LUKE 20:27-38
OUR ANCESTORS IN FAITH DIDN'T ALWAYS BELIEVE IN LIFE AFTER DEATH, AND WHEN THEY DID, IT WASN'T WHAT WE BELIEVE. THERE WAS AN EVOLUTION. WHEN YOU READ THE FIRST FIVE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE, WHICH THE PEOPLE IN JESUS TIME CONSIDERED TO HAVE BEEN WRITTEN BY MOSES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN HOPED TO LIVE ON THROUGH THEIR CHILDREN. GOD PROMISED ABRAHAM THAT HIS DESCENDANTS WOULD BE AS NUMEROUS AS THE STARS IN THE SKY OR THE SAND ON THE SEASHORE; HE NEVER SAID ANYTHING ABOUT LIFE AFTER DEATH. SARAH REFERRED TO HERSELF AS DEAD, BECAUSE SHE WAS BARREN; AND SHE REJOICED WHEN SHE FINALLY LEARNED THAT SHE WOULD BEAR A CHILD. YOU LIVED ON IN YOUR CHILDREN. BY THE TIME YOU GET TO KING DAVID, THERE WAS A GENERAL CONSENSUS THAT THERE WAS A LIFE AFTER DEATH; YOU WENT TO A PLACE CALLED “SHEOL” WHERE THINGS WERE KIND OF LIKE THEY ARE ON THE EARTH, EXCEPT EVERYTHING WAS GHOSTLY, SHADOWY, WITHOUT COLOR, WITHOUT HOPE OR IN FACT WITHOUT ANY EMOTION. THAT BELIEF IS REFLECTED IN THE STORY WHERE KING SAUL HAS A WITCH RAISE THE SPIRIT OF THE PROPHET SAMUEL, AND IN THE PSALMS, WHERE THERE IS FREQUENT REFERENCE TO THE IDEA OF SHEOL. BY THE TIME THE LATER PROPHETS COME AROUND, THERE IS BELIEF IN RESURRECTION, WHICH MEANT THAT YOU DIED, AND AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE, GOD RESTORED YOU TO LIFE, BODY AND SOUL. ONLY IN NEW TESTAMENT TIMES DO WE SEE PEOPLE BEGINNING TO BELIEVE IN A HEAVEN, WHERE YOUR SOUL WOULD GO WHILE YOUR BODY WAITED FOR THE RESURRECTION.
THE SADDUCEES FIGURED THAT THE ONLY SCRIPTURES WORTH READING WERE THE ONES WRITTEN BY MOSES, AND IN THOSE BOOKS, THERE ISN'T ANY OBVIOUS REFERENCE TO LIVING ON AFTER DEATH IN ANY FORM. AND THE LAW THAT SAYS A MAN MUST MARRY HIS BROTHER'S WIFE IF THE BROTHER DIES WITHOUT CHILDREN WAS A LAW GIVEN BY MOSES; AND SO OBVIOUSLY MOSES DIDN'T BELIEVE IN LIFE AFTER DEATH, BECAUSE AS THEY POINT OUT, THE WOMAN HAD BEEN MARRIED TO EACH BROTHER, BUT SHE COULD ONLY HAVE ONE HUSBAND, SO WHAT HAPPENS IN THE RESURRECTION? THE ONLY WAY THE LAW OF MOSES COULD MAKE ANY SENSE IS IF THERE IS NO LIFE AFTER DEATH.
THE SADDUCEES WERE VERY CONSERVATIVE; MOST OF THE WORLD IN JESUS TIME BELIEVED IN LIFE AFTER DEATH, ESPECIALLY THE PHARISEES. WHEN WE READ THE BIBLE THE PHARISEES GET A BAD RAP, BUT THEY WERE MOSTLY VERY GOOD PEOPLE. IN ORDER TO OBEY THE LAW AS WELL AS POSSIBLE, THEY STUDIED IT, ARGUED ABOUT IT, TRIED TO GET TO THE BOTTOM OF IT; IF IT CAME FROM GOD, IT HAD TO BE TAKEN VERY SERIOUSLY. OH, THERE WERE EXCESSES, AND THERE WAS HYPOCRISY. BUT THE PHARISEES FOR THE MOST PART WERE ABOUT AS GOOD AS YOU CAN GET ON YOUR OWN, WHICH IS PROBABLY WHY JESUS PICKED ON THEM. HE FIGURED THAT THEY WOULD BE THE ONES WHO WOULD GET HIS MESSAGE, THEY WOULD BE THE GROUP WHO WOULD BE HIS MOST ARDENT FOLLOWERS. (AND HE WAS RIGHT; MANY OF THE FIRST CHRISTIANS, INCLUDING SAINT PAUL, WERE FORMER PHARISEES) AND THE PHARISEES, WHO ACCEPTED ALL THE SCRIPTURES, DID BELIEVE IN RESURRECTION.
BUT THE SADDUCEES HAD A POINT. AND JESUS ANSWERS THEIR ARGUMENT IN TWO WAYS. FIRST, HE SAYS THAT THE NEXT LIFE WON'T BE ANYTHING LIKE THIS LIFE; ALL THE LAWS, ALL THE RELATIONSHIPS, THAT EXIST IN THIS LIFE WILL BE NULL AND VOID. THERE WON'T BE MARRIAGE, DEATH, HUNGER, ONE PERSON BELONGING TO ANOTHER. IF YOU THINK IT WILL BE ANYTHING LIKE THIS LIFE, YOU ARE WRONG. AND SECOND, IT WASN'T LOGICAL TO SAY THAT THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF LIFE AFTER DEATH IN THE FIVE BOOKS OF MOSES; TO GOD ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB WERE ALIVE, BECAUSE HE TOLD MOSES, “I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND JACOB” AND IF THEY WERE DEAD, IF THEY WERE NOTHING BUT DIRT, HOW COULD GOD BE THEIR GOD RIGHT NOW? AND I THINK THERE IS ANOTHER POINT HERE AS WELL; GOD MADE PROMISES TO THESE PATRIARCHS; IT WOULD SEEM FITTING THAT THEY WOULD BE AROUND TO SEE THOSE PROMISES CARRIED OUT.
BECAUSE THE SADDUCEES DIDN'T BELIEVE IN RESURRECTION, THEY DIDN'T TAKE THE LAW VERY SERIOUSLY. AFTER ALL, WHETHER YOU WERE GOOD OR BAD, YOU'D END UP IN THE SAME PLACE. MIGHT AS WELL GET WHAT YOU CAN OUT OF LIFE. MIGHT AS WELL FORGET ALL THOSE SILLY JEWISH RULES AND REGULATIONS, AND LIVE LIKE THE GREEKS AND THE ROMANS, WHO HAD THE POWER, AND WHO WERE SOPHISTICATED AND KNEW HOW TO ENJOY LIFE. FOLLOWING THE JEWISH LAW WAS FOR THE BUMPKINS; MOST OF THOSE 613 RULES DIDN'T MAKE MUCH SENSE ANYWAY. I MEAN, YOU CAN'T EAT A LOBSTER? YOU CAN'T PUT CHEESE ON YOUR SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS? YOU HAVE TO HAVE A SEPARATE SET OF DISHES FOR DAIRY AND FOR MEAT?
THE PHARISEES BELIEVED IN THE RESURRECTION. THEY ALSO BELIEVED THAT THOSE WHO WOULD ENJOY BEING RESURRECTED WERE THE ONES WHO FAITHFULLY KEPT GOD'S LAW. THE PHARISEES SAW THE BIG PICTURE, AND IF IT MEANT BEING PERSECUTED, OR DENYING ONESELF VARIOUS PLEASURES ON THIS EARTH, IT WAS ALL WORTH IT IN THE LONG RUN. AND SO IF THE LAW SAID YOU COULDN'T WORK ON THE SABBATH, THEY WORRIED ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANT; WAS WALKING “WORK” AND IF SO, HOW FAR BEFORE YOU BROKE THE LAW? COULD YOU COOK FOOD? OR WAS IT BETTER TO PREPARE ALL THE FOOD THE DAY BEFORE? AND THEY DID GET A LITTLE BOGGED DOWN IN DETAILS, BUT THEIR HEARTS WERE IN THE RIGHT PLACE, MOSTLY.
AND FOR JESUS, IT WAS IMPORTANT TO BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION. IT COLORED YOUR WHOLE LIFE, IT KEPT YOU POINTED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION; IT GAVE YOU THE STRENGTH TO PERSEVERE EVEN IF THE WORLD SAID YOU WERE A FOOL. AND BELIEF IN THE RESURRECTION MEANT THAT YOU OBEYED GOD'S LAW EVEN WHEN IT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE, EVEN WHEN IT WOULD GET YOU IN TROUBLE. JESUS WANTED HIS FOLLOWERS TO HAVE THE BIG PICTURE.
IF YOU WERE TO WALK DOWN THE STREETS OF JERUSALEM, YOU WOULD HAVE SEEN PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE ROMAN EMPIRE. AND YOU COULDN'T TELL A A SADDUCCEE FROM A GREEK. BUT YOU COULD ALWAYS PICK OUT A PHARISEE. THEY WORE DISTINCTIVE CLOTHING OF COURSE; BUT THEY LIVED THEIR LIVES ACCORDING TO THE LAW, NOT ACCORDING TO THE TIMES.
AND THAT BRINGS US TO NOW. DO WE BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION? DO WE REALLY BELIEVE, STRONGLY ENOUGH TO FOLLOW GOD'S LAW EVEN IF WE DON'T QUITE UNDERSTAND IT? ARE WE WILLING TO BE UNPOPULAR, TO STICK UP FOR WHAT IS RIGHT EVEN IF IT MEANS LOSING FRIENDS? DO WE SPEND ANY TIME WORRYING ABOUT WHETHER WE ARE ON THE RIGHT PATH, WHETHER OUR LIVES ARE GOVERNED BY JESUS CHRIST? DO WE WORK DILIGENTLY TO OVERCOME THOSE HABITS OF THE HEART THAT LEAD US TO SIN?
OR DO WE NOT BELIEVE IN THE RESURRECTION, ONLY GIVE IT LIP SERVICE? AND CAN ANYONE TELL WHETHER WE ARE CHRISTIANS BY LOOKING AT OUR LIVES? LET'S RESOLVE TODAY TO SEE OUR EVERY ACTION, OUR EVERY THOUGHT, IN THE LIGHT OF THE RESURRECTION WHICH AWAITS US. NOTHING ELSE REALLY MATTERS.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Thirty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C
THIRTY FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME, CYCLE C
LUKE 19:1-10
NOBODY REALLY LIKES TAX COLLECTORS. IT’S TRUE NOW, AND IT WAS TRUE IN JESUS’ TIME. THE WAY THINGS WORKED WAS THAT THE ROMAN EMPEROR WOULD DECIDE HOW MUCH TAX HE WOULD REQUIRE FROM HIS SUBJECTS. THIS AMOUNT WOULD BE DIVIDED UP AMONG THE LOCAL GOVERNORS, WHO IN TURN WOULD DECIDE ON HOW MUCH TAX EACH INDIVIDUAL ADULT MALE HAD TO COME UP WITH. THE COLLECTION OF THESE TAXES WOULD BE TURNED OVER TO A NATIVE, WHO WOULD BE GIVEN A CONTINGENT OF ROMAN SOLDIERS TO HELP WITH THE COLLECTION. THE TAX COLLECTOR WOULD LOSE HIS JOB AND POSSIBLY MORE, IF HE DID NOT COLLECT THE REQUIRED TAXES. ON THE OTHER HAND, ANYTHING HE COLLECTED IN EXCESS HE COULD KEEP; THAT WAS HIS PAY. AND HE COULD DEFINITELY INCREASE THE ENTHUSIASM OF THE ROMAN SOLDIERS TO HELP COLLECT TAXES BY SHARING SOME OF THE EXCESS WITH THEM. ALTHOUGH ROMAN LAW SPECIFIED THE PERCENTAGE OF THE TAKE THAT THE TAX COLLECTOR COULD KEEP, IN DAYS WHEN TAXES WERE OFTEN MEASURED IN GRAIN AND CATTLE, AND PEOPLE WERE ILLITERATE, AND THERE WAS NO REAL ENFORCEMENT, TAX COLLECTORS COULD BECOME QUITE WEALTHY.
THERE WERE PROBABLY HONEST TAX COLLECTORS, AND PERHAPS ZACCHEUS WAS ONE; OUR GOSPEL PASSAGE DOESN’T REALLY SAY. BUT ONE THING IS SURE; IF HE WAS THE CHIEF TAX COLLECTOR, AND IF HE WAS A RICH MAN, HE WAS NOT REGARDED AS HONEST, AND HE HAD FEW FRIENDS AMONG HIS FELLOW JEWS. HE MAY HAVE BEEN BARRED FROM ATTENDING THE SYNAGOGUE; HE PROBABLY DIDN’T VENTURE OUT IN PUBLIC UNLESS HE HAD HIS ROMAN SOLDIERS WITH HIM; AND IN GENERAL, HE MUST HAVE LED A LONELY LIFE. BUT ZACCHEUS MAY HAVE FIGURED IT WAS ALL WORTH IT; HE HAD MONEY TO BURN.
SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS WAS A GREAT SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR, AND IN FACT WORKED WITH SAINT THERESA OF AVILA, AMONG MANY OTHERS. A SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR IS SOMEONE WHO TRIES TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE BECOME CLOSER TO GOD, REFORM THEIR LIVES, AND REALIZE THEIR POTENTIAL AS SPIRITUAL PEOPLE. MOST SPIRITUAL DIRECTORS START BY EXAMINING THE LIFE OF THE DIRECTEE, OR CLIENT. USUALLY IT’S NOT HARD TO FIND AN AREA WHERE THINGS ARE LACKING; WHERE THERE IS SELFISHNESS, DISHONESTY, LAZINESS, DISTRACTION – ALL THOSE HABITS WHICH BOG PEOPLE DOWN AND LEAD THEM INTO SIN. AND WHEN THESE ARE POINTED OUT, AND PLANS ARE MADE TO OVERCOME THEM, THE CLIENT REVIEWS HIS PROGRESS WITH THE DIRECTOR, AND THE DIRECTOR TRIES TO HELP THE CLIENT SEE WHERE GOD IS WORKING IN HIS LIFE. IT IS A GOOD SYSTEM. BUT JOHN OF THE CROSS DID IT DIFFERENTLY. HE STARTED OUT BY FINDING THE VERY BEST THING ABOUT THE PERSON BEING DIRECTED. HE CONCENTRATED ON THAT, AND ENCOURAGED THE PERSON TO DEVELOP AND EXPAND THAT PART OF HIS SOUL. IF THE PERSON HAD A GREAT TALENT, WELL, HOW CAN IT BE HONED AND MADE BETTER, FOR GOD’S SAKE? AND BY CONCENTRATING ON THIS, THE FAULTS AND BAD HABITS GRADUALLY DISAPPEARED. AFTER ALL, IF IT WAS EASY TO OVERCOME BAD HABITS, WE’D DO IT. ON THE OTHER HAND, IT’S MUCH MORE PLEASANT TO BUILD UP WHAT IS ALREADY GOOD; SOMETIMES ALL WE NEED IS ENCOURAGEMENT AND PERMISSION.
JESUS SEES ZACCHEUS IN A TREE; HE IS A SMALL MAN, BOTH IN PHYSICAL SIZE, AND PROBABLY IN HIS SOUL. HE KNOWS EVERYONE HATES HIM, AND HE HAS DECIDED HE DOESN’T CARE. HE GOES HOME AND COUNTS HIS MONEY AND HIS POSSESSIONS, IGNORING THAT DESIRE FOR HUMAN COMPANIONSHIP, FOR A CLOSE FRIEND. AND YOU CAN BE SURE THAT JESUS KNOWS ABOUT ZACCHEUS; SOME OF HIS COMPANIONS HAVE PROBABLY ALREADY IDENTIFIED THE MAN IN THE TREE, PERHAPS WITH A FEW CURSES. AND JESUS SEES HOW ISOLATED AND LONELY THE LITTLE MAN IS, AND RATHER THAN CONDEMN HIM, OFFERS HIM HIS FRIENDSHIP, OFFERS TABLE FELLOWSHIP. “COME DOWN,” HE SAYS, “FOR I MUST STAY IN YOUR HOUSE.”
ZACCHEUS IS NOT ONLY UP A TREE, HE IS ON THE FENCE. HE HAD BEEN CURIOUS ABOUT JESUS; HE HAD BEEN A WILLING BYSTANDER. BUT NOW HE HAS A DECISION TO MAKE. DOES HE ACCEPT THE OFFER? AND IN ACCEPTING, ZACCHEUS CHANGES. JESUS SEES THAT THERE IS GOOD IN THE MAN, AND ZACCHEUS RESPONDS FROM HIS GOOD NATURE. “I WILL GIVE HALF MY WEALTH TO THE POOR, AND IF I HAVE CHEATED ANYONE, I WILL REPAY THEM FOUR TIMES OVER.” AND DESPITE THE GRUMBLING OF THE GOOD PEOPLE OF THE TOWN, JESUS AND HIS APOSTLES JOIN ZACCHEUS, AND PROBABLY OTHER OUTCASTS, IN A BANQUET IN ZACCHEUS’ HOME – MAYBE THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS THAT ZACCHEUS WAS SURROUNDED BY FRIENDLY PEOPLE AND GOOD CHEER.
CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA, A FATHER OF THE CHURCH WHO LIVED ABOUT 150 YEARS AFTER CHRIST, SAID THAT ZACCHEUS WAS THE APOSTLE NAMED MATTHIAS, WHO WAS APPOINTED TO REPLACE JUDAS ISCARIOT AFTER THE RESURRECTION. THERE IS ANOTHER STORY FROM THE EARLY DAYS OF THE CHURCH THAT ZACCHEUS WAS THE FIRST BISHOP OF CASAREA. IN ANY EVENT, THE ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS CHANGED HIS LIFE.
JESUS GIVES US A VERY PRACTICAL LESSON HERE. LOOK AT THE PEOPLE YOU MEET, AND FIND THE GOOD IN THEM. CALL OUT TO THAT GOOD, AND THEY WILL BECOME BETTER PEOPLE. LOOK AT THE BAD, ON THE OTHER HAND, AND THEY CAN ONLY BECOME WORSE. AN OLD SAYING: “TREAT SOMEONE AS THEY ARE, AND THEY WILL BECOME WORSE; TREAT THEM AS THEY OUGHT TO BE, AND THEY WILL BECOME BETTER.” AND ANOTHER LESSON: JESUS LOOKS AT WHAT IS GOOD IN YOU AND I, AND INVITES US TO BECOME BETTER; HE DOES NOT LOOK AT WHAT IS BAD AND CONDEMN US.
LUKE 19:1-10
NOBODY REALLY LIKES TAX COLLECTORS. IT’S TRUE NOW, AND IT WAS TRUE IN JESUS’ TIME. THE WAY THINGS WORKED WAS THAT THE ROMAN EMPEROR WOULD DECIDE HOW MUCH TAX HE WOULD REQUIRE FROM HIS SUBJECTS. THIS AMOUNT WOULD BE DIVIDED UP AMONG THE LOCAL GOVERNORS, WHO IN TURN WOULD DECIDE ON HOW MUCH TAX EACH INDIVIDUAL ADULT MALE HAD TO COME UP WITH. THE COLLECTION OF THESE TAXES WOULD BE TURNED OVER TO A NATIVE, WHO WOULD BE GIVEN A CONTINGENT OF ROMAN SOLDIERS TO HELP WITH THE COLLECTION. THE TAX COLLECTOR WOULD LOSE HIS JOB AND POSSIBLY MORE, IF HE DID NOT COLLECT THE REQUIRED TAXES. ON THE OTHER HAND, ANYTHING HE COLLECTED IN EXCESS HE COULD KEEP; THAT WAS HIS PAY. AND HE COULD DEFINITELY INCREASE THE ENTHUSIASM OF THE ROMAN SOLDIERS TO HELP COLLECT TAXES BY SHARING SOME OF THE EXCESS WITH THEM. ALTHOUGH ROMAN LAW SPECIFIED THE PERCENTAGE OF THE TAKE THAT THE TAX COLLECTOR COULD KEEP, IN DAYS WHEN TAXES WERE OFTEN MEASURED IN GRAIN AND CATTLE, AND PEOPLE WERE ILLITERATE, AND THERE WAS NO REAL ENFORCEMENT, TAX COLLECTORS COULD BECOME QUITE WEALTHY.
THERE WERE PROBABLY HONEST TAX COLLECTORS, AND PERHAPS ZACCHEUS WAS ONE; OUR GOSPEL PASSAGE DOESN’T REALLY SAY. BUT ONE THING IS SURE; IF HE WAS THE CHIEF TAX COLLECTOR, AND IF HE WAS A RICH MAN, HE WAS NOT REGARDED AS HONEST, AND HE HAD FEW FRIENDS AMONG HIS FELLOW JEWS. HE MAY HAVE BEEN BARRED FROM ATTENDING THE SYNAGOGUE; HE PROBABLY DIDN’T VENTURE OUT IN PUBLIC UNLESS HE HAD HIS ROMAN SOLDIERS WITH HIM; AND IN GENERAL, HE MUST HAVE LED A LONELY LIFE. BUT ZACCHEUS MAY HAVE FIGURED IT WAS ALL WORTH IT; HE HAD MONEY TO BURN.
SAINT JOHN OF THE CROSS WAS A GREAT SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR, AND IN FACT WORKED WITH SAINT THERESA OF AVILA, AMONG MANY OTHERS. A SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR IS SOMEONE WHO TRIES TO HELP OTHER PEOPLE BECOME CLOSER TO GOD, REFORM THEIR LIVES, AND REALIZE THEIR POTENTIAL AS SPIRITUAL PEOPLE. MOST SPIRITUAL DIRECTORS START BY EXAMINING THE LIFE OF THE DIRECTEE, OR CLIENT. USUALLY IT’S NOT HARD TO FIND AN AREA WHERE THINGS ARE LACKING; WHERE THERE IS SELFISHNESS, DISHONESTY, LAZINESS, DISTRACTION – ALL THOSE HABITS WHICH BOG PEOPLE DOWN AND LEAD THEM INTO SIN. AND WHEN THESE ARE POINTED OUT, AND PLANS ARE MADE TO OVERCOME THEM, THE CLIENT REVIEWS HIS PROGRESS WITH THE DIRECTOR, AND THE DIRECTOR TRIES TO HELP THE CLIENT SEE WHERE GOD IS WORKING IN HIS LIFE. IT IS A GOOD SYSTEM. BUT JOHN OF THE CROSS DID IT DIFFERENTLY. HE STARTED OUT BY FINDING THE VERY BEST THING ABOUT THE PERSON BEING DIRECTED. HE CONCENTRATED ON THAT, AND ENCOURAGED THE PERSON TO DEVELOP AND EXPAND THAT PART OF HIS SOUL. IF THE PERSON HAD A GREAT TALENT, WELL, HOW CAN IT BE HONED AND MADE BETTER, FOR GOD’S SAKE? AND BY CONCENTRATING ON THIS, THE FAULTS AND BAD HABITS GRADUALLY DISAPPEARED. AFTER ALL, IF IT WAS EASY TO OVERCOME BAD HABITS, WE’D DO IT. ON THE OTHER HAND, IT’S MUCH MORE PLEASANT TO BUILD UP WHAT IS ALREADY GOOD; SOMETIMES ALL WE NEED IS ENCOURAGEMENT AND PERMISSION.
JESUS SEES ZACCHEUS IN A TREE; HE IS A SMALL MAN, BOTH IN PHYSICAL SIZE, AND PROBABLY IN HIS SOUL. HE KNOWS EVERYONE HATES HIM, AND HE HAS DECIDED HE DOESN’T CARE. HE GOES HOME AND COUNTS HIS MONEY AND HIS POSSESSIONS, IGNORING THAT DESIRE FOR HUMAN COMPANIONSHIP, FOR A CLOSE FRIEND. AND YOU CAN BE SURE THAT JESUS KNOWS ABOUT ZACCHEUS; SOME OF HIS COMPANIONS HAVE PROBABLY ALREADY IDENTIFIED THE MAN IN THE TREE, PERHAPS WITH A FEW CURSES. AND JESUS SEES HOW ISOLATED AND LONELY THE LITTLE MAN IS, AND RATHER THAN CONDEMN HIM, OFFERS HIM HIS FRIENDSHIP, OFFERS TABLE FELLOWSHIP. “COME DOWN,” HE SAYS, “FOR I MUST STAY IN YOUR HOUSE.”
ZACCHEUS IS NOT ONLY UP A TREE, HE IS ON THE FENCE. HE HAD BEEN CURIOUS ABOUT JESUS; HE HAD BEEN A WILLING BYSTANDER. BUT NOW HE HAS A DECISION TO MAKE. DOES HE ACCEPT THE OFFER? AND IN ACCEPTING, ZACCHEUS CHANGES. JESUS SEES THAT THERE IS GOOD IN THE MAN, AND ZACCHEUS RESPONDS FROM HIS GOOD NATURE. “I WILL GIVE HALF MY WEALTH TO THE POOR, AND IF I HAVE CHEATED ANYONE, I WILL REPAY THEM FOUR TIMES OVER.” AND DESPITE THE GRUMBLING OF THE GOOD PEOPLE OF THE TOWN, JESUS AND HIS APOSTLES JOIN ZACCHEUS, AND PROBABLY OTHER OUTCASTS, IN A BANQUET IN ZACCHEUS’ HOME – MAYBE THE FIRST TIME IN YEARS THAT ZACCHEUS WAS SURROUNDED BY FRIENDLY PEOPLE AND GOOD CHEER.
CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA, A FATHER OF THE CHURCH WHO LIVED ABOUT 150 YEARS AFTER CHRIST, SAID THAT ZACCHEUS WAS THE APOSTLE NAMED MATTHIAS, WHO WAS APPOINTED TO REPLACE JUDAS ISCARIOT AFTER THE RESURRECTION. THERE IS ANOTHER STORY FROM THE EARLY DAYS OF THE CHURCH THAT ZACCHEUS WAS THE FIRST BISHOP OF CASAREA. IN ANY EVENT, THE ENCOUNTER WITH JESUS CHANGED HIS LIFE.
JESUS GIVES US A VERY PRACTICAL LESSON HERE. LOOK AT THE PEOPLE YOU MEET, AND FIND THE GOOD IN THEM. CALL OUT TO THAT GOOD, AND THEY WILL BECOME BETTER PEOPLE. LOOK AT THE BAD, ON THE OTHER HAND, AND THEY CAN ONLY BECOME WORSE. AN OLD SAYING: “TREAT SOMEONE AS THEY ARE, AND THEY WILL BECOME WORSE; TREAT THEM AS THEY OUGHT TO BE, AND THEY WILL BECOME BETTER.” AND ANOTHER LESSON: JESUS LOOKS AT WHAT IS GOOD IN YOU AND I, AND INVITES US TO BECOME BETTER; HE DOES NOT LOOK AT WHAT IS BAD AND CONDEMN US.
Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C
LUKE 18:9-14
HOW MANY OF YOU DRIVE A CAR? WOULD YOU SAY YOU ARE A BAD DRIVER, AN AVERAGE DRIVER, OR A GOOD DRIVER? I WON’T ASK FOR A SHOW OF HANDS, BUT STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT WHEN THAT QUESTION IS ASKED, 90 PERCENT OF THOSE WHO ANSWER CLAIM TO BE BETTER THAN AVERAGE. THEY DID A SIMILAR STUDY WITH COLLEGE PROFESSORS, ASKING MORE EXPLICITLY WHETHER THEY SAW THEMSELVES AS A GOOD TEACHER, AN AVERAGE TEACHER, OR A TEACHER WHO NEEDED WORK. AS YOU MIGHT GUESS, MORE THAN 90% CONSIDERED THEMSELVES ABOVE AVERAGE.
I THINK YOU WOULD FIND THAT MOST PEOPLE CONSIDER THEMSELVES ABOVE AVERAGE WHEN IT IS ABOUT SOMETHING THEY CARE ABOUT. GARRISON KEELER NOTED THAT IN LAKE WOEBEGON, THAT FICTIONAL CITY IN MIDDLE AMERICA, 90 PERCENT OF THE CHILDREN WERE ABOVE AVERAGE.
THIS FEELING THAT WE HAVE, THAT WE ARE ABOVE AVERAGE IN THINGS WE CARE ABOUT, IS PROBABLY HEALTHY. IF I CONSIDERED MYSELF A BAD DRIVER, AND I MIGHT POINT OUT THAT MY OPINION ABOUT MY DRIVING SKILLS IS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF MY WIFE, I WOULD PROBABLY NEVER VENTURE OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY; AND IF I THOUGHT I WAS JUST AN AVERAGE DOCTOR, I WOULD BE AFRAID OF TAKING CARE OF PATIENTS.
THE PHARISEE CONSIDERS HIMSELF SPIRITUALLY SUPERIOR TO MOST OF HIS FELLOW JEWS. AND HE HAS REASON TO THINK THIS. HE LISTS THE REASONS, AND HE COMPARES HIMSELF TO THE KINDS OF PEOPLE WHO CLEARLY AREN’T TRYING VERY HARD TO MEET THE MARK. THE PHARISEE TRIES TO MEET THE MARK; HE HOLDS HIMSELF TO HIGH STANDARDS, AND KEEPS ALL THE LAWS, AND GIVES GENEROUSLY. WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE? HE EVEN THANKS GOD FOR HIS SITUATION – I THINK ITS INTERESTING THAT HE THANKS GOD THAT HE IS NOT LIKE THE REST OF MEN. SOME PEOPLE THINK THE PHARISEE BELIEVES THAT HIS SPIRITUAL GROWTH COMES FROM HIS OWN EFFORTS, BUT RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF HIS PRAYER, HE ACKNOWLEDGES THAT GOD HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT – MAYBE EVERYTHING.
BUT THE PHARISEE IS NOT JUSTIFIED, HIS PRAYERS AND ALMSGIVING AND MORAL UPRIGHTNESS ARE FOR NOTHING. HIS PRAYER IS NOT HEARD, JESUS TELLS US.
I WONDER IF ANY OF US EVER THANK GOD THAT WE ARE NOT LIKE THE REST OF MEN, OR EVEN SOME OF THE REST OF MEN. I THANK GOD THAT I HAVE A WONDERFUL WIFE AND KIDS I AM PROUD OF, AND GOOD HEALTH, AND A PROFESSION I LOVE. IS THAT WRONG? THERE ARE CERTAINLY A LOT OF PEOPLE AROUND, EVEN HERE IN LONGMEADOW, THAT I WOULD NOT WANT TO TRADE PLACES WITH; I’M VERY GRATEFUL TO GOD I’M NOT LIKE THEM. SHOULD I NOT THANK GOD FOR WHAT HE HAS GIVEN TO ME? IT WASN’T THAT LONG AGO THAT IT SEEMED AS THOUGH JESUS WAS DISAPPOINTED IN THE NINE LEPERS WHO DID NOT RETURN TO THANK GOD FOR THEIR HEALING. MIGHT THEY HAVE ALSO SAID, “THANK YOU THAT I AM NO LONGER LIKE THE REST OF LEPERS?”
THE REAL PROBLEM WITH THE PHARISEE IS PRIDE, NOT HIS PRAYER OF THANKS. AND WE CAN SEE WHAT THE PRIDE IS DOING TO HIM, JUST BE LISTENING TO HIS PRAYER AND OBSERVING THE SCENE. FIRST, THE PHARISEE IS LOOKING AT WHAT HE’S DONE, NOT AT WHAT HE STILL LACKS. PRIDE STUNTS SPIRITUAL GROWTH, AND OUR PHARISEE IS STUNTED. SECOND, PRIDE SEPARATES US FROM OTHERS. THE PHARISEE SEES HIMSELF AS SEPARATE FROM HIS FELLOW HUMAN BEING, THE TAX COLLECTOR. THERE IS NO ONE WHO IS NOT IN NEED OF A SAVIOR, NOT MOTHER THERESA, NOT THE POPE – NOT EVEN THE BLESSED MOTHER. THAT IS THE FACT THAT UNITES US ALL. THIRD, PRIDE SEPARATES US FROM GOD. THE PHARISEE SEEMS TO BE LAYING OUT ALL THE THINGS HE DOES FOR GOD. DOES HE THINK THIS WILL OBLIGATE GOD TO HIM? DOES HE THINK THERE IS ANYTHING HE GIVES TO GOD THAT GOD DID NOT FIRST GIVE HIM? WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, HIS UNDERSTANDING OF GOD IS VERY FLAWED, AND YOU CAN’T VERY WELL BECOME UNITED TO A GOD WHO DOESN’T REALLY EXIST.
THE PHARISEE IS NOT MADE RIGHT BY HIS PRAYER, BECAUSE OF HIS OWN PRIDE, NOT BECAUSE GOD REJECTS HIM.
IN CONTRAST, THE TAX COLLECTOR SEES ONLY THAT HE IS A SINNER, THAT HE IS IN NEED OF A SAVIOR, AND THAT HE CAN’T DO ANYTHING HIMSELF. THE PHARISEE SEES WHAT HE HAS ACCOMPLISHED; THE TAX COLLECTOR SEES THAT WHAT HE HAS DONE, WHAT HE COULD STILL DO, WOULD NOT EVEN BE A DROP IN THE BUCKET WHEN COMPARED WITH WHAT STILL REMAINS TO BE DONE. THE TAX COLLECTOR IS HUMBLE; THE WORD IS RELATED TO THE LATIN WORD “HUMUS” WHICH MEANS “SOIL”. THE TAX COLLECTOR RECOGNIZES THAT HIS ONLY CHANCE IS TO GET OUT OF THE WAY AND LET GOD WORK. HE SEES THAT ALL HE CAN BE IS SOIL, WAITING FOR THE GARDENER TO DO THE PLANTING, WATERING, WEEDING, AND HARVESTING. AND IT IS THIS ATTITUDE THAT JUSTIFIES HIM, THAT MAKES HIM RIGHT WITH GOD.
I THINK IT IS ALL RIGHT TO HAVE A HEALTHY EGO. CERTAINLY A LOT GETS DONE BY THOSE PEOPLE WHO THINK THAT THEY ARE MORE CAPABLE THAN 90% OF THE POPULATION. I SUSPECT POPE JOHN PAUL II HAD A HEALTHY EGO. BUT A HEALTHY EGO IS NOT PRIDE, THE GREAT SEPARATOR. THE REAL POINT IS THAT, NO MATTER WHAT OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS, NO MATTER WHAT OUR SKILLS OR TALENTS OR GOOD FORTUNE, WE APPRECIATE IN OUR VERY SOULS THAT WE ARE ENTIRELY AT THE MERCY OF GOD, AND THAT ANY HOPE WE HAVE OF ETERNAL LIFE IS BECAUSE THE FATHER GAVE US HIS SON TO DIE FOR US. THERE IS STILL SOME PHARISEE LEFT IN ME. GOD HELP ME BE THE TAX COLLECTOR.
HOW MANY OF YOU DRIVE A CAR? WOULD YOU SAY YOU ARE A BAD DRIVER, AN AVERAGE DRIVER, OR A GOOD DRIVER? I WON’T ASK FOR A SHOW OF HANDS, BUT STUDIES HAVE SHOWN THAT WHEN THAT QUESTION IS ASKED, 90 PERCENT OF THOSE WHO ANSWER CLAIM TO BE BETTER THAN AVERAGE. THEY DID A SIMILAR STUDY WITH COLLEGE PROFESSORS, ASKING MORE EXPLICITLY WHETHER THEY SAW THEMSELVES AS A GOOD TEACHER, AN AVERAGE TEACHER, OR A TEACHER WHO NEEDED WORK. AS YOU MIGHT GUESS, MORE THAN 90% CONSIDERED THEMSELVES ABOVE AVERAGE.
I THINK YOU WOULD FIND THAT MOST PEOPLE CONSIDER THEMSELVES ABOVE AVERAGE WHEN IT IS ABOUT SOMETHING THEY CARE ABOUT. GARRISON KEELER NOTED THAT IN LAKE WOEBEGON, THAT FICTIONAL CITY IN MIDDLE AMERICA, 90 PERCENT OF THE CHILDREN WERE ABOVE AVERAGE.
THIS FEELING THAT WE HAVE, THAT WE ARE ABOVE AVERAGE IN THINGS WE CARE ABOUT, IS PROBABLY HEALTHY. IF I CONSIDERED MYSELF A BAD DRIVER, AND I MIGHT POINT OUT THAT MY OPINION ABOUT MY DRIVING SKILLS IS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF MY WIFE, I WOULD PROBABLY NEVER VENTURE OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY; AND IF I THOUGHT I WAS JUST AN AVERAGE DOCTOR, I WOULD BE AFRAID OF TAKING CARE OF PATIENTS.
THE PHARISEE CONSIDERS HIMSELF SPIRITUALLY SUPERIOR TO MOST OF HIS FELLOW JEWS. AND HE HAS REASON TO THINK THIS. HE LISTS THE REASONS, AND HE COMPARES HIMSELF TO THE KINDS OF PEOPLE WHO CLEARLY AREN’T TRYING VERY HARD TO MEET THE MARK. THE PHARISEE TRIES TO MEET THE MARK; HE HOLDS HIMSELF TO HIGH STANDARDS, AND KEEPS ALL THE LAWS, AND GIVES GENEROUSLY. WHAT’S NOT TO LIKE? HE EVEN THANKS GOD FOR HIS SITUATION – I THINK ITS INTERESTING THAT HE THANKS GOD THAT HE IS NOT LIKE THE REST OF MEN. SOME PEOPLE THINK THE PHARISEE BELIEVES THAT HIS SPIRITUAL GROWTH COMES FROM HIS OWN EFFORTS, BUT RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING OF HIS PRAYER, HE ACKNOWLEDGES THAT GOD HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH IT – MAYBE EVERYTHING.
BUT THE PHARISEE IS NOT JUSTIFIED, HIS PRAYERS AND ALMSGIVING AND MORAL UPRIGHTNESS ARE FOR NOTHING. HIS PRAYER IS NOT HEARD, JESUS TELLS US.
