Fourth Sunday of Advent, cycle A

MATTHEW 1:18-24

THERE WAS A LITTLE BOY WHO WAS ASSIGNED THE ROLE OF THE INKEEPER IN THE ANNUAL NATIVITY PLAY. HE DIDN'T LIKE THE FACT THAT THE INKEEPER WAS SO COLD HEARTED, SO ON THE DAY OF THE PLAY, WHEN JOSEPH KNOCKED ON THE DOOR AND ASKED FOR LODGING, HE REPLIED, “SURE, COME ON IN!” I'LL GIVE YOU THE BEST ROOM IN THE HOUSE!” THE BOY PLAYING JOSEPH THOUGHT QUICKLY – HOW COULD HE SAVE THE PLAY? THEN HE TURNED TO THE GIRL WHO PLAYED MARY AND SAID, “MARY, THIS PLACE LOOKS LIKE A PIGSTY AND I DON'T WANT YOU TO SLEEP HERE. LETS GO OVER TO THAT STABLE.” AND THE PLAY WAS RESCUED.

A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW THAT JESUS WAS BORN IN A STABLE AND LAID IN THE MANGER. YOU CAN THANK SAINT FRANCIS OR THAT, WHEN HE INVENTED THE NATIVITY SCENE. BUT ACTUALLY, IT ISN'T IN SCRIPTURE; IN THE GOSPEL OF LUKE, IT ONLY SAYS THAT HE WAS PLACED IN A MANGER AFTER HE WAS BORN, WHICH SIMPLY MEANS A TROUGH USED TO FEED ANIMALS. AND EVEN THAT WOULDN'T BE SURPRISING IN THOSE DAYS, UNDER THOSE CONDITIONS.

THAT STORY, BY THE WAY, IS FROM LUKE. MATTHEW ONLY SAYS THAT JESUS WAS BORN IN BETHLEHEM. BUT IF LUKE WANTS TO MAKE A SCANDAL OUT OF JESUS' BIRTH, MATTHEW SEEMS ALMOST OBSESSED WITH THIS. IN THE FIRST CHAPTER HE GIVES THE ANCESTRY OF JESUS, AND HE EXPLICITLY INCLUDES FOUR WOMEN – RAHAB, THE GENTILE WHO WAS WHAT WE CALL A WORKING GIRL; SHE SHIELDED THE JEWISH SPIES IN RETURN FOR BEING ALLOWED TO BE PART OF THE COMMUNITY WHEN THE JEWS TOOK OVER THE LAND; TAMAR, WHO SEDUCED HER FATHER-IN-LAW SO THAT SHE WOULD NOT DIE CHILDLESS; RUTH, WHO SEDUCED HER FUTURE HUSBAND ON THE ADVICE OF HER MOTHER-IN-LAW; AND BATHSHEBA, THE WIFE OF ONE OF DAVID'S SOLDIERS, WHO TEMPTED DAVID AND LATER BECAME ONE OF HIS WIVES AND THE MOTHER OF SOLOMON.

AND FROM THAT MATTHEW GOES ON TO TELL THE STORY YOU'VE JUST HEARD. MARY WAS WITH CHILD; JOSEPH KNEW HE WAS NOT THE FATHER. BUT EVERYONE ELSE IN TOWN WAS SCANDALIZED BY MARY AS WELL, BECAUSE IT WOULD HAVE SEEMED OBVIOUS THAT SHE HAD BROKEN THE RULES. AND JOSEPH WAS SCANDALIZED. BEING A RIGHTEOUS MAN, HE COULD HAVE DEMANDED THAT SHE BE STONED; IT WAS RIGHT THERE IN THE LAW; BUT BEING KIND-HEARTED, HE CHOSE INSTEAD TO DIVORCE HER. HE WAS SCANDALIZED. AND YOU MIGHT REMEMBER LAST SUNDAY'S GOSPEL, ALSO FROM MATTHEW, IN WHICH JESUS TELLS JOHN'S FOLLOWERS, “BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO ARE NOT SCANDALIZED BY ME.”

I THINK MATTHEW'S POINT, AS HE BEGINS HIS GOSPEL, IS TO SAY THAT BEING A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST IS NOT AN EASY UNDERTAKING; PREPARE TO BE SCANDALIZED.

JESUS IS GOING TO SAY MANY SCANDALOUS THINGS. HE IS GOING TO SAY THAT IF YOU LOOK AT A WOMAN WITH LUST, IT'S THE SAME AS ADULTERY. HE'S GOING TO SAY TO SOME PEOPLE THAT IF YOU WANT TO FOLLOW HIM YOU HAVE TO SELL ALL YOU HAVE, AND GIVE IT TO THE POOR. HE'LL TELL YOU THAT IT'S BETTER TO PLUCK OUT AN EYE OR CUT OFF A HAND RATHER THAN SIN WITH THEM. HE'S GOING TO SAY THAT PEOPLE WHO FOLLOW ALL THE RULES LIKE THE PHARISEE AREN'T AT ANY ADVANTAGE BEFORE GOD; IN FACT THE TAX COLLECTOR, WHO SINCERELY ASKS FOR GOD'S MERCY, IS IN BETTER SHAPE. HE'S GOING TO TELL US THAT GOD IS NOT A KING WHO RULES HIS SUBJECTS WITH AN IRON FIST, WHO GETS HIS WAY BY PUNISHMENT AND THREAT, BUT INSTEAD HE IS LIKE A FATHER WHO WELCOMES BACK A SON WHO BY RIGHTS DESERVED TO BE DISOWNED.

JESUS EVEN SCANDALIZED HIS CLOSEST FOLLOWERS. HE TOUCHED LEPERS; HE SPOKE TO A SAMARITAN WOMAN. THEY KNEW HE WAS THE MESSIAH; BUT HE INSISTED THAT THE MESSIAH HAD TO SUFFER AND DIE, AND PETER SAID, “DON'T TALK LIKE THAT!” AND HE TOLD THEM THAT IF THEY WANTED TO HAVE LIFE WITHIN THEM, THEY HAD TO EAT HIS BODY AND DRINK HIS BLOOD; AND MOST OF HIS DISCIPLES LEFT HIM, SAYING “WHO CAN BELIEVE THAT!” IN FACT, IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT, WHEN JESUS GIVES US THE BEATITUDES, EACH OF THOSE ARE SCANDALOUS STATEMENTS – “HOW HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO MOURN! HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO ARE PERSECUTED!”

AND THE CROSS ITSELF. THE OLD TESTAMENT SAYS, “CURSED BE HIM WHO HANGS ON A TREE!” AND THIS QUOTATION IS OFTEN GIVEN BY JEWISH SCHOLARS AS TO WHY JEWS COULD NEVER BELIEVE THAT JESUS WAS THE MESSIAH. AND DEATH ON A CROSS WAS THE ULTIMATE HUMILIATION, AS YOU HUNG NAKED IN FULL VIEW OF EVERYONE, HELPLESS, WITH EACH BREATH MORE DIFFICULT THAN THE LAST.

WE CHRISTIANS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE DISCIPLES. JESUS DOESN'T MAKE SCANDALOUS STATEMENTS JUST FOR THEIR RHETORICAL EFFECT. HIS WORDS AND ACTIONS ARE DESIGNED TO MAKE US THINK, TO MAKE US CHANGE, TO MAKE US CHOOSE BETWEEN HIS WAY OF LIFE AND WHAT THE WORLD OFFERS, AND THERE IS NO IN-BETWEEN. AND IF WE LISTEN TO HIM, REALLY LISTEN, WE CAN'T HELP BUT BE SCANDALIZED.

JOSEPH WAS SCANDALIZED WHEN HE LEARNED MARY WAS WITH CHILD, OUT OF WEDLOCK; AND LIKE MOST OF US CHRISTIANS WHO GET SCANDALIZED BY JESUS, HE WANTED TO GET AS FAR AWAY AS HE COULD; HE WANTED THIS OUT OF HIS LIFE SO THAT HE DIDN'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT. WHEN WE CHRISTIANS READ THE SCRIPTURES, OR HEAR THEM PROCLAIMED, WE LISTEN FOR THE CONSOLING WORDS, THE EVIDENCE THAT GOD IS LOVE AND THAT JESUS IS OUR GOOD SHEPHERD. AND THOSE THINGS ARE TRUE AND REAL. BUT BEING A DISCIPLE MEANS GROWING UP, TAKING RESPONSIBILITY, FOLLOWING OUR SHEPHERD WHEREVER HE LEADS US, DESPITE THE SCANDAL.

