LUKE 12:13-21
THE GREAT RUSSIAN AUTHOR LEO TOLSTOY WROTE A SHORT STORY CALLED, “HOW MUCH LAND DOES A MAN NEED.” ONCE THERE WAS A PEASANT WHO WAS OFFERED ALL THE LAND HE COULD WALK AROUND IN A DAY. HE SET OUT FIRST THING IN THE MORNING AT A BRISK PACE. WHEN NOON CAME, HE STEPPED IT UP A LITTLE. ABOUT MID AFTERNOON, HE REALIZED HE WAS A LONG WAY FROM THE STARTING POINT, SO HE BEGAN TO JOG. AS EVENING CAME ON HE BROKE INTO A RUN, AND FINALLY, JUST AS NIGHT FELL, HE SPRINTED BACK TO HIS STARTING POINT AND PROMPTLY COLLAPSED AND DIED. HIS FAMILY BURIED HIM IN A GRAVE THAT WAS ABOUT SIX FEET BY THREE FEET.
THE RICH MAN IN JESUS STORY IS FABULOUSLY WEALTHY BY THE STANDARDS OF HIS TIME. HE OWNS LAND, AND HE HAS WEALTH STORED UP. AND WHILE HE PROBABLY CAME BY HIS WEALTH HONESTLY, IT MUST HAVE INVOLVED HIRING DAY WORKERS TO TILL THE SOIL AND HARVEST THE GRAIN. AND AT FIRST GLANCE, HE SEEMS TO BE ACTING PRUDENTLY IN CREATING MORE ROOM FOR HIS WEALTH. BUT GOD CALLS HIM A FOOL.
THERE IS ANOTHER PASSAGE IN SCRIPTURE ABOUT A FOOL. IT IS A PROVERB, THAT I'M SURE YOU'VE HEARD BEFORE: “THE FOOL SAYS IN HIS HEART THAT THERE IS NO GOD.”
I THINK WHEN I FIRST HEARD THAT SAYING, SOMEONE TOLD ME THAT IT REFERRED TO ATHEISTS. BUT HAVING KNOWN MANY ATHEISTS, I WOULD BE HARD PRESSED TO CALL MANY OF THEM FOOLS. SOME OF THEM HAVE BRILLIANT MINDS, AND YOU JUST HAVE TO CONCLUDE THAT THEY HAVEN'T BEEN GIVEN THE GIFT OF FAITH. BUT THE FOOL IN THE SAYING IS NOT REALLY AN ATHEIST. HE IS ACTING AS THOUGH THERE IS NO GOD; HE IS SAYING THAT IN HIS HEART, EVEN THOUGH HE MAY BELIEVE IN GOD INTELLECTUALLY. SINCE THERE IS A GOD, TO ACT AS THOUGH THERE IS NO GOD IS FOOLISH.
AND THAT IS THE POINT IN THE STORY JESUS TELLS. HERE IS A MAN WHO IS A REAL LOSER, NOT BECAUSE HE IS WEALTHY, NOT BECAUSE HE IS PRUDENT, BUT BECAUSE HE IS ACTING AS THOUGH THERE IS NO GOD.
THE FIRST WAY HE ACTS AS THOUGH THERE IS NO GOD IS IN HIS PRESUMPTION THAT WHAT HE HAS GOTTEN FROM THE LAND CREATED BY GOD, FROM THE RAIN AND THE SUN GIVEN BY GOD, FROM THE LABOR OF HIS SERVANTS, HE CONSIDERS TO BE HIS. A FOOL IS SOMEONE WHO THINKS HE IS AN OWNER, RATHER THAN A CARETAKER OR A STEWARD.
THE SECOND WAY IS THAT HE MISUSES WHAT HE POSSESSES. HE ALREADY HAD MORE THAN ENOUGH, BUT IN ORDER TO PROVIDE FOR HIMSELF FAR INTO THE FUTURE, HE WANTS TO SPEND MONEY CREATING MORE STORAGE SPACE SO THAT HE CAN POSSESS EVEN MORE, WHILE THERE ARE NEEDY PEOPLE ALL AROUND HIM. IF YOU AND I EVER NEED STORAGE SPACE FOR OUR GOODS, THERE ARE ALWAYS POOR PEOPLE AROUND TO BE THAT STORAGE SPACE. AND CONTRAST THIS ATTITUDE WITH HOW JESUS KEEPS TELLING US TO WORRY ABOUT TODAY, AND LET TOMORROW TAKE CARE OF ITSELF, SINCE TOMORROW IS ALWAYS GOING TO BE IN GOD'S HANDS.
THE THIRD WAY HE ACTS AS THOUGH THERE IS NO GOD IS IN HIS PRESUMPTION THAT HE WILL LIVE LONG ENOUGH AND REMAIN HEALTHY ENOUGH TO ENJOY HIS WEALTH. HE ACTS AS THOUGH HE IS IN CONTROL, BUT HE OF COURSE, AND YOU AND I OF COURSE, ARE NOT IN CONTROL. OUR LIVES COULD BE SNUFFED OUT TOMORROW; WE COULD BE HOMELESS, WE COULD BE PUSHING A STOLEN SHOPPING BASKET AROUND COLLECTING DISCARDED CANS AND BOTTLES.
SO THE MAN IS A FOOL, AND JESUS PULLS NO PUNCHES. BUT NOTICE THE WORDS JESUS USES: THIS NIGHT YOUR LIFE WILL BE REQUIRED OF YOU. FOR THIS IS THE WAY IT WORKS FOR A MAN WHO GROWS RICH FOR HIMSELF INSTEAD OF GROWING RICH IN THE SIGHT OF GOD. JESUS IS NOT SAYING THAT GOD IS GOING TO PUNISH THIS MAN FOR WHAT HE HAS DONE. GOD DOESN'T NEED TO PUNISH HIM. IT IS AS NATURAL AS WATER RUNNING DOWNHILL. IF YOU CHOOSE TO LIVE THAT WAY, YOU WILL END UP LOSING YOUR LIFE, YOUR SOUL – MAYBE A LONG TIME BEFORE YOU ACTUALLY DIE. THIS PRINCIPLE, BY THE WAY, SEEMS TO LIE BEHIND ALL THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN – WE VIOLATE GOD'S TEACHINGS, AND THE BAD THINGS THAT HAPPEN FLOW FROM OUR ACTION, NOT BECAUSE GOD WANTS US TO SUFFER. ITS KIND OF LIKE THE STORY OF THE FAMILY WHO SET UP A BIRD FEEDER WITH FOUR STATIONS AND KEPT IT FULL OF BIRDSEED. FOR A WHILE THE BIRDS PRACTICALLY LIVED IN THE BACK YARD, BUT A FEW WEEKS WENT BY AND THEY SELDOM SAW A BIRD. IN THE BEGINNING THEY HAD TO FILL THE FEEDER UP PRACTICALLY EVERY DAY, NOW IT WAS LESS THAN ONCE A WEEK. EVENTUALLY THEY FOUND THE PROBLEM. ONE OF THE BIRDS HAD DECIDED HE OWNED THE FEEDER, AND HE WOULD ATTACK ANY OTHER BIRD THAT TRIED TO EAT FROM IT. BUT NOW THAT ALL HIS ENERGY AND ATTENTION WERE DIRECTED TOWARDS KEEPING OTHER BIRDS AWAY, HE HAD GIVEN UP HIS FREEDOM AND SPENT ALL HIS TIME WORRYING ABOUT WHEN A BIGGER BIRD MIGHT COME ALONG, OR WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN IF HE FELL ASLEEP. HE HAD LOST HIS LIFE, HE HAD LOST HIS SOUL.
JESUS IS NOT GIVING US SOME OLD PLATITUDE – YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU. HE'S RESPONDING TO THE MAN WHO ASKED HIM TO JUDGE BETWEEN HIS BROTHER AND HIMSELF. THE MAN IS IN DANGER OF LOSING HIMSELF, LOSING HIS SOUL, BECAUSE THE IDEA OF HIS HAVING A FORTUNE NOW POSSESSES HIM.
SO HOW ARE YOU AND I FOOLS? THOSE OF US WHO LIVE IN LONGMEADOW TEND TO BE WEALTHIER THAN MOST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD, EVEN MOST PEOPLE IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS. WE ARE BETTER EDUCATED; WE ARE HEALTHIER, WE HAVE MORE LEISURE. AND MANY OF US ARE POSSESSED BY OUR STUFF, BY OUR COMMITMENTS, BY SO MUCH BUSYNESS THAT WE HAVE LOST OUR SELF SOMEWHERE IN THE TIME THAT'S GONE BY.
SO LET US TAKE SOME TIME TODAY TO EXAMINE OUR LIVES AND ASK, WHAT POSSESSES US, WHAT IS THERE THAT THREATENS OUR SELF, WHAT IS THERE THAT WAITS TO ENSLAVE US.
AND LET US LISTEN TO THOSE WORDS OF JESUS, “THAT IS THE WAY IT WORKS FOR THE MAN WHO GROWS RICH FOR HIMSELF INSTEAD OF RICH IN THE SIGHT OF GOD.”
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Sunday, July 29, 2007
17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C
LUKE 11:1-13
I REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME I READ TODAY'S READING FROM GENESIS OUT LOUD. IT WAS AT A NOVENA MASS ON MONDAY NIGHT BACK IN THE DAYS OF MONSIGNOR DEVINE, AND BEFORE I BECAME A DEACON. AS I LISTENED TO THE WORDS I WAS SAYING, I COULD FEEL LAUGHTER RISING UP UNCONTROLLABLY. I MANAGED TO GET THROUGH THE READING WITHOUT LAUGHING, BUT JUST BARELY. IT IS A FUNNY STORY. I THINK IT WAS MEANT TO BE, AS ARE MANY OF THE STORIES IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS. BUT IT MAKES TWO POINTS. GOD WHO IS UNCHANGEABLE SOMEHOW ALLOWS HIS CHILDREN TO PERSUADE HIM TO CHANGE HIS MIND. I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE TRINITY OR THE INCARNATION EITHER. THE SECOND POINT IS THAT PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF, A POINT AGREED TO BY JESUS IN TODAY'S GOSPEL.
THE LORD'S PRAYER AS GIVEN IN THE GOSPEL OF LUKE IS NOT THE FAMILIAR ONE WE ALL KNOW, WHICH COMES FROM MATTHEW. IT IS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME, HOWEVER. AFTER WE PRAY THAT GOD'S NAME BE HALLOWED, AND THAT HIS KINGDOM COMES, WE ASK FOR THREE THINGS.
FIRST, WE ASK FOR OUR DAILY BREAD. BREAD IN THIS SENSE MEANS WHATEVER WE NEED TO KEEP GOING, TO HALLOW GOD'S NAME AND BRING ABOUT HIS KINGDOM. A STARVING PERSON CAN'T CONCENTRATE ON ANYTHING BUT HIS HUNGER. A VERY SICK PERSON CAN'T THINK ABOUT MUCH BESIDES HOW SICK HE IS – THINK ABOUT ALL THE THINGS YOU'VE ACCOMPLISHED WHEN YOU'VE HAD A CASE OF THE FLU. A PERSON WHO IS HOMELESS OR PERSECUTED OR LIVING IN GRINDING POVERTY IS A VERY POOR INSTRUMENT IN GOD'S HANDS. SO WE ASK FOR WHAT WE NEED. WE ALSO REMEMBER THAT WHAT WE NEED AND WHAT WE WANT ARE DIFFERENT THINGS. WHEN WE PRAY FOR WHAT WE WANT, WE ARE IN DANGER OF PUTTING OURSELVES BEFORE GOD'S KINGDOM, TREATING GOD LIKE SOME KIND OF COSMIC VENDING MACHINE. WHEN I TAKE MY GRANDCHILDREN SHOPPING, THEY WANT A LOT, BUT MOST OF THE TIME I SAY “NO”. FOR OUR WANTS, WE MAY EXPERIENCE GOD'S NO.
SECOND, WE ASK GOD'S FORGIVENESS, BUT JESUS HAS US PRAY WITH A CONDITION. FORGIVE US AS WE FORGIVE. GOD'S NAME WILL BE HONORED AND HIS KINGDOM WILL COME TO THE EXTENT THAT THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN HIS PEOPLE ARE HEALED, AND TO THE EXTENT THAT HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH US IS HEALED. THE KINGDOM WE PRAY TO COME IS A KINGDOM WHERE WE ARE ALL BROTHERS AND SISTERS, WHERE WE WILL ALL LOVE ONE ANOTHER, WHERE WE ALL ARE IN COMMUNION WITH OUR FATHER, LIKE JESUS WAS. ALL OF THIS REQUIRES FORGIVENESS ALL AROUND.
AND THEN WE COME TO THE THIRD PETITION. LUKE SAYS, “SUBJECT US NOT TO THE TRIAL” AND MATTHEW SAYS, “LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL.” WHAT ARE WE PRAYING FOR? IS GOD A SADIST? PART OF THE DIFFICULTY WE HAVE WHEN WE HEAR THESE WORDS IS THAT WE ARE THINKING OF FAILING THE TRIAL, OR GIVING IN TO TEMPTATION; WE FALL INTO SIN. BUT MAYBE JESUS HAS SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN MIND. AGAIN, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HONORING GOD'S NAME AND BRINGING ABOUT HIS KINGDOM. CERTAINLY PERSONAL SIN, WHICH IS THE CONSEQUENCE OF TEMPTATION, GOES AGAINST THIS GOAL. BUT MANY OTHER THINGS DO AS WELL. JESUS, AFTER ALL, WAS DRIVEN INTO THE DESERT BY THE SPIRIT, THERE TO BE TEMPTED BY SATAN. TURN THESE STONES INTO BREAD, HE WAS TOLD. WHAT A TEMPTATION – A WAY TO END WORLD HUNGER; BUT NOT THE RIGHT WAY. THE RIGHT WAY IS MUCH HARDER – TO GET PEOPLE TO CARE FOR EACH OTHER. JUMP OFF OF THE TOWER OF THE TEMPLE, AND HAVE THE ANGELS CATCH YOU. WHAT A TEMPTATION – IF YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL MESSAGE FOR THE HUMAN RACE, WHAT BETTER WAY TO GET THEM TO LISTEN THAN TO DO SOMETHING SPECTACULAR AND MIRACULOUS! BUT NOT THE RIGHT WAY. EVERY PERSON MUST COME TO THE ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS AND HIS MESSAGE THROUGH HIS OWN CONVERSION, THROUGH HIS OWN STRUGGLE. AND FINALLY, WORSHIP ME AND I WILL GIVE YOU ALL THE KINGDOMS OF THE EARTH. WHAT A TEMPTATION – A TEMPTATION THAT WE'VE SEEN IN OUR OWN TIME OVER AND OVER AGAIN, FROM LENIN TO CASTRO, FROM HITLER TO MAO – IF ONLY I HAD ABSOLUTE POWER, I COULD MAKE THE WORLD INTO A PARADISE. BUT DISASTER ALWAYS HAPPENS. AND IT IS NOT THE RIGHT WAY. PARADISE ON EARTH WILL COME ONLY WHEN EVERY PERSON COMPLETELY AND FULLY OBEYS THOSE TWO GREAT COMMANDMENTS, LOVE GOD WITH YOUR WHOLE HEART, SOUL, MIND AND STRENGTH, AND LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. AND UNTIL YOU DO THIS, AND I DO THIS, PARADISE WILL NOT COME; BUT WHEN YOU AND I DO THIS, IT IS A LITTLE CLOSER.
