Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

MARK 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

IT HELPS TO THINK ABOUT THE BACKGROUND IN THIS GOSPEL. WHEN MOSES GAVE THE JEWISH PEOPLE THE LAW, THERE WERE MANY THINGS WHICH WERE UNCLEAN. UNCLEAN MEANT THAT IF YOU CAME IN CONTACT WITH THEM, YOU COULD NOT PARTICIPATE IN THE SACRIFICES UNTIL YOU HAD BEEN RITUALLY CLEANED BY WASHING IN WATER. BY THE TIME JESUS CAME ALONG, THOUGH, CERTAIN JEWS HAD CARRIED THIS TO AN EXTREME. IF A PIG WAS UNCLEAN, THEN SO WAS SOMETHING THE PIG MAY HAVE TOUCHED, SO YOU NEEDED TO WASH THAT AS WELL. AND IF YOU TOUCHED SOMETHING THAT HAD TOUCHED SOMETHING UNCLEAN, YOU NEEDED TO WASH, BECAUSE UNCLEANNESS WAS TRANSMITTED, I GUESS. THIS WAS PART OF THE PHARISAICAL TRADITION OF BUILDING A FENCE AROUND THE LAW. IF SOMETHING WAS WRONG, THEN NOT ONLY DID YOU AVOID THAT, BUT YOU AVOIDED ANYTHING THAT HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH THAT. IF YOU WERE TO KEEP HOLY THE SABBATH BY NOT WORKING, YOU COULD NOT EVEN PREPARE FOOD ON THAT DAY, OR RESCUE AN ANIMAL THAT HAD FALLEN IN A HOLE, OR WALK MORE THAN A CERTAIN NUMBER OF PACES FROM YOUR HOUSE. PHARISEES SPENT MUCH OF THEIR TIME FIGURING OUT JUST HOW FAR YOU COULD GO BEFORE YOU WOULD BE IN DANGER OF VIOLATING A LAW.

ONE TIME I ATTENDED A MASS ON A RETREAT. THE PRIEST, WHO WAS NOT IMPAIRED IN ANY WAY, SAID MASS SITTING DOWN IN FRONT OF A COFFEE TABLE, AND HAD US SIT IN ARMCHAIRS AND ON A SOFT SOFA. ONE CANDLE WAS LIT. THE HOST WAS ON A SAUCER, AND THE WINE IN A GLASS WINE GOBLET. WHEN IT CAME TIME FOR THE SERMON, HE INTRODUCE A NUN WHO WE HAD LEARNED EARLIER LONGED TO BE A PRIEST, AND WAS HOPING THE CHURCH WOULD CHANGE IT'S MIND BEFORE IT WAS TOO LATE FOR HER. HER SERMON WAS FORGETTABLE, BUT I VAGUELY RECALL IT DEALT WITH THE UNFAIRNESS OF THE HEIRARCHY. AT COMMUNION TIME, THE PRIEST PASSED EACH OF US A HOST AND THEN PRONOUNCED THE WORDS, “THIS IS JESUS, THE LAMB OF GOD WHO TAKES AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD, HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO ARE CALLED TO HIS SUPPER.” THEN WE SERVED OURSELVES COMMUNION. DURING THE MASS THERE WERE LOTS OF EXTRA WORDS, ASIDES, AND COMMENTS. WHEN THE MASS WAS OVER, I WASN'T SURE I'D FULFILLED MY SUNDAY OBLIGATION.

THE CHURCH MAKES A BIG DEAL ABOUT EXACTLY HOW MASS SHOULD BE SAID. IT HAS LOOSENED UP A LITTLE BIT SINCE THE OLDEN DAYS, WHEN PROSPECTIVE PRIESTS HAD TO MEMORIZE THE VERY GESTURES THEY USED, ALONG WITH THE LATIN, AND PASS A PRACTICAL EXAM BEFORE GOING ON TO ORDINATION. BUT THE POINT IS THAT THERE IS A RIGHT WAY AND MANY WRONG WAYS TO SAY MASS.

IS THAT WRONG? ARE WE BEING LIKE THOSE PHARISEES, WHO WASHED THEIR HANDS AND POTS AND PANS AND FOOD, NOT JUST TO CLEAN THINGS, BUT IN CONCERN THAT SOMETHING, SOMEWHERE TOUCHED SOMETHING UNCLEAN, AND THE UNCLEANNESS MIGHT BE PASSED ON TO THEM?

I ONCE ATTENDED A WONDERFUL, UPLIFTING MASS WITH INCREDIBLE MUSIC, A GREAT SERMON, AND ATTENTIVE ALTAR SERVERS. AFTERWARD, ONE MEMBER OF THE CONGREGATION PULLED ME ASIDE AND POINTED TO A YOUNG MAN WHO HAD PARTICIPATED IN THE MASS WITH A BASEBALL CAP ON HIS HEAD. HE WAS FURIOUS, AND OPINED THAT SOMEONE NEEDED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT PEOPLE LIKE THAT. WAS HE RIGHT? AFTER ALL, IN OUR CULTURE MEN DON'T WEAR HATS IN CHURCH.

WHAT IS EASY ABOUT RELIGION IS TO CREATE FENCES AROUND THINGS, SO WE KNOW WHAT WE CANNOT DO, WHAT OUR LIMITS ARE. I REMEMBER THE OLDEN DAYS, WHEN WE FASTED FROM MIDNIGHT IF WE WERE GOING TO RECEIVE COMMUNION THE NEXT DAY. ONE PRIEST TOLD US THAT TECHNICALLY YOU COULD EAT UNTIL 12:20. I DON'T REMEMBER WHY. WE WERE TOLD THAT YOU COULDN'T DO PHYSICAL WORK ON SUNDAY. BUT YOU COULD DO UP TO AN HOUR'S WORTH BEFORE YOU COMMITTED A MORTAL SIN. MY MOTHER INVOKED THAT RULE WHEN SOMETHING NEEDED DOING AND HER SON WAS SITTING AROUND DOING NOTHING. AS TEENAGERS, WE ALL KNEW HOW MUCH PHYSICAL AFFECTION YOU COULD SHOW TO YOUR GIRL FRIEND BEFORE HITTING THAT INVISIBLE BARRIER BETWEEN “NECKING” WHICH WAS SORT OF OK, AND “PETTING” WHICH WAS REALLY RISKY TO YOUR SOUL.

BUT THERE IS ANOTHER PART TO ALL THIS. IT'S GOOD TO KNOW RULES AND LIMITS, BUT IN A SENSE THAT GIVES US THE MINIMUM. WE ALSO NEED TO STRIVE FOR THE MAXIMUM. A MASS CAN BE SAID ACCORDING TO ALL THE RULES IN THE BOOK, BUT CAN BE DONE WITHOUT REVERENCE, IN A WAY THAT DOES NOT INVITE PEOPLE INTO THE MYSTERY. BUT THE CELEBRANT AND MINISTERS OF THE MASS CAN NEVER FIND A POINT WHERE THEY CAN SAY, “WE DID THIS AS WELL AS IT COULD BE DONE.” IF A YOUNG MAN WEARS A BASEBALL CAP TO CHURCH, WELL, AT LEAST HE'S GOING TO CHURCH. MAYBE HE SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED AND CONGRATULATED, SO THAT HE WILL KEEP COMING BACK. AFTER ALL, ALL THE PRESSURE FROM HIS PEERS IS FOR HIM TO QUIT COMING.

INSTEAD OF WONDERING HOW MUCH WORK I CAN DO ON A SUNDAY, PERHAPS I SHOULD BE ASKING THE REAL QUESTION, HOW CAN I MAKE THIS DAY HOLY? THAT AFTER ALL IS THE COMMANDMENT. AND RATHER THAN THINK ABOUT HOW FAR I CAN GO WITH MY GIRL FRIEND MAYBE SHE AND I SHOULD BE LEARNING ABOUT THE VIRTUE OF CHASTITY, WHICH WILL SERVE US BOTH IN GOOD STEAD AS WE GO THROUGH LIFE, ESPECIALLY IF WE GET MARRIED SOME DAY.

JESUS IS NOT AGAINST PEOPLE PERFORMING ACTIONS WHICH HAVE TO DO WITH RITUAL PURITY. FAR FROM IT. HE IS NOT AGAINST A PEOPLE WHO HONOR GOD WITH THEIR LIPS. THOSE ARE ALL GOOD THINGS. THAT IS ONE SIDE OF THE EQUATION, THAT IS THE MINIMUM. BUT THE OTHER SIDE HAS NO MAXIMUM, AND THAT IS THE PART WE SHOULD BE STRIVING FOR. NOT TO BE JUST RITUALLY CLEAN, BUT TO BE REALLY CLEAN; NOT JUST TO HONOR GOD WITH OUR LIPS AND OUR PRAYERS AND OUR RITUALS, BUT TO HONOR GOD WITH THE WAY WE LIVE OUR LIVES.

