MATTHEW 21:33-43
A GOOD THING ABOUT GRANDCHILDREN IS THAT YOU SEE HUMAN BEHAVIOR WITHOUT FILTERS. I WITNESSED A FIGHT ONE TIME BETWEEN TWO GRANDCHILDREN. THEY WERE ARGUING OVER A TOY THAT HAD COME OUT OF A HAPPY MEAL AT MCDONALDS. AS THEY DISPUTED WHO TRULY OWNED THE TOY, ONE TOLD THE OTHER THAT IT WAS HIS BECAUSE HE HAD TAKEN IT FROM HIS SISTER. KIND OF LIKE THE TENANTS IN THE VINEYARD, WHO FORGET WHO OWNS THE GRAPES.
I SUSPECT THIS GOSPEL STORY HAPPENED PRETTY MUCH THE WAY MATTHEW TOLD IT. JESUS TOLD HIS PARABLE TO SCRIBES AND PHARISEES, AND THEN ASKED THEM, “WHAT WILL THE OWNER OF THE VINEYARD DO TO THESE TENANTS WHEN HE COMES?” YOU CAN ALMOST HEAR THE PASSION IN THEIR VOICES, YOU CAN ALMOST SEE THE SMOKE COMING FROM THEIR EARS, AS THEY REPLY, “HE WILL PUT THOSE WRETCHED MEN TO A WRETCHED DEATH...!” OF COURSE WE SEE THIS PARABLE AS INDICATIVE OF THE FACT THAT JESUS IS BRINGING IN A NEW COVENANT TO THE WORLD, WHICH WILL, NOT REPLACE SO MUCH AS TAKE UP WHERE THE OLD ONE LEFT OFF. AFTER ALL, GOD DOESN'T GO BACK ON HIS PROMISES, AND IN SOME WAY, THE JEWISH PEOPLE EVEN TODAY HAVE NOT REALLY BEEN FORGOTTEN, HAVE NOT REALLY BEEN ABANDONED.
BUT THERE IS SOMETHING ELSE GOING ON HERE. THE VINEYARD WORKERS APPEAR TO BE SURPASSINGLY BLOCKHEADED. FIRST, IN A TIME WHEN THERE WAS LITTLE IN THE WAY OF JUSTICE, ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE ON THE LOW END OF SOCIETY, THEY SEEM TO THINK THAT THEY HAVE SOME CLAIM ON THE PRODUCTS OF THE VINEYARD. THEY ARE AFTER ALL, CONTRACT FARMERS, AND AS WE LEARNED TWO WEEKS AGO, THEY ARE GETTING A DAILY WAGE. THE REASON FOR THEIR EXISTENCE, THE REASON FOR THEIR LABOR, IS TO PRODUCE FRUIT FOR THE OWNER OF THE VINEYARD. IN DECIDING THAT THE PRODUCTS OF THEIR LABOR BELONGED TO THEM TO DO WITH WHAT THEY WANTED, THEY LOSE THEIR OWN MEANING; THEY NO LONGER SERVE THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH THEY WERE HIRED. YOU AND I ARE ALWAYS IN DANGER OF THE SAME THING. OUR JOB, OUR VOCATION, OUR DESTINY IS FULFILLED IF WE TAKE WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN US AND BEAR FRUIT FOR GOD. JESUS MADE IT VERY CLEAR: FROM HIM TO WHOM MUCH IS GIVEN, MUCH WILL BE EXPECTED. IF WE ARE USING THE GOOD THINGS PRIMARILY TO MAKE OURSELVES COMFORTABLE, TO SECURE OUR FUTURES, TO ENJOY THE GOOD THINGS OF LIFE, WE HAVE LOST SIGHT OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A CHRISTIAN; WE HAVE BECOME USELESS IN GOD'S EYES. THE BALANCE BETWEEN USING OUR GIFTS FOR OURSELVES AND USING THEM FOR OUR NEIGHBOR, FOR OUR CHURCH, FOR OUR SOCIETY, IS A VERY DELICATE ONE. BUT EVEN HERE SCRIPTURE AND THE LIFE OF JESUS GIVES US SOME CLARITY. IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, TEN PERCENT, TEN PERCENT OF EVERYTHING BELONGED TO GOD. YOU COULD GIVE MORE, BUT TEN PERCENT WAS THE BARE MINIMUM. THE MUCH MALIGNED PHARISEES WERE SO SCRUPULOUS ABOUT THIS THAT WHEN THEY GREW SPICES, THEY WOULD COUNT OUT THE SEEDS – ONE FOR GOD, NINE FOR WHATEVER ELSE. AND JESUS IN A WAY CONFIRMED THIS IN HIS OWN LIFE: HE GAVE ABOUT TEN PERCENT OF HIS LIFE TO THE PUBLIC MISSION TO WHICH GOD ASSIGNED HIM; THE REST WAS NAZARETH, CARPENTRY, TAKING CARE OF MOM. AND WE CAN'T BREAK THIS DOWN; WE SAY, TIME, TALENT, TREASURE; IT IS ALL A GIFT FROM GOD, AND TEN PERCENT RETURN OF EVERY GIFT IS WHAT HE EXPECTS.
