MATTHEW 251-13
ONE DAY A PRIEST WAS SPEAKING ABOUT THE STORY OF THE FIVE WISE AND FIVE FOOLISH VIRGINS. AT THE END OF HIS SERMON, HE ASKED THEM, “AFTER WHAT YOU'VE HEARD, WHERE WOULD YOU RATHER BE? INSIDE THE HOUSE, ENJOYING THE FEAST, OR OUT IN THE DARK WITH THE FIVE FOOLISH YOUNG WOMEN?” A YOUNG MEN IN THE AUDIENCE REPLIED, “I'M THINKING.”
WHEN I WAS IN COLLEGE, EXAM TIME WAS ALWAYS STRESSFUL. I WOULD USUALLY BE TAKING SIX COURSES AT A TIME, AND ALL THE EXAMS WOULD BE SCHEDULED OVER A THREE DAY PERIOD. THAT MEANT THAT I HAD TO STUDY MY SIX DIFFERENT TOPICS, AND HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION ON HAND SO THAT I COULD DO WELL. I WOULD NOT GETA LOT OF SLEEP DURING THIS TIME. AND WHEN YOU DON'T GET SLEEP, AND YOU ARE UNDER A LOT OF STRESS, YOU CAN HAVE INTERESTING DREAMS. ONE RECURRENT DREAM WAS THAT I HAD ACTUALLY REGISTERED FOR A COURSE THAT I HAD COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT. I HADN'T GONE TO THE CLASSES, I HADN'T STUDIED – BUT I WAS STILL SCHEDULED TO TAKE THE TEST. I WOULD WAKE UP IN A COLD SWEAT.
WE AREN'T AT ALL FAMILIAR WITH THE SCENE JESUS DESCRIBES, BUT TO HIS HEARERS IT WAS COMMONPLACE. IN THE LITTLE VILLAGES A WEDDING WAS A VERY BIG DEAL. IT WAS AN OCCASION FOR PUTTING ASIDE ALL THE CARES OF DAILY LIFE AND SPENDING A WEEK HAVING A PARTY. YOU REMEMBER THE WEDDING FEAST AT CANA. WHAT WE DON'T REALIZE IS HOW MUCH WINE WAS BEING CONSUMED; IT WASN'T JUST A CHAMPAGNE TOAST AND TWO DRINK TICKETS AT THE OPEN BAR. THE WINE THAT JESUS MIRACULOUSLY MADE FROM WATER AMOUNTED TO ABOUT SIXTY GALLONS OR SO. AND OF COURSE, THE PARTY HAD BEEN GOING ON A WHILE EVEN BEFORE THIS HAPPENED.
THE WEDDING WAS NOT SCHEDULED FOR A CERTAIN TIME; IT WAS ONLY APPROXIMATE. THE BRIDESMAIDS WOULD BE ATTENDING THE BRIDE, MAKING SURE HER HAIR WAS PUT UP JUST RIGHT, HER GOWN WAS READY TO WEAR, AND HER LAST MINUTE NERVOUSNESS WAS QUIETED. AND THEN THEY WOULD GO OUT TO WAIT FOR THE BRIDEGROOM. IT WAS SORT OF A GAME; HIS JOB WAS TO SURPRISE EVERYBODY AND THEIRS WAS NOT TO BE SURPRISED. AT SOME POINT THE FRIENDS OF THE BRIDEGROOM WOULD ANNOUNCE THAT THE GROOM WAS COMING, AND THE BRIDESMAIDS WOULD GREET HIM AND ESCORT HIM BACK INTO THE HALL WHERE THE BRIDE AWAITED HIM. IN A SOCIETY WHERE THERE WAS VERY LITTLE LEISURE, WEDDING PARTIES WERE ONE OF THE PLACES WHERE YOUNG MEN AND YOUNG WOMEN COULD MEET EACH OTHER. THE PEOPLE WHO HEARD JESUS COULD FEEL WHAT A TRAGEDY IT WOULD BE FOR THESE YOUNG WOMEN TO MISS THE CHANCE TO MEET POTENTIAL HUSBANDS; THEY DIDN'T JUST MISS THE PARTY; THEY MISSED OUT ON THEIR FUTURE HAPPINESS, ALL BECAUSE THEY HADN'T BEEN PREPARED.
I THINK THE STORY REALLY TELLS US TWO VERY IMPORTANT THINGS. FIRST, THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU CAN'T PUT OFF. WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, WE WERE OFTEN TOLD STORIES ABOUT DEATHBED CONVERSIONS; SOMEONE HAD LIVED A TERRIBLE LIFE, AND AT THE LAST MINUTE, MADE A PERFECT CONFESSION AND WENT RIGHT TO HEAVEN. WE WERE ENCOURAGED TO MAKE NINE “FIRST FRIDAYS” BECAUSE A PROMISE HAD BEEN MADE BY THE BLESSED MOTHER THAT THOSE WHO DID SO WOULD HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO RECEIVE THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE BEFORE THEY DIED. AND MAYBE AN INDIRECT EFFECT OF THESE IDEAS WAS INDEED THE NOTION THAT WE COULD “PUT OFF” REALLY, REALLY BECOMING CHRISTIAN UNTIL LATER IN LIFE. AFTER ALL, THAT'S WHAT AUGUSTINE DID, AND NOW HE'S A GREAT SAINT.
WE ALL KNOW WHAT WE SHOULD DO; WE ALL KNOW HOW WE COULD BE BETTER CHRISTIANS, HOW WE COULD SPEND MORE TIME IN PRAYER, MEDITATION, READING SCRIPTURE, DOING GOOD WORKS. BUT WE PUT OFF CHANGING OUR LIVES, BECAUSE AFTER ALL, IT DOES TAKE WORK, AND WE HAVE OTHER THINGS TO DO. BUT IN ADDITION TO BEING PREPARED FOR OUR ULTIMATE END, FOR THAT END OF LIFE WHICH COULD COME IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE, THERE IS ANOTHER KIND OF PREPAREDNESS. EVERY DAY THERE IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO SERVE A NEIGHBOR, TO HELP SOMEONE OUT, TO GIVE A KIND WORD TO SOMEONE; AND SO OFTEN WE AREN'T PREPARED, WE MISS THOSE MOMENTS WHEN WE CAN BE GOD'S GRACE TO SOMEONE ELSE. THERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU CAN'T PUT OFF.
AND THE SECOND POINT IS THAT THERE ARE SOME THINGS FOR WHICH WE CAN'T DEPEND ON OTHERS. THE FOOLISH VIRGINS WANTED TO BORROW OIL FROM THEIR WISE SISTERS. IN JESUS' STORY, IT COULDN'T BE DONE. THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO MANAGE TO GET OUT OF TROUBLE BECAUSE SOMEONE HELPS THEM OUT. IT CERTAINLY SEEMS TO BE TRUE OF YOUNG PEOPLE WHO NEED A LOAN FROM MOM AND DAD, BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE DECENT JOBS, OR CREDIT, BUT STILL FOR LIFE TO GO ON A NEED MUST BE FULFILLED. AND WE PROBABLY ALL KNOW PEOPLE WHO JUST CAN'T GET IT TOGETHER, AND CONTINUE TO DEPEND ON SIBLINGS, OR EVEN ADULT CHILDREN, IN ORDER TO GET ALONG. BUT WITH RESPECT TO OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS, THAT RELATIONSHIP ON WHICH OUR WHOLE ETERNITY DEPENDS, WHETHER OR NOT WE WILL LIVE IN LIGHT FOR ALL ETERNITY OR LIVE IN DARKNESS AND LONELINESS, NO ONE, NOT EVEN GOD, CAN STEP IN AND CREATE THAT RELATIONSHIP FOR US. BECAUSE FORMING A RELATIONSHIP REQUIRES THE FREE ACT OF MY WILL, AND GOD HAS GIVEN ME THAT FREEDOM, FOR BETTER OR FOR WORSE.
THE THING THAT IS SO SAD ABOUT THIS STORY OF JESUS' IS THAT THE FOOLISH VIRGINS HAD THEIR HEARTS IN THE RIGHT PLACE. THEY MEANT WELL. THEY DID NOT FORGET THE EXTRA OIL ON PURPOSE. BUT IT DIDN'T MATTER; GOOD INTENTIONS WERE NOT ENOUGH TO GET THEM IN TO THE PARTY.
THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT CAN'T BE PUT OFF. THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT NO ONE CAN HELP US WITH. AND GOOD INTENTIONS ARE NOT ENOUGH TO GET US IN TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. THOSE ARE VERY IMPORTANT TRUTHS WHICH SHOULD ENGAGE US THIS WEEK, AS WE GO BACK INTO THE WORLD. THE BRIDEGROOM IS COMING; WE DON'T KNOW WHEN; AND WE NEED TO TAKE STOCK: ARE WE READY? WE ONLY HAVE THIS ONE CHANCE.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
MATTHEW 23:1-12
MUMMAR KADAFI WAS THE ABSOLUTE RULER OF LIBYA FOR FORTY TWO YEARS. I WAS JUST FINISHING MEDICAL SCHOOL WHEN HE CAME TO POWER, THE LEADER OF A GROUP OF MIDDLE-LEVEL MILITARY MEN WHO OVERTHREW THE KING. HE MOVED RAPIDLY TO CONSOLIDATE HIS POWER, AND IT WASN'T TOO HARD, BECAUSE THE PEOPLE OF LIBYA THOUGHT THAT ANYTHING WOULD BE BETTER THAN WHAT THEY HAD BEFORE. AND INITIALLY, KADAFI DIDN'T DISAPPOINT THEM. I REMEMBER READING AN ARTICLE NOW AND THEN ABOUT THE REVOLUTION KADAFI WAS BRINGING ABOUT. HE WAS BUILDING SCHOOLS, TRYING TO DEVELOP THE OIL INDUSTRY, MODERNIZING CITIES. AND IN THOSE DAYS HE HAD A HUGE AMOUNT OF SUPPORT. BUT SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE SOMETHING CHANGED. HE BEGAN REPRESSING THE BEDOIN POPULATION, A MINORITY GROUP. ONCE WHERE HE WAS THE LEADER OF A GROUP OF PEOPLE TRYING TO CHANGE THE COUNTRY, HE TRANSITIONED TO BECOME THE ABSOLUTE RULER; THOSE HE DIDN'T KILL HE EXILED. AND AT SOME POINT HE MUST HAVE BELIEVED HE WAS SO IMPORTANT, SO WISE, THAT HE GENERATED A TEXT CALLED “THE GREEN BOOK” WHICH CONTAINED HIS IDEAS ABOUT HOW SOCIETY SHOULD BE ORGANIZED AND RUN. EVERYONE HAD TO STUDY THIS BOOK, AND YOU COULD EVEN GET AN ADVANCED DEGREE IN IT AT THE UNIVERSITY SO THAT YOU COULD GO OUT AND TEACH IT. AND KADAFI ENDED UP A PARANOID, A TERRORIST, AND UNFORTUNATELY, A CLOWN FIGURE TO MOST OF THOSE WHO OBSERVED HIM.