ROBERT SPITZER, A JESUIT PRIEST AND PHILOSOPHER, MADE AN ATTEMPT TO DESCRIBE GOD. HE SAID, “YOU CANNOT SAY WHAT GOD IS NOT. BY DEFINITION, GOD HAS NO LIMITS. YOU CAN'T EVEN SAY THAT GOD IS ONE OR THAT GOD IS THREE, BECAUSE HE IS BOTH; YOU CAN'T SAY THAT GOD IS IMMATERIAL, BECAUSE HE IS MATERIAL AS WELL; YOU CAN'T SAY THAT GOD IS TIMELESS, BECAUSE HE IS ALSO IN TIME. AND IN A SENSE, THAT'S THE POINT OF THE GOSPEL TODAY. BY ALL MEANS, PUT FENCES AROUND WHAT IS HOLY; FOLLOW A MORAL CODE; TREAT SACRED THINGS WITH GREAT RESPECT. BUT ALWAYS LOOK FOR HOW YOU CAN GO BEYOND THOSE LIMITS. ON ONE SIDE IS A FENCE THAT YOU CAN'T CROSS. ON THE OTHER SIDE IS AN INFINITE EXPANSE THAT ALLOWS YOU TO GO AS FAR AS YOU WANT TOWARDS GOD. KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE HORIZON, NOT ON THE FENCE.

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

JOHN 6:60-69

THE POET, GERALD MANLEY HOPKINS, BEGAN ONE OF HIS MOST FAMOUS WORKS WITH THE WORDS, “THE WORLD IS CHARGED WITH THE GRANDEUR OF GOD.” KARL RAHNER, A FAMOUS THEOLOGIAN, DESCRIBED A MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE HE ONCE HAD, IN WHICH HE FELT HIMSELF LIFTED OFF THE EARTH, BEYOND THE SOLAR SYSTEM, FAR OUT PAST THE MILKY WAY, UNTIL HE COULD SEE THE WHOLE UNIVERSE – AND WHAT HE SAW WAS THE FACE OF CHRIST. TEILARD DE CHARDIN, A PALEONTOLOGIST AND JESUIT PRIEST, PROPOSED THAT MATTER, EVEN THE SMALLEST ATOM, WAS IN A CONSTANT STATE OF SEEKING COMPLEXITY; EVOLUTION, WHETHER ORGANIC OR INORGANIC, WAS DRIVEN INTERNALLY TO BECOME THE NOOSPHERE, WHERE ALL THAT EXISTED BECAME ONE.

IF YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN, YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE IDEA OF THE EUCHARIST. AFTER ALL, THE GOSPELS ALL TALK ABOUT IT, AND WE HAVE JUST BEEN THROUGH THE PASSAGE FROM JOHN STARTING WITH THE MIRACLE OF THE LOAVES AND FISHES, AND ENDING WITH THE READING TODAY, IN WHICH, BECAUSE THIS WAS A HARD THING TO BELIEVE, MANY OF HIS DISCIPLES LEFT HIM. JESUS NEVERTHELESS LEFT HIS DISCIPLES WITH EXPLICIT INSTRUCTIONS TO TAKE BREAD AND SAY, “THIS IS MY BODY” AND TO TAKE WINE AND SAY, “THIS IS MY BLOOD”; AND TO EAT AND DRINK THIS SACRAMENT TOGETHER. AND WE KNOW THAT OUR CHURCH TEACHES THE DOCTRINE OF TRANSUBSTANTIATION, WHICH MEANS THAT WHAT WAS BREAD IS NOW JESUS UNDER THE APPEARANCE OF BREAD, AND THE SAME FOR THE WINE. OTHER CHRISTIAN BODIES TEACH THAT JESUS IS REALLY PRESENT, BUT SO IS THE BREAD, OR THAT THE ACTION IS MERELY A SYMBOL. AND NOW AND THEN SOMEONE DECIDES YOU DON'T EVEN NEED BREAD AND WINE, YOU DON'T EVEN NEED TO CARRY OUT JESUS' INSTRUCTIONS, EXCEPT IN HOW YOU LIVE YOUR LIFE.

IN OUR EUCHARISTIC PRAYERS, THERE IS THE MOMENT CALLED THE “EPICLYSIS” IN WHICH THE PRIEST CALLS UPON THE HOLY SPIRIT TO TRANSFORM THE BREAD AND WINE. ONE OF THE PRAYERS ADDS THE PHRASE, “LIKE THE DEW FALL”. WHEN I FIRST HEARD THIS, I DIDN'T SEE THE POINT. AFTER ALL, I DON'T THINK ABOUT DEW AND DEW FALL MORE THAN ONCE A YEAR, I'M SURE, AND I CERTAINLY HAD NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT THE ACTIONS OF THE SPIRIT IN THOSE TERMS; USUALLY HIS APPEARANCE IS ACCOMPANIED BY FIRE, OR WIND, OR EVEN EARTHQUAKES. SUBTLE HE DOES NOT SEEM TO BE.

WHY NOT “LIKE THE SNOWFALL?” THAT MIGHT MEAN MORE TO US UP HERE IN THE NORTH. BUT SNOW MERELY COVERS THINGS UP. IF SNOW FALLS ON MY CAR, IT'S STILL A CAR. AND ONCE THE SNOW MELTS, EVEN THOUGH WE'VE EXERTED A GREAT DEAL OF ENERGY MOVING IT AROUND, IT'S AS THOUGH IT WAS NEVER THERE.

BUT MAYBE “LIKE THE RAINFALL” WOULD BE BETTER. RAIN REALLY SOAKS. IT CAN CHANGE A DRY BROWN LAWN TO A HEALTHY GREEN ONE. AND IF IT FALLS ON MY NEWSPAPER, IT BECOMES MUSH, AND CAN'T BE READ ANYMORE. RAIN CAN GIVE LIFE AND CAN DESTROY AS WELL. THAT'S A PRETTY GOOD IMAGE FOR THE SPIRIT. AND ONE OF THE PSALMS ASKS GOD TO SEND FORTH HIS SPIRIT, AND THEY SHALL BE CREATED; AND THE PSALM GOES ON TO SAY, TAKE AWAY YOUR SPIRIT, AND THEY ARE DESTROYED. SO THAT IS A GOOD ANALOGY FOR THE ACTIONS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. BUT NOT WHERE THE EUCHARIST IS CONCERNED. THE BREAD IS NOT DESTROYED, NOR IS IT ENLIVENED. IT SIMPLY CEASES TO EXIST AND JESUS IS PRESENT.

IF YOU GO OUT IN THE EARLY MORNING AND THE CONDITIONS ARE RIGHT, YOU MIGHT NOTICE DEW. FROM A SCIENTIFIC STANDPOINT, DEW REQUIRES THE PRESENCE OF A LIVING PLANT, AS WELL AS ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS THAT PREVENT THE MOISTURE THAT IS ALWAYS COMING OUT OF THE PLANT FROM VAPORIZING INTO THE AIR. IN OTHER WORDS, DEW EMERGES; IT IS NOT IMPOSED, IT DOES NOT COVER UP.

WE CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IN INCARNATION. GOD EMERGES INTO OUR WORLD, HE PENETRATES, HE DIVINIZES, HE TRANSFORMS. THE HOLY SPIRIT CAUSED GOD TO ENTER MATTER, TO TAKE ON FLESH IN THE WOMB OF MARY, AND BECOME A MAN. THE WORDS USED BY THE ANGEL ARE INTERESTING; THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL “OVERSHADOW” YOU, HE SAYS. HIS PRESENCE CAUSES GOD TO BE DRAWN INTO MATTER. KIND OF LIKE THE IDEA OF DEW FALL, THE MOISTURE BEING DRAWN FROM WITHIN THE LIVING PLANT.

INCARNATION IS NOT A ONE-TIME EVENT. THE OLD TESTAMENT IS THE STORY OF GOD JOINING HIMSELF TO HIS CREATION, BUT AT THE SAME TIME, SHAPING HIS CREATION TO ACCEPT HIS PRESENCE. THE NEW TESTAMENT BEGINS WITH GOD TAKING ON FLESH, MAKING MATTER INTO HIS BODY, GLORIFYING FOREVER THE MATERIAL WORLD.

HAVING DONE THIS, HE TAKES MARY TO HIMSELF, BODY AND SOUL, FOR ALL ETERNITY; MATTER BECOMES IMMORTAL. AND HIS INTENTION IS TO BRING HIS WHOLE CREATION TO THE CENTER OF HIS BEING; NOTHING HE MADE WILL BE WASTED. INCARNATION IS ALWAYS GOING ON.