THE SECOND BLOCKHEADED THING ABOUT THE TENANTS IS THAT THEY THINK THEY WILL GET AWAY WITH IT. THOSE WHO ARE SENT FIRST ARE ABUSED, EVEN KILLED. WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF A SECOND WAVE OF SERVANTS, MORE NUMEROUS THAN THE FIRST, WERE TO SHOW UP? BUT THEY DIDN'T LEARN, THEY DID THE SAME THING. AND THEN THE SON COMES, AND THEY KILL HIM. DO THEY WONDER WHETHER THE OWNER WILL EVER DO ANYTHING? YOU AND I WOULD WONDER; AFTER ALL, HE'S RICH, HE HAS THE LAW ON HIS SIDE, AND IF WE HAD KILLED HIS SON, WE'D PROBABLY BE HIGHTAILING IT FOR EGYPT. BUT, NO, THEY THINK THESE ACTIONS WILL RESULT IN SOME SORT OF MAGICAL TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP. AND WE ARE LIKE THIS AS WELL. ALL OF US SIN, AND MOST OF THE TIME WE GET AWAY WITH IT. WE START WITH LITTLE THINGS – WE COME LATE, WE LEAVE EARLY FOR SUNDAY MASS. NOT A BIG DEAL, BUT A DEAL, NEVERTHELESS. WE WATCH A FEW R RATED MOVIES; AFTER ALL, WE'RE ADULTS. WE CUT CORNERS HERE AND THERE, MINOR THINGS ALWAYS. BUT AS WE DO THESE LITTLE THINGS, NOTHING HAPPENS, AND ALMOST WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT IT, OUR CONSCIENCES BECOME DULL. AND WE DO WORSE, AND NOTHING HAPPENS, UNTIL FINALLY WE MIGHT COMMIT A MORTAL SIN, AND IT DOESN'T SEEM SINFUL, AND OUR DULL CONSCIENCE WHICH WE HAVE DELIBERATELY NEGLECTED TELLS US THAT WHAT WE DID ISN'T SO BAD. AND ONE OF THE CONSEQUENCES OF A DULL CONSCIENCE IS THAT WE DON'T LIKE TO BE REMINDED OF HOW THINGS WERE WHEN OUR CONSCIENCE WAS SHARPER; SO WE AVOID THOSE OCCASIONS WHEN WE MIGHT BE TOLD THAT ADULTERY IS WRONG OR CHEATING CUSTOMERS IS WRONG OR ALLOWING ABORTION TO HAPPEN IS WRONG. BUT BECAUSE WE'VE DECIDED THAT SOMETHING IS ALRIGHT DOESN'T MAKE IT SO. AND DEEP IN OUR HEARTS WE KNOW THAT SOMEWHERE THERE IS A VINEYARD OWNER WHO WILL HAVE JUSTICE FOR OUR ABUSE OF WHAT HE HAS GIVEN US.
AND THE TENANTS IN THE VINEYARD ARE NOT THE ONLY BLOCKHEADS IN THIS STORY. THE PHARISEES AND SCRIBES WHO SO QUICKLY JUDGE AND CONDEMN THE TENANTS, MISS THE WHOLE POINT OF THE STORY. THEY HAVE NOT LISTENED TO THE PROPHETS; THEY HAVE NO INTENTION OF LISTENING TO THE SON WHO STANDS BEFORE THEM. AND I THINK TO SOME EXTENT WE CAN IDENTIFY WITH THEM AS WELL. EVERY ONE OF US ONLY HEARS THE PART OF JESUS' MESSAGE THAT WE WANT TO HEAR. SOME OF US LIKE HIS WORDS OF MERCY AND COMFORT. SOME OF US NOD IN AGREEMENT AS HE CONDEMNS HYPOCRITES. BUT WHEN HE AND HIS CHURCH SAY DIFFICULT THINGS – MARRIAGE SHOULD BE BETWEEN A WOMAN AND A MAN; ABORTION IS THE TAKING OF A HUMAN LIFE; EUTHANASIA IS NEVER THE ANSWER, EVEN WHEN SUFFERING SEEMS UNBEARABLE; THERE REALLY IS A HELL; AND JESUS IS REALLY PRESENT UNDER THE APPEARANCE OF BREAD AND WINE -- WE TUNE OUT. THESE TEACHINGS AND SO MANY OTHERS WE SIMPLY BURY UNDER A RUG SO THEY DON'T DISTURB US.
SO IN TODAY'S GOSPEL, WE MEET SOME PRETTY DENSE PEOPLE. BUT THEY ARE PEOPLE, AND SO ARE WE, AND MAYBE ON THIS SUNDAY WE NEED TO ASK WHETHER IN SPIRITUAL THINGS WE ARE A LITTLE DENSE AS WELL. I KNOW THAT I AM.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A
MATTHEW 21:28-32
WHEN I WAS LITTLE, LONG BEFORE VATICAN II, WE CATHOLICS LIVED IN A VERY CERTAIN WORLD. WE WENT TO CONFESSION AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH, SATURDAY AFTERNOON. WE WOULD STAND IN LINE, AND WHISPER OUR SINS TO THE PRIEST. WE WOULD LEAVE CONFESSION FEELING VERY LIGHT AND HAPPY. WE WOULD GO TO MASS THE NEXT MORNING, AND FEEL RELIEVED THAT WE HAD MADE OUR SUNDAY OBLIGATION, THUS AVOIDING MORTAL SIN FOR ANOTHER WEEK. IF WE STILL HAD SOME "STAIN OF SIN" ON OUR SOULS, AND WE DID, BECAUSE THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE GOT YOUR SIN FORGIVEN, BUT NOT THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN, WELL, WE COULD GAIN A FEW INDULGENCES, SOME FOR 300 DAYS, SOME WHICH WERE "PLENARY". OBVIOUSLY THE PLENARY ONES WERE BETTER THAN THE 300 DAY ONES. WE IMAGINED THE HEAVENLY COURT MADE UP LARGELY OF ANGELIC ACCOUNTANTS WHO KEPT CAREFUL TRACK OF OUR MERITS AND DEMERITS, AND OF COURSE COMMITTING A MORTAL SIN SET US BACK TO ZERO, EVEN IF WE GOT FORGIVEN. SOUNDS SILLY? WE BELIEVED ALL OF THIS, BUT WE STILL BELIEVED IN GOD'S MERCY, IN HIS UNMERITED GRACE, AND THE EFFICACY OF THE SACRAMENTS. BUT THE EMPHASIS WAS ON WHAT WE DID.