AND JOSEPH IN THE END DID THAT. SURE, AN ANGEL APPEARED, BUT IN A DREAM; AND WHEN YOU HAVE A DREAM, YOU WAKE UP AND YOU AREN'T SURE IT WAS REAL. IN OUR EXPERIENCE AS CHRISTIANS, THERE IS ALWAYS A CONTRAST, IN FACT A BATTLE, BETWEEN THE REALITY WE KNOW AND EXPERIENCE EVERY DAY AND THOSE THINGS WE KNOW BY FAITH – THAT BECAUSE OF BAPTISM WE REALLY ARE CHILDREN OF THE FATHER; THAT THE MASS IS REALLY A FORESHADOWING OF HEAVEN; THAT WE ACTUALLY CAN LAY UP TREASURES IN HEAVEN THROUGH GOOD WORKS.

AND JOSEPH, OUR MODEL IN FAITH, TAKES MARY INTO HIS HOME, THUS BECOMING PART OF THE SCANDAL, NOW BECOMING PART OF THE GOSSIP AND SNIDE COMMENTS THAT MARY HAD TO ENDURE.

AND EACH CHRISTIAN ULTIMATELY HAS TO CHOOSE WHETHER TO BE SCANDALIZED, OR TO BECOME PART OF THE SCANDAL WHICH IS CHRISTIANITY.

Third Sunday of Advent, cycle A

MATTHEW 11:2-11

ONE OF THE GREATEST MEN OF OUR GENERATION PASSED AWAY THIS LAST WEEK. NELSON MANDELA HAD BEEN BORN INTO A TRIBE IN SOUTH AFRICA, ONE OF THE LARGER AND MORE PROSPEROUS TRIBES, PRETTY MUCH LEFT ALONE BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT. FOR THE MOST PART, THEY MANAGED THEIR OWN AFFAIRS, AND HAD MANDELA STAYED THERE, HE WAS IN LINE TO BE THE TRIBAL KING. HE CHOSE TO BECOME A LAWYER. AS A LAWYER IN THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTH, HE COULD HAVE PRACTICED LAW ANYWHERE. EVEN BLACK LAWYERS IN SOUTH AFRICA HAD A PRIVILEGED POSITION COMPARED TO ORDINARY BLACK AFRICANS. MANDELA COULD HAVE DONE GOOD AND LIVED WELL AS A LAWYER. BUT INSTEAD, HE BECAME A POLITICAL ACTIVIST, RALLYING HIS PEOPLE AROUND THE IDEA OF FREEDOM AND THE DESTRUCTION OF APARTHEID. HE WAS JAILED MANY TIMES, BEATEN, THREATENED WITH DEATH; AND FINALLY SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON FOR TERRORISM. TWENTY-SEVEN YEARS WENT BY, UNTIL THE SOUTH AFRICAN STATE BEGAN TO TOPPLE UNDER THE WEIGHT OF NEARLY UNIVERSAL SANCTIONS. WHEN MANDELA WAS RELEASED, HE WAS 72 YEARS OLD, HAVING SPENT 27 YEARS IN PRISON.

INITIALLY MANDELA, THE HEAD OF THE FORMERLY OUTLAWED AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS, WAS INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN A COALITION GOVERNMENT WITH THE TASK OF TRANSITIONING TO A NEW REGIME IN WHICH APARTHEID WOULD NO LONGER BE THE LAW, AND A NEW CONSTITUTION, GRANTING EQUAL RIGHTS TO ALL CITIZENS, WOULD BE DEVELOPED. AS PART OF THIS PROCESS, MANDELA INSISTED THAT RECONCILIATION COUNCILS BE SET UP THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY. PEOPLE WOULD COME FORWARD AND DESCRIBE THEIR EXPERIENCE WITH APARTHEID. ALL WERE INVITED, AND THE RESULTS WERE PUBLICIZED. NO ONE WAS PROSECUTED; EVERYONE WAS FORGIVEN FOR THEIR PART. BUT THE STORIES THAT CAME OUT AND MADE THE ROUNDS CHANGED THE MINDS OF THE PEOPLE MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE MIGHT HAVE DONE; BY THE TIME THIS PROCESS WAS OVER, THERE WERE VERY FEW PEOPLE WHO ADVOCATED GOING BACK TO THE OLDEN DAYS.

FINALLY, MANDELA WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT BY AN OVERWHELMING MAJORITY, UNDER THE NEW CONSTITUTION. HE INVITED HIS JAILERS TO THE INAUGURATION. HE WAS ASKED, “DIDN'T YOU HATE THEM?” AND HE REPLIED, “I DID HATE THEM. BUT I STOPPED WHEN I REALIZED THAT AS LONG AS I DID, I WAS STILL IN PRISON.”. MANDELA SPENT HIS PRESIDENCY AND MUCH OF HIS LIFE AFTERWORDS RECONCILING PEOPLE; HE NEGOTIATED THE END TO THE HORRIBLE WAR BETWEEN THE TWO MAJOR TRIBES IN BURUNDI, A WAS DESCRIBED AS A NEAR GENOCIDE. HE BECAME AN ICON, LIKE GEORGE WASHINGTON OR ABRAHAM LINCOLN, TRUSTED AND REVERED BY WHITES AND BLACKS ALIKE.

IT'S INTERESTING THAT MANDELA DIED DURING THE SEASON WHEN WE ARE THINKING ABOUT JOHN THE BAPTIST. TODAY WE FIND HIM IN PRISON, AND WE HEAR THOSE PLAINTIVE WORDS, “ARE YOU THE ONE WHO IS TO COME, OR SHALL WE LOOK FOR ANOTHER?” JOHN MUST HAVE WONDERED WHY HE WAS IN PRISON, IF GOD WAS WITH HIM, IF THE MESSAGE HE BROUGHT WAS TRUE. WE KNOW FROM OTHER GOSPEL ACCOUNTS THAT BEFORE HE WAS ARRESTED HE DESCRIBED JESUS AS “LAMB OF GOD” AND TOLD HIS OWN FOLLOWERS THAT “HE MUST INCREASE, AND I MUST DECREASE”. THE POINT OF COURSE IS THAT JOHN IS SHOWING HIS HUMANITY; EVERY HUMAN BEING HAD DOUBTS; YOU CAN'T HAVE FAITH UNLESS YOU CAN DOUBT. EVEN MARY SAID, “HOW CAN THIS BE?” BEFORE JOYFULLY SAYING “BE IT DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD.”

LIKE MANDELA, JOHN HAD GIVEN UP EVERYTHING TO PREACH THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. HE HAD BEEN THE SON OF A PRIEST AND COULD CLAIM THE RIGHT TO BE A PRIEST. HE COULD HAVE LIVED A COMFORTABLE LIFE, REVERED BY THE PEOPLE, AND WELL PAYED. HE WAS WELL EDUCATED AS FAR AS WE CAN TELL. JOHN MUST HAVE BEEN FAMILIAR WITH THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES, BECAUSE HE CHOSE TO DRESS LIKE ELIJAH THE PROPHET, AND HIS MESSAGE WAS TRUE TO THE MESSAGE OF THE PROPHETS AS WELL-- A CALL TO REPENTANCE. AND HE INSTITUTED BAPTISM. LAST WEEK WE HEARD ABOUT HOW “EVERYONE” WAS COMING TO BE BAPTIZED, INCLUDING PHARISEES AND SADUCEES. BAPTISM WAS THE GREAT LEVELER.

AND WE CHRISTIANS HAVE INHERITED THAT RITUAL AND JESUS MADE IT A SACRAMENT. WHEN WE GO THROUGH BAPTISM, WE ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, AND BECAUSE BAPTISM MAKES US BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF EACH OTHER AND OF JESUS HIMSELF, WE ARE GREATER THAN EVEN JOHN THE BAPTIST; WE HAVE CROSSED OVER, ENTERED A WORLD WHERE THERE IS NO JEW NOR GREEK, NO SLAVE, NO MASTER; NO MALE, NO FEMALE”. THE EARLIEST CHRISTIANS LIVED THIS OUT; THEY HELD THINGS IN COMMON, THEY LOOKED AFTER EACH OTHER'S NEEDS, AND WHENEVER DIVISION ENTERED THEIR COMMUNITY, THEY WORKED TO RESTORE THE ORIGINAL UNITY. THAT WAS THE ORIGIN OF THE DIACONATE; WIDOWS OF JEWISH CHRISTIANS AND WIDOWS OF GENTILE CHRISTIANS WERE NOT BEING TREATED EQUALLY, AN THE APOSTLES APPOINTED DEACONS TO SEE THAT EVERYONE WAS TREATED THE SAME

MANDELA WORKED ALL HIS LIFE, NOT TO OVERTHROW THE WHITE PEOPLE IN SOUTH AFRICA, BUT RATHER, TO CREATE A SOCIETY WHERE IT DIDN'T MATTER WHAT COLOR YOU WERE; WHERE BEING SOUTH AFRICAN WAS MORE IMPORTANT THAN WHAT TRIBE YOU BELONGED TO. HE WORKED TO CREATE A WORLD WHERE PEOPLE WOULD LOOK AFTER EACH OTHER BECAUSE THEY WERE ALL SOUTH AFRICANS. DID HE SUCCEED? NOT YET, BUT IT'S COME A LONG WAY.

