JOHN 9:1-41
THE MORE YOU STUDY THE GOSPELS, THE MORE INTERESTING THEY ARE. JOHN PUTS TOGETHER HIS STORIES OF JESUS SO THAT ANYONE WHO READS THEM CAN FIND SOMETHING OF HIMSELF OR HERSELF IN THEM. TODAY'S GOSPEL IS NO EXCEPTION. IT IS A WONDERFUL STUDY ON WHAT PASSES FOR RELIGION, AND WHEN YOU GO THROUGH IT AND MEET THE PEOPLE WHO REACT TO THE BLIND MAN, YOU CAN'T HELP BUT SEE SOMETHING OF YOURSELF SOMEWHERE.
FIRST, WE MEET THE APOSTLES. THEY SEE THE BLIND MAN, AND IMMEDIATELY ASK JESUS WHAT THIS MEANS? THEY ARE THEOLOGIANS. THEY WANT TO BE ABLE TO EXPLAIN THE PROBLEMS OF THE WORLD TO THE PEOPLE TO WHOM THEY WILL BE SENT. THAT'S A GOOD THING OF COURSE. BUT TO THEM, THE BLIND MAN IS SOMETHING TO BE STUDIED AND EXPLAINED, NO MORE. “WAS IT HIS SIN OR THAT OF HIS PARENTS THAT CAUSED HIM TO BE BORN BLIND?” THERE ARE PEOPLE IN OUR CHURCH WHO ARE VERY GOOD AT EXPLAINING WHAT THE CHURCH TEACHES, RELATING CHURCH DOCTRINE TO THE BIBLE; IN FACT, THERE IS A WHOLE INDUSTRY OUT THERE THAT DOES APOLOGETICS. YOU CAN HIRE PROFESSIONAL APOLOGISTS WHO WILL COME TO YOUR PARISH; IN SOME PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, THESE PROFESSIONAL APOLOGISTS INVITE PROTESTANT COUNTERPARTS TO DEBATE WITH THEM. THERE ARE MAGAZINES LIKE “THIS ROCK” THAT ARE VERY WELL DONE.
BUT THEOLOGY AND APOLOGETICS, IMPORTANT AS THEY ARE, DO NOT REPRESENT THE ESSENCE OF FOLLOWING CHRIST. I HAVE ONLY TO REMEMBER THOSE LONG EVENINGS IN COLLEGE WHEN WE WOULD GO OUT AND DRINK BEER AND TALK ABOUT RELIGION, AND THAT WOULD MAKE US FEEL HOLY.
THEN WE MEET THE PHARISEES. UPON HEARING ABOUT THE MIRACLE, THEIR REACTION IS NOT TO PRAISE AND THANK GOD, BUT TO IMMEDIATELY POINT OUT THAT SINCE JESUS DID THIS ON THE SABBATH, IT CAN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH GOD. THEY ARE THE RULE-FOLLOWERS. NOW RULES ARE VERY IMPORTANT, AND IN OUR CHURCH, WE ARE SEEING A LOT OF PROBLEMS BECAUSE CATHOLICS, LAY AND CLERICAL ALIKE, DECIDE THAT THEY AREN'T GOING TO FOLLOW THE RULES. CATHOLICS IGNORE THE CHURCH'S TEACHING ON ANY NUMBER OF THINGS, FROM CONTRACEPTION TO ABORTION TO THEIR RESPONSIBILITIES AS VOTING CITIZENS. THEY IGNORE THE CHURCH'S TEACHINGS ON PARTICIPATION IN MASS AND THE SACRAMENTS; SOME OF OUR PRIESTS FEEL THAT THEY CAN SPICE UP THE MASS WITH A FEW WELL CHOSEN WORDS OF THEIR OWN, AND SO IT GOES. AND ANYONE WHO CARES ABOUT THE CHURCH CAN SEE THAT IT IS IN TROUBLE. BUT SOME OF US ARE TOO MUCH INTO THE RULES. FOLLOWING THE RULES SOMETIMES CAN CAUSE US TO SIN AGAINST CHARITY. IF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH SOME OF THE VERY RIGHT WING CATHOLIC PAPERS AND WEB SITES, YOU CAN SEE THAT THE OBSESSION WITH RULES CAN HAVE THE EFFECT OF MAKING PEOPLE TURN AWAY FROM THEIR FAITH.
THEN WE MEET THE MAN'S PARENTS. THE PARENTS REFUSE TO TAKE A STAND. “ASK HIM YOURSELF,” THEY SAY, “HE IS OF AGE.” AND JOHN TELLS US THAT THEY FEARED BEING EXPELLED FROM THE SYNAGOGUE. WE CAN ASSUME THEY WERE RELIGIOUS PEOPLE, AND BEING MEMBERS OF THE SYNAGOGUE WAS VERY IMPORTANT TO THEM. BUT THEY PROBABLY THOUGHT THAT RELIGION SHOULD BE A PRIVATE AFFAIR, THAT THE BEST THING AS TO LET EVERYONE DO THEIR OWN THING, AND THE IMPORTANT THING WAS TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR OWN SOUL AND LET EVERYONE ELSE GO THEIR OWN WAY. THE PARENTS ARE THE PEOPLE WHO WOULD NEVER ROCK THE BOAT, WHO WOULD NEVER DELIBERATELY TROUBLE SOMEONE ELSE'S CONSCIENCE. THEY BELIEVED THAT YOU COULD BELIEVE ANYTHING, BECAUSE WHAT WAS IMPORTANT WAS THAT YOU WERE SINCERE.
I LIKE THE NEXT PART. THE MAN BORN BLIND ARGUES WITH THE AUTHORITIES IN THE SYNAGOGUE, MAKING POINTS THAT THEY CANNOT REFUTE; AND THEIR REACTION ULTIMATELY IS TO THROW HIM OUT PHYSICALLY. FOR THEM RELIGION IS A GUARANTEE THAT THEY ARE RIGHT, AND THAT PEOPLE WHO DISAGREE WITH THEM ARE WRONG. SOUNDS A LITTLE LIKE THE TALIBAN, OR SOME PROTESTANT GROUPS, OR INDEED, SOME OF OUR CATHOLIC BROTHERS AND SISTERS. IF YOU DON'T AGREE WITH US, WE'LL SEPARATE FROM YOU AND HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU. AND IF YOU TRY TO REACH ACROSS THAT GAP, WE'LL THROW YOU OUT, WE'LL SEVER ALL TIES. AS LONG AS WE ONLY ASSOCIATE WITH PEOPLE WHO ARE RIGHT 100% OF THE TIME, WE'LL AVOID CONTAMINATION AND BE HOLY.
AND OF COURSE WE MUSTN'T FORGET THE REACTION OF JESUS TO THE EVENT OF THE BLIND MAN. HE HEALS HIM. HE DOESN'T ASK ANY QUESTIONS, DOESN'T GIVE HIM A FAITH TEST, SIMPLY MAKES SOME MUD AND PUTS IT IN HIS EYES AND THE MAN CAN SEE. I CAN'T RESIST POINTING OUT SOMETHING HERE. DO YOU REMEMBER THAT ADAM WAS CREATED BY GOD FROM MUD? JESUS CREATES THE EYES, OR THE EYESIGHT, OF THE MAN BORN BLIND OUT OF MUD. I THINK JOHN WANTS US TO NOTICE THIS.
SO WHAT IS TRUE RELIGION? IS IT THEOLOGY? FOLLOWING THE RULES? BEING QUIET AND AVOIDING CONTROVERSY? SEEING THE WORLD AS AN EVER SMALLER “US” WHO ARE RIGHT, AND “THEM” WHO ARE WRONG? OR IS IT MEETING THE NEEDS OF THE PERSON GOD PUTS IN OUR PATH?
IT IS SAID THAT MOTHER THERESA WAS INVITED TO ADDRESS A GATHERING OF VARIOUS DIGNITARIES AND HEADS OF CHARITABLE AGENCIES IN INDIA, WHO WERE HAVING A CONFERENCE ON HOW TO END HUNGER. AS THEY WERE ALL ENTERING THE LECTURE HALL, THEY STEPPED AROUND A BEGGAR STATIONED NEAR THE FRONT DOOR. MOTHER THERESA AND HER COMPANION COULD NOT DO THAT. THEY HELPED THE BEGGAR TO HIS FEET, AND WALKED WITH HIM, SUPPORTING HIM BECAUSE HE WAS SO WEAK, TO ONE OF THEIR HOSPICES LOCATED NOT TOO FAR AWAY, WHERE THEY SAW THAT HE WAS FED AND CLEANED UP, AND GIVEN SOME CLOTHING. AND WHEN THEY GOT BACK TO THE LECTURE HALL, IT WAS TOO LATE. MOTHER THERESA NEVER HAD A CHANCE TO TELL ALL THOSE PEOPLE HOW TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF HUNGER.
SO TODAY ON THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT, WISE OLD JOHN THE EVANGELIST INVITES US TO LOOK INTO HIS GOSPEL STORY, AND SEE OURSELVES. WHAT DOES RELIGION MEAN TO US? AND PLEASE, REALLY LOOK AT YOURSELVES HONESTLY. BECAUSE ALL THESE PEOPLE WHOM WE MEET IN THIS STORY OF THE BLIND MAN ARE YOU AND I.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Third Sunday of Lent, cycle A
JOHN 4:5-42
THERE WAS A BRIDE WHO REQUESTED THAT HER WEDDING CAKE BE DECORATED WITH THE WORDS FROM THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN, CHAPTER 4, VERSE 18: “THERE IS NO FEAR IN LOVE, BUT PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT ALL FEAR.” THE BAKER WAS NOT OVERLY FAMILIAR WITH SCRIPTURE, AND ACTUALLY PUT THE WORDS FROM THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, CHAPTER 4, VERSE 18 ON THE CAKE: “YOU HAVE HAD FIVE HUSBANDS, AND THE MAN YOU ARE WITH NOW IS NOT YOUR HUSBAND.”
THE STORY WHICH WE HAVE JUST HEARD IS ALWAYS TOLD ON THE THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT. IT IS A STORY WHICH CAN BE LOOKED AT FROM MANY DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS; AND I ONCE ATTENDED A RETREAT IN WHICH THIS GOSPEL STORY WAS THE ONLY THEME. WE SEE, FOR EXAMPLE, HOW THE SAMARITAN WOMAN GOES FROM CALLING JESUS A JEW (AN INSULT FOR A SAMARITAN) TO THE RESPECTFUL “SIR”, TO THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT THAT HE IS A PROPHET, TO REFERRING TO HIM AS MESSIAH, CHRIST. CERTAINLY WE COULD TALK ABOUT HOW THIS SAME SEQUENCE OF EVENTS, THIS SAME UNFOLDING RECOGNITION, NEEDS TO BE WALKED BY EVERY ONE WHO TRIES TO FOLLOW CHRIST.
THERE IS OF COURSE THE SYMBOLISM OF THE LIVING WATER; THE TERM WAS USED BY THE PEOPLE OF THAT TIME TO REFER TO WATER THAT WAS FLOWING IN STREAMS AND RIVERS, AS OPPOSED TO WATER IN WELLS, OR IN PONDS OR LAKES. WE KNOW TODAY THAT FLOWING WATER IS FILLED WITH OXYGEN, AND USUALLY HAS LESS MINERAL CONTENT THAN STILL WATER. THIS COMES ACROSS IN THE TASTE OF THE WATER, AND OF COURSE THE HEALTHIEST PLANTS SEEM TO GROW BY FLOWING WATER. AND LIVING WATER MAKES US THINK OF LIFE, OF GROWTH, OF BEING MADE CLEAN, OF BAPTISM.
BUT TODAY I'D LIKE TO REFLECT ON THIS STORY FROM ANOTHER STANDPOINT.
THE SAMARITAN WOMAN MEETS JESUS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY, AT A WELL THAT, ARCHEOLOGISTS TELL US, WAS ABOUT A MILE FROM THE TOWN, AND YOU HAVE TO LOWER YOUR BUCKET ABOUT 100 FEET TO GET TO THE WATER. THIS WELL WAS ALMOST ABANDONED, BECAUSE THE TOWN ITSELF HAS A WELL, WHERE THE WATER WAS MUCH EASIER TO GET. SHE HAS GONE TO ALL THIS TROUBLE BECAUSE SHE WAS AN OUTCAST, AND COULDN'T GO OUT IN THE EARLY MORNING WITH THE OTHER WOMEN, BECAUSE THEY WOULD CURSE HER AND DRIVE HER AWAY FROM THEM. AS WE LEARN, SHE HAS A WELL-DESERVED BAD REPUTATION; A WOMAN WITH FIVE HUSBANDS AND NOW LIVING WITH SOMEONE OUT OF WEDLOCK WOULD HAVE A BAD REPUTATION EVEN IN OUR SOCIETY, EXCEPT PERHAPS IN HOLLYWOOD. BUT SHE IS SMART; SHE KNOWS QUITE A BIT ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SAMARITANS AND JEWS, AND SHE IS BOLD, BECAUSE SHE READILY JOINS INTO THE CONVERSATION TO WHICH JESUS INVITES HER -- AGAIN, NOT A WOMANLY THING TO DO IN THOSE DAYS.
JESUS, AFTER REVEALING THAT HE KNOWS ABOUT HER PAST, DOES SOMETHING UNUSUAL, HE CALLS HER “WOMAN” BUT THE GREEK WORD IS “GYNAI” WHICH MEANS “HONORED LADY” OR “SPECIAL LADY”. IT IS THE SAME WORD HE USES TO ADDRESS HIS MOTHER IN THE STORY OF THE WEDDING FEAST AT CANA. IN OTHER WORDS, ALTHOUGH SHE IS A SAMARITAN, A WOMAN, AN ADULTRESS, AND AN OUTCAST, JESUS SPEAKS TO THE GOOD THAT IS IN HER, AND DOES NOT TURN AWAY FROM HER. THERE IS NO SIN SO EVIL, NO STATE OF LIFE SO LOW, THAT JESUS WILL LOSE SIGHT OF THE ESSENTIAL GOOD THAT IS IN EACH PERSON; HE SEES THAT EACH OF US POSSESSES ONE THING THAT IS PURE GOODNESS – THE LOVE OF THE FATHER.