THE ACTION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT ON THE BREAD AND WINE IS A HINT AT WHAT IS IN STORE FOR OUR UNIVERSE. THROUGH HIS ACTION, GOD WILL EMERGE, AND IS ALREADY EMERGING. WHEN WE HAVE EYES TO SEE, WE SEE HIS TRACES IN NATURE – FROM A SNOWFLAKE TO THE STARS IN THE SKY, FROM A BUG TO A BUFFALO. GOD IS PRESENT, EMERGING FROM HIS CREATION AND IN SO DOING, TRANSFORMING ALL OF NATURE, ALL OF MANKIND. AND THAT IS WHAT THE HOLY SPIRIT DOES – DRAWS GOD FORTH. AND THAT IS WHAT HE DOES IN THE EUCHARIST. THE BREAD AND WINE BECOME GOD, THE SON, THE INCARNATED ONE, ACHIEVING THE DESTINY OF ALL MATTER, TO BE TRANSFORMED SO THAT IN THE END THERE IS ONLY GOD. HOPKINS, RAHNER, AND DECHARDIN ALL SAW THIS IDEA, THIS MYSTICAL VISION.

LIKE THE DEW FALL. NOT LIKE A SNOWFALL, NOT LIKE A RAINFALL. BUT TRANSFORMATION FROM WITHIN, TRANSFORMATION WHICH IN A MIRACULOUS WAY, DOES NOT DESTROY, BUT CHANGES. TRANSFORMATION WHICH LEAVES THOSE WONDERFUL THINGS LIKE TASTE AND SMELL AND TEXTURE AND COLOR, BUT NOW JESUS IS THERE. TRANSFORMATION WHICH TELLS US SOMETHING ABOUT HOW IT WILL BE FOR YOU AND I, WHEN THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES UPON US LIKE HE DID UPON MARY, LIKE THE DEW FALL, AND CHANGES US FOREVER.

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cyce B

JOHN 6:51-58

WHEN I WAS GROWING UP IN THE DAYS BEFORE VATICAN II, I WAS AN ALTAR SERVER. BEFORE WE COULD SERVE WE HAD TO MEMORIZE A LOT OF LATIN, AND BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN WHAT IT MEANT. SERVING MASS WAS MUCH MORE COMPLICATED IN THOSE DAYS, AND THE ALTAR BOYS MOVED AROUND A LOT FROM ONE POSITION TO ANOTHER. WE HAD TO WATCH AND LISTEN TO THE PRIEST FOR CLUES ABOUT WHEN WE CHANGED THE GOSPEL BOOK FROM ONE SIDE TO THE OTHER; WHEN WE LIFTED THE CHASUBLE AT THE END OF THE EUCHARISTIC PRAYER. AFTER GOING THROUGH ALL THAT TRAINING, WE WERE ALLOWED TO SERVE WITH A SENIOR ALTAR SERVER, UNTIL WE GOT GOOD ENOUGH TO BE ON OUR OWN. I STILL REMEMBER MY FIRST TIME, AND MY COACH, A FIFTH GRADER, PRETTY MUCH KEPT ME OUT OF TROUBLE.

BUT WHAT WAS DRUMMED INTO US WAS THE REAL PRESENCE. WE COULDN'T BE ALTAR SERVERS UNLESS WE UNDERSTOOD THAT JESUS WAS REALLY PRESENT IN THE EUCHARIST. THERE WERE LOTS OF REMINDERS. THE SANCTUARY WHERE MASS WAS SAID WAS A SACRED PLACE; IT WAS FENCED OFF BY THE ALTAR RAIL. THE ALTAR WAS ELEVATED ABOVE THE FLOOR OF THE CHURCH. AT OUR CATHEDRAL CHURCH THE SANCTUARY WAS TWO STEPS UP FROM THE FLOOR, AND THE ALTAR WAS THREE MORE. ALTHOUGH WE WEREN'T FLUENT IN LATIN, WE DID APPRECIATE THAT THE MASS WAS IN LATIN BECAUSE ORDINARY ENGLISH WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH FOR SO SOLEMN AN OCCASION. WE ALTAR SERVERS HELD A SPECIAL PATEN UNDER THE CHINS OF THE COMMUNICANTS, IN CASE THE PRIEST DROPPED THE HOST. AND AFTER MASS, NO ONE TOUCHED THE CHALICE AND THE PATEN EXCEPT THE PRIEST.

I REMEMBER THAT THE ONLY SOUNDS YOU WOULD HEAR IN THE CHURCH WOULD BE A CRYING BABY, OR A COUGH; EVEN WHEN MASS WASN'T GOING ON COMMUNICATION WAS IN HUSHED WHISPERS. EVERYTHING REMINDED US, THIS WAS SACRED SPACE, THIS WAS THE HOUSE OF THE LORD, HERE WAS THE REAL PRESENCE.

THERE WAS AN OLD CUSTOM CALLED A “VISIT”. SOME PEOPLE STILL DO THAT, I KNOW, BUT WHEN I WAS GROWING UP, EVEN WE KIDS WOULD MAKE VISITS, SOMETIMES BY OURSELVES, BEFORE A TEST, OR AFTER SCHOOL WHILE WAITING FOR OUR PARENTS TO PICK US UP. IT WAS NATURAL; JESUS WAS REAL TO US, REALLY PRESENT, AND WHO WOULD NOT WANT TO BE WITH JESUS WHEN YOU COULD BE?

LONG BEFORE THERE WAS A BIBLE, THE CHURCH BELIEVED IN THE REAL PRESENCE. WE HAVE WRITINGS FROM THE FIRST CENTURY ATTESTING TO THIS. AND TODAY YOU HAVE JUST LISTENED TO THE SHOCKING WORDS OF JESUS, ON WHICH OUR BELIEF IS BASED, WORDS WHICH MANY OF HIS FOLLOWERS, THEN AS WELL AS NOW, COULD NOT ACCEPT. HOW CAN THIS MAN GIVE US HIS FLESH TO EAT? MANY CHRISTIANS, IN AND OUT OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, HAVE DECIDED THAT THIS MAN CAN'T DO THIS. SOME GO AWAY, SADDENED. SOME DECIDE THAT THESE UNEQUIVOCAL WORDS OF JESUS, THE BELIEF OF THE EARLY CHURCH, THE TESTIMONY OF THE GOSPELS – ARE ALL RELICS OF A MORE PRIMITIVE TIME WHEN PEOPLE ACTUALLY BELIEVED SUCH THINGS, AND CERTAINLY YOU DON'T NEED THAT TO BE A CHRISTIAN. AND FOR MANY OF OUR CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AND SISTERS WHO CONTINUE TO CARRY OUT A COMMUNION SERVICE AS A MEMORIAL TO JESUS, PER HIS COMMAND, IT'S JUST A RITUAL. I WAS READING AN ARTICLE BY A MINISTER ABOUT HOW IN HIS CHURCH HE WOULD USE DIFFERENT THINGS DURING THEIR COMMUNION SERVICE – TORTILLAS ONE TIME, BECAUSE THAT WAS THE BREAD OF MEXICO. ANOTHER TIME HE BROUGHT IN PITAS, BECAUSE THAT WAS THE BREAD OF THE MIDDLE EAST. ONCE HE EVEN SERVED LITTLE PAPER CUPS OF RICE, BECAUSE RICE IS THE BREAD OF HALF THE HUMAN RACE. AND HE STATED, HALF JOKINGLY, THAT ONE DAY HE MIGHT SERVE CROISSANTS OR IRISH SODA BREAD. IF THERE IS NO REAL PRESENCE, IT DOESN'T MUCH MATTER WHAT YOU USE.

THE REAL PRESENCE HAS ALWAYS BEEN A CHALLENGE TO CHRISTIANS. IT'S BEEN AN INTELLECTUAL CHALLENGE. THEOLOGIANS HAVE ASKED, HOW CAN THIS BE, AND TRIED TO EXPLAIN IT. THOMAS AQUINAS WAS THE ONE WHO FORMULATED THE EXPLANATION WHICH THE CHURCH ADOPTED AS “OFFICIAL”. IT IS BASED ON ARISTOTELIAN PHILOSOPHY, WHICH HELD THAT EVERYTHING COULD BE DIVIDED INTO SUBSTANCE AND ACCIDENTS. SUBSTANCE WAS WHAT MADE A THING TO BE WHAT IT IS; AND ACCIDENTS WERE ATTRIBUTES LIKE COLOR, TASTE, SMELL, AND SO ON, THAT DIDN'T REALLY NEED TO BE THERE FOR A THING TO BE WHAT IT IS. THOMAS SAID THAT THE SUBSTANCE OF BREAD AND WINE BECAME THE SUBSTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST, WHILE THE ACCIDENTS OF BREAD REMAINED. THE ORTHODOX CHURCHES, WHICH ALSO HAVE THE REAL PRESENCE IN THEIR EUCHARIST, DON'T HAVE AN “OFFICIAL” EXPLANATION.