IN THE MEANTIME, I COULD NOT UNDERSTAND HOW MY PROTESTANT FRIENDS, (AND I WAS JUST A KID) COULD BLOW OFF SUNDAY SERVICES. OF COURSE, IN MY HEART I SUSPECTED THAT THEY WERE ALL GOING TO EITHER CONVERT EVENTUALLY, OR END UP IN HELL, OR THROUGH SOME RARE MIRACLE OF GOD'S GRACE, GET TO HEAVEN DESPITE BEING HERETICS. I HOPED FOR THE LAST. AS I GOT OLDER, I LEARNED ABOUT MARTIN LUTHER, AND HIS IDEA THAT FAITH ALONE WAS WHAT SAVED US; WORKS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. AND AS I GOT STILL OLDER, I WOULD RUN ACROSS A CHRISTIAN WHO HAD NO CONCERN AT ALL ABOUT ACTIONS WHICH I WOULD CONSIDER SINS, BECAUSE HE HAD BEEN "BORN AGAIN" OR HE HAD BEEN "SAVED" BY BELIEVING ON (NOT IN) JESUS.
IF YOU STUDY THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY, THIS IS ONE OF THE MAJOR DIVIDING LINES. IS IT FAITH THAT SAVES? OR IS IT WORKS? LISTEN TO PAUL: IF, IN FACT, ABRAHAM WAS JUSTIFIED BY WORKS, HE HAD SOMETHING TO BOAST ABOUT--BUT NOT BEFORE GOD. WHAT DOES THE SCRIPTURE SAY? "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." PAUL SEEMS TO CLEARLY BELIEVE THAT ABRAHAM WAS NOT JUSTIFIED BY HIS WORKS, BUT BY HIS FAITH. AH, BUT LISTEN TO JAMES: "WAS NOT OUR FATHER ABRAHAM CONSIDERED RIGHTEOUS FOR WHAT HE DID WHEN HE OFFERED HIS SON ISAAC ON THE ALTAR? ...YOU SEE THAT A PERSON IS CONSIDERED RIGHTEOUS BY WHAT THEY DO AND NOT BY FAITH ALONE."
AND TODAY WE HAVE TWO BROTHERS; ONE OF WHOM DOES WHAT HE IS ASKED TO, AND THE OTHER OF WHOM GIVES THE RIGHT ANSWER, BUT DOESN'T DO WHAT HE IS ASKED TO. WHO IS JUSTIFIED? THOSE WHO HEAR JESUS REPLY, "THE FIRST ONE". BUT JESUS GIVES AN AMBIGUOUS ANSWER; HE MENTIONS THE TAX COLLECTORS AND PROSTITUTES, WHO CLEARLY AREN'T OBEYING THE LAW OF GOD; AND SEEM TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY BELIEVE, NOT BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY DO.
THIS GREAT DIVISION IN CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY, A DIVISION THAT SEEMED TO HAVE BEEN THERE FROM THE BEGINNING, CONTINUES TO SEPARATE CHRISTIANS TODAY. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE LUTHERANS FORMULATED A STATEMENT THAT BOTH COULD AGREE UPON, BUT BOTH ENDED UP WRITING SEPARATE DOCUMENTS ABOUT HOW THEY UNDERSTOOD THE STATEMENT, AND THE TWO DOCUMENTS ARE INDEED DIFFERENT.
SO WHAT IS IT? FAITH? WORKS? WHAT IF WE BELIEVE? AFTER ALL, THERE ISN'T ANYTHING WE CAN DO THAT CAN BRING ABOUT OUR SALVATION; NOTHING WE DO HAPPENS WITHOUT GOD ANYWAY. SO WHY DO? WHAT IF WE DO, AND DON'T BELIEVE? WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THAT AND DOING WHILE BELIEVING? OR IS THERE SOME COMPROMISE? BUT WE KEEP FACING THAT SAME DILEMMA; IF WE ARE SAVED BY WHAT WE DO, THEN DID JESUS' SACRIFICE MATTER? BUT IF WE ARE SAVED BY WHAT WE BELIEVE, THEN CAN'T WE DO ANYTHING WE WANT SINCE WHAT WE DO DOESN'T MATTER?
I THINK THERE IS A POINT IN THE GOSPEL STORY WHICH WE OVERLOOK. EACH OF THE BROTHERS, APPARENTLY, CHANGES HIS MIND. THE FIRST BROTHER, OF COURSE; HE SAYS ONE THING, AND DOES ANOTHER. AND I DON'T THINK THE SECOND BROTHER IS LYING; I THINK HE MEANT TO GO OUT AND WORK IN THE VINEYARD, BUT CHANGED HIS MIND. AND MAYBE THAT IS THE REAL MESSAGE HERE; YOU AND I HAVE TO CHANGE OUR MINDS. BECAUSE I CAN GUARANTEE THAT I AND YOU AND OUR PASTOR ARE NOT WHERE WE SHOULD BE IN TERMS OF EITHER OUR FAITH OR OUR WORKS. AND NEITHER WILL SAVE US, ONLY JESUS WILL SAVE US. AFTER ALL, BELIEF, OR FAITH, IN THIS CONTEXT IS MORE THAN JUST AN INTELLECTUAL ASSENT. IT IS ACCEPTING THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS IN OUR LIVES, WITH ALL THAT THIS MEANS FOR US. AND IF WE ACTUALLY ACCEPT HIS AUTHORITY, THEN WE IMITATE HIM, WE PUT ON CHRIST, WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST. AND IF WE DON'T HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST, THERE IS ONE WAY TO GET IT -- TO DO THE WORKS HE WOULD DO IF HE WERE YOU AND I, AND INDEED, IN A SENSE, HE IS. WE BELIEVE; WE ACT; OUR BELIEF INCREASES; OUR ACTIONS BECOME MORE FINELY TUNED, MORE IN KEEPING WITH THE ACTIONS OF JESUS IN THE WORLD; AND ONE FEEDS ON THE OTHER UNTIL WE HAVE REACHED WHAT GOD WANTS OF US, WHICH IS TO BECOME HIS OWN DEAR SONS AND DAUGHTERS -- BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF JESUS HIMSELF. DOES FAITH LEAD TO WORKS? OF COURSE. DO WORKS LEAD TO FAITH? OF COURSE. IT ISN'T THAT WE SHOULD HAVE ONE OR THE OTHER; IT IS THAT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAITH AND WORKS IS DYNAMIC, AND IF ONE DOESN'T LEAD TO THE OTHER, THEN SOMETHING IS WRONG.
