JOHN 6:51-58
RECENTLY I MET A FRIEND AT A PARTY. WE HAD A MUTUAL ACQUAINTANCE WHOM WE BOTH LOVED AND RESPECTED. MY FRIEND REMARKED THAT THIS PERSON WAS THE BEST CHRISTIAN HE HAD EVER MET. THE PERSON WE WERE TALKING ABOUT WAS VERY GENEROUS WITH HER TIME AND MONEY. SHE HAD AN ACTIVE AND FERVENT PRAYER LIFE. SHE LIVED SIMPLY, AND ALTHOUGH SHE COULD AFFORD MUCH BETTER THINGS, SHE DROVE AN OLD CAR AND LIVED IN A SMALL HOUSE AND SELDOM BOUGHT NEW CLOTHES. IN HER OCCUPATION SHE GAVE 110%. SHE FELT UNCOMFORTABLE WHEN PEOPLE WOULD PRAISE HER ACCOMPLISHMENTS, WHICH WERE MANY; SHE HAD TRUE HUMILITY.
DOES THAT SOUND LIKE A CHRISTIAN TO YOU? IF IT DOES, MAYBE WE ARE MISSING THE POINT. BECAUSE YOU COULD DESCRIBE A BUDDHIST, AN HINDU, A MUSLIM, A JEW – EVEN AN ATHEIST – IF YOU SUBSTITUTE MEDITATION FOR PRAYER – WITH THE SAME STATEMENTS. THERE IS A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A REALLY GOOD PERSON AND A CHRISTIAN.
OF COURSE WE HOPE CHRISTIANS ARE REALLY GOOD PERSONS. BUT FOR A CHRISTIAN, THE LIFE HE OR SHE LEADS IS A CONSEQUENCE OF BEING A CHRISTIAN, NOT A PREREQUISITE. AND MAKE NO MISTAKE, YOU CAN FIND REALLY GOOD PEOPLE IN EVERY RELIGION, AND EVEN AMONG THE NON-RELIGIOUS.
BEING A CHRISTIAN IS DIFFERENT. BEING A CHRISTIAN HAS TO DO WITH EATING AND DRINKING THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST.
WE CATHOLICS, ALONG WITH THE ORTHODOX AND A FEW OTHER BRANCHES OF CHRISTIANITY, BELIEVE THAT WHEN WE CONSUME THE BREAD AND WINE WHICH ARE CONSECRATED BY THE PRIEST IN HOLY MASS WE EAT HIS BODY AND DRINK HIS BLOOD. WE HAVE BEEN LISTENING OVER THE PAST FEW SUNDAYS, TO JESUS AS HE INSISTS THAT THE BREAD THAT HE GIVES IS HIS BODY, AND THE WINE THAT HE OFFERS US IS HIS BLOOD, AND UNLESS WE EAT HIS FLESH AND DRINK HIS BLOOD, WE WILL NOT HAVE LIFE WITHIN, WE WILL NEVER SEE THE FATHER, WHOM ONLY THE SON CAN SEE. AND NEXT WEEK WE WILL HEAR HIS FOLLOWERS SAYING, SORROWFULLY, “THIS IS A HARD SAYING; WHO CAN BELIEVE IT?” AND THEY WILL WALK AWAY.
IT ISN'T HARD FOR ME TO BELIEVE THAT THE BREAD AND WINE BECOME THE BODY AND BLOOD OF OUR SAVIOUR. IF I BELIEVE HE IS GOD, WHY NOT? GOD CAN DO ANYTHING. BUT PERHAPS IT IS MUCH HARDER FOR ME TO UNDERSTAND WHY – WHY DOES HE INSIST WE EAT HIS FLESH AND DRINK HIS BLOOD, THE FLESH THAT IS FOOD INDEED, THE BLOOD THAT IS DRINK INDEED?
IT IS TRUE THAT JESUS CAME INTO THE WORLD, SUFFERED AND DIED, FOR YOU AND I. BUT JESUS CAME INTO THE WORLD PRIMARILY TO ESTABLISH THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, THE KINGDOM IN WHICH GOD WOULD RULE FOR ALL ETERNITY. IN A PERFECT KINGDOM, IT IS NECESSARY TO HAVE PERFECT SUBJECTS; AND THE ONLY PERFECT SUBJECT OF THE FATHER IS THE SON. SO THROUGH THE MIRACLE OF THE EUCHARIST, JESUS MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR YOU AND I TO BECOME TRUE SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THE FATHER. WHEN WE EAT AND DRINK HIS FLESH AND BLOOD, WE BECOME PART OF HIM, WE LITERALLY BECOME PART OF HIS BODY, BLOOD, SOUL, AND DIVINITY; WE HAVE HIS LIFE WITHIN US, WE BECOME EMPOWERED TO SEE THE FATHER, WE BECOME MINISTERS OF THE KINGDOM. AND YES, WHEN WE EAT HIS BODY AND DRINK HIS BLOOD, WE BECOME MORE LIKE JESUS, IF WE ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN; AND IN DOING SO, WE ARE SEEN TO THE OUTSIDE WORLD AS “GOOD PERSONS”.
BUT THERE IS A DIFFERENCE. A GOOD PERSON ALWAYS TRIES TO DO WHAT SEEMS TO BE THE BETTER COURSE OF ACTION; A GOOD PERSON DEVELOPS A REFINED CONSCIENCE, BY READING, BY FORMING GOOD HABITS, BY THINKING ABOUT THINGS; AND THEN THROUGH HIS WILL POWER LIVES IN THAT WAY. BUT A SUBJECT OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN FIRST OF ALL LISTENS – LISTENS TO THE VOICE OF GOD WITHIN, WAITS FOR THE BREATH OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. AND SOMETIMES THIS RESULTS IN ACTIONS WHICH MIGHT BE DIFFERENT FROM THOSE CHOSEN BY A GOOD PERSON. THERE ARE SEVERAL EXAMPLES FROM THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS. ONE OF MY FAVORITES HAS TO DO WITH MARGARET OF SCOTLAND. FROM A VERY YOUNG AGE, SHE DESIRED TO BE A CLOISTERED SISTER, AND DEVOTE HER LIFE TO PRAYER AND SACRIFICE. SHE FOUND HERSELF AND HER COMPANIONS BEING HELD BY THE KING OF SCOTLAND, WHO KEPT FINDING EXCUSES AS TO WHY THEY COULD NOT CONTINUE ON THEIR JOURNEY. FINALLY HER CONFESSOR TOLD HER THAT THE KING WAS IN LOVE WITH HER, AND PERHAPS SHE WAS CALLED TO MARRY HIM. AFTER A GREAT DEAL OF PRAYER AND SOUL SEARCHING, SHE CONSENTED, AND BECAME A GREAT SAINT LIVING AS A WIFE, A MOTHER, AND A QUEEN. AND JESUS LIVED STRONGLY IN ST. THERESE OF LISEAUX; SHE DESCRIBES A TIME WHEN SHE WAS SITTING WITH ANOTHER SISTER, AND THE MOTHER SUPERIOR INVITED ONE OF THEM TO GO TO TOWN TO HELP WITH THE SHOPPING. THERESE' FIRST INSTINCT WAS TO LET THE OTHER SISTER VOLUNTEER; THIS WOULD BE A GOOD DECISION, IN KEEPING WITH HUMILITY. BUT INSTEAD, SHE JUMPED UP AND CRIED OUT, “LET ME GO!” AND THE MOTHER SUPERIOR REPRIMANDED HER FOR UNSEEMLY BEHAVIOR, AND INVITED THE OTHER SISTER TO GO. THERESE CHOSE AN ACTION WHICH ACCOMPLISHED HER FIRST PURPOSE, BUT ALSO LEFT NO POSSIBILITY THAT SHE MIGHT BE ADMIRED FOR WHAT SHE DID.
JESUS GAVE US HIS REAL BODY AND BLOOD FOR OUR FOOD AND DRINK. THIS SACRAMENT IS TO CHANGE US INTO JESUS SO THAT WE CAN WORK TOGETHER TO BRING ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD. A REAL CHRISTIAN FEEDS ON THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS; AND COOPERATES WITH HIS GRACE; AND GRADUALLY BECOMES JESUS. AND THE REASON FOR THIS IS SO THAT THE KINGDOM OF GOD WILL BE BROUGHT ABOUT ON THIS EARTH. JUST AS JESUS LIVED EVERY MOMENT TO CARRY OUT THE WILL OF THE FATHER, THAT IS OUR CHARGE AS WELL, MADE POSSIBLE BY BEING TRANSFORMED INTO JESUS THROUGH THIS SACRAMENT.
THANK GOD THAT THERE ARE MILLIONS OF NICE PERSONS ON THE EARTH; BUT PRAISE GOD BECAUSE HE MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR THERE TO BE CHRISTIANS; PEOPLE WHO ARE ON THE WAY TO BE TRANSFORMED INTO JESUS THROUGH FEEDING ON HIS BODY AND BLOOD; AND IN THE PROCESS OF BECOMING JESUS, THEY INCREASINGLY SEEK TO BRING ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B
JOHN 6:24-35
HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT HOW PECULIAR OUR CATHOLIC CHURCH IS? HOW STRANGE WE MUST LOOK TO SOMEONE OF ANOTHER RELIGION – OR EVEN TO MANY OTHER CHRISTIANS? AND ITS BECAUSE WE INSIST THAT THROUGH THE POWER GOD GIVES OUR PRIESTS, BREAD BECOMES THE BODY OF CHRIST, AND WINE BECOMES HIS BLOOD. WELL, I GUESS WE DON'T ALL BELIEVE IT. THEY DID A POLL AND THOSE WHO CALL THEMSELVES PRACTICING CATHOLICS WERE ABOUT EVENLY DIVIDED AS TO WHETHER THEY BELIEVED THIS CENTRAL TEACHING, OR WHETHER THEY CONSIDERED THE WHOLE THING JUST A SYMBOL. AND IT APPEARS THAT DESPITE THE EFFORTS OF OUR FAITH FORMATION PROGRAMS, THE YOUNGER GENERATION OF CATHOLICS CONSIDER THE EUCHARIST MERELY A SYMBOL IN A RATIO OF ABOUT 3 TO 1. AND I WOULD SUSPECT THAT EVEN AMONG THOSE WHO SAY THAT THEY BELIEVE THE EUCHARIST IS THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST, NOT JUST A SYMBOL, FOR MANY IT'S JUST LIP SERVICE. BEGINNING WITH LAST SUNDAY, WE ARE HEARING EXERPTS FROM THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, IN WHICH JESUS LAYS OUT VERY CLEARLY THAT HE IS THE BREAD COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, THAT UNLESS WE EAT HIS BODY AND DRINK HIS BLOOD, WE CANNOT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE; AND HE IS SO INSISTENT ON THIS THAT WHEN HIS FOLLOWERS BEGIN TO DESERT HIM, BECAUSE THIS IS SUCH A HARD THING TO BELIEVE, HE INVITES HIS APOSTLES TO LEAVE AS WELL, IF THEY CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT HE IS SAYING. AND THEY REPLY, “LORD, TO WHOM SHALL WE GO? YOU HAVE THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE.” AND THEY BELIEVE, AND THEY LEARN AT THE LAST SUPPER WHAT THEY HAVE BELIEVED IN FAITH, AGAINST ALL LOGIC AND EXPERIENCE; THEY LEARN THAT JESUS CREATES A SACRAMENT, AND LEAVES HIS CHURCH WITH THE POWER TO CALL HIM INTO ITS MIDST WHENEVER IT CHOOSES TO DO SO.
JESUS TOLD HIS DISCIPLES THAT HE WOULD BE WITH THEM ALL DAYS, EVEN TO THE END OF THE WORLD; AND HE DIDN'T MEAN AS A GHOSTLY PRESENCE, AS A SET OF RULES TO FOLLOW, AS A WARM FUZZY FEELING IN ONE'S HEART; HE MEANT THAT HE WOULD BE WITH US, BODY AND BLOOD, SOUL AND DIVINITY, FIRST OF ALL, IN THE BREAD AND WINE, THEN IN THE WORD, AND FINALLY, IN HIS PEOPLE. BUT FIRST OF ALL, IN THE BREAD AND WINE.
IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN IN LOVE, YOU KNOW THAT ITS VERY HARD TO CULTIVATE A LOVING RELATIONSHIP OVER THE PHONE OR THE INTERNET; YOU LONG TO BE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE ONE YOU LOVE. IF YOU KNOW THE PAIN OF HAVING A SON OR DAUGHTER LEAVE HOME AND GO OFF ON THEIR OWN, YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THE PHYSICAL PRESENCE OF A LOVED ONE MEANS. AND THAT IS WHY JESUS WANTS TO BE WITH US, BODY AND BLOOD, SOUL AND DIVINITY; BECAUSE THE RELATIONSHIP HE WANTS WITH US IS A RELATIONSHIP OF DEEPENING LOVE, A RELATIONSHIP OF TWO BECOMING ONE. FOR JESUS THE MAN WHO LOVED US SO MUCH HE DIED FOR US, HE NEEDS TO BE PRESENT TO US TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR OUR LOVE TO GROW; FOR JESUS THE GOD, HE CAN DO THIS THROUGH HIS PRESENCE UNDER THE APPEARANCE OF BREAD AND WINE.
BUT JESUS COMES INTO OUR MIDST; HE IS PRESENT HERE, JUST LIKE HE WAS AT THAT LAST SUPPER, JUST LIKE HE WAS WHEN HE WALKED WITH HIS APOSTLES. HE IS REALLY HERE; AND IF HE IS NOT, IF THIS IS JUST A SYMBOL, THEN WE ARE ALL FOOLS. THOSE OF US WHO BELIEVE WOULD BE FOOLS BECAUSE WE BELIEVE SOMETHING THAT ISN'T TRUE; AND THOSE OF US WHO DON'T BELIEVE ARE FOOLS BECAUSE IF SERMONS AND MUSIC ARE ALL THERE IS, THEN YOU COULD BE SOMEWHERE WHERE THESE TAKE PRIORITY INSTEAD OF SPENDING SO MUCH TIME AROUND A PIECE OF BREAD AND A CUP OF WINE. HE IS REALLY HERE, BECAUSE WE HAVE A RECORD OF HIS WORDS, AND WE HAVE THE PEOPLE OF THE EARLY CHURCH WHO BELIEVED THIS AND WROTE ABOUT IT. LISTEN TO WHAT ST AUGUSTINE SAID IN THE THIRD CENTURY: “YOUR ONLY SON HAS REDEEMED ME WITH HIS BLOOD; LET NOT THE PROUD LOOK DOWN ON ME, FOR I AM MINDFUL OF MY RANSOM. I EAT IT, I DRINK IT, I DISPENSE IT TO OTHERS, AND AS A POOR MAN I LONG TO BE FILLED WITH IT AMONG THOSE WHO ARE FED AND FEASTED.” I DON'T THINK HE WAS TALKING ABOUT A SYMBOL, DO YOU?