THE RESULT OF ALL OF THIS IS CLEAR; THE WOMAN BECOMES AN APOSTLE, DESPITE BEING A SINNER; BECAUSE JESUS LOVES HER, SHE FORGETS THAT SHE IS THE OUTCAST, SHE FORGETS HER FEAR OF THE TOWNSPEOPLE, AND IN FACT INTRODUCES JESUS TO THEM. PERHAPS THE SAMARITAN WOMAN IS THE MOST OBVIOUS EXAMPLE OF HOW JESUS' ACCEPTING, FORGIVING LOVE TRANSFORMS PEOPLE; BUT THERE ARE OTHERS; CERTAINLY WE SEE THIS WITH PETER, WHOM JESUS ACCEPTS EVEN AFTER PETER BETRAYS HIM. WE SEE IT WITH PAUL, WHO PERSECUTED JESUS' FOLLOWERS. WE SEE LITTLE EXAMPLES WITH LEVI THE TAX COLLECTOR, WITH THE WOMAN WHO WASHES HIS FEET WITH HER TEARS. AND WE SEE TIMES WHEN THIS FORGIVING LOVE DOES NOT TRANSFORM; THE RICH YOUNG MAN, JUDAS, PONTIUS PILATE.
IF WE ARE CONSCIOUS OF JESUS' LOVE, THAN WE ARE CONSCIOUS OF HIS DESIRE TO TRANSFORM US. IN ADDITION TO CHANGING OUR LIVES, PART AND PARCEL OF THIS TRANSFORMATION IS TO BECOME APOSTLES. AND THE SAMARITAN WOMAN TEACHES US WHAT IS FUNDAMENTAL ABOUT AN APOSTLE. THE APOSTLE DRAWS FROM THE WELLSPRING OF JESUS LOVE, NOT FROM HIS OR HER OWN INNER RESOURCES – BECAUSE NONE OF US HAVE THAT MUCH THAT WE CAN CALL OUR OWN. THE APOSTLE FORGETS HIS OWN CIRCUMSTANCES, HIS OWN INADEQUACIES, AND PROCLAIMS TO ANYONE WHO WILL LISTEN THAT JESUS IS MESSIAH; THE APOSTLE SPEAKS FROM HIS OWN EXPERIENCE WITH JESUS, BECAUSE THAT IS THE ONLY AUTHENTIC BASIS ON WHICH TO BE AN APOSTLE. AND THE APOSTLE'S JOB IS TO GET PEOPLE TO LISTEN TO JESUS, NOT CONVINCE THEM BY HIS OR HER OWN ELOQUENCE -- SOME BELIEVED BECAUSE OF HER TESTIMONY, BUT MANY MORE BECAUSE THEY HEARD THE WORDS OF JESUS – SHE JUST GOT THEM TO COME AND LISTEN.
IN THE ORTHODOX CHURCH THE SAMARITAN WOMAN IS HONORED AS SAINT PHOTINA, WHO LEGEND HAS IT BECAME AN EARLY MISSIONARY, PREACHED IN CARTHAGE, AND EVENTUALLY WAS PUT TO DEATH IN ROME. PHOTINA MEANS “ENLIGHTENED ONE”. HER FEAST DAY IS FEBRUARY 26TH.
JESUS OFFERS ALL OF US THE LIVING WATER, WHICH, IF WE CHOOSE TO DRINK OF IT, WILL FILL US UP SO THAT WE ARE NEVER AGAIN THIRSTY. IF WE CHOOSE TO DRINK OF IT, WE CAN OVERCOME ALL THE FEARS, ALL THE SELF DOUBT, ALL THE LACK OF COURAGE THAT KEEPS US FROM PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL; AND IF WE CHOOSE TO DRINK OF IT, EVEN IF WE ARE SICK OR DYING, OR IN PRISON, WE WILL STILL HAVE ABUNDANT JOY, BECAUSE THE KNOWLEDGE THAT JESUS IS THE MESSIAH, THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD, CAN NEVER BE TAKEN FROM US AND WE KNOW HIS LOVE WILL NEVER FAIL.
THE LIVING WATER THAT JESUS OFFERS MAKES US APOSTLES, BECAUSE IF WE, LIKE THE SAMARITAN WOMAN, EXPERIENCE IT, WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO KEEP FROM TELLING OTHERS. THE LIVING WATER IS DANGEROUS BECAUSE ONCE WE TASTE IT, WE CAN NEVER GO BACK TO BEING OUR OLD SELVES. OUR CHOICE IS TO EITHER ACCEPT IT, WITH ALL THE JOY AND GO WHEREVER CHRIST LEADS US, EVEN TO MARTYRDOM; OR TO REJECT IT, AND GO BACK INTO OUR COMFORT ZONE.
THE SAMARITAN WOMAN MADE HER CHOICE; WHAT WILL BE OURS?
THERE WAS A BRIDE WHO REQUESTED THAT HER WEDDING CAKE BE DECORATED WITH THE WORDS FROM THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN, CHAPTER 4, VERSE 18: “THERE IS NO FEAR IN LOVE, BUT PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT ALL FEAR.” THE BAKER WAS NOT OVERLY FAMILIAR WITH SCRIPTURE, AND ACTUALLY PUT THE WORDS FROM THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, CHAPTER 4, VERSE 18 ON THE CAKE: “YOU HAVE HAD FIVE HUSBANDS, AND THE MAN YOU ARE WITH NOW IS NOT YOUR HUSBAND.”
THE STORY WHICH WE HAVE JUST HEARD IS ALWAYS TOLD ON THE THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT. IT IS A STORY WHICH CAN BE LOOKED AT FROM MANY DIFFERENT VIEWPOINTS; AND I ONCE ATTENDED A RETREAT IN WHICH THIS GOSPEL STORY WAS THE ONLY THEME. WE SEE, FOR EXAMPLE, HOW THE SAMARITAN WOMAN GOES FROM CALLING JESUS A JEW (AN INSULT FOR A SAMARITAN) TO THE RESPECTFUL “SIR”, TO THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT THAT HE IS A PROPHET, TO REFERRING TO HIM AS MESSIAH, CHRIST. CERTAINLY WE COULD TALK ABOUT HOW THIS SAME SEQUENCE OF EVENTS, THIS SAME UNFOLDING RECOGNITION, NEEDS TO BE WALKED BY EVERY ONE WHO TRIES TO FOLLOW CHRIST.
THERE IS OF COURSE THE SYMBOLISM OF THE LIVING WATER; THE TERM WAS USED BY THE PEOPLE OF THAT TIME TO REFER TO WATER THAT WAS FLOWING IN STREAMS AND RIVERS, AS OPPOSED TO WATER IN WELLS, OR IN PONDS OR LAKES. WE KNOW TODAY THAT FLOWING WATER IS FILLED WITH OXYGEN, AND USUALLY HAS LESS MINERAL CONTENT THAN STILL WATER. THIS COMES ACROSS IN THE TASTE OF THE WATER, AND OF COURSE THE HEALTHIEST PLANTS SEEM TO GROW BY FLOWING WATER. AND LIVING WATER MAKES US THINK OF LIFE, OF GROWTH, OF BEING MADE CLEAN, OF BAPTISM.
BUT TODAY I'D LIKE TO REFLECT ON THIS STORY FROM ANOTHER STANDPOINT.
THE SAMARITAN WOMAN MEETS JESUS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY, AT A WELL THAT, ARCHEOLOGISTS TELL US, WAS ABOUT A MILE FROM THE TOWN, AND YOU HAVE TO LOWER YOUR BUCKET ABOUT 100 FEET TO GET TO THE WATER. THIS WELL WAS ALMOST ABANDONED, BECAUSE THE TOWN ITSELF HAS A WELL, WHERE THE WATER WAS MUCH EASIER TO GET. SHE HAS GONE TO ALL THIS TROUBLE BECAUSE SHE WAS AN OUTCAST, AND COULDN'T GO OUT IN THE EARLY MORNING WITH THE OTHER WOMEN, BECAUSE THEY WOULD CURSE HER AND DRIVE HER AWAY FROM THEM. AS WE LEARN, SHE HAS A WELL-DESERVED BAD REPUTATION; A WOMAN WITH FIVE HUSBANDS AND NOW LIVING WITH SOMEONE OUT OF WEDLOCK WOULD HAVE A BAD REPUTATION EVEN IN OUR SOCIETY, EXCEPT PERHAPS IN HOLLYWOOD. BUT SHE IS SMART; SHE KNOWS QUITE A BIT ABOUT THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SAMARITANS AND JEWS, AND SHE IS BOLD, BECAUSE SHE READILY JOINS INTO THE CONVERSATION TO WHICH JESUS INVITES HER -- AGAIN, NOT A WOMANLY THING TO DO IN THOSE DAYS.
JESUS, AFTER REVEALING THAT HE KNOWS ABOUT HER PAST, DOES SOMETHING UNUSUAL, HE CALLS HER “WOMAN” BUT THE GREEK WORD IS “GYNAI” WHICH MEANS “HONORED LADY” OR “SPECIAL LADY”. IT IS THE SAME WORD HE USES TO ADDRESS HIS MOTHER IN THE STORY OF THE WEDDING FEAST AT CANA. IN OTHER WORDS, ALTHOUGH SHE IS A SAMARITAN, A WOMAN, AN ADULTRESS, AND AN OUTCAST, JESUS SPEAKS TO THE GOOD THAT IS IN HER, AND DOES NOT TURN AWAY FROM HER. THERE IS NO SIN SO EVIL, NO STATE OF LIFE SO LOW, THAT JESUS WILL LOSE SIGHT OF THE ESSENTIAL GOOD THAT IS IN EACH PERSON; HE SEES THAT EACH OF US POSSESSES ONE THING THAT IS PURE GOODNESS – THE LOVE OF THE FATHER.
THE RESULT OF ALL OF THIS IS CLEAR; THE WOMAN BECOMES AN APOSTLE, DESPITE BEING A SINNER; BECAUSE JESUS LOVES HER, SHE FORGETS THAT SHE IS THE OUTCAST, SHE FORGETS HER FEAR OF THE TOWNSPEOPLE, AND IN FACT INTRODUCES JESUS TO THEM. PERHAPS THE SAMARITAN WOMAN IS THE MOST OBVIOUS EXAMPLE OF HOW JESUS' ACCEPTING, FORGIVING LOVE TRANSFORMS PEOPLE; BUT THERE ARE OTHERS; CERTAINLY WE SEE THIS WITH PETER, WHOM JESUS ACCEPTS EVEN AFTER PETER BETRAYS HIM. WE SEE IT WITH PAUL, WHO PERSECUTED JESUS' FOLLOWERS. WE SEE LITTLE EXAMPLES WITH LEVI THE TAX COLLECTOR, WITH THE WOMAN WHO WASHES HIS FEET WITH HER TEARS. AND WE SEE TIMES WHEN THIS FORGIVING LOVE DOES NOT TRANSFORM; THE RICH YOUNG MAN, JUDAS, PONTIUS PILATE.
IF WE ARE CONSCIOUS OF JESUS' LOVE, THAN WE ARE CONSCIOUS OF HIS DESIRE TO TRANSFORM US. IN ADDITION TO CHANGING OUR LIVES, PART AND PARCEL OF THIS TRANSFORMATION IS TO BECOME APOSTLES. AND THE SAMARITAN WOMAN TEACHES US WHAT IS FUNDAMENTAL ABOUT AN APOSTLE. THE APOSTLE DRAWS FROM THE WELLSPRING OF JESUS LOVE, NOT FROM HIS OR HER OWN INNER RESOURCES – BECAUSE NONE OF US HAVE THAT MUCH THAT WE CAN CALL OUR OWN. THE APOSTLE FORGETS HIS OWN CIRCUMSTANCES, HIS OWN INADEQUACIES, AND PROCLAIMS TO ANYONE WHO WILL LISTEN THAT JESUS IS MESSIAH; THE APOSTLE SPEAKS FROM HIS OWN EXPERIENCE WITH JESUS, BECAUSE THAT IS THE ONLY AUTHENTIC BASIS ON WHICH TO BE AN APOSTLE. AND THE APOSTLE'S JOB IS TO GET PEOPLE TO LISTEN TO JESUS, NOT CONVINCE THEM BY HIS OR HER OWN ELOQUENCE -- SOME BELIEVED BECAUSE OF HER TESTIMONY, BUT MANY MORE BECAUSE THEY HEARD THE WORDS OF JESUS – SHE JUST GOT THEM TO COME AND LISTEN.
IN THE ORTHODOX CHURCH THE SAMARITAN WOMAN IS HONORED AS SAINT PHOTINA, WHO LEGEND HAS IT BECAME AN EARLY MISSIONARY, PREACHED IN CARTHAGE, AND EVENTUALLY WAS PUT TO DEATH IN ROME. PHOTINA MEANS “ENLIGHTENED ONE”. HER FEAST DAY IS FEBRUARY 26TH.
JESUS OFFERS ALL OF US THE LIVING WATER, WHICH, IF WE CHOOSE TO DRINK OF IT, WILL FILL US UP SO THAT WE ARE NEVER AGAIN THIRSTY. IF WE CHOOSE TO DRINK OF IT, WE CAN OVERCOME ALL THE FEARS, ALL THE SELF DOUBT, ALL THE LACK OF COURAGE THAT KEEPS US FROM PROCLAIMING THE GOSPEL; AND IF WE CHOOSE TO DRINK OF IT, EVEN IF WE ARE SICK OR DYING, OR IN PRISON, WE WILL STILL HAVE ABUNDANT JOY, BECAUSE THE KNOWLEDGE THAT JESUS IS THE MESSIAH, THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD, CAN NEVER BE TAKEN FROM US AND WE KNOW HIS LOVE WILL NEVER FAIL.
THE LIVING WATER THAT JESUS OFFERS MAKES US APOSTLES, BECAUSE IF WE, LIKE THE SAMARITAN WOMAN, EXPERIENCE IT, WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO KEEP FROM TELLING OTHERS. THE LIVING WATER IS DANGEROUS BECAUSE ONCE WE TASTE IT, WE CAN NEVER GO BACK TO BEING OUR OLD SELVES. OUR CHOICE IS TO EITHER ACCEPT IT, WITH ALL THE JOY AND GO WHEREVER CHRIST LEADS US, EVEN TO MARTYRDOM; OR TO REJECT IT, AND GO BACK INTO OUR COMFORT ZONE.
THE SAMARITAN WOMAN MADE HER CHOICE; WHAT WILL BE OURS?