SO WHEN WE HEAR THIS GOSPEL WE SHOULD LOOK INTO OUR OWN LIVES AND WONDER WHERE WE ARE ON THIS DYNAMIC PATH. WE AREN'T TO ASK WHETHER WE BELIEVE RIGHTLY, OR WHETHER WE CARRY OUT OUR DUTIES PROPERLY; WE ARE TO ASK WHETHER THERE IS ONGOING CONVERSION, WHETHER THERE IS DEEPENING OF OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND WITH OUR NEIGHBOR. FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD; WORKS WITHOUT FAITH IS DEAD. WE CATHOLIC CHRISTIANS NEED TO CONSTANTLY TAKE STOCK OF WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE ARE GOING; BECAUSE THE REAL POINT IS THAT IF WE AREN'T CONTINUALLY MOVING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN FAITH AND WORKS, THEN WE ARE DEAD.
WHEN I WAS LITTLE, LONG BEFORE VATICAN II, WE CATHOLICS LIVED IN A VERY CERTAIN WORLD. WE WENT TO CONFESSION AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH, SATURDAY AFTERNOON. WE WOULD STAND IN LINE, AND WHISPER OUR SINS TO THE PRIEST. WE WOULD LEAVE CONFESSION FEELING VERY LIGHT AND HAPPY. WE WOULD GO TO MASS THE NEXT MORNING, AND FEEL RELIEVED THAT WE HAD MADE OUR SUNDAY OBLIGATION, THUS AVOIDING MORTAL SIN FOR ANOTHER WEEK. IF WE STILL HAD SOME "STAIN OF SIN" ON OUR SOULS, AND WE DID, BECAUSE THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE GOT YOUR SIN FORGIVEN, BUT NOT THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN, WELL, WE COULD GAIN A FEW INDULGENCES, SOME FOR 300 DAYS, SOME WHICH WERE "PLENARY". OBVIOUSLY THE PLENARY ONES WERE BETTER THAN THE 300 DAY ONES. WE IMAGINED THE HEAVENLY COURT MADE UP LARGELY OF ANGELIC ACCOUNTANTS WHO KEPT CAREFUL TRACK OF OUR MERITS AND DEMERITS, AND OF COURSE COMMITTING A MORTAL SIN SET US BACK TO ZERO, EVEN IF WE GOT FORGIVEN. SOUNDS SILLY? WE BELIEVED ALL OF THIS, BUT WE STILL BELIEVED IN GOD'S MERCY, IN HIS UNMERITED GRACE, AND THE EFFICACY OF THE SACRAMENTS. BUT THE EMPHASIS WAS ON WHAT WE DID.
IN THE MEANTIME, I COULD NOT UNDERSTAND HOW MY PROTESTANT FRIENDS, (AND I WAS JUST A KID) COULD BLOW OFF SUNDAY SERVICES. OF COURSE, IN MY HEART I SUSPECTED THAT THEY WERE ALL GOING TO EITHER CONVERT EVENTUALLY, OR END UP IN HELL, OR THROUGH SOME RARE MIRACLE OF GOD'S GRACE, GET TO HEAVEN DESPITE BEING HERETICS. I HOPED FOR THE LAST. AS I GOT OLDER, I LEARNED ABOUT MARTIN LUTHER, AND HIS IDEA THAT FAITH ALONE WAS WHAT SAVED US; WORKS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT. AND AS I GOT STILL OLDER, I WOULD RUN ACROSS A CHRISTIAN WHO HAD NO CONCERN AT ALL ABOUT ACTIONS WHICH I WOULD CONSIDER SINS, BECAUSE HE HAD BEEN "BORN AGAIN" OR HE HAD BEEN "SAVED" BY BELIEVING ON (NOT IN) JESUS.
IF YOU STUDY THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY, THIS IS ONE OF THE MAJOR DIVIDING LINES. IS IT FAITH THAT SAVES? OR IS IT WORKS? LISTEN TO PAUL: IF, IN FACT, ABRAHAM WAS JUSTIFIED BY WORKS, HE HAD SOMETHING TO BOAST ABOUT--BUT NOT BEFORE GOD. WHAT DOES THE SCRIPTURE SAY? "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." PAUL SEEMS TO CLEARLY BELIEVE THAT ABRAHAM WAS NOT JUSTIFIED BY HIS WORKS, BUT BY HIS FAITH. AH, BUT LISTEN TO JAMES: "WAS NOT OUR FATHER ABRAHAM CONSIDERED RIGHTEOUS FOR WHAT HE DID WHEN HE OFFERED HIS SON ISAAC ON THE ALTAR? ...YOU SEE THAT A PERSON IS CONSIDERED RIGHTEOUS BY WHAT THEY DO AND NOT BY FAITH ALONE."
AND TODAY WE HAVE TWO BROTHERS; ONE OF WHOM DOES WHAT HE IS ASKED TO, AND THE OTHER OF WHOM GIVES THE RIGHT ANSWER, BUT DOESN'T DO WHAT HE IS ASKED TO. WHO IS JUSTIFIED? THOSE WHO HEAR JESUS REPLY, "THE FIRST ONE". BUT JESUS GIVES AN AMBIGUOUS ANSWER; HE MENTIONS THE TAX COLLECTORS AND PROSTITUTES, WHO CLEARLY AREN'T OBEYING THE LAW OF GOD; AND SEEM TO ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY BELIEVE, NOT BECAUSE OF WHAT THEY DO.
THIS GREAT DIVISION IN CHRISTIAN THEOLOGY, A DIVISION THAT SEEMED TO HAVE BEEN THERE FROM THE BEGINNING, CONTINUES TO SEPARATE CHRISTIANS TODAY. THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND THE LUTHERANS FORMULATED A STATEMENT THAT BOTH COULD AGREE UPON, BUT BOTH ENDED UP WRITING SEPARATE DOCUMENTS ABOUT HOW THEY UNDERSTOOD THE STATEMENT, AND THE TWO DOCUMENTS ARE INDEED DIFFERENT.