JESUS WANTS US TO LOVE HIM LIKE HE LOVES US; HE WANTS US TO COME INTO HIS PRESENCE, BECAUSE FOR HUMAN BEINGS, PHYSICAL PRESENCE IS WHERE LOVE GROWS. IN THE OLDEN DAYS, WE CALLED IT “CULTIVATING A DEVOTION TO THE EUCHARIST”. BUT THERE IS NOTHING MAGIC ABOUT THIS, NOTHING SECRET OR HIDDEN; IT IS JUST A MATTER OF ACTING OUT WHAT WE SAY WE BELIEVE. JESUS IS HERE, IN THE BREAD AND THE WINE; AND HE REMAINS HERE, IN THE TABERNACLE, EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR EXCEPT GOOD FRIDAY – YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND HIM. AND IF YOU DRIVE PAST THE CHURCH, SAY, “HELLO, JESUS, HOW ARE YOU?” AND IF YOU HAVE A FEW MINUTES BEFORE OR AFTER MASS, SPEAK TO HIM; HE'S WAITING. AND IF YOU REALLY LOVE HIM, MAKE A LITTLE TIME FOR HIM, AND COME MAKE A VISIT, MAYBE WHILE YOU ARE OUT WALKING, OR ON THE WAY TO THE GROCERY STORE. AND IF YOU REALLY WANT TO BUILD UP YOUR LOVE, COME AND SIT IN HIS PRESENCE WHEN THE EUCHARIST IS EXPOSED ON TUESDAY OR ON FIRST FRIDAY, AND SPEAK TO HIM ABOUT WHATEVER IS ON YOUR MIND, AND HE WILL SPEAK TO YOU AS WELL.
CAN YOU IMAGINE, BACK WHEN YOU WERE MADLY IN LOVE WITH YOUR SPOUSE, SAYING “I'D RATHER NOT SPEND TIME WITH YOU, BECAUSE I HAVE OTHER THINGS I'D RATHER DO.” I GUESS IF YOU HAD SAID THAT, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN MARRIED. CAN YOU IMAGINE YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER CALLING AND SAYING, “I'D LIKE TO COME FOR A VISIT,” AND YOU REPLY, “I'D RATHER YOU DIDN'T, BECAUSE I'D RATHER NOT SEE YOU.” IT ISN'T ANY DIFFERENT WITH JESUS, OUR LORD, OUR GOD, OUR BROTHER, THE ONE WHO SAID THAT EVERYONE WHO DOES THE WILL OF THE FATHER IS A MEMBER OF HIS FAMILY. HE IS THE BREAD COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN; HE IS THE GREATEST LOVER WE COULD HAVE. AND HE WAITS IN THE TABERNACLE, IN THE LONELY CHURCH, FOR A FEW MOMENTS ALONE WITH YOU.
WE CATHOLICS HAVE A PECULIAR RELIGION; WE CLAIM THAT WHAT LOOKS LIKE BREAD IS THE REAL PRESENCE OF THE MAN WHO FOUNDED OUR CHURCH, THE MAN WHO IS GOD. TO A NON-CATHOLIC, THAT SOUNDS CRAZY. BUT IF YOU ARE NOT A CATHOLIC, YOU ARE QUICKLY REASSURED; BECAUSE MOST OF US DON'T ACT LIKE WE BELIEVE IT.
HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT HOW PECULIAR OUR CATHOLIC CHURCH IS? HOW STRANGE WE MUST LOOK TO SOMEONE OF ANOTHER RELIGION – OR EVEN TO MANY OTHER CHRISTIANS? AND ITS BECAUSE WE INSIST THAT THROUGH THE POWER GOD GIVES OUR PRIESTS, BREAD BECOMES THE BODY OF CHRIST, AND WINE BECOMES HIS BLOOD. WELL, I GUESS WE DON'T ALL BELIEVE IT. THEY DID A POLL AND THOSE WHO CALL THEMSELVES PRACTICING CATHOLICS WERE ABOUT EVENLY DIVIDED AS TO WHETHER THEY BELIEVED THIS CENTRAL TEACHING, OR WHETHER THEY CONSIDERED THE WHOLE THING JUST A SYMBOL. AND IT APPEARS THAT DESPITE THE EFFORTS OF OUR FAITH FORMATION PROGRAMS, THE YOUNGER GENERATION OF CATHOLICS CONSIDER THE EUCHARIST MERELY A SYMBOL IN A RATIO OF ABOUT 3 TO 1. AND I WOULD SUSPECT THAT EVEN AMONG THOSE WHO SAY THAT THEY BELIEVE THE EUCHARIST IS THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST, NOT JUST A SYMBOL, FOR MANY IT'S JUST LIP SERVICE. BEGINNING WITH LAST SUNDAY, WE ARE HEARING EXERPTS FROM THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, IN WHICH JESUS LAYS OUT VERY CLEARLY THAT HE IS THE BREAD COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, THAT UNLESS WE EAT HIS BODY AND DRINK HIS BLOOD, WE CANNOT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE; AND HE IS SO INSISTENT ON THIS THAT WHEN HIS FOLLOWERS BEGIN TO DESERT HIM, BECAUSE THIS IS SUCH A HARD THING TO BELIEVE, HE INVITES HIS APOSTLES TO LEAVE AS WELL, IF THEY CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT HE IS SAYING. AND THEY REPLY, “LORD, TO WHOM SHALL WE GO? YOU HAVE THE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE.” AND THEY BELIEVE, AND THEY LEARN AT THE LAST SUPPER WHAT THEY HAVE BELIEVED IN FAITH, AGAINST ALL LOGIC AND EXPERIENCE; THEY LEARN THAT JESUS CREATES A SACRAMENT, AND LEAVES HIS CHURCH WITH THE POWER TO CALL HIM INTO ITS MIDST WHENEVER IT CHOOSES TO DO SO.
JESUS TOLD HIS DISCIPLES THAT HE WOULD BE WITH THEM ALL DAYS, EVEN TO THE END OF THE WORLD; AND HE DIDN'T MEAN AS A GHOSTLY PRESENCE, AS A SET OF RULES TO FOLLOW, AS A WARM FUZZY FEELING IN ONE'S HEART; HE MEANT THAT HE WOULD BE WITH US, BODY AND BLOOD, SOUL AND DIVINITY, FIRST OF ALL, IN THE BREAD AND WINE, THEN IN THE WORD, AND FINALLY, IN HIS PEOPLE. BUT FIRST OF ALL, IN THE BREAD AND WINE.
IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN IN LOVE, YOU KNOW THAT ITS VERY HARD TO CULTIVATE A LOVING RELATIONSHIP OVER THE PHONE OR THE INTERNET; YOU LONG TO BE IN THE PRESENCE OF THE ONE YOU LOVE. IF YOU KNOW THE PAIN OF HAVING A SON OR DAUGHTER LEAVE HOME AND GO OFF ON THEIR OWN, YOU KNOW HOW MUCH THE PHYSICAL PRESENCE OF A LOVED ONE MEANS. AND THAT IS WHY JESUS WANTS TO BE WITH US, BODY AND BLOOD, SOUL AND DIVINITY; BECAUSE THE RELATIONSHIP HE WANTS WITH US IS A RELATIONSHIP OF DEEPENING LOVE, A RELATIONSHIP OF TWO BECOMING ONE. FOR JESUS THE MAN WHO LOVED US SO MUCH HE DIED FOR US, HE NEEDS TO BE PRESENT TO US TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR OUR LOVE TO GROW; FOR JESUS THE GOD, HE CAN DO THIS THROUGH HIS PRESENCE UNDER THE APPEARANCE OF BREAD AND WINE.
BUT JESUS COMES INTO OUR MIDST; HE IS PRESENT HERE, JUST LIKE HE WAS AT THAT LAST SUPPER, JUST LIKE HE WAS WHEN HE WALKED WITH HIS APOSTLES. HE IS REALLY HERE; AND IF HE IS NOT, IF THIS IS JUST A SYMBOL, THEN WE ARE ALL FOOLS. THOSE OF US WHO BELIEVE WOULD BE FOOLS BECAUSE WE BELIEVE SOMETHING THAT ISN'T TRUE; AND THOSE OF US WHO DON'T BELIEVE ARE FOOLS BECAUSE IF SERMONS AND MUSIC ARE ALL THERE IS, THEN YOU COULD BE SOMEWHERE WHERE THESE TAKE PRIORITY INSTEAD OF SPENDING SO MUCH TIME AROUND A PIECE OF BREAD AND A CUP OF WINE. HE IS REALLY HERE, BECAUSE WE HAVE A RECORD OF HIS WORDS, AND WE HAVE THE PEOPLE OF THE EARLY CHURCH WHO BELIEVED THIS AND WROTE ABOUT IT. LISTEN TO WHAT ST AUGUSTINE SAID IN THE THIRD CENTURY: “YOUR ONLY SON HAS REDEEMED ME WITH HIS BLOOD; LET NOT THE PROUD LOOK DOWN ON ME, FOR I AM MINDFUL OF MY RANSOM. I EAT IT, I DRINK IT, I DISPENSE IT TO OTHERS, AND AS A POOR MAN I LONG TO BE FILLED WITH IT AMONG THOSE WHO ARE FED AND FEASTED.” I DON'T THINK HE WAS TALKING ABOUT A SYMBOL, DO YOU?
JESUS WANTS US TO LOVE HIM LIKE HE LOVES US; HE WANTS US TO COME INTO HIS PRESENCE, BECAUSE FOR HUMAN BEINGS, PHYSICAL PRESENCE IS WHERE LOVE GROWS. IN THE OLDEN DAYS, WE CALLED IT “CULTIVATING A DEVOTION TO THE EUCHARIST”. BUT THERE IS NOTHING MAGIC ABOUT THIS, NOTHING SECRET OR HIDDEN; IT IS JUST A MATTER OF ACTING OUT WHAT WE SAY WE BELIEVE. JESUS IS HERE, IN THE BREAD AND THE WINE; AND HE REMAINS HERE, IN THE TABERNACLE, EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR EXCEPT GOOD FRIDAY – YOU KNOW WHERE TO FIND HIM. AND IF YOU DRIVE PAST THE CHURCH, SAY, “HELLO, JESUS, HOW ARE YOU?” AND IF YOU HAVE A FEW MINUTES BEFORE OR AFTER MASS, SPEAK TO HIM; HE'S WAITING. AND IF YOU REALLY LOVE HIM, MAKE A LITTLE TIME FOR HIM, AND COME MAKE A VISIT, MAYBE WHILE YOU ARE OUT WALKING, OR ON THE WAY TO THE GROCERY STORE. AND IF YOU REALLY WANT TO BUILD UP YOUR LOVE, COME AND SIT IN HIS PRESENCE WHEN THE EUCHARIST IS EXPOSED ON TUESDAY OR ON FIRST FRIDAY, AND SPEAK TO HIM ABOUT WHATEVER IS ON YOUR MIND, AND HE WILL SPEAK TO YOU AS WELL.
CAN YOU IMAGINE, BACK WHEN YOU WERE MADLY IN LOVE WITH YOUR SPOUSE, SAYING “I'D RATHER NOT SPEND TIME WITH YOU, BECAUSE I HAVE OTHER THINGS I'D RATHER DO.” I GUESS IF YOU HAD SAID THAT, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE GOTTEN MARRIED. CAN YOU IMAGINE YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER CALLING AND SAYING, “I'D LIKE TO COME FOR A VISIT,” AND YOU REPLY, “I'D RATHER YOU DIDN'T, BECAUSE I'D RATHER NOT SEE YOU.” IT ISN'T ANY DIFFERENT WITH JESUS, OUR LORD, OUR GOD, OUR BROTHER, THE ONE WHO SAID THAT EVERYONE WHO DOES THE WILL OF THE FATHER IS A MEMBER OF HIS FAMILY. HE IS THE BREAD COME DOWN FROM HEAVEN; HE IS THE GREATEST LOVER WE COULD HAVE. AND HE WAITS IN THE TABERNACLE, IN THE LONELY CHURCH, FOR A FEW MOMENTS ALONE WITH YOU.
WE CATHOLICS HAVE A PECULIAR RELIGION; WE CLAIM THAT WHAT LOOKS LIKE BREAD IS THE REAL PRESENCE OF THE MAN WHO FOUNDED OUR CHURCH, THE MAN WHO IS GOD. TO A NON-CATHOLIC, THAT SOUNDS CRAZY. BUT IF YOU ARE NOT A CATHOLIC, YOU ARE QUICKLY REASSURED; BECAUSE MOST OF US DON'T ACT LIKE WE BELIEVE IT.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B
JOHN 6:1-15
I WOULD GUESS THAT I GET AN EMAIL FROM ONE OF MY FRIENDS OR RELATIVES AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK PROMISING THAT IF I WILL FORWARD THE CONTENTS OF THE EMAIL TO TEN OF MY FRIENDS, SOMETHING GOOD WILL HAPPEN; AND SOMETIMES I LEARN THAT IF I DON'T, SOMETHING BAD WILL HAPPEN TO ME. YOU WILL SEE OCCASIONAL ADS IN THE NEWSPAPER PROMISING THAT IF WE SAY A PARTICULAR PRAYER IT WILL BE ANSWERED. AND NOW AND THEN YOU WILL FIND A BROCHURE IN THE CHURCH, STATING THAT A PARTICULAR PRAYER HAS NEVER BEEN KNOWN TO FAIL.
THERE ARE A LOT OF OUR FELLOW CHRISTIANS WHO BELIEVE THERE ARE WAYS TO GET GOD TO DO SOMETHING THEY WANT. UNFORTUNATELY THAT IS A TENDENCY IN EVERY HUMAN BEING, NOT JUST CHRISTIANS. SOMETIMES IT IS TO SAY A CERTAIN PRAYER, OR TO PERFORM A CERTAIN RITUAL. WE MIGHT LAUGH AT SOME OF THE PRACTICES OF PRIMITIVE PEOPLE, BUT THERE MAY NOT BE THAT MUCH DIFFERENCE. BUT SOMETIMES IT IS MORE SUBTLE. WE BELIEVE THAT IF WE LIVE A CERTAIN WAY, SAY OUR PRAYERS, GET TO MASS ON SUNDAY, WE WILL GET GOD TO TAKE CARE OF US, AND AT LEAST GET US INTO HEAVEN.
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MIRACLES AND MAGIC. MAGIC IS WHEN WE SAY OR DO SOMETHING SO THAT GOD WILL DO SOMETHING. MAGIC JUST DOESN'T WORK. GOD CAN'T BE MANIPULATED, BY DEFINITION. HE CAN'T BE COERCED OR FLATTERED OR OTHERWISE PERSUADED TO DO SOMETHING CONTRARY TO HIS WILL; AND AT THE SAME TIME, HIS WILL ALWAYS WILL BE DONE, SOONER OR LATER; WE CAN'T CHANGE THAT.
BUT A MIRACLE IS A DIFFERENT ANIMAL. A MIRACLE BEGINS WITH SOMEONE TAKING A STEP IN TRUST, AND GOD CHOOSING TO RESPOND TO A NEED IN HIS OWN WAY. LETS SEE HOW THAT WORKS IN THE STORY OF THE FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND.
