MATTHEW 18:21-35
THERE IS A MARVELOUS MOVIE CALLED “ROSEANNA” WHICH FOR SOME REASON NEVER MADE THE BIG TIME. IT IS SET IN A LITTLE VILLAGE IN ITALY, AND TELLS THE STORY OF ROSEANNA, WHO IS CHRONICALLY ILL, AND HER HUSBAND ANTONIO, WHO IS A SIMPLE SOUL WHO RUNS A LITTLE RESTAURANT. THEY HAD LOST THEIR ONLY CHILD WHO IS BURIED IN THE LOCAL CEMETERY. THE CEMETERY IS RUNNING OUT OF ROOM, AND ROSEANNA, WHO BELIEVES SHE WILL DIE SOON, WANTS TO BE BURIED NEXT TO HER CHILD. BUT I WON'T GIVE AWAY THE ENDING. I JUST WANTED TO DESCRIBE ONE SCENE. A MAN WHO IS A RETIRED CRIMINAL PASSES AWAY. ANTONIO DECIDES TO HIDE THE FACT THAT HE IS DEAD, SINCE HE WILL TAKE UP ONE MORE GRAVE IN THE CEMETERY. ANOTHER CRIMINAL IS RELEASED FROM PRISON, AND GOES TO ANTONIO AND THREATENS HIM, DEMANDING THAT HE LEAD HIM TO THE MAN WHO HAD STOLEN HIS MONEY BEFORE HE WENT TO PRISON. ANTONIO FINALLY CONFESSES THAT THE MAN IN QUESTION IS ACTUALLY DEAD. THE CRIMINAL BRANDISHES A GUN, AND SWEARS HE WILL GET HIS REVENGE. JUST BEFORE HE SHOOTS HIMSELF IN THE HEAD, HE CRIES OUT “I KNOW YOU ARE IN HELL, AND I AM COMING FOR YOU!”
AFTER JESUS TELLS PETER THAT HE MUST FORGIVE “SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN TIMES” HE TELLS THE STORY OF THE UNGRATEFUL SERVANT, WHICH YOU HAVE JUST HEARD. THE LESSON SEEMS TO BE THAT IF THE FATHER HAS FORGIVEN MY SINS THROUGH THE DEATH OF HIS SON, MY LORD AND MY BROTHER, SURELY I SHOULD BE FORGIVING OTHER PEOPLE FOR THEIR OFFENSES AGAINST ME, WHICH ARE TRIVIAL BY COMPARISON. ONE COULD SAY THAT IN A WAY, FORGIVENESS IS AN ACT OF LOVE FOR THE ONE WE FORGIVE; IT IS SOMETHING WE DO OUT OF THE GOOD OF OUR HEARTS.
BUT I WONDER IF THAT IS THE WHOLE MESSAGE. BECAUSE THE KING WHO FORGIVES IS HIMSELF UNAFFECTED, OR PERHAPS HE EVEN BECOMES A BETTER PERSON; BUT THE UNGRATEFUL SERVANT ENDS UP BEING TORTURED UNTIL HE PAYS HIS DEBT IN FULL.
JESUS ASKS PETER TO FORGIVE FOUR HUNDRED AND NINETY TIMES FOR PETER'S SAKE, NOT FOR THE SAKE OF THOSE WHO OFFEND PETER.
THINK OF WHAT HAPPENS IF WE WITHHOLD FORGIVENESS. FIRST, OUR ENEMY GAINS POWER OVER US. IF WE DON'T FORGIVE, THEN HE FILLS MY HEART WITH RESENTMENT AND ANGER; THE OFFENSE KEEPS POPPING INTO MY CONSCIOUSNESS, DISTRACTING ME, GIVING ME FANTASIES OF REVENGE, BUILDING UP MY SENSE OF HAVING BEEN DISRESPECTED. AND MY ENEMY MAY NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT HAPPENED, BUT YOU CAN BE SURE THAT HE IS NOT LOSING ANY SLEEP OVER THE ISSUE; IT IS ONLY ME THAT SUFFERS.
SECOND, WE SELDOM KNOW WHAT IS IN THE MIND OF THE ONE WHO OFFENDED US. WE RISK MAKING WRONG JUDGMENTS. I THINK MANY SPOUSES HAVE EXPERIENCED MOMENTS WHEN NOT ONLY DOES THE WIFE CALL ATTENTION TO SOMETHING THE HUSBAND DID, BUT TELLS HIM WHY HE DID IT – USUALLY FOR SOME MALICIOUS REASON. AND IT WORKS BOTH WAYS. WHEN WE DECIDE WHAT WAS IN THE MIND OF THE PERSON WHO OFFENDED US, WE ALMOST CERTAINLY WILL GUESS WRONGLY, AND THAT TAKES US AWAY FROM THE TRUTH. NOTHING GOOD COMES FROM BELIEVING A LIE.
THIRD, WE RISK TAKING SOMETHING AND ESCALATING IT, SOMETIMES TO DANGEROUS LEVELS. A MOLEHILL BECOMES A MOUNTAIN; AN ACT OF DISRESPECT, INTENDED OR NOT, ENDS UP WITH ONE PERSON DEAD AND THE OTHER IN PRISON FOR LIFE. THIS WAS THE CULTURE OF DUELING, AND UNFORTUNATELY SEEMS TO BE THE CULTURE OF THE GANGS IN SOME OF OUR CITY CENTERS.
