Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B

MARK 1:40-45

LAST WEEK ONE OF YOU ASKED ME WHY JESUS WAS ALWAYS TELLING PEOPLE NOT TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE MIRACLES HE WAS PERFORMING. AND TODAY YOU HEARD IT AGAIN, WHEN HE COMMANDS THE LEPER NOT TO TELL ANYONE HOW HIS CURE HAPPENED. EVEN THOUGH JESUS TELLS PEOPLE NOT TO SAY ANYTHING, THEY OFTEN DO: THE LEPER SPREAD THE NEWS FAR AND WIDE. AND THIS IS THE YEAR THAT WE HEAR JESUS MAKING THIS STRANGE REQUEST, BECAUSE IN THE OTHER GOSPELS WE DON'T HEAR JESUS DOING THIS.

BIBLE SCHOLARS HAVE A TERM FOR THIS, CALLED THE “MESSIANIC SECRET”. AND THERE HAS BEEN A LOT OF SPECULATION AS TO WHY IT APPEARS IN MARK'S GOSPEL. SOME HAVE SAID THAT JESUS DID NOT WANT PEOPLE TO THINK HE WAS THE MESSIAH ALONG THE LINES THAT THEY EXPECTED, BECAUSE THAT WOULD GET THE ROMANS RILED UP AND PUT AN END TO HIS MINISTRY. OTHERS SAY THAT JESUS DID WANT PEOPLE TO TELL OTHER PEOPLE ABOUT HIM, AND THE BEST WAY TO DO IT WOULD BE TO FORBID IT. BUT IN MARK WE FIND THAT SHORTLY AFTER HE STARTS HIS MINISTRY, HE NO LONGER CAN GO INTO THE CITIES BECAUSE HE HAS BECOME SO FAMOUS, AND THERE ARE SO MANY DEMANDING TO BE HEALED, THAT HE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO DO WHAT HE CAME FOR, WHICH WAS PRIMARILY PROCLAIMING THE KINGDOM OF GOD. SO IF JESUS WAS TRYING TO KEEP PEOPLE FROM NOTICING HIM IT DIDN'T WORK VERY WELL.

GENERALLY WHEN YOU HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SOMETHING IN THE BIBLE, IT HELPS TO KNOW SOMETHING ABOUT THE AUDIENCE FOR A PARTICULAR WRITING. EVERYTHING IN THE NEW TESTAMENT (AND THE OLD) WAS WRITTEN FOR SOME PURPOSE, AND WRITTEN FOR SOME SPECIFIC AUDIENCE. PEOPLE THINK MATTHEW, FOR EXAMPLE, WAS WRITTEN TO SHORE UP THE FAITH OF NEW JEWISH CONVERTS, BY SHOWING THAT JESUS FULFILLED THE PROPHECIES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. LUKE WAS WRITTEN FOR CERTAIN GENTILE CONVERTS WHO DID NOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT JEWISH TRADITIONS. THE WHOLE STORY OF THE ANGELS AND THE SHEPHERDS AT THE BIRTH OF CHRIST, AND THE STORY OF THE ANNUNCIATION, WOULD REMIND GENTILE READERS OF THE LEGENDS THAT SURROUNDED THE BIRTH OF AN EMPEROR, OR POSSIBLY ONE OF THOSE LESSER GODS AMONG THEIR HUGE NUMBER OF GODS. MOST PEOPLE THINK MARK IS BEING WRITTEN WITH THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY IN ROME IN MIND THE GOSPEL WAS WRITTEN SHORTLY AFTER THE REIGN OF NERO, WHO HAD LAUNCHED ONE OF THE MOST SEVERE PERSECUTIONS UP TO THAT POINT. THE REMAINING CHRISTIANS IN AND AROUND ROME MUST HAVE BEEN WONDERING WHAT KIND OF TERRIBLE CHOICE THEY HAD MADE WHEN THEY BECAME CHRISTIAN.

ALL THROUGH THE FIRST PART OF MARK, JESUS TELLS PEOPLE TO SAY NOTHING ABOUT WHAT THEY HAVE WITNESSED. AND AT THE CENTRAL POINT IN THE STORY, WHEN JESUS ASKS HIS APOSTLES, “WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?” PETER BLURTS OUT, “YOU ARE THE MESSIAH OF GOD”. AND HERE AGAIN, JESUS TELLS THEM TO SAY NOTHING. BUT HE NOW GIVES A REASON: “THE SON OF MAN MUST SUFFER MANY THINGS AND BE REJECTED BY THE ELDERS AND BE KILLED AND AFTER THREE DAYS RISE AGAIN.” THE KIND OF MESSIAH JESUS WAS WAS NOTHING LIKE ANY OF THE IMAGES IN THE MINDS OF THE APOSTLES, OR FOR THAT MATTER, AMONG THE JEWS IN GENERAL. THEY ALL EXPECTED A GREAT KING, OR A HIGH PRIEST, OR A PROPHET LIKE THE ONES OF ANCIENT TIMES – OR PERHAPS ALL THREE ROLLED INTO ONE. BUT THE SECRET KNOWLEDGE OF THE CHRISTIAN IN ROME WAS THAT THE MESSIAH WAS VERY MUCH LIKE THEY WERE; A PERSON WHO WAS MISUNDERSTOOD, PERSECUTED, PUT TO DEATH – BUT ROSE FROM THE DEAD AND PROMISED THAT HIS FOLLOWERS WOULD RISE WITH HIM. AND THAT WAS A WONDERFULLY CONSOLING MESSAGE TO THOSE WHO HEARD MARK'S GOSPEL. IT WAS REVOLUTIONARY, INSISTING THAT CONTRARY TO ANY RATIONAL EXPECTATION, SUFFERING COULD BE TRANSFORMED; DEATH COULD BE MADE INTO LIFE.

IN TODAY'S GOSPEL JESUS HEALS A LEPER. THE LEPER ALMOST DARES JESUS TO HEAL HIM, AND JESUS TAKES UP THAT DARE. BUT UNEXPECTEDLY HE DOES SOMETHING SHOCKING. HE TOUCHES THE LEPER. IT IS AS THOUGH A CONNECTION HAD TO BE MADE FOR THE HEALING TO TAKE PLACE; A BRIDGE SO THAT THE LEPROSY WOULD LEAVE THE MAN – AND SOMEHOW BE TAKEN UP BY JESUS. IN THE GOSPEL OF MARK, MOST OF THE MIRACLES JESUS PERFORMS DO INVOLVE TOUCH OR SOME SORT OF CONTACT, REINFORCING THIS IDEA THAT HE TAKES ON OUR BURDENS. AND IN TELLING THESE STORIES ABOUT JESUS, AND IN THE IDEA OF THE MESSIANIC SECRET, MARK IS TELLING US AND HIS OWN AUDIENCE SOMETHING ABOUT GOD, SOMETHING ALSO TOTALLY UNEXPECTED, OUTSIDE EVERYTHING THEY HAD EVER THOUGHT ABOUT GOD.

THE WAY GOD IS, MARK IS SAYING, IS NOT AS A GREAT KING, NOT AS SOMEONE WHO SITS IN HIS HEAVEN GRANTING FAVORS AND DEALING OUT PUNISHMENT. FROM THE EARLIEST DAYS OF HUMANKIND, THAT WAS THE WAY THE GODS WERE SEEN. THEY WERE TYRANTS WHO HAD TO BE PLACATED BY SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS; THEY HAD NO MORALITY, AND WHY THEY DID THINGS WAS NEVER PREDICTABLE. BUT THE GOD OF CHRISTIANS, EMBODIED IN THE MESSIAH JESUS, IS A GOD WHO SUFFERS WITH US, WHO TAKES ON OUR BURDENS; WHO UNDERGOES DEATH, WHO LITERALLY GIVES EVERYTHING HE POSSIBLY CAN FOR THE SAKE OF THE WHOLE WORLD. AND SOMEHOW, THIS IS TRANSFORMED INTO LIFE ETERNAL. TO THE ROMAN CHRISTIAN IN MARK'S TIME, HIDING FROM THE AUTHORITIES, SEEING HIS FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS THROWN TO THE LIONS, OR BEING LIT ON FIRE TO LIGHT THE STREETS OF ROME, THIS WAS THE ONLY POSSIBLE REASON FOR REMAINING A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST.