JESUS IS AWARE OF A NEED, A CROWD OF PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T EATEN IN A WHILE. THEY AREN'T STARVING TO DEATH; THEY ARE MERELY HUNGRY. I'LL BET THERE WASN'T A SINGLE PERSON IN THAT CROWD WHO ACTUALLY EXPECTED TO GET FED. BUT JESUS WANTS TO FEED THEM. AND THAT'S NOT SURPRISING; JESUS IS THE PERFECT REFLECTION OF THE FATHER, AND THE FATHER WANTS TO FULFILL HIS CHILDREN'S NEEDS. AND JESUS TURNS TO HIS APOSTLES AND SAYS, “WHERE CAN WE BUY ENOUGH FOOD FOR THEM TO EAT?” NOW JOHN, THE AUTHOR OF THIS GOSPEL, DOESN'T WANT ANY OF US TO FORGET THAT JESUS IS TRULY GOD. SO HE TELLS US THAT JESUS SAID THIS TO TEST THEM, BECAUSE HE ALREADY KNEW WHAT HE WAS GOING TO DO. I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE SO, MAYBE NOT. PHILIP SAYS “IT CAN'T BE DONE.” HAD THE STORY STOPPED THERE, IT WOULD HAVE NEVER MADE IT INTO THE GOSPEL. GOD WANTED TO FEED HIS PEOPLE, BUT NO ONE WAS STEPPING FORWARD IN TRUST TO DO WHAT HE OR SHE KNEW GOD WANTED DONE. BUT ANDREW STEPS FORWARD AND SAYS, “HERE IS SOME BREAD AND SOME FISH, NOT ANYWHERE NEAR WHAT WE NEED, BUT ITS A BEGINNING.” AND ANDREW HAS TAKEN A STEP IN TRUST, AND GOD NOW CHOOSES TO RESPOND. ANDREW, YOU WILL NOTICE, DID NOT SAY, “WELL LORD, JUST DO A MIRACLE.” BUT HE DID WHAT HE COULD TO DEAL WITH WHAT JESUS HAD IDENTIFIED AS HIS DESIRE – TO FEED THESE PEOPLE. AND THEN THE MIRACLE TOOK PLACE.
ANOTHER THING ABOUT A MIRACLE IS THAT IT HAPPENS THE WAY GOD WANTS IT TO, NOT THE WAY WE WOULD LIKE IT TO HAPPEN. JESUS DID NOT SET OUT A SMORGASBOARD OF FINE FOODS AND RICH WINES, ALTHOUGH WE ALL WOULD AGREE THAT HE COULD HAVE. NO, EVERYONE GOT SOME COARSE PEASANT BREAD; NO BUTTER OR JAM; AND SOME DRIED FISH, NO TARTAR SAUCE. IT WAS WHAT THEY ALL NEEDED; A SOURCE OF PROTEIN AND CARBOHYDRATE; SOMETHING TO TIDE THEM OVER. IT WAS ADEQUATE AND FILLED THEM UP. THE MIRACLE WAS WHAT JESUS WANTED, NOT WHAT THE PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE WANTED IF THEY HAD BEEN ASKED.
AND FINALLY, I AM CONVINCED THAT A REAL MIRACLE IS NOT JUST GOD MEETING A PERCEIVED NEED OF HIS PEOPLE; A REAL MIRACLE ENLIGHTENS; IT SHOWS US SOMETHING WE DID NOT KNOW. AND THIS MIRACLE IS NO EXCEPTION. IT OF COURSE SHOWS THE PEOPLE THAT JESUS IS NOT JUST A WANDERING PREACHER, OR EVEN A WONDER-WORKER. WHY WAS THERE SO MUCH LEFT OVER, MUCH MORE THAN THEY HAD EVEN STARTED WITH? THAT IS THE REVELATION. GOD FREELY MEETS THE NEEDS OF HIS PEOPLE, BUT IN DOING SO, PROVIDES THEM WITH THE MEANS TO DO EVEN MORE. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE BASKETS OF LEFT-OVERS, BUT THEY MUST HAVE BEEN USED FOR SOMETHING, SINCE JESUS HAD THEM GATHERED UP SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT GO TO WASTE. MAYBE THEY WENT TO THE POOR, OR MAYBE THEY MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR THE APOSTLES TO EAT FOR A FEW DAYS, WHO KNOWS.
IN A MIRACLE, A CREATURE, THAT'S YOU AND I, DOES SOMETHING TO MEET A NEED THAT WE KNOW GOD DESIRES TO BE MET; AND WE KNOW GOD WANTS AN END TO HUNGER, POVERTY, SADNESS, OPPRESSION, SICKNESS – YOU AND I KNOW WHAT GOD WANTS FOR HIS PEOPLE. WE DO SOMETHING EVEN IF WE KNOW THAT WE CAN'T POSSIBLY MAKE THAT MUCH DIFFERENCE. BUT WE'VE DONE SOMETHING. AND GOD MAY CHOOSE TO TAKE WHAT LITTLE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO, AND WHAT HAPPENS WILL BE BEYOND OUR WILDEST DREAMS. A NUN FEELS THAT GOD HAS CALLED HER TO CARE FOR THE DYING ON THE STREETS OF CALCUTTA, AND SHE SETS OUT, DOING WHAT SHE CAN. AND GOD WORKS A MIRACLE AND THE WORK SHE STARTED GOES ON ALL OVER THE WORLD. A SIMPLE ITALIAN PARTY BOY HEARS GOD CALL HIM TO REBUILD HIS CHURCH, AND GOES OUT TO ACTUALLY REBUILD CHURCHES – AND THE FRANCISCAN MOVEMENT IS PERHAPS THE MOST REVOLUTIONARY EVENT IN THE HISTORY OF CHRISTENDOM. AND A FATHER BRINGS HIS DAUGHTER AT GREAT EXPENSE TO EXPERTS TO HEAL HER HEART, EVEN THOUGH SHE HAS A FATAL DISEASE; AND MANY YEARS LATER, SHE IS WELL.
THE MIRACLE OF THE LOAVES AND THE FISHES SHOWS US THAT IF WE TAKE THOSE FIRST HALTING STEPS TOWARDS MEETING A NEED THAT WE SEE AROUND US, IF IT IS PART OF GOD'S PLAN WE MAY WITNESS GOD BREAKING IN TO OUR WORLD ONCE AGAIN.
AND EVERY TIME WE CELEBRATE MASS WE ARE REMINDED OF THIS; WE BRING A LITTLE BREAD AND A LITTLE WINE, AND OFFER IT TO GOD, AND GOD RESPONDS BY GIVING US HIS SON, NOT OVER AND OVER AGAIN, BUT ONCE, ONCE FOR ALL ETERNITY, TO FEED OUR HUNGRY SPIRITS.
I WOULD GUESS THAT I GET AN EMAIL FROM ONE OF MY FRIENDS OR RELATIVES AT LEAST ONCE A WEEK PROMISING THAT IF I WILL FORWARD THE CONTENTS OF THE EMAIL TO TEN OF MY FRIENDS, SOMETHING GOOD WILL HAPPEN; AND SOMETIMES I LEARN THAT IF I DON'T, SOMETHING BAD WILL HAPPEN TO ME. YOU WILL SEE OCCASIONAL ADS IN THE NEWSPAPER PROMISING THAT IF WE SAY A PARTICULAR PRAYER IT WILL BE ANSWERED. AND NOW AND THEN YOU WILL FIND A BROCHURE IN THE CHURCH, STATING THAT A PARTICULAR PRAYER HAS NEVER BEEN KNOWN TO FAIL.
THERE ARE A LOT OF OUR FELLOW CHRISTIANS WHO BELIEVE THERE ARE WAYS TO GET GOD TO DO SOMETHING THEY WANT. UNFORTUNATELY THAT IS A TENDENCY IN EVERY HUMAN BEING, NOT JUST CHRISTIANS. SOMETIMES IT IS TO SAY A CERTAIN PRAYER, OR TO PERFORM A CERTAIN RITUAL. WE MIGHT LAUGH AT SOME OF THE PRACTICES OF PRIMITIVE PEOPLE, BUT THERE MAY NOT BE THAT MUCH DIFFERENCE. BUT SOMETIMES IT IS MORE SUBTLE. WE BELIEVE THAT IF WE LIVE A CERTAIN WAY, SAY OUR PRAYERS, GET TO MASS ON SUNDAY, WE WILL GET GOD TO TAKE CARE OF US, AND AT LEAST GET US INTO HEAVEN.
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MIRACLES AND MAGIC. MAGIC IS WHEN WE SAY OR DO SOMETHING SO THAT GOD WILL DO SOMETHING. MAGIC JUST DOESN'T WORK. GOD CAN'T BE MANIPULATED, BY DEFINITION. HE CAN'T BE COERCED OR FLATTERED OR OTHERWISE PERSUADED TO DO SOMETHING CONTRARY TO HIS WILL; AND AT THE SAME TIME, HIS WILL ALWAYS WILL BE DONE, SOONER OR LATER; WE CAN'T CHANGE THAT.
BUT A MIRACLE IS A DIFFERENT ANIMAL. A MIRACLE BEGINS WITH SOMEONE TAKING A STEP IN TRUST, AND GOD CHOOSING TO RESPOND TO A NEED IN HIS OWN WAY. LETS SEE HOW THAT WORKS IN THE STORY OF THE FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND.
JESUS IS AWARE OF A NEED, A CROWD OF PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T EATEN IN A WHILE. THEY AREN'T STARVING TO DEATH; THEY ARE MERELY HUNGRY. I'LL BET THERE WASN'T A SINGLE PERSON IN THAT CROWD WHO ACTUALLY EXPECTED TO GET FED. BUT JESUS WANTS TO FEED THEM. AND THAT'S NOT SURPRISING; JESUS IS THE PERFECT REFLECTION OF THE FATHER, AND THE FATHER WANTS TO FULFILL HIS CHILDREN'S NEEDS. AND JESUS TURNS TO HIS APOSTLES AND SAYS, “WHERE CAN WE BUY ENOUGH FOOD FOR THEM TO EAT?” NOW JOHN, THE AUTHOR OF THIS GOSPEL, DOESN'T WANT ANY OF US TO FORGET THAT JESUS IS TRULY GOD. SO HE TELLS US THAT JESUS SAID THIS TO TEST THEM, BECAUSE HE ALREADY KNEW WHAT HE WAS GOING TO DO. I DON'T KNOW, MAYBE SO, MAYBE NOT. PHILIP SAYS “IT CAN'T BE DONE.” HAD THE STORY STOPPED THERE, IT WOULD HAVE NEVER MADE IT INTO THE GOSPEL. GOD WANTED TO FEED HIS PEOPLE, BUT NO ONE WAS STEPPING FORWARD IN TRUST TO DO WHAT HE OR SHE KNEW GOD WANTED DONE. BUT ANDREW STEPS FORWARD AND SAYS, “HERE IS SOME BREAD AND SOME FISH, NOT ANYWHERE NEAR WHAT WE NEED, BUT ITS A BEGINNING.” AND ANDREW HAS TAKEN A STEP IN TRUST, AND GOD NOW CHOOSES TO RESPOND. ANDREW, YOU WILL NOTICE, DID NOT SAY, “WELL LORD, JUST DO A MIRACLE.” BUT HE DID WHAT HE COULD TO DEAL WITH WHAT JESUS HAD IDENTIFIED AS HIS DESIRE – TO FEED THESE PEOPLE. AND THEN THE MIRACLE TOOK PLACE.
ANOTHER THING ABOUT A MIRACLE IS THAT IT HAPPENS THE WAY GOD WANTS IT TO, NOT THE WAY WE WOULD LIKE IT TO HAPPEN. JESUS DID NOT SET OUT A SMORGASBOARD OF FINE FOODS AND RICH WINES, ALTHOUGH WE ALL WOULD AGREE THAT HE COULD HAVE. NO, EVERYONE GOT SOME COARSE PEASANT BREAD; NO BUTTER OR JAM; AND SOME DRIED FISH, NO TARTAR SAUCE. IT WAS WHAT THEY ALL NEEDED; A SOURCE OF PROTEIN AND CARBOHYDRATE; SOMETHING TO TIDE THEM OVER. IT WAS ADEQUATE AND FILLED THEM UP. THE MIRACLE WAS WHAT JESUS WANTED, NOT WHAT THE PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE WANTED IF THEY HAD BEEN ASKED.
AND FINALLY, I AM CONVINCED THAT A REAL MIRACLE IS NOT JUST GOD MEETING A PERCEIVED NEED OF HIS PEOPLE; A REAL MIRACLE ENLIGHTENS; IT SHOWS US SOMETHING WE DID NOT KNOW. AND THIS MIRACLE IS NO EXCEPTION. IT OF COURSE SHOWS THE PEOPLE THAT JESUS IS NOT JUST A WANDERING PREACHER, OR EVEN A WONDER-WORKER. WHY WAS THERE SO MUCH LEFT OVER, MUCH MORE THAN THEY HAD EVEN STARTED WITH? THAT IS THE REVELATION. GOD FREELY MEETS THE NEEDS OF HIS PEOPLE, BUT IN DOING SO, PROVIDES THEM WITH THE MEANS TO DO EVEN MORE. WE DON'T KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO THOSE BASKETS OF LEFT-OVERS, BUT THEY MUST HAVE BEEN USED FOR SOMETHING, SINCE JESUS HAD THEM GATHERED UP SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT GO TO WASTE. MAYBE THEY WENT TO THE POOR, OR MAYBE THEY MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR THE APOSTLES TO EAT FOR A FEW DAYS, WHO KNOWS.
IN A MIRACLE, A CREATURE, THAT'S YOU AND I, DOES SOMETHING TO MEET A NEED THAT WE KNOW GOD DESIRES TO BE MET; AND WE KNOW GOD WANTS AN END TO HUNGER, POVERTY, SADNESS, OPPRESSION, SICKNESS – YOU AND I KNOW WHAT GOD WANTS FOR HIS PEOPLE. WE DO SOMETHING EVEN IF WE KNOW THAT WE CAN'T POSSIBLY MAKE THAT MUCH DIFFERENCE. BUT WE'VE DONE SOMETHING. AND GOD MAY CHOOSE TO TAKE WHAT LITTLE WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO DO, AND WHAT HAPPENS WILL BE BEYOND OUR WILDEST DREAMS. A NUN FEELS THAT GOD HAS CALLED HER TO CARE FOR THE DYING ON THE STREETS OF CALCUTTA, AND SHE SETS OUT, DOING WHAT SHE CAN. AND GOD WORKS A MIRACLE AND THE WORK SHE STARTED GOES ON ALL OVER THE WORLD. A SIMPLE ITALIAN PARTY BOY HEARS GOD CALL HIM TO REBUILD HIS CHURCH, AND GOES OUT TO ACTUALLY REBUILD CHURCHES – AND THE FRANCISCAN MOVEMENT IS PERHAPS THE MOST REVOLUTIONARY EVENT IN THE HISTORY OF CHRISTENDOM. AND A FATHER BRINGS HIS DAUGHTER AT GREAT EXPENSE TO EXPERTS TO HEAL HER HEART, EVEN THOUGH SHE HAS A FATAL DISEASE; AND MANY YEARS LATER, SHE IS WELL.
