MATTHEW 25:31-46
IN A DISCUSSION IN ONE OF OUR DEACON CLASSES, ONE OF MY BROTHERS, WHO PASSED AWAY ONLY A FEW YEARS AFTER ORDINATION, TOLD US THIS STORY: HE WAS IN THE MALL UP IN HOLYOKE. AN AFRICAN AMERICAN MAN WHO WAS POORLY DRESSED AND POORLY GROOMED CAME UP TO HIM AND ASKED HIM TO BORROW ENOUGH MONEY TO TAKE THE BUS TO VERMONT, WHERE HE SAID HE LIVED. HE HAD BEEN RIDING THE BUS FROM ALABAMA, WHERE HE HAD GONE TO VISIT HIS AGING MOTHER. HE'D LOST HIS WALLET SOMEWHERE, AND NEEDED TO GET HOME. THE BUS FARE WAS ABOUT 40 DOLLARS. THE QUESTION MY BROTHER POSED WAS, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR RESPONSE? WE DEACON CANDIDATES GAVE A VARIETY OF RESPONSES. ON ONE EXTREME WAS THE FLAT REFUSAL TO HELP, ON THE GROUNDS THAT THIS SOUNDED FISHY. ANOTHER WAS TO OFFER THE MAN A MEAL, SINCE IF HE HAD NO MONEY, HE WAS PROBABLY HUNGRY; BUT NOT TO GIVE HIM MONEY. ANOTHER WAS THE OFFER TO DRIVE THE MAN TO THE BUS STATION AND BUY THE TICKET FOR HIM; IF HE REALLY WANTED TO GO TO VERMONT, HE'D GO ALONG WITH IT; BUT IF HE JUST WAS LOOKING FOR A HANDOUT, HE'D PROBABLY MOVE ON TO THE NEXT LIKELY VICTIM. AFTER WE'D ALL WEIGHED IN WITH OUR ANSWERS, MY BROTHER TOLD US HIS RESPONSE: HE'D GIVEN THE MAN THE BUS FARE PLUS A LITTLE EXTRA. THE MAN TOOK DOWN HIS ADDRESS AND PROMISED TO REPAY THE MONEY.
AT THAT POINT WE ALL FELT VERY SUPERIOR; WE WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SUCKERED INTO THAT, NO WAY. AND WE GAVE OUR ARGUMENTS, ALL OF WHICH IN RETROSPECT WERE RELATED TO THE FACT THAT THE MAN WAS AFRICAN AMERICAN, POORLY CLOTHED, OBVIOUSLY UNWASHED, AND HOW MANY AFRICAN AMERICANS LIVE IN VERMONT, ANYWAY? WE WANTED TO BE CHARITABLE, BUT ONLY UNDER OUR TERMS.
AND THEN MY BROTHER TOLD US THAT A FEW DAYS AFTER THIS EVENT, HE RECEIVED A REGISTERED LETTER CONTAINING THE AMOUNT HE HAD LOANED THE MAN, ALONG WITH A HEARTFELT THANK-YOU NOTE, POINTING OUT THAT HE HAD APPROACHED TWENTY OR THIRTY PEOPLE AND SPENT THE WHOLE DAY LOOKING FOR ENOUGH MONEY TO GET HOME; AND EVERYONE TURNED HIM DOWN; AND HE WAS SO GRATEFUL TO MY BROTHER FOR TRUSTING HIM.
TODAY WE HEAR ABOUT THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS, ABOUT JUDGMENT. AND WE LEARN THAT JESUS DOESN'T EVEN MENTION WHAT YOU BELIEVE OR HOW OFTEN YOU PRAY, OR FOR THAT MATTER, WHAT SORT OF SINS YOU ARE GUILTY OF. THE ONLY THING THAT SEPARATES THE SHEEP FROM THE GOATS IS WHETHER THEY HAVE REACHED OUT TO THE LEAST OF THEIR BROTHERS IN CHARITY. WHAT YOU DO OR DON'T DO FOR THEM, YOU DO OR DON'T DO FOR JESUS, IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT.