Sunday, February 10, 2008
First Sunday of Lent, cycle A
MATTHEW 4:1-11
WHEN THE ISRAELITES WANDERED IN THE DESERT FOR FORTY YEARS, THEY REBELLED AGAINST GOD WHEN THEY GOT HUNGRY, AND GOD GAVE THEM BREAD. WHEN JESUS WAS IN THE DESERT FOR FORTY DAYS, DESPITE HIS HUNGER, HE RESISTED THE TEMPTATION TO REBEL, AND TO USE GOD'S POWER TO TURN STONES INTO BREAD THAT HE COULD EAT.
WHEN THE ISRAELITES RELUCTANTLY FOLLOWED MOSES INTO THE DESERT, THEY LOST HEART AND WERE READY TO ABANDON HIM WHEN THE EGYPTIANS PURSUED THEM IN CHARIOTS, UNTIL GOD DEMONSTRATED HIS POWER IN A SPECTACULAR WAY, BY DIVIDING THE SEA AND THEN DESTROYING THE EGYPTIAN ARMY. WHEN JESUS WAS INVITED TO LEAP FROM THE TEMPLE TOWER INTO THE WAITING ARMS OF ANGELS, WHICH WOULD HAVE DEFINITELY IMPRESSED THE PEOPLE WHO WATCHED FROM BELOW, HE TURNED AWAY FROM THE SPECTACULAR.
WHEN MOSES WENT UP THE MOUNTAIN TO RECIEVE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, THE ISRAELITES IMMEDIATELY MADE A GOLDEN CALF AND BEGAN TO WORSHIP IT. WHEN SATAN OFFERED JESUS THE WORLD IN RETURN FOR HIS WORSHIP, HE REFUSED.
SO MATTHEW SHOWS US THAT THE OLD ISRAEL FAILED IN THE DESERT, BUT JESUS, THE NEW ISRAEL, SUCCEEDED. HE DRIVES THE POINT HOME EVEN MORE BECAUSE HE HAS JESUS QUOTING THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY, WHICH CONTAINS THE LAWS BY WHICH THE ISRAELITES WERE SUPPOSED TO LIVE. BUT JESUS IS CLEARLY LIVING THOSE LAWS, WHEN THE ISRAELITES HAD NOT.
SO THE STORY OF THE TEMPTATIONS OF JESUS IS NOT COMPLETE WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE SIMILAR TEMPTATIONS WHICH THE WANDERING ISRAELITES FACED. AND AT THE BEGINNING OF LENT WE NEED TO CLEARLY SEE THIS CONTRAST.
THERE IS A NATURAL SORT OF RELIGION. WE SEE IT IN ITS MOST PRIMITIVE FORM IN MAGIC, AND IN THE RELIGIONS OF PEOPLE WE CONSIDER “PRIMITIVE”. BUT WE ALSO SEE IT IN MODERN RELIGIONS SUCH AS ISLAM AND BUDDHISM, AND IN FACT IN SCIENTOLOGY AND, YES, THE MORMON RELIGION. FUNDAMENTALLY, THESE RELIGIONS ALL PROMISE THAT YOU WILL BE SAVED IF YOU DO CERTAIN THINGS, IF YOU FULFILL YOUR PART OF A BARGAIN WITH GOD. AND LEST WE LOOK DOWN ON THESE OTHERS, I THINK MOST OF US CHRISTIANS AND CERTAINLY MOST OF US CATHOLICS PERIODICALLY FALL INTO THAT SAME MIND SET. WE GO TO MASS ON SUNDAY, WE CONTRIBUTE TO THE SUPPORT OF THE CHURCH, WE SAY GRACE BEFORE MEALS, WE GET TO CONFESSION ONCE IN A WHILE, AND WE TRY TO AVOID REALLY SERIOUS SINS. AND IF WE DO OUR PART, GOD WILL DO HIS. IF WE KEEP OUR NOSES CLEAN, WE WILL STAY OUT OF TROUBLE.
BUT THE RELIGION THAT JESUS CHRIST BRINGS INTO THE WORLD IS NOT AT ALL LIKE A “NATURAL” RELIGION. GOD STOOPED TO BARGAIN WITH THE ISRAELITES, AND PROMISED THEM THAT HE WOULD BE THEIR GOD AND THEY WOULD BE HIS PEOPLE, PROVIDED THAT THEY KEPT THE COVENANT WITH HIM. AND THEY COULDN'T AND THEY DIDN'T, PROVING ONCE AND FOR ALL THAT YOU AND I DO NOT HAVE ANY WAY TO CONTROL GOD; WE HAVE NO WAY TO SALVATION EXCEPT THE WAY THAT CHRIST LAYS OUT, THE WAY THAT WE WILL SEE UNFOLD IN THE GOSPEL STORIES WE HEAR DURING THIS SEASON OF LENT.
NOT ON BREAD, NOT ON OUR POSSESSIONS, NOT ON OUR PLACE IN THE WORLD ARE WE TO FIND OUR LIFE, BUT RATHER, IN THE WORDS THAT GOD SPEAKS TO US. WE ARE TOLD NOT TO PUT GOD TO THE TEST, NOT TO TRY TO BARGAIN WITH HIM AS THOUGH HE WERE THERE TO SERVE US, RATHER THAN THE OPPOSITE. AND WE ARE TOLD THAT ONLY GOD IS DESERVING OF OUR ADORATION, NOT OUR LOVED ONES, NOT OUR CAREER, NOT ANYTHING THAT CONSUMES US AND GRABS OUR ATTENTION AND DEVOTION. AND GOD WILL KEEP TELLING US HIS WAY, HIS WAY WHICH STARTS IN THE DESERT PROCEEDS TO CRUCIFIXION AND DEATH, AND ENDS AND BEGINS, WITH RESURRECTION.
THE RELIGION OF JESUS CAN NEVER BE MAN WORKING OUT HIS SALVATION. THE RELIGION OF JESUS IS GOD BREAKING INTO OUR WORLD AND TURNING EVERYTHING UPSIDE DOWN. IT IS A WORLD WHERE THE MEEK INHERIT THE EARTH, WHERE THE SORROWING ARE COMFORTED, WHERE THE PEACEMAKERS WILL FINALLY FIND PEACE, AND WHERE THE PERSECUTED WITH ULTIMATELY BE CONQUERERS. THE RELIGION OF JESUS DOES NOT TELL US THAT WE CAN WIN OUR SALVATION, THAT WE CAN GET TO HEAVEN. IT TELLS US THAT HEAVEN HAS COME TO US, AND OUR JOB IS TO MEASURE OUR LIVES AGAINST WHAT GOD SHOWS US, AND THEN CHANGE SO THAT WE COME INTO COMPLETE CONFORMITY WITH WHAT HE SHOWS US – THEN WE WILL BE IN HEAVEN. OUR RELIGION IS NOT ABOUT MAN BECOMING GOD, BUT GOD BECOMING MAN.
I WISH FOR YOU, AND FOR MYSELF, THAT WE WILL ALL SEE HOW WONDERFUL, HOW STRANGE, HOW DIFFERENT THIS SEASON OF LENT REALLY IS; IT IS TRULY A MYSTERY THAT NEVER BECOMES EXHAUSTED. IT IS AN INVITATION TO WALK WITH JESUS THROUGH THOSE YEARS OF HIS MINISTRY, AND ESPECIALLY THROUGH THOSE LAST MOMENTS WHEN THE WORLD THOUGHT IT HAD FINALLY CONQUERED HIM, BUT IT TURNED OUT THAT HE HAD CONQUERED THE WORLD, HE HAD CONQUERED DEATH. I HOPE YOU WILL MAKE AN ATTEMPT TO COME TO THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS EVERY FRIDAY EVENING AND SPEND THAT HALF-HOUR WALKING THE STREETS OF JERUSALEM WITH JESUS CARRYING HIS CROSS. I HOPE YOU WILL STAND THERE AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS WITH HIS MOTHER AS HE GIVES UP HIS LIFE FOR YOU, AND BE THERE WHEN HIS BODY IS TAKEN DOWN AND PUT IN HER ARMS. I HOPE THIS BECAUSE WE MUST ACCEPT OUR CRUCIFIXION IF WE ARE TO ACCEPT RESURRECTION, AND THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS VIVIDLY REMIND US OF THAT FACT.
PLEASE MAKE THIS LENT SPECIAL. LET US ACCEPT THIS OPPORTUNITY TO REPENT OF OUR SINS, TO CHANGE OUR HEARTS, AND TO BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL.
WHEN THE ISRAELITES WANDERED IN THE DESERT FOR FORTY YEARS, THEY REBELLED AGAINST GOD WHEN THEY GOT HUNGRY, AND GOD GAVE THEM BREAD. WHEN JESUS WAS IN THE DESERT FOR FORTY DAYS, DESPITE HIS HUNGER, HE RESISTED THE TEMPTATION TO REBEL, AND TO USE GOD'S POWER TO TURN STONES INTO BREAD THAT HE COULD EAT.
WHEN THE ISRAELITES RELUCTANTLY FOLLOWED MOSES INTO THE DESERT, THEY LOST HEART AND WERE READY TO ABANDON HIM WHEN THE EGYPTIANS PURSUED THEM IN CHARIOTS, UNTIL GOD DEMONSTRATED HIS POWER IN A SPECTACULAR WAY, BY DIVIDING THE SEA AND THEN DESTROYING THE EGYPTIAN ARMY. WHEN JESUS WAS INVITED TO LEAP FROM THE TEMPLE TOWER INTO THE WAITING ARMS OF ANGELS, WHICH WOULD HAVE DEFINITELY IMPRESSED THE PEOPLE WHO WATCHED FROM BELOW, HE TURNED AWAY FROM THE SPECTACULAR.
WHEN MOSES WENT UP THE MOUNTAIN TO RECIEVE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, THE ISRAELITES IMMEDIATELY MADE A GOLDEN CALF AND BEGAN TO WORSHIP IT. WHEN SATAN OFFERED JESUS THE WORLD IN RETURN FOR HIS WORSHIP, HE REFUSED.
SO MATTHEW SHOWS US THAT THE OLD ISRAEL FAILED IN THE DESERT, BUT JESUS, THE NEW ISRAEL, SUCCEEDED. HE DRIVES THE POINT HOME EVEN MORE BECAUSE HE HAS JESUS QUOTING THE BOOK OF DEUTERONOMY, WHICH CONTAINS THE LAWS BY WHICH THE ISRAELITES WERE SUPPOSED TO LIVE. BUT JESUS IS CLEARLY LIVING THOSE LAWS, WHEN THE ISRAELITES HAD NOT.
SO THE STORY OF THE TEMPTATIONS OF JESUS IS NOT COMPLETE WITHOUT LOOKING AT THE SIMILAR TEMPTATIONS WHICH THE WANDERING ISRAELITES FACED. AND AT THE BEGINNING OF LENT WE NEED TO CLEARLY SEE THIS CONTRAST.
THERE IS A NATURAL SORT OF RELIGION. WE SEE IT IN ITS MOST PRIMITIVE FORM IN MAGIC, AND IN THE RELIGIONS OF PEOPLE WE CONSIDER “PRIMITIVE”. BUT WE ALSO SEE IT IN MODERN RELIGIONS SUCH AS ISLAM AND BUDDHISM, AND IN FACT IN SCIENTOLOGY AND, YES, THE MORMON RELIGION. FUNDAMENTALLY, THESE RELIGIONS ALL PROMISE THAT YOU WILL BE SAVED IF YOU DO CERTAIN THINGS, IF YOU FULFILL YOUR PART OF A BARGAIN WITH GOD. AND LEST WE LOOK DOWN ON THESE OTHERS, I THINK MOST OF US CHRISTIANS AND CERTAINLY MOST OF US CATHOLICS PERIODICALLY FALL INTO THAT SAME MIND SET. WE GO TO MASS ON SUNDAY, WE CONTRIBUTE TO THE SUPPORT OF THE CHURCH, WE SAY GRACE BEFORE MEALS, WE GET TO CONFESSION ONCE IN A WHILE, AND WE TRY TO AVOID REALLY SERIOUS SINS. AND IF WE DO OUR PART, GOD WILL DO HIS. IF WE KEEP OUR NOSES CLEAN, WE WILL STAY OUT OF TROUBLE.
BUT THE RELIGION THAT JESUS CHRIST BRINGS INTO THE WORLD IS NOT AT ALL LIKE A “NATURAL” RELIGION. GOD STOOPED TO BARGAIN WITH THE ISRAELITES, AND PROMISED THEM THAT HE WOULD BE THEIR GOD AND THEY WOULD BE HIS PEOPLE, PROVIDED THAT THEY KEPT THE COVENANT WITH HIM. AND THEY COULDN'T AND THEY DIDN'T, PROVING ONCE AND FOR ALL THAT YOU AND I DO NOT HAVE ANY WAY TO CONTROL GOD; WE HAVE NO WAY TO SALVATION EXCEPT THE WAY THAT CHRIST LAYS OUT, THE WAY THAT WE WILL SEE UNFOLD IN THE GOSPEL STORIES WE HEAR DURING THIS SEASON OF LENT.
NOT ON BREAD, NOT ON OUR POSSESSIONS, NOT ON OUR PLACE IN THE WORLD ARE WE TO FIND OUR LIFE, BUT RATHER, IN THE WORDS THAT GOD SPEAKS TO US. WE ARE TOLD NOT TO PUT GOD TO THE TEST, NOT TO TRY TO BARGAIN WITH HIM AS THOUGH HE WERE THERE TO SERVE US, RATHER THAN THE OPPOSITE. AND WE ARE TOLD THAT ONLY GOD IS DESERVING OF OUR ADORATION, NOT OUR LOVED ONES, NOT OUR CAREER, NOT ANYTHING THAT CONSUMES US AND GRABS OUR ATTENTION AND DEVOTION. AND GOD WILL KEEP TELLING US HIS WAY, HIS WAY WHICH STARTS IN THE DESERT PROCEEDS TO CRUCIFIXION AND DEATH, AND ENDS AND BEGINS, WITH RESURRECTION.
THE RELIGION OF JESUS CAN NEVER BE MAN WORKING OUT HIS SALVATION. THE RELIGION OF JESUS IS GOD BREAKING INTO OUR WORLD AND TURNING EVERYTHING UPSIDE DOWN. IT IS A WORLD WHERE THE MEEK INHERIT THE EARTH, WHERE THE SORROWING ARE COMFORTED, WHERE THE PEACEMAKERS WILL FINALLY FIND PEACE, AND WHERE THE PERSECUTED WITH ULTIMATELY BE CONQUERERS. THE RELIGION OF JESUS DOES NOT TELL US THAT WE CAN WIN OUR SALVATION, THAT WE CAN GET TO HEAVEN. IT TELLS US THAT HEAVEN HAS COME TO US, AND OUR JOB IS TO MEASURE OUR LIVES AGAINST WHAT GOD SHOWS US, AND THEN CHANGE SO THAT WE COME INTO COMPLETE CONFORMITY WITH WHAT HE SHOWS US – THEN WE WILL BE IN HEAVEN. OUR RELIGION IS NOT ABOUT MAN BECOMING GOD, BUT GOD BECOMING MAN.