YOU AND I STILL HAVE THAT PAGAN TENDENCY TO THINK OF GOD AS THE ONE WHO FIXES THINGS, THE ONE WHO RULES OVER US, THE ONE WHO GETS SOME SORT OF PLEASURE FROM OUR PRAYERS AND SACRIFICES. OLD HABITS DIE HARD, AND IT TOOK A LONG TIME FOR GOD, WORKING FIRST THROUGH THE JEWISH PEOPLE AND THEN THROUGH JESUS AND NOW THROUGH HIS CHURCH, TO CONVINCE US OTHERWISE. BUT DEEP IN EVERYONE'S HEART IS THAT QUESTION, “WHY DO BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE?” WHY DO WONDERFUL PEOPLE SUFFER SO MUCH? WHY DO I HAVE TO SUFFER, WHEN GOD COULD FIX THINGS WITH A WAVE OF HIS HAND? AND PERHAPS THERE IS NO PERFECT ANSWER TO THESE QUESTIONS. BUT THE MESSIANIC SECRET, THE FACT THAT THE MESSIAH OF GOD MUST SUFFER MANY THINGS, AND BE PUT TO DEATH, IS AN ANSWER WE CAN LIVE WITH.

AND WE ARE LEFT WITH THE SAME CONSOLATION THAT THOSE ROMAN CHRISTIANS SO LONG AGO HAD – THERE WILL BE RESURRECTION, THERE WILL BE TRIUMPH, EVEN OVER DEATH BECAUSE OF THIS MESSIAH.

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B

MARK 1:29-39

ONCE A FATHER TOOK HIS YOUNG SON TO MCDONALDS. AS THEY SAT DOWN WITH A BIG MAC AND A HAPPY MEAL, THE FATHER SUGGESTED A SILENT PRAYER BEFORE THEY ATE. THEY BOWED THEIR HEADS. SHORTLY AFTER, THE FATHER LOOKED UP. THE SON CONTINUED WITH HIS HEAD BOWED AND HIS EYES CLOSED. FINALLY AFTER A COUPLE OF MINUTES, HE LOOKED UP AND DUG INTO HIS LUNCH. “THAT WAS A VERY LONG PRAYER,” SAID THE FATHER. “WHAT WERE YOU PRAYING FOR?” “HOW SHOULD I KNOW,” REPLIED THE BOY. “IT WAS A SILENT PRAYER.”

WHEN YOU READ THE GOSPEL OF MARK OUT LOUD, YOU ARE AWARE OF HOW THINGS ARE RUSHING ALONG FOR JESUS. LAST WEEK, HE CAME TO CAPARNUM, ENTERED THE SYNAGOGUE, TAUGHT, AND CURED A MAN WITH A DEMON. THIS WEEK, REALLY THE NEXT MORNING IN HIS TIME, HE MOVES ON TO PETER'S HOUSE, CURES HIS MOTHER IN LAW, AND THEN CONTINUES TO TEACH AND HEAL AND DRIVE OUT DEMONS; MARK MAKES IT CLEAR THAT THIS WENT ON PAST SUNSET. IT HAD BEEN A LONG DAY FOR JESUS, PROBABLY A TYPICAL DAY; AND HE AND THE APOSTLES MUST HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP THE MINUTE THEIR HEADS HIT THEIR PILLOWS. BUT THE NEXT MORNING JESUS IS MISSING, AND THE APOSTLES FINALLY FIND HIM IN PRAYER IN A QUIET PLACE.

WE'VE ALL SEEN PICTURES OF JESUS AT PRAYER. HE IS KNEELING, LOOKING UP TO HEAVEN, RESTING HIS ARMS ON A LARGE BOULDER, AND THERE IS A LIGHT SHINING ON HIS FACE. JEWS DIDN'T PRAY THAT WAY, AND I DOUBT JESUS DID EITHER. I IMAGINE THE APOSTLES FOUND HIM SITTING QUIETLY, EYES CLOSED, LOOKING LIKE HE WAS RESTING. IT WAS A SILENT PRAYER. IT WAS SILENT BECAUSE THERE WERE NO WORDS. JESUS HAD EMPTIED HIMSELF OUT AND NOW WAS RECHARGING HIS BATTERIES; HE WAS OPENING HIS MIND AND HEART TO GOD. AND IT IS NO SMALL THING THAT MARK MAKES IT CLEAR THAT THIS IS HAPPENING IN THE EARLY MORNING, BEFORE THE DAY'S DEMANDS START.

I'M SURE YOU ALL KNOW THAT THIS IS ONLY ONE OF THE TIMES THAT JESUS GOES OFF TO PRAY. WHEN I WAS LITTLE, I USED TO WONDER WHY JESUS PRAYED AT ALL. AFTER ALL, IF YOU ARE GOD, WHO DO YOU PRAY TO? IT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE. I REMEMBER ASKING ONE OF THE SISTERS WHO TAUGHT ME THAT VERY QUESTION. SHE SAID IT WAS TO GIVE US AN EXAMPLE. THAT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE TO ME THEN, AND IT DOESN'T NOW. IF JESUS DID THINGS HE DIDN'T HAVE TO SO WE WOULD HAVE A GOOD EXAMPLE, THERE IS SOMETHING KIND OF DISHONEST ABOUT THAT. BUT I THINK JESUS NEEDED TO PRAY. SO WHAT WAS HIS PRAYER ABOUT? HE WASN'T ASKING FOR ANYTHING, BECAUSE HE HAD JUST GONE THROUGH A DAY WORKING MIRACLES. HE WASN'T REQUESTING FORGIVENESS, BECAUSE HE WAS SINLESS. WAS HE THANKING GOD OR ADORING GOD? BUT HE WAS GOD. PETITION, FORGIVENESS, THANKSGIVING, ADORATION – THESE WERE THE SO CALLED FOUR KINDS OF PRAYER THAT WE WERE TAUGHT ABOUT WHEN WE WERE CHILDREN.

BUT I THINK THERE IS MORE GOING ON HERE. JESUS PRAYER IS A SILENT PRAYER. HE IS NOT APPROACHING HIS PRAYER FOR ANY OF THOSE REASONS. HE IS ENTERING INTO PRAYER TO LISTEN, TO COME INTO BALANCE, TO MAKE SURE THAT IN HIS ACTIVE MINISTRY HE IS DOING WHAT THE FATHER WANTS HIM TO DO, NOT WHAT HE THINKS SHOULD BE DONE.

JESUS WAS A VERY BUSY MAN. THE GOSPEL OF MARK MAKES THIS CLEAR. HE WAS IN DEMAND; PEOPLE SOUGHT HIM OUT, AND AS HIS FAME SPREAD, THE DEMANDS ON HIS TIME BECAME GREATER AND GREATER. FROM DAWN TILL AFTER NIGHTFALL, HE WAS HEALING, TRYING TO TEACH, DRIVING OUT DEMONS – AND WHEN HE WASN'T DOING THOSE THINGS, HE WAS ON THE ROAD, TRAVELING FROM ONE TOWN TO ANOTHER, ONLY TO DO MORE OF THE SAME.

I WAS TALKING WITH ONE OF OUR OLDER PARISHIONERS A WHILE AGO. HE'S BEEN RETIRED FOR SEVERAL YEARS. HE MADE NOTE OF THE FACT THAT HE HAS SO MUCH TO DO AND COULDN'T SEEM TO GET AROUND TO IT ALL. BEING OLD MYSELF, I SYMPATHIZED AND SUGGESTED THAT WE JUST COULDN'T DO AS MUCH AS WE WOULD LIKE WHEN WE WERE YOUNGER. HE REPLIED THAT THAT WASN'T THE CASE AT ALL; HE JUST HAD SO MANY PROJECTS GOING ON THAT HE COULDN'T GET TO THEM ALL; HE DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME.