I WONDER IF ANY OF US EVER THANK GOD THAT WE ARE NOT LIKE THE REST OF MEN, OR EVEN SOME OF THE REST OF MEN. I THANK GOD THAT I HAVE A WONDERFUL WIFE AND KIDS I AM PROUD OF, AND GOOD HEALTH, AND A PROFESSION I LOVE. IS THAT WRONG? THERE ARE CERTAINLY A LOT OF PEOPLE AROUND, EVEN HERE IN LONGMEADOW, THAT I WOULD NOT WANT TO TRADE PLACES WITH; I’M VERY GRATEFUL TO GOD I’M NOT LIKE THEM. SHOULD I NOT THANK GOD FOR WHAT HE HAS GIVEN TO ME? IT WASN’T THAT LONG AGO THAT IT SEEMED AS THOUGH JESUS WAS DISAPPOINTED IN THE NINE LEPERS WHO DID NOT RETURN TO THANK GOD FOR THEIR HEALING. MIGHT THEY HAVE ALSO SAID, “THANK YOU THAT I AM NO LONGER LIKE THE REST OF LEPERS?”
THE REAL PROBLEM WITH THE PHARISEE IS PRIDE, NOT HIS PRAYER OF THANKS. AND WE CAN SEE WHAT THE PRIDE IS DOING TO HIM, JUST BE LISTENING TO HIS PRAYER AND OBSERVING THE SCENE. FIRST, THE PHARISEE IS LOOKING AT WHAT HE’S DONE, NOT AT WHAT HE STILL LACKS. PRIDE STUNTS SPIRITUAL GROWTH, AND OUR PHARISEE IS STUNTED. SECOND, PRIDE SEPARATES US FROM OTHERS. THE PHARISEE SEES HIMSELF AS SEPARATE FROM HIS FELLOW HUMAN BEING, THE TAX COLLECTOR. THERE IS NO ONE WHO IS NOT IN NEED OF A SAVIOR, NOT MOTHER THERESA, NOT THE POPE – NOT EVEN THE BLESSED MOTHER. THAT IS THE FACT THAT UNITES US ALL. THIRD, PRIDE SEPARATES US FROM GOD. THE PHARISEE SEEMS TO BE LAYING OUT ALL THE THINGS HE DOES FOR GOD. DOES HE THINK THIS WILL OBLIGATE GOD TO HIM? DOES HE THINK THERE IS ANYTHING HE GIVES TO GOD THAT GOD DID NOT FIRST GIVE HIM? WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, HIS UNDERSTANDING OF GOD IS VERY FLAWED, AND YOU CAN’T VERY WELL BECOME UNITED TO A GOD WHO DOESN’T REALLY EXIST.
THE PHARISEE IS NOT MADE RIGHT BY HIS PRAYER, BECAUSE OF HIS OWN PRIDE, NOT BECAUSE GOD REJECTS HIM.
IN CONTRAST, THE TAX COLLECTOR SEES ONLY THAT HE IS A SINNER, THAT HE IS IN NEED OF A SAVIOR, AND THAT HE CAN’T DO ANYTHING HIMSELF. THE PHARISEE SEES WHAT HE HAS ACCOMPLISHED; THE TAX COLLECTOR SEES THAT WHAT HE HAS DONE, WHAT HE COULD STILL DO, WOULD NOT EVEN BE A DROP IN THE BUCKET WHEN COMPARED WITH WHAT STILL REMAINS TO BE DONE. THE TAX COLLECTOR IS HUMBLE; THE WORD IS RELATED TO THE LATIN WORD “HUMUS” WHICH MEANS “SOIL”. THE TAX COLLECTOR RECOGNIZES THAT HIS ONLY CHANCE IS TO GET OUT OF THE WAY AND LET GOD WORK. HE SEES THAT ALL HE CAN BE IS SOIL, WAITING FOR THE GARDENER TO DO THE PLANTING, WATERING, WEEDING, AND HARVESTING. AND IT IS THIS ATTITUDE THAT JUSTIFIES HIM, THAT MAKES HIM RIGHT WITH GOD.
I THINK IT IS ALL RIGHT TO HAVE A HEALTHY EGO. CERTAINLY A LOT GETS DONE BY THOSE PEOPLE WHO THINK THAT THEY ARE MORE CAPABLE THAN 90% OF THE POPULATION. I SUSPECT POPE JOHN PAUL II HAD A HEALTHY EGO. BUT A HEALTHY EGO IS NOT PRIDE, THE GREAT SEPARATOR. THE REAL POINT IS THAT, NO MATTER WHAT OUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS, NO MATTER WHAT OUR SKILLS OR TALENTS OR GOOD FORTUNE, WE APPRECIATE IN OUR VERY SOULS THAT WE ARE ENTIRELY AT THE MERCY OF GOD, AND THAT ANY HOPE WE HAVE OF ETERNAL LIFE IS BECAUSE THE FATHER GAVE US HIS SON TO DIE FOR US. THERE IS STILL SOME PHARISEE LEFT IN ME. GOD HELP ME BE THE TAX COLLECTOR.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Twenty Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C
LUKE 18:1-8
I HAVE A GRANDSON WHO HAS NO FEAR. IF THERE IS A BICYCLE TO BE RIDDEN AS FAST AS POSSIBLE, HE'LL DO IT. IF A BANISTER NEEDS TO BE SLID DOWN, HE'S THERE. SOMETIMES HE ROLLS DOWN THE STAIRS AND YOU WONDER WHY HE DIDN'T BREAK SOMETHING. MY OTHER GRANDCHILDREN ARE LIVELY AND ENERGETIC, BUT THEY ALL HAVE A NATURAL CAUTION. THERE IS A REAL DIFFERENCE HERE.
ONCE IN A WHILE YOU MEET A PERSON WHO HAS NO FEAR. AND THAT IS A WONDERFUL WAY TO BE, I GUESS. I'M NOT ONE OF THEM. FEAR IS SOMETHING THAT CONTROLS MOST PEOPLE'S BEHAVIOR. WE FEAR BEING POOR, HEARING A POLICE SIREN BEHIND US AS WE DRIVE, HAVING THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE SET UP AN APPOINTMENT TO MEET WITH US. WE FEAR PEOPLE LAUGHING AT US, IGNORING US, GETTING ANGRY WITH US; WE FEAR INJURY, SICKNESS, DEATH. AND MANY PEOPLE IN POSITIONS OF AUTHORITY EXERCISE THEIR POWER BY STIRRING UP THOSE FEARS WHICH ARE JUST BELOW THE SURFACE IN MOST OF US.
BUT THERE ARE A FEW PEOPLE WITHOUT FEAR, PEOPLE WHO RACE CARS FOR A LIVING, PEOPLE WHO WORK IN DANGEROUS OCCUPATIONS; PEOPLE WHO AREN'T AFRAID TO GO AGAINST THE PREVAILING CULTURAL OR POLITICAL ATTITUDES. I THINK OF LIU XIAOBO, WHO JUST WON THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE AND WHO IS SERVING A PRISON TERM IN CHINA FOR ACTIVITIES PROMOTING HUMAN RIGHTS. WHAT COURAGE IT MUST TAKE TO STAND UP TO POWER KNOWING THAT YOU MIGHT SPEND MUCH OF YOUR LIFE IN PRISON, OR POSSIBLY EVEN BE EXECUTED. OF COURSE WHEN WE SAY “NO FEAR”, WE PROBABLY DON'T REALLY MEAN NO FEAR, WE MEAN PEOPLE WHO CAN ACT AS THOUGH THEY HAVE NO FEAR.
IN JESUS' TIME AND LONG BEFORE, ONE OF THE MOST HELPLESS OF PEOPLE WAS A WIDOW. A WOMAN BELONGED TO HER FATHER UNTIL SHE WAS GIVEN IN MARRIAGE. THEN SHE BELONGED TO HER HUSBAND. IF THINGS FOLLOWED THEIR NORMAL COURSE, SHE WOULD HAVE CHILDREN, AND THAT WOULD GIVE HER SOME ASSURANCE OF BEING CARED FOR IN THE EVENT THAT HER HUSBAND PASSED AWAY. BUT IF SHE HAD NO CHILDREN AND HER HUSBAND DIED, SHE WOULD DEPEND ON THE CHARITY OF RELATIVES AND STRANGERS, AND HAD NO OTHER PROSPECTS; SHE COULDN'T EARN A LIVING, HAD NO SOCIAL SECURITY, AND UNLESS SHE WERE YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL, SHE WAS UNLIKELY TO FIND ANOTHER HUSBAND. NO WONDER THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS MENTION WIDOWS, ALONG WITH ORPHANS AND RESIDENT ALIENS WHEN THEY WANT TO GIVE EXAMPLES OF THOSE WHO ARE MOST HELPLESS.
IN THE PARABLE WE JUST HEARD, OUR ATTENTION IS DRAWN TO THE JUDGE; JESUS SEEMS TO BE COMPARING HIM TO GOD IN A WAY. IF YOU CAN GET A JUDGE WHO DOES NOT FEAR GOD OR MAN TO RENDER A JUDGMENT IN YOUR FAVOR BY BROWBEATING HIM, HOW MUCH MORE CAN YOU GET GOD TO ANSWER YOUR PRAYERS? BUT IS THAT WHAT JESUS IS REALLY SAYING? IS GOD REALLY AN UNJUST JUDGE? CAN WE CHANGE GOD'S MIND BY WEARING HIM DOWN WITH OUR PRAYERS? BUT THE PEOPLE WHO WERE LISTENING TO JESUS WERE PROBABLY MUCH MORE INTERESTED IN THE WIDOW. FIRST OF ALL, SHE'S WAY OUT OF CHARACTER; SHE IS PUSHY. SECOND, SHE IS VERY CLEARLY NOT INTIMIDATED; SHE CALLS HER OPPONENT AN “ADVERSARY” WHICH IMPLIES THAT THERE IS MORE THAN A DISAGREEMENT HERE. SHE IS IMPLYING THAT HER OPPONENT IS EVIL AND WRONGHEADED. THE WORD THE WIDOW USES HERE IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE WORD THAT IS TRANSLATED AS “SATAN” WHEN JESUS SAYS TO PETER, “GET BEHIND ME, SATAN.” THIRD, THE JUDGE MAY NOT RESPECT GOD OR MAN, BUT THE WIDOW DOES NOT EVEN RESPECT THE JUDGE. FOURTH, THE THE WOMAN IS INTIMIDATING TO THE JUDGE; HE WORRIES THAT SHE WILL STRIKE HIM. IN SOME OTHER TRANSLATIONS HE WORRIES THAT SHE WILL WEAR HIM DOWN. BUT CLEARLY THE JUDGE RECOGNIZES WHO IS SUPERIOR HERE.
MAYBE THE WIDOW IS GOD. MAYBE GOD CALLS OUT TO HIS PEOPLE THROUGH THE WIDOW AND THE ORPHAN AND THE POOR, OVER AND OVER AGAIN, UNTIL HIS PEOPLE, YOU AND I FINALLY START TO REALLY LISTEN, AND FINALLY RENDER JUSTICE TO THEM. MAYBE YOU AND I ARE THE ADVERSARIES HERE, AS A WHOLE WORLD OF WIDOWS AND ORPHANS, OUR SISTERS AND BROTHERS, WATCH FROM THEIR POVERTY AS WE ENJOY THE GOOD THINGS OF LIFE.
THE UNJUST JUDGE DOESN'T FEAR GOD OR RESPECT MAN; BUT THE WIDOW WEARS HIM DOWN EVENTUALLY. WILL WE ALLOW OURSELVES TO BE WORN DOWN BY THE VOICES OF THE POOR AND HELPLESS? BECAUSE GOD IS ON THEIR SIDE, YOU KNOW. THE BIBLE SAYS THAT OVER AND OVER AGAIN. AND GOD WILL RENDER JUSTICE IF WE DON'T, AND IT WON'T BE GOOD FOR US.
AND I THINK THE LAST STATEMENT OF JESUS MAKES MORE SENSE IF WE READ THE STORY IN THIS WAY; BECAUSE JESUS WONDERS ALOUD WHETHER HE WILL FIND FAITH ON EARTH WHEN HE RETURNS; AND FAITH IS NOT BELIEF, BUT BELIEF WHICH RESULTS IN ACTION. WILL JESUS FIND FAITH OF THIS SORT?
GOD WON'T STOP CRYING OUT THROUGH THE POOREST OF THE POOR FOR JUSTICE ON THEIR BEHALF. EVEN AN UNJUST, CORRUPT JUDGE IN HIS STORY FINALLY RELENTS AND TREATS HER JUSTLY. WILL WE HEAR THE CRY OF THE WIDOW AND RENDER JUSTICE? OR ARE WE EVEN MORE CORRUPT, MORE UNJUST, THAN THE JUDGE IS?
IN THE BEGINNING, JESUS SAYS THAT IT IS NECESSARY FOR US TO PRAY ALWAYS, SINCE THE ALTERNATIVE IS TO LOSE HEART, TO BECOME WEARY. IF WE PRAY ALWAYS, WE WILL RECOGNIZE THE WIDOW AND THE ORPHAN, AND OUR CONSCIENCES WILL BE SENSITIVE TO THEIR PLIGHT. IF WE DON'T PRAY ALWAYS WE WILL CLOSE IN ON OURSELVES AND GRADUALLY LOSE THE BONDS WE HAVE WITH THOSE AROUND US, AND WITH GOD. AND WE WILL BECOME UNJUST JUDGES, EVEN MORE THAN THE MAN WE MEET IN THIS STORY, BECAUSE HE REPENTED AND FINALLY YIELDED TO GOD'S CRY. BUT IT COULD BE THAT WE WONT.