FOURTH, WITHHOLDING FORGIVENESS KEEPS US FROM SEEING OUR OWN FAULTS; IT IS AN ENEMY OF HUMILITY. WE CAN ONLY FORGIVE IF WE WILLINGLY BECOME BLIND TO OUR OWN FAILINGS. IT'S LIKE THE STORY OF THE COUPLE WHO DROVE AWAY FROM THE RESTAURANT. THE WIFE REMEMBERS THAT SHE FORGOT HER PURSE, AND THE HUSBAND TURNS AROUND, TELLING HER HOW STUPID THAT WAS, HOW SHE IS ALWAYS DOING THINGS LIKE THAT, HOW SHE'S WASTED HIS TIME, AND ON AND ON. WHEN THEY FINALLY GET BACK TO THE RESTAURANT, AS SHE GETS OUT OF THE CAR HE ASKS HER IF SHE'D MIND PICKING UP HIS COAT WHILE SHE IS IN THERE.
THOSE ARE ALL VERY GOOD REASONS TO PRACTICE FORGIVENESS, AND THEY HAVE VERY LITTLE TO DO WITH THE PERSON WHO HAS OFFENDED US. BUT PERHAPS THERE IS ONE OVERARCHING REASON, AND THAT IS IMPLIED IN THE STORY JESUS TELLS. OUR BEING FORGIVEN DEPENDS ON OUR FORGIVING. WE SAY THIS IN THE LORD'S PRAYER – FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US. AND THE UNGRATEFUL SERVANT, WHO HAS BEEN FORGIVEN, FINDS THE FORGIVENESS WITHDRAWN, AND THE MERCIFUL KING BECOMES THE JUST JUDGE, GIVING HIM EXACTLY WHAT HE DESERVES – THAT HE PAY BACK IN FULL WHAT HE HAD SQUANDERED, NO EXCUSES, NO BARGAINING – THAT IS JUSTICE WITHOUT MERCY, AND I WOULD HATE TO HAVE GOD TREAT ME JUSTLY FOR MY SINS. WITHHOLDING FORGIVENESS THREATENS THE RELATIONSHIP WE HAVE WITH GOD HIMSELF, A RELATIONSHIP THAT REQUIRES HUMILITY, TRUTH, AND LETTING GO OF THINGS THAT TIE US DOWN.
THIS WEEKEND WE REMEMBER THE TRAGEDY OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001. I GOT MY COPY OF NEWSWEEK AND IT IS AN ENTIRE ISSUE DEVOTED TO HOW THIS EVENT CHANGED AMERICA – MOSTLY FOR THE WORST. AS A COUNTRY, MUCH OF WHAT HAPPENED AFTERWARDS MADE SOME SENSE, BUT MUCH OF WHAT HAPPENED AND STILL CONTINUES TO HAPPEN IS A SYMPTOM OF NOT BEING ABLE TO FORGIVE. AND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THERE AREN'T ANY PEOPLE LEFT WHO WE CAN FORGIVE – THEY ARE ALL DEAD, OR IN SOME CASES, LOCKED UP FOR GOOD. BUT AS A NATION, WE HAVEN'T PUT THIS BEHIND US, WE ARE GOING TO MAKE SURE WE REMEMBER, AND STOKE THE FIRES THAT HAVE SORT HAVE DIED DOWN OVER THE YEARS; THE PICTURES OF THE TWIN TOWERS, THE STORIES OF THE VICTIMS AND THEIR RELATIVES, THE REMINDER THAT THERE ARE STILL TERRORISTS WHO WANT US DEAD – SURELY THIS GREAT TRAGEDY THAT TOOK PLACE IS A TERRIBLE THING, BUT IT BECOMES EVEN MORE TERRIBLE WHEN IT MAKES US WITHHOLD FORGIVENESS. BECAUSE IN THE END, THE ONE WHO DOES NOT FORGIVE IS THE ONE WHO SUFFERS, AND NOT TO FORGIVE IS IN A WAY, TO BE IN HELL.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
MATTHEW 18:15-20
THERE ARE A LOT OF THEMES RUNNING THROUGH THE READINGS TODAY WORTHY OF A SERMON. BUT THERE IS ONE WHICH STANDS OUT. JESUS SAID “AMEN, AMEN, I SAY TO YOU, IF TWO OF YOU AGREE ON EARTH ABOUT ANYTHING FOR WHICH THEY ARE TO PRAY, IT SHALL BE GRANTED TO THEM BY MY HEAVENLY FATHER. FOR WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER IN MY NAME, THERE AM I IN THE MIDST OF THEM.” A WHILE BACK MANY MEMBERS OF THIS PARISH PRAYED FOR A LITTLE GIRL WITH CANCER. WE PRAYED FOR HER HEALING. NO QUESTION, THAT'S WHAT WE ASKED, THAT'S WHAT WE AGREED TO PRAY FOR. IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. AND I'M SURE MANY PARENTS IN THIS PARISH HAVE PRAYED TOGETHER FOR A CHILD – AND THE PRAYER DID NOT SEEM TO BE ANSWERED. WE CAN ALL THINK OF MANY TIMES WHEN IT SEEMS AS THOUGH WE DID PRAY TOGETHER AND HAVEN'T SEEN ANY EVIDENCE THAT WE'VE BEEN HEARD. LISTEN TO THE PETITIONS LATER, THE PRAYERS WE MAKE AS A COMMUNITY. ARE THEY BEING GRANTED?
IF OUR PRAYERS ARE NOT BEING ANSWERED, EVEN WHEN JESUS PROMISED THEY WOULD BE, THEN THERE ARE ONLY TWO POSSIBILITIES: JESUS WAS WRONG, OR THERE IS SOMETHING MISSING IN OUR PRAYER. SO WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM SCRIPTURE ABOUT HOW TO PRAY? THE EVANGELIST DAWSON MCCALLISTER SHED SOME LIGHT ON THIS ISSUE.