THE PHARISEES AND THE SCRIBES DID NOT START OUT TO IMPOSE HEAVY BURDENS, TO SEEK OUT HONORS, TO WALK AROUND WITH THE SYMBOLS OF THEIR OFFICES EXAGGERATED AND DECORATED. I IMAGINE WHEN THEY FIRST DISCERNED A VOCATION TO TEACH THE LAW, BOTH BY WORD AND EXAMPLE, THEY WERE VERY SINCERE, THEY SAW THEMSELVES AS DOING GOD'S WORK, AND INDEED THEY WERE. BUT AFTER A WHILE, JESUS CONDEMNS THEM. HE CALLS THEM HYPOCRITES IN MATTHEW'S GOSPEL, BUT THAT WORD DOESN'T QUITE HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS WE MIGHT EXPECT IN ENGLISH, THE IDEA OF SAYING ONE THING AND DOING THE OPPOSITE. THE WORD JESUS PROBABLY USED MEANT SOMETHING LIKE “ACTOR”. THE PHARISEES DID NOT SAY ONE THING AND DO ANOTHER. THEY WERE VERY HARD ON THEMSELVES; BUT THE WAY THEY TREATED THOSE TO WHOM THEY WERE RESPONSIBLE DEMONSTRATED THAT EVEN THOUGH THEY FASTED AND GAVE ALMS AND RIGOROUSLY FOLLOWED THE LAW, THERE HAD BEEN NO INNER CONVERSION.
AND I THINK THAT IS THE LESSON JESUS IS TEACHING US TODAY. BEWARE OF POWER, OF POSITIONS OF LEADERSHIP; BEWARE WHEN SOMEONE IS HONORING YOU. EVEN IF YOU ARE A SAINT, YOU ARE RISKING YOUR SOUL. MOTHER THERESA, CERTAINLY A MODERN SAINT, WAS KNOWN TO HAVE A VERY STRONG SENSE OF HER OWN RIGHTNESS WHERE HER MINISTRY WAS CONCERNED; IF YOU WANTED TO WORK WITH HER, IT WAS “MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY”. JOHN PAUL II WAS KNOWN TO BE IMPULSIVE; SOME OF THE THINGS HE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO DO WERE FORTUNATELY NOT DONE BECAUSE OF COOLER HEADS IN THE VATICAN. EVEN SAINT FRANCIS WAS A LITTLE BIT CORRUPTED BY POWER AND HONOR AND LEADERSHIP, TO THE EXTENT THAT HIS BROTHERS QUIETLY DEMOTED HIM FROM RUNNING THE ORDER IN HIS LATER YEARS.
THERE IS THAT OLD SAYING, “POWER CORRUPTS, AND ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY.” JESUS LOOKS AT THE PHARISEES; ON ONE LEVEL, HE RECOGNIZES HOW ZEALOUS THEY ARE TO TEACH AND PASS ON THE LAW. YOU COULD COUNT ON THE FACT THAT A PHARISEE WOULD NEVER TELL YOU SOMETHING ABOUT THE LAW THAT WASN'T TRUE. SO HE TELLS HIS FOLLOWERS TO LISTEN TO THEM, PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT THEY SAY. BUT HE POINTS OUT THAT THEY HAVE SUCCUMBED TO THE CORRUPTING INFLUENCE OF THEIR POSITIONS. THEY HAVE REACHED THE POINT WHERE THEY BELIEVE THEY ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS, THAT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO TELL PEOPLE WHAT TO DO, THAT THE HONORS WHICH THEY RECEIVE ARE THINGS THEY DESERVE. AND AMONG JESUS' FOLLOWERS, THERE IS TO BE NONE OF THIS, OR AT LEAST THE VERY LEAST. TITLES OF HONOR ARE OUT; JESUS WOULD NOT APPROVE OF SIGNS OF AUTHORITY. AND AN AUTHENTIC LEADER IS CHARACTERIZED BY ONE THING -- THAT HE OR SHE IS FIRST OF ALL A SERVANT.
MUMMAR KADAFI WAS THE ABSOLUTE RULER OF LIBYA FOR FORTY TWO YEARS. I WAS JUST FINISHING MEDICAL SCHOOL WHEN HE CAME TO POWER, THE LEADER OF A GROUP OF MIDDLE-LEVEL MILITARY MEN WHO OVERTHREW THE KING. HE MOVED RAPIDLY TO CONSOLIDATE HIS POWER, AND IT WASN'T TOO HARD, BECAUSE THE PEOPLE OF LIBYA THOUGHT THAT ANYTHING WOULD BE BETTER THAN WHAT THEY HAD BEFORE. AND INITIALLY, KADAFI DIDN'T DISAPPOINT THEM. I REMEMBER READING AN ARTICLE NOW AND THEN ABOUT THE REVOLUTION KADAFI WAS BRINGING ABOUT. HE WAS BUILDING SCHOOLS, TRYING TO DEVELOP THE OIL INDUSTRY, MODERNIZING CITIES. AND IN THOSE DAYS HE HAD A HUGE AMOUNT OF SUPPORT. BUT SOMEWHERE ALONG THE LINE SOMETHING CHANGED. HE BEGAN REPRESSING THE BEDOIN POPULATION, A MINORITY GROUP. ONCE WHERE HE WAS THE LEADER OF A GROUP OF PEOPLE TRYING TO CHANGE THE COUNTRY, HE TRANSITIONED TO BECOME THE ABSOLUTE RULER; THOSE HE DIDN'T KILL HE EXILED. AND AT SOME POINT HE MUST HAVE BELIEVED HE WAS SO IMPORTANT, SO WISE, THAT HE GENERATED A TEXT CALLED “THE GREEN BOOK” WHICH CONTAINED HIS IDEAS ABOUT HOW SOCIETY SHOULD BE ORGANIZED AND RUN. EVERYONE HAD TO STUDY THIS BOOK, AND YOU COULD EVEN GET AN ADVANCED DEGREE IN IT AT THE UNIVERSITY SO THAT YOU COULD GO OUT AND TEACH IT. AND KADAFI ENDED UP A PARANOID, A TERRORIST, AND UNFORTUNATELY, A CLOWN FIGURE TO MOST OF THOSE WHO OBSERVED HIM.
THE PHARISEES AND THE SCRIBES DID NOT START OUT TO IMPOSE HEAVY BURDENS, TO SEEK OUT HONORS, TO WALK AROUND WITH THE SYMBOLS OF THEIR OFFICES EXAGGERATED AND DECORATED. I IMAGINE WHEN THEY FIRST DISCERNED A VOCATION TO TEACH THE LAW, BOTH BY WORD AND EXAMPLE, THEY WERE VERY SINCERE, THEY SAW THEMSELVES AS DOING GOD'S WORK, AND INDEED THEY WERE. BUT AFTER A WHILE, JESUS CONDEMNS THEM. HE CALLS THEM HYPOCRITES IN MATTHEW'S GOSPEL, BUT THAT WORD DOESN'T QUITE HAVE THE SAME MEANING AS WE MIGHT EXPECT IN ENGLISH, THE IDEA OF SAYING ONE THING AND DOING THE OPPOSITE. THE WORD JESUS PROBABLY USED MEANT SOMETHING LIKE “ACTOR”. THE PHARISEES DID NOT SAY ONE THING AND DO ANOTHER. THEY WERE VERY HARD ON THEMSELVES; BUT THE WAY THEY TREATED THOSE TO WHOM THEY WERE RESPONSIBLE DEMONSTRATED THAT EVEN THOUGH THEY FASTED AND GAVE ALMS AND RIGOROUSLY FOLLOWED THE LAW, THERE HAD BEEN NO INNER CONVERSION.
AND I THINK THAT IS THE LESSON JESUS IS TEACHING US TODAY. BEWARE OF POWER, OF POSITIONS OF LEADERSHIP; BEWARE WHEN SOMEONE IS HONORING YOU. EVEN IF YOU ARE A SAINT, YOU ARE RISKING YOUR SOUL. MOTHER THERESA, CERTAINLY A MODERN SAINT, WAS KNOWN TO HAVE A VERY STRONG SENSE OF HER OWN RIGHTNESS WHERE HER MINISTRY WAS CONCERNED; IF YOU WANTED TO WORK WITH HER, IT WAS “MY WAY OR THE HIGHWAY”. JOHN PAUL II WAS KNOWN TO BE IMPULSIVE; SOME OF THE THINGS HE WOULD HAVE LIKED TO DO WERE FORTUNATELY NOT DONE BECAUSE OF COOLER HEADS IN THE VATICAN. EVEN SAINT FRANCIS WAS A LITTLE BIT CORRUPTED BY POWER AND HONOR AND LEADERSHIP, TO THE EXTENT THAT HIS BROTHERS QUIETLY DEMOTED HIM FROM RUNNING THE ORDER IN HIS LATER YEARS.