AND JOHN THE BAPTIST STARTED THAT SAME PROCESS, A PROCESS TAKEN UP BY JESUS AND THE EARLY CHURCH, OF OVERCOMING ALL THE DIVISIONS WHICH STILL PLAGUE US TODAY, EVEN AMONG CHRISTIANS, EVEN WITHIN OUR CATHOLIC CHURCH. WHENEVER A BAPTIZED PERSON DOES NOT SEE ANOTHER PERSON AS A BROTHER OR SISTER, THE KINGDOM TO COME IS DRIVEN A LITTLE FURTHER AWAY. WHEN WE SEE EACH OTHER AS BROTHERS AND SISTERS, WHEN WE TREAT EACH OTHER THAT WAY, THE KINGDOM IS BROUGHT CLOSER.

MAKE YOUR RESOLUTION TODAY TO GO OUT OF YOUR WAY TO ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN BAPTISM. WHEN WE EXCHANGE THE SIGN OF PEACE, SMILE AND SHAKE HANDS, OR HUG, OR WHATEVER – BUT THIS TIME MEAN IT. MAKE A NEW FRIEND TODAY BEFORE YOU LEAVE CHURCH AND GET IN YOUR CAR. AND BRING THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN A LITTLE CLOSER. YOU CAN BE ANOTHER MANDELA, ANOTHER MARTIN LUTHER KING, ANOTHER JOHN THE BAPTIST – EVEN ANOTHER JESUS CHRIST, IF YOU LIVE YOUR BROTHERHOOD THAT WAS GIVEN TO YOU IN BAPTISM.

Second Sunday of Advent, cycle A

MATTHEW 3:1-12

WE HEARD ABOUT THE LION LAYING DOWN WITH THE LAMB. THERE'S A STORY ABOUT A TOURIST WHO WAS VISITING A ZOO IN ANOTHER COUNTRY. THERE HE SAW A LION LAYING DOWN WITH A LAMB. “THAT'S AMAZING!” HE SAID TO THE ZOOKEEPER. “WHAT A WONDERFUL EXAMPLE OF COEXISTENCE. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE?” THE ZOOKEEPER REPLIED, “IT'S EASY. JUST GIVE HIM A FRESH LAMB EVERY DAY.”

ISAIAH PAINTS A WONDERFUL PICTURE ABOUT THE FUTURE, WHEN THE MESSIAH COMES. JOHN IS ANNOUNCING THE MESSIAH AS WELL, AND THE PICTURE DOESN'T SOUND SO WONDERFUL. UNLESS YOU REPENT. JOHN BEGINS BY HURLING AN INSULT AT THE PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES – HE CALLS THEM A BROOD OF VIPERS. VIPERS DONT LAY EGGS; THEY GIVE BIRTH TO LIVE BABIES WHO WANDER OFF TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES. ANCIENT OBSERVERS INSISTED THAT THE BABIES WERE BORN BY BURSTING OPEN THEIR MOTHERS. TO CALL SOMEONE A VIPER WAS TO NAME THEM AS EXTREMELY UNGRATEFUL, AND JOHN IS ACCUSING THESE PHARISEES AND SADUCCEES AS BETRAYING THE GOD THEY PRETENDED TO WORSHIP. JOHN CRITICIZES THREE ERRORS PEOPLE MAKE WHEN THEY TRY TO BE RELIGIOUS. PHARISEES BELIEVED THAT IF YOU OBEYED ALL THE RULES EXACTLY AS THEY WERE WRITTEN DOWN, YOU WOULD BE FULFILLING GOD'S LAW. NOT ONLY DID YOU OBEY THE RULES, YOU MADE UP RULES ABOUT HOW TO OBEY THE RULES. SOME OF OUR JEWISH FRIENDS STILL KEEP TWO SETS OF DISHES, ONE FOR EATING MEALS WITH MEAT AND THE OTHER FOR EATING MEALS WITH DAIRY. THE SCRIPTURE ON WHICH THIS IS BASED SAYS THAT YOU CAN'T BOIL A BABY GOAT IN MILK FROM THE MOTHER. IF YOU INTERPRET THIS TO MEAN YOU CAN'T EAT MEAT AND MILK AT THE SAME MEAL, THAT'S ONE THING. BUT TO MAKE THAT POSSIBILITY SO REMOTE THAT IT CAN'T HAPPEN, YOU NEED TWO SETS OF DISHES.

SADDUCEES WERE THE PRIESTLY CLASS. IT ISN'T SURPRISING THEN, THAT THEY BELIEVED GOD WAS BEST WORSHIPED BY OFFERING SACRIFICES IN THE TEMPLE. THEY LOOKED AT THE STORIES OF THEIR ANCESTORS AND SAW THAT WHENEVER ONE OF THEM SINNED, BURNING AN ANIMAL SEEMED TO GET RID OF THE SIN; WHEN SOMEONE WANTED VICTORY OVER AN ENEMY SLAUGHTERING A FEW ANIMALS SEEMED TO IMPROVE THE ODDS. SADUCCEES DID NOT AS A RULE BELIEVE IN LIFE AFTER DEATH; THEIR APPROACH TO RELIGION WAS TO TRY TO INFLUENCE THE HERE AND NOW BY OFFERING A SACRIFICE TO GOD.

JOHN THEN TURNS HIS ATTENTION TO THE CROWD, RECOGNIZING THAT THE REASON PEOPLE CAME TO BE BAPTIZED RIGHT THERE AT THAT SPOT ON THE SHORES OF THE JORDAN RIVER WHERE JOSHUA HAD LED THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL INTO THE PROMISED LAND WAS BECAUSE FOR A LONG TIME THAT HAD BEEN AWAY OF RE-AFFIRMING YOUR IDENTITY AS A JEW. YOUR ANCESTORS HAD CROSSED THE RIVER THERE, AND WHEN YOU WENT INTO THE RIVER YOU WERE AFFIRMING YOUR SOLIDARITY WITH THEM. AND JOHN SAYS, BEING A DESCENDENT OF ABRAHAM DOESN'T GET YOU ANY CLOSER TO GOD EITHER.

I THINK ALL OF US CAN SEE OURSELVES IN THESE THREE GROUPS. IF WE FOLLOW THE RULES, GOD OWES US; IF WE GIVE MONEY OR TIME TO THE CHURCH, GOD CERTAINLY SHOULD PAY US BACK. AND IF WE ARE CATHOLICS, WE HAVE A SNEAKING SUSPICION THAT WE ARE A LEG UP ON PEOPLE WHO AREN'T CATHOLIC. AND JOHN SAYS, NONE OF THE ABOVE.

REPENTANCE, JOHN TELLS US, IS OUR ONLY HOPE. THAT WORD OCCURS THROUGHOUT THE OLD TESTAMENT AS WELL AS THE NEW. THE PROPHETS PREACH IT, JESUS USES IT, AND THE APOSTLES WRITE ABOUT IT. SO WHAT DOES IT REALLY MEAN? WHEN WE USE THE WORD TODAY, WE THINK IT MEANS TO BE SORRY FOR OUR SINS. BUT IT MEANT SOMETHING DIFFERENT WHEN IT FIRST CAME INTO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, SOMETHING CLOSER TO THE GREEK WORD USED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT WHICH IS “METANOAIA”. THAT WORD LITERALLY MEANS “A CHANGE OF MIND”. THE HEBREW WORD IS TESCHIVA, WHICH MEANS TO REMEMBER AND RETURN. AND JOHN AMPLIFIES THIS WHEN HE SAYS “BEAR FRUIT AS EVIDENCE OF YOUR REPENTANCE.” IN OTHER WORDS, IF YOU HAVE REALLY PUT ON A NEW MIND, IF YOU'VE REALLY DECIDED TO PUT YOUR SINS BEHIND YOU AND RETURN TO GOD, THEN OF NECESSITY YOUR LIFE HAS TO CHANGE, OTHERWISE, YOU WEREN'T MUCH DIFFERENT THAN A SNAKE THAT DESTROYS IT'S MOTHER IN BEING BORN.

