LUKE 21:25-28, 34-36
AS A CANCER SPECIALIST, I AM FORTUNATE TO WITNESS OVER AND OVER AGAIN, THE WONDERS OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT. THE OTHER DAY I SAW IN FOLLOW UP A WOMAN THAT I'D FIRST MET MANY YEARS AGO. WHEN SHE CAME TO ME SHE WAS IN TEARS, HAVING JUST LEARNED THAT SHE HAD BREAST CANCER. SHE HAD THE KIND OF DISEASE THAT REQUIRED THE REMOVAL OF THE WHOLE BREAST. AFTERWARDS, SHE WOULD NEED CHEMOTHERAPY AND RADIATION, AND THEN FIVE YEARS OF A PILL THAT WOULD CAUSE HER TO HAVE HOT FLASHES, MOOD SWINGS, AND SOMETIMES A TENDENCY TO DEPRESSION AND WEIGHT GAIN. THIS WAS A SERIOUS BURDEN FOR A 39 YEAR OLD MOTHER AND WIFE. WELL, SHE GOT THROUGH IT. THERE WERE A LOT OF TEARS, AND SHE AND HER HUSBAND HAD TO GO THROUGH SOME COUNSELING, AND I'M SURE HER TEENAGERS WERE A LITTLE SCARRED BY THE WHOLE AFFAIR. AND YOU WOULD THINK THAT AFTER THIS EXPERIENCE, SHE WOULDN'T WANT TO THINK ABOUT BREAST CANCER EVER AGAIN. BUT LIKE MANY WOMEN WHO HAVE GONE THROUGH THIS, SHE IS A VOLUNTEER. SHE WILL DROP EVERYTHING TO MEET WITH NEWLY DIAGNOSED WOMEN. AND SHE CAN SAY, “I'VE BEEN WHERE YOU ARE, AND I MADE IT THROUGH, AND IT WAS HARD, BUT I DID IT AND SO CAN YOU.” AND SHE SAYS THIS BY HER PRESENCE AS WELL AS HER WORDS.
I BET YOU WONDER HOW I AM GOING TO CONNECT THAT STORY TO THE GOSPEL, DON'T YOU?
TODAY ON THIS FIRST SUNDAY OF ADVENT, WE HAVE ANOTHER “APOCALYPSE”. YOU REMEMBER THAT FOR THE LAST TWO SUNDAYS THE READINGS HAVE HAD APOCALYPTIC ELEMENTS IN THEM. APOCALYPSE MEANS “TO TAKE THE COVER OFF”. JESUS IS NOT PREDICTING THE END OF THE WORLD, NOR DO ANY OF THE APOCALYPTIC WRITINGS DO THAT. TODAY SOMEONE READS THESE TEXTS AND RUNS OFF TO MAKE A MOVIE LIKE “2012” ABOUT HOW THE WORLD WILL END. AND SOME OF OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST SPEND A LOT OF TIME COMPARING WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW WITH WHAT IS PUT FORTH IN THESE KINDS OF PASSAGES, IN THE HOPES OF BEING ABLE TO TELL WHEN THE WORLD WILL END, OR AT LEAST GO THROUGH PROFOUND CHANGE. AND LIKE AS NOT, ALL OF THIS IS DONE SO THAT PEOPLE WILL DROP THEIR SINFUL WAYS AND COME TO THE LORD. THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES AND THE SEVENTH DAY ADVENTISTS OWE THEIR ORIGINS TO HOW THEIR FOUNDERS READ THE APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE IN THE BIBLE.
BUT THE REASON APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE WAS WRITTEN WAS NOT TO SCARE PEOPLE INTO CHANGING THEIR LIVES, NOR WAS IT MEANT TO GIVE A DETAILED OUTLINE OF THE END OF TIME. THE REAL PURPOSE WAS TO GIVE HOPE. BECAUSE THE PEOPLE TO WHOM JESUS SPOKE, AND THOSE TO WHOM THE WRITERS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT ADDRESSED, WERE A TINY COMMUNITY, ON THE MARGINS OF SOCIETY, SUBJECT TO MARTYRDOM, TO RANDOM VIOLENCE, TO PREJUDICE AND PERSECUTION. HUMAN BEINGS LIKE TO BE IN CONTROL; THEY HAD NO CONTROL OVER WHAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT. WHEN YOU FEEL AS THOUGH YOU CAN'T CONTROL THINGS, YOU CAN REACT IN DIFFERENT WAYS; YOU CAN QUAKE IN FEAR, LETTING YOURSELF BE OVERWHELMED BY DEPRESSION AND DESPAIR; OR YOU CAN LOSE YOURSELF IN DRUNKENNESS, OR IN FACT IN ANY VICE THAT DISTRACTS YOU – SOMETIMES JUST THE ANXIETIES OF DAILY LIFE CAN DO THAT, AS JESUS RECOGNIZES; OR YOU CAN HAVE AN ESCHATOLOGY.
SO NOW I AM THROWING ANOTHER GREEK WORD AT YOU. IT MEANS “THE KNOWING OF FINAL THINGS” AND IN THIS CASE, FINAL REFERS TO THAT TIME WHEN THE EVENTS OF HISTORY ARE COMPLETED. AN ESCHATOLOGY IS AN ELEMENT OF FAITH. IT IS OUR VISION OF HOW THINGS COULD BE, HOW THINGS WILL BE, EVEN THOUGH THERE ISN'T ANYTHING IN OUR EXPERIENCE THAT SAYS THIS WILL HAPPEN. MY PATIENT, HAVING GONE THROUGH SURGERY, RADIATION, CHEMOTHERAPY AND HORMONE THERAPY, CAME OUT AT THE OTHER END INTACT, AND SHE IS A WITNESS TO NEW PATIENTS THAT THERE IS A FUTURE, THAT TRIBULATION WILL SOMEDAY END; SHE GIVES THEM AN ESCHATOLOGY ABOUT HOW IT IS TO HAVE BREAST CANCER.
AND THAT IS THE PURPOSE OF APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE. IT IS TO REMIND US THAT JESUS CHRIST, WHO HAS ALREADY CONQUERED DEATH, WILL COME AGAIN TO CONQUER DEATH FOR US, TO USHER IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD, WHERE GOD'S PLAN WILL FINALLY TRIUMPH, AND THOSE WHO ARE JESUS' BROTHERS AND SISTERS WILL REIGN IN THAT KINGDOM AS WELL.
JESUS TELLS HIS FOLLOWERS, HIS BROTHERS AND SISTERS, YOU AND I, THAT WHEN THOSE TIMES COME, WHEN EVERYTHING SEEMS TO BE GOING WRONG, WHEN OUR CURRENCY IS BEING DEVALUED, WHEN BANKS ARE FAILING, WHEN WE HAVE SCANDALS IN THE PRIESTHOOD, WHEN STATE BY STATE, SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IS BEING LEGALIZED, WHEN WE ARE CLOSING CHURCHES BECAUSE FEWER AND FEWER CATHOLICS BOTHER TO GO TO MASS, AND WHEN IT IS NO LONGER UNTHINKABLE THAT SOMEONE MIGHT FLY AN AIRPLANE INTO THE BUILDING WHERE WE WORK OR KILL US WITH RANDOM GUNFIRE, WHEN GLOBAL WARMING THREATENS OUR VERY EXISTENCE -- WHEN ALL THESE SIGNS OF THE TIMES TELL US THAT THE END OF OUR WORLD IS NEAR, JESUS TELLS US TO HOLD UP OUR HEADS BECAUSE OUR REDEMPTION IS AT HAND. WE WILL NOT BE ABANDONED. IT IS UP TO US HOW WE HANDLE OURSELVES – A LIFE OF REACTION, WHERE FEAR AND PANIC ARE OUR MAJOR EMOTIONS, AND WE SEEK SECURITY, WE SEEK TO HIDE. OR A LIFE OF DISTRACTION, LIVING FOR THE MOMENT, SPENDING AS MUCH TIME AS POSSIBLE IN SPORTS, ON THE INTERNET, WATCHING TELEVISION, JUST FILLING OUR TIME WITH ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER. OR, WE COULD CHOOSE A LIFE OF SATISFACTION, WHERE WE KEEP THE BIG PICTURE BEFORE OUR EYES, WHERE WE LET OUR LIVES BE GUIDED BY AN ESCHATOLOGY. “WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?” WILL THIS MATTER IN THE LONG RUN?” IS WHAT I AM ABOUT TO DO BRINGING ME CLOSER TO GOD, OR DRIVING ME FURTHER AWAY?” “EVEN THOUGH THINGS LOOK TERRIBLE RIGHT NOW, I AM AN ADOPTED CHILD OF GOD, THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, AND BROTHER OR SISTER TO JESUS CHRIST.” I MAY BE IN PAIN RIGHT NOW, BUT I KNOW GOD HAS PROMISED TO WIPE AWAY ALL MY TEARS, TO PREPARE AN EVERLASTING PLACE IN WHICH I WILL DWELL”. THESE ARE ALL THOUGHTS WHICH COME OUT OF OUR CATHOLIC ESCHATOLOGY.
THE PURPOSE OF THE GOSPEL, OF APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE, IS TO REMIND US THAT THERE IS A REALITY BEHIND THE WORLD WE EXPERIENCE, A REALITY WHICH WE BECOME A PART OF IF WE ARE TRULY PART OF JESUS CHRIST. AND IT IS A WONDERFUL THING TO BEGIN OUR ADVENT CELEBRATION THINKING ABOUT THIS, BECAUSE WHEN CHRISTMAS COMES, WE WILL CELEBRATE THE BEGINNING OF THE PROCESS WHICH STILL GOES ON, THE MOMENT WHEN GOD TAKES ON A BODY, AND LIVES WITH US, AND LIVES IN US AND THROUGH US, AND LEADS US AND THE WHOLE UNIVERSE BACK TO HIMSELF.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Feast of Christ the King, 2009
JOHN 18:33B-37
DO YOU NOTICE THE STRIKING CONTRAST BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND READINGS AND THE PSALM, WHICH REFER TO A TRIUMPHANT, POWERFUL, EVERLASTING KING; AND THE GOSPEL, IN WHICH JESUS STANDS BEFORE PILATE, UNDERGOING THE TRIAL WHICH WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD TO HIS CONDEMNATION AND DEATH. LAST WEEK WE HEARD JESUS HIMSELF REFER TO HIS SECOND COMING; YOU WOULD THINK THAT THIS KIND OF GOSPEL READING WOULD BE MORE APPROPRIATE HERE.
BUT THERE WE HAVE IT, A PRISONER, DRESSED IN RAGS, COVERED IN BLOOD FROM BEING LASHED, STANDING BEFORE THE POWER OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE REPRESENTED BY PONTIUS PILATE – CERTAINLY NOT A KINGLY FIGURE.
IF JESUS CAME AS A KING, RIDING OUT OF THE SKY SURROUNDED BY ANGELS, YOU CAN BET THAT WE WOULD ALL BE FLOCKING TO THE NEAREST CONFESSIONAL AND SUDDENLY LEARNING TO PRAY AGAIN. WE WOULD SUDDENLY REMEMBER ALL THE COMPROMISES, ALL THE TIMES WE FAILED TO ACT, ALL THE SINS WE'VE COMMITTED – AND WE WOULD BE ON OUR KNEES BEGGING FOR FORGIVENESS. IF JESUS CAME SLOWLY, OVER THE COURSE OF A FEW DAYS, WHAT HUNGRY PERSON WOULD NOT BE FED, WHAT SICK PERSON WOULD NOT BE COMFORTED, WHAT LONELY PERSON WOULD NOT BE BEFRIENDED? WE AND THE REST OF MANKIND WOULD BE DESPERATELY TRYING TO REMEMBER WHAT JESUS COMMANDED, AND THEN WE WOULD BE OUT THERE TRYING TO DO IT. KNOWING THE END OF THE WORLD IS COMING WOULD DEFINITELY GET OUR ATTENTION AND FOCUS OUR MINDS.
BUT I THINK JESUS COMES TO US MORE LIKE HE COMES TO PILATE. HE COMES, ALLOWING US TO HAVE COMPLETE FREEDOM TO ACCEPT OR REJECT; BECAUSE THE ONLY WAY WE HAVE A CHANCE TO BE GODLY IS TO HAVE THAT GODLY FREEDOM, THE FREEDOM WHICH CANNOT BE COERCED, THE FREEDOM WHICH ALLOWS US TO BE IN CONTROL. EVEN IN CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE THE BODY IS THREATENED, THE REAL ME, THE GODLY ME, CAN ALWAYS CHOOSE, EVEN DEATH. IF JESUS CAME OUT OF THE SKY WITH TRUMPETS BLARING AND ANGELS RUNNING INTERFERENCE, OUR FREEDOM WOULD BE COMPROMISED; HOW WE REACTED TO HIS COMING WOULD BE A SIDE EFFECT OF FEAR, A CONSEQUENCE OF THE DESIRE TO PLEASE; IT WOULD NOT FLOW FROM LOVE.
SO LISTEN TO PILATE. HE ASKS THREE QUESTIONS. THE FIRST IS “ARE YOU THE KING OF THE JEWS?” NOW PILATE IS BEING SARCASTIC. HE KNOWS THAT THE JEWS HAVE NO KING. PILATE KNEW THAT THE MAJORITY OF JEWS LIVED ELSEWHERE, ESPECIALLY IN NORTHERN ISRAEL, BUT INDEED, SCATTERED ALL THROUGH THE EMPIRE. AND PILATE KNEW THAT THERE HAD BEEN REBELLIONS IN THE PAST, AND THE ROMAN LEGIONS HAD MADE SHORT WORK OF THEM. AND HE KNEW THAT IF JESUS ANSWERED “YES” PILATE WOULD SIMPLY ORDER HIM TO BE CRUCIFIED; AND IF HE ANSWERED “NO”, JESUS WOULD LOSE WHATEVER POPULARITY HE HAD WITH THE PEOPLE, WHO HOPED HE WOULD LEAD THEM TO A NEW ISRAEL.
BUT JESUS DOES NOT REALLY ANSWER THE QUESTION. HE SAYS, “IS THAT YOUR QUESTION, OR DID SOMEONE TELL YOU TO ASK IT?” IF PILATE SAYS IT IS HIS QUESTION, HE WILL BE ADMITTING TO THE POSSIBILITY THAT SOMEONE MIGHT BE IN COMPETITION WITH THE EMPEROR. AND IF HE SAYS IT IS THE QUESTION SOMEONE ELSE TOLD HIM TO ASK, HE WILL BE UNDERMINING HIS OWN POWER.
THEN PILATE SAYS, “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?” AND JESUS REPLIES THAT IF HIS KINGDOM BELONGED TO THE WORLD, HIS FOLLOWERS WOULD BE FIGHTING FOR HIM, BUT SINCE THEY OBVIOUSLY WEREN'T, HIS KINGDOM COULD NOT BE OF THE WORLD. AND IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT IF HIS FOLLOWERS WOULD BE FIGHTING TO KEEP HIM FROM BEING HANDED OVER TO THE JEWS, HE COULD NOT VERY WELL BE KING OF THE JEWS, COULD HE?
AND PILATE IS DESPERATE. “BUT YOU ARE A KING, RIGHT?” BECAUSE IF JESUS SAYS YES, PILATE CAN GET RID OF THIS WHOLE PROBLEM – HE SAID HE WAS A KING, AND THAT IS AN ACT PUNISHABLE BY DEATH, AND I JUST FOLLOWED THE LAW. BUT JESUS SAYS, “YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS CALLED ME A KING HERE. I'M NOT ABOUT BEING A KING. I CAME INTO THE WORLD TO TESTIFY TO THE TRUTH. AND IF YOU, OR ANYONE, HAS ANY RESPECT FOR THE TRUTH, YOU WOULD HEAR MY VOICE.”