BESIDES THE INTELLECTUAL CHALLENGE, THERE IS THE MORAL CHALLENGE. IF JESUS IS REALLY PRESENT IN THE EUCHARIST, WHAT IS OUR RESPONSE? MOST OF US WOULD SAY THAT WE BELIEVE. BUT I THINK THERE IS A GOOD ANALOGY. TWO YEARS AGO ONE OF MY FAVORITE PROFESSORS CAME TO TOWN AT MY INVITATION TO GIVE A TALK ON HIS RESEARCH. I SAT IN THE AUDIENCE WITH A HUNDRED OTHER PEOPLE, LISTENING ATTENTIVELY. THAT WAS GOOD, THAT WAS WHY HE CAME, THAT WAS LIKE THE HOLY MASS. BUT I TREASURED THE PART LATER, WHEN I DROVE HIM BACK TO THE AIRPORT, AND WE HAD A CHANCE TO CATCH UP ON THINGS, TO COMPARE NOTES, TO JUST ENJOY EACH OTHER'S PRESENCE. THAT IS LIKE A VISIT TO THE BLESSED SACRAMENT. IF JESUS IS REALLY PRESENT IN THE BLESSED SACRAMENT, OUR RESPONSE SHOULD BE TO VISIT HIM. IF WE BELIEVE THAT THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HIS PRESENCE THERE AND HIS PRESENCE ANYWHERE ELSE, THEN WHY BOTHER MAKING TIME TO COME INTO THE CHURCH FOR A VISIT?

A VISIT TO THE BLESSED SACRAMENT HAS MANY BENEFITS. IT IS CALMING AND HEALING; WE LEAVE OUR LIVES FOR A FEW MINUTES AND REST. IT ALLOWS US TO REFLECT ON HOW OUR LIVES ARE GOING, IN THE PRESENCE OF JESUS, WHO CALLS US TO BE BETTER VERSIONS OF OURSELVES. IT IS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR DEEP PRAYER, FOR OURSELVES, FOR OTHERS, FOR SPECIAL INTENTIONS. IT'S A GREAT WAY TO MAKE IMPORTANT DECISIONS. AND IT STRENGTHENS OUR FAITH. IF WE GO A LITTLE OUT OF OUR WAY SO THAT WE CAN BE IN THE SPECIAL COMPANY OF JESUS, JUST AS THE APOSTLES WERE, WE REINFORCE OUR BELIEF IN THE REAL PRESENCE. AND AS THIS BELIEF GETS STRONGER, WE BEGIN TO REALIZE THAT GOD IS INDEED WITH US, THAT THERE IS SUCH A THING AS INCARNATION, THAT GOD IS ALWAYS BREAKING IN TO THE WORLD AROUND US, AND THAT WE ARE PART OF GOD'S PLAN FOR THE WORLD.

BECAUSE JESUS IS GOD, MANY OF THE THINGS HE SAID, WHICH WE MIGHT AT FIRST GLANCE THINK OF AS FIGURES OF SPEECH, ARE INDEED REAL AND CONCRETE. HE SAID, “THIS IS MY BODY” AND “THIS IS MY BLOOD.” HE ALSO SAID, “I AM WITH YOU ALL DAYS, EVEN TO THE END OF THE WORLD.” AND “MY FATHER AND I WILL DWELL WITH HIM.” THE EUCHARIST, HIS REAL PRESENCE, IS THE SOURCE OF OUR CHRISTIAN LIFE, WHERE IT BEGINS; AND IT IS THE SUMMIT, WHAT WE ARE DRAWN TO, THE GOAL OF OUR LIFE.

PLEASE CONSIDER WORKING IN A VISIT TO THE BLESSED SACRAMENT THIS WEEK.

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

JOHN 6:41-51

WHEN I WAS A LITTLE KID, I WAS ALWAYS GETTING BANGED UP. I'VE GOT SOME GRANDCHILDREN WHO ARE AS AGILE AS MONKEYS, AND OTHERS WHO BANG INTO WALLS AND FALL DOWN STAIRS AND HAVE A HARD TIME GETTING THROUGH A DAY WITHOUT BREAKING SOMETHING OR OTHER. THIS DOESN'T SEEM TO BE GENDER RELATED, EITHER; I HAVE A GRANDDAUGHTER WHO IS LIKE THAT. I WAS LIKE THAT; MY MOTHER BEING OF GERMAN ANCESTRY, USED WORDS LIKE KLUTZ AND TOIFELKOPF, WHICH I THINK MEANT POTATO HEAD, WHEN REFERRING TO MY LACK OF GRACE, BUT USUALLY IN A NICE WAY. IN ANY EVENT, ANY INJURY THAT SET ME TO CRYING BACK WHEN I WAS FOUR COULD USUALLY BE REMEDIED BY MY MOTHER KISSING THE INJURED PART. OBVIOUSLY, YOU GROW UP. BUT I REMEMBER MY WIFE JOAN KISSING AWAY INJURIES IN OUR OWN CHILDREN, AND I SEE MY DAUGHTERS DOING THE SAME FOR MY GRANDCHILDREN AS WELL. WHAT IS THIS INSTINCT, THAT SEEMS TO BE PART OF OUR VERY HUMANITY? MOTHERS OF EVERY NATION AND RACE, AND SOMETIMES FATHERS, KNOW THAT KISSING A CHILD IS VERY POWERFUL. AND A KISS DOESN'T JUST BRING ABOUT HEALING, ONE ON THE FOREHEAD AT BEDTIME DISPELS THE DEMONS THAT KEEP YOU AWAKE AT NIGHT WHEN YOU ARE FOUR. A KISS FROM YOUR MOTHER IS A SIGN THAT YOU ARE FORGIVEN FOR SOMETHING TERRIBLE THAT YOU DID, LIKE BREAK A LAMP OR ACCIDENTALLY RIDE YOUR TRICYCLE INTO A FLOWER BED.

TODAY'S GOSPEL SOUNDS VERY COMPLICATED. BUT IF YOU STAND BACK AND JUST LISTEN, IT'S SIMPLE. JESUS TALKS ABOUT HIS PURPOSE IN COMING INTO THE WORLD. PEOPLE WHO SEEK GOD, WHO LISTEN TO GOD SPEAK TO THEM, WILL COME TO JESUS. AND JESUS WILL GIVE THEM HIS FLESH TO EAT SO THAT THEY WILL NEVER DIE, SO THAT THEY WILL HAVE LIFE.

MANY PROTESTANTS HEAR THESE SAME WORDS AND CONCLUDE THAT JESUS WAS SPEAKING METAPHORICALLY. WHEN HE SAYS, YOU HAVE TO EAT HIS FLESH AND DRINK HIS BLOOD, HE MEANS THAT YOU HAVE TO PUT YOUR FAITH IN HIM AND FOLLOW HIS TEACHINGS. AFTER ALL, JESUS' FIRST LISTENERS HAD THE SAME PROBLEM: HOW CAN THIS MAN GIVE US HIS FLESH TO EAT? AND MAYBE YOU AND I WOULD ADD, WHY? AFTER ALL, GOD COULD HAVE SAVED US IN SO MANY WAYS.

THE FIRST POINT IS THAT THE PROTESTANTS ARE RIGHT. WELL, NOT QUITE RIGHT, BUT WE WOULD HAVE TO AGREE THAT JESUS WAS SPEAKING SYMBOLICALLY. WE WOULD HAVE TO AGREE THAT TO BE SAVED WE HAVE TO PUT OUR FAITH IN HIM AND FOLLOW HIS TEACHINGS. SAINT THOMAS WAS ONCE ASKED WHAT WOULD HAPPEN TO A MOUSE THAT ATE A CRUMB OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST THAT HAD FALLEN ON THE FLOOR? HIS ANSWER WAS, “NOTHING”. THOMAS BELIEVED THAT THE CRUMB WAS THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST. THE MOUSE WAS RECEIVING HOLY COMMUNION. BUT THE MOUSE WAS INCAPABLE OF RESPONDING TO THE SYMBOL. HE IS THE SAME BEFORE AND AFTER TAKING THE EUCHARISTIC CRUMB. UNFORTUNATELY, I THINK MANY OF US ARE LIKE THE MOUSE. WE RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST OUT OF HABIT, BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT YOU DO WHEN YOU GO TO MASS. MAYBE WE HAVE A WARM FEELING, OR MAYBE WE OFFER A SILENT PRAYER OR TWO, BUT WHEN WE GO OUT TO OUR CARS, THE MOMENT IS FORGOTTEN AND WE GO ON WITH LIFE AS THOUGH THIS ENCOUNTER WITH THE LIVING GOD NEVER HAPPENED. OUR FAITH IS UNCHANGED, OR RESOLVE TO FOLLOW HIS TEACHINGS IS UNCHANGED. WE ARE LIKE THOMAS AQUINAS' MOUSE.

