATE HIS DIVINITY, EVEN THOUGH THAT WOULD IMMEDIATELY CREATE A LARGE FOLLOWING OF THOSE WHO WITNESSED THIS MIRACLE. JESUS WILL NOT DO ANYTHING TO FORCE US TO BELIEVE. THE TEMPTATIONS TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT JESUS, AND IN TURN SOMETHING ABOUT THE FATHER IN HEAVEN. AND OF COURSE, THEY ENCOURAGE US TO IMITATE JESUS IN OUR OWN RESPONSE TO TEMPTATION.
BUT THINK ABOUT THIS. JESUS WAS LIKE US IN ALL THINGS BUT SIN. THAT MEANS THAT HE WAS TEMPTED LIKE US, HE EXPERIENCED NOT ONLY THESE TEMPTATIONS, BUT UNDOUBTEDLY, MANY OTHERS. IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN TEMPTED TO EAT WAY MORE THAN WAS GOOD FOR YOU BECAUSE THE FOOD WAS SO GOOD, SO WAS JESUS. IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN TEMPTED TO YELL AT SOMEONE FOR DOING SOMETHING STUPID, SO WAS JESUS. IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN TEMPTED TO THINK ABOUT SOMEONE OF THE OPPOSITE SEX IN A LESS THAN PURE WAY, WELL, SO WAS JESUS. HE WAS LIKE US IN ALL THINGS, BUT SIN. HE HAD ALL OUR TEMPTATIONS, BUT UNLIKE YOU AND I HE NEVER GAVE IN TO THEM; HE NEVER LET THEM LEAD HIM INTO SIN. WHEN JESUS TAUGHT US THE LORD'S PRAYER, A PRAYER HE MAY HAVE SAID HIMSELF IN PRIVATE, HE BEGGED NOT TO BE LEAD INTO TEMPTATION; BECAUSE ALTHOUGH JESUS NEVER GAVE IN TO TEMPTATION, IT WOULD NOT BE A TEMPTATION FOR HIM IF THE TEMPTATION DID NOT TROUBLE HIM, JUST AS SEVERELY AS TEMPTATION TROUBLES US.
FIFTY YEARS AGO, NIKOS KAZANTZAKIS PUBLISHED A NOVEL CALLED “THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST”. THIS WAS LATER MADE INTO A MOVIE, WHICH CAUSED A GREAT DEAL OF CONTROVERSY BECAUSE OF SOME OF ITS R-RATED SCENES. BUT THE NOVEL WAS ACTUALLY A VERY PROFOUND AND VERY SPIRITUAL BOOK. IT PORTRAYED JESUS AS A PERSON WHO WENT ALL THROUGH HIS LIFE BEING TEMPTED, A JESUS WHO WAS RELUCTANT TO FOLLOW THE DESTINY CHOSEN FOR HIM BY GOD. WE HEAR A LITTLE HINT OF THIS PERHAPS WHEN JESUS SAYS “FATHER, IF YOU ARE WILLING, LET THIS CUP PASS FROM ME.” IN THE END, JESUS TRIUMPHS, HAVING ACCOMPLISHED WHAT GOD WANTED OF HIM DESPITE THE TEMPTATIONS – AND THE NOVEL GIVES YOU A FRESH APPRECIATION FOR WHAT JESUS DID – AND THE FACT THAT THE PASSION HE ENDURED STARTED WHEN HE WAS BORN, NOT ON HOLY THURSDAY NIGHT.
BUT THE GREAT SCENE IN THE BOOK AND IN THE MOVIE IS WHEN JESUS IS HANGING ON THE CROSS, AND HE HAS A VISION; HE SEES HIMSELF AS AN OLD MAN, SURROUNDED BY CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN, AND HE IS COMFORTABLE, HE IS NOT POOR; AND HIS WIFE IS MARY MAGDALENE, WHO IN THE STORY WAS ENGAGED TO HIM BEFORE HE BEGAN HIS PUBLIC LIFE. AND AS JESUS DWELLS ON THIS VISION HE UNDERSTANDS THAT THIS LIFE COULD BE HIS, EVEN NOW, BECAUSE HE HAS THE POWER OF GOD. HE COULD STEP DOWN FROM THE CROSS, GET MARRIED, HAVE CHILDREN, WORK AT THE TRADE HE KNEW WELL, AND LIVE A QUIET, NORMAL LIFE. AND THAT WAS THE HARDEST TEMPTATION OF ALL FOR JESUS. AND HE OVERCAME THAT TEMPTATION AS WELL, AND GAVE HIMSELF UP TO DEATH FOR US, IN OBEDIENCE TO HIS FATHER.
THE TEMPTATION TO NORMALCY. I THINK THAT IS A STRONG TEMPTATION FOR EACH OF US AS WELL. MOST OF US AREN'T TEMPTED TO MURDER OR STEAL OR COMMIT ADULTERY OR IF WE ARE, WE ARE SUFFICIENTLY AFRAID OF THE CONSEQUENCES SO THAT WE DON'T CARRY OUT THOSE TEMPTATIONS. BUT MOST OF US WANT A COMFORTABLE LIFE, A NICE HOME, A RELIABLE CAR, DAYS IN WHICH THE GOOD PARTS OUTNUMBER THE BAD PARTS. WE ARE TEMPTED TO LIVE IN A COCOON OF OUR OWN MAKING, WHERE OUR FIRST PRIORITY IS TO OURSELVES AND OUR FAMILIES. WE DON'T THINK ABOUT ALL THE THINGS OVER WHICH WE HAVE SO LITTLE CONTROL; THE PEOPLE WHO ARE DYING OF HUNGER; THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE LIKE ANIMALS; THE GRADUAL DESTRUCTION OF OUR WORLD BECAUSE OF OUR GREED. WE HOPE AGAINST HOPE THAT WE CAN LIVE OUT OUR LIVES BEFORE ANY OF THESE PROBLEMS GET SO BIG THAT WE CAN'T IGNORE THEM ANYMORE; AND WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENS TO OUR LITTLE WORLD, WHEN OUR NORMALCY IS THREATENED, WE GET DEPRESSED, WE FEEL AS THOUGH OUR WORLD HAS COME TO AN END. ALL IT TAKES IS A BROKEN BONE, OR A CHILD WHO GETS IN TROUBLE WITH THE LAW, OR THE LOSS OF A JOB, AND WE COME TO REALIZE HOW TRUE IT IS THAT WHERE OUR HEARTS ARE, THERE IS OUR TREASURE.
WE ARE TEMPTED TO NORMALCY, AND WE CAN'T REALLY SEE ANYTHING WRONG WITH WANTING A NORMAL UNEXCITING COMFORTABLE LIFE. AND PART OF OUR NORMALCY IS TO SUPPORT OUR CHURCH, MAYBE TO GIVE SOME OF OUR TIME TO A GOOD CAUSE; THOSE THINGS FILL A NEED, AND MAKE US FEEL USEFUL OR VIRTUOUS. AND THAT'S NOT WRONG EITHER.
BUT I THINK ALL OF US HEAR IN OUR HEARTS NOW AND THEN, “IS THIS ALL THERE IS?” “IS THIS THE REASON GOD GAVE ME LIFE?” “AM I DRAWING CLOSER TO GOD OR FURTHER AWAY?” “AM I LIVING FOR GOD OR FOR MYSELF?”
AND MAYBE OUR REACTION IS TO PLUNGE DEEPER INTO NORMALCY SO THAT WE CAN'T HEAR THOSE VOICES, SO THAT ONE DAY FOLLOWS THE NEXT AND WE DISTRACT OURSELVES WITH OUR TOYS AND OUR GAMES AND THEN ONE DAY ITS ALL OVER. AND THE TEMPTATION TO NORMALCY HAS SUCCEEDED; ITS KEPT US FROM BECOMING WHAT GOD WANTS OF US.