OUR WORLD IS A TIME OF GREAT BUSYNESS. I CAN REMEMBER WHEN I WAS A YOUNG DOCTOR. I THOUGHT I WAS BUSY THEN. BUT I REMEMBER TRIPS TO THE LIBRARY TO READ UP ON SOME DISEASE. THERE WERE CONVERSATIONS WITH OTHER DOCTORS IN THE HALLWAYS OF THE HOSPITAL, AND I'D USUALLY LEARN SOMETHING. WE HAD MEETINGS ABOUT PATIENTS, WE HAD SEMINARS AND GRAND ROUNDS. OUR DAYS WERE BUSY BUT WE WOULD GO FROM ACTION TO REFLECTION, BACK AND FOURTH. NOWADAYS, THERE IS LESS AND LESS DOWN TIME. A PHYSICIAN'S WORTH IS JUDGED BY HOW MANY PATIENTS YOU PROCESS IN A DAY. WITH THE INTERNET AND THE MASSIVE COMPUTER SYSTEMS THAT CONTAIN EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT A PATIENT IN ORDER TO CARE FOR HIM, TRIPS TO THE LIBRARY ARE A THING OF THE PAST. IF YOU WANT TO CONFERENCE WITH ANOTHER PHYSICIAN, YOU DO IT THROUGH THE INTERNET; NO FACE TO FACE CONTACT BECAUSE BOTH OF YOU ARE TOO BUSY. AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES ABOUND, BUT THEY CAN BE SQUEEZED IN TO YOUR DAY SINCE ALL YOU NEED IS A COMPUTER TERMINAL; YOU DON'T HAVE TO PHYSICALLY MOVE INTO A CONFERENCE ROOM TO LISTEN TO A LECTURE.

AND THAT'S THE WAY THE WHOLE WORLD IS TODAY. AND THE DANGER OF LIVING IN THE WORLD IS THAT WE LOSE OURSELVES, WE GET SWALLOWED UP IN ACTIVITY, IN DANGER OF JUST BEING COGS IN AN EVIL MACHINE. WHEN I WAS A PARENT, OUR KIDS HAD DOWN TIME EVERY DAY. I WATCH MY GRANDCHILDREN GROW UP WITH A LONG LIST OF ACTIVITIES IN WHICH THEY PARTICIPATE, AND I SEE THAT THE BUSYNESS IS STARTING EARLIER AND EARLIER.

JESUS WAS AS HUMAN AS YOU AND I ARE, EXCEPT FOR SIN. HE KNEW THAT GOD HAD SENT HIM TO PROCLAIM THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN; IN FACT, WHEN HIS DISCIPLES FIND HIM, HE TELLS THEM THAT THEY ARE MOVING ON TO CONTINUE THIS MISSION. BUT JESUS ALSO KNOWS THAT THERE HAS TO BE DOWN TIME, TIME WHEN YOU PRAY, TIME WHEN YOU OFFER SILENT PRAYER, WHEN YOU ALLOW THE SPIRIT TO REFRESH YOU, AND THE FATHER TO SPEAK TO YOU. AND IT ISN'T JUST FOR JESUS. IN ANOTHER PLACE WE HEAR ABOUT THE APOSTLES WHO HAVE BEEN SENT OUT TO CURE THE SICK AND DRIVE OUT DEMONS AND ANNOUNCE THE KINGDOM. THEY COME BACK TO JESUS WILDLY EXCITED. THEY TELL HIM OF THEIR SUCCESSES, AND YOU CAN ALMOST FEEL THEIR EAGERNESS TO GET BACK ON THE MISSION. BUT JESUS SAYS TO THEM, “COME AWAY WITH ME BY YOURSELVES TO A DESERTED PLACE AND REST FOR A WHILE.”

SO LET THIS GOSPEL REMIND US THAT WE TOO NEED TO MAKE TIME EVERY DAY TO ENTER INTO PRAYER. AND PRAYER IS GOOD, BUT SILENT PRAYER, THE KIND OF PRAYER THAT JESUS SAYS, IS NOURISHMENT FOR THE SOUL. AND WHAT WILL IT PROFIT A MAN TO GAIN THE WHOLE WORLD AND LOSE HIS SOUL?

Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B

MARK 1:21-28

SOME OF US REMEMBER BISHOP FULTON SHEEN, WHO WAS A FAMOUS TELEVISION PREACHER. YOU CAN FIND A LOT OF HIS SERMONS ON YOU TUBE IF YOU ARE INTERESTED. AFTER HE WAS ORDAINED HE OBTAINED A DOCTORATE IN PHILOSOPHY AND WON THE CARDINAL MERCEIR PRIZE FOR HIS THESIS, WHICH WAS A GREAT HONOR. WHEN HE RETURNED TO THE US, HE TAUGHT IN A SEMINARY. ONE DAY HE GAVE A SERMON, AND AFTERWARD ONE SEMINARIAN SAID TO HIM, “THAT WAS THE MOST BRILLIANT SERMON I'VE EVER HEARD!” “WHAT DID YOU LIKE ABOUT IT?” SAID FATHER SHEEN. “OH, I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND IT AT ALL,” SAID THE SEMINARIAN, “BUT I COULD TELL IT WAS BRILLIANT.” FATHER SHEEN DECIDED THEN AND THERE TO WORK ON SIMPLIFYING HIS SERMONS, AND THE REST IS HISTORY.

IT'S ALWAYS NICE TO HEAR THAT SOMEONE LIKED YOUR SERMON. BUT I THINK MOST PREACHERS LEARN THAT IF SOMEONE TELLS YOU HE LIKED YOUR SERMON, YOU SHOULDN'T ASK HIM WHY. BECAUSE PEOPLE ALMOST NEVER LIKE YOUR SERMON BECAUSE OF THE POINT YOU WERE TRYING TO MAKE. THEY LIKED A STORY YOU TOLD, OR MAYBE A PHRASE THAT RANG A BELL. IN FACT, ONCE I WAS STANDING AT THE DOOR AFTER A MASS FOR WHICH I HAD SERVED, BUT DID NOT PREACH, AND A PARISHONER TOLD ME HE LIKED MY SERMON. I THANKED HIM. THAT WAS THE EASY WAY OUT.

IN MARK'S GOSPEL WE HEAR THAT JESUS WENT INTO THE SYNAGOGUE AND TAUGHT. THE PEOPLE WERE ASTONISHED AT HIS TEACHING. BUT WE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HE TALKED ABOUT IN HIS SERMON. MAYBE MARK DIDN'T EITHER. MAYBE IT'S AN OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD. PEOPLE WHO HEAR SERMONS DON'T OFTEN REMEMBER THEM. THE ONLY REASON WE REMEMBER A SERMON IS BECAUSE SOMEONE HEARD IT AND WROTE IT DOWN.

SO WHY DON'T WE JUST WRITE DOWN OUR SERMONS SO YOU COULD TAKE THEM HOME AND READ THEM AT YOUR LEISURE? IT WOULD SHORTEN THE MASS, AND IF YOU WANTED TO REALLY SPEND TIME DIGESTING THE SERMON YOU COULD. AFTER ALL, NOW THAT EVERYONE CAN READ, LISTENING TO A SERMON SEEMS SORT OF ANTIQUATED.

SO WHAT'S GOING ON? WELL, IT HAS TO DO A WITH A SIMPLE PHRASE IN THE NEW MASS. WHEN A PRIEST OR DEACON SAYS, “THE LORD BE WITH YOU,” WE USED TO SAY, “AND ALSO WITH YOU.” THAT ALMOST SOUNDS LIKE “HAVE A GOOD DAY.” AND “SAME TO YOU.” BUT NOW WE SAY, “AND WITH YOUR SPIRIT.” WHEN THE PRIEST OR DEACON SAYS, “THE LORD BE WITH YOU,” HE IS ABOUT TO START A PRAYER ON BEHALF OF THE CONGREGATION, OR PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL. HE PRAYS THAT THE LORD COMES INTO OUR MIDST TO PRAY WITH US, OR TO HELP US HEAR THE GOSPEL. THE PEOPLE REPLY, “AND WITH YOUR SPIRIT.” CARDINAL GEORGE SAYS THAT WE ARE REFERRING TO THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST, WHO COMES TO AN INDIVIDUAL IN A SPECIAL WAY THROUGH ORDINATION. WHEN WE SAY “AND WITH YOUR SPIRIT” WE ARE REMINDING EACH OTHER THAT REGARDLESS OF THE MINISTER PERFORMING A LITURGICAL PART, IT IS REALLY CHRIST WHO LEADS OUR LITURGY. WE HAVE THIS EXCHANGE FIVE TIMES DURING MASS, AND EACH TIME WE ARE PRAYING THAT WE WILL ENCOUNTER CHRIST IN THE ACTION TO FOLLOW.