SALVATION DOES NOT COME FROM RECEIVING THE EUCHARIST, FROM THE PHYSICAL ACT OF EATING THIS BREAD WHICH IS REALLY THE BODY OF JESUS, OR DRINKING THIS WINE WHICH IS HIS BLOOD. SALVATION REQUIRES THAT WE BELIEVE, AND THAT THE BELIEF CHANGES US, AND THAT WE BECOME CHRIST, WE PUT ON THE MIND OF CHRIST, WE REJECT FAME, POWER, RICHES, AND PLEASURE, AND EMBRACE THE CROSS, ON WHICH NONE OF THESE EXIST. AND THAT IS MORE THAN THE LONGEST LIFETIME'S WORK. THANK GOD JESUS HAS DONE THE WORK FOR US AND SQUARED THINGS FOR US WITH GOD ALMIGHTY, HIS FATHER. HE MAKES UP FOR EVERYTHING LACKING IN US, AND OUR EFFORTS, PUNY AND WEAK AS THEY ARE, ALWAYS PAY OFF IN ETERNITY.

AND GOD SENDS JESUS TO US OUT OF SHEER LOVE.

SO WHY DO WE REALLY EAT THE BODY AND DRINK THE BLOOD OF JESUS? WHAT IS GOING ON IN THIS SCENARIO, WHICH WE CATHOLICS INSIST IS NOT SYMBOLIC, IT IS BOTH SYMBOLIC AND REAL? THE EUCHARIST IS JESUS IN THE FLESH AND BLOOD, BUT OUR CONSUMING THE EUCHARIST IS A SYMBOL OF OUR DESIRE AND INTENTION T BECOME ONE WITH JESUS.

WHEN A MOTHER KISSES AWAY THE PAIN OF A SCRATCHED KNEE OR A BRUISED FOREHEAD, THE PHYSICAL CONTACT HAS TO BE THERE FOR HER LOVE TO WORK IT'S MAGIC. WERE SHE TO STAND OFF AND SAY, “I LOVE YOU, AND I HOPE YOUR PAIN GOES AWAY,” IT WOULDN'T BE THE SAME. THE KISS MUST BE THERE.

GOD KNOWS YOU AND I ARE PHYSICAL BEINGS. OUR BODIES ARE THE SACRAMENTS OF WHO WE ARE. WE ALL KNOW WE AREN'T “JUST A BODY” BUT EVERYTHING WE KNOW, EVERYTHING WE FEEL, MUST COME TO US THROUGH THE BODY. WHEN A MOTHER KISSES HER CHILD, IT IS A SACRAMENT OF LOVING CONCERN, AND THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE, NO WORDS, NO GESTURES, NO TOY OR TREAT WHICH CONVEYS THIS LOVING CONCERN BETTER THAN A KISS.

AND THAT IS THE REASON THE EUCHARIST IS REALLY THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS. IT IS GOD'S UNIQUE WAY OF SPEAKING TO US THROUGH OUR BODIES, OF TELLING US OF HIS LOVING CONCERN, OF HIS FORGIVENESS, OF HIS PROMISE TO BE WITH US ALWAYS, OR HIS GUARANTEE THAT DEATH WILL NOT BE THE END. JESUS SPOKE IN SYMBOLS WHEN HE COMPARED HIMSELF TO BREAD COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN. BUT AT THE LAST SUPPER, HE CREATED A REALITY THAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR 2000 YEARS AND WILL CONTINUE TILL THE END OF TIME.

A MOTHER'S KISS IS INTIMATE, THE KISS BETWEEN LOVERS IS MORE SO. BUT THE EUCHARIST, THE KISS OF GOD THE FATHER IN GIVING US THE BODY AND BLOOD OF HIS SON FOR OUR FOOD AND DRINK, IS THE MOST INTIMATE OF ACTS OF LOVE, LOVE NOT JUST FOR OUR SOULS, BUT FOR EVERYTHING ABOUT US.

A MOTHER DISPENSES HER KISSES WITHOUT EXPECTING ANYTHING IN RETURN. A KISS THAT HEALS, A KISS THAT DISPELS NIGHT MONSTERS, A KISS THAT FORGIVES, A KISS THAT REWARDS – FREELY AND ABUNDANTLY GIVEN. AND THE KISS BEING GIVEN AND RECEIVED, THE CHILD DIVES BACK INTO LIFE, HAVING QUICKLY FORGOTTEN THE MOMENT THAT WILL STAY IN THE MOTHER'S HEART FOREVER. BUT NEW AND THEN, THE CHILD TURNS AND BRINGS A KISS TO HER MOTHER. SHE DOESN'T NEED A KISS, BUT WHAT JOY IT BRINGS HER!

AND WE CHILDREN OF GOD THE FATHER, WHO RECEIVE HIS INTIMATE KISSES SUNDAY AFTER SUNDAY IN THE EUCHARIST, A PHYSICAL SIGN OF HIS DESIRE TO HEAL US, TO FORGIVE US, TO ENCOURAGE US, TO GIVE US LIFE – HOW WILL WE KISS HIM BACK?

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

JOHN 6:24-35

WHEN WE WESTERNERS THINK OF BUDDHISM, WE USUALLY IMAGINE A ROUND GENTLEMAN CLAD ONLY IN A LOINCLOTH, SITTING WITH CROSSED LEGS AND A BEAUTIFUL SMILE ON HIS FACE. BUT BUDDHA WAS UNUSUAL AMONG THE FOUNDERS OF RELIGIONS; HE WAS VERY LOGICAL, BASED HIS TEACHINGS ON WHAT HE HIMSELF COULD OBSERVE OR EXPERIENCE, AND BEGAN HIS PHILOSOPHY WITH A VERY CONVINCING ANALYSIS OF THE HUMAN CONDITION. OF COURSE, LIKE ALL RELIGIONS, BUDDHISM BROKE UP INTO DIFFERENT SECTS AND MANY EVOLVED TO WORSHIP THE BUDDHA WITH PRAYERS AND RITUALS; BUDDHA HIMSELF WOULD NEVER APPROVE. BUT BUDDHA SAID THIS: WHAT KEEPS US FROM BEING HAPPY IS THAT WE LIVE IN A STATE OF DESIRE. WE CAN NEVER FULFILL OUR DESIRES, AND TO THE EXTENT WE CAN'T WE ARE UNHAPPY. THINK OF HOW TRUE THIS IS. YOU WANT A NEW CAR; YOU SAVE, YOU VISIT DEALERS; YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF EXACTLY WHAT YOU WANT. BUT REALITY INTRUDES, AND BY THE TIME YOU BUY THE CAR, IT'S NOT EXACTLY WHAT YOU HAD IN MIND; AND SHORTLY AFTER YOU BUY THE CAR, YOU HAVE BUYER'S REMORSE; YOU SPENT MORE THAN YOU WANTED TO; THERE IS SOMETHING NOT QUITE RIGHT ABOUT HOW IT STEERS; AND SO ON. YOUR DESIRE WAS NOT FULFILLED COMPLETELY. AND MULTIPLY THAT BY THE THOUSANDS OF CHOICES WE EACH NEED TO MAKE TO GET THROUGH A YEAR; AND WITH EACH CHOICE, WE GIVE UP ONE THING, ONE ACTIVITY, ONE PATH, IN ORDER TO TAKE THE OTHER; AND IN THAT THERE IS PAIN, THERE IS UNHAPPINESS. HAVING MADE THIS DIAGNOSIS, BUDDHA SAID THAT TRUE HAPPINESS INVOLVED GETTING RID OF ALL DESIRE, AND HE TAUGHT HIS DISCIPLES HOW TO DO THIS. BUDDHA SAID THAT VERY FEW PEOPLE COULD EVER REACH THAT STATE OF HAVING NO DESIRE; AND IF YOU DIED WITH DESIRE, YOU WOULD REINCARNATE, AND CONTINUE TO DO SO. BUDDHA SAID HE KNEW HOW TO ELIMINATE DESIRE. BUT I WONDER? WAS HE HUNGRY, OR THIRSTY, OR WERE THERE TIMES WHEN HE WANTED TO FILL HIS LUNGS WITH AIR? CAN YOU EVER COMPLETELY ELIMINATE DESIRE? TO ESCAPE FROM THIS WHEEL OF LIFE AND DEATH, OF UNFULFILLED DESIRE, THAT WAS THE GOAL, THAT WAS NIRVANA.