THESE ARE THE KIND OF TEMPTATIONS WE PRAY NOT TO BE LEAD INTO. THESE ARE THE TRIALS WE ASK TO AVOID. BECAUSE WE HAVE SEEN HOW EVEN GOOD PEOPLE CAN LOSE SIGHT OF WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT. OVER THE LAST 2000 YEARS WE HAVE EVEN SEEN OUR OWN CHURCH, THE CHURCH FOUNDED BY JESUS, BECOME ENAMORED OF POWER, ATTRACTED TO WEALTH, LIVING THE LETTER RATHER THAN THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW – AND ALL FOR GOOD REASONS; BUT IN DOING SO, STRAYING FROM THE RIGHT WAY, FROM JESUS' WAY. AND YOU AND I ARE NOT IMMUNE. MOST OF US HAVE ALREADY SUCCUMBED TO THESE KINDS OF TEMPTATIONS. DID YOU WINCE A LITTLE WHEN THE VATICAN REITERATED THE AGE-OLD TEACHING THAT OURS IS THE ONLY TRUE CHURCH? DO YOU FEEL A LITTLE ASHAMED THAT OUR CHURCH CONTINUES TO OPPOSE EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH, SAME SEX MARRIAGE, ABORTION, ARTIFICIAL BIRTH CONTROL? DON'T YOU WISH SOMETIMES THAT CHRISTIANS WOULD PUT THEIR DOCTRINAL DISPUTES ASIDE AND WORK TOGETHER TO END POVERTY AND CLEAN UP THE ENVIRONMENT? WHAT ABOUT ALL THE FUSS ABOUT THE LATIN MASS?
THE POINT IS THAT FOR EVERY PROBLEM THERE IS A QUICK FIX, AN EASY SOLUTION. BUT IF WE KNOW ANYTHING FROM STUDYING THE LIFE AND DEATH OF JESUS, WE KNOW THAT JESUS' WAY IS NOT THE QUICK FIX. JESUS' WAY IS TO DIE ON THE CROSS.
SO LET US PRAY THAT WE WILL NOT BE LEAD INTO TEMPTATION, BECAUSE WE ARE SO WEAK, WE ARE SO EASILY SWAYED, WE OR MORE LIKELY THAN NOT TO FALL, AND NOT EVEN KNOW WE HAVE FALLEN. AND LET US LOOK INTO OUR HEARTS AND COMPARE OUR ATTITUDES, OUR BELIEFS, TO THOSE OF OUR CHURCH, WHO, DESPITE BAD AND EVEN SINFUL LEADERS, DESPITE INDIFFERENT LAITY, DESPITE FALLING OVER AND OVER AGAIN, IS STILL THE ONLY PLACE WHERE THE TEACHING OF JESUS CHRIST SUBSISTS COMPLETELY. BECAUSE WE ARE LIKE THOSE APOSTLES, WHO SAY, “TO WHOM SHALL WE GO, YOU HAVE THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE.”
I REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME I READ TODAY'S READING FROM GENESIS OUT LOUD. IT WAS AT A NOVENA MASS ON MONDAY NIGHT BACK IN THE DAYS OF MONSIGNOR DEVINE, AND BEFORE I BECAME A DEACON. AS I LISTENED TO THE WORDS I WAS SAYING, I COULD FEEL LAUGHTER RISING UP UNCONTROLLABLY. I MANAGED TO GET THROUGH THE READING WITHOUT LAUGHING, BUT JUST BARELY. IT IS A FUNNY STORY. I THINK IT WAS MEANT TO BE, AS ARE MANY OF THE STORIES IN THE BOOK OF GENESIS. BUT IT MAKES TWO POINTS. GOD WHO IS UNCHANGEABLE SOMEHOW ALLOWS HIS CHILDREN TO PERSUADE HIM TO CHANGE HIS MIND. I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT, BUT I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE TRINITY OR THE INCARNATION EITHER. THE SECOND POINT IS THAT PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF, A POINT AGREED TO BY JESUS IN TODAY'S GOSPEL.
THE LORD'S PRAYER AS GIVEN IN THE GOSPEL OF LUKE IS NOT THE FAMILIAR ONE WE ALL KNOW, WHICH COMES FROM MATTHEW. IT IS PRETTY MUCH THE SAME, HOWEVER. AFTER WE PRAY THAT GOD'S NAME BE HALLOWED, AND THAT HIS KINGDOM COMES, WE ASK FOR THREE THINGS.
FIRST, WE ASK FOR OUR DAILY BREAD. BREAD IN THIS SENSE MEANS WHATEVER WE NEED TO KEEP GOING, TO HALLOW GOD'S NAME AND BRING ABOUT HIS KINGDOM. A STARVING PERSON CAN'T CONCENTRATE ON ANYTHING BUT HIS HUNGER. A VERY SICK PERSON CAN'T THINK ABOUT MUCH BESIDES HOW SICK HE IS – THINK ABOUT ALL THE THINGS YOU'VE ACCOMPLISHED WHEN YOU'VE HAD A CASE OF THE FLU. A PERSON WHO IS HOMELESS OR PERSECUTED OR LIVING IN GRINDING POVERTY IS A VERY POOR INSTRUMENT IN GOD'S HANDS. SO WE ASK FOR WHAT WE NEED. WE ALSO REMEMBER THAT WHAT WE NEED AND WHAT WE WANT ARE DIFFERENT THINGS. WHEN WE PRAY FOR WHAT WE WANT, WE ARE IN DANGER OF PUTTING OURSELVES BEFORE GOD'S KINGDOM, TREATING GOD LIKE SOME KIND OF COSMIC VENDING MACHINE. WHEN I TAKE MY GRANDCHILDREN SHOPPING, THEY WANT A LOT, BUT MOST OF THE TIME I SAY “NO”. FOR OUR WANTS, WE MAY EXPERIENCE GOD'S NO.
SECOND, WE ASK GOD'S FORGIVENESS, BUT JESUS HAS US PRAY WITH A CONDITION. FORGIVE US AS WE FORGIVE. GOD'S NAME WILL BE HONORED AND HIS KINGDOM WILL COME TO THE EXTENT THAT THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN HIS PEOPLE ARE HEALED, AND TO THE EXTENT THAT HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH US IS HEALED. THE KINGDOM WE PRAY TO COME IS A KINGDOM WHERE WE ARE ALL BROTHERS AND SISTERS, WHERE WE WILL ALL LOVE ONE ANOTHER, WHERE WE ALL ARE IN COMMUNION WITH OUR FATHER, LIKE JESUS WAS. ALL OF THIS REQUIRES FORGIVENESS ALL AROUND.
AND THEN WE COME TO THE THIRD PETITION. LUKE SAYS, “SUBJECT US NOT TO THE TRIAL” AND MATTHEW SAYS, “LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION, BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL.” WHAT ARE WE PRAYING FOR? IS GOD A SADIST? PART OF THE DIFFICULTY WE HAVE WHEN WE HEAR THESE WORDS IS THAT WE ARE THINKING OF FAILING THE TRIAL, OR GIVING IN TO TEMPTATION; WE FALL INTO SIN. BUT MAYBE JESUS HAS SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN MIND. AGAIN, WE ARE TALKING ABOUT HONORING GOD'S NAME AND BRINGING ABOUT HIS KINGDOM. CERTAINLY PERSONAL SIN, WHICH IS THE CONSEQUENCE OF TEMPTATION, GOES AGAINST THIS GOAL. BUT MANY OTHER THINGS DO AS WELL. JESUS, AFTER ALL, WAS DRIVEN INTO THE DESERT BY THE SPIRIT, THERE TO BE TEMPTED BY SATAN. TURN THESE STONES INTO BREAD, HE WAS TOLD. WHAT A TEMPTATION – A WAY TO END WORLD HUNGER; BUT NOT THE RIGHT WAY. THE RIGHT WAY IS MUCH HARDER – TO GET PEOPLE TO CARE FOR EACH OTHER. JUMP OFF OF THE TOWER OF THE TEMPLE, AND HAVE THE ANGELS CATCH YOU. WHAT A TEMPTATION – IF YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL MESSAGE FOR THE HUMAN RACE, WHAT BETTER WAY TO GET THEM TO LISTEN THAN TO DO SOMETHING SPECTACULAR AND MIRACULOUS! BUT NOT THE RIGHT WAY. EVERY PERSON MUST COME TO THE ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS AND HIS MESSAGE THROUGH HIS OWN CONVERSION, THROUGH HIS OWN STRUGGLE. AND FINALLY, WORSHIP ME AND I WILL GIVE YOU ALL THE KINGDOMS OF THE EARTH. WHAT A TEMPTATION – A TEMPTATION THAT WE'VE SEEN IN OUR OWN TIME OVER AND OVER AGAIN, FROM LENIN TO CASTRO, FROM HITLER TO MAO – IF ONLY I HAD ABSOLUTE POWER, I COULD MAKE THE WORLD INTO A PARADISE. BUT DISASTER ALWAYS HAPPENS. AND IT IS NOT THE RIGHT WAY. PARADISE ON EARTH WILL COME ONLY WHEN EVERY PERSON COMPLETELY AND FULLY OBEYS THOSE TWO GREAT COMMANDMENTS, LOVE GOD WITH YOUR WHOLE HEART, SOUL, MIND AND STRENGTH, AND LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. AND UNTIL YOU DO THIS, AND I DO THIS, PARADISE WILL NOT COME; BUT WHEN YOU AND I DO THIS, IT IS A LITTLE CLOSER.
THESE ARE THE KIND OF TEMPTATIONS WE PRAY NOT TO BE LEAD INTO. THESE ARE THE TRIALS WE ASK TO AVOID. BECAUSE WE HAVE SEEN HOW EVEN GOOD PEOPLE CAN LOSE SIGHT OF WHAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT. OVER THE LAST 2000 YEARS WE HAVE EVEN SEEN OUR OWN CHURCH, THE CHURCH FOUNDED BY JESUS, BECOME ENAMORED OF POWER, ATTRACTED TO WEALTH, LIVING THE LETTER RATHER THAN THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW – AND ALL FOR GOOD REASONS; BUT IN DOING SO, STRAYING FROM THE RIGHT WAY, FROM JESUS' WAY. AND YOU AND I ARE NOT IMMUNE. MOST OF US HAVE ALREADY SUCCUMBED TO THESE KINDS OF TEMPTATIONS. DID YOU WINCE A LITTLE WHEN THE VATICAN REITERATED THE AGE-OLD TEACHING THAT OURS IS THE ONLY TRUE CHURCH? DO YOU FEEL A LITTLE ASHAMED THAT OUR CHURCH CONTINUES TO OPPOSE EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH, SAME SEX MARRIAGE, ABORTION, ARTIFICIAL BIRTH CONTROL? DON'T YOU WISH SOMETIMES THAT CHRISTIANS WOULD PUT THEIR DOCTRINAL DISPUTES ASIDE AND WORK TOGETHER TO END POVERTY AND CLEAN UP THE ENVIRONMENT? WHAT ABOUT ALL THE FUSS ABOUT THE LATIN MASS?
THE POINT IS THAT FOR EVERY PROBLEM THERE IS A QUICK FIX, AN EASY SOLUTION. BUT IF WE KNOW ANYTHING FROM STUDYING THE LIFE AND DEATH OF JESUS, WE KNOW THAT JESUS' WAY IS NOT THE QUICK FIX. JESUS' WAY IS TO DIE ON THE CROSS.
SO LET US PRAY THAT WE WILL NOT BE LEAD INTO TEMPTATION, BECAUSE WE ARE SO WEAK, WE ARE SO EASILY SWAYED, WE OR MORE LIKELY THAN NOT TO FALL, AND NOT EVEN KNOW WE HAVE FALLEN. AND LET US LOOK INTO OUR HEARTS AND COMPARE OUR ATTITUDES, OUR BELIEFS, TO THOSE OF OUR CHURCH, WHO, DESPITE BAD AND EVEN SINFUL LEADERS, DESPITE INDIFFERENT LAITY, DESPITE FALLING OVER AND OVER AGAIN, IS STILL THE ONLY PLACE WHERE THE TEACHING OF JESUS CHRIST SUBSISTS COMPLETELY. BECAUSE WE ARE LIKE THOSE APOSTLES, WHO SAY, “TO WHOM SHALL WE GO, YOU HAVE THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE.”
Sunday, July 22, 2007
16th Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C
LUKE 10:38-42
HOSPITALITY. WE HEAR THAT WORD A LOT AND DON'T THINK TOO MUCH OF IT. IT IS WHEN WE HAVE THE KIDS OVER FOR SUNDAY SUPPER, OR WHEN WE ARE TREATED PARTICULARLY WELL ON AN AIRPLANE OR IN A CITY WE VISIT. HOSPITALITY IS IN PART DEFINED BY ITS OPPOSITE – AN ATTITUDE OF COLDNESS, INDIFFERENCE, OR EVEN HOSTILITY. BUT HOSPITALITY HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH OUR RELIGION – AFTER ALL, JESUS ENDORSED IT IN HIS PARABLES AND EVEN TOOK ADVANTAGE OF IT A FEW TIMES, WHEN HE HAD SUPPER WITH A TAX COLLECTOR OR A PHARISEE, WHEN HE ALLOWED PETER'S MOTHER IN LAW TO WAIT ON HIM. JESUS ALLOWED HIMSELF TO RECEIVE HOSPITALITY.
AND IF JESUS IS THE RECIPIENT OF HOSPITALITY, HE IS NEVER ONLY A RECIPIENT. A PERSON WHO RECEIVES HOSPITALITY USUALLY GIVES SOMETHING IN RETURN.