FIRST OF ALL, WE HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT GOD WILL ANSWER OUR PRAYER. I THINK MOST OF US DON'T REALLY, OR WE HAVE VERY WEAK FAITH. LISTEN TO THE WORDS OF JAMES: “BUT WHEN HE ASKS, HE MUST BELIEVE AND NOT DOUBT. BECAUSE HE WHO DOUBTS IS LIKE A WAVE OF THE SEA, BLOWN AND TOSSED BY THE WIND. THAT MAN SHOULD NOT THINK HE WILL RECEIVE ANYTHING FROM THE LORD; HE IS A DOUBLE-MINDED MAN, UNSTABLE IN ALL HE DOES.” AND JESUS TELLS US, “IF YOU BELIEVE, YOU WILL RECEIVE WHAT YOU ASK FOR IN PRAYER”. THE LACK OF FAITH IS PROBABLY THE MAIN REASON OUR PRAYERS ARE NOT ANSWERED.
SECOND, WE ASK WITH THE WRONG MOTIVES. JAMES TELLS US: “WHEN YOU ASK, YOU DO NOT RECEIVE, BECAUSE YOU ASK WITH WRONG MOTIVES, THAT YOU MAY SPEND WHAT YOU GET ON YOUR PLEASURES.” I THINK THAT HAPPENS TO ME. FOR EXAMPLE, I MAY PRAY THAT GOD WILL GIVE ME MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE HIM. BUT I MAKE THIS PRAYER PARTLY BECAUSE I ENJOY EXERCISING MY TALENTS. OR I MAY PRAY FOR A FRIEND'S HEALTH, PARTLY BECAUSE I DREAD HAVING TO DEAL WITH MY FRIEND AS HIS HEALTH DETERIORATES. IF OUR PRAYERS ARE TO BE ANSWERED, OUR MOTIVES NEED TO BE PURE – OR AT LEAST, WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE THEM.
THIRD, UNFORGIVEN SIN SEPARATES US FROM GOD. ISAIAH THE PROPHET SAID: BUT YOUR INIQUITIES HAVE SEPARATED YOU FROM GOD; YOUR SINS HAVE HIDDEN HIS FACE FROM YOU SO THAT HE WILL NOT HEAR” WHEN WE PRAY IN THE NAME OF JESUS, WE ARE PRAYING AS CHILDREN OF THE SAME FATHER; BUT THE PRODIGAL SON'S PRAYER TO HIS OWN FATHER WAS NOT HEARD UNTIL HE RETURNED. IN ORDER TO BE RELIEVED OF OUR SINS, WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THEM, AND MAKE OUR CONFESSION.
FOURTH, WE SET UP FALSE GODS IN OUR HEARTS, THAT COME BETWEEN US AND GOD. A GOD, AFTER ALL, IS WHERE WE PUT MOST OF OUR ATTENTION, WHERE WE DEVOTE MOST OF OUR ENERGY. I BET YOU CAN THINK OF A FEW FALSE GODS THAT SEPARATE YOU FROM THE TRUE GOD; I CAN. AND THEY ARE THE USUAL; MONEY, FAME OR PRESTIGE, AND POWER. EZECHIEL SAID: “THESE MEN HAVE SET UP IDOLS IN THEIR HEARTS AND PUT STUMBLING BLOCKS BEFORE THEIR FACES. SHOULD I LET THEM ASK OF ME AT ALL?” WHAT ARE YOUR FALSE GODS?
FIFTH, WE DON'T ANSWER THOSE WHO CRY TO US FOR HELP. THE BOOK OF PROVERBS TELLS US: “IF A MAN SHUTS HIS EARS TO THE CRY OF THE POOR, HE TOO WILL CRY OUT AND NOT BE ANSWERED.”
SIXTH, WE DON'T MAKE GOD'S WORD PART OF OUR LIVES. HOW MANY OF US MAKE TIME FOR SCRIPTURE READING, SCRIPTURE STUDY, PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE? JOHN'S GOSPEL TELLS US: “IF YOU REMAIN IN ME AND MY WORD REMAINS IN YOU, ASK WHATEVER YOU WISH AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU.”
AND FINALLY, SOMETIMES WE DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW GOD ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS. ISAIAH TELLS US: “FOR MY THOUGHTS ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS, NEITHER ARE YOUR WAYS MY WAYS".
THERE WAS ONCE A LITTLE BOY WHO TOLD EVERYONE HE WANTED TO BE A COWBOY. MANY YEARS LATER HE GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE AND TOLD HIS PARENTS THAT HE WAS GOING TO GO TO LAW SCHOOL AND BECOME A LAWYER. HIS FATHER GOT VERY UPSET. “WE SAVED AND SAVED AND FINALLY WERE ABLE TO BUY A RANCH AND STOCK IT WITH CATTLE, BECAUSE YOU TOLD US YOU WANTED TO BE A COWBOY!” “BUT DAD,” REPLIED THE YOUNG MAN, “WHY DID YOU LISTEN TO ME? I WAS ONLY EIGHT YEARS OLD!” TO GOD WE ARE ALL EIGHT YEARS OLD.
WHEN JESUS ASKS US TO PRAY IN HIS NAME, IT DOESN'T MEAN WE THROW HIS NAME AROUND IN PRAYER. SOMEONE'S NAME, IN JESUS' TIME, HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH WHAT THAT PERSON WAS ABOUT. WE SEE THAT IN SOME OF OUR ENGLISH SURNAMES, LIKE “TAYLOR, OR “HUNTER” OR “BAKER”. AND JESUS WAS ABOUT SALVATION, LOVE, JUSTICE; HE WAS ABOUT HEALING; HE WAS ABOUT THE POOR, ABOUT WIDOWS AND ORPHANS AND ALL THOSE ON THE EDGE OF SOCIETY. AS WE APPROACH THE FATHER IN PRAYER, WE NEED TO DEVELOP THE MIND OF JESUS, TO THINK LIKE HE DID, TO ACT LIKE HE DID AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. SAINT PAUL TELLS US: “ YOUR ATTITUDE SHOULD BE THE SAME AS THAT OF CHRIST JESUS."