UNFORTUNATELY, WE DON'T HEAR THE NEXT QUESTION OF PILATE, “WHAT IS TRUTH?”
JESUS COMES TO US, LIKE HE COMES TO PILATE. HE STANDS BEFORE US, WAITING FOR US TO SPEAK. “WHO ARE YOU, WE SAY.” SOME SAY YOU ARE A GREAT PROPHET, SOME SAY YOU ARE GOD'S SON, THE THIRD PERSON IN THE TRINITY. SOME SAY YOU WERE A GREAT MAN AMONG GREAT MEN. SOME SAY YOU WERE A FOOL, A REBEL, A FANATIC.” TELL ME WHO YOU ARE, SO THAT I CAN PUT YOU INTO A CATEGORY, SO THAT I CAN DEAL WITH YOU, SO THAT AFTER I DEAL WITH YOU I CA N GET ON WITH MY LIFE.
AND JESUS REPLIES, “YOU TELL ME. TELL ME WHO YOU THINK I AM, NOT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SAY.” AND YOU AND I STRUGGLE. IF WE SAY “YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD, THAT MEANS WE HAVE TO CHANGE OUR WHOLE LIVES, AND KEEP CHANGING THEM. IT MEANS THAT WE BETTER LISTEN TO WHAT HE IS SAYING. IT MEANS THAT WE HAVE TO RE-FOCUS OUR WHOLE LIVES AROUND THIS ASTOUNDING FACT, THAT GOD HAS TAKEN ON FLESH AND LIVES.
BUT IF I SAY THAT YOU ARE KING OF THE JEWS, I DON'T HAVE TO WORRY; I'M NOT A JEW. IF I SAY YOU ARE JUST A REVOLUTIONARY, OR A HOLY MAN, OR A PROPHET, OR A GREAT TEACHER LIKE THE BUDDHA, I CAN TAKE YOU OR LEAVE YOU.
AND THEN WE ASK, “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?” DID YOU REALLY WORK MIRACLES? DID YOU RAISE LAZARUS AND A LITTLE GIRL FROM THE DEAD? DID YOU DRIVE OUT DEMONS AND HEAL THE BLIND AND PARALYZED AND DEAF AND THOSE WHO WERE CRIPPLED? DID YOU RAISE YOURSELF FROM THE DEAD? BECAUSE IF YOU DID, YOU ARE GOD, AND I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO SPEND MY LIFE LISTENING TO YOU, LEARNING FROM YOU, TRYING TO ALIGN MY LIFE WITH YOU. BUT IF I SAY THESE STORIES ARE JUST LEGENDS, I DON'T HAVE TO CHANGE. IT'S EASIER FOR ME NOT TO CHANGE.
AND THEN WE ASK, “BUT YOU ARE A KING, RIGHT?” BECAUSE WE KNOW THERE IS SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT THE MAN JESUS, THERE IS SOMETHING THAT ATTRACTS US. IF HE IS A KING, THAT'S TOLERABLE. WHEN YOU HAVE A KING, YOU GIVE OVER SOME OF YOUR FREEDOM TO THE KING. THE KING CAN TAX, RAISE ARMIES, PASS LAWS, BUT MOST OF THE TIME YOU CAN GIVE LIP SERVICE, AND YOUR LIFE CAN GO ON WHETHER IT IS THIS KING OR THAT ONE, WHETHER IT IS A DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN. A KING IS A LONG WAY AWAY, AND MAYBE IF THIS JESUS IS A KING, I CAN THINK ABOUT HIM ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR. BUT HE REPLIES, I CAME INTO THE WORLD TO TESTIFY TO THE TRUTH. MY WORDS, MY LIFE, MY DEEDS ARE THERE FOR YOU TO LOOK AT. IF YOU SEE THEM WITH AN OPEN MIND, AND CHANGE YOUR LIFE AS A RESULT, YOU WILL BE HAPPY FOR ALL ETERNITY. BUT IF YOU IGNORE WHAT YOU SEE, WHAT YOU HEAR, YOU WILL NEVER RECEIVE WHAT I AM OFFERING TO YOU. YOU CAN LISTEN TO ME, OR YOU CAN BELONG TO A WORLD OF ILLUSION, A WORLD OF LIES.
JESUS SAID THAT IF YOU BELONG TO THE TRUTH, YOU LISTEN TO MY VOICE.. CAN WE HONESTLY SAY WE ARE LISTENING AND HEEDING HIS VOICE? OR WILL WE RESORT TO THAT LAST QUESTION OF PILATE, “WHAT IS TRUTH?” AND TURN AWAY?
DO YOU NOTICE THE STRIKING CONTRAST BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND READINGS AND THE PSALM, WHICH REFER TO A TRIUMPHANT, POWERFUL, EVERLASTING KING; AND THE GOSPEL, IN WHICH JESUS STANDS BEFORE PILATE, UNDERGOING THE TRIAL WHICH WILL EVENTUALLY LEAD TO HIS CONDEMNATION AND DEATH. LAST WEEK WE HEARD JESUS HIMSELF REFER TO HIS SECOND COMING; YOU WOULD THINK THAT THIS KIND OF GOSPEL READING WOULD BE MORE APPROPRIATE HERE.
BUT THERE WE HAVE IT, A PRISONER, DRESSED IN RAGS, COVERED IN BLOOD FROM BEING LASHED, STANDING BEFORE THE POWER OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE REPRESENTED BY PONTIUS PILATE – CERTAINLY NOT A KINGLY FIGURE.
IF JESUS CAME AS A KING, RIDING OUT OF THE SKY SURROUNDED BY ANGELS, YOU CAN BET THAT WE WOULD ALL BE FLOCKING TO THE NEAREST CONFESSIONAL AND SUDDENLY LEARNING TO PRAY AGAIN. WE WOULD SUDDENLY REMEMBER ALL THE COMPROMISES, ALL THE TIMES WE FAILED TO ACT, ALL THE SINS WE'VE COMMITTED – AND WE WOULD BE ON OUR KNEES BEGGING FOR FORGIVENESS. IF JESUS CAME SLOWLY, OVER THE COURSE OF A FEW DAYS, WHAT HUNGRY PERSON WOULD NOT BE FED, WHAT SICK PERSON WOULD NOT BE COMFORTED, WHAT LONELY PERSON WOULD NOT BE BEFRIENDED? WE AND THE REST OF MANKIND WOULD BE DESPERATELY TRYING TO REMEMBER WHAT JESUS COMMANDED, AND THEN WE WOULD BE OUT THERE TRYING TO DO IT. KNOWING THE END OF THE WORLD IS COMING WOULD DEFINITELY GET OUR ATTENTION AND FOCUS OUR MINDS.
BUT I THINK JESUS COMES TO US MORE LIKE HE COMES TO PILATE. HE COMES, ALLOWING US TO HAVE COMPLETE FREEDOM TO ACCEPT OR REJECT; BECAUSE THE ONLY WAY WE HAVE A CHANCE TO BE GODLY IS TO HAVE THAT GODLY FREEDOM, THE FREEDOM WHICH CANNOT BE COERCED, THE FREEDOM WHICH ALLOWS US TO BE IN CONTROL. EVEN IN CIRCUMSTANCES WHERE THE BODY IS THREATENED, THE REAL ME, THE GODLY ME, CAN ALWAYS CHOOSE, EVEN DEATH. IF JESUS CAME OUT OF THE SKY WITH TRUMPETS BLARING AND ANGELS RUNNING INTERFERENCE, OUR FREEDOM WOULD BE COMPROMISED; HOW WE REACTED TO HIS COMING WOULD BE A SIDE EFFECT OF FEAR, A CONSEQUENCE OF THE DESIRE TO PLEASE; IT WOULD NOT FLOW FROM LOVE.
SO LISTEN TO PILATE. HE ASKS THREE QUESTIONS. THE FIRST IS “ARE YOU THE KING OF THE JEWS?” NOW PILATE IS BEING SARCASTIC. HE KNOWS THAT THE JEWS HAVE NO KING. PILATE KNEW THAT THE MAJORITY OF JEWS LIVED ELSEWHERE, ESPECIALLY IN NORTHERN ISRAEL, BUT INDEED, SCATTERED ALL THROUGH THE EMPIRE. AND PILATE KNEW THAT THERE HAD BEEN REBELLIONS IN THE PAST, AND THE ROMAN LEGIONS HAD MADE SHORT WORK OF THEM. AND HE KNEW THAT IF JESUS ANSWERED “YES” PILATE WOULD SIMPLY ORDER HIM TO BE CRUCIFIED; AND IF HE ANSWERED “NO”, JESUS WOULD LOSE WHATEVER POPULARITY HE HAD WITH THE PEOPLE, WHO HOPED HE WOULD LEAD THEM TO A NEW ISRAEL.
BUT JESUS DOES NOT REALLY ANSWER THE QUESTION. HE SAYS, “IS THAT YOUR QUESTION, OR DID SOMEONE TELL YOU TO ASK IT?” IF PILATE SAYS IT IS HIS QUESTION, HE WILL BE ADMITTING TO THE POSSIBILITY THAT SOMEONE MIGHT BE IN COMPETITION WITH THE EMPEROR. AND IF HE SAYS IT IS THE QUESTION SOMEONE ELSE TOLD HIM TO ASK, HE WILL BE UNDERMINING HIS OWN POWER.
THEN PILATE SAYS, “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?” AND JESUS REPLIES THAT IF HIS KINGDOM BELONGED TO THE WORLD, HIS FOLLOWERS WOULD BE FIGHTING FOR HIM, BUT SINCE THEY OBVIOUSLY WEREN'T, HIS KINGDOM COULD NOT BE OF THE WORLD. AND IT GOES WITHOUT SAYING THAT IF HIS FOLLOWERS WOULD BE FIGHTING TO KEEP HIM FROM BEING HANDED OVER TO THE JEWS, HE COULD NOT VERY WELL BE KING OF THE JEWS, COULD HE?
AND PILATE IS DESPERATE. “BUT YOU ARE A KING, RIGHT?” BECAUSE IF JESUS SAYS YES, PILATE CAN GET RID OF THIS WHOLE PROBLEM – HE SAID HE WAS A KING, AND THAT IS AN ACT PUNISHABLE BY DEATH, AND I JUST FOLLOWED THE LAW. BUT JESUS SAYS, “YOU ARE THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS CALLED ME A KING HERE. I'M NOT ABOUT BEING A KING. I CAME INTO THE WORLD TO TESTIFY TO THE TRUTH. AND IF YOU, OR ANYONE, HAS ANY RESPECT FOR THE TRUTH, YOU WOULD HEAR MY VOICE.”
UNFORTUNATELY, WE DON'T HEAR THE NEXT QUESTION OF PILATE, “WHAT IS TRUTH?”
JESUS COMES TO US, LIKE HE COMES TO PILATE. HE STANDS BEFORE US, WAITING FOR US TO SPEAK. “WHO ARE YOU, WE SAY.” SOME SAY YOU ARE A GREAT PROPHET, SOME SAY YOU ARE GOD'S SON, THE THIRD PERSON IN THE TRINITY. SOME SAY YOU WERE A GREAT MAN AMONG GREAT MEN. SOME SAY YOU WERE A FOOL, A REBEL, A FANATIC.” TELL ME WHO YOU ARE, SO THAT I CAN PUT YOU INTO A CATEGORY, SO THAT I CAN DEAL WITH YOU, SO THAT AFTER I DEAL WITH YOU I CA N GET ON WITH MY LIFE.
AND JESUS REPLIES, “YOU TELL ME. TELL ME WHO YOU THINK I AM, NOT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SAY.” AND YOU AND I STRUGGLE. IF WE SAY “YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD, THAT MEANS WE HAVE TO CHANGE OUR WHOLE LIVES, AND KEEP CHANGING THEM. IT MEANS THAT WE BETTER LISTEN TO WHAT HE IS SAYING. IT MEANS THAT WE HAVE TO RE-FOCUS OUR WHOLE LIVES AROUND THIS ASTOUNDING FACT, THAT GOD HAS TAKEN ON FLESH AND LIVES.
BUT IF I SAY THAT YOU ARE KING OF THE JEWS, I DON'T HAVE TO WORRY; I'M NOT A JEW. IF I SAY YOU ARE JUST A REVOLUTIONARY, OR A HOLY MAN, OR A PROPHET, OR A GREAT TEACHER LIKE THE BUDDHA, I CAN TAKE YOU OR LEAVE YOU.
AND THEN WE ASK, “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?” DID YOU REALLY WORK MIRACLES? DID YOU RAISE LAZARUS AND A LITTLE GIRL FROM THE DEAD? DID YOU DRIVE OUT DEMONS AND HEAL THE BLIND AND PARALYZED AND DEAF AND THOSE WHO WERE CRIPPLED? DID YOU RAISE YOURSELF FROM THE DEAD? BECAUSE IF YOU DID, YOU ARE GOD, AND I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO SPEND MY LIFE LISTENING TO YOU, LEARNING FROM YOU, TRYING TO ALIGN MY LIFE WITH YOU. BUT IF I SAY THESE STORIES ARE JUST LEGENDS, I DON'T HAVE TO CHANGE. IT'S EASIER FOR ME NOT TO CHANGE.
AND THEN WE ASK, “BUT YOU ARE A KING, RIGHT?” BECAUSE WE KNOW THERE IS SOMETHING SPECIAL ABOUT THE MAN JESUS, THERE IS SOMETHING THAT ATTRACTS US. IF HE IS A KING, THAT'S TOLERABLE. WHEN YOU HAVE A KING, YOU GIVE OVER SOME OF YOUR FREEDOM TO THE KING. THE KING CAN TAX, RAISE ARMIES, PASS LAWS, BUT MOST OF THE TIME YOU CAN GIVE LIP SERVICE, AND YOUR LIFE CAN GO ON WHETHER IT IS THIS KING OR THAT ONE, WHETHER IT IS A DEMOCRAT OR REPUBLICAN. A KING IS A LONG WAY AWAY, AND MAYBE IF THIS JESUS IS A KING, I CAN THINK ABOUT HIM ONCE OR TWICE A YEAR. BUT HE REPLIES, I CAME INTO THE WORLD TO TESTIFY TO THE TRUTH. MY WORDS, MY LIFE, MY DEEDS ARE THERE FOR YOU TO LOOK AT. IF YOU SEE THEM WITH AN OPEN MIND, AND CHANGE YOUR LIFE AS A RESULT, YOU WILL BE HAPPY FOR ALL ETERNITY. BUT IF YOU IGNORE WHAT YOU SEE, WHAT YOU HEAR, YOU WILL NEVER RECEIVE WHAT I AM OFFERING TO YOU. YOU CAN LISTEN TO ME, OR YOU CAN BELONG TO A WORLD OF ILLUSION, A WORLD OF LIES.
JESUS SAID THAT IF YOU BELONG TO THE TRUTH, YOU LISTEN TO MY VOICE.. CAN WE HONESTLY SAY WE ARE LISTENING AND HEEDING HIS VOICE? OR WILL WE RESORT TO THAT LAST QUESTION OF PILATE, “WHAT IS TRUTH?” AND TURN AWAY?