AND THAT GOES FOR THE SERMON AS WELL. THE PURPOSE OF THE SERMON IS NOT TO TEACH, ALTHOUGH IF YOU LEARN SOMETHING, THAT'S GREAT. IT IS NOT TO FIRE YOU UP, ALTHOUGH IF YOU LEAVE WITH A LITTLE MORE ENTHUSIASM FOR PRACTICING YOUR FAITH, THAT'S WONDERFUL. THE PURPOSE OF THE SERMON IS TO CONNECT YOU, AND I, MORE CLOSELY TO CHRIST. AND THAT ISN'T ACCOMPLISHED BY THE SKILL OF THE PREACHER, OR HOW CAREFULLY YOU LISTEN, BUT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. THE WORST SERMON I EVER HEARD WAS IN A CHAPEL ON THE CAMPUS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF DALLAS. IT WAS DELIVERED BY AN ELDERLY PRIEST WHO I THINK HAD LUNG CANCER, AND IT WENT ON FOR 50 MINUTES. IT WANDERED THROUGH DENSE AND DEEP PHILOSOPHY AND THEOLOGY, AND WAS DELIVERED IN A MONOTONE, INTERRUPTED BY LOTS OF COUGHING. I COULDN'T TELL YOU WHAT THAT SERMON WAS ABOUT, BUT TO THIS DAY MY MIND GOES BACK TO THE PRIEST, AND I THINK ABOUT HOW HE HAD GIVEN HIS WHOLE LIFE TO CHRIST. AND I HOPE SOMEDAY I WILL LOVE JESUS AS MUCH AS HE MUST HAVE. I BELIEVE THAT SERMON BROUGHT ME CLOSER TO JESUS. BUT THAT'S AN EXTREME. EVERY HOMILY CAN CONNECTING US WITH CHRIST. THAT'S BECAUSE JESUS SPEAKS THROUGH THE MINISTER, UNWORTHY AND CLUMSY AS HE MIGHT BE.

AND THAT'S WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE GOSPEL TODAY. THE PEOPLE WHO HEARD HIS TEACHING WERE ASTOUNDED. THEY WERE USED TO SCRIBES, WHO TAUGHT WHAT THEY HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN TAUGHT. THEY GAVE FOOTNOTES, AND REFERRED TO WHAT OTHER PEOPLE HAD SAID ABOUT THE TOPIC. BUT JESUS TAUGHT IN A WAY THAT ASTONISHED PEOPLE. BEING ASTONISHED IS NOT AN INTELLECTUAL EVENT; IT IS AN EMOTIONAL, EVEN A SPIRITUAL EVENT. THE DEMON DRIVEN OUT OF THE POSSESSED MAN WAS ASTONISHED AS WELL. THE WORDS AND ACTIONS OF JESUS REVEALED TO THE DEMON THAT JESUS WAS THE HOLY ONE OF GOD. AND THE PEOPLE WHO LISTENED TO HIS TEACHING THAT DAY HAD A TOUCH OF REVELATION THEMSELVES. THEY CAME TO KNOW JESUS THROUGH HIS TEACHING, AND THROUGH HIS ACTIONS. AND SOME OF THEM DEVELOPED THAT CONNECTION THAT WE ALL WANT, THAT UNION WITH JESUS OUR SAVIOR.

NEXT TIME YOU REACH THE POINT IN THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS WHEN THE PRIEST OR DEACON PREACHES, DON'T READ THE BULLETIN; DON'T LET YOUR MIND WANDER OFF TO WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO DO WITH THE REST OF YOUR DAY. OPEN YOURSELF UP TO THE GRACES OF THE EVENT, THE GRACES THAT YOU PRAYED FOR WHEN YOU ASKED THAT THE LORD BE WITH HIS SPIRIT, SO THAT HIS SERMON WOULD BE AN INSTRUMENT OF GRACE, A MOMENT WHEN YOU AND THE SAVIOR WOULD CONNECT. AND LET THOSE PRAYERS BE FULFILLED. SOMETHING IN THAT MOMENT WILL TOUCH YOU; IT MAY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT IS SAID, OR IT MAY COME ABOUT IN SPITE OF WHAT IS SAID.

A GREAT SERMON CAN BE A WORK OF ART; IT CAN BE A STIMULUS TO THE INTELLECT; IT CAN MOVE PEOPLE TO GO ON A CRUSADE. BUT IF A SERMON DOESN'T BRING YOU AND I TO CLOSER JESUS CHRIST, IF IT DOESN'T REVEAL SOMETHING OF HIS PERSON TO US, IF IT DOESN'T CHANGE US FOR THE BETTER IN SOME WAY, THEN IT WAS A FAILURE.

Third Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle B

MARK 1:14-20

THIS LAST WEEK WE CELEBRATED MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY. I WAS IN COLLEGE WHEN HE WAS SHOT. IT WAS 1963; HE WAS ONLY 39 YEARS OLD. HE GREW UP IN SEGREGATED ATLANTA, GEORGIA. IN THOSE DAYS THERE WERE TWO SOCIETIES LIVING SIDE BY SIDE, MAYBE EVEN INTERPENETRATED. WE THINK OF THE AFRICAN AMERICANS AS POOR AND THE WHITES AS RICH, BUT IT WASN'T QUITE THAT WAY. IN THE AFRICAN AMERICAN SOCIETY, THERE WERE CLASSES; THERE WERE EDUCATED, WEALTHY PEOPLE AND PEOPLE WHO HAD NOTHING AND COULDN'T READ. AND IT WAS TRUE IN THE WHITE SOCIETY AS WELL. THIS ISN'T TO SAY THE AFRICAN AMERICANS HAD IT GOOD; THEY DIDN'T. WHEN PUSH CAME TO SHOVE, THEY WERE THE FIRST TO SUFFER FROM ECONOMIC DOWNTURN, AND OF COURSE THERE WERE THE SEGREGATION LAWS; WHERE YOU COULD RIDE IN A BUS, WHAT WATER FOUNTAIN AND RESTROOM YOU COULD USE, WHICH RESTUARANTS YOU HAD TO STAY OUT OF. BUT MARTIN LUTHER KING GREW UP PRIVILEGED, IF YOU COULD CALL IT THAT. HIS FATHER WAS THE PASTOR OF ONE OF THE LARGEST CHURCHES IN ATLANTA. KING GOT HIS DEGREE IN THEOLOGY, AND THEN STUDIED AT BOSTON UNIVERSITY WHERE HE GOT HIS DOCTORATE IN PHILOSOPHY. HE RETURNED TO ATLANTA AND BECAME ASSOCIATE PASTOR AT HIS FATHER'S CHURCH, AND HE WAS WELL LIKED AND RESPECTED AND EVERYONE EXPECTED HIM TO TAKE OVER WHEN HIS FATHER RETIRED.

BUT THEN HE HEARD A VOICE – COME, FOLLOW ME. AND HE DID. HE BECAME PASTOR OF A BAPTIST CHURCH IN MONTGOMERY, WHERE SEGREGATION WAS MUCH MORE SEVERE; AND WHEN ROSA PARKS REFUSED TO YIELD HER SEAT TO A WHITE MAN IN A BUS, KING ORGANIZED A BUS STRIKE. DURING THE NEXT FEW YEARS THERE WERE HIGH POINTS: HE WON A NOBEL PRIZE, HE BECAME A HERO TO MANY. BUT HE ALSO WAS BEATEN, THROWN IN JAIL, SHOT AT, AND ACCUSED OF TERRIBLE THINGS. AND ONE DAY HE WAS KILLED. SO WERE THE APOSTLES THAT WE MET TODAY, ALL BUT JOHN. THEY WERE KILLED AS WELL, FOR FOLLOWING THAT VOICE.

WE CHRISTIANS BELIEVE THAT DEATH IS JUST ANOTHER STEP IN OUR JOURNEY TO GOD, AND WE LEAVE KING AND PETER AND ANDREW AND JAMES AND JOHN IN GOD'S HANDS. SURELY THEIR LIVES HAVE MEANING, SURELY GOD REWARDS THEIR SACRIFICES. AND WE SEE WHAT GOD DOES WHEN SOMEONE ABANDONS THEIR COMFORTABLE LIFE AND SETS OUT IN RESPONSE TO THAT CALL, “COME, FOLLOW ME.” THE WORLD IS CHANGED; THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS BROUGHT CLOSER TO FULL REALIZATION. AND THE KINGDOM WILL COME; HOW WONDERFUL TO BE SOMEONE WHO HELPS TO BRING THE KINGDOM INTO EXISTENCE.