ADVENT IS A TIME WHEN WE ARE SUPPOSED TO LOOK AT OUR LIVES AND ASK, HOW HAVE THINGS CHANGED SINCE LAST YEAR? HAS THERE BEEN PROGRESS IN MY SPIRITUAL LIFE? IF NOT, WHY NOT? AFTER ALL, THERE ISN'T ANYTHING MORE IMPORTANT THAN THAT.

REPENTANCE IS NEVER SOMETHING THAT WE DO ONCE. WE ARE SUPPOSED TO REPENT CONTINUOUSLY. IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE GO AROUND FEELING SORRY FOR EVERY LITTLE AND BIG THING WE'VE DONE. IN FACT, IF OUR PAST MISTAKES MAKE US FEEL SORRY, IT MEANS WE HAVEN'T ACCEPTED GOD'S FORGIVENESS. BUT REPENTANCE DOES MEAN THAT WE'VE TAKEN SERIOUSLY THE IDEA THAT WE HAVE TO STRIVE TO DRAW CLOSER TO GOD; WE HAVE TO STRUGGLE TO BECOME MORE LIKE CHRIST. SAINT PAUL TELLS US TO “PUT ON CHRIST” AND FOR CHRISTIANS THAT'S A GREAT DEFINITION OF REPENTANCE. IT SEEMS TO BE AN OVERWHELMING TASK, BUT GOD STANDS READY TO GIVE US THE GRACE WE NEED; JESUS HAS ALREADY SHOWN US HOW TO DO THIS; AND THE HOLY SPIRIT LIVES WITHIN US, CONCEIVING CHRIST AS HE DID IN MARY. ALL YOU AND I HAVE TO DO IS LET THE TRINITY WORK IN US.

THERE ARE ONLY TWO THINGS THAT STAND IN THE WAY; ONE IS ME, MYSELF. AS LONG AS I AM THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE FOR MYSELF, GOD CAN'T BE. AND TO LET GO OF THAT CONCEPTION IS VERY HARD; BUT IT CAN BE ONE, A LITTLE AT A TIME, BY GIVING OURSELVES AWAY. THE MORE WE GIVE OURSELVES TO OTHERS, THE MORE WE GIVE OURSELVES TO GOD, THE MORE WE EMPTY OURSELVES TO MAKE ROOM FOR GOD. THAT, BY THE WAY, IS THE SPIRITUAL DIMENSION OF MARRIAGE – A STATE OF LIFE IN WHICH EACH PARTNER GIVES HIMSELF OR HERSELF TO THE OTHER, AND AS TIME GOES ON, TO CHILDREN. OUR FAMILIES ARE SUPPOSED TO KICK-START THE PROCESS OF EMPTYING OURSELVES OUT TO MAKE ROOM FOR GOD.

THE OTHER BARRIER IS BASICALLY, “STUFF”. OUR LIVES ARE CLUTTERED WITH STUFF – MATERIAL GOODS, YES, BUT MANY OTHER THINGS AS WELL. WE ARE ALWAYS IN DANGER OF PLACING OUR JOB, OUR HOBBIES, ALL THE MULTITUDE OF THINGS THAT EAT AWAY AT OUR TIME AHEAD OF WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT IN LIFE. AND JUST AS WE HAVE TO EMPTY OURSELVES TO GET RID OF THE ME, WE HAVE TO DEAL WITH OUR STUFF BY FREQUENTLY EXAMINING WHETHER THINGS ARE PROPERLY BALANCED. GOD ISN'T SAYING WE NEED TO GO OUT INTO THE DESERT AND EAT LOCUSTS AND HONEY; BUT HE DOES EXPECT US TO USE EVERY GIFT THE WAY IT SHOULD BE USED, AND NOT LET HIS GIFTS TO US CROWD HIM OUT OF OUR LIVES.

IN ADVENT REFLECT ON YOUR SPIRITUAL PROGRESS SINCE LAST YEAR THIS TIME. IF YOU CAN'T REALLY SAY YOU'VE MADE ANY, THEN LISTEN TO JOHN; THE AXE IS EVEN NOW AT THE ROOT OF THE TREE.

First Sunday of Advent, Cycle A

MATTHEW 24:37-44

SOME OF OUR PROTESTANT FRIENDS HEAR THIS GOSPEL PASSAGE AND RELATE IT TO THE BOOK OF REVELATION; THEY SEE THIS AS JESUS PREDICTING SOMETHING CALLED “THE RAPTURE”. IF YOU READ THE BOOK OF REVELATION YOU CAN INTERPRET IT TO SUGGEST THAT BEFORE THE TERRIBLE THINGS THAT WILL HAPPEN AT THE END OF TIME, THE SAINTS, STARTING WITH THE BLESSED MOTHER, WILL BE MOVED OUT OF HARM'S WAY; ST PAUL TALKS ABOUT THOSE WHO ARE ALIVE BEING CAUGHT UP WITH THE DEAD WHO ARE RAISED AT THE TIME OF JUDGMENT. MANY FUNDAMENTALISTS EVEN THINK THEY KNOW WHERE ALL THIS IS GOING TO OCCUR, AND EVERY NOW AND THEN YOU HEAR ABOUT SOME GROUP GOING TO ISRAEL AND CLIMBING MOUNT OLIVET, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE JESUS ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN, AND THAT'S WHERE HE WILL COME AGAIN TO GATHER UP HIS SAINTS. BUT BEFORE YOU RUN OFF TO MOUNT OLIVET, WE SHOULD PROBABLY LOOK AT THIS STORY A LITTLE DIFFERENTLY.

THE VERSE JUST BEFORE THE GOSPEL PASSAGE REMINDS US THAT NO ONE KNOWS THE DAY NOR THE HOUR, ONLY THE FATHER. AND THE GOSPEL READING STOPS WITH THE LINE ABOUT THE MASTER OF THE HOUSE AND THE THIEF. BUT IF WE WERE TO READ ON, WE WOULD SEE JESUS TALKING ABOUT THE FAITHFUL SERVANT WHO GIVES THE OTHER SERVANTS THEIR FOOD IN THE PROPER TIME. IMAGINE THAT. THE FAITHFUL SERVANT IS COMMENDED BECAUSE HE IS DOING EXACTLY WHAT HE SHOULD BE DOING. AND THEN WE CAN LOOK BACK AT THIS PASSAGE AND SEE THAT DURING THE TIME OF NOAH, PEOPLE WERE LIVING ORDINARY LIVES; NOT EVIL LIVES, NOT PARTICULARLY GOOD LIVES, BUT ORDINARY LIVES. JEWISH SCHOLARS SAY THAT NOAH, IN ADDITION TO BUILDING THE ARK AND ROUNDING UP ALL THE ANIMALS, PREACHED TO HIS FELLOW CITIZENS THAT THE END WAS COMING. IN THE BEGINNING, MANY BELIEVED HIM AND SOME PITCHED IN TO HELP BUILD THE ARK. AS TIME WHEN ON, AND THE END DIDN'T COME, THEY BEGAN TO GO BACK TO THEIR OLD WAYS, UNTIL ONLY NOAH AND HIS FAMILY REMAINED FAITHFUL. AND WE READ ABOUT TWO MEN OUT WORKING IN THE FIELD; ONE WILL BE TAKEN, ONE WILL BE LEFT; OR TWO WOMEN GRINDING GRAIN, ONE WILL BE TAKEN, ONE WILL BE LEFT. MAYBE IT'S THE ONES WHO ARE LEFT THAT ARE WHERE THEY SHOULD BE, NOT THE ONES WHO ARE TAKEN.

I HAD A PATIENT ONCE WHOSE SON HAD LEFT HOME SHORTLY AFTER HE TURNED EIGHTEEN. MY PATIENT HAD NOT HEARD FROM THE SON IN TWENTY YEARS; SHE DID NOT KNOW WHERE HE LIVED, OR HOW TO GET IN TOUCH WITH HIM. SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHETHER HE WAS ALIVE OR DEAD. SHE TOLD ME THAT AFTER HER HUSBAND PASSED AWAY AND HER DAUGHTER HAD MARRIED AND MOVED OUT, SHE WANTED TO SELL HER HOUSE AND MOVE TO AN APARTMENT, BUT DIDN'T BECAUSE IF HER SON EVER CAME BACK, HE WOULD KNOW WHERE TO FIND HER. SHE WENT ABOUT HER DAILY ROUTINE ALWAYS KEEPING IN MIND THAT THERE MIGHT BE THAT KNOCK AT THE DOOR AND SHE WOULD SEE HIM AGAIN.