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Thirty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B
MARK 13:24-32
THIS IS THE LAST SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME. NEXT WEEK WE CELEBRATE THE FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING, AND THEN WE ARE OFF TO A NEW CHURCH YEAR. TIME FLIES. TODAY OUR FIRST READING AND OUR GOSPEL BELONG TO THE CATEGORY OF RELIGIOUS WRITING WE CALL “APOCALYPTIC”, AND IT IS CERTAINLY APPROPRIATE THAT OUR ATTENTION AT THE END OF THE YEAR TURNS TO LAST THINGS. IF YOU WERE HEARING THESE READINGS FOR THE FIRST TIME, THEY SOUND FRIGHTENING; BUT WE ARE NOT HEARING THEM FOR THE FIRST TIME; WE CHRISTIANS HAVE BEEN HEARING THEM FOR 2000 YEARS, AND OUR JEWISH BROTHERS AND SISTERS HAVE BEEN HEARING DANIEL'S PROPHECY FOR AN ADDITIONAL 200 YEARS OR SO. AND WE CAN BE EXCUSED, I THINK, FOR STIFLING A YAWN. IT AIN'T HAPPENED YET! AND GIVEN THE TRACK RECORD, WE CAN SAFELY COUNT ON IT NOT HAPPENING THIS COMING YEAR EITHER. THE JEWS STILL AWAIT THEIR DELIVERANCE, AND WE CHRISTIANS HAVE LONG AGO BURIED THE GENERATION THAT WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO PASS AWAY UNTIL THESE THINGS CAME TO PASS.
THE WORD, “APOCALYPSE” COMES FROM TWO GREEK WORDS WHICH MEAN “REMOVE THE COVER”. YOU HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND THAT THE PEOPLE OF THAT TIME LIVED IN A CONSTANT STATE OF TURMOIL. YOU NEVER KNEW WHETHER THAT NAGGING COUGH COULD TURN INTO PNEUMONIA AND KILL YOU, OR THAT CUT YOU GOT AT WORK WOULD FESTER AND RESULT IN THE LOSS OF AN ARM OR A LEG. YOU WERE RULED BY AN AUTHORITY WHO HAD NO CHECKS AND BALANCES, AND YOUR LIFE AND FORTUNE LITERALLY BELONGED TO HIM. AND SOMETIMES JUST TO MAKE SURE YOU AND YOUR NEIGHBORS UNDERSTOOD THIS, HE WOULD SEND HIS TROOPS INTO TOWN TO TAKE EVERYTHING YOU HAD TO LIVE ON. AND IF YOU WERE A LABORER, YOUR LIFE DEPENDED DAY TO DAY ON WHETHER YOU COULD FIND WORK; AND AFTER A BACKBREAKING DAY OF WORK, YOU WOULD GET ENOUGH MONEY TO BUY YOUR EVENING MEAL, SO YOU COULD START AGAIN IN THE MORNING. THERE WERE A FEW PEOPLE AROUND WHO WERE BETTER OFF -- THE RICH MERCHANTS, THE WELL CONNECTED POLITICALLY, THOSE WHO WERE PROFESSIONAL RELIGIOUS PEOPLE – BUT LIFE FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON WAS HAND TO MOUTH, AND VERY UNPREDICTABLE. WE SEE THIS RIGHT THERE IN THE SCRIPTURES – THE BEGGARS, THE LAME, THE BLIND, THE DEAF, THE “POSSESSED”, THE LEPERS. WE SEE THE WORKMEN STANDING AROUND WAITING TO BE HIRED, BECAUSE IF THEY CAN'T FIND WORK, THEY WON'T EAT. WE SEE THE LITTLE GIRL WHOSE FATHER APPROACHES JESUS TO BEG HIM TO SAVE HER; BECAUSE WHEN LITTLE GIRLS GOT SICK, ABOUT HALF THE TIME THEY DIED. AND IF YOU READ THE GOSPELS WITH AN EYE TO HISTORY, YOU CAN ALMOST FEEL THE UNSPOKEN PRESENCE OF THE SOLDIERS, THE CENTURIONS, THE TAX COLLECTORS, WHO ARE AN EVER PRESENT REMINDER THAT THE PEOPLE OF THE LAND ARE THERE NOT BY RIGHT, BUT BECAUSE THE EMPEROR IN A FAR DISTANT CITY ALLOWS THEM TO BE, FOR NOW, IF THEY BEHAVE.
WE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN 21STCENTURY LONGMEADOW, MASSACHUSETTS, ARE NOT A LOT LIKE THOSE PEOPLE OF JESUS TIME. WE ARE SECURE, OR AT LEAST WE THINK WE ARE. EVEN GREAT FINANCIAL CRISES, EVEN AIRPLANES KNOCKING DOWN SKYSCRAPERS, DON'T PHASE US FOR VERY LONG. WE HAVE AN UNSHAKABLE FAITH THAT THE STAGE ON WHICH OUR LIVES PLAY OUT WILL BE THE SAME TOMORROW AS IT IS TODAY. OH, THINGS CHANGE. WE DIDN'T HAVE THE INTERNET A FEW YEARS AGO. I WAS EVEN BORN BEFORE WE HAD TELEVISION. BUT YOU COULD ALWAYS FIND FOOD IN A GROCERY STORE; THERE WAS ALWAYS A SOURCE OF HEAT TO KEEP YOU WARM IN THE WINTER; THERE WAS ALWAYS A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD. WE ALL KNOW WE ARE GOING TO DIE SOMEDAY, BUT WE DO OUR BEST TO IGNORE THAT FACT.
BUT WE DON'T HAVE TO LOOK FAR TO SEE THAT THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE EVEN IN OUR OWN TIME WHO HAVE A QUITE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE OF LIFE. THINK OF THE IRAQI CHRISTIANS WHO HAVE BEEN PERSECUTED OUT OF THEIR ANCESTRAL HOMES AND HAVE LOST EVERYTHING. FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES THEY WILL BE SECOND CLASS CITIZENS, REFUGEES, PEOPLE WHO IMPERFECTLY UNDERSTAND THE LANGUAGE AND THE CULTURES OF THEIR HOST COUNTRY. AND THINK ABOUT THE INDONESIANS WHO LOST EVERYTHING IN THE TYPHOON A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. OUR SECURITY, OUR PREDICTABLE AND ORDERLY LIVES, ARE FRAGILE INDEED, MUCH MORE SO THAN WE THINK.
AND THAT IS WHAT APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE IS REALLY ABOUT. DANIEL AND JESUS ADDRESS THE PEOPLE WHOSE WORLD HAS BEEN COMPLETELY TURNED UPSIDE DOWN. DANIEL SPEAKS TO THE JEWISH EXILES; THEY ONLY REMEMBER A TIME WHEN THEY WERE A PROUD PEOPLE LIVING IN A COUNTRY THEY COULD CALL THEIR OWN. JESUS SPEAKS TO A PEOPLE WHO ARE AT THE MERCY OF THEIR ROMAN RULERS. THEY LIVE IN A SHAM COUNTRY, WITH A KING WHO IS A FIGUREHEAD, AND THEY ARE REMINDED EVERY DAY BY THE MARCHING SOLDIERS OF ROME, BY THE BODIES HANGING ON CROSSES, THAT THEY LIVE IN A PRISON, THAT THEY ARE NOT IN CHARGE OF THEIR OWN FUTURES. AND DANIEL AND JESUS REMIND THEIR HEARERS OF TWO THINGS; IF WE THINK WE ARE IN CHARGE OF OUR LIVES, IF WE THINK WE ARE GOING TO GET THROUGH THIS LIFE WITHOUT SOME MAJOR, WORLD-SHATTERING PROBLEM, WE ARE JUST PLAIN WRONG. AND THE SECOND POINT IS THAT THERE IS ONE THING WE CAN BE CERTAIN OF; THAT GOD IS IN CHARGE, THAT HE WILL MAKE ALL THE WRONGS RIGHT, THAT IN THE END HE WILL TRIUMPH – THAT IS MORE CERTAIN THAN THAT THE SUN WILL COME UP TOMORROW.
AND JESUS AND DANIEL UNCOVER THIS REALITY FOR US, AS FOR THEIR OWN TIMES. AND ON THIS LAST DAY OF ORDINARY TIME, WE ARE INVITED TO TAKE OFF OUR BLINDFOLDS AND SEE WHAT IS REALLY REAL. AND WHEN WE LEAVE CHURCH TODAY, WE WILL HAVE A CHOICE. WE CAN GO BACK TO OUR ILLUSION, THAT LIFE IS COMFORTABLE, PREDICTABLE; THAT TOMORROW WILL BE LIKE YESTERDAY, THAT WE ARE IN CHARGE. OF COURSE IF WE CHOOSE THIS, WE WILL BE SURPRISED; A DAY WILL COME WHEN OUR WORLD WILL BE TORN APART. AND WE WILL NOT BE READY. OR WE CAN LISTEN TO JESUS, LISTEN TO THE PROPHETS, AND BEGIN LIVING IN THE REAL WORLD, THE WORLD WHERE NOTHING IS CERTAIN, WHERE WE CANNOT REALLY DEPEND ON ANYTHING THAT IS CREATED. AND THEN WE CAN BUILD OUR LIVES AROUND THE ONE CERTAINTY, THAT CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN, THAT IN GOD'S TIME EVERYTHING WILL MAKE SENSE, EVEN OUR SUFFERING, EVEN OUR PAIN. AND IN GOD'S TIME, AND ONLY IN THAT TIME, CAN WE HAVE THE CERTAINTY AND STABILITY AND EVERLASTING PEACE THAT WE ALL DESIRE.
THIS IS THE LAST SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME. NEXT WEEK WE CELEBRATE THE FEAST OF CHRIST THE KING, AND THEN WE ARE OFF TO A NEW CHURCH YEAR. TIME FLIES. TODAY OUR FIRST READING AND OUR GOSPEL BELONG TO THE CATEGORY OF RELIGIOUS WRITING WE CALL “APOCALYPTIC”, AND IT IS CERTAINLY APPROPRIATE THAT OUR ATTENTION AT THE END OF THE YEAR TURNS TO LAST THINGS. IF YOU WERE HEARING THESE READINGS FOR THE FIRST TIME, THEY SOUND FRIGHTENING; BUT WE ARE NOT HEARING THEM FOR THE FIRST TIME; WE CHRISTIANS HAVE BEEN HEARING THEM FOR 2000 YEARS, AND OUR JEWISH BROTHERS AND SISTERS HAVE BEEN HEARING DANIEL'S PROPHECY FOR AN ADDITIONAL 200 YEARS OR SO. AND WE CAN BE EXCUSED, I THINK, FOR STIFLING A YAWN. IT AIN'T HAPPENED YET! AND GIVEN THE TRACK RECORD, WE CAN SAFELY COUNT ON IT NOT HAPPENING THIS COMING YEAR EITHER. THE JEWS STILL AWAIT THEIR DELIVERANCE, AND WE CHRISTIANS HAVE LONG AGO BURIED THE GENERATION THAT WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO PASS AWAY UNTIL THESE THINGS CAME TO PASS.
THE WORD, “APOCALYPSE” COMES FROM TWO GREEK WORDS WHICH MEAN “REMOVE THE COVER”. YOU HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND THAT THE PEOPLE OF THAT TIME LIVED IN A CONSTANT STATE OF TURMOIL. YOU NEVER KNEW WHETHER THAT NAGGING COUGH COULD TURN INTO PNEUMONIA AND KILL YOU, OR THAT CUT YOU GOT AT WORK WOULD FESTER AND RESULT IN THE LOSS OF AN ARM OR A LEG. YOU WERE RULED BY AN AUTHORITY WHO HAD NO CHECKS AND BALANCES, AND YOUR LIFE AND FORTUNE LITERALLY BELONGED TO HIM. AND SOMETIMES JUST TO MAKE SURE YOU AND YOUR NEIGHBORS UNDERSTOOD THIS, HE WOULD SEND HIS TROOPS INTO TOWN TO TAKE EVERYTHING YOU HAD TO LIVE ON. AND IF YOU WERE A LABORER, YOUR LIFE DEPENDED DAY TO DAY ON WHETHER YOU COULD FIND WORK; AND AFTER A BACKBREAKING DAY OF WORK, YOU WOULD GET ENOUGH MONEY TO BUY YOUR EVENING MEAL, SO YOU COULD START AGAIN IN THE MORNING. THERE WERE A FEW PEOPLE AROUND WHO WERE BETTER OFF -- THE RICH MERCHANTS, THE WELL CONNECTED POLITICALLY, THOSE WHO WERE PROFESSIONAL RELIGIOUS PEOPLE – BUT LIFE FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON WAS HAND TO MOUTH, AND VERY UNPREDICTABLE. WE SEE THIS RIGHT THERE IN THE SCRIPTURES – THE BEGGARS, THE LAME, THE BLIND, THE DEAF, THE “POSSESSED”, THE LEPERS. WE SEE THE WORKMEN STANDING AROUND WAITING TO BE HIRED, BECAUSE IF THEY CAN'T FIND WORK, THEY WON'T EAT. WE SEE THE LITTLE GIRL WHOSE FATHER APPROACHES JESUS TO BEG HIM TO SAVE HER; BECAUSE WHEN LITTLE GIRLS GOT SICK, ABOUT HALF THE TIME THEY DIED. AND IF YOU READ THE GOSPELS WITH AN EYE TO HISTORY, YOU CAN ALMOST FEEL THE UNSPOKEN PRESENCE OF THE SOLDIERS, THE CENTURIONS, THE TAX COLLECTORS, WHO ARE AN EVER PRESENT REMINDER THAT THE PEOPLE OF THE LAND ARE THERE NOT BY RIGHT, BUT BECAUSE THE EMPEROR IN A FAR DISTANT CITY ALLOWS THEM TO BE, FOR NOW, IF THEY BEHAVE.
WE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN 21STCENTURY LONGMEADOW, MASSACHUSETTS, ARE NOT A LOT LIKE THOSE PEOPLE OF JESUS TIME. WE ARE SECURE, OR AT LEAST WE THINK WE ARE. EVEN GREAT FINANCIAL CRISES, EVEN AIRPLANES KNOCKING DOWN SKYSCRAPERS, DON'T PHASE US FOR VERY LONG. WE HAVE AN UNSHAKABLE FAITH THAT THE STAGE ON WHICH OUR LIVES PLAY OUT WILL BE THE SAME TOMORROW AS IT IS TODAY. OH, THINGS CHANGE. WE DIDN'T HAVE THE INTERNET A FEW YEARS AGO. I WAS EVEN BORN BEFORE WE HAD TELEVISION. BUT YOU COULD ALWAYS FIND FOOD IN A GROCERY STORE; THERE WAS ALWAYS A SOURCE OF HEAT TO KEEP YOU WARM IN THE WINTER; THERE WAS ALWAYS A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD. WE ALL KNOW WE ARE GOING TO DIE SOMEDAY, BUT WE DO OUR BEST TO IGNORE THAT FACT.
BUT WE DON'T HAVE TO LOOK FAR TO SEE THAT THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE EVEN IN OUR OWN TIME WHO HAVE A QUITE DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE OF LIFE. THINK OF THE IRAQI CHRISTIANS WHO HAVE BEEN PERSECUTED OUT OF THEIR ANCESTRAL HOMES AND HAVE LOST EVERYTHING. FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES THEY WILL BE SECOND CLASS CITIZENS, REFUGEES, PEOPLE WHO IMPERFECTLY UNDERSTAND THE LANGUAGE AND THE CULTURES OF THEIR HOST COUNTRY. AND THINK ABOUT THE INDONESIANS WHO LOST EVERYTHING IN THE TYPHOON A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO. OUR SECURITY, OUR PREDICTABLE AND ORDERLY LIVES, ARE FRAGILE INDEED, MUCH MORE SO THAN WE THINK.