SO WHAT IS IT? FAITH? WORKS? WHAT IF WE BELIEVE? AFTER ALL, THERE ISN'T ANYTHING WE CAN DO THAT CAN BRING ABOUT OUR SALVATION; NOTHING WE DO HAPPENS WITHOUT GOD ANYWAY. SO WHY DO? WHAT IF WE DO, AND DON'T BELIEVE? WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THAT AND DOING WHILE BELIEVING? OR IS THERE SOME COMPROMISE? BUT WE KEEP FACING THAT SAME DILEMMA; IF WE ARE SAVED BY WHAT WE DO, THEN DID JESUS' SACRIFICE MATTER? BUT IF WE ARE SAVED BY WHAT WE BELIEVE, THEN CAN'T WE DO ANYTHING WE WANT SINCE WHAT WE DO DOESN'T MATTER?
I THINK THERE IS A POINT IN THE GOSPEL STORY WHICH WE OVERLOOK. EACH OF THE BROTHERS, APPARENTLY, CHANGES HIS MIND. THE FIRST BROTHER, OF COURSE; HE SAYS ONE THING, AND DOES ANOTHER. AND I DON'T THINK THE SECOND BROTHER IS LYING; I THINK HE MEANT TO GO OUT AND WORK IN THE VINEYARD, BUT CHANGED HIS MIND. AND MAYBE THAT IS THE REAL MESSAGE HERE; YOU AND I HAVE TO CHANGE OUR MINDS. BECAUSE I CAN GUARANTEE THAT I AND YOU AND OUR PASTOR ARE NOT WHERE WE SHOULD BE IN TERMS OF EITHER OUR FAITH OR OUR WORKS. AND NEITHER WILL SAVE US, ONLY JESUS WILL SAVE US. AFTER ALL, BELIEF, OR FAITH, IN THIS CONTEXT IS MORE THAN JUST AN INTELLECTUAL ASSENT. IT IS ACCEPTING THE AUTHORITY OF JESUS IN OUR LIVES, WITH ALL THAT THIS MEANS FOR US. AND IF WE ACTUALLY ACCEPT HIS AUTHORITY, THEN WE IMITATE HIM, WE PUT ON CHRIST, WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST. AND IF WE DON'T HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST, THERE IS ONE WAY TO GET IT -- TO DO THE WORKS HE WOULD DO IF HE WERE YOU AND I, AND INDEED, IN A SENSE, HE IS. WE BELIEVE; WE ACT; OUR BELIEF INCREASES; OUR ACTIONS BECOME MORE FINELY TUNED, MORE IN KEEPING WITH THE ACTIONS OF JESUS IN THE WORLD; AND ONE FEEDS ON THE OTHER UNTIL WE HAVE REACHED WHAT GOD WANTS OF US, WHICH IS TO BECOME HIS OWN DEAR SONS AND DAUGHTERS -- BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF JESUS HIMSELF. DOES FAITH LEAD TO WORKS? OF COURSE. DO WORKS LEAD TO FAITH? OF COURSE. IT ISN'T THAT WE SHOULD HAVE ONE OR THE OTHER; IT IS THAT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FAITH AND WORKS IS DYNAMIC, AND IF ONE DOESN'T LEAD TO THE OTHER, THEN SOMETHING IS WRONG.
SO WHEN WE HEAR THIS GOSPEL WE SHOULD LOOK INTO OUR OWN LIVES AND WONDER WHERE WE ARE ON THIS DYNAMIC PATH. WE AREN'T TO ASK WHETHER WE BELIEVE RIGHTLY, OR WHETHER WE CARRY OUT OUR DUTIES PROPERLY; WE ARE TO ASK WHETHER THERE IS ONGOING CONVERSION, WHETHER THERE IS DEEPENING OF OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND WITH OUR NEIGHBOR. FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD; WORKS WITHOUT FAITH IS DEAD. WE CATHOLIC CHRISTIANS NEED TO CONSTANTLY TAKE STOCK OF WHERE WE ARE AND WHERE WE ARE GOING; BECAUSE THE REAL POINT IS THAT IF WE AREN'T CONTINUALLY MOVING BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN FAITH AND WORKS, THEN WE ARE DEAD.
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
MATTHEW 20:1-16
JOAN AND I HAVE TAKEN SOME OF OUR GRANDCHILDREN ON TRIPS. WE HAVEN'T TAKEN THEM ALL, BECAUSE ONE OF THE QUALIFICATIONS TO GO ON A TRIP WITH US IS TO BE UNEQUIVOCALLY POTTY TRAINED, AND A LOT OF THEM HAVEN'T REACHED THAT POINT YET. WE RECENTLY TOOK THREE GRANDDAUGHTERS TO VERMONT. TWO WERE SISTERS, AND POINTED OUT THAT WE HAD TAKEN THEIR TWO OLDER BROTHERS TO MONTANA, AND THEY WERE ONLY GOING TO VERMONT, SO OBVIOUSLY WE LIKED THE BROTHERS MORE. WE REMINDED THEM THAT WE HAD TAKEN THE TWO OF THEM TO DISNEY WORLD AS WELL. THEY STILL DIDN'T THINK IT WAS FAIR, BUT JOAN POINTED OUT HOW THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF MONEY WE HAD SPENT ON THEM WAS MORE THAN WE HAD SPENT ON THE BROTHERS, AND SINCE NEITHER ONE IS VERY SWIFT AT MATH, THE DISCUSSION CAME TO AN END. THE THIRD GRANDDAUGHTER DIDN'T SAY A WORD, BECAUSE SHE'S BEEN TO QUEBEC, DISNEY WORLD, CALIFORNIA, AND MONTANA WITH US. SHE WAS SMART ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT THIS WAS NOT THE TIME TO REMIND HER TWO COUSINS OF THAT FACT.