THERE IS THAT OLD SAYING, “POWER CORRUPTS, AND ABSOLUTE POWER CORRUPTS ABSOLUTELY.” JESUS LOOKS AT THE PHARISEES; ON ONE LEVEL, HE RECOGNIZES HOW ZEALOUS THEY ARE TO TEACH AND PASS ON THE LAW. YOU COULD COUNT ON THE FACT THAT A PHARISEE WOULD NEVER TELL YOU SOMETHING ABOUT THE LAW THAT WASN'T TRUE. SO HE TELLS HIS FOLLOWERS TO LISTEN TO THEM, PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT THEY SAY. BUT HE POINTS OUT THAT THEY HAVE SUCCUMBED TO THE CORRUPTING INFLUENCE OF THEIR POSITIONS. THEY HAVE REACHED THE POINT WHERE THEY BELIEVE THEY ARE BETTER THAN OTHERS, THAT THEY HAVE THE RIGHT TO TELL PEOPLE WHAT TO DO, THAT THE HONORS WHICH THEY RECEIVE ARE THINGS THEY DESERVE. AND AMONG JESUS' FOLLOWERS, THERE IS TO BE NONE OF THIS, OR AT LEAST THE VERY LEAST. TITLES OF HONOR ARE OUT; JESUS WOULD NOT APPROVE OF SIGNS OF AUTHORITY. AND AN AUTHENTIC LEADER IS CHARACTERIZED BY ONE THING -- THAT HE OR SHE IS FIRST OF ALL A SERVANT.
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
MATTHEW 22:34-40
KARL BARTH WAS A GERMAN THEOLOGIAN, SOMEONE WHO POPE BENEDICT CALLED THE GREATEST THEOLOGIAN OF THE 20TH CENTURY. FROM POPE BENEDICT, HIMSELF A GREAT THEOLOGIAN, THAT IS HIGH PRAISE INDEED. BARTH WAS A LUTHERAN, AND A PASTOR FOR MUCH OF HIS LIFE; HE DIDN'T LIVE IN AN IVORY TOWER. BUT HE WAS FAMOUS AND WELL KNOWN DURING HIS LIFETIME. ONCE SOMEONE ASKED HIM WHAT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT TRUTH IN CHRISTIANITY. I'M SURE THEY EXPECTED SOMETHING PROFOUND AND DEEP. BUT BARTH REPLIED BY SINGING THE LINES OF A GERMAN SONG, WHICH IS TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH: JESUS LOVES ME, THIS I KNOW, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO.”
SOMETHING SIMILAR WAS GOING ON WITH JESUS AND THE PHARISEES, ONLY MORE HOSTILE. IF JESUS NAMED A PARTICULAR COMMANDMENT AS THE GREATEST, THEY WOULD CONDEMN HIM, SINCE ALL THE COMMANDMENTS WERE THE WORD OF GOD. TO ELEVATE ONE WAS TO LOWER THE OTHERS; THAT WOULD BE BLASPHEMY. BUT IF HE SAID SOMETHING LIKE “THEY ARE ALL EQUAL” THAT WOULD BE A COP-OUT; EVEN THE PHARISEES GAVE PRIORITY TO SOME COMMANDMENTS OVER OTHERS. OF THE 630 RECOGNIZED COMMANDMENTS, THEY RANGED FROM THOSE HAVING TO DO WITH RITUAL PURITY TO THOSE HAVING TO DO WITH LIFE AND DEATH; THE PHARISEES, AS JESUS RECOGNIZED, WOULD SET ASIDE SOME COMMANDMENTS WHEN SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT WAS AT STAKE. “WHO AMONG YOU, IF HIS WORK ANIMAL HAD FALLEN INTO A PIT, WOULD NOT LIFT HIM OUT ON THE SABBATH?” BUT LIKE KARL BARTH, JESUS GAVE A VERY SIMPLE ANSWER. BECAUSE IF YOU WERE A JEWISH KID, YOU KNEW THE SHEMA: YOU SHALL LOVE GOD WITH YOUR WHOLE HEART, SOUL, AND STRENGTH. AND THE JEWS OF JESUS' TIME ALL ACCEPTED THE OBLIGATION TO TREAT OTHERS AS YOU WOULD BE TREATED; TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. SO JESUS AGAIN WINS THE ARGUMENT BY APPEALING TO WHAT THEY ALL KNEW, WHAT THEY ALL PROCLAIMED EVERY DAY.
BUT JESUS DOES AN INTERESTING THING. HE ADDS A TERM TO THE SHEMA. HE SAYS “YOU SHALL LOVE GOD WITH YOUR WHOLE HEART, SOUL, MIND, AND STRENGTH.
DID YOU EVER THINK WHAT THIS IMPLIES? GOD DOESN'T NEED OUR LOVE; HE DOESN'T NEED ANYTHING FROM US. THE ONLY REASON WE EXIST IS BECAUSE HE IS COMPLETE AND PERFECT LOVE, AND NOT ONLY WANTS US TO EXIST, HE WANTS US TO TAKE WHAT HE GIVES US AND MAKE IT PERFECT, WITH HIS HELP. IN OTHER WORDS, HE WANTS US TO BE PERFECTLY HAPPY. AND IF WE LOVE GOD, THAT SHOULD BE OUR GOAL AS WELL, TO BE HAPPY. MAYBE PERFECTLY HAPPY IS NOT POSSIBLE HERE ON EARTH, BUT WE CAN ALL BE HAPPIER THAN WE ARE NOW. AND GOD TELLS US HOW; HIS WILL FOR US IS NOT HIDDEN, IT'S OBVIOUS.
HEART – HAPPINESS IS PRESENT IN GOOD RELATIONSHIPS. BUT RELATIONSHIPS NEED TO BE CULTIVATED. A HUSBAND AND WIFE NEED TO SPEND TIME TOGETHER; GOOD FRIENDS NEED TO COMMUNICATE AND “HANG OUT”. BUT I SUSPECT IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU CAN THINK OF A LOT OF GOOD RELATIONSHIPS THAT YOU'VE LET SLIP – MAYBE EVEN THE ONE WITH YOUR SPOUSE – BECAUSE IT'S TOO MUCH WORK, OR YOU'RE TOO BUSY, OR THERE IS SOME UNRESOLVED ISSUE BETWEEN YOU.
MIND – HAPPINESS IS RELATED TO BECOMING BETTER. AND WE ARE ALL GREATLY INFLUENCED BY WHAT WE PUT INTO OUR MINDS. WE WATCH TELEVISION, WE READ POLITICAL COLUMNS, WE READ ROMANCE NOVELS – WE ALL HAVE WAYS WE WASTE OUR MINDS, BUT EVEN WORSE, WE BECOME WHAT WE READ. WHAT ARE WE DOING TO PUT THE RIGHT THINGS INTO OUR MINDS; BECAUSE IF WE DO THAT, WE WILL BE HAPPIER THAN OTHERWISE.
STRENGTH – HAPPINESS IS RELATED TO HOW WE FEEL, HOW MUCH ENERGY WE HAVE. WE ALL KNOW THAT IF WE EAT RIGHT AND EXERCISE A FEW TIMES A WEEK, WE WILL FEEL BETTER AND HAVE MORE ENERGY; IF WE'RE OVERWEIGHT WE'LL FEEL BETTER IF WE LOSE; IF WE SMOKE, WE'LL HAVE MORE ENERGY IF WE STOP. BUT EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW THESE THINGS, WE DON'T DO THEM.
I SAVED SOUL FOR LAST. IF WE REALLY WANT TO BE HAPPY, WE NEED TO SEEK OUT AND DO GOD'S WILL. FOR US CATHOLICS, THE MASS IS THE SUM AND SUMMIT OF OUR CHRISTIAN LIVES. YOU WOULD THINK THAT IF WE REALLY BELIEVED THIS, WE'D APPROACH THINGS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY. WE'D PREPARE FOR MASS, BECAUSE GOD SPEAKS TO US IN THE WORD, IN THE READINGS, THE HOMILY, THE PSALMS. AND CERTAINLY WITH ALL THE RICHNESS THAT COMES TO US IN THE MASS, THERE IS SOME ONE THING WHICH SPEAKS TO US. IF WE ARE PREPARED, WE WILL HEAR IT. IF WE AREN'T, WE WON'T. PREPARATION MEANS SPENDING A LITTLE TIME WITH THE READINGS BEFORE MASS. IT MEANS COMING A LITTLE EARLY SO THAT YOU CAN QUIET YOUR MIND AND HEART, SO THAT YOU CAN ENTER INTO COMMUNION WITH OUR LORD. IT MEANS, PERHAPS, THAT YOU SPEND A FEW MINUTES AFTER MASS GIVING THANKS FOR YOUR WEEK, FOR ALL THE GOOD THAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU. WHEN YOU DON'T DO THESE THINGS, YOU WON'T GET MUCH OUT OF THE MASS.
TO LOVE GOD WITH HEART, SOUL, MIND AND STRENGTH; THOSE AREN'T JUST WORDS, THEY REPRESENT THE FOUR ASPECTS OF OUR EXISTENCE. TO LOVE GOD WITH OUR EMOTIONS, OUR SPIRIT, OUR INTELLECT, AND OUR BODY, WE NEED TO BE USING THESE GIFTS AS GOD INTENDS US TO USE THEM. AND TO USE THEM AS GOD INTENDS US TO USE THEM MEANS THAT WE SEEK OUR HAPPINESS, AND THE HAPPINESS OF OTHERS, WITH THEM. BECAUSE GOD PUTS THE DESIRE FOR HAPPINESS IN US, SO THAT WE WILL EVENTUALLY FIND HIM, WHO IS THE SOURCE OF HAPPINESS.