DON'T GET ME WRONG, BELIEF IS IMPORTANT, PRAYER IS IMPORTANT, BEING IN A STATE OF GRACE IS IMPORTANT. BUT THESE ARE IMPORTANT INSOFAR AS THEY HELP US TO BE MORE GENEROUS, TO GIVE OF OURSELVES TO OTHERS; BUT ALSO, TO MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICES WHEN WE DO SO. EVEN WHEN WE ARE CHARITABLE, WE CAN CAUSE MORE HARM THAN GOOD. THE BOY SCOUT WHO INSISTS ON HELPING THE OLD LADY ACROSS THE STREET, EVEN WHEN SHE ISN'T PLANNING TO CROSS THE STREET, IS THE CLASSIC EXAMPLE.
BUT THERE IS ANOTHER LESSON IN THIS GOSPEL STORY, AN INDIRECT ONE. THAT HAS TO DO WITH JUDGMENT, YOURS AND MINE. IN THE STORY I TOLD YOU, ALL OF US HAD MADE A JUDGMENT OF THE PERSON DESCRIBED BY MY BROTHER, AND THAT JUDGMENT SAT AT THE BASIS OF OUR RESPONSE TO HIS NEED. WE HAD JUDGED HIM AS DISHONEST, AS UNTRUSTWORTHY; MAYBE WE HAD JUDGED HIM AS TOO LAZY TO WORK. AND WHEN WE HAD FIGURED OUT WHAT WE THOUGHT OF HIM, WE MADE OUR CHARITABLE ACT OR LACK OF CHARITY BASED UPON THAT IMPRESSION. MY BROTHER, ON THE OTHER HAND, MADE NO SUCH JUDGMENT; PERHAPS THAT'S WHY GOD CALLED HIM HOME SO SOON AFTER HE WAS ORDAINED A DEACON.
IN THE GOSPEL STORY, JESUS TELLS US TWO THINGS ABOUT JUDGMENT; FIRST, THAT WE WON'T GO WRONG BY CHOOSING NOT TO JUDGE THOSE WE HELP. IF WE MEET SOMEONE WHO SEEMS TO BE IN NEED, THEN OUR RESPONSE AS CHRISTIANS IS TO ASSUME THAT THINGS ARE AS THEY APPEAR TO BE. A GREAT MAN ONCE GAVE A SIZABLE AMOUNT TO A BEGGAR ON THE STREET. HIS FRIEND OBSERVED THAT IN ALL LIKELIHOOD, THE MONEY WAS GOING TO BUY LIQUOR AND NOT FOOD. THE MAN REPLIED, “I DID NOT GIVE HIM MONEY TO BUY FOOD OR TO NOT BUY LIQUOR. I GAVE HIM MONEY BECAUSE I AM A CHRISTIAN.” THE SECOND POINT IS THAT WE HAVE NO BUSINESS JUDGING ANYWAY. THAT IS RESERVED FOR THE LAST DAYS, FOR THE RETURN OF THE KING. ONLY HE WILL HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION TO DECIDE WHO IS A SHEEP AND WHO IS A GOAT. EVERY TIME WE MAKE A JUDGMENT ABOUT A OTHER PERSON, EVEN WHEN IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THAT JUDGMENT IS GREATLY JUSTIFIED, WE ARE TAKING THE ROLE THAT BELONGS ONLY TO GOD.
THE STORY IS TOLD ABOUT MOTHER THERESA AND HER NUNS, WHO WERE INVITED TO ADDRESS A CONFERENCE ON POVERTY. DELEGATES FROM ALL OVER INDIA FILED INTO THE HALL IN CALCUTTA, AND WAITED TO HEAR FROM THIS FAMOUS ADVOCATE OF THE POOR. BUT THE TIME CAME AND WENT, AND EVENTUALLY IT WAS APPARENT THAT SHE WAS NOT GOING TO SHOW UP. AS THEY LEFT THE BUILDING, THEY NOTICED THAT THE NUNS WERE ATTENDING TO THE BEGGARS ON THE STREET OUTSIDE THE HALL, THE SAME ONES THAT THE DELEGATES HAD STEPPED OVER AND AROUND ON THEIR WAY TO THE CONFERENCE.
IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU ARE CONSTANTLY MAKING JUDGMENTS ABOUT PEOPLE. I THINK IT'S NATURAL; IN THE 100,000 YEARS WE WERE LIVING IN TRIBES IN AFRICA, IT WAS A PROTECTIVE MECHANISM. BUT AS IN SO MANY THINGS, JESUS CALLS US TO EVOLVE A LITTLE FURTHER; IN HIS OWN TIME, HE TREATED EACH PERSON HE MET AS AN INDIVIDUAL, WHETHER A PROSTITUTE, A TAX COLLECTOR, OR A ROMAN SOLDIER. EVEN WHEN HE IS POINTING OUT SOMEONE'S FAULTS, HE IS CAREFUL TO RESPECT THE PERSON; AND HE NEVER SENDS ANYONE AWAY WHO COMES TO HIM. AND THE FACT THAT HE DID NOT JUDGE SET HIM APART IN A DAY WHEN MOST PEOPLE JUDGED THE WORTH OF A PERSON BY HIS RELIGION, HIS GENDER, EVEN THE CLOTHING HE WORE. AND A WORD OF WARNING: IF YOU CHOOSE TO LIVE THIS WAY, YOU DO RISK CRUCIFIXION.
WHEN MY BROTHER TOLD US THE STORY OF THE MAN WHO NEEDED TO BUY A BUS TICKET, I THINK ALL OF US HAD THE SAME REACTION: WE WERE A LITTLE ANGRY AT MY BROTHER – BECAUSE HE HAD SHOWN US THE CHRISTIAN RESPONSE TO SOMEONE'S NEED. AND MAYBE IF HE HAD KEPT DOING THAT OVER AND OVER AGAIN, WE MIGHT HAVE FELT LIKE CRUCIFYING HIM, ALTHOUGH IT WASN'T ALLOWED IN THE DEACON FORMATION PROGRAM.
WHEN WE JUDGE OTHER PEOPLE, WE NECESSARILY TAKE AWAY THEIR HUMANITY IN OUR EYES. THIS HAPPENS EVEN WHEN WE CATEGORIZE THEM AS RICH OR HOLY OR THE SALT OF THE EARTH. WHEN WE JUDGE, WE THROW UP A BARRIER SO THAT IT IS HARDER TO GET TO THE REAL PERSON WHO IS THERE; AND WHEN WE JUDGE SOMEONE WHO IS POOR, DISHEVELED, PERHAPS THE WRONG COLOR, OR SPEAKING THE WRONG LANGUAGE, OR GOING TO THE WRONG CHURCH, WHAT WE DO FOR THEM IS NOT CHARITY, BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T COME TO KNOW THEM.
SO THIS WEEK LET'S EXAMINE HOW INSTINCTIVELY WE JUDGE OTHERS; AND START TO ERADICATE THAT FROM OUR LIVES; LET US REMEMBER THAT JUDGMENT IS RESERVED FOR THE GREAT KING AT THE END OF TIME.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
MATTHEW 25:14-30
AT THE END OF DECEMBER, I WILL BE OFFICIALLY RETIRING FROM MY PROFESSION. IT'S ABOUT TIME; I'M 69 AND THE LITTLE SIGNS OF DETERIORATION IN MY MIND AND BODY ARE GETTING BIGGER. AND OF COURSE I'M HAPPY ABOUT IT – BUT PART OF ME IS VERY NERVOUS. I'VE SPENT MY WHOLE ADULT LIFE DOING MEDICINE – PATIENT CARE, RESEARCH, TEACHING, ADMINISTRATING – AND IT'S BEEN WONDERFULLY REWARDING AND FULFILLING. BUT ON JANUARY 1ST, I WILL GIVE IT ALL UP. SOME TIME IN MY FORTIES I REMEMBER LOOKING FORWARD TO A TIME WHEN I WOULDN'T HAVE TO BE ON CALL, WHEN I WOULDN'T HAVE TO TELL ANOTHER PATIENT THAT HE OR SHE WAS GOING TO DIE, WHEN I WOULDN'T HAVE TO GIVE BAD NEWS TO A GRIEVING WIDOW. I LOOKED FORWARD TO THE DAY WHEN I WOULDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE BUDGET OF MY DIVISION, AND WHAT I COULD DO TO IMPROVE THE FISCAL OUTLOOK. I LOOKED FORWARD TO NOT HAVING TO MEDIATE DISAGREEMENTS AND TELL PEOPLE THAT THINGS WEREN'T WORKING OUT, THEY SHOULD LOOK FOR ANOTHER JOB. SO WHY AM I ANXIOUS? WHAT HAS CHANGED?