CAN IT BE THAT THIS IS WHAT JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT? THE EARLY CHRISTIANS, LIKE NOAH'S NEIGHBORS, LIVED IN ANTICIPATION OF THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS. EVERY TIME ONE OF THEM DIED OF NATURAL CAUSES OR MARTYRDOM, IT SHOOK THEIR FAITH, BECAUSE THERE WAS THE EXPECTATION THAT JESUS WAS GOING TO RETURN AND TAKE THEM ALL WITH HIM. SAINT PAUL HAD TO TELL THEM THAT IT DIDN'T MATTER IF YOU WERE ALIVE OR DEAD WHEN JESUS CAME, JUST SO YOU WERE READY. AND HERE WE ARE 2000 YEARS LATER, AND WE'VE LOST THAT SENSE OF URGENCY; FOR US THERE IS ALWAYS TOMORROW.

JESUS TELLS US TO BE PREPARED. THIS DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE SHOULD RUSH OUT TO A MOUNTAIN TOP TO WAIT; IT DOESN'T MEAN THAT WE SHOULD STAND ON THE STREET CORNER WITH A SIGN ON OUR BACK THAT SAYS “REPENT, THE END IS NEAR!”

SAINT ALPHONSUS LIGOURI RESOLVED WHEN HE WAS ORDAINED A PRIEST THAT HE WOULD NEVER WASTE TIME. HE DIED AT THE AGE OF 90, HAVING FOUNDED AND LED THE REDEMPTORIST RELIGIOUS ORDER, HAVING BEEN BISHOP OF NAPLES, AND HAVING WRITTEN 111 BOOKS AND OTHER WRITINGS WHICH ARE STILL READ TODAY. HE IS STILL CONSIDERED A LEADING EXPERT ON THE BLESSED MOTHER, AND ALSO ON MORAL THEOLOGY, AND WAS NAMED A DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH. SAINT ALPHONSUS SHOWS US THAT ONE OF THE THINGS SERIOUS CHRISTIANS NEED TO DO IS TO BE VERY AWARE OF HOW THEY USE THEIR TIME.

SAINT AUGUSTINE WAS ASKED WHAT HE WOULD DO IF HE KNEW THAT HE WOULD DIE BEFORE SUNDOWN. HE REPLIED THAT HE WOULD CONTINUE HOEING HIS VEGETABLE GARDEN. SAINT AUGUSTINE TEACHES US THAT WE HAVE TO LIVE INTENTIONALLY; WHEN WE CHOOSE TO DO SOMETHING, WE DO IT BECAUSE IT IS THE THING TO DO RIGHT NOW, AT THIS TIME.

AND SAINT FRANCIS DESALES TELLS US THAT IF YOU ARE THE MOTHER OF SMALL CHILDREN, YOU SHOULD NOT BE PRAYING BEFORE THE BLESSED SACRAMENT FOR SEVERAL HOURS EVERY DAY. SAINT FRANCIS TEACHES US THAT CHRISTIANS MAKE THEMSELVES HOLY BY DOING THE WORK THEY ARE CALLED TO DO, AND DOING IT AS WELL AS POSSIBLE.

WE CHRISTIANS ARE CALLED TO WITNESS THAT GOD CAME INTO THIS WORLD, HE BECAME MAN, HE LIVES IN US. WHEN I WAS GROWING UP THE TIME BEFORE CHRIST WAS DENOTED AS “B.C.” – BEFORE CHRIST – AND AFTER CHRIST IT WAS “A.D.” WHICH STANDS FOR THE YEAR OF THE LORD. NOW OF COURSE IT IS POLITICALLY CORRECT TO DENOTE THOSE TIMES AS BCE AND CE, – BEFORE THE COMMON ERA, AND THE COMMON ERA. BUT THE OLD DESIGNATION REFLECTS THE IDEA THAT FOR A CHRISTIAN, EVERYTHING CHANGED WHEN GOD BECAME MAN AT A PARTICULAR TIME AND PLACE, AMONG A PARTICULAR PEOPLE. AND WE GIVE WITNESS TO THE FACT THAT OUR WORLD IS INFUSED BY GOD BECAUSE OF THE INCARNATION IN OUR STRUGGLE TO BECOME SAINTS. WE LIVE WITNESSING THAT IT MATTERS HOW WE TREAT OUR NEIGHBORS; IT MATTERS THAT WE ARE HONEST, EVEN WHEN NO ONE WOULD KNOW; IT MATTERS HOW WE TAKE CARE OF OUR BODIES AND OUR MINDS, BECAUSE WE ARE TEMPLES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. WE CHRISTIANS WITNESS THAT EVERYTHING CHANGED WHEN GOD BECAME MAN WHEN WE CONSCIOUSLY TRY TO BRING CHRIST INTO THE WORLD THROUGH OUR IMITATION OF HIM.

IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE CHURCH, WE ARE TOLD THAT THE PAGANS SAID TO EACH OTHER, “SEE HOW THESE CHRISTIANS LOVE ONE ANOTHER!” AND YOU CAN BE SURE THAT MANY PAGANS BECAME CHRISTIANS BECAUSE THEY SAW THIS. TODAY OUR GOSPEL TELLS US THAT WE NEED TO LIVE OUR LIVES SO THAT OUR NEIGHBORS WILL SAY, “THEY REALLY DO BELIEVE THAT JESUS WILL COME AGAIN. AND THEY ARE READY.”

Christ the King, cycle C

LUKE 23:35-43

EACH OF THE GOSPELS TELLS THE STORY OF JESUS' CRUCIFIXION. ALTHOUGH THE STORIES ARE FOR THE MOST PART SIMILAR, THERE ARE IMPORTANT DIFFERENCES. IN THE GOSPEL OF MARK, IT SIMPLY SAYS THAT THEY CRUCIFIED TWO ROBBERS, OR MORE ACCURATELY, REBELS, WITH HIM. IN MATTHEW'S GOSPEL, THE TWO REBELS JOIN IN THE MOCKERY THAT IS COMING FROM THE CROWD. IN JOHN'S GOSPEL, IT SIMPLY SAYS THAT THEY CRUCIFIED HIM WITH TWO OTHERS, ONE ON THE RIGHT AND ONE ON THE LEFT. ONLY IN LUKE DO WE HAVE THE STORY YOU JUST HEARD.

ALL THE EVANGELISTS WROTE THEIR ACCOUNTS WITH THE INTENTION OF PUTTING FORTH THEIR OWN UNDERSTANDING OF WHO JESUS WAS. LUKE IS ALWAYS AT PAINS TO SHOW THAT JESUS COMES FOR THE LOWLY, THE OUTCAST, THE WIDOW AND ORPHAN – ALL THOSE AT THE MARGINS OF SOCIETY. HE ALSO MAKES IT CLEAR THAT JESUS IS THE JUST MAN, THE ONE WITHOUT FAULT, THE ONE WHO IS THE VERY EXEMPLAR OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. THE FACT THAT LUKE ALONE TELLS THIS STORY MUST MEAN THAT IT HAD SPECIAL MEANING TO HIM IN HIS OWN UNDERSTANDING OF JESUS.

THE FIRST THING TO NOTE IS THAT EVERYONE WAS MOCKING JESUS. LUKE SPECIFICALLY MENTIONS THE RULERS, WHO SAY, “HE SAVED OTHERS; LET HIM SAVE HIMSELF IF HE IS REALLY THE CHRIST OF GOD, THE CHOSEN ONE.” IN A WAY, THE RULERS LAY DOWN A CONDITION FOR BELIEF – THAT HE SAVE HIMSELF. THE SOLDIERS, WHO ARE PROBABLY NOT JEWS, PUT UP A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT CONDITION: “IF YOU ARE THE KING OF THE JEWS, SAVE YOURSELF.” THE SOLDIERS HAVE CONTEMPT FOR THE JEWS, AND BY THEIR STATEMENT, THEY ARE MOCKING NOT ONLY JESUS, BUT THE JEWS AS WELL. WE REMEMBER THE SCENE IN JOHN WHERE PILATE ORDERS THAT THE SIGN OVER JESUS' HEAD READ, “KING OF THE JEWS” AND THE JEWISH LEADERS PROTEST. PILATE SAYS, “WHAT I HAVE WRITTEN I HAVE WRITTEN.” BUT IN LUKE, WE NEVER HEAR ABOUT WHY THE SIGN IS THERE. FOR JOHN, IT REVEALS A HIDDEN TRUTH, THAT JESUS REALLY IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. FOR LUKE, IT IS SIMPLY MORE MOCKERY, A SIGN PUT THERE BY THE SOLDIERS.