CHRISTIANITY ISN'T COMPLICATED; IT ISN'T ROCKET SCIENCE. WHEN WE REALLY SET OUT TO LOVE GOD, WE AREN'T TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING ABSTRACT. WE ALL KNOW WHAT GOD WANTS OF US, HOW HE WANTS US TO LOVE HIM. BUT WE ARE TOO BUSY, WE ARE TOO DISTRACTED, WE ARE TOO MUCH CAUGHT UP IN THE WORLD TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT HE IS ALWAYS TELLING US.
THIS WEEK LET US RESOLVE TO DO ONE THING TO SHOW GOD THAT WE LOVE HIM; ONE THING FOR OUR HEARTS; ONE THING FOR OUR SOULS; ONE THING FOR OUR MINDS; AND ONE THING FOR OUR STRENGTH. AND AS WE DO THIS WE WILL NOT ONLY BE LOVING GOD, WE WILL BE HAPPIER, AND IF WE ARE HAPPIER, WE ARE BECOMING BETTER PEOPLE, AND MOVING TOWARDS THAT FINAL GOAL GOD HAS FOR EACH OF US, TO LIVE IN THE TRINITY FOREVER.
KARL BARTH WAS A GERMAN THEOLOGIAN, SOMEONE WHO POPE BENEDICT CALLED THE GREATEST THEOLOGIAN OF THE 20TH CENTURY. FROM POPE BENEDICT, HIMSELF A GREAT THEOLOGIAN, THAT IS HIGH PRAISE INDEED. BARTH WAS A LUTHERAN, AND A PASTOR FOR MUCH OF HIS LIFE; HE DIDN'T LIVE IN AN IVORY TOWER. BUT HE WAS FAMOUS AND WELL KNOWN DURING HIS LIFETIME. ONCE SOMEONE ASKED HIM WHAT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT TRUTH IN CHRISTIANITY. I'M SURE THEY EXPECTED SOMETHING PROFOUND AND DEEP. BUT BARTH REPLIED BY SINGING THE LINES OF A GERMAN SONG, WHICH IS TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH: JESUS LOVES ME, THIS I KNOW, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO.”
SOMETHING SIMILAR WAS GOING ON WITH JESUS AND THE PHARISEES, ONLY MORE HOSTILE. IF JESUS NAMED A PARTICULAR COMMANDMENT AS THE GREATEST, THEY WOULD CONDEMN HIM, SINCE ALL THE COMMANDMENTS WERE THE WORD OF GOD. TO ELEVATE ONE WAS TO LOWER THE OTHERS; THAT WOULD BE BLASPHEMY. BUT IF HE SAID SOMETHING LIKE “THEY ARE ALL EQUAL” THAT WOULD BE A COP-OUT; EVEN THE PHARISEES GAVE PRIORITY TO SOME COMMANDMENTS OVER OTHERS. OF THE 630 RECOGNIZED COMMANDMENTS, THEY RANGED FROM THOSE HAVING TO DO WITH RITUAL PURITY TO THOSE HAVING TO DO WITH LIFE AND DEATH; THE PHARISEES, AS JESUS RECOGNIZED, WOULD SET ASIDE SOME COMMANDMENTS WHEN SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT WAS AT STAKE. “WHO AMONG YOU, IF HIS WORK ANIMAL HAD FALLEN INTO A PIT, WOULD NOT LIFT HIM OUT ON THE SABBATH?” BUT LIKE KARL BARTH, JESUS GAVE A VERY SIMPLE ANSWER. BECAUSE IF YOU WERE A JEWISH KID, YOU KNEW THE SHEMA: YOU SHALL LOVE GOD WITH YOUR WHOLE HEART, SOUL, AND STRENGTH. AND THE JEWS OF JESUS' TIME ALL ACCEPTED THE OBLIGATION TO TREAT OTHERS AS YOU WOULD BE TREATED; TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. SO JESUS AGAIN WINS THE ARGUMENT BY APPEALING TO WHAT THEY ALL KNEW, WHAT THEY ALL PROCLAIMED EVERY DAY.
BUT JESUS DOES AN INTERESTING THING. HE ADDS A TERM TO THE SHEMA. HE SAYS “YOU SHALL LOVE GOD WITH YOUR WHOLE HEART, SOUL, MIND, AND STRENGTH.
DID YOU EVER THINK WHAT THIS IMPLIES? GOD DOESN'T NEED OUR LOVE; HE DOESN'T NEED ANYTHING FROM US. THE ONLY REASON WE EXIST IS BECAUSE HE IS COMPLETE AND PERFECT LOVE, AND NOT ONLY WANTS US TO EXIST, HE WANTS US TO TAKE WHAT HE GIVES US AND MAKE IT PERFECT, WITH HIS HELP. IN OTHER WORDS, HE WANTS US TO BE PERFECTLY HAPPY. AND IF WE LOVE GOD, THAT SHOULD BE OUR GOAL AS WELL, TO BE HAPPY. MAYBE PERFECTLY HAPPY IS NOT POSSIBLE HERE ON EARTH, BUT WE CAN ALL BE HAPPIER THAN WE ARE NOW. AND GOD TELLS US HOW; HIS WILL FOR US IS NOT HIDDEN, IT'S OBVIOUS.
HEART – HAPPINESS IS PRESENT IN GOOD RELATIONSHIPS. BUT RELATIONSHIPS NEED TO BE CULTIVATED. A HUSBAND AND WIFE NEED TO SPEND TIME TOGETHER; GOOD FRIENDS NEED TO COMMUNICATE AND “HANG OUT”. BUT I SUSPECT IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU CAN THINK OF A LOT OF GOOD RELATIONSHIPS THAT YOU'VE LET SLIP – MAYBE EVEN THE ONE WITH YOUR SPOUSE – BECAUSE IT'S TOO MUCH WORK, OR YOU'RE TOO BUSY, OR THERE IS SOME UNRESOLVED ISSUE BETWEEN YOU.
MIND – HAPPINESS IS RELATED TO BECOMING BETTER. AND WE ARE ALL GREATLY INFLUENCED BY WHAT WE PUT INTO OUR MINDS. WE WATCH TELEVISION, WE READ POLITICAL COLUMNS, WE READ ROMANCE NOVELS – WE ALL HAVE WAYS WE WASTE OUR MINDS, BUT EVEN WORSE, WE BECOME WHAT WE READ. WHAT ARE WE DOING TO PUT THE RIGHT THINGS INTO OUR MINDS; BECAUSE IF WE DO THAT, WE WILL BE HAPPIER THAN OTHERWISE.
STRENGTH – HAPPINESS IS RELATED TO HOW WE FEEL, HOW MUCH ENERGY WE HAVE. WE ALL KNOW THAT IF WE EAT RIGHT AND EXERCISE A FEW TIMES A WEEK, WE WILL FEEL BETTER AND HAVE MORE ENERGY; IF WE'RE OVERWEIGHT WE'LL FEEL BETTER IF WE LOSE; IF WE SMOKE, WE'LL HAVE MORE ENERGY IF WE STOP. BUT EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW THESE THINGS, WE DON'T DO THEM.
I SAVED SOUL FOR LAST. IF WE REALLY WANT TO BE HAPPY, WE NEED TO SEEK OUT AND DO GOD'S WILL. FOR US CATHOLICS, THE MASS IS THE SUM AND SUMMIT OF OUR CHRISTIAN LIVES. YOU WOULD THINK THAT IF WE REALLY BELIEVED THIS, WE'D APPROACH THINGS A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY. WE'D PREPARE FOR MASS, BECAUSE GOD SPEAKS TO US IN THE WORD, IN THE READINGS, THE HOMILY, THE PSALMS. AND CERTAINLY WITH ALL THE RICHNESS THAT COMES TO US IN THE MASS, THERE IS SOME ONE THING WHICH SPEAKS TO US. IF WE ARE PREPARED, WE WILL HEAR IT. IF WE AREN'T, WE WON'T. PREPARATION MEANS SPENDING A LITTLE TIME WITH THE READINGS BEFORE MASS. IT MEANS COMING A LITTLE EARLY SO THAT YOU CAN QUIET YOUR MIND AND HEART, SO THAT YOU CAN ENTER INTO COMMUNION WITH OUR LORD. IT MEANS, PERHAPS, THAT YOU SPEND A FEW MINUTES AFTER MASS GIVING THANKS FOR YOUR WEEK, FOR ALL THE GOOD THAT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU. WHEN YOU DON'T DO THESE THINGS, YOU WON'T GET MUCH OUT OF THE MASS.
TO LOVE GOD WITH HEART, SOUL, MIND AND STRENGTH; THOSE AREN'T JUST WORDS, THEY REPRESENT THE FOUR ASPECTS OF OUR EXISTENCE. TO LOVE GOD WITH OUR EMOTIONS, OUR SPIRIT, OUR INTELLECT, AND OUR BODY, WE NEED TO BE USING THESE GIFTS AS GOD INTENDS US TO USE THEM. AND TO USE THEM AS GOD INTENDS US TO USE THEM MEANS THAT WE SEEK OUR HAPPINESS, AND THE HAPPINESS OF OTHERS, WITH THEM. BECAUSE GOD PUTS THE DESIRE FOR HAPPINESS IN US, SO THAT WE WILL EVENTUALLY FIND HIM, WHO IS THE SOURCE OF HAPPINESS.