IT SEEMS TO BE NATURAL FOR PEOPLE, OLD AND YOUNG, TO BE VERY SENSITIVE TO WHAT IS FAIR. AND IT IS TRUE NOT ONLY OF HUMAN AFFAIRS, BUT OF SPIRITUAL THINGS AS WELL. MANY YEARS AGO I CAME HOME TO MONTANA WITH MY NEW BRIDE AND VISITED A PRIEST I HAD KNOWN WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER; HE WAS A GOOD FRIEND AND ADVISOR TO ME. HE HAD MANY ACCOMPLISHMENTS; HE HAD A DOCTORATE IN ECONOMICS AND WAS A SPECIAL COUNSEL TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR; HE WROTE LEARNED PAPERS AND WAS IN DEMAND AS A SPEAKER; AND HE WAS A PROFESSOR AT THE LOCAL CATHOLIC COLLEGE. WE VISITED HIM IN THE HOSPITAL; HE HAD JUST HAD BOTH LEGS AMPUTATED AND WAS GOING BLIND AS A CONSEQUENCE OF DIABETES. HE WAS DEEPLY DEPRESSED. HE COULD BARELY SPEAK TO US. I SUSPECT HE WAS THINKING, “HOW CAN GOD DO THIS TO ME? I'VE BEEN FAITHFUL. I'VE SPENT MY LIFE IN HIS SERVICE; I'VE GIVEN UP SO MUCH TO SERVE HIM?” AND THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO SEEM TO HAVE EVERYTHING, BUT HAVEN'T DONE A THING FOR GOD; AND INDEED, MAY BE GREAT SINNERS. HOW CAN GOD DO THIS? WHERE IS THE FAIRNESS?
I THINK EVERY GRANDPARENT COULD NAME A FAVORITE GRANDCHILD, JUST AS EVERY PARENT COULD NAME A FAVORITE CHILD. I KNOW, IT SOUNDS HORRIBLE. BUT IN MY EXPERIENCE, THE FAVORITE CHANGES FROM DAY TO DAY, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE QUESTION SHOULD BE “FAVORITE IN WHAT SENSE?” BECAUSE WHEN YOU FOCUS DOWN ON EACH GRANDCHILD, YOU REALIZE THAT THAT ONE IS YOUR FAVORITE, NOT BECAUSE YOU ARE COMPARING HIM OR HER TO THE REST, BUT BECAUSE YOU APPRECIATE THE GRANDCHILD FOR HIMSELF OR HERSELF. AND WE GRANDPARENTS HAVE LEARNED SOMETHING IMPORTANT – WE CAN'T REALLY PUT HUMAN BEINGS ON A SCALE, WE CAN'T COMPARE ONE TO ANOTHER; EVERY ONE IS UNIQUE, EVERY ONE IS FAVORITE.
WE CAN LOOK AT THE MESSAGE IN TODAYS' GOSPEL IN TWO WAYS. IN THE FIRST, I THINK WE GET A LITTLE UPSET WITH THE OWNER OF THE VINEYARD. WE KNOW HE CAN DO WHATEVER HE WANTS WITH HIS MONEY. WE KNOW THAT THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN WORKING ALL DAY HAVE RECEIVED A FAIR WAGE. WE KNOW IT IS NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS WHAT THE OTHERS HAVE RECEIVED. BUT WE STILL SIDE WITH THOSE WHO BORE THE HEAT OF THE DAY. SOMETHING DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT, SOMETHING DOESN'T SEEM FAIR. WE CAN'T QUITE PUT A FINGER ON IT, BUT MAYBE THAT'S THE REASON THAT IN ANOTHER STORY, THE WORKERS IN THE VINEYARD BEAT THE SERVANTS WHO COME TO THEM AND END UP KILLING THE HEIR OF THE OWNER OF THE VINEYARD. SOMETHING IS NOT FAIR HERE!
THE OTHER PERSPECTIVE, HOWEVER, IS WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT WHEN I TOLD YOU ABOUT MY GRANDCHILDREN. THE VINEYARD OWNER IS NOT CONCERNED ABOUT HOW MUCH WORK EACH LABORER HAS DONE. HE IS CONCERNED THAT EACH HAS WHAT HE NEEDS – THE USUAL DAILY WAGE. IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE DAILY WAGE, WELL, YOU MIGHT NOT GET TO EAT. AND IF YOU RECEIVED MORE THAN THE USUAL DAILY WAGE FOR A DAY'S WORK, YOU DIDN'T DESERVE THE EXTRA. THE VINEYARD OWNER SOLVED THE PROBLEM IN A GODLY WAY, NOT IN THE WAY A MAN MIGHT HAVE.
THE POINT IS THAT GOD IS PURE LOVE. AND YOU ARE GOD'S FAVORITE, AND I AM GOD'S FAVORITE. IN FACT, EVERYONE IS GOD'S FAVORITE – SAINT, SINNER, MUSLIM, CATHOLIC, ATHEIST – YOU NAME IT. IN GOD'S EYES, HE DOESN'T SEE A CROWD OF PEOPLE. HE SEES EACH OF US IN OUR UNIQUENESS, IN OUR GOODNESS AND NOT-SO-GOODNESS, IN OUR TRUTH AND IN OUR ERROR. AND HE LOVES WHAT WE ARE, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, AS A BETTER GRANDPARENT THAN I AM LOVES EACH GRANDCHILD WITH ALL THE LOVE HE CAN MUSTER UP.
I LOVE TO TAKE MY GRANDCHILDREN ON TRIPS, BECAUSE I GET TO KNOW HOW SPECIAL, HOW INDIVIDUAL, HOW MARVELOUS EACH ONE IS. AND GOD LOVES TO FOCUS ON EACH ONE OF US, ALL HIS LOVE, ALL HIS GOODNESS, AND ALL HIS GRACE.
IF YOU SEE SOMEONE WHO SEEMS BETTER OFF THAN YOU ARE, SOMEONE WHO SEEMS TO GET MORE THAN THEY DESERVE; IF YOU THINK THAT YOU DESERVE BETTER THAN YOU'VE BEEN GIVEN, YOUR GRASP ON REALITY IS VERY WEAK. OUR FATHER GIVES EACH OF US EVERYTHING WE NEED TO BE HAPPY WITH HIM FOREVER IN ETERNITY. THAT IS ALL HE GIVES US, THAT IS ALL HE CAN GIVE US; ALL THE REST IS REALLY NOTHING, NOT MEASURED AGAINST ETERNITY.
