MARK 13:33-37
AS YOU KNOW, I AM A CANCER DOCTOR. AND AS SUCH, I AM PRIVILEGED TO WITNESS THINGS THAT MOST PEOPLE DON'T SEE VERY OFTEN. THIS LAST WEEK WAS NO EXCEPTION. I HAD BEEN CARING FOR HER FOR ABOUT 15 YEARS. FOR A LONG TIME I SAW HER EVERY SIX MONTHS, JUST MAKING SURE THE CANCER WAS NOT BACK. AND THEN ONE DAY I GOT A CALL FROM ANOTHER HOSPITAL THAT SHE WAS UNCONSCIOUS AND RUNNING A HIGH FEVER. WE TRANSFERRED HER TO BAYSTATE AND DIAGNOSED A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MALIGNANCY, WHICH WE MANAGED TO BRING UNDER CONTROL BUT COULD NEVER CURE. AND TWO YEARS WENT BY, AND OVER THE LAST SIX WEEKS HER CONDITION DETERIORATED, AND LAST WEEK SHE LAY IN A HOSPITAL BED RECEIVING MORPHINE BECAUSE ALL WE COULD DO WAS CONTROL HER PAIN. AND HER DAUGHTER AND HER GRANDSONS WAITED. FOR A WEEK ONE OF THEM WAS ALWAYS AT THE BEDSIDE, MAYBE DOZING BUT NEVER SLEEPING. WHEN SHE STIRRED OR CALLED OUT, THEY WERE THERE, TO HOLD HER HAND, OR OFFER REASSURANCE, MAKING SURE SHE KNEW SHE WASN'T ALONE. AND FINALLY IT WAS OVER – SHE DIED IN THEIR ARMS, PEACEFULLY.
“BE WATCHFUL. BE ALERT! YOU DON'T KNOW WHEN THE TIME WILL COME.” THAT'S WHAT JESUS TELLS US TODAY. HE TALKS TO US ABOUT THE SERVANTS WHO WAIT FOR THEIR MASTER TO RETURN, MAKING SURE THAT EVERYTHING IS IN ORDER SO THAT WHEN HE DID COME, NO MATTER WHEN THAT WOULD BE, HE WOULD FIND NOTHING MISSING, HE WOULD FIND EVERYTHING IN ITS PLACE, EVERYTHING DUSTED AND READY.
IT'S BEEN 2000 YEARS SINCE JESUS TOLD US TO BE WATCHFUL, TO BE ALERT. SO FAR, THE MASTER HASN'T RETURNED. PEOPLE ARE LOSING THEIR EDGE. PEOPLE ARE WONDERING IF THE MASTER WILL EVER RETURN. AND MANY HAVE LOST FAITH. AND IT SEEMS THAT THE ONLY TIMES WE CAN SUMMON THAT INTENSE WATCHFULNESS, THAT ALERTNESS THAT JESUS TALKS ABOUT, IS WHEN THERE IS SOME MAJOR LIFE EVENT, LIKE THE DEATH OF A LOVED ONE, OR PERHAPS A WEDDING OR THE BIRTH OF A CHILD. AND THE REST OF THE TIME, ESPECIALLY WHEN WE ARE IN CHURCH ON SUNDAY, THAT SENSE OF ALERTNESS IS REALLY NOT THERE AT ALL, AND OUR MINDS FIGHT TO ATTEND TO THE MYSTERIES THAT ARE UNFOLDING IN FRONT OF US.
BUT WHAT IF WE LIVED THIS SENSE OF ALERTNESS, THIS SENSE OF READINESS TO WHICH JESUS CALLS US? WHAT WOULD OUR LIVES BE LIKE IF WE REALLY BELIEVED THAT OUR KING MIGHT RETURN AT ANY MOMENT?
I'M SURE MOST OF US WOULD GET TO CONFESSION. PERHAPS WE WOULD BE PAYING A LITTLE MORE ATTENTION TO OUR PRAYER LIFE – WE MIGHT TAKE UP THE ROSARY, FOR EXAMPLE, BECAUSE THERE ARE SO MANY PROMISES ASSOCIATED WITH THAT PRAYER, PROMISES GUARANTEED BY THE GREAT SAINTS WHO TRANSMITTED THEM. PERHAPS WE WOULD TAKE SOME STEPS TOWARDS HEALING THE BROKEN AND INJURED RELATIONSHIPS WE HAVE WITH SO MANY PEOPLE, EVEN THOSE CLOSE TO US. MAYBE WE WOULD REALLY PAY ATTENTION TO THE LORD'S WORDS, “WHATEVER YOU DO FOR THE LEAST OF MY BROTHERS, YOU DO FOR ME.” AND WE WOULD LOOK AT OUR LIVES AND TRY TO IDENTIFY WHAT WE NEED TO DO MORE OF AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO LESS OF. HOW MUCH TIME DO WE WASTE? HOW MANY THINGS HAVE WE PUT OFF WHICH WE SHOULD HAVE DONE? ARE THERE HABITS WE WOULD BREAK, ONCE AND FOR ALL, BECAUSE WE WOULD RATHER NOT HAVE OUR KING LOOK AT US WITH SORROW BECAUSE WE HAVE MADE OURSELVES UNHEALTHY, WE HAVE DAMAGED OUR BODY OR OUR MIND, GIVEN TO US BY HIM.
THINGS WOULD STILL BE THE SAME OUT THERE IN OUR WORLD. THE BIG CHANGES WOULD BE IN HERE, IN OUR HEARTS.
ADVENT REMINDS US THAT OUR GREAT KING COULD RETURN AT ANY MOMENT. BUT IT ALSO REMINDS US THAT WE DON'T HAVE AN ENDLESS SEQUENCE OF TOMORROWS. WHEN YOU WAKE UP TOMORROW MORNING, YOU WILL HAVE ONE LESS DAY TO LIVE. NEXT SUNDAY, A WEEK WILL HAVE PASSED THAT YOU CAN'T RELIVE, THAT YOU CAN'T GO BACK TO AND DO IT RIGHT. AND THE CHURCH GIVES US ADVENT IN THE HOPE THAT NEXT YEAR WE WILL BE ABLE TO LOOK BACK AND SEE THAT WE HAVE MADE PROGRESS, THAT WE ARE MORE PREPARED FOR OUR GREAT KING.
AND MAYBE WE SHOULD CONSIDER THE POSSIBILITY THAT JESUS IS NOT TALKING ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD. PERHAPS HE IS TALKING ABOUT THE END OF YOUR WORLD, AND MY WORLD.
MY PATIENT, OVER THE FIFTEEN YEARS I KNEW HER, OCCASIONALLY TALKED ABOUT HER DESIRE TO GO BACK TO THE COUNTRY IN WHICH SHE WAS BORN. SHE HAD NOT BEEN THERE SINCE SHE HAD BEEN MARRIED TO A SOLDIER DURING WORLD WAR II. SHE HAD THE MEANS, SHE HAD THE TIME. SHE EVEN HAD A SISTER OVER THERE WHO HAD VISITED HER ON A FEW OCCASIONS. BUT A DAY CAME WHEN THIS DREAM COULD NO LONGER BE REALIZED. THE KING HAD COME, AND SHE WAS NOT READY.
SOME OF YOU PROBABLY SAW THE MOVIE, “BUCKET LIST”, ABOUT A PAIR OF MIDDLE AGED MEN WITH CANCER WHO DECIDE TO DO ALL THE THINGS THEY HAD ALWAYS WANTED TO DO, BUT NEVER GOT AROUND TO DOING. PERHAPS YOU'VE SEEN THOSE BOOKS THAT KEEP APPEARING, 500 PLACES TO VISIT BEFORE YOU DIE, OR 100 GREAT COMPOSITIONS TO LISTEN TO BEFORE YOU DIE. I HAVEN'T SEEN 500 THINGS TO EAT BEFORE YOU DIE, BUT I'M SURE IT WILL BE COMING SOON. ADVENT IS A TIME FOR US TO MAKE AN INVENTORY OF THE WHAT WE NEED TO DO BEFORE WE DIE, THOSE THINGS THAT PREPARE US FOR THE COMING OF OUR GREAT KING. AND THEN WE MUST MAKE OUR OWN LIST, AND GET TO IT. IT MAY BE ANOTHER TWO THOUSAND OR EVEN TWO MILLION YEARS BEFORE HE COMES IN ALL HIS GLORY TO BRING TO AN END OUR WORLD AND CREATE A NEW WORLD. BUT IT MAY BE NEXT WEEK, OR NEXT MONTH, OR NEXT YEAR WHEN HE COMES TO BRING AN END TO OUR BRIEF TOUR ON THIS WONDERFUL WORLD HE GAVE US. AND TODAY WE PRAY, “MAY HE NOT COME SUDDENLY, AND FIND US SLEEPING.”
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Christ the King
MATTHEW 25:31-46
ONCE IN AN IRISH VILLAGE THE FATHER OF A LARGE FAMILY FELL AND BROKE HIS LEG. HE WAS THE ONLY BREADWINNER. THE PEOPLE DECIDED TO GATHER TOGETHER ONE SUNDAY TO PRAY FOR THE MAN AND HIS FAMILY. THEY NOTICED THAT EVERYONE HAD TURNED OUT, EXCEPT GEORGE MURPHY, AS USUAL. GEORGE ALMOST NEVER GRACED THE DOORS OF THE CHURCH. AFTER THE PRAYER SERVICE WAS OVER, THE PASTOR ASKED GEORGE'S SON, “WHERE IS YOUR FATHER?” THE BOY REPLIED, “HE HAD A LOT TO DO, SO HE SENT HIS PRAYERS IN THE WAGON.” AND THE WAGON WAS FILLED WITH THINGS FROM GEORGE'S FARM, VEGETABLES, POTATOES, A SMOKED HAM – ENOUGH FOOD FOR SIX WEEKS, ABOUT THE TIME IT WOULD TAKE FOR A BROKEN LEG TO HEAL.
WHEN WE HEAR THIS PARTICULAR GOSPEL, WE THINK OF THE LAST JUDGEMENT. OUR MINDS NATURALLY LEAP TO THE IDEA THAT IN SOME WAY, THOSE WHO FEED THE HUNGRY, GIVE DRINK TO THE THIRSTY, AND ALL THOSE OTHER THINGS WILL BE JUDGED AND SENT TO HEAVEN, AND THOSE WHO DON'T WILL GO OFF TO ETERNAL PUNISHMENT. AND WE MIGHT CONCLUDE THAT THE WAY TO GET TO HEAVEN IS TO DO GOOD WORKS.
BUT THERE ARE SOME INTERESTING THINGS GOING ON HERE. FIRST, THE KING SEPARATES THE SHEEP FROM THE GOATS. THEY ARE ALREADY SHEEP AND GOATS, THEY HAVEN'T BEEN MADE THAT WAY BY THE KING. IT IS REALLY NOT WHAT WE DO THAT SAVES OR CONDEMNS US, IT IS WHAT WE ARE. SOME MAY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO GREAT WORKS OF CHARITY; OTHERS MAY HAVE LITTLE OR NO OPPORTUNITY. BUT HOW WE RESPOND TO THE OPPORTUNITIES WE ARE GIVEN HAS TO DO WITH WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE WE ARE.
SECOND, THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS ARE SURPRISED BY WHAT THE KING TELLS THEM. “WHEN DID WE SEE YOU HUNGRY, OR NAKED, OR A STRANGER?” WHEN DID WE SERVE YOU, OR WHEN DID WE NOT? “BECAUSE”, BOTH GROUPS MIGHT ADD, “IF WE HAD SEEN YOU IN NEED, WE WOULD HAVE OF COURSE SERVED YOU.” AND THEY WOULD HAVE, WHETHER THEY WERE SHEEP OR GOATS. THE GREAT KING, IN ALL HIS GLORY, WOULD BE THE OBJECT OF LOVE, AND ALL WHO MET HIM WOULD WANT TO SERVE HIM, WOULD WANT TO TEND TO HIS NEEDS. WANTING TO DO GOOD IS PROBABLY COMMON TO SAINTS AND SINNERS. HOW MANY REALLY BAD THINGS HAVE HAPPENED IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND THAT STARTED OUT WITH SOMEONE WANTING TO DO GOOD? AND HOW MANY OPPORTUNITIES HAVE SLIPPED BY TO DO GOOD, BECAUSE THE PERSON WHO COULD HAVE DONE GOOD WAS, NOT BAD, BUT MORALLY LAZY.
BEING MORALLY LAZY MEANS THAT YOU CAN LOOK AT A CHILD IN TROUBLE AND SAY, “THAT'S NOT MY CHILD.” OR YOU CAN LOOK AT A LONELY OLD WOMAN AND SAY, “THAT'S NOT MY MOTHER.” OR YOU CAN HEAR ABOUT SOMEONE WHO HAS NO HOME, WHO GOES TO BED HUNGRY, AND YOU CAN SAY, “THAT'S NOT MY BROTHER.” MORAL LAZINESS – THE FAILURE TO USE OUR IMAGINATIONS TO SEE REAL RELATIONSHIPS.
SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI SPENT HIS LIFE ALLOWING GOD TO TEACH HIM. IN HIS LAST YEARS HE TOLD HIS BROTHERS ABOUT THE MOMENT THAT GOD MOVED HIM TO SEE THE REALITY OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN. HE PASSED BY A LEPER. FRANCIS UP UNTIL THEN WAS APPALLED BY LEPROSY. HE WOULD CROSS THE STREET TO AVOID EVEN COMING NEAR A LEPER. BUT THAT DAY SOMETHING MOVED HIM TO GO OVER TO THE LEPER AND EMBRACE HIM AND CALL HIM BROTHER. AND FROM THAT MOMENT ON FRANCIS SAW EVERYONE AS CLOSER TO HIS HEART THAN EVEN THAN HIS OWN FAMILY MEMBERS.