THE MIRACLE OF THE LOAVES AND THE FISHES SHOWS US THAT IF WE TAKE THOSE FIRST HALTING STEPS TOWARDS MEETING A NEED THAT WE SEE AROUND US, IF IT IS PART OF GOD'S PLAN WE MAY WITNESS GOD BREAKING IN TO OUR WORLD ONCE AGAIN.
AND EVERY TIME WE CELEBRATE MASS WE ARE REMINDED OF THIS; WE BRING A LITTLE BREAD AND A LITTLE WINE, AND OFFER IT TO GOD, AND GOD RESPONDS BY GIVING US HIS SON, NOT OVER AND OVER AGAIN, BUT ONCE, ONCE FOR ALL ETERNITY, TO FEED OUR HUNGRY SPIRITS.
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B
MARK 6:30-34
SAINT BENEDICT LIVED IN THE THIRD CENTURY AND FOUNDED WESTERN MONASTACISM. THE BENEDICTINE MONKS, OF COURSE, TRACE THEIR EXISTENCE TO HIM; BUT SO DO THE CARTHUSIANS, THE TRAPPISTS, THE CISTERIANS, AND INDEED THE MAJORITY OF MONASTIC ORDERS IN THE WEST. AND THEY HAVE IN COMMON THAT THEY FOLLOW THE RULE OF ST. BENEDICT, THE ONLY DOCUMENT WE HAVE WHICH WAS AUTHORED BY HIM. THE RULE OF ST. BENEDICT IS SURPRISING IN ITS MODERATION. PRIOR TO BENEDICT, THOSE WHO LIVED MONASTIC LIVES, OR LIVED AS HERMITS, INFLICTED THEMSELVES WITH GREAT MORTIFICATIONS, STARVED THEIR BODIES, SPENT WHOLE WEEKS WITHOUT SLEEP; LIVED ON PILLARS, AND IN GENERAL, SPENT THEIR LIVES TRYING TO OUTDO EACH OTHER IN THESE SO CALLED HEROIC ACTS OF HOLINESS. BENEDICT WOULD HAVE NONE OF THAT. THE PURPOSE OF HIS RULE WAS TO HELP THOSE LIVING IN MONASTIC COMMUNITIES TO DRAW CLOSER TO JESUS CHRIST AND LIVE PRODUCTIVE CHRISTIAN LIVES. AND THE RULE IS CHARACTERIZED BY BALANCE. THE MONKS LIVE SIMPLE LIVES, BUT THEY ARE TO EAT AND DRINK NOT JUST TO KEEP BODY AND SOUL TOGETHER, BUT TO HAVE HEALTHY BODIES. THE DIET IS SEMI-VEGETARIAN, WITH MEAT EATEN ON SPECIAL DAYS IN SOME OF THE ORDERS. ALCOHOL IS USED IN MODERATION, AGAIN, RESERVED FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS. MONKS ARE TO GET A DECENT NIGHT'S REST. HAIR SHIRTS AND OTHER PHYSICAL PENANCES ARE LOOKED UPON WITH SUSPICION, AND ARE ONLY TO BE UNDERTAKEN WITH THE PERMISSION OF ONE'S SUPERIOR, AND THEN ONLY FOR A LIMITED TIME.
BENEDICT IS SURPRISINGLY PRACTICAL. IF MONKS CANNOT SLEEP ONE TO A ROOM, THEY MUST SLEEP AT LEAST THREE TO A ROOM, AND AT LEAST ONE OF THE THREE MUST BE ELDERLY. “SPECIAL FRIENDSHIPS” ARE NOT ALLOWED, AND DURING THE EVENING RECREATION, MONKS WERE TO SPEND TIME CONVERSING WITH A DIFFERENT MONK EACH EVENING.
BUT PERHAPS ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING RULES, ONE WHICH COULD APPLY TO EVERYONE, NOT JUST MONKS, IS THAT THE RULE PUTS A LIMIT ON HOW LONG A MONK CAN WORK, OUT ON THE FARM, IN THE KITCHEN, IN THE COPYING ROOM, IN THE LAUNDRY – A MONK HAD TO STOP EVERYTHING, AND GO TO THE SCHEDULED PRAYERS, OR TO THE COMMON MEALS, OR TO THE RECREATION. THIS MEANT THAT THE LONGEST THE MONK SPENT DOING ANY SINGLE ACTIVITY WAS NO MORE THAN THREE HOURS AT A TIME.
CONTRAST THAT WITH OUR LIVES. WE AMERICANS, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF US WHO ARE SUCCESSFUL, TEND TO BE WORKAHOLICS. IT BECOMES PART OF OUR INDOCTRINATION. WHEN I WAS TRAINING AS A PHYSICIAN, THERE WAS AN EXPECTATION THAT WE WOULD ARRIVE EARLY AND STAY LATE; PEOPLE WHO PUT IN EIGHT HOURS AND WENT HOME WERE CONSIDERED TO BE LAZY. AND IF WE TOOK A BREAK, IT WAS VERY SHORT; WE HAD TO GET BACK TO WORK. AND WE WOULD FINISH ONE TASK, NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TOOK, BEFORE TAKING ON ANOTHER. I THOUGHT WE PHYSICIANS WERE A PECULIAR LOT, BUT LATER I LEARNED THAT IN MOST PROFESSIONS THIS KIND OF WORK ETHIC REARS ITS HEAD. WHEN MY DAUGHTER WORKED FOR A LAW FIRM AS A YOUNG LAWYER, IT WAS THE SAME THING; IT DIDN'T COUNT TO JUST DO YOUR JOB; YOU HAD TO KEEP EXCEEDING YOURSELF IF YOU WANTED TO GET AHEAD.
AFTER THE APOSTLES HAD GONE OUT TO PREACH REPENTANCE AND DRIVE OUT DEMONS AND HEAL THE SICK – THE GOSPEL WE HEARD LAST WEEK, THEY CAME BACK TO JESUS, PROBABLY ALL EXCITED AND READY TO GET OUT THERE AND DO MORE; AND JESUS TELLS THEM, AND I'M QUOTING THE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NOT THE READING WE JUST HEARD, “COME AWAY WITH ME BY YOURSELVES TO A QUIET PLACE AND REST FOR A WHILE.” MAYBE THAT'S WHERE ST. BENEDICT GOT HIS IDEA. WE CANNOT LEAD AN EFFECTIVE CHRISTIAN LIFE IF WE DO NOT MAKE ROOM IN OUR LIVES TO DO JUST THIS.
JESUS SAYS, “COME AWAY” -- WE HAVE TO GET PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY AWAY FROM OUR TASKS.
JESUS SAYS, “WITH ME.” -- WE HAVE TO PUT OURSELVES IN HIS PRESENCE, AND PAY ATTENTION ONLY TO HIM.
JESUS SAYS, "BY YOURSELVES." -- WE HAVE TO CUT OURSELVES OFF FROM THE PHONE, THE INTERNET, AND OTHER PEOPLE.
JESUS SAYS, "TO A QUIET PLACE" – WE HUMAN BEINGS NEED QUIET IF WE ARE TO MEDITATE AND CONTEMPLATE, AND DO ANY KIND OF SELF-EXAMINATION, OR SERIOUS PRAYER.
JESUS SAYS, "AND REST FOR A WHILE." -- EVEN THOUGH THE KIND OF RETREAT THAT JESUS ASKS OF US, HIS DISCIPLES, IS NECESSARY, IT IS JUST AS NECESSARY, AFTER CATCHING OUR BREATH, TO GO BACK TO THE BATTLE.
SO SAY THOSE WORDS OVER AND OVER TO YOURSELVES; HEAR JESUS SAYING THEM TO YOU. "COME AWAY WITH ME BY YOURSELF TO A QUIET PLACE AND REST FOR A WHILE." AND IF WE ARE NOT DOING THIS AT LEAST ONCE A DAY, WE ARE BEING FOOLS; AND IF WE ARE DOING THIS TWO OR THREE TIMES A DAY, THEN MAYBE WE ARE MAKING SPIRITUAL PROGRESS AS WELL AS BECOMING MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE IN THE TASKS GOD HAS FOR US.
IF YOU WANT TO FIND SURPRISINGLY HAPPY PEOPLE LIVING LIVES OF GREAT SIMPLICITY, AND SERVING AS EXAMPLES OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE FOR THE REST OF US TO FOLLOW, TAKE A LOOK AT HOW MONKS ACTUALLY LIVE AND WORK; AND YOU MIGHT DECIDE TO ADOPT A LITTLE OF THIS LIFE STYLE FOR YOURSELF. BENEDICT'S RULE HAS BEEN FOLLOWED FOR 16 CENTURIES AND THE MONASTIC MOVEMENTS ARE STILL GOING STRONG, EVEN WHILE OTHER ORDERS ARE SEEING THEIR NUMBERS DROP. SO HE MUST HAVE HAD A POINT; AND JESUS HIMSELF GIVES US THE SAME ADVICE TODAY – WITHDRAW, RETREAT, EMBRACE SILENCE, CONSCIOUSLY SEEK HIS PRESENCE, EVEN FOR A FEW MINUTES IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR BUSY DAY, AND YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF BECOMING MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, MORE HUMAN.
BECAUSE THAT IS ALL GOD WANTS FOR US, TO BE FULLY AND COMPLETELY HUMAN, THE WAY HE DESIGNED US IN THE BEGINNING.
SAINT BENEDICT LIVED IN THE THIRD CENTURY AND FOUNDED WESTERN MONASTACISM. THE BENEDICTINE MONKS, OF COURSE, TRACE THEIR EXISTENCE TO HIM; BUT SO DO THE CARTHUSIANS, THE TRAPPISTS, THE CISTERIANS, AND INDEED THE MAJORITY OF MONASTIC ORDERS IN THE WEST. AND THEY HAVE IN COMMON THAT THEY FOLLOW THE RULE OF ST. BENEDICT, THE ONLY DOCUMENT WE HAVE WHICH WAS AUTHORED BY HIM. THE RULE OF ST. BENEDICT IS SURPRISING IN ITS MODERATION. PRIOR TO BENEDICT, THOSE WHO LIVED MONASTIC LIVES, OR LIVED AS HERMITS, INFLICTED THEMSELVES WITH GREAT MORTIFICATIONS, STARVED THEIR BODIES, SPENT WHOLE WEEKS WITHOUT SLEEP; LIVED ON PILLARS, AND IN GENERAL, SPENT THEIR LIVES TRYING TO OUTDO EACH OTHER IN THESE SO CALLED HEROIC ACTS OF HOLINESS. BENEDICT WOULD HAVE NONE OF THAT. THE PURPOSE OF HIS RULE WAS TO HELP THOSE LIVING IN MONASTIC COMMUNITIES TO DRAW CLOSER TO JESUS CHRIST AND LIVE PRODUCTIVE CHRISTIAN LIVES. AND THE RULE IS CHARACTERIZED BY BALANCE. THE MONKS LIVE SIMPLE LIVES, BUT THEY ARE TO EAT AND DRINK NOT JUST TO KEEP BODY AND SOUL TOGETHER, BUT TO HAVE HEALTHY BODIES. THE DIET IS SEMI-VEGETARIAN, WITH MEAT EATEN ON SPECIAL DAYS IN SOME OF THE ORDERS. ALCOHOL IS USED IN MODERATION, AGAIN, RESERVED FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS. MONKS ARE TO GET A DECENT NIGHT'S REST. HAIR SHIRTS AND OTHER PHYSICAL PENANCES ARE LOOKED UPON WITH SUSPICION, AND ARE ONLY TO BE UNDERTAKEN WITH THE PERMISSION OF ONE'S SUPERIOR, AND THEN ONLY FOR A LIMITED TIME.
BENEDICT IS SURPRISINGLY PRACTICAL. IF MONKS CANNOT SLEEP ONE TO A ROOM, THEY MUST SLEEP AT LEAST THREE TO A ROOM, AND AT LEAST ONE OF THE THREE MUST BE ELDERLY. “SPECIAL FRIENDSHIPS” ARE NOT ALLOWED, AND DURING THE EVENING RECREATION, MONKS WERE TO SPEND TIME CONVERSING WITH A DIFFERENT MONK EACH EVENING.
BUT PERHAPS ONE OF THE MOST INTERESTING RULES, ONE WHICH COULD APPLY TO EVERYONE, NOT JUST MONKS, IS THAT THE RULE PUTS A LIMIT ON HOW LONG A MONK CAN WORK, OUT ON THE FARM, IN THE KITCHEN, IN THE COPYING ROOM, IN THE LAUNDRY – A MONK HAD TO STOP EVERYTHING, AND GO TO THE SCHEDULED PRAYERS, OR TO THE COMMON MEALS, OR TO THE RECREATION. THIS MEANT THAT THE LONGEST THE MONK SPENT DOING ANY SINGLE ACTIVITY WAS NO MORE THAN THREE HOURS AT A TIME.
CONTRAST THAT WITH OUR LIVES. WE AMERICANS, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF US WHO ARE SUCCESSFUL, TEND TO BE WORKAHOLICS. IT BECOMES PART OF OUR INDOCTRINATION. WHEN I WAS TRAINING AS A PHYSICIAN, THERE WAS AN EXPECTATION THAT WE WOULD ARRIVE EARLY AND STAY LATE; PEOPLE WHO PUT IN EIGHT HOURS AND WENT HOME WERE CONSIDERED TO BE LAZY. AND IF WE TOOK A BREAK, IT WAS VERY SHORT; WE HAD TO GET BACK TO WORK. AND WE WOULD FINISH ONE TASK, NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TOOK, BEFORE TAKING ON ANOTHER. I THOUGHT WE PHYSICIANS WERE A PECULIAR LOT, BUT LATER I LEARNED THAT IN MOST PROFESSIONS THIS KIND OF WORK ETHIC REARS ITS HEAD. WHEN MY DAUGHTER WORKED FOR A LAW FIRM AS A YOUNG LAWYER, IT WAS THE SAME THING; IT DIDN'T COUNT TO JUST DO YOUR JOB; YOU HAD TO KEEP EXCEEDING YOURSELF IF YOU WANTED TO GET AHEAD.
AFTER THE APOSTLES HAD GONE OUT TO PREACH REPENTANCE AND DRIVE OUT DEMONS AND HEAL THE SICK – THE GOSPEL WE HEARD LAST WEEK, THEY CAME BACK TO JESUS, PROBABLY ALL EXCITED AND READY TO GET OUT THERE AND DO MORE; AND JESUS TELLS THEM, AND I'M QUOTING THE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, NOT THE READING WE JUST HEARD, “COME AWAY WITH ME BY YOURSELVES TO A QUIET PLACE AND REST FOR A WHILE.” MAYBE THAT'S WHERE ST. BENEDICT GOT HIS IDEA. WE CANNOT LEAD AN EFFECTIVE CHRISTIAN LIFE IF WE DO NOT MAKE ROOM IN OUR LIVES TO DO JUST THIS.