NOW NONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT SHOULD PREVENT US FROM PRAYING. OBVIOUSLY WE ALL HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO TO BE ABLE TO PRAY THE RIGHT WAY. BUT SAINT PAUL TELLS US, “WE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO PRAY AS WE SHOULD. BUT THE SPIRIT INTERCEDES FOR US WITH GROANINGS TOO DEEP FOR WORDS. … HE INTERCEDES FOR THE SAINTS (THAT'S YOU AND ME) ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF GOD.”
SO I MAKE MY PRAYER. AND THE HOLY SPIRIT TELLS THE FATHER, “THAT WASN'T A VERY GOOD PRAYER DON MADE. WHAT HE MEANT TO SAY IS THIS, SO PLEASE ACCEPT THAT AS HIS REAL PRAYER.” AND IN THAT WAY I CAN BE SURE THAT ALL MY PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED.
THERE ARE A LOT OF THEMES RUNNING THROUGH THE READINGS TODAY WORTHY OF A SERMON. BUT THERE IS ONE WHICH STANDS OUT. JESUS SAID “AMEN, AMEN, I SAY TO YOU, IF TWO OF YOU AGREE ON EARTH ABOUT ANYTHING FOR WHICH THEY ARE TO PRAY, IT SHALL BE GRANTED TO THEM BY MY HEAVENLY FATHER. FOR WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER IN MY NAME, THERE AM I IN THE MIDST OF THEM.” A WHILE BACK MANY MEMBERS OF THIS PARISH PRAYED FOR A LITTLE GIRL WITH CANCER. WE PRAYED FOR HER HEALING. NO QUESTION, THAT'S WHAT WE ASKED, THAT'S WHAT WE AGREED TO PRAY FOR. IT DIDN'T HAPPEN. AND I'M SURE MANY PARENTS IN THIS PARISH HAVE PRAYED TOGETHER FOR A CHILD – AND THE PRAYER DID NOT SEEM TO BE ANSWERED. WE CAN ALL THINK OF MANY TIMES WHEN IT SEEMS AS THOUGH WE DID PRAY TOGETHER AND HAVEN'T SEEN ANY EVIDENCE THAT WE'VE BEEN HEARD. LISTEN TO THE PETITIONS LATER, THE PRAYERS WE MAKE AS A COMMUNITY. ARE THEY BEING GRANTED?
IF OUR PRAYERS ARE NOT BEING ANSWERED, EVEN WHEN JESUS PROMISED THEY WOULD BE, THEN THERE ARE ONLY TWO POSSIBILITIES: JESUS WAS WRONG, OR THERE IS SOMETHING MISSING IN OUR PRAYER. SO WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM SCRIPTURE ABOUT HOW TO PRAY? THE EVANGELIST DAWSON MCCALLISTER SHED SOME LIGHT ON THIS ISSUE.
FIRST OF ALL, WE HAVE TO BELIEVE THAT GOD WILL ANSWER OUR PRAYER. I THINK MOST OF US DON'T REALLY, OR WE HAVE VERY WEAK FAITH. LISTEN TO THE WORDS OF JAMES: “BUT WHEN HE ASKS, HE MUST BELIEVE AND NOT DOUBT. BECAUSE HE WHO DOUBTS IS LIKE A WAVE OF THE SEA, BLOWN AND TOSSED BY THE WIND. THAT MAN SHOULD NOT THINK HE WILL RECEIVE ANYTHING FROM THE LORD; HE IS A DOUBLE-MINDED MAN, UNSTABLE IN ALL HE DOES.” AND JESUS TELLS US, “IF YOU BELIEVE, YOU WILL RECEIVE WHAT YOU ASK FOR IN PRAYER”. THE LACK OF FAITH IS PROBABLY THE MAIN REASON OUR PRAYERS ARE NOT ANSWERED.
SECOND, WE ASK WITH THE WRONG MOTIVES. JAMES TELLS US: “WHEN YOU ASK, YOU DO NOT RECEIVE, BECAUSE YOU ASK WITH WRONG MOTIVES, THAT YOU MAY SPEND WHAT YOU GET ON YOUR PLEASURES.” I THINK THAT HAPPENS TO ME. FOR EXAMPLE, I MAY PRAY THAT GOD WILL GIVE ME MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE HIM. BUT I MAKE THIS PRAYER PARTLY BECAUSE I ENJOY EXERCISING MY TALENTS. OR I MAY PRAY FOR A FRIEND'S HEALTH, PARTLY BECAUSE I DREAD HAVING TO DEAL WITH MY FRIEND AS HIS HEALTH DETERIORATES. IF OUR PRAYERS ARE TO BE ANSWERED, OUR MOTIVES NEED TO BE PURE – OR AT LEAST, WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE THEM.
THIRD, UNFORGIVEN SIN SEPARATES US FROM GOD. ISAIAH THE PROPHET SAID: BUT YOUR INIQUITIES HAVE SEPARATED YOU FROM GOD; YOUR SINS HAVE HIDDEN HIS FACE FROM YOU SO THAT HE WILL NOT HEAR” WHEN WE PRAY IN THE NAME OF JESUS, WE ARE PRAYING AS CHILDREN OF THE SAME FATHER; BUT THE PRODIGAL SON'S PRAYER TO HIS OWN FATHER WAS NOT HEARD UNTIL HE RETURNED. IN ORDER TO BE RELIEVED OF OUR SINS, WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THEM, AND MAKE OUR CONFESSION.
FOURTH, WE SET UP FALSE GODS IN OUR HEARTS, THAT COME BETWEEN US AND GOD. A GOD, AFTER ALL, IS WHERE WE PUT MOST OF OUR ATTENTION, WHERE WE DEVOTE MOST OF OUR ENERGY. I BET YOU CAN THINK OF A FEW FALSE GODS THAT SEPARATE YOU FROM THE TRUE GOD; I CAN. AND THEY ARE THE USUAL; MONEY, FAME OR PRESTIGE, AND POWER. EZECHIEL SAID: “THESE MEN HAVE SET UP IDOLS IN THEIR HEARTS AND PUT STUMBLING BLOCKS BEFORE THEIR FACES. SHOULD I LET THEM ASK OF ME AT ALL?” WHAT ARE YOUR FALSE GODS?