JESUS CALLS US, NOT TO DO GOOD DEEDS, BECAUSE AS I SAID BEFORE, SOME HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO GREAT THINGS, OTHERS VERY LITTLE OPPORTUNITY. AND WHEN WE DO A GOOD DEED, WE ARE REALLY SIMPLY RESPONDING TO GOD'S IMPULSE IN US. “ALL GOOD THINGS,” ST. PAUL TELLS US, “COME FROM GOD.”. JESUS CALLS US RATHER TO DEVELOP A WAY OF LOOKING AT OTHERS, A SECOND NATURE, IF YOU WILL. WHEN WE MEET SOMEONE, THE FIRST THOUGHT SHOULD BE, “HOW CAN I HELP HIM OR HER?” WHEN WE HEAR ABOUT SOMEONE IN TROUBLE, OUR FIRST THOUGHT SHOULD BE, “CAN I DO SOMETHING TO HELP THAT PERSON GET OUT OF TROUBLE?” BECAUSE WHEN WE HAVE THIS ATTITUDE, WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST. IT DOESN'T TAKE A LOT OF EFFORT TO SEE IN THE GOSPELS HOW JESUS LIVED THIS WAY – THOSE WHO CROSSED HIS PATH, HE HELPED. WHEN HE WAS ON HIS WAY TO RAISE THE DAUGHTER OF THE SYNAGOGUE OFFICIAL, HE STOPPED TO HEAL THE WOMAN WHO CONFRONTED HIM, EVEN THOUGH SHE WASN'T EVEN JEWISH. WHEN HIS APOSTLES TRIED TO SILENCE THE BLIND MAN, BECAUSE THY FELT THAT JESUS HAD DONE ENOUGH THAT DAY, JESUS HEARD AND HEALED HIM. WHEN PETER STRUCK THE SERVANT OF THE HIGH PRIEST, AND LOPPED OFF HIS EAR, JESUS HEALED THE MAN AS PERHAPS THE LAST HEALING HE WOULD DO IN THIS LIFE – HE HEALED AN ENEMY WHO HAD COME TO PUT HIM TO DEATH.
HOW DO WE GET TO BE SHEEP? WE HUMAN BEINGS HAVE A WONDERFUL CAPACITY – WE CAN DEVELOP HABITS. OUR WHOLE DAY IS TAKEN UP BY HABITS ACTED OUT. JUST REFLECT ON YOURSELF. WHEN YOU CAME INTO CHURCH TODAY, YOU PROBABLY SAT IN ABOUT THE SAME PEW YOU ALWAYS SIT IN. WHEN YOU LEAVE CHURCH, YOU WILL PROBABLY DO WHAT YOU DID LAST SUNDAY, AND THE SUNDAY BEFORE. WHEN YOU GET IN THE CAR, YOU WILL GET IN THE SAME WAY YOU ALWAYS DO. AND WE CAN LEARN THE HABIT OF SENSITIVITY, THE HABIT OF CHARITY, AS WELL. AT FIRST ITS HARD; MAYBE WE HAVE TO BREAK THE HABIT WE NOW HAVE, WHICH IS TO CLOSE OUR EYES AND EARS AND GO ON ABOUT OUR BUSINESS WHEN WE CONFRONT SOMEONE IN NEED. MAYBE THERE IS A TAPE IN OUR HEADS THAT SAYS, “HE'D PROBABLY JUST SPEND ANYTHING I GAVE HIM ON ALCOHOL,” OR “WHY DOESN'T SHE GO TO A SHELTER? THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE FOR.” OUR TASK IS TO BECOME THE KIND OF PEOPLE WHO, WITHOUT EVEN THINKING ABOUT IT, CANNOT BE IDLE WHEN SOMEONE ELSE NEEDS US. AND THEN, WHEN THE GREAT KING MOVES AMONG HIS PEOPLE, WE DON'T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT FAILING TO SERVE HIM BECAUSE WE DO NOT RECOGNIZE HIM.
ONCE IN AN IRISH VILLAGE THE FATHER OF A LARGE FAMILY FELL AND BROKE HIS LEG. HE WAS THE ONLY BREADWINNER. THE PEOPLE DECIDED TO GATHER TOGETHER ONE SUNDAY TO PRAY FOR THE MAN AND HIS FAMILY. THEY NOTICED THAT EVERYONE HAD TURNED OUT, EXCEPT GEORGE MURPHY, AS USUAL. GEORGE ALMOST NEVER GRACED THE DOORS OF THE CHURCH. AFTER THE PRAYER SERVICE WAS OVER, THE PASTOR ASKED GEORGE'S SON, “WHERE IS YOUR FATHER?” THE BOY REPLIED, “HE HAD A LOT TO DO, SO HE SENT HIS PRAYERS IN THE WAGON.” AND THE WAGON WAS FILLED WITH THINGS FROM GEORGE'S FARM, VEGETABLES, POTATOES, A SMOKED HAM – ENOUGH FOOD FOR SIX WEEKS, ABOUT THE TIME IT WOULD TAKE FOR A BROKEN LEG TO HEAL.
WHEN WE HEAR THIS PARTICULAR GOSPEL, WE THINK OF THE LAST JUDGEMENT. OUR MINDS NATURALLY LEAP TO THE IDEA THAT IN SOME WAY, THOSE WHO FEED THE HUNGRY, GIVE DRINK TO THE THIRSTY, AND ALL THOSE OTHER THINGS WILL BE JUDGED AND SENT TO HEAVEN, AND THOSE WHO DON'T WILL GO OFF TO ETERNAL PUNISHMENT. AND WE MIGHT CONCLUDE THAT THE WAY TO GET TO HEAVEN IS TO DO GOOD WORKS.
BUT THERE ARE SOME INTERESTING THINGS GOING ON HERE. FIRST, THE KING SEPARATES THE SHEEP FROM THE GOATS. THEY ARE ALREADY SHEEP AND GOATS, THEY HAVEN'T BEEN MADE THAT WAY BY THE KING. IT IS REALLY NOT WHAT WE DO THAT SAVES OR CONDEMNS US, IT IS WHAT WE ARE. SOME MAY HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO GREAT WORKS OF CHARITY; OTHERS MAY HAVE LITTLE OR NO OPPORTUNITY. BUT HOW WE RESPOND TO THE OPPORTUNITIES WE ARE GIVEN HAS TO DO WITH WHAT KIND OF PEOPLE WE ARE.
SECOND, THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS ARE SURPRISED BY WHAT THE KING TELLS THEM. “WHEN DID WE SEE YOU HUNGRY, OR NAKED, OR A STRANGER?” WHEN DID WE SERVE YOU, OR WHEN DID WE NOT? “BECAUSE”, BOTH GROUPS MIGHT ADD, “IF WE HAD SEEN YOU IN NEED, WE WOULD HAVE OF COURSE SERVED YOU.” AND THEY WOULD HAVE, WHETHER THEY WERE SHEEP OR GOATS. THE GREAT KING, IN ALL HIS GLORY, WOULD BE THE OBJECT OF LOVE, AND ALL WHO MET HIM WOULD WANT TO SERVE HIM, WOULD WANT TO TEND TO HIS NEEDS. WANTING TO DO GOOD IS PROBABLY COMMON TO SAINTS AND SINNERS. HOW MANY REALLY BAD THINGS HAVE HAPPENED IN THE HISTORY OF MANKIND THAT STARTED OUT WITH SOMEONE WANTING TO DO GOOD? AND HOW MANY OPPORTUNITIES HAVE SLIPPED BY TO DO GOOD, BECAUSE THE PERSON WHO COULD HAVE DONE GOOD WAS, NOT BAD, BUT MORALLY LAZY.
BEING MORALLY LAZY MEANS THAT YOU CAN LOOK AT A CHILD IN TROUBLE AND SAY, “THAT'S NOT MY CHILD.” OR YOU CAN LOOK AT A LONELY OLD WOMAN AND SAY, “THAT'S NOT MY MOTHER.” OR YOU CAN HEAR ABOUT SOMEONE WHO HAS NO HOME, WHO GOES TO BED HUNGRY, AND YOU CAN SAY, “THAT'S NOT MY BROTHER.” MORAL LAZINESS – THE FAILURE TO USE OUR IMAGINATIONS TO SEE REAL RELATIONSHIPS.
SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI SPENT HIS LIFE ALLOWING GOD TO TEACH HIM. IN HIS LAST YEARS HE TOLD HIS BROTHERS ABOUT THE MOMENT THAT GOD MOVED HIM TO SEE THE REALITY OF THE BROTHERHOOD OF MAN. HE PASSED BY A LEPER. FRANCIS UP UNTIL THEN WAS APPALLED BY LEPROSY. HE WOULD CROSS THE STREET TO AVOID EVEN COMING NEAR A LEPER. BUT THAT DAY SOMETHING MOVED HIM TO GO OVER TO THE LEPER AND EMBRACE HIM AND CALL HIM BROTHER. AND FROM THAT MOMENT ON FRANCIS SAW EVERYONE AS CLOSER TO HIS HEART THAN EVEN THAN HIS OWN FAMILY MEMBERS.
JESUS CALLS US, NOT TO DO GOOD DEEDS, BECAUSE AS I SAID BEFORE, SOME HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO GREAT THINGS, OTHERS VERY LITTLE OPPORTUNITY. AND WHEN WE DO A GOOD DEED, WE ARE REALLY SIMPLY RESPONDING TO GOD'S IMPULSE IN US. “ALL GOOD THINGS,” ST. PAUL TELLS US, “COME FROM GOD.”. JESUS CALLS US RATHER TO DEVELOP A WAY OF LOOKING AT OTHERS, A SECOND NATURE, IF YOU WILL. WHEN WE MEET SOMEONE, THE FIRST THOUGHT SHOULD BE, “HOW CAN I HELP HIM OR HER?” WHEN WE HEAR ABOUT SOMEONE IN TROUBLE, OUR FIRST THOUGHT SHOULD BE, “CAN I DO SOMETHING TO HELP THAT PERSON GET OUT OF TROUBLE?” BECAUSE WHEN WE HAVE THIS ATTITUDE, WE HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST. IT DOESN'T TAKE A LOT OF EFFORT TO SEE IN THE GOSPELS HOW JESUS LIVED THIS WAY – THOSE WHO CROSSED HIS PATH, HE HELPED. WHEN HE WAS ON HIS WAY TO RAISE THE DAUGHTER OF THE SYNAGOGUE OFFICIAL, HE STOPPED TO HEAL THE WOMAN WHO CONFRONTED HIM, EVEN THOUGH SHE WASN'T EVEN JEWISH. WHEN HIS APOSTLES TRIED TO SILENCE THE BLIND MAN, BECAUSE THY FELT THAT JESUS HAD DONE ENOUGH THAT DAY, JESUS HEARD AND HEALED HIM. WHEN PETER STRUCK THE SERVANT OF THE HIGH PRIEST, AND LOPPED OFF HIS EAR, JESUS HEALED THE MAN AS PERHAPS THE LAST HEALING HE WOULD DO IN THIS LIFE – HE HEALED AN ENEMY WHO HAD COME TO PUT HIM TO DEATH.
HOW DO WE GET TO BE SHEEP? WE HUMAN BEINGS HAVE A WONDERFUL CAPACITY – WE CAN DEVELOP HABITS. OUR WHOLE DAY IS TAKEN UP BY HABITS ACTED OUT. JUST REFLECT ON YOURSELF. WHEN YOU CAME INTO CHURCH TODAY, YOU PROBABLY SAT IN ABOUT THE SAME PEW YOU ALWAYS SIT IN. WHEN YOU LEAVE CHURCH, YOU WILL PROBABLY DO WHAT YOU DID LAST SUNDAY, AND THE SUNDAY BEFORE. WHEN YOU GET IN THE CAR, YOU WILL GET IN THE SAME WAY YOU ALWAYS DO. AND WE CAN LEARN THE HABIT OF SENSITIVITY, THE HABIT OF CHARITY, AS WELL. AT FIRST ITS HARD; MAYBE WE HAVE TO BREAK THE HABIT WE NOW HAVE, WHICH IS TO CLOSE OUR EYES AND EARS AND GO ON ABOUT OUR BUSINESS WHEN WE CONFRONT SOMEONE IN NEED. MAYBE THERE IS A TAPE IN OUR HEADS THAT SAYS, “HE'D PROBABLY JUST SPEND ANYTHING I GAVE HIM ON ALCOHOL,” OR “WHY DOESN'T SHE GO TO A SHELTER? THAT'S WHAT THEY ARE FOR.” OUR TASK IS TO BECOME THE KIND OF PEOPLE WHO, WITHOUT EVEN THINKING ABOUT IT, CANNOT BE IDLE WHEN SOMEONE ELSE NEEDS US. AND THEN, WHEN THE GREAT KING MOVES AMONG HIS PEOPLE, WE DON'T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT FAILING TO SERVE HIM BECAUSE WE DO NOT RECOGNIZE HIM.
Monday, November 17, 2008
33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A
MATTHEW 25:14-30
THE OTHER DAY I WAS TALKING TO A MAN I'VE ADMIRED FOR A LONG TIME. HE'S VERY OLD, NOW, AND SHOWS A LOT OF THE FAILINGS OF OLD AGE, BUT HIS MIND IS SHARP. I MENTIONED TO HIM HOW I WAS WORRYING ABOUT MY OWN TRANSITION; I AM GETTING READY TO REDUCE MY WORK LOAD, AND EVENTUALLY RETIRE. I TOLD HIM HOW I HAD REGRETS FOR ALL THE THINGS I THOUGHT I WOULD DO, AND NOW SEE THAT I WON'T REALLY DO THEM. AND IN TRUTH, I LOOK BACK AT MY SPIRITUAL LIFE, AND FEEL THE SAME WAY ABOUT THAT. WHY AM I NOT FURTHER ALONG THAN I AM? WHY AM I NOT A GREAT SAINT? AND MY FRIEND, WHO IS ONE OF THE MOST DEVOUT MEN I KNOW, REPLIED THAT HE FELT THE SAME WAY. HE TOO HAD A SENSE THAT HIS LIFE HAD NOT LIVED UP TO ITS PROMISE, THAT HIS VISION FOR HIMSELF WHEN HE WAS YOUNG HAD FALLEN SHORT. AND PERHAPS WE ALL FEEL THAT WAY.
THERE ARE MANY HEROES IN THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WERE GREAT MISSIONARIES, LIKE ST. PAUL AND ST. FRANCIS XAVIER. THERE WERE MEN AND WOMEN WHO LIVED HEROIC LIVES OF CONTEMPLATION, LIKE ST. ANTHONY OF THE DESERT, OR ST. CATHERINE OF SIENNA. GREAT MYSTICS, MARTYRS, FOUNDERS OF RELIGIOUS ORDERS, WRITERS, THEOLOGIANS – PEOPLE WHO LED LIVES WHICH HAVE COME TO DEFINE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A CHRISTIAN; PEOPLE WHO WORKED WITH ALL THEIR HEARTS TO FOLLOW JESUS.