FINALLY LUKE HAS ONE OF THOSE CRUCIFIED WITH JESUS JOIN IN THE MOCKERY. NOW I'M NOT SURE I WOULD CALL THIS MOCKERY. WE HAVE SOMEONE CONDEMNED TO DIE, SAYING “AREN'T YOU THE CHRIST? SAVE YOURSELF AND US!” LUKE PRECEDES THIS WITH THE STATEMENT THAT HE HAD BEEN HURLING INSULTS AT JESUS. I WONDER IF WHAT WE ARE HEARING IS DESPAIR. THE MAN HURLS INSULTS; JESUS DOESN'T REPLY. THE MAN FINALLY REALIZES THAT HE IS GOING TO DIE, AND WILL HAVE THE SAME END AS THE ONE ON THE CROSS NEXT TO HIM. BUT IN HIS DESPAIR, HE STILL REFUSES TO BELIEVE; IF YOU ARE THE CHRIST, SAVE US.

THINK OF WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF JESUS HAD COME DOWN FROM THE CROSS, IF HE HAD SAVED HIMSELF AND THOSE WHO WERE DYING WITH HIM. THE RELIGION JESUS ESTABLISHED WOULD HAVE BEEN TURBOCHARGED; EVERYONE IN JERUSALEM WOULD HAVE RUSHED TO BE BAPTIZED, SOLDIERS, RULERS, AND THIEVES ALIKE. THEY WOULD HAVE MADE JESUS KING; HOW COULD THEY NOT?

BUT JESUS DOESN'T COME DOWN FROM THE CROSS; HE CONTINUES TO WRITHE IN AGONY. AND THEN THE SO-CALLED GOOD THIEF SPEAKS. NOTICE THAT IN HIS SPEECH HE DOES THREE THINGS; FIRST, HE ACKNOWLEDGES THAT HE IS ON THE CROSS BECAUSE OF HIS OWN SINS. HE KNOWS THAT HE DESERVES THE PUNISHMENT; IT IS JUST. SECOND, HE DECLARES TO ALL THOSE WHO HEAR HIM, THAT JESUS IS INNOCENT; AND THAT JESUS IS KING. AND THIRD, HE ADMITS THAT HE HIMSELF CANNOT CONTROL WHAT HAPPENS TO HIM; ONLY JESUS HAS THAT POWER. AND THE GOOD THIEF THROWS HIMSELF ON JESUS' MERCY, AND DARES TO ASK, “REMEMBER ME WHEN YOU COME INTO YOUR KINGDOM.” THE GOOD THIEF ALONE DOES NOT DEMAND THAT JESUS SAVE HIM, OR COME DOWN FROM THE CROSS. HE ALONE PROFESSES FAITH, FAITH THAT JESUS WILL COME INTO HIS KINGDOM, FAITH THAT JESUS CAN SAVE HIM IF THAT IS HIS WILL.

LUKE WANTS US TO SEE THAT THE GOOD THIEF IS DOING WHAT EVERY CHRISTIAN HAS TO DO – YOU AND I NEED TO BE FULLY CONVINCED THAT WE ARE SINNERS, THAT WE ARE UNABLE TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT THAT. IF YOU DON'T THINK YOU ARE A SINNER, YOU ARE SADLY MISTAKEN. THERE ARE PEOPLE DYING BECAUSE YOU DON'T FEED THEM; THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE MAKING YOUR CLOTHES IN BANGLADESH FOR A WAGE THAT CAN BARELY FEED THEM; THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO ARE PUTTING IN SIXTEEN HOUR DAYS HARVESTING AND PROCESSING COFFEE BEANS SO THAT YOU CAN ENJOY A CUP IN THE MORNING. EVEN IF WE LIVE EXEMPLARY LIVES, WE CAN'T HELP BUT BE PARTICIPANTS IN SIN. AND THAT IS STEP ONE.

WHEN WE FULLY REALIZE THIS, THE NEXT STEP IS TO RECOGNIZE AND INDEED PROCLAIM, THAT JESUS IS THE ANSWER. IF WE DON'T SPEAK OUT THAT WE BELIEVE, THEN JESUS HAS PROMISED THAT IF WE WON'T ACKNOWLEDGE HIM HEAR AND NOW, HE WON'T ACKNOWLEDGE US BEFORE HIS FATHER. THE GOOD THIEF SPOKE OUT, AT LEAST TO THE OTHER THIEF, THAT JESUS INNOCENT, AND THAT JESUS WAS KING. AND FINALLY, WE HAVE TO REALLY THROW OURSELVES ON HIS MERCY. MOST OF US THINK THAT BY LIVING GOOD LIVES AND AVOIDING PERSONAL SIN WE ARE OWED HEAVEN. BUT NOT SO. OUR HOPE OF BEING IN PARADISE DEPENDS ENTIRELY IN JESUS MERCY. THE GOOD THIEF KNEW THAT.

ONE COMMENTATOR POINTED OUT THAT LUKE TELLS THIS STORY SO THAT WE WILL KNOW THAT JESUS' EXTENDS HIS MERCY EVEN TO THIEVES AND REBELS, EVEN UP TO THE POINT OF DEATH. IT IS NEVER TOO LATE; AND NO ONE IS EVER SO FAR GONE THAT HE CANNOT BE RESCUED. BUT LUKE ALSO REMINDS US THAT IT IS POSSIBLE THAT WE CAN LOSE WHAT JESUS WANTS TO OFFER US; THE OTHER THIEF SHOWS US THAT EVEN IN THE PRESENCE OF JESUS, WE CAN JOIN IN THE MOCKERY, WE CAN DEMAND A MIRACLE, WE CAN REFUSE TO BELIEVE; AND WE RISK BEING LOST.

THIS GOSPEL IS GIVEN TO US ON THE SUNDAY WE ACKNOWLEDGE CHRIST AS KING. BUT WE DON'T SEE A GOLDEN CROWN OR SILKEN ROBES OR A JEWELED THRONE ROOM; WE SEE A CONDEMNED MAN DYING ON A CROSS. BUT IF WE LOOK CLOSELY, IF WE LOOK BEYOND WHAT IS RIGHT IN FRONT OF OUR EYES, WE SEE THAT THIS MAN IS IN CONTROL, THAT THIS MAN CAN ASSURE US THAT THIS DAY WE WILL BE WITH HIM IN PARADISE. THE GOOD THIEF SAW THIS. MAY YOU AND I SEE IT WHEN WE ARE DYING AS WELL.