FIFTH, WE DON'T ANSWER THOSE WHO CRY TO US FOR HELP. THE BOOK OF PROVERBS TELLS US: “IF A MAN SHUTS HIS EARS TO THE CRY OF THE POOR, HE TOO WILL CRY OUT AND NOT BE ANSWERED.”
SIXTH, WE DON'T MAKE GOD'S WORD PART OF OUR LIVES. HOW MANY OF US MAKE TIME FOR SCRIPTURE READING, SCRIPTURE STUDY, PRAYING WITH SCRIPTURE? JOHN'S GOSPEL TELLS US: “IF YOU REMAIN IN ME AND MY WORD REMAINS IN YOU, ASK WHATEVER YOU WISH AND IT WILL BE GIVEN TO YOU.”
AND FINALLY, SOMETIMES WE DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW GOD ANSWERS OUR PRAYERS. ISAIAH TELLS US: “FOR MY THOUGHTS ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS, NEITHER ARE YOUR WAYS MY WAYS".
THERE WAS ONCE A LITTLE BOY WHO TOLD EVERYONE HE WANTED TO BE A COWBOY. MANY YEARS LATER HE GRADUATED FROM COLLEGE AND TOLD HIS PARENTS THAT HE WAS GOING TO GO TO LAW SCHOOL AND BECOME A LAWYER. HIS FATHER GOT VERY UPSET. “WE SAVED AND SAVED AND FINALLY WERE ABLE TO BUY A RANCH AND STOCK IT WITH CATTLE, BECAUSE YOU TOLD US YOU WANTED TO BE A COWBOY!” “BUT DAD,” REPLIED THE YOUNG MAN, “WHY DID YOU LISTEN TO ME? I WAS ONLY EIGHT YEARS OLD!” TO GOD WE ARE ALL EIGHT YEARS OLD.
WHEN JESUS ASKS US TO PRAY IN HIS NAME, IT DOESN'T MEAN WE THROW HIS NAME AROUND IN PRAYER. SOMEONE'S NAME, IN JESUS' TIME, HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH WHAT THAT PERSON WAS ABOUT. WE SEE THAT IN SOME OF OUR ENGLISH SURNAMES, LIKE “TAYLOR, OR “HUNTER” OR “BAKER”. AND JESUS WAS ABOUT SALVATION, LOVE, JUSTICE; HE WAS ABOUT HEALING; HE WAS ABOUT THE POOR, ABOUT WIDOWS AND ORPHANS AND ALL THOSE ON THE EDGE OF SOCIETY. AS WE APPROACH THE FATHER IN PRAYER, WE NEED TO DEVELOP THE MIND OF JESUS, TO THINK LIKE HE DID, TO ACT LIKE HE DID AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. SAINT PAUL TELLS US: “ YOUR ATTITUDE SHOULD BE THE SAME AS THAT OF CHRIST JESUS."
NOW NONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT SHOULD PREVENT US FROM PRAYING. OBVIOUSLY WE ALL HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO TO BE ABLE TO PRAY THE RIGHT WAY. BUT SAINT PAUL TELLS US, “WE DO NOT KNOW HOW TO PRAY AS WE SHOULD. BUT THE SPIRIT INTERCEDES FOR US WITH GROANINGS TOO DEEP FOR WORDS. … HE INTERCEDES FOR THE SAINTS (THAT'S YOU AND ME) ACCORDING TO THE WILL OF GOD.”
SO I MAKE MY PRAYER. AND THE HOLY SPIRIT TELLS THE FATHER, “THAT WASN'T A VERY GOOD PRAYER DON MADE. WHAT HE MEANT TO SAY IS THIS, SO PLEASE ACCEPT THAT AS HIS REAL PRAYER.” AND IN THAT WAY I CAN BE SURE THAT ALL MY PRAYERS ARE ANSWERED.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A
MATTHEW 16:21-27
IN THE SUMMER OF MY SECOND YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL I WAS GETTING ON MY MOTHER'S NERVES AND SHE ARRANGED FOR ME TO TAKE A COURSE IN TYPING. I FOUND MYSELF SITTING IN A CLASSROOM WITH YOUNG LADIES QUITE A BIT OLDER THAN I WHO WERE STUDYING TO BE SECRETARIES. AFTER EACH DRILL THE TEACHER WOULD LOOK AT OUR WORK AND RANK US ACCORDING TO SPEED AND ACCURACY. THIS NATURALLY STIMULATED MY COMPETITIVE SPIRIT, SO I WOULD PRACTICE AT HOME AND BY THE END OF THE COURSE I WAS THE TOP STUDENT. SINCE THEN I'VE BEEN ABLE TO TYPE LIKE CRAZY.
WHEN MY WIFE AND I GOT ENGAGED I WAS GOING TO MEDICAL SCHOOL IN CALIFORNIA AND SHE WAS TEACHING IN MARYLAND. WE WOULD WRITE LETTERS TO EACH OTHER. SOME OF YOU YOUNGER PEOPLE PROBABLY DON'T KNOW WHAT A LETTER IS. IT'S KIND OF LIKE A VERY SLOW FACEBOOK. I WOULD SIT DOWN AND TYPE OUT A LETTER IN A FEW MINUTES AND MY WEEKLY CONTRIBUTION TO OUR DIALOGUE WOULD BE DONE. EVENTUALLY JOAN ASKED ME TO WRITE THE LETTERS BY HAND. THIS SEEMED A STRANGE REQUEST, BUT I COMPLIED. NOW MY LETTERS TOOK A LOT LONGER TO WRITE. I HAD TO WORRY ABOUT LEGIBILITY AFTER ALL.