JESUS SAYS, “COME AWAY” -- WE HAVE TO GET PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY AWAY FROM OUR TASKS.
JESUS SAYS, “WITH ME.” -- WE HAVE TO PUT OURSELVES IN HIS PRESENCE, AND PAY ATTENTION ONLY TO HIM.
JESUS SAYS, "BY YOURSELVES." -- WE HAVE TO CUT OURSELVES OFF FROM THE PHONE, THE INTERNET, AND OTHER PEOPLE.
JESUS SAYS, "TO A QUIET PLACE" – WE HUMAN BEINGS NEED QUIET IF WE ARE TO MEDITATE AND CONTEMPLATE, AND DO ANY KIND OF SELF-EXAMINATION, OR SERIOUS PRAYER.
JESUS SAYS, "AND REST FOR A WHILE." -- EVEN THOUGH THE KIND OF RETREAT THAT JESUS ASKS OF US, HIS DISCIPLES, IS NECESSARY, IT IS JUST AS NECESSARY, AFTER CATCHING OUR BREATH, TO GO BACK TO THE BATTLE.
SO SAY THOSE WORDS OVER AND OVER TO YOURSELVES; HEAR JESUS SAYING THEM TO YOU. "COME AWAY WITH ME BY YOURSELF TO A QUIET PLACE AND REST FOR A WHILE." AND IF WE ARE NOT DOING THIS AT LEAST ONCE A DAY, WE ARE BEING FOOLS; AND IF WE ARE DOING THIS TWO OR THREE TIMES A DAY, THEN MAYBE WE ARE MAKING SPIRITUAL PROGRESS AS WELL AS BECOMING MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE IN THE TASKS GOD HAS FOR US.
IF YOU WANT TO FIND SURPRISINGLY HAPPY PEOPLE LIVING LIVES OF GREAT SIMPLICITY, AND SERVING AS EXAMPLES OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE FOR THE REST OF US TO FOLLOW, TAKE A LOOK AT HOW MONKS ACTUALLY LIVE AND WORK; AND YOU MIGHT DECIDE TO ADOPT A LITTLE OF THIS LIFE STYLE FOR YOURSELF. BENEDICT'S RULE HAS BEEN FOLLOWED FOR 16 CENTURIES AND THE MONASTIC MOVEMENTS ARE STILL GOING STRONG, EVEN WHILE OTHER ORDERS ARE SEEING THEIR NUMBERS DROP. SO HE MUST HAVE HAD A POINT; AND JESUS HIMSELF GIVES US THE SAME ADVICE TODAY – WITHDRAW, RETREAT, EMBRACE SILENCE, CONSCIOUSLY SEEK HIS PRESENCE, EVEN FOR A FEW MINUTES IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR BUSY DAY, AND YOU WILL FIND YOURSELF BECOMING MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, MORE HUMAN.
BECAUSE THAT IS ALL GOD WANTS FOR US, TO BE FULLY AND COMPLETELY HUMAN, THE WAY HE DESIGNED US IN THE BEGINNING.
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B
MARK 6:7-13
SOME OF YOU HAVE HEARD ABOUT RICK WARREN, THE SENIOR PASTOR OF SADDLEBACK CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA, AND THE AUTHOR OF THE BEST-SELLER “THE PURPOSE DRIVEN CHURCH”. HE WRITES ABOUT THE PHILOSOPHY OF HIS EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL NON-DENOMINATIONAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH. HE SAYS, “WE NEVER ENCOURAGE PEOPLE WHO BELONG TO OTHER CHURCHES TO TRANSFER THEIR MEMBERSHIP TO OURS. SADDLEBACK HAS AS ITS PRIMARY PURPOSE BRINGING PEOPLE TO CHRIST WHO ARE UNCHURCHED. IF SOMEONE WANTS TO TRANSFER MEMBERSHIP TO OUR CHURCH, YOU ARE WELCOME ONLY IF YOU ARE WILLING TO MINISTER AND SERVE. IF ALL YOU INTEND TO DO IS ATTEND SERVICES, WE WOULD RATHER SAVE YOUR SEAT FOR SOMEONE WHO IS AN UNBELIEVER. THERE ARE PLENTY OF GOOD BIBLE TEACHING CHURCHES AROUND HERE WE COULD RECOMMEND TO YOU.” PASTOR WARREN HAS BUILT AN EXTREMELY DYNAMIC, RAPIDLY GROWING ORGANIZATION PRECISELY BECAUSE HE AND HIS CONGREGATION ARE FOCUSED LIKE A LASER ON THIS IDEA, THIS PURPOSE, OF BRINGING THE GOSPEL TO PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T HEARD IT.
EARLY IN JESUS' PUBLIC CAREER, WHEN THIS GOSPEL EPISODE TAKES PLACE, HE KNEW THAT IF THE KINGDOM OF GOD WERE TO BE REALIZED, HIS MESSAGE HAD TO BE HEARD BY AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE, AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. AND HE SENT OUT HIS DISCIPLES, WHO HAD ONLY BEEN WITH HIM FOR A SHORT TIME, TO SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS. AS THEY WERE GROWING IN THE NEW FAITH, THEY HAD TO RECRUIT OTHERS; THERE WAS NOT A TIME TO LISTEN AND LEARN AND ANOTHER TIME TO GO FORTH AND TEACH; BOTH HAD TO BE DONE AT THE SAME TIME.
WHAT EXCUSES TO WE HAVE FOR NOT EVANGELIZING? I'M JUST A HOUSEWIFE. I DON'T KNOW VERY MUCH ABOUT MY FAITH. WHO WOULD LISTEN TO A PLUMBER, A MECHANIC, AN INSURANCE AGENT, OR YOU FILL IN THE BLANK. I DON'T REALLY KNOW IF I BELIEVE THAT STRONGLY. THESE ARE ALL EXCUSES, BUT THERE ARE TWO THAT WE PROBABLY REALLY MEAN IN OUR HEARTS – I AM AFRAID; AND I AM NOT PREPARED.
DURING THE FRONTIER DAYS IN THIS COUNTRY, AS IMMIGRANTS SPREAD OUT THROUGH THIS LAND, THERE WERE TWO DENOMINATIONS WHICH SET OUT TO BRING ORDER TO THE WILD WEST. ONE WAS THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, WHICH HAD CEDED NEW ENGLAND AND INDEED MUCH OF THE EAST TO THE CONGREGATIONALISTS, WHO HAD GROWN OUT OF THE SAME MOVEMENT IN EUROPE. THE OTHER WAS A SMALL OFFSHOOT OF THE EPISCOPALIAN CHURCH, WHICH HAD DRAWN ITS MEMBERSHIP FROM THE LOWER CLASSES IN THE BIG CITIES IN ENGLAND. THE PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONARIES WERE SEMINARY GRADUATES, LEARNED IN THEOLOGY AND BIBLICAL STUDIES, AND NEEDED RAILROADS AND STAGE COACHES, BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT SEE HOW THEY COULD BE MISSIONARIES WITHOUT THEIR BOOKS, ESPECIALLY THE HUGE THEOLOGICAL TREATISE BY THEIR FOUNDER, JOHN CALVIN. THE METHODIST MISSIONARIES, ON THE OTHER HAND, WERE POORLY EDUCATED, BUT NEEDED ONLY A BIBLE AND A HORSE. GUESS WHICH DENOMINATION GOT THERE FIRST AND ESTABLISHED THE MOST CHURCHES?
DURING JESUS' TIME, THERE WERE OTHER WANDERING MISSIONARIES FOR VARIOUS RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS. YOU COULD SPOT THEM ON THE ROAD BECAUSE THEY CARRIED BAGS FULL OF THEIR POSSESSIONS; THEY TOOK PRIDE IN HAVING EVERYTHING THEY NEEDED SO THAT THEY COULD BE COMPLETELY SELF-SUFFICIENT. JESUS, IN CONTRAST, DEMANDS THAT HIS DISCIPLES BRING NOTHING WITH THEM, AND ACCEPT THE CHARITY OF STRANGERS. IN THIS WAY THEY ARE COMPLETELY DEPENDENT, AND IT IS ONLY WHEN THEY ARE COMPLETELY DEPENDENT THAT GOD WORKS THROUGH THEM, THAT MIRACLES OF HEALING HAPPEN, THAT DEMONS ARE DRIVEN OUT, THAT THEIR HILLBILLY ACCENTS AND ILLITERATE SPEECHES WIN CONVERTS.
JESUS TELLS THEM THAT IF PEOPLE DON'T LISTEN, THEY SHOULDN'T INVEST ANY MORE TIME IN THAT LOCALITY; THOSE PEOPLE HAVE HAD THEIR CHANCE, AND IT WOULD BE TIME TO MOVE ON.
JESUS TELLS THEM THEY MUST GO IN PAIRS, AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS CLEAR; THE TWO WILL REMEMBER BETTER THAN ONE WHAT JESUS TAUGHT; EACH WILL BE A REMINDER TO THE OTHER THAT THEY ARE MESSENGERS, AND NOT THE MESSAGE; AND MOST IMPORTANT, THERE HAD TO BE TWO, BECAUSE JESUS SAID THAT WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER HE WOULD BE THERE ALSO.
THE DISCIPLES WERE FISHERMEN, TAX COLLECTORS, ROUGH AND ILLITERATE PEOPLE. THE PEOPLE WHO SPREAD CHRISTIANITY THROUGHOUT THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND INDEED, THE KNOWN WORLD IN THOSE FIRST TWO CENTURIES WERE MOSTLY FROM THE LOWEST CLASSES, FROM THOSE WHO LIVED ON THE FRINGES OF SOCIETY. AS THE MOVEMENT GREW, THEY WERE PERSECUTED. YES, SOME WERE THROWN TO LIONS, CRUCIFIED, DECAPITATED, BEATEN TO DEATH; BUT MANY, MANY MORE WERE KICKED OUT OF THEIR SYNAGOGUES, DENIED GOOD JOBS, ENSLAVED, AND SHUNNED BY THE GOOD PEOPLE OF THAT TIME. AND FAMILIES WERE BROKEN UP AS WELL WHEN A MEMBER BECAME A CHRISTIAN. IN THOSE DAYS, THE COST OF BEING A CHRISTIAN WAS VERY HIGH; AND DESPITE THAT, THE MOVEMENT GREW LIKE WILDFIRE.
WHAT DOES THIS GOSPEL MEAN TO US TODAY? THE PROCLAMATION OF THE KINGDOM IS STILL URGENT; THE VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE ON EARTH HAVE NOT YET HEARD THE MESSAGE OF JESUS, AND MANY OF THOSE WHO HAVE HEARD IT HAVE REJECTED IT. THOSE OF US WHO HAVE HEARD AND BELIEVED HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO PREACH THE GOSPEL; AND WE HAVE TO REALIZE, LIKE THOSE FIRST DISCIPLES, THAT WE HAVE NO EXCUSE; AND LIKE THOSE FIRST DISCIPLES, WE WILL BE SUCCESSFUL TO THE EXTENT THAT WE THROW OURSELVES ON GOD, THAT WE ALLOW GOD TO WORK THROUGH US, AND TO DO THAT, WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE HOW DEPENDENT WE ARE ON GOD.
IT IS AN AMAZING THING, ISN'T IT, THAT ALMIGHTY GOD, WHO CREATED THE UNIVERSE, WHO CAN DO ANYTHING HE WILLS, HAS CHOSEN YOU AND I TO BRING THE KINGDOM OF GOD TO OUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS. AND ITS A SCARY THING TO REALIZE THAT IF WE DON'T DO IT, WHO WILL?
SOME OF YOU HAVE HEARD ABOUT RICK WARREN, THE SENIOR PASTOR OF SADDLEBACK CHURCH IN CALIFORNIA, AND THE AUTHOR OF THE BEST-SELLER “THE PURPOSE DRIVEN CHURCH”. HE WRITES ABOUT THE PHILOSOPHY OF HIS EXTREMELY SUCCESSFUL NON-DENOMINATIONAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH. HE SAYS, “WE NEVER ENCOURAGE PEOPLE WHO BELONG TO OTHER CHURCHES TO TRANSFER THEIR MEMBERSHIP TO OURS. SADDLEBACK HAS AS ITS PRIMARY PURPOSE BRINGING PEOPLE TO CHRIST WHO ARE UNCHURCHED. IF SOMEONE WANTS TO TRANSFER MEMBERSHIP TO OUR CHURCH, YOU ARE WELCOME ONLY IF YOU ARE WILLING TO MINISTER AND SERVE. IF ALL YOU INTEND TO DO IS ATTEND SERVICES, WE WOULD RATHER SAVE YOUR SEAT FOR SOMEONE WHO IS AN UNBELIEVER. THERE ARE PLENTY OF GOOD BIBLE TEACHING CHURCHES AROUND HERE WE COULD RECOMMEND TO YOU.” PASTOR WARREN HAS BUILT AN EXTREMELY DYNAMIC, RAPIDLY GROWING ORGANIZATION PRECISELY BECAUSE HE AND HIS CONGREGATION ARE FOCUSED LIKE A LASER ON THIS IDEA, THIS PURPOSE, OF BRINGING THE GOSPEL TO PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T HEARD IT.
EARLY IN JESUS' PUBLIC CAREER, WHEN THIS GOSPEL EPISODE TAKES PLACE, HE KNEW THAT IF THE KINGDOM OF GOD WERE TO BE REALIZED, HIS MESSAGE HAD TO BE HEARD BY AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE, AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE. AND HE SENT OUT HIS DISCIPLES, WHO HAD ONLY BEEN WITH HIM FOR A SHORT TIME, TO SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS. AS THEY WERE GROWING IN THE NEW FAITH, THEY HAD TO RECRUIT OTHERS; THERE WAS NOT A TIME TO LISTEN AND LEARN AND ANOTHER TIME TO GO FORTH AND TEACH; BOTH HAD TO BE DONE AT THE SAME TIME.
WHAT EXCUSES TO WE HAVE FOR NOT EVANGELIZING? I'M JUST A HOUSEWIFE. I DON'T KNOW VERY MUCH ABOUT MY FAITH. WHO WOULD LISTEN TO A PLUMBER, A MECHANIC, AN INSURANCE AGENT, OR YOU FILL IN THE BLANK. I DON'T REALLY KNOW IF I BELIEVE THAT STRONGLY. THESE ARE ALL EXCUSES, BUT THERE ARE TWO THAT WE PROBABLY REALLY MEAN IN OUR HEARTS – I AM AFRAID; AND I AM NOT PREPARED.