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C

LUKE 21:5-19
THE CARTHUSIANS ARE A MONASTIC ORDER DERIVED FROM THE BENEDICTINE RULE, ONLY MUCH MORE STRICT. IN FRANCE ONE MONASTERY MAKES THE LIQUOR CALLED “CHARTREUSE”. ONLY FIVE MONKS KNOW THE SECRET FORMULA. UP UNTIL RECENTLY, IF YOU WERE A YOUNG MAN ENTERING THE CARTHUSIAN ORDER, YOU WOULD BUILD A CASKET, AND THAT WOULD BE WHERE YOU SLEPT UNTIL YOU DIED. THEN YOU'D BE BURIED IN THE CASKET. THIS WAS TO REMIND YOU THAT YOU WERE MORTAL, AND THAT YOU SHOULD LOOK AT EVERYTHING FROM THE PERSPECTIVE THAT YOU WILL DIE SOME DAY, AND THE WORLD WILL GO ON WITHOUT YOU. GOOD ADVICE FOR US ALL, I'M SURE. IF SOMETHING IS ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN, YOU CAN PLAN YOUR LIFE AROUND IT.
TODAY JESUS TELLS US SOMETHING ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN. THE FUTURE WILL NOT BE BETTER THAN THE PAST; EVERYTHING WE THINK IS PERMANENT, LIKE THE TEMPLE OF JERUSALEM, IS ONLY A FLASH IN THE PAN. IF WE FEEL LIKE WE ARE PRETTY SECURE NOW, PRETTY COMFORTABLE – IT WON'T BE FOREVER. WE THINK WE ARE “CIVILIZED” AND THE BAD OLD DAYS ARE BEHIND US. BUT THAT'S WHAT THEY THOUGHT IN THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE, WHICH LASTED ABOUT 500 YEARS, UNTIL IT FELL TO THE MOSLEMS; AND THE REMNANTS OF THE CHRISTIAN PEOPLE WHO ONCE MADE UP THAT EMPIRE ARE EVEN NOW BEING WIPED OUT. BUT WE DON'T HAVE TO LOOK THAT FAR BACK. LAST WEEK THE PHILLIPINE ISLANDS WERE STRUCK BY A STORM DESCRIBED AS THE MOST DEVASTATING IN HISTORY. IN ONE BRIEF MOMENT MORE THAN TEN THOUSAND PEOPLE LOST THEIR LIVES AND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS WERE RENDERED HOMELESS, WITHOUT LAW AND ORDER, NEAR STARVATION – AND BEFORE ORDER IS RESTORED YOU CAN BET THAT THE SUM TOTAL OF HUMAN MISERY WILL BE GREATLY INCREASED OVER WHAT IT IS NOW.
WE HUMAN BEINGS LIKE STABILITY; WHEN THE WORLD AROUND US IS STABLE AND PREDICTABLE, WE ARE FREE, TO A CERTAIN EXTENT. THE STAGE ON WHICH WE ACT OUT OUR LIVES IS ROCK SOLID. BUT WHEN THE STAGE ITSELF IS CONSTANTLY CHANGING, IT'S ENOUGH TO DRIVE US CRAZY.
JESUS' MESSAGE IS TWO-FOLD. YOUR WORLD, HE TELLS US, IS NOT REALLY STABLE. YOU MAY LIVE IN A POCKET OF STABILITY NOW, BUT DON'T BE FOOLED. THAT'S AN ILLUSION. BUT THEN HE SAYS, HIS FOLLOWERS WILL BE PERSECUTED. HE PROMISES TO BE WITH US, AND HELP US SAY THE RIGHT THINGS, BUT DOESN'T PROMISE THAT WE WILL ESCAPE THIS PERSECUTION. ARE WE BEING PERSECUTED RIGHT NOW? IN A SENSE WE ARE, BY OUR FELLOW CITIZENS, BY OUR GOVERNMENT. OUR FELLOW CITIZENS CONSIDER SOME OF OUR BELIEFS AS BACKWARD, HATEFUL, PREJUDICIAL. IF WE BELIEVE THAT SO-CALLED SAME SEX MARRIAGE IS NOT GOOD FOR SOCIETY, IT ISN'T THAT WE HAVE A RIGHT TO OUR OPINION, IT'S THAT WE AREN'T WITH THE TIMES; WE ARE BIGOTS. IF WE BELIEVE THAT WE SHOULDN'T KILL CHILDREN WHO HAVEN'T BEEN BORN YET, WE ARE AGAINST WOMENS' RIGHTS AND BECAUSE OF THAT, SHOULD NOT HAVE A SAY IN THE PUBLIC DISCOURSE. OUR GOVERNMENT PERSECUTES US WHEN IT INSISTS THAT CATHOLIC EMPLOYERS PROVIDE INSURANCE FOR ABORTION AND BIRTH CONTROL SERVICES – AGAINST THEIR CONSCIENCES. WE WILL BE, AND WE ARE BEING, PERSECUTED. OF COURSE, THERE'S A WAY TO AVOID ALL THIS. WE CAN BE SILENT, OR WE CAN DISAGREE WITH WHAT OUR TWO THOUSAND YEAR OLD CHURCH BELIEVES. AND IF WE SPEAK UP TO THE WORLD ABOUT OUR DISAGREEMENTS WITH OUR CHURCH , WE WILL BE WELCOMED AS ENLIGHTENED CATHOLICS. NUMEROUS CATHOLIC POLITICIANS DON'T SEEM TO HAVE A PROBLEM PERSONALLY ADVOCATING THINGS THE CHURCH HAS CONDEMNED, AND STILL INSISTING THEY ARE CATHOLICS. BUT IF WE ARE NOT BEING PERSECUTED, WE NEED TO ASK, ARE WE STILL PART OF JESUS' PEOPLE? HE DID PROMISE, AFTER ALL, THAT HIS FOLLOWERS WOULD BE PERSECUTED AND HANDED OVER, AND SOME EVEN BE PUT TO DEATH. IF WE ARE FAT AND HAPPY AND TOTALLY ON THE SIDE OF OUR PERMISSIVE AND AMORAL CULTURE, MAYBE WE AREN'T PART OF JESUS' FOLLOWERS.
THE SECOND PART OF JESUS' PROMISE TO US IS THAT NOT A HAIR ON OUR HEADS WILL BE DESTROYED; IF WE PERSEVERE, WE WILL SAVE OUR LIVES. JESUS JUST PROMISED THAT SOME OF US WOULD BE PUT TO DEATH; BUT THEN PROMISES THAT IF WE PERSEVERE WE WILL LIVE. THIS IS THE PROMISE THAT SO MANY MARTYRS TOOK SERIOUSLY; THIS IS THE PROMISE THAT THOSE WHO JOIN MONASTIC ORDERS HAVE HEARD LOUD AND CLEAR. SO IF HE GIVES US THAT PROMISE, WHAT DOES HE WANT US TO PERSEVERE IN? WHAT IS IT, IF WE TRUST HIM, THAT WE MUST DO?
AS I READ THIS GOSPEL PASSAGE, JESUS TELLS US THAT ALL OF THIS WILL HAPPEN SO THAT WE CAN GIVE TESTIMONY; SO THAT WE CAN WITNESS TO THE WORLD THAT JESUS IS LORD, THAT HE IS THE WAY, AND THAT HIS CHURCH CARRIES OUT HIS WORK EVEN TODAY. JESUS EVEN PROMISES THAT THOSE WHO WITNESS DON'T HAVE TO PREPARE, SINCE HE WILL GIVE THEM WHAT THEY NEED TO BE WITNESSES, SO THAT THEY CAN'T BE REFUTED. THIS OF COURSE IS NO WAY OF MAKING FRIENDS AND WITNESSES OF JESUS WILL BE HATED.
I READ RECENTLY ABOUT A WOMAN NAMED ELIZABETH PILENKO, WHO LED A COMMUNIST CELL IN THE DAYS BEFORE THE CZAR WAS OVERTHROWN. AFTER LENIN TOOK OVER, SHE WAS APPALLED BY WHAT HE WAS DOING, AND SAW THAT THE CHRISTIANS IN RUSSIA WERE RISKING THEIR LIVES TO HELP THOSE WHO WERE DEVASTATED BY THE NEW GOVERNMENT'S POLICIES. SHE BECAME A CHRISTIAN, THEN BECAME A NUN, AND EVENTUALLY WAS THE SUPERIOR OF A CONVENT IN FRANCE. WHEN THE NAZIS CAME, SHE WAS PLACED IN A CONCENTRATION CAMP, WHERE SHE CONTINUE TO WORK WITH JEWS AND GYPSIES AND OTHERS WHO WERE BEING SYSTEMATICALLY WIPED OUT. ONE DAY A MOTHER AND HER CHILD WERE TOLD THAT ONE OF THEM WAS SLATED FOR THE NEXT MASS EXECUTION. MOTHER MARIA STEPPED FORWARD AND OFFERED HERSELF INSTEAD. SHE WAS TAKEN OFF AND EXECUTED, ALONG WITH THE OTHERS WHO HAD BEEN SINGLED OUT.
SHE HAD HEARD JESUS' PROMISES; SHE HAD BORN WITNESS; SHE HAD BEEN HATED AS A RESULT; AND SHE HAD BEEN PUT TO DEATH. SHE WENT TO HER DEATH TRUSTING THAT NOT A HAIR ON HER HEAD WOULD BE HARMED AND THAT SHE WOULD SAVE HER LIFE.
THAT'S ALL THAT JESUS ASKS OF YOU AND I – TO BELIEVE HIS PROMISES. AND IF WE DO BELIEVE, IT WON'T BE A PROBLEM TO STAND UP TO OUR SOCIETY, EVEN IF WE ARE IMPRISONED, EVEN IF WE ARE PUT TO DEATH.

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C

LUKE 20:27-38

RECENTLY ONE OF MY COUSINS DIED AFTER, AS THEY SAY, A LONG ILLNESS. HE’D GROWN UP ON A FARM, BUT WENT TO COLLEGE AND GOT A GRADUATE DEGREE AND WORKED FOR A TIME AS AN ENGINEER. BUT THE LURE OF THE FARM WAS TOO GREAT, AND WHEN HIS DAD RETIRED, HE MOVED HIS FAMILY BACK TO MONTANA AND SPENT THE REST OF HIS LIFE RUNNING THE FARM. HE USED TO JOKE THAT IF SOMEONE GAVE HIM A MILLION DOLLARS, HE WOULD KEEP ON FARMING UNTIL IT WAS ALL GONE. YOU HAVE TO REALLY LIKE FARMING TO BE A FARMER, I GUESS. HE USED TO WRITE STORIES ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCES AND SEND THEM TO HIS COUSINS. EVENTUALLY TRAGEDY STRUCK, AND HE BECAME MORE AND MORE HELPLESS, UNTIL HE WAS BEDRIDDEN, BREATHING THROUGH A HOLE IN HIS NECK. AND THEN HE DIED.