PETER AND THE APOSTLES HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING JESUS. SO FAR IT'S BEEN A BLAST. THEY'VE SEEN MIRACLES, AND THEY'VE WORKED A FEW THEMSELVES. THEY HAVE A SENSE OF BEING IN ON SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING THAT HAD NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. LIFE WAS GOOD. AND THEN JESUS STARTS TALKING ABOUT HAVING TO GO TO JERUSALEM WHERE HE WILL BE KILLED. FOR PETER, THAT WASN'T PART OF THE DEAL, AND HE TELLS JESUS IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS. AND THEN JESUS SAYS, AND I AM USING A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TRANSLATION, “GET BACK IN LINE, YOU BLOCKHEAD! THE WAY YOU THINK IS NOT THE WAY GOD THINKS.”
WE CATHOLICS, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF US WHO STILL GO TO CHURCH, PROBABLY DON'T THINK WE HAVE MUCH TO WORRY ABOUT. WE'RE PRETTY GOOD. WE PRAY NOW AND THEN, WE COME TO MASS ON SUNDAYS, WE DON'T COMMIT SERIOUS SINS. BUT WE PRACTICE OUR CATHOLICISM IN BETWEEN THE CHUNKS OF TIME WE DEVOTE TO THE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE: OUR JOBS, KEEPING UP THE HOUSE AND YARD, OUR GOLF GAME, HELPING OUR KIDS DO THEIR HOMEWORK – EVERY DAY SOMEHOW SEEMS TO GET FILLED UP BY STUFF WE CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER THE NEXT DAY. AND ONE DAY FADES INTO THE NEXT, AND NEXT YEAR ISN'T ANY DIFFERENT THAN LAST YEAR.
KEEPING OUT OF TROUBLE, AVOIDING SERIOUS SIN – THAT'S ALL GOOD. BUT THAT'S BARELY SCRATCHING THE SURFACE OF THE PROCESS OF BECOMING A CATHOLIC – AND THERE IS NO ONE IN THIS CHURCH WHO IS NOT STILL IN THAT BECOMING STAGE. JESUS, AFTER ALL WANTS TO SEE THAT WE ARE SERIOUS ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM, AND THAT SERIOUSNESS IS CERTAINLY CLEAR WHEN JESUS TELLS PETER TO PUT HIS MONEY WHERE HIS MOUTH IS – IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW HIM IT HAS TO BE ALL THE WAY. YOU CAN'T FOLLOW HIM IF IT IS ONLY IN THOSE FEW MOMENTS SNATCHED FROM YOUR DAY AT YOUR CONVENIENCE.
JESUS TELLS US THAT THERE ARE THREE CONDITIONS TO BE MET IF YOU ARE TO FOLLOW HIM. FIRST, YOU HAVE TO LET HIM LEAD – NO SUGGESTIONS, NO ARGUMENT, NO ADVICE. GET BEHIND HIM. SECOND, YOU NEED TO PUT YOUR WHOLE SELF INTO IT. YOU CAN ONLY SAVE YOUR LIFE IF YOU LOSE IT, BECAUSE IF YOU HOLD ANYTHING BACK, IF YOU TRY TO SAVE YOUR LIFE, IT WON'T WORK. AND FINALLY, YOU NEED TO TAKE UP YOUR CROSS. THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT ARE DIFFICULT IN TRYING TO BE A FOLLOWER OF JESUS. YOU HAVE TO BE WILLING TO ACCEPT PERSECUTION BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU BELIEVE. YOU HAVE TO MAKE AN EFFORT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU BELIEVE SO THAT YOU CAN DEFEND IT AND EXPLAIN IT. YOU HAVE TO DEVELOP A PRAYER LIFE, A LIFE OF REFLECTION, A LIFE OF WORKING TO ELIMINATE FAULTS AND STRENGTHEN VIRTUES. SOMETIMES THAT MEANS YOU NEED SPIRITUAL DIRECTION, BECAUSE WE CAN'T DO IT ALONE. THE APOSTLES NEEDED GUIDANCE BY JESUS BEFORE THEY COULD GO OUT AND FOLLOW HIM AFTER THE RESURRECTION; ARE WE BETTER PREPARED THAN THEY ARE? YOU NEED TO RECOGNIZE YOURSELF AS A SINNER, AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE. ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE HARD TO DO, THEY INVOLVE CHANGING OUR HABITS, DOING THINGS WE'D RATHER NOT DO. AND WE WILL NEVER GET ALL THE WAY TO WHERE WE WANT TO GO IN THIS LIFE, BECAUSE THE MORE WE LEARN, THE MORE WE TAKE UP THE CROSS, THE MORE WE SEE HOW FAR WE HAVE YET TO GO.
I DON'T THINK JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT SALVATION HERE, HEAVEN OR HELL. I THINK INSTEAD HE IS INVITING THOSE HE LOVES TO ENTER MORE FULLY INTO HIS OWN LIFE AND HIS OWN MISSION. GOD, AFTER ALL, DOESN'T MAKE US SO THAT WE CAN FULFILL OUR WHIMS AND HAVE A LIFE OF PLEASURE. HE MAKES US SO THAT WE CAN ENTER INTO THE LIFE OF THE TRINITY. JESUS SHOWS US THE WAY AND INVITES US TO FOLLOW HIM.
SO WHAT DOES ALL THIS HAVE TO DO WITH MY LOVE LETTERS TO MY WIFE TO BE? I DON'T THINK OUR RELATIONSHIP WOULD HAVE BEEN DESTROYED HAD I CONTINUED TO TYPE MY LETTERS TO HER. I'M SURE SHE COULD HAVE READ THEM A LOT EASIER AND FASTER. BUT SHE ASKED ME TO DO IT HER WAY, TO MAKE A LITTLE SACRIFICE, TO GIVE UP SOMETHING THAT CAME NATURALLY TO ME. AND SINCE I LOVED HER, I DID. SOMEWHERE IN OUR HOUSE SHE STILL HAS THOSE LETTERS, SCRAWLED IN THE NEARLY ILLEGIBLE HANDWRITING OF A BUDDING DOCTOR, BUT MAYBE TOUCHED WITH A LITTLE EXTRA LOVE THAT DIDN'T GET INTO THE LETTERS THAT I TYPED.