I WISH FOR YOU, AND FOR MYSELF, THAT WE WILL ALL SEE HOW WONDERFUL, HOW STRANGE, HOW DIFFERENT THIS SEASON OF LENT REALLY IS; IT IS TRULY A MYSTERY THAT NEVER BECOMES EXHAUSTED. IT IS AN INVITATION TO WALK WITH JESUS THROUGH THOSE YEARS OF HIS MINISTRY, AND ESPECIALLY THROUGH THOSE LAST MOMENTS WHEN THE WORLD THOUGHT IT HAD FINALLY CONQUERED HIM, BUT IT TURNED OUT THAT HE HAD CONQUERED THE WORLD, HE HAD CONQUERED DEATH. I HOPE YOU WILL MAKE AN ATTEMPT TO COME TO THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS EVERY FRIDAY EVENING AND SPEND THAT HALF-HOUR WALKING THE STREETS OF JERUSALEM WITH JESUS CARRYING HIS CROSS. I HOPE YOU WILL STAND THERE AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS WITH HIS MOTHER AS HE GIVES UP HIS LIFE FOR YOU, AND BE THERE WHEN HIS BODY IS TAKEN DOWN AND PUT IN HER ARMS. I HOPE THIS BECAUSE WE MUST ACCEPT OUR CRUCIFIXION IF WE ARE TO ACCEPT RESURRECTION, AND THE STATIONS OF THE CROSS VIVIDLY REMIND US OF THAT FACT.
PLEASE MAKE THIS LENT SPECIAL. LET US ACCEPT THIS OPPORTUNITY TO REPENT OF OUR SINS, TO CHANGE OUR HEARTS, AND TO BELIEVE IN THE GOSPEL.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, cycle A
MATTHEW 5:1-12
ONCE THERE WAS A GREAT KING WHO LIVED IN LUXURY AND WAS SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE WHO ATTENDED TO HIS EVERY NEED. WHEN HE WAS OLD, SOMEONE ASKED HIM IF HE HAD EVER BEEN UNHAPPY. “UNHAPPY?” HE REPLIED. “DURING MY ENTIRE LIFE, I WAS TRULY HAPPY ONLY ONCE ON A TUESDAY AFTERNOON WHEN I WAS TWENTY-FOUR.”.
WE SOMETIMES FORGET THAT JESUS WAS ALL ABOUT HAPPINESS, HAPPINESS IN THE NEXT LIFE OF COURSE, BUT HAPPINESS IN THIS WORLD AS WELL. JESUS SPENDS A LOT OF TIME TEACHING HIS DISCIPLES AND US HOW TO BE HAPPY. AND WE ARE LIKE THE DISCIPLES, WE DON'T GET IT, WE MISS THE POINT.
THE BEATITUDES WE HEAR TODAY ARE A CASE IN POINT. THE WORDS “BLESSED” OR “HOW BLEST” COULD JUST AS EASILY BE TRANSLATED “HAPPY”, OR EVEN “DELIGHTED”. AND SO IF JESUS TELLS US THAT WE WILL BE DELIGHTED IF WE ARE POOR IN SPIRIT, IF WE HUNGER AND THIRST FOR JUSTICE, IF WE MOURN, IF WE ARE PERSECUTED, WE SHOULD LISTEN. BECAUSE MOST OF US ARE NOT AS HAPPY AS WE WOULD LIKE TO BE. THINGS THAT WE THINK ARE GOING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO US GENERALLY FALL SHORT. WE PURSUE HAPPINESS, THAT IS OUR RIGHT; BUT IF WE ARE ADULTS, WE PROBABLY HAVE RESIGNED OURSELVES TO THE VERY REAL POSSIBILITY THAT THIS IS AS GOOD AS ITS GOING TO GET.
GOD WANTS US TO BE HAPPY, NOT JUST IN HEAVEN, BUT RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW. GOD WANTS US TO BE SO HAPPY THAT THERE WILL BE NO ROOM FOR SADNESS. HE IS, AFTER ALL, OUR FATHER, AND WHAT FATHER DOES NOT WANT HIS CHILDREN TO BE HAPPY?
YOU AND I CAN EASILY REMEMBER WHEN WE WEREN'T HAPPY. WE MIGHT HAVE BEEN CHEATED; WE MIGHT HAVE DISCOVERED THAT A FRIEND BETRAYED US. WE MIGHT HAVE COMPARED OURSELVES TO SOMEONE WE ENVIED AND FELT SAD THAT WE COULD NOT BE WHAT THAT PERSON WAS. SOMETIMES WE FIND OURSELVES RUMINATING ABOUT HOW OUR LIFE HAS TURNED OUT SO POORLY, COMPARED TO WHAT WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE.
IF WE THINK ABOUT THOSE TIMES WE HAVE BEEN UNHAPPY, THE COMMON DENOMINATOR IS THAT WE WERE THINKING ABOUT OURSELVES. IN FACT, THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY WE CAN BE UNHAPPY, AND THAT IS WHEN OUR ATTENTION TURNS IN ON OURSELVES.
BUT WHEN WE ARE FOCUSING ON OTHER PEOPLE OR ON GOD, THEN WE HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF BEING HAPPY. AND THAT IS WHAT JESUS IS POINTING OUT WHEN HE GIVES US THE BEATITUDES.
BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT – HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO PAY NO ATTENTION TO POSSESSIONS, TO TITLES, TO HONORS – BECAUSE THEY ARE OPEN TO ALL THE GIFTS WHICH GOD HAS IN STORE FOR THEM.
BLESSED ARE THE SORROWING – HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO TRULY ARE ABLE TO MOURN – BECAUSE MOURNING, SORROWING, IS OUR RECOGNITION OF OUR HELPLESSNESS, OUR WORTHLESSNESS. MOST OF THE TIME WE MOURN, OR WE ARE SORROWFUL, BECAUSE SOMETHING COMES ALONG THAT DIMINISHES US, OR CAUSES PAIN. THAT IS NOT WHAT JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT. TRUE MOURNING COMES FROM KNOWING HOW BADLY WE HAVE FAILED IN WHAT GOD EXPECTS OF US. AND UNTIL WE REACH THIS REALIZATION, GOD WILL NOT MOVE INTO OUR LIVES AND COMFORT US WITH HIS TRANSFORMING POWER.
BLESSED ARE THE MEEK, THE LOWLY – HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO REALIZE THAT THERE IS NOTHING IN THEIR LIVES THAT THEY DESERVE, THAT EVERY BLESSING IS A GIFT. MOST OF US REGARD THINGS AS “OURS” AND ARE NEVER HAPPY BECAUSE WHEN WE LOSE SOMETHING WE SEE THAT IT DIMINISHES US; BUT JESUS SAYS THAT HAPPINESS IS WHEN WE SEE THAT EVERYTHING IS AN UNDESERVED GIFT,EVEN THE BREATH OF AIR THAT WE BREATH, AND IF WE SEE THAT WE ARE CONSTANTLY BEING SHOWERED WITH GIFTS, HOW CAN WE NOT BE HAPPY.
AND WHEN YOU READ THROUGH EACH OF THE BEATITUDES, THE SAME THEME COMES THROUGH; IF WE LOSE OURSELVES IN A CAUSE, IF WE IDENTIFY WITH SOMETHING BIGGER THAN US, IF WE MOVE OUT OF OURSELVES AND QUITE WORRYING ABOUT OUR OWN PRIDE, OUR OWN POSSESSIONS, IF WE QUIT PAYING ATTENTION TO MY THINGS, MY FEELINGS, A STRANGE THING WILL HAPPEN. IF WE QUIT LOOKING FOR OUR HAPPINESS, AND TRY TO MAKE OTHER PEOPLE HAPPY BY REMOVING THE BARRIERS TO THEIR HAPPINESS, WHY THEN WE BECOME TRULY HAPPY.
AND THE MOST AMAZING THING OF ALL IS THAT EVEN IF WE ARE PERSECUTED AND PUT TO DEATH BECAUSE WE ARE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS, WE KNOW THAT WE WILL SPEND ETERNITY IN GOD'S PRESENCE, SO EVEN IF WE ARE IN GREAT PHYSICAL PAIN, HAPPINESS CANNOT BE TAKEN FROM US.
AND THAT IS THE SECRET THAT JESUS IMPARTS TO THOSE WHO WOULD LISTEN. IF YOU WANT TO BE HAPPY, DO SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE ELSE. IF YOU WANT TO BE UNHAPPY, DO SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF. IF YOU SPEND YOUR LIFE DOING THINGS FOR YOURSELF, YOU WILL NEVER BE HAPPY. IF YOU SPEND YOUR LIFE WORRYING ABOUT HOW PEOPLE TREAT YOU, BEING CONCERNED ABOUT WHETHER YOU ARE GIVEN THE HONOR TO WHICH YOU ARE DUE, ALWAYS ON GUARD AGAINST BEING DISRESPECTED, WHY THEN, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE UNHAPPY.
ARE YOU AND I AS HAPPY AS WE COULD BE? I DOUBT IT. I'M CERTAINLY NOT. DO YOU AND I HAVE THE COURAGE TO LISTEN AND FOLLOW THE SIMPLE TEACHING OF JESUS? I FEAR THAT I HAVE A WAY TO GO. HOPEFULLY, YOU HAVE LESS THAN I. BUT HAPPINESS IS EASY. AND IF WE ARE NOT HAPPY, WE HAVE ONLY OURSELVES TO BLAME. AND I HAVE A FEELING THAT WE HAVE TO LEARN THIS LESSON COMPLETELY WHILE ON EARTH OR IN PURGATORY IF WE ARE EVER TO ENJOY HEAVEN – WE HAVE TO LEARN THAT HAPPINESS CANNOT BE FOUND BY PLEASING OURSELVES, ONLY BY TURNING OUR ATTENTION TO THOSE AROUND US.
SO THIS WEEK AS WE PREPARE FOR LENT, LET US THINK ABOUT THE BEATITUDES, JESUS' GUIDE TO HAPPINESS, AND WHETHER WE COULD LIFE THEM A LITTLE BETTER THAN WE ARE DOING. BECAUSE JESUS HAS GIVEN US HIS WORD THAT WE WILL TRULY FIND HAPPINESS, ABUNDANT LIFE, IF WE JUST FOLLOW HIS DIRECTIONS.
ONCE THERE WAS A GREAT KING WHO LIVED IN LUXURY AND WAS SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE WHO ATTENDED TO HIS EVERY NEED. WHEN HE WAS OLD, SOMEONE ASKED HIM IF HE HAD EVER BEEN UNHAPPY. “UNHAPPY?” HE REPLIED. “DURING MY ENTIRE LIFE, I WAS TRULY HAPPY ONLY ONCE ON A TUESDAY AFTERNOON WHEN I WAS TWENTY-FOUR.”.
WE SOMETIMES FORGET THAT JESUS WAS ALL ABOUT HAPPINESS, HAPPINESS IN THE NEXT LIFE OF COURSE, BUT HAPPINESS IN THIS WORLD AS WELL. JESUS SPENDS A LOT OF TIME TEACHING HIS DISCIPLES AND US HOW TO BE HAPPY. AND WE ARE LIKE THE DISCIPLES, WE DON'T GET IT, WE MISS THE POINT.
THE BEATITUDES WE HEAR TODAY ARE A CASE IN POINT. THE WORDS “BLESSED” OR “HOW BLEST” COULD JUST AS EASILY BE TRANSLATED “HAPPY”, OR EVEN “DELIGHTED”. AND SO IF JESUS TELLS US THAT WE WILL BE DELIGHTED IF WE ARE POOR IN SPIRIT, IF WE HUNGER AND THIRST FOR JUSTICE, IF WE MOURN, IF WE ARE PERSECUTED, WE SHOULD LISTEN. BECAUSE MOST OF US ARE NOT AS HAPPY AS WE WOULD LIKE TO BE. THINGS THAT WE THINK ARE GOING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE TO US GENERALLY FALL SHORT. WE PURSUE HAPPINESS, THAT IS OUR RIGHT; BUT IF WE ARE ADULTS, WE PROBABLY HAVE RESIGNED OURSELVES TO THE VERY REAL POSSIBILITY THAT THIS IS AS GOOD AS ITS GOING TO GET.
GOD WANTS US TO BE HAPPY, NOT JUST IN HEAVEN, BUT RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW. GOD WANTS US TO BE SO HAPPY THAT THERE WILL BE NO ROOM FOR SADNESS. HE IS, AFTER ALL, OUR FATHER, AND WHAT FATHER DOES NOT WANT HIS CHILDREN TO BE HAPPY?
YOU AND I CAN EASILY REMEMBER WHEN WE WEREN'T HAPPY. WE MIGHT HAVE BEEN CHEATED; WE MIGHT HAVE DISCOVERED THAT A FRIEND BETRAYED US. WE MIGHT HAVE COMPARED OURSELVES TO SOMEONE WE ENVIED AND FELT SAD THAT WE COULD NOT BE WHAT THAT PERSON WAS. SOMETIMES WE FIND OURSELVES RUMINATING ABOUT HOW OUR LIFE HAS TURNED OUT SO POORLY, COMPARED TO WHAT WE THOUGHT IT WOULD BE.
IF WE THINK ABOUT THOSE TIMES WE HAVE BEEN UNHAPPY, THE COMMON DENOMINATOR IS THAT WE WERE THINKING ABOUT OURSELVES. IN FACT, THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY WE CAN BE UNHAPPY, AND THAT IS WHEN OUR ATTENTION TURNS IN ON OURSELVES.
BUT WHEN WE ARE FOCUSING ON OTHER PEOPLE OR ON GOD, THEN WE HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF BEING HAPPY. AND THAT IS WHAT JESUS IS POINTING OUT WHEN HE GIVES US THE BEATITUDES.
BLESSED ARE THE POOR IN SPIRIT – HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO PAY NO ATTENTION TO POSSESSIONS, TO TITLES, TO HONORS – BECAUSE THEY ARE OPEN TO ALL THE GIFTS WHICH GOD HAS IN STORE FOR THEM.