AND THAT IS WHAT APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE IS REALLY ABOUT. DANIEL AND JESUS ADDRESS THE PEOPLE WHOSE WORLD HAS BEEN COMPLETELY TURNED UPSIDE DOWN. DANIEL SPEAKS TO THE JEWISH EXILES; THEY ONLY REMEMBER A TIME WHEN THEY WERE A PROUD PEOPLE LIVING IN A COUNTRY THEY COULD CALL THEIR OWN. JESUS SPEAKS TO A PEOPLE WHO ARE AT THE MERCY OF THEIR ROMAN RULERS. THEY LIVE IN A SHAM COUNTRY, WITH A KING WHO IS A FIGUREHEAD, AND THEY ARE REMINDED EVERY DAY BY THE MARCHING SOLDIERS OF ROME, BY THE BODIES HANGING ON CROSSES, THAT THEY LIVE IN A PRISON, THAT THEY ARE NOT IN CHARGE OF THEIR OWN FUTURES. AND DANIEL AND JESUS REMIND THEIR HEARERS OF TWO THINGS; IF WE THINK WE ARE IN CHARGE OF OUR LIVES, IF WE THINK WE ARE GOING TO GET THROUGH THIS LIFE WITHOUT SOME MAJOR, WORLD-SHATTERING PROBLEM, WE ARE JUST PLAIN WRONG. AND THE SECOND POINT IS THAT THERE IS ONE THING WE CAN BE CERTAIN OF; THAT GOD IS IN CHARGE, THAT HE WILL MAKE ALL THE WRONGS RIGHT, THAT IN THE END HE WILL TRIUMPH – THAT IS MORE CERTAIN THAN THAT THE SUN WILL COME UP TOMORROW.
AND JESUS AND DANIEL UNCOVER THIS REALITY FOR US, AS FOR THEIR OWN TIMES. AND ON THIS LAST DAY OF ORDINARY TIME, WE ARE INVITED TO TAKE OFF OUR BLINDFOLDS AND SEE WHAT IS REALLY REAL. AND WHEN WE LEAVE CHURCH TODAY, WE WILL HAVE A CHOICE. WE CAN GO BACK TO OUR ILLUSION, THAT LIFE IS COMFORTABLE, PREDICTABLE; THAT TOMORROW WILL BE LIKE YESTERDAY, THAT WE ARE IN CHARGE. OF COURSE IF WE CHOOSE THIS, WE WILL BE SURPRISED; A DAY WILL COME WHEN OUR WORLD WILL BE TORN APART. AND WE WILL NOT BE READY. OR WE CAN LISTEN TO JESUS, LISTEN TO THE PROPHETS, AND BEGIN LIVING IN THE REAL WORLD, THE WORLD WHERE NOTHING IS CERTAIN, WHERE WE CANNOT REALLY DEPEND ON ANYTHING THAT IS CREATED. AND THEN WE CAN BUILD OUR LIVES AROUND THE ONE CERTAINTY, THAT CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN, THAT IN GOD'S TIME EVERYTHING WILL MAKE SENSE, EVEN OUR SUFFERING, EVEN OUR PAIN. AND IN GOD'S TIME, AND ONLY IN THAT TIME, CAN WE HAVE THE CERTAINTY AND STABILITY AND EVERLASTING PEACE THAT WE ALL DESIRE.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B
MARK 12:38-44
MANY YEARS AGO I WAS VISITING A PATIENT WHO HAD UNDERGONE A HEART OPERATION. AS I ENTERED THE ROOM, A MAN DRESSED IN CLERICAL GARB WAS LEAVING. I ASKED MY PATIENT IF THAT WAS HIS MINISTER. HE REPLIED, USING A FEW CHOICE CURSE WORDS, THAT THIS MINISTER WAS WELL KNOWN FOR COMING IN TO PATIENT'S ROOMS, OFFERING TO PRAY FOR THEM, AND THEN HOLDING OUT HIS HAND UNTIL A DONATION WAS PUT INTO IT. I COULDN'T BELIEVE THAT, BUT IT WAS CONFIRMED BY ONE OF THE NURSES ON THE FLOOR. THE INDIVIDUAL IN QUESTION WAS AN ORDAINED MINISTER, AND WOULD GO TO THE ROOM WHERE A LIST OF ALL THE INPATIENTS WAS KEPT (FOR PRIESTS AND RABBIS AND MINISTERS TO LOCATE MEMBERS OF THEIR FLOCKS). HE WOULD APPARENTLY IDENTIFY PEOPLE OF CERTAIN ETHNIC GROUPS RELATED TO HIS OWN, AND USE THAT AS AN EXCUSE TO VISIT. ONE OF THE CASUALTIES OF THE PRIVACY LAWS IS THAT CLERGY CAN NO LONGER WALK INTO A HOSPITAL AND FIND THE NAMES AND LOCATIONS OF MEMBERS OF THEIR CONGREGATIONS. OUR GREEDY REVEREND HASN'T BEEN SEEN IN QUITE A WHILE.
WHEN JESUS CONDEMNS THE SCRIBES FOR DEVOURING THE HOUSES OF WIDOWS, AND AS A PRETEXT RECITING LONG PRAYERS, I THINK OF THIS. THE TEMPLE TREASURY HAD A PURPOSE. YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO GIVE AS GENEROUSLY AS YOU COULD, AND WE SEE MANY GOOD JEWISH MEN AND WOMEN DROPPING LARGE SUMS INTO THE COLLECTION BASKET. THE MONEY WAS THERE FOR TWO MAIN PURPOSES – FIRST, TO KEEP UP THE TEMPLE AND PAY THE SALARIES OF THE PRIESTS. THE MONEY WAS NOT THERE TO BUY SACRIFICES – THAT WAS DONE ON AN INDIVIDUAL OR COMMUNAL BASIS, AND A SEPARATE SET OF TRANSACTIONS, FOR WHICH THERE WERE MONEY CHANGERS AND MERCHANTS WHO SOLD ACCEPTABLE LAMBS AND BIRDS AND COWS. THE SECOND PURPOSE OF THE MONEY GIVEN INTO THE TEMPLE TREASURY WAS PRECISELY TO TAKE CARE OF WIDOWS AND ORPHANS. THE LEVITIC PRIESTHOOD, WHICH WAS SEPARATE FROM THE TEMPLE PRIESTHOOD, WAS IN CHARGE OF FINDING THOSE MEMBERS OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE WHO WERE REALLY DOWN ON THEIR LUCK AND HAD NO ONE TO LOOK AFTER THEM, AND USE THE TEMPLE MONEY TO HELP THEM OUT. BECAUSE IF YOU WERE A WIDOW OR AN ORPHAN, YOU HAD NO OTHER RECOURSE.
BUT AS WITH ALL GOOD INTENTIONS, PEOPLE CAME ALONG TO EXPLOIT THE SITUATION. THE SCRIBES LET IT BE KNOWN THAT THEIR PRAYERS WERE PARTICULARLY EFFECTIVE, BECAUSE THEY COULD GO ON AND ON USING LARGE WORDS THAT THEY HAD LEARNED BECAUSE THEY COULD READ. AND YOU COULD PAY A SCRIBE TO PRAY FOR YOU, AND IF YOU WERE REALLY IN TROUBLE, LIKE BEING A WIDOW OR AN ORPHAN, YOU MIGHT BE WILLING TO PAY QUITE A BIT FOR A REALLY EFFECTIVE PRAYER. AND THE SCRIBES WOULD TAKE THE MONEY, BUY BETTER CLOTHES, IMPROVE THEIR SOCIAL STATUS, AND THUS DEMONSTRATE TO THOSE FIRST CENTURY PEOPLE THAT GOD MUST BE LISTENING TO THEM, OR HOW ELSE COULD THEY GET SO RICH?
SO THERE IS A REASON THAT THESE TWO PARTS OF THE GOSPEL ARE RELATED. JESUS RIGHTLY (AND OF COURSE ONE COULD NEVER SAY “JESUS WRONGLY”) PRAISES THE WIDOW FOR GIVING HER LAST PENNY TO THE TREASURY. BUT I THINK THE QUESTION THAT HE WANTED HIS DISCIPLES TO PONDER WAS NOT HOW GENEROUS WE SHOULD BE, BUT WHY THIS WIDOW WAS SO POOR IN THE FIRST PLACE? AND THAT IS WHY THIS OBSERVATION OF THE WIDOW FOLLOWS UPON CONDEMNATION OF THE SCRIBES WHO PRAY FOR MONEY, AND IMPOVERISH WIDOWS.
JESUS IS SAYING, IF ALL THAT MONEY IS GOING INTO THE TEMPLE TREASURY, WHY IS IT THAT THERE ARE POOR WIDOWS WHO HAVE NOTHING AT ALL?
SOMEONE WITH NOTHING BETTER TO DO ONCE WENT THROUGH THE GOSPELS AND COUNTED UP ALL THE TIMES JESUS MENTIONS TREASURE, PROPERTY, WEALTH, POVERTY – AND FOUND THAT THESE STATEMENTS OF OUR LORD ARE SIX TIMES AS FREQUENT AS ANY OTHER TOPIC HE DISCUSSES. AND YET, MOST OF US WHO PRACTICE OUR CATHOLIC RELIGION THINK ABOUT THE PROPER USE OF THE GOODS WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN ABOUT SIX TIMES LESS OFTEN THAN ANY OTHER ASPECT OF OUR RELIGION. AND HERE I'M PREACHING TO MYSELF – WHY DON'T I TAKE JESUS AT HIS WORD AND TRUST THAT THE FATHER IN HEAVEN WILL TAKE CARE OF ME, BECAUSE I AM WORTH MORE THAN MANY SPARROWS? WHY DON'T I TAKE JESUS AT HIS WORD WHEN HE TELLS ME THAT WHATEVER I GIVE WILL BE RETURNED TO ME ONE HUNDRED FOLD? WHY DON'T I TAKE JESUS AT HIS WORD WHEN HE TELLS ME THAT I SHOULD GO AND SELL WHAT I HAVE AND GIVE IT TO THE POOR, AND I WILL HAVE ABUNDANT TREASURE IN HEAVEN? AND WHY DON'T I LISTEN WHEN JESUS TELLS ME THAT WHATEVER I DO FOR THE LEAST OF MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS, I DO FOR HIM. THE SAD THING IS THAT I KNOW MYSELF WELL ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT I WILL NEVER ACHIEVE THESE IDEALS THAT HE SETS FORTH. I AM TOO WORRIED ABOUT BEING POOR – A GIFT FROM MY MOTHER, I THINK, BUT SHE PASSED IT ON FROM HER FOLKS, AND ALL THE WAY BACK TO ADAM AND EVE. I AM TOO WORRIED ABOUT BEING POOR BECAUSE I LIKE WHAT THE WORLD HAS TO OFFER, AND ALMOST EVERYTHING TAKES A LITTLE MONEY. I AM EVEN WORRIED ABOUT BEING POOR BECAUSE IF I AM POOR I CAN'T HELP OUT MY CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN WHEN THEY ARE DESPERATE. BUT THAT'S PROBABLY THIRD ON A LIST OF THREE. I CAN ONLY HOPE THAT JESUS WILL BE MORE GENEROUS WITH HIS MERCY THAN I AM WITH ALL THE GIFTS HE HAS GIVEN ME TO SHARE WITH THOSE WHO ARE LESS FORTUNATE THAN I AM.
I THINK MOST OF US IN LONGMEADOW HAVE OUR FAVORITE CHARITIES. I KNOW SOME PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT THE SPRINGFIELD SYMPHONY; CONTRIBUTE TO MAINTAINING A NATURE PRESERVE, PROVIDE FOR EDUCATIONAL OR ARTISTIC ENRICHMENT; GIVE CONTRIBUTIONS TO PBS. AND THESE ARE ALL GOOD AND WORTHY CHARITIES, AND DESERVE OUR SUPPORT. CERTAINLY CATHOLIC EDUCATION IS A GREAT PLACE TO PUT SOME OF YOUR CHARITABLE GIVING. BUT NO MATTER WHAT YOU GIVE TO THESE KINDS OF ENDEAVORS, IF YOU HAVE A CHRISTIAN CONSCIENCE, WHEN YOU SEE SOMEONE WHO IS OBVIOUSLY POOR, THE QUESTION YOU SHOULD ASK YOURSELF, AND I SHOULD ASK MYSELF, IS WHY IS THIS PERSON POOR? AND WHAT AM I GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
MANY YEARS AGO I WAS VISITING A PATIENT WHO HAD UNDERGONE A HEART OPERATION. AS I ENTERED THE ROOM, A MAN DRESSED IN CLERICAL GARB WAS LEAVING. I ASKED MY PATIENT IF THAT WAS HIS MINISTER. HE REPLIED, USING A FEW CHOICE CURSE WORDS, THAT THIS MINISTER WAS WELL KNOWN FOR COMING IN TO PATIENT'S ROOMS, OFFERING TO PRAY FOR THEM, AND THEN HOLDING OUT HIS HAND UNTIL A DONATION WAS PUT INTO IT. I COULDN'T BELIEVE THAT, BUT IT WAS CONFIRMED BY ONE OF THE NURSES ON THE FLOOR. THE INDIVIDUAL IN QUESTION WAS AN ORDAINED MINISTER, AND WOULD GO TO THE ROOM WHERE A LIST OF ALL THE INPATIENTS WAS KEPT (FOR PRIESTS AND RABBIS AND MINISTERS TO LOCATE MEMBERS OF THEIR FLOCKS). HE WOULD APPARENTLY IDENTIFY PEOPLE OF CERTAIN ETHNIC GROUPS RELATED TO HIS OWN, AND USE THAT AS AN EXCUSE TO VISIT. ONE OF THE CASUALTIES OF THE PRIVACY LAWS IS THAT CLERGY CAN NO LONGER WALK INTO A HOSPITAL AND FIND THE NAMES AND LOCATIONS OF MEMBERS OF THEIR CONGREGATIONS. OUR GREEDY REVEREND HASN'T BEEN SEEN IN QUITE A WHILE.
WHEN JESUS CONDEMNS THE SCRIBES FOR DEVOURING THE HOUSES OF WIDOWS, AND AS A PRETEXT RECITING LONG PRAYERS, I THINK OF THIS. THE TEMPLE TREASURY HAD A PURPOSE. YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO GIVE AS GENEROUSLY AS YOU COULD, AND WE SEE MANY GOOD JEWISH MEN AND WOMEN DROPPING LARGE SUMS INTO THE COLLECTION BASKET. THE MONEY WAS THERE FOR TWO MAIN PURPOSES – FIRST, TO KEEP UP THE TEMPLE AND PAY THE SALARIES OF THE PRIESTS. THE MONEY WAS NOT THERE TO BUY SACRIFICES – THAT WAS DONE ON AN INDIVIDUAL OR COMMUNAL BASIS, AND A SEPARATE SET OF TRANSACTIONS, FOR WHICH THERE WERE MONEY CHANGERS AND MERCHANTS WHO SOLD ACCEPTABLE LAMBS AND BIRDS AND COWS. THE SECOND PURPOSE OF THE MONEY GIVEN INTO THE TEMPLE TREASURY WAS PRECISELY TO TAKE CARE OF WIDOWS AND ORPHANS. THE LEVITIC PRIESTHOOD, WHICH WAS SEPARATE FROM THE TEMPLE PRIESTHOOD, WAS IN CHARGE OF FINDING THOSE MEMBERS OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE WHO WERE REALLY DOWN ON THEIR LUCK AND HAD NO ONE TO LOOK AFTER THEM, AND USE THE TEMPLE MONEY TO HELP THEM OUT. BECAUSE IF YOU WERE A WIDOW OR AN ORPHAN, YOU HAD NO OTHER RECOURSE.