DURING THE FRONTIER DAYS IN THIS COUNTRY, AS IMMIGRANTS SPREAD OUT THROUGH THIS LAND, THERE WERE TWO DENOMINATIONS WHICH SET OUT TO BRING ORDER TO THE WILD WEST. ONE WAS THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, WHICH HAD CEDED NEW ENGLAND AND INDEED MUCH OF THE EAST TO THE CONGREGATIONALISTS, WHO HAD GROWN OUT OF THE SAME MOVEMENT IN EUROPE. THE OTHER WAS A SMALL OFFSHOOT OF THE EPISCOPALIAN CHURCH, WHICH HAD DRAWN ITS MEMBERSHIP FROM THE LOWER CLASSES IN THE BIG CITIES IN ENGLAND. THE PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONARIES WERE SEMINARY GRADUATES, LEARNED IN THEOLOGY AND BIBLICAL STUDIES, AND NEEDED RAILROADS AND STAGE COACHES, BECAUSE THEY COULD NOT SEE HOW THEY COULD BE MISSIONARIES WITHOUT THEIR BOOKS, ESPECIALLY THE HUGE THEOLOGICAL TREATISE BY THEIR FOUNDER, JOHN CALVIN. THE METHODIST MISSIONARIES, ON THE OTHER HAND, WERE POORLY EDUCATED, BUT NEEDED ONLY A BIBLE AND A HORSE. GUESS WHICH DENOMINATION GOT THERE FIRST AND ESTABLISHED THE MOST CHURCHES?
DURING JESUS' TIME, THERE WERE OTHER WANDERING MISSIONARIES FOR VARIOUS RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS. YOU COULD SPOT THEM ON THE ROAD BECAUSE THEY CARRIED BAGS FULL OF THEIR POSSESSIONS; THEY TOOK PRIDE IN HAVING EVERYTHING THEY NEEDED SO THAT THEY COULD BE COMPLETELY SELF-SUFFICIENT. JESUS, IN CONTRAST, DEMANDS THAT HIS DISCIPLES BRING NOTHING WITH THEM, AND ACCEPT THE CHARITY OF STRANGERS. IN THIS WAY THEY ARE COMPLETELY DEPENDENT, AND IT IS ONLY WHEN THEY ARE COMPLETELY DEPENDENT THAT GOD WORKS THROUGH THEM, THAT MIRACLES OF HEALING HAPPEN, THAT DEMONS ARE DRIVEN OUT, THAT THEIR HILLBILLY ACCENTS AND ILLITERATE SPEECHES WIN CONVERTS.
JESUS TELLS THEM THAT IF PEOPLE DON'T LISTEN, THEY SHOULDN'T INVEST ANY MORE TIME IN THAT LOCALITY; THOSE PEOPLE HAVE HAD THEIR CHANCE, AND IT WOULD BE TIME TO MOVE ON.
JESUS TELLS THEM THEY MUST GO IN PAIRS, AND THE REASON FOR THAT IS CLEAR; THE TWO WILL REMEMBER BETTER THAN ONE WHAT JESUS TAUGHT; EACH WILL BE A REMINDER TO THE OTHER THAT THEY ARE MESSENGERS, AND NOT THE MESSAGE; AND MOST IMPORTANT, THERE HAD TO BE TWO, BECAUSE JESUS SAID THAT WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED TOGETHER HE WOULD BE THERE ALSO.
THE DISCIPLES WERE FISHERMEN, TAX COLLECTORS, ROUGH AND ILLITERATE PEOPLE. THE PEOPLE WHO SPREAD CHRISTIANITY THROUGHOUT THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND INDEED, THE KNOWN WORLD IN THOSE FIRST TWO CENTURIES WERE MOSTLY FROM THE LOWEST CLASSES, FROM THOSE WHO LIVED ON THE FRINGES OF SOCIETY. AS THE MOVEMENT GREW, THEY WERE PERSECUTED. YES, SOME WERE THROWN TO LIONS, CRUCIFIED, DECAPITATED, BEATEN TO DEATH; BUT MANY, MANY MORE WERE KICKED OUT OF THEIR SYNAGOGUES, DENIED GOOD JOBS, ENSLAVED, AND SHUNNED BY THE GOOD PEOPLE OF THAT TIME. AND FAMILIES WERE BROKEN UP AS WELL WHEN A MEMBER BECAME A CHRISTIAN. IN THOSE DAYS, THE COST OF BEING A CHRISTIAN WAS VERY HIGH; AND DESPITE THAT, THE MOVEMENT GREW LIKE WILDFIRE.
WHAT DOES THIS GOSPEL MEAN TO US TODAY? THE PROCLAMATION OF THE KINGDOM IS STILL URGENT; THE VAST MAJORITY OF PEOPLE ON EARTH HAVE NOT YET HEARD THE MESSAGE OF JESUS, AND MANY OF THOSE WHO HAVE HEARD IT HAVE REJECTED IT. THOSE OF US WHO HAVE HEARD AND BELIEVED HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO PREACH THE GOSPEL; AND WE HAVE TO REALIZE, LIKE THOSE FIRST DISCIPLES, THAT WE HAVE NO EXCUSE; AND LIKE THOSE FIRST DISCIPLES, WE WILL BE SUCCESSFUL TO THE EXTENT THAT WE THROW OURSELVES ON GOD, THAT WE ALLOW GOD TO WORK THROUGH US, AND TO DO THAT, WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE HOW DEPENDENT WE ARE ON GOD.
IT IS AN AMAZING THING, ISN'T IT, THAT ALMIGHTY GOD, WHO CREATED THE UNIVERSE, WHO CAN DO ANYTHING HE WILLS, HAS CHOSEN YOU AND I TO BRING THE KINGDOM OF GOD TO OUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS. AND ITS A SCARY THING TO REALIZE THAT IF WE DON'T DO IT, WHO WILL?
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B
MARK 6:1-6
IN EARLY AUGUST JOAN AND I WILL BE GOING TO MONTANA, WHERE I GREW UP. I'M ESPECIALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING MY COUSINS. WHEN WE GREW UP TOGETHER, WE WERE ALL LIKE BROTHERS AND SISTERS. AND THEY WILL CALL ME “DONNY”, BECAUSE THAT WAS MY NAME 60 YEARS AGO. AND WHEN WE GET TOGETHER THE YEARS WILL SLIP AWAY FOR A SHORT TIME AND PART OF EACH OF US WILL BE CHILDREN AGAIN. BUT AMONG MY CLASSMATES, IT WAS A DIFFERENT STORY. I WENT TO A CATHOLIC SCHOOL, WHERE EVERYONE, IT SEEMED, WAS IRISH, EXCEPT ME; WHERE EVERYONE CAME FROM THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE CITY, EXCEPT A FEW OF US WHO LIVED ON THE EASTERN SIDE; WHERE MY CLASSMATES WERE FOR THE MOST PART GOOD IN ATHLETICS, HAD KNOWN EACH OTHER IN KINDERGARTEN AND EVEN BEFORE; AND I WAS BOOKISH AND LIKED TO BE ALONE AND HAD NOT GONE TO KINDERGARTEN. AS THE YEARS WENT BY, I MADE A LITTLE PROGRESS SOCIALLY, BUT IT WAS ONLY WHEN I LEFT HOME TO GO TO COLLEGE THAT I WAS ABLE TO REMAKE MYSELF, AT LEAST ENOUGH TO FEEL A LITTLE BIT MORE COMFORTABLE WITH PEOPLE; BECAUSE THOSE “FIRST IMPRESSIONS” NEVER QUITE LEAVE, AND THOSE OF US WHO TRIED TO BREAK OUT OF THE MOLD WOULD QUICKLY LEARN THAT IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE. SO I RELATE TO JESUS IN THIS GOSPEL; IN HIS HOME TOWN, HE WAS THE CARPENTER'S KID. HE DIDN'T BELONG TO THE TRIBE OF LEVI, NOR WAS HE ORDAINED AS A RABBI, NOR DID HE BELONG TO A PRIESTLY FAMILY, LIKE HIS COUSIN JOHN. WHAT BUSINESS DID HE HAVE TO GO AROUND PREACHING AND CLAIMING TO HEAL PEOPLE?
AND THE GOSPEL OF MARK SAYS AN ASTOUNDING THING: HE WAS NOT ABLE TO PERFORM ANY MIGHTY DEED THERE, APART FROM HEALING A FEW SICK PEOPLE BY LAYING HANDS ON THEM.
GOD IS LOVE. THINK ABOUT THAT FOR A MINUTE; IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN IN LOVE, YOU KNOW THERE IS A POWER IN LOVE. HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE WORLD THROUGH ANOTHER PERSON'S EYES? IF YOU'VE BEEN IN LOVE YOU HAVE; IF YOU'VE TAKEN YOUR CHILD BACK TO WHERE YOU GREW UP, YOU HAVE. WHEN YOU LOVE, ITS AS THOUGH YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS EXPANDS A LITTLE BIT; THE BORDERS OF YOUR SELF BLUR. AND YOU KNOW THAT LOVE MAKES YOU DO THINGS YOU WOULDN'T HAVE DONE OTHERWISE; SOMETIMES THINGS WHICH YOU DIDN'T THINK YOU COULD DO. BUT LOVE ONLY HAS POWER WHEN THERE ARE TWO PERSONS IN THE RELATIONSHIP. AND THAT'S THE PROBLEM TODAY WITH JESUS. HE INVITES PEOPLE TO KNOW HIM, AND WHEN THEY DO, MIRACLES HAPPEN, BECAUSE HE IS GOD, THE GOD WHO IS LOVE. BUT THE PEOPLE IN HIS HOME TOWN DON'T KNOW HIM, THEY ONLY KNOW THE CARPENTER'S KID, WHO GREW UP WITH THEM.
MIRACLES DIDN'T STOP WHEN JESUS DIED; WE SEE THEM CONTINUING IN THE STORIES OF THE APOSTLES. WE READ ABOUT THEM IN THE HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH; WE MAY NOT BELIEVE THEM, BUT IT IS INTERESTING THAT THE PEOPLE OF THAT TIME BELIEVED THAT CHRISTIANS HAD A SPECIAL CLAIM ON MIRACLES. RECENTLY THE POPE RECOGNIZED ANOTHER MIRACLE, ONE WHICH HAD BEEN EXTENSIVELY INVESTIGATED, AND FOR WHICH THERE WAS NO RATIONAL EXPLANATION – AND SOON CARDINAL NEWMAN WILL BE BEATIFIED AS A RESULT.
THE CHURCH IN THOSE EARLY DAYS SHARED A FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE OF JESUS' RESURRECTION; MOST PEOPLE KNEW SOMEONE WHO HAD BEEN A WITNESS, OR HAD KNOWN A WITNESS; AND THOSE WITNESSES WERE BELIEVABLE, BECAUSE ANYONE COULD SEE THAT THEIR LIVES HAD BEEN TOTALLY TRANSFORMED.
THE CHURCH IN THOSE DAYS HAD NO FEAR; THE EARLY CHRISTIANS DIDN'T CARE ABOUT SELF PRESERVATION, ABOUT WHETHER THEY MIGHT OFFEND SOMEONE; THEY DIDN'T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING EXCEPT DOING GOD'S WILL. THEY HAD A TOTAL TRUST IN GOD.
THE CHURCH IN THOSE DAYS WAS CONSCIOUS OF THE PRESENCE OF THE SPIRIT. THINGS HAPPENED WHEN THEY WORSHIPPED THAT COULD NOT BE EXPLAINED IN ANY OTHER WAY. AND PEOPLE KNEW HOW TO TELL WHETHER SOMETHING WAS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT OR CAME FROM SOME OTHER SPIRIT. YOU RUN ACROSS THIS IN THE WRITINGS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. AND THEY KNEW THAT NOTHING WAS IMPOSSIBLE IF THE SPIRIT MOVED AMONG YOU.
THE CHURCH IN THOSE TIMES BELIEVED THAT THEIR SINS WERE FORGIVEN. AND WHEN YOU ARE CONVINCED THAT YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN, YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL SENSE OF FREEDOM, A TREMENDOUS LIGHTNESS, BECAUSE IF YOU ARE FORGIVEN, THEN EVEN DEATH DOESN'T FAZE YOU.
AND FINALLY, THE CHURCH IN THOSE DAYS CARED ABOUT ONLY THREE THINGS; WORSHIP, TEACHING, AND TAKING CARE OF THE POOR AND NEEDY. IF SOMETHING DIDN'T DIRECTLY RELATE TO THESE THINGS, IT WASN'T VERY IMPORTANT.
AND MAYBE THAT IS WHY THE CHURCH IN THOSE DAYS EXPERIENCED MIRACLES, EXPECTED MIRACLES, AND PERFORMED MIRACLES. AND MAYBE IF WE COULD RECAPTURE SOME OF THOSE QUALITIES OF THE EARLY CHURCH, OF THE FIRST PARISH IN JERUSALEM, MIRACLES WOULD HAPPEN HERE AS WELL.
I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES. I'VE SEEN THEM. BUT IN MY LONG CAREER AS A PHYSICIAN, I'VE WITNESSED ONLY A HANDFUL OF MIRACLES, HEALINGS I COULD NOT EXPLAIN. WHEN JESUS WALKED THIS EARTH, THE POWER OF GOD'S LOVE RESPONDED TO FAITH, REAL FAITH, BY MIRACLES OF HEALING. AND JESUS STILL WALKS THIS EARTH, AND HE STILL WANTS TO HEAL HIS PEOPLE, AND HE STILL ASKS ONLY FAITH FROM US, FAITH THAT HE IS THE SON OF GOD, FAITH THAT HE HAS THE POWER TO HEAL US, FAITH ROOTED IN THAT LOVE RELATIONSHIP, THE LOVE THAT CALLS FORTH THE POWER OF GOD.
AND AN INDIVIDUAL WITH THAT KIND OF FAITH REQUIRES A COMMUNITY OF FAITH IN WHICH TO GROW; A COMMUNITY LIKE THAT FIRST PARISH, LIKE THOSE FIRST CHURCHES, WHOSE MEMBERS KNEW THAT CHRIST HAD RISEN, WHO KNEW THAT THEY HAD BEEN FORGIVEN, WHO KNEW THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT MOVED AMONG THEM, AND WHO KNEW THAT NOTHING WAS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD. AND THEY KNEW THIS TO THE EXTENT THAT SOME OF THEM HAPPILY ACCEPTED MARTYRDOM BECAUSE THEY KNEW THAT THE TRUEST AND MOST LASTING HEALING WAITED FOR THEM AFTER THEIR OWN DEATHS.
SO LET US NOT BE A COMMUNITY LIKE THE ONE IN JESUS' HOME TOWN; A COMMUNITY WHICH WOULD AMAZE HIM BY ITS LACK OF FAITH. LET US INSTEAD PRAY TO BE A COMMUNITY LIKE THOSE OF THE FIRST CHRISTIANS, WHERE MIRACLES HAPPEN, WHERE SAINTS ARE MADE, WHERE THE WORLD IS CHANGED FOR THE BETTER BECAUSE THE HOLY SPIRIT SETS US ON FIRE. AND MAYBE THEN WE WILL SEE MIRACLES, MIRACLES IN ABUNDANCE, AMONG OUR PEOPLE, LIKE THOSE FIRST CHRISTIANS SAW AMONG THEMSELVES.