WHAT WOULD IT TAKE FOR YOU OR ME TO GIVE UP EVERYTHING AND FOLLOW THAT VOICE? REALISTICALLY, FEW OF US WILL DO THAT. WE WILL CONTINUE THE ORDINARY PATH TOWARDS GOD; WE WILL TRY TO BECOME BETTER IN INCREMENTS, WE WILL BE SORRY FOR SINS AND ASK FORGIVENESS, WE WILL HOPEFULLY, AS WE AGE, GET TO KNOW JESUS A LITTLE BETTER; BUT IN THE END, WE WILL LOOK BACK AND SAY, I COULD HAVE DONE MORE, I COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER; AND WE WILL BE GRATEFUL THAT GOD FORGIVES AND FORGETS, AND THAT BECAUSE OF OUR BAPTISM WE HAVE BEEN ADOPTED INTO HIS FAMILY. AND WE WILL BE MOST GRATEFUL THAT OUR SALVATION DOESN'T DEPEND ON WHAT WE DO, OR HOW WE PRAY, OR WHAT WE GIVE UP OR WHAT WE DO; IT IS THERE FOR THE TAKING, BECAUSE JESUS OFFERED HIMSELF FOR US.

BUT WHAT WOULD IT TAKE FOR YOU OR I TO GIVE UP EVERYTHING LIKE THE FOUR FISHERMEN WE HEAR ABOUT TODAY, LIKE MARTIN LUTHER KING?

WHAT KIND OF CAUSE COULD MOVE US THAT STRONGLY?

WELL, THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF CAUSES. MOST OF US KNOW OF SOMEONE WHO DIED AS A SOLDIER IN A WAR, OR PERHAPS AS A FIREMAN OR POLICE OFFICER. SOMETIMES PEOPLE PUT THEIR LIVES ON THE LINE TO PROTECT THEIR COUNTRY OR THEIR FELLOW CITIZENS. UNTIL THE SECOND COMING SUCH PEOPLE WILL ALWAYS BE NEEDED, AND NONE OF US ARE GRATEFUL ENOUGH FOR WHAT THEY DO.

BUT THE OTHER KIND OF CAUSE IS TO STRUGGLE FOR A VISION, TO GIVE ONESELF UP FOR SOMETHING THAT IS NOT NOW BUT SHOULD BE. OUR APOSTLES DID THAT, AND DOWN THROUGH THE AGES, THE CHRISTIAN VISION HAS INSPIRED THOUSANDS TO STRUGGLE TO BRING IT ABOUT. AND THE FACT OF THE MATTER IS THAT HERE AND THERE, IT BREAKS THROUGH; HERE AND THERE WE SEE GLIMPSES OF THE REALITY, AND WE BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF THE WORDS, “THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS AT HAND.”

AND MAYBE THE ORDINARY PATH MOST OF US TAKE IS NOT SO ORDINARY; MAYBE WE TOO BRING THE KINGDOM A LITTLE CLOSER. IN THE OLDEN DAYS THEY USED TO TALK ABOUT MARTYRDOM. ORIGINALLY IT MEANT TO BE A WITNESS. IT CAME IN TWO FLAVORS; RED, WHEN THERE WAS A GREAT MOMENT WHEN EVERYTHING WAS ON THE LINE, AND THE MARTYR SACRIFICED HIMSELF FOR THE CAUSE; MARTIN LUTHER KING WAS LIKE THAT, NOT JUST WHEN HE WAS KILLED, BUT WHEN HE GAVE UP HIS COMFORTABLE LIFE TO GIVE HIMSELF TOTALLY TO THE CAUSE OF CIVIL RIGHTS.

BUT THE OTHER KIND OF MARTYRDOM WAS CALLED WHITE. IT WAS WHEN A PERSON SPENT HIS WHOLE LIFE GIVING HIMSELF UP LITTLE BY LITTLE, TO HIS FAMILY, TO HIS WORK, TO HIS NEIGHBORS. IT WAS A MARTYRDOM WITHIN THE REACH OF EVERYONE, FOR WE MAKE HUNDREDS OF CHOICES EVERY DAY, CHOICES TO LIVE IN THE KINGDOM, OR TO DRIVE IT AWAY. EVEN A COMPLIMENT FREELY OFFERED, EVEN TAKING THE TIME TO LISTEN TO SOMEONE WHO IS TROUBLED; EVEN A BRIEF VISIT OR PHONE CALL TO SOMEONE WHO IS SHUT IN; ALL OF THESE THINGS BRING THE KINGDOM A LITTLE CLOSER. AND MAYBE A LONG LIFETIME OF WHITE MARTYRDOM MAY BE GREATER THAN A MOMENT OF RED MARTYRDOM IN TERMS OF BRINGING ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. PROBABLY ALL OF US COULD NAME ONE OR TWO PEOPLE WHO MAKE THE WORLD BETTER BY LIVING IN IT.

FEW OF US WILL BE ASKED TO ABANDON EVERYTHING TO FOLLOW JESUS. BUT ALL OF US CAN ASPIRE TO BE WHITE MARTYRS. WHAT WOULD IT TAKE FOR YOU AND I TO GIVE UP EVERYTHING TO FOLLOW JESUS? WE MAY NEVER KNOW. BUT WHAT WOULD IT TAKE FOR YOU AND I TO CHOOSE SOME SMALL ACTION TODAY , TOMORROW, THIS WEEK, TO BRING THE KINGDOM OF GOD A LITTLE CLOSER? I HOPE FOR OUR SAKE, IT WOULD NOT TAKE VERY MUCH AT ALL.

Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B

JOHN 1:35-42

IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, ANDREW IS ONE OF THE FIRST DISCIPLES, AND RUNS TO TELL HIS BROTHER SIMON, “WE HAVE FOUND THE MESSIAH!” BUT WHEN YOU READ THE STORY, IT SOUNDS MORE LIKE JESUS FOUND ANDREW. THERE IS NO QUESTION THAT ANDREW HAS BEEN SEARCHING, MAYBE MORE THAN HIS BROTHER. AFTER ALL, ANDREW HAS BEEN A DISCIPLE OF JOHN, AND ANYONE WHO DECIDES TO BECOME A DISCIPLE IS PROBABLY NOT CONTENT WITH HIS LIFE AS IT IS. BECAUSE IT IS WORK TO BE A DISCIPLE. IT ISN'T JUST A MATTER OF SITTING AT YOUR MASTER'S FEET AND LEARNING. A DISCIPLE HAS TO RESHAPE HIMSELF ALONG THE LINES THE MASTER PROPOSES. SO ANDREW HAS BEEN SEARCHING.

WHEN JOHN TELLS THEM, AND THIS WILL BE FOR THE SECOND TIME, THAT JESUS IS THE LAMB OF GOD, ANDREW FOLLOWS HIM, CURIOUS, BECAUSE OF JOHN'S STRANGE STATEMENT. THE WORD “LAMB” MEANT SOMETHING TO A JEW; A LAMB WAS SENT OUT INTO THE DESERT SYMBOLICALLY CARRYING THE SINS OF THE PEOPLE. A LAMB WAS SACRIFICED TWICE A DAY IN THE TEMPLE FOR THE SINS OF THE PEOPLE; AND THERE WAS THE PASSOVER LAMB, AND THE BLOOD SMEARED ON THE DOORWAY THAT SHOWED THE DESTROYING ANGEL THAT THIS HOUSE WAS TO BE EXEMPTED FROM THE PUNISHMENT THAT GOD HAD ORDAINED FOR THE PEOPLE OF EGYPT. AND ISAIAH AND JEREMIAH BOTH COMPARED THE MYSTERIOUS SUFFERING SERVANT WHO WOULD SOMEDAY TAKE ON THE SINS OF HIS PEOPLE TO A LAMB BEING LEAD TO SLAUGHTER. DID ANDREW AND HIS FRIEND INTEND TO BE DISCIPLES OF JESUS? WHO KNOWS. I SUSPECT THAT THEY DID NOT. THEY WERE MERELY CURIOUS. AND AS THEY WERE FOLLOWING HIM HE ASKS THEM, “WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?” A LOT HAS BEEN MADE OF THEIR REPLY, “WHERE ARE YOU STAYING?” SOME SAY THAT MEANT, “WHAT MOTIVATES YOU? WHAT MAKES YOU TICK?” OTHERS SAY THAT IT MEANS, “TAKES US HOME WITH YOU AND TEACH US, LET US BE YOUR DISCIPLES.” I THINK IT MEANS JUST WHAT IT SAYS. ANDREW AND HIS FRIEND ARE A LITTLE EMBARRASSED TO BE SINGLED OUT. AND RATHER THAN ANSWER JESUS' QUESTION, THEY TRY TO CHANGE THE SUBJECT. BUT JESUS KNOWS THEY THAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING, AND SAYS, “COME AND SEE.”