SOMETIMES WHEN YOU READ THEIR LIVES, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT THEY'VE DONE, ITS EASY TO GET DISCOURAGED. WHEN YOU READ ABOUT ONE OF THE RECENTLY CANONIZED MARTYRS OF KOREA, WHO WAS BROUGHT BEFORE THE JUDGE WITH HIS FRIENDS, AND WHO IN A MOMENT OF FEAR, DENIED THAT HE WAS A CHRISTIAN. HE WAS RELEASED, BUT LATER CAME BACK INTO THE COURTROOM AND ADMITTED LOUDLY THAT HE WAS A CHRISTIAN, AND WENT ON TO HIS DEATH – COULD YOU OR I DO THAT?
TODAY'S GOSPEL SHOULD BE ONE OF COMFORT. WHAT WE ARE GIVEN TO LIVE OUR SPIRITUAL LIVES IS NOT REALLY IN OUR HANDS. THE GREAT SAINTS WERE NOT SPIRITUAL ATHLETES; THEY WERE GIVEN THE GRACE TO LIVE LIVES TO SERVE AS BEACONS TO THE REST OF US, LIVES TO TEACH, TO HEAL, TO CONVERT. GOD WAS THE REASON FOR SAINT FRANCIS; ALL HE DID WAS COOPERATE WITH GOD'S GRACE. GOD WAS THE REASON FOR MOTHER THERESA; SHE WAS GIVEN FIVE TALENTS, AND MADE ANOTHER FIVE. AND GOD IS THE REASON FOR MY FRIEND; HE WORKED FOR THE GOVERNMENT, HE RAISED A FAMILY, HE SAW TO IT THAT HIS CHILDREN HAD EVERY ADVANTAGE, AND HE WORKED FOR HIS CHURCH AS WELL.
IN THE GOSPEL, WE READ ABOUT A MAN WHO STARTED WITH FIVE TALENTS, ANOTHER, WITH TWO. AND BOTH COOPERATED FULLY WITH WHAT THEY WERE GIVEN. THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS WERE NOT THEIR DOING; THEY COULD NEVER HAVE BEEN DONE WITHOUT WHAT THEIR LORD GAVE THEM. THE THIRD MAN WAS GIVEN ONE TALENT, AND DID NOTHING WITH IT. THE POINT OF JESUS' STORY, PERHAPS, IS NOT THAT WE SHOULD LOOK WITH ENVY ON THOSE WHO ARE SPIRITUAL GIANTS, BUT ONLY LOOK TO WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN US, AND ASK IF WE ARE USING OUR TALENTS WELL. IT IS INTERESTING THAT THE MASTER DID NOT EVEN BERATE THE THIRD MAN FOR NOT DOING WHAT THE OTHERS HAD DONE, NAMELY, DOUBLING WHAT HE HAD BEEN GIVEN. HE CHASTISED HIM BECAUSE HE COULD HAVE AT LEAST PUT THE TALENT IN THE BANK SO THAT IT WOULD EARN INTEREST. AND THAT SEEMS TO ME TO BE THE MERCIFUL PART OF THIS STORY. GOD WILL SAY “WELL DONE, GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT” INDEED, IF WE HAVE DONE GREAT THINGS. BUT HE WILL SAY THAT AS WELL IF WE HAVE ONLY DONE SMALL THINGS, IF WE HAVE ONLY ADDED A LITTLE BIT TO THE WORLD FROM WHAT WE WERE GIVEN.
THIS IS NOT A REASON FOR COMPLACENCY. PERHAPS THERE IS ANOTHER LESSON IN THIS STORY. TO THE TWO MEN WHO DOUBLED WHAT THEY HAD BEEN GIVEN, THEY ARE PROMISED THAT THEY WILL BE PUT IN CHARGE OF GREATER RESPONSIBILITIES. NOT ONLY WILL THEY ENTER THEIR MASTER'S JOY, BUT THEY WILL PARTICIPATE IN THEIR MASTER'S WORK IN THE FUTURE. IN THE STORY IN LUKE, THEY ARE PUT IN CHARGE OF TOWNS, THEY GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO FROM SLAVE TO RULER. AND JESUS AS WELL HAS PROMISED THAT THOSE WHO FOLLOW HIM WILL RULE, WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE CREATION OF HIS KINGDOM. THE MAN WHO HAS MADE FIVE TALENTS GETS ANOTHER; HE WHO HAS MUCH WILL GET MORE; AND THE MAN WHO HID THE ONE TALENT LOSES EVEN THAT; HE WHO HAD LITTLE WILL HAVE EVEN THAT TAKEN AWAY.
SOME TIME AGO THERE WAS A VERY POPULAR BOOK CALLED “THE PRAYER OF JABEZ”. IN THAT PRAYER, THE PRAYER OF AN OLD TESTAMENT PATRIARCH, ABOUT WHOM WE KNOW NOTHING ELSE, JABEZ ASKS GOD TO INCREASE HIS TERRITORY. THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK INTERPRETS THAT TO MEAN THAT JABEZ WANTED THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO MORE FOR GOD, AND THAT THIS WAS A PRAYER ALL OF US CHRISTIANS SHOULD BE SAYING. CERTAINLY THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS SEEMS TO IMPLY THE SAME IDEA.
SO WE NEEDN'T LOOK WITH ENVY AT THE GREAT SAINTS. IF GOD WANTED YOU OR ME TO BE A GREAT SAINT, HE WOULD GIVE US THE WHEREWITHAL TO BE A GREAT SAINT. IT WOULD NOT BE OUR DOING. MAYBE HE GIVES MANY THE WHEREWITHAL, AND MAYBE VERY FEW COOPERATE. BUT OUR JOB IS NOT TO BE ANOTHER FRANCIS, ANOTHER ST. THOMAS, ANOTHER ST. THERESA. OUR JOB IS TO BE WHO I AM, TO TAKE WHAT I HAVE BEEN GIVEN AND MAKE SOMETHING OF IT, EVEN IF ONLY CUPCAKES FOR A BAKE SALE, HELPING SET UP FOR A PARISH EVENT, TEACHING IN FAITH FORMATION – OR SEEING TO IT THAT MY FAMILY HAS WHAT THEY NEED, OR THAT I GIVE WHAT I CAN TO HELP THOSE LESS FORTUNATE. PERHAPS MY JOB AT THIS POINT IN MY LIFE IS JUST TO BROADEN AND DEEPEN MY OWN UNDERSTANDING OF MY FAITH, IN PREPARATION TO BEING CALLED TO SOMETHING GREATER. AND IF WE BEGIN WITH LITTLE THINGS, AND MAKE MORE OUT OF WHAT WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN, WE MAY FIND THAT MORE WILL BE GIVEN TO US TO USE, MORE WILL BE PUT AT OUR DISPOSAL, AND THE HABITS AND GENEROSITY THAT HAVE HELPED US TAKE A LITTLE AND MAKE MORE WILL SERVE US WELL AS THE MASTER PUTS US IN CHARGE OF GREATER THINGS. AND MAYBE ONE OR TWO OF US WILL DISCOVER BEFORE THE END OF OUR LIVES THAT WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN FIVE TALENTS, AND WE CAN MAKE FIVE MORE FOR OUR MASTER.
SO LET US PRAY ON THIS LAST SUNDAY THAT WE WILL HEAR THOSE WONDERFUL WORDS SOMEDAY, “WELL DONE, GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT! COME SHARE YOUR MASTER'S JOY.”
THE OTHER DAY I WAS TALKING TO A MAN I'VE ADMIRED FOR A LONG TIME. HE'S VERY OLD, NOW, AND SHOWS A LOT OF THE FAILINGS OF OLD AGE, BUT HIS MIND IS SHARP. I MENTIONED TO HIM HOW I WAS WORRYING ABOUT MY OWN TRANSITION; I AM GETTING READY TO REDUCE MY WORK LOAD, AND EVENTUALLY RETIRE. I TOLD HIM HOW I HAD REGRETS FOR ALL THE THINGS I THOUGHT I WOULD DO, AND NOW SEE THAT I WON'T REALLY DO THEM. AND IN TRUTH, I LOOK BACK AT MY SPIRITUAL LIFE, AND FEEL THE SAME WAY ABOUT THAT. WHY AM I NOT FURTHER ALONG THAN I AM? WHY AM I NOT A GREAT SAINT? AND MY FRIEND, WHO IS ONE OF THE MOST DEVOUT MEN I KNOW, REPLIED THAT HE FELT THE SAME WAY. HE TOO HAD A SENSE THAT HIS LIFE HAD NOT LIVED UP TO ITS PROMISE, THAT HIS VISION FOR HIMSELF WHEN HE WAS YOUNG HAD FALLEN SHORT. AND PERHAPS WE ALL FEEL THAT WAY.
THERE ARE MANY HEROES IN THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO WERE GREAT MISSIONARIES, LIKE ST. PAUL AND ST. FRANCIS XAVIER. THERE WERE MEN AND WOMEN WHO LIVED HEROIC LIVES OF CONTEMPLATION, LIKE ST. ANTHONY OF THE DESERT, OR ST. CATHERINE OF SIENNA. GREAT MYSTICS, MARTYRS, FOUNDERS OF RELIGIOUS ORDERS, WRITERS, THEOLOGIANS – PEOPLE WHO LED LIVES WHICH HAVE COME TO DEFINE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A CHRISTIAN; PEOPLE WHO WORKED WITH ALL THEIR HEARTS TO FOLLOW JESUS.
SOMETIMES WHEN YOU READ THEIR LIVES, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT WHAT THEY'VE DONE, ITS EASY TO GET DISCOURAGED. WHEN YOU READ ABOUT ONE OF THE RECENTLY CANONIZED MARTYRS OF KOREA, WHO WAS BROUGHT BEFORE THE JUDGE WITH HIS FRIENDS, AND WHO IN A MOMENT OF FEAR, DENIED THAT HE WAS A CHRISTIAN. HE WAS RELEASED, BUT LATER CAME BACK INTO THE COURTROOM AND ADMITTED LOUDLY THAT HE WAS A CHRISTIAN, AND WENT ON TO HIS DEATH – COULD YOU OR I DO THAT?
TODAY'S GOSPEL SHOULD BE ONE OF COMFORT. WHAT WE ARE GIVEN TO LIVE OUR SPIRITUAL LIVES IS NOT REALLY IN OUR HANDS. THE GREAT SAINTS WERE NOT SPIRITUAL ATHLETES; THEY WERE GIVEN THE GRACE TO LIVE LIVES TO SERVE AS BEACONS TO THE REST OF US, LIVES TO TEACH, TO HEAL, TO CONVERT. GOD WAS THE REASON FOR SAINT FRANCIS; ALL HE DID WAS COOPERATE WITH GOD'S GRACE. GOD WAS THE REASON FOR MOTHER THERESA; SHE WAS GIVEN FIVE TALENTS, AND MADE ANOTHER FIVE. AND GOD IS THE REASON FOR MY FRIEND; HE WORKED FOR THE GOVERNMENT, HE RAISED A FAMILY, HE SAW TO IT THAT HIS CHILDREN HAD EVERY ADVANTAGE, AND HE WORKED FOR HIS CHURCH AS WELL.
IN THE GOSPEL, WE READ ABOUT A MAN WHO STARTED WITH FIVE TALENTS, ANOTHER, WITH TWO. AND BOTH COOPERATED FULLY WITH WHAT THEY WERE GIVEN. THEIR ACCOMPLISHMENTS WERE NOT THEIR DOING; THEY COULD NEVER HAVE BEEN DONE WITHOUT WHAT THEIR LORD GAVE THEM. THE THIRD MAN WAS GIVEN ONE TALENT, AND DID NOTHING WITH IT. THE POINT OF JESUS' STORY, PERHAPS, IS NOT THAT WE SHOULD LOOK WITH ENVY ON THOSE WHO ARE SPIRITUAL GIANTS, BUT ONLY LOOK TO WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN US, AND ASK IF WE ARE USING OUR TALENTS WELL. IT IS INTERESTING THAT THE MASTER DID NOT EVEN BERATE THE THIRD MAN FOR NOT DOING WHAT THE OTHERS HAD DONE, NAMELY, DOUBLING WHAT HE HAD BEEN GIVEN. HE CHASTISED HIM BECAUSE HE COULD HAVE AT LEAST PUT THE TALENT IN THE BANK SO THAT IT WOULD EARN INTEREST. AND THAT SEEMS TO ME TO BE THE MERCIFUL PART OF THIS STORY. GOD WILL SAY “WELL DONE, GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT” INDEED, IF WE HAVE DONE GREAT THINGS. BUT HE WILL SAY THAT AS WELL IF WE HAVE ONLY DONE SMALL THINGS, IF WE HAVE ONLY ADDED A LITTLE BIT TO THE WORLD FROM WHAT WE WERE GIVEN.
THIS IS NOT A REASON FOR COMPLACENCY. PERHAPS THERE IS ANOTHER LESSON IN THIS STORY. TO THE TWO MEN WHO DOUBLED WHAT THEY HAD BEEN GIVEN, THEY ARE PROMISED THAT THEY WILL BE PUT IN CHARGE OF GREATER RESPONSIBILITIES. NOT ONLY WILL THEY ENTER THEIR MASTER'S JOY, BUT THEY WILL PARTICIPATE IN THEIR MASTER'S WORK IN THE FUTURE. IN THE STORY IN LUKE, THEY ARE PUT IN CHARGE OF TOWNS, THEY GET THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO FROM SLAVE TO RULER. AND JESUS AS WELL HAS PROMISED THAT THOSE WHO FOLLOW HIM WILL RULE, WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE CREATION OF HIS KINGDOM. THE MAN WHO HAS MADE FIVE TALENTS GETS ANOTHER; HE WHO HAS MUCH WILL GET MORE; AND THE MAN WHO HID THE ONE TALENT LOSES EVEN THAT; HE WHO HAD LITTLE WILL HAVE EVEN THAT TAKEN AWAY.
SOME TIME AGO THERE WAS A VERY POPULAR BOOK CALLED “THE PRAYER OF JABEZ”. IN THAT PRAYER, THE PRAYER OF AN OLD TESTAMENT PATRIARCH, ABOUT WHOM WE KNOW NOTHING ELSE, JABEZ ASKS GOD TO INCREASE HIS TERRITORY. THE AUTHOR OF THE BOOK INTERPRETS THAT TO MEAN THAT JABEZ WANTED THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO MORE FOR GOD, AND THAT THIS WAS A PRAYER ALL OF US CHRISTIANS SHOULD BE SAYING. CERTAINLY THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS SEEMS TO IMPLY THE SAME IDEA.