TODAY JESUS TALKS ABOUT THREE SERVANTS; TWO TAKE THE MONEY HE HAS GIVEN THEM – AND THESE ARE SIZABLE AMOUNTS, BY THE WAY – A TALENT WAS ABOUT WHAT AN AVERAGE PERSON EARNED IN A YEAR – AND THEY HAD DOUBLED WHAT HE HAD GIVEN THEM. AND THE THIRD HAD BURIED HIS IN THE GROUND, FEARING THAT IF HE LOST THE MONEY, THINGS WOULD GO HARD WITH HIM. AND THE TWO ARE REWARDED, AND THE ONE IS PUNISHED. BUT THAT'S THE FUNNY THING ABOUT THIS PARABLE: THE TWO WHO ARE REWARDED ARE GIVEN GREATER RESPONSIBILITIES. YOU THOUGHT MANAGING TEN TALENTS WAS HARD? I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU A LOT MORE TO MANAGE. ST. LUKE, IN TELLING THIS SAME STORY, SAYS THAT THE TWO WHO WERE REWARDED WERE GIVEN TEN AND FOUR VILLAGES TO OVERSEE; THAT MEANT THAT THEY HAD TO MAKE SURE THE PEOPLE WERE SAFE, AND THAT THE PRODUCTION OF THE VILLAGE WAS ENOUGH TO KEEP THE VILLAGERS FED AND GIVE SOME OF THE SURPLUS TO THE MASTER. THEY WOULD ALSO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR KEEPING THE PEACE, MEDIATING DISAGREEMENTS – ALL THOSE THINGS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO A WELL TUNED ORGANIZATION. JESUS SEEMS TO IMPLY THAT THE REWARD FOR DOING SOMETHING WELL IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO EVEN MORE WELL. AND LOOK AT THE MAN WHO IS PUNISHED. HE IS CALLED “USELESS” AND CAST OUT INTO THE DARKNESS. HE HAS NOTHING TO DO. HE IS OUT OF THE LOOP. AND JESUS SEEMS TO IMPLY THAT HAVING NOTHING TO DO, HAVING NO PURPOSE, IS THE EQUIVALENT OF HELL.
ONE OF MY OLD MENTORS IS A PHYSICIAN WHO IS ABOUT 86 NOW. HE HAS NEVER STOPPED WORKING. HE WORKED WHILE HE WAS RECEIVING CONTINUOUS ANTIBIOTICS THROUGH AN INTRAVENOUS LINE FOR AN INFECTION AFTER A MAJOR OPERATION. HE DOESN'T SEE PATIENTS ANYMORE, BECAUSE HE'S NOT SURE HE'LL BE ALIVE TOMORROW; BUT HE DOES DO RESEARCH, AND HE CONTINUES TO MENTOR YOUNG PHYSICIANS AND SCIENTISTS. AND HE RADIATES HAPPINESS. AND I COULD DESCRIBE ANOTHER PHYSICIAN WHO RETIRED PRECISELY AT 62, HAVING AMASSED A SMALL FORTUNE. ALL THE TIME I KNEW HIM, HE COULDN'T WAIT TO GET OUT OF MEDICINE AND ENJOY LIFE. AND THE LAST TIME I MET HIM, HE TOLD ME THAT RETIREMENT STINKS, BUT SO DID WORKING. HE DOESN'T RADIATE HAPPINESS.
WE CHRISTIANS RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE GIVEN TALENTS, SOME MORE, SOME LESS. WE RECOGNIZE THAT AS CHRISTIANS THERE IS MORE DEMANDED OF US THAN OUR NON-CHRISTIAN CONTEMPORARIES; GOD EXPECTS THEM TO USE THEIR TALENTS WISELY, OF COURSE; BUT THE EXPLICIT EXPECTATION OF A CHRISTIAN IS THAT THE TALENTS BE USED AT LEAST IN PART OF THE GOOD OF OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS. AND MAYBE THAT'S WHAT BOTHERS ME. AS A PHYSICIAN, I WAS PAID WELL. BUT I KNEW THAT ALMOST ANYTHING I DID AS A PHYSICIAN WAS SERVICE TO OTHERS. AND I CAME TO RECOGNIZE THAT THOSE MOMENTS WHEN I WAS ACTIVELY GIVING MYSELF TO ANOTHER PERSON WERE PRECIOUS, AND I WANTED TO DO EVEN MORE. AND IT WAS NOT TOO HARD BECAUSE OVER TIME I HAD THE RIGHT HABITS, I HAD THE KNOWLEDGE BASE, AND WHEN I WENT INTO THE CLINIC OR THE HOSPITAL, I WAS ON FAMILIAR GROUND.