BUT AS WITH ALL GOOD INTENTIONS, PEOPLE CAME ALONG TO EXPLOIT THE SITUATION. THE SCRIBES LET IT BE KNOWN THAT THEIR PRAYERS WERE PARTICULARLY EFFECTIVE, BECAUSE THEY COULD GO ON AND ON USING LARGE WORDS THAT THEY HAD LEARNED BECAUSE THEY COULD READ. AND YOU COULD PAY A SCRIBE TO PRAY FOR YOU, AND IF YOU WERE REALLY IN TROUBLE, LIKE BEING A WIDOW OR AN ORPHAN, YOU MIGHT BE WILLING TO PAY QUITE A BIT FOR A REALLY EFFECTIVE PRAYER. AND THE SCRIBES WOULD TAKE THE MONEY, BUY BETTER CLOTHES, IMPROVE THEIR SOCIAL STATUS, AND THUS DEMONSTRATE TO THOSE FIRST CENTURY PEOPLE THAT GOD MUST BE LISTENING TO THEM, OR HOW ELSE COULD THEY GET SO RICH?
SO THERE IS A REASON THAT THESE TWO PARTS OF THE GOSPEL ARE RELATED. JESUS RIGHTLY (AND OF COURSE ONE COULD NEVER SAY “JESUS WRONGLY”) PRAISES THE WIDOW FOR GIVING HER LAST PENNY TO THE TREASURY. BUT I THINK THE QUESTION THAT HE WANTED HIS DISCIPLES TO PONDER WAS NOT HOW GENEROUS WE SHOULD BE, BUT WHY THIS WIDOW WAS SO POOR IN THE FIRST PLACE? AND THAT IS WHY THIS OBSERVATION OF THE WIDOW FOLLOWS UPON CONDEMNATION OF THE SCRIBES WHO PRAY FOR MONEY, AND IMPOVERISH WIDOWS.
JESUS IS SAYING, IF ALL THAT MONEY IS GOING INTO THE TEMPLE TREASURY, WHY IS IT THAT THERE ARE POOR WIDOWS WHO HAVE NOTHING AT ALL?
SOMEONE WITH NOTHING BETTER TO DO ONCE WENT THROUGH THE GOSPELS AND COUNTED UP ALL THE TIMES JESUS MENTIONS TREASURE, PROPERTY, WEALTH, POVERTY – AND FOUND THAT THESE STATEMENTS OF OUR LORD ARE SIX TIMES AS FREQUENT AS ANY OTHER TOPIC HE DISCUSSES. AND YET, MOST OF US WHO PRACTICE OUR CATHOLIC RELIGION THINK ABOUT THE PROPER USE OF THE GOODS WE HAVE BEEN GIVEN ABOUT SIX TIMES LESS OFTEN THAN ANY OTHER ASPECT OF OUR RELIGION. AND HERE I'M PREACHING TO MYSELF – WHY DON'T I TAKE JESUS AT HIS WORD AND TRUST THAT THE FATHER IN HEAVEN WILL TAKE CARE OF ME, BECAUSE I AM WORTH MORE THAN MANY SPARROWS? WHY DON'T I TAKE JESUS AT HIS WORD WHEN HE TELLS ME THAT WHATEVER I GIVE WILL BE RETURNED TO ME ONE HUNDRED FOLD? WHY DON'T I TAKE JESUS AT HIS WORD WHEN HE TELLS ME THAT I SHOULD GO AND SELL WHAT I HAVE AND GIVE IT TO THE POOR, AND I WILL HAVE ABUNDANT TREASURE IN HEAVEN? AND WHY DON'T I LISTEN WHEN JESUS TELLS ME THAT WHATEVER I DO FOR THE LEAST OF MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS, I DO FOR HIM. THE SAD THING IS THAT I KNOW MYSELF WELL ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT I WILL NEVER ACHIEVE THESE IDEALS THAT HE SETS FORTH. I AM TOO WORRIED ABOUT BEING POOR – A GIFT FROM MY MOTHER, I THINK, BUT SHE PASSED IT ON FROM HER FOLKS, AND ALL THE WAY BACK TO ADAM AND EVE. I AM TOO WORRIED ABOUT BEING POOR BECAUSE I LIKE WHAT THE WORLD HAS TO OFFER, AND ALMOST EVERYTHING TAKES A LITTLE MONEY. I AM EVEN WORRIED ABOUT BEING POOR BECAUSE IF I AM POOR I CAN'T HELP OUT MY CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN WHEN THEY ARE DESPERATE. BUT THAT'S PROBABLY THIRD ON A LIST OF THREE. I CAN ONLY HOPE THAT JESUS WILL BE MORE GENEROUS WITH HIS MERCY THAN I AM WITH ALL THE GIFTS HE HAS GIVEN ME TO SHARE WITH THOSE WHO ARE LESS FORTUNATE THAN I AM.
I THINK MOST OF US IN LONGMEADOW HAVE OUR FAVORITE CHARITIES. I KNOW SOME PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT THE SPRINGFIELD SYMPHONY; CONTRIBUTE TO MAINTAINING A NATURE PRESERVE, PROVIDE FOR EDUCATIONAL OR ARTISTIC ENRICHMENT; GIVE CONTRIBUTIONS TO PBS. AND THESE ARE ALL GOOD AND WORTHY CHARITIES, AND DESERVE OUR SUPPORT. CERTAINLY CATHOLIC EDUCATION IS A GREAT PLACE TO PUT SOME OF YOUR CHARITABLE GIVING. BUT NO MATTER WHAT YOU GIVE TO THESE KINDS OF ENDEAVORS, IF YOU HAVE A CHRISTIAN CONSCIENCE, WHEN YOU SEE SOMEONE WHO IS OBVIOUSLY POOR, THE QUESTION YOU SHOULD ASK YOURSELF, AND I SHOULD ASK MYSELF, IS WHY IS THIS PERSON POOR? AND WHAT AM I GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
Sunday, November 1, 2009
All Saints Day, 2009
MATTHEW 5:1-12A
THE GOSPEL TODAY RECOUNTS THE BEATITUDES. ST. MATTHEW TELLS US HOW JESUS WENT UP TO A MOUNTAIN, WHERE HE PROBABLY CLIMBED UP HIGH ENOUGH TO BE SEEN BY THE CROWD. HE THEN SAT DOWN, AND BEGAN TO TEACH. ST. MATTHEW WANTS HIS READERS TO THINK ABOUT ANOTHER MOUNTAIN, AND ANOTHER TEACHER – MOSES, MT. SINAI, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. AND FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE REAL TEACHERS ALWAYS TAUGHT SITTING DOWN. THAT WAS THE POSITION ASSUMED BY THE RABBIS.
AND THEN JESUS DELIVERS THE EIGHT BEATITUDES – SORT OF THE COMMANDMENTS FOR THE NEW AGE, THE AGE THAT JESUS WOULD USHER IN BY HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION. IF YOU REMEMBER THE COMMANDMENTS, THEY ARE THAT – FULL OF “THOU SHALT NOT'S”. EIGHT OF THE TEN HAD TO DO WITH EXTERNAL OBSERVANCE; IF YOU FOLLOWED SOMEONE AROUND LONG ENOUGH, YOU COULD TELL WHETHER HE OR SHE OBEYED THE COMMANDMENTS. BUT YOU COULDN'T TELL IF HE OR SHE WAS COVETING A NEIGHBOR'S GOODS, OR A NEIGHBOR'S WIFE. THE IDEA HERE WAS THAT COVETING, WHICH IS A MUCH STRONGER IN HEBREW THAN IN ENGLISH, SUGGESTS THAT ONE'S WHOLE BEING IS TIED UP WITH DESIRE; IT IS ALMOST OBSESSIVE. AND AS SUCH, COVETING – WHETHER GOODS OR WIFE, MAKES YOU LESS THAN HUMAN, AND MAKES YOU NEGLECT THE THINGS YOU SHOULD BE DOING; IT CAPTURES YOUR IMAGINATION AND YOUR WILL, AND PARALYZES YOU, UNTIL YOU EITHER SHAKE IT OFF WITH GOD'S HELP, OR GIVE IN TO IT.
THE BEATITUDES, IN CONTRAST, DO NOT SAY, “THOU SHALT” OR “THOU SHALT NOT.” THEY SIMPLY SAY, “BLESSED” OR IN SOME TRANSLATIONS, “HAPPY” OR “MOST FAVORED” AND IF YOU FOLLOWED A CHRISTIAN AROUND FOR A WHILE, YOU COULD TELL WHETHER HE OR SHE WAS LIVING THE BEATITUDES. EXCEPT FOR TWO – BEING POOR IN SPIRIT, AND BEING OF PURE HEART. THE OTHER BEATITUDES HAVE TO DO WITH RELATIONSHIPS, WITH HOW ONE INTERACTS WITH ONE'S NEIGHBORS, OR HOW ONE STANDS UP TO ENEMIES. BUT THE TWO IN QUESTION HAVE TO DO WITH SOMETHING INWARD, SOMETHING THAT CAN'T BE OBSERVED. THE FIRST BEATITUDE, BEING POOR IN SPIRIT, LIKE BEING PERSECUTED, HOLDS THE PROMISE OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE POOR IN SPIRIT? THE EARLY MONKS RECOGNIZED THIS RELATIONSHIP– THEY TALKED ABOUT RED MARTYRDOM, WHEN YOU SHED YOUR BLOOD, AND WHITE MARTYRDOM, WHEN YOU VOLUNTARILY REJECTED THE WORLD AND PUT YOUR WHOLE LIFE IN THE HANDS OF GOD. I THINK THIS IS A CLUE. A PERSECUTED PERSON UNDERSTANDS THAT HE OR SHE IS NOT IN CHARGE; IF YOU ARE BEING PERSECUTED, THINGS ARE NOT UNDER YOUR CONTROL. A PERSON WHO IS POOR IN SPIRIT IS SOMEONE WHO RECOGNIZES THIS AS WELL. MOST OF US LIVE AS THOUGH WE ARE IN CONTROL, AND OUR GREATEST PAIN IS IF WE HAVE SOMETHING HAPPEN TO US THAT TAKES AWAY OUR CONTROL. AND YET, IN REALITY, WE ARE NEVER IN CONTROL, ONLY GOD IS. AND THE RECOGNITION OF THIS FACT DEEP IN OUR SOULS IS BEING POOR IN SPIRIT. AND AN OUTSIDE OBSERVER CAN'T TELL WHETHER SOMEONE IS POOR IN SPIRIT.
THE OTHER INVISIBLE BEATITUDE HOLDS OUT THE GREATEST PROMISE; TO SEE GOD. BLESSED ARE THE CLEAN OF HEART. AND YET, WHAT DOES THIS REALLY MEAN? AND HOW IS IT THAT BY BEING CLEAN OF HEART, IT FOLLOWS THAT WE WILL SEE GOD? IF WE COULD FIGURE' THIS OUT, MOST OF US WOULD GLADLY DO WHAT WAS NECESSARY, BECAUSE AFTER ALL, TO SEE GOD IS EXACTLY WHY HUMAN BEINGS WERE CREATED. ST. THOMAS TELLS US THAT THIS IS HEAVEN, THE BEATIFIC VISION, THE TIMELESS MOMENT WHEN WE ARE COMPLETELY FULFILLED. OUR BUDDHIST FRIENDS SAY THAT ONCE WE LOSE OUR DESIRE FOR EVERYTHING, WE WILL ENTER A BLESSED STATE. CHRISTIANS SAY THAT THAT BLESSED STATE IS FULFILLMENT OF EVERYTHING THAT WE LACK, CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS, IN OUR WHOLE BEINGS.
SO WHAT IS CLEAN OF HEART? THE HEART, TO THE JEWS, WAS THE CENTER OF A HUMAN BEING. AND IT IS IN THIS VERY CENTER THAT EVERYTHING LIVES THAT KEEPS US FROM BEING HAPPY. IT IS IN THE HEART WHERE WE HOLD GRUDGES. IT IS IN THE HEART WHERE WE DWELL ON THE MISTAKES WE'VE MADE IN THE PAST, TO THE DETRIMENT OF DEALING WITH THE PRESENT. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE REACT TO DISRESPECT FROM OTHER PEOPLE, WHERE WE FEEL THAT WE ARE BEING NEGLECTED BY THOSE WHO SHOULD PAY MORE ATTENTION. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE FEAR THE FUTURE, THAT WE WORRY ABOUT WHETHER WE WILL HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO MAKE IT THROUGH OLD AGE. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE ALLOW THOSE ATTITUDES AND TENDENCIES TO EXIST WHICH LEAD US TO SIN. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE CONSTANTLY COMPARE WHAT IS WITH WHAT COULD BE. AND HERE JESUS' TEACHING IS A LITTLE BIT LIKE THAT OF THE BUDDHA, BUT ONLY A LITTLE BIT. BECAUSE THE BUDDHA TAUGHT THAT IF YOU COULD GET RID OF ALL DESIRES, WHICH OF COURSE ARE THE REASONS PEOPLE HAVE HEARTACHES OF ANY SORT, YOU WOULD ALSO GET RID OF YOUR PERSON, THAT WHICH YOU CALL YOURSELF, AND THIS WAS THE BEST A HUMAN BEING COULD HOPE FOR, THAT WAS NIRVANA. BUT JESUS TELLS AS THAT IF WE CAN CULTIVATE THAT INNER PEACE, THAT SILENCE, THAT DETACHMENT FROM ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH DISTURB US AND KEEP US FROM BEING FULLY HUMAN, WE WILL GAIN OURSELVES, WE WILL FIND THAT COMPLETENESS THAT ONLY CAN BE FOUND IN UNION WITH GOD, IN THE VISION OF GOD, BECAUSE AS ST. AUGUSTINE SAID, “OUR HEARTS ARE RESTLESS, UNTIL THEY REST IN THEE, OH LORD.”
TODAY AS WE PREPARE FOR THE EUCHARIST, AS I PREPARE THE BREAD AND WINE, AND FATHER REILLY OFFERS THESE GIFTS TO THE GLORIOUS GOD WHO GIVES US EVERYTHING, INCLUDING HIS ONLY SON, YOU AND I SHOULD ASK OURSELVES IF WE ACTUALLY DO PUT GOD AT THE CENTER OF OUR LIVES, IF WE ACTUALLY ARE CLEAN OF HEART; AND WE SHOULD OFFER TO GOD ALL OF THOSE THINGS IN OUR HEARTS WHICH ARE THE SOURCE OF SIN, OF WORRY, OF ANXIETY, OF DISTRACTION -- ALL OF THOSE INNER DISPOSITIONS WHICH KEEP US FROM TRUE HAPPINESS AND LEAD US TO SIN. BECAUSE JUST AS GOD WILL TRANSFORM THE SUBSTANCES OF BREAD AND WINE INTO THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS, IF WE WILL LET GO OF ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE SO ATTACHED TO OUR HEARTS THAT THEY SEEM TO BE PART OF US, GOD WILL ENTER INTO OUR HEARTS AND GIVE US THAT PEACE THAT YOU CAN ONLY UNDERSTAND IF YOU ACTUALLY HAVE IT. AND THEN WE WILL BE CLEAN OF HEART, AND THEN WE WILL SEE GOD.