SO WE NEEDN'T LOOK WITH ENVY AT THE GREAT SAINTS. IF GOD WANTED YOU OR ME TO BE A GREAT SAINT, HE WOULD GIVE US THE WHEREWITHAL TO BE A GREAT SAINT. IT WOULD NOT BE OUR DOING. MAYBE HE GIVES MANY THE WHEREWITHAL, AND MAYBE VERY FEW COOPERATE. BUT OUR JOB IS NOT TO BE ANOTHER FRANCIS, ANOTHER ST. THOMAS, ANOTHER ST. THERESA. OUR JOB IS TO BE WHO I AM, TO TAKE WHAT I HAVE BEEN GIVEN AND MAKE SOMETHING OF IT, EVEN IF ONLY CUPCAKES FOR A BAKE SALE, HELPING SET UP FOR A PARISH EVENT, TEACHING IN FAITH FORMATION – OR SEEING TO IT THAT MY FAMILY HAS WHAT THEY NEED, OR THAT I GIVE WHAT I CAN TO HELP THOSE LESS FORTUNATE. PERHAPS MY JOB AT THIS POINT IN MY LIFE IS JUST TO BROADEN AND DEEPEN MY OWN UNDERSTANDING OF MY FAITH, IN PREPARATION TO BEING CALLED TO SOMETHING GREATER. AND IF WE BEGIN WITH LITTLE THINGS, AND MAKE MORE OUT OF WHAT WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN, WE MAY FIND THAT MORE WILL BE GIVEN TO US TO USE, MORE WILL BE PUT AT OUR DISPOSAL, AND THE HABITS AND GENEROSITY THAT HAVE HELPED US TAKE A LITTLE AND MAKE MORE WILL SERVE US WELL AS THE MASTER PUTS US IN CHARGE OF GREATER THINGS. AND MAYBE ONE OR TWO OF US WILL DISCOVER BEFORE THE END OF OUR LIVES THAT WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN FIVE TALENTS, AND WE CAN MAKE FIVE MORE FOR OUR MASTER.
SO LET US PRAY ON THIS LAST SUNDAY THAT WE WILL HEAR THOSE WONDERFUL WORDS SOMEDAY, “WELL DONE, GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT! COME SHARE YOUR MASTER'S JOY.”
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Feast of the Cathedral of St. John Lateran
TODAY WE CELEBRATE A CHURCH BUILDING, THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BISHOP OF ROME. ST. JOHN LATERAN IS NOT IN THE VATICAN, AND ST. PETER'S IN THE VATICAN IS NOT THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF THE BISHOP OF ROME. BUT ST. JOHN IS IN A SENSE THE CENTRAL CHURCH IN CHRISTIANITY, SINCE THE BISHOP OF ROME IS ALSO THE FIRST AMONG EQUALS OF ALL THE BISHOPS IN THE WORLD.
BUT A BUILDING IS A BUILDING, RIGHT? WELL, NOT RIGHT. TO US WHO GREW UP IN OUR WESTERN CULTURE, EVEN WHEN A BUILDING HAS A LOT OF MEMORIES, A LOT OF HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE, PERHAPS IT IS A TRIUMPH OF ARCHITECTURE – WE TEND TO SAY IT'S STILL JUST A BUILDING. IF WE LOSE IT, WELL, THAT'S TOO BAD, BUT WE CAN ALWAYS BUILD ANOTHER.
BUT JESUS HAD A ZEAL FOR “HIS FATHER'S HOUSE”. HE OBVIOUSLY DID NOT CONSIDER THE TEMPLE AS JUST ANOTHER BUILDING. IN FACT, THE TEMPLE WAS ABSOLUTELY CENTRAL TO THE JEWISH RELIGION OF JESUS' TIME. THERE WERE SEVERAL REASONS FOR THIS. FIRST, THE TEMPLE MADE THEM A PEOPLE, TIED TO A LAND. IT LOCATED THEM IN TIME AND SPACE. SECOND, THE TEMPLE IN TERMS OF IT'S SIZE AND SHAPE AND WHAT IT WAS MADE OF WAS DICTATED BY GOD TO SOLOMON, THE JEWS BELIEVED. IT WAS NOT DESIGNED BY A HUMAN BEING. THIRD, THE TEMPLE WAS AN EARTHLY MANIFESTATION OF THE TRUE TEMPLE, THE DWELLING PLACE OF GOD IN THE HEAVENS; IT WAS “HEAVEN ON EARTH”. AND FOURTH, LAST BUT GREATEST, IN SOME WAY GOD DWELT IN THE TEMPLE, ONCE IN THE ARK, BUT NOW IN THE HOLY OF HOLIES. IT WAS THE ONLY PLACE ON EARTH WHERE YAWEH COULD BE CONTACTED IN A SPECIAL WAY. WHEN THE SECOND TEMPLE WAS DESTROYED BY THE ROMANS, THE DISASTER WAS SO GREAT THAT THE JEWISH RELIGION IN AND AROUND JERUSALEM ESSENTIALLY DIED, AND JUDAISM BECAME A VERY DIFFERENT RELIGION AS A RESULT OF JEWS WHO HAD SCATTERED THROUGH THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND HAD DEVELOPED ANOTHER WAY OF BEING JEWISH. TODAY'S JEWS DESCEND FROM THESE, NOT FROM THE TEMPLE JEWS.
WE JUST FINISHED RENOVATING OUR CHURCH. THE NEW SMELL OF VARNISH IS STILL IN THE AIR, THE WALLS HAVE BEEN PAINTED, THE FLOORS REFINISHED; AND THERE WERE QUITE A FEW OF US WHO COMPLAINED THAT THIS RESTORATION WAS OVERDONE, AFTER ALL, IT IS JUST A BUILDING.
BUT IT IS NOT JUST A BUILDING. WE CATHOLICS BELIEVE THAT JESUS, THE SON OF GOD, TRUE GOD AND MAN, DWELLS HERE, IN THE BREAD OF THE EUCHARIST, WHICH IS ALWAYS RESERVED IN THE TABERNACLE, IN THE WORD WHICH IS PROCLAIMED EVERY DAY, AND IN THE SACRAMENTS WHICH ARE ADMINISTERED HERE. WE LIVE IN A TIME UNFORTUNATELY WHERE THESE TRUTHS ARE NO LONGER FELT BY A MAJORITY OF OUR FELLOW CATHOLICS; IF THEY COULD FEEL THEM, IF THEY REALLY BELIEVED THEM, HOW COULD THEY NOT COME INTO HIS PRESENCE AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK? BUT THE FACT THAT THEY NO LONGER BELIEVE DOES NOT CHANGE THE REALITY. AND THE HOUSE THAT WE PROVIDE FOR JESUS, OUR RISEN LORD, IS ALSO A PLACE WHERE WE ARE TRULY AT HOME, MORE SO THAN IN OUR OWN HOMES. WHEN WE GATHER IN OUR CHURCH, NOT ONLY IS JESUS PRESENT, BUT WE ARE PRESENT TO EACH OTHER. WE CANNOT BE CHRISTIANS BY OURSELVES; WE MUST HAVE A CONNECTION WITH OTHER CHRISTIANS. “WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER IN MY NAME,” JESUS SAID, NOT “WHERE ONE IS GATHERED TOGETHER.”
OH, ITS POSSIBLE FOR A CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY TO EXIST WITHOUT A CHURCH. WE DIDN'T HAVE ONE FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS AND CELEBRATED IN THE SCHOOL GYM. MY WIFE MADE HER FIRST COMMUNION IN A MOVIE THEATER WHILE THE CHURCH TO WHICH SHE EVENTUALLY BELONGED WAS BEING BUILT. THE EARLY CHRISTIANS GATHERED IN TOMBS AND IN EACH OTHER'S HOUSES. ITS POSSIBLE, LIKEWISE, FOR A CHILD TO BE RAISED SUCCESSFULLY BY A SINGLE PARENT, OR IN AN ORPHANAGE; BUT WE ALL RECOGNIZE THAT THE IDEAL IS FOR THE CHILD TO BE RAISED BY A MOTHER AND FATHER UNITED IN AN UNBREAKABLE BOND OF LOVE. A CHURCH HELPS A CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY GROW AND BE CHRISTIAN.
JUST AS WITH THE TEMPLE, OUR CHURCH GROUNDS US, IT CLAIMS A TERRITORY. JUST AS WITH THE TEMPLE, OUR CHURCH HAS THE IMPRINT OF HEAVEN UPON IT; WE SEE THE HOLY OF HOLIES, WHERE GOD HIMSELF DWELLS; WE SEE REPRESENTATIONS OF MARY AND THE SAINTS, REMINDING US OF OUR CONNECTION TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE US, ALL WHO WAIT FOR US IN HEAVEN, ALL WHO LOOK LOVINGLY UPON US AND PRAY FOR US. AND THE WALLS AND STAINED GLASS WINDOWS SEPARATE US FROM THE WORLD, ALLOWING ONLY LIGHT TO ENTER, NOT EVEN IMAGES FROM THE WORLD OUTSIDE.
WE ARE IN A SAD PERIOD IN THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS. CHURCHES ARE BEING CLOSED. SOME SAY, “WELL, THEY ARE ONLY BUILDINGS”. BUT OTHERS FEEL MORE DEEPLY; PERHAPS THEY HAVE BEEN GIVEN A “ZEAL” FOR THE HOUSE OF THE FATHER, AND THAT IS WHAT MOVES THEM TO MOURN WHAT IS HAPPENING.
IF YOU WERE TO TRAVEL IN THE MIDDLE EAST, YOU WOULD SEE CHRISTIAN CHURCHES THAT ARE NOW RUINS, OR MUSEUMS, OR PERHAPS HAVE BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO MOSQUES. IF YOU WERE TO TRAVEL THROUGH THE OLD SOVIET UNION, YOU WOULD SEE CHURCHES THAT ONCE HELD WORSHIPERS, OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, BEING USED FOR LIBRARIES AND LIVESTOCK. AND IF YOU TRAVEL THROUGHOUT OUR OWN COUNTRY, YOU WILL SEE CATHOLIC CHURCHES THAT HAVE BEEN SOLD TO PROTESTANT CONGREGATIONS, OR HAVE BEEN CONVERTED INTO COMMUNITY CENTERS, OR OFFICE SPACE, OR RESTAURANTS – AND PERHAPS YOU TOO WILL HAVE A SENSE OF SADNESS THAT A BUILDING THAT MEANT SO MUCH TO SO MANY PEOPLE HAS NOW BEEN FORGOTTEN; A BUILDING THAT WAS ONCE THE HOME OF THE MOST HIGH GOD IS NOW A PLACE WHERE MONEY CHANGERS DWELL.
AND PERHAPS YOU WILL LOOK AROUND YOU AT THIS CHURCH, THIS SACRED SPACE, AND BE GRATEFUL THAT GOD HAS CHOSEN TO DWELL AMONG HIS PEOPLE. AND YOU TOO WILL REKINDLE YOUR OWN ZEAL FOR THE HOUSE OF GOD.
TODAY WE CELEBRATE THE CHURCH WHICH IS THE CATHEDRAL OF THE BISHOP OF ROME. AND WE CELEBRATE EVERY CATHOLIC CHURCH, AND ESPECIALLY OUR OWN CATHOLIC CHURCH, AND PRAY THAT OUR CATHOLIC BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN LONGMEADOW WHO NO LONGER JOIN US IN WORSHIP, WHO NO LONGER ENTER THIS SACRED SPACE, WILL BE MOVED TO COME BACK TO THEIR TRUE HOME.
BUT A BUILDING IS A BUILDING, RIGHT? WELL, NOT RIGHT. TO US WHO GREW UP IN OUR WESTERN CULTURE, EVEN WHEN A BUILDING HAS A LOT OF MEMORIES, A LOT OF HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE, PERHAPS IT IS A TRIUMPH OF ARCHITECTURE – WE TEND TO SAY IT'S STILL JUST A BUILDING. IF WE LOSE IT, WELL, THAT'S TOO BAD, BUT WE CAN ALWAYS BUILD ANOTHER.
BUT JESUS HAD A ZEAL FOR “HIS FATHER'S HOUSE”. HE OBVIOUSLY DID NOT CONSIDER THE TEMPLE AS JUST ANOTHER BUILDING. IN FACT, THE TEMPLE WAS ABSOLUTELY CENTRAL TO THE JEWISH RELIGION OF JESUS' TIME. THERE WERE SEVERAL REASONS FOR THIS. FIRST, THE TEMPLE MADE THEM A PEOPLE, TIED TO A LAND. IT LOCATED THEM IN TIME AND SPACE. SECOND, THE TEMPLE IN TERMS OF IT'S SIZE AND SHAPE AND WHAT IT WAS MADE OF WAS DICTATED BY GOD TO SOLOMON, THE JEWS BELIEVED. IT WAS NOT DESIGNED BY A HUMAN BEING. THIRD, THE TEMPLE WAS AN EARTHLY MANIFESTATION OF THE TRUE TEMPLE, THE DWELLING PLACE OF GOD IN THE HEAVENS; IT WAS “HEAVEN ON EARTH”. AND FOURTH, LAST BUT GREATEST, IN SOME WAY GOD DWELT IN THE TEMPLE, ONCE IN THE ARK, BUT NOW IN THE HOLY OF HOLIES. IT WAS THE ONLY PLACE ON EARTH WHERE YAWEH COULD BE CONTACTED IN A SPECIAL WAY. WHEN THE SECOND TEMPLE WAS DESTROYED BY THE ROMANS, THE DISASTER WAS SO GREAT THAT THE JEWISH RELIGION IN AND AROUND JERUSALEM ESSENTIALLY DIED, AND JUDAISM BECAME A VERY DIFFERENT RELIGION AS A RESULT OF JEWS WHO HAD SCATTERED THROUGH THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND HAD DEVELOPED ANOTHER WAY OF BEING JEWISH. TODAY'S JEWS DESCEND FROM THESE, NOT FROM THE TEMPLE JEWS.