CHRISTIANITY ISN'T COMPLICATED; IT ISN'T ROCKET SCIENCE. WHEN WE REALLY SET OUT TO LOVE GOD, WE AREN'T TALKING ABOUT SOMETHING ABSTRACT. WE ALL KNOW WHAT GOD WANTS OF US, HOW HE WANTS US TO LOVE HIM. BUT WE ARE TOO BUSY, WE ARE TOO DISTRACTED, WE ARE TOO MUCH CAUGHT UP IN THE WORLD TO PAY ATTENTION TO WHAT HE IS ALWAYS TELLING US.
THIS WEEK LET US RESOLVE TO DO ONE THING TO SHOW GOD THAT WE LOVE HIM; ONE THING FOR OUR HEARTS; ONE THING FOR OUR SOULS; ONE THING FOR OUR MINDS; AND ONE THING FOR OUR STRENGTH. AND AS WE DO THIS WE WILL NOT ONLY BE LOVING GOD, WE WILL BE HAPPIER, AND IF WE ARE HAPPIER, WE ARE BECOMING BETTER PEOPLE, AND MOVING TOWARDS THAT FINAL GOAL GOD HAS FOR EACH OF US, TO LIVE IN THE TRINITY FOREVER.
Twent-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
MATTHEW 22:15-21
I ENJOYED MY TIME IN COLLEGE. I HAD SPENT MOST OF MY LIFE IN MONTANA, SO YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT WHEN I WENT AWAY TO WASHINGTON, D.C., AT THE AGE OF 17, IT WAS A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE FOR ME. I MAJORED IN BIOLOGY, BUT I WAS FASCINATED BY HISTORY, THEOLOGY, AND PHILOSOPHY. YOU CAN'T ARGUE MUCH ABOUT HARD SCIENCE, BUT IN THOSE LATE NIGHT SESSIONS IN THE DORMITORY WE WOULD TACKLE ALL MANNER OF QUESTIONS THAT HAD NO ANSWERS. WHEN WE DISCUSSED RELIGION, OF COURSE, EVEN THOUGH WE WERE ALL CATHOLICS AND REASONABLY SERIOUS CATHOLICS AT THAT, WE ALL HAD DIFFERENT OPINIONS ABOUT THE RUSTLINGS GOING ON IN THE CHURCH AS IT PREPARED FOR THE VATICAN COUNCIL.
AND WHENEVER WE TALKED ABOUT RELIGION, I WOULD FEEL HOLY. THE MORE I KNEW ABOUT THE BIBLE, THE HOLIER I'D FEEL. I WOULD DIVE INTO THOMAS AQUINAS, BECAUSE HE WAS THE PHILOSOPHER WE STUDIED MOST AT CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY, AND THAT WOULD MAKE ME FEEL HOLY. AND IT WAS A GOOD FEELING. AND I'D GO HOME TO MONTANA DURING THE SUMMER AND OVERWHELM MY PARENTS WITH MY NEW KNOWLEDGE. AND THAT WOULD MAKE ME FEEL AS THOUGH I WERE ON THE SIDE OF THE ANGELS.
BUT I WASN'T. I LOOK BACK AND SEE THAT ALL THAT KNOWLEDGE WAS OF COURSE A GOOD THING. BUT IT WASN'T HELPING MY PRAYER LIFE, IT WASN'T GETTING ME CLOSER TO GOD, IT WASN'T ENCOURAGING ME TO SERVE MY NEIGHBOR. IT HAD BECOME A SUBSTITUTE FOR REAL RELIGION.
WHEN WE HEAR THIS GOSPEL, IT IS OFTEN FOLLOWED WITH A SERMON ABOUT PATRIOTISM, OR THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. WE SOMETIMES INTERPRET JESUS' WORDS TO MEAN THAT THERE IS A SHARP DIVISION IN SOCIETY BETWEEN RELIGION AND EVERYTHING ELSE. AND THESE WORDS HAVE BEEN USED TO JUSTIFY ALL SORTS OF THINGS. BUT I DON'T THINK JESUS WAS TALKING ABOUT ANY OF THIS. THE PHARISEES SPENT A LOT OF TIME ARGUING WITH EACH OTHER ABOUT HOW TO FOLLOW THE LAW. THIS TOOK UP MOST OF THEIR TIME. THIS STILL GOES ON, AS YOU MAY KNOW, ESPECIALLY IN ISRAEL, WHERE AMONG THE ULTRA-ORTHODOX, IT IS ALMOST A SIN FOR A YOUNG MAN TO HOLD DOWN A JOB. NO, HIS MISSION IS TO SPEND MOST OF HIS WAKING MOMENTS STUDYING SCRIPTURE AND THE TALMUD. THIS HAS BECOME A SUBSTITUTE FOR REAL RELIGION. AND WHEN THE PHARISEES POSE THE QUESTION TO JESUS, IT IS TRUE THAT THEY WERE TRYING TO TRAP HIM. IF HE CAME DOWN ON ONE SIDE, HE WOULD BE A REBEL, A SUBVERSIVE. IF HE CAME DOWN ON THE OTHER, HE WOULD BE TURNED ON BY THE COMMON PEOPLE, WHO RESENTED PAYING TAXES TO THEIR OPPRESSORS. SINCE THE ROMAN EMPEROR WAS CONSIDERED A GOD, IT WAS ALMOST BLASPHEMOUS TO PAY TAXES.
BUT JESUS IS SPEAKING TO THE PHARISEES ABOUT THEIR VERY PREMISE, NOT LAYING DOWN SOME NEW RULE ABOUT THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. IT IS PRECISELY THIS KIND OF QUESTION THAT OCCUPIED THEM; QUESTIONS WHICH COULD BE ARGUED OVER FOR DAYS ON END; QUESTIONS WHICH THE SACRED SCRIPTURES COULD BE USED TO SUPPORT ALMOST ANY POSITION; AND QUESTIONS WHICH IN THE END HAD NO REAL ANSWER.
AND JESUS SPEAKS THOSE FAMOUS WORDS, “GIVE TO CAESAR WHAT IS CAESAR’S AND TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S”, TO CALL THEM BACK TO REAL RELIGION.
REAL RELIGION IS NOT GETTING A PHD IN THEOLOGY, OR BEING A GREAT MISSIONARY, OR WRITING SPIRITUAL SELF-HELP BOOKS. REAL RELIGION IS NOT MARCHING IN A PRO-LIFE DEMONSTRATION, OR FEEDING THE HUNGRY, OR VISITING THE SICK OR IMPRISONED. DON'T GET ME WRONG, THOSE ARE ALL WONDERFUL THINGS, AND THEY MIGHT INDEED STEM FROM RELIGIOUS VALUES; BUT, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO BELIEVE IN GOD TO DO ANY OF THESE THINGS. AND THE DANGER IS ALWAYS THAT WE CONFUSE THINGS LIKE THIS WITH REAL RELIGION.
JESUS REMINDS THE PHARISEES THAT AS THEY STUDY THE SCRIPTURES AND DEVELOP LAWS FOR EVERY KIND OF HUMAN ACTIVITY, AS THEY ARGUE FAR INTO THE NIGHT ABOUT THE MEANING OF A PASSAGE IN GENESIS, THEY AREN'T RENDERING UNTO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S. AND THE PHARISEES, YOU MAY NOT KNOW, WERE CHARITABLE. THEY DID CARE ABOUT THE SICK, AND THE WIDOWS AND ORPHANS. AND THEY MADE RULES ABOUT HOW YOU WENT ABOUT GIVING CHARITY, AND THEY ARGUED OVER THOSE RULES AS WELL. AND JESUS REMINDED THEM THAT EVEN HERE THEY WERE NOT RENDERING UNTO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S.
YOU AND I ARE CREATURES. WE ARE TOTALLY DEPENDENT ON GOD. LIFE MAY NOT BE SO BAD FOR US RIGHT NOW, BUT EVERYTHING IS CONTINGENT; OUR WORLD COULD COMPLETELY CHANGE TOMORROW. AS CREATURES, WE OWE OUR CREATOR. WHAT IS IT THAT WE OWE HIM? THE OLD CATECHISM GAVE US THE ANSWER IN A SIMPLE STATEMENT THOSE OF US WHO ARE OLD ENOUGH CAN ALWAYS DREDGE UP FROM OUR BRAINS: WE WERE CREATED TO KNOW, LOVE AND SERVE HIM IN THIS WORLD, AND BE HAPPY FOREVER WITH HIM IN THE NEXT.
KNOWING GOD REQUIRES PRAYER, REFLECTION, MEDITATION; IT TAKES TIME, IT MUST BE A PRIORITY. AND IF WE TRULY KNOW GOD, IT LEADS TO LOVING HIM, AND IF WE TRULY LOVE HIM, IT LEADS TO SERVING HIM. AND IF WE AREN'T LOVING, IF WE AREN'T SERVING, THEN WE PROBABLY DON'T KNOW HIM, WE PROBABLY HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT WE ARE CREATURES. WE HAVE PUT GOD INTO A BOX AND WE OPEN IT UP ON SUNDAY MORNING AND CLOSE IT DOWN AFTER WE PAY OUR WEEKLY DUES. AND WE THINK THAT BECAUSE WE GET THROUGH THE WEEK WITHOUT SERIOUS SIN, BECAUSE WE TAKE CARE OF OUR FAMILIES, BECAUSE WE MAY BE GIVING OUR TIME AND EFFORTS TO SOME CAUSE, WE ARE OK. BUT JESUS REMINDS US THAT WE HAVE TO CONSTANTLY EXAMINE OURSELVES, AND ASK THE QUESTION, ARE WE RENDERING TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S? ARE WE TAKING SERIOUSLY OUR DUTY TO WORSHIP, TO GIVE OURSELVES OVER TO HIM, TO ALLOW HIS HOLY SPIRIT TO USE US? ARE WE TRYING TO KNOW HIS WILL FOR US, AND TRYING TO CARRY IT OUT?