AND THAT'S THE SAME THING THAT'S GOING ON IN THIS GOSPEL PASSAGE. JESUS IS SAYING, IN EFFECT, IF YOU LOVE ME, YOU WILL FOLLOW ME COMPLETELY, YOU WILL PUT ME BEFORE YOURSELF, YOU WILL MAKE THOSE PAINFUL CHANGES IN YOUR OWN LIFE – IN SHORT, I WILL COME FIRST IN YOUR LIFE. AND IF YOU DON'T, WELL, I'LL STILL LOVE YOU, BUT YOU WILL NEVER BE AS HAPPY AS THE FATHER WANTS YOU TO BE, YOU WILL NEVER FULFILL THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH YOU WERE CREATED. BUT THE PROMISE IS THIS: IF YOU GIVE ME YOUR LIFE, YOUR REWARD WILL BE GREAT.
YOU AND I CAN'T WAIT ANY LONGER. WE NEED TO RESPOND TO JESUS, WE NEED TO APPROACH OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE LIKE WE DO OTHER THINGS IN OUR LIFE. WE NEED TO DEVELOP A PLAN, GET THE HELP WE NEED, SET ASIDE THE TIME WE NEED, AND EVERY NOW AND THEN REVIEW WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE ARE GOING. BECAUSE NOTHING WE EVER WILL DO ON THIS EARTH IS MORE IMPORTANT.
THE LOVE YOU HAVE FOR JESUS IS REFLECTED IN WHAT YOU ARE WILLING TO DO FOR HIM.
IN THE SUMMER OF MY SECOND YEAR IN HIGH SCHOOL I WAS GETTING ON MY MOTHER'S NERVES AND SHE ARRANGED FOR ME TO TAKE A COURSE IN TYPING. I FOUND MYSELF SITTING IN A CLASSROOM WITH YOUNG LADIES QUITE A BIT OLDER THAN I WHO WERE STUDYING TO BE SECRETARIES. AFTER EACH DRILL THE TEACHER WOULD LOOK AT OUR WORK AND RANK US ACCORDING TO SPEED AND ACCURACY. THIS NATURALLY STIMULATED MY COMPETITIVE SPIRIT, SO I WOULD PRACTICE AT HOME AND BY THE END OF THE COURSE I WAS THE TOP STUDENT. SINCE THEN I'VE BEEN ABLE TO TYPE LIKE CRAZY.
WHEN MY WIFE AND I GOT ENGAGED I WAS GOING TO MEDICAL SCHOOL IN CALIFORNIA AND SHE WAS TEACHING IN MARYLAND. WE WOULD WRITE LETTERS TO EACH OTHER. SOME OF YOU YOUNGER PEOPLE PROBABLY DON'T KNOW WHAT A LETTER IS. IT'S KIND OF LIKE A VERY SLOW FACEBOOK. I WOULD SIT DOWN AND TYPE OUT A LETTER IN A FEW MINUTES AND MY WEEKLY CONTRIBUTION TO OUR DIALOGUE WOULD BE DONE. EVENTUALLY JOAN ASKED ME TO WRITE THE LETTERS BY HAND. THIS SEEMED A STRANGE REQUEST, BUT I COMPLIED. NOW MY LETTERS TOOK A LOT LONGER TO WRITE. I HAD TO WORRY ABOUT LEGIBILITY AFTER ALL.
PETER AND THE APOSTLES HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING JESUS. SO FAR IT'S BEEN A BLAST. THEY'VE SEEN MIRACLES, AND THEY'VE WORKED A FEW THEMSELVES. THEY HAVE A SENSE OF BEING IN ON SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING THAT HAD NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. LIFE WAS GOOD. AND THEN JESUS STARTS TALKING ABOUT HAVING TO GO TO JERUSALEM WHERE HE WILL BE KILLED. FOR PETER, THAT WASN'T PART OF THE DEAL, AND HE TELLS JESUS IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS. AND THEN JESUS SAYS, AND I AM USING A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT TRANSLATION, “GET BACK IN LINE, YOU BLOCKHEAD! THE WAY YOU THINK IS NOT THE WAY GOD THINKS.”
WE CATHOLICS, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF US WHO STILL GO TO CHURCH, PROBABLY DON'T THINK WE HAVE MUCH TO WORRY ABOUT. WE'RE PRETTY GOOD. WE PRAY NOW AND THEN, WE COME TO MASS ON SUNDAYS, WE DON'T COMMIT SERIOUS SINS. BUT WE PRACTICE OUR CATHOLICISM IN BETWEEN THE CHUNKS OF TIME WE DEVOTE TO THE MORE IMPORTANT THINGS IN LIFE: OUR JOBS, KEEPING UP THE HOUSE AND YARD, OUR GOLF GAME, HELPING OUR KIDS DO THEIR HOMEWORK – EVERY DAY SOMEHOW SEEMS TO GET FILLED UP BY STUFF WE CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER THE NEXT DAY. AND ONE DAY FADES INTO THE NEXT, AND NEXT YEAR ISN'T ANY DIFFERENT THAN LAST YEAR.