IN EARLY AUGUST JOAN AND I WILL BE GOING TO MONTANA, WHERE I GREW UP. I'M ESPECIALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING MY COUSINS. WHEN WE GREW UP TOGETHER, WE WERE ALL LIKE BROTHERS AND SISTERS. AND THEY WILL CALL ME “DONNY”, BECAUSE THAT WAS MY NAME 60 YEARS AGO. AND WHEN WE GET TOGETHER THE YEARS WILL SLIP AWAY FOR A SHORT TIME AND PART OF EACH OF US WILL BE CHILDREN AGAIN. BUT AMONG MY CLASSMATES, IT WAS A DIFFERENT STORY. I WENT TO A CATHOLIC SCHOOL, WHERE EVERYONE, IT SEEMED, WAS IRISH, EXCEPT ME; WHERE EVERYONE CAME FROM THE WESTERN SIDE OF THE CITY, EXCEPT A FEW OF US WHO LIVED ON THE EASTERN SIDE; WHERE MY CLASSMATES WERE FOR THE MOST PART GOOD IN ATHLETICS, HAD KNOWN EACH OTHER IN KINDERGARTEN AND EVEN BEFORE; AND I WAS BOOKISH AND LIKED TO BE ALONE AND HAD NOT GONE TO KINDERGARTEN. AS THE YEARS WENT BY, I MADE A LITTLE PROGRESS SOCIALLY, BUT IT WAS ONLY WHEN I LEFT HOME TO GO TO COLLEGE THAT I WAS ABLE TO REMAKE MYSELF, AT LEAST ENOUGH TO FEEL A LITTLE BIT MORE COMFORTABLE WITH PEOPLE; BECAUSE THOSE “FIRST IMPRESSIONS” NEVER QUITE LEAVE, AND THOSE OF US WHO TRIED TO BREAK OUT OF THE MOLD WOULD QUICKLY LEARN THAT IT WAS NOT POSSIBLE. SO I RELATE TO JESUS IN THIS GOSPEL; IN HIS HOME TOWN, HE WAS THE CARPENTER'S KID. HE DIDN'T BELONG TO THE TRIBE OF LEVI, NOR WAS HE ORDAINED AS A RABBI, NOR DID HE BELONG TO A PRIESTLY FAMILY, LIKE HIS COUSIN JOHN. WHAT BUSINESS DID HE HAVE TO GO AROUND PREACHING AND CLAIMING TO HEAL PEOPLE?
AND THE GOSPEL OF MARK SAYS AN ASTOUNDING THING: HE WAS NOT ABLE TO PERFORM ANY MIGHTY DEED THERE, APART FROM HEALING A FEW SICK PEOPLE BY LAYING HANDS ON THEM.
GOD IS LOVE. THINK ABOUT THAT FOR A MINUTE; IF YOU'VE EVER BEEN IN LOVE, YOU KNOW THERE IS A POWER IN LOVE. HAVE YOU EVER SEEN THE WORLD THROUGH ANOTHER PERSON'S EYES? IF YOU'VE BEEN IN LOVE YOU HAVE; IF YOU'VE TAKEN YOUR CHILD BACK TO WHERE YOU GREW UP, YOU HAVE. WHEN YOU LOVE, ITS AS THOUGH YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS EXPANDS A LITTLE BIT; THE BORDERS OF YOUR SELF BLUR. AND YOU KNOW THAT LOVE MAKES YOU DO THINGS YOU WOULDN'T HAVE DONE OTHERWISE; SOMETIMES THINGS WHICH YOU DIDN'T THINK YOU COULD DO. BUT LOVE ONLY HAS POWER WHEN THERE ARE TWO PERSONS IN THE RELATIONSHIP. AND THAT'S THE PROBLEM TODAY WITH JESUS. HE INVITES PEOPLE TO KNOW HIM, AND WHEN THEY DO, MIRACLES HAPPEN, BECAUSE HE IS GOD, THE GOD WHO IS LOVE. BUT THE PEOPLE IN HIS HOME TOWN DON'T KNOW HIM, THEY ONLY KNOW THE CARPENTER'S KID, WHO GREW UP WITH THEM.
MIRACLES DIDN'T STOP WHEN JESUS DIED; WE SEE THEM CONTINUING IN THE STORIES OF THE APOSTLES. WE READ ABOUT THEM IN THE HISTORY OF THE EARLY CHURCH; WE MAY NOT BELIEVE THEM, BUT IT IS INTERESTING THAT THE PEOPLE OF THAT TIME BELIEVED THAT CHRISTIANS HAD A SPECIAL CLAIM ON MIRACLES. RECENTLY THE POPE RECOGNIZED ANOTHER MIRACLE, ONE WHICH HAD BEEN EXTENSIVELY INVESTIGATED, AND FOR WHICH THERE WAS NO RATIONAL EXPLANATION – AND SOON CARDINAL NEWMAN WILL BE BEATIFIED AS A RESULT.
THE CHURCH IN THOSE EARLY DAYS SHARED A FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE OF JESUS' RESURRECTION; MOST PEOPLE KNEW SOMEONE WHO HAD BEEN A WITNESS, OR HAD KNOWN A WITNESS; AND THOSE WITNESSES WERE BELIEVABLE, BECAUSE ANYONE COULD SEE THAT THEIR LIVES HAD BEEN TOTALLY TRANSFORMED.
THE CHURCH IN THOSE DAYS HAD NO FEAR; THE EARLY CHRISTIANS DIDN'T CARE ABOUT SELF PRESERVATION, ABOUT WHETHER THEY MIGHT OFFEND SOMEONE; THEY DIDN'T CARE ABOUT ANYTHING EXCEPT DOING GOD'S WILL. THEY HAD A TOTAL TRUST IN GOD.
THE CHURCH IN THOSE DAYS WAS CONSCIOUS OF THE PRESENCE OF THE SPIRIT. THINGS HAPPENED WHEN THEY WORSHIPPED THAT COULD NOT BE EXPLAINED IN ANY OTHER WAY. AND PEOPLE KNEW HOW TO TELL WHETHER SOMETHING WAS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT OR CAME FROM SOME OTHER SPIRIT. YOU RUN ACROSS THIS IN THE WRITINGS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. AND THEY KNEW THAT NOTHING WAS IMPOSSIBLE IF THE SPIRIT MOVED AMONG YOU.
THE CHURCH IN THOSE TIMES BELIEVED THAT THEIR SINS WERE FORGIVEN. AND WHEN YOU ARE CONVINCED THAT YOUR SINS ARE FORGIVEN, YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL SENSE OF FREEDOM, A TREMENDOUS LIGHTNESS, BECAUSE IF YOU ARE FORGIVEN, THEN EVEN DEATH DOESN'T FAZE YOU.
AND FINALLY, THE CHURCH IN THOSE DAYS CARED ABOUT ONLY THREE THINGS; WORSHIP, TEACHING, AND TAKING CARE OF THE POOR AND NEEDY. IF SOMETHING DIDN'T DIRECTLY RELATE TO THESE THINGS, IT WASN'T VERY IMPORTANT.
AND MAYBE THAT IS WHY THE CHURCH IN THOSE DAYS EXPERIENCED MIRACLES, EXPECTED MIRACLES, AND PERFORMED MIRACLES. AND MAYBE IF WE COULD RECAPTURE SOME OF THOSE QUALITIES OF THE EARLY CHURCH, OF THE FIRST PARISH IN JERUSALEM, MIRACLES WOULD HAPPEN HERE AS WELL.
I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES. I'VE SEEN THEM. BUT IN MY LONG CAREER AS A PHYSICIAN, I'VE WITNESSED ONLY A HANDFUL OF MIRACLES, HEALINGS I COULD NOT EXPLAIN. WHEN JESUS WALKED THIS EARTH, THE POWER OF GOD'S LOVE RESPONDED TO FAITH, REAL FAITH, BY MIRACLES OF HEALING. AND JESUS STILL WALKS THIS EARTH, AND HE STILL WANTS TO HEAL HIS PEOPLE, AND HE STILL ASKS ONLY FAITH FROM US, FAITH THAT HE IS THE SON OF GOD, FAITH THAT HE HAS THE POWER TO HEAL US, FAITH ROOTED IN THAT LOVE RELATIONSHIP, THE LOVE THAT CALLS FORTH THE POWER OF GOD.
AND AN INDIVIDUAL WITH THAT KIND OF FAITH REQUIRES A COMMUNITY OF FAITH IN WHICH TO GROW; A COMMUNITY LIKE THAT FIRST PARISH, LIKE THOSE FIRST CHURCHES, WHOSE MEMBERS KNEW THAT CHRIST HAD RISEN, WHO KNEW THAT THEY HAD BEEN FORGIVEN, WHO KNEW THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT MOVED AMONG THEM, AND WHO KNEW THAT NOTHING WAS IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD. AND THEY KNEW THIS TO THE EXTENT THAT SOME OF THEM HAPPILY ACCEPTED MARTYRDOM BECAUSE THEY KNEW THAT THE TRUEST AND MOST LASTING HEALING WAITED FOR THEM AFTER THEIR OWN DEATHS.
SO LET US NOT BE A COMMUNITY LIKE THE ONE IN JESUS' HOME TOWN; A COMMUNITY WHICH WOULD AMAZE HIM BY ITS LACK OF FAITH. LET US INSTEAD PRAY TO BE A COMMUNITY LIKE THOSE OF THE FIRST CHRISTIANS, WHERE MIRACLES HAPPEN, WHERE SAINTS ARE MADE, WHERE THE WORLD IS CHANGED FOR THE BETTER BECAUSE THE HOLY SPIRIT SETS US ON FIRE. AND MAYBE THEN WE WILL SEE MIRACLES, MIRACLES IN ABUNDANCE, AMONG OUR PEOPLE, LIKE THOSE FIRST CHRISTIANS SAW AMONG THEMSELVES.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle b
MARK 5:21-43
I THINK MOST CATHOLICS IN THIS COUNTRY HAVE AN EXTREMELY ANEMIC FAITH. I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO SHOW UP FOR MASS ONLY ON CHRISTMAS OR EASTER; I'M TALKING ABOUT THE ORDINARY CATHOLIC WHO GOES TO MASS EVERY SUNDAY, PERHAPS HAS A FEW PRAYERS HE SAYS EVERY DAY; GOES TO CONFESSION ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR – IN SHORT, DOES WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO IN ORDER TO REMAIN IN “GOOD STANDING”, BUT VERY LITTLE ELSE. ANEMIC CATHOLICS BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF PRAYER, SORT OF. WHEN A CRISIS COMES ALONG, WE ANEMIC CATHOLICS PRAY; AND SOMETIMES WE ANEMIC CATHOLICS PRAY FOR FRIENDS AND RELATIVES, CHILDREN, OUR PASTOR, OUR POLITICAL LEADERS; BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THAT SOME GOOD WILL COME FROM PRAYER, EVEN IF WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN, EVEN IF WE WOULD BE SURPRISED IF WHAT WE PRAYED FOR ACTUALLY CAME ABOUT THE WAY WE ASKED FOR IT. WE SAY THINGS LIKE, “GOD WILL ANSWER OUR PRAYERS, ONLY SOMETIMES THE ANSWER IS “NO”.” WE ARE BIG PROPONENTS OF “THY WILL BE DONE” BECAUSE IT MAKES US FEEL VIRTUOUS IF OUR PRAYERS ARE NOT ANSWERED, AND WE HAVE LEFT A LITTLE QUALIFICATION IN CASE GOD DOESN'T REALLY WANT TO DO WHAT WE ASK HIM TO DO.
TODAY WE MEET TWO PEOPLE WHO DO NOT HAVE ANEMIC FAITH. ONE IS A LEADER OF A SYNAGOGUE. THESE LEADERS OF SYNAGOGUES WERE NOT ACTUALLY RABBIS. THEY WERE PEOPLE WHO WERE ELECTED BY THE MEN IN THE CONGREGATION, AND THEIR JOB WAS TO OPERATE THE SYNAGOGUE. THEY SCHEDULED THINGS, THEY PUT ELDERS ON THE LIST TO READ THE SCRIPTURES ON THE SABBATH; THEY PAID THE RABBI, AND DOLED OUT THE CHARITY, AND COLLECTED THE TITHES. IT WAS A VERY IMPORTANT POST WITH A LOT OF INFLUENCE. AND HERE, THE LEADER OF THE SYNAGOGUE PUBLICLY ASKS A WANDERING PREACHER, WHO HAS BEEN REVILED BY THE PHARISEES, WHO SEEMS TO BE A RABBLE ROUSER, TO COME AND HEAL HIS DAUGHTER. IT WOULD BE LIKE OUR BISHOP GOING TO ONE OF OUR LOCAL PENTECOSTAL PREACHERS WITH THE PRESS IN TOW, TO ASK HIM TO HEAL SOMEONE IN HIS FAMILY. BUT JARIUS OVERCAME ALL HIS SCRUPLES, ALL HIS CONCERNS FOR HOW HE APPEARED TO THOSE OVER WHOM HE RULED, AND SWALLOWED ALL HIS PRIDE.
A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO READ THIS GOSPEL DON'T SEE MUCH OF A CONNECTION BETWEEN THE STORY OF JARIUS AND THE STORY OF THE WOMAN WITH A HEMORRHAGE. THIS HEALING TAKES PLACE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STORY OF JARIUS. I THINK THERE IS A RELATIONSHIP. THE WOMAN IS LIKE A LEPER, LIKE SOMEONE WITH AIDS. IN JEWISH LAW, A WOMAN WHO WAS BLEEDING WAS UNCLEAN, AND NEEDED PURIFICATION. THIS WOMAN NEVER STOPPED BLEEDING. SHE COULD NEVER BE PURIFIED. AS SUCH, SHE WAS AN OUTCAST, SOMEONE WHO AVOIDED OTHER PEOPLE, WHO WAS SHUNNED BY HER FRIENDS AND RELATIVES. AND SHE WAS KNOWN TO THE TOWNSPEOPLE, AND EVERYONE KNEW HER PROBLEM; SHE HAD AFTER ALL, GONE TO SEVERAL DOCTORS AND YOU COULDN'T KEEP SOMETHING LIKE THIS QUIET. AND JESUS, FEELING HIS POWER GO OUT OF HIM, DIDN'T JUST LET IT HAPPEN. HE STOPPED AND CALLED ATTENTION TO THE FACT. JARIUS MUST HAVE HAVE REALLY REGRETTED THE FACT THAT HE HAD ASKED JESUS TO HEAL HIS DAUGHTER; NOW JESUS WAS STOPPING AND TALKING TO SOMEONE NO DECENT JEW WOULD HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH. AND HE TOLD HER SHE WAS HEALED – SOMETHING NO ONE COULD PROVE; AND JARIUS, WHO HAD GONE OUT ON A LIMB, WAS FINDING THAT THE LIMB WAS BEING CUT OFF.