BLESSED ARE THE SORROWING – HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO TRULY ARE ABLE TO MOURN – BECAUSE MOURNING, SORROWING, IS OUR RECOGNITION OF OUR HELPLESSNESS, OUR WORTHLESSNESS. MOST OF THE TIME WE MOURN, OR WE ARE SORROWFUL, BECAUSE SOMETHING COMES ALONG THAT DIMINISHES US, OR CAUSES PAIN. THAT IS NOT WHAT JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT. TRUE MOURNING COMES FROM KNOWING HOW BADLY WE HAVE FAILED IN WHAT GOD EXPECTS OF US. AND UNTIL WE REACH THIS REALIZATION, GOD WILL NOT MOVE INTO OUR LIVES AND COMFORT US WITH HIS TRANSFORMING POWER.
BLESSED ARE THE MEEK, THE LOWLY – HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO REALIZE THAT THERE IS NOTHING IN THEIR LIVES THAT THEY DESERVE, THAT EVERY BLESSING IS A GIFT. MOST OF US REGARD THINGS AS “OURS” AND ARE NEVER HAPPY BECAUSE WHEN WE LOSE SOMETHING WE SEE THAT IT DIMINISHES US; BUT JESUS SAYS THAT HAPPINESS IS WHEN WE SEE THAT EVERYTHING IS AN UNDESERVED GIFT,EVEN THE BREATH OF AIR THAT WE BREATH, AND IF WE SEE THAT WE ARE CONSTANTLY BEING SHOWERED WITH GIFTS, HOW CAN WE NOT BE HAPPY.
AND WHEN YOU READ THROUGH EACH OF THE BEATITUDES, THE SAME THEME COMES THROUGH; IF WE LOSE OURSELVES IN A CAUSE, IF WE IDENTIFY WITH SOMETHING BIGGER THAN US, IF WE MOVE OUT OF OURSELVES AND QUITE WORRYING ABOUT OUR OWN PRIDE, OUR OWN POSSESSIONS, IF WE QUIT PAYING ATTENTION TO MY THINGS, MY FEELINGS, A STRANGE THING WILL HAPPEN. IF WE QUIT LOOKING FOR OUR HAPPINESS, AND TRY TO MAKE OTHER PEOPLE HAPPY BY REMOVING THE BARRIERS TO THEIR HAPPINESS, WHY THEN WE BECOME TRULY HAPPY.
AND THE MOST AMAZING THING OF ALL IS THAT EVEN IF WE ARE PERSECUTED AND PUT TO DEATH BECAUSE WE ARE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS, WE KNOW THAT WE WILL SPEND ETERNITY IN GOD'S PRESENCE, SO EVEN IF WE ARE IN GREAT PHYSICAL PAIN, HAPPINESS CANNOT BE TAKEN FROM US.
AND THAT IS THE SECRET THAT JESUS IMPARTS TO THOSE WHO WOULD LISTEN. IF YOU WANT TO BE HAPPY, DO SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE ELSE. IF YOU WANT TO BE UNHAPPY, DO SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF. IF YOU SPEND YOUR LIFE DOING THINGS FOR YOURSELF, YOU WILL NEVER BE HAPPY. IF YOU SPEND YOUR LIFE WORRYING ABOUT HOW PEOPLE TREAT YOU, BEING CONCERNED ABOUT WHETHER YOU ARE GIVEN THE HONOR TO WHICH YOU ARE DUE, ALWAYS ON GUARD AGAINST BEING DISRESPECTED, WHY THEN, YOU WILL ALWAYS BE UNHAPPY.
ARE YOU AND I AS HAPPY AS WE COULD BE? I DOUBT IT. I'M CERTAINLY NOT. DO YOU AND I HAVE THE COURAGE TO LISTEN AND FOLLOW THE SIMPLE TEACHING OF JESUS? I FEAR THAT I HAVE A WAY TO GO. HOPEFULLY, YOU HAVE LESS THAN I. BUT HAPPINESS IS EASY. AND IF WE ARE NOT HAPPY, WE HAVE ONLY OURSELVES TO BLAME. AND I HAVE A FEELING THAT WE HAVE TO LEARN THIS LESSON COMPLETELY WHILE ON EARTH OR IN PURGATORY IF WE ARE EVER TO ENJOY HEAVEN – WE HAVE TO LEARN THAT HAPPINESS CANNOT BE FOUND BY PLEASING OURSELVES, ONLY BY TURNING OUR ATTENTION TO THOSE AROUND US.
SO THIS WEEK AS WE PREPARE FOR LENT, LET US THINK ABOUT THE BEATITUDES, JESUS' GUIDE TO HAPPINESS, AND WHETHER WE COULD LIFE THEM A LITTLE BETTER THAN WE ARE DOING. BECAUSE JESUS HAS GIVEN US HIS WORD THAT WE WILL TRULY FIND HAPPINESS, ABUNDANT LIFE, IF WE JUST FOLLOW HIS DIRECTIONS.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
3rd Sunday of Ordinary Time, cycle A
MATTHEW 4:13-23
IN TODAY'S GOSPEL, MATTHEW WANTS HIS READERS TO NOTICE THAT JESUS BEGINS HIS PREACHING MINISTRY IN THE AREA AROUND THE UPPER PART OF THE SEA OF GALILEE – THE LAND OF ZEBULON AND NAPHTALI. YOU WILL REMEMBER THAT JESUS WAS BAPTIZED IN THE JORDAN RIVER, DOWN IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF PALESTINE, NOT FAR FROM JERUSALEM. HIS HOME WAS IN NAZARETH, AND NOW HE MOVES TO CAPARNUM, A SEASIDE VILLAGE.
THERE IS QUITE A CONTRAST BETWEEN JUDEA AND THE LAND WHERE JESUS BEGAN HIS MINISTRY. JUDEA WAS ALMOST ALL JERUSALEM; THERE WERE LITTLE TOWNS AS WELL – BETHLEHEM, EMMAUS, BETHANY, JERICHO – BUT THE SITUATION WAS SOMETHING LIKE RHODE ISLAND – THERE'S NOT A LOT THERE ONCE YOU GET OUTSIDE OF PROVIDENCE AND IT'S SUBURBS. THE BUSINESS OF JUDEA WAS JERUSALEM. AND THE BUSINESS OF JERUSALEM WAS RELIGION. THE HOLIEST AND MOST COMMITTED JEWS LIVED THERE.
IN GALILEE, ON THE OTHER HAND, AND ESPECIALLY IN CAPARNUM, IT WAS VERY DIFFERENT. CAPARNUM AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS WERE POPULATED BY JEWS, SAMARITANS, AND PAGANS. AND IF YOU WERE A RELIGIOUS JEW, YOU PROBABLY ENVIED THOSE PEOPLE IN JUDEA WHO HAD A MUCH EASIER TIME PRACTICING THEIR FAITH, OBSERVING THE PURITY RITUALS, AND BEING ABLE TO OFFER SACRIFICES ANY TIME THEY FELT LIKE IT. IN FACT, TO THE JEWS OF JERUSALEM, THE JEWS IN CAPARNUM WERE VIEWED AS UNSOPHISTICATED, ILLITERATE, DIRTY, AND HAVING VERY SHORT FUSES. I GUESS THAT IS A UNIVERSAL TRAIT – EVERYONE NEEDS SOMEONE TO LOOK DOWN ON. IN MONTANA, WE USED TO MAKE JOKES ABOUT NORTH DAKOTANS.
MATTHEW SAYS JESUS WENT TO THAT AREA TO FULFILL A PROPHECY OF ISAIAH, WHICH HE QUOTES, AND OF COURSE HIS READERS WOULD IMMEDIATELY SEE THAT THOSE GALILEANS WERE PEOPLE LIVING IN DARKNESS, COMPARED TO JEWS LIVING IN JERUSALEM, OR IN SOME OF THE CITIES OF THE EMPIRE WHERE THE JEWISH POPULATION WAS URBAN AND SOPHISTICATED.
BUT JESUS DIDN'T GO THERE JUST BECAUSE HE WANTED TO FULFILL A PROPHECY. I THINK HE WENT THERE BECAUSE THERE WAS A MUCH BETTER CHANCE THAT THOSE PEOPLE WOULD ACCEPT HIS MESSAGE, AS OPPOSED TO THE PEOPLE OF JUDEA – AND OF COURSE, TIME SHOWED THAT HE WAS CORRECT. IN JERUSALEM, A LOT OF PEOPLE LIVED OFF THE TOURIST TRADE, OR MADE MONEY SELLING SACRIFICIAL ANIMALS, OR WERE EMPLOYED BY THE KING OR THE HIGH PRIEST. WHITE COLLAR WORKERS. THE PEOPLE OF JUDEA HAD THE TEMPLE AND THE PRIESTHOOD AND PEOPLE WHO COULD READ AND INTERPRET THE SACRED WRITINGS – WHAT DID THEY NEED OF A WANDERING PREACHER?
THE PEOPLE OF THE NORTH UNDERSTOOD THEMSELVES TO BE WANTING IN NEARLY EVERYTHING RELIGIOUS; ABOUT ALL THEY COULD DO WAS GET DOWN TO THE TEMPLE ONCE A YEAR TO OFFER A SACRIFICE, AND THE REST OF THE TIME THEY TRIED TO KEEP THE SABBATH AS BEST THEY COULD. IN THE NORTH, ALMOST EVERY JEW WAS EMPLOYED IN HARD PHYSICAL LABOR IN JOBS THAT WERE LOOKED DOWN ON – FISHING, CARPENTRY, FARMING, HERDING SHEEP, AND THERE WERE MANY DAY LABORERS, LIVING HAND TO MOUTH, EATING WHEN THEY WORKED, STARVING WHEN THEY COULDN'T FIND WORK.
SO JESUS REJECTED THOSE WHO THOUGHT THEY COULDN'T BE IMPROVED, AND WENT TO THOSE WHO KNEW THEY LACKED SOMETHING. AND IT WAS IN GALILEE THAT DISCIPLES CAME TO HIM IN DROVES.
UNTIL YOU ARE CONSCIOUS OF HOW MUCH YOU ARE LACKING, UNTIL YOU SEE THAT YOU LIVE IN A KIND OF DARKNESS, UNTIL YOU CAN TRULY SEE HOW HOPELESS YOU ARE BY YOURSELF, UNTIL THEN, IT IS HARD TO HEAR JESUS' MESSAGE. HE SAYS “REPENT, REFORM YOUR LIVES, TURN AWAY FROM THE DIRECTION IN WHICH YOU ARE GOING”. BUT WHO WILL LISTEN IF HE OR SHE THINKS THINGS ARE ABOUT 90% PERFECT THE WAY THEY ARE? HE SAYS, “THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND,” BUT IF WE EAT WELL EVERY DAY, DRIVE A LATE MODEL CAR, HAVE A 50 INCH FLAT PANEL TELEVISION, NEVER REALLY EXPERIENCE COLD OR BAD WEATHER FROM INSIDE OUR WARM HOUSES, AND ENJOY GOOD HEALTH, THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN MAY NOT BE ALL THAT ATTRACTIVE. IN THE UNITED STATES OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS THERE HAS BEEN A LARGE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN REINCARNATION. A REASON FOR THIS IS THAT LIFE IS PRETTY GOOD, AND PEOPLE WOULD PREFER TO COME BACK HERE, NOT GO OFF TO A HEAVEN WHICH BY COMPARISON DOESN'T SEEM THAT MUCH BETTER.
THE PEOPLE OF JUDEA, EVEN THOUGH VERY RELIGIOUS, WERE IN GENERAL, FULL OF THEMSELVES. THERE WAS VERY LITTLE ROOM IN THEM FOR GOD TO OPERATE. THE PEOPLE IN THE NORTH WERE CONSCIOUS OF THEIR EMPTINESS, AND IN THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES, GOD CAN DO WONDERFUL THINGS – AS JESUS DEMONSTRATED IN THE TOWNS AND VILLAGES THROUGH WHICH HE TRAVELED.
THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE IN OUR COUNTRY, MANY PEOPLE IN OUR PARISH, I WOULD VENTURE TO SAY, AND I'M NOT EXCLUDING MYSELF, WHO ARE QUITE COMFORTABLE, WHO SEE THEMSELVES AS BASICALLY ALL RIGHT, NOT IN NEED OF MUCH IMPROVEMENT, AND IF YOU WERE TO ASK THEM WHERE THEY NEED TO CHANGE, THEY WOULD THINK A LONG TIME AND THEN GIVE YOU A STATEMENT LIKE “I'M A LITTLE SHORT TEMPERED,” OR “I PROBABLY DON'T PRAY ENOUGH.” AND THERE IS LITTLE ROOM FOR GOD TO WORK.
BUT ONCE WE SEE OUR OWN EMPTINESS, HOW FAR WE ARE FROM WHAT WE SHOULD BE AND WHAT WE COULD BE, HOW MUCH WE NEED TO BE FILLED UP BE GOD AND EMPTIED OUT OF OURSELVES, AND THEN WE TURN AWAY FROM ALL THOSE THINGS, ALL THAT STUFF, AND TURN TOWARDS GOD, WE WILL BE THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN DARKNESS WHO SEE A GREAT LIGHT, AND JESUS WILL MOVE AMONG US HEALING THE SICK AND BRINGING THE KINGDOM INTO OUR MIDST.
LET US PRAY TODAY THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO LEAVE JERUSALEM AND GO TO CAPARNUM, WHERE JESUS CAN HEAL OUR SICKNESS AND GIVE SIGHT TO OUR BLINDNESS.
IN TODAY'S GOSPEL, MATTHEW WANTS HIS READERS TO NOTICE THAT JESUS BEGINS HIS PREACHING MINISTRY IN THE AREA AROUND THE UPPER PART OF THE SEA OF GALILEE – THE LAND OF ZEBULON AND NAPHTALI. YOU WILL REMEMBER THAT JESUS WAS BAPTIZED IN THE JORDAN RIVER, DOWN IN THE SOUTHERN PART OF PALESTINE, NOT FAR FROM JERUSALEM. HIS HOME WAS IN NAZARETH, AND NOW HE MOVES TO CAPARNUM, A SEASIDE VILLAGE.
THERE IS QUITE A CONTRAST BETWEEN JUDEA AND THE LAND WHERE JESUS BEGAN HIS MINISTRY. JUDEA WAS ALMOST ALL JERUSALEM; THERE WERE LITTLE TOWNS AS WELL – BETHLEHEM, EMMAUS, BETHANY, JERICHO – BUT THE SITUATION WAS SOMETHING LIKE RHODE ISLAND – THERE'S NOT A LOT THERE ONCE YOU GET OUTSIDE OF PROVIDENCE AND IT'S SUBURBS. THE BUSINESS OF JUDEA WAS JERUSALEM. AND THE BUSINESS OF JERUSALEM WAS RELIGION. THE HOLIEST AND MOST COMMITTED JEWS LIVED THERE.