I BECAME A DEACON, I THINK, LARGELY BECAUSE I WAS LOOKING FOR MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE. AND AS I RETIRE FROM MEDICINE, I HOPE THAT THERE WILL BE MORE OPPORTUNITIES. BECAUSE I STILL HAVE A LOT TO GIVE. I WOULDN'T WANT TO DRAW COMPARISONS BETWEEN MYSELF AND POPE BENEDICT. BUT IT'S INTERESTING THAT HE BEGGED POPE JOHN PAUL TO LET HIM RETIRE. HIS GOAL WAS TO SPEND THE REST OF HIS LIFE WRITING THEOLOGY AND PLAYING THE ORGAN, AND DOING A LITTLE TEACHING. JOHN PAUL REFUSED TO LET HIM RETIRE, AND OUT OF OBEDIENCE, HE CONTINUED TO FUNCTION AS JOHN PAUL'S RIGHT HAND MAN. AND OUT OF OBEDIENCE HE ACCEPTED THE CALL OF GOD THROUGH THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS, TO LEAD THE CHURCH.
TODAY'S GOSPEL SHOULD MAKE US EXAMINE OUR OWN LIVES. ARE WE REALLY HAPPY? IF WE AREN'T GIVING OURSELVES AWAY, IF WE AREN'T TAKING RISKS FOR THE GROWTH OF GOD'S KINGDOM, IF WE AREN'T DOING SOMETHING FOR OTHERS – THE POOR, THE SICK, THE LONELY, ESPECIALLY – WE PROBABLY AREN'T REALLY HAPPY. AND IF WE HAVE A TRUE CHRISTIAN SPIRIT, WE NOT ONLY RECOGNIZE THAT OUR GREATEST JOY IS IN SERVING THE KINGDOM, BUT WE HUNGER TO SERVE IT MORE AND MORE. CHRISTIANS AREN'T MEANT TO SIT ON A BEACH SOMEWHERE SIPPING TROPICAL DRINKS AND GETTING A GOOD TAN. NOR WILL WE FIND, IF WE ARE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO GET TO HEAVEN, THAT WE ARE SITTING ON A CLOUD STRUMMING A HARP, OR STARING INTO THE BLINDING CENTER OF THE HOLY TRINITY FOR EVER. NO, WE ARE HUMAN, AND WE WILL BE HUMAN EVEN THEN, AND A HUMAN IS ONLY HAPPY WHEN HE OR SHE IS BEING USEFUL. WE ARE ONLY TRULY HAPPY WHEN WE ARE GIVING OURSELVES AWAY.
THIS IS THE TIME OF YEAR WHEN THE PARISH ROLLS OUT THE ANNUAL “TIME, TALENT, AND TREASURE” CAMPAIGN. EVEN IF YOU ARE VERY BUSY, EVEN IF YOU DON'T THINK YOU CAN TAKE ON ANOTHER THING, PLEASE THINK ABOUT GIVING JUST A LITTLE MORE OF YOURSELF. BECAUSE, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THE REWARD FOR GIVING SOMETHING OF YOURSELF TO GOD IS TO BE OFFERED THE CHANCE TO GIVE EVEN MORE OF YOURSELF TO GOD. AND WHEN THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO GIVE TO GOD, THEN YOU ARE WHERE YOU SHOULD BE, LIVING IN THE CENTER OF THE TRINITY WITH MARY AND THE SAINTS.
AT THE END OF DECEMBER, I WILL BE OFFICIALLY RETIRING FROM MY PROFESSION. IT'S ABOUT TIME; I'M 69 AND THE LITTLE SIGNS OF DETERIORATION IN MY MIND AND BODY ARE GETTING BIGGER. AND OF COURSE I'M HAPPY ABOUT IT – BUT PART OF ME IS VERY NERVOUS. I'VE SPENT MY WHOLE ADULT LIFE DOING MEDICINE – PATIENT CARE, RESEARCH, TEACHING, ADMINISTRATING – AND IT'S BEEN WONDERFULLY REWARDING AND FULFILLING. BUT ON JANUARY 1ST, I WILL GIVE IT ALL UP. SOME TIME IN MY FORTIES I REMEMBER LOOKING FORWARD TO A TIME WHEN I WOULDN'T HAVE TO BE ON CALL, WHEN I WOULDN'T HAVE TO TELL ANOTHER PATIENT THAT HE OR SHE WAS GOING TO DIE, WHEN I WOULDN'T HAVE TO GIVE BAD NEWS TO A GRIEVING WIDOW. I LOOKED FORWARD TO THE DAY WHEN I WOULDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE BUDGET OF MY DIVISION, AND WHAT I COULD DO TO IMPROVE THE FISCAL OUTLOOK. I LOOKED FORWARD TO NOT HAVING TO MEDIATE DISAGREEMENTS AND TELL PEOPLE THAT THINGS WEREN'T WORKING OUT, THEY SHOULD LOOK FOR ANOTHER JOB. SO WHY AM I ANXIOUS? WHAT HAS CHANGED?