KEEPING OUT OF TROUBLE, AVOIDING SERIOUS SIN – THAT'S ALL GOOD. BUT THAT'S BARELY SCRATCHING THE SURFACE OF THE PROCESS OF BECOMING A CATHOLIC – AND THERE IS NO ONE IN THIS CHURCH WHO IS NOT STILL IN THAT BECOMING STAGE. JESUS, AFTER ALL WANTS TO SEE THAT WE ARE SERIOUS ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM, AND THAT SERIOUSNESS IS CERTAINLY CLEAR WHEN JESUS TELLS PETER TO PUT HIS MONEY WHERE HIS MOUTH IS – IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW HIM IT HAS TO BE ALL THE WAY. YOU CAN'T FOLLOW HIM IF IT IS ONLY IN THOSE FEW MOMENTS SNATCHED FROM YOUR DAY AT YOUR CONVENIENCE.
JESUS TELLS US THAT THERE ARE THREE CONDITIONS TO BE MET IF YOU ARE TO FOLLOW HIM. FIRST, YOU HAVE TO LET HIM LEAD – NO SUGGESTIONS, NO ARGUMENT, NO ADVICE. GET BEHIND HIM. SECOND, YOU NEED TO PUT YOUR WHOLE SELF INTO IT. YOU CAN ONLY SAVE YOUR LIFE IF YOU LOSE IT, BECAUSE IF YOU HOLD ANYTHING BACK, IF YOU TRY TO SAVE YOUR LIFE, IT WON'T WORK. AND FINALLY, YOU NEED TO TAKE UP YOUR CROSS. THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT ARE DIFFICULT IN TRYING TO BE A FOLLOWER OF JESUS. YOU HAVE TO BE WILLING TO ACCEPT PERSECUTION BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU BELIEVE. YOU HAVE TO MAKE AN EFFORT TO UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU BELIEVE SO THAT YOU CAN DEFEND IT AND EXPLAIN IT. YOU HAVE TO DEVELOP A PRAYER LIFE, A LIFE OF REFLECTION, A LIFE OF WORKING TO ELIMINATE FAULTS AND STRENGTHEN VIRTUES. SOMETIMES THAT MEANS YOU NEED SPIRITUAL DIRECTION, BECAUSE WE CAN'T DO IT ALONE. THE APOSTLES NEEDED GUIDANCE BY JESUS BEFORE THEY COULD GO OUT AND FOLLOW HIM AFTER THE RESURRECTION; ARE WE BETTER PREPARED THAN THEY ARE? YOU NEED TO RECOGNIZE YOURSELF AS A SINNER, AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE. ALL OF THESE THINGS ARE HARD TO DO, THEY INVOLVE CHANGING OUR HABITS, DOING THINGS WE'D RATHER NOT DO. AND WE WILL NEVER GET ALL THE WAY TO WHERE WE WANT TO GO IN THIS LIFE, BECAUSE THE MORE WE LEARN, THE MORE WE TAKE UP THE CROSS, THE MORE WE SEE HOW FAR WE HAVE YET TO GO.
I DON'T THINK JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT SALVATION HERE, HEAVEN OR HELL. I THINK INSTEAD HE IS INVITING THOSE HE LOVES TO ENTER MORE FULLY INTO HIS OWN LIFE AND HIS OWN MISSION. GOD, AFTER ALL, DOESN'T MAKE US SO THAT WE CAN FULFILL OUR WHIMS AND HAVE A LIFE OF PLEASURE. HE MAKES US SO THAT WE CAN ENTER INTO THE LIFE OF THE TRINITY. JESUS SHOWS US THE WAY AND INVITES US TO FOLLOW HIM.
SO WHAT DOES ALL THIS HAVE TO DO WITH MY LOVE LETTERS TO MY WIFE TO BE? I DON'T THINK OUR RELATIONSHIP WOULD HAVE BEEN DESTROYED HAD I CONTINUED TO TYPE MY LETTERS TO HER. I'M SURE SHE COULD HAVE READ THEM A LOT EASIER AND FASTER. BUT SHE ASKED ME TO DO IT HER WAY, TO MAKE A LITTLE SACRIFICE, TO GIVE UP SOMETHING THAT CAME NATURALLY TO ME. AND SINCE I LOVED HER, I DID. SOMEWHERE IN OUR HOUSE SHE STILL HAS THOSE LETTERS, SCRAWLED IN THE NEARLY ILLEGIBLE HANDWRITING OF A BUDDING DOCTOR, BUT MAYBE TOUCHED WITH A LITTLE EXTRA LOVE THAT DIDN'T GET INTO THE LETTERS THAT I TYPED.
AND THAT'S THE SAME THING THAT'S GOING ON IN THIS GOSPEL PASSAGE. JESUS IS SAYING, IN EFFECT, IF YOU LOVE ME, YOU WILL FOLLOW ME COMPLETELY, YOU WILL PUT ME BEFORE YOURSELF, YOU WILL MAKE THOSE PAINFUL CHANGES IN YOUR OWN LIFE – IN SHORT, I WILL COME FIRST IN YOUR LIFE. AND IF YOU DON'T, WELL, I'LL STILL LOVE YOU, BUT YOU WILL NEVER BE AS HAPPY AS THE FATHER WANTS YOU TO BE, YOU WILL NEVER FULFILL THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH YOU WERE CREATED. BUT THE PROMISE IS THIS: IF YOU GIVE ME YOUR LIFE, YOUR REWARD WILL BE GREAT.
YOU AND I CAN'T WAIT ANY LONGER. WE NEED TO RESPOND TO JESUS, WE NEED TO APPROACH OUR SPIRITUAL LIFE LIKE WE DO OTHER THINGS IN OUR LIFE. WE NEED TO DEVELOP A PLAN, GET THE HELP WE NEED, SET ASIDE THE TIME WE NEED, AND EVERY NOW AND THEN REVIEW WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE ARE GOING. BECAUSE NOTHING WE EVER WILL DO ON THIS EARTH IS MORE IMPORTANT.
THE LOVE YOU HAVE FOR JESUS IS REFLECTED IN WHAT YOU ARE WILLING TO DO FOR HIM.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
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.
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 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.
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