WE JUST FINISHED RENOVATING OUR CHURCH. THE NEW SMELL OF VARNISH IS STILL IN THE AIR, THE WALLS HAVE BEEN PAINTED, THE FLOORS REFINISHED; AND THERE WERE QUITE A FEW OF US WHO COMPLAINED THAT THIS RESTORATION WAS OVERDONE, AFTER ALL, IT IS JUST A BUILDING.
BUT IT IS NOT JUST A BUILDING. WE CATHOLICS BELIEVE THAT JESUS, THE SON OF GOD, TRUE GOD AND MAN, DWELLS HERE, IN THE BREAD OF THE EUCHARIST, WHICH IS ALWAYS RESERVED IN THE TABERNACLE, IN THE WORD WHICH IS PROCLAIMED EVERY DAY, AND IN THE SACRAMENTS WHICH ARE ADMINISTERED HERE. WE LIVE IN A TIME UNFORTUNATELY WHERE THESE TRUTHS ARE NO LONGER FELT BY A MAJORITY OF OUR FELLOW CATHOLICS; IF THEY COULD FEEL THEM, IF THEY REALLY BELIEVED THEM, HOW COULD THEY NOT COME INTO HIS PRESENCE AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK? BUT THE FACT THAT THEY NO LONGER BELIEVE DOES NOT CHANGE THE REALITY. AND THE HOUSE THAT WE PROVIDE FOR JESUS, OUR RISEN LORD, IS ALSO A PLACE WHERE WE ARE TRULY AT HOME, MORE SO THAN IN OUR OWN HOMES. WHEN WE GATHER IN OUR CHURCH, NOT ONLY IS JESUS PRESENT, BUT WE ARE PRESENT TO EACH OTHER. WE CANNOT BE CHRISTIANS BY OURSELVES; WE MUST HAVE A CONNECTION WITH OTHER CHRISTIANS. “WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER IN MY NAME,” JESUS SAID, NOT “WHERE ONE IS GATHERED TOGETHER.”
OH, ITS POSSIBLE FOR A CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY TO EXIST WITHOUT A CHURCH. WE DIDN'T HAVE ONE FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS AND CELEBRATED IN THE SCHOOL GYM. MY WIFE MADE HER FIRST COMMUNION IN A MOVIE THEATER WHILE THE CHURCH TO WHICH SHE EVENTUALLY BELONGED WAS BEING BUILT. THE EARLY CHRISTIANS GATHERED IN TOMBS AND IN EACH OTHER'S HOUSES. ITS POSSIBLE, LIKEWISE, FOR A CHILD TO BE RAISED SUCCESSFULLY BY A SINGLE PARENT, OR IN AN ORPHANAGE; BUT WE ALL RECOGNIZE THAT THE IDEAL IS FOR THE CHILD TO BE RAISED BY A MOTHER AND FATHER UNITED IN AN UNBREAKABLE BOND OF LOVE. A CHURCH HELPS A CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY GROW AND BE CHRISTIAN.
JUST AS WITH THE TEMPLE, OUR CHURCH GROUNDS US, IT CLAIMS A TERRITORY. JUST AS WITH THE TEMPLE, OUR CHURCH HAS THE IMPRINT OF HEAVEN UPON IT; WE SEE THE HOLY OF HOLIES, WHERE GOD HIMSELF DWELLS; WE SEE REPRESENTATIONS OF MARY AND THE SAINTS, REMINDING US OF OUR CONNECTION TO ALL THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE US, ALL WHO WAIT FOR US IN HEAVEN, ALL WHO LOOK LOVINGLY UPON US AND PRAY FOR US. AND THE WALLS AND STAINED GLASS WINDOWS SEPARATE US FROM THE WORLD, ALLOWING ONLY LIGHT TO ENTER, NOT EVEN IMAGES FROM THE WORLD OUTSIDE.
WE ARE IN A SAD PERIOD IN THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH IN WESTERN MASSACHUSETTS. CHURCHES ARE BEING CLOSED. SOME SAY, “WELL, THEY ARE ONLY BUILDINGS”. BUT OTHERS FEEL MORE DEEPLY; PERHAPS THEY HAVE BEEN GIVEN A “ZEAL” FOR THE HOUSE OF THE FATHER, AND THAT IS WHAT MOVES THEM TO MOURN WHAT IS HAPPENING.
IF YOU WERE TO TRAVEL IN THE MIDDLE EAST, YOU WOULD SEE CHRISTIAN CHURCHES THAT ARE NOW RUINS, OR MUSEUMS, OR PERHAPS HAVE BEEN TRANSFORMED INTO MOSQUES. IF YOU WERE TO TRAVEL THROUGH THE OLD SOVIET UNION, YOU WOULD SEE CHURCHES THAT ONCE HELD WORSHIPERS, OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS, BEING USED FOR LIBRARIES AND LIVESTOCK. AND IF YOU TRAVEL THROUGHOUT OUR OWN COUNTRY, YOU WILL SEE CATHOLIC CHURCHES THAT HAVE BEEN SOLD TO PROTESTANT CONGREGATIONS, OR HAVE BEEN CONVERTED INTO COMMUNITY CENTERS, OR OFFICE SPACE, OR RESTAURANTS – AND PERHAPS YOU TOO WILL HAVE A SENSE OF SADNESS THAT A BUILDING THAT MEANT SO MUCH TO SO MANY PEOPLE HAS NOW BEEN FORGOTTEN; A BUILDING THAT WAS ONCE THE HOME OF THE MOST HIGH GOD IS NOW A PLACE WHERE MONEY CHANGERS DWELL.
AND PERHAPS YOU WILL LOOK AROUND YOU AT THIS CHURCH, THIS SACRED SPACE, AND BE GRATEFUL THAT GOD HAS CHOSEN TO DWELL AMONG HIS PEOPLE. AND YOU TOO WILL REKINDLE YOUR OWN ZEAL FOR THE HOUSE OF GOD.
TODAY WE CELEBRATE THE CHURCH WHICH IS THE CATHEDRAL OF THE BISHOP OF ROME. AND WE CELEBRATE EVERY CATHOLIC CHURCH, AND ESPECIALLY OUR OWN CATHOLIC CHURCH, AND PRAY THAT OUR CATHOLIC BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN LONGMEADOW WHO NO LONGER JOIN US IN WORSHIP, WHO NO LONGER ENTER THIS SACRED SPACE, WILL BE MOVED TO COME BACK TO THEIR TRUE HOME.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
All Soul's Day, 2008
ALL SOUL'S DAY AND ALL SAINT'S DAY ARE LINKED TOGETHER IN THE CHURCH CALENDAR. WE DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE SAINTS AND THE SOULS; THE SAINTS ARE THOSE ALREADY IN HEAVEN, AND THE SOULS ARE THOSE WHO HAVE DIED AND ARE AWAITING HEAVEN IN PURGATORY.
BUT REALLY, THERE ARE ONLY THREE STATES THAT A SOUL CAN BE IN; TO BE SAVED, TO BE DAMNED, AND TO BE AWAITING JUDGEMENT. YOU AND I ARE IN THE LAST CATEGORY.
THE SO-CALLED POOR SOULS WHOM WE CELEBRATE TODAY ARE HAPPIER THAN THE HAPPIEST PERSON ON EARTH. WOULDN'T YOU BE HAPPY IF YOU KNEW THAT YOU WERE DESTINED FOR HEAVEN, THAT NOTHING COULD HAPPEN THAT WOULD CHANGE THAT? YOU AND I COULD ENDURE ANYTHING IF WE KNEW WE WERE SAVED.
THE WORD, “SAINT” COMES FROM THE LATIN WORD THAT MEANS HOLY. HOLY MEANS TO BE CONSECRATED, TO BE SET ASIDE FOR GOD. THE SOULS IN PURGATORY, JUST AS THOSE IN HEAVEN, ARE “SAINTS” IN THIS SENSE. THERE IS ANOTHER WORD THAT JESUS USES WHICH HAS A VERY SIMILAR MEANING; IN ENGLISH THAT WORD IS “BLESSED”. AND THE ENGLISH WORD “BLESSED” IS RELATED TO THE WORD “BLOODSHED”, WHICH ONCE MEANT A SACRIFICE WHICH HAD BEEN CONSECRATED BY BLOOD. IN THE OLD TESTAMENT THERE IS A REMARKABLE EMPHASIS ON BLOOD IN THE SACRIFICES OF THE PEOPLE. A SAINT IS HOLY BECAUSE OF BLOODSHED, REAL, HONEST TO GOODNESS BLOODSHED, AND NOT JUST ANY BLOOD. IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION, WE HEAR THAT THE SAINTS ARE THOSE WHOSE ROBES HAVE BEEN WASHED IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB, AND MADE WHITE.
SO WE CAN'T MAKE OURSELVES INTO SAINTS. THAT CAN ONLY BE DONE BY GOD THROUGH THE SACRIFICE OF JESUS.
BUT SURELY THERE IS MORE TO IT THAN THAT! AND THERE IS. WHEN YOU STUDY THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS, THEY ALL HAVE A FEW THINGS IN COMMON. ONE IS THAT THEY THIRST FOR GOD. SOME DID GREAT WORKS, SOME DIED AS MARTYRS; SOME SPENT THEIR LIVES IN MONASTERIES; AND SOME, EVEN SOME OF THE ONES WHO HAVE BEEN CANONIZED, WERE KINGS AND LAWYERS AND FATHERS AND MOTHERS, WIVES AND HUSBANDS; EVEN SOME CHILDREN HAVE BEEN CANONIZED. AND THEY ALL WANTED GOD WITH ALL THEIR HEARTS, THEY WANTED TO KNOW HIM AND TO SERVE HIM. YOU AND I HAVE CONTROL OVER OUR OWN DESIRES; WE CAN DEEPEN OUR THIRST FOR GOD, WE CAN LOVE HIM, KNOW HIM, AND SERVE HIM MORE THAN WE DO NOW.
ANOTHER THING ALL THE SAINTS HAD IN COMMON WAS THE ABANDONMENT TO GOD'S PROVIDENCE. IN THE EARLIEST DAYS OF THE CHURCH, WE SEE THAT IN THE MARTYRS, WHO TRUSTED IN GOD TO THE POINT OF DEATH; LATER WHEN THE ROMAN EMPIRE BECAME CHRISTIAN, WE SEE MEN AND WOMEN GOING OUT INTO THE DESERT, WITH NOTHING BUT THE CLOTHES ON THEIR BACKS; WE SEE PEOPLE LIKE ST. BENEDICT LEAVING HIS LAW PRACTICE TO FOUND A MONESTERY, OR ST. FRANCIS LEAVING HIS WEALTHY FAMILY, WITH NOTHING, NOT EVEN CLOTHING. WHY? BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO PUT THEMSELVES IN GOD'S HANDS. AND WE SEE OTHERS LIKE KING HENRY OF BAVARIA WHO WANTED TO LEAVE HIS THRONE AND BE A MONK, BUT WAS PERSUADED BY HIS SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR THAT HIS ROLE WAS TO BE KING, AND SO HE SAID, “THY WILL BE DONE,” AND TRIED TO BE THE BEST KING HE COULD BE; OR MARGARET OF SCOTLAND, WHO LONGED TO ENTER THE CONVENT, BUT IN ABANDONING HERSELF TO GOD'S WILL, BECAME A WIFE AND A MOTHER OF EIGHT – THREE OF WHOM BECAME CANONIZED SAINTS. STUBBORN SAINTS, LAUGHING SAINTS, ODD SAINTS, BRILLIANT SAINTS, FOOLISH SAINTS – ALL HAD IN COMMON LETTING GOD DIRECT THEIR LIVES; AND SOME, EVEN SOME OF THE CANONIZED ONES, NEVER QUITE LET GO OF EVERYTHING. EVEN THE GREAT ST. THOMAS AQUINAS, ONE OF MY FAVORITE SAINTS, ON HIS WAY FROM ROME BACK TO HIS MONASTERY PERSUADED HIS COMPANIONS TO GO OUT OF THEIR WAY TO A LITTLE VILLAGE KNOWN FOR A SPECIAL KIND OF FISH. THOMAS WAS FOND OF FOOD, AND WANTED TO TRY THE FISH, AND UNFORTUNATELY, GOT A BAD ONE AND DIED OF FOOD POISONING. AND ST. JEROME TO HIS DYING DAY WAS EASILY ANNOYED BY PEOPLE, AND ALWAYS HAD TROUBLE WITH HIS TEMPER. BUT ALL SAINTS TRIED, ALL SAINTS HAD AS THEIR GOAL LETTING GOD RUN THEIR LIVES. AND WE CAN DO THAT, WE CAN AT LEAST START IN THAT DIRECTION.
AND FINALLY ALL SAINTS LEARNED TO SEE SOMETHING OF JESUS IN OTHER PEOPLE. ST. FRANCIS XAVIER TRAVELED ALL OVER THE WORLD BECAUSE HE KNEW THAT JESUS WANTED ALL PEOPLE TO BE SAVED, BUT SOMEONE HAD TO TELL THEM THE GOOD NEWS, SOMEONE HAD TO BAPTIZE THEM. SAINT GREGORY THE GREAT, ONE OF THE GREATEST POPES, WROTE THAT HE HAD GIVEN UP WHAT HE REALLY WANTED, WHICH WAS TO RETIRE TO HIS MONASTERY TO PRAY AND MEDITATE AND GROW CLOSER TO GOD, SO THAT HE COULD TAKE THE ROLE TO WHICH GOD HAD CALLED HIM – TO BE SHEPHERD TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD. AND WE HAVE SO MANY EXAMPLES OF SAINTS AND BLESSEDS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR OWN COUNTRY WHO BUILT HOSPITALS AND SCHOOLS, WHO WORKED WITH SLAVES, WHO CARED FOR LEPERS LIKE ST. DAMIEN OR FOR PATIENTS DYING OF CANCER LIKE SISTER ROSE HAWTHORNE. AND EVEN AMONG THOSE WHO LIVED CLOISTERED LIVES, WE SEE THIS. ST. THERESE OF LISEAUX SPENT HER LIFE PRAYING FOR MISSIONARIES AND THE PEOPLE TO WHOM THEY WERE SENT.