WHENEVER I READ THE STORY OF ABRAHAM ENTERTAINING THE THREE VISITORS, I CAN'T HELP BUT SEE IN MY MIND THE FAMOUS ICON OF THE EASTERN CHURCH. IN THE FOREGROUND ARE THE THREE STRANGERS; THEY ARE SITTING AROUND A TABLE, SEEMINGLY ENGROSSED IN CONVERSATION WITH EACH OTHER. ABRAHAM IS HOVERING IN THE BACKGROUND, WAITING ON THEM. AND SARAH IS PEEKING OUT FROM THE TENT, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT SHE IS LAUGHING AS SHE HEARS THE STRANGERS PREDICT THAT NEXT YEAR SHE WILL HAVE A CHILD. THE ICON SHOWS HER TO BE A VERY OLD WOMAN.
ABRAHAM, IN PROVIDING HOSPITALITY, CREATES SPACE FOR THE STRANGERS TO BE THEMSELVES. HE DOES NOT SIT AT THE TABLE AND INJECT HIMSELF IN THEIR CONVERSATION. HE SEES TO THEIR NEEDS, AND PUTS HIMSELF AT THEIR SERVICE. WHAT THEY CHOOSE TO DO IS UP TO THEM. THOSE WHO RECEIVE HOSPITALITY IDEALLY SHOULD BE CHANGED BY IT, AND IDEALLY SHOULD FEEL GRATITUDE TOWARDS THEIR HOST; AND IDEALLY, SHOULD BE MORE HOSPITABLE IN THE FUTURE. AND THE STRANGERS SHOW THEIR GRATITUDE BY PROVIDING FOR ABRAHAM AND SARAH THEIR HEART'S DESIRE, A CHILD.
THE GOSPEL READING IS ALSO ABOUT HOSPITALITY. HERE, MARTHA AND MARY AND LAZARUS, TWO SISTERS AND A BROTHER WHO LIVE TOGETHER, OFFER JESUS AND HIS APOSTLES HOSPITALITY. THEY CREATE SPACE SO THAT JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES CAN BE THEMSELVES. AND WHEN YOU LET JESUS BE HIMSELF, HE SPEAKS WORDS OF SALVATION, WORDS WHICH YOU CAN'T IGNORE – AND MARY DOES NOT IGNORE THEM; SHE LETS JESUS BE JESUS. AND WE SEE THAT THE ONE WHO SINS AGAINST HOSPITALITY IS THE ONE WHO IS DOING ALL THE HEAVY LIFTING, MARTHA, WHO IS OUT IN THE KITCHEN PREPARING AN ELABORATE MEAL. SHE IS NOT LETTING JESUS BE JESUS. SHE IS MAKING JESUS BE THE GUEST, THE ONE WHO WILL GRACE HER TABLE, THE ONE WHO WILL FIT INTO HER MOLD. THAT IS WHAT UPSETS HER; HE IS NOT GOING ALONG WITH THE PLAN, AND MARY ISN'T HELPING, SITTING OUT THERE WITH THE MEN WHILE JESUS TEACHES. BUT LIKE THE THREE MEN WHO VISITED ABRAHAM, JESUS SHOWS HIS GRATITUDE BY GIVING THOSE AROUND HIM THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE.
OUR SUNDAY MASS IS ABOUT HOSPITALITY. OUR PARISH BUILT A BEAUTIFUL CHURCH MANY YEARS AGO, NOT FOR US, BUT BECAUSE WE WANT TO INVITE OUR LORD TO BE WITH US. WE PAY FOR OUR ORGANIST AND OUR CANTOR NOT SO MUCH SO THAT WE WILL HEAR BEAUTIFUL MUSIC, BUT SO THAT WHEN JESUS COMES INTO OUR MIDST, WE WANT TO DEMONSTRATE TO HIM THAT HIS COMPANY IS APPRECIATED. WE DO NOT WANT TO BE LIKE THE PHARISEE WHO INVITED JESUS TO SUPPER, BUT DID NOT PROVIDE WATER FOR HIS FEET AND DID NOT GREET HIM WITH A KISS. EVEN THE AIR CONDITIONING WHICH WE ENJOY IS NOT PRIMARILY FOR US, BUT RATHER, SO THAT WE CAN BE LESS DISTRACTED WHEN JESUS COMES TO US; SO WE CAN BE BETTER HOSTS. AND OF COURSE BEING HOST TO JESUS MEANS THAT WE PAY ATTENTION TO HIM, LIKE ABRAHAM WAITING ON THE THREE VISITORS, OR LIKE MARY, SITTING AT HIS FEET. AND BEING HOST TO JESUS SHOULD MEAN THAT WE DRESS APPROPRIATELY, COME BEFORE MASS STARTS, AND LEAVE AFTER MASS IS OVER. WE WOULD NEVER TREAT A GUEST IN OUR HOME THE WAY WE SOMETIMES TREAT THE GUEST WHOM WE ENTERTAIN EVERY SUNDAY.
AND AS I SAID BEFORE, HOSPITALITY IS A TWO WAY STREET. JESUS COMES INTO OUR MIDST AS GUEST, AND TURNS THE TABLES ON US. HE COMES AS OUR GUEST, BUT HE BRINGS HIS WORD, IN OUR READINGS AND IN THE HOMILY. DO WE LISTEN ATTENTIVELY? DO WE LET THE HOLY SPIRIT MOVE US? OR DO WE READ THE WORDS IN THE BOOK WHILE THEY ARE BEING SPOKEN? LISTENING IS PASSIVE, LISTENING ALLOWS THE SPIRIT TO WORK. READING IS ACTIVE, THE SPIRIT DOESN'T DO MUCH WHEN WE ARE NOT BEING OPEN TO HIM. OR DO WE SHAKE OUR WATCH AND WONDER WHEN THIS WILL ALL BE OVER.
JESUS COMES AS OUR GUEST, BUT HE BRINGS THE FOOD. WE'VE SET ASIDE SOME OF WHAT WE CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT – BREAD AND WINE, FOOD AND DRINK; BUT HE CHANGES THAT INTO HIS BODY AND BLOOD, AND SERVES US. AND SOME OF US RECEIVE THIS PRECIOUS GIFT WITH GREAT REVERENCE. WE MAKE A GESTURE OF RESPECT, LIKE A BOW. WE SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY RECEIVE THE HOST INTO OUR HANDS OR OUR MOUTHS. AFTER EATING THE BODY AND DRINKING THE BLOOD, WE SPEND A FEW MINUTES BEING OPEN TO JESUS; WE GO BACK TO OUR PEWS AND SIT IN SILENCE, OR KNEEL WITH OUR EYES CLOSED SO WE ARE NOT DISTRACTED. AND IN THOSE MOMENTS, JESUS TRANSFORMS US. AND YET OTHERS OF US TAKE THIS GIFT WITH EXTREME CASUALNESS, POPPING THE HOST INTO OUR MOUTHS AS WE RUSH FROM COMMUNION TO THE PARKING LOT. IF WE WERE A GUEST IN THE HOME OF A FRIEND, WE WOULDN'T DO THIS, WE WOULDN'T SIT DOWN TO A WONDERFUL SUPPER AND ASK FOR A DOGGIE BAG BECAUSE WE WERE IN A HURRY TO LEAVE.
PEOPLE OFTEN SYMPATHIZE WITH MARTHA; MY MOTHER WAS ONE OF THOSE. SOMEBODY HAS TO DO THE WORK, SHE WOULD SAY. BUT MARTHA, WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE GIVING HOSPITALITY, WAS NOT REALLY; SHE HAD LOWERED HER STATUS TO THAT OF THE COOK. AND BECAUSE OF THAT, SHE DID NOT RECEIVE WHAT OUR LORD, THE GUEST AND THE HOST, WANTED TO GIVE HER.
SO LET US ASK HOW WE GIVE AND RECEIVE HOSPITALITY AT SUNDAY MASS, WHEN JESUS COMES INTO OUR MIDST. LET US ASK WHETHER WE ARE LIKE MARY, WHO HAS CHOSEN THE BETTER PART.
HOSPITALITY. WE HEAR THAT WORD A LOT AND DON'T THINK TOO MUCH OF IT. IT IS WHEN WE HAVE THE KIDS OVER FOR SUNDAY SUPPER, OR WHEN WE ARE TREATED PARTICULARLY WELL ON AN AIRPLANE OR IN A CITY WE VISIT. HOSPITALITY IS IN PART DEFINED BY ITS OPPOSITE – AN ATTITUDE OF COLDNESS, INDIFFERENCE, OR EVEN HOSTILITY. BUT HOSPITALITY HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH OUR RELIGION – AFTER ALL, JESUS ENDORSED IT IN HIS PARABLES AND EVEN TOOK ADVANTAGE OF IT A FEW TIMES, WHEN HE HAD SUPPER WITH A TAX COLLECTOR OR A PHARISEE, WHEN HE ALLOWED PETER'S MOTHER IN LAW TO WAIT ON HIM. JESUS ALLOWED HIMSELF TO RECEIVE HOSPITALITY.
AND IF JESUS IS THE RECIPIENT OF HOSPITALITY, HE IS NEVER ONLY A RECIPIENT. A PERSON WHO RECEIVES HOSPITALITY USUALLY GIVES SOMETHING IN RETURN.
WHENEVER I READ THE STORY OF ABRAHAM ENTERTAINING THE THREE VISITORS, I CAN'T HELP BUT SEE IN MY MIND THE FAMOUS ICON OF THE EASTERN CHURCH. IN THE FOREGROUND ARE THE THREE STRANGERS; THEY ARE SITTING AROUND A TABLE, SEEMINGLY ENGROSSED IN CONVERSATION WITH EACH OTHER. ABRAHAM IS HOVERING IN THE BACKGROUND, WAITING ON THEM. AND SARAH IS PEEKING OUT FROM THE TENT, AND YOU CAN SEE THAT SHE IS LAUGHING AS SHE HEARS THE STRANGERS PREDICT THAT NEXT YEAR SHE WILL HAVE A CHILD. THE ICON SHOWS HER TO BE A VERY OLD WOMAN.
ABRAHAM, IN PROVIDING HOSPITALITY, CREATES SPACE FOR THE STRANGERS TO BE THEMSELVES. HE DOES NOT SIT AT THE TABLE AND INJECT HIMSELF IN THEIR CONVERSATION. HE SEES TO THEIR NEEDS, AND PUTS HIMSELF AT THEIR SERVICE. WHAT THEY CHOOSE TO DO IS UP TO THEM. THOSE WHO RECEIVE HOSPITALITY IDEALLY SHOULD BE CHANGED BY IT, AND IDEALLY SHOULD FEEL GRATITUDE TOWARDS THEIR HOST; AND IDEALLY, SHOULD BE MORE HOSPITABLE IN THE FUTURE. AND THE STRANGERS SHOW THEIR GRATITUDE BY PROVIDING FOR ABRAHAM AND SARAH THEIR HEART'S DESIRE, A CHILD.
THE GOSPEL READING IS ALSO ABOUT HOSPITALITY. HERE, MARTHA AND MARY AND LAZARUS, TWO SISTERS AND A BROTHER WHO LIVE TOGETHER, OFFER JESUS AND HIS APOSTLES HOSPITALITY. THEY CREATE SPACE SO THAT JESUS AND HIS DISCIPLES CAN BE THEMSELVES. AND WHEN YOU LET JESUS BE HIMSELF, HE SPEAKS WORDS OF SALVATION, WORDS WHICH YOU CAN'T IGNORE – AND MARY DOES NOT IGNORE THEM; SHE LETS JESUS BE JESUS. AND WE SEE THAT THE ONE WHO SINS AGAINST HOSPITALITY IS THE ONE WHO IS DOING ALL THE HEAVY LIFTING, MARTHA, WHO IS OUT IN THE KITCHEN PREPARING AN ELABORATE MEAL. SHE IS NOT LETTING JESUS BE JESUS. SHE IS MAKING JESUS BE THE GUEST, THE ONE WHO WILL GRACE HER TABLE, THE ONE WHO WILL FIT INTO HER MOLD. THAT IS WHAT UPSETS HER; HE IS NOT GOING ALONG WITH THE PLAN, AND MARY ISN'T HELPING, SITTING OUT THERE WITH THE MEN WHILE JESUS TEACHES. BUT LIKE THE THREE MEN WHO VISITED ABRAHAM, JESUS SHOWS HIS GRATITUDE BY GIVING THOSE AROUND HIM THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE.
OUR SUNDAY MASS IS ABOUT HOSPITALITY. OUR PARISH BUILT A BEAUTIFUL CHURCH MANY YEARS AGO, NOT FOR US, BUT BECAUSE WE WANT TO INVITE OUR LORD TO BE WITH US. WE PAY FOR OUR ORGANIST AND OUR CANTOR NOT SO MUCH SO THAT WE WILL HEAR BEAUTIFUL MUSIC, BUT SO THAT WHEN JESUS COMES INTO OUR MIDST, WE WANT TO DEMONSTRATE TO HIM THAT HIS COMPANY IS APPRECIATED. WE DO NOT WANT TO BE LIKE THE PHARISEE WHO INVITED JESUS TO SUPPER, BUT DID NOT PROVIDE WATER FOR HIS FEET AND DID NOT GREET HIM WITH A KISS. EVEN THE AIR CONDITIONING WHICH WE ENJOY IS NOT PRIMARILY FOR US, BUT RATHER, SO THAT WE CAN BE LESS DISTRACTED WHEN JESUS COMES TO US; SO WE CAN BE BETTER HOSTS. AND OF COURSE BEING HOST TO JESUS MEANS THAT WE PAY ATTENTION TO HIM, LIKE ABRAHAM WAITING ON THE THREE VISITORS, OR LIKE MARY, SITTING AT HIS FEET. AND BEING HOST TO JESUS SHOULD MEAN THAT WE DRESS APPROPRIATELY, COME BEFORE MASS STARTS, AND LEAVE AFTER MASS IS OVER. WE WOULD NEVER TREAT A GUEST IN OUR HOME THE WAY WE SOMETIMES TREAT THE GUEST WHOM WE ENTERTAIN EVERY SUNDAY.