I HAVE A GRANDSON WHO HAS NO FEAR. IF THERE IS A BICYCLE TO BE RIDDEN AS FAST AS POSSIBLE, HE'LL DO IT. IF A BANISTER NEEDS TO BE SLID DOWN, HE'S THERE. SOMETIMES HE ROLLS DOWN THE STAIRS AND YOU WONDER WHY HE DIDN'T BREAK SOMETHING. MY OTHER GRANDCHILDREN ARE LIVELY AND ENERGETIC, BUT THEY ALL HAVE A NATURAL CAUTION. THERE IS A REAL DIFFERENCE HERE.
ONCE IN A WHILE YOU MEET A PERSON WHO HAS NO FEAR. AND THAT IS A WONDERFUL WAY TO BE, I GUESS. I'M NOT ONE OF THEM. FEAR IS SOMETHING THAT CONTROLS MOST PEOPLE'S BEHAVIOR. WE FEAR BEING POOR, HEARING A POLICE SIREN BEHIND US AS WE DRIVE, HAVING THE INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE SET UP AN APPOINTMENT TO MEET WITH US. WE FEAR PEOPLE LAUGHING AT US, IGNORING US, GETTING ANGRY WITH US; WE FEAR INJURY, SICKNESS, DEATH. AND MANY PEOPLE IN POSITIONS OF AUTHORITY EXERCISE THEIR POWER BY STIRRING UP THOSE FEARS WHICH ARE JUST BELOW THE SURFACE IN MOST OF US.
BUT THERE ARE A FEW PEOPLE WITHOUT FEAR, PEOPLE WHO RACE CARS FOR A LIVING, PEOPLE WHO WORK IN DANGEROUS OCCUPATIONS; PEOPLE WHO AREN'T AFRAID TO GO AGAINST THE PREVAILING CULTURAL OR POLITICAL ATTITUDES. I THINK OF LIU XIAOBO, WHO JUST WON THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE AND WHO IS SERVING A PRISON TERM IN CHINA FOR ACTIVITIES PROMOTING HUMAN RIGHTS. WHAT COURAGE IT MUST TAKE TO STAND UP TO POWER KNOWING THAT YOU MIGHT SPEND MUCH OF YOUR LIFE IN PRISON, OR POSSIBLY EVEN BE EXECUTED. OF COURSE WHEN WE SAY “NO FEAR”, WE PROBABLY DON'T REALLY MEAN NO FEAR, WE MEAN PEOPLE WHO CAN ACT AS THOUGH THEY HAVE NO FEAR.
IN JESUS' TIME AND LONG BEFORE, ONE OF THE MOST HELPLESS OF PEOPLE WAS A WIDOW. A WOMAN BELONGED TO HER FATHER UNTIL SHE WAS GIVEN IN MARRIAGE. THEN SHE BELONGED TO HER HUSBAND. IF THINGS FOLLOWED THEIR NORMAL COURSE, SHE WOULD HAVE CHILDREN, AND THAT WOULD GIVE HER SOME ASSURANCE OF BEING CARED FOR IN THE EVENT THAT HER HUSBAND PASSED AWAY. BUT IF SHE HAD NO CHILDREN AND HER HUSBAND DIED, SHE WOULD DEPEND ON THE CHARITY OF RELATIVES AND STRANGERS, AND HAD NO OTHER PROSPECTS; SHE COULDN'T EARN A LIVING, HAD NO SOCIAL SECURITY, AND UNLESS SHE WERE YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL, SHE WAS UNLIKELY TO FIND ANOTHER HUSBAND. NO WONDER THE OLD TESTAMENT PROPHETS MENTION WIDOWS, ALONG WITH ORPHANS AND RESIDENT ALIENS WHEN THEY WANT TO GIVE EXAMPLES OF THOSE WHO ARE MOST HELPLESS.
IN THE PARABLE WE JUST HEARD, OUR ATTENTION IS DRAWN TO THE JUDGE; JESUS SEEMS TO BE COMPARING HIM TO GOD IN A WAY. IF YOU CAN GET A JUDGE WHO DOES NOT FEAR GOD OR MAN TO RENDER A JUDGMENT IN YOUR FAVOR BY BROWBEATING HIM, HOW MUCH MORE CAN YOU GET GOD TO ANSWER YOUR PRAYERS? BUT IS THAT WHAT JESUS IS REALLY SAYING? IS GOD REALLY AN UNJUST JUDGE? CAN WE CHANGE GOD'S MIND BY WEARING HIM DOWN WITH OUR PRAYERS? BUT THE PEOPLE WHO WERE LISTENING TO JESUS WERE PROBABLY MUCH MORE INTERESTED IN THE WIDOW. FIRST OF ALL, SHE'S WAY OUT OF CHARACTER; SHE IS PUSHY. SECOND, SHE IS VERY CLEARLY NOT INTIMIDATED; SHE CALLS HER OPPONENT AN “ADVERSARY” WHICH IMPLIES THAT THERE IS MORE THAN A DISAGREEMENT HERE. SHE IS IMPLYING THAT HER OPPONENT IS EVIL AND WRONGHEADED. THE WORD THE WIDOW USES HERE IS VERY SIMILAR TO THE WORD THAT IS TRANSLATED AS “SATAN” WHEN JESUS SAYS TO PETER, “GET BEHIND ME, SATAN.” THIRD, THE JUDGE MAY NOT RESPECT GOD OR MAN, BUT THE WIDOW DOES NOT EVEN RESPECT THE JUDGE. FOURTH, THE THE WOMAN IS INTIMIDATING TO THE JUDGE; HE WORRIES THAT SHE WILL STRIKE HIM. IN SOME OTHER TRANSLATIONS HE WORRIES THAT SHE WILL WEAR HIM DOWN. BUT CLEARLY THE JUDGE RECOGNIZES WHO IS SUPERIOR HERE.
MAYBE THE WIDOW IS GOD. MAYBE GOD CALLS OUT TO HIS PEOPLE THROUGH THE WIDOW AND THE ORPHAN AND THE POOR, OVER AND OVER AGAIN, UNTIL HIS PEOPLE, YOU AND I FINALLY START TO REALLY LISTEN, AND FINALLY RENDER JUSTICE TO THEM. MAYBE YOU AND I ARE THE ADVERSARIES HERE, AS A WHOLE WORLD OF WIDOWS AND ORPHANS, OUR SISTERS AND BROTHERS, WATCH FROM THEIR POVERTY AS WE ENJOY THE GOOD THINGS OF LIFE.
THE UNJUST JUDGE DOESN'T FEAR GOD OR RESPECT MAN; BUT THE WIDOW WEARS HIM DOWN EVENTUALLY. WILL WE ALLOW OURSELVES TO BE WORN DOWN BY THE VOICES OF THE POOR AND HELPLESS? BECAUSE GOD IS ON THEIR SIDE, YOU KNOW. THE BIBLE SAYS THAT OVER AND OVER AGAIN. AND GOD WILL RENDER JUSTICE IF WE DON'T, AND IT WON'T BE GOOD FOR US.
AND I THINK THE LAST STATEMENT OF JESUS MAKES MORE SENSE IF WE READ THE STORY IN THIS WAY; BECAUSE JESUS WONDERS ALOUD WHETHER HE WILL FIND FAITH ON EARTH WHEN HE RETURNS; AND FAITH IS NOT BELIEF, BUT BELIEF WHICH RESULTS IN ACTION. WILL JESUS FIND FAITH OF THIS SORT?
GOD WON'T STOP CRYING OUT THROUGH THE POOREST OF THE POOR FOR JUSTICE ON THEIR BEHALF. EVEN AN UNJUST, CORRUPT JUDGE IN HIS STORY FINALLY RELENTS AND TREATS HER JUSTLY. WILL WE HEAR THE CRY OF THE WIDOW AND RENDER JUSTICE? OR ARE WE EVEN MORE CORRUPT, MORE UNJUST, THAN THE JUDGE IS?
IN THE BEGINNING, JESUS SAYS THAT IT IS NECESSARY FOR US TO PRAY ALWAYS, SINCE THE ALTERNATIVE IS TO LOSE HEART, TO BECOME WEARY. IF WE PRAY ALWAYS, WE WILL RECOGNIZE THE WIDOW AND THE ORPHAN, AND OUR CONSCIENCES WILL BE SENSITIVE TO THEIR PLIGHT. IF WE DON'T PRAY ALWAYS WE WILL CLOSE IN ON OURSELVES AND GRADUALLY LOSE THE BONDS WE HAVE WITH THOSE AROUND US, AND WITH GOD. AND WE WILL BECOME UNJUST JUDGES, EVEN MORE THAN THE MAN WE MEET IN THIS STORY, BECAUSE HE REPENTED AND FINALLY YIELDED TO GOD'S CRY. BUT IT COULD BE THAT WE WONT.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Twenty Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C
LUKE 17:11-19
TEN WERE HEALED, AND ONLY ONE RETURNED TO GIVE THANKS TO GOD.
THIS IS A VERY FAMILIAR GOSPEL PASSAGE, AND I REMEMBER HEARING IT IN GRADE SCHOOL. IN THOSE DAYS, EVERYTHING IN THE MASS WAS IN LATIN, AND ON SUNDAYS, WHILE THE CELEBRATING PRIEST QUIETLY READ THE SCRIPTURES IN LATIN ANOTHER PRIEST WOULD READ THEM ALOUD IN ENGLISH. AND USUALLY THE SERMON FOR THIS PASSAGE HAD TO DO WITH HOW WE SHOULD BE THANKFUL. BUT EVEN WHEN I WAS SMALL THERE SEEMED TO BE SOMETHING A LITTLE OFF HERE. DOES JESUS REALLY CARE THAT MUCH THAT ONE PERSON OF THE TEN CAME BACK TO THANK HIM? I CAN SPEAK FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. DURING MY CAREER I'VE TAKEN CARE OF HUNDREDS OF CANCER PATIENTS, AND SOME OF THEM WERE CURED. ONCE IN A WHILE, SOMEONE WOULD THANK ME IN PERSON OR THROUGH A NOTE. IT GAVE ME A NICE FEELING. BUT I NEVER WONDERED ABOUT ALL THE PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T THANK ME. I TRULY WASN'T BOTHERED. I THINK THE STORY HERE IS DEEPER THAN THAT.
IN JESUS' TIME, THERE WERE ALL KINDS OF RULES ABOUT LEPERS, ALL DESIGNED TO SEPARATE THEM FROM THE REST OF SOCIETY. LEPROSY WAS KNOWN TO BE CONTAGIOUS; IT WAS HORRIBLY DISFIGURING; AND IT WAS VIEWED AS A PUNISHMENT BY GOD FOR SIN. A MAJOR TASK OF THE JEWISH PRIESTHOOD WAS TO DIAGNOSE LEPROSY, AND THE DETAILS OF WHAT THEY DID IS LAID OUT IN THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS. IF LEPROSY WAS DIAGNOSED, THE VICTIM HAD TO DRESS IN TORN CLOTHES AND COVER THE HEAD; FOR A MAN, THE BEARD HAD TO BE COVERED AS WELL. THERE WERE RULES ABOUT HOW CLOSE A LEPER COULD COME TO A HEALTHY PERSON, AND MOST TOWNS DID NOT ALLOW LEPERS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS. THE LEPERS BANDED TOGETHER IN SMALL GROUPS TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER, AND THOSE THINGS WHICH SEPARATED HEALTHY PEOPLE, LIKE WHETHER YOU WERE A MAN OR A WOMAN, A JEW OR A SAMARITAN, DID NOT MATTER MUCH TO LEPERS. SOCIETY, AND THEY THEMSELVES, BELIEVED THAT THEY HAD NO PART IN THE KINGDOM GOD HAD PROMISED HIS PEOPLE.
TEN HAD FAITH. THEY CALLED ON JESUS, BELIEVING THAT HE COULD HELP THEM. THIS WAS A BOLD MOVE, SINCE LEPERS WERE SUPPOSED TO KEEP TO THEMSELVES. BUT THESE POOR SOULS BELIEVED THAT JESUS MIGHT BE THE ONE WHO COULD RESCUE THEM FROM THE HELL IN WHICH THEY FOUND THEMSELVES. AND THEIR FAITH WAS STRONGER THAN THAT. WHEN JESUS TOLD THEM TO GO AND SHOW THEMSELVES TO THE PRIESTS, THE FIRST STEP IN BEING ALLOWED TO REJOIN SOCIETY, THEY SET OFF; TRUSTING HIM; IT SAYS THAT THEY WERE HEALED ON THE WAY. YOU HAVE TO ADMIRE THEIR FAITH, REALLY. IT'S THE KIND OF FAITH WE SEE IN SAINT FRANCIS, WHO GAVE UP HIS INHERITANCE, EVEN THE CLOTHES ON HIS BACK, TO FOLLOW JESUS, NOT KNOWING WHERE HE WAS BEING LED. IT'S THE KIND OF FAITH OF MOTHER THERESA, WHO LEFT HER COMFORTABLE CONVENT TO MINISTER TO THE DYING ON THE STREETS OF CALCUTTA. MOST OF US HAVE THE KIND OF FAITH WHERE IF WE ARE SHOWN WHERE IT IS GOING AND THE CHANCES OF SUCCESS, WE MIGHT STEP OUT. THE LEPERS DID NOT RECEIVE THEIR HEALING, THOUGH, UNTIL THEY HAD DEMONSTRATED THEIR FAITH.