WE CANNOT MAKE OURSELVES INTO SAINTS; THAT IS SOMETHING ONLY GOD CAN DO. BUT WE CAN DO WHAT ALL THE SAINTS DID. WE CAN DEEPEN OUR DESIRE FOR GOD; WE CAN LET GOD TAKE CONTROL OF OUR LIVES; AND WE CAN LEARN TO SEE JESUS IN THOSE AROUND US. WILL GOD MAKE US SAINTS IF WE DO THESE THINGS? OR WILL WE DO THESE THINGS BECAUSE GOD IS MAKING US INTO SAINTS? IT DOESN'T MATTER. WHAT MATTERS IS THAT WE GET STARTED.
BUT REALLY, THERE ARE ONLY THREE STATES THAT A SOUL CAN BE IN; TO BE SAVED, TO BE DAMNED, AND TO BE AWAITING JUDGEMENT. YOU AND I ARE IN THE LAST CATEGORY.
THE SO-CALLED POOR SOULS WHOM WE CELEBRATE TODAY ARE HAPPIER THAN THE HAPPIEST PERSON ON EARTH. WOULDN'T YOU BE HAPPY IF YOU KNEW THAT YOU WERE DESTINED FOR HEAVEN, THAT NOTHING COULD HAPPEN THAT WOULD CHANGE THAT? YOU AND I COULD ENDURE ANYTHING IF WE KNEW WE WERE SAVED.
THE WORD, “SAINT” COMES FROM THE LATIN WORD THAT MEANS HOLY. HOLY MEANS TO BE CONSECRATED, TO BE SET ASIDE FOR GOD. THE SOULS IN PURGATORY, JUST AS THOSE IN HEAVEN, ARE “SAINTS” IN THIS SENSE. THERE IS ANOTHER WORD THAT JESUS USES WHICH HAS A VERY SIMILAR MEANING; IN ENGLISH THAT WORD IS “BLESSED”. AND THE ENGLISH WORD “BLESSED” IS RELATED TO THE WORD “BLOODSHED”, WHICH ONCE MEANT A SACRIFICE WHICH HAD BEEN CONSECRATED BY BLOOD. IN THE OLD TESTAMENT THERE IS A REMARKABLE EMPHASIS ON BLOOD IN THE SACRIFICES OF THE PEOPLE. A SAINT IS HOLY BECAUSE OF BLOODSHED, REAL, HONEST TO GOODNESS BLOODSHED, AND NOT JUST ANY BLOOD. IN THE BOOK OF REVELATION, WE HEAR THAT THE SAINTS ARE THOSE WHOSE ROBES HAVE BEEN WASHED IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB, AND MADE WHITE.
SO WE CAN'T MAKE OURSELVES INTO SAINTS. THAT CAN ONLY BE DONE BY GOD THROUGH THE SACRIFICE OF JESUS.
BUT SURELY THERE IS MORE TO IT THAN THAT! AND THERE IS. WHEN YOU STUDY THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS, THEY ALL HAVE A FEW THINGS IN COMMON. ONE IS THAT THEY THIRST FOR GOD. SOME DID GREAT WORKS, SOME DIED AS MARTYRS; SOME SPENT THEIR LIVES IN MONASTERIES; AND SOME, EVEN SOME OF THE ONES WHO HAVE BEEN CANONIZED, WERE KINGS AND LAWYERS AND FATHERS AND MOTHERS, WIVES AND HUSBANDS; EVEN SOME CHILDREN HAVE BEEN CANONIZED. AND THEY ALL WANTED GOD WITH ALL THEIR HEARTS, THEY WANTED TO KNOW HIM AND TO SERVE HIM. YOU AND I HAVE CONTROL OVER OUR OWN DESIRES; WE CAN DEEPEN OUR THIRST FOR GOD, WE CAN LOVE HIM, KNOW HIM, AND SERVE HIM MORE THAN WE DO NOW.
ANOTHER THING ALL THE SAINTS HAD IN COMMON WAS THE ABANDONMENT TO GOD'S PROVIDENCE. IN THE EARLIEST DAYS OF THE CHURCH, WE SEE THAT IN THE MARTYRS, WHO TRUSTED IN GOD TO THE POINT OF DEATH; LATER WHEN THE ROMAN EMPIRE BECAME CHRISTIAN, WE SEE MEN AND WOMEN GOING OUT INTO THE DESERT, WITH NOTHING BUT THE CLOTHES ON THEIR BACKS; WE SEE PEOPLE LIKE ST. BENEDICT LEAVING HIS LAW PRACTICE TO FOUND A MONESTERY, OR ST. FRANCIS LEAVING HIS WEALTHY FAMILY, WITH NOTHING, NOT EVEN CLOTHING. WHY? BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO PUT THEMSELVES IN GOD'S HANDS. AND WE SEE OTHERS LIKE KING HENRY OF BAVARIA WHO WANTED TO LEAVE HIS THRONE AND BE A MONK, BUT WAS PERSUADED BY HIS SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR THAT HIS ROLE WAS TO BE KING, AND SO HE SAID, “THY WILL BE DONE,” AND TRIED TO BE THE BEST KING HE COULD BE; OR MARGARET OF SCOTLAND, WHO LONGED TO ENTER THE CONVENT, BUT IN ABANDONING HERSELF TO GOD'S WILL, BECAME A WIFE AND A MOTHER OF EIGHT – THREE OF WHOM BECAME CANONIZED SAINTS. STUBBORN SAINTS, LAUGHING SAINTS, ODD SAINTS, BRILLIANT SAINTS, FOOLISH SAINTS – ALL HAD IN COMMON LETTING GOD DIRECT THEIR LIVES; AND SOME, EVEN SOME OF THE CANONIZED ONES, NEVER QUITE LET GO OF EVERYTHING. EVEN THE GREAT ST. THOMAS AQUINAS, ONE OF MY FAVORITE SAINTS, ON HIS WAY FROM ROME BACK TO HIS MONASTERY PERSUADED HIS COMPANIONS TO GO OUT OF THEIR WAY TO A LITTLE VILLAGE KNOWN FOR A SPECIAL KIND OF FISH. THOMAS WAS FOND OF FOOD, AND WANTED TO TRY THE FISH, AND UNFORTUNATELY, GOT A BAD ONE AND DIED OF FOOD POISONING. AND ST. JEROME TO HIS DYING DAY WAS EASILY ANNOYED BY PEOPLE, AND ALWAYS HAD TROUBLE WITH HIS TEMPER. BUT ALL SAINTS TRIED, ALL SAINTS HAD AS THEIR GOAL LETTING GOD RUN THEIR LIVES. AND WE CAN DO THAT, WE CAN AT LEAST START IN THAT DIRECTION.
AND FINALLY ALL SAINTS LEARNED TO SEE SOMETHING OF JESUS IN OTHER PEOPLE. ST. FRANCIS XAVIER TRAVELED ALL OVER THE WORLD BECAUSE HE KNEW THAT JESUS WANTED ALL PEOPLE TO BE SAVED, BUT SOMEONE HAD TO TELL THEM THE GOOD NEWS, SOMEONE HAD TO BAPTIZE THEM. SAINT GREGORY THE GREAT, ONE OF THE GREATEST POPES, WROTE THAT HE HAD GIVEN UP WHAT HE REALLY WANTED, WHICH WAS TO RETIRE TO HIS MONASTERY TO PRAY AND MEDITATE AND GROW CLOSER TO GOD, SO THAT HE COULD TAKE THE ROLE TO WHICH GOD HAD CALLED HIM – TO BE SHEPHERD TO THE PEOPLE OF GOD. AND WE HAVE SO MANY EXAMPLES OF SAINTS AND BLESSEDS IN THE HISTORY OF OUR OWN COUNTRY WHO BUILT HOSPITALS AND SCHOOLS, WHO WORKED WITH SLAVES, WHO CARED FOR LEPERS LIKE ST. DAMIEN OR FOR PATIENTS DYING OF CANCER LIKE SISTER ROSE HAWTHORNE. AND EVEN AMONG THOSE WHO LIVED CLOISTERED LIVES, WE SEE THIS. ST. THERESE OF LISEAUX SPENT HER LIFE PRAYING FOR MISSIONARIES AND THE PEOPLE TO WHOM THEY WERE SENT.
WE CANNOT MAKE OURSELVES INTO SAINTS; THAT IS SOMETHING ONLY GOD CAN DO. BUT WE CAN DO WHAT ALL THE SAINTS DID. WE CAN DEEPEN OUR DESIRE FOR GOD; WE CAN LET GOD TAKE CONTROL OF OUR LIVES; AND WE CAN LEARN TO SEE JESUS IN THOSE AROUND US. WILL GOD MAKE US SAINTS IF WE DO THESE THINGS? OR WILL WE DO THESE THINGS BECAUSE GOD IS MAKING US INTO SAINTS? IT DOESN'T MATTER. WHAT MATTERS IS THAT WE GET STARTED.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A
MATTHEW 22:34-40
TODAY IS REFORMATION SUNDAY, ON WHICH OUR PROTESTANT BROTHERS AND SISTERS CELEBRATE MARTIN LUTHER'S SEPARATION FROM THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. KARL BARTH WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST OF PROTESTANT THEOLOGIANS. ONCE HE WAS ASKED BY A STUDENT WHAT WAS THE MOST PROFOUND DOCTRINE IN CHRISTIANITY. WAS IT THE INCARNATION? WAS IT THE TRINITY? WAS IT THE SPIRATION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BY THE FATHER AND THE SON? KARL BARTH REPLIED, “JESUS LOVES ME, THIS I KNOW, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO.”
IF YOU'VE BEEN LISTENING TO THE GOSPEL THESE PAST FEW SUNDAYS, YOU'VE NOTICED THAT JESUS' ENEMIES HAVE BEEN TRYING TO TRIP HIM UP IN HIS SPEECH. AND EACH TIME JESUS ESCAPES THE TRAP, BY GIVING A TRUTHFUL ANSWER, BUT ONE WHICH GOES OUTSIDE OF THE FRAME THAT THE QUESTIONER HAD ASSUMED. AND TODAY IS NO DIFFERENT. WHEN THE PHARISEES ASK WHICH IS THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT, THEY ARE THINKING OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, OR PERHAPS THE 613 THAT THE PHARISEES HAD DERIVED FROM THE FIVE BOOKS OF MOSES. IF JESUS SAYS ALL THE COMMANDMENTS ARE EQUALLY GREAT, HE WILL SEEM TO BE COPPING OUT, AND IF HE ACTUALLY PICKS ONE, HE CANNOT PICK ONE EVERY ONE WILL AGREE WITH, AND HE WILL BE IMPLYING THAT GOD'S WORD CONSISTS OF MORE IMPORTANT AND LESS IMPORTANT PARTS – KIND OF LIKE MANY OF US CATHOLICS REGARD THE TEACHINGS OF OUR CHURCH.
BUT JESUS GIVES THEM THE STATEMENT CALLED THE SHEMA, THE PRAYER THAT WAS RECITED EVERY MORNING AND EVERY NIGHT BY EVERY JEW FROM THE AGE OF THREE ON; IT WAS THE FIRST THING TAUGHT TO CHILDREN, IN OBEDIENCE TO THE COMMANDMENT OF MOSES. JESUS' REPLY WAS LIKE KARL BARTH'S IN A WAY. THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION WAS NOT HIDDEN AND PROFOUND; IT WAS RIGHT THERE ON THE LIPS OF EVERY CHILD.
AND WE ARE TOLD THAT THE SHEMA IS THE SUMMARY OF ALL COMMANDMENTS; IT CONTAINS THEM ALL.
ALL. THAT IS SUCH A SMALL WORD, AND HOLDS SO MUCH. AND THAT IS THE WORD THAT MAKES THIS COMMANDMENT OF JESUS SO HARD TO OBEY. ALL OF US PROBABLY LOVE GOD SOMEWHAT, AND SORT OF LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR. BUT ALL OUR HEART, SOUL AND MIND? OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELF? WELL, I ADMIT IT, I DON'T.
TO JESUS AND HIS HEARERS, THE HEART IS THE WAY WE LOVE. WE HEAR THE WORDS OF SCRIPTURE, “WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE IS YOUR HEART.” WHERE IS YOUR TREASURE, WHERE IS MINE? IT'S NOT HARD TO FIND. ITS' THE LAST THING WE THINK ABOUT AS WE DRIFT OFF TO SLEEP; ITS WHERE OUR MIND GOES WHEN IT IS IDLE; IT'S WHAT WE DAYDREAM ABOUT, WHAT WE WANT TO DO WHEN WE GET THROUGH EVERYTHING WE HAVE TO DO. IN THESE MOMENTS DO OUR MINDS NATURALLY TURN TO GOD? DO WE SLIP EASILY BACK INTO OUR DIALOGUE WITH JESUS? ARE WE CONSCIOUS OF THE WHISPERINGS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT? WITH ME, SOMETIMES, BUT CERTAINLY NOT ALL.
TO JESUS AND HIS HEARERS, THE SOUL WAS NOT WHAT YOU AND I THINK OF AS THE SOUL. IT WAS BREATH, IT WAS CONNECTED TO LIFE ITSELF, IT WAS THAT PART OF YOU THAT MADE YOU YOURSELF. IT WAS WHAT NO ONE ELSE COULD KNOW ABOUT YOU, AND EVEN YOU COULD SPEND A LIFETIME AND NEVER COMPLETELY KNOW THE DEPTHS OF YOUR OWN SOUL. AND IT WAS WHERE YOU MET GOD. BUT IF MOST OF US WERE TO EXAMINE OUR DEEPEST SELVES, WE WOULD SEE FRAGMENTS, PARTS SEPARATED FROM OTHER PARTS; ONE OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF MODERN SOCIETY IS THAT PEOPLE HAVE FRAGMENTED PERSONALITIES, AND SOME OF US HAVE ALMOST NO PERCEPTION OF WHAT IS REALLY REAL ABOUT US. AND MOST OF US HAVE NOT BECOME ENOUGH ACQUAINTED WITH THAT MYSTERY THAT IS ME TO MEET THE GOD THAT DWELLS WITHIN ME.
TO JESUS AND HIS HEARERS, THE MIND IS THE RATIONAL PART, THE PART THAT JUDGES, THAT ANALYZES, THAT EXPLAINS. TO LOVE GOD WITH OUR MINDS MEANS THAT WE ALWAYS SEE THE WORLD NOT THROUGH THE EYES OF OUR OWN CULTURE, BUT THROUGH THE EYES OF GOD. THE EVENTS THAT HAPPEN TO US, THE THINGS TAKING PLACE IN THE WORLD, ARE NEVER SEEN WITHOUT SEEING THEM IN THE CONTEXT OF JESUS' LIFE AND TEACHINGS. TO LOVE GOD WITH OUR MINDS IS TO STRUGGLE TO MAKE OUR MINDS LIKE THAT OF JESUS. AND I KNOW I DON'T DO THAT. NOW AND THEN I DO, BUT IT HAS NOT YET BECOME AUTOMATIC. IT HAS NOT YET BECOME ALL.