JESUS RESISTED THE STRONGEST OF TEMPTATIONS, THE TEMPTATION TO LIVE A NORMAL QUIET PLEASANT LIFE, SO THAT HE COULD DO GOD'S WILL, NOT HIS OWN. SAINT PAUL TELLS US THAT EACH OF US IS LIKE A PART OF A BODY, AND THAT SOMEHOW OUR FULFILLMENT IS WHEN WE WORK WITH EACH OTHER WITH CHRIST AS OUR HEAD, DIRECTING THE WHOLE PROJECT. AND EACH OF US IS UNIQUE, EACH OF US HAS AN IRREPLACEABLE PART IN GOD'S PLAN.
SO DURING THIS LENT LET US EXAMINE OURSELVES AND SEE WHETHER WE HAVE GIVEN IN TO THE TEMPTATION TO NORMALCY, AND IF SO, WHAT CAN WE DO TO ONCE AGAIN HEAR THE VOICE OF GOD AND PUT OURSELVES AT HIS SERVICE, AND LIVE LIVES FILLED WITH MEANING, FILLED WITH THE FIRE THAT SHOULD BURN WITHIN THE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF GOD.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C
LUKE 6:17; 20-26
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY. IN OUR COUNTRY WE HARDLY REMEMBER THAT THERE WAS A SAINT VALENTINE ONCE. VALENTINE'S DAY FOR US CELEBRATES ROMANCE. IF YOU GO TO A SUPERMARKET AND GET STUCK IN A LINE WHERE THEY ARE TRAINING A NEW CASHIER, YOU CAN SEE ALL KINDS OF MAGAZINES AND NEWSPAPERS DETAILING THE LATEST ANTICS OF JEN OR BRANGELINA OR LINDSEY OR BRITTANY, OR WHICHEVER POP STAR HAS DONE SOMETHING EVEN MORE OUTRAGEOUS THAN LAST WEEK, USUALLY HAVING TO DO WITH HOOKING UP OR BREAKING UP OR HAVING A BABY OUT OF WEDLOCK WITH SOMEBODY WHO IS MARRIED TO SOMEONE ELSE. AND IF WE THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT WE MEAN BY ROMANCE, THAT WOULD NOT BE IT. AND I THINK THE REASON WE INSTINCTIVELY RECOGNIZE THIS IS BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO US THAT ALL THESE POOR SOULS ARE MOTIVATED BY SELFISHNESS. THAT MAY NOT BE TRUE, BUT IT SURE IS REPRESENTED THAT WAY.
ROMANCE BETWEEN A WOMAN AND A MAN SEEMS TO NEED A COMPONENT OF UNSELFISHNESS, OF SELF-GIVING, WHICH IS SYMBOLIZED BY ROSES, A BOX OF CANDY, A VALENTINE CARD. AND THOSE OF US WHO HAVE SOME PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH ROMANCE KNOW THAT OUR RELATIONSHIP GROWS WHEN WE ARE SELF-GIVING AND SHRINKS WHEN WE ARE SELFISH.
ONE THING ABOUT CATHOLIC CHRISTIANITY, CERTAINLY SHARED BY SOME OTHER BRANCHES OF CHRISTIANITY, BUT NOT ALL, IS THE IDEA THAT GOD'S RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS PEOPLE IS LIKE A ROMANCE. THE FATHER EMPTIES HIMSELF OUT IN JESUS CHRIST, WHO IN TURN GIVES HIMSELF UP FOR US. THIS LOVING ACTION, THIS SELF-GIVING, IS NOT WITHOUT PURPOSE; IT IS DONE PRECISELY SO THAT GOD CAN TAKE US BACK TO HIMSELF, SO THAT WE CAN DWELL WITH HIM FOREVER. BUT IN A ROMANCE, THERE MUST BE MUTUAL SELF-GIVING. AND THAT IS WHERE TODAY'S GOSPEL COMES IN.
YOU REMEMBER THE BEATITUDES IN THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW. BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT, BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR JUSTICE, AND SO ON. VERY SPIRITUAL. BUT LUKE'S BEATITUDES ARE STRAIGHTFORWARD; BLESSED ARE THE POOR, BLESSED ARE THE HUNGRY, BLESSED ARE YOU WHO WEEP. AND LUKE'S BLESSEDS ARE ACCOMPANIED BY WOES, WOES TO THOSE WHO ARE FILLED UP, WOES TO THOSE WHO LAUGH, WOES TO THE RICH.
THIS GOSPEL REMINDS US THAT IF WE ARE TO ENTER INTO THAT ROMANCE OF ALL ROMANCES WITH OUR GOD, WE TOO NEED TO EMPTY OURSELVES OUT, WE NEED TO MAKE ROOM FOR GOD TO ACT IN US.
LENT IS A GREAT TIME TO WORK ON THE PROJECT OF EMPTYING OURSELVES OUT. WE IN LONGMEADOW CERTAINLY CAN'T BE CALLED POOR, NOT JUST COMPARED TO THOSE IN HAITI, BUT EVEN THOSE IN SPRINGFIELD OR CHICOPEE. WE ARE RICH, LETS FACE IT. BUT WE CAN LET GO OF OUR ATTACHMENTS; WE CAN INCREASE OUR GIVING TO CHARITY; WE CAN FORGO ANOTHER SET OF NEW CLOTHES OR SHOES; WE CAN LET GO OF THINGS IN OUR ATTICS OR BASEMENTS WHICH WE HAVE BEEN SAVING FOR NO REASON, AND ALLOW OTHER PEOPLE TO MAKE USE OF THEM.
AND WE ARE CERTAINLY NOT HUNGRY. BUT WE CAN FAST. THE FAST THAT THE CHURCH USED TO ASK OF HER CHILDREN WAS TO EAT ONE FULL MEAL A DAY, AND TWO OTHER MEALS WHICH TOGETHER DID NOT EQUAL THE FULL MEAL. NOW SHE ONLY SAYS TO FAST ON ASH WEDNESDAY AND GOOD FRIDAY. BUT ITS A WONDERFUL SPIRITUAL EXERCISE TO FAST, TO FORGO THAT DAILY COCKTAIL, TO SKIP LUNCH ONE DAY A WEEK; OR WE CAN FAST BY CUTTING OUT SOMETHING WE REALLY LIKE TO EAT FROM OUR DIET, FOR THE NEXT SIX WEEKS. SOME OF US, MYSELF INCLUDED, COULD EVEN FAST ENOUGH TO LOSE A FEW POUNDS. AND YOU CAN FAST FOR SPIRITUAL REASONS AND FOR HEALTH REASONS; THEY DON'T EXCLUDE EACH OTHER.
WE CAN WEEP. WE HUMANS ARE DESIGNED TO SEEK PLEASURE. IT'S NOT PLEASANT TO CONFRONT THINGS THAT BREAK OUR HEARTS. BUT ONCE IN A WHILE, WE SHOULD LOOK AT OUR LIVES AND SEE WHETHER WE ARE LIVING LIVES THAT PLEASE GOD. AND WHERE WE AREN'T, WHERE OUR SELFISHNESS AND BAD HABITS ARE KEEPING US FROM THAT KIND OF LIFE, THAT SHOULD MOVE US EMOTIONALLY. BECAUSE IF WE AREN'T PLEASING THE ONE WHO LOVES US SO MUCH THAT HE DIED FOR US, AND IT DOESN'T MAKE US SAD, THEN SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG WITH OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
AND LASTLY, MAYBE WE SHOULD ASK WHY WE ARE NOT HATED? JESUS PROMISED THAT HIS FOLLOWERS WOULD BE HATED, WOULD BE PERSECUTED, WOULD EVEN BE PUT TO DEATH. NOT JUST IN THIS READING DID HE PROMISE THIS, BUT ALL THROUGH THE SCRIPTURES. AND WE KNOW WHAT WE COULD DO TO BE HATED – WE COULD STAND UP FOR WHAT WE SAY WE BELIEVE. WE HAVE ALL KINDS OF OPPORTUNITIES. WE CAN BE MORE VOCAL ABOUT BEING PRO-LIFE, PRO-MARRIAGE, PRO-FAITH, PRO-JUSTICE, WHEN WE GET IN CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR FRIENDS AND CO-WORKERS. WE CAN SPEND MORE TIME LEARNING WHAT THE CHURCH TEACHES SO THAT WE CAN BE BETTER PROPHETS IN THE WORLD. WE CAN DO OUR PART TO MAKE THE WORLD MORE LIKE THE KINGDOM OF GOD, PROVIDED WE KNOW WHAT THAT KINGDOM LOOKS LIKE. AND IF WE DO THESE THINGS, SOMEONE WILL PERSECUTE US, SOMEONE WILL HATE US. AND THAT WILL BE GOOD.