JESUS ASKS YOU AND I, “WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?” BECAUSE IF HE DOESN'T ASK THE QUESTION, WE MAY NOT REALIZE THAT WE ARE SEARCHING. IT'S EASY TO GET SO BOUND UP IN JUST WHAT HAS TO BE DONE EVERY DAY, THAT YOU DON'T PAY ATTENTION TO THAT PART OF YOU THAT NEEDS TO BE SATISFIED, THAT PART OF YOU WHICH ONE WRITER REFERRED TO AS A “GOD-SHAPED HOLE” IN EVERY HUMAN BEING. BUT WHEN WE STOP FOR A MINUTE AND THINK ABOUT IT, THAT IS THE VERY NATURE OF A HUMAN BEING; WE ARE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR SOMETHING, SOMETHING TO FILL US UP, SOMETHING TO COMPLETE US. IT LEADS US TO MARRIAGE, TO OUR CAREER, TO ADDICTION, TO SEEKING AFTER POWER, OR RICHES, OR FAME. IT LEADS US TO THAT NEW CAR EVEN THOUGH THERE ISN'T MUCH WRONG WITH THE OLD ONE. I READ ABOUT A MOVIE ACTRESS WHO HAS TWO HUNDRED PAIRS OF SHOES. AND WHEN JESUS ASKS “WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?” HE INVITES US TO SLOW DOWN AND REALLY CONFRONT THIS EMPTINESS IN US, THAT SEEMS DESTINED NEVER TO BE FILLED UP.

AND THEN HE SAYS, “COME AND SEE.” HE COULD HAVE SAID, “I AM WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR, I CAN FILL YOUR EMPTINESS." BUT HE HAS ALREADY WATCHED US TRY TO FILL OUR EMPTINESS. NO MATTER HOW I ADVISE MY CHILDREN THAT CIGARETTES ARE NOT ONLY EXPENSIVE AND UNHEALTHY, BUT WILL NOT FILL THEIR EMPTINESS, ONE OF THEM HAS TO TRY THEM. WHAT ALCOHOLIC OR DRUG ADDICT CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT SHE WAS NOT TOLD THAT HER FAVORITE CHEMICAL WOULD NOT BE THE ANSWER? AND WHICH OF US HAS NEVER MADE A PURCHASE OF SOMETHING BECAUSE, AS MY GRANDMOTHER USED TO SAY, "MONEY IS BURNING A HOLE IN MY POCKET." WE AREN'T GOING TO TAKE ANYONE'S WORD FOR IT, WE HAVE TO EXPERIENCE IT IN ORDER TO KNOW WHETHER IT WILL FILL US UP. SO JESUS SAY, "COME AND SEE."

AND ANDREW AND THE OTHER DISCIPLE TAKE JESUS UP ON HIS OFFER AND SURE ENOUGH, A FEW HOURS LATER, ANDREW IS PROCLAIMING THAT HE HAS FINALLY FOUND WHAT HE NEEDS TO BE COMPLETE, HE HAS FOUND THE MESSIAH! AND THIS OF COURSE IS ONLY THE BEGINNING, BECAUSE AS ANDREW CONTINUES TO GET TO KNOW JESUS, HE REALIZES MORE AND MORE HOW THIS JESUS IS WORTH GIVING UP HIS CAREER AS A FISHERMAN; JESUS IS WORTH WANDERING THE COUNTRYSIDE OF GALILEE, MISSING A FEW MEALS, SLEEPING OUTDOORS, LOSING FRIENDS AND ALIENATING FAMILY MEMBERS WHO HAVE DECIDED THAT JESUS IS NOT ONLY MISGUIDED, BUT A POSITIVE THREAT TO THE TRUE RELIGION. AND WHEN JESUS RETURNS FROM THE DEAD AND ASCENDS INTO HEAVEN, ALL THE REST OF ANDREW'S LIFE IS DEVOTED TO TELLING OTHERS, "WE HAVE FOUND THE MESSIAH!" WHILE COUNTING THE MINUTES UNTIL HE HIMSELF WILL BE RE-UNITED WITH THE ONE WHO TOLD HIM TO "COME AND SEE."

THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THIS PARISH WHO HAVE TAKEN JESUS UP ON HIS INVITATION. YOU CAN USUALLY TELL WHO THEY ARE BECAUSE THEY ARE SPENDING SOME OF THEIR TIME AND SOME OF THEIR TREASURE DOING THINGS THAT JESUS WOULD HAVE DONE. THEY FEED THE HUNGRY, CLOTHE THE NAKED, VISIT THE SICK; THEY BRING COMMUNION TO THE SHUT-INS, THEY COUNT THE COLLECTION, THEY TEACH YOUR CHILDREN THE FAITH. THEY HAVE SEEN, AND NOW THEY PROCLAIM, "WE HAVE FOUND THE MESSIAH!" IN WHAT THEY DO. AND THEY FIND WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR BECAUSE HE HAS PROMISED THAT WHAT YOU DO FOR THE LEAST OF YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, YOU DO FOR HIM; AND HE HAS PROMISED THAT EVEN IF ALL YOU GIVE IS A CUP OF COLD WATER, YOU WILL HAVE YOUR REWARD.

ITS INTERESTING TO MEET PEOPLE WHO HAVE TAKEN JESUS UP ON HIS INVITATION. THEY ARE HAPPIER, MORE JOYFUL, BECAUSE THEY ARE IN THE PROCESS OF FINDING WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR. THEY HAVE LESS NEED OF "STUFF" BECAUSE THEY HAVE SEEN THAT IN THE LONG RUN, MATERIAL THINGS OVER AND ABOVE ENOUGH TO KEEP OURSELVES SHELTERED AND FED AND CLOTHED REALLY DON'T SATISFY US IN THE LONG RUN. AND BECAUSE THEY HAVE DISCOVERED THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE, IT'S NO PROBLEM FOR THEM TO LET GO OF EVERYTHING ELSE SO THAT THERE IS MORE ROOM FOR JESUS.

YOU AND I HEAR A LOT OF SERMONS AND READ ABOUT HOW GREAT IT WOULD BE TO BECOME DISCIPLES OF JESUS. YOU'VE SEEN THE EXAMPLES OF THE SAINTS AND MARTYRS, WHO GAVE UP EVERYTHING TO FOLLOW JESUS. BUT JESUS KNOWS THAT WORDS BY THEMSELVES DON'T MOVE PEOPLE; ONLY THROUGH EXPERIENCE WILL WE BEGIN TO REALLY FIND THE TRUTH. AND SO HE SAYS TO YOU AND TO ME, "WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? COME AND SEE. "

Epiphany 2012

MATTHEW 2:1-12

ON THIS FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY, WE TEND TO FOCUS ON THE THREE KINGS. BUT YOU'LL NOTICE THAT NOWHERE IN THE GOSPEL ARE THEY REFERRED TO AS KINGS, AND NOWHERE DOES IT SAY THAT THERE ARE THREE OF THEM. IT'S VERY HARD FOR US TO SHAKE THE SCENE WE SEE BEFORE US – IN MOST DEPICTIONS OF THIS EVENT WE SEE THREE MEN WEARING CROWNS, AND EACH HOLDING A GIFT. OBVIOUSLY THOSE WHO PUT TOGETHER THESE SCENES ARE INFLUENCED BY THE PROPHECIES IN ISIAIAH. BUT ALL WE REALLY KNOW IS THAT MATTHEW IS REFERRING TO MEN USING THE WORD “MAGI”. AND SURPRISINGLY ENOUGH, WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT THAT WORD MEANS EITHER. IN THE COUNTRY OF PERSIA, THE TERM “MAGUS” WAS USED FOR PRIESTS OF THE ZORASTORIAN FAITH. BUT LATER IT REFERRED TO ASTROLOGERS, AND BY EXTENSION, ADVISERS TO THE KING. BUT THAT IS JUST THE PERSIAN STORY. IN SOME OF THE OTHER LANGUAGES THE ROOT “MAG” REFERRED TO MAGIC. IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, WE MEET A MAN NAMED SIMON MAGUS WHO TRIED TO GET SAINT PETER TO SELL HIM THE SECRET BY WHICH HE COULD CALL DOWN THE HOLY SPIRIT. THAT WORD COMES FROM GREEK. SO WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT MATTHEW MEANT BY THE TERM “MAGI”.