AND AS I SAID BEFORE, HOSPITALITY IS A TWO WAY STREET. JESUS COMES INTO OUR MIDST AS GUEST, AND TURNS THE TABLES ON US. HE COMES AS OUR GUEST, BUT HE BRINGS HIS WORD, IN OUR READINGS AND IN THE HOMILY. DO WE LISTEN ATTENTIVELY? DO WE LET THE HOLY SPIRIT MOVE US? OR DO WE READ THE WORDS IN THE BOOK WHILE THEY ARE BEING SPOKEN? LISTENING IS PASSIVE, LISTENING ALLOWS THE SPIRIT TO WORK. READING IS ACTIVE, THE SPIRIT DOESN'T DO MUCH WHEN WE ARE NOT BEING OPEN TO HIM. OR DO WE SHAKE OUR WATCH AND WONDER WHEN THIS WILL ALL BE OVER.
JESUS COMES AS OUR GUEST, BUT HE BRINGS THE FOOD. WE'VE SET ASIDE SOME OF WHAT WE CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT – BREAD AND WINE, FOOD AND DRINK; BUT HE CHANGES THAT INTO HIS BODY AND BLOOD, AND SERVES US. AND SOME OF US RECEIVE THIS PRECIOUS GIFT WITH GREAT REVERENCE. WE MAKE A GESTURE OF RESPECT, LIKE A BOW. WE SLOWLY AND CAREFULLY RECEIVE THE HOST INTO OUR HANDS OR OUR MOUTHS. AFTER EATING THE BODY AND DRINKING THE BLOOD, WE SPEND A FEW MINUTES BEING OPEN TO JESUS; WE GO BACK TO OUR PEWS AND SIT IN SILENCE, OR KNEEL WITH OUR EYES CLOSED SO WE ARE NOT DISTRACTED. AND IN THOSE MOMENTS, JESUS TRANSFORMS US. AND YET OTHERS OF US TAKE THIS GIFT WITH EXTREME CASUALNESS, POPPING THE HOST INTO OUR MOUTHS AS WE RUSH FROM COMMUNION TO THE PARKING LOT. IF WE WERE A GUEST IN THE HOME OF A FRIEND, WE WOULDN'T DO THIS, WE WOULDN'T SIT DOWN TO A WONDERFUL SUPPER AND ASK FOR A DOGGIE BAG BECAUSE WE WERE IN A HURRY TO LEAVE.
PEOPLE OFTEN SYMPATHIZE WITH MARTHA; MY MOTHER WAS ONE OF THOSE. SOMEBODY HAS TO DO THE WORK, SHE WOULD SAY. BUT MARTHA, WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE GIVING HOSPITALITY, WAS NOT REALLY; SHE HAD LOWERED HER STATUS TO THAT OF THE COOK. AND BECAUSE OF THAT, SHE DID NOT RECEIVE WHAT OUR LORD, THE GUEST AND THE HOST, WANTED TO GIVE HER.
SO LET US ASK HOW WE GIVE AND RECEIVE HOSPITALITY AT SUNDAY MASS, WHEN JESUS COMES INTO OUR MIDST. LET US ASK WHETHER WE ARE LIKE MARY, WHO HAS CHOSEN THE BETTER PART.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
15th Sunday in Ordinary time cycle C
LUKE 10:25-37
ONCE THERE WAS A VILLAGE WHERE AN OLD MAN LIVED IN A SHACK AT THE EDGE OF TOWN. HE HAD A SMALL GARDEN WHICH HE TENDED, AND HE WOULD SIT AND PLAY HIS HARMONICA IN THE EVENINGS TO THE DELIGHT OF CHILDREN AND OTHERS WHO PASSED BY. WHEN HIS GARDEN GREW, HE WOULD GIVE AWAY ITS PRODUCE. HIS CLOTHING WAS OLD AND SMELLY AND IN TATTERS, SO ONE DAY THE TOWNSPEOPLE TOOK UP A COLLECTION AND BOUGHT A COMPLETE SET OF NEW CLOTHING FOR HIM. THEY WRAPPED IT IN A PACKAGE AND PUT IT ON HIS DOORSTEP AT NIGHT. THE NEXT MORNING HE TOLD HIS FRIENDS ABOUT IT WITH GREAT EXCITEMENT. “LOOK AT THE WONDERFUL CLOTHES SOMEONE LEFT ON MY STEPS,” HE EXCLAIMED. “YOU ARE VERY LUCKY,” REPLIED THE VILLAGERS. “I KNOW,” HE REPLIED. “JUST YESTERDAY I MET SOMEONE WHO COULD REALLY USE THEM.”
I THINK WE ALL KNOW PEOPLE WHO ARE ALWAYS DOING THINGS FOR OTHER PEOPLE. SOME OF THEM SEEM TO NEVER THINK OF THEMSELVES. WE KNOW PEOPLE WHO HAVE ALMOST NOTHING, BUT WILL GIVE YOU WHAT THEY CAN – SOME HOMEMADE SOUP; A MAGAZINE OR BOOK THEY PARTICULARLY ENJOYED; MAYBE THEY WOULD DROP EVERYTHING AND GO WITH SOMEONE WHO NEEDED A COMPANION ON A TRIP. AND THESE PERSONS ARE NOT WHO WE MIGHT THINK OF AS SAINTS. SOMETIMES THEY ARE VERY FLAWED. SOMETIMES THEY SEEM TO HAVE PERSONALITY DISORDERS. BUT I ENVY THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE SO GENEROUS.
THE LAWYER WAS A GOOD MAN; HE WAS INTERESTED IN GETTING TO HEAVEN. HE THOUGHT JESUS HAD SOME SECRET. BUT JESUS JUST SAID SOMETHING THAT EVERY JEW LEARNED AS A CHILD; LOVE GOD WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE, LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. THE LAWYER THOUGHT A MINUTE; IT WAS TOO SIMPLE AN ANSWER. BUT HE HAD JESUS' ATTENTION SO HE ASKED A VERY LAWYERLY QUESTION. WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?
THE LAWYER WANTED INSTRUCTIONS IN HOW TO GET TO HEAVEN. HE DIDN'T WANT TO WASTE TIME LAVISHING LOVE ON THE WRONG PEOPLE!
BUT JESUS IN TELLING THE STORY, TURNS THE TABLES. HE SAYS, “DON'T WORRY ABOUT GETTING SAVED – THAT'S MY JOB. YOU, GO OUT AND BE A NEIGHBOR.”
WE PRETTY MUCH GET JESUS' POINT. THE SAMARITAN, WHO IS FROM A PEOPLE THAT THE JEWS HATED, TURNS OUT TO BE THE NEIGHBOR. BUT WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH THE PRIEST AND THE LEVITE?
THE PRIEST HURRIED BY BECAUSE HE WAS ON HIS WAY TO PERFORM HIS PRIESTLY DUTIES, AND CONTACT WITH A STRANGER WHO WAS BLEEDING AND MIGHT EVEN DIE WOULD DESTROY HIS RITUAL PURITY, AND HE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO OFFER SACRIFICE, HE WOULD END UP DISAPPOINTING GOD. THE PRIEST HAD GOOD REASONS FOR WHAT HE DID. THE ROLE OF THE LEVITES IN THAT SOCIETY WAS TO LOOK AFTER THE WIDOWS AND ORPHANS. THEY USED SOME OF THE TEMPLE REVENUES FOR THIS SACRED DUTY. THE LEVITE WAS THINKING ABOUT ALL THE PEOPLE HE HAD TO HELP; IF HE DIDN'T GET TO JERUSALEM SO THAT HE COULD GET HIS SHARE OF THE ALLOTED MONEY AND BRING IT BACK TO HIS VILLAGE, HE COULD THINK OF A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD GO HUNGRY. SO HE HURRIED BY. AND BOTH THE PRIEST AND THE LEVITE REMEMBERED STORIES ABOUT HOW BANDITS WOULD HAVE ONE OF THEIR CREW ACT LIKE HE HAD BEEN INJURED AND WHEN SOMEONE STOPPED TO HELP, THE BANDITS WOULD EMERGE FROM THEIR HIDING PLACES AND ROB THE PERSON WHO STOPPED TO HELP, OFTEN KILLING HIM. THAT MAY BE EXACTLY WHY THE INJURED MAN HAD BEEN SET UPON BY BANDITS. HE MAY HAVE STOPPED TO HELP.
THE SAMARITAN, WE REMEMBER, WAS ON BUSINESS HIMSELF, AND COULD HAVE USED ANY OF THOSE EXCUSES FOR NOT BEING A NEIGHBOR – BUT DIDN'T.
WE MIGHT NOT BE CAPABLE OF BECOMING THE KIND OF NEIGHBORS THAT JESUS CALLS US TO BE RIGHT NOW. BUT WE CAN SORT OUT WHAT KEEPS US FROM THAT GOAL. IS OUR EXCUSE THAT WE ARE DOING SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT AS THE PRIEST THOUGHT HE WAS DOING? WE DON'T USUALLY PUT OUR RELIGIOUS DUTIES OVER SOMETHING LIKE THIS, BUT MANY OF US ARE INVOLVED IN CAUSES WHICH WE THINK ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, AND THEY OCCUPY OUR THOUGHTS AND OUR TIMES, AND WE DON'T SEE OUR NEIGHBOR'S NEED. POLITICS, GLOBAL WARMING – YOU NAME THE CAUSE. IS OUR EXCUSE THAT WE ARE ALREADY GIVING? MANY OF US USE OUR MONEY AND OUR TIME TO HELP A SOUP KITCHEN, A SHELTER, A MISSION SOCIETY; OUR ALMA MATER. AND WE DON'T SEE OUR NEIGHBOR'S NEED. AND OF COURSE MANY OF US FEAR GETTING INVOLVED ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, ESPECIALLY WHEN OUR NEIGHBOR IS ANNOYING, DIRTY, A LITTLE INSANE; AND WE LOOK AWAY.
AND MAYBE WE'VE TRIED TO HELP BEFORE, AND SOMETHING BAD HAS COME OF IT. THERE IS THAT OLD SAYING THAT NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED. WE MIGHT IDENTIFY WITH THE POOR MAN WHO MAY HAVE STOPPED TO HELP SOMEONE ELSE AND WAS BEATEN AND ROBBED AND LEFT FOR DEAD.
TODAY WE SHOULD LEAVE OUR CHURCH, NOT THINKING ABOUT OUR FAILINGS AS A NEIGHBOR; VERY FEW OF US ARE PERFECT NEIGHBORS. INSTEAD WE SHOULD ASK HOW WE ARE LIKE THE PRIEST AND THE LEVITE – NOT EVIL MEN, BUT GOOD MEN – WHO HAVE GOOD REASONS FOR PASSING THE NEIGHBOR. AND THEN WE NEED TO PRAY THAT JESUS WILL SHARPEN OUR VISION SO THAT WITHOUT NEGLECTING THE GOOD THINGS WE DO, THE GOOD CAUSES WE SUPPORT, THE CHARITIES IN WHICH WE INVEST, WE SEE OUR NEIGHBOR WITH A COMPASSIONATE HEART, AND REALIZE THAT NOTHING IS SO IMPORTANT AS THAT MOMENT. AND MAY GOD SHARPEN OUR VISION EVEN FURTHER SO THAT WE RECOGNIZE WHO IS THERE AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, BEATEN AND ROBBED AND LEFT FOR DEAD. AND SEE THAT THE PERSON IS JESUS CHRIST.
ONCE THERE WAS A VILLAGE WHERE AN OLD MAN LIVED IN A SHACK AT THE EDGE OF TOWN. HE HAD A SMALL GARDEN WHICH HE TENDED, AND HE WOULD SIT AND PLAY HIS HARMONICA IN THE EVENINGS TO THE DELIGHT OF CHILDREN AND OTHERS WHO PASSED BY. WHEN HIS GARDEN GREW, HE WOULD GIVE AWAY ITS PRODUCE. HIS CLOTHING WAS OLD AND SMELLY AND IN TATTERS, SO ONE DAY THE TOWNSPEOPLE TOOK UP A COLLECTION AND BOUGHT A COMPLETE SET OF NEW CLOTHING FOR HIM. THEY WRAPPED IT IN A PACKAGE AND PUT IT ON HIS DOORSTEP AT NIGHT. THE NEXT MORNING HE TOLD HIS FRIENDS ABOUT IT WITH GREAT EXCITEMENT. “LOOK AT THE WONDERFUL CLOTHES SOMEONE LEFT ON MY STEPS,” HE EXCLAIMED. “YOU ARE VERY LUCKY,” REPLIED THE VILLAGERS. “I KNOW,” HE REPLIED. “JUST YESTERDAY I MET SOMEONE WHO COULD REALLY USE THEM.”
I THINK WE ALL KNOW PEOPLE WHO ARE ALWAYS DOING THINGS FOR OTHER PEOPLE. SOME OF THEM SEEM TO NEVER THINK OF THEMSELVES. WE KNOW PEOPLE WHO HAVE ALMOST NOTHING, BUT WILL GIVE YOU WHAT THEY CAN – SOME HOMEMADE SOUP; A MAGAZINE OR BOOK THEY PARTICULARLY ENJOYED; MAYBE THEY WOULD DROP EVERYTHING AND GO WITH SOMEONE WHO NEEDED A COMPANION ON A TRIP. AND THESE PERSONS ARE NOT WHO WE MIGHT THINK OF AS SAINTS. SOMETIMES THEY ARE VERY FLAWED. SOMETIMES THEY SEEM TO HAVE PERSONALITY DISORDERS. BUT I ENVY THEM BECAUSE THEY ARE SO GENEROUS.
THE LAWYER WAS A GOOD MAN; HE WAS INTERESTED IN GETTING TO HEAVEN. HE THOUGHT JESUS HAD SOME SECRET. BUT JESUS JUST SAID SOMETHING THAT EVERY JEW LEARNED AS A CHILD; LOVE GOD WITH EVERYTHING YOU HAVE, LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF. THE LAWYER THOUGHT A MINUTE; IT WAS TOO SIMPLE AN ANSWER. BUT HE HAD JESUS' ATTENTION SO HE ASKED A VERY LAWYERLY QUESTION. WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?
THE LAWYER WANTED INSTRUCTIONS IN HOW TO GET TO HEAVEN. HE DIDN'T WANT TO WASTE TIME LAVISHING LOVE ON THE WRONG PEOPLE!
BUT JESUS IN TELLING THE STORY, TURNS THE TABLES. HE SAYS, “DON'T WORRY ABOUT GETTING SAVED – THAT'S MY JOB. YOU, GO OUT AND BE A NEIGHBOR.”
WE PRETTY MUCH GET JESUS' POINT. THE SAMARITAN, WHO IS FROM A PEOPLE THAT THE JEWS HATED, TURNS OUT TO BE THE NEIGHBOR. BUT WHAT WAS THE MATTER WITH THE PRIEST AND THE LEVITE?