AND WOE TO US IF WE KEEP ON GOING THE WAY WE ARE GOING, IF WE ARE RICH, IF WE ARE FULL, IF WE LAUGH, IF WE ARE SPOKEN WELL OF. BECAUSE THEN THERE WILL BE NO ROMANCE; THERE WILL BE NO EMPTYING OURSELVES OUT SO THAT GOD CAN FILL US UP. AND FOR THOSE OF US WHO MAKE NO EFFORT, JESUS CHRIST WILL HAVE GIVEN HIMSELF UP TO SUFFERING AND DEATH FOR NO PURPOSE.
START ON THIS ASH WEDNESDAY. DO SOMETHING TO MAKE LENT DIFFERENT THIS YEAR; FIND SOME WAY TO FAST; AND PERSEVERE UNTIL EASTER SUNDAY. AND IF YOU DO, THAT WILL BE THE DAY YOU CAN LEAP FOR JOY, FOR YOU WILL KNOW THAT YOU HAVE A PLACE IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, YOU WILL KNOW THAT YOU HAVE ENTERED INTO THAT INCOMPARABLE ROMANCE TO WHICH EACH OF US ARE INVITED, THE ROMANCE WHERE THE MORE WE GIVE OURSELVES UP, THE MORE WE EMPTY OURSELVES OUT, THE MORE GOD, WHO HAS ALREADY GIVEN ALL THAT HE CAN GIVE, CAN ENTER INTO US AND BRING US ETERNAL JOY.
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY. IN OUR COUNTRY WE HARDLY REMEMBER THAT THERE WAS A SAINT VALENTINE ONCE. VALENTINE'S DAY FOR US CELEBRATES ROMANCE. IF YOU GO TO A SUPERMARKET AND GET STUCK IN A LINE WHERE THEY ARE TRAINING A NEW CASHIER, YOU CAN SEE ALL KINDS OF MAGAZINES AND NEWSPAPERS DETAILING THE LATEST ANTICS OF JEN OR BRANGELINA OR LINDSEY OR BRITTANY, OR WHICHEVER POP STAR HAS DONE SOMETHING EVEN MORE OUTRAGEOUS THAN LAST WEEK, USUALLY HAVING TO DO WITH HOOKING UP OR BREAKING UP OR HAVING A BABY OUT OF WEDLOCK WITH SOMEBODY WHO IS MARRIED TO SOMEONE ELSE. AND IF WE THOUGHT ABOUT WHAT WE MEAN BY ROMANCE, THAT WOULD NOT BE IT. AND I THINK THE REASON WE INSTINCTIVELY RECOGNIZE THIS IS BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO US THAT ALL THESE POOR SOULS ARE MOTIVATED BY SELFISHNESS. THAT MAY NOT BE TRUE, BUT IT SURE IS REPRESENTED THAT WAY.
ROMANCE BETWEEN A WOMAN AND A MAN SEEMS TO NEED A COMPONENT OF UNSELFISHNESS, OF SELF-GIVING, WHICH IS SYMBOLIZED BY ROSES, A BOX OF CANDY, A VALENTINE CARD. AND THOSE OF US WHO HAVE SOME PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH ROMANCE KNOW THAT OUR RELATIONSHIP GROWS WHEN WE ARE SELF-GIVING AND SHRINKS WHEN WE ARE SELFISH.
ONE THING ABOUT CATHOLIC CHRISTIANITY, CERTAINLY SHARED BY SOME OTHER BRANCHES OF CHRISTIANITY, BUT NOT ALL, IS THE IDEA THAT GOD'S RELATIONSHIP WITH HIS PEOPLE IS LIKE A ROMANCE. THE FATHER EMPTIES HIMSELF OUT IN JESUS CHRIST, WHO IN TURN GIVES HIMSELF UP FOR US. THIS LOVING ACTION, THIS SELF-GIVING, IS NOT WITHOUT PURPOSE; IT IS DONE PRECISELY SO THAT GOD CAN TAKE US BACK TO HIMSELF, SO THAT WE CAN DWELL WITH HIM FOREVER. BUT IN A ROMANCE, THERE MUST BE MUTUAL SELF-GIVING. AND THAT IS WHERE TODAY'S GOSPEL COMES IN.
YOU REMEMBER THE BEATITUDES IN THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW. BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT, BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HUNGER AND THIRST FOR JUSTICE, AND SO ON. VERY SPIRITUAL. BUT LUKE'S BEATITUDES ARE STRAIGHTFORWARD; BLESSED ARE THE POOR, BLESSED ARE THE HUNGRY, BLESSED ARE YOU WHO WEEP. AND LUKE'S BLESSEDS ARE ACCOMPANIED BY WOES, WOES TO THOSE WHO ARE FILLED UP, WOES TO THOSE WHO LAUGH, WOES TO THE RICH.
THIS GOSPEL REMINDS US THAT IF WE ARE TO ENTER INTO THAT ROMANCE OF ALL ROMANCES WITH OUR GOD, WE TOO NEED TO EMPTY OURSELVES OUT, WE NEED TO MAKE ROOM FOR GOD TO ACT IN US.
LENT IS A GREAT TIME TO WORK ON THE PROJECT OF EMPTYING OURSELVES OUT. WE IN LONGMEADOW CERTAINLY CAN'T BE CALLED POOR, NOT JUST COMPARED TO THOSE IN HAITI, BUT EVEN THOSE IN SPRINGFIELD OR CHICOPEE. WE ARE RICH, LETS FACE IT. BUT WE CAN LET GO OF OUR ATTACHMENTS; WE CAN INCREASE OUR GIVING TO CHARITY; WE CAN FORGO ANOTHER SET OF NEW CLOTHES OR SHOES; WE CAN LET GO OF THINGS IN OUR ATTICS OR BASEMENTS WHICH WE HAVE BEEN SAVING FOR NO REASON, AND ALLOW OTHER PEOPLE TO MAKE USE OF THEM.
AND WE ARE CERTAINLY NOT HUNGRY. BUT WE CAN FAST. THE FAST THAT THE CHURCH USED TO ASK OF HER CHILDREN WAS TO EAT ONE FULL MEAL A DAY, AND TWO OTHER MEALS WHICH TOGETHER DID NOT EQUAL THE FULL MEAL. NOW SHE ONLY SAYS TO FAST ON ASH WEDNESDAY AND GOOD FRIDAY. BUT ITS A WONDERFUL SPIRITUAL EXERCISE TO FAST, TO FORGO THAT DAILY COCKTAIL, TO SKIP LUNCH ONE DAY A WEEK; OR WE CAN FAST BY CUTTING OUT SOMETHING WE REALLY LIKE TO EAT FROM OUR DIET, FOR THE NEXT SIX WEEKS. SOME OF US, MYSELF INCLUDED, COULD EVEN FAST ENOUGH TO LOSE A FEW POUNDS. AND YOU CAN FAST FOR SPIRITUAL REASONS AND FOR HEALTH REASONS; THEY DON'T EXCLUDE EACH OTHER.