BUT YOU KNOW, THAT'S NOT THE POINT HERE. THIS IS NOT THE FEAST OF THE THREE KINGS, IT IS ABOUT TWO KINGS. AND THE MAGI ARE TRACING A ROUTE WHICH YOU AND I ARE EXPECTED TO TRACE IN OUR LIVES AS WELL. SO EVEN THOUGH WE DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT THE MAGI, WE DO KNOW A FEW THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT. FIRST, THEY HAD OPEN MINDS. THEY WEREN'T CONVINCED THAT THEY WERE RIGHT AND EVERYONE ELSE WAS WRONG. WE SEE FROM THIS STORY THAT THEY HAD STUDIED THE SCRIPTURES OF THE JEWS, AND THEY WEREN'T JEWS. THEY LOOKED FOR TRUTH WHEREVER THEY COULD FIND IT. THEY WOULD HAVE MADE VERY POOR LEFT WING DEMOCRATS OR RIGHT WING REPUBLICANS. THEY WOULD NEVER BE VERY GOOD PEOPLE TO RECRUIT TO A CAUSE, BECAUSE THEY WERE COMMITTED TO TRUTH, NOT OPINIONS. SECOND, THEY WERE WILLING TO TRAVEL GREAT DISTANCES BECAUSE THEY VALUED TRUTH. ONCE THEY WERE CONVINCED THAT THEIR REASONING WAS CORRECT, THEY DID NOT SIT ON THEIR LAURELS, THEY WENT OUT TO SEE WITH THEIR OWN EYES WHETHER THIS WAS SO. THIRD, THEY WERE NOT SWAYED BY THE TRAPPINGS OF POWER. THEY DID NOT RETURN TO HEROD AS HE HAD REQUESTED. ALL THESE QUALITIES INDICATE THAT THE MAGI VALUED TRUTH ABOVE ALL ELSE – AS SHOULD WE ALL.

FOR US HEROD IS A VILLAIN. THE HEROD WE MEET HERE PUT JOHN THE BAPTIST TO DEATH, BUT WAS NOT THE SAME ONE UNDER WHOM JESUS WAS CONDEMNED. OUR HEROD WAS MUCH ADMIRED FOR HIS EFFORTS AT URBAN RENEWAL. HE CAUSED CITIES TO BE BUILT, HE OVERSAW THE CONSTRUCTION OF AQUEDUCTS AND CANALS, SO THAT PRECIOUS WATER WAS AVAILABLE THROUGHOUT THE LAND. HE DELICATELY BALANCED ROMAN INTERESTS WITH THOSE OF HIS SUBJECTS, SO THAT HE COULD BE CALLED A “FRIEND OF ROME” AND THE “KING OF THE JEWS”. BUT HEROD WAS A LOT LIKE OTHER MONARCHS OF HIS TIME. HE WAS VICIOUS WHEN HE FELT THREATENED. AND WE KNOW HE HAD TEN WIVES AND MANY SONS; HE CHANGED HIS WILL SIX TIMES, NAMING DIFFERENT SONS AS HIS HEIR. HE PUT ONE SON TO DEATH, WHO HAD TRIED TO POISON HIM. WE MAY THINK THAT'S TERRIBLE, BUT CONSTANTINE PUT TWO SONS TO DEATH FOR TRYING TO OVERTHROW HIM. FOR HEROD, IT WAS TERRIBLY IMPORTANT THAT HIS BLOODLINE BE CONTINUED ON THE THRONE OF ISRAEL. AND JUST WHEN HE THOUGHT IT WAS ALL FINALLY WORKED OUT, ALONG COMES SOME STRANGERS WHO INSISTED THAT THE KING OF THE JEWS WAS NOT IN THE PALACE, BUT OUT THERE SOMEWHERE. HEROD DID WHAT HE HAD TO.

FOR HEROD, HIS WHOLE IDENTITY WAS TIED UP IN HIS KINGDOM. FOR HEROD, ANY SLIGHT SUGGESTION THAT HE WAS LOSING CONTROL CAUSED HIM GREAT ANXIETY. AND I CAN SYMPATHIZE WITH HIM. ALL MY LIFE I'VE HAD A TENDENCY TO WORRY ABOUT WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO ME OR TO MY FAMILY IF SOME CATASTROPHE OCCURRED. AND I'M SURE I'VE MADE DECISIONS WHICH WEREN'T VERY GOOD ONES, BECAUSE OF MY CAUTION, MY INSECURITY. I THINK MANY OF US CAN IDENTIFY WITH HEROD – WE STRUGGLE TO BUILD, TO MANAGE OUR LIVES TO THE LETTER; TO GUARD AGAINST AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE, UNTIL THESE EFFORTS TEMPT US TO ACT AGAINST OUR BETTER NATURE.

WHEN THE MAGI FOUND THE CHRIST CHILD, WHAT THEY FOUND WAS A BABY, THE CHILD OF A PEASANT WOMAN AND HER CARPENTER HUSBAND. THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A HOME OF THEIR OWN. SURELY THE FIRST REACTION OF THE MAGI MUST HAVE BEEN DISBELIEF; HOW COULD THIS CHILD BE THE KING OF THE JEWS? IN THOSE DAYS, PEOPLE PAID A LOT MORE ATTENTION TO YOUR SOCIAL STATUS, YOUR FAMILY, YOUR NAME; AND KINGS CAME FROM KINGS AND PEASANTS FROM PEASANTS, AND THAT WAS THE NATURAL ORDER, AND NO ONE THOUGHT TO QUESTION IT. BUT THE MAGI WHO HAD DEMONSTRATED THEIR LOVE FOR TRUTH, RECEIVED A REVELATION FROM THE GOD OF TRUTH, WHICH BROUGHT THEM GREAT JOY, AND THE CONVICTION THAT DESPITE THE EVIDENCE OF THEIR SENSES, THIS WAS THE REAL KING, AND HEROD WAS AN IMPOSTER.

THE MAGI HAD A CHOICE AT THAT MOMENT. HAD THEY RETURNED TO HEROD AS HE HAD REQUESTED, THEY COULD HAVE MADE A CLAIM ON HIM. SURELY HE WOULD HAVE BEEN WILLING TO REWARD THEM, JUST AS HE HAD BEEN WILLING TO GIVE HIS FOSTER DAUGHTER HALF HIS KINGDOM FOR A DANCE SHE PERFORMED. JUST AS ORIENTAL KINGS REACTED TO SLIGHTS WITH OVERWHELMING PUNISHMENT, THEY REWARDED THEIR SUPPORTERS LAVISHLY. IT WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN HARD TO RATIONALIZE, AND THE MAGI DID NOT KNOW THAT HEROD INTENDED TO KILL THE CHILD.

BUT THE SIGNIFICANT WORDS IN THE GOSPEL ARE THESE : THE MAGI “DEPARTED FOR THEIR COUNTRY BY ANOTHER WAY.” FACED WITH THE CHOICE BETWEEN HEROD, WHO REPRESENTED THE WORLD, THE WAY THINGS ARE, THE CONCERN FOR SECURITY, FOR CONTROL, FOR BUILDING UP AND TEARING DOWN, FOR MAKING SURE I GET MINE – OR THIS BABY, WHO IS ONLY A PROMISE, AND AN UNLIKELY ONE AT THAT, THEY CHOSE ANOTHER WAY; THEY REJECTED HEROD AND ALL HE REPRESENTED, AND CHOSE TO PUT THEIR TRUST IN THE PROMISE.

SO THIS IS THE FEAST OF TWO KINGS. AND EACH OF US IS CONFRONTED WITH CHOOSING ONE OVER THE OTHER. AND WE MAKE OUR CHOICES EVERY DAY, MANY TIMES EVERY DAY. AND IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, YOU OFTEN MAKE THE WRONG CHOICE.

SO TODAY LET US REMEMBER THE MAGI AND THE TWO KINGS, AND RESOLVE WITH THEM TO FOLLOW ANOTHER WAY, A WAY THAT IS NOT THE WAY OF THE WORLD.

New Year's Day 2011

LUKE 2:16-21

THE FIRST DAY OF JANUARY IS A FEAST DAY LOOKING FOR A FEAST, I GUESS. IT'S NEW YEAR'S DAY, OF COURSE. ONCE IT WAS THE FEAST OF THE CIRCUMCISION OF JESUS. AMONG SOME CHRISTIANS IT IS THE WORLD DAY OF PEACE, AND SOME CALL IT THE FEAST OF THE NAMING OF JESUS. IT'S THE LAST DAY OF KWANZA. AND THIS YEAR IT IS THE FEAST OF MARY, THE MOTHER OF GOD, FOR US CATHOLICS. POOR JANUARY FIRST! IT HAS A REAL IDENTITY PROBLEM. I GUESS THE ONLY THING IT HAS GOING FOR IT IS THAT IT DOESN'T FALL ON A DATE DETERMINED BY THE MOON, LIKE EASTER AND PENTECOST.