THE GOSPEL TODAY RECOUNTS THE BEATITUDES. ST. MATTHEW TELLS US HOW JESUS WENT UP TO A MOUNTAIN, WHERE HE PROBABLY CLIMBED UP HIGH ENOUGH TO BE SEEN BY THE CROWD. HE THEN SAT DOWN, AND BEGAN TO TEACH. ST. MATTHEW WANTS HIS READERS TO THINK ABOUT ANOTHER MOUNTAIN, AND ANOTHER TEACHER – MOSES, MT. SINAI, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. AND FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE REAL TEACHERS ALWAYS TAUGHT SITTING DOWN. THAT WAS THE POSITION ASSUMED BY THE RABBIS.
AND THEN JESUS DELIVERS THE EIGHT BEATITUDES – SORT OF THE COMMANDMENTS FOR THE NEW AGE, THE AGE THAT JESUS WOULD USHER IN BY HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION. IF YOU REMEMBER THE COMMANDMENTS, THEY ARE THAT – FULL OF “THOU SHALT NOT'S”. EIGHT OF THE TEN HAD TO DO WITH EXTERNAL OBSERVANCE; IF YOU FOLLOWED SOMEONE AROUND LONG ENOUGH, YOU COULD TELL WHETHER HE OR SHE OBEYED THE COMMANDMENTS. BUT YOU COULDN'T TELL IF HE OR SHE WAS COVETING A NEIGHBOR'S GOODS, OR A NEIGHBOR'S WIFE. THE IDEA HERE WAS THAT COVETING, WHICH IS A MUCH STRONGER IN HEBREW THAN IN ENGLISH, SUGGESTS THAT ONE'S WHOLE BEING IS TIED UP WITH DESIRE; IT IS ALMOST OBSESSIVE. AND AS SUCH, COVETING – WHETHER GOODS OR WIFE, MAKES YOU LESS THAN HUMAN, AND MAKES YOU NEGLECT THE THINGS YOU SHOULD BE DOING; IT CAPTURES YOUR IMAGINATION AND YOUR WILL, AND PARALYZES YOU, UNTIL YOU EITHER SHAKE IT OFF WITH GOD'S HELP, OR GIVE IN TO IT.
THE BEATITUDES, IN CONTRAST, DO NOT SAY, “THOU SHALT” OR “THOU SHALT NOT.” THEY SIMPLY SAY, “BLESSED” OR IN SOME TRANSLATIONS, “HAPPY” OR “MOST FAVORED” AND IF YOU FOLLOWED A CHRISTIAN AROUND FOR A WHILE, YOU COULD TELL WHETHER HE OR SHE WAS LIVING THE BEATITUDES. EXCEPT FOR TWO – BEING POOR IN SPIRIT, AND BEING OF PURE HEART. THE OTHER BEATITUDES HAVE TO DO WITH RELATIONSHIPS, WITH HOW ONE INTERACTS WITH ONE'S NEIGHBORS, OR HOW ONE STANDS UP TO ENEMIES. BUT THE TWO IN QUESTION HAVE TO DO WITH SOMETHING INWARD, SOMETHING THAT CAN'T BE OBSERVED. THE FIRST BEATITUDE, BEING POOR IN SPIRIT, LIKE BEING PERSECUTED, HOLDS THE PROMISE OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE POOR IN SPIRIT? THE EARLY MONKS RECOGNIZED THIS RELATIONSHIP– THEY TALKED ABOUT RED MARTYRDOM, WHEN YOU SHED YOUR BLOOD, AND WHITE MARTYRDOM, WHEN YOU VOLUNTARILY REJECTED THE WORLD AND PUT YOUR WHOLE LIFE IN THE HANDS OF GOD. I THINK THIS IS A CLUE. A PERSECUTED PERSON UNDERSTANDS THAT HE OR SHE IS NOT IN CHARGE; IF YOU ARE BEING PERSECUTED, THINGS ARE NOT UNDER YOUR CONTROL. A PERSON WHO IS POOR IN SPIRIT IS SOMEONE WHO RECOGNIZES THIS AS WELL. MOST OF US LIVE AS THOUGH WE ARE IN CONTROL, AND OUR GREATEST PAIN IS IF WE HAVE SOMETHING HAPPEN TO US THAT TAKES AWAY OUR CONTROL. AND YET, IN REALITY, WE ARE NEVER IN CONTROL, ONLY GOD IS. AND THE RECOGNITION OF THIS FACT DEEP IN OUR SOULS IS BEING POOR IN SPIRIT. AND AN OUTSIDE OBSERVER CAN'T TELL WHETHER SOMEONE IS POOR IN SPIRIT.
THE OTHER INVISIBLE BEATITUDE HOLDS OUT THE GREATEST PROMISE; TO SEE GOD. BLESSED ARE THE CLEAN OF HEART. AND YET, WHAT DOES THIS REALLY MEAN? AND HOW IS IT THAT BY BEING CLEAN OF HEART, IT FOLLOWS THAT WE WILL SEE GOD? IF WE COULD FIGURE' THIS OUT, MOST OF US WOULD GLADLY DO WHAT WAS NECESSARY, BECAUSE AFTER ALL, TO SEE GOD IS EXACTLY WHY HUMAN BEINGS WERE CREATED. ST. THOMAS TELLS US THAT THIS IS HEAVEN, THE BEATIFIC VISION, THE TIMELESS MOMENT WHEN WE ARE COMPLETELY FULFILLED. OUR BUDDHIST FRIENDS SAY THAT ONCE WE LOSE OUR DESIRE FOR EVERYTHING, WE WILL ENTER A BLESSED STATE. CHRISTIANS SAY THAT THAT BLESSED STATE IS FULFILLMENT OF EVERYTHING THAT WE LACK, CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS, IN OUR WHOLE BEINGS.
SO WHAT IS CLEAN OF HEART? THE HEART, TO THE JEWS, WAS THE CENTER OF A HUMAN BEING. AND IT IS IN THIS VERY CENTER THAT EVERYTHING LIVES THAT KEEPS US FROM BEING HAPPY. IT IS IN THE HEART WHERE WE HOLD GRUDGES. IT IS IN THE HEART WHERE WE DWELL ON THE MISTAKES WE'VE MADE IN THE PAST, TO THE DETRIMENT OF DEALING WITH THE PRESENT. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE REACT TO DISRESPECT FROM OTHER PEOPLE, WHERE WE FEEL THAT WE ARE BEING NEGLECTED BY THOSE WHO SHOULD PAY MORE ATTENTION. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE FEAR THE FUTURE, THAT WE WORRY ABOUT WHETHER WE WILL HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO MAKE IT THROUGH OLD AGE. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE ALLOW THOSE ATTITUDES AND TENDENCIES TO EXIST WHICH LEAD US TO SIN. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE CONSTANTLY COMPARE WHAT IS WITH WHAT COULD BE. AND HERE JESUS' TEACHING IS A LITTLE BIT LIKE THAT OF THE BUDDHA, BUT ONLY A LITTLE BIT. BECAUSE THE BUDDHA TAUGHT THAT IF YOU COULD GET RID OF ALL DESIRES, WHICH OF COURSE ARE THE REASONS PEOPLE HAVE HEARTACHES OF ANY SORT, YOU WOULD ALSO GET RID OF YOUR PERSON, THAT WHICH YOU CALL YOURSELF, AND THIS WAS THE BEST A HUMAN BEING COULD HOPE FOR, THAT WAS NIRVANA. BUT JESUS TELLS AS THAT IF WE CAN CULTIVATE THAT INNER PEACE, THAT SILENCE, THAT DETACHMENT FROM ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH DISTURB US AND KEEP US FROM BEING FULLY HUMAN, WE WILL GAIN OURSELVES, WE WILL FIND THAT COMPLETENESS THAT ONLY CAN BE FOUND IN UNION WITH GOD, IN THE VISION OF GOD, BECAUSE AS ST. AUGUSTINE SAID, “OUR HEARTS ARE RESTLESS, UNTIL THEY REST IN THEE, OH LORD.”
TODAY AS WE PREPARE FOR THE EUCHARIST, AS I PREPARE THE BREAD AND WINE, AND FATHER REILLY OFFERS THESE GIFTS TO THE GLORIOUS GOD WHO GIVES US EVERYTHING, INCLUDING HIS ONLY SON, YOU AND I SHOULD ASK OURSELVES IF WE ACTUALLY DO PUT GOD AT THE CENTER OF OUR LIVES, IF WE ACTUALLY ARE CLEAN OF HEART; AND WE SHOULD OFFER TO GOD ALL OF THOSE THINGS IN OUR HEARTS WHICH ARE THE SOURCE OF SIN, OF WORRY, OF ANXIETY, OF DISTRACTION -- ALL OF THOSE INNER DISPOSITIONS WHICH KEEP US FROM TRUE HAPPINESS AND LEAD US TO SIN. BECAUSE JUST AS GOD WILL TRANSFORM THE SUBSTANCES OF BREAD AND WINE INTO THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS, IF WE WILL LET GO OF ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE SO ATTACHED TO OUR HEARTS THAT THEY SEEM TO BE PART OF US, GOD WILL ENTER INTO OUR HEARTS AND GIVE US THAT PEACE THAT YOU CAN ONLY UNDERSTAND IF YOU ACTUALLY HAVE IT. AND THEN WE WILL BE CLEAN OF HEART, AND THEN WE WILL SEE GOD.
All Saints Day
MATTHEW 5:1-12A
THE GOSPEL TODAY RECOUNTS THE BEATITUDES. ST. MATTHEW TELLS US HOW JESUS WENT UP TO A MOUNTAIN, WHERE HE PROBABLY CLIMBED UP HIGH ENOUGH TO BE SEEN BY THE CROWD. HE THEN SAT DOWN, AND BEGAN TO TEACH. ST. MATTHEW WANTS HIS READERS TO THINK ABOUT ANOTHER MOUNTAIN, AND ANOTHER TEACHER – MOSES, MT. SINAI, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. AND FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE REAL TEACHERS ALWAYS TAUGHT SITTING DOWN. THAT WAS THE POSITION ASSUMED BY THE RABBIS.
AND THEN JESUS DELIVERS THE EIGHT BEATITUDES – SORT OF THE COMMANDMENTS FOR THE NEW AGE, THE AGE THAT JESUS WOULD USHER IN BY HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION. IF YOU REMEMBER THE COMMANDMENTS, THEY ARE THAT – FULL OF “THOU SHALT NOT'S”. EIGHT OF THE TEN HAD TO DO WITH EXTERNAL OBSERVANCE; IF YOU FOLLOWED SOMEONE AROUND LONG ENOUGH, YOU COULD TELL WHETHER HE OR SHE OBEYED THE COMMANDMENTS. BUT YOU COULDN'T TELL IF HE OR SHE WAS COVETING A NEIGHBOR'S GOODS, OR A NEIGHBOR'S WIFE. THE IDEA HERE WAS THAT COVETING, WHICH IS A MUCH STRONGER IN HEBREW THAN IN ENGLISH, SUGGESTS THAT ONE'S WHOLE BEING IS TIED UP WITH DESIRE; IT IS ALMOST OBSESSIVE. AND AS SUCH, COVETING – WHETHER GOODS OR WIFE, MAKES YOU LESS THAN HUMAN, AND MAKES YOU NEGLECT THE THINGS YOU SHOULD BE DOING; IT CAPTURES YOUR IMAGINATION AND YOUR WILL, AND PARALYZES YOU, UNTIL YOU EITHER SHAKE IT OFF WITH GOD'S HELP, OR GIVE IN TO IT.
THE BEATITUDES, IN CONTRAST, DO NOT SAY, “THOU SHALT” OR “THOU SHALT NOT.” THEY SIMPLY SAY, “BLESSED” OR IN SOME TRANSLATIONS, “HAPPY” OR “MOST FAVORED” AND IF YOU FOLLOWED A CHRISTIAN AROUND FOR A WHILE, YOU COULD TELL WHETHER HE OR SHE WAS LIVING THE BEATITUDES. EXCEPT FOR TWO – BEING POOR IN SPIRIT, AND BEING OF PURE HEART. THE OTHER BEATITUDES HAVE TO DO WITH RELATIONSHIPS, WITH HOW ONE INTERACTS WITH ONE'S NEIGHBORS, OR HOW ONE STANDS UP TO ENEMIES. BUT THE TWO IN QUESTION HAVE TO DO WITH SOMETHING INWARD, SOMETHING THAT CAN'T BE OBSERVED. THE FIRST BEATITUDE, BEING POOR IN SPIRIT, LIKE BEING PERSECUTED, HOLDS THE PROMISE OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE POOR IN SPIRIT? THE EARLY MONKS RECOGNIZED THIS RELATIONSHIP– THEY TALKED ABOUT RED MARTYRDOM, WHEN YOU SHED YOUR BLOOD, AND WHITE MARTYRDOM, WHEN YOU VOLUNTARILY REJECTED THE WORLD AND PUT YOUR WHOLE LIFE IN THE HANDS OF GOD. I THINK THIS IS A CLUE. A PERSECUTED PERSON UNDERSTANDS THAT HE OR SHE IS NOT IN CHARGE; IF YOU ARE BEING PERSECUTED, THINGS ARE NOT UNDER YOUR CONTROL. A PERSON WHO IS POOR IN SPIRIT IS SOMEONE WHO RECOGNIZES THIS AS WELL. MOST OF US LIVE AS THOUGH WE ARE IN CONTROL, AND OUR GREATEST PAIN IS IF WE HAVE SOMETHING HAPPEN TO US THAT TAKES AWAY OUR CONTROL. AND YET, IN REALITY, WE ARE NEVER IN CONTROL, ONLY GOD IS. AND THE RECOGNITION OF THIS FACT DEEP IN OUR SOULS IS BEING POOR IN SPIRIT. AND AN OUTSIDE OBSERVER CAN'T TELL WHETHER SOMEONE IS POOR IN SPIRIT.
THE OTHER INVISIBLE BEATITUDE HOLDS OUT THE GREATEST PROMISE; TO SEE GOD. BLESSED ARE THE CLEAN OF HEART. AND YET, WHAT DOES THIS REALLY MEAN? AND HOW IS IT THAT BY BEING CLEAN OF HEART, IT FOLLOWS THAT WE WILL SEE GOD? IF WE COULD FIGURE' THIS OUT, MOST OF US WOULD GLADLY DO WHAT WAS NECESSARY, BECAUSE AFTER ALL, TO SEE GOD IS EXACTLY WHY HUMAN BEINGS WERE CREATED. ST. THOMAS TELLS US THAT THIS IS HEAVEN, THE BEATIFIC VISION, THE TIMELESS MOMENT WHEN WE ARE COMPLETELY FULFILLED. OUR BUDDHIST FRIENDS SAY THAT ONCE WE LOSE OUR DESIRE FOR EVERYTHING, WE WILL ENTER A BLESSED STATE. CHRISTIANS SAY THAT THAT BLESSED STATE IS FULFILLMENT OF EVERYTHING THAT WE LACK, CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS, IN OUR WHOLE BEINGS.