WHENEVER SOMEONE CLOSE DIES, I CAN’T HELP BUT WONDER. IS THAT ALL THERE IS? OF COURSE I BELIEVE IN LIFE AFTER DEATH, BUT WHAT DOES THAT REALLY MEAN? WE CATHOLICS ARE CONDITIONED TO BELIEVE THAT DEATH IS NOT THE END, AND WE THINK THAT IS A PRETTY MUCH UNIVERSAL HUMAN IDEA, BUT IT’S NOT. JUST AS IN OUR TIME, IN THE TIME OF JESUS, THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO DID NOT BELIEVE IN LIFE AFTER DEATH. SADDUCEES WERE ACTUALLY THE CONSERVATIVE ONES. THEY ONLY READ THE FIRST FIVE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE, AND IF YOU COMB THROUGH THOSE FIVE BOOKS, YOU WON’T FIND ANY MENTION OF LIFE AFTER DEATH, SO THE SADDUCEES DID NOT BELIEVE IN IT EITHER. THE PHARISEES, INFLUENCED PERHAPS BY OTHER CULTURES AND BY LATER WRITINGS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, DID BELIEVE, AND SO DID JESUS AND HIS FRIENDS. REMEMBER WHEN JESUS CALLED LAZARUS BACK FROM THE DEAD? MARTHA IN ANSWER TO HIS QUESTION ADMITTED HER OWN BELIEF IN THE RESURRECTION. BUT BELIEF IN RESURRECTION ALWAYS LEADS TO WHAT DOES THAT REALLY MEAN?

WE CATHOLICS TEND TO THINK ABOUT LIFE AFTER DEATH AS A STATE WHERE OUR SOUL LEAVES OUR BODY AND ENDS UP IN HEAVEN, PURGATORY, OR HELL. THAT’S NOT TOO BIG A STRETCH -- AFTER ALL NO ONE HAS SEEN A SOUL, AND SINCE IT DOESN’T TAKE UP SPACE AND IS NOT “MATERIAL” WE DON’T HAVE TO WONDER WHERE GOD IS GOING TO PUT ALL OF THEM. BUT OFFICIAL CHURCH TEACHING IS THAT ULTIMATELY OUR SOULS WILL BE ANIMATING OUR BODIES AGAIN -- BODIES THAT WILL BE CHANGED, OF COURSE, BUT WILL BE CONTINUOUS WITH THE BODY WE HAVE RIGHT NOW. AND WE BELIEVE THAT MARY HAS ALREADY GONE THROUGH THIS PROCESS; HER BODY IS RISEN FROM THE DEAD AND HER SOUL ANIMATES THAT BODY.

AND THAT RAISES ALL KINDS OF QUESTIONS. WHAT HAPPENS IF THE BODY WAS CREMATED? OR WORSE YET, THE BODY IS RETURNED TO ITS ELEMENTS, BECOMES FERTILIZER FOR PLANTS, WHICH IN TURN ARE EATEN BY LIVESTOCK, WHICH ARE EATEN BY PEOPLE, THUS BECOMING ANOTHER BODY? SORTING ALL THAT OUT IS TRULY A TASK ONLY GOD COULD DO.

BUT BELIEF IN RESURRECTION IS NOT REALLY ABOUT HOW IT WILL BE, WHETHER OUR RISEN BODY CAN WALK THROUGH WALLS OR FLY AROUND LIKE SUPERMAN OR TELEPORT LIKE THE PEOPLE ON STAR TREK. IT ISN’T ABOUT WHAT WE WILL EAT AND WHAT WE WILL WEAR. IT’S REALLY ABOUT JUSTICE.

WE BELIEVE GOD IS ULTIMATELY JUST. YET WE LOOK AROUND AND DON’T SEE ANY. AND THAT’S NOT A NEW PROBLEM EITHER. IN FACT WHEN YOU GO BACK TO THE STORY OF CAIN AND ABEL GOD TELLS CAIN THAT ABEL’S BLOOD HAS BEEN CRYING OUT TO HIM. AND IN ANSWER TO THAT CRY, GOD PUNISHES CAIN. AND ABRAHAM NEARLY SACRIFICES HIS SON IN OBEDIENCE TO GOD, AND IS REWARDED -- NOT WITH ETERNAL LIFE, BUT WITH RICHES AND LONG LIFE, AND OF COURSE, WITH THE PROMISE OF DESCENDANTS MORE NUMERABLE THAN THE STARS IN THE SKY.

THE SADDUCEES MAY NOT HAVE BELIEVE IN LIFE AFTER DEATH, BUT THEY DID BELIEVE THAT GOD WAS JUST, AND SOMEHOW JUSTICE WOULD BE SERVED. THE PHARISEES REALIZED THAT JUSTICE DEMANDED MORE THAN THAT; IT DEMANDED THAT THE PERSON REWARDED OR PUNISHED HAD TO BE AROUND IN SOME WAY OR IT DIDN’T REALLY COUNT AS JUSTICE. AND JESUS ROUNDLY ENDORSES THAT, NOT ONLY HERE BUT ULTIMATELY BY RISING FROM THE DEAD HIMSELF. BUT JESUS ALSO TELLS US THAT IT’S USELESS TO SPECULATE ABOUT HOW IT WILL BE, EXCEPT TO SAY IT WON’T BE LIKE ANYTHING WE CAN RELATE TO. THERE WON’T BE MARRYING OR BEING GIVEN IN MARRIAGE; WE WILL BE LIKE ANGELS, WHATEVER THAT MEANS. SAINT PAUL TALKS ABOUT HIS OWN VISION WHEN HE WAS SNATCHED UP TO THE SEVENTH HEAVEN, AND PROCLAIMED “EYE HAS NOT SEEN, NOR EAR HEARD, NEITHER HAVE ENTERED INTO THE HEART OF MAN, THE THINGS WHICH GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THEM THAT LOVE HIM.”

AND THAT SHOULD CONTENT US, THOSE OF US WHO HAVE LOST A LOVED ONE, THOSE OF US, ALL OF US, WHO WILL SOMEDAY CROSS THAT THRESHOLD. IF WE CAN BELIEVE IN OUR HEARTS THAT GOD IS JUST, THEN WE NEEDN’T HAVE A FEAR OF DEATH, BECAUSE JESUS HAS SATISFIED GOD’S JUSTICE AND TURNED IT INTO MERCY, IF ONLY WE CLAIM IT.

MY COUSIN MARRIED A WONDERFUL WOMAN, RAISED A FAMILY, WORKED HARD, TREATED OTHER PEOPLE DECENTLY, PARTICIPATED IN THE SACRAMENTAL LIFE OF THE CHURCH. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO BY ANY STANDARDS HAVE DONE A LOT LESS AND YET HAVE A LOT MORE; AND OF COURSE THERE ARE PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD WHO WORKED HARDER, PRAYED MORE FERVENTLY, LOVED MORE DEEPLY -- BUT SOMEHOW THEIR LIVES ARE MISERABLE. THERE IS NO JUSTICE HERE.

IF GOD IS JUST, AND THERE IS NO JUSTICE HERE, THEN THERE HAS TO BE RESURRECTION. IF THOSE OF US WHO LOVED MY COUSIN COULD BRING HIM BACK, NOT AS HE WAS AT THE END, BUT IN THE PRIME OF LIFE, WOULDN’T WE DO SO? BUT GOD CAN, AND GOD WILL, BECAUSE HE LOVES MY COUSIN EVEN NOW, HIS BODY, NOT JUST HIS SOUL; AND HE IS THE GOD OF THE LIVING.

ALL THROUGH THE NEW TESTAMENT THE GOOD NEWS OF THE RESURRECTION SHINES THROUGH EVERY PAGE -- NOT JUST THAT OF JESUS, BUT YOURS AND MINE. AND AT THE VERY END IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION, WE HEAR THOSE WONDERFUL WORDS: “‘HE WILL WIPE EVERY TEAR FROM THEIR EYES. THERE WILL BE NO MORE DEATH’ OR MOURNING OR CRYING OR PAIN, FOR THE OLD ORDER OF THINGS HAS PASSED AWAY.”

SO THINK ABOUT THOSE THINGS THIS WEEK, AND ABOUT YOUR OWN LOVED ONES WHO HAVE PASSED AWAY. AND LET YOURSELF BE JOYFUL KNOWING THAT IN GOD THEY LIVE AND WILL ALWAYS LIVE, AND SO DO WE AS WELL.