TODAY THERE IS SOMETHING LIKE THIS GOING ON IN THE GOSPEL READING. JESUS HAS JUST FED A CROWD; THERE WERE 5000 MEN, AND WHO KNOWS HOW MANY WOMEN AND CHILDREN. AND HE DID THIS WITH FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISH. AND HE HAD FOOD LEFT OVER. AND THE SAME PEOPLE COME LOOKING FOR HIM. JESUS POINTS OUT THAT THEY ARE LOOKING FOR HIM BECAUSE HE FED THEM, NOT BECAUSE THEY HAD ANY SORT OF RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. AND HE TELLS THEM THAT INSTEAD OF WORKING TO GET THEIR NEXT MEAL, THEY SHOULD WORK FOR THE ETERNAL BREAD THAT WOULD REALLY SATISFY THEM. AND IT ISN'T EVEN HARD WORK; ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS BELIEVE IN JESUS. AND THE CROWD ASKS FOR ANOTHER SIGN. FINALLY, JESUS COMES RIGHT OUT AND SAYS TO THEM, “I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE; I AM THE BREAD THAT FILLS YOU UP; I AM THE BREAD THAT DOESN'T JUST KEEP YOUR PHYSICAL LIFE GOING, I GIVE YOU LIFE ETERNAL.”

THE STORY OF THE FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND BEGAN WITH JESUS LOOKING AT THE CROWD AND FEELING SORRY FOR THEM, FOR THEY WERE LIKE SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD. JESUS MAKES THE SAME DIAGNOSIS AS BUDDHA; ALL ARE UNHAPPY BECAUSE OF DESIRES WHICH IN NO WAY CAN BE COMPLETELY SATISFIED. AND HE WORKS THE MIRACLE OF FEEDING THE CROWD NOT BECAUSE HE FEELS SORRY FOR THEM, BUT PRECISELY TO SHOW THEM THAT IF THEY TURN TO HIM, WHAT THEY NEED WILL BE PROVIDED. TODAY'S GOSPEL TELLS US WHAT THE SIGN MEANS, AND THE WORDS OF JESUS DESCRIBE HIS SOLUTION TO BUDDHA'S PROBLEM; THERE IS A WAY THAT ALL DESIRE CAN BE SATISFIED.

WE HUMAN BEINGS ARE MADE TO ENTER INTO UNION WITH GOD. BEHIND EVERY DESIRE – FOR A CAR, FOR A GREAT MEAL, FOR A HOME, FOR A SPOUSE – IS REALLY A MANIFESTATION OF THE LONGING IN EACH OF OUR HEARTS FOR THIS UNION WITH GOD. AND NO WONDER WE HAVE BUYER'S REMORSE, NO WONDER THAT AS SOON AS WE GET ONE OF OUR WANTS FULFILLED, ANOTHER POPS UP. BECAUSE NOTHING BUT GOD WILL PUT AN END TO OUR WANTING, OR LONGING, OUR DESIRES. AND JESUS STATES THIS VERY CLEARLY – HE WHO COMES TO ME WILL NOT HUNGER, AND HE WHO BELIEVES IN ME WILL NOT THIRST.

BUDDHA SAID THAT IF YOU EVER GOT RID OF DESIRE, YOU WOULD ENTER “NIRVANA”. HE COMPARED ORDINARY LIFE TO A CANDLE FLAME THAT BURNS ONE CANDLE DOWN, THEN IS PASSED TO ANOTHER, THEN TO ANOTHER, ON AND ON FOREVER. NIRVANA WAS THE SNUFFING OUT OF THE FLAME. FOR BUDDHA THIS WAS DESIRABLE, FAR MORE SO THAN TO GO ON FOREVER AND EVER. BUT IN A SENSE, AND THE BUDDHISTS WILL AGREE, THIS REALLY IS THE ANNIHILATION OF THE SELF, WHICH IS SEEN AS AN ILLUSION, ANYWAY. THE ANSWER TO ALL PAIN AND SUFFERING IN LIFE IS TO BE SNUFFED OUT COMPLETELY.

BUT THE ANSWER FOR JESUS IS THE OPPOSITE; UNION WITH GOD IS COMPLETION OF THE SELF; I CONTINUE FOR ALL ETERNITY, BUT SINCE THAT SOURCE OF ALL DESIRE, THAT SOURCE OF ALL UNHAPPINESS, NO LONGER EXISTS, BECAUSE I AM FILLED UP WITH GOD AND CAN'T WANT ANYTHING ELSE, I AM FULFILLED, I AM COMPLETELY HAPPY -- AND I AM STILL ME, ME AS I WAS MEANT TO BE.

MODERN BUDDHISTS SAY THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO BELIEVE ­-­-ANYTHING TO BE A BUDDHIST; ANY PRAYING OR SACRIFICING, ANY SELF-DISCIPLINE HAS AS ITS END THE QUENCHING OF DESIRE. WE CATHOLICS DO HAVE TO BELIEVE, AS JESUS SAID. WE BELIEVE IN JESUS, WE LOOK TO HIM FOR DIRECTION IN OUR LIVES, WE STUDY HIS LIFE SO THAT WE CAN IMITATE IT, AND WE PRAY TO HIM BECAUSE HE IS OUR BROTHER AND OUR GOD, AND WE BELIEVE HE IS WHAT WE NEED TO BE COMPLETE. WE DO THIS, BY THE WAY, BECAUSE IT MAKES SENSE. IF WE BELIEVE THERE IS A GOD WHO CREATES US, IT ONLY MAKES SENSE THAT THIS GOOD GOD WOULD PROVIDE THE MEANS FOR US TO FILL UP OUR LONGING, TO BE COMPLETED. AMONG ALL THE RELIGIONS IN THE WORLD, ONLY BUDDHISM AND CHRISTIANITY SAY THAT DESIRE IS THE SOURCE OF HUMAN MISERY. AND ONLY CHRISTIANITY SAYS THAT THERE IS A REAL SOLUTION TO THIS PROBLEM, A SOLUTION THAT DOESN'T INVOLVE THE ANNIHILATION OF THE SELF. AND THAT SOLUTION IS JESUS CHRIST, OUR BREAD AND OUR WINE, WHO PROMISES TO ELIMINATE ALL HUNGER AND THIRST FOREVER.

WE BELIEVE THAT IN HOLY COMMUNION, WE REALLY RECEIVE JESUS CHRIST, BODY AND BLOOD, SOUL AND DIVINITY. TODAY TRY TO LET GO OF ALL YOUR DESIRES, SO THAT HE CAN FILL YOU UP.

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

JOHN 6:1-15

DO YOU REMEMBER LAST WEEK'S GOSPEL, WHEN JESUS SAW THE CROWD AND THOUGHT OF THEM AS SHEEP WITHOUT A SHEPHERD? THAT WAS FROM MARK. TODAY'S GOSPEL SWITCHES OVER TO JOHN. HAD WE READ ON IN MARK, WE WOULD HAVE HEARD HIS STORY OF THE FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND ON THE SHORES OF THE SEA OF GALILEE. MARK'S STORY IS STRAIGHTFORWARD; WHEN THE APOSTLES WORRY ABOUT THE CROWD BEING HUNGRY, JESUS TELLS THEM, “YOU FEED THEM.” AND THEY PROTEST THAT IT WOULD TAKE 200 DAYS WAGES JUST TO GIVE EVERYONE A LITTLE BIT. AND HE ASKS THEM WHAT THEY HAVE, AND THEY TELL HIM FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISH. AND THE REST, WELL, YOU KNOW. NOW JOHN TAKES THE SAME EVENT, WHICH YOU HEARD DESCRIBED IN TODAY'S GOSPEL. HE ADDS SOME THINGS WHICH HE MUST THINK ARE IMPORTANT. PHILIP QUESTIONS JESUS, “WHERE CAN WE BUY ENOUGH FOOD FOR THEM TO EAT?” AND ANDREW FINDS A YOUNG BOY WHO HAS FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISH, PRESENTS HIM TO JESUS, AND REMARKS, “BUT WHAT GOOD ARE THESE FOR SO MANY? AND YOU KNOW THE REST. NOW MARK LEAVES IT AT THAT. BUT JOHN GOES ON TO DESCRIBE THE REACTION OF THE CROWD, WHO SAY, “THIS IS TRULY THE PROPHET!” AND TELLS US THAT THEY WANTED TO MAKE HIM KING, SO HE WITHDREW.

I THINK OLD JOHN THE GOSPEL WRITER OFTEN DESCRIBES THE ATTITUDES OF PEOPLE AROUND JESUS SO THAT WE CAN ASK, IS THAT ME?

JESUS WANTS TO FEED THE CROWD. OBVIOUSLY HE COULD HAVE JUST HAD MANNA COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, OR WAVE HIS HANDS AND HAVE EVERYONE SUDDENLY FIND A BIG MAC IN THEIR HANDS. HE WAS, AFTER ALL, GOD. BUT THAT HASN'T QUITE SUNK IN WITH PHILIP, THE ONE WHO LATER SAYS TO JESUS, “SHOW US THE FATHER AND THAT WILL BE ENOUGH FOR US.” PHILIP IS WELL AWARE OF SHORTAGE, OF NEED. THIS SEEMS TO BE THE FIRST REACTION WE HAVE WHEN WE FACE A TASK, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT HAS TO DO WITH A RELIGIOUS PROJECT. THERE ARE A LOT OF GOOD IDEAS THAT NEVER GET IMPLEMENTED BECAUSE AFTER THE IDEA IS DESCRIBED, THE NEXT QUESTION IS, WHERE ARE WE GOING TO GET THE MONEY? AND OF COURSE THE OTHER QUESTION, “WHO IS GOING TO DO IT?” AND THEN WE DECIDE MAYBE WE WILL PUT THIS ON THE BACK BURNER UNTIL ANOTHER TIME. PHILIP SEES A GREAT IDEA – FEEDING THE FIVE THOUSAND – AND ASKS, WHERE'S THE MONEY? WHICH IS ANOTHER WAY OF SAYING, “WE CAN'T DO IT.”

ANDREW IS SKEPTICAL. HE KNOWS THAT JESUS CAN WORK WONDERS, BUT SURELY THERE MUST BE A LIMIT TO WHAT EVEN HE CAN ACCOMPLISH. ANDREW HAS WITNESSED THE MIRACULOUS CATCH OF FISH; HE'S SEEN INNUMERABLE HEALINGS AND DRIVING OUT DEMONS; HE WAS THERE WHEN THE WATER WAS CHANGED INTO WINE AT CANA. BUT THAT WAS THEN, AND THIS IS NOW. WE CATHOLICS HAVE A LOT TO BE PROUD OF. WITHIN THE LIFETIMES OF SOME OF US, THERE WERE THRIVING ORDERS OF SISTERS TEACHING IN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS. BECAUSE TEACHING FOR THEM WAS MINISTRY, AND BECAUSE THEY CHOSE TO LIVE A LIFE OF POVERTY, IT WAS POSSIBLE FOR NEARLY EVERY CATHOLIC KID TO GET A CATHOLIC EDUCATION. THANK GOD I AM NOT A KID TODAY. MY PARENTS WOULD HAVE NEVER SENT ME TO CATHOLIC SCHOOL, NOT WITH THE TUITION AS HIGH AS IT IS. AND SAY WHAT YOU WILL, BUT LEARNING MY RELIGION ALONG WITH SCIENCE AND MATH AND HISTORY WAS A WONDERFUL THING; FROM MY EARLIEST DAYS, I SAW RELIGION AS WORTH LEARNING, NOT SOMETHING THAT HAD TO BE ENDURED UNTIL I MADE MY CONFIRMATION. AND EDUCATION WAS JUST ONE OF THE THINGS CATHOLICS DID WELL; THERE WERE HOSPITALS, ORPHANAGES, HOMES FOR UNWED MOTHERS, COLLEGES, SPECIAL MINISTRIES TO NATIVE AMERICANS AND AFRICAN AMERICANS IN THE SOUTH, AND OF COURSE, MISSIONARIES FROM OUR CHURCH WERE BUSY BRINGING CHRIST TO THE WORLD, ALONG WITH HELPING PEOPLE ALL OVER THE WORLD ACHIEVE A BETTER LIFE. CATHOLIC MISSIONARIES WERE ALWAYS AWARE THAT BEFORE YOU CAN WIN A SOUL, YOU HAVE TO FEED A BODY.

WE CATHOLICS HAVE A LOT TO BE PROUD OF; BUT TODAY? WE ARE LIKE ANDREW, SKEPTICAL THAT WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE; WE FORGET THAT WE HAVE THE SAME STARTING POINT AS THOSE CATHOLICS OF OLD, WHO BUILT CATHEDRALS WITH PENNIES.

AND THEN THERE IS THE BOY. IT IS IMPLIED IN THE STORY THAT HE WAS THE ONE WHO WAS WILLING TO GIVE HIS LOAVES AND FISH TO JESUS TO HELP FEED THE CROWD. HE DIDN'T SAY, “THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE” NOR DID HE SAY, “THIS IS TOO MUCH EVEN FOR YOU, LORD.” AND JESUS WORKS AN INCREDIBLE, AWESOME MIRACLE, THAT MAKES THE PEOPLE REMEMBER ELISHA THE PROPHET, AND MOVE THEM TO WANT HIM TO RULE OVER THEM.

BUT THERE IS ONE MORE THING. THERE WERE TWELVE BASKETS OF FRAGMENTS LEFT OVER. TWELVE BASKETS.

WHAT STARTED OUT AS SCARCITY ENDS UP WITH SUPERABUNDANCE. OLD JOHN, THE GOSPEL WRITER, HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE JESUS WALKED THE EARTH AND OVER THE SIXTY YEARS OR SO SINCE THEN, HE HAS WITNESSED THE IMPOSSIBLE HAPPEN. A FEW JEWS IN JERUSALEM WHO BECAME FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST WENT OUT INTO THE WORLD, AND NOW THERE WERE CHRISTIANS IN PRACTICALLY EVERY SIGNIFICANT TOWN IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE; AS WELL AS UP AND DOWN THE ARABIAN PENINSULA, AND EGYPT, AND PERSIA, AND INDIA. WE OFTEN THINK OF SAINT PAUL AS A GREAT MISSIONARY, AND HE WAS; BUT THERE MUST HAVE BEEN MANY, MANY MORE LIKE HIM WHO DID NOT WRITE LETTERS THAT WERE SAVED FOR POSTERITY, TO ACCOUNT FOR THIS GROWTH. VARIOUS HISTORIANS HAVE ESTIMATED HOW MANY CHRISTIANS WERE AROUND IN 100 AD. THE ESTIMATES RANGE FROM 25,000 TO 800,000. BUT BY 300 AD, THE FIGURE IS MUCH BETTER KNOWN; ABOUT ONE IN FIFTEEN PERSONS WHO LIVED IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE ALONE WERE CHRISTIAN, ABOUT FOUR MILLION SOULS. WHEN JOHN WROTE HIS GOSPEL, THOUGH, THE GROWTH OF THE CHURCH WAS ONE THING, BUT TO GROW IN SPITE OF CONSTANT PERSECUTION AND EVEN WHEN THERE WERE PERIODIC ATTEMPTS TO WIPE OUT THE CHURCH BY EXECUTING ITS MEMBERS – THAT WAS THE REAL MIRACLE.

SO WHAT IS JOHN TELLING US? THAT WHEN SOMETHING IMPOSSIBLE NEEDS TO BE DONE, WE CAN BE LIKE PHILIP, AND SIMPLY SAY WE DON'T HAVE WHAT WE NEED, SO LET'S NOT BOTHER; OR WE CAN BE LIKE ANDREW, AND UNDERTAKE THE TASK AT HAND WITH HALF A HEART AND PESSIMISM, BECAUSE THINGS AREN'T LIKE THEY WERE IN THE GOOD OLD DAYS; OR WE CAN BE LIKE THE LITTLE BOY, WHO GIVES ALL THAT HE HAS TO JESUS, AND TRUSTS THAT JESUS WILL SEE THE WORK THROUGH IN HIS OWN GOOD TIME. AND PERHAPS ONLY A LITTLE CHILD CAN DO THIS, ONLY A LITTLE CHILD CAN STILL HAVE FAITH THAT GOD CAN DO THE IMPOSSIBLE.

AND JESUS TOLD US THAT WE HAD TO BECOME LIKE LITTLE CHILDREN. SO TODAY, WE NEED TO ASK OURSELVES WHETHER WE HAVE THE FAITH OF A LITTLE CHILD, SO THAT WE CAN PUT ALL WE HAVE IN JESUS' HANDS AND LET HIM WORK A MIRACLE FOR US.

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

MARK 6:30-34

SOME DAY THERE WON'T BE ANY PEOPLE AROUND WHO GREW UP IN THE DAYS BEFORE VATICAN II, WHEN WE HAD CLEAR RULES AND KNEW JUST WHAT WE HAD TO DO TO GET TO HEAVEN AND STAY OUT OF HELL. THERE WERE THESE TEN COMMANDMENTS, YOU SEE. WE WERE TAUGHT ABOUT HOW CERTAIN BEHAVIORS AND EVEN THOUGHTS BROKE THEM. IT WASN'T HARD NOT TO HAVE STRANGE GODS; I'M NOT SURE I KNEW WHAT THEY WERE ANYWAY. I DIDN'T MAKE GRAVEN IMAGES, LET ALONE BOW DOWN BEFORE THEM. WE WERE TAUGHT THAT SWEARING AND CURSING WERE SORT OF VIOLATIONS OF THE COMMANDMENT NOT TO TAKE THE NAME OF THE LORD IN VAIN, BUT AS LONG AS WE DIDN'T ACTUALLY BLASPHEME, THESE WERE MOSTLY VENIAL SINS. AND THEN THERE IS THAT THIRD COMMANDMENT: REMEMBER TO KEEP HOLY THE SABBATH DAY. SIX DAYS THOU SHALL LABOR AND WORK, AND ON THE SEVENTH DAY YOU SHALL NOT WORK, NOR SHALL YOUR SON, OR DAUGHTER, OR MANSERVANT OR MAIDSERVANT...THE COMMANDMENT GOES ON TO GIVE THE REASON: GOD CREATED THE UNIVERSE IN SIX DAYS, AND RESTED ON THE SEVENTH.