WHEN I LOOK BACK AT MY LIFE, I CAN REMEMBER WHAT KIND OF PERSON I WAS WHEN I WAS YOUNG. I DIDN'T KNOW IT AT THE TIME, BUT I REALLY LACKED HUMILITY. I HAD ALWAYS GOTTEN STRAIGHT A'S IN SCHOOL, AND LEARNING CAME EASY TO ME. MY LIFE CHANGED AFTER I GOT MARRIED. LIVING WITH SOMEONE WHO SOON LEARNS ALL YOUR FAULTS; HAVING CHILDREN AND MAKING INEVITABLE MISTAKES IN RAISING THEM – YOU SOON LEARN THAT YOU HAVE A LOT TO BE HUMBLE ABOUT. SO GETTING MARRIED WAS A REAL TURNING POINT IN MY LIFE, AND I THINK THAT IF I HADN'T GOTTEN MARRIED, I WOULD HAVE SPENT THE REST OF MY LIFE THINKING I WAS SPECIAL, NEVER DISCOVERING THAT I NEEDED REDEMPTION. AND I CAN LOOK BACK ON THAT AND SEE THE HAND OF GOD IN MY LIFE, GRANTING ME A GREAT BLESSING – A WONDERFUL WIFE, CHILDREN, A GREAT CAREER – AND AN OPPORTUNITY TO GROW SPIRITUALLY BECAUSE OF THESE VERY THINGS.

OUR WORLD IS IN LOVE WITH CHANCE. THE PREVAILING THEORY OF EVOLUTION IS THAT EVERY LIVING CREATURE AROSE THROUGH SHEER CHANCE. AND WHEN SCIENTISTS DISCOVERED THAT THE UNIVERSE HAD A BEGINNING, THAT EVERYTHING IN THE UNIVERSE WAS SEEMINGLY DESIGNED SO THAT LIFE, AND ESPECIALLY HUMAN BEINGS, COULD ARISE, THEY HAD TO CHOOSE WHETHER TO BELIEVE IN A GOD, OR TO EMBRACE ANOTHER IDEA, NAMELY THAT THERE WERE UNCOUNTABLE UNIVERSES WHERE THINGS WERE ALL A LITTLE DIFFERENT, SO NATURALLY THERE COULD BE ONE OR TWO WHERE THINGS JUST BY CHANCE WERE EXACTLY RIGHT FOR LIFE TO ARISE.

WE CHRISTIANS DON'T REALLY BELIEVE IN CHANCE. WE BELIEVE THAT SOMEHOW EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS IS GOD'S WILL, EVEN THOUGH HE LEAVES US WITH FREE WILL. AND THAT MEANS THAT EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS TO YOU OR ME IS GOD'S WILL. AND WE CHRISTIANS BELIEVE ANOTHER THING ABOUT GOD. GOD IS A LOVING GOD AND GUIDES OUR LIVES SO AS TO GIVE US EVERY OPPORTUNITY TO BECOME ONE WITH HIM, WHICH IS THE ONLY GOAL WORTHY OF A HUMAN BEING.

SO TODAY WE HEAR ABOUT MARY, KEEPING ALL THESE THINGS AND REFLECTING ON THEM IN HER HEART. MARY IS THE PERFECT HUMAN BEING. SHE KNOWS THAT EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS TO HER IS WILLED BY GOD. AND IF THAT'S THE CASE, THEN SHE INTENDS TO EXAMINE WHAT GOD HAS WILLED, SO THAT SHE CAN KNOW MORE ABOUT GOD'S PLAN FOR HER. AND AS SHE THINKS ABOUT WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO HER IN THE PAST, IT BECOMES EASIER FOR HER TO READ GOD'S WILL FOR HER IN THE EVENTS OF THE PRESENT. THAT'S WHAT REFLECTING MEANS – LOOKING FOR MEANING IN OUR LIVES, LOOKING FOR THE HAND OF GOD IN THE TWISTS AND TURNS OF OUR OWN STORY.

BUT MARY DID NOT JUST REFLECT. SHE WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE STORY OF ISRAEL. SHE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN ABLE TO QUOTE THE OLD TESTAMENT CHAPTER AND VERSE – BUT SHE KNEW THE OUTLINES OF THE STORY AND ESPECIALLY THE PROMISES GOD HAD MADE TO HIS PEOPLE. SO WHEN SHE REFLECTED ON THE THINGS SHE KEPT, THE EVENTS OF HER LIFE, SHE DID SO IN LIGHT OF THE SCRIPTURES AS SHE KNEW THEM. BECAUSE IN THE SCRIPTURES, JUST LIKE IN THE EVENTS OF HER OWN LIFE, GOD SPOKE TO HER, AND MARY WANTED NOTHING SO MUCH AS TO UNDERSTAND GOD'S WILL AND CARRY IT OUT. BEING WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN, BEING CREATED AS A PERFECT HUMAN BEING, MARY KNEW THAT THE DESTINY OF A HUMAN BEING WAS TO BECOME ONE WITH GOD, AND THAT NOTHING WAS AS IMPORTANT AS LIVING IN HIS WILL.

AND THE SAINTS DOWN THROUGH THE AGES FOLLOWED MARY'S EXAMPLE, AND EXAMINED THEIR OWN LIVES IN THE LIGHT OF SCRIPTURE TO DISCOVER THE WILL OF GOD FOR THEM. THINK OF SAINT FRANCIS, WHO SET OUT TO IMITATE CHRIST AS WELL AS HE COULD, HAVING CONSIDERED HOW HIS OWN LIFE UP TO THEN HAD BEEN GUIDED BY SELFISHNESS. THINK ABOUT SAINT AUGUSTINE, WHO RECORDED IN HIS AUTOBIOGRAPHY HOW EACH EVENT IN HIS LIFE FIT TOGETHER LIKE A PUZZLE, TO LEAD HIM TO SURRENDER HIS LIFE TO GOD.

GOD IS ALWAYS SPEAKING TO US. WE KNOW HE SPEAKS TO US IN THE SCRIPTURES. BUT HE ALSO COMMUNICATES WITH US IN EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS TO US, IN ALL THE EVENTS OF OUR LIVES. AND IF WE KEEP THESE THINGS AND REFLECT ON THEM IN OUR HEARTS AS MARY DID, WE WILL LEARN HIS LANGUAGE, WE WILL BE ABLE TO KNOW WHAT HE IS SAYING TO US.

MOST OF US PRAY. WE ASK FOR THINGS, WE ASK FOR FORGIVENESS; SOMETIMES WE ADORE, SOMETIMES WE THANK. BUT FOR MOST OF US, PRAYER IS A MONOLOGUE WHERE WE SPEAK TO A SILENT GOD AND HOPE HE HEARS US. MARY SHOWS US THAT PRAYER IS SUPPOSED TO BE A DIALOGUE, AND THIS MEANS THAT WE LISTEN TO GOD SPEAKING TO US.

WHEN I LOOK AT MY MARRIAGE, IT CHANGED MY WHOLE LIFE; AND LOOKING BACK IT IS CLEAR THAT GOD WAS WORKING IN MY LIFE. AND I CAN THINK OF MANY OTHER MOMENTS WHEN GOD SHAPED THINGS TO OFFER ME A CHANCE TO GROW CLOSER TO HIM SPIRITUALLY. AND THERE ARE UNDOUBTEDLY MANY TIMES WHEN I MISSED WHAT GOD WAS SAYING TO ME.

MARY SHOWS THE WAY. SHE SHOWS US HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO KEEP THE THINGS WHICH HAPPEN TO US AND BRING THEM OUT REGULARLY TO REFLECT UPON THEM. AND IF WE REFLECT ON THEM IN THE LIGHT OF THE WORD OF GOD, WE LEARN GOD'S WILL FOR US, AND ENTER INTO THAT DIALOGUE WHICH BRINGS US INTO UNION WITH GOD.

MARY KNEW, AS DID THE GREAT PHILOSOPHER SOCRATES, THAT AN UNEXAMINED LIFE IS NOT WORTH LIVING. SO SHE KEPT ALL THESE THINGS AND REFLECTED ON THEM IN HER HEART. AND SO SHOULD WE.