IN GALILEE, ON THE OTHER HAND, AND ESPECIALLY IN CAPARNUM, IT WAS VERY DIFFERENT. CAPARNUM AND THE SURROUNDING AREAS WERE POPULATED BY JEWS, SAMARITANS, AND PAGANS. AND IF YOU WERE A RELIGIOUS JEW, YOU PROBABLY ENVIED THOSE PEOPLE IN JUDEA WHO HAD A MUCH EASIER TIME PRACTICING THEIR FAITH, OBSERVING THE PURITY RITUALS, AND BEING ABLE TO OFFER SACRIFICES ANY TIME THEY FELT LIKE IT. IN FACT, TO THE JEWS OF JERUSALEM, THE JEWS IN CAPARNUM WERE VIEWED AS UNSOPHISTICATED, ILLITERATE, DIRTY, AND HAVING VERY SHORT FUSES. I GUESS THAT IS A UNIVERSAL TRAIT – EVERYONE NEEDS SOMEONE TO LOOK DOWN ON. IN MONTANA, WE USED TO MAKE JOKES ABOUT NORTH DAKOTANS.
MATTHEW SAYS JESUS WENT TO THAT AREA TO FULFILL A PROPHECY OF ISAIAH, WHICH HE QUOTES, AND OF COURSE HIS READERS WOULD IMMEDIATELY SEE THAT THOSE GALILEANS WERE PEOPLE LIVING IN DARKNESS, COMPARED TO JEWS LIVING IN JERUSALEM, OR IN SOME OF THE CITIES OF THE EMPIRE WHERE THE JEWISH POPULATION WAS URBAN AND SOPHISTICATED.
BUT JESUS DIDN'T GO THERE JUST BECAUSE HE WANTED TO FULFILL A PROPHECY. I THINK HE WENT THERE BECAUSE THERE WAS A MUCH BETTER CHANCE THAT THOSE PEOPLE WOULD ACCEPT HIS MESSAGE, AS OPPOSED TO THE PEOPLE OF JUDEA – AND OF COURSE, TIME SHOWED THAT HE WAS CORRECT. IN JERUSALEM, A LOT OF PEOPLE LIVED OFF THE TOURIST TRADE, OR MADE MONEY SELLING SACRIFICIAL ANIMALS, OR WERE EMPLOYED BY THE KING OR THE HIGH PRIEST. WHITE COLLAR WORKERS. THE PEOPLE OF JUDEA HAD THE TEMPLE AND THE PRIESTHOOD AND PEOPLE WHO COULD READ AND INTERPRET THE SACRED WRITINGS – WHAT DID THEY NEED OF A WANDERING PREACHER?
THE PEOPLE OF THE NORTH UNDERSTOOD THEMSELVES TO BE WANTING IN NEARLY EVERYTHING RELIGIOUS; ABOUT ALL THEY COULD DO WAS GET DOWN TO THE TEMPLE ONCE A YEAR TO OFFER A SACRIFICE, AND THE REST OF THE TIME THEY TRIED TO KEEP THE SABBATH AS BEST THEY COULD. IN THE NORTH, ALMOST EVERY JEW WAS EMPLOYED IN HARD PHYSICAL LABOR IN JOBS THAT WERE LOOKED DOWN ON – FISHING, CARPENTRY, FARMING, HERDING SHEEP, AND THERE WERE MANY DAY LABORERS, LIVING HAND TO MOUTH, EATING WHEN THEY WORKED, STARVING WHEN THEY COULDN'T FIND WORK.
SO JESUS REJECTED THOSE WHO THOUGHT THEY COULDN'T BE IMPROVED, AND WENT TO THOSE WHO KNEW THEY LACKED SOMETHING. AND IT WAS IN GALILEE THAT DISCIPLES CAME TO HIM IN DROVES.
UNTIL YOU ARE CONSCIOUS OF HOW MUCH YOU ARE LACKING, UNTIL YOU SEE THAT YOU LIVE IN A KIND OF DARKNESS, UNTIL YOU CAN TRULY SEE HOW HOPELESS YOU ARE BY YOURSELF, UNTIL THEN, IT IS HARD TO HEAR JESUS' MESSAGE. HE SAYS “REPENT, REFORM YOUR LIVES, TURN AWAY FROM THE DIRECTION IN WHICH YOU ARE GOING”. BUT WHO WILL LISTEN IF HE OR SHE THINKS THINGS ARE ABOUT 90% PERFECT THE WAY THEY ARE? HE SAYS, “THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IS AT HAND,” BUT IF WE EAT WELL EVERY DAY, DRIVE A LATE MODEL CAR, HAVE A 50 INCH FLAT PANEL TELEVISION, NEVER REALLY EXPERIENCE COLD OR BAD WEATHER FROM INSIDE OUR WARM HOUSES, AND ENJOY GOOD HEALTH, THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN MAY NOT BE ALL THAT ATTRACTIVE. IN THE UNITED STATES OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS THERE HAS BEEN A LARGE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN REINCARNATION. A REASON FOR THIS IS THAT LIFE IS PRETTY GOOD, AND PEOPLE WOULD PREFER TO COME BACK HERE, NOT GO OFF TO A HEAVEN WHICH BY COMPARISON DOESN'T SEEM THAT MUCH BETTER.
THE PEOPLE OF JUDEA, EVEN THOUGH VERY RELIGIOUS, WERE IN GENERAL, FULL OF THEMSELVES. THERE WAS VERY LITTLE ROOM IN THEM FOR GOD TO OPERATE. THE PEOPLE IN THE NORTH WERE CONSCIOUS OF THEIR EMPTINESS, AND IN THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES, GOD CAN DO WONDERFUL THINGS – AS JESUS DEMONSTRATED IN THE TOWNS AND VILLAGES THROUGH WHICH HE TRAVELED.
THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE IN OUR COUNTRY, MANY PEOPLE IN OUR PARISH, I WOULD VENTURE TO SAY, AND I'M NOT EXCLUDING MYSELF, WHO ARE QUITE COMFORTABLE, WHO SEE THEMSELVES AS BASICALLY ALL RIGHT, NOT IN NEED OF MUCH IMPROVEMENT, AND IF YOU WERE TO ASK THEM WHERE THEY NEED TO CHANGE, THEY WOULD THINK A LONG TIME AND THEN GIVE YOU A STATEMENT LIKE “I'M A LITTLE SHORT TEMPERED,” OR “I PROBABLY DON'T PRAY ENOUGH.” AND THERE IS LITTLE ROOM FOR GOD TO WORK.
BUT ONCE WE SEE OUR OWN EMPTINESS, HOW FAR WE ARE FROM WHAT WE SHOULD BE AND WHAT WE COULD BE, HOW MUCH WE NEED TO BE FILLED UP BE GOD AND EMPTIED OUT OF OURSELVES, AND THEN WE TURN AWAY FROM ALL THOSE THINGS, ALL THAT STUFF, AND TURN TOWARDS GOD, WE WILL BE THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN DARKNESS WHO SEE A GREAT LIGHT, AND JESUS WILL MOVE AMONG US HEALING THE SICK AND BRINGING THE KINGDOM INTO OUR MIDST.
LET US PRAY TODAY THAT WE WILL BE ABLE TO LEAVE JERUSALEM AND GO TO CAPARNUM, WHERE JESUS CAN HEAL OUR SICKNESS AND GIVE SIGHT TO OUR BLINDNESS.
Monday, January 21, 2008
2nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, cycle A
JOHN 1:29-34
RECENTLY I WAS ASKED BY SOMEONE WHETHER THERE WAS A CATHOLIC PHYSICIAN'S GUILD IN THE SPRINGFIELD AREA. THIS IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT SEEKS TO PROMOTE THE IDEA THAT A CATHOLIC PHYSICIAN HAS A SPECIAL VOCATION – TO EMBODY CHRIST AS HEALER. WELL, THERE ISN'T. THERE WAS AN ACTIVE CHAPTER IN BUFFALO, WHERE I LIVED BEFORE I CAME HERE, BUT TO BE HONEST, I NEVER ACTUALLY GOT INVOLVED. IN BUFFALO, IT SEEMED AS THOUGH THE GUILD MOSTLY HAD BANQUETS AND SPONSORED AN ANNUAL MASS FOR PHYSICIANS. TO BE FAIR, THEY ALSO RAISED MONEY TO PROVIDE A PARTIAL SCHOLARSHIP FOR A MEDICAL STUDENT, AND I'M SURE THEY MUST HAVE DONE OTHER THINGS.
AS I BEGAN TO MUSE ON WHETHER THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE STARTED HERE IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS, I REALIZED THAT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A HANDFUL OF PHYSICIANS THAT I SEE AT MASS ON SUNDAYS, I HAD NO WAY OF TELLING WHETHER A PARTICULAR PHYSICIAN WAS A PRACTICING CATHOLIC OR NOT. HOW COULD ANYONE EVEN BEGIN TO FIND PHYSICIANS WHO WERE SERIOUS ABOUT THEIR FAITH AND WOULD FORM THE NUCLEUS OF A CHAPTER OF THE CATHOLIC PHYSICIAN'S GUILD?
WHEN WE STUDY THE READINGS TODAY, LISTEN TO SOME OF THE PHRASES:
FROM ISAIAH: I WILL MAKE YOU A LIGHT TO THE NATIONS, THAT MY SALVATION WILL REACH TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.
FROM THE PSALM: I ANNOUNCED YOUR JUSTICE IN THE VAST ASSEMBLY; I DID NOT RESTRAIN MY LIPS, AS YOU, O LORD, KNOW.
FROM THE EPISTLE: PAUL, CALLED TO BE AN APOSTLE, (THAT IS, A WITNESS) OF CHRIST JESUS.
FROM THE GOSPEL: NOW I HAVE SEEN AND TESTIFIED THAT HE IS THE SON OF GOD.
THE THEME RUNNING THROUGH ALL THESE READINGS IS ONE OF WITNESS. IF YOU ARE CALLED TO WITNESS, AND YOU DON'T WITNESS, SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG. AND THAT IS WHAT I REALIZED WHEN I THOUGHT ABOUT MY FELLOW PHYSICIANS. IF I CAN'T TELL IF THEY ARE PRACTICING CATHOLICS, SOMETHING IS TERRIBLY WRONG. BUT I CAN'T.
AND BELIEVE ME, I'M NOT PICKING ON PHYSICIANS. I THINK IF EACH OF US THINKS ABOUT THE PEOPLE WE KNOW A LITTLE BIT, THE PEOPLE WE WORK WITH, THE PEOPLE WE SEE ON TELEVISION, OUR POLITICAL FIGURES – CAN WE PICK OUT THOSE WHO PRACTICE THEIR FAITH? CAN WE IDENTIFY ANY WHO ARE ACTUALLY WITNESSING WITH THEIR WORDS, OR WITH THEIR LIVES, THAT JESUS IS LORD, THAT JESUS IS MESSIAH, THAT JESUS IS THE LAMB OF GOD WHO TAKES AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD? THEY MAY BE PRACTICING THEIR FAITH, BUT THEY CERTAINLY BLEND IN WELL, THEY CERTAINLY MANAGE TO KEEP THIS FACT UNDER WRAPS.
AND I THINK WE CAN TURN THE SPOTLIGHT ON OURSELVES AND ASK THE SAME QUESTION. DOES ANYONE OUTSIDE OF OUR IMMEDIATE FAMILY, AND OUTSIDE OF THE PEOPLE WE SEE EVERY SUNDAY AT MASS, KNOW THAT WE ARE CATHOLIC? DO THEY KNOW THAT WE TAKE OUR FAITH SERIOUSLY? DO ANY OF THEM SEE SOMETHING ABOUT US THAT MAKES THEM CURIOUS, MAKES THEM WANT TO KNOW WHY WE ARE DIFFERENT, WHY WE HAVE A SPIRITUAL JOY WHICH COMES FROM KNOWING THAT JESUS LIVES IN US? OR DO WE REALLY BLEND IN WELL? I'VE BEEN THERE. BEFORE I BEGAN TO STUDY TO BE A DEACON, I SELDOM WENT OUT OF MY WAY TO WITNESS MY FAITH. I WAS SORT OF PASSIVE, ALTHOUGH IF SOMEONE SAID SOMETHING PARTICULARLY OFFENSIVE, OR REALLY STUPID, REGARDING WHAT CATHOLICS BELIEVED, I WOULD SPEAK UP. BUT AS PEOPLE BEGAN TO ASK WHAT I WAS DOING GOING TO CLASS FOR THREE HOURS TWICE A WEEK, I HAD TO TELL THEM. TO MY SURPRISE THIS AROUSED MORE CURIOSITY THAN ANIMOSITY. AND PEOPLE WOULD REVEAL THEIR OWN ATTITUDE TOWARDS RELIGION TO ME. AND DIALOG WOULD HAPPEN. AND AS TIME WENT ON, I ACTUALLY LOOKED FORWARD TO THOSE MOMENTS WHEN I COULD WITNESS, ALTHOUGH I'M STILL SHY ABOUT IT, AND COULD BE A LOT BETTER THAN I AM. BUT YOU LEARN, AND AS THE YEARS GO BY, IT BECOMES A LITTLE MORE NATURAL, A LITTLE EASIER.
THE POINT IS THAT WE CANNOT REALLY BE CHRISTIANS UNLESS WE WITNESS. JOHN THE BAPTIST HAD WAITED HIS WHOLE LIFE TO FIND THE MESSIAH, AND THEN GOD SHOWED HIM THE MESSIAH. AND HE IMMEDIATELY BEGAN TO WITNESS THIS, EVEN TO THE POINT OF LOSING HIS OWN DISCIPLES. AND IF WE WERE TO READ AHEAD, WE WOULD HEAR ABOUT ONE OF THOSE DISCIPLES, ANDREW, BECOMING A FOLLOWER OF JESUS, AND THEN RECRUITING HIS BROTHER PETER. AND WE WOULD HEAR ABOUT PHILIP, WHO FOLLOWED JESUS, AND WENT OUT AND WITNESSED TO NATHANIEL, WHO BECAME ANOTHER APOSTLE. AND SO IT WENT, AND SO IT IS STILL MEANT TO GO.