SO WHAT IS CLEAN OF HEART? THE HEART, TO THE JEWS, WAS THE CENTER OF A HUMAN BEING. AND IT IS IN THIS VERY CENTER THAT EVERYTHING LIVES THAT KEEPS US FROM BEING HAPPY. IT IS IN THE HEART WHERE WE HOLD GRUDGES. IT IS IN THE HEART WHERE WE DWELL ON THE MISTAKES WE'VE MADE IN THE PAST, TO THE DETRIMENT OF DEALING WITH THE PRESENT. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE REACT TO DISRESPECT FROM OTHER PEOPLE, WHERE WE FEEL THAT WE ARE BEING NEGLECTED BY THOSE WHO SHOULD PAY MORE ATTENTION. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE FEAR THE FUTURE, THAT WE WORRY ABOUT WHETHER WE WILL HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO MAKE IT THROUGH OLD AGE. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE ALLOW THOSE ATTITUDES AND TENDENCIES TO EXIST WHICH LEAD US TO SIN. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE CONSTANTLY COMPARE WHAT IS WITH WHAT COULD BE. AND HERE JESUS' TEACHING IS A LITTLE BIT LIKE THAT OF THE BUDDHA, BUT ONLY A LITTLE BIT. BECAUSE THE BUDDHA TAUGHT THAT IF YOU COULD GET RID OF ALL DESIRES, WHICH OF COURSE ARE THE REASONS PEOPLE HAVE HEARTACHES OF ANY SORT, YOU WOULD ALSO GET RID OF YOUR PERSON, THAT WHICH YOU CALL YOURSELF, AND THIS WAS THE BEST A HUMAN BEING COULD HOPE FOR, THAT WAS NIRVANA. BUT JESUS TELLS AS THAT IF WE CAN CULTIVATE THAT INNER PEACE, THAT SILENCE, THAT DETACHMENT FROM ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH DISTURB US AND KEEP US FROM BEING FULLY HUMAN, WE WILL GAIN OURSELVES, WE WILL FIND THAT COMPLETENESS THAT ONLY CAN BE FOUND IN UNION WITH GOD, IN THE VISION OF GOD, BECAUSE AS ST. AUGUSTINE SAID, “OUR HEARTS ARE RESTLESS, UNTIL THEY REST IN THEE, OH LORD.”
TODAY AS WE PREPARE FOR THE EUCHARIST, AS I PREPARE THE BREAD AND WINE, AND FATHER REILLY OFFERS THESE GIFTS TO THE GLORIOUS GOD WHO GIVES US EVERYTHING, INCLUDING HIS ONLY SON, YOU AND I SHOULD ASK OURSELVES IF WE ACTUALLY DO PUT GOD AT THE CENTER OF OUR LIVES, IF WE ACTUALLY ARE CLEAN OF HEART; AND WE SHOULD OFFER TO GOD ALL OF THOSE THINGS IN OUR HEARTS WHICH ARE THE SOURCE OF SIN, OF WORRY, OF ANXIETY, OF DISTRACTION -- ALL OF THOSE INNER DISPOSITIONS WHICH KEEP US FROM TRUE HAPPINESS AND LEAD US TO SIN. BECAUSE JUST AS GOD WILL TRANSFORM THE SUBSTANCES OF BREAD AND WINE INTO THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS, IF WE WILL LET GO OF ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE SO ATTACHED TO OUR HEARTS THAT THEY SEEM TO BE PART OF US, GOD WILL ENTER INTO OUR HEARTS AND GIVE US THAT PEACE THAT YOU CAN ONLY UNDERSTAND IF YOU ACTUALLY HAVE IT. AND THEN WE WILL BE CLEAN OF HEART, AND THEN WE WILL SEE GOD.
THE GOSPEL TODAY RECOUNTS THE BEATITUDES. ST. MATTHEW TELLS US HOW JESUS WENT UP TO A MOUNTAIN, WHERE HE PROBABLY CLIMBED UP HIGH ENOUGH TO BE SEEN BY THE CROWD. HE THEN SAT DOWN, AND BEGAN TO TEACH. ST. MATTHEW WANTS HIS READERS TO THINK ABOUT ANOTHER MOUNTAIN, AND ANOTHER TEACHER – MOSES, MT. SINAI, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. AND FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE REAL TEACHERS ALWAYS TAUGHT SITTING DOWN. THAT WAS THE POSITION ASSUMED BY THE RABBIS.
AND THEN JESUS DELIVERS THE EIGHT BEATITUDES – SORT OF THE COMMANDMENTS FOR THE NEW AGE, THE AGE THAT JESUS WOULD USHER IN BY HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION. IF YOU REMEMBER THE COMMANDMENTS, THEY ARE THAT – FULL OF “THOU SHALT NOT'S”. EIGHT OF THE TEN HAD TO DO WITH EXTERNAL OBSERVANCE; IF YOU FOLLOWED SOMEONE AROUND LONG ENOUGH, YOU COULD TELL WHETHER HE OR SHE OBEYED THE COMMANDMENTS. BUT YOU COULDN'T TELL IF HE OR SHE WAS COVETING A NEIGHBOR'S GOODS, OR A NEIGHBOR'S WIFE. THE IDEA HERE WAS THAT COVETING, WHICH IS A MUCH STRONGER IN HEBREW THAN IN ENGLISH, SUGGESTS THAT ONE'S WHOLE BEING IS TIED UP WITH DESIRE; IT IS ALMOST OBSESSIVE. AND AS SUCH, COVETING – WHETHER GOODS OR WIFE, MAKES YOU LESS THAN HUMAN, AND MAKES YOU NEGLECT THE THINGS YOU SHOULD BE DOING; IT CAPTURES YOUR IMAGINATION AND YOUR WILL, AND PARALYZES YOU, UNTIL YOU EITHER SHAKE IT OFF WITH GOD'S HELP, OR GIVE IN TO IT.
THE BEATITUDES, IN CONTRAST, DO NOT SAY, “THOU SHALT” OR “THOU SHALT NOT.” THEY SIMPLY SAY, “BLESSED” OR IN SOME TRANSLATIONS, “HAPPY” OR “MOST FAVORED” AND IF YOU FOLLOWED A CHRISTIAN AROUND FOR A WHILE, YOU COULD TELL WHETHER HE OR SHE WAS LIVING THE BEATITUDES. EXCEPT FOR TWO – BEING POOR IN SPIRIT, AND BEING OF PURE HEART. THE OTHER BEATITUDES HAVE TO DO WITH RELATIONSHIPS, WITH HOW ONE INTERACTS WITH ONE'S NEIGHBORS, OR HOW ONE STANDS UP TO ENEMIES. BUT THE TWO IN QUESTION HAVE TO DO WITH SOMETHING INWARD, SOMETHING THAT CAN'T BE OBSERVED. THE FIRST BEATITUDE, BEING POOR IN SPIRIT, LIKE BEING PERSECUTED, HOLDS THE PROMISE OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE POOR IN SPIRIT? THE EARLY MONKS RECOGNIZED THIS RELATIONSHIP– THEY TALKED ABOUT RED MARTYRDOM, WHEN YOU SHED YOUR BLOOD, AND WHITE MARTYRDOM, WHEN YOU VOLUNTARILY REJECTED THE WORLD AND PUT YOUR WHOLE LIFE IN THE HANDS OF GOD. I THINK THIS IS A CLUE. A PERSECUTED PERSON UNDERSTANDS THAT HE OR SHE IS NOT IN CHARGE; IF YOU ARE BEING PERSECUTED, THINGS ARE NOT UNDER YOUR CONTROL. A PERSON WHO IS POOR IN SPIRIT IS SOMEONE WHO RECOGNIZES THIS AS WELL. MOST OF US LIVE AS THOUGH WE ARE IN CONTROL, AND OUR GREATEST PAIN IS IF WE HAVE SOMETHING HAPPEN TO US THAT TAKES AWAY OUR CONTROL. AND YET, IN REALITY, WE ARE NEVER IN CONTROL, ONLY GOD IS. AND THE RECOGNITION OF THIS FACT DEEP IN OUR SOULS IS BEING POOR IN SPIRIT. AND AN OUTSIDE OBSERVER CAN'T TELL WHETHER SOMEONE IS POOR IN SPIRIT.
THE OTHER INVISIBLE BEATITUDE HOLDS OUT THE GREATEST PROMISE; TO SEE GOD. BLESSED ARE THE CLEAN OF HEART. AND YET, WHAT DOES THIS REALLY MEAN? AND HOW IS IT THAT BY BEING CLEAN OF HEART, IT FOLLOWS THAT WE WILL SEE GOD? IF WE COULD FIGURE' THIS OUT, MOST OF US WOULD GLADLY DO WHAT WAS NECESSARY, BECAUSE AFTER ALL, TO SEE GOD IS EXACTLY WHY HUMAN BEINGS WERE CREATED. ST. THOMAS TELLS US THAT THIS IS HEAVEN, THE BEATIFIC VISION, THE TIMELESS MOMENT WHEN WE ARE COMPLETELY FULFILLED. OUR BUDDHIST FRIENDS SAY THAT ONCE WE LOSE OUR DESIRE FOR EVERYTHING, WE WILL ENTER A BLESSED STATE. CHRISTIANS SAY THAT THAT BLESSED STATE IS FULFILLMENT OF EVERYTHING THAT WE LACK, CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS, IN OUR WHOLE BEINGS.
SO WHAT IS CLEAN OF HEART? THE HEART, TO THE JEWS, WAS THE CENTER OF A HUMAN BEING. AND IT IS IN THIS VERY CENTER THAT EVERYTHING LIVES THAT KEEPS US FROM BEING HAPPY. IT IS IN THE HEART WHERE WE HOLD GRUDGES. IT IS IN THE HEART WHERE WE DWELL ON THE MISTAKES WE'VE MADE IN THE PAST, TO THE DETRIMENT OF DEALING WITH THE PRESENT. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE REACT TO DISRESPECT FROM OTHER PEOPLE, WHERE WE FEEL THAT WE ARE BEING NEGLECTED BY THOSE WHO SHOULD PAY MORE ATTENTION. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE FEAR THE FUTURE, THAT WE WORRY ABOUT WHETHER WE WILL HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO MAKE IT THROUGH OLD AGE. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE ALLOW THOSE ATTITUDES AND TENDENCIES TO EXIST WHICH LEAD US TO SIN. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE CONSTANTLY COMPARE WHAT IS WITH WHAT COULD BE. AND HERE JESUS' TEACHING IS A LITTLE BIT LIKE THAT OF THE BUDDHA, BUT ONLY A LITTLE BIT. BECAUSE THE BUDDHA TAUGHT THAT IF YOU COULD GET RID OF ALL DESIRES, WHICH OF COURSE ARE THE REASONS PEOPLE HAVE HEARTACHES OF ANY SORT, YOU WOULD ALSO GET RID OF YOUR PERSON, THAT WHICH YOU CALL YOURSELF, AND THIS WAS THE BEST A HUMAN BEING COULD HOPE FOR, THAT WAS NIRVANA. BUT JESUS TELLS AS THAT IF WE CAN CULTIVATE THAT INNER PEACE, THAT SILENCE, THAT DETACHMENT FROM ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH DISTURB US AND KEEP US FROM BEING FULLY HUMAN, WE WILL GAIN OURSELVES, WE WILL FIND THAT COMPLETENESS THAT ONLY CAN BE FOUND IN UNION WITH GOD, IN THE VISION OF GOD, BECAUSE AS ST. AUGUSTINE SAID, “OUR HEARTS ARE RESTLESS, UNTIL THEY REST IN THEE, OH LORD.”
TODAY AS WE PREPARE FOR THE EUCHARIST, AS I PREPARE THE BREAD AND WINE, AND FATHER REILLY OFFERS THESE GIFTS TO THE GLORIOUS GOD WHO GIVES US EVERYTHING, INCLUDING HIS ONLY SON, YOU AND I SHOULD ASK OURSELVES IF WE ACTUALLY DO PUT GOD AT THE CENTER OF OUR LIVES, IF WE ACTUALLY ARE CLEAN OF HEART; AND WE SHOULD OFFER TO GOD ALL OF THOSE THINGS IN OUR HEARTS WHICH ARE THE SOURCE OF SIN, OF WORRY, OF ANXIETY, OF DISTRACTION -- ALL OF THOSE INNER DISPOSITIONS WHICH KEEP US FROM TRUE HAPPINESS AND LEAD US TO SIN. BECAUSE JUST AS GOD WILL TRANSFORM THE SUBSTANCES OF BREAD AND WINE INTO THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS, IF WE WILL LET GO OF ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE SO ATTACHED TO OUR HEARTS THAT THEY SEEM TO BE PART OF US, GOD WILL ENTER INTO OUR HEARTS AND GIVE US THAT PEACE THAT YOU CAN ONLY UNDERSTAND IF YOU ACTUALLY HAVE IT. AND THEN WE WILL BE CLEAN OF HEART, AND THEN WE WILL SEE GOD.
All Saints Day
MATTHEW 5:1-12A
THE GOSPEL TODAY RECOUNTS THE BEATITUDES. ST. MATTHEW TELLS US HOW JESUS WENT UP TO A MOUNTAIN, WHERE HE PROBABLY CLIMBED UP HIGH ENOUGH TO BE SEEN BY THE CROWD. HE THEN SAT DOWN, AND BEGAN TO TEACH. ST. MATTHEW WANTS HIS READERS TO THINK ABOUT ANOTHER MOUNTAIN, AND ANOTHER TEACHER – MOSES, MT. SINAI, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. AND FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE REAL TEACHERS ALWAYS TAUGHT SITTING DOWN. THAT WAS THE POSITION ASSUMED BY THE RABBIS.
AND THEN JESUS DELIVERS THE EIGHT BEATITUDES – SORT OF THE COMMANDMENTS FOR THE NEW AGE, THE AGE THAT JESUS WOULD USHER IN BY HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION. IF YOU REMEMBER THE COMMANDMENTS, THEY ARE THAT – FULL OF “THOU SHALT NOT'S”. EIGHT OF THE TEN HAD TO DO WITH EXTERNAL OBSERVANCE; IF YOU FOLLOWED SOMEONE AROUND LONG ENOUGH, YOU COULD TELL WHETHER HE OR SHE OBEYED THE COMMANDMENTS. BUT YOU COULDN'T TELL IF HE OR SHE WAS COVETING A NEIGHBOR'S GOODS, OR A NEIGHBOR'S WIFE. THE IDEA HERE WAS THAT COVETING, WHICH IS A MUCH STRONGER IN HEBREW THAN IN ENGLISH, SUGGESTS THAT ONE'S WHOLE BEING IS TIED UP WITH DESIRE; IT IS ALMOST OBSESSIVE. AND AS SUCH, COVETING – WHETHER GOODS OR WIFE, MAKES YOU LESS THAN HUMAN, AND MAKES YOU NEGLECT THE THINGS YOU SHOULD BE DOING; IT CAPTURES YOUR IMAGINATION AND YOUR WILL, AND PARALYZES YOU, UNTIL YOU EITHER SHAKE IT OFF WITH GOD'S HELP, OR GIVE IN TO IT.