THE DEVIL HAS A GREAT WEAPON THAT HE CAN ONLY USE AGAINST GOOD CHRISTIANS; THAT IS TO MAKE THEM SPEND THEIR TIME IN ACTIVITIES AND PRACTICES WHICH AREN'T REALLY DEVELOPING THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD – BUT BECOME A SUBSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPING THAT RELATIONSHIP.
AND SO OUR TASK THIS WEEK IS TO EXAMINE OUR LIVES AND ASK WHETHER WE ARE RENDERING UNTO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S. ARE WE TAKING THE FACT THAT WE ARE CREATURES SERIOUSLY?
I ENJOYED MY TIME IN COLLEGE. I HAD SPENT MOST OF MY LIFE IN MONTANA, SO YOU CAN IMAGINE THAT WHEN I WENT AWAY TO WASHINGTON, D.C., AT THE AGE OF 17, IT WAS A LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE FOR ME. I MAJORED IN BIOLOGY, BUT I WAS FASCINATED BY HISTORY, THEOLOGY, AND PHILOSOPHY. YOU CAN'T ARGUE MUCH ABOUT HARD SCIENCE, BUT IN THOSE LATE NIGHT SESSIONS IN THE DORMITORY WE WOULD TACKLE ALL MANNER OF QUESTIONS THAT HAD NO ANSWERS. WHEN WE DISCUSSED RELIGION, OF COURSE, EVEN THOUGH WE WERE ALL CATHOLICS AND REASONABLY SERIOUS CATHOLICS AT THAT, WE ALL HAD DIFFERENT OPINIONS ABOUT THE RUSTLINGS GOING ON IN THE CHURCH AS IT PREPARED FOR THE VATICAN COUNCIL.
AND WHENEVER WE TALKED ABOUT RELIGION, I WOULD FEEL HOLY. THE MORE I KNEW ABOUT THE BIBLE, THE HOLIER I'D FEEL. I WOULD DIVE INTO THOMAS AQUINAS, BECAUSE HE WAS THE PHILOSOPHER WE STUDIED MOST AT CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY, AND THAT WOULD MAKE ME FEEL HOLY. AND IT WAS A GOOD FEELING. AND I'D GO HOME TO MONTANA DURING THE SUMMER AND OVERWHELM MY PARENTS WITH MY NEW KNOWLEDGE. AND THAT WOULD MAKE ME FEEL AS THOUGH I WERE ON THE SIDE OF THE ANGELS.
BUT I WASN'T. I LOOK BACK AND SEE THAT ALL THAT KNOWLEDGE WAS OF COURSE A GOOD THING. BUT IT WASN'T HELPING MY PRAYER LIFE, IT WASN'T GETTING ME CLOSER TO GOD, IT WASN'T ENCOURAGING ME TO SERVE MY NEIGHBOR. IT HAD BECOME A SUBSTITUTE FOR REAL RELIGION.
WHEN WE HEAR THIS GOSPEL, IT IS OFTEN FOLLOWED WITH A SERMON ABOUT PATRIOTISM, OR THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. WE SOMETIMES INTERPRET JESUS' WORDS TO MEAN THAT THERE IS A SHARP DIVISION IN SOCIETY BETWEEN RELIGION AND EVERYTHING ELSE. AND THESE WORDS HAVE BEEN USED TO JUSTIFY ALL SORTS OF THINGS. BUT I DON'T THINK JESUS WAS TALKING ABOUT ANY OF THIS. THE PHARISEES SPENT A LOT OF TIME ARGUING WITH EACH OTHER ABOUT HOW TO FOLLOW THE LAW. THIS TOOK UP MOST OF THEIR TIME. THIS STILL GOES ON, AS YOU MAY KNOW, ESPECIALLY IN ISRAEL, WHERE AMONG THE ULTRA-ORTHODOX, IT IS ALMOST A SIN FOR A YOUNG MAN TO HOLD DOWN A JOB. NO, HIS MISSION IS TO SPEND MOST OF HIS WAKING MOMENTS STUDYING SCRIPTURE AND THE TALMUD. THIS HAS BECOME A SUBSTITUTE FOR REAL RELIGION. AND WHEN THE PHARISEES POSE THE QUESTION TO JESUS, IT IS TRUE THAT THEY WERE TRYING TO TRAP HIM. IF HE CAME DOWN ON ONE SIDE, HE WOULD BE A REBEL, A SUBVERSIVE. IF HE CAME DOWN ON THE OTHER, HE WOULD BE TURNED ON BY THE COMMON PEOPLE, WHO RESENTED PAYING TAXES TO THEIR OPPRESSORS. SINCE THE ROMAN EMPEROR WAS CONSIDERED A GOD, IT WAS ALMOST BLASPHEMOUS TO PAY TAXES.
BUT JESUS IS SPEAKING TO THE PHARISEES ABOUT THEIR VERY PREMISE, NOT LAYING DOWN SOME NEW RULE ABOUT THE SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE. IT IS PRECISELY THIS KIND OF QUESTION THAT OCCUPIED THEM; QUESTIONS WHICH COULD BE ARGUED OVER FOR DAYS ON END; QUESTIONS WHICH THE SACRED SCRIPTURES COULD BE USED TO SUPPORT ALMOST ANY POSITION; AND QUESTIONS WHICH IN THE END HAD NO REAL ANSWER.
AND JESUS SPEAKS THOSE FAMOUS WORDS, “GIVE TO CAESAR WHAT IS CAESAR’S AND TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S”, TO CALL THEM BACK TO REAL RELIGION.
REAL RELIGION IS NOT GETTING A PHD IN THEOLOGY, OR BEING A GREAT MISSIONARY, OR WRITING SPIRITUAL SELF-HELP BOOKS. REAL RELIGION IS NOT MARCHING IN A PRO-LIFE DEMONSTRATION, OR FEEDING THE HUNGRY, OR VISITING THE SICK OR IMPRISONED. DON'T GET ME WRONG, THOSE ARE ALL WONDERFUL THINGS, AND THEY MIGHT INDEED STEM FROM RELIGIOUS VALUES; BUT, YOU KNOW, YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO BELIEVE IN GOD TO DO ANY OF THESE THINGS. AND THE DANGER IS ALWAYS THAT WE CONFUSE THINGS LIKE THIS WITH REAL RELIGION.
JESUS REMINDS THE PHARISEES THAT AS THEY STUDY THE SCRIPTURES AND DEVELOP LAWS FOR EVERY KIND OF HUMAN ACTIVITY, AS THEY ARGUE FAR INTO THE NIGHT ABOUT THE MEANING OF A PASSAGE IN GENESIS, THEY AREN'T RENDERING UNTO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S. AND THE PHARISEES, YOU MAY NOT KNOW, WERE CHARITABLE. THEY DID CARE ABOUT THE SICK, AND THE WIDOWS AND ORPHANS. AND THEY MADE RULES ABOUT HOW YOU WENT ABOUT GIVING CHARITY, AND THEY ARGUED OVER THOSE RULES AS WELL. AND JESUS REMINDED THEM THAT EVEN HERE THEY WERE NOT RENDERING UNTO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S.
YOU AND I ARE CREATURES. WE ARE TOTALLY DEPENDENT ON GOD. LIFE MAY NOT BE SO BAD FOR US RIGHT NOW, BUT EVERYTHING IS CONTINGENT; OUR WORLD COULD COMPLETELY CHANGE TOMORROW. AS CREATURES, WE OWE OUR CREATOR. WHAT IS IT THAT WE OWE HIM? THE OLD CATECHISM GAVE US THE ANSWER IN A SIMPLE STATEMENT THOSE OF US WHO ARE OLD ENOUGH CAN ALWAYS DREDGE UP FROM OUR BRAINS: WE WERE CREATED TO KNOW, LOVE AND SERVE HIM IN THIS WORLD, AND BE HAPPY FOREVER WITH HIM IN THE NEXT.
KNOWING GOD REQUIRES PRAYER, REFLECTION, MEDITATION; IT TAKES TIME, IT MUST BE A PRIORITY. AND IF WE TRULY KNOW GOD, IT LEADS TO LOVING HIM, AND IF WE TRULY LOVE HIM, IT LEADS TO SERVING HIM. AND IF WE AREN'T LOVING, IF WE AREN'T SERVING, THEN WE PROBABLY DON'T KNOW HIM, WE PROBABLY HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT WE ARE CREATURES. WE HAVE PUT GOD INTO A BOX AND WE OPEN IT UP ON SUNDAY MORNING AND CLOSE IT DOWN AFTER WE PAY OUR WEEKLY DUES. AND WE THINK THAT BECAUSE WE GET THROUGH THE WEEK WITHOUT SERIOUS SIN, BECAUSE WE TAKE CARE OF OUR FAMILIES, BECAUSE WE MAY BE GIVING OUR TIME AND EFFORTS TO SOME CAUSE, WE ARE OK. BUT JESUS REMINDS US THAT WE HAVE TO CONSTANTLY EXAMINE OURSELVES, AND ASK THE QUESTION, ARE WE RENDERING TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S? ARE WE TAKING SERIOUSLY OUR DUTY TO WORSHIP, TO GIVE OURSELVES OVER TO HIM, TO ALLOW HIS HOLY SPIRIT TO USE US? ARE WE TRYING TO KNOW HIS WILL FOR US, AND TRYING TO CARRY IT OUT?
THE DEVIL HAS A GREAT WEAPON THAT HE CAN ONLY USE AGAINST GOOD CHRISTIANS; THAT IS TO MAKE THEM SPEND THEIR TIME IN ACTIVITIES AND PRACTICES WHICH AREN'T REALLY DEVELOPING THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD – BUT BECOME A SUBSTITUTE FOR DEVELOPING THAT RELATIONSHIP.