MAYBE THOSE LABORERS WHO SPENT THE WHOLE DAY PICKING GRAPES AND TENDING VINES WILL THINK TWICE TOMORROW; MAYBE THEY WILL REST IN THE SHADE UNTIL LATER IN THE DAY, AND HOPE THEY WILL GET A DAY'S WAGE FOR AN HOUR'S WORTH OF WORK. MAYBE THOSE OF US WHO HAVE WORKED HARD AT LIVING A CHRISTIAN LIFE SHOULD NOT HAVE BOTHERED; IT WILL ALL WORK OUT IN THE END, WON'T IT?
THE OWNER OF THE VINEYARD WANTS TO GIVE EACH LABORER WHAT HE NEEDS; BUT HE ALSO CALLS EACH LABORER WHEN HE WANTS HIS LABOR. IN ORDER TO BE OPEN TO RECEIVING WHAT HE NEEDS, THE LABORER MUST ANSWER THE CALL WHEN CALLED.
IN THE END, WHAT WE RECEIVE FROM THE FATHER IS NOT RELATED TO WHAT WE DO AT ALL. AND THE WORK WE DO FOR HIM IS NOT REALLY OURS TO GIVE; HE GIVES US THE TASK, HE GIVES US THE STRENGTH TO DO IT, AND IN HIS HANDS RESTS WHAT IS ACCOMPLISHED. IF I SEE A GRANDCHILD WINNING A SCOUTING AWARD OR BEING HELPFUL AROUND THE HOUSE OR SCORING A GOAL IN A SOCCER GAME, I'M PROUD OF THEM, I SHARE THEIR JOY. BUT IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE LOVE I HAVE FOR THAT GRANDCHILD.
SO NEVER AGAIN SAY TO GOD, “IT ISN'T FAIR!” REMEMBER THAT YOU, YES, YOU, ARE HIS VERY FAVORITE CHILD, AND HE IS GIVING YOU EVERYTHING YOU WILL EVER NEED TO SPEND ETERNITY WITH HIM.
JOAN AND I HAVE TAKEN SOME OF OUR GRANDCHILDREN ON TRIPS. WE HAVEN'T TAKEN THEM ALL, BECAUSE ONE OF THE QUALIFICATIONS TO GO ON A TRIP WITH US IS TO BE UNEQUIVOCALLY POTTY TRAINED, AND A LOT OF THEM HAVEN'T REACHED THAT POINT YET. WE RECENTLY TOOK THREE GRANDDAUGHTERS TO VERMONT. TWO WERE SISTERS, AND POINTED OUT THAT WE HAD TAKEN THEIR TWO OLDER BROTHERS TO MONTANA, AND THEY WERE ONLY GOING TO VERMONT, SO OBVIOUSLY WE LIKED THE BROTHERS MORE. WE REMINDED THEM THAT WE HAD TAKEN THE TWO OF THEM TO DISNEY WORLD AS WELL. THEY STILL DIDN'T THINK IT WAS FAIR, BUT JOAN POINTED OUT HOW THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF MONEY WE HAD SPENT ON THEM WAS MORE THAN WE HAD SPENT ON THE BROTHERS, AND SINCE NEITHER ONE IS VERY SWIFT AT MATH, THE DISCUSSION CAME TO AN END. THE THIRD GRANDDAUGHTER DIDN'T SAY A WORD, BECAUSE SHE'S BEEN TO QUEBEC, DISNEY WORLD, CALIFORNIA, AND MONTANA WITH US. SHE WAS SMART ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT THIS WAS NOT THE TIME TO REMIND HER TWO COUSINS OF THAT FACT.
IT SEEMS TO BE NATURAL FOR PEOPLE, OLD AND YOUNG, TO BE VERY SENSITIVE TO WHAT IS FAIR. AND IT IS TRUE NOT ONLY OF HUMAN AFFAIRS, BUT OF SPIRITUAL THINGS AS WELL. MANY YEARS AGO I CAME HOME TO MONTANA WITH MY NEW BRIDE AND VISITED A PRIEST I HAD KNOWN WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER; HE WAS A GOOD FRIEND AND ADVISOR TO ME. HE HAD MANY ACCOMPLISHMENTS; HE HAD A DOCTORATE IN ECONOMICS AND WAS A SPECIAL COUNSEL TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR; HE WROTE LEARNED PAPERS AND WAS IN DEMAND AS A SPEAKER; AND HE WAS A PROFESSOR AT THE LOCAL CATHOLIC COLLEGE. WE VISITED HIM IN THE HOSPITAL; HE HAD JUST HAD BOTH LEGS AMPUTATED AND WAS GOING BLIND AS A CONSEQUENCE OF DIABETES. HE WAS DEEPLY DEPRESSED. HE COULD BARELY SPEAK TO US. I SUSPECT HE WAS THINKING, “HOW CAN GOD DO THIS TO ME? I'VE BEEN FAITHFUL. I'VE SPENT MY LIFE IN HIS SERVICE; I'VE GIVEN UP SO MUCH TO SERVE HIM?” AND THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO SEEM TO HAVE EVERYTHING, BUT HAVEN'T DONE A THING FOR GOD; AND INDEED, MAY BE GREAT SINNERS. HOW CAN GOD DO THIS? WHERE IS THE FAIRNESS?
I THINK EVERY GRANDPARENT COULD NAME A FAVORITE GRANDCHILD, JUST AS EVERY PARENT COULD NAME A FAVORITE CHILD. I KNOW, IT SOUNDS HORRIBLE. BUT IN MY EXPERIENCE, THE FAVORITE CHANGES FROM DAY TO DAY, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE QUESTION SHOULD BE “FAVORITE IN WHAT SENSE?” BECAUSE WHEN YOU FOCUS DOWN ON EACH GRANDCHILD, YOU REALIZE THAT THAT ONE IS YOUR FAVORITE, NOT BECAUSE YOU ARE COMPARING HIM OR HER TO THE REST, BUT BECAUSE YOU APPRECIATE THE GRANDCHILD FOR HIMSELF OR HERSELF. AND WE GRANDPARENTS HAVE LEARNED SOMETHING IMPORTANT – WE CAN'T REALLY PUT HUMAN BEINGS ON A SCALE, WE CAN'T COMPARE ONE TO ANOTHER; EVERY ONE IS UNIQUE, EVERY ONE IS FAVORITE.