WE CAN WEEP. WE HUMANS ARE DESIGNED TO SEEK PLEASURE. IT'S NOT PLEASANT TO CONFRONT THINGS THAT BREAK OUR HEARTS. BUT ONCE IN A WHILE, WE SHOULD LOOK AT OUR LIVES AND SEE WHETHER WE ARE LIVING LIVES THAT PLEASE GOD. AND WHERE WE AREN'T, WHERE OUR SELFISHNESS AND BAD HABITS ARE KEEPING US FROM THAT KIND OF LIFE, THAT SHOULD MOVE US EMOTIONALLY. BECAUSE IF WE AREN'T PLEASING THE ONE WHO LOVES US SO MUCH THAT HE DIED FOR US, AND IT DOESN'T MAKE US SAD, THEN SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG WITH OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.
AND LASTLY, MAYBE WE SHOULD ASK WHY WE ARE NOT HATED? JESUS PROMISED THAT HIS FOLLOWERS WOULD BE HATED, WOULD BE PERSECUTED, WOULD EVEN BE PUT TO DEATH. NOT JUST IN THIS READING DID HE PROMISE THIS, BUT ALL THROUGH THE SCRIPTURES. AND WE KNOW WHAT WE COULD DO TO BE HATED – WE COULD STAND UP FOR WHAT WE SAY WE BELIEVE. WE HAVE ALL KINDS OF OPPORTUNITIES. WE CAN BE MORE VOCAL ABOUT BEING PRO-LIFE, PRO-MARRIAGE, PRO-FAITH, PRO-JUSTICE, WHEN WE GET IN CONVERSATIONS WITH OUR FRIENDS AND CO-WORKERS. WE CAN SPEND MORE TIME LEARNING WHAT THE CHURCH TEACHES SO THAT WE CAN BE BETTER PROPHETS IN THE WORLD. WE CAN DO OUR PART TO MAKE THE WORLD MORE LIKE THE KINGDOM OF GOD, PROVIDED WE KNOW WHAT THAT KINGDOM LOOKS LIKE. AND IF WE DO THESE THINGS, SOMEONE WILL PERSECUTE US, SOMEONE WILL HATE US. AND THAT WILL BE GOOD.
AND WOE TO US IF WE KEEP ON GOING THE WAY WE ARE GOING, IF WE ARE RICH, IF WE ARE FULL, IF WE LAUGH, IF WE ARE SPOKEN WELL OF. BECAUSE THEN THERE WILL BE NO ROMANCE; THERE WILL BE NO EMPTYING OURSELVES OUT SO THAT GOD CAN FILL US UP. AND FOR THOSE OF US WHO MAKE NO EFFORT, JESUS CHRIST WILL HAVE GIVEN HIMSELF UP TO SUFFERING AND DEATH FOR NO PURPOSE.
START ON THIS ASH WEDNESDAY. DO SOMETHING TO MAKE LENT DIFFERENT THIS YEAR; FIND SOME WAY TO FAST; AND PERSEVERE UNTIL EASTER SUNDAY. AND IF YOU DO, THAT WILL BE THE DAY YOU CAN LEAP FOR JOY, FOR YOU WILL KNOW THAT YOU HAVE A PLACE IN THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, YOU WILL KNOW THAT YOU HAVE ENTERED INTO THAT INCOMPARABLE ROMANCE TO WHICH EACH OF US ARE INVITED, THE ROMANCE WHERE THE MORE WE GIVE OURSELVES UP, THE MORE WE EMPTY OURSELVES OUT, THE MORE GOD, WHO HAS ALREADY GIVEN ALL THAT HE CAN GIVE, CAN ENTER INTO US AND BRING US ETERNAL JOY.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C
LUKE 5:1-11
I WONDER WHY PETER AGREED TO GO OUT AND TRY AGAIN AT THE REQUEST OF JESUS? PETER AND HIS COMPANIONS MADE THEIR LIVING BY BEING EXPERT FISHERMEN. THEY KNEW WHERE THE FISH WERE LIKELY TO BE; THEY COULD READ THE WATER LIKE A BOOK. IN FACT, IT WAS BEST TO FISH BY MOONLIGHT, AS THEY DID, SINCE THE FISH WOULD COME TO THE SURFACE AND THEIR SILVERY SCALES WOULD BE VISIBLE. SO HERE WAS A MAN WHO OBVIOUSLY KNEW NOTHING ABOUT FISHING, REQUESTING THAT PETER TRY ONCE MORE. AND IN BROAD DAYLIGHT, WHEN THE FISH SWIM OUT INTO DEEPER WATER.
AND IT WASN’T JUST A MATTER OF DROPPING A LINE IN THE WATER. THE NETS HAD BEEN CLEANED AND REPAIRED AND WERE FOLDED UP WAITING FOR THE NEXT EVENING. THESE NETS WERE HEAVY AND UNWIELDY, WITH WEIGHTS ON THE CORNERS. YOU HAD TO THROW THEM OUT JUST RIGHT, LET THEM SINK INTO THE WATER, THEN PULL THEM UP AGAIN. HARD WORK. AND WHEN YOU WERE ALL THROUGH YOU HAD TO SPEND AN HOUR OR SO CLEANING AND FOLDING THEM AGAIN. IN ADDITION TO BEING AN EXPERT, I SUSPECT PETER REALLY LIKED TO FISH. AFTER JESUS DIED AND ROSE AGAIN, AND THE APOSTLES WERE WONDERING WHAT TO DO NEXT, PETER TOLD THEM HE WAS GOING TO GO FISHING.
AND AT FIRST PETER WAS GOING TO TELL JESUS TO STICK TO PREACHING, BECAUSE IF PETER HADN’T CAUGHT ANYTHING, NOTHING COULD BE CAUGHT. BUT SOMETHING IN JESUS’ TONE, SOMETHING IN THE WAY HE LOOKED AT PETER – MAYBE SOMETHING HE HAD SAID IN HIS SERMON TO THE PEOPLE MADE PETER ACT AGAINST HIS INITIAL IMPULSE – “AT YOUR WORD WE’LL TRY AGAIN.”
MOST OF US HAVE AT LEAST ONE TALENT OR SKILL IN WHICH WE TAKE PRIDE. AND WHEN WE ARE EXERCISING THAT SKILL, WE RESENT IT WHEN SOMEONE TELLS US HOW WE COULD DO IT BETTER. EVEN IF IT’S TRIVIAL, THE SKILL IS PART OF OUR SELF IMAGE, AND DOING WHAT WE DO BEST IS A REWARD IN ITSELF. AND THIS IS THE LAST PLACE WE WANT GOD TO TOUCH OUR LIVES; IT’S WHERE OUR CREATIVITY, OUR SENSE OF WORTH, OUR INDEPENDENCE ALL COMES TO A POINT. WE DON’T MIND ASKING GOD FOR HELP WITH THINGS WE DON’T DO WELL OR THAT WE CAN'T CONTROL, BUT WE’D RATHER HE JUST STOOD ASIDE WHEN WE ARE ENGAGED IN SOMETHING WE REALLY DO WELL.
BUT JESUS SHOWS PETER TWO THINGS IN THIS MIRACLE. FIRST, A TIME WILL COME WHEN HOW YOU DEFINE YOURSELF WILL BE SHAKEN TO THE CORE. SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN THAT WILL SHOW YOU THAT YOU ARE NOT INDEPENDENT, THAT THE WAY YOU SEE YOURSELF IS NOT REALITY. PETER SAW HIMSELF AS A MASTER FISHERMAN, BUT THIS TIME ALL HIS SKILLS HAD BEEN FOR NOTHING. WAS HE THINKING ABOUT HOW HE WAS GOING TO SUPPORT HIS FAMILY IF HE COULD NO LONGER FISH? WAS HE WONDERING IF HE COULD HIRE HIMSELF OUT TO WORK ON A FARM IF HE HAD TO GIVE UP HIS INDEPENDENT BUSINESS?
AND IN THIS MOMENT JESUS REVEALS TO HIM A RADICAL TRUTH; YOU REALLY CAN’T DO ANYTHING, PETER, WITHOUT GOD’S HELP; BUT WITH HIS HELP, YOU CAN DO FAR MORE THAN YOU EVER COULD ON YOUR OWN.
AND THAT IS A LESSON MOST OF US STILL NEED TO LEARN; NOT JUST AGREE IN PRINCIPLE, BUT UNDERSTAND DEEP IN OUR SOULS THAT WE ARE BETTER OFF BEING SLAVES OF GOD THAN OUR OWN BOSSES; WE BECOME REALLY EFFECTIVE, REALLY POWERFUL, WHEN WE TURN EVERYTHING OVER TO JESUS; BUT IT IS HIS POWER, HIS EFFECTIVENESS THAT WORKS IN US, NOT OUR OWN. THAT IS WHY PETER’S FIRST REACTION IS TO SAY, “DEPART FROM ME” BECAUSE THE HARDEST THING FOR A HUMAN BEING TO DO IS TO SURRENDER EVERYTHING TO ANOTHER PERSON, EVEN IF THAT PERSON IS GOD HIMSELF. IT IS MUCH MORE ATTRACTIVE TO AVOID THE CHALLENGE, TO HIDE, TO ERECT BARRIERS – ANYTHING TO GUARD OUR INDEPENDENCE, OUR EGO, OUR PLACE IN THE CENTER OF OUR OWN UNIVERSE.
AND TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, I’M LIKE PETER. I REALLY DON’T SEE HOW JESUS COULD WANT ME TO BE HIS INSTRUMENT; I’M FLAWED, I’M A REAL MESS WHEN I THINK ABOUT IT; I’M NOT ONLY A SINFUL MAN, BUT I DON’T EVEN WANT TO CHANGE.
BUT JESUS GIVES PETER AND HIS FRIENDS A CHALLENGE; FOLLOW ME, AND WHAT YOU VALUE NOW, WHAT YOU THINK DEFINES YOU, WILL SEEM LIKE NOTHING. LET GO OF YOUR BOAT AND YOUR NETS AND EVEN THOSE SKILLS YOU’VE DEVELOPED OVER A LIFETIME, AND LET ME BE THE CENTER OF YOUR LIFE, LET ME DEFINE YOU. GIVE UP BEING SIMON THE FISHERMAN AND I WILL MAKE YOU PETER, THE ONE WHO WINS SOULS, THE ONE WHO FEEDS MY LAMBS AND MY SHEEP, THE ONE WHO WILL BE THE ROCK ON WHICH I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH.
JESUS HAD ANOTHER ENCOUNTER, PROBABLY MORE THAN ONE, BUT AT LEAST ONE, IN WHICH HE OFFERED A SIMILAR CHALLENGE TO A RICH YOUNG MAN. “IF YOU REALLY WANT TO BE PERFECT,” HE SAID, “SELL ALL YOU HAVE, GIVE TO THE POOR, AND COME AND FOLLOW ME.”
THE RICH YOUNG MAN WENT AWAY SORROWING, BECAUSE HE HAD MANY POSSESSIONS. PETER LEFT EVERYTHING TO FOLLOW JESUS.
LORD JESUS, DON’T GIVE UP ON US. PETER DIDN’T BECOME WHAT YOU WANTED HIM TO BE OVERNIGHT; YOU HAD TO TEACH HIM AND FORGIVE HIM AND EVEN AFTER YOU LEFT HIM IN CHARGE OF THE CHURCH, HE WAS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS UNTIL HE DIED. HELP US TO LEAVE WHAT HOLDS US BACK AND FOLLOW YOU; AND NOT GO AWAY SORROWING BECAUSE WE CAN’T.
I WONDER WHY PETER AGREED TO GO OUT AND TRY AGAIN AT THE REQUEST OF JESUS? PETER AND HIS COMPANIONS MADE THEIR LIVING BY BEING EXPERT FISHERMEN. THEY KNEW WHERE THE FISH WERE LIKELY TO BE; THEY COULD READ THE WATER LIKE A BOOK. IN FACT, IT WAS BEST TO FISH BY MOONLIGHT, AS THEY DID, SINCE THE FISH WOULD COME TO THE SURFACE AND THEIR SILVERY SCALES WOULD BE VISIBLE. SO HERE WAS A MAN WHO OBVIOUSLY KNEW NOTHING ABOUT FISHING, REQUESTING THAT PETER TRY ONCE MORE. AND IN BROAD DAYLIGHT, WHEN THE FISH SWIM OUT INTO DEEPER WATER.
AND IT WASN’T JUST A MATTER OF DROPPING A LINE IN THE WATER. THE NETS HAD BEEN CLEANED AND REPAIRED AND WERE FOLDED UP WAITING FOR THE NEXT EVENING. THESE NETS WERE HEAVY AND UNWIELDY, WITH WEIGHTS ON THE CORNERS. YOU HAD TO THROW THEM OUT JUST RIGHT, LET THEM SINK INTO THE WATER, THEN PULL THEM UP AGAIN. HARD WORK. AND WHEN YOU WERE ALL THROUGH YOU HAD TO SPEND AN HOUR OR SO CLEANING AND FOLDING THEM AGAIN. IN ADDITION TO BEING AN EXPERT, I SUSPECT PETER REALLY LIKED TO FISH. AFTER JESUS DIED AND ROSE AGAIN, AND THE APOSTLES WERE WONDERING WHAT TO DO NEXT, PETER TOLD THEM HE WAS GOING TO GO FISHING.
AND AT FIRST PETER WAS GOING TO TELL JESUS TO STICK TO PREACHING, BECAUSE IF PETER HADN’T CAUGHT ANYTHING, NOTHING COULD BE CAUGHT. BUT SOMETHING IN JESUS’ TONE, SOMETHING IN THE WAY HE LOOKED AT PETER – MAYBE SOMETHING HE HAD SAID IN HIS SERMON TO THE PEOPLE MADE PETER ACT AGAINST HIS INITIAL IMPULSE – “AT YOUR WORD WE’LL TRY AGAIN.”
MOST OF US HAVE AT LEAST ONE TALENT OR SKILL IN WHICH WE TAKE PRIDE. AND WHEN WE ARE EXERCISING THAT SKILL, WE RESENT IT WHEN SOMEONE TELLS US HOW WE COULD DO IT BETTER. EVEN IF IT’S TRIVIAL, THE SKILL IS PART OF OUR SELF IMAGE, AND DOING WHAT WE DO BEST IS A REWARD IN ITSELF. AND THIS IS THE LAST PLACE WE WANT GOD TO TOUCH OUR LIVES; IT’S WHERE OUR CREATIVITY, OUR SENSE OF WORTH, OUR INDEPENDENCE ALL COMES TO A POINT. WE DON’T MIND ASKING GOD FOR HELP WITH THINGS WE DON’T DO WELL OR THAT WE CAN'T CONTROL, BUT WE’D RATHER HE JUST STOOD ASIDE WHEN WE ARE ENGAGED IN SOMETHING WE REALLY DO WELL.
BUT JESUS SHOWS PETER TWO THINGS IN THIS MIRACLE. FIRST, A TIME WILL COME WHEN HOW YOU DEFINE YOURSELF WILL BE SHAKEN TO THE CORE. SOMETHING WILL HAPPEN THAT WILL SHOW YOU THAT YOU ARE NOT INDEPENDENT, THAT THE WAY YOU SEE YOURSELF IS NOT REALITY. PETER SAW HIMSELF AS A MASTER FISHERMAN, BUT THIS TIME ALL HIS SKILLS HAD BEEN FOR NOTHING. WAS HE THINKING ABOUT HOW HE WAS GOING TO SUPPORT HIS FAMILY IF HE COULD NO LONGER FISH? WAS HE WONDERING IF HE COULD HIRE HIMSELF OUT TO WORK ON A FARM IF HE HAD TO GIVE UP HIS INDEPENDENT BUSINESS?
AND IN THIS MOMENT JESUS REVEALS TO HIM A RADICAL TRUTH; YOU REALLY CAN’T DO ANYTHING, PETER, WITHOUT GOD’S HELP; BUT WITH HIS HELP, YOU CAN DO FAR MORE THAN YOU EVER COULD ON YOUR OWN.
AND THAT IS A LESSON MOST OF US STILL NEED TO LEARN; NOT JUST AGREE IN PRINCIPLE, BUT UNDERSTAND DEEP IN OUR SOULS THAT WE ARE BETTER OFF BEING SLAVES OF GOD THAN OUR OWN BOSSES; WE BECOME REALLY EFFECTIVE, REALLY POWERFUL, WHEN WE TURN EVERYTHING OVER TO JESUS; BUT IT IS HIS POWER, HIS EFFECTIVENESS THAT WORKS IN US, NOT OUR OWN. THAT IS WHY PETER’S FIRST REACTION IS TO SAY, “DEPART FROM ME” BECAUSE THE HARDEST THING FOR A HUMAN BEING TO DO IS TO SURRENDER EVERYTHING TO ANOTHER PERSON, EVEN IF THAT PERSON IS GOD HIMSELF. IT IS MUCH MORE ATTRACTIVE TO AVOID THE CHALLENGE, TO HIDE, TO ERECT BARRIERS – ANYTHING TO GUARD OUR INDEPENDENCE, OUR EGO, OUR PLACE IN THE CENTER OF OUR OWN UNIVERSE.
AND TO BE HONEST WITH YOU, I’M LIKE PETER. I REALLY DON’T SEE HOW JESUS COULD WANT ME TO BE HIS INSTRUMENT; I’M FLAWED, I’M A REAL MESS WHEN I THINK ABOUT IT; I’M NOT ONLY A SINFUL MAN, BUT I DON’T EVEN WANT TO CHANGE.
BUT JESUS GIVES PETER AND HIS FRIENDS A CHALLENGE; FOLLOW ME, AND WHAT YOU VALUE NOW, WHAT YOU THINK DEFINES YOU, WILL SEEM LIKE NOTHING. LET GO OF YOUR BOAT AND YOUR NETS AND EVEN THOSE SKILLS YOU’VE DEVELOPED OVER A LIFETIME, AND LET ME BE THE CENTER OF YOUR LIFE, LET ME DEFINE YOU. GIVE UP BEING SIMON THE FISHERMAN AND I WILL MAKE YOU PETER, THE ONE WHO WINS SOULS, THE ONE WHO FEEDS MY LAMBS AND MY SHEEP, THE ONE WHO WILL BE THE ROCK ON WHICH I WILL BUILD MY CHURCH.
JESUS HAD ANOTHER ENCOUNTER, PROBABLY MORE THAN ONE, BUT AT LEAST ONE, IN WHICH HE OFFERED A SIMILAR CHALLENGE TO A RICH YOUNG MAN. “IF YOU REALLY WANT TO BE PERFECT,” HE SAID, “SELL ALL YOU HAVE, GIVE TO THE POOR, AND COME AND FOLLOW ME.”
THE RICH YOUNG MAN WENT AWAY SORROWING, BECAUSE HE HAD MANY POSSESSIONS. PETER LEFT EVERYTHING TO FOLLOW JESUS.
LORD JESUS, DON’T GIVE UP ON US. PETER DIDN’T BECOME WHAT YOU WANTED HIM TO BE OVERNIGHT; YOU HAD TO TEACH HIM AND FORGIVE HIM AND EVEN AFTER YOU LEFT HIM IN CHARGE OF THE CHURCH, HE WAS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS UNTIL HE DIED. HELP US TO LEAVE WHAT HOLDS US BACK AND FOLLOW YOU; AND NOT GO AWAY SORROWING BECAUSE WE CAN’T.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C
LUKE 4:21-30
WHY DID THEY GET SO MAD AT HIM? WHY DID HIS FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, THE PEOPLE HE GREW UP WITH, THE PEOPLE WHO AT FIRST WERE AMAZED AT THE GRACIOUS WORDS WHICH FELL FROM HIS LIPS – WHY DID THEY SUDDENLY TURN ON HIM – NOT JUST REPRIMANDING HIM, NOT JUST EXPELLING HIM FROM THE SYNAGOGUE, BUT MAKING AN ATTEMPT TO KILL HIM? WHAT JUST HAPPENED?
IF YOU WERE JEWISH, IN JESUS' TIME, YOU HAD A DEEP-SEATED PREJUDICE AGAINST PEOPLE WHO WEREN'T JEWS, EVEN PEOPLE WHO WERE VERY MUCH LIKE JEWS, SUCH AS THE SAMARITANS. WE LEARN THROUGH OTHER SOURCES THAT THE JEWS WERE DIVIDED EVEN AMONG THEMSELVES; WE KNOW ABOUT THE PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES MENTIONED IN THE SCRIPTURES. BUT THERE WERE MANY OTHER DIVISIONS. THERE WERE THE ZEALOTS, THOSE WHO REMEMBERED JUDAH MACABEE AND THE ALMOST SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN FOR THEIR FREEDOM. THEY REMEMBERED THE MASS SUICIDE AT MASADAH, WHEN THE SURVIVING JEWS, HOLED UP ON A MOUNTAIN, KILLED THEIR WIVES AND CHILDREN, AND THEN THEMSELVES, RATHER THAN SURRENDER. THE ZEALOTS WERE FEW IN NUMBER, BUT THEY WANTED TO GO TO WAR WITH THE ROMANS, AND SHAKE OFF THEIR RULE OR DIE TRYING. THERE WERE THE ESSENES, POSSIBLY PEOPLE WHO MIGHT HAVE INFLUENCED JOHN THE BAPTIST. THEY FELT THAT IN ORDER TO BE JEWISH YOU HAD TO COMPLETELY SEPARATE YOURSELF FROM THE WORLD. THEY WERE MORE SEPARATIST THAN THE PHARISEES. THEY LIVED IN THE DESERT IN A SORT OF MONASTIC COMMUNITY. THERE WERE THE JEWS WHO LIVED THROUGHOUT THE EMPIRE, THE ONES WHO WORSHIPED IN SYNAGOGUES AND USED A GREEK TRANSLATION OF SACRED SCRIPTURE. THEY WERE LOOKED DOWN ON BY THE HEBREW SPEAKING JEWS IN JUDAH, WHO CONSIDERED THEM LESS THAN PURE. AND THE GREEK-SPEAKING JEWS LOOKED AT THE JEWS IN JERUSALEM, AND CONSIDERED THEM BACKWARD AND INSULAR. BUT ALL THESE DIVISIONS ASIDE, ALL OF THEM BELIEVED THAT EVEN THE LOWEST JEW WAS BETTER THAN THE GREATEST GENTILE. AFTER ALL, THE JEWS WERE GOD'S SPECIAL PEOPLE, AND RIGHT THERE IN SCRIPTURE, YOU COULD READ WHAT GOD INTENDED TO DO TO THE GENTILES, AND IT WASN'T PRETTY.
SO HERE COMES JESUS, WHO DELIVERS AN INSULT WHICH IS ALMOST BLASPHEMOUS. HE MENTIONS TWO MIRACLES, DONE BY TWO GREAT PROPHETS, TWO MIRACLES WHICH BYPASSED THE JEWS WHO COULD HAVE USED THEM, AND HEALED GENTILES. THE CONGREGATION HAD BEEN THINKING THAT WITH JESUS, THEIR KINSMAN, THE KID WHO GREW UP IN THEIR TOWN, WHO CLAIMED TO BE ACTING FOR GOD – CERTAINLY HE WOULD DO EVEN MORE SPECTACULAR THINGS IN THEIR MIDST THAN HE HAD BEEN DOING IN OTHER JEWISH TOWNS. AND JESUS LETS THEM KNOW THAT THEIR SENSE OF PRIVILEGE, AS JEWS, AS HIS FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, ENTITLES THEM TO NOTHING AT ALL. IT ISN'T BECAUSE HE IS THE CARPENTER'S SON THAT THEY TRY TO KILL HIM; IT'S BECAUSE IN THEIR HEARING, HE SEEMS TO HAVE BLASPHEMED, HE SEEMS TO HAVE CHALLENGED THEIR VIEW THAT THEY ARE GOD'S SPECIAL PEOPLE. INSULTING THEM IS THE SAME AS INSULTING GOD.
BUT JESUS WILL DO THIS AGAIN AND AGAIN, TO JEWISH COMMUNITIES, TO GROUPS OF PHARISEES AND SCRIBES. IT WILL BE THE SUBJECT OF MORE THAN ONE PARABLE – THE CLASSIC BEING THE STORY OF THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN. AND HIS MIRACULOUS CURES ARE FREELY GIVEN, BUT THERE IS NO LOGIC AS TO WHY HE CURES THIS ONE AND NOT THAT ONE, EXCEPT THAT IN THE GOSPEL STORIES, IT SEEMS THAT ALL HIS MIRACLES ARE DONE TO MAKE A POINT. JESUS IS COMPASSIONATE, JESUS HAS PITY ON PEOPLE; BUT THOSE ARE NOT THE MAIN REASONS HE HEALS.
THE PEOPLE IN JESUS' HOME TOWN SEE JESUS AS A SORT OF WALKING HOSPITAL BUT THEY DON'T SEE HIM WITH EYES OF FAITH, THEY DON'T SEE THE UNDERLYING REALITY HERE, THE REALITY THAT MADE THE BLIND MAN AND THE SAMARITAN WOMAN AND PETER AND COUNTLESS OTHERS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM AS LORD, EVEN AS THE SON OF GOD. THEY ARE BLINDED BY THE FACT THAT HE IS THE CARPENTER'S SON.
CHRISTIANS HAVE DIFFERENT ATTITUDES TOWARDS MIRACLES. SOME OF US ARE WILLING TO ADMIT THAT THEY HAPPEN, AND THAT THEY DID HAPPEN IN THE PAST, BUT WE HAVE VARIOUS REASONS WHY WE NEVER SEEM TO WITNESS THEM TODAY. SOME OF US FEEL THAT IT IS A MATTER OF FAITH, AND WE FEEL GUILTY BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH FAITH TO GET GOD TO CURE US OR OUR LOVED ONE. SOME OF US FEEL THAT THE MIRACLES OF JESUS DID WHAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO – GET THE CHURCH STARTED – AND NOW THERE IS NO REASON FOR MIRACLES, BECAUSE THE CHURCH HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED.. AND THERE ARE CHRISTIANS WHO INSIST THAT MIRACLES ARE ALL AROUND US, ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS CLAIM THEM, OR PRAY FOR THEM IN THE NAME OF JESUS. AND IF WE ARE RIGHT WITH GOD, WE CAN EXPECT MIRACLES. THERE ARE EVEN BOOKS OUT THERE THAT TEACH US HOW TO GET MIRACLES.
BUT JESUS WORKED MIRACLES TO SHOW PEOPLE THAT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN WAS AT HAND, TO DEMONSTRATE THAT HE HAD GOD'S POWER. AND THAT CONDITIONED EVERY MIRACLE HE WORKED. IF THE MIRACLE COULD NOT TEACH HIS DISCIPLES SOMETHING, OR REVEAL SOMETHING TO THE CROWDS WHO FOLLOWED HIM, THEN IT WASN'T SOMETHING HE DID. JESUS IS THE GOD OF NATURE, AND AS NATURE'S GOD, DISTURBS THE NATURAL ORDER AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE. OR, PERHAPS ANOTHER WAY TO PUT IT IS TO SAY THAT WHAT IS NATURAL IS THE GREATEST MIRACLE OF ALL.
NONE OF US GOES THROUGH LIFE WITHOUT AT LEAST ONCE OR TWICE WISHING FOR A MIRACLE; WE PRAY FOR THE HEALING OF A LOVED ONE; WE PRAY THAT GOD WILL SAVE THE LIFE OF A LITTLE CHILD, OR A DEAR FRIEND; OR HEAL A PARENT OF A CRIPPLING INJURY. AND WE WONDER WHY HE DOES NOT ANSWER. AND THEN WE REMEMBER THE STORY OF JESUS IN HIS HOME TOWN. I THINK GOD'S GREATEST GIFT TO US IS OUR FREEDOM, AND GOD DESIRES THAT WE USE THAT FREEDOM TO RESPOND TO HIS LOVE. BUT WE DON'T HAVE TO. AND IF WE ARE TRULY FREE, THEN WHAT WE DO MUST HAVE CONSEQUENCES, OR ELSE OUR FREEDOM IS JUST A SHAM. AND THAT'S THE PROBLEM WITH MIRACLES. THEY CAN HAPPEN, I BELIEVE THAT. BUT A MIRACLE, SOMETHING THAT DISTURBS THE NATURAL ORDER, HASTHE POTENTIAL TO DIMINISH THE FREEDOM WE ARE GIVEN, AND IRONICALLY, THAT'S THE PROBLEM.
SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO? WE REMEMBER THAT JESUS DIED FOR US OUT OF LOVE, AND WE HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS FITS INTO HIS LOVING PLAN. AND WE CAN ASK FOR MIRACLES, BUT REMEMBER THAT THEY ARE PURE GIFT, AND IF A PRAYER SEEMS NOT TO BE ANSWERED, IT DOESN'T MEAN OUR FAITH IS WEAK, OR WE AREN'T LOVED BY GOD. IT ONLY MEANS THAT GOD HAS SOMETHING GREATER IN STORE, SOMETHING WE WILL LEARN IS SO MUCH MORE THAN WHAT WE HAD THOUGHT ONE TIME WOULD HAVE BEEN OUR GREATEST DESIRE.
WHY DID THEY GET SO MAD AT HIM? WHY DID HIS FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, THE PEOPLE HE GREW UP WITH, THE PEOPLE WHO AT FIRST WERE AMAZED AT THE GRACIOUS WORDS WHICH FELL FROM HIS LIPS – WHY DID THEY SUDDENLY TURN ON HIM – NOT JUST REPRIMANDING HIM, NOT JUST EXPELLING HIM FROM THE SYNAGOGUE, BUT MAKING AN ATTEMPT TO KILL HIM? WHAT JUST HAPPENED?
IF YOU WERE JEWISH, IN JESUS' TIME, YOU HAD A DEEP-SEATED PREJUDICE AGAINST PEOPLE WHO WEREN'T JEWS, EVEN PEOPLE WHO WERE VERY MUCH LIKE JEWS, SUCH AS THE SAMARITANS. WE LEARN THROUGH OTHER SOURCES THAT THE JEWS WERE DIVIDED EVEN AMONG THEMSELVES; WE KNOW ABOUT THE PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES MENTIONED IN THE SCRIPTURES. BUT THERE WERE MANY OTHER DIVISIONS. THERE WERE THE ZEALOTS, THOSE WHO REMEMBERED JUDAH MACABEE AND THE ALMOST SUCCESSFUL CAMPAIGN FOR THEIR FREEDOM. THEY REMEMBERED THE MASS SUICIDE AT MASADAH, WHEN THE SURVIVING JEWS, HOLED UP ON A MOUNTAIN, KILLED THEIR WIVES AND CHILDREN, AND THEN THEMSELVES, RATHER THAN SURRENDER. THE ZEALOTS WERE FEW IN NUMBER, BUT THEY WANTED TO GO TO WAR WITH THE ROMANS, AND SHAKE OFF THEIR RULE OR DIE TRYING. THERE WERE THE ESSENES, POSSIBLY PEOPLE WHO MIGHT HAVE INFLUENCED JOHN THE BAPTIST. THEY FELT THAT IN ORDER TO BE JEWISH YOU HAD TO COMPLETELY SEPARATE YOURSELF FROM THE WORLD. THEY WERE MORE SEPARATIST THAN THE PHARISEES. THEY LIVED IN THE DESERT IN A SORT OF MONASTIC COMMUNITY. THERE WERE THE JEWS WHO LIVED THROUGHOUT THE EMPIRE, THE ONES WHO WORSHIPED IN SYNAGOGUES AND USED A GREEK TRANSLATION OF SACRED SCRIPTURE. THEY WERE LOOKED DOWN ON BY THE HEBREW SPEAKING JEWS IN JUDAH, WHO CONSIDERED THEM LESS THAN PURE. AND THE GREEK-SPEAKING JEWS LOOKED AT THE JEWS IN JERUSALEM, AND CONSIDERED THEM BACKWARD AND INSULAR. BUT ALL THESE DIVISIONS ASIDE, ALL OF THEM BELIEVED THAT EVEN THE LOWEST JEW WAS BETTER THAN THE GREATEST GENTILE. AFTER ALL, THE JEWS WERE GOD'S SPECIAL PEOPLE, AND RIGHT THERE IN SCRIPTURE, YOU COULD READ WHAT GOD INTENDED TO DO TO THE GENTILES, AND IT WASN'T PRETTY.
SO HERE COMES JESUS, WHO DELIVERS AN INSULT WHICH IS ALMOST BLASPHEMOUS. HE MENTIONS TWO MIRACLES, DONE BY TWO GREAT PROPHETS, TWO MIRACLES WHICH BYPASSED THE JEWS WHO COULD HAVE USED THEM, AND HEALED GENTILES. THE CONGREGATION HAD BEEN THINKING THAT WITH JESUS, THEIR KINSMAN, THE KID WHO GREW UP IN THEIR TOWN, WHO CLAIMED TO BE ACTING FOR GOD – CERTAINLY HE WOULD DO EVEN MORE SPECTACULAR THINGS IN THEIR MIDST THAN HE HAD BEEN DOING IN OTHER JEWISH TOWNS. AND JESUS LETS THEM KNOW THAT THEIR SENSE OF PRIVILEGE, AS JEWS, AS HIS FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, ENTITLES THEM TO NOTHING AT ALL. IT ISN'T BECAUSE HE IS THE CARPENTER'S SON THAT THEY TRY TO KILL HIM; IT'S BECAUSE IN THEIR HEARING, HE SEEMS TO HAVE BLASPHEMED, HE SEEMS TO HAVE CHALLENGED THEIR VIEW THAT THEY ARE GOD'S SPECIAL PEOPLE. INSULTING THEM IS THE SAME AS INSULTING GOD.
BUT JESUS WILL DO THIS AGAIN AND AGAIN, TO JEWISH COMMUNITIES, TO GROUPS OF PHARISEES AND SCRIBES. IT WILL BE THE SUBJECT OF MORE THAN ONE PARABLE – THE CLASSIC BEING THE STORY OF THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN. AND HIS MIRACULOUS CURES ARE FREELY GIVEN, BUT THERE IS NO LOGIC AS TO WHY HE CURES THIS ONE AND NOT THAT ONE, EXCEPT THAT IN THE GOSPEL STORIES, IT SEEMS THAT ALL HIS MIRACLES ARE DONE TO MAKE A POINT. JESUS IS COMPASSIONATE, JESUS HAS PITY ON PEOPLE; BUT THOSE ARE NOT THE MAIN REASONS HE HEALS.
THE PEOPLE IN JESUS' HOME TOWN SEE JESUS AS A SORT OF WALKING HOSPITAL BUT THEY DON'T SEE HIM WITH EYES OF FAITH, THEY DON'T SEE THE UNDERLYING REALITY HERE, THE REALITY THAT MADE THE BLIND MAN AND THE SAMARITAN WOMAN AND PETER AND COUNTLESS OTHERS ACKNOWLEDGE HIM AS LORD, EVEN AS THE SON OF GOD. THEY ARE BLINDED BY THE FACT THAT HE IS THE CARPENTER'S SON.
CHRISTIANS HAVE DIFFERENT ATTITUDES TOWARDS MIRACLES. SOME OF US ARE WILLING TO ADMIT THAT THEY HAPPEN, AND THAT THEY DID HAPPEN IN THE PAST, BUT WE HAVE VARIOUS REASONS WHY WE NEVER SEEM TO WITNESS THEM TODAY. SOME OF US FEEL THAT IT IS A MATTER OF FAITH, AND WE FEEL GUILTY BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE ENOUGH FAITH TO GET GOD TO CURE US OR OUR LOVED ONE. SOME OF US FEEL THAT THE MIRACLES OF JESUS DID WHAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO – GET THE CHURCH STARTED – AND NOW THERE IS NO REASON FOR MIRACLES, BECAUSE THE CHURCH HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED.. AND THERE ARE CHRISTIANS WHO INSIST THAT MIRACLES ARE ALL AROUND US, ALL WE HAVE TO DO IS CLAIM THEM, OR PRAY FOR THEM IN THE NAME OF JESUS. AND IF WE ARE RIGHT WITH GOD, WE CAN EXPECT MIRACLES. THERE ARE EVEN BOOKS OUT THERE THAT TEACH US HOW TO GET MIRACLES.
BUT JESUS WORKED MIRACLES TO SHOW PEOPLE THAT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN WAS AT HAND, TO DEMONSTRATE THAT HE HAD GOD'S POWER. AND THAT CONDITIONED EVERY MIRACLE HE WORKED. IF THE MIRACLE COULD NOT TEACH HIS DISCIPLES SOMETHING, OR REVEAL SOMETHING TO THE CROWDS WHO FOLLOWED HIM, THEN IT WASN'T SOMETHING HE DID. JESUS IS THE GOD OF NATURE, AND AS NATURE'S GOD, DISTURBS THE NATURAL ORDER AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE. OR, PERHAPS ANOTHER WAY TO PUT IT IS TO SAY THAT WHAT IS NATURAL IS THE GREATEST MIRACLE OF ALL.
NONE OF US GOES THROUGH LIFE WITHOUT AT LEAST ONCE OR TWICE WISHING FOR A MIRACLE; WE PRAY FOR THE HEALING OF A LOVED ONE; WE PRAY THAT GOD WILL SAVE THE LIFE OF A LITTLE CHILD, OR A DEAR FRIEND; OR HEAL A PARENT OF A CRIPPLING INJURY. AND WE WONDER WHY HE DOES NOT ANSWER. AND THEN WE REMEMBER THE STORY OF JESUS IN HIS HOME TOWN. I THINK GOD'S GREATEST GIFT TO US IS OUR FREEDOM, AND GOD DESIRES THAT WE USE THAT FREEDOM TO RESPOND TO HIS LOVE. BUT WE DON'T HAVE TO. AND IF WE ARE TRULY FREE, THEN WHAT WE DO MUST HAVE CONSEQUENCES, OR ELSE OUR FREEDOM IS JUST A SHAM. AND THAT'S THE PROBLEM WITH MIRACLES. THEY CAN HAPPEN, I BELIEVE THAT. BUT A MIRACLE, SOMETHING THAT DISTURBS THE NATURAL ORDER, HASTHE POTENTIAL TO DIMINISH THE FREEDOM WE ARE GIVEN, AND IRONICALLY, THAT'S THE PROBLEM.
SO WHAT SHOULD WE DO? WE REMEMBER THAT JESUS DIED FOR US OUT OF LOVE, AND WE HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS FITS INTO HIS LOVING PLAN. AND WE CAN ASK FOR MIRACLES, BUT REMEMBER THAT THEY ARE PURE GIFT, AND IF A PRAYER SEEMS NOT TO BE ANSWERED, IT DOESN'T MEAN OUR FAITH IS WEAK, OR WE AREN'T LOVED BY GOD. IT ONLY MEANS THAT GOD HAS SOMETHING GREATER IN STORE, SOMETHING WE WILL LEARN IS SO MUCH MORE THAN WHAT WE HAD THOUGHT ONE TIME WOULD HAVE BEEN OUR GREATEST DESIRE.
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