AND LOVE OF NEIGHBOR AS MYSELF?
IT'S GOOD AND RIGHT THAT WE LOVE OURSELVES. AFTER ALL, GOD LOVES US. AND IF WE LOVE OURSELVES, WE NATURALLY SEEK TO EAT WELL, TO HAVE COMFORTABLE HOMES, TO PURSUE OUR HOBBIES, TO ENJOY OUR LEISURE. WE SEEK OUT THE BEST MEDICAL CARE THAT WE CAN WHEN WE ARE SICK.
AND DO WE LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELVES WHEN THAT NEIGHBOR IS HUNGRY WHEN WE THROW AWAY FOOD? WHEN OUR NEIGHBOR IS SLEEPING UNDER A BRIDGE WHEN WE HAVE HOMES LARGER THAN WE REALLY NEED? WHEN WE HAVE LEISURE TIME TO PURSUE OUR INTERESTS AND OUR NEIGHBOR HAS TO WORK 12 HOURS A DAY SEVEN DAYS A WEEK JUST TO KEEP HIMSELF AND HIS FAMILY FED? WELL, I OBVIOUSLY DON'T LOVE MY NEIGHBOR AS MYSELF. AND YOU PROBABLY DON'T EITHER.
THESE ARE THE TWO GREATEST COMMANDMENTS, NOT SUGGESTIONS, BUT COMMANDMENTS. AND I HAVE FALLEN VERY SHORT. I CAN ONLY HOPE THAT I AM A LITTLE BETTER AT IT NOW THAN I USED TO BE, AND THE GOD IS REALLY MERCIFUL.
SO THIS WEEK OUR TASK IS TO LOOK AT OUR OWN LIVES, AND ASK, IF WE REALLY WERE TO LOVE GOD WITH ALL OUR HEART, SOUL, AND MIND, AND OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELVES, WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE? HOW WOULD THINGS BE DIFFERENT? AND WHEN WE CAN ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS, WE AT LEAST HAVE A DIRECTION IN WHICH TO BEGIN TO MOVE. TO LOVE AS JESUS CALLS US TO LOVE, TO LOVE WITH THAT WORD “ALL”, IS COSTLY; IT COSTS EVERYTHING. AND WE CAN'T DO IT – EXCEPT IN JESUS, WHO ALREADY DID IT, THERE ON THE CROSS. TO LOVE WITH THE WORD “ALL” MEANS EMPTYING OURSELVES OF EVERYTHING, AND BEING FILLED UP WITH GOD. DO WE DARE LIVE THIS WAY? IF WE CAN, RESURRECTION WILL FOLLOW, AS IT DID FOR JESUS, AS JESUS PROMISED.
TODAY IS REFORMATION SUNDAY, ON WHICH OUR PROTESTANT BROTHERS AND SISTERS CELEBRATE MARTIN LUTHER'S SEPARATION FROM THE CATHOLIC CHURCH. KARL BARTH WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST OF PROTESTANT THEOLOGIANS. ONCE HE WAS ASKED BY A STUDENT WHAT WAS THE MOST PROFOUND DOCTRINE IN CHRISTIANITY. WAS IT THE INCARNATION? WAS IT THE TRINITY? WAS IT THE SPIRATION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT BY THE FATHER AND THE SON? KARL BARTH REPLIED, “JESUS LOVES ME, THIS I KNOW, FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO.”
IF YOU'VE BEEN LISTENING TO THE GOSPEL THESE PAST FEW SUNDAYS, YOU'VE NOTICED THAT JESUS' ENEMIES HAVE BEEN TRYING TO TRIP HIM UP IN HIS SPEECH. AND EACH TIME JESUS ESCAPES THE TRAP, BY GIVING A TRUTHFUL ANSWER, BUT ONE WHICH GOES OUTSIDE OF THE FRAME THAT THE QUESTIONER HAD ASSUMED. AND TODAY IS NO DIFFERENT. WHEN THE PHARISEES ASK WHICH IS THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT, THEY ARE THINKING OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, OR PERHAPS THE 613 THAT THE PHARISEES HAD DERIVED FROM THE FIVE BOOKS OF MOSES. IF JESUS SAYS ALL THE COMMANDMENTS ARE EQUALLY GREAT, HE WILL SEEM TO BE COPPING OUT, AND IF HE ACTUALLY PICKS ONE, HE CANNOT PICK ONE EVERY ONE WILL AGREE WITH, AND HE WILL BE IMPLYING THAT GOD'S WORD CONSISTS OF MORE IMPORTANT AND LESS IMPORTANT PARTS – KIND OF LIKE MANY OF US CATHOLICS REGARD THE TEACHINGS OF OUR CHURCH.
BUT JESUS GIVES THEM THE STATEMENT CALLED THE SHEMA, THE PRAYER THAT WAS RECITED EVERY MORNING AND EVERY NIGHT BY EVERY JEW FROM THE AGE OF THREE ON; IT WAS THE FIRST THING TAUGHT TO CHILDREN, IN OBEDIENCE TO THE COMMANDMENT OF MOSES. JESUS' REPLY WAS LIKE KARL BARTH'S IN A WAY. THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION WAS NOT HIDDEN AND PROFOUND; IT WAS RIGHT THERE ON THE LIPS OF EVERY CHILD.
AND WE ARE TOLD THAT THE SHEMA IS THE SUMMARY OF ALL COMMANDMENTS; IT CONTAINS THEM ALL.
ALL. THAT IS SUCH A SMALL WORD, AND HOLDS SO MUCH. AND THAT IS THE WORD THAT MAKES THIS COMMANDMENT OF JESUS SO HARD TO OBEY. ALL OF US PROBABLY LOVE GOD SOMEWHAT, AND SORT OF LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR. BUT ALL OUR HEART, SOUL AND MIND? OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELF? WELL, I ADMIT IT, I DON'T.
TO JESUS AND HIS HEARERS, THE HEART IS THE WAY WE LOVE. WE HEAR THE WORDS OF SCRIPTURE, “WHERE YOUR TREASURE IS, THERE IS YOUR HEART.” WHERE IS YOUR TREASURE, WHERE IS MINE? IT'S NOT HARD TO FIND. ITS' THE LAST THING WE THINK ABOUT AS WE DRIFT OFF TO SLEEP; ITS WHERE OUR MIND GOES WHEN IT IS IDLE; IT'S WHAT WE DAYDREAM ABOUT, WHAT WE WANT TO DO WHEN WE GET THROUGH EVERYTHING WE HAVE TO DO. IN THESE MOMENTS DO OUR MINDS NATURALLY TURN TO GOD? DO WE SLIP EASILY BACK INTO OUR DIALOGUE WITH JESUS? ARE WE CONSCIOUS OF THE WHISPERINGS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT? WITH ME, SOMETIMES, BUT CERTAINLY NOT ALL.
TO JESUS AND HIS HEARERS, THE SOUL WAS NOT WHAT YOU AND I THINK OF AS THE SOUL. IT WAS BREATH, IT WAS CONNECTED TO LIFE ITSELF, IT WAS THAT PART OF YOU THAT MADE YOU YOURSELF. IT WAS WHAT NO ONE ELSE COULD KNOW ABOUT YOU, AND EVEN YOU COULD SPEND A LIFETIME AND NEVER COMPLETELY KNOW THE DEPTHS OF YOUR OWN SOUL. AND IT WAS WHERE YOU MET GOD. BUT IF MOST OF US WERE TO EXAMINE OUR DEEPEST SELVES, WE WOULD SEE FRAGMENTS, PARTS SEPARATED FROM OTHER PARTS; ONE OF THE CHARACTERISTICS OF MODERN SOCIETY IS THAT PEOPLE HAVE FRAGMENTED PERSONALITIES, AND SOME OF US HAVE ALMOST NO PERCEPTION OF WHAT IS REALLY REAL ABOUT US. AND MOST OF US HAVE NOT BECOME ENOUGH ACQUAINTED WITH THAT MYSTERY THAT IS ME TO MEET THE GOD THAT DWELLS WITHIN ME.
TO JESUS AND HIS HEARERS, THE MIND IS THE RATIONAL PART, THE PART THAT JUDGES, THAT ANALYZES, THAT EXPLAINS. TO LOVE GOD WITH OUR MINDS MEANS THAT WE ALWAYS SEE THE WORLD NOT THROUGH THE EYES OF OUR OWN CULTURE, BUT THROUGH THE EYES OF GOD. THE EVENTS THAT HAPPEN TO US, THE THINGS TAKING PLACE IN THE WORLD, ARE NEVER SEEN WITHOUT SEEING THEM IN THE CONTEXT OF JESUS' LIFE AND TEACHINGS. TO LOVE GOD WITH OUR MINDS IS TO STRUGGLE TO MAKE OUR MINDS LIKE THAT OF JESUS. AND I KNOW I DON'T DO THAT. NOW AND THEN I DO, BUT IT HAS NOT YET BECOME AUTOMATIC. IT HAS NOT YET BECOME ALL.
AND LOVE OF NEIGHBOR AS MYSELF?
IT'S GOOD AND RIGHT THAT WE LOVE OURSELVES. AFTER ALL, GOD LOVES US. AND IF WE LOVE OURSELVES, WE NATURALLY SEEK TO EAT WELL, TO HAVE COMFORTABLE HOMES, TO PURSUE OUR HOBBIES, TO ENJOY OUR LEISURE. WE SEEK OUT THE BEST MEDICAL CARE THAT WE CAN WHEN WE ARE SICK.
AND DO WE LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELVES WHEN THAT NEIGHBOR IS HUNGRY WHEN WE THROW AWAY FOOD? WHEN OUR NEIGHBOR IS SLEEPING UNDER A BRIDGE WHEN WE HAVE HOMES LARGER THAN WE REALLY NEED? WHEN WE HAVE LEISURE TIME TO PURSUE OUR INTERESTS AND OUR NEIGHBOR HAS TO WORK 12 HOURS A DAY SEVEN DAYS A WEEK JUST TO KEEP HIMSELF AND HIS FAMILY FED? WELL, I OBVIOUSLY DON'T LOVE MY NEIGHBOR AS MYSELF. AND YOU PROBABLY DON'T EITHER.
THESE ARE THE TWO GREATEST COMMANDMENTS, NOT SUGGESTIONS, BUT COMMANDMENTS. AND I HAVE FALLEN VERY SHORT. I CAN ONLY HOPE THAT I AM A LITTLE BETTER AT IT NOW THAN I USED TO BE, AND THE GOD IS REALLY MERCIFUL.
SO THIS WEEK OUR TASK IS TO LOOK AT OUR OWN LIVES, AND ASK, IF WE REALLY WERE TO LOVE GOD WITH ALL OUR HEART, SOUL, AND MIND, AND OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELVES, WHAT WOULD THAT LOOK LIKE? HOW WOULD THINGS BE DIFFERENT? AND WHEN WE CAN ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS, WE AT LEAST HAVE A DIRECTION IN WHICH TO BEGIN TO MOVE. TO LOVE AS JESUS CALLS US TO LOVE, TO LOVE WITH THAT WORD “ALL”, IS COSTLY; IT COSTS EVERYTHING. AND WE CAN'T DO IT – EXCEPT IN JESUS, WHO ALREADY DID IT, THERE ON THE CROSS. TO LOVE WITH THE WORD “ALL” MEANS EMPTYING OURSELVES OF EVERYTHING, AND BEING FILLED UP WITH GOD. DO WE DARE LIVE THIS WAY? IF WE CAN, RESURRECTION WILL FOLLOW, AS IT DID FOR JESUS, AS JESUS PROMISED.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle A
MATTHEW 22:15-21
USUALLY WHEN THIS GOSPEL IS THE SUBJECT OF A SERMON, SEVERAL THINGS SEEM TO BE AUTOMATIC. FIRST, IT IS SAID THAT THE PHARISEES AND THE HERODIANS WERE TRYING TO TRAP JESUS. IF HE SAID NOT TO PAY THE CENSUS TAX, HE WOULD GET IN TROUBLE WITH THE ROMANS. IF HE SAID TO PAY IT, HE WOULD LOSE THE ATTENTION OF MANY DEVOTED JEWS WHO WERE HIS FOLLOWERS. THE SECOND THING WE HEAR IS THAT JESUS VERY CLEVERLY ANSWERED HIS QUESTIONERS, SORT OF THROWING THE QUESTION BACK AT THEM; AND THIRD, WE HEAR THE WORDS “RENDER UNTO CAESAR THE THINGS THAT ARE CAESAR'S, AND UNTO GOD THE THINGS THAT ARE GOD'S.” AND THAT SEEMS LIKE A VERY WISE STATEMENT – IT'S BEEN USED TO JUSTIFY SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE, TO SILENCE CRITICS OF ROE VS. WADE, TO GIVE REASON FOR NOT ALLOWING PRAYER IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, AND IT IS THE MARCHING CRY NOT OF CHRISTIANS, BUT OF SECULARISTS WHO WANT NO VESTIGE OF RELIGION IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE.
BUT SOMETIMES WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE SITUATION WITHOUT THESE BUILT IN PREJUDICES, YOU MAY SEE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MESSAGE. FIRST, THERE IS SOMETHING FUNNY HERE ABOUT PHARISEES AND HERODIANS COMING TOGETHER TO TRAP JESUS. THEY WERE ABOUT AS FAR APART POLITICALLY AND RELIGIOUSLY AS WAS POSSIBLE. THE PHARISEES SCRUPULOUSLY FOLLOWED THE LAW, KEPT THEMSELVES APART FROM ANYONE WHO WASN'T A PHARISEE, AND WERE DEEPLY INTO PURITY RITUALS. THEY WERE ALSO PACIFISTS OF SORT, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD NEVER PAY THE CENSUS TAX; BUT THEY PAID IT, GRUDGINGLY. THE HERODIANS, ON THE OTHER HAND, BELIEVED THAT THE BEST THING TO DO IF YOU WERE A JEW WAS TO ADAPT TO THE CULTURE AROUND YOU. THEY DRESSED LIKE THE ROMANS, THEY PARTICIPATED IN ROMAN CULTURE, AND THEY WILLINGLY PAID THE TAX. THEIR ATTITUDE WAS THAT BEING JEWISH WAS A PRIVATE, SPIRITUAL AFFAIR.