TEN HAD FAITH, BUT ONLY ONE RETURNED TO GIVE THANKS. WERE THE OTHERS UNGRATEFUL? I BELIEVE THEY WERE GRATEFUL. HOW DID LUKE KNOW THAT THE NINE WERE HEALED? I'M SURE THE STORY MADE THE ROUNDS, AND THE NINE WERE TELLING IT. MAYBE SOME OF THEM BECAME MEMBERS OF THE EARLY CHURCH. BUT OUR FOCUS IS ON THE SAMARITAN, THE ONE WHO DOES NOT GO AND SHOW HIMSELF TO THE PRIESTS, BUT REALIZING THAT HE HAD BEEN HEALED, TURNS BACK AND GOES TO JESUS. AND JESUS SAYS SOMETHING STRANGE TO HIM; “YOUR FAITH HAS SAVED YOU.” JESUS USES THE SAME WORD THAT IS USED ELSEWHERE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE WORLD AT LARGE, AND THE CHRISTIANS, WHO ARE SAVED. THE SAMARITAN RETURNS TO JESUS, AND IN THIS WAY BECOMES A MEMBER OF THE PEOPLE WHO WILL BE SAVED BY JESUS' LIFE, DEATH AND RESURRECTION.
I THINK THAT IS THE LESSON HERE. HAVING FAITH IS A GIFT. SOME HAVE IT, SOME DON'T. FOR THOSE WHO HAVE IT, WHAT WE DO WITH IT VARIES. SOME SIMPLY BELIEVE IN CERTAIN PROPOSITIONS; OTHERS BELIEVE AND PRAY, AND STILL OTHERS BELIEVE AND PRAY AND ACT. WHAT WE DO WITH FAITH DEPENDS ON GOD'S GRACE AND OUR COOPERATION. BUT AGAIN, FAITH IS A GIFT, AND NO ONE CAN BRAG ABOUT FAITH.
SOME OF US ALLOW OUR FAITH TO MOVE US. WE TRY TO LEARN WHAT GOD HAS IN STORE FOR US. PART OF FAITH IS DISCERNMENT; SEEING WHAT HAPPENS AROUND US AND SEEING GOD'S WILL IN THAT. WE DON'T JUST SEE WHAT GOD WANTS US TO DO; WE ALSO THROUGH FAITH SEE WHAT GOD IS GIVING US. IF YOU HAVE FAITH, THEN YOU REALIZE THAT EVERYTHING IS A GIFT. IF YOU HAVEN'T GONE OUT AND ENJOYED ONE OF THESE BEAUTIFUL FALL DAYS THAT GOD GIVES US, I FEEL SORRY FOR YOU. BUT FOR A PERSON WITH FAITH, EVEN BAD THINGS ARE SEEN AS GIFTS. FAITH TELLS US THAT GOD WILL DRAW GOOD OUT OF EVERYTHING.
BUT ONLY ONE RETURNS TO GIVE THANKS. WE ARE GIVEN THE GIFT OF FAITH. FAITH MOVES US TO LEARN GOD'S WILL, AND TO DO IT. FAITH LOOKS AT OUR WORLD AND SEES HOW EVERYTHING FITS, EVERYTHING IS GOD'S DOING, EVERYTHING IS GIFT. BUT ONLY YOU AND I CAN TAKE THE GIFT AND USE IT FOR WHAT IT IS MEANT FOR – TO MAKE THAT CONNECTION WITH THE LIVING PRESENCE OF JESUS. THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS IS WHERE WE ARE SAVED, AND FOR NINE, THEIR FAITH WAS IN VAIN, BUT FOR THE ONE WHO RETURNED TO GIVE THANKS, HIS FAITH SAVED HIM.
FAITH IS FROM GOD, BUT LOVE MUST BE FROM US. GOD LOVES US, BUT THE ONLY THING WE CAN DO IS TO CHOOSE TO LOVE GOD BACK. AND IT IS IN THAT LOVING GOD BACK, THROUGH LOVING GOD'S VERY PRESENCE AMONG US, JESUS CHRIST, THAT WE ARE SAVED.
I THINK JESUS SAW THIS; TEN HAD FAITH, TEN HAD BEEN HEALED, TEN WERE OFFERED MORE THAN HEALING, THEY WERE OFFERED SALVATION. BUT ONLY ONE TOOK JESUS UP ON THE OFFER.
DOES OUR FAITH LEAD US TO LOVE THE PERSON OF JESUS? JESUS WHO IS IN OUR NEIGHBOR, JESUS WHO IS IN THE HOLY EUCHARIST, JESUS WHO IS IN THE SCRIPTURES? HOW ARE WE RETURNING TO JESUS IN LOVE?
TEN HAD FAITH, ONLY ONE HAD LOVE.
TEN WERE HEALED, AND ONLY ONE RETURNED TO GIVE THANKS TO GOD.
THIS IS A VERY FAMILIAR GOSPEL PASSAGE, AND I REMEMBER HEARING IT IN GRADE SCHOOL. IN THOSE DAYS, EVERYTHING IN THE MASS WAS IN LATIN, AND ON SUNDAYS, WHILE THE CELEBRATING PRIEST QUIETLY READ THE SCRIPTURES IN LATIN ANOTHER PRIEST WOULD READ THEM ALOUD IN ENGLISH. AND USUALLY THE SERMON FOR THIS PASSAGE HAD TO DO WITH HOW WE SHOULD BE THANKFUL. BUT EVEN WHEN I WAS SMALL THERE SEEMED TO BE SOMETHING A LITTLE OFF HERE. DOES JESUS REALLY CARE THAT MUCH THAT ONE PERSON OF THE TEN CAME BACK TO THANK HIM? I CAN SPEAK FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCE. DURING MY CAREER I'VE TAKEN CARE OF HUNDREDS OF CANCER PATIENTS, AND SOME OF THEM WERE CURED. ONCE IN A WHILE, SOMEONE WOULD THANK ME IN PERSON OR THROUGH A NOTE. IT GAVE ME A NICE FEELING. BUT I NEVER WONDERED ABOUT ALL THE PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T THANK ME. I TRULY WASN'T BOTHERED. I THINK THE STORY HERE IS DEEPER THAN THAT.
IN JESUS' TIME, THERE WERE ALL KINDS OF RULES ABOUT LEPERS, ALL DESIGNED TO SEPARATE THEM FROM THE REST OF SOCIETY. LEPROSY WAS KNOWN TO BE CONTAGIOUS; IT WAS HORRIBLY DISFIGURING; AND IT WAS VIEWED AS A PUNISHMENT BY GOD FOR SIN. A MAJOR TASK OF THE JEWISH PRIESTHOOD WAS TO DIAGNOSE LEPROSY, AND THE DETAILS OF WHAT THEY DID IS LAID OUT IN THE BOOK OF LEVITICUS. IF LEPROSY WAS DIAGNOSED, THE VICTIM HAD TO DRESS IN TORN CLOTHES AND COVER THE HEAD; FOR A MAN, THE BEARD HAD TO BE COVERED AS WELL. THERE WERE RULES ABOUT HOW CLOSE A LEPER COULD COME TO A HEALTHY PERSON, AND MOST TOWNS DID NOT ALLOW LEPERS WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS. THE LEPERS BANDED TOGETHER IN SMALL GROUPS TO SUPPORT EACH OTHER, AND THOSE THINGS WHICH SEPARATED HEALTHY PEOPLE, LIKE WHETHER YOU WERE A MAN OR A WOMAN, A JEW OR A SAMARITAN, DID NOT MATTER MUCH TO LEPERS. SOCIETY, AND THEY THEMSELVES, BELIEVED THAT THEY HAD NO PART IN THE KINGDOM GOD HAD PROMISED HIS PEOPLE.
TEN HAD FAITH. THEY CALLED ON JESUS, BELIEVING THAT HE COULD HELP THEM. THIS WAS A BOLD MOVE, SINCE LEPERS WERE SUPPOSED TO KEEP TO THEMSELVES. BUT THESE POOR SOULS BELIEVED THAT JESUS MIGHT BE THE ONE WHO COULD RESCUE THEM FROM THE HELL IN WHICH THEY FOUND THEMSELVES. AND THEIR FAITH WAS STRONGER THAN THAT. WHEN JESUS TOLD THEM TO GO AND SHOW THEMSELVES TO THE PRIESTS, THE FIRST STEP IN BEING ALLOWED TO REJOIN SOCIETY, THEY SET OFF; TRUSTING HIM; IT SAYS THAT THEY WERE HEALED ON THE WAY. YOU HAVE TO ADMIRE THEIR FAITH, REALLY. IT'S THE KIND OF FAITH WE SEE IN SAINT FRANCIS, WHO GAVE UP HIS INHERITANCE, EVEN THE CLOTHES ON HIS BACK, TO FOLLOW JESUS, NOT KNOWING WHERE HE WAS BEING LED. IT'S THE KIND OF FAITH OF MOTHER THERESA, WHO LEFT HER COMFORTABLE CONVENT TO MINISTER TO THE DYING ON THE STREETS OF CALCUTTA. MOST OF US HAVE THE KIND OF FAITH WHERE IF WE ARE SHOWN WHERE IT IS GOING AND THE CHANCES OF SUCCESS, WE MIGHT STEP OUT. THE LEPERS DID NOT RECEIVE THEIR HEALING, THOUGH, UNTIL THEY HAD DEMONSTRATED THEIR FAITH.
TEN HAD FAITH, BUT ONLY ONE RETURNED TO GIVE THANKS. WERE THE OTHERS UNGRATEFUL? I BELIEVE THEY WERE GRATEFUL. HOW DID LUKE KNOW THAT THE NINE WERE HEALED? I'M SURE THE STORY MADE THE ROUNDS, AND THE NINE WERE TELLING IT. MAYBE SOME OF THEM BECAME MEMBERS OF THE EARLY CHURCH. BUT OUR FOCUS IS ON THE SAMARITAN, THE ONE WHO DOES NOT GO AND SHOW HIMSELF TO THE PRIESTS, BUT REALIZING THAT HE HAD BEEN HEALED, TURNS BACK AND GOES TO JESUS. AND JESUS SAYS SOMETHING STRANGE TO HIM; “YOUR FAITH HAS SAVED YOU.” JESUS USES THE SAME WORD THAT IS USED ELSEWHERE TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE WORLD AT LARGE, AND THE CHRISTIANS, WHO ARE SAVED. THE SAMARITAN RETURNS TO JESUS, AND IN THIS WAY BECOMES A MEMBER OF THE PEOPLE WHO WILL BE SAVED BY JESUS' LIFE, DEATH AND RESURRECTION.
I THINK THAT IS THE LESSON HERE. HAVING FAITH IS A GIFT. SOME HAVE IT, SOME DON'T. FOR THOSE WHO HAVE IT, WHAT WE DO WITH IT VARIES. SOME SIMPLY BELIEVE IN CERTAIN PROPOSITIONS; OTHERS BELIEVE AND PRAY, AND STILL OTHERS BELIEVE AND PRAY AND ACT. WHAT WE DO WITH FAITH DEPENDS ON GOD'S GRACE AND OUR COOPERATION. BUT AGAIN, FAITH IS A GIFT, AND NO ONE CAN BRAG ABOUT FAITH.
SOME OF US ALLOW OUR FAITH TO MOVE US. WE TRY TO LEARN WHAT GOD HAS IN STORE FOR US. PART OF FAITH IS DISCERNMENT; SEEING WHAT HAPPENS AROUND US AND SEEING GOD'S WILL IN THAT. WE DON'T JUST SEE WHAT GOD WANTS US TO DO; WE ALSO THROUGH FAITH SEE WHAT GOD IS GIVING US. IF YOU HAVE FAITH, THEN YOU REALIZE THAT EVERYTHING IS A GIFT. IF YOU HAVEN'T GONE OUT AND ENJOYED ONE OF THESE BEAUTIFUL FALL DAYS THAT GOD GIVES US, I FEEL SORRY FOR YOU. BUT FOR A PERSON WITH FAITH, EVEN BAD THINGS ARE SEEN AS GIFTS. FAITH TELLS US THAT GOD WILL DRAW GOOD OUT OF EVERYTHING.