AND THEN, WHEN IT SEEMED THINGS COULD NOT GET ANY WORSE, THEY DID. THEY CAME AND TOLD HIM HIS DAUGHTER HAD DIED. AND THEN THE WANDERING PREACHER ADDED FUEL TO THE FIRE BY INSISTING THAT THE DAUGHTER WAS ONLY SLEEPING, WHICH BROUGHT RIDICULE AND LAUGHTER UPON HIMSELF, AND BY EXTENSION, JARIUS, WHO AT THIS POINT SEEMED TO HAVE LOST EVERYTHING – HIS STANDING IN THE COMMUNITY, HIS DAUGHTER, AND HIS VERY REPUTATION AS A PERSON WHO WAS WORTHY OF BEING THE RULER OF THE SYNAGOGUE; ALL BECAUSE HE PLACED HIS FAITH IN JESUS.
BUT JESUS CAME THROUGH; JESUS HEALED THE LITTLE GIRL. AND THE PEOPLE WERE ASTOUNDED, AND JARIUS HAD EVERYTHING RESTORED TO HIM; HIS DAUGHTER, HIS REPUTATION, AND NOW HAD THE FURTHER RESPECT OF THE PEOPLE, BECAUSE HE HAD PUT HIS FAITH IN JESUS, AND IT WAS NOT IN VAIN.
THE WOMAN WHOM JESUS HEALED HAD SAID TO HERSELF, “IF I TOUCH HIS GARMENT, I WILL BE HEALED.” SHE DID NOT SIT IN THE CORNER AND WISH THAT SHE WERE HEALED, SHE DID NOT PRAY SILENTLY THAT SHE WOULD BE HEALED, ADDING THE QUALIFIER, “IF IT IS YOUR WILL”. SHE PUSHED THROUGH THE CROWD AND DID WHAT SHE BELIEVED SHE HAD TO DO, AND HER FAITH WAS REWARDED. BUT I THINK JARIUS MADE THE BIGGER GESTURE; HE PUT EVERYTHING ON THE LINE, AND WHEN IT SEEMED THAT HE HAD MADE A BAD BET, HE DIDN'T BACK OUT, HE CONTINUED TO BELIEVE THAT THIS PREACHER WHO UP TO THAT POINT HAD HEALED, DRIVEN OUT DEMONS, PREACHED A GOOD GAME-- THINGS THAT OTHER WANDERING MYSTICS DID AS WELL-- HE CONTINUED TO BELIEVE THAT EVEN THOUGH HIS DAUGHTER HAD DIED, MAYBE THIS MAN COULD STILL DO SOMETHING – SOMETHING UNPRECEDENTED, SOMETHING UTTERLY ASTOUNDING – AND HE BELIEVED JESUS WHEN JESUS SAID, “DON'T LISTEN TO THEM, SHE IS ONLY SLEEPING.” AND HIS FAITH WAS REWARDED.
WE CATHOLICS OF ANEMIC FAITH; AND I KNOW SOME OF YOU ARE NOT ANEMIC, BUT I AM; WE CATHOLICS OF ANEMIC FAITH ARE NOT QUITE WILLING TO GO OUT ON A LIMB; WE ARE NOT QUITE WILLING TO BELIEVE, IN SPITE OF THINGS HAPPENING TO THE CONTRARY; WE THINK THE AGE OF MIRACLES IS OVER, AND WE ARE NOT SURPRISED THAT GOD DOESN'T ANSWER OUR PRAYERS; WE NEVER REALLY EXPECTED HIM TO IN THE FIRST PLACE.
AND YET, SOMETIMES IN OUR HEART, BURIED FAR BENEATH OUR RATIONAL MIND, WE GLIMPSE THAT JESUS STANDS READY TO ANSWER OUR PRAYERS, IF WE PUT OUR TRUST IN HIM, IF WE PUSH THROUGH TO TOUCH HIS GARMENT; IF WE HAVE THE FAITH THAT IS WILLING TO TRUST HIM WITH EVERYTHING WE VALUE.
WHEN YOU READ THE GOSPELS, JESUS DOESN'T WORK MIRACLES AS OBJECT LESSONS; HE WORKS THEM BECAUSE HE MEETS SOMEONE WHO HAS A NEED. IN THE TOWN WHERE JARIUS LIVED, THERE MUST HAVE BEEN MANY WHO WERE SICK OR DYING, BUT ONLY JARIUS AND THE WOMAN WITH A BLEEDING DISORDER CAME OUT TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THEY HAD FAITH.
SO ON THIS SUNDAY WE NEED TO ASK, DO WE REALLY BELIEVE THAT GOD WILL ANSWER OUR PRAYERS, THAT HE DESIRES TO SOLVE OUR PROBLEMS, TO FULFILL OUR NEEDS? AND IF WE BELIEVE THIS, HOW DO WE SHOW HIM THAT WE HAVE THE FAITH OF JARIUS, OF THE WOMAN WITH THE HEMORRAGE, OF SO MANY OTHERS IN THE GOSPELS WHO SHOW THEIR FAITH AND RECEIVE HIS GRACE.
I THINK MOST CATHOLICS IN THIS COUNTRY HAVE AN EXTREMELY ANEMIC FAITH. I'M NOT TALKING ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO SHOW UP FOR MASS ONLY ON CHRISTMAS OR EASTER; I'M TALKING ABOUT THE ORDINARY CATHOLIC WHO GOES TO MASS EVERY SUNDAY, PERHAPS HAS A FEW PRAYERS HE SAYS EVERY DAY; GOES TO CONFESSION ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR – IN SHORT, DOES WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO IN ORDER TO REMAIN IN “GOOD STANDING”, BUT VERY LITTLE ELSE. ANEMIC CATHOLICS BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF PRAYER, SORT OF. WHEN A CRISIS COMES ALONG, WE ANEMIC CATHOLICS PRAY; AND SOMETIMES WE ANEMIC CATHOLICS PRAY FOR FRIENDS AND RELATIVES, CHILDREN, OUR PASTOR, OUR POLITICAL LEADERS; BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THAT SOME GOOD WILL COME FROM PRAYER, EVEN IF WE DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN, EVEN IF WE WOULD BE SURPRISED IF WHAT WE PRAYED FOR ACTUALLY CAME ABOUT THE WAY WE ASKED FOR IT. WE SAY THINGS LIKE, “GOD WILL ANSWER OUR PRAYERS, ONLY SOMETIMES THE ANSWER IS “NO”.” WE ARE BIG PROPONENTS OF “THY WILL BE DONE” BECAUSE IT MAKES US FEEL VIRTUOUS IF OUR PRAYERS ARE NOT ANSWERED, AND WE HAVE LEFT A LITTLE QUALIFICATION IN CASE GOD DOESN'T REALLY WANT TO DO WHAT WE ASK HIM TO DO.
TODAY WE MEET TWO PEOPLE WHO DO NOT HAVE ANEMIC FAITH. ONE IS A LEADER OF A SYNAGOGUE. THESE LEADERS OF SYNAGOGUES WERE NOT ACTUALLY RABBIS. THEY WERE PEOPLE WHO WERE ELECTED BY THE MEN IN THE CONGREGATION, AND THEIR JOB WAS TO OPERATE THE SYNAGOGUE. THEY SCHEDULED THINGS, THEY PUT ELDERS ON THE LIST TO READ THE SCRIPTURES ON THE SABBATH; THEY PAID THE RABBI, AND DOLED OUT THE CHARITY, AND COLLECTED THE TITHES. IT WAS A VERY IMPORTANT POST WITH A LOT OF INFLUENCE. AND HERE, THE LEADER OF THE SYNAGOGUE PUBLICLY ASKS A WANDERING PREACHER, WHO HAS BEEN REVILED BY THE PHARISEES, WHO SEEMS TO BE A RABBLE ROUSER, TO COME AND HEAL HIS DAUGHTER. IT WOULD BE LIKE OUR BISHOP GOING TO ONE OF OUR LOCAL PENTECOSTAL PREACHERS WITH THE PRESS IN TOW, TO ASK HIM TO HEAL SOMEONE IN HIS FAMILY. BUT JARIUS OVERCAME ALL HIS SCRUPLES, ALL HIS CONCERNS FOR HOW HE APPEARED TO THOSE OVER WHOM HE RULED, AND SWALLOWED ALL HIS PRIDE.
A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO READ THIS GOSPEL DON'T SEE MUCH OF A CONNECTION BETWEEN THE STORY OF JARIUS AND THE STORY OF THE WOMAN WITH A HEMORRHAGE. THIS HEALING TAKES PLACE RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STORY OF JARIUS. I THINK THERE IS A RELATIONSHIP. THE WOMAN IS LIKE A LEPER, LIKE SOMEONE WITH AIDS. IN JEWISH LAW, A WOMAN WHO WAS BLEEDING WAS UNCLEAN, AND NEEDED PURIFICATION. THIS WOMAN NEVER STOPPED BLEEDING. SHE COULD NEVER BE PURIFIED. AS SUCH, SHE WAS AN OUTCAST, SOMEONE WHO AVOIDED OTHER PEOPLE, WHO WAS SHUNNED BY HER FRIENDS AND RELATIVES. AND SHE WAS KNOWN TO THE TOWNSPEOPLE, AND EVERYONE KNEW HER PROBLEM; SHE HAD AFTER ALL, GONE TO SEVERAL DOCTORS AND YOU COULDN'T KEEP SOMETHING LIKE THIS QUIET. AND JESUS, FEELING HIS POWER GO OUT OF HIM, DIDN'T JUST LET IT HAPPEN. HE STOPPED AND CALLED ATTENTION TO THE FACT. JARIUS MUST HAVE HAVE REALLY REGRETTED THE FACT THAT HE HAD ASKED JESUS TO HEAL HIS DAUGHTER; NOW JESUS WAS STOPPING AND TALKING TO SOMEONE NO DECENT JEW WOULD HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH. AND HE TOLD HER SHE WAS HEALED – SOMETHING NO ONE COULD PROVE; AND JARIUS, WHO HAD GONE OUT ON A LIMB, WAS FINDING THAT THE LIMB WAS BEING CUT OFF.
AND THEN, WHEN IT SEEMED THINGS COULD NOT GET ANY WORSE, THEY DID. THEY CAME AND TOLD HIM HIS DAUGHTER HAD DIED. AND THEN THE WANDERING PREACHER ADDED FUEL TO THE FIRE BY INSISTING THAT THE DAUGHTER WAS ONLY SLEEPING, WHICH BROUGHT RIDICULE AND LAUGHTER UPON HIMSELF, AND BY EXTENSION, JARIUS, WHO AT THIS POINT SEEMED TO HAVE LOST EVERYTHING – HIS STANDING IN THE COMMUNITY, HIS DAUGHTER, AND HIS VERY REPUTATION AS A PERSON WHO WAS WORTHY OF BEING THE RULER OF THE SYNAGOGUE; ALL BECAUSE HE PLACED HIS FAITH IN JESUS.
BUT JESUS CAME THROUGH; JESUS HEALED THE LITTLE GIRL. AND THE PEOPLE WERE ASTOUNDED, AND JARIUS HAD EVERYTHING RESTORED TO HIM; HIS DAUGHTER, HIS REPUTATION, AND NOW HAD THE FURTHER RESPECT OF THE PEOPLE, BECAUSE HE HAD PUT HIS FAITH IN JESUS, AND IT WAS NOT IN VAIN.
THE WOMAN WHOM JESUS HEALED HAD SAID TO HERSELF, “IF I TOUCH HIS GARMENT, I WILL BE HEALED.” SHE DID NOT SIT IN THE CORNER AND WISH THAT SHE WERE HEALED, SHE DID NOT PRAY SILENTLY THAT SHE WOULD BE HEALED, ADDING THE QUALIFIER, “IF IT IS YOUR WILL”. SHE PUSHED THROUGH THE CROWD AND DID WHAT SHE BELIEVED SHE HAD TO DO, AND HER FAITH WAS REWARDED. BUT I THINK JARIUS MADE THE BIGGER GESTURE; HE PUT EVERYTHING ON THE LINE, AND WHEN IT SEEMED THAT HE HAD MADE A BAD BET, HE DIDN'T BACK OUT, HE CONTINUED TO BELIEVE THAT THIS PREACHER WHO UP TO THAT POINT HAD HEALED, DRIVEN OUT DEMONS, PREACHED A GOOD GAME-- THINGS THAT OTHER WANDERING MYSTICS DID AS WELL-- HE CONTINUED TO BELIEVE THAT EVEN THOUGH HIS DAUGHTER HAD DIED, MAYBE THIS MAN COULD STILL DO SOMETHING – SOMETHING UNPRECEDENTED, SOMETHING UTTERLY ASTOUNDING – AND HE BELIEVED JESUS WHEN JESUS SAID, “DON'T LISTEN TO THEM, SHE IS ONLY SLEEPING.” AND HIS FAITH WAS REWARDED.
WE CATHOLICS OF ANEMIC FAITH; AND I KNOW SOME OF YOU ARE NOT ANEMIC, BUT I AM; WE CATHOLICS OF ANEMIC FAITH ARE NOT QUITE WILLING TO GO OUT ON A LIMB; WE ARE NOT QUITE WILLING TO BELIEVE, IN SPITE OF THINGS HAPPENING TO THE CONTRARY; WE THINK THE AGE OF MIRACLES IS OVER, AND WE ARE NOT SURPRISED THAT GOD DOESN'T ANSWER OUR PRAYERS; WE NEVER REALLY EXPECTED HIM TO IN THE FIRST PLACE.
AND YET, SOMETIMES IN OUR HEART, BURIED FAR BENEATH OUR RATIONAL MIND, WE GLIMPSE THAT JESUS STANDS READY TO ANSWER OUR PRAYERS, IF WE PUT OUR TRUST IN HIM, IF WE PUSH THROUGH TO TOUCH HIS GARMENT; IF WE HAVE THE FAITH THAT IS WILLING TO TRUST HIM WITH EVERYTHING WE VALUE.
WHEN YOU READ THE GOSPELS, JESUS DOESN'T WORK MIRACLES AS OBJECT LESSONS; HE WORKS THEM BECAUSE HE MEETS SOMEONE WHO HAS A NEED. IN THE TOWN WHERE JARIUS LIVED, THERE MUST HAVE BEEN MANY WHO WERE SICK OR DYING, BUT ONLY JARIUS AND THE WOMAN WITH A BLEEDING DISORDER CAME OUT TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THEY HAD FAITH.
SO ON THIS SUNDAY WE NEED TO ASK, DO WE REALLY BELIEVE THAT GOD WILL ANSWER OUR PRAYERS, THAT HE DESIRES TO SOLVE OUR PROBLEMS, TO FULFILL OUR NEEDS? AND IF WE BELIEVE THIS, HOW DO WE SHOW HIM THAT WE HAVE THE FAITH OF JARIUS, OF THE WOMAN WITH THE HEMORRAGE, OF SO MANY OTHERS IN THE GOSPELS WHO SHOW THEIR FAITH AND RECEIVE HIS GRACE.
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