TODAY JESUS TALKS ABOUT THREE SERVANTS; TWO TAKE THE MONEY HE HAS GIVEN THEM – AND THESE ARE SIZABLE AMOUNTS, BY THE WAY – A TALENT WAS ABOUT WHAT AN AVERAGE PERSON EARNED IN A YEAR – AND THEY HAD DOUBLED WHAT HE HAD GIVEN THEM. AND THE THIRD HAD BURIED HIS IN THE GROUND, FEARING THAT IF HE LOST THE MONEY, THINGS WOULD GO HARD WITH HIM. AND THE TWO ARE REWARDED, AND THE ONE IS PUNISHED. BUT THAT'S THE FUNNY THING ABOUT THIS PARABLE: THE TWO WHO ARE REWARDED ARE GIVEN GREATER RESPONSIBILITIES. YOU THOUGHT MANAGING TEN TALENTS WAS HARD? I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU A LOT MORE TO MANAGE. ST. LUKE, IN TELLING THIS SAME STORY, SAYS THAT THE TWO WHO WERE REWARDED WERE GIVEN TEN AND FOUR VILLAGES TO OVERSEE; THAT MEANT THAT THEY HAD TO MAKE SURE THE PEOPLE WERE SAFE, AND THAT THE PRODUCTION OF THE VILLAGE WAS ENOUGH TO KEEP THE VILLAGERS FED AND GIVE SOME OF THE SURPLUS TO THE MASTER. THEY WOULD ALSO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR KEEPING THE PEACE, MEDIATING DISAGREEMENTS – ALL THOSE THINGS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO A WELL TUNED ORGANIZATION. JESUS SEEMS TO IMPLY THAT THE REWARD FOR DOING SOMETHING WELL IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO EVEN MORE WELL. AND LOOK AT THE MAN WHO IS PUNISHED. HE IS CALLED “USELESS” AND CAST OUT INTO THE DARKNESS. HE HAS NOTHING TO DO. HE IS OUT OF THE LOOP. AND JESUS SEEMS TO IMPLY THAT HAVING NOTHING TO DO, HAVING NO PURPOSE, IS THE EQUIVALENT OF HELL.
ONE OF MY OLD MENTORS IS A PHYSICIAN WHO IS ABOUT 86 NOW. HE HAS NEVER STOPPED WORKING. HE WORKED WHILE HE WAS RECEIVING CONTINUOUS ANTIBIOTICS THROUGH AN INTRAVENOUS LINE FOR AN INFECTION AFTER A MAJOR OPERATION. HE DOESN'T SEE PATIENTS ANYMORE, BECAUSE HE'S NOT SURE HE'LL BE ALIVE TOMORROW; BUT HE DOES DO RESEARCH, AND HE CONTINUES TO MENTOR YOUNG PHYSICIANS AND SCIENTISTS. AND HE RADIATES HAPPINESS. AND I COULD DESCRIBE ANOTHER PHYSICIAN WHO RETIRED PRECISELY AT 62, HAVING AMASSED A SMALL FORTUNE. ALL THE TIME I KNEW HIM, HE COULDN'T WAIT TO GET OUT OF MEDICINE AND ENJOY LIFE. AND THE LAST TIME I MET HIM, HE TOLD ME THAT RETIREMENT STINKS, BUT SO DID WORKING. HE DOESN'T RADIATE HAPPINESS.