BUT ONLY ONE RETURNS TO GIVE THANKS. WE ARE GIVEN THE GIFT OF FAITH. FAITH MOVES US TO LEARN GOD'S WILL, AND TO DO IT. FAITH LOOKS AT OUR WORLD AND SEES HOW EVERYTHING FITS, EVERYTHING IS GOD'S DOING, EVERYTHING IS GIFT. BUT ONLY YOU AND I CAN TAKE THE GIFT AND USE IT FOR WHAT IT IS MEANT FOR – TO MAKE THAT CONNECTION WITH THE LIVING PRESENCE OF JESUS. THAT RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS IS WHERE WE ARE SAVED, AND FOR NINE, THEIR FAITH WAS IN VAIN, BUT FOR THE ONE WHO RETURNED TO GIVE THANKS, HIS FAITH SAVED HIM.
FAITH IS FROM GOD, BUT LOVE MUST BE FROM US. GOD LOVES US, BUT THE ONLY THING WE CAN DO IS TO CHOOSE TO LOVE GOD BACK. AND IT IS IN THAT LOVING GOD BACK, THROUGH LOVING GOD'S VERY PRESENCE AMONG US, JESUS CHRIST, THAT WE ARE SAVED.
I THINK JESUS SAW THIS; TEN HAD FAITH, TEN HAD BEEN HEALED, TEN WERE OFFERED MORE THAN HEALING, THEY WERE OFFERED SALVATION. BUT ONLY ONE TOOK JESUS UP ON THE OFFER.
DOES OUR FAITH LEAD US TO LOVE THE PERSON OF JESUS? JESUS WHO IS IN OUR NEIGHBOR, JESUS WHO IS IN THE HOLY EUCHARIST, JESUS WHO IS IN THE SCRIPTURES? HOW ARE WE RETURNING TO JESUS IN LOVE?
TEN HAD FAITH, ONLY ONE HAD LOVE.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C
LUKE 17:5-10
IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THIS COUNTRY, THE PURITANS WOULD SPEND MOST OF SUNDAY IN WORSHIP. SERMONS WOULD GO ON FOR HOURS. WE STILL HAVE SOME OF THESE SERMONS THAT WERE LATER PRINTED IN SMALL BOOKS. MAYBE OUR ANCESTORS HAD LONGER ATTENTION SPANS, OR MAYBE IN AN AGE WITHOUT TELEVISION THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING ELSE TO ENTERTAIN THEM; BUT I DOUBT THAT EVEN THE POPE COULD SIT STILL FOR A SIX HOUR SERMON. MOST CATHOLICS START TO TWITCH AFTER FIFTEEN MINUTES. ANYWAY, THE PURITANS HAD A WAY TO KEEP AWAKE. THEY WOULD CARRY SMALL LINEN BAGS CONTAINING SEEDS. A PEPPER CORN; A LICORICE SEED; A CARAWAY SEED; A CUMIN SEED, A MUSTARD SEED; THE DEVOUT CHURCHGOER WOULD REACH IN HIS LITTLE BAG, SELECT A SINGLE SEED, PUT IT IN HIS MOUTH, BREAK IT, SUCK ON IT, WORRY IT, UNTIL THERE WAS NOTHING LEFT. THEN HE'D TAKE ANOTHER. THE TASTE AND SMELL AND TACTILE SENSATION KEPT HIS EYES OPEN AND HIS ATTENTION ON THE MINISTER.
HAVE YOU EVER BITTEN INTO A MUSTARD SEED? IT'S AMAZING HOW MUCH FLAVOR YOU GET; ALONG WITH A SLIGHT BURN, LIKE CHILI PEPPER. I CAN SEE WHERE IT WOULD WAKE YOU UP. PEOPLE IN JESUS' DAY CONSIDERED THE MUSTARD SEED THE SMALLEST OF SEEDS; BUT MAYBE IN THIS GOSPEL JESUS WAS CONSIDERING THE TASTE AS WELL.
I WANT TO TEACH YOU A NEW WORD TODAY, SO THAT WHEN YOU LEAVE CHURCH YOU WILL BE SMARTER THAN WHEN YOU CAME IN. THAT WORD IS “PERICOPE”. IT IS WHAT WE CALL THESE LITTLE PASSAGES THAT WE READ FROM SCRIPTURE. SOMETIMES, AS IS TRUE OF THE GOSPEL TODAY, THE PERICOPE IS PLUCKED OUT OF CONTEXT, AND IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THE THINGS THAT JESUS IS SAYING ARE UNRELATED, AND SOMETIMES THEY SOUND LIKE SAYINGS FROM CONFUCIUS. SO A LITTLE BACKGROUND. JESUS HAS BEEN TELLING PARABLES. HE TOLD HIS APOSTLES ABOUT THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS. HE TOLD THEM ABOUT THE PRODIGAL SON AND THE WOMAN WHO LOST A COIN AND THE SHEPHERD WHO WENT IN SEARCH OF HIS SHEEP. AND THEN HE TELLS THEM THAT IF THEY ARE THE CAUSE FOR SIN FOR ONE OF THESE LITTLE ONES, IT IS BETTER FOR THEM TO HAVE A MILLSTONE TIED AROUND THEIR NECKS AND BE CAST INTO THE SEA; AND HE TELLS THEM THAT THEY ARE TO HAVE NO LIMITS TO THEIR FORGIVENESS. AND IF YOU ARE SERIOUSLY TRYING TO FOLLOW JESUS, AS THE APOSTLES WERE, BY THIS TIME YOU WOULD THINK THIS WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE. JESUS HAS BEEN DESCRIBING A WAY OF LIFE WHICH SEEMS CLEARLY SUPERHUMAN. AND THAT IS WHERE THE APOSTLES CRY OUT, “INCREASE OUR FAITH!” BECAUSE THEY REALIZE THAT TO LIVE A LIFE LIKE JESUS IS DESCRIBING IS GOING TO TAKE A LOT MORE THAN THEY THINK THEY HAVE.
AND JESUS REPLIES, AND IT WOULD BE MORE CLEAR IF WE COULD READ GREEK, “YOU ALREADY HAVE ALL THE FAITH YOU NEED. FAITH IS NOT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE MEASURED OUT BY THE GALLON. ANY FAITH CAN ACCOMPLISH IMPOSSIBLE THINGS – THINGS LIKE PICKING UP A TREE AND PLANTING IT IN THE SEA – IF THAT IS WHAT THE FATHER WANTS. AND WHAT I HAVE BEEN DESCRIBING IS A WAY OF LIFE THAT THE FATHER WANTS FOR YOU. IF HE WANTS IT, AND YOU WANT IT, WHAT CAN GO WRONG?
CHRISTIANITY IS FILLED WITH EVIDENCE OF THIS. WE READ ABOUT SOME SAINTS WHO WERE CONVERTED IN AN INSTANT, LIKE SAINT PAUL; OTHERS WHO SEEMED TO BE SAINTS FROM THE MOMENT THEY GRADUATED FROM DIAPERS, LIKE SAINT THERESA OF LISIEUX; BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF SAINTS WHO SEEMED TO HAVE MADE A DELIBERATE DECISION TO BECOME SAINTS. SAINT AUGUSTINE STARTED OUT THINKING THAT CHRISTIANS WERE NOT VERY SMART, AND BELIEVED IN A LOT OF NONSENSE. THEN HE HEARD SAINT AMBROSE PREACH, AND EVENTUALLY MADE THE DECISION TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN. AND THAT IS THE WAY MOST SAINTS GOT TO BE SAINTS; THEY YIELDED TO GOD'S WILL, AND GOD'S WILL IS THAT YOU AND I BECOME SAINTS, AND JESUS HAS LAID OUT THE WAY WE ARE TO DO THIS, AND TELLS US THAT WE HAVE ALL THE GRACE WE NEED, ALL THE FAITH WE NEED. IF GOD WANTS IT, WHICH HE DOES, AND IF WE WANT IT, WHICH IS THE REAL PROBLEM, IT WILL HAPPEN.
A MUSTARD SEED IS VERY SMALL, BUT IF YOU BITE ON ONE, YOU CAN'T IGNORE IT; IF YOUR FAITH IS LIKE A MUSTARD SEED, IT NAGS YOU; YOU KNOW WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG, YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO AND WHAT TO AVOID; AND YOU KNOW WHAT GOD WANTS FOR YOU. AND ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS TO MAKE UP YOUR MIND TO WANT WHAT GOD WANTS FOR YOU. AND YOU CAN BE A SAINT, IF YOU WANT TO.
JESUS GOES FURTHER. NOT ONLY DOES HE MAKE IT CLEAR THAT WE CAN BECOME SAINTS IF WE WANT TO – BUT WE ARE NOT TO TAKE CREDIT FOR ANYTHING WE DO WHICH IS GOOD, WHICH MIGHT LOOK EXTRAORDINARY TO THE WORLD. BECAUSE IF IT IS TRUE THAT GOD WANTS US TO BE SAINTS, AND IF WE WANT TO BE SAINTS, AND AS A RESULT DO EXTRAORDINARY THINGS IN THE WORLD, IT IS REALLY GOD WORKING THROUGH US. IF WE MANAGE TO BECOME SAINTS, THAT IS OUR HUMAN DESTINY; THAT IS REALLY NOTHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT. WHAT IS REALLY EXTRAORDINARY, WHAT WE SHOULD REALLY TAKE NOTICE OF, IS WHEN WE DON'T BECOME SAINTS. THAT MEANS THAT WE'VE CHOSEN TO FIGHT GOD'S GRACE, AND HOW CAN THAT POSSIBLY MAKE SENSE? IN FACT, I THINK JESUS TELLS US THE PARABLE ABOUT THE SERVANTS SO THAT WE CAN EXAMINE OURSELVES – IF WE HAVE ANY TENDENCY TO FEEL THAT WHAT WE DO OR SAY, OR PRAY, BRINGS US CLOSER TO GOD, OR MAKES US SUPERIOR TO OUR FELLOW MAN, WE ARE ON THE WRONG TRACK.
I THINK ANOTHER POINT TO MAKE IS THAT THE APOSTLES THOUGHT THAT IF THEY HAD MORE FAITH, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE ANY DOUBTS, AND ONCE THE DOUBTS WERE GONE, THEY COULD DO ANYTHING. BUT JESUS SEEMS TO BE SAYING THAT IT'S NOT LIKE THAT. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE DOUBT; IF YOU ARE A THINKING HUMAN BEING, YOU CAN'T BE IN A STATE OF ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY IN THIS LIFE ABOUT GOD, ABOUT THE CHURCH, ABOUT LIFE AFTER DEATH. IF YOU WERE, IT WOULDN'T BE FAITH. SO THAT'S ANOTHER THING; AUTHENTIC FAITH IS NOT THE SAME THING AS CERTAINTY. AT THE ROOT, AUTHENTIC FAITH IS A DECISION TO LIVE IN A WAY THAT PRESUPPOSES THAT WHAT WE BELIEVE IS TRUE. EVEN MOTHER THERESA LIVED WITH DOUBT.
SO TO SUM UP: EVERY ONE OF US HAS ENOUGH FAITH TO BECOME A SAINT. THAT'S WHAT GOD WANTS, AND IF THAT'S WHAT WE WANT, THEN NOTHING STANDS IN OUR WAY. FAITH NAGS US LIKE THE TASTE OF A MUSTARD SEED; WE CAN'T IGNORE IT. FAITH ALWAYS EXISTS WITH DOUBT, BY DEFINITION. AND IF WE BELIEVE THAT ANY PART OF OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD MAKES US BETTER THAN OUR FELLOW MAN, OR IN FACT HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH OUR GOODNESS OR INTELLIGENCE OR FAITHFULNESS, WE ARE SORELY MISTAKEN. AS SAINT PAUL SAYS, EVERYTHING THAT IS GOOD COMES FROM GOD.
SO THIS WEEK WE ASK OURSELVES, DO WE HAVE THE FAITH AS BIG AS A MUSTARD SEED? ARE WE SERVANTS WHO ARE DOING WHAT WE ARE EXPECTED TO DO? OR ARE WE FIGHTING WHAT GOD WANTS FOR YOU AND I?
IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THIS COUNTRY, THE PURITANS WOULD SPEND MOST OF SUNDAY IN WORSHIP. SERMONS WOULD GO ON FOR HOURS. WE STILL HAVE SOME OF THESE SERMONS THAT WERE LATER PRINTED IN SMALL BOOKS. MAYBE OUR ANCESTORS HAD LONGER ATTENTION SPANS, OR MAYBE IN AN AGE WITHOUT TELEVISION THEY COULDN'T FIND ANYTHING ELSE TO ENTERTAIN THEM; BUT I DOUBT THAT EVEN THE POPE COULD SIT STILL FOR A SIX HOUR SERMON. MOST CATHOLICS START TO TWITCH AFTER FIFTEEN MINUTES. ANYWAY, THE PURITANS HAD A WAY TO KEEP AWAKE. THEY WOULD CARRY SMALL LINEN BAGS CONTAINING SEEDS. A PEPPER CORN; A LICORICE SEED; A CARAWAY SEED; A CUMIN SEED, A MUSTARD SEED; THE DEVOUT CHURCHGOER WOULD REACH IN HIS LITTLE BAG, SELECT A SINGLE SEED, PUT IT IN HIS MOUTH, BREAK IT, SUCK ON IT, WORRY IT, UNTIL THERE WAS NOTHING LEFT. THEN HE'D TAKE ANOTHER. THE TASTE AND SMELL AND TACTILE SENSATION KEPT HIS EYES OPEN AND HIS ATTENTION ON THE MINISTER.