BEING A WITNESS IS NOT AS DIFFICULT AS IT SEEMS. IT MEANS SPEAKING UP, PERHAPS EVEN IN A HUMOROUS WAY, WHEN SOMEONE MAKES A NEGATIVE REMARK ABOUT THE CHURCH OR ITS TEACHINGS. YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW OFTEN JOAN AND I HAD TO FACE COMMENTS ABOUT THE SIZE OF OUR FAMILY. SOMETIMES WE WOULD JUST SAY, “WE'RE JUST OLD FASHIONED CATHOLICS.” IT MEANS VOLUNTEERING A LITTLE EXTRA INFORMATION SOMETIMES – I CAN'T JOIN YOU FOR GOLF SUNDAY UNTIL 9:00 – I'VE GOT TO GET TO MASS. IT MEANS PUBLICLY TAKING AN UNPOPULAR STANCE ONCE IN A WHILE -- “I CAN'T VOTE FOR SO AND SO, BECAUSE HE/SHE SUPPORTS ABORTION.”
BUT IN ADDITION TO THIS KIND OF WITNESSING, THE OTHER KIND IS NECESSARY AS WELL. HOW DOES YOUR FAITH TRANSLATE INTO ACTION? ARE YOU CONSCIENTIOUS ABOUT YOUR WORK? DO YOU MAKE AN EFFORT TO FORGIVE THOSE WHO OFFEND YOU, OR ASK PARDON OF THOSE YOU OFFEND, ESPECIALLY AMONG FAMILY MEMBERS? DO YOU GIVE A LITTLE OF YOURSELF AWAY FOR A GOOD CAUSE? DO YOU VOLUNTEER, DO YOU TAKE PART IN SOME REGULAR ACTIVITY THAT SEEKS TO MAKE THE WORLD A LITTLE BETTER?
WE ARE CALLED TO WITNESS. WE ARE CALLED TO GROW IN HOLY BOLDNESS. SO TODAY LET US PRAY THAT GOD WILL GIVE US THE GRACE AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE WITNESSES, SO THAT HIS SALVATION WILL REACH THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, SO THAT WHEN OUR LIVES ARE OVER, WE CAN SAY WITH JOHN THE BAPTIST, “I HAVE SEEN AND TESTIFIED THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD.”
RECENTLY I WAS ASKED BY SOMEONE WHETHER THERE WAS A CATHOLIC PHYSICIAN'S GUILD IN THE SPRINGFIELD AREA. THIS IS AN ORGANIZATION THAT SEEKS TO PROMOTE THE IDEA THAT A CATHOLIC PHYSICIAN HAS A SPECIAL VOCATION – TO EMBODY CHRIST AS HEALER. WELL, THERE ISN'T. THERE WAS AN ACTIVE CHAPTER IN BUFFALO, WHERE I LIVED BEFORE I CAME HERE, BUT TO BE HONEST, I NEVER ACTUALLY GOT INVOLVED. IN BUFFALO, IT SEEMED AS THOUGH THE GUILD MOSTLY HAD BANQUETS AND SPONSORED AN ANNUAL MASS FOR PHYSICIANS. TO BE FAIR, THEY ALSO RAISED MONEY TO PROVIDE A PARTIAL SCHOLARSHIP FOR A MEDICAL STUDENT, AND I'M SURE THEY MUST HAVE DONE OTHER THINGS.
AS I BEGAN TO MUSE ON WHETHER THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE STARTED HERE IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS, I REALIZED THAT WITH THE EXCEPTION OF A HANDFUL OF PHYSICIANS THAT I SEE AT MASS ON SUNDAYS, I HAD NO WAY OF TELLING WHETHER A PARTICULAR PHYSICIAN WAS A PRACTICING CATHOLIC OR NOT. HOW COULD ANYONE EVEN BEGIN TO FIND PHYSICIANS WHO WERE SERIOUS ABOUT THEIR FAITH AND WOULD FORM THE NUCLEUS OF A CHAPTER OF THE CATHOLIC PHYSICIAN'S GUILD?
WHEN WE STUDY THE READINGS TODAY, LISTEN TO SOME OF THE PHRASES:
FROM ISAIAH: I WILL MAKE YOU A LIGHT TO THE NATIONS, THAT MY SALVATION WILL REACH TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH.
FROM THE PSALM: I ANNOUNCED YOUR JUSTICE IN THE VAST ASSEMBLY; I DID NOT RESTRAIN MY LIPS, AS YOU, O LORD, KNOW.
FROM THE EPISTLE: PAUL, CALLED TO BE AN APOSTLE, (THAT IS, A WITNESS) OF CHRIST JESUS.
FROM THE GOSPEL: NOW I HAVE SEEN AND TESTIFIED THAT HE IS THE SON OF GOD.
THE THEME RUNNING THROUGH ALL THESE READINGS IS ONE OF WITNESS. IF YOU ARE CALLED TO WITNESS, AND YOU DON'T WITNESS, SOMETHING IS VERY WRONG. AND THAT IS WHAT I REALIZED WHEN I THOUGHT ABOUT MY FELLOW PHYSICIANS. IF I CAN'T TELL IF THEY ARE PRACTICING CATHOLICS, SOMETHING IS TERRIBLY WRONG. BUT I CAN'T.
AND BELIEVE ME, I'M NOT PICKING ON PHYSICIANS. I THINK IF EACH OF US THINKS ABOUT THE PEOPLE WE KNOW A LITTLE BIT, THE PEOPLE WE WORK WITH, THE PEOPLE WE SEE ON TELEVISION, OUR POLITICAL FIGURES – CAN WE PICK OUT THOSE WHO PRACTICE THEIR FAITH? CAN WE IDENTIFY ANY WHO ARE ACTUALLY WITNESSING WITH THEIR WORDS, OR WITH THEIR LIVES, THAT JESUS IS LORD, THAT JESUS IS MESSIAH, THAT JESUS IS THE LAMB OF GOD WHO TAKES AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD? THEY MAY BE PRACTICING THEIR FAITH, BUT THEY CERTAINLY BLEND IN WELL, THEY CERTAINLY MANAGE TO KEEP THIS FACT UNDER WRAPS.
AND I THINK WE CAN TURN THE SPOTLIGHT ON OURSELVES AND ASK THE SAME QUESTION. DOES ANYONE OUTSIDE OF OUR IMMEDIATE FAMILY, AND OUTSIDE OF THE PEOPLE WE SEE EVERY SUNDAY AT MASS, KNOW THAT WE ARE CATHOLIC? DO THEY KNOW THAT WE TAKE OUR FAITH SERIOUSLY? DO ANY OF THEM SEE SOMETHING ABOUT US THAT MAKES THEM CURIOUS, MAKES THEM WANT TO KNOW WHY WE ARE DIFFERENT, WHY WE HAVE A SPIRITUAL JOY WHICH COMES FROM KNOWING THAT JESUS LIVES IN US? OR DO WE REALLY BLEND IN WELL? I'VE BEEN THERE. BEFORE I BEGAN TO STUDY TO BE A DEACON, I SELDOM WENT OUT OF MY WAY TO WITNESS MY FAITH. I WAS SORT OF PASSIVE, ALTHOUGH IF SOMEONE SAID SOMETHING PARTICULARLY OFFENSIVE, OR REALLY STUPID, REGARDING WHAT CATHOLICS BELIEVED, I WOULD SPEAK UP. BUT AS PEOPLE BEGAN TO ASK WHAT I WAS DOING GOING TO CLASS FOR THREE HOURS TWICE A WEEK, I HAD TO TELL THEM. TO MY SURPRISE THIS AROUSED MORE CURIOSITY THAN ANIMOSITY. AND PEOPLE WOULD REVEAL THEIR OWN ATTITUDE TOWARDS RELIGION TO ME. AND DIALOG WOULD HAPPEN. AND AS TIME WENT ON, I ACTUALLY LOOKED FORWARD TO THOSE MOMENTS WHEN I COULD WITNESS, ALTHOUGH I'M STILL SHY ABOUT IT, AND COULD BE A LOT BETTER THAN I AM. BUT YOU LEARN, AND AS THE YEARS GO BY, IT BECOMES A LITTLE MORE NATURAL, A LITTLE EASIER.
THE POINT IS THAT WE CANNOT REALLY BE CHRISTIANS UNLESS WE WITNESS. JOHN THE BAPTIST HAD WAITED HIS WHOLE LIFE TO FIND THE MESSIAH, AND THEN GOD SHOWED HIM THE MESSIAH. AND HE IMMEDIATELY BEGAN TO WITNESS THIS, EVEN TO THE POINT OF LOSING HIS OWN DISCIPLES. AND IF WE WERE TO READ AHEAD, WE WOULD HEAR ABOUT ONE OF THOSE DISCIPLES, ANDREW, BECOMING A FOLLOWER OF JESUS, AND THEN RECRUITING HIS BROTHER PETER. AND WE WOULD HEAR ABOUT PHILIP, WHO FOLLOWED JESUS, AND WENT OUT AND WITNESSED TO NATHANIEL, WHO BECAME ANOTHER APOSTLE. AND SO IT WENT, AND SO IT IS STILL MEANT TO GO.
BEING A WITNESS IS NOT AS DIFFICULT AS IT SEEMS. IT MEANS SPEAKING UP, PERHAPS EVEN IN A HUMOROUS WAY, WHEN SOMEONE MAKES A NEGATIVE REMARK ABOUT THE CHURCH OR ITS TEACHINGS. YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW OFTEN JOAN AND I HAD TO FACE COMMENTS ABOUT THE SIZE OF OUR FAMILY. SOMETIMES WE WOULD JUST SAY, “WE'RE JUST OLD FASHIONED CATHOLICS.” IT MEANS VOLUNTEERING A LITTLE EXTRA INFORMATION SOMETIMES – I CAN'T JOIN YOU FOR GOLF SUNDAY UNTIL 9:00 – I'VE GOT TO GET TO MASS. IT MEANS PUBLICLY TAKING AN UNPOPULAR STANCE ONCE IN A WHILE -- “I CAN'T VOTE FOR SO AND SO, BECAUSE HE/SHE SUPPORTS ABORTION.”
BUT IN ADDITION TO THIS KIND OF WITNESSING, THE OTHER KIND IS NECESSARY AS WELL. HOW DOES YOUR FAITH TRANSLATE INTO ACTION? ARE YOU CONSCIENTIOUS ABOUT YOUR WORK? DO YOU MAKE AN EFFORT TO FORGIVE THOSE WHO OFFEND YOU, OR ASK PARDON OF THOSE YOU OFFEND, ESPECIALLY AMONG FAMILY MEMBERS? DO YOU GIVE A LITTLE OF YOURSELF AWAY FOR A GOOD CAUSE? DO YOU VOLUNTEER, DO YOU TAKE PART IN SOME REGULAR ACTIVITY THAT SEEKS TO MAKE THE WORLD A LITTLE BETTER?
WE ARE CALLED TO WITNESS. WE ARE CALLED TO GROW IN HOLY BOLDNESS. SO TODAY LET US PRAY THAT GOD WILL GIVE US THE GRACE AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE WITNESSES, SO THAT HIS SALVATION WILL REACH THE ENDS OF THE EARTH, SO THAT WHEN OUR LIVES ARE OVER, WE CAN SAY WITH JOHN THE BAPTIST, “I HAVE SEEN AND TESTIFIED THAT JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD.”
Sunday, January 13, 2008
BAPTISM OF THE LORD, CYCLE A
MATTHEW 3:13-17
TODAY'S GOSPEL DESCRIBES THE MOMENT WHEN JESUS WAS BAPTIZED BY JOHN. FOR 2000 YEARS PEOPLE HAVE WONDERED WHY JESUS SUBMITTED TO BAPTISM? SINCE JESUS WAS GOD AS WELL AS THE PERFECT MAN, HE COULD NOT SIN, AND THEREFORE HE HAD NOTHING TO REPENT ABOUT. SO THERE IS SOMETHING STRANGE ABOUT THE SON OF GOD JOINING CROWDS OF PEOPLE WHO WERE DEMONSTRATING THEIR SORROW FOR THEIR SIN, AND THEIR RESOLUTION TO REFORM THEIR LIVES.
WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT THIS WAS NOT THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM AS WE UNDERSTAND IT, BUT RATHER, A RITE THAT WAS USED BY JOHN TO SYMBOLIZE THE WASHING CLEAN OF WHAT WAS UNCLEAN. THE JEWS OF THAT TIME HAD MANY RITUALS USING WATER. IF YOU REMEMBER THE WEDDING FEAST AT CANA, THE SIX WATER JUGS OF JESUS TURNED INTO WINE WERE THERE PRECISELY FOR RITUAL WASHINGS. ANYTIME A JEW, ESPECIALLY A PHARISEE, DID ANYTHING THAT WAS UNCLEAN, HE OR SHE WOULD WASH HIMSELF. THERE WERE WASHING RITUALS FOR ENTERING THE TEMPLE. IF YOU HAD TO DO SOMETHING UNCLEAN, SUCH AS BINDING UP THE WOUNDS OF A PERSON WHO WAS INJURED, THEN YOU HAD TO RITUALLY WASH AFTERWARDS. AND IF A GENTILE CONVERTED TO JUDAISM, HE TOOK A RITUAL BATH, JUST AS IS DONE IN ORTHODOX SYNAGOGUES TODAY. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THIS RITUAL BATHS WAS ALMOST AN INSULT, BECAUSE IT MADE THE POINT THAT THE GENTILE WAS UNCLEAN, JUST AS UNCLEAN AS A DEAD BODY OR A LEPER. I BRING THIS ALL UP BECAUSE IT SHOWS HOW RADICAL JOHN'S BAPTISM WAS. HE WAS ESSENTIALLY TELLING THE JEWS THAT THEY WERE UNCLEAN AND COULD ONLY BECOME CLEAN BY GOING THROUGH THE SAME RITUAL THAT BROUGHT THE GENTILES INTO THE JEWISH RELIGION. IT IS A WONDER HE WAS NOT MARTYRED BEFORE.
FOUR REASONS HAVE BEEN GIVEN FOR WHY JESUS SUBMITTED HIMSELF TO JOHN'S BAPTISM:
1. TO CONSECRATE HIMSELF TO GOD. THE PROBLEM HERE, OF COURSE, IS THAT THIS WAS NOT A RITUAL OF CONSECRATION. CONSECRATION, WHETHER OF A KING, A PROPHET, OR A PRIEST INVOLVED THE USE OF OIL, AND SOMETIMES THE LAYING ON OF HANDS.