THE BEATITUDES, IN CONTRAST, DO NOT SAY, “THOU SHALT” OR “THOU SHALT NOT.” THEY SIMPLY SAY, “BLESSED” OR IN SOME TRANSLATIONS, “HAPPY” OR “MOST FAVORED” AND IF YOU FOLLOWED A CHRISTIAN AROUND FOR A WHILE, YOU COULD TELL WHETHER HE OR SHE WAS LIVING THE BEATITUDES. EXCEPT FOR TWO – BEING POOR IN SPIRIT, AND BEING OF PURE HEART. THE OTHER BEATITUDES HAVE TO DO WITH RELATIONSHIPS, WITH HOW ONE INTERACTS WITH ONE'S NEIGHBORS, OR HOW ONE STANDS UP TO ENEMIES. BUT THE TWO IN QUESTION HAVE TO DO WITH SOMETHING INWARD, SOMETHING THAT CAN'T BE OBSERVED. THE FIRST BEATITUDE, BEING POOR IN SPIRIT, LIKE BEING PERSECUTED, HOLDS THE PROMISE OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE POOR IN SPIRIT? THE EARLY MONKS RECOGNIZED THIS RELATIONSHIP– THEY TALKED ABOUT RED MARTYRDOM, WHEN YOU SHED YOUR BLOOD, AND WHITE MARTYRDOM, WHEN YOU VOLUNTARILY REJECTED THE WORLD AND PUT YOUR WHOLE LIFE IN THE HANDS OF GOD. I THINK THIS IS A CLUE. A PERSECUTED PERSON UNDERSTANDS THAT HE OR SHE IS NOT IN CHARGE; IF YOU ARE BEING PERSECUTED, THINGS ARE NOT UNDER YOUR CONTROL. A PERSON WHO IS POOR IN SPIRIT IS SOMEONE WHO RECOGNIZES THIS AS WELL. MOST OF US LIVE AS THOUGH WE ARE IN CONTROL, AND OUR GREATEST PAIN IS IF WE HAVE SOMETHING HAPPEN TO US THAT TAKES AWAY OUR CONTROL. AND YET, IN REALITY, WE ARE NEVER IN CONTROL, ONLY GOD IS. AND THE RECOGNITION OF THIS FACT DEEP IN OUR SOULS IS BEING POOR IN SPIRIT. AND AN OUTSIDE OBSERVER CAN'T TELL WHETHER SOMEONE IS POOR IN SPIRIT.
THE OTHER INVISIBLE BEATITUDE HOLDS OUT THE GREATEST PROMISE; TO SEE GOD. BLESSED ARE THE CLEAN OF HEART. AND YET, WHAT DOES THIS REALLY MEAN? AND HOW IS IT THAT BY BEING CLEAN OF HEART, IT FOLLOWS THAT WE WILL SEE GOD? IF WE COULD FIGURE' THIS OUT, MOST OF US WOULD GLADLY DO WHAT WAS NECESSARY, BECAUSE AFTER ALL, TO SEE GOD IS EXACTLY WHY HUMAN BEINGS WERE CREATED. ST. THOMAS TELLS US THAT THIS IS HEAVEN, THE BEATIFIC VISION, THE TIMELESS MOMENT WHEN WE ARE COMPLETELY FULFILLED. OUR BUDDHIST FRIENDS SAY THAT ONCE WE LOSE OUR DESIRE FOR EVERYTHING, WE WILL ENTER A BLESSED STATE. CHRISTIANS SAY THAT THAT BLESSED STATE IS FULFILLMENT OF EVERYTHING THAT WE LACK, CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS, IN OUR WHOLE BEINGS.
SO WHAT IS CLEAN OF HEART? THE HEART, TO THE JEWS, WAS THE CENTER OF A HUMAN BEING. AND IT IS IN THIS VERY CENTER THAT EVERYTHING LIVES THAT KEEPS US FROM BEING HAPPY. IT IS IN THE HEART WHERE WE HOLD GRUDGES. IT IS IN THE HEART WHERE WE DWELL ON THE MISTAKES WE'VE MADE IN THE PAST, TO THE DETRIMENT OF DEALING WITH THE PRESENT. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE REACT TO DISRESPECT FROM OTHER PEOPLE, WHERE WE FEEL THAT WE ARE BEING NEGLECTED BY THOSE WHO SHOULD PAY MORE ATTENTION. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE FEAR THE FUTURE, THAT WE WORRY ABOUT WHETHER WE WILL HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO MAKE IT THROUGH OLD AGE. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE ALLOW THOSE ATTITUDES AND TENDENCIES TO EXIST WHICH LEAD US TO SIN. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE CONSTANTLY COMPARE WHAT IS WITH WHAT COULD BE. AND HERE JESUS' TEACHING IS A LITTLE BIT LIKE THAT OF THE BUDDHA, BUT ONLY A LITTLE BIT. BECAUSE THE BUDDHA TAUGHT THAT IF YOU COULD GET RID OF ALL DESIRES, WHICH OF COURSE ARE THE REASONS PEOPLE HAVE HEARTACHES OF ANY SORT, YOU WOULD ALSO GET RID OF YOUR PERSON, THAT WHICH YOU CALL YOURSELF, AND THIS WAS THE BEST A HUMAN BEING COULD HOPE FOR, THAT WAS NIRVANA. BUT JESUS TELLS AS THAT IF WE CAN CULTIVATE THAT INNER PEACE, THAT SILENCE, THAT DETACHMENT FROM ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH DISTURB US AND KEEP US FROM BEING FULLY HUMAN, WE WILL GAIN OURSELVES, WE WILL FIND THAT COMPLETENESS THAT ONLY CAN BE FOUND IN UNION WITH GOD, IN THE VISION OF GOD, BECAUSE AS ST. AUGUSTINE SAID, “OUR HEARTS ARE RESTLESS, UNTIL THEY REST IN THEE, OH LORD.”
TODAY AS WE PREPARE FOR THE EUCHARIST, AS I PREPARE THE BREAD AND WINE, AND FATHER REILLY OFFERS THESE GIFTS TO THE GLORIOUS GOD WHO GIVES US EVERYTHING, INCLUDING HIS ONLY SON, YOU AND I SHOULD ASK OURSELVES IF WE ACTUALLY DO PUT GOD AT THE CENTER OF OUR LIVES, IF WE ACTUALLY ARE CLEAN OF HEART; AND WE SHOULD OFFER TO GOD ALL OF THOSE THINGS IN OUR HEARTS WHICH ARE THE SOURCE OF SIN, OF WORRY, OF ANXIETY, OF DISTRACTION -- ALL OF THOSE INNER DISPOSITIONS WHICH KEEP US FROM TRUE HAPPINESS AND LEAD US TO SIN. BECAUSE JUST AS GOD WILL TRANSFORM THE SUBSTANCES OF BREAD AND WINE INTO THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS, IF WE WILL LET GO OF ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE SO ATTACHED TO OUR HEARTS THAT THEY SEEM TO BE PART OF US, GOD WILL ENTER INTO OUR HEARTS AND GIVE US THAT PEACE THAT YOU CAN ONLY UNDERSTAND IF YOU ACTUALLY HAVE IT. AND THEN WE WILL BE CLEAN OF HEART, AND THEN WE WILL SEE GOD.
THE GOSPEL TODAY RECOUNTS THE BEATITUDES. ST. MATTHEW TELLS US HOW JESUS WENT UP TO A MOUNTAIN, WHERE HE PROBABLY CLIMBED UP HIGH ENOUGH TO BE SEEN BY THE CROWD. HE THEN SAT DOWN, AND BEGAN TO TEACH. ST. MATTHEW WANTS HIS READERS TO THINK ABOUT ANOTHER MOUNTAIN, AND ANOTHER TEACHER – MOSES, MT. SINAI, THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. AND FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE REAL TEACHERS ALWAYS TAUGHT SITTING DOWN. THAT WAS THE POSITION ASSUMED BY THE RABBIS.
AND THEN JESUS DELIVERS THE EIGHT BEATITUDES – SORT OF THE COMMANDMENTS FOR THE NEW AGE, THE AGE THAT JESUS WOULD USHER IN BY HIS DEATH AND RESURRECTION. IF YOU REMEMBER THE COMMANDMENTS, THEY ARE THAT – FULL OF “THOU SHALT NOT'S”. EIGHT OF THE TEN HAD TO DO WITH EXTERNAL OBSERVANCE; IF YOU FOLLOWED SOMEONE AROUND LONG ENOUGH, YOU COULD TELL WHETHER HE OR SHE OBEYED THE COMMANDMENTS. BUT YOU COULDN'T TELL IF HE OR SHE WAS COVETING A NEIGHBOR'S GOODS, OR A NEIGHBOR'S WIFE. THE IDEA HERE WAS THAT COVETING, WHICH IS A MUCH STRONGER IN HEBREW THAN IN ENGLISH, SUGGESTS THAT ONE'S WHOLE BEING IS TIED UP WITH DESIRE; IT IS ALMOST OBSESSIVE. AND AS SUCH, COVETING – WHETHER GOODS OR WIFE, MAKES YOU LESS THAN HUMAN, AND MAKES YOU NEGLECT THE THINGS YOU SHOULD BE DOING; IT CAPTURES YOUR IMAGINATION AND YOUR WILL, AND PARALYZES YOU, UNTIL YOU EITHER SHAKE IT OFF WITH GOD'S HELP, OR GIVE IN TO IT.
THE BEATITUDES, IN CONTRAST, DO NOT SAY, “THOU SHALT” OR “THOU SHALT NOT.” THEY SIMPLY SAY, “BLESSED” OR IN SOME TRANSLATIONS, “HAPPY” OR “MOST FAVORED” AND IF YOU FOLLOWED A CHRISTIAN AROUND FOR A WHILE, YOU COULD TELL WHETHER HE OR SHE WAS LIVING THE BEATITUDES. EXCEPT FOR TWO – BEING POOR IN SPIRIT, AND BEING OF PURE HEART. THE OTHER BEATITUDES HAVE TO DO WITH RELATIONSHIPS, WITH HOW ONE INTERACTS WITH ONE'S NEIGHBORS, OR HOW ONE STANDS UP TO ENEMIES. BUT THE TWO IN QUESTION HAVE TO DO WITH SOMETHING INWARD, SOMETHING THAT CAN'T BE OBSERVED. THE FIRST BEATITUDE, BEING POOR IN SPIRIT, LIKE BEING PERSECUTED, HOLDS THE PROMISE OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE POOR IN SPIRIT? THE EARLY MONKS RECOGNIZED THIS RELATIONSHIP– THEY TALKED ABOUT RED MARTYRDOM, WHEN YOU SHED YOUR BLOOD, AND WHITE MARTYRDOM, WHEN YOU VOLUNTARILY REJECTED THE WORLD AND PUT YOUR WHOLE LIFE IN THE HANDS OF GOD. I THINK THIS IS A CLUE. A PERSECUTED PERSON UNDERSTANDS THAT HE OR SHE IS NOT IN CHARGE; IF YOU ARE BEING PERSECUTED, THINGS ARE NOT UNDER YOUR CONTROL. A PERSON WHO IS POOR IN SPIRIT IS SOMEONE WHO RECOGNIZES THIS AS WELL. MOST OF US LIVE AS THOUGH WE ARE IN CONTROL, AND OUR GREATEST PAIN IS IF WE HAVE SOMETHING HAPPEN TO US THAT TAKES AWAY OUR CONTROL. AND YET, IN REALITY, WE ARE NEVER IN CONTROL, ONLY GOD IS. AND THE RECOGNITION OF THIS FACT DEEP IN OUR SOULS IS BEING POOR IN SPIRIT. AND AN OUTSIDE OBSERVER CAN'T TELL WHETHER SOMEONE IS POOR IN SPIRIT.
THE OTHER INVISIBLE BEATITUDE HOLDS OUT THE GREATEST PROMISE; TO SEE GOD. BLESSED ARE THE CLEAN OF HEART. AND YET, WHAT DOES THIS REALLY MEAN? AND HOW IS IT THAT BY BEING CLEAN OF HEART, IT FOLLOWS THAT WE WILL SEE GOD? IF WE COULD FIGURE' THIS OUT, MOST OF US WOULD GLADLY DO WHAT WAS NECESSARY, BECAUSE AFTER ALL, TO SEE GOD IS EXACTLY WHY HUMAN BEINGS WERE CREATED. ST. THOMAS TELLS US THAT THIS IS HEAVEN, THE BEATIFIC VISION, THE TIMELESS MOMENT WHEN WE ARE COMPLETELY FULFILLED. OUR BUDDHIST FRIENDS SAY THAT ONCE WE LOSE OUR DESIRE FOR EVERYTHING, WE WILL ENTER A BLESSED STATE. CHRISTIANS SAY THAT THAT BLESSED STATE IS FULFILLMENT OF EVERYTHING THAT WE LACK, CONSCIOUS AND UNCONSCIOUS, IN OUR WHOLE BEINGS.
SO WHAT IS CLEAN OF HEART? THE HEART, TO THE JEWS, WAS THE CENTER OF A HUMAN BEING. AND IT IS IN THIS VERY CENTER THAT EVERYTHING LIVES THAT KEEPS US FROM BEING HAPPY. IT IS IN THE HEART WHERE WE HOLD GRUDGES. IT IS IN THE HEART WHERE WE DWELL ON THE MISTAKES WE'VE MADE IN THE PAST, TO THE DETRIMENT OF DEALING WITH THE PRESENT. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE REACT TO DISRESPECT FROM OTHER PEOPLE, WHERE WE FEEL THAT WE ARE BEING NEGLECTED BY THOSE WHO SHOULD PAY MORE ATTENTION. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE FEAR THE FUTURE, THAT WE WORRY ABOUT WHETHER WE WILL HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO MAKE IT THROUGH OLD AGE. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE ALLOW THOSE ATTITUDES AND TENDENCIES TO EXIST WHICH LEAD US TO SIN. IT IS IN THE HEART THAT WE CONSTANTLY COMPARE WHAT IS WITH WHAT COULD BE. AND HERE JESUS' TEACHING IS A LITTLE BIT LIKE THAT OF THE BUDDHA, BUT ONLY A LITTLE BIT. BECAUSE THE BUDDHA TAUGHT THAT IF YOU COULD GET RID OF ALL DESIRES, WHICH OF COURSE ARE THE REASONS PEOPLE HAVE HEARTACHES OF ANY SORT, YOU WOULD ALSO GET RID OF YOUR PERSON, THAT WHICH YOU CALL YOURSELF, AND THIS WAS THE BEST A HUMAN BEING COULD HOPE FOR, THAT WAS NIRVANA. BUT JESUS TELLS AS THAT IF WE CAN CULTIVATE THAT INNER PEACE, THAT SILENCE, THAT DETACHMENT FROM ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH DISTURB US AND KEEP US FROM BEING FULLY HUMAN, WE WILL GAIN OURSELVES, WE WILL FIND THAT COMPLETENESS THAT ONLY CAN BE FOUND IN UNION WITH GOD, IN THE VISION OF GOD, BECAUSE AS ST. AUGUSTINE SAID, “OUR HEARTS ARE RESTLESS, UNTIL THEY REST IN THEE, OH LORD.”
TODAY AS WE PREPARE FOR THE EUCHARIST, AS I PREPARE THE BREAD AND WINE, AND FATHER REILLY OFFERS THESE GIFTS TO THE GLORIOUS GOD WHO GIVES US EVERYTHING, INCLUDING HIS ONLY SON, YOU AND I SHOULD ASK OURSELVES IF WE ACTUALLY DO PUT GOD AT THE CENTER OF OUR LIVES, IF WE ACTUALLY ARE CLEAN OF HEART; AND WE SHOULD OFFER TO GOD ALL OF THOSE THINGS IN OUR HEARTS WHICH ARE THE SOURCE OF SIN, OF WORRY, OF ANXIETY, OF DISTRACTION -- ALL OF THOSE INNER DISPOSITIONS WHICH KEEP US FROM TRUE HAPPINESS AND LEAD US TO SIN. BECAUSE JUST AS GOD WILL TRANSFORM THE SUBSTANCES OF BREAD AND WINE INTO THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS, IF WE WILL LET GO OF ALL THOSE THINGS WHICH ARE SO ATTACHED TO OUR HEARTS THAT THEY SEEM TO BE PART OF US, GOD WILL ENTER INTO OUR HEARTS AND GIVE US THAT PEACE THAT YOU CAN ONLY UNDERSTAND IF YOU ACTUALLY HAVE IT. AND THEN WE WILL BE CLEAN OF HEART, AND THEN WE WILL SEE GOD.
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