WE CHRISTIANS RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE GIVEN TALENTS, SOME MORE, SOME LESS. WE RECOGNIZE THAT AS CHRISTIANS THERE IS MORE DEMANDED OF US THAN OUR NON-CHRISTIAN CONTEMPORARIES; GOD EXPECTS THEM TO USE THEIR TALENTS WISELY, OF COURSE; BUT THE EXPLICIT EXPECTATION OF A CHRISTIAN IS THAT THE TALENTS BE USED AT LEAST IN PART OF THE GOOD OF OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS. AND MAYBE THAT'S WHAT BOTHERS ME. AS A PHYSICIAN, I WAS PAID WELL. BUT I KNEW THAT ALMOST ANYTHING I DID AS A PHYSICIAN WAS SERVICE TO OTHERS. AND I CAME TO RECOGNIZE THAT THOSE MOMENTS WHEN I WAS ACTIVELY GIVING MYSELF TO ANOTHER PERSON WERE PRECIOUS, AND I WANTED TO DO EVEN MORE. AND IT WAS NOT TOO HARD BECAUSE OVER TIME I HAD THE RIGHT HABITS, I HAD THE KNOWLEDGE BASE, AND WHEN I WENT INTO THE CLINIC OR THE HOSPITAL, I WAS ON FAMILIAR GROUND.
I BECAME A DEACON, I THINK, LARGELY BECAUSE I WAS LOOKING FOR MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE. AND AS I RETIRE FROM MEDICINE, I HOPE THAT THERE WILL BE MORE OPPORTUNITIES. BECAUSE I STILL HAVE A LOT TO GIVE. I WOULDN'T WANT TO DRAW COMPARISONS BETWEEN MYSELF AND POPE BENEDICT. BUT IT'S INTERESTING THAT HE BEGGED POPE JOHN PAUL TO LET HIM RETIRE. HIS GOAL WAS TO SPEND THE REST OF HIS LIFE WRITING THEOLOGY AND PLAYING THE ORGAN, AND DOING A LITTLE TEACHING. JOHN PAUL REFUSED TO LET HIM RETIRE, AND OUT OF OBEDIENCE, HE CONTINUED TO FUNCTION AS JOHN PAUL'S RIGHT HAND MAN. AND OUT OF OBEDIENCE HE ACCEPTED THE CALL OF GOD THROUGH THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS, TO LEAD THE CHURCH.
TODAY'S GOSPEL SHOULD MAKE US EXAMINE OUR OWN LIVES. ARE WE REALLY HAPPY? IF WE AREN'T GIVING OURSELVES AWAY, IF WE AREN'T TAKING RISKS FOR THE GROWTH OF GOD'S KINGDOM, IF WE AREN'T DOING SOMETHING FOR OTHERS – THE POOR, THE SICK, THE LONELY, ESPECIALLY – WE PROBABLY AREN'T REALLY HAPPY. AND IF WE HAVE A TRUE CHRISTIAN SPIRIT, WE NOT ONLY RECOGNIZE THAT OUR GREATEST JOY IS IN SERVING THE KINGDOM, BUT WE HUNGER TO SERVE IT MORE AND MORE. CHRISTIANS AREN'T MEANT TO SIT ON A BEACH SOMEWHERE SIPPING TROPICAL DRINKS AND GETTING A GOOD TAN. NOR WILL WE FIND, IF WE ARE FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO GET TO HEAVEN, THAT WE ARE SITTING ON A CLOUD STRUMMING A HARP, OR STARING INTO THE BLINDING CENTER OF THE HOLY TRINITY FOR EVER. NO, WE ARE HUMAN, AND WE WILL BE HUMAN EVEN THEN, AND A HUMAN IS ONLY HAPPY WHEN HE OR SHE IS BEING USEFUL. WE ARE ONLY TRULY HAPPY WHEN WE ARE GIVING OURSELVES AWAY.
THIS IS THE TIME OF YEAR WHEN THE PARISH ROLLS OUT THE ANNUAL “TIME, TALENT, AND TREASURE” CAMPAIGN. EVEN IF YOU ARE VERY BUSY, EVEN IF YOU DON'T THINK YOU CAN TAKE ON ANOTHER THING, PLEASE THINK ABOUT GIVING JUST A LITTLE MORE OF YOURSELF. BECAUSE, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THE REWARD FOR GIVING SOMETHING OF YOURSELF TO GOD IS TO BE OFFERED THE CHANCE TO GIVE EVEN MORE OF YOURSELF TO GOD. AND WHEN THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO GIVE TO GOD, THEN YOU ARE WHERE YOU SHOULD BE, LIVING IN THE CENTER OF THE TRINITY WITH MARY AND THE SAINTS.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A
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.
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.
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.
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