AND THE TWO GROUPS ASK JESUS A QUESTION TO SEE WHICH SIDE HE AGREES WITH? THEY ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT ROMAN LAW, NOW. THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT JEWISH LAW. THE PHARISEES VIOLATED JEWISH LAW, AT LEAST BY THEIR INTERPRETATION, EVERY TIME THEY PAID THE CENSUS TAX. SO THE QUESTION IS REALLY, CAN YOU BE A GOOD JEW AND STILL PAY THE CENSUS TAX?
NOW JESUS CALLS THEM HYPOCRITES. WE WOULDN'T LIKE TO BE CALLED THAT, BUT THE WORD IN HIS TIME MEANT SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT. IT REFERRED TO PEOPLE WHO PRETENDED TO BE SOMETHING THEY WERE NOT. IT WAS A TERM FOR ACTORS IN DRAMAS. AND JESUS CALLS THEM HYPOCRITES BECAUSE THEY ARE CARRYING AROUND COINS WHICH HAVE THE GRAVEN IMAGE OF CAESAR, AND AN INSCRIPTION THAT SAYS CAESAR IS DIVINE. JUST BY CARRYING THE COIN, IF YOU GET REALLY LITERAL, THEY ARE VIOLATING TWO OF THE MOST SACRED COMMANDMENTS.
AND THEN JESUS ASKS, “WHOSE IMAGE AND WHOSE INSCRIPTION IS ON THIS COIN?” THEY SAY, “CAESAR'S.” AND THEN HE MAKES HIS FAMOUS STATEMENT. BUT WHAT MUST HAVE REALLY RESONATED WITH HIS LISTENERS WAS THE LAST PART – RENDER TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S. BECAUSE ALL JEWS, HERODIANS AND PHARISEES, SADUCCEES AND ESSENES, ALL JEWS COULD AGREE ON ONE THING: “THE LORD'S IS THE EARTH AND ITS FULLNESS” AS THE PSALM SAYS. EVERYTHING BELONGS TO GOD, AND THE REAL QUESTION IS HOW TO WE GIVE BACK EVERYTHING WE'VE BEEN GIVEN TO GOD? HOW DO WE RENDER WHAT IS GOD'S TO GOD.
I THINK THIS IS THE WAY THINGS REALLY WENT THAT DAY, BECAUSE JESUS IN MANY OTHER CONFRONTATIONS WITH THE PHARISEES AND OTHERS GOES FOR THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW, NOT THE LETTER. REMEMBER THE WOMAN WITH SEVEN HUSBANDS? OR HIS ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, “WHICH IS THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT?” OR EVEN THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, “WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?” PEOPLE LOOKED FOR A LITERAL ANSWER, AND HE GAVE THEM A SPIRITUAL ONE. SO JESUS IS NOT TALKING ABOUT POLITICS HERE.
BUT IF THE COIN WITH CAESAR'S IMAGE IN SOME WAY BELONGS TO CAESAR, WHAT ABOUT YOU AND I, WHO WERE STAMPED WITH THE IMAGE OF CHRIST AT OUR BAPTISM? YOU AND I ARE THE COINS, YOU AND I ARE THE TREASURE, OF GOD'S KINGDOM. IF THE COIN WITH CAESAR'S IMAGE IS USED TO BUILD UP THE ROMAN EMPIRE, THEN YOU AND I RENDER TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S WHEN WE WORK FOR HIS KINGDOM.
WE RENDER TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S WHEN WE SET ASIDE REGULAR TIME EVERY DAY TO PRAY, TO MEDITATE, TO DO SPIRITUAL READING. THE ONLY WAY WE CAN CULTIVATE A LIVING RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS IS TO MAKE TIME FOR HIM, TO LISTEN TO HIM, TO CONVERSE WITH HIM.
WE RENDER TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S WHEN WE ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIPS. ALL RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER PEOPLE ARE LOVE IN ACTION, AND WHERE LOVE IS, GOD IS. HOW MANY HUSBANDS AND WIVES LET THEIR RELATIONSHIP BECOME ROUTINE AND ORDINARY, BECAUSE THEY'VE STOPPED WORKING AT IT? HOW MANY PEOPLE WHO WERE ONCE GREAT FRIENDS DRIFT APART BECAUSE OF CHANGES IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THEIR LIVES, OR SEPARATION BY DISTANCE? GOD CALLS US TO UNITY WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH HIM, AND THAT BEGINS IN THE RELATIONSHIPS WE HAVE.
WE RENDER TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S BY BRINGING OUR CHRISTIANITY INTO THE WORLD, BY DELIBERATELY CONSIDERING WHAT THE CHURCH TEACHES AND WHAT JESUS TAUGHT, WHEN WE ACT AS CITIZENS. WHETHER IT IS EXERCISING OUR RIGHT TO VOTE, GIVING SOME OF OUR SURPLUS TO CHARITY, STANDING UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT WHEN WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY, ALL OF THAT SHOULD COME OUT OF OUR CONSTANT STRUGGLE TO KNOW THE MIND AND HEART OF CHRIST, NOT OUT OF OUR OWN REASONING POWER OR EMOTIONAL REACTION.
SO TODAY, LET US ASK, “WHAT IS GOD'S?” AND WE WILL HEAR THE ANSWER, “EVERYTHING”. AND LET US SEE THE MARK ON OUR SOULS, THE IMAGE OF JESUS CHRIST, AND KNOW THAT EVERYTHING ABOUT US IS GOD'S, AND ALL THAT REALLY MATTERS IS THAT WE TAKE WHAT WE HAVE BEEN LOANED, OUR BODIES, OUR LOVED ONES, OUR FRIENDS, AND OUR SOCIETY, AND GIVE IT BACK TO GOD.
USUALLY WHEN THIS GOSPEL IS THE SUBJECT OF A SERMON, SEVERAL THINGS SEEM TO BE AUTOMATIC. FIRST, IT IS SAID THAT THE PHARISEES AND THE HERODIANS WERE TRYING TO TRAP JESUS. IF HE SAID NOT TO PAY THE CENSUS TAX, HE WOULD GET IN TROUBLE WITH THE ROMANS. IF HE SAID TO PAY IT, HE WOULD LOSE THE ATTENTION OF MANY DEVOTED JEWS WHO WERE HIS FOLLOWERS. THE SECOND THING WE HEAR IS THAT JESUS VERY CLEVERLY ANSWERED HIS QUESTIONERS, SORT OF THROWING THE QUESTION BACK AT THEM; AND THIRD, WE HEAR THE WORDS “RENDER UNTO CAESAR THE THINGS THAT ARE CAESAR'S, AND UNTO GOD THE THINGS THAT ARE GOD'S.” AND THAT SEEMS LIKE A VERY WISE STATEMENT – IT'S BEEN USED TO JUSTIFY SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE, TO SILENCE CRITICS OF ROE VS. WADE, TO GIVE REASON FOR NOT ALLOWING PRAYER IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS, AND IT IS THE MARCHING CRY NOT OF CHRISTIANS, BUT OF SECULARISTS WHO WANT NO VESTIGE OF RELIGION IN THE PUBLIC SQUARE.
BUT SOMETIMES WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE SITUATION WITHOUT THESE BUILT IN PREJUDICES, YOU MAY SEE A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MESSAGE. FIRST, THERE IS SOMETHING FUNNY HERE ABOUT PHARISEES AND HERODIANS COMING TOGETHER TO TRAP JESUS. THEY WERE ABOUT AS FAR APART POLITICALLY AND RELIGIOUSLY AS WAS POSSIBLE. THE PHARISEES SCRUPULOUSLY FOLLOWED THE LAW, KEPT THEMSELVES APART FROM ANYONE WHO WASN'T A PHARISEE, AND WERE DEEPLY INTO PURITY RITUALS. THEY WERE ALSO PACIFISTS OF SORT, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD NEVER PAY THE CENSUS TAX; BUT THEY PAID IT, GRUDGINGLY. THE HERODIANS, ON THE OTHER HAND, BELIEVED THAT THE BEST THING TO DO IF YOU WERE A JEW WAS TO ADAPT TO THE CULTURE AROUND YOU. THEY DRESSED LIKE THE ROMANS, THEY PARTICIPATED IN ROMAN CULTURE, AND THEY WILLINGLY PAID THE TAX. THEIR ATTITUDE WAS THAT BEING JEWISH WAS A PRIVATE, SPIRITUAL AFFAIR.
AND THE TWO GROUPS ASK JESUS A QUESTION TO SEE WHICH SIDE HE AGREES WITH? THEY ARE NOT TALKING ABOUT ROMAN LAW, NOW. THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT JEWISH LAW. THE PHARISEES VIOLATED JEWISH LAW, AT LEAST BY THEIR INTERPRETATION, EVERY TIME THEY PAID THE CENSUS TAX. SO THE QUESTION IS REALLY, CAN YOU BE A GOOD JEW AND STILL PAY THE CENSUS TAX?
NOW JESUS CALLS THEM HYPOCRITES. WE WOULDN'T LIKE TO BE CALLED THAT, BUT THE WORD IN HIS TIME MEANT SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT. IT REFERRED TO PEOPLE WHO PRETENDED TO BE SOMETHING THEY WERE NOT. IT WAS A TERM FOR ACTORS IN DRAMAS. AND JESUS CALLS THEM HYPOCRITES BECAUSE THEY ARE CARRYING AROUND COINS WHICH HAVE THE GRAVEN IMAGE OF CAESAR, AND AN INSCRIPTION THAT SAYS CAESAR IS DIVINE. JUST BY CARRYING THE COIN, IF YOU GET REALLY LITERAL, THEY ARE VIOLATING TWO OF THE MOST SACRED COMMANDMENTS.
AND THEN JESUS ASKS, “WHOSE IMAGE AND WHOSE INSCRIPTION IS ON THIS COIN?” THEY SAY, “CAESAR'S.” AND THEN HE MAKES HIS FAMOUS STATEMENT. BUT WHAT MUST HAVE REALLY RESONATED WITH HIS LISTENERS WAS THE LAST PART – RENDER TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S. BECAUSE ALL JEWS, HERODIANS AND PHARISEES, SADUCCEES AND ESSENES, ALL JEWS COULD AGREE ON ONE THING: “THE LORD'S IS THE EARTH AND ITS FULLNESS” AS THE PSALM SAYS. EVERYTHING BELONGS TO GOD, AND THE REAL QUESTION IS HOW TO WE GIVE BACK EVERYTHING WE'VE BEEN GIVEN TO GOD? HOW DO WE RENDER WHAT IS GOD'S TO GOD.
I THINK THIS IS THE WAY THINGS REALLY WENT THAT DAY, BECAUSE JESUS IN MANY OTHER CONFRONTATIONS WITH THE PHARISEES AND OTHERS GOES FOR THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW, NOT THE LETTER. REMEMBER THE WOMAN WITH SEVEN HUSBANDS? OR HIS ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, “WHICH IS THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT?” OR EVEN THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION, “WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR?” PEOPLE LOOKED FOR A LITERAL ANSWER, AND HE GAVE THEM A SPIRITUAL ONE. SO JESUS IS NOT TALKING ABOUT POLITICS HERE.
BUT IF THE COIN WITH CAESAR'S IMAGE IN SOME WAY BELONGS TO CAESAR, WHAT ABOUT YOU AND I, WHO WERE STAMPED WITH THE IMAGE OF CHRIST AT OUR BAPTISM? YOU AND I ARE THE COINS, YOU AND I ARE THE TREASURE, OF GOD'S KINGDOM. IF THE COIN WITH CAESAR'S IMAGE IS USED TO BUILD UP THE ROMAN EMPIRE, THEN YOU AND I RENDER TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S WHEN WE WORK FOR HIS KINGDOM.
WE RENDER TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S WHEN WE SET ASIDE REGULAR TIME EVERY DAY TO PRAY, TO MEDITATE, TO DO SPIRITUAL READING. THE ONLY WAY WE CAN CULTIVATE A LIVING RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS IS TO MAKE TIME FOR HIM, TO LISTEN TO HIM, TO CONVERSE WITH HIM.
WE RENDER TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S WHEN WE ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT OUR RELATIONSHIPS. ALL RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER PEOPLE ARE LOVE IN ACTION, AND WHERE LOVE IS, GOD IS. HOW MANY HUSBANDS AND WIVES LET THEIR RELATIONSHIP BECOME ROUTINE AND ORDINARY, BECAUSE THEY'VE STOPPED WORKING AT IT? HOW MANY PEOPLE WHO WERE ONCE GREAT FRIENDS DRIFT APART BECAUSE OF CHANGES IN THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THEIR LIVES, OR SEPARATION BY DISTANCE? GOD CALLS US TO UNITY WITH EACH OTHER AND WITH HIM, AND THAT BEGINS IN THE RELATIONSHIPS WE HAVE.
WE RENDER TO GOD WHAT IS GOD'S BY BRINGING OUR CHRISTIANITY INTO THE WORLD, BY DELIBERATELY CONSIDERING WHAT THE CHURCH TEACHES AND WHAT JESUS TAUGHT, WHEN WE ACT AS CITIZENS. WHETHER IT IS EXERCISING OUR RIGHT TO VOTE, GIVING SOME OF OUR SURPLUS TO CHARITY, STANDING UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT WHEN WE HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY, ALL OF THAT SHOULD COME OUT OF OUR CONSTANT STRUGGLE TO KNOW THE MIND AND HEART OF CHRIST, NOT OUT OF OUR OWN REASONING POWER OR EMOTIONAL REACTION.
SO TODAY, LET US ASK, “WHAT IS GOD'S?” AND WE WILL HEAR THE ANSWER, “EVERYTHING”. AND LET US SEE THE MARK ON OUR SOULS, THE IMAGE OF JESUS CHRIST, AND KNOW THAT EVERYTHING ABOUT US IS GOD'S, AND ALL THAT REALLY MATTERS IS THAT WE TAKE WHAT WE HAVE BEEN LOANED, OUR BODIES, OUR LOVED ONES, OUR FRIENDS, AND OUR SOCIETY, AND GIVE IT BACK TO GOD.
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