HAVE YOU EVER BITTEN INTO A MUSTARD SEED? IT'S AMAZING HOW MUCH FLAVOR YOU GET; ALONG WITH A SLIGHT BURN, LIKE CHILI PEPPER. I CAN SEE WHERE IT WOULD WAKE YOU UP. PEOPLE IN JESUS' DAY CONSIDERED THE MUSTARD SEED THE SMALLEST OF SEEDS; BUT MAYBE IN THIS GOSPEL JESUS WAS CONSIDERING THE TASTE AS WELL.
I WANT TO TEACH YOU A NEW WORD TODAY, SO THAT WHEN YOU LEAVE CHURCH YOU WILL BE SMARTER THAN WHEN YOU CAME IN. THAT WORD IS “PERICOPE”. IT IS WHAT WE CALL THESE LITTLE PASSAGES THAT WE READ FROM SCRIPTURE. SOMETIMES, AS IS TRUE OF THE GOSPEL TODAY, THE PERICOPE IS PLUCKED OUT OF CONTEXT, AND IT SEEMS AS THOUGH THE THINGS THAT JESUS IS SAYING ARE UNRELATED, AND SOMETIMES THEY SOUND LIKE SAYINGS FROM CONFUCIUS. SO A LITTLE BACKGROUND. JESUS HAS BEEN TELLING PARABLES. HE TOLD HIS APOSTLES ABOUT THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS. HE TOLD THEM ABOUT THE PRODIGAL SON AND THE WOMAN WHO LOST A COIN AND THE SHEPHERD WHO WENT IN SEARCH OF HIS SHEEP. AND THEN HE TELLS THEM THAT IF THEY ARE THE CAUSE FOR SIN FOR ONE OF THESE LITTLE ONES, IT IS BETTER FOR THEM TO HAVE A MILLSTONE TIED AROUND THEIR NECKS AND BE CAST INTO THE SEA; AND HE TELLS THEM THAT THEY ARE TO HAVE NO LIMITS TO THEIR FORGIVENESS. AND IF YOU ARE SERIOUSLY TRYING TO FOLLOW JESUS, AS THE APOSTLES WERE, BY THIS TIME YOU WOULD THINK THIS WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE. JESUS HAS BEEN DESCRIBING A WAY OF LIFE WHICH SEEMS CLEARLY SUPERHUMAN. AND THAT IS WHERE THE APOSTLES CRY OUT, “INCREASE OUR FAITH!” BECAUSE THEY REALIZE THAT TO LIVE A LIFE LIKE JESUS IS DESCRIBING IS GOING TO TAKE A LOT MORE THAN THEY THINK THEY HAVE.
AND JESUS REPLIES, AND IT WOULD BE MORE CLEAR IF WE COULD READ GREEK, “YOU ALREADY HAVE ALL THE FAITH YOU NEED. FAITH IS NOT SOMETHING THAT CAN BE MEASURED OUT BY THE GALLON. ANY FAITH CAN ACCOMPLISH IMPOSSIBLE THINGS – THINGS LIKE PICKING UP A TREE AND PLANTING IT IN THE SEA – IF THAT IS WHAT THE FATHER WANTS. AND WHAT I HAVE BEEN DESCRIBING IS A WAY OF LIFE THAT THE FATHER WANTS FOR YOU. IF HE WANTS IT, AND YOU WANT IT, WHAT CAN GO WRONG?
CHRISTIANITY IS FILLED WITH EVIDENCE OF THIS. WE READ ABOUT SOME SAINTS WHO WERE CONVERTED IN AN INSTANT, LIKE SAINT PAUL; OTHERS WHO SEEMED TO BE SAINTS FROM THE MOMENT THEY GRADUATED FROM DIAPERS, LIKE SAINT THERESA OF LISIEUX; BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF SAINTS WHO SEEMED TO HAVE MADE A DELIBERATE DECISION TO BECOME SAINTS. SAINT AUGUSTINE STARTED OUT THINKING THAT CHRISTIANS WERE NOT VERY SMART, AND BELIEVED IN A LOT OF NONSENSE. THEN HE HEARD SAINT AMBROSE PREACH, AND EVENTUALLY MADE THE DECISION TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN. AND THAT IS THE WAY MOST SAINTS GOT TO BE SAINTS; THEY YIELDED TO GOD'S WILL, AND GOD'S WILL IS THAT YOU AND I BECOME SAINTS, AND JESUS HAS LAID OUT THE WAY WE ARE TO DO THIS, AND TELLS US THAT WE HAVE ALL THE GRACE WE NEED, ALL THE FAITH WE NEED. IF GOD WANTS IT, WHICH HE DOES, AND IF WE WANT IT, WHICH IS THE REAL PROBLEM, IT WILL HAPPEN.
A MUSTARD SEED IS VERY SMALL, BUT IF YOU BITE ON ONE, YOU CAN'T IGNORE IT; IF YOUR FAITH IS LIKE A MUSTARD SEED, IT NAGS YOU; YOU KNOW WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG, YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO AND WHAT TO AVOID; AND YOU KNOW WHAT GOD WANTS FOR YOU. AND ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS TO MAKE UP YOUR MIND TO WANT WHAT GOD WANTS FOR YOU. AND YOU CAN BE A SAINT, IF YOU WANT TO.
JESUS GOES FURTHER. NOT ONLY DOES HE MAKE IT CLEAR THAT WE CAN BECOME SAINTS IF WE WANT TO – BUT WE ARE NOT TO TAKE CREDIT FOR ANYTHING WE DO WHICH IS GOOD, WHICH MIGHT LOOK EXTRAORDINARY TO THE WORLD. BECAUSE IF IT IS TRUE THAT GOD WANTS US TO BE SAINTS, AND IF WE WANT TO BE SAINTS, AND AS A RESULT DO EXTRAORDINARY THINGS IN THE WORLD, IT IS REALLY GOD WORKING THROUGH US. IF WE MANAGE TO BECOME SAINTS, THAT IS OUR HUMAN DESTINY; THAT IS REALLY NOTHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT. WHAT IS REALLY EXTRAORDINARY, WHAT WE SHOULD REALLY TAKE NOTICE OF, IS WHEN WE DON'T BECOME SAINTS. THAT MEANS THAT WE'VE CHOSEN TO FIGHT GOD'S GRACE, AND HOW CAN THAT POSSIBLY MAKE SENSE? IN FACT, I THINK JESUS TELLS US THE PARABLE ABOUT THE SERVANTS SO THAT WE CAN EXAMINE OURSELVES – IF WE HAVE ANY TENDENCY TO FEEL THAT WHAT WE DO OR SAY, OR PRAY, BRINGS US CLOSER TO GOD, OR MAKES US SUPERIOR TO OUR FELLOW MAN, WE ARE ON THE WRONG TRACK.
I THINK ANOTHER POINT TO MAKE IS THAT THE APOSTLES THOUGHT THAT IF THEY HAD MORE FAITH, THEY WOULDN'T HAVE ANY DOUBTS, AND ONCE THE DOUBTS WERE GONE, THEY COULD DO ANYTHING. BUT JESUS SEEMS TO BE SAYING THAT IT'S NOT LIKE THAT. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE DOUBT; IF YOU ARE A THINKING HUMAN BEING, YOU CAN'T BE IN A STATE OF ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY IN THIS LIFE ABOUT GOD, ABOUT THE CHURCH, ABOUT LIFE AFTER DEATH. IF YOU WERE, IT WOULDN'T BE FAITH. SO THAT'S ANOTHER THING; AUTHENTIC FAITH IS NOT THE SAME THING AS CERTAINTY. AT THE ROOT, AUTHENTIC FAITH IS A DECISION TO LIVE IN A WAY THAT PRESUPPOSES THAT WHAT WE BELIEVE IS TRUE. EVEN MOTHER THERESA LIVED WITH DOUBT.
SO TO SUM UP: EVERY ONE OF US HAS ENOUGH FAITH TO BECOME A SAINT. THAT'S WHAT GOD WANTS, AND IF THAT'S WHAT WE WANT, THEN NOTHING STANDS IN OUR WAY. FAITH NAGS US LIKE THE TASTE OF A MUSTARD SEED; WE CAN'T IGNORE IT. FAITH ALWAYS EXISTS WITH DOUBT, BY DEFINITION. AND IF WE BELIEVE THAT ANY PART OF OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD MAKES US BETTER THAN OUR FELLOW MAN, OR IN FACT HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH OUR GOODNESS OR INTELLIGENCE OR FAITHFULNESS, WE ARE SORELY MISTAKEN. AS SAINT PAUL SAYS, EVERYTHING THAT IS GOOD COMES FROM GOD.
SO THIS WEEK WE ASK OURSELVES, DO WE HAVE THE FAITH AS BIG AS A MUSTARD SEED? ARE WE SERVANTS WHO ARE DOING WHAT WE ARE EXPECTED TO DO? OR ARE WE FIGHTING WHAT GOD WANTS FOR YOU AND I?
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C
LUKE 16:19-31
VERY EARLY IN THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY, PREACHERS USED THIS PARABLE TO REASSURE THE MEMBERS OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION THAT ALL THE SUFFERING THEY WERE GOING THROUGH WOULD BE REWARDED IN THE NEXT LIFE. AND THIS WAS PROBABLY A COMFORTING MESSAGE WHEN BEING A CHRISTIAN MEANT THAT AT THE MINIMUM YOU WERE EXCLUDED FROM GOOD JOBS AND NICE PLACES TO LIVE, AND THERE WAS A GOOD CHANCE THAT YOU MIGHT BE FED TO THE LIONS OR GET YOUR HEAD WAS CHOPPED OFF.
BUT AFTER CHRISTIANITY BECAME THE DOMINANT RELIGION AND INDEED, THE RELIGION OF THE STATE, HUMAN BEINGS DID WHAT THEY ALWAYS DO – THEY SORTED THEMSELVES ONCE AGAIN, INTO THOSE WHO RULED AND THOSE WHO WERE RULED OVER. THE CHRISTIAN WORLD WHICH HAD ONCE BEEN A WORLD OF EQUALITY, A WORLD WHERE EVERYONE SHARED WHAT THEY HAD AND BISHOPS AND PRIESTS AND DEACONS HAD DAY JOBS, AND NO CHRISTIAN WOULD LET ANOTHER CHRISTIAN GO HUNGRY, – THAT WORLD BECAME LIKE ALL HUMAN WORLDS; AN UPPER CLASS WITH POWER AND RICHES AND BEAUTIFUL HOMES AND RICH FOODS – AND A LOWER CLASS WHO WORKED FROM DAWN TO DUSK, POORLY FED AND CLOTHED, LIVING IN SQUALOR. AND THE PARABLE OF LAZARUS AND THE RICH MAN CONTINUED TO BE PREACHED – BUT NOW TO JUSTIFY OPPRESSION WITH THE SAME MESSAGE – YOU POOR WILL SOMEDAY BE REWARDED IN THE NEXT LIFE.
IS THAT WHAT JESUS MEANT, THOUGH? DID HE TELL THIS STORY TO DRIVE HOME THAT THE RICH WOULD BURN IN HELL AND THE POOR WOULD ENJOY ETERNAL BLISS AFTER DEATH? I DON'T THINK SO. JESUS WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE GREAT PROPHETS OF HIS TRADITION. AND TODAY WE HEARD A SELECTION FROM THE PROPHET AMOS, WHOSE WRITING WAS ALL ABOUT SOCIAL JUSTICE; HE SPOKE FOR GOD IN CONDEMNATION OF THE PEOPLE WHO TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THEIR POSITIONS, WHO ABUSED THOSE WHO WERE POOR AND WITHOUT POWER. AND AMOS WASN'T THE ONLY ONE. ISAIAH AND JEREMIAH AND MOST OF THE PROPHETS HAD SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT SOCIAL JUSTICE AS WELL. AND IT WAS ALWAYS THE SAME MESSAGE – GOD HEARS THE CRY OF THE POOR, AND JUSTICE WILL BE DONE.
I THINK JESUS ISN'T CONCERNED ABOUT LIFE AFTER DEATH, AND DOESN'T TELL THIS PARABLE TO TELL US HOW IT WILL BE IN THE NEXT WORLD. PUT YOURSELF IN THE PLACE OF ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO HEARD JESUS. YOU ARE POOR, AND YOU DON'T MUCH LIKE RICH PEOPLE. SO WHEN JESUS DRAWS THE PICTURE OF THE RICH MAN, YOU SEE A VERY WELL FED MAN DRESSED LIