MATTHEW 16:13-20
HOW MANY TIMES HAVE WE HEARD THIS GOSPEL PASSAGE? AND I THINK WE ALL HAVE PICTURES IN OUR HEADS. WE CAN PICTURE PETER BLURTING OUT HIS ANSWER BECAUSE WE KNOW PETER IS QUICK TO SPEAK, DOESN'T ALWAYS THINK FIRST. AND WE CAN ALMOST SEE HELL TRYING TO BREAK DOWN THE GATES THAT PROTECT THE CHURCH. AND WE KNOW, OF COURSE, THAT THIS IS WHERE THE IDEA OF THE PAPACY COMES FROM. TOO BAD OUR PROTESTANT AND ORTHODOX BROTHERS AND SISTERS CAN'T SEE THAT AS CLEARLY AS WE DO. SO, END OF STORY, LET'S MOVE ON.
BUT WHEN I READ ABOUT THIS PASSAGE, I WAS STRUCK BY SEVERAL THINGS THAT AREN'T IMMEDIATELY APPARENT. JESUS AND HIS APOSTLES, FIRST OF ALL, ARE IN A PAGAN COUNTRY. CAESARIA PHILIPPI WAS NOT IN ISRAEL, BUT IN THE AREA TO THE NORTH. IT WAS AN IMPORTANT ROMAN CITY, AND ONE OF THE CENTERS OF THE CULT OF THE GOD PAN. UNDER PAN'S SHRINE WAS A DEEP CAVE, CLOSED OFF BY GATES. IT WAS BELIEVED THAT THE SPIRITS OF THE DEAD WENT DOWN INTO THE AFTERLIFE THROUGH OPENINGS INTO THE EARTH LIKE THESE. MOST OF THE PEOPLE OF JESUS' TIME, PAGAN AS WELL AS JEWISH, BELIEVED IN SOME SORT OF ABODE OF THE DEAD. THE BIG ARGUMENT AMONG THE JEWS WAS WHETHER THE DEAD WOULD RISE AGAIN OR NOT, NOT WHETHER THERE WAS SOME SORT OF EXISTENCE AFTER DEATH. IT WAS GENERALLY AGREED THAT THIS PLACE OF THE DEAD, CALLED HADES IN GREEK, SHEOL IN HEBREW, AND HEL IN THE LANGUAGES OF NORTHERN EUROPE, WAS SORT OF A SHADOWY IMITATION OF OUR WORLD, WHERE THERE WAS NO COLOR, NO MUSIC, NOTHING TO DO. WHETHER YOU HAD BEEN GOOD OR BAD ON EARTH DIDN'T MATTER. THE SPIRITS OF THE DEAD EXPERIENCED NO PLEASURE, NO PAIN. AND MATTHEW, WHO WROTE IN GREEK, HAS JESUS REFERRING TO HADES, NOT HELL AS WE THINK ABOUT IT.
THE SECOND POINT HAS TO DO WITH THE ANSWERS GIVEN BY THE APOSTLES TO JESUS' TWO QUESTIONS. THE FLIP ANSWER TO "WHO DO PEOPLE SAY THAT I AM" IS THAT JESUS IS A PROPHET, MAYBE EVEN ONE OF THE PROPHETS OF OLD COME AGAIN. IF YOU READ THE PROPHETS, YOU WILL NOTICE THAT PROPHECY IS PRETTY MUCH RELATED TO ONE OF THREE TOPICS: FIRST, THERE IS THE ACCUSATION THAT THE PEOPLE ARE TURNING AWAY FROM GOD; SECOND, THERE IS THE OBSERVATION THAT THEIR CURRENT DISTRESS IS CAUSED BY THIS; AND THIRD, THAT IF THEY RETURN TO THE WAYS OF THEIR ANCESTORS, GOD WILL COME TO THEIR RESCUE. PROPHETS NEVER DEVELOPED MUCH OF A FOLLOWING IN THEIR OWN TIME. MANY WERE JAILED OR MARTYRED.
BUT TO PETER, THE LAST TO SPEAK, NOT THE FIRST, IS REVEALED THE TRUTH -- THAT JESUS IS THE ANNOINTED ONE. AND HIS ADMISSION OF THIS FACT IS LIFE CHANGING. BECAUSE THE MESSIAH WAS NOT TO BE A PROPHET; HE WAS INSTEAD, TO USHER IN A NEW AGE. AND IF YOU ADMITTED THAT JESUS WAS THE MESSIAH, THE LOGICAL THING TO DO WAS TO GIVE YOUR LIFE OVER TO HIM. AND THAT IS WHY JESUS BLESSES PETER AND PROCLAIMS THAT UPON PETER AND THOSE LIKE HIM, HE WILL BUILD HIS GATHERING, THE CHURCH MADE UP OF THOSE CALLED OUT OF THE WORLD TO FOLLOW THE MESSIAH.
AND IT IS THEN THAT JESUS MAKES THE STATEMENT, SO OFTEN MISINTERPRETED: "THE GATES OF HADES SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT". I THINK WE ALL SEE THIS AS A PROMISE THAT EVIL WILL NEVER OVERCOME THE CHURCH. BUT IN THE IMAGINATION OF THE DISCIPLES, SITTING THERE OUTSIDE THE FAMOUS CITY IN WHICH THE ACTUAL GATES OF HADES WERE SAID TO EXIST, IT MAY HAVE HAD A VERY DIFFERENT IMAGE. IT ISN'T ABOUT EVIL OVERCOMING THE CHURCH, IT'S ABOUT THE CHURCH OVERCOMING THE BLEAK UNDERWORLD OF DEAD SOULS, AND ALL THAT IT IMPLIED. FOR IF NOTHING YOU DID ON EARTH HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE AFTER DEATH, HUMAN LIFE DOESN'T AMOUNT TO MUCH; AND DESPITE THE CALLS OF SOME, PAGANS AND JEWS ALIKE, TO PAY ATTENTION TO THE POOR, TO TEND TO THE NEEDS OF WIDOWS AND ORPHANS, TO SEEK JUSTICE FOR ALL, THERE WASN'T MUCH INCENTIVE.
BUT WHEN JESUS PRONOUNCES THAT THE CHURCH WILL OVERCOME THE GATES OF HADES, AND ONE SERIOUS CONSEQUENCE OF THIS IS THAT HUMAN LIFE HAS MEANING, TRANSCENDENT MEANING. EACH ACTION ECHOES THROUGH ETERNITY, EACH PERSON IS TRULY VALUED AS A SON OR DAUGHTER OF GOD. AND THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING.
WHEN YOU GIVE FROM YOUR SURPLUS TO SOMEONE WHO HAS NOTHING, THE GATES OF HELL ARE BEING OVERCOME. WHEN YOU DEVOTE YOURSELF TO MAKING THE WORLD A MORE JUST PLACE, THE GATES ARE CRACKING. WHEN YOU SHARE YOUR FAITH WITH LITTLE ONES, AS A PARENT TEACHING A CHILD, OR A TEACHER IN FAITH FORMATION, THE GATES SHATTER.
AND HADES IS A JOYLESS PLACE, WHERE NO ONE FEELS PLEASURE OR PAIN. BUT THE FOLLOWERS OF THE MESSIAH BREAK DOWN THOSE GATES, AND BRING JOY TO THOSE WHO HAVE NO JOY. JESUS COMPARED HIS DISCIPLES TO THE ATTENDANTS OF A BRIDEGROOM, WHO ARE TO REJOICE BECAUSE THE BRIDEGROOM IS WITH THEM. THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN WHICH BEGINS HERE ON EARTH, IS A PLACE OF RELENTLESS JOY, JOY THAT CAN'T BE OVERCOME BY DEATH, JOY THAT GUARANTEES RESURRECTION.
IN THE END, THAT'S THE POINT. JESUS HIMSELF TRAVERSED THE REALM OF THE DEAD AND ROSE AGAIN; AND THOSE WHO ARE FOLLOWERS OF THE MESSIAH CANNOT BE CONFINED TO A SHADOWY COLORLESS EXISTENCE LACKING EMOTION, LACKING MEANING, LACKING PURPOSE; BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT WE WILL RISE AGAIN, WE KNOW THAT THE CHURCH WILL OVERCOME THE GATES OF HADES, WE KNOW THAT EVERYTHING WE SAY AND DO IS NEVER INCONSEQUENTIAL.
PETER MUST HAVE KNOWN THAT HIS RECOGNITION OF THE MESSIAH WOULD CHANGE HIS LIFE, AND IT DID. AS WE FOLLOW HIS CAREER, WE SEE THAT HE HAS INDEED LEFT EVERYTHING TO FOLLOW JESUS. HE MAKES MISTAKES, HE SUCCUMBS TO COWARDICE, HE HAS DISAGREEMENTS WITH THE OTHER APOSTLES. HE IS BEATEN, IMPRISONED, AND EVENTUALLY, CRUCIFIED. AND ALWAYS HE REMEMBERS THAT DAY WHEN THE FATHER REVEALED TO HIM THAT JESUS WAS THE MESSIAH.
IF WE SAY, "YOU ARE THE MESSIAH, THE SON OF THE LIVING GOD" WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE THE CHURCH, WE ARE THE PEOPLE CALLED OUT BY JESUS. AND WE RECOGNIZE AS WELL THAT AS WE GO ABOUT FOLLOWING OUR MESSIAH, DOING THE WORKS HE DID, SHAPING OUR LIVES TO IMITATE HIS, WE ARE OVERCOMING DEATH AND DARKNESS; AND WE HAVE THE CERTAIN HOPE THAT THE CHURCH WILL WIN THAT BATTLE, THE GATES OF HELL WILL BE FOREVER BROKEN DOWN BY RESURRECTION.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
MATTHEW 15:21-28
A LONG TIME AGO BEFORE THERE WERE GOSPELS AND AFTER JESUS HAD DIED, THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO SPREAD THE FAITH WOULD OFTEN BE ASKED ABOUT JESUS. NEARLY EVERYONE COULD TELL THE STORY OF HIS PASSION, DEATH, AND RESURRECTION; THAT'S WHY THE ACCOUNTS IN ALL FOUR GOSPELS ARE SIMILAR (BUT NOT IDENTICAL). JUST AS WITH CHILDREN AND BEDTIME STORIES, THE EARLY CHRISTIANS, WHO WERE MOSTLY ILLITERATE, COULD TELL IF YOU WERE CHANGING THE STORY. BUT THE APOSTLES WHO SPREAD THE FAITH TOLD OTHER STORIES; SOMETIMES THEY WOULD RECALL A PARABLE THAT JESUS HAD TOLD; OTHER TIMES, AS HERE, AN EVENT IN JESUS LIFE. ABOUT SIXTY YEARS AFTER JESUS, MARK DECIDED TO WRITE AN ACCOUNT OF JESUS' LIFE AND HE SELECTED MANY STORIES WHICH HE WOVE INTO THE BASIC FRAMEWORK OF JESUS' PUBLIC MINISTRY. MARK WAS TRYING TO SHOW EARLY CHRISTIANS THAT JESUS HIMSELF HAD BEEN MISUNDERSTOOD AND PERSECUTED, AND THEY COULD EXPECT NO LESS; BUT IF THEY PERSISTED, THEY TOO WOULD BE GLORIFIED. MATTHEW, WE KNOW, BORROWED HEAVILY FROM MARK'S GOSPEL WHEN HE WROTE HIS OWN STORY TWENTY YEARS LATER. BUT MATTHEW HAD A DIFFERENT PURPOSE; HE WANTED TO SHOW THAT JESUS FULFILLED THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. YOU HEARD ONE OF THEM TODAY, IN THE READING FROM ISAIAH -- THE IDEA THAT IN THE END, ALL WOULD BE WELCOME ON GOD'S HOLY MOUNTAIN.
IN THE STORY IN MARK, THE ENCOUNTER TAKES PLACE IN A HOUSE, BECAUSE JESUS WAS LAYING LOW, HIDING FROM THE CROWDS THAT WANTED MIRACLES FROM HIM. THE WOMAN IS REFERRED TO AS "SYROPHOENICIAN" WHICH WAS A NEUTRAL TERM FOR SOMEONE WHO WAS NOT JEWISH BUT NOT GREEK EITHER, AND LIVED IN THE COUNTRY NORTH OF ISRAEL. AND THERE IS NOT A WORD ABOUT THE APOSTLES. SO WHEN MATTHEW TELLS THE STORY, IT MAY BE USEFUL TO LOOK AT SOME OF THE DIFFERENCES AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHY HE TELLS THIS STORY DIFFERENTLY.
MATTHEW PUTS MORE DRAMA INTO THE ENCOUNTER. THE APOSTLES ARE SAYING, "LORD, SEND HER AWAY!" IN GREEK, THAT IS "KYRIE, APOLYSON" THE WOMAN SAYS, "LORD, HELP ME" -- "KYRIE, ELEISON."
IF YOUR LANGUAGE WAS GREEK, YOU WOULD HEAR HOW ONE ECHOES THE OTHER. IN MATTHEW, THE WOMAN IS CALLED A CAANANITE. WHICH IS LIKE CALLING A A GERMAN A "KRAUT". I COULD HAVE USED ANY NUMBER OF OTHER EXAMPLES, BUT I HAVE ENOUGH GERMAN IN ME SO THAT I CAN GET AWAY WITH THAT ONE. AND BEFORE JESUS DELIVERS HIS FAMOUS INSULT, MATTHEW HAS HIM IGNORING THE WOMAN.
A LOT OF SCHOLARS HAVE BEEN OFFENDED BY THE WORDS OF JESUS AND HAVE TRIED TO SOFTEN THE SCENE; MAYBE JESUS WAS SMILING WHEN HE CALLED HER A DOG; MAYBE HE USED A TERM FOR PUPPY; WE DON'T KNOW. BUT FOR MATTHEW, AND PROBABLY FOR MARK, JESUS IS JUST USING THE WORDS THAT THE APOSTLES WERE THINKING.
IN MARK JESUS SAYS NOTHING ABOUT BEING SENT TO THE LOST SHEEP OF ISRAEL, BUT IN MATTHEW, JESUS SPEAKS THESE WORDS, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE APOSTLES BELIEVED -- THE MESSIAH WAS FOR ISRAEL. IN MARK, AFTER THE WOMAN SAYS "EVEN THE DOGS GET THE CRUMBS THAT FALL FROM THE CHILDREN'S TABLE" JESUS REPLIES, "FOR SAYING THAT, YOU MAY GO. THE DEMON HAS LEFT YOUR DAUGHTER." BUT IN MATTHEW, JESUS EXCLAIMS, "WOMAN, GREAT IS YOUR FAITH! LET IT BE DONE FOR YOU AS YOU WISH!" NOTICE THAT HE CALLS THIS FOREIGNER, THIS ONE HE PREVIOUSLY IMPLIED WAS A DOG, "WOMAN!" -- THE SAME TERM OF HONOR THAT HE USES WHEN HE SPEAKS TO HIS OWN MOTHER.
WOULDN'T IT BE WONDERFUL TO HEAR THIS STORY -- NOT READ IT, HEAR IT -- FOR THE FIRST TIME? HOW MUCH MATTHEW TEACHES US IN THIS STORY FROM JESUS' LIFE.
TWO MAIN IDEAS EMERGE. FIRST, THE APOSTLES HAVE BEEN ACTING AS HUMAN BEINGS ACT. FOR EVERY ONE OF US THERE ARE THOSE WHO ARE IN OUR CIRCLE AND THOSE WHO AREN'T. WE MAY NOT BE OPENLY HOSTILE TO THOSE OTHER PEOPLE, WE MAY NOT EVEN DISLIKE THEM; BUT WE DON'T REALLY CARE ABOUT THEM, WE DON'T REALLY WANT THEM IN OUR LIVES. AND JESUS PLAYS ALONG. THE APOSTLES HAVE MADE A JUDGMENT ABOUT THIS UNCLEAN, FOREIGN WOMAN, AND FULLY EXPECT JESUS WILL AGREE. "SEND HER AWAY!" THEY COMMAND. AND ISN'T THIS OFTEN OUR PRAYER? JESUS, DO THIS FOR ME, DO THAT; JESUS, LET MY WILL BE DONE.
AND AFTER THE CONVERSATION WITH THE WOMAN, A CONVERSATION IN WHICH THE WOMAN GETS PRETTY FRESH WITH THE SON OF GOD, JESUS MAKES THE INCREDIBLE POINT THAT FAITH IS WHAT MATTERS, AND GREAT FAITH ACCOMPLISHES MIRACLES. AND THE VERY WORD HE USES -- WOMAN -- TELLS US AND HIS APOSTLES THAT THIS GENTILE IS HONORABLE, WORTHY OF BEING PART OF THE FAMILY THAT JESUS IS CALLING TOGETHER.
THE SECOND POINT IS THIS. THIS WOMAN IS AN EXAMPLE TO ALL OF US OF HOW WE ARE TO PRAY. SHE IS BOLD; SHE DOESN'T STAND ON CEREMONY; SHE BOTHERS JESUS, SHE CALLS OUT AFTER HIM. AND HOW OFTEN DID JESUS COMMEND THAT KIND OF PRAYER -- THE WIDOW WHO GOT THE UNJUST JUDGE TO GIVE HER HER DUE, JUST BY BEING PERSISTENT; THE NEIGHBOR WHO GOT THE HEAD OF THE HOUSEHOLD UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT BY BANGING ON THE DOOR UNTIL HE GOT HIS WAY. AND INITIALLY, HER PRAYERS ARE NOT ANSWERED; BUT SHE DOESN'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER. JESUS TELLS HER THAT HE HAS NO INTENTION OF ANSWERING THE PRAYER OF A PAGAN, BUT SHE DOESN'T SLINK AWAY, EMBARRASSED, SWEARING NEVER TO GO NEAR HIM AGAIN. AND THERE ARE MANY OF US WHO LOSE OUR FAITH WHEN OUR PRAYERS AREN'T ANSWERED, OR WHEN ANOTHER CHURCH IS CLOSED, OR ANOTHER PRIEST SCANDAL EMERGES. BUT HER FAITH NEVER WAVERS. AND NOTICE THAT SHE DOES NOT ASK FOR ANYTHING FOR HERSELF; HER PLEA IS FOR HER DAUGHTER. HOW STRONG IS A MOTHER'S LOVE FOR HER CHILD! AND IT IS OUT OF THIS LOVE THAT SHE EXPOSES HERSELF TO POSSIBLE RIDICULE AND REJECTION; SHE PUTS IT ALL ON THE LINE. WHEN WE PRAY, DO WE DO THE SAME? DO WE SHOW THAT WE MEAN IT BY PERSISTENT PRAYER, BY FASTING, BY ALMSGIVING? DO WE WANT WHAT WE PRAY FOR ENOUGH TO PUT IT ALL ON THE LINE?
MARK'S STORY IS AN ENCOUNTER BETWEEN JESUS AND A FOREIGN WOMAN, AND JESUS GRANTS HER PRAYER. MATTHEW'S STORY IS ABOUT THIS BUT ALSO SO MUCH MORE; IT IS A PIVOTAL POINT IN HIS GOSPEL, A POINT WHEN JESUS MAKES IT CLEAR THAT FAITH IS THE TICKET -- NOT BEING JEWISH, NOT KEEPING THE LAW -- AND THAT NO ONE SHOULD BE EXCLUDED FROM HIS FAMILY, A FAMILY WHOSE ONE DISTINGUISHING MARK IS FAITH.
A LONG TIME AGO BEFORE THERE WERE GOSPELS AND AFTER JESUS HAD DIED, THE MEN AND WOMEN WHO SPREAD THE FAITH WOULD OFTEN BE ASKED ABOUT JESUS. NEARLY EVERYONE COULD TELL THE STORY OF HIS PASSION, DEATH, AND RESURRECTION; THAT'S WHY THE ACCOUNTS IN ALL FOUR GOSPELS ARE SIMILAR (BUT NOT IDENTICAL). JUST AS WITH CHILDREN AND BEDTIME STORIES, THE EARLY CHRISTIANS, WHO WERE MOSTLY ILLITERATE, COULD TELL IF YOU WERE CHANGING THE STORY. BUT THE APOSTLES WHO SPREAD THE FAITH TOLD OTHER STORIES; SOMETIMES THEY WOULD RECALL A PARABLE THAT JESUS HAD TOLD; OTHER TIMES, AS HERE, AN EVENT IN JESUS LIFE. ABOUT SIXTY YEARS AFTER JESUS, MARK DECIDED TO WRITE AN ACCOUNT OF JESUS' LIFE AND HE SELECTED MANY STORIES WHICH HE WOVE INTO THE BASIC FRAMEWORK OF JESUS' PUBLIC MINISTRY. MARK WAS TRYING TO SHOW EARLY CHRISTIANS THAT JESUS HIMSELF HAD BEEN MISUNDERSTOOD AND PERSECUTED, AND THEY COULD EXPECT NO LESS; BUT IF THEY PERSISTED, THEY TOO WOULD BE GLORIFIED. MATTHEW, WE KNOW, BORROWED HEAVILY FROM MARK'S GOSPEL WHEN HE WROTE HIS OWN STORY TWENTY YEARS LATER. BUT MATTHEW HAD A DIFFERENT PURPOSE; HE WANTED TO SHOW THAT JESUS FULFILLED THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. YOU HEARD ONE OF THEM TODAY, IN THE READING FROM ISAIAH -- THE IDEA THAT IN THE END, ALL WOULD BE WELCOME ON GOD'S HOLY MOUNTAIN.
IN THE STORY IN MARK, THE ENCOUNTER TAKES PLACE IN A HOUSE, BECAUSE JESUS WAS LAYING LOW, HIDING FROM THE CROWDS THAT WANTED MIRACLES FROM HIM. THE WOMAN IS REFERRED TO AS "SYROPHOENICIAN" WHICH WAS A NEUTRAL TERM FOR SOMEONE WHO WAS NOT JEWISH BUT NOT GREEK EITHER, AND LIVED IN THE COUNTRY NORTH OF ISRAEL. AND THERE IS NOT A WORD ABOUT THE APOSTLES. SO WHEN MATTHEW TELLS THE STORY, IT MAY BE USEFUL TO LOOK AT SOME OF THE DIFFERENCES AND TRY TO UNDERSTAND WHY HE TELLS THIS STORY DIFFERENTLY.
MATTHEW PUTS MORE DRAMA INTO THE ENCOUNTER. THE APOSTLES ARE SAYING, "LORD, SEND HER AWAY!" IN GREEK, THAT IS "KYRIE, APOLYSON" THE WOMAN SAYS, "LORD, HELP ME" -- "KYRIE, ELEISON."
IF YOUR LANGUAGE WAS GREEK, YOU WOULD HEAR HOW ONE ECHOES THE OTHER. IN MATTHEW, THE WOMAN IS CALLED A CAANANITE. WHICH IS LIKE CALLING A A GERMAN A "KRAUT". I COULD HAVE USED ANY NUMBER OF OTHER EXAMPLES, BUT I HAVE ENOUGH GERMAN IN ME SO THAT I CAN GET AWAY WITH THAT ONE. AND BEFORE JESUS DELIVERS HIS FAMOUS INSULT, MATTHEW HAS HIM IGNORING THE WOMAN.
A LOT OF SCHOLARS HAVE BEEN OFFENDED BY THE WORDS OF JESUS AND HAVE TRIED TO SOFTEN THE SCENE; MAYBE JESUS WAS SMILING WHEN HE CALLED HER A DOG; MAYBE HE USED A TERM FOR PUPPY; WE DON'T KNOW. BUT FOR MATTHEW, AND PROBABLY FOR MARK, JESUS IS JUST USING THE WORDS THAT THE APOSTLES WERE THINKING.
IN MARK JESUS SAYS NOTHING ABOUT BEING SENT TO THE LOST SHEEP OF ISRAEL, BUT IN MATTHEW, JESUS SPEAKS THESE WORDS, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE APOSTLES BELIEVED -- THE MESSIAH WAS FOR ISRAEL. IN MARK, AFTER THE WOMAN SAYS "EVEN THE DOGS GET THE CRUMBS THAT FALL FROM THE CHILDREN'S TABLE" JESUS REPLIES, "FOR SAYING THAT, YOU MAY GO. THE DEMON HAS LEFT YOUR DAUGHTER." BUT IN MATTHEW, JESUS EXCLAIMS, "WOMAN, GREAT IS YOUR FAITH! LET IT BE DONE FOR YOU AS YOU WISH!" NOTICE THAT HE CALLS THIS FOREIGNER, THIS ONE HE PREVIOUSLY IMPLIED WAS A DOG, "WOMAN!" -- THE SAME TERM OF HONOR THAT HE USES WHEN HE SPEAKS TO HIS OWN MOTHER.
WOULDN'T IT BE WONDERFUL TO HEAR THIS STORY -- NOT READ IT, HEAR IT -- FOR THE FIRST TIME? HOW MUCH MATTHEW TEACHES US IN THIS STORY FROM JESUS' LIFE.
TWO MAIN IDEAS EMERGE. FIRST, THE APOSTLES HAVE BEEN ACTING AS HUMAN BEINGS ACT. FOR EVERY ONE OF US THERE ARE THOSE WHO ARE IN OUR CIRCLE AND THOSE WHO AREN'T. WE MAY NOT BE OPENLY HOSTILE TO THOSE OTHER PEOPLE, WE MAY NOT EVEN DISLIKE THEM; BUT WE DON'T REALLY CARE ABOUT THEM, WE DON'T REALLY WANT THEM IN OUR LIVES. AND JESUS PLAYS ALONG. THE APOSTLES HAVE MADE A JUDGMENT ABOUT THIS UNCLEAN, FOREIGN WOMAN, AND FULLY EXPECT JESUS WILL AGREE. "SEND HER AWAY!" THEY COMMAND. AND ISN'T THIS OFTEN OUR PRAYER? JESUS, DO THIS FOR ME, DO THAT; JESUS, LET MY WILL BE DONE.
AND AFTER THE CONVERSATION WITH THE WOMAN, A CONVERSATION IN WHICH THE WOMAN GETS PRETTY FRESH WITH THE SON OF GOD, JESUS MAKES THE INCREDIBLE POINT THAT FAITH IS WHAT MATTERS, AND GREAT FAITH ACCOMPLISHES MIRACLES. AND THE VERY WORD HE USES -- WOMAN -- TELLS US AND HIS APOSTLES THAT THIS GENTILE IS HONORABLE, WORTHY OF BEING PART OF THE FAMILY THAT JESUS IS CALLING TOGETHER.
THE SECOND POINT IS THIS. THIS WOMAN IS AN EXAMPLE TO ALL OF US OF HOW WE ARE TO PRAY. SHE IS BOLD; SHE DOESN'T STAND ON CEREMONY; SHE BOTHERS JESUS, SHE CALLS OUT AFTER HIM. AND HOW OFTEN DID JESUS COMMEND THAT KIND OF PRAYER -- THE WIDOW WHO GOT THE UNJUST JUDGE TO GIVE HER HER DUE, JUST BY BEING PERSISTENT; THE NEIGHBOR WHO GOT THE HEAD OF THE HOUSEHOLD UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT BY BANGING ON THE DOOR UNTIL HE GOT HIS WAY. AND INITIALLY, HER PRAYERS ARE NOT ANSWERED; BUT SHE DOESN'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER. JESUS TELLS HER THAT HE HAS NO INTENTION OF ANSWERING THE PRAYER OF A PAGAN, BUT SHE DOESN'T SLINK AWAY, EMBARRASSED, SWEARING NEVER TO GO NEAR HIM AGAIN. AND THERE ARE MANY OF US WHO LOSE OUR FAITH WHEN OUR PRAYERS AREN'T ANSWERED, OR WHEN ANOTHER CHURCH IS CLOSED, OR ANOTHER PRIEST SCANDAL EMERGES. BUT HER FAITH NEVER WAVERS. AND NOTICE THAT SHE DOES NOT ASK FOR ANYTHING FOR HERSELF; HER PLEA IS FOR HER DAUGHTER. HOW STRONG IS A MOTHER'S LOVE FOR HER CHILD! AND IT IS OUT OF THIS LOVE THAT SHE EXPOSES HERSELF TO POSSIBLE RIDICULE AND REJECTION; SHE PUTS IT ALL ON THE LINE. WHEN WE PRAY, DO WE DO THE SAME? DO WE SHOW THAT WE MEAN IT BY PERSISTENT PRAYER, BY FASTING, BY ALMSGIVING? DO WE WANT WHAT WE PRAY FOR ENOUGH TO PUT IT ALL ON THE LINE?
MARK'S STORY IS AN ENCOUNTER BETWEEN JESUS AND A FOREIGN WOMAN, AND JESUS GRANTS HER PRAYER. MATTHEW'S STORY IS ABOUT THIS BUT ALSO SO MUCH MORE; IT IS A PIVOTAL POINT IN HIS GOSPEL, A POINT WHEN JESUS MAKES IT CLEAR THAT FAITH IS THE TICKET -- NOT BEING JEWISH, NOT KEEPING THE LAW -- AND THAT NO ONE SHOULD BE EXCLUDED FROM HIS FAMILY, A FAMILY WHOSE ONE DISTINGUISHING MARK IS FAITH.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
MATTHEW 13:22-33
SAINT ELIZABETH ANNE SETON WAS A WIDOW WITH FIVE CHILDREN WHEN SHE DECIDED TO BECOME A ROMAN CATHOLIC. SHE HAD BEEN A MEMBER OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, SHE WAS A MEMBER OF THE UPPER CLASSES OF NEW YORK CITY, AND HAD SHE REMAINED AN EPISCOPALIAN, SHE WOULD HAVE INHERITED WHAT WAS LEFT OF HER HUSBAND'S FORTUNE, REMAINED A MEMBER OF HIGH SOCIETY, AND HER CHILDREN WOULD HAVE HAD A MUCH BETTER LIFE AT LEAST IN MATERIAL TERMS. NO ONE WOULD HAVE BLAMED HER FOR REMAINING AN EPISCOPALIAN, OR AT LEAST DEFERRING THIS DECISION UNTIL HER CHILDREN WERE GROWN. BUT WHEN YOU READ ABOUT ELIZABETH, YOU NOTE THAT SHE WAS A PERSON WHO, WHEN SHE WAS CONVINCED SHE WAS RIGHT, WOULD IMMEDIATELY STEP OUT. WHEN HER HUSBAND CONTRACTED TUBERCULOSIS, IT WAS SHE WHO DECIDED TO MOVE THE WHOLE FAMILY TO ITALY, WHERE HE MIGHT HAVE A BETTER CHANCE AT RECOVERY IN THAT CLIMATE. WHEN SHE RETURNED FROM ITALY, BEFORE HER CONVERSION, SHE OPENED A SCHOOL FOR GIRLS AND MANY OF HER FRIENDS SENT THEIR CHILDREN TO HER SCHOOL. WHEN NEWS GOT OUT ABOUT HER CONVERSION, THOUGH, THEY WITHDREW THEIR DAUGHTERS, AND ELIZABETH HIT A REAL LOW POINT. SHE WAS EVENTUALLY INVITED TO START A SCHOOL FOR POOR CHILDREN IN BALTIMORE, AND THE REST IS HISTORY.
TODAY, SAINT PETER SAYS, “IF IT IS REALLY YOU, THEN COMMAND ME TO COME TO YOU ON THE WATER.” AND JESUS SAYS, “COME.” AT THAT POINT PETER COULD HAVE SIMPLY SAID, “OK, I BELIEVE YOU.” I THINK THIS IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IN THE CHURCH TODAY. IT ISN'T THE FACT THAT TWO THIRDS OF CATHOLICS DON'T GO TO CHURCH ANYMORE. IT ISN'T THE FACT THAT MOST CATHOLICS ARE NOT VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE BIBLE OR WITH WHAT THE CHURCH REALLY TEACHES. THE REAL ROT AT THE HEART OF OUR CHURCH IS THAT THOSE OF US WHO SAY WE BELIEVE LEAVE IT AT THAT, MOST OF THE TIME. WE ARE QUITE CONTENT TO SAY, “I DO BELIEVE!” AND GO ON WITHOUT ANY CHANGE IN OUR LIVES.
SAINT PETER MAY HAVE BEEN ACCUSED OF LITTLE FAITH BY THE LORD. BUT HE IS THE REAL HERO IN THIS STORY. HE IS THE ONE WHO LOOKS OUT ON THAT WILD SEA, WIND AND RAIN BLOWING IN HIS FACE, THE BOAT ALMOST CAPSIZING; AND WHEN HE HEARS JESUS SAY “COME” AGAINST ALL HIS INSTINCTS, AGAINST THE CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU CAN'T WALK ON WATER, HE STEPS OUT. AND HE GOES A FEW STEPS, AND HIS CONFIDENCE GROWS, AND THEN HE REALIZES THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF THE SITUATION, AND STARTS TO SINK. BUT HE STEPPED OUT. HE BELIEVED, AND HE ACTED ON HIS BELIEF.
WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE? THAT THE BIBLE CONTAINS THE WORD OF GOD? IF YOU REALLY BELIEVED THIS, WOULDN'T YOU BE READING IT? WOULDN'T YOU BE LOOKING FOR SOME HELP UNDERSTANDING IT? DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THE HOLY EUCHARIST IS THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST, HIS SACRAMENTAL PRESENCE AMONG US? IF YOU DID, WOULDN'T YOU PREPARE YOURSELF TO RECEIVE HIM? WOULDN'T YOU WANT TO COME HERE EACH WEEK WITH SOMETHING TO OFFER HIM, SOME STRUGGLE OVERCOME, SOME GIFT TO GIVE? DO YOU BELIEVE THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE BRINGS ABOUT THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS, AND THE GRACE TO CONQUER SIN? SURELY THAT WOULD MAKE YOU PARTAKE OF THE SACRAMENT MORE OFTEN, RIGHT?
AND WE COULD GO ON AND ON, LISTING WHAT WE SAY WE BELIEVE AND WHAT ANY RATIONAL PERSON WHO BELIEVED THAT WOULD DO – AND THEN ASKING THE QUESTION, “DO I REALLY BELIEVE THAT?” AND BELIEVE ME, I AM PREACHING TO MYSELF AS MUCH AS TO YOU.
MANY YEARS AGO, A SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR DESCRIBED TO ME A WAY TO EXAMINE MY CONSCIENCE, EVERY DAY. IT IS THE METHOD OF THE SWORD AND THE SHIELD. THE SHIELD IS TO GO THROUGH MY DAY, LOOKING AT WHAT I DID RIGHT AND WHAT I DID WRONG. IT IS A FORM OF MINDFULNESS. IT HELPS ME RECOGNIZE MY STRENGTHS AND MY WEAKNESSES. AT THE END OF THAT EXERCISE, I MIGHT LOOK FOR WHAT GOT ME IN TO TROUBLE IN THE FIRST PLACE, AND RESOLVE TO AVOID THAT. BUT I WOULD ALWAYS ASK FOR FORGIVENESS AND THE GRACE TO DO BETTER TOMORROW. THE SWORD, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS TO IDENTIFY A VIRTUE I NEED TO DEVELOP, OR SOMETHING ELSE POSITIVE THAT I CAN CULTIVATE. AND EVERY DAY I LOOK TO SEE WHETHER I'VE MADE PROGRESS HERE, AND WHAT I CAN DO TOMORROW TO MAKE PROGRESS. AND A VERY GOOD WAY TO DO THIS IS TO TAKE A SINGLE ITEM FROM THE LIST OF THINGS I CLAIM TO BELIEVE, AND ACT ON THAT. AND WHEN MY ACTIONS BECOME CONSISTENT WITH THIS THING THAT I BELIEVE, WELL, IT'S TIME TO PULL OUT ANOTHER BELIEF, AND WORK ON THAT.
THAT'S WHY WE ARE NOT CONVERTING THE WORLD. THAT'S WHY THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS STILL NOT HERE. THAT'S WHY, IN FACT, WE AREN'T AS HAPPY AS WE COULD BE, AS FULFILLED AS WE SHOULD BE. BECAUSE OUR BELIEFS DO NOT RESULT IN ACTION, AT LEAST NOT TO A GREAT EXTENT. AND THE WORLD KNOWS, AND SAYS, “YOU CATHOLICS SAY ONE THING AND DO ANOTHER. WHY SHOULD WE LISTEN?'
SAINT PETER ACTED ON HIS BELIEF; HE BELIEVED THAT THE POWER OF JESUS COULD ENABLE HIM TO WALK ON WATER. THE FACT THAT HE DIDN'T MAKE IT ALL THE WAY TO JESUS WAS NOT THE FAULT OF THE POWER OF JESUS. IT WAS THAT PETER CEASED TO ACT ON HIS FAITH, AND ACTED ON WHAT HE SAW WITH HIS EYES AND KNEW FROM HIS EXPERIENCE. BUT NOTICE, JESUS NEVER ABANDONED HIM, AND NEVER ABANDONS YOU OR I. IF WE BEGIN THIS GREAT WORK OF TRAINING OURSELVES TO ACT ON OUR BELIEFS, WE WILL CERTAINLY FAIL, WE WILL FALL SHORT. BUT JESUS IS ALWAYS THERE, GRASPING OUR HAND AS WE SINK, REMINDING US THAT WE WILL SUCCEED, AS OUR FAITH GROWS STRONGER.
I DON'T KNOW IF PETER EVER DID WALK ON WATER AGAIN. BUT HE DID WORK MIRACLES, AND HE DID CONVERT THOUSANDS AND HE DID LEAD THE EARLY CHURCH IN THE FACE OF THE CONDEMNATION OF HIS FELLOW JEWS AND THE ANIMOSITY OF THE ROMANS. AND HE DID CONTINUE TO MAKE MISTAKES. BUT HE NEVER AGAIN FALTERED; HE ACTED ON HIS BELIEFS. AND FOR HIM, THE KINGDOM OF GOD WAS REALIZED.
WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE? DO YOU BELIEVE IT ENOUGH TO ACT ON THE BELIEF YOU HAVE? OR IS IT JUST WORDS?
SAINT ELIZABETH ANNE SETON WAS A WIDOW WITH FIVE CHILDREN WHEN SHE DECIDED TO BECOME A ROMAN CATHOLIC. SHE HAD BEEN A MEMBER OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, SHE WAS A MEMBER OF THE UPPER CLASSES OF NEW YORK CITY, AND HAD SHE REMAINED AN EPISCOPALIAN, SHE WOULD HAVE INHERITED WHAT WAS LEFT OF HER HUSBAND'S FORTUNE, REMAINED A MEMBER OF HIGH SOCIETY, AND HER CHILDREN WOULD HAVE HAD A MUCH BETTER LIFE AT LEAST IN MATERIAL TERMS. NO ONE WOULD HAVE BLAMED HER FOR REMAINING AN EPISCOPALIAN, OR AT LEAST DEFERRING THIS DECISION UNTIL HER CHILDREN WERE GROWN. BUT WHEN YOU READ ABOUT ELIZABETH, YOU NOTE THAT SHE WAS A PERSON WHO, WHEN SHE WAS CONVINCED SHE WAS RIGHT, WOULD IMMEDIATELY STEP OUT. WHEN HER HUSBAND CONTRACTED TUBERCULOSIS, IT WAS SHE WHO DECIDED TO MOVE THE WHOLE FAMILY TO ITALY, WHERE HE MIGHT HAVE A BETTER CHANCE AT RECOVERY IN THAT CLIMATE. WHEN SHE RETURNED FROM ITALY, BEFORE HER CONVERSION, SHE OPENED A SCHOOL FOR GIRLS AND MANY OF HER FRIENDS SENT THEIR CHILDREN TO HER SCHOOL. WHEN NEWS GOT OUT ABOUT HER CONVERSION, THOUGH, THEY WITHDREW THEIR DAUGHTERS, AND ELIZABETH HIT A REAL LOW POINT. SHE WAS EVENTUALLY INVITED TO START A SCHOOL FOR POOR CHILDREN IN BALTIMORE, AND THE REST IS HISTORY.
TODAY, SAINT PETER SAYS, “IF IT IS REALLY YOU, THEN COMMAND ME TO COME TO YOU ON THE WATER.” AND JESUS SAYS, “COME.” AT THAT POINT PETER COULD HAVE SIMPLY SAID, “OK, I BELIEVE YOU.” I THINK THIS IS THE BIGGEST PROBLEM IN THE CHURCH TODAY. IT ISN'T THE FACT THAT TWO THIRDS OF CATHOLICS DON'T GO TO CHURCH ANYMORE. IT ISN'T THE FACT THAT MOST CATHOLICS ARE NOT VERY FAMILIAR WITH THE BIBLE OR WITH WHAT THE CHURCH REALLY TEACHES. THE REAL ROT AT THE HEART OF OUR CHURCH IS THAT THOSE OF US WHO SAY WE BELIEVE LEAVE IT AT THAT, MOST OF THE TIME. WE ARE QUITE CONTENT TO SAY, “I DO BELIEVE!” AND GO ON WITHOUT ANY CHANGE IN OUR LIVES.
SAINT PETER MAY HAVE BEEN ACCUSED OF LITTLE FAITH BY THE LORD. BUT HE IS THE REAL HERO IN THIS STORY. HE IS THE ONE WHO LOOKS OUT ON THAT WILD SEA, WIND AND RAIN BLOWING IN HIS FACE, THE BOAT ALMOST CAPSIZING; AND WHEN HE HEARS JESUS SAY “COME” AGAINST ALL HIS INSTINCTS, AGAINST THE CERTAIN KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU CAN'T WALK ON WATER, HE STEPS OUT. AND HE GOES A FEW STEPS, AND HIS CONFIDENCE GROWS, AND THEN HE REALIZES THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF THE SITUATION, AND STARTS TO SINK. BUT HE STEPPED OUT. HE BELIEVED, AND HE ACTED ON HIS BELIEF.
WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE? THAT THE BIBLE CONTAINS THE WORD OF GOD? IF YOU REALLY BELIEVED THIS, WOULDN'T YOU BE READING IT? WOULDN'T YOU BE LOOKING FOR SOME HELP UNDERSTANDING IT? DO YOU BELIEVE THAT THE HOLY EUCHARIST IS THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST, HIS SACRAMENTAL PRESENCE AMONG US? IF YOU DID, WOULDN'T YOU PREPARE YOURSELF TO RECEIVE HIM? WOULDN'T YOU WANT TO COME HERE EACH WEEK WITH SOMETHING TO OFFER HIM, SOME STRUGGLE OVERCOME, SOME GIFT TO GIVE? DO YOU BELIEVE THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE BRINGS ABOUT THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS, AND THE GRACE TO CONQUER SIN? SURELY THAT WOULD MAKE YOU PARTAKE OF THE SACRAMENT MORE OFTEN, RIGHT?
AND WE COULD GO ON AND ON, LISTING WHAT WE SAY WE BELIEVE AND WHAT ANY RATIONAL PERSON WHO BELIEVED THAT WOULD DO – AND THEN ASKING THE QUESTION, “DO I REALLY BELIEVE THAT?” AND BELIEVE ME, I AM PREACHING TO MYSELF AS MUCH AS TO YOU.
MANY YEARS AGO, A SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR DESCRIBED TO ME A WAY TO EXAMINE MY CONSCIENCE, EVERY DAY. IT IS THE METHOD OF THE SWORD AND THE SHIELD. THE SHIELD IS TO GO THROUGH MY DAY, LOOKING AT WHAT I DID RIGHT AND WHAT I DID WRONG. IT IS A FORM OF MINDFULNESS. IT HELPS ME RECOGNIZE MY STRENGTHS AND MY WEAKNESSES. AT THE END OF THAT EXERCISE, I MIGHT LOOK FOR WHAT GOT ME IN TO TROUBLE IN THE FIRST PLACE, AND RESOLVE TO AVOID THAT. BUT I WOULD ALWAYS ASK FOR FORGIVENESS AND THE GRACE TO DO BETTER TOMORROW. THE SWORD, ON THE OTHER HAND, IS TO IDENTIFY A VIRTUE I NEED TO DEVELOP, OR SOMETHING ELSE POSITIVE THAT I CAN CULTIVATE. AND EVERY DAY I LOOK TO SEE WHETHER I'VE MADE PROGRESS HERE, AND WHAT I CAN DO TOMORROW TO MAKE PROGRESS. AND A VERY GOOD WAY TO DO THIS IS TO TAKE A SINGLE ITEM FROM THE LIST OF THINGS I CLAIM TO BELIEVE, AND ACT ON THAT. AND WHEN MY ACTIONS BECOME CONSISTENT WITH THIS THING THAT I BELIEVE, WELL, IT'S TIME TO PULL OUT ANOTHER BELIEF, AND WORK ON THAT.
THAT'S WHY WE ARE NOT CONVERTING THE WORLD. THAT'S WHY THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS STILL NOT HERE. THAT'S WHY, IN FACT, WE AREN'T AS HAPPY AS WE COULD BE, AS FULFILLED AS WE SHOULD BE. BECAUSE OUR BELIEFS DO NOT RESULT IN ACTION, AT LEAST NOT TO A GREAT EXTENT. AND THE WORLD KNOWS, AND SAYS, “YOU CATHOLICS SAY ONE THING AND DO ANOTHER. WHY SHOULD WE LISTEN?'
SAINT PETER ACTED ON HIS BELIEF; HE BELIEVED THAT THE POWER OF JESUS COULD ENABLE HIM TO WALK ON WATER. THE FACT THAT HE DIDN'T MAKE IT ALL THE WAY TO JESUS WAS NOT THE FAULT OF THE POWER OF JESUS. IT WAS THAT PETER CEASED TO ACT ON HIS FAITH, AND ACTED ON WHAT HE SAW WITH HIS EYES AND KNEW FROM HIS EXPERIENCE. BUT NOTICE, JESUS NEVER ABANDONED HIM, AND NEVER ABANDONS YOU OR I. IF WE BEGIN THIS GREAT WORK OF TRAINING OURSELVES TO ACT ON OUR BELIEFS, WE WILL CERTAINLY FAIL, WE WILL FALL SHORT. BUT JESUS IS ALWAYS THERE, GRASPING OUR HAND AS WE SINK, REMINDING US THAT WE WILL SUCCEED, AS OUR FAITH GROWS STRONGER.
I DON'T KNOW IF PETER EVER DID WALK ON WATER AGAIN. BUT HE DID WORK MIRACLES, AND HE DID CONVERT THOUSANDS AND HE DID LEAD THE EARLY CHURCH IN THE FACE OF THE CONDEMNATION OF HIS FELLOW JEWS AND THE ANIMOSITY OF THE ROMANS. AND HE DID CONTINUE TO MAKE MISTAKES. BUT HE NEVER AGAIN FALTERED; HE ACTED ON HIS BELIEFS. AND FOR HIM, THE KINGDOM OF GOD WAS REALIZED.
WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE? DO YOU BELIEVE IT ENOUGH TO ACT ON THE BELIEF YOU HAVE? OR IS IT JUST WORDS?
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
MATTHEW 14:13-23
I READ ABOUT SOME SHIPWRECKED PEOPLE WHO WERE ADRIFT IN THE OCEAN. THEY HAD BEEN WRINGING OUT THE SAIL TO GET A LITTLE WATER TO DRINK. THEY WERE DISCOVERED, NEARLY DEAD OF DEHYDRATION. THEY DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THEY WERE IN AN AREA WHERE THE AMAZON RIVER FLOWS INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN, AND THE RIVER WATER DISPLACES THE SALT WATER OUT TO ABOUT 100 MILES FROM SHORE. THEY COULD HAVE HAD ALL THE FRESH WATER THEY WANTED, JUST BY DROPPING A BUCKET IN THE SEA.
AS YOU KNOW, THERE ARE FOUR GOSPELS. THERE IS ONLY ONE MIRACLE WHICH APPEARS IN ALL FOUR, AND THAT IS THIS STORY OF THE FEEDING OF THE CROWD, OR THE MULTIPLICATION OF THE LOAVES AND FISHES. THE DIFFERENT GOSPEL WRITERS HAVE DIFFERENT NUMBERS OF PEOPLE BEING FED, DIFFERENT TIMES IN THE LIFE OF CHRIST, AND EVEN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS FOR THIS MIRACLE TO TAKE PLACE. IN FACT, IN THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, THE STORY IS TOLD TWICE; ONCE WITH FIVE LOAVES, AND THE OTHER WITH SEVEN. BUT TO THE EARLY CHURCH THERE MUST HAVE BEEN GREAT SIGNIFICANCE SINCE THE STORY WAS SO TREASURED.
THE GOSPEL WRITERS ARE ALWAYS USING THE EVENTS OF JESUS' LIFE TO ILLUSTRATE THEIR THEOLOGY. THEY PUT DIFFERENT WORDS INTO THE DISCIPLES MOUTHS. JESUS TELLS THEM TO FEED THE CROWD. LISTEN TO HOW THEY REPLY. IN THE OTHER MATTHEW STORY, THEY SAY, “WHERE COULD WE GET ENOUGH BREAD TO FEED THIS CROWD?” IN MARK, THEY SAY, “THAT WOULD TAKE MORE THAN A HALF-YEAR'S WAGES. ARE WE TO GO AND SPEND THAT MUCH ON BREAD AND GIVE IT TO THEM TO EAT?”IN LUKE, “WE HAVE ONLY FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISH HERE. UNLESS WE GO AND BUY FOOD FOR THIS CROWD (THERE WERE ABOUT 5000 MEN.) AND IN JOHN THEY SAY, “HERE IS A BOY WITH FIVE BARLEY LOAVES AND TWO SMALL FISH, BUT HOW FAR WILL THAT GO AMONG SO MANY? NOTICE THAT IN EACH OF THESE ACCOUNTS, THE APOSTLES ANSWER THE REQUEST OF JESUS BY POINTING OUT HOW ABSURD IT IS. AND THAT IS UNFORTUNATE, BECAUSE WHEN JESUS GOES AHEAD AND WORKS THE MIRACLE, WE ARE IMPRESSED BY THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF IT, AND IT BECOMES JUST ANOTHER MIRACLE SHOWING THAT JESUS WAS GOD. BUT MAYBE TODAY'S GOSPEL CAN GIVE US A DIFFERENT TAKE ON WHAT IS GOING ON. JESUS, AFTER ALL, DIDN'T DO MIRACLES TO SHOW OFF.
IF YOU ARE A PERSON WHO READS THE NEWSPAPER OR WATCHES TELEVISION, YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH CURRENT EVENTS. AND IT'S VERY HARD TO BE FAMILIAR WITH WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE WORLD AND NOT FEEL TOTALLY HELPLESS. HOW'S THE WAR TO END POVERTY GOING? THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE IN THE WORLD WHO ARE OFFICIALLY POOR HAS ONLY INCREASED. WHOLE COUNTRIES ARE FILLED WITH DISPLACED PERSONS, LIVING, IF YOU CAN CALL IT THAT, ON CHARITY WITH NO HOPE OF EVER MAKING A LIVING. WHOLE COUNTRIES ARE RULED BY DESPOTS WHO THINK NOTHING OF TURNING THEIR ARMIES ON THEIR OWN PEOPLE, SO POLITICAL FREEDOM IS DECLINING. PEOPLE CAN'T GET THE MEDICAL CARE THEY NEED, EVEN IN THIS THE RICHEST OF COUNTRIES. AND IF YOU HAVE CANCER IN ZIMBABWE, YOU WILL BE LUCKY TO GET MORPHINE TO HELP YOU BEAR YOUR PAIN. AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON. OUR VALUES ARE COLLAPSING ALL AROUND US. TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE IS THREATENED. PRACTICING CATHOLICS ARE BECOMING FEWER AND OLDER. OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM SEEMS TO BE BROKEN. ALL THIS MAKES YOU WANT TO CRAWL INTO BED AND PULL THE BLANKET OVER YOUR HEAD.
THE APOSTLES MAY HAVE FELT LIKE THAT, A LITTLE. JESUS, THEY SAY, IT'S GETTING LATE. SEND THESE PEOPLE HOME. THE APOSTLES KNEW THE CROWD WAS GETTING HUNGRY. IN THOSE DAYS, PEOPLE USUALLY ATE ONE MEAL A DAY, AND THE TIME FOR THAT MEAL HAD LONG PASSED. AND JESUS SAYS, “YOU GUYS – YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT.” AND MAYBE THERE WAS A SMILE ON HIS FACE AND A TWINKLE IN HIS EYE AS HE SAID THOSE WORDS. WAS HE TEASING THEM? MAYBE THE APOSTLES HEARD IT AS A JOKE. BUT THEN, SOMEONE REMEMBERED JESUS SAYING “WHATEVER YOU ASK THE FATHER IN MY NAME, IT SHALL BE GIVEN TO YOU.” AND “DON'T WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW. LOOK HOW THE BIRDS IN THE AIR AND THE LILIES OF THE FIELD ARE TAKEN CARE OF.” JESUS WAS ALWAYS TELLING THE APOSTLES THAT IF YOU LET GOD TAKE CARE OF THINGS, HE WOULD.
SO, IN MATTHEW'S STORY, WE DON'T HEAR THEM EXCLAIMING HOW IMPOSSIBLE IT IS TO FEED THIS CROWD. INSTEAD, THEY HAND OVER FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISH. AND JESUS, IN AN ACTION THAT ANTICIPATES THE EUCHARISTIC BANQUET AT THE LAST SUPPER, BLESSED THE FOOD AND BROKE THE BREAD AND GAVE IT BACK TO HIS DISCIPLES, WHO BEGAN TO HAND IT OUT TO THE CROWD. AND AFTER FEEDING THIS CROWD, FAR LARGER THAN 5000 INDIVIDUALS, THERE WERE BASKETS OF FOOD LEFT OVER.
THERE IS SO MUCH TO DO IN THE WORLD. IT IS OUR TASK AS CHRISTIANS TO BUILD UP THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. BUT EVERYWHERE WE TURN, IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE. SO OUR TEMPTATION IS TO SAY, “THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN WILL COME ALONG AT THE END OF TIME” OR, “GOD WILL MAKE EVERYTHING RIGHT SOMEDAY, THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT NOW.” AND WE GO ON, CONVINCED THAT WHATEVER WE DO, IT WON'T BE ENOUGH.
BUT THE MIRACLE OF THE LOAVES AND THE FISHES REMINDS US THAT WE CAN SQUEEZE OUT A FEW DROPS OF WATER FROM THE SAIL OF OUR BOAT, NEVER ADEQUATE, NEVER ENOUGH; OR WE CAN DIP IN TO THE ABUNDANT FRESH WATER SURROUNDING US ON ALL SIDES – GOD, WHO MULTIPLIES WHATEVER WE DO IN HIS NAME.
THE MIRACLE OF THE LOAVES AND THE FISHES IS PRETTY SPECTACULAR, AND IF YOU BELIEVE THE MIRACLE HAPPENED, YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD, AS HE SAID HE WAS. BUT THE IMPORTANT THING ABOUT THIS MIRACLE IS THAT IF YOU DARE TO TAKE GOD UP ON HIS PROMISES, YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED. IF YOU SET OUT TO WORK FOR A BETTER WORLD – A MORE JUST WORLD, A BETTER EDUCATED WORLD, A CLEANER WORLD – IF YOU PUT SOME OF YOUR ENERGY AND RESOURCES INTO PREACHING THE GOSPEL, CARRYING OUT THE BEATITUDES – IN SHORT, IF YOU BEGIN TO DO THE WORK CHRIST DID, YOU WILL SEE RESULTS FAR BEYOND WHAT YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD ACCOMPLISH. BECAUSE GOD MADE PROMISES TO YOU AND I, PROMISES TO MULTIPLY AND PERFECT OUR EFFORTS, AND HE DARES YOU TO TAKE HIM UP ON THEM, JUST LIKE JESUS DARED HIS APOSTLES THERE IN THAT DESERTED PLACE.
I READ ABOUT SOME SHIPWRECKED PEOPLE WHO WERE ADRIFT IN THE OCEAN. THEY HAD BEEN WRINGING OUT THE SAIL TO GET A LITTLE WATER TO DRINK. THEY WERE DISCOVERED, NEARLY DEAD OF DEHYDRATION. THEY DIDN'T REALIZE THAT THEY WERE IN AN AREA WHERE THE AMAZON RIVER FLOWS INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN, AND THE RIVER WATER DISPLACES THE SALT WATER OUT TO ABOUT 100 MILES FROM SHORE. THEY COULD HAVE HAD ALL THE FRESH WATER THEY WANTED, JUST BY DROPPING A BUCKET IN THE SEA.
AS YOU KNOW, THERE ARE FOUR GOSPELS. THERE IS ONLY ONE MIRACLE WHICH APPEARS IN ALL FOUR, AND THAT IS THIS STORY OF THE FEEDING OF THE CROWD, OR THE MULTIPLICATION OF THE LOAVES AND FISHES. THE DIFFERENT GOSPEL WRITERS HAVE DIFFERENT NUMBERS OF PEOPLE BEING FED, DIFFERENT TIMES IN THE LIFE OF CHRIST, AND EVEN DIFFERENT LOCATIONS FOR THIS MIRACLE TO TAKE PLACE. IN FACT, IN THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW, THE STORY IS TOLD TWICE; ONCE WITH FIVE LOAVES, AND THE OTHER WITH SEVEN. BUT TO THE EARLY CHURCH THERE MUST HAVE BEEN GREAT SIGNIFICANCE SINCE THE STORY WAS SO TREASURED.
THE GOSPEL WRITERS ARE ALWAYS USING THE EVENTS OF JESUS' LIFE TO ILLUSTRATE THEIR THEOLOGY. THEY PUT DIFFERENT WORDS INTO THE DISCIPLES MOUTHS. JESUS TELLS THEM TO FEED THE CROWD. LISTEN TO HOW THEY REPLY. IN THE OTHER MATTHEW STORY, THEY SAY, “WHERE COULD WE GET ENOUGH BREAD TO FEED THIS CROWD?” IN MARK, THEY SAY, “THAT WOULD TAKE MORE THAN A HALF-YEAR'S WAGES. ARE WE TO GO AND SPEND THAT MUCH ON BREAD AND GIVE IT TO THEM TO EAT?”IN LUKE, “WE HAVE ONLY FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISH HERE. UNLESS WE GO AND BUY FOOD FOR THIS CROWD (THERE WERE ABOUT 5000 MEN.) AND IN JOHN THEY SAY, “HERE IS A BOY WITH FIVE BARLEY LOAVES AND TWO SMALL FISH, BUT HOW FAR WILL THAT GO AMONG SO MANY? NOTICE THAT IN EACH OF THESE ACCOUNTS, THE APOSTLES ANSWER THE REQUEST OF JESUS BY POINTING OUT HOW ABSURD IT IS. AND THAT IS UNFORTUNATE, BECAUSE WHEN JESUS GOES AHEAD AND WORKS THE MIRACLE, WE ARE IMPRESSED BY THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF IT, AND IT BECOMES JUST ANOTHER MIRACLE SHOWING THAT JESUS WAS GOD. BUT MAYBE TODAY'S GOSPEL CAN GIVE US A DIFFERENT TAKE ON WHAT IS GOING ON. JESUS, AFTER ALL, DIDN'T DO MIRACLES TO SHOW OFF.
IF YOU ARE A PERSON WHO READS THE NEWSPAPER OR WATCHES TELEVISION, YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH CURRENT EVENTS. AND IT'S VERY HARD TO BE FAMILIAR WITH WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE WORLD AND NOT FEEL TOTALLY HELPLESS. HOW'S THE WAR TO END POVERTY GOING? THE PERCENTAGE OF PEOPLE IN THE WORLD WHO ARE OFFICIALLY POOR HAS ONLY INCREASED. WHOLE COUNTRIES ARE FILLED WITH DISPLACED PERSONS, LIVING, IF YOU CAN CALL IT THAT, ON CHARITY WITH NO HOPE OF EVER MAKING A LIVING. WHOLE COUNTRIES ARE RULED BY DESPOTS WHO THINK NOTHING OF TURNING THEIR ARMIES ON THEIR OWN PEOPLE, SO POLITICAL FREEDOM IS DECLINING. PEOPLE CAN'T GET THE MEDICAL CARE THEY NEED, EVEN IN THIS THE RICHEST OF COUNTRIES. AND IF YOU HAVE CANCER IN ZIMBABWE, YOU WILL BE LUCKY TO GET MORPHINE TO HELP YOU BEAR YOUR PAIN. AND THE LIST GOES ON AND ON. OUR VALUES ARE COLLAPSING ALL AROUND US. TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE IS THREATENED. PRACTICING CATHOLICS ARE BECOMING FEWER AND OLDER. OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM SEEMS TO BE BROKEN. ALL THIS MAKES YOU WANT TO CRAWL INTO BED AND PULL THE BLANKET OVER YOUR HEAD.
THE APOSTLES MAY HAVE FELT LIKE THAT, A LITTLE. JESUS, THEY SAY, IT'S GETTING LATE. SEND THESE PEOPLE HOME. THE APOSTLES KNEW THE CROWD WAS GETTING HUNGRY. IN THOSE DAYS, PEOPLE USUALLY ATE ONE MEAL A DAY, AND THE TIME FOR THAT MEAL HAD LONG PASSED. AND JESUS SAYS, “YOU GUYS – YOU GIVE THEM SOMETHING TO EAT.” AND MAYBE THERE WAS A SMILE ON HIS FACE AND A TWINKLE IN HIS EYE AS HE SAID THOSE WORDS. WAS HE TEASING THEM? MAYBE THE APOSTLES HEARD IT AS A JOKE. BUT THEN, SOMEONE REMEMBERED JESUS SAYING “WHATEVER YOU ASK THE FATHER IN MY NAME, IT SHALL BE GIVEN TO YOU.” AND “DON'T WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW. LOOK HOW THE BIRDS IN THE AIR AND THE LILIES OF THE FIELD ARE TAKEN CARE OF.” JESUS WAS ALWAYS TELLING THE APOSTLES THAT IF YOU LET GOD TAKE CARE OF THINGS, HE WOULD.
SO, IN MATTHEW'S STORY, WE DON'T HEAR THEM EXCLAIMING HOW IMPOSSIBLE IT IS TO FEED THIS CROWD. INSTEAD, THEY HAND OVER FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISH. AND JESUS, IN AN ACTION THAT ANTICIPATES THE EUCHARISTIC BANQUET AT THE LAST SUPPER, BLESSED THE FOOD AND BROKE THE BREAD AND GAVE IT BACK TO HIS DISCIPLES, WHO BEGAN TO HAND IT OUT TO THE CROWD. AND AFTER FEEDING THIS CROWD, FAR LARGER THAN 5000 INDIVIDUALS, THERE WERE BASKETS OF FOOD LEFT OVER.
THERE IS SO MUCH TO DO IN THE WORLD. IT IS OUR TASK AS CHRISTIANS TO BUILD UP THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. BUT EVERYWHERE WE TURN, IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE. SO OUR TEMPTATION IS TO SAY, “THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN WILL COME ALONG AT THE END OF TIME” OR, “GOD WILL MAKE EVERYTHING RIGHT SOMEDAY, THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO ABOUT IT NOW.” AND WE GO ON, CONVINCED THAT WHATEVER WE DO, IT WON'T BE ENOUGH.
BUT THE MIRACLE OF THE LOAVES AND THE FISHES REMINDS US THAT WE CAN SQUEEZE OUT A FEW DROPS OF WATER FROM THE SAIL OF OUR BOAT, NEVER ADEQUATE, NEVER ENOUGH; OR WE CAN DIP IN TO THE ABUNDANT FRESH WATER SURROUNDING US ON ALL SIDES – GOD, WHO MULTIPLIES WHATEVER WE DO IN HIS NAME.
THE MIRACLE OF THE LOAVES AND THE FISHES IS PRETTY SPECTACULAR, AND IF YOU BELIEVE THE MIRACLE HAPPENED, YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD, AS HE SAID HE WAS. BUT THE IMPORTANT THING ABOUT THIS MIRACLE IS THAT IF YOU DARE TO TAKE GOD UP ON HIS PROMISES, YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED. IF YOU SET OUT TO WORK FOR A BETTER WORLD – A MORE JUST WORLD, A BETTER EDUCATED WORLD, A CLEANER WORLD – IF YOU PUT SOME OF YOUR ENERGY AND RESOURCES INTO PREACHING THE GOSPEL, CARRYING OUT THE BEATITUDES – IN SHORT, IF YOU BEGIN TO DO THE WORK CHRIST DID, YOU WILL SEE RESULTS FAR BEYOND WHAT YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD ACCOMPLISH. BECAUSE GOD MADE PROMISES TO YOU AND I, PROMISES TO MULTIPLY AND PERFECT OUR EFFORTS, AND HE DARES YOU TO TAKE HIM UP ON THEM, JUST LIKE JESUS DARED HIS APOSTLES THERE IN THAT DESERTED PLACE.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
MATTHEW 13:44-52
ONE OF MY PATIENTS IS A YOUNG WOMAN WITH A PARTICULARLY VICIOUS CASE OF DIABETES. THE DISEASE HAS MADE HER NEARLY BLIND; SHE HAS LOST MOST OF THE SENSATION IN HER FEET, REPLACED BY A CONSTANT PAINFUL BURNING; SHE HAS GASTROPARESIS, WHICH IS A FANCY WORD FOR A STOMACH THAT DOESN'T CONTRACT PROPERLY ANYMORE, SO SHE HAS TO BE FED BY VEIN, AND WHEN SHE DOES TRY TO EAT, EVENTUALLY THE STOMACH FILLS UP AND SHE HAS MASSIVE VOMITING. AND THE DISEASE DESTROYED HER KIDNEYS.
AT THE AGE OF 33 SHE HAD NOTHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO BUT GRADUALLY LOSING MORE AND MORE FUNCTION, AND AN EARLY DEATH.
IT WAS AT THAT POINT THAT HER HUSBAND VOLUNTEERED TO DONATE ONE OF HIS OWN KIDNEYS. I MIGHT POINT OUT THAT THEIR MARRIAGE HAS NOT BEEN WONDERFUL, EITHER BEFORE OR AFTER THIS EVENT. HE COPES WITH THE CONSTANT PRESSURE OF A SICK WIFE AND HUGE FINANCIAL BURDENS WITH ALCOHOL; BUT SO FAR HE'S ALWAYS COME BACK TO SOBRIETY FOR A WHILE, UNTIL THE PRESSURE BUILDS UP AGAIN.
BUT HE GAVE HER A KIDNEY. HE HELD BACK DEATH FOR HER FOR A LITTLE LONGER, IN THE HOPES THAT MEDICAL SCIENCE MIGHT COME UP WITH SOMETHING NEW; BUT MORE, BECAUSE DESPITE THEIR LIFE TOGETHER BEING SUCH A CHALLENGE, HE DOESN'T WANT TO LOSE HER.
LOVE IS OFTEN VERY STRANGE. THE CHOICES WE MAKE ARE ALWAYS RELATED TO WHAT WE LOVE. EVERY TIME YOU AND I MAKE A CHOICE, WE ALSO CHOOSE TO FORGO WHAT WE MIGHT HAVE CHOSEN. THIS ISN'T A BIG DEAL WHEN YOU ARE CHOOSING BETWEEN PEAS AND CARROTS, OR EVEN A FORD OR CHEVROLET. BUT THE GREATER THE GOOD THAT WE CHOOSE, THE GREATER THE GOOD THAT WE GIVE UP. PSYCHOLOGISTS HAVE A NAME FOR THE FEELING OF LOSS THAT OCCURS ONCE WE'VE TAKEN POSSESSION OF WHAT WE HAVE CHOSEN – BUYER'S REMORSE. IT'S NOTHING BUT THE FEELING THAT WE'VE IRREVOCABLY LOST SOMETHING GOOD – WHICH WE HAVE.
HUMAN BEINGS ARE DESIGNED TO WANT EVERYTHING, TO POSSESS EVERYTHING, TO HAVE NO LIMITATIONS. LOOK AT ANY CHILD AT PLAY; THEY ARE SUPERHEROES AND PRINCESSES AND MOVIE STARS AND ATHLETES, SOMETIMES ALL ON THE SAME DAY. TAKE A CHILD TO A TOY STORE AND ASK HER TO PICK OUT ONE TOY; AND PREPARE TO SPEND THE AFTERNOON WAITING, OR INTERRUPT HER IN HER DELIBERATIONS, BECAUSE WE ARE DESIGNED TO WANT EVERYTHING.
AND WE ARE DESIGNED TO LOVE EVERYONE. CHILDREN SHOW US THIS AS WELL; THEY HAVE NO FEAR OF APPROACHING STRANGERS, THEY MAKE FRIENDS VERY QUICKLY, AND THEY ARE VERY LIBERAL WITH HUGS AND KISSES. AND GREAT SAINTS LEARN THIS FACT OVER AGAIN; SAINT FRANCIS EMBRACES THE LEPER; MOTHER THERESA COMFORTS THE DYING UNTOUCHABLES ON THE STREETS OF CALCUTTA.
SO WE GO THROUGH LIFE CHOOSING THIS ACTION WHICH WE THINK WE LOVE SLIGHTLY MORE THAN THE ACTION WE COULD HAVE CHOSEN; WE CHOOSE THIS PROFESSION INSTEAD OF THE ONE WE ALSO LIKED, BUT NOT QUITE AS MUCH. WE CHOOSE THIS PERSON TO SPEND OUR LIVES WITH INSTEAD OF THAT PERSON: EVEN IF WE CAN'T EVEN CONSIDER LOVING ANYONE ELSE, WHEN WE ENTER INTO THAT RELATIONSHIP THERE WILL BE LOSS, THERE WILL BE BUYER'S REMORSE, BECAUSE ALL OUR OTHER RELATIONSHIPS WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY WILL BE COMPLETELY CHANGED. EACH TIME WE MAKE A CHOICE, A REAL CHOICE, WE GIVE SOMETHING UP; AND WHEN THE CHOICE IS MOMENTOUS, WE GIVE UP SOMETHING MOMENTOUS. THAT'S LIFE, THAT'S REALITY.
IF YOU'VE BEEN LISTENING TO THE GOSPELS THESE PAST FEW SUNDAYS, JESUS HAS BEEN EXPLAINING TO HIS DISCIPLES THE MEANING OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. IF YOU HAVE A KINGDOM, IT IS A PLACE WHERE WHAT YOU WANT IS TRANSLATED INTO REALITY. THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ISN'T A PLACE, BUT IT IS WHERE GOD'S WILL IS BEING REALIZED. IT IS WHERE THE BLIND SEE, THE LAME WALK, AND THE POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. IT IS WHERE THE HUNGRY ARE FED, THE NAKED ARE CLOTHED, THOSE WHO MOURN ARE COMFORTED. IT IS WHERE THE PEOPLE WHO BEAR THE NAME OF CHRIST DO THE DEEDS OF CHRIST. SURPRISING THINGS ABOUT THE KINGDOM ARE THAT IT IS EASY TO MISS, LIKE A MUSTARD SEED; IT CAN'T BE FOUND IN PURE FORM; IT IS ALWAYS GROWING IN THE MIDST OF EVIL, LIKE WHEAT AND WEEDS, LIKE GOOD FISH AND BAD FISH; AND THE POTENTIAL FOR THE KINGDOM IS EVERYWHERE, BUT ONLY TAKES ROOT IN DECENT SOIL.
AND TODAY JESUS COMPARES IT TO A TREASURE HIDDEN IN A FIELD. THE MAN WHO HAS DISCOVERED THIS LONGS TO POSSESS THE TREASURE, WANTS IT MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE HE HAS – BECAUSE HE GOES AND SELLS ALL HE HAS SO THAT HE CAN PURCHASE THE FIELD, AND TAKE POSSESSION OF THE TREASURE. I THINK IT'S INTERESTING THAT IT TOOK EVERYTHING THE MAN HAD TO GET THE FIELD; IN PAYING FOR THE FIELD, HE DIDN'T PAY FOR THE TREASURE; IT WAS FREE.
AND SO TO SUM UP: OUR LIVES ARE FULL OF CHOICES, GREAT AND SMALL. THE HARDEST CHOICES ARE BETWEEN THINGS WHICH WE LOVE;. CHOICES LEAVE US WITH SOME DEGREE OF REGRET BECAUSE WE ARE DESIGNED TO POSSESS EVERYTHING, TO BE EVERYTHING, TO KNOW EVERYTHING; FOR SOMETHING IN US RECOGNIZES THAT WE HAVE INFINITE POTENTIAL, AND EVERY CHOICE IS CUTTING OFF A PATH THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN. SAINT AUGUSTINE OBSERVES THAT OUR HEARTS ARE RESTLESS UNTIL THEY REST IN GOD.
JESUS SAID THAT IF WE SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD, ALL ELSE WILL BE GIVEN TO US. JESUS TOLD US THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AMONG US, WITHIN US, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, INSOFAR AS WE DEVOTE OURSELVES TO DOING WHAT HE DID; IT DOESN'T MATTER IF THE PERSON NEXT DOOR OR THE PEOPLE AT WORK OR EVEN THE SPOUSE OF ONE'S HEART CHOOSES NOT TO SEEK THE KINGDOM OF GOD; WEEDS GROW WITH WHEAT, BAD FISH ARE CAUGHT WITH GOOD FISH. AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A SAINT TO BEGIN TO POSSESS IT, YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY THE REAL PRICE FOR THE KINGDOM; JESUS ALREADY DID THAT.
MY PATIENT'S HUSBAND MADE A CHOICE WHICH WAS MORE THAN GIVING UP A KIDNEY; IT WAS THE CHOICE TO CONTINUE IN A VERY STRESSFUL LIFE SITUATION, WITH WHICH EVEN NOW HE STILL HAS TROUBLE COPING; BUT HE WEIGHED THE CHOICES AND GAVE HIS WIFE A BETTER AND LONGER LIFE, IN RETURN FOR? ONLY TIME WILL TELL, BUT ACTING OUT OF LOVE, HE TRUSTS THAT LOVE WILL KEEP ITS PROMISE.
AND YOU AND I ARE CONFRONTED EVERY DAY WITH AN EVEN GREATER CHOICE – TO CHOOSE THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN OVER EVERYTHING ELSE THAT IS GOOD, THAT IS LOVED, THAT IS SATISFYING – BECAUSE THAT IS THE ONLY CHOICE FOR WHICH THERE WILL BE NO REGRET; THE ONLY CHOICE WHICH ENCOMPASSES ALL POSSIBILITIES, THE ONLY CHOICE WHICH SATISFIES OUR VERY NATURE, FOR IN CHOOSING THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, WE CHOOSE EVERYTHING.
ARE YOU READY TO SELL ALL YOU HAVE TO POSSESS THE KINGDOM? WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE YOUR HEART WILL BE AS WELL.
ONE OF MY PATIENTS IS A YOUNG WOMAN WITH A PARTICULARLY VICIOUS CASE OF DIABETES. THE DISEASE HAS MADE HER NEARLY BLIND; SHE HAS LOST MOST OF THE SENSATION IN HER FEET, REPLACED BY A CONSTANT PAINFUL BURNING; SHE HAS GASTROPARESIS, WHICH IS A FANCY WORD FOR A STOMACH THAT DOESN'T CONTRACT PROPERLY ANYMORE, SO SHE HAS TO BE FED BY VEIN, AND WHEN SHE DOES TRY TO EAT, EVENTUALLY THE STOMACH FILLS UP AND SHE HAS MASSIVE VOMITING. AND THE DISEASE DESTROYED HER KIDNEYS.
AT THE AGE OF 33 SHE HAD NOTHING TO LOOK FORWARD TO BUT GRADUALLY LOSING MORE AND MORE FUNCTION, AND AN EARLY DEATH.
IT WAS AT THAT POINT THAT HER HUSBAND VOLUNTEERED TO DONATE ONE OF HIS OWN KIDNEYS. I MIGHT POINT OUT THAT THEIR MARRIAGE HAS NOT BEEN WONDERFUL, EITHER BEFORE OR AFTER THIS EVENT. HE COPES WITH THE CONSTANT PRESSURE OF A SICK WIFE AND HUGE FINANCIAL BURDENS WITH ALCOHOL; BUT SO FAR HE'S ALWAYS COME BACK TO SOBRIETY FOR A WHILE, UNTIL THE PRESSURE BUILDS UP AGAIN.
BUT HE GAVE HER A KIDNEY. HE HELD BACK DEATH FOR HER FOR A LITTLE LONGER, IN THE HOPES THAT MEDICAL SCIENCE MIGHT COME UP WITH SOMETHING NEW; BUT MORE, BECAUSE DESPITE THEIR LIFE TOGETHER BEING SUCH A CHALLENGE, HE DOESN'T WANT TO LOSE HER.
LOVE IS OFTEN VERY STRANGE. THE CHOICES WE MAKE ARE ALWAYS RELATED TO WHAT WE LOVE. EVERY TIME YOU AND I MAKE A CHOICE, WE ALSO CHOOSE TO FORGO WHAT WE MIGHT HAVE CHOSEN. THIS ISN'T A BIG DEAL WHEN YOU ARE CHOOSING BETWEEN PEAS AND CARROTS, OR EVEN A FORD OR CHEVROLET. BUT THE GREATER THE GOOD THAT WE CHOOSE, THE GREATER THE GOOD THAT WE GIVE UP. PSYCHOLOGISTS HAVE A NAME FOR THE FEELING OF LOSS THAT OCCURS ONCE WE'VE TAKEN POSSESSION OF WHAT WE HAVE CHOSEN – BUYER'S REMORSE. IT'S NOTHING BUT THE FEELING THAT WE'VE IRREVOCABLY LOST SOMETHING GOOD – WHICH WE HAVE.
HUMAN BEINGS ARE DESIGNED TO WANT EVERYTHING, TO POSSESS EVERYTHING, TO HAVE NO LIMITATIONS. LOOK AT ANY CHILD AT PLAY; THEY ARE SUPERHEROES AND PRINCESSES AND MOVIE STARS AND ATHLETES, SOMETIMES ALL ON THE SAME DAY. TAKE A CHILD TO A TOY STORE AND ASK HER TO PICK OUT ONE TOY; AND PREPARE TO SPEND THE AFTERNOON WAITING, OR INTERRUPT HER IN HER DELIBERATIONS, BECAUSE WE ARE DESIGNED TO WANT EVERYTHING.
AND WE ARE DESIGNED TO LOVE EVERYONE. CHILDREN SHOW US THIS AS WELL; THEY HAVE NO FEAR OF APPROACHING STRANGERS, THEY MAKE FRIENDS VERY QUICKLY, AND THEY ARE VERY LIBERAL WITH HUGS AND KISSES. AND GREAT SAINTS LEARN THIS FACT OVER AGAIN; SAINT FRANCIS EMBRACES THE LEPER; MOTHER THERESA COMFORTS THE DYING UNTOUCHABLES ON THE STREETS OF CALCUTTA.
SO WE GO THROUGH LIFE CHOOSING THIS ACTION WHICH WE THINK WE LOVE SLIGHTLY MORE THAN THE ACTION WE COULD HAVE CHOSEN; WE CHOOSE THIS PROFESSION INSTEAD OF THE ONE WE ALSO LIKED, BUT NOT QUITE AS MUCH. WE CHOOSE THIS PERSON TO SPEND OUR LIVES WITH INSTEAD OF THAT PERSON: EVEN IF WE CAN'T EVEN CONSIDER LOVING ANYONE ELSE, WHEN WE ENTER INTO THAT RELATIONSHIP THERE WILL BE LOSS, THERE WILL BE BUYER'S REMORSE, BECAUSE ALL OUR OTHER RELATIONSHIPS WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY WILL BE COMPLETELY CHANGED. EACH TIME WE MAKE A CHOICE, A REAL CHOICE, WE GIVE SOMETHING UP; AND WHEN THE CHOICE IS MOMENTOUS, WE GIVE UP SOMETHING MOMENTOUS. THAT'S LIFE, THAT'S REALITY.
IF YOU'VE BEEN LISTENING TO THE GOSPELS THESE PAST FEW SUNDAYS, JESUS HAS BEEN EXPLAINING TO HIS DISCIPLES THE MEANING OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. IF YOU HAVE A KINGDOM, IT IS A PLACE WHERE WHAT YOU WANT IS TRANSLATED INTO REALITY. THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN ISN'T A PLACE, BUT IT IS WHERE GOD'S WILL IS BEING REALIZED. IT IS WHERE THE BLIND SEE, THE LAME WALK, AND THE POOR HAVE THE GOSPEL PREACHED TO THEM. IT IS WHERE THE HUNGRY ARE FED, THE NAKED ARE CLOTHED, THOSE WHO MOURN ARE COMFORTED. IT IS WHERE THE PEOPLE WHO BEAR THE NAME OF CHRIST DO THE DEEDS OF CHRIST. SURPRISING THINGS ABOUT THE KINGDOM ARE THAT IT IS EASY TO MISS, LIKE A MUSTARD SEED; IT CAN'T BE FOUND IN PURE FORM; IT IS ALWAYS GROWING IN THE MIDST OF EVIL, LIKE WHEAT AND WEEDS, LIKE GOOD FISH AND BAD FISH; AND THE POTENTIAL FOR THE KINGDOM IS EVERYWHERE, BUT ONLY TAKES ROOT IN DECENT SOIL.
AND TODAY JESUS COMPARES IT TO A TREASURE HIDDEN IN A FIELD. THE MAN WHO HAS DISCOVERED THIS LONGS TO POSSESS THE TREASURE, WANTS IT MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE HE HAS – BECAUSE HE GOES AND SELLS ALL HE HAS SO THAT HE CAN PURCHASE THE FIELD, AND TAKE POSSESSION OF THE TREASURE. I THINK IT'S INTERESTING THAT IT TOOK EVERYTHING THE MAN HAD TO GET THE FIELD; IN PAYING FOR THE FIELD, HE DIDN'T PAY FOR THE TREASURE; IT WAS FREE.
AND SO TO SUM UP: OUR LIVES ARE FULL OF CHOICES, GREAT AND SMALL. THE HARDEST CHOICES ARE BETWEEN THINGS WHICH WE LOVE;. CHOICES LEAVE US WITH SOME DEGREE OF REGRET BECAUSE WE ARE DESIGNED TO POSSESS EVERYTHING, TO BE EVERYTHING, TO KNOW EVERYTHING; FOR SOMETHING IN US RECOGNIZES THAT WE HAVE INFINITE POTENTIAL, AND EVERY CHOICE IS CUTTING OFF A PATH THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN. SAINT AUGUSTINE OBSERVES THAT OUR HEARTS ARE RESTLESS UNTIL THEY REST IN GOD.
JESUS SAID THAT IF WE SEEK FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD, ALL ELSE WILL BE GIVEN TO US. JESUS TOLD US THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AMONG US, WITHIN US, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, INSOFAR AS WE DEVOTE OURSELVES TO DOING WHAT HE DID; IT DOESN'T MATTER IF THE PERSON NEXT DOOR OR THE PEOPLE AT WORK OR EVEN THE SPOUSE OF ONE'S HEART CHOOSES NOT TO SEEK THE KINGDOM OF GOD; WEEDS GROW WITH WHEAT, BAD FISH ARE CAUGHT WITH GOOD FISH. AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A SAINT TO BEGIN TO POSSESS IT, YOU DON'T HAVE TO PAY THE REAL PRICE FOR THE KINGDOM; JESUS ALREADY DID THAT.
MY PATIENT'S HUSBAND MADE A CHOICE WHICH WAS MORE THAN GIVING UP A KIDNEY; IT WAS THE CHOICE TO CONTINUE IN A VERY STRESSFUL LIFE SITUATION, WITH WHICH EVEN NOW HE STILL HAS TROUBLE COPING; BUT HE WEIGHED THE CHOICES AND GAVE HIS WIFE A BETTER AND LONGER LIFE, IN RETURN FOR? ONLY TIME WILL TELL, BUT ACTING OUT OF LOVE, HE TRUSTS THAT LOVE WILL KEEP ITS PROMISE.
AND YOU AND I ARE CONFRONTED EVERY DAY WITH AN EVEN GREATER CHOICE – TO CHOOSE THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN OVER EVERYTHING ELSE THAT IS GOOD, THAT IS LOVED, THAT IS SATISFYING – BECAUSE THAT IS THE ONLY CHOICE FOR WHICH THERE WILL BE NO REGRET; THE ONLY CHOICE WHICH ENCOMPASSES ALL POSSIBILITIES, THE ONLY CHOICE WHICH SATISFIES OUR VERY NATURE, FOR IN CHOOSING THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, WE CHOOSE EVERYTHING.
ARE YOU READY TO SELL ALL YOU HAVE TO POSSESS THE KINGDOM? WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE YOUR HEART WILL BE AS WELL.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
MATTHEW 13:24-33
WHEN I WAS A BOY, MY MOTHER WOULD SEE ME SITTING ON THE SOFA READING COMIC BOOKS, AND, BECAUSE SHE COULDN'T STAND SEEING ANYONE SIT STILL, ORDER ME TO GO OUT THE GARDEN AND PULL UP WEEDS. I HATED THAT. I DIDN'T MIND PULLING UP WEEDS, BUT I COULDN'T TELL A WEED FROM A USEFUL PLANT. IN THE RHUBARB PATCH AND IN THE ROWS OF CARROTS I FELT FAIRLY SAFE. BUT WITH THE PEAS AND BEANS AND SQUASH -- I WAS HOPELESS. I WOULD STUDY EACH GREEN PLANT. I WOULD LOOK AT THE PICTURE ON THE SEED PACKAGE. I WOULD TRY TO DECIDE WHICH WERE IN NICE NEAT ROWS AND WHICH WEREN'T. BUT I NEVER DID IT QUITE RIGHT.
WHEN WE HEAR THE PARABLE OF THE WHEAT AND THE WEEDS, IT SEEMS STRAIGHTFORWARD. WE ARE WHEAT, AND WE COULD CERTAINLY NAME A FEW WEEDS AMONG OUR ACQUAINTANCES. WE WILL BE GATHERED INTO THE LORD'S BARN, AND THEY WILL BE CAST INTO THE FIRE.
BUT LET US GO BACK TO PALESTINE IN THE FIRST CENTURY. IF YOU REMEMBER YOUR BIBLE HISTORY, THE JEWS WHO HAD ONCE BEEN A PROSPEROUS AND POWERFUL COUNTRY UNDER DAVID AND SOLOMON, WENT THROUGH A PERIOD WHERE THEIR KINGDOM WAS BROKEN INTO TWO KINGDOMS, ISRAEL AND JUDAH. ISRAEL, IN THE NORTH, WAS CONQUERED BY THE ASSYRIANS AND THEIR LEADERS WERE EXILED; THE ASSYRIANS SETTLED PEOPLE FROM OTHER PARTS OF THEIR EMPIRE IN ISRAEL. THIS ALL TOOK PLACE ABOUT 700 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST. TO THE JEWS WHO STILL REMAINED IN THE HOLY LAND, IN THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH, THIS CALAMITY WAS GRADUALLY SEEN AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE FACT THAT THE TRIBES IN THE NORTH HAD BEEN UNFAITHFUL, REFUSING TO WORSHIP IN THE TEMPLE, AND ADOPTING SOME OF THE PRACTICES OF THE NATIVES WHO STILL LIVED IN THE NORTH. IN THE FIFTH CENTURY, THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH WAS CONQUERED BY THE BABYLONIANS, AND THE PRINCES AND PRIESTS AND OTHER PEOPLE OF SUBSTANCE EXILED. TWO GENERATIONS LATER, KING CYRUS OF PERSIA ALLOWED WHAT FEW JEWS WERE LEFT TO GO BACK TO THEIR LAND. DURING ALL THIS TIME, THE PROPHETS HAD BEEN REINFORCING THE IDEA THAT BECAUSE THEY HAD BEEN UNFAITHFUL, THEY HAD BEEN PUNISHED. AND NOW, IN THE LITTLE KINGDOM OF JEWS THAT WAS ALL THAT WAS LEFT OF THE LAND GIVEN TO ABRAHAM, THEY WERE ALLOWED TO PRACTICE THEIR WAYS UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYES OF THE ROMANS.
THE PHARISEES BELIEVED THAT THE ONLY WAY TO GAIN GOD'S FAVOR WAS TO RIGOROUSLY KEEP HIS LAWS. AND THEY TOOK IT UPON THEMSELVES TO DECIDE WHO WAS A GOOD JEW AND WHO WASN'T. THE PHARISEES HAD CONVINCED NEARLY EVERY RELIGIOUS JEW THAT YOU COULD EASILY TELL WHO WAS ON GOD'S SIDE AND WHO WAS NOT.
ANOTHER IMPORTANT THING IS THAT THE WEED WHICH IS REFERRED TO IN THIS GOSPEL IS A PLANT CALLED DARNEL. WHEN IT IS IMMATURE, IT LOOKS JUST LIKE AN IMMATURE WHEAT PLANT. IF YOU WANTED TO SPOIL YOUR ENEMIES HARVEST, YOU COULD SEW SOME DARNEL SEED, BECAUSE IF EVEN A LITTLE OF IT GOT GROUND INTO FLOUR WITH THE WHEAT, IT WOULD MAKE PEOPLE SICK. AND IF IT MADE PEOPLE SICK, THEY'D NEVER BUY WHEAT FROM YOU AGAIN.
SO BACK TO THE PARABLE. THE SERVANTS NOW CAN BE SEEN AS THE PHARISEES AND THOSE WHO BELIEVED LIKE THEM. THEY ARE IMPATIENT TO PURIFY ISRAEL; THEY TAKE IT UPON THEMSELVES TO IDENTIFY WHO IS A GOOD JEW AND WHO ISN'T. THEY AGITATE TO EXPEL THOSE WHO AREN'T GOOD JEWS, THOSE WHO AREN'T RIGOROUSLY FOLLOWING THEIR INTERPRETATION OF THE LAW, FROM THE SYNAGOGUE, WHICH WAS A TERRIBLE THING TO HAPPEN. IN A WORLD WHERE THE SOCIAL LIFE OF A VILLAGE REVOLVED AROUND THE SYNAGOGUE, TO BE EXCLUDED WAS PUNISHMENT INDEED. JESUS' APOSTLES HAVE BEGUN TO SEE THEMSELVES AS THE NEW PHARISEES. AFTER ALL, THEY HAVE TO CHOOSE SIDES, AND THE PHARISEES ARE THE ENEMIES. AND MAYBE NOW IT IS THEIR TURN TO DECIDE WHO IS ON GOD'S SIDE, WHAT RIGHTEOUSNESS REALLY IS, HOW YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS, HOW YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO WORSHIP. LIKE THE SERVANTS IN THE PARABLE, THEY ARE READY TO BEGIN THE TASK OF WEEDING IF JESUS JUST GIVES HIS WORD.
A DARNEL SPROUT LOOKS LIKE A WHEAT SPROUT. BUT WHEN THE PLANTS REACH MATURITY, IT IS EASY TO TELL THEM APART. THE GRAINS ON THE DARNEL PLANT ARE BLACK, AND EACH GRAIN TRAILS A LONG HAIR. IN OTHER WORDS, YOU CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE BY THE FRUIT WHICH EACH PLANT BEARS. AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FRUIT WILL BE UNTIL THE END OF THE LIFE OF THE PERSON -- AND MAYBE LONGER. SAINT JOSEPH, AFTER ALL, DIED BEFORE JESUS HAD LEFT HOME. WHEN JOSEPH DIED, TO ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES HE WAS A GOOD MAN, WHO HAD A SON WHO HAD TAKEN OVER HIS BUSINESS, AND TURNED OUT GOOD FURNITURE. PERHAPS THAT'S ALL JOSEPH KNEW, AND CERTAINLY ALL HIS NEIGHBORS KNEW, ABOUT THE FRUIT OF HIS LIFE. IT TOOK A LONG TIME TO SEE THAT THE FRUIT OF JOSEPH'S LIFE WAS JESUS, AND MARY, AND THE CHURCH; BECAUSE JOSEPH WAS THERE TO PROTECT AND NURTURE MARY EVEN BEFORE JESUS WAS BORN. YOU AND I AND CHRISTIANS DOWN THROUGH THE AGES OWE JOSEPH A LOT, BECAUSE WITHOUT HIM, MARY MIGHT HAVE BEEN STONED, OR MIGHT HAVE GIVEN BIRTH TO AN ILLEGITIMATE CHILD AND THE WHOLE STORY OF SALVATION WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY DIFFERENT. YOU MIGHT SAY THAT THE FRUIT THAT ANYONE BEARS IS NOT APPARENT TILL THE END OF THE WORLD.
JESUS TELLS HIS DISCIPLES THAT THERE NEVER WILL BE A TIME WHEN YOU AND I CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE WHEAT AND THE WEEDS, NO MATTER HOW HARD WE TRY. AND NO ONE ELSE CAN, EITHER. IF YOU MEET SOMEONE WHO CURSES A POLITICIAN, OR RIDICULES A BISHOP, OR LAUGHS AT A STREET PERSON; IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO HATES GAYS, OR MUSLIMS, OR DEMOCRATS, OR REPUBLICANS; IF YOU MEET ANYONE WHO IS QUICK TO DRAW A LINE BETWEEN US AND THEM, REMIND THEM OF THE WORDS OF JESUS: "LET THEM GROW TOGETHER UNTIL THE HARVEST." AT THE HARVEST, ALL WILL BE MADE CLEAR. AT THE HARVEST, WE WILL SEE THE FRUIT OF EACH INDIVIDUAL. AND WE WILL BE SURPRISED. SURPRISED THAT THERE WILL BE PEOPLE IN THE KINGDOM WHOM WE NEVER THOUGHT WOULD MAKE IT. AND SURPRISED THAT THERE WILL BE PEOPLE WE THOUGHT SHOULD BE THERE, WHO AREN'T. AND MAYBE, SURPRISED MOST OF ALL, WHEN WE SEE THE FRUIT WE HAVE BORNE, THAT WE WILL BE THERE AT ALL.
WHEN I WAS A BOY, MY MOTHER WOULD SEE ME SITTING ON THE SOFA READING COMIC BOOKS, AND, BECAUSE SHE COULDN'T STAND SEEING ANYONE SIT STILL, ORDER ME TO GO OUT THE GARDEN AND PULL UP WEEDS. I HATED THAT. I DIDN'T MIND PULLING UP WEEDS, BUT I COULDN'T TELL A WEED FROM A USEFUL PLANT. IN THE RHUBARB PATCH AND IN THE ROWS OF CARROTS I FELT FAIRLY SAFE. BUT WITH THE PEAS AND BEANS AND SQUASH -- I WAS HOPELESS. I WOULD STUDY EACH GREEN PLANT. I WOULD LOOK AT THE PICTURE ON THE SEED PACKAGE. I WOULD TRY TO DECIDE WHICH WERE IN NICE NEAT ROWS AND WHICH WEREN'T. BUT I NEVER DID IT QUITE RIGHT.
WHEN WE HEAR THE PARABLE OF THE WHEAT AND THE WEEDS, IT SEEMS STRAIGHTFORWARD. WE ARE WHEAT, AND WE COULD CERTAINLY NAME A FEW WEEDS AMONG OUR ACQUAINTANCES. WE WILL BE GATHERED INTO THE LORD'S BARN, AND THEY WILL BE CAST INTO THE FIRE.
BUT LET US GO BACK TO PALESTINE IN THE FIRST CENTURY. IF YOU REMEMBER YOUR BIBLE HISTORY, THE JEWS WHO HAD ONCE BEEN A PROSPEROUS AND POWERFUL COUNTRY UNDER DAVID AND SOLOMON, WENT THROUGH A PERIOD WHERE THEIR KINGDOM WAS BROKEN INTO TWO KINGDOMS, ISRAEL AND JUDAH. ISRAEL, IN THE NORTH, WAS CONQUERED BY THE ASSYRIANS AND THEIR LEADERS WERE EXILED; THE ASSYRIANS SETTLED PEOPLE FROM OTHER PARTS OF THEIR EMPIRE IN ISRAEL. THIS ALL TOOK PLACE ABOUT 700 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST. TO THE JEWS WHO STILL REMAINED IN THE HOLY LAND, IN THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH, THIS CALAMITY WAS GRADUALLY SEEN AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE FACT THAT THE TRIBES IN THE NORTH HAD BEEN UNFAITHFUL, REFUSING TO WORSHIP IN THE TEMPLE, AND ADOPTING SOME OF THE PRACTICES OF THE NATIVES WHO STILL LIVED IN THE NORTH. IN THE FIFTH CENTURY, THE KINGDOM OF JUDAH WAS CONQUERED BY THE BABYLONIANS, AND THE PRINCES AND PRIESTS AND OTHER PEOPLE OF SUBSTANCE EXILED. TWO GENERATIONS LATER, KING CYRUS OF PERSIA ALLOWED WHAT FEW JEWS WERE LEFT TO GO BACK TO THEIR LAND. DURING ALL THIS TIME, THE PROPHETS HAD BEEN REINFORCING THE IDEA THAT BECAUSE THEY HAD BEEN UNFAITHFUL, THEY HAD BEEN PUNISHED. AND NOW, IN THE LITTLE KINGDOM OF JEWS THAT WAS ALL THAT WAS LEFT OF THE LAND GIVEN TO ABRAHAM, THEY WERE ALLOWED TO PRACTICE THEIR WAYS UNDER THE WATCHFUL EYES OF THE ROMANS.
THE PHARISEES BELIEVED THAT THE ONLY WAY TO GAIN GOD'S FAVOR WAS TO RIGOROUSLY KEEP HIS LAWS. AND THEY TOOK IT UPON THEMSELVES TO DECIDE WHO WAS A GOOD JEW AND WHO WASN'T. THE PHARISEES HAD CONVINCED NEARLY EVERY RELIGIOUS JEW THAT YOU COULD EASILY TELL WHO WAS ON GOD'S SIDE AND WHO WAS NOT.
ANOTHER IMPORTANT THING IS THAT THE WEED WHICH IS REFERRED TO IN THIS GOSPEL IS A PLANT CALLED DARNEL. WHEN IT IS IMMATURE, IT LOOKS JUST LIKE AN IMMATURE WHEAT PLANT. IF YOU WANTED TO SPOIL YOUR ENEMIES HARVEST, YOU COULD SEW SOME DARNEL SEED, BECAUSE IF EVEN A LITTLE OF IT GOT GROUND INTO FLOUR WITH THE WHEAT, IT WOULD MAKE PEOPLE SICK. AND IF IT MADE PEOPLE SICK, THEY'D NEVER BUY WHEAT FROM YOU AGAIN.
SO BACK TO THE PARABLE. THE SERVANTS NOW CAN BE SEEN AS THE PHARISEES AND THOSE WHO BELIEVED LIKE THEM. THEY ARE IMPATIENT TO PURIFY ISRAEL; THEY TAKE IT UPON THEMSELVES TO IDENTIFY WHO IS A GOOD JEW AND WHO ISN'T. THEY AGITATE TO EXPEL THOSE WHO AREN'T GOOD JEWS, THOSE WHO AREN'T RIGOROUSLY FOLLOWING THEIR INTERPRETATION OF THE LAW, FROM THE SYNAGOGUE, WHICH WAS A TERRIBLE THING TO HAPPEN. IN A WORLD WHERE THE SOCIAL LIFE OF A VILLAGE REVOLVED AROUND THE SYNAGOGUE, TO BE EXCLUDED WAS PUNISHMENT INDEED. JESUS' APOSTLES HAVE BEGUN TO SEE THEMSELVES AS THE NEW PHARISEES. AFTER ALL, THEY HAVE TO CHOOSE SIDES, AND THE PHARISEES ARE THE ENEMIES. AND MAYBE NOW IT IS THEIR TURN TO DECIDE WHO IS ON GOD'S SIDE, WHAT RIGHTEOUSNESS REALLY IS, HOW YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS, HOW YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO WORSHIP. LIKE THE SERVANTS IN THE PARABLE, THEY ARE READY TO BEGIN THE TASK OF WEEDING IF JESUS JUST GIVES HIS WORD.
A DARNEL SPROUT LOOKS LIKE A WHEAT SPROUT. BUT WHEN THE PLANTS REACH MATURITY, IT IS EASY TO TELL THEM APART. THE GRAINS ON THE DARNEL PLANT ARE BLACK, AND EACH GRAIN TRAILS A LONG HAIR. IN OTHER WORDS, YOU CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE BY THE FRUIT WHICH EACH PLANT BEARS. AND YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE FRUIT WILL BE UNTIL THE END OF THE LIFE OF THE PERSON -- AND MAYBE LONGER. SAINT JOSEPH, AFTER ALL, DIED BEFORE JESUS HAD LEFT HOME. WHEN JOSEPH DIED, TO ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES HE WAS A GOOD MAN, WHO HAD A SON WHO HAD TAKEN OVER HIS BUSINESS, AND TURNED OUT GOOD FURNITURE. PERHAPS THAT'S ALL JOSEPH KNEW, AND CERTAINLY ALL HIS NEIGHBORS KNEW, ABOUT THE FRUIT OF HIS LIFE. IT TOOK A LONG TIME TO SEE THAT THE FRUIT OF JOSEPH'S LIFE WAS JESUS, AND MARY, AND THE CHURCH; BECAUSE JOSEPH WAS THERE TO PROTECT AND NURTURE MARY EVEN BEFORE JESUS WAS BORN. YOU AND I AND CHRISTIANS DOWN THROUGH THE AGES OWE JOSEPH A LOT, BECAUSE WITHOUT HIM, MARY MIGHT HAVE BEEN STONED, OR MIGHT HAVE GIVEN BIRTH TO AN ILLEGITIMATE CHILD AND THE WHOLE STORY OF SALVATION WOULD HAVE BEEN VERY DIFFERENT. YOU MIGHT SAY THAT THE FRUIT THAT ANYONE BEARS IS NOT APPARENT TILL THE END OF THE WORLD.
JESUS TELLS HIS DISCIPLES THAT THERE NEVER WILL BE A TIME WHEN YOU AND I CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE WHEAT AND THE WEEDS, NO MATTER HOW HARD WE TRY. AND NO ONE ELSE CAN, EITHER. IF YOU MEET SOMEONE WHO CURSES A POLITICIAN, OR RIDICULES A BISHOP, OR LAUGHS AT A STREET PERSON; IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO HATES GAYS, OR MUSLIMS, OR DEMOCRATS, OR REPUBLICANS; IF YOU MEET ANYONE WHO IS QUICK TO DRAW A LINE BETWEEN US AND THEM, REMIND THEM OF THE WORDS OF JESUS: "LET THEM GROW TOGETHER UNTIL THE HARVEST." AT THE HARVEST, ALL WILL BE MADE CLEAR. AT THE HARVEST, WE WILL SEE THE FRUIT OF EACH INDIVIDUAL. AND WE WILL BE SURPRISED. SURPRISED THAT THERE WILL BE PEOPLE IN THE KINGDOM WHOM WE NEVER THOUGHT WOULD MAKE IT. AND SURPRISED THAT THERE WILL BE PEOPLE WE THOUGHT SHOULD BE THERE, WHO AREN'T. AND MAYBE, SURPRISED MOST OF ALL, WHEN WE SEE THE FRUIT WE HAVE BORNE, THAT WE WILL BE THERE AT ALL.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A
MATTHEW 13:1-23
I HAD A MEDICAL STUDENT WHO DID A ROTATION WITH ME SEVERAL YEARS AGO. I DID WHAT I ALWAYS DO; I CORRECTED, INSTRUCTED, ENCOURAGED -- ALL THE THINGS I'VE DONE WITH MEDICAL STUDENTS SINCE I STARTED TEACHING. AND AT THE END OF THE ROTATION WE SAID GOODBYE AND I NEVER EXPECTED I'D HEAR FROM THAT PERSON AGAIN. ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO I WAS AT A MEDICAL MEETING AND THE STUDENT, NOW A SPECIALIST AND A CONSULTANT, CAME UP TO ME. I WASN'T SURE OF HIS NAME RIGHT AWAY. HE REMINDED ME OF HIS EXPERIENCE SO MANY YEARS AGO, AND TOLD ME THAT BECAUSE OF IT, HE HAD DECIDED TO GO INTO CANCER MEDICINE, MY OWN SPECIALTY. WE TALKED FOR A WHILE, AND I LEFT WITH A GOOD FEELING; I HAD MADE A DIFFERENCE IN SOMEONE'S LIFE, BUT I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT AT THE TIME.
IF YOU WERE TO VISIT A FARM IN PALESTINE DURING THE TIME OF JESUS, IT WOULD BE VERY DIFFERENT FROM FARMS AROUND HERE. THE SOIL IS POOR; THERE ARE AREAS WHERE THERE IS ONLY A SMALL AMOUNT OF DIRT LYING ABOVE THE ROCK. AND THE PALESTINIAN FARMER DIDN'T HAVE THE MODERN CHEMICALS THAT CAN KEEP DOWN WEEDS, AND MOST HAD TO DO THEIR PLOWING BY HAND; IF YOU WERE RICH, YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO HAVE AN ANIMAL TO PULL A PLOW, BUT THE AVERAGE FARMER USED A HOE TO CHURN UP THE GROUND A BIT. IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE GOOD SOIL, THE FARMER WOULD KEEP TO THE SAME PATH WHENEVER HE WENT OUT INTO HIS FIELD; THE PATHWAY WAS TRAMPLED DOWN AND NOT MUCH GOOD FOR ANYTHING. AND IT WAS EXHAUSTING, AND THE SEED WAS EXPENSIVE, USUALLY SAVED FROM THE LAST YEAR'S CROP. AND THESE FARMERS BARELY RAISED ENOUGH TO FEED THEIR FAMILIES AND EXCHANGE A LITTLE OF THEIR PRODUCE FOR THINGS THEY COULDN'T PRODUCE THEMSELVES. TO THE PEOPLE OF JESUS' TIME, THE PARABLE YOU JUST HEARD WOULD BE VERY RADICAL. BECAUSE A PALESTINIAN FARMER WOULD NEVER THROW SEED INTO A PATCH OF THORNS, WOULD NEVER WASTE SEED ON A TRAMPLED PATH; AND WOULD CERTAINLY NOT SIT BACK AND WATCH BIRDS PICK UP SEED AND CARRY IT AWAY.
A COMMON INTERPRETATION OF THIS PARABLE IS THAT WE SHOULD STRIVE TO BE LIKE THE GOOD SOIL – WE SHOULD PREPARE OURSELVES SO THAT THE WORD HAS A CHANCE TO DO IT'S THING IN US. AND WE COULD THEN GO HOME FEELING THAT AT LEAST WE'RE NOT LIKE SOME OF THE SOIL MENTIONED IN THE PARABLE; AT LEAST WE CAME TO CHURCH, RIGHT? AND WE ARE TRYING, AFTER ALL, SO WE MIGHT NOT YIELD 100 FOLD, BUT MAYBE 30, OR TEN, OR FIVE? IT'S TOO BAD PEOPLE WHO NEED TO HEAR THIS MESSAGE AREN'T HERE, RIGHT?
BUT THIS PARABLE IS NOT ABOUT YOU AND ME AND WHAT TO DO. THIS PARABLE IS ABOUT GOD THE FATHER, WHO IS THE SOWER, AND GOD THE SON, WHO IS THE WORD, THE SEED. AND GOD THE FATHER SCATTERS THE WORD EVERYWHERE; HE DOESN'T PAY ATTENTION TO THE SOIL. IF YOU WENT TO TIBET, YOU WOULD FIND THAT THE WORD HAS ALREADY BEATEN YOU THERE; SOME OF THOSE BUDDHIST MONKS COULD PUT YOU AND I TO SHAME IN THEIR ACTUAL PRACTICE OF CHARITY AND BROTHERLY LOVE. AND THE WORD HAS BEEN EVERYWHERE, LONG BEFORE CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES EVER SHOWED UP. AND I WOULD DARE SAY THAT THIS PARABLE IS ALSO ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT, AS WELL, WHO IS, AFTER ALL, THE ONE WHO PREPARES THE SOIL, FOR HOW THE WORD IS RECEIVED. IF I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE WORD SEWN IN MY HEART, WHY IS THAT? OR, IF I BEAR FRUIT 100 FOLD, WHY IS THAT? PAUL SAID THAT “EVERY GOOD THING COMES FROM GOD”. SO WHETHER WE BEAR FRUIT OR NOT, IT DOESN'T HAVE MUCH TO DO WITH YOU AND I, IT WOULD SEEM.
JESUS SEEMS TO BE IMPLYING THAT THE RESPONSE TO THE WORD IS NOT REALLY IN OUR HANDS. HE QUOTES FROM ISAIAH, “YOU SHALL INDEED HEAR BUT NOT UNDERSTAND, YOU SHALL LOOK BUT NEVER SEE.” AND JESUS TELLS HIS DISCIPLES, “KNOWLEDGE OF THE MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM HAS BEEN GRANTED TO YOU”. NOTICE, THIS KNOWLEDGE HAS NOT BEEN LEARNED, IT HAS BEEN GIVEN AS A GIFT. AND JESUS GOES ON TO SAY THAT IT ISN'T EVEN A DESERVED GIFT BECAUSE “MANY PROPHETS AND RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE LONGED TO SEE WHAT YOU SEE … AND HEAR WHAT YOU HEAR...”
JESUS' MESSAGE IS PRETTY OBVIOUS WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT. THE WORD OF GOD, WHICH FINDS ITS COMPLETION AND SUMMIT IN JESUS HIMSELF, IS THERE FOR EVERYONE. GOD SPEAKS THROUGH THE LIFE OF HIS SON, BUT ESPECIALLY THROUGH HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION. SOME ARE INDIFFERENT, AND DON'T REACT AT ALL. SOME REACT BY HOSTILITY, OR MOCKERY; GOD'S WORD HAS AFFECTED THEM, BUT IN A BAD WAY. THE CROSS IS A SIGN OF CONTRADICTION. SOME REACT WITH ENTHUSIASM, BUT THAT BURST OF ENERGY DIES OUT. AND SOME DO BEAR FRUIT. BUT GOD SPEAKS HIS WORD TO EVERY PERSON.
SO I TAKE AWAY THREE THINGS FROM THIS PARABLE; FIRST, I SEE THE FATHER CASTING HIS WORD EVERYWHERE; HE IS NOT DISAPPOINTED WHEN THE SEED DOES NOT BEAR FRUIT, BUT HE IS JOYFUL WHEN IT DOES; I SEE JESUS AS THE SEED, ALWAYS RETURNING TO THE FATHER HAVING DONE HIS WORK, AS OUR FIRST READING SAYS. AND I SEE THE HOLY SPIRIT, PREPARING THE GROUND, FOR HIS OWN MYSTERIOUS REASONS CHOOSING THIS ONE AND NOT THAT ONE TO BEAR FRUIT. SECOND, I SEE JESUS TELLING US, HIS FOLLOWERS, THAT WE ARE GIVEN THE GIFT OF UNDERSTANDING THIS PARABLE. WE ARE GIVEN THAT GIFT THROUGH OUR BAPTISMS, THROUGH OUR RECEPTION OF THE SACRAMENTS. OUR REACTION SHOULD NOT BE THAT WE ARE BETTER THAN OTHER PEOPLE WHO WEREN'T GIVEN THE GIFT, BUT THAT WE HAVE BEEN SINGLED OUT THROUGH NO FAULT OF OUR OWN, THROUGH NO VIRTUE OF OUR OWN, TO UNDERSTAND SOMETHING OF GOD'S NATURE AND PLAN. THIRD, AND THIS IS PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT POINT, BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND, WE ARE TO PARTICIPATE IN SPREADING THE WORD; AS WE SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS IN IMITATION OF OUR FATHER, WE NEED TO IMITATE HIS ATTITUDE AS WELL – OUR JOB IS NOT TO WORRY ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THE WORD THAT WE SPREAD, BUT SIMPLY TO DO IT, SIMPLY TO BE FAITHFUL; SIMPLY TO BE GENEROUS IN SHARING WHAT WE KNOW TO BE THE TRUTH.
SAINT PAUL SAID, “I PLANTED, APOLLOS WATERED, BUT IT WAS GOD WHO GAVE GROWTH”. IT IS AFTER ALL GOD WHO WILL BRING ABOUT WHAT HE WANTS FROM OUR EFFORTS; AND IN HIS OWN TIME. ALL WE KNOW IS THAT HIS WORD DOES NOT RETURN TO HIM UNTIL IT ACHIEVES THE END FOR WHICH HE SENT IT.
I HAD A MEDICAL STUDENT WHO DID A ROTATION WITH ME SEVERAL YEARS AGO. I DID WHAT I ALWAYS DO; I CORRECTED, INSTRUCTED, ENCOURAGED -- ALL THE THINGS I'VE DONE WITH MEDICAL STUDENTS SINCE I STARTED TEACHING. AND AT THE END OF THE ROTATION WE SAID GOODBYE AND I NEVER EXPECTED I'D HEAR FROM THAT PERSON AGAIN. ABOUT FIVE YEARS AGO I WAS AT A MEDICAL MEETING AND THE STUDENT, NOW A SPECIALIST AND A CONSULTANT, CAME UP TO ME. I WASN'T SURE OF HIS NAME RIGHT AWAY. HE REMINDED ME OF HIS EXPERIENCE SO MANY YEARS AGO, AND TOLD ME THAT BECAUSE OF IT, HE HAD DECIDED TO GO INTO CANCER MEDICINE, MY OWN SPECIALTY. WE TALKED FOR A WHILE, AND I LEFT WITH A GOOD FEELING; I HAD MADE A DIFFERENCE IN SOMEONE'S LIFE, BUT I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT AT THE TIME.
IF YOU WERE TO VISIT A FARM IN PALESTINE DURING THE TIME OF JESUS, IT WOULD BE VERY DIFFERENT FROM FARMS AROUND HERE. THE SOIL IS POOR; THERE ARE AREAS WHERE THERE IS ONLY A SMALL AMOUNT OF DIRT LYING ABOVE THE ROCK. AND THE PALESTINIAN FARMER DIDN'T HAVE THE MODERN CHEMICALS THAT CAN KEEP DOWN WEEDS, AND MOST HAD TO DO THEIR PLOWING BY HAND; IF YOU WERE RICH, YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO HAVE AN ANIMAL TO PULL A PLOW, BUT THE AVERAGE FARMER USED A HOE TO CHURN UP THE GROUND A BIT. IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE GOOD SOIL, THE FARMER WOULD KEEP TO THE SAME PATH WHENEVER HE WENT OUT INTO HIS FIELD; THE PATHWAY WAS TRAMPLED DOWN AND NOT MUCH GOOD FOR ANYTHING. AND IT WAS EXHAUSTING, AND THE SEED WAS EXPENSIVE, USUALLY SAVED FROM THE LAST YEAR'S CROP. AND THESE FARMERS BARELY RAISED ENOUGH TO FEED THEIR FAMILIES AND EXCHANGE A LITTLE OF THEIR PRODUCE FOR THINGS THEY COULDN'T PRODUCE THEMSELVES. TO THE PEOPLE OF JESUS' TIME, THE PARABLE YOU JUST HEARD WOULD BE VERY RADICAL. BECAUSE A PALESTINIAN FARMER WOULD NEVER THROW SEED INTO A PATCH OF THORNS, WOULD NEVER WASTE SEED ON A TRAMPLED PATH; AND WOULD CERTAINLY NOT SIT BACK AND WATCH BIRDS PICK UP SEED AND CARRY IT AWAY.
A COMMON INTERPRETATION OF THIS PARABLE IS THAT WE SHOULD STRIVE TO BE LIKE THE GOOD SOIL – WE SHOULD PREPARE OURSELVES SO THAT THE WORD HAS A CHANCE TO DO IT'S THING IN US. AND WE COULD THEN GO HOME FEELING THAT AT LEAST WE'RE NOT LIKE SOME OF THE SOIL MENTIONED IN THE PARABLE; AT LEAST WE CAME TO CHURCH, RIGHT? AND WE ARE TRYING, AFTER ALL, SO WE MIGHT NOT YIELD 100 FOLD, BUT MAYBE 30, OR TEN, OR FIVE? IT'S TOO BAD PEOPLE WHO NEED TO HEAR THIS MESSAGE AREN'T HERE, RIGHT?
BUT THIS PARABLE IS NOT ABOUT YOU AND ME AND WHAT TO DO. THIS PARABLE IS ABOUT GOD THE FATHER, WHO IS THE SOWER, AND GOD THE SON, WHO IS THE WORD, THE SEED. AND GOD THE FATHER SCATTERS THE WORD EVERYWHERE; HE DOESN'T PAY ATTENTION TO THE SOIL. IF YOU WENT TO TIBET, YOU WOULD FIND THAT THE WORD HAS ALREADY BEATEN YOU THERE; SOME OF THOSE BUDDHIST MONKS COULD PUT YOU AND I TO SHAME IN THEIR ACTUAL PRACTICE OF CHARITY AND BROTHERLY LOVE. AND THE WORD HAS BEEN EVERYWHERE, LONG BEFORE CHRISTIAN MISSIONARIES EVER SHOWED UP. AND I WOULD DARE SAY THAT THIS PARABLE IS ALSO ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT, AS WELL, WHO IS, AFTER ALL, THE ONE WHO PREPARES THE SOIL, FOR HOW THE WORD IS RECEIVED. IF I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE WORD SEWN IN MY HEART, WHY IS THAT? OR, IF I BEAR FRUIT 100 FOLD, WHY IS THAT? PAUL SAID THAT “EVERY GOOD THING COMES FROM GOD”. SO WHETHER WE BEAR FRUIT OR NOT, IT DOESN'T HAVE MUCH TO DO WITH YOU AND I, IT WOULD SEEM.
JESUS SEEMS TO BE IMPLYING THAT THE RESPONSE TO THE WORD IS NOT REALLY IN OUR HANDS. HE QUOTES FROM ISAIAH, “YOU SHALL INDEED HEAR BUT NOT UNDERSTAND, YOU SHALL LOOK BUT NEVER SEE.” AND JESUS TELLS HIS DISCIPLES, “KNOWLEDGE OF THE MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM HAS BEEN GRANTED TO YOU”. NOTICE, THIS KNOWLEDGE HAS NOT BEEN LEARNED, IT HAS BEEN GIVEN AS A GIFT. AND JESUS GOES ON TO SAY THAT IT ISN'T EVEN A DESERVED GIFT BECAUSE “MANY PROPHETS AND RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE LONGED TO SEE WHAT YOU SEE … AND HEAR WHAT YOU HEAR...”
JESUS' MESSAGE IS PRETTY OBVIOUS WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT. THE WORD OF GOD, WHICH FINDS ITS COMPLETION AND SUMMIT IN JESUS HIMSELF, IS THERE FOR EVERYONE. GOD SPEAKS THROUGH THE LIFE OF HIS SON, BUT ESPECIALLY THROUGH HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION. SOME ARE INDIFFERENT, AND DON'T REACT AT ALL. SOME REACT BY HOSTILITY, OR MOCKERY; GOD'S WORD HAS AFFECTED THEM, BUT IN A BAD WAY. THE CROSS IS A SIGN OF CONTRADICTION. SOME REACT WITH ENTHUSIASM, BUT THAT BURST OF ENERGY DIES OUT. AND SOME DO BEAR FRUIT. BUT GOD SPEAKS HIS WORD TO EVERY PERSON.
SO I TAKE AWAY THREE THINGS FROM THIS PARABLE; FIRST, I SEE THE FATHER CASTING HIS WORD EVERYWHERE; HE IS NOT DISAPPOINTED WHEN THE SEED DOES NOT BEAR FRUIT, BUT HE IS JOYFUL WHEN IT DOES; I SEE JESUS AS THE SEED, ALWAYS RETURNING TO THE FATHER HAVING DONE HIS WORK, AS OUR FIRST READING SAYS. AND I SEE THE HOLY SPIRIT, PREPARING THE GROUND, FOR HIS OWN MYSTERIOUS REASONS CHOOSING THIS ONE AND NOT THAT ONE TO BEAR FRUIT. SECOND, I SEE JESUS TELLING US, HIS FOLLOWERS, THAT WE ARE GIVEN THE GIFT OF UNDERSTANDING THIS PARABLE. WE ARE GIVEN THAT GIFT THROUGH OUR BAPTISMS, THROUGH OUR RECEPTION OF THE SACRAMENTS. OUR REACTION SHOULD NOT BE THAT WE ARE BETTER THAN OTHER PEOPLE WHO WEREN'T GIVEN THE GIFT, BUT THAT WE HAVE BEEN SINGLED OUT THROUGH NO FAULT OF OUR OWN, THROUGH NO VIRTUE OF OUR OWN, TO UNDERSTAND SOMETHING OF GOD'S NATURE AND PLAN. THIRD, AND THIS IS PERHAPS THE MOST IMPORTANT POINT, BECAUSE WE UNDERSTAND, WE ARE TO PARTICIPATE IN SPREADING THE WORD; AS WE SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS IN IMITATION OF OUR FATHER, WE NEED TO IMITATE HIS ATTITUDE AS WELL – OUR JOB IS NOT TO WORRY ABOUT WHAT HAPPENS TO THE WORD THAT WE SPREAD, BUT SIMPLY TO DO IT, SIMPLY TO BE FAITHFUL; SIMPLY TO BE GENEROUS IN SHARING WHAT WE KNOW TO BE THE TRUTH.
SAINT PAUL SAID, “I PLANTED, APOLLOS WATERED, BUT IT WAS GOD WHO GAVE GROWTH”. IT IS AFTER ALL GOD WHO WILL BRING ABOUT WHAT HE WANTS FROM OUR EFFORTS; AND IN HIS OWN TIME. ALL WE KNOW IS THAT HIS WORD DOES NOT RETURN TO HIM UNTIL IT ACHIEVES THE END FOR WHICH HE SENT IT.
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