WE CAN LOOK AT THE MESSAGE IN TODAYS' GOSPEL IN TWO WAYS. IN THE FIRST, I THINK WE GET A LITTLE UPSET WITH THE OWNER OF THE VINEYARD. WE KNOW HE CAN DO WHATEVER HE WANTS WITH HIS MONEY. WE KNOW THAT THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN WORKING ALL DAY HAVE RECEIVED A FAIR WAGE. WE KNOW IT IS NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS WHAT THE OTHERS HAVE RECEIVED. BUT WE STILL SIDE WITH THOSE WHO BORE THE HEAT OF THE DAY. SOMETHING DOESN'T SEEM RIGHT, SOMETHING DOESN'T SEEM FAIR. WE CAN'T QUITE PUT A FINGER ON IT, BUT MAYBE THAT'S THE REASON THAT IN ANOTHER STORY, THE WORKERS IN THE VINEYARD BEAT THE SERVANTS WHO COME TO THEM AND END UP KILLING THE HEIR OF THE OWNER OF THE VINEYARD. SOMETHING IS NOT FAIR HERE!
THE OTHER PERSPECTIVE, HOWEVER, IS WHAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT WHEN I TOLD YOU ABOUT MY GRANDCHILDREN. THE VINEYARD OWNER IS NOT CONCERNED ABOUT HOW MUCH WORK EACH LABORER HAS DONE. HE IS CONCERNED THAT EACH HAS WHAT HE NEEDS – THE USUAL DAILY WAGE. IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE THE DAILY WAGE, WELL, YOU MIGHT NOT GET TO EAT. AND IF YOU RECEIVED MORE THAN THE USUAL DAILY WAGE FOR A DAY'S WORK, YOU DIDN'T DESERVE THE EXTRA. THE VINEYARD OWNER SOLVED THE PROBLEM IN A GODLY WAY, NOT IN THE WAY A MAN MIGHT HAVE.
THE POINT IS THAT GOD IS PURE LOVE. AND YOU ARE GOD'S FAVORITE, AND I AM GOD'S FAVORITE. IN FACT, EVERYONE IS GOD'S FAVORITE – SAINT, SINNER, MUSLIM, CATHOLIC, ATHEIST – YOU NAME IT. IN GOD'S EYES, HE DOESN'T SEE A CROWD OF PEOPLE. HE SEES EACH OF US IN OUR UNIQUENESS, IN OUR GOODNESS AND NOT-SO-GOODNESS, IN OUR TRUTH AND IN OUR ERROR. AND HE LOVES WHAT WE ARE, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW, AS A BETTER GRANDPARENT THAN I AM LOVES EACH GRANDCHILD WITH ALL THE LOVE HE CAN MUSTER UP.
I LOVE TO TAKE MY GRANDCHILDREN ON TRIPS, BECAUSE I GET TO KNOW HOW SPECIAL, HOW INDIVIDUAL, HOW MARVELOUS EACH ONE IS. AND GOD LOVES TO FOCUS ON EACH ONE OF US, ALL HIS LOVE, ALL HIS GOODNESS, AND ALL HIS GRACE.
IF YOU SEE SOMEONE WHO SEEMS BETTER OFF THAN YOU ARE, SOMEONE WHO SEEMS TO GET MORE THAN THEY DESERVE; IF YOU THINK THAT YOU DESERVE BETTER THAN YOU'VE BEEN GIVEN, YOUR GRASP ON REALITY IS VERY WEAK. OUR FATHER GIVES EACH OF US EVERYTHING WE NEED TO BE HAPPY WITH HIM FOREVER IN ETERNITY. THAT IS ALL HE GIVES US, THAT IS ALL HE CAN GIVE US; ALL THE REST IS REALLY NOTHING, NOT MEASURED AGAINST ETERNITY.
MAYBE THOSE LABORERS WHO SPENT THE WHOLE DAY PICKING GRAPES AND TENDING VINES WILL THINK TWICE TOMORROW; MAYBE THEY WILL REST IN THE SHADE UNTIL LATER IN THE DAY, AND HOPE THEY WILL GET A DAY'S WAGE FOR AN HOUR'S WORTH OF WORK. MAYBE THOSE OF US WHO HAVE WORKED HARD AT LIVING A CHRISTIAN LIFE SHOULD NOT HAVE BOTHERED; IT WILL ALL WORK OUT IN THE END, WON'T IT?
THE OWNER OF THE VINEYARD WANTS TO GIVE EACH LABORER WHAT HE NEEDS; BUT HE ALSO CALLS EACH LABORER WHEN HE WANTS HIS LABOR. IN ORDER TO BE OPEN TO RECEIVING WHAT HE NEEDS, THE LABORER MUST ANSWER THE CALL WHEN CALLED.
IN THE END, WHAT WE RECEIVE FROM THE FATHER IS NOT RELATED TO WHAT WE DO AT ALL. AND THE WORK WE DO FOR HIM IS NOT REALLY OURS TO GIVE; HE GIVES US THE TASK, HE GIVES US THE STRENGTH TO DO IT, AND IN HIS HANDS RESTS WHAT IS ACCOMPLISHED. IF I SEE A GRANDCHILD WINNING A SCOUTING AWARD OR BEING HELPFUL AROUND THE HOUSE OR SCORING A GOAL IN A SOCCER GAME, I'M PROUD OF THEM, I SHARE THEIR JOY. BUT IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE LOVE I HAVE FOR THAT GRANDCHILD.
SO NEVER AGAIN SAY TO GOD, “IT ISN'T FAIR!” REMEMBER THAT YOU, YES, YOU, ARE HIS VERY FAVORITE CHILD, AND HE IS GIVING YOU EVERYTHING YOU WILL EVER NEED TO SPEND ETERNITY WITH HIM.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
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.
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 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.
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