THE PRIEST HURRIED BY BECAUSE HE WAS ON HIS WAY TO PERFORM HIS PRIESTLY DUTIES, AND CONTACT WITH A STRANGER WHO WAS BLEEDING AND MIGHT EVEN DIE WOULD DESTROY HIS RITUAL PURITY, AND HE WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO OFFER SACRIFICE, HE WOULD END UP DISAPPOINTING GOD. THE PRIEST HAD GOOD REASONS FOR WHAT HE DID. THE ROLE OF THE LEVITES IN THAT SOCIETY WAS TO LOOK AFTER THE WIDOWS AND ORPHANS. THEY USED SOME OF THE TEMPLE REVENUES FOR THIS SACRED DUTY. THE LEVITE WAS THINKING ABOUT ALL THE PEOPLE HE HAD TO HELP; IF HE DIDN'T GET TO JERUSALEM SO THAT HE COULD GET HIS SHARE OF THE ALLOTED MONEY AND BRING IT BACK TO HIS VILLAGE, HE COULD THINK OF A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO WOULD GO HUNGRY. SO HE HURRIED BY. AND BOTH THE PRIEST AND THE LEVITE REMEMBERED STORIES ABOUT HOW BANDITS WOULD HAVE ONE OF THEIR CREW ACT LIKE HE HAD BEEN INJURED AND WHEN SOMEONE STOPPED TO HELP, THE BANDITS WOULD EMERGE FROM THEIR HIDING PLACES AND ROB THE PERSON WHO STOPPED TO HELP, OFTEN KILLING HIM. THAT MAY BE EXACTLY WHY THE INJURED MAN HAD BEEN SET UPON BY BANDITS. HE MAY HAVE STOPPED TO HELP.
THE SAMARITAN, WE REMEMBER, WAS ON BUSINESS HIMSELF, AND COULD HAVE USED ANY OF THOSE EXCUSES FOR NOT BEING A NEIGHBOR – BUT DIDN'T.
WE MIGHT NOT BE CAPABLE OF BECOMING THE KIND OF NEIGHBORS THAT JESUS CALLS US TO BE RIGHT NOW. BUT WE CAN SORT OUT WHAT KEEPS US FROM THAT GOAL. IS OUR EXCUSE THAT WE ARE DOING SOMETHING MORE IMPORTANT AS THE PRIEST THOUGHT HE WAS DOING? WE DON'T USUALLY PUT OUR RELIGIOUS DUTIES OVER SOMETHING LIKE THIS, BUT MANY OF US ARE INVOLVED IN CAUSES WHICH WE THINK ARE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT, AND THEY OCCUPY OUR THOUGHTS AND OUR TIMES, AND WE DON'T SEE OUR NEIGHBOR'S NEED. POLITICS, GLOBAL WARMING – YOU NAME THE CAUSE. IS OUR EXCUSE THAT WE ARE ALREADY GIVING? MANY OF US USE OUR MONEY AND OUR TIME TO HELP A SOUP KITCHEN, A SHELTER, A MISSION SOCIETY; OUR ALMA MATER. AND WE DON'T SEE OUR NEIGHBOR'S NEED. AND OF COURSE MANY OF US FEAR GETTING INVOLVED ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, ESPECIALLY WHEN OUR NEIGHBOR IS ANNOYING, DIRTY, A LITTLE INSANE; AND WE LOOK AWAY.
AND MAYBE WE'VE TRIED TO HELP BEFORE, AND SOMETHING BAD HAS COME OF IT. THERE IS THAT OLD SAYING THAT NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED. WE MIGHT IDENTIFY WITH THE POOR MAN WHO MAY HAVE STOPPED TO HELP SOMEONE ELSE AND WAS BEATEN AND ROBBED AND LEFT FOR DEAD.
TODAY WE SHOULD LEAVE OUR CHURCH, NOT THINKING ABOUT OUR FAILINGS AS A NEIGHBOR; VERY FEW OF US ARE PERFECT NEIGHBORS. INSTEAD WE SHOULD ASK HOW WE ARE LIKE THE PRIEST AND THE LEVITE – NOT EVIL MEN, BUT GOOD MEN – WHO HAVE GOOD REASONS FOR PASSING THE NEIGHBOR. AND THEN WE NEED TO PRAY THAT JESUS WILL SHARPEN OUR VISION SO THAT WITHOUT NEGLECTING THE GOOD THINGS WE DO, THE GOOD CAUSES WE SUPPORT, THE CHARITIES IN WHICH WE INVEST, WE SEE OUR NEIGHBOR WITH A COMPASSIONATE HEART, AND REALIZE THAT NOTHING IS SO IMPORTANT AS THAT MOMENT. AND MAY GOD SHARPEN OUR VISION EVEN FURTHER SO THAT WE RECOGNIZE WHO IS THERE AT THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, BEATEN AND ROBBED AND LEFT FOR DEAD. AND SEE THAT THE PERSON IS JESUS CHRIST.
Sunday, July 8, 2007
14th Sunday in Ordinary Time
LUKE 10: 1-12, 17-20
IN THE EARLY DAYS OF OUR COUNTRY, THE CONGREGATIONALIST DENOMINATION WAS VERY PROMINENT IN NEW ENGLAND. WHEN PRESBYTERIANS CAME FROM ENGLAND, THEY RECOGNIZED THAT THEY WERE VERY SIMILAR TO CONGREGATIONALISTS, SO THEY MADE A DEAL. THEY WOULD EVANGELIZE THE REST OF THE COUNTRY AND NOT COMPETE WITH THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. PRESBYTERIANS IN THOSE DAYS HAD A WELL DEVELOPED THEOLOGY AND THEIR MINISTERS WERE VERY WELL EDUCATED. THEY WOULD LOAD THEIR BOOKS ONTO RAILROAD CARS AND GO WHEREVER THE TRAIN COULD TAKE THEM.
IN THE MEANTIME, THE METHODISTS WERE COMING TO THE UNITED STATES AS WELL. IF YOU WANTED TO BE A METHODIST PREACHER, YOU DIDN'T NEED A TREMENDOUS EDUCATION; YOU HAD TO HAVE SINCERITY AND A FAMILIARITY WITH THE BIBLE. THE AVERAGE METHODIST PREACHER HAD ABOUT A YEAR OF EDUCATION. AS METHODIST CHURCHES WERE ESTABLISHED, THE FOUNDING PREACHER WOULD BE EVENTUALLY REPLACED BY A BETTER TRAINED MINISTER AND THE CHURCH WOULD BECOME ESTABLISHED.
THE METHODIST PREACHERS RODE HORSES AND WENT WHEREVER THERE WERE PEOPLE; AND THEIR COLLECTION OF BOOKS INCLUDED ONLY WHAT THEY COULD PUT IN THEIR SADDLEBAGS – A BIBLE, A FEW TRACTS, MAYBE A HYMNAL. IT IS NO WONDER THAT THE METHODIST DENOMINATION SO VASTLY OUTNUMBERED THE PRESBYTERIANS IN THOSE DAYS.
THERE ARE TWO THINGS THAT JESUS ASKS OF HIS DISCIPLES. AND IT IS SIGNIFICANT THAT HE IS SPEAKING TO SEVENTY DISCIPLES, NOT THE TWELVE APOSTLES. HE IS SPEAKING NOT JUST TO THE PRIESTS AND BISHOPS, BUT TO ALL HIS FOLLOWERS. THE FIRST THING JESUS ASKS IS THAT PREACHING THE KINGDOM IS A MATTER OF GREAT URGENCY. IT IS SO URGENT THAT HE DOES NOT WANT HIS FOLLOWERS TO BE WEIGHED DOWN BY ANYTHING THAT MIGHT SLOW THEM DOWN. HE DOESN'T WANT HIS FOLLOWERS TO WASTE TIME WHERE THEY ARE NOT WELCOMED, BUT TO MOVE ON AND MAKE THE MOST EFFICIENT USE OF THEIR TIME.
THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOWED JESUS KNEW BIG THINGS WERE IN THE AIR; THEY EXPECTED THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD WAS ABOUT TO BREAK THROUGH AND REPLACE ALL THE IMPERFECT HUMAN ATTEMPTS AT BUILDING A WORLD IN WHICH MEN AND WOMEN COULD LIVE IN PEACE AND DIGNITY. THEY HAD A SENSE OF URGENCY, THEY FELT THAT THEY HAD THIS ONE CHANCE TO SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS.
AFTER 2000 YEARS, IT DOESN'T SEEM SO URGENT ANYMORE. JESUS HASN'T COME AGAIN, THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS STILL ARRIVING, HASN'T ARRIVED YET. WE THINK WE HAVE PLENTY OF TIME.
BUT WE DON'T. WE ARE JUST LIKE THOSE DISCIPLES, WE HAVE OUR LIFETIMES TO SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS, NO MORE; AND MANY OF OUR FELLOW MEN HAVE ONLY ONE CHANCE TO HEAR THE GOOD NEWS – WHEN WE ANNOUNCE IT. IF WE DO NOT PREACH THROUGH OUR WORDS AND ACTIONS, WHO WILL? IF WE DO NOT SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS, WHO ELSE WILL? GOD INVITES EACH OF US TO ENTER INTO HIS MINISTRY, IN A WAY THAT NO ONE ELSE CAN DUPLICATE.
ST ALPHONSUS LIGUORI MADE A VOW WHEN HE WAS FIRST ORDAINED THAT HE WOULD NEVER WASTE TIME. AND HE DIDN'T. HE WAS A TIRELESS PREACHER AND WRITER, RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONVERSION OF MANY HEARTS. HE HAD A SENSE OF URGENCY. THE SAME IS TRUE OF ST. MAXIMILLIAN KOLBE. HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A VAST ENTERPRISE ALL AIMED AT INCREASING THE DEVOTION OF PEOPLE TO JESUS THROUGH MARY. WHEN YOU READ HIS BIOGRAPHY, HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS LEAVE US BREATHLESS. HE HAD A SENSE OF URGENCY.
THE SECOND THING THAT JESUS ASKS OF HIS DISCIPLES IS A SENSE OF JOY. WHEN THE DISCIPLES RETURN, THEY ARE OVERJOYED. THEY HAVE BEEN CASTING OUT DEMONS, THEY HAVE HEALED THE SICK, PEOPLE HAVE RESPONDED TO THEM. WHEN WE WORK FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, WHEN OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH JESUS BEARS FRUIT, WE EXPERIENCE JOY, A JOY WE CAN'T EXPERIENCE DOING ANYTHING ELSE. JESUS HIMSELF REJOICES IN OUR SUCCESSES, AS HE DOES WITH HIS DISCIPLES IN THIS GOSPEL READING.
WHEN YOU AND I SEE THAT SOMEONE CHANGES FOR THE BETTER BECAUSE OF SOMETHING WE SAID OR DID, WE EXPERIENCE JOY. WE CAN SPEND HUGE AMOUNTS OF TIME WITHOUT SUCCESS, BUT EVEN A LITTLE SUCCESS BRINGS US JOY.
THE MARKS OF A DISCIPLE INCLUDE A SENSE OF URGENCY AND A SENSE OF JOY. NOTHING SHOULD STAND IN OUR WAY IN PREACHING THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. EVERY TIME WE ENCOUNTER ANOTHER HUMAN BEING, EVEN MEMBERS OF OUR FAMILY, EVEN PERFECT STRANGERS, WE SHOULD ASK, WHAT CAN I DO TO BRING JESUS TO THIS PERSON, WHAT CAN I DO TO BRING THIS PERSON CLOSER TO JESUS? WE DON'T HAVE TO BE FANATICS; WE JUST HAVE TO BE CONSCIOUS OF THE FACT THAT THIS MOMENT MAY BE THE GRACE FILLED ONE, THE ONE WHERE JESUS WANTS TO ACT THROUGH US ON THIS OTHER PERSON. IF WE ARE CONSCIOUS OF THAT IDEA, THE LORD WILL SHOW US THE WAY.
AND WE MUST BE JOYFUL. WHERE URGENCY TELLS US TO TAKE EACH MOMENT SERIOUSLY, JOY TELLS US TO TAKE OURSELVES LESS THAN SERIOUSLY. JOY REMINDS US THAT GOD IS IN CHARGE AND WE ARE INSTRUMENTS; AND AS LONG AS WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE INSTRUMENTS, WHATEVER GOD DOES WITH US WILL BE ALL RIGHT. AND WHEN WE SEE GOD WORKING THROUGH US, CAN ANYTHING BE BETTER? WHEN WE SEE HIS WILL BEING DONE, CAN WE ASK FOR ANYTHING MORE?
TODAY LET US PRAY THAT WE WILL BE BETTER DISCIPLES, THAT WE WILL FELL URGENCY IN OUR MISSION, AND THAT WE WILL EXPERIENCE THE JOY OF HAVING GOD WORK THROUGH US.
IN THE EARLY DAYS OF OUR COUNTRY, THE CONGREGATIONALIST DENOMINATION WAS VERY PROMINENT IN NEW ENGLAND. WHEN PRESBYTERIANS CAME FROM ENGLAND, THEY RECOGNIZED THAT THEY WERE VERY SIMILAR TO CONGREGATIONALISTS, SO THEY MADE A DEAL. THEY WOULD EVANGELIZE THE REST OF THE COUNTRY AND NOT COMPETE WITH THE CONGREGATIONALISTS. PRESBYTERIANS IN THOSE DAYS HAD A WELL DEVELOPED THEOLOGY AND THEIR MINISTERS WERE VERY WELL EDUCATED. THEY WOULD LOAD THEIR BOOKS ONTO RAILROAD CARS AND GO WHEREVER THE TRAIN COULD TAKE THEM.
IN THE MEANTIME, THE METHODISTS WERE COMING TO THE UNITED STATES AS WELL. IF YOU WANTED TO BE A METHODIST PREACHER, YOU DIDN'T NEED A TREMENDOUS EDUCATION; YOU HAD TO HAVE SINCERITY AND A FAMILIARITY WITH THE BIBLE. THE AVERAGE METHODIST PREACHER HAD ABOUT A YEAR OF EDUCATION. AS METHODIST CHURCHES WERE ESTABLISHED, THE FOUNDING PREACHER WOULD BE EVENTUALLY REPLACED BY A BETTER TRAINED MINISTER AND THE CHURCH WOULD BECOME ESTABLISHED.
THE METHODIST PREACHERS RODE HORSES AND WENT WHEREVER THERE WERE PEOPLE; AND THEIR COLLECTION OF BOOKS INCLUDED ONLY WHAT THEY COULD PUT IN THEIR SADDLEBAGS – A BIBLE, A FEW TRACTS, MAYBE A HYMNAL. IT IS NO WONDER THAT THE METHODIST DENOMINATION SO VASTLY OUTNUMBERED THE PRESBYTERIANS IN THOSE DAYS.
THERE ARE TWO THINGS THAT JESUS ASKS OF HIS DISCIPLES. AND IT IS SIGNIFICANT THAT HE IS SPEAKING TO SEVENTY DISCIPLES, NOT THE TWELVE APOSTLES. HE IS SPEAKING NOT JUST TO THE PRIESTS AND BISHOPS, BUT TO ALL HIS FOLLOWERS. THE FIRST THING JESUS ASKS IS THAT PREACHING THE KINGDOM IS A MATTER OF GREAT URGENCY. IT IS SO URGENT THAT HE DOES NOT WANT HIS FOLLOWERS TO BE WEIGHED DOWN BY ANYTHING THAT MIGHT SLOW THEM DOWN. HE DOESN'T WANT HIS FOLLOWERS TO WASTE TIME WHERE THEY ARE NOT WELCOMED, BUT TO MOVE ON AND MAKE THE MOST EFFICIENT USE OF THEIR TIME.
THE PEOPLE WHO FOLLOWED JESUS KNEW BIG THINGS WERE IN THE AIR; THEY EXPECTED THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD WAS ABOUT TO BREAK THROUGH AND REPLACE ALL THE IMPERFECT HUMAN ATTEMPTS AT BUILDING A WORLD IN WHICH MEN AND WOMEN COULD LIVE IN PEACE AND DIGNITY. THEY HAD A SENSE OF URGENCY, THEY FELT THAT THEY HAD THIS ONE CHANCE TO SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS.
AFTER 2000 YEARS, IT DOESN'T SEEM SO URGENT ANYMORE. JESUS HASN'T COME AGAIN, THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS STILL ARRIVING, HASN'T ARRIVED YET. WE THINK WE HAVE PLENTY OF TIME.
BUT WE DON'T. WE ARE JUST LIKE THOSE DISCIPLES, WE HAVE OUR LIFETIMES TO SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS, NO MORE; AND MANY OF OUR FELLOW MEN HAVE ONLY ONE CHANCE TO HEAR THE GOOD NEWS – WHEN WE ANNOUNCE IT. IF WE DO NOT PREACH THROUGH OUR WORDS AND ACTIONS, WHO WILL? IF WE DO NOT SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS, WHO ELSE WILL? GOD INVITES EACH OF US TO ENTER INTO HIS MINISTRY, IN A WAY THAT NO ONE ELSE CAN DUPLICATE.
ST ALPHONSUS LIGUORI MADE A VOW WHEN HE WAS FIRST ORDAINED THAT HE WOULD NEVER WASTE TIME. AND HE DIDN'T. HE WAS A TIRELESS PREACHER AND WRITER, RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONVERSION OF MANY HEARTS. HE HAD A SENSE OF URGENCY. THE SAME IS TRUE OF ST. MAXIMILLIAN KOLBE. HE WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A VAST ENTERPRISE ALL AIMED AT INCREASING THE DEVOTION OF PEOPLE TO JESUS THROUGH MARY. WHEN YOU READ HIS BIOGRAPHY, HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS LEAVE US BREATHLESS. HE HAD A SENSE OF URGENCY.
THE SECOND THING THAT JESUS ASKS OF HIS DISCIPLES IS A SENSE OF JOY. WHEN THE DISCIPLES RETURN, THEY ARE OVERJOYED. THEY HAVE BEEN CASTING OUT DEMONS, THEY HAVE HEALED THE SICK, PEOPLE HAVE RESPONDED TO THEM. WHEN WE WORK FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, WHEN OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH JESUS BEARS FRUIT, WE EXPERIENCE JOY, A JOY WE CAN'T EXPERIENCE DOING ANYTHING ELSE. JESUS HIMSELF REJOICES IN OUR SUCCESSES, AS HE DOES WITH HIS DISCIPLES IN THIS GOSPEL READING.
WHEN YOU AND I SEE THAT SOMEONE CHANGES FOR THE BETTER BECAUSE OF SOMETHING WE SAID OR DID, WE EXPERIENCE JOY. WE CAN SPEND HUGE AMOUNTS OF TIME WITHOUT SUCCESS, BUT EVEN A LITTLE SUCCESS BRINGS US JOY.
THE MARKS OF A DISCIPLE INCLUDE A SENSE OF URGENCY AND A SENSE OF JOY. NOTHING SHOULD STAND IN OUR WAY IN PREACHING THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. EVERY TIME WE ENCOUNTER ANOTHER HUMAN BEING, EVEN MEMBERS OF OUR FAMILY, EVEN PERFECT STRANGERS, WE SHOULD ASK, WHAT CAN I DO TO BRING JESUS TO THIS PERSON, WHAT CAN I DO TO BRING THIS PERSON CLOSER TO JESUS? WE DON'T HAVE TO BE FANATICS; WE JUST HAVE TO BE CONSCIOUS OF THE FACT THAT THIS MOMENT MAY BE THE GRACE FILLED ONE, THE ONE WHERE JESUS WANTS TO ACT THROUGH US ON THIS OTHER PERSON. IF WE ARE CONSCIOUS OF THAT IDEA, THE LORD WILL SHOW US THE WAY.
AND WE MUST BE JOYFUL. WHERE URGENCY TELLS US TO TAKE EACH MOMENT SERIOUSLY, JOY TELLS US TO TAKE OURSELVES LESS THAN SERIOUSLY. JOY REMINDS US THAT GOD IS IN CHARGE AND WE ARE INSTRUMENTS; AND AS LONG AS WE RECOGNIZE THAT WE ARE INSTRUMENTS, WHATEVER GOD DOES WITH US WILL BE ALL RIGHT. AND WHEN WE SEE GOD WORKING THROUGH US, CAN ANYTHING BE BETTER? WHEN WE SEE HIS WILL BEING DONE, CAN WE ASK FOR ANYTHING MORE?
TODAY LET US PRAY THAT WE WILL BE BETTER DISCIPLES, THAT WE WILL FELL URGENCY IN OUR MISSION, AND THAT WE WILL EXPERIENCE THE JOY OF HAVING GOD WORK THROUGH US.
Sunday, July 1, 2007
13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C
LUKE 9:51-62
IF YOU DIG AROUND IN BIBLICAL COMMENTARIES ABOUT TODAY'S READINGS YOU FIND THAT THE GOSPEL READING MORE OR LESS RECALLS THE PROPHET ELIJAH. WHEN JAMES AND JOHN WANT TO CALL DOWN FIRE ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE SAMARITAN TOWN, WE CAN REMEMBER THAT ELIJAH DID EXACTLY THAT TO THE MESSENGERS FROM THE KING OF ISRAEL, WHO WAS HIS ENEMY. WHEN WE HEAR THAT JESUS SAYS THAT HE HAS NOWHERE TO LAY HIS HEAD, WE ARE REMINDED THAT ELIJAH WAS KNOWN AS THE TISHBITE, WHICH HAD THE CONNOTATION “STRANGER”. THERE WAS A PLACE CALLED TISHBE, BUT IN ELIJAH'S TIME IT WAS ALL BUT ABANDONED, AND PEOPLE WHO SEEMED TO COME OUT OF NOWHERE WERE CALLED TISHBITES. AND FINALLY, WE SEE THAT ELIJAH LETS ELISHA GO BACK AND SAY GOODBYE TO HIS FAMILY, IN CONTRAST TO JESUS, WHO INSISTS THAT PREACHING THE GOSPEL COMES BEFORE ALL FAMILY OBLIGATIONS.
IN OTHER WORDS, IS LUKE DELIBERATELY TRYING TO GET HIS READERS TO SEE THAT JESUS, BOTH IN A POSITIVE AND A NEGATIVE SENSE, GOES BEYOND ELIJAH?
THE PROPHET CAN AVENGE HIMSELF ON HIS ENEMIES WITH GOD'S POWER. JESUS WILL NOT AVENGE HIMSELF. THE PROPHET MAY BE A STRANGER, BUT JESUS IS EVEN MORE SO; HE HAS NO HOME. AND THE PROPHET ALLOWS HIS DISCIPLE TO TEND TO HUMAN NEEDS BEFORE SETTING OUT ON HIS VOCATION, BUT JESUS DOES NOT.
AND THIS IS ALL PREFACED BY THE STATEMENT THAT JESUS RESOLUTELY HEADED FOR JERUSALEM, BECAUSE THE DAYS FOR HIM BEING TAKEN UP WERE BEING FULFILLED – JESUS MARCHES INTO THE CITY WHERE HE KNOWS HE WILL BE PUT TO DEATH. ELIJAH, WHEN HE LEARNED THAT THE KING SOUGHT TO PUT HIM TO DEATH, FLEES INTO THE MOUNTAINS.
MOST OF US, WHEN WE THINK OF JESUS, SEE HIM AS SOMEONE WHO LOVES US, WHO PROTECTS US, WHO LEADS US. HE IS THERE IN OUR GRIEF, HE FORGIVES OUR FAILINGS, HE CARRIES OUR BURDENS. THAT IMAGE SEEMS SO DIFFERENT FROM THE IMAGE OF JESUS IN THIS GOSPEL READING. HE REBUKES HIS DISCIPLES; HE TELLS ONE WOULD-BE DISCIPLE THAT IF HE FOLLOWS JESUS, HE WILL BE HOMELESS; ANOTHER, HE DEMANDS THAT HE LET THE DEAD BURY THE DEAD, BUT YOU, COME AND PREACH THE GOSPEL. AND TO A THIRD, HE SAYS IN EFFECT THAT IF YOU ARE GOING TO SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR PARENTS, THEN YOU AREN'T WORTHY OF BEING MY DISCIPLE. IF JESUS HAD BEEN NICER, WE MIGHT BE TALKING ABOUT THE 15 APOSTLES INSTEAD OF ONLY TWELVE.
IF WE TAKE JESUS' WORDS AND ACTIONS AT FACE VALUE AND MEASURE OUR OWN LIVES AGAINST THEM, I AM SURE WE ALL COME UP VERY SHORT, EVEN OUR PASTOR, EVEN OUR BISHOP.
BUT JESUS IS DESCRIBING FOR US AN ATTITUDE WE MUST INTERIORIZE, A WAY OF SEEING THE WORLD WHICH IS ESSENTIAL IF WE ARE TO BE DISCIPLES. HE IS NOT SAYING THAT WE CAN'T HAVE HOMES, OR FUNERALS, OR LONG GOODBYES.
HE IS TELLING US THAT WE CANNOT USE POWER OR COERCION TO SPREAD THE GOSPEL. IT IS OUR JOB TO PREACH THE GOSPEL. IF THE SAMARITANS REJECT US, OR THE VILLAGERS WHO WITNESSED THE DEMONS ENTERING THE SWINE AND CAUSING THEM TO DIVE INTO THE SEA BEG US TO LEAVE, WE HAVE DONE OUR PART, THE REST IS UP TO THE HOLY SPIRIT. BUT IF WE DO NOT PREACH THE GOSPEL, THEN WE HAVE FAILED.
HE IS TELLING US THAT A DISCIPLE SHOULD BE AT HOME WHEREVER HE FINDS HIMSELF; OR PERHAPS HE SHOULD NOT BE AT HOME EVEN IN HIS OWN HOME. A DISCIPLE SHOULD HAVE HIS EYES FIXED ON THAT HEAVENLY HOME, WHERE HE TRULY BELONGS. THIS WORLD SHOULD NEVER BE THE BE ALL AND END ALL OF LIFE.
AT A TIME WHERE IT WAS A SACRED OBLIGATION TO BURY THE DEAD, HE IS TELLING US THAT A DISCIPLE NEEDS TO BE AWARE THAT TRADITIONS AND HABITS AND PERSONAL BELIEFS CAN GET IN THE WAY OF GOSPEL LIVING. SOMETIMES WE NEED TO STEP BACK AND ASK WHAT IS OF GOD AND WHAT IS NOT. THE PHARISEES BEGAN WELL, AND HAD GOOD REASONS FOR WHAT THEY DID. BUT AFTER A TIME, DOING WHAT THEY DID BECAME REASON ENOUGH, AND THEY ENDED UP PRISONERS OF RITUALS AND RULES TO THE POINT WHERE THEY HURT THEMSELVES AND THOSE AROUND THEM WITH THEIR RIGID LEGALISM.
AND HE IS TELLING US THAT WE HAVE TO BEWARE OF EXCUSES, THE EXCUSES OTHERS MAKE FOR US AND THOSE WE MAKE FOR OURSELVES. BUT FIRST LET ME SAY FAREWELL TO MY FAMILY; I'LL GET INVOLVED WHEN THE KIDS FINALLY LEAVE HOME; I'M GOING TO GET INTO SOME SORT OF MINISTRY AFTER I RETIRE; I REALLY WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MY FAITH, BUT I'M TOO BUSY NOW. SOMEONE WHO PLOWED IN THE DAYS OF JESUS AND EVEN NOW HAS TO AIM THE PLOW TOWARDS A POINT ON THE HORIZON; YOU HAVE TO DO THAT OR THE FURROW YOU CREATE WILL BE CROOKED AND WANDER ALL OVER THE PLACE. WITH EVERYTHING WE DO, WE NEED TO KEEP OUR EYES FIXED ON JESUS, ON OUR ULTIMATE GOAL, AND ASK HOW WHAT WE ARE DOING IS MOVING US CLOSER TO THE GOAL. IT IS A GREAT WAY TO SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE; JUST STOP DOING ANYTHING THAT ISN'T BRINGING YOU CLOSER TO YOUR SALVATION.
THERE IS A WONDERFUL STORY ABOUT MOTHER THERESA. SHE WAS INVITED TO ATTEND A MEETING IN CALCUTTA OF INDIAN LEADERS. THE SUBJECT WAS HOW TO END HUNGER IN INDIA. AS SHE WAS ABOUT TO ENTER THE BUILDING, SHE SAW A MAN LYING ON THE SIDEWALK, SKIN AND BONES, OBVIOUSLY DYING. SHE GOT ONE OF HER SISTERS AND THEY BROUGHT THE MAN TO HER LITTLE HOSPICE AND TENDED TO HIS NEEDS AND COMFORTED HIM AND FED HIM BITS OF FOOD AND WATER. HE WAS TOO FAR GONE TO RECOVER, AND DIED ABOUT TWO DAYS LATER, AND OF COURSE THE CONFERENCE WAS OVER. ALL THOSE DIGNITARIES HAD PASSED BY THE STARVING MAN IN THEIR HURRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO END HUNGER IN INDIA, BUT MOTHER THERESA KNEW THAT IF YOU WANTED TO END HUNGER, YOU HAD TO FEED THE HUNGRY THAT YOU FOUND; NO EXCUSES. SHE KEPT HER EYES ON THE POINT ON THE HORIZON.
THIS WEEK WE CELEBRATE OUR WONDERFUL COUNTRY. WE SEE, UNFORTUNATELY, THAT IN MANY WAYS SHE IS NOT PERFECT, SHE IS GOING ASTRAY. ISSUES OF MORALITY, ISSUES OF EQUALITY, OF SO MANY UNMET NEEDS AND WASTING OF RESOURCES THREATEN WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN US. RELIGION AND PATRIOTISM ARE ALIKE IN THAT BOTH BEGIN WITH HAPPY EMOTIONS BUT BOTH END UP EXPECTING SOMETHING FROM US IN RETURN. SO LET US PRAY THAT OUR COUNTRY GO BACK TO BEING THAT BEACON, THAT EXAMPLE TO THE WORLD THAT IT WAS MEANT TO BE.
IF YOU DIG AROUND IN BIBLICAL COMMENTARIES ABOUT TODAY'S READINGS YOU FIND THAT THE GOSPEL READING MORE OR LESS RECALLS THE PROPHET ELIJAH. WHEN JAMES AND JOHN WANT TO CALL DOWN FIRE ON THE INHABITANTS OF THE SAMARITAN TOWN, WE CAN REMEMBER THAT ELIJAH DID EXACTLY THAT TO THE MESSENGERS FROM THE KING OF ISRAEL, WHO WAS HIS ENEMY. WHEN WE HEAR THAT JESUS SAYS THAT HE HAS NOWHERE TO LAY HIS HEAD, WE ARE REMINDED THAT ELIJAH WAS KNOWN AS THE TISHBITE, WHICH HAD THE CONNOTATION “STRANGER”. THERE WAS A PLACE CALLED TISHBE, BUT IN ELIJAH'S TIME IT WAS ALL BUT ABANDONED, AND PEOPLE WHO SEEMED TO COME OUT OF NOWHERE WERE CALLED TISHBITES. AND FINALLY, WE SEE THAT ELIJAH LETS ELISHA GO BACK AND SAY GOODBYE TO HIS FAMILY, IN CONTRAST TO JESUS, WHO INSISTS THAT PREACHING THE GOSPEL COMES BEFORE ALL FAMILY OBLIGATIONS.
IN OTHER WORDS, IS LUKE DELIBERATELY TRYING TO GET HIS READERS TO SEE THAT JESUS, BOTH IN A POSITIVE AND A NEGATIVE SENSE, GOES BEYOND ELIJAH?
THE PROPHET CAN AVENGE HIMSELF ON HIS ENEMIES WITH GOD'S POWER. JESUS WILL NOT AVENGE HIMSELF. THE PROPHET MAY BE A STRANGER, BUT JESUS IS EVEN MORE SO; HE HAS NO HOME. AND THE PROPHET ALLOWS HIS DISCIPLE TO TEND TO HUMAN NEEDS BEFORE SETTING OUT ON HIS VOCATION, BUT JESUS DOES NOT.
AND THIS IS ALL PREFACED BY THE STATEMENT THAT JESUS RESOLUTELY HEADED FOR JERUSALEM, BECAUSE THE DAYS FOR HIM BEING TAKEN UP WERE BEING FULFILLED – JESUS MARCHES INTO THE CITY WHERE HE KNOWS HE WILL BE PUT TO DEATH. ELIJAH, WHEN HE LEARNED THAT THE KING SOUGHT TO PUT HIM TO DEATH, FLEES INTO THE MOUNTAINS.
MOST OF US, WHEN WE THINK OF JESUS, SEE HIM AS SOMEONE WHO LOVES US, WHO PROTECTS US, WHO LEADS US. HE IS THERE IN OUR GRIEF, HE FORGIVES OUR FAILINGS, HE CARRIES OUR BURDENS. THAT IMAGE SEEMS SO DIFFERENT FROM THE IMAGE OF JESUS IN THIS GOSPEL READING. HE REBUKES HIS DISCIPLES; HE TELLS ONE WOULD-BE DISCIPLE THAT IF HE FOLLOWS JESUS, HE WILL BE HOMELESS; ANOTHER, HE DEMANDS THAT HE LET THE DEAD BURY THE DEAD, BUT YOU, COME AND PREACH THE GOSPEL. AND TO A THIRD, HE SAYS IN EFFECT THAT IF YOU ARE GOING TO SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR PARENTS, THEN YOU AREN'T WORTHY OF BEING MY DISCIPLE. IF JESUS HAD BEEN NICER, WE MIGHT BE TALKING ABOUT THE 15 APOSTLES INSTEAD OF ONLY TWELVE.
IF WE TAKE JESUS' WORDS AND ACTIONS AT FACE VALUE AND MEASURE OUR OWN LIVES AGAINST THEM, I AM SURE WE ALL COME UP VERY SHORT, EVEN OUR PASTOR, EVEN OUR BISHOP.
BUT JESUS IS DESCRIBING FOR US AN ATTITUDE WE MUST INTERIORIZE, A WAY OF SEEING THE WORLD WHICH IS ESSENTIAL IF WE ARE TO BE DISCIPLES. HE IS NOT SAYING THAT WE CAN'T HAVE HOMES, OR FUNERALS, OR LONG GOODBYES.
HE IS TELLING US THAT WE CANNOT USE POWER OR COERCION TO SPREAD THE GOSPEL. IT IS OUR JOB TO PREACH THE GOSPEL. IF THE SAMARITANS REJECT US, OR THE VILLAGERS WHO WITNESSED THE DEMONS ENTERING THE SWINE AND CAUSING THEM TO DIVE INTO THE SEA BEG US TO LEAVE, WE HAVE DONE OUR PART, THE REST IS UP TO THE HOLY SPIRIT. BUT IF WE DO NOT PREACH THE GOSPEL, THEN WE HAVE FAILED.
HE IS TELLING US THAT A DISCIPLE SHOULD BE AT HOME WHEREVER HE FINDS HIMSELF; OR PERHAPS HE SHOULD NOT BE AT HOME EVEN IN HIS OWN HOME. A DISCIPLE SHOULD HAVE HIS EYES FIXED ON THAT HEAVENLY HOME, WHERE HE TRULY BELONGS. THIS WORLD SHOULD NEVER BE THE BE ALL AND END ALL OF LIFE.
AT A TIME WHERE IT WAS A SACRED OBLIGATION TO BURY THE DEAD, HE IS TELLING US THAT A DISCIPLE NEEDS TO BE AWARE THAT TRADITIONS AND HABITS AND PERSONAL BELIEFS CAN GET IN THE WAY OF GOSPEL LIVING. SOMETIMES WE NEED TO STEP BACK AND ASK WHAT IS OF GOD AND WHAT IS NOT. THE PHARISEES BEGAN WELL, AND HAD GOOD REASONS FOR WHAT THEY DID. BUT AFTER A TIME, DOING WHAT THEY DID BECAME REASON ENOUGH, AND THEY ENDED UP PRISONERS OF RITUALS AND RULES TO THE POINT WHERE THEY HURT THEMSELVES AND THOSE AROUND THEM WITH THEIR RIGID LEGALISM.
AND HE IS TELLING US THAT WE HAVE TO BEWARE OF EXCUSES, THE EXCUSES OTHERS MAKE FOR US AND THOSE WE MAKE FOR OURSELVES. BUT FIRST LET ME SAY FAREWELL TO MY FAMILY; I'LL GET INVOLVED WHEN THE KIDS FINALLY LEAVE HOME; I'M GOING TO GET INTO SOME SORT OF MINISTRY AFTER I RETIRE; I REALLY WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MY FAITH, BUT I'M TOO BUSY NOW. SOMEONE WHO PLOWED IN THE DAYS OF JESUS AND EVEN NOW HAS TO AIM THE PLOW TOWARDS A POINT ON THE HORIZON; YOU HAVE TO DO THAT OR THE FURROW YOU CREATE WILL BE CROOKED AND WANDER ALL OVER THE PLACE. WITH EVERYTHING WE DO, WE NEED TO KEEP OUR EYES FIXED ON JESUS, ON OUR ULTIMATE GOAL, AND ASK HOW WHAT WE ARE DOING IS MOVING US CLOSER TO THE GOAL. IT IS A GREAT WAY TO SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE; JUST STOP DOING ANYTHING THAT ISN'T BRINGING YOU CLOSER TO YOUR SALVATION.
THERE IS A WONDERFUL STORY ABOUT MOTHER THERESA. SHE WAS INVITED TO ATTEND A MEETING IN CALCUTTA OF INDIAN LEADERS. THE SUBJECT WAS HOW TO END HUNGER IN INDIA. AS SHE WAS ABOUT TO ENTER THE BUILDING, SHE SAW A MAN LYING ON THE SIDEWALK, SKIN AND BONES, OBVIOUSLY DYING. SHE GOT ONE OF HER SISTERS AND THEY BROUGHT THE MAN TO HER LITTLE HOSPICE AND TENDED TO HIS NEEDS AND COMFORTED HIM AND FED HIM BITS OF FOOD AND WATER. HE WAS TOO FAR GONE TO RECOVER, AND DIED ABOUT TWO DAYS LATER, AND OF COURSE THE CONFERENCE WAS OVER. ALL THOSE DIGNITARIES HAD PASSED BY THE STARVING MAN IN THEIR HURRY TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO END HUNGER IN INDIA, BUT MOTHER THERESA KNEW THAT IF YOU WANTED TO END HUNGER, YOU HAD TO FEED THE HUNGRY THAT YOU FOUND; NO EXCUSES. SHE KEPT HER EYES ON THE POINT ON THE HORIZON.
THIS WEEK WE CELEBRATE OUR WONDERFUL COUNTRY. WE SEE, UNFORTUNATELY, THAT IN MANY WAYS SHE IS NOT PERFECT, SHE IS GOING ASTRAY. ISSUES OF MORALITY, ISSUES OF EQUALITY, OF SO MANY UNMET NEEDS AND WASTING OF RESOURCES THREATEN WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN US. RELIGION AND PATRIOTISM ARE ALIKE IN THAT BOTH BEGIN WITH HAPPY EMOTIONS BUT BOTH END UP EXPECTING SOMETHING FROM US IN RETURN. SO LET US PRAY THAT OUR COUNTRY GO BACK TO BEING THAT BEACON, THAT EXAMPLE TO THE WORLD THAT IT WAS MEANT TO BE.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Feast of John the Baptist
JOHN THE BAPTIST
THE CHURCH CELEBRATES THE BIRTH OF THREE PEOPLE, OUT OF ALL THE SAINTS AND APOSTLES. THESE WERE JESUS, MARY, AND JOHN THE BAPTIST. WE CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND JESUS AND MARY, BUT WHY JOHN THE BAPTIST? AND WHY IS THAT BIRTH CELEBRATED AT ALMOST THE EXACT TIME THAT THE DAYS BEGIN TO GET SHORTER?
JESUS AND MARY AND JOHN HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON. ALL WERE BORN WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN. JESUS BECAUSE HE WAS GOD, AND GOD CAN HAVE NO PART OF SIN; MARY, BECAUSE FROM THE MOMENT OF CONCEPTION THE SAVING GRACES OF JESUS WERE APPLIED, AND SHE WAS CONCEIVED WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN; AND JOHN, WHOM THE CHURCH TEACHES WAS CLEANSED FROM ORIGINAL SIN IN HIS MOTHER'S WOMB. THE NAME JOHN IN HEBREW MEANS “FAVORED OF GOD” -- NOT TOO DIFFERENT FROM THE GREETING OF THE ANGEL TO MARY AT THE ANNUNCIATION.
JESUS ONCE REFERRED TO JOHN AS THE GREATEST MAN EVER BORN OF WOMAN UP TO THAT TIME. HIS FATHER, INSPIRED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, SAID THAT HE WOULD BE THE PROPHET OF THE MOST HIGH.
MOST OF US, WHEN WE THINK OF JOHN, REMEMBER THAT HE LEAPED IN HIS MOTHER'S WOMB WHEN MARY, PREGNANT WITH JESUS, CAME TO VISIT ELIZABETH. WE REMEMBER THAT JOHN CAME OUT OF THE DESERT WEARING CAMEL'S HAIR AND EATING LOCUSTS AND HONEY; WE REMEMBER THAT HE WAS A FIERY, AND PERHAPS VERY TROUBLING PREACHER, WHO WAS NEVER AFRAID TO SPEAK THE TRUTH – AND IN FACT, THAT IS WHY HE WAS PUT TO DEATH – BECAUSE HE CONDEMNED HEROD FOR MARRYING HIS BROTHER'S WIFE. JOHN SEEMS TO BE A DISTANT, COLD, ECCENTRIC FIGURE, AND HE SEEMS HARD TO LOVE, HARD TO RELATE TO.
SO WHAT ARE WE TO MAKE OF THIS JOHN THE BAPTIST, WHOM THE CHURCH DIRECTS US TO HONOR TODAY, TO THE POINT WHERE HIS FEAST SUPERSEDES THE REGULAR SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME THAT WE WOULD NORMALLY CELEBRATE TODAY?
MAYBE OUR IMPRESSION OF JOHN IS NOT ACCURATE. AFTER ALL, HE HAD NO TROUBLE ATTRACTING FOLLOWERS. SEVERAL OF THE APOSTLES WHO FOLLOWED JESUS HAD ORIGINALLY FOLLOWED JOHN, ANDREW AMONG THEM. IN THE DAYS OF THE EARLY CHURCH, WE SEE THE APOSTLES LIKE PAUL WHO WERE OUT ON MISSION, RUNNING ACROSS PEOPLE WHO WERE FOLLOWERS OF JOHN, WHO HAD BEEN BAPTIZED BY JOHN, BUT DID NOT KNOW THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS. THE SCRIPTURES TELL US THAT EVEN THOUGH JOHN TOLD HEROD THAT HE WAS LIVING IN SIN TO HAVE MARRIED HIS BROTHER'S WIFE, HEROD LIKED TO LISTEN TO JOHN. JOHN MUST HAVE BEEN A VERY CHARISMATIC FIGURE WHO CHANGED THE HEARTS OF MANY PEOPLE, WHO REKINDLED THEIR DESIRE TO SERVE GOD. AND HUMANLY SPEAKING, JOHN PREPARED THE SOIL FOR JESUS; PEOPLE WHO LISTENED TO JOHN, WHO REFORMED THEIR LIVES ACCORDING TO JOHN'S PROPHETIC PREACHING, WERE READY FOR JESUS.
MARY WAS THE ONE WHO GAVE JESUS A BODY, AND WHO FORMED HIS MIND AND CONSCIENCE AFTER HE WAS BORN. JOHN WAS THE ONE WHO PREPARED A PORTION OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE TO BECOME THE CHURCH IN RESPONSE TO JESUS' ACTION. THE CHURCH HAS NEVER FORGOTTEN.
SO WHAT SHOULD WE THINK ABOUT ON THIS FEAST OF THE GREATEST OF MEN BORN OF WOMEN UP UNTIL THE TIME OF JESUS?
WE SHOULD REMEMBER HIS PREACHING – HE PREACHED THAT WE SHOULD CHANGE OUR LIVES, WE SHOULD REPENT OF OUR SINS, IN ORDER TO PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD. I ALWAYS LIKED THE PASSAGE WHERE THE TAX COLLECTORS ASKED HIM, “WHAT THEN SHALL WE DO?” AND HE DID NOT SAY, “GO AND LIVE IN THE DESERT” OR “GIVE UP EVERYTHING” -- HE SAID, TAKE ONLY WHAT YOU ARE ENTITLED TO. AND WHEN THE SOLDIERS ASKED THE SAME QUESTION, HE SAID, “BE CONTENT WITH YOUR SALARY, AND DO NOT EXTORT PEOPLE”. JOHN DID NOT DEMAND THAT HIS FOLLOWERS BE SPIRITUAL ATHLETES; HE MERELY CALLED THEM TO LIVE THEIR STATES OF LIFE AS WELL AS THEY POSSIBLY COULD. THAT IS REPENTANCE, THAT IS A CHANGE OF HEART.
WE SHOULD REMEMBER HIS OBEDIENCE – WHEN JESUS CAME DOWN TO BE BAPTIZED, JOHN SAID, “YOU SHOULD BE THE ONE BAPTIZING ME”. AND JESUS COMMANDED HIM TO BAPTIZE HIM ANYWAY.
WE SHOULD REMEMBER WHAT JOHN SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES WHEN JESUS PASSED BY – BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD” AND “HE MUST INCREASE, I MUST DECREASE.” JOHN KNEW HIS ROLE IN RELATIONSHIP TO GOD; HE WAS SECONDARY, HE WAS NOT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE; HE WAS A SERVANT, HIS LIFE MEANT NOTHING UNLESS HE DID GOD'S WILL.
AND WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT JOHN WAS NOT AFRAID OF SPEAKING THE TRUTH, EVEN TO SOMEONE WHO HAD THE POWER TO TAKE HIS LIFE. IF JOHN LIVED TODAY, ITS HARD TO BELIEVE HE WOULD BE SILENT, LIKE WE CATHOLICS ARE, WHEN OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES PROMOTE HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE AND ABORTION, AND ALLOW PEOPLE TO GO WITHOUT HEALTH CARE AND THE BASIC NECESSITIES OF LIFE IN THE RICHEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. IT MIGHT BE THAT JOHN WOULD BE CRITICIZING US CATHOLICS MORE THAN THE WORLD AT LARGE, BECAUSE WE KNOW BETTER; WE ARE THE ONES WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO BE CHANGING THE WORLD FOR JESUS.
AND PERHAPS WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT JOHN, ESPECIALLY FAVORED BY GOD, CLEANSED FROM SIN IN HIS MOTHER'S WOMB, DESTINED FOR ALL ETERNITY TO PLAY A CENTRAL ROLE IN SALVATION HISTORY, IN THE END WAS LOCKED IN JAIL AND HAD HIS HEAD CHOPPED OFF. AND JESUS DIED ON A CROSS, AND MARY SAW HER ONLY SON PUT TO DEATH, AND MOST OF THE APOSTLES WERE EXECUTED, AND OUR ANCESTORS IN THE EARLY CHURCH FREQUENTLY DIED BY BEING BURNED, OR CRUCIFIED, OR THROWN TO THE LIONS. BEING A FAVORED ONE OF GOD IS NOT THE SAME THING AS BEING A FAVORED ONE IN THE WORLD. IN FACT, SOMETIMES I THINK THAT WHEN WE ARE NOT BEING PERSECUTED, WHEN WE DO NOT HAVE A CROSS TO CARRY, MAYBE THAT IS A SIGN THAT WE ARE NOT ON THE RIGHT TRACK.
JOHN'S BIRTHDAY IS JUST AFTER THE SUMMER SOLSTICE. THAT MEANS THAT FROM NOW ON THERE IS LESS LIGHT EACH DAY, UNTIL CHRISTMAS, WHEN THE DAYLIGHT BEGINS TO INCREASE ONCE AGAIN. JOHN IS THE LAST OF THE GREAT PROPHETS, AND HE ENDS THAT AGE AS HE PREPARES THE WAY FOR JESUS, WHO ENLIGHTENS THE WORLD WITH NEW LIGHT.
LET US PRAY TODAY TO ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST TO WORK AMONG US AND ONCE AGAIN PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD.
THE CHURCH CELEBRATES THE BIRTH OF THREE PEOPLE, OUT OF ALL THE SAINTS AND APOSTLES. THESE WERE JESUS, MARY, AND JOHN THE BAPTIST. WE CERTAINLY UNDERSTAND JESUS AND MARY, BUT WHY JOHN THE BAPTIST? AND WHY IS THAT BIRTH CELEBRATED AT ALMOST THE EXACT TIME THAT THE DAYS BEGIN TO GET SHORTER?
JESUS AND MARY AND JOHN HAVE ONE THING IN COMMON. ALL WERE BORN WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN. JESUS BECAUSE HE WAS GOD, AND GOD CAN HAVE NO PART OF SIN; MARY, BECAUSE FROM THE MOMENT OF CONCEPTION THE SAVING GRACES OF JESUS WERE APPLIED, AND SHE WAS CONCEIVED WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN; AND JOHN, WHOM THE CHURCH TEACHES WAS CLEANSED FROM ORIGINAL SIN IN HIS MOTHER'S WOMB. THE NAME JOHN IN HEBREW MEANS “FAVORED OF GOD” -- NOT TOO DIFFERENT FROM THE GREETING OF THE ANGEL TO MARY AT THE ANNUNCIATION.
JESUS ONCE REFERRED TO JOHN AS THE GREATEST MAN EVER BORN OF WOMAN UP TO THAT TIME. HIS FATHER, INSPIRED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, SAID THAT HE WOULD BE THE PROPHET OF THE MOST HIGH.
MOST OF US, WHEN WE THINK OF JOHN, REMEMBER THAT HE LEAPED IN HIS MOTHER'S WOMB WHEN MARY, PREGNANT WITH JESUS, CAME TO VISIT ELIZABETH. WE REMEMBER THAT JOHN CAME OUT OF THE DESERT WEARING CAMEL'S HAIR AND EATING LOCUSTS AND HONEY; WE REMEMBER THAT HE WAS A FIERY, AND PERHAPS VERY TROUBLING PREACHER, WHO WAS NEVER AFRAID TO SPEAK THE TRUTH – AND IN FACT, THAT IS WHY HE WAS PUT TO DEATH – BECAUSE HE CONDEMNED HEROD FOR MARRYING HIS BROTHER'S WIFE. JOHN SEEMS TO BE A DISTANT, COLD, ECCENTRIC FIGURE, AND HE SEEMS HARD TO LOVE, HARD TO RELATE TO.
SO WHAT ARE WE TO MAKE OF THIS JOHN THE BAPTIST, WHOM THE CHURCH DIRECTS US TO HONOR TODAY, TO THE POINT WHERE HIS FEAST SUPERSEDES THE REGULAR SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME THAT WE WOULD NORMALLY CELEBRATE TODAY?
MAYBE OUR IMPRESSION OF JOHN IS NOT ACCURATE. AFTER ALL, HE HAD NO TROUBLE ATTRACTING FOLLOWERS. SEVERAL OF THE APOSTLES WHO FOLLOWED JESUS HAD ORIGINALLY FOLLOWED JOHN, ANDREW AMONG THEM. IN THE DAYS OF THE EARLY CHURCH, WE SEE THE APOSTLES LIKE PAUL WHO WERE OUT ON MISSION, RUNNING ACROSS PEOPLE WHO WERE FOLLOWERS OF JOHN, WHO HAD BEEN BAPTIZED BY JOHN, BUT DID NOT KNOW THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS. THE SCRIPTURES TELL US THAT EVEN THOUGH JOHN TOLD HEROD THAT HE WAS LIVING IN SIN TO HAVE MARRIED HIS BROTHER'S WIFE, HEROD LIKED TO LISTEN TO JOHN. JOHN MUST HAVE BEEN A VERY CHARISMATIC FIGURE WHO CHANGED THE HEARTS OF MANY PEOPLE, WHO REKINDLED THEIR DESIRE TO SERVE GOD. AND HUMANLY SPEAKING, JOHN PREPARED THE SOIL FOR JESUS; PEOPLE WHO LISTENED TO JOHN, WHO REFORMED THEIR LIVES ACCORDING TO JOHN'S PROPHETIC PREACHING, WERE READY FOR JESUS.
MARY WAS THE ONE WHO GAVE JESUS A BODY, AND WHO FORMED HIS MIND AND CONSCIENCE AFTER HE WAS BORN. JOHN WAS THE ONE WHO PREPARED A PORTION OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE TO BECOME THE CHURCH IN RESPONSE TO JESUS' ACTION. THE CHURCH HAS NEVER FORGOTTEN.
SO WHAT SHOULD WE THINK ABOUT ON THIS FEAST OF THE GREATEST OF MEN BORN OF WOMEN UP UNTIL THE TIME OF JESUS?
WE SHOULD REMEMBER HIS PREACHING – HE PREACHED THAT WE SHOULD CHANGE OUR LIVES, WE SHOULD REPENT OF OUR SINS, IN ORDER TO PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD. I ALWAYS LIKED THE PASSAGE WHERE THE TAX COLLECTORS ASKED HIM, “WHAT THEN SHALL WE DO?” AND HE DID NOT SAY, “GO AND LIVE IN THE DESERT” OR “GIVE UP EVERYTHING” -- HE SAID, TAKE ONLY WHAT YOU ARE ENTITLED TO. AND WHEN THE SOLDIERS ASKED THE SAME QUESTION, HE SAID, “BE CONTENT WITH YOUR SALARY, AND DO NOT EXTORT PEOPLE”. JOHN DID NOT DEMAND THAT HIS FOLLOWERS BE SPIRITUAL ATHLETES; HE MERELY CALLED THEM TO LIVE THEIR STATES OF LIFE AS WELL AS THEY POSSIBLY COULD. THAT IS REPENTANCE, THAT IS A CHANGE OF HEART.
WE SHOULD REMEMBER HIS OBEDIENCE – WHEN JESUS CAME DOWN TO BE BAPTIZED, JOHN SAID, “YOU SHOULD BE THE ONE BAPTIZING ME”. AND JESUS COMMANDED HIM TO BAPTIZE HIM ANYWAY.
WE SHOULD REMEMBER WHAT JOHN SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES WHEN JESUS PASSED BY – BEHOLD THE LAMB OF GOD” AND “HE MUST INCREASE, I MUST DECREASE.” JOHN KNEW HIS ROLE IN RELATIONSHIP TO GOD; HE WAS SECONDARY, HE WAS NOT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE; HE WAS A SERVANT, HIS LIFE MEANT NOTHING UNLESS HE DID GOD'S WILL.
AND WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT JOHN WAS NOT AFRAID OF SPEAKING THE TRUTH, EVEN TO SOMEONE WHO HAD THE POWER TO TAKE HIS LIFE. IF JOHN LIVED TODAY, ITS HARD TO BELIEVE HE WOULD BE SILENT, LIKE WE CATHOLICS ARE, WHEN OUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES PROMOTE HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE AND ABORTION, AND ALLOW PEOPLE TO GO WITHOUT HEALTH CARE AND THE BASIC NECESSITIES OF LIFE IN THE RICHEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD. IT MIGHT BE THAT JOHN WOULD BE CRITICIZING US CATHOLICS MORE THAN THE WORLD AT LARGE, BECAUSE WE KNOW BETTER; WE ARE THE ONES WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO BE CHANGING THE WORLD FOR JESUS.
AND PERHAPS WE SHOULD REMEMBER THAT JOHN, ESPECIALLY FAVORED BY GOD, CLEANSED FROM SIN IN HIS MOTHER'S WOMB, DESTINED FOR ALL ETERNITY TO PLAY A CENTRAL ROLE IN SALVATION HISTORY, IN THE END WAS LOCKED IN JAIL AND HAD HIS HEAD CHOPPED OFF. AND JESUS DIED ON A CROSS, AND MARY SAW HER ONLY SON PUT TO DEATH, AND MOST OF THE APOSTLES WERE EXECUTED, AND OUR ANCESTORS IN THE EARLY CHURCH FREQUENTLY DIED BY BEING BURNED, OR CRUCIFIED, OR THROWN TO THE LIONS. BEING A FAVORED ONE OF GOD IS NOT THE SAME THING AS BEING A FAVORED ONE IN THE WORLD. IN FACT, SOMETIMES I THINK THAT WHEN WE ARE NOT BEING PERSECUTED, WHEN WE DO NOT HAVE A CROSS TO CARRY, MAYBE THAT IS A SIGN THAT WE ARE NOT ON THE RIGHT TRACK.
JOHN'S BIRTHDAY IS JUST AFTER THE SUMMER SOLSTICE. THAT MEANS THAT FROM NOW ON THERE IS LESS LIGHT EACH DAY, UNTIL CHRISTMAS, WHEN THE DAYLIGHT BEGINS TO INCREASE ONCE AGAIN. JOHN IS THE LAST OF THE GREAT PROPHETS, AND HE ENDS THAT AGE AS HE PREPARES THE WAY FOR JESUS, WHO ENLIGHTENS THE WORLD WITH NEW LIGHT.
LET US PRAY TODAY TO ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST TO WORK AMONG US AND ONCE AGAIN PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD.
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