WHEN YOU READ THE ACTUAL COMMANDMENT, AND NOT OUR SHORTENED VERSION OF IT, “REMEMBER TO KEEP HOLY THE LORD'S DAY,” IT SEEMS PRETTY SERIOUS. BUT THE GOOD SISTERS WHO TAUGHT ME BACK IN THOSE DAYS FIRST OF ALL EXPLAINED WHY WE REST ON SUNDAY INSTEAD OF THE “SEVENTH” DAY, AND THEN EMPHASIZED THAT THE REAL ISSUE HERE WAS SERVILE WORK. SERVILE WORK ALWAYS SOUNDED A LITTLE SLEAZY, BUT BASICALLY IT MEANT THINGS LIKE MOWING THE LAWN, PAINTING THE HOUSE, WEEDING THE GARDEN – I COULD LIVE WITH THAT. IT DID NOT MEAN, UNFORTUNATELY, DOING MY HOMEWORK OR MAKING MY BED IN THE MORNING; AND IT CERTAINLY DIDN'T MEAN YOU COULDN'T COOK, BECAUSE SUNDAYS MY MOTHER USUALLY COOKED UP A STORM. IT WAS COMMONLY HELD IN MY HOUSE THAT YOU COULD DO UP TO AN HOUR'S WORTH OF PHYSICAL WORK BEFORE YOU PASSED INTO THE DREAD REALM OF MORTAL SIN.

THINK OF IT. GOD GAVE US TEN RULES, AND ONE OF THEM IS THE COMMAND TO REST, TO DO NO WORK AT ALL, ABOUT 15% OF THE TIME WE HAVE ON THIS EARTH.

I'M NOT SURE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THIS COMMANDMENT IS ANY BETTER TODAY THAN BEFORE. IN FACT, I THINK IT 'S WORSE. THOSE OF US CHRISTIANS WHO WORSHIP FOR A PERIOD EVERY SUNDAY STEP OUT OF OUR CHURCHES INTO A WORLD THAT ISN'T VERY DIFFERENT FROM SATURDAY OR MONDAY. WE CAN STILL BUY STUFF, EVEN BEER AND WINE; WE ARE SO BUSY DURING THE WEEK THAT WE DO THOSE THINGS ON THE WEEKEND LIKE MOWING THE LAWN AND PAINTING THE WOODWORK, AND TELL OURSELVES THAT IT IS “EXERCISE” OR “RECREATION”. AND HOW MANY OF US USE SUNDAYS TO GET A JUMP ON THE WEEK AHEAD – WE SHOP, WE STUDY, WE WRITE, WE MAKE LISTS – SO THAT WHEN MONDAY COMES, WE ARE GOING FULL SPEED AHEAD.

THE APOSTLES CAME BACK FROM THEIR FIRST MISSION ALL EXCITED; THEY HAD DRIVEN OUT DEMONS, CURED THE SICK; ILLITERATE FISHERMEN WORKING MIRACLES! AND THEY HAD BEEN ON FIRE AS THEY PREACHED THE MESSAGE THEY HAD HEARD FROM JESUS. WORDS SEEMED TO FORM EFFORTLESSLY, AND PEOPLE LISTENED! I'M SURE THAT IF JESUS HAD SAID, “GET OUT THERE AND DO MORE OF THAT!” THEY WOULD HAVE DONE SO. DOING SOMETHING YOU REALLY LIKE TO DO IS ADDICTING. BUT JESUS SURPRISES THEM JUST AS GOD SURPRISED THE PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN SLAVES IN EGYPT. COME AWAY AND REST, HE SAY TO THEM. ON THE SEVENTH DAY YOU SHALL DO NO WORK, GOD TELLS THE HEBREW SLAVES.

THERE SHOULD BE A RHYTHM IN OUR CHRISTIAN LIFE. SAINT BENEDICT RECOGNIZED THIS WHEN HE FOUNDED HIS ORDER. YOU DID NOT BECOME A MONK TO PRAY, OR TO STUDY, OR PERFORM PENANCES, OR TO SING IN THE CHOIR. WHEN YOU ENTERED HIS FORM OF MONASTIC LIFE, YOU ENTERED A LIFE OF BALANCE. THE BELL WOULD RING, AND YOU WOULD STOP WHAT YOU WERE DOING AND MOVE ON TO THE NEXT ACTIVITY. NO EXCEPTIONS. PRAYER, WORK, STUDY, EAT, RELAX, SING, SLEEP – AND SO IT WENT, DAY AFTER DAY, SEASON AFTER SEASON.

AND THAT SHOULD BE THE WAY WE LIVE AS WELL.

THERE ARE TWO MAJOR DANGERS TO THE CHRISTIAN WAY OF LIFE. ONE IS THE TEMPTATION TO BE PRODUCTIVE. AFTER ALL, WE HAVE VERY LITTLE TIME ON THIS EARTH, ABOUT A THIRD OF IT SPENT SLEEPING. AS WE GET OLDER, WE SENSE THIS LIMITATION, AND FEEL GUILTY IF WE AREN'T GENERATING BILLABLE HOURS, OR DOING SOMETHING WHERE YOU CAN SEE A RESULT. BEING RETIRED AFTER A LIFETIME OF WORKING AT LEAST SIX DAYS A WEEK IS VERY DISTURBING, I CAN TELL YOU FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE.

THE OTHER DANGER IS TO FAIL TO PLAN. EVEN WITH THE BEST INTENTIONS, UNLESS WE PLAN FOR REST AND PRAYER AND RECREATION AND WORK, WE WILL NOT BE IN BALANCE. AN UNCLE OF MINE SAID THAT AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH, HE AND MY AUNT SET ASIDE SOME MONEY IN A SAVINGS ACCOUNT. THAT WAS THE FIRST THING THEY DID. IN THE DEPRESSION YEARS, IT MAY HAVE BEEN A DOLLAR. LATER, WHEN THINGS WERE GOING WELL, IT WAS MORE. AND WHEN THEY RETIRED, THEY HAD MORE THAN ENOUGH. BUT THEY FOLLOWED A PLAN. WE NEED TO PLAN AS WELL, PUTTING THOSE THINGS THAT SEEM LEAST IMPORTANT ON OUR PRIORITY LIST – TO REST, TO RECREATE, NOT ALL THE TIME, BUT FOR A WHILE; AND TO REALLY DO THESE THINGS, NOT USE THE TIME TO GET A JUMP ON THE WEEK, OR TO TACKLE THAT PROJECT I'VE BEEN PUTTING OFF BECAUSE I'VE BEEN TOO BUSY AT OTHER THINGS.

JESUS TELLS HIS APOSTLES TO COME AWAY – GET OUT OF YOUR ROUTINE; TO A DESERTED PLACE – LEAVE BEHIND THOSE THINGS THAT DISTRACT YOU ALL THE TIME – AND REST – REALLY REST, WHICH DOESN'T MEAN LYING ON YOUR BACK STARING AT THE STARS, BUT DOING SOMETHING YOU LOVE SO THAT YOU ARE LIVING IN THE MOMENT, NOT DISTURBED BY THE FUTURE OR THE PAST. AND DO THIS FOR A WHILE, NOT FOREVER. AND IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT JESUS SHOULD BE THERE WITH YOU AS HE WAS WITH THE APOSTLES, EVEN AS THEY RESTED.

THERE'S A STORY ABOUT TWO LUMBERJACKS WHO HAD A CONTEST TO SEE WHO COULD CHOP THE MOST WOOD. ONE WOULD CHOP FOR A WHILE, THEN SIT DOWN AND REST, THE OTHER DID NON-STOP CHOPPING. AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE SECOND WAS EXHAUSTED, AND LEARNED TO HIS SURPRISE THAT THE FIRST, WHO WAS RESTED, HAD ACTUALLY WON THE CONTEST. “HOW COULD THIS BE?” HE SAID. “YOU TOOK A REST EVERY HALF HOUR.” “DID YOU SEE WHAT I DID WHEN I RESTED?” REPLIED THE OTHER. “I WAS SHARPENING MY AXE.”

REST IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. ARE YOU GETTING ENOUGH?