AND SO OUR TASK THIS WEEK IS TO EXAMINE OUR LIVES AND ASK WHETHER WE ARE RENDERING UNTO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S. ARE WE TAKING THE FACT THAT WE ARE CREATURES SERIOUSLY?
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
MATTHEW 22:1-14
IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU DON'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM WITH THIS PARABLE UNTIL YOU COME TO THE MAN WHO IS BOUND HAND AND FOOT AND THROWN OUT INTO THE DARKNESS WHERE THERE WILL BE WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH. IT JUST DOESN'T SEEM FAIR. HE WAS OUT THERE MINDING HIS OWN BUSINESS WHEN THE KING'S SERVANTS CAME AND PROBABLY WITH A LITTLE BIT OF FORCE, INVITED HIM TO THE FEAST. AND HE DIDN'T HAVE A WEDDING GARMENT. AND HE HAD NO EXCUSE. AND THE KING HAD HIM THROWN OUT, NOT JUST THROWN OUT, BUT TIED UP AND MADE HELPLESS. IS THAT AN IMAGE OF GOD? IS THAT WHAT GOD WOULD DO?
MINDS MUCH GREATER THAN MINE HAVE WRESTLED WITH THIS STORY. SAINT AUGUSTINE REASONED THAT KINGS WOULD GIVE THEIR GUESTS WEDDING GARMENTS, SO THAT THEY WOULD BE PROPERLY CLOTHED. AND IF YOU DIDN'T WEAR ONE, YOU WOULD BE INSULTING THE KING. THAT MAKES A GOOD STORY, BUT WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE THAT KINGS DID THAT IN THE TIME OF JESUS. IN FACT, PEOPLE INVITED TO GREAT BANQUETS WOULD PUT ON THEIR BEST CLOTHING, AND IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE GOOD CLOTHING, THEY WOULD BORROW FROM A FRIEND OR A NEIGHBOR. YOU WOULD NEVER SHOW UP IN CASUAL CLOTHING FOR A GREAT FEAST, ESPECIALLY A WEDDING FEAST FOR THE KING'S SON.
THERE ARE OTHER THEORIES. THE WEDDING GARMENT WAS THE SAME AS THE BAPTISMAL ROBE. YOU COULD NOT BE AT THE BANQUET UNLESS YOU WERE BAPTIZED. BUT THAT DOESN'T RING TRUE EITHER. THE GUEST WAS ESSENTIALLY CONSCRIPTED. DID HE EVEN HAVE TIME TO GET A WEDDING GARMENT?
IT TURNS OUT THAT HE DID. IT WAS CUSTOMARY TO ISSUE TWO INVITATIONS; THE FIRST WAS THAT THERE WOULD BE A BANQUET, AND THE SECOND THAT THE BANQUET WAS ALL SET AND READY TO GO. MAYBE THERE WERE ONLY A FEW HOURS BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND INVITATION; BUT THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN TIME, TIME TO BORROW A GARMENT, OR GO HOME AND GET A CLEAN OUTFIT. THE MAN WHO CAME TO THE FEAST WITHOUT A WEDDING GARMENT HAD NO EXCUSE; THAT'S WHY HE REMAINED SILENT, THAT'S WHY HE HAD NO ANSWER.
EVERY GOSPEL STORY IS ABOUT YOU AND I. WE NEED TO SEE OURSELVES IN THE STORY. WE CAN SEE THOSE WHO REFUSE THE INVITATION; THEY AREN'T HERE, THEY HAVE EXCUSES. AS JESUS MAKES CLEAR, THEY AREN'T VERY GOOD EXCUSES, BUT EXCUSES THEY ARE. I'M NOT ATTENDING THE FEAST BECAUSE I WAS OUT LATE LAST NIGHT; I AM NOT ATTENDING THE FEAST BECAUSE I HAVE AN EARLY TEE TIME THIS MORNING; I AM NOT ATTENDING THE FEAST BECAUSE I AM NOT "FED" BY THE CEREMONY OR THE SERMON. AND THERE ARE THOSE WHO DON'T JUST HAVE EXCUSES, THEY HAVE BITTERNESS AND ANGER AND HOSTILITY. I AM NOT ATTENDING THE FEAST BECAUSE THE CHURCH DOESN'T APPROVE OF ABORTION, OR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. I AM NOT ATTENDING THE FEAST BECAUSE THERE HAVE BEEN PRIESTS WHO HAVE BEEN SEXUAL PREDATORS. I AM NOT ATTENDING THE FEAST BECAUSE THE CHURCH IS WAY BEHIND THE TIMES. AND THESE ARE THE ONES WHO BEAT THE MESSENGERS, AND EVEN KILL SOME OF THEM.
BUT THE MAN WITHOUT THE GARMENT. HE ATTENDS THE FEAST. HE IS THERE AMONG ALL THE OTHERS, WHO HAVE MADE SOME EFFORT TO BE READY, WHO HAVE PUT ON CLOTHING THAT REFLECTS THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE OCCASION, WHO RESPECT THE KING AND THE KING'S SON SUFFICIENTLY TO MAKE SOME CHANGES IN THEIR LIVES. BUT NOT THE MAN WITHOUT THE GARMENT. HE IS PASSIVE, HE IS THERE TO EAT AND DRINK, BUT HE SHOWS NO RESPECT FOR HIS HOST. AND THAT IS WHY HE IS BOUND HAND AND FOOT AND CAST INTO THE OUTER DARKNESS.
IN THE EARLY DAYS OF CHRISTIANITY, WHEN YOU ATTENDED MASS, OR WENT THROUGH A SACRAMENTAL RITUAL, YOU PUT ON A WHITE GARMENT. WHY? BECAUSE YOU WERE AWARE THAT SAINT PAUL HAD URGED CHRISTIANS TO "PUT ON CHRIST" AND ON THE MOUNTAIN AT THE TRANSFIGURATION, HE APPEARED TO HIS APOSTLES IN A GARMENT WHICH WAS PURE WHITE, BRILLIANTLY WHITE. IT SHOWED THE APOSTLES THAT JESUS WAS DIVINE, THE FAVORED ONE OF THE FATHER. AND CHRISTIANITY IS ALL ABOUT BECOMING ANOTHER CHRIST, LETTING HIS SPIRIT ANIMATE US, IMITATING HIS LIFE, SUBMITTING OUR WILLS TO THE WILL OF THE FATHER, AS MARY DID, AS JESUS DID, AS EVERY GREAT SAINT DID. AND WHEN WE DO THIS, WHEN WE ALLOW THE FATHER TO ANIMATE US, TO MOVE US THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT, TO FORM US INTO HIS SONS AND DAUGHTERS, WE BECOME OTHER CHRISTS, AND WE PUT ON THE WHITE GARMENT.
AND THAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH THE MAN WITHOUT A GARMENT. HE HAS BEEN INVITED, HE HAS BEEN GIVEN EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO JOIN IN THE FESTIVITIES. AND HE HAS REFUSED. HE IS PASSIVE, HE HAS MADE NO EFFORT TO TRANSFORM HIMSELF; AND HE HAS NO EXCUSE.
THERE ARE THOSE WHO REFUSE THE INVITATION. THERE ARE THOSE WHO ARE HOSTILE TOWARDS THE ONE DOING THE INVITING. BUT THERE ARE THOSE WHO ACCEPT THE INVITATION, BUT MAKE NO EFFORT TO CHANGE. THEY ARE GIVEN GRACE UPON GRACE; THEY ARE INVITED INTO THE HEART OF THE TRINITY. THEY ARE GIVEN A PLACE IN THE GREAT BANQUET HALL. BUT THEY MAKE NO EFFORT, THEY REFUSE TO CHANGE ANYTHING ABOUT THEMSELVES; THEY REFUSE TO REPENT, TO CHANGE THEIR MINDS, TO INVEST A LITTLE TIME AND EFFORT INTO OPENING THEMSELVES UP TO GOD'S GRACE. AND THEY SIT PASSIVELY AT THE BANQUET, LOCKED IN THEMSELVES.
WHERE ARE YOU AND I IN THIS STORY? ARE WE THOSE WHO HAVE EXCUSES, BUT REALLY STUPID ONES? ARE WE THOSE WHO HAVE DECIDED THAT THE CHURCH IS IS CORRUPT AND HOPELESSLY OUT OF SYNCH WITH THE TIMES? ARE WE STILL CATHOLIC, MORE OUT OF FEAR THAN CONVICTION, MORE OUT OF PASSIVITY THAN REAL BELIEF? HAVE WE REFUSED THE INVITATION? OR HAVE WE ACCEPTED THE INVITATION, ASSUMING THAT OUR PRESENCE WILL BE SUFFICIENT. IF WE SHOW UP, GOD WILL BE SO DELIGHTED IN US THAT HE WILL OVERLOOK THE FACT THAT WE CONTRIBUTE NOTHING, THAT OUR LIVES ARE NOT CHANGED, THAT WE HAVEN'T REALLY PUT ON CHRIST.
THE MAN WITH NO WEDDING GARMENT DOES NOT DESERVE OUR PITY. HE HAS HAD HIS CHANCE, HE HAS BEEN GIVEN HIS INVITATION; AND WHEN THE KING CONFRONTS HIM, HE HAS NO ANSWER.
LET US PRAY THAT WE WILL NOT BE WITHOUT A WEDDING GARMENT WHEN WE ARE SEATED AT THE GREAT BANQUET. LET US PRAY THAT WE WILL CHANGE OUR MINDS, THAT WE WILL BE CONVERTED, THAT WE WILL BE GIVEN THE GRACE TO BEGIN THE PROCESS OF PUTTING ON CHRIST; SO THAT WE CAN ATTEND THE BANQUET OF THE GREAT KING.
IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU DON'T HAVE ANY PROBLEM WITH THIS PARABLE UNTIL YOU COME TO THE MAN WHO IS BOUND HAND AND FOOT AND THROWN OUT INTO THE DARKNESS WHERE THERE WILL BE WEEPING AND GNASHING OF TEETH. IT JUST DOESN'T SEEM FAIR. HE WAS OUT THERE MINDING HIS OWN BUSINESS WHEN THE KING'S SERVANTS CAME AND PROBABLY WITH A LITTLE BIT OF FORCE, INVITED HIM TO THE FEAST. AND HE DIDN'T HAVE A WEDDING GARMENT. AND HE HAD NO EXCUSE. AND THE KING HAD HIM THROWN OUT, NOT JUST THROWN OUT, BUT TIED UP AND MADE HELPLESS. IS THAT AN IMAGE OF GOD? IS THAT WHAT GOD WOULD DO?
MINDS MUCH GREATER THAN MINE HAVE WRESTLED WITH THIS STORY. SAINT AUGUSTINE REASONED THAT KINGS WOULD GIVE THEIR GUESTS WEDDING GARMENTS, SO THAT THEY WOULD BE PROPERLY CLOTHED. AND IF YOU DIDN'T WEAR ONE, YOU WOULD BE INSULTING THE KING. THAT MAKES A GOOD STORY, BUT WE HAVE NO EVIDENCE THAT KINGS DID THAT IN THE TIME OF JESUS. IN FACT, PEOPLE INVITED TO GREAT BANQUETS WOULD PUT ON THEIR BEST CLOTHING, AND IF THEY DIDN'T HAVE GOOD CLOTHING, THEY WOULD BORROW FROM A FRIEND OR A NEIGHBOR. YOU WOULD NEVER SHOW UP IN CASUAL CLOTHING FOR A GREAT FEAST, ESPECIALLY A WEDDING FEAST FOR THE KING'S SON.
THERE ARE OTHER THEORIES. THE WEDDING GARMENT WAS THE SAME AS THE BAPTISMAL ROBE. YOU COULD NOT BE AT THE BANQUET UNLESS YOU WERE BAPTIZED. BUT THAT DOESN'T RING TRUE EITHER. THE GUEST WAS ESSENTIALLY CONSCRIPTED. DID HE EVEN HAVE TIME TO GET A WEDDING GARMENT?
IT TURNS OUT THAT HE DID. IT WAS CUSTOMARY TO ISSUE TWO INVITATIONS; THE FIRST WAS THAT THERE WOULD BE A BANQUET, AND THE SECOND THAT THE BANQUET WAS ALL SET AND READY TO GO. MAYBE THERE WERE ONLY A FEW HOURS BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND INVITATION; BUT THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN TIME, TIME TO BORROW A GARMENT, OR GO HOME AND GET A CLEAN OUTFIT. THE MAN WHO CAME TO THE FEAST WITHOUT A WEDDING GARMENT HAD NO EXCUSE; THAT'S WHY HE REMAINED SILENT, THAT'S WHY HE HAD NO ANSWER.
EVERY GOSPEL STORY IS ABOUT YOU AND I. WE NEED TO SEE OURSELVES IN THE STORY. WE CAN SEE THOSE WHO REFUSE THE INVITATION; THEY AREN'T HERE, THEY HAVE EXCUSES. AS JESUS MAKES CLEAR, THEY AREN'T VERY GOOD EXCUSES, BUT EXCUSES THEY ARE. I'M NOT ATTENDING THE FEAST BECAUSE I WAS OUT LATE LAST NIGHT; I AM NOT ATTENDING THE FEAST BECAUSE I HAVE AN EARLY TEE TIME THIS MORNING; I AM NOT ATTENDING THE FEAST BECAUSE I AM NOT "FED" BY THE CEREMONY OR THE SERMON. AND THERE ARE THOSE WHO DON'T JUST HAVE EXCUSES, THEY HAVE BITTERNESS AND ANGER AND HOSTILITY. I AM NOT ATTENDING THE FEAST BECAUSE THE CHURCH DOESN'T APPROVE OF ABORTION, OR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. I AM NOT ATTENDING THE FEAST BECAUSE THERE HAVE BEEN PRIESTS WHO HAVE BEEN SEXUAL PREDATORS. I AM NOT ATTENDING THE FEAST BECAUSE THE CHURCH IS WAY BEHIND THE TIMES. AND THESE ARE THE ONES WHO BEAT THE MESSENGERS, AND EVEN KILL SOME OF THEM.
BUT THE MAN WITHOUT THE GARMENT. HE ATTENDS THE FEAST. HE IS THERE AMONG ALL THE OTHERS, WHO HAVE MADE SOME EFFORT TO BE READY, WHO HAVE PUT ON CLOTHING THAT REFLECTS THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE OCCASION, WHO RESPECT THE KING AND THE KING'S SON SUFFICIENTLY TO MAKE SOME CHANGES IN THEIR LIVES. BUT NOT THE MAN WITHOUT THE GARMENT. HE IS PASSIVE, HE IS THERE TO EAT AND DRINK, BUT HE SHOWS NO RESPECT FOR HIS HOST. AND THAT IS WHY HE IS BOUND HAND AND FOOT AND CAST INTO THE OUTER DARKNESS.
IN THE EARLY DAYS OF CHRISTIANITY, WHEN YOU ATTENDED MASS, OR WENT THROUGH A SACRAMENTAL RITUAL, YOU PUT ON A WHITE GARMENT. WHY? BECAUSE YOU WERE AWARE THAT SAINT PAUL HAD URGED CHRISTIANS TO "PUT ON CHRIST" AND ON THE MOUNTAIN AT THE TRANSFIGURATION, HE APPEARED TO HIS APOSTLES IN A GARMENT WHICH WAS PURE WHITE, BRILLIANTLY WHITE. IT SHOWED THE APOSTLES THAT JESUS WAS DIVINE, THE FAVORED ONE OF THE FATHER. AND CHRISTIANITY IS ALL ABOUT BECOMING ANOTHER CHRIST, LETTING HIS SPIRIT ANIMATE US, IMITATING HIS LIFE, SUBMITTING OUR WILLS TO THE WILL OF THE FATHER, AS MARY DID, AS JESUS DID, AS EVERY GREAT SAINT DID. AND WHEN WE DO THIS, WHEN WE ALLOW THE FATHER TO ANIMATE US, TO MOVE US THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT, TO FORM US INTO HIS SONS AND DAUGHTERS, WE BECOME OTHER CHRISTS, AND WE PUT ON THE WHITE GARMENT.
AND THAT IS THE PROBLEM WITH THE MAN WITHOUT A GARMENT. HE HAS BEEN INVITED, HE HAS BEEN GIVEN EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO JOIN IN THE FESTIVITIES. AND HE HAS REFUSED. HE IS PASSIVE, HE HAS MADE NO EFFORT TO TRANSFORM HIMSELF; AND HE HAS NO EXCUSE.
THERE ARE THOSE WHO REFUSE THE INVITATION. THERE ARE THOSE WHO ARE HOSTILE TOWARDS THE ONE DOING THE INVITING. BUT THERE ARE THOSE WHO ACCEPT THE INVITATION, BUT MAKE NO EFFORT TO CHANGE. THEY ARE GIVEN GRACE UPON GRACE; THEY ARE INVITED INTO THE HEART OF THE TRINITY. THEY ARE GIVEN A PLACE IN THE GREAT BANQUET HALL. BUT THEY MAKE NO EFFORT, THEY REFUSE TO CHANGE ANYTHING ABOUT THEMSELVES; THEY REFUSE TO REPENT, TO CHANGE THEIR MINDS, TO INVEST A LITTLE TIME AND EFFORT INTO OPENING THEMSELVES UP TO GOD'S GRACE. AND THEY SIT PASSIVELY AT THE BANQUET, LOCKED IN THEMSELVES.
WHERE ARE YOU AND I IN THIS STORY? ARE WE THOSE WHO HAVE EXCUSES, BUT REALLY STUPID ONES? ARE WE THOSE WHO HAVE DECIDED THAT THE CHURCH IS IS CORRUPT AND HOPELESSLY OUT OF SYNCH WITH THE TIMES? ARE WE STILL CATHOLIC, MORE OUT OF FEAR THAN CONVICTION, MORE OUT OF PASSIVITY THAN REAL BELIEF? HAVE WE REFUSED THE INVITATION? OR HAVE WE ACCEPTED THE INVITATION, ASSUMING THAT OUR PRESENCE WILL BE SUFFICIENT. IF WE SHOW UP, GOD WILL BE SO DELIGHTED IN US THAT HE WILL OVERLOOK THE FACT THAT WE CONTRIBUTE NOTHING, THAT OUR LIVES ARE NOT CHANGED, THAT WE HAVEN'T REALLY PUT ON CHRIST.
THE MAN WITH NO WEDDING GARMENT DOES NOT DESERVE OUR PITY. HE HAS HAD HIS CHANCE, HE HAS BEEN GIVEN HIS INVITATION; AND WHEN THE KING CONFRONTS HIM, HE HAS NO ANSWER.
LET US PRAY THAT WE WILL NOT BE WITHOUT A WEDDING GARMENT WHEN WE ARE SEATED AT THE GREAT BANQUET. LET US PRAY THAT WE WILL CHANGE OUR MINDS, THAT WE WILL BE CONVERTED, THAT WE WILL BE GIVEN THE GRACE TO BEGIN THE PROCESS OF PUTTING ON CHRIST; SO THAT WE CAN ATTEND THE BANQUET OF THE GREAT KING.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
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.
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, 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.
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