2. TO PUBLICLY ANNOUNCE HIS MINISTRY. THAT OF COURSE SEEMS UNLIKELY. A MUCH MORE LIKELY POINT OF ANNOUNCING HIS MINISTRY WAS THAT TIME IN HIS HOMETOWN, WHEN HE TOOK THE BOOK OF ISAIAH AND READ FROM IT AND SAID “TODAY THIS SCRIPTURE IS FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING.” AND OF COURSE, WE SEE THAT JESUS ANNOUNCES HIS MINISTRY BY HIS FIRST MIRACLE AT THE WEDDING FEAST AT CANA. AND MOST PEOPLE THINK THAT THE VOICE OF GOD WAS HEARD BY ONLY BY JESUS AND JOHN.
3. TO BE AN EXAMPLE TO HIS FOLLOWERS. AT FIRST GLANCE THIS SEEMS POSSIBLE. HOWEVER DURING JESUS EARTHLY MINISTRY, WE HAVE NO INDICATION THAT JESUS DEMANDED BAPTISM OF HIS FOLLOWERS. IT WAS ONLY AFTER HIS DEATH THAT HE COMMISSIONED HIS APOSTLES TO BAPTIZE ALL NATIONS. AND AGAIN WE HAVE THE PROBLEM THAT JOHN'S BAPTISM WAS NOT A SACRAMENTAL BAPTISM AS WE UNDERSTAND IT.
4. FINALLY SOME HAVE SAID THAT JESUS ALLOWED HIMSELF TO BE BAPTIZED SO THAT HE COULD SANCTIFY THE WATER THAT WOULD BE USED TO BAPTIZE HIS FOLLOWERS. I GUESS THAT COULD BE AS WELL.
BUT I THINK THE BEST ANSWER IS THAT HE WANTED TO IDENTIFY HIMSELF WITH SINNERS. WE KNOW THAT AT THE CRUCIFIXION HE TOOK OUR SIN UPON HIMSELF AND CONQUERED SIN AND DEATH. WE KNOW THAT HE BECAME FLESH AND BECAME A NEWBORN BABY AND TOOK UPON HIMSELF ALL THE BURDENS OF BEING HUMAN. SO IT WOULD CERTAINLY NOT BE OUT OF CHARACTER THAT AT THIS POINT OF BAPTISM HE TOOK OUR HUMAN SINS AND FAILINGS UPON HIMSELF AS WELL AND IDENTIFIED HIMSELF COMPLETELY WITH US.
THE MYSTERY OF OUR SALVATION IS WRAPPED UP FUNDAMENTALLY IN THIS IDENTITY THAT JESUS HAS WITH US. HE KNOWS THAT NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS HE WILL NEVER LOSE THE LOVE OF HIS FATHER, AND BY BECOMING EXACTLY LIKE US WE IN TURN BECOME BROTHERS AND SISTERS TO HIM. JESUS DRAWS THE LOVE OF HIS FATHER TO US THROUGH THIS IDENTIFICATION.
THIS OF COURSE SHOULD GIVE US A GREAT SENSE OF JOY. NO MATTER WHAT WE DO, NO MATTER HOW FAR WE FALL, WE CAN NEVER ESCAPE THE LOVE THE FATHER HAS FOR JESUS AND FOR US, WITH WHOM JESUS IDENTIFIES. THAT LOVE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES ARE OURS TO ACCEPT AND REJECT.
BUT ANOTHER CONSEQUENCE OF THIS IDENTIFICATION STEMS FROM THE FACT THAT WE CAN REJECT THE LOVE OF GOD. JESUS CALLS US, HIS FOLLOWERS, TO EXTEND THAT LOVE TO THOSE WHO DO NOT YET APPRECIATE THIS GREAT FACT. FOR CERTAINLY PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ARE LOVED BY GOD WILL BE MORE LIKELY TO RESPOND TO GOD THAN THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW THAT. AND OUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE LOVE OF GOD, IS THE ESSENTIAL STEP TOWARDS WINNING OUR SALVATION.
ONCE A MINISTER WHO WAS VISITING MOTHER TERESA IN INDIA ASKED HER, "WHAT DO YOU THINK THE GREATEST PROBLEM IS IN THE WORLD?". MOTHER TERESA THOUGHT FOR A MINUTE AND REPLIED, "WE DO NOT MAKE THE CIRCLE OF OUR FAMILY LARGE ENOUGH." MOTHER TERESA'S POINTS WAS THAT WE TREAT FAMILY MEMBERS VERY DIFFERENTLY FROM THE WAY WE TREAT STRANGERS. WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT FAMILY MEMBERS. WE WORRY ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. WE WORRY ABOUT THEIR PHYSICAL WELFARE. WE WANT TO SEE THEM SUCCESSFUL AND HAPPY. AT THE EDGE OF THE CIRCLE, PEOPLE MATTER FAR LESS. WE USUALLY WISH THEM WELL, BUT WE LEAVE THEM ALONE. FAR BE IT FROM US TO BOTHER THEM IN ANY WAY. WE DO NOT EXTEND THE CIRCLE OF OUR FAMILY FAR ENOUGH.
SO TODAY AS WE REMEMBER THE BAPTISM OF JESUS, WE GIVE THANKS TO GOD FOR THE LOVE THAT IS GIVEN TO US THROUGH JESUS' IDENTIFICATION WITH US. AND AT THE SAME TIME WE RECOGNIZE THAT IT IS OUR JOB TO TELL OUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS THE GOOD NEWS THAT GOD LOVES THEM UNCONDITIONALLY AND THAT THEY HAVE ONLY TO RESPOND TO THAT LOVE. IT IS TIME FOR US TO EXPAND THE CIRCLE OF OUR FAMILY.
TODAY'S GOSPEL DESCRIBES THE MOMENT WHEN JESUS WAS BAPTIZED BY JOHN. FOR 2000 YEARS PEOPLE HAVE WONDERED WHY JESUS SUBMITTED TO BAPTISM? SINCE JESUS WAS GOD AS WELL AS THE PERFECT MAN, HE COULD NOT SIN, AND THEREFORE HE HAD NOTHING TO REPENT ABOUT. SO THERE IS SOMETHING STRANGE ABOUT THE SON OF GOD JOINING CROWDS OF PEOPLE WHO WERE DEMONSTRATING THEIR SORROW FOR THEIR SIN, AND THEIR RESOLUTION TO REFORM THEIR LIVES.
WE HAVE TO REMEMBER THAT THIS WAS NOT THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM AS WE UNDERSTAND IT, BUT RATHER, A RITE THAT WAS USED BY JOHN TO SYMBOLIZE THE WASHING CLEAN OF WHAT WAS UNCLEAN. THE JEWS OF THAT TIME HAD MANY RITUALS USING WATER. IF YOU REMEMBER THE WEDDING FEAST AT CANA, THE SIX WATER JUGS OF JESUS TURNED INTO WINE WERE THERE PRECISELY FOR RITUAL WASHINGS. ANYTIME A JEW, ESPECIALLY A PHARISEE, DID ANYTHING THAT WAS UNCLEAN, HE OR SHE WOULD WASH HIMSELF. THERE WERE WASHING RITUALS FOR ENTERING THE TEMPLE. IF YOU HAD TO DO SOMETHING UNCLEAN, SUCH AS BINDING UP THE WOUNDS OF A PERSON WHO WAS INJURED, THEN YOU HAD TO RITUALLY WASH AFTERWARDS. AND IF A GENTILE CONVERTED TO JUDAISM, HE TOOK A RITUAL BATH, JUST AS IS DONE IN ORTHODOX SYNAGOGUES TODAY. WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, THIS RITUAL BATHS WAS ALMOST AN INSULT, BECAUSE IT MADE THE POINT THAT THE GENTILE WAS UNCLEAN, JUST AS UNCLEAN AS A DEAD BODY OR A LEPER. I BRING THIS ALL UP BECAUSE IT SHOWS HOW RADICAL JOHN'S BAPTISM WAS. HE WAS ESSENTIALLY TELLING THE JEWS THAT THEY WERE UNCLEAN AND COULD ONLY BECOME CLEAN BY GOING THROUGH THE SAME RITUAL THAT BROUGHT THE GENTILES INTO THE JEWISH RELIGION. IT IS A WONDER HE WAS NOT MARTYRED BEFORE.
FOUR REASONS HAVE BEEN GIVEN FOR WHY JESUS SUBMITTED HIMSELF TO JOHN'S BAPTISM:
1. TO CONSECRATE HIMSELF TO GOD. THE PROBLEM HERE, OF COURSE, IS THAT THIS WAS NOT A RITUAL OF CONSECRATION. CONSECRATION, WHETHER OF A KING, A PROPHET, OR A PRIEST INVOLVED THE USE OF OIL, AND SOMETIMES THE LAYING ON OF HANDS.
2. TO PUBLICLY ANNOUNCE HIS MINISTRY. THAT OF COURSE SEEMS UNLIKELY. A MUCH MORE LIKELY POINT OF ANNOUNCING HIS MINISTRY WAS THAT TIME IN HIS HOMETOWN, WHEN HE TOOK THE BOOK OF ISAIAH AND READ FROM IT AND SAID “TODAY THIS SCRIPTURE IS FULFILLED IN YOUR HEARING.” AND OF COURSE, WE SEE THAT JESUS ANNOUNCES HIS MINISTRY BY HIS FIRST MIRACLE AT THE WEDDING FEAST AT CANA. AND MOST PEOPLE THINK THAT THE VOICE OF GOD WAS HEARD BY ONLY BY JESUS AND JOHN.
3. TO BE AN EXAMPLE TO HIS FOLLOWERS. AT FIRST GLANCE THIS SEEMS POSSIBLE. HOWEVER DURING JESUS EARTHLY MINISTRY, WE HAVE NO INDICATION THAT JESUS DEMANDED BAPTISM OF HIS FOLLOWERS. IT WAS ONLY AFTER HIS DEATH THAT HE COMMISSIONED HIS APOSTLES TO BAPTIZE ALL NATIONS. AND AGAIN WE HAVE THE PROBLEM THAT JOHN'S BAPTISM WAS NOT A SACRAMENTAL BAPTISM AS WE UNDERSTAND IT.
4. FINALLY SOME HAVE SAID THAT JESUS ALLOWED HIMSELF TO BE BAPTIZED SO THAT HE COULD SANCTIFY THE WATER THAT WOULD BE USED TO BAPTIZE HIS FOLLOWERS. I GUESS THAT COULD BE AS WELL.
BUT I THINK THE BEST ANSWER IS THAT HE WANTED TO IDENTIFY HIMSELF WITH SINNERS. WE KNOW THAT AT THE CRUCIFIXION HE TOOK OUR SIN UPON HIMSELF AND CONQUERED SIN AND DEATH. WE KNOW THAT HE BECAME FLESH AND BECAME A NEWBORN BABY AND TOOK UPON HIMSELF ALL THE BURDENS OF BEING HUMAN. SO IT WOULD CERTAINLY NOT BE OUT OF CHARACTER THAT AT THIS POINT OF BAPTISM HE TOOK OUR HUMAN SINS AND FAILINGS UPON HIMSELF AS WELL AND IDENTIFIED HIMSELF COMPLETELY WITH US.
THE MYSTERY OF OUR SALVATION IS WRAPPED UP FUNDAMENTALLY IN THIS IDENTITY THAT JESUS HAS WITH US. HE KNOWS THAT NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS HE WILL NEVER LOSE THE LOVE OF HIS FATHER, AND BY BECOMING EXACTLY LIKE US WE IN TURN BECOME BROTHERS AND SISTERS TO HIM. JESUS DRAWS THE LOVE OF HIS FATHER TO US THROUGH THIS IDENTIFICATION.
THIS OF COURSE SHOULD GIVE US A GREAT SENSE OF JOY. NO MATTER WHAT WE DO, NO MATTER HOW FAR WE FALL, WE CAN NEVER ESCAPE THE LOVE THE FATHER HAS FOR JESUS AND FOR US, WITH WHOM JESUS IDENTIFIES. THAT LOVE AND ITS CONSEQUENCES ARE OURS TO ACCEPT AND REJECT.
BUT ANOTHER CONSEQUENCE OF THIS IDENTIFICATION STEMS FROM THE FACT THAT WE CAN REJECT THE LOVE OF GOD. JESUS CALLS US, HIS FOLLOWERS, TO EXTEND THAT LOVE TO THOSE WHO DO NOT YET APPRECIATE THIS GREAT FACT. FOR CERTAINLY PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ARE LOVED BY GOD WILL BE MORE LIKELY TO RESPOND TO GOD THAN THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW THAT. AND OUR ACCEPTANCE OF THE LOVE OF GOD, IS THE ESSENTIAL STEP TOWARDS WINNING OUR SALVATION.
ONCE A MINISTER WHO WAS VISITING MOTHER TERESA IN INDIA ASKED HER, "WHAT DO YOU THINK THE GREATEST PROBLEM IS IN THE WORLD?". MOTHER TERESA THOUGHT FOR A MINUTE AND REPLIED, "WE DO NOT MAKE THE CIRCLE OF OUR FAMILY LARGE ENOUGH." MOTHER TERESA'S POINTS WAS THAT WE TREAT FAMILY MEMBERS VERY DIFFERENTLY FROM THE WAY WE TREAT STRANGERS. WE ARE CONCERNED ABOUT FAMILY MEMBERS. WE WORRY ABOUT THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD. WE WORRY ABOUT THEIR PHYSICAL WELFARE. WE WANT TO SEE THEM SUCCESSFUL AND HAPPY. AT THE EDGE OF THE CIRCLE, PEOPLE MATTER FAR LESS. WE USUALLY WISH THEM WELL, BUT WE LEAVE THEM ALONE. FAR BE IT FROM US TO BOTHER THEM IN ANY WAY. WE DO NOT EXTEND THE CIRCLE OF OUR FAMILY FAR ENOUGH.
SO TODAY AS WE REMEMBER THE BAPTISM OF JESUS, WE GIVE THANKS TO GOD FOR THE LOVE THAT IS GIVEN TO US THROUGH JESUS' IDENTIFICATION WITH US. AND AT THE SAME TIME WE RECOGNIZE THAT IT IS OUR JOB TO TELL OUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS THE GOOD NEWS THAT GOD LOVES THEM UNCONDITIONALLY AND THAT THEY HAVE ONLY TO RESPOND TO THAT LOVE. IT IS TIME FOR US TO EXPAND THE CIRCLE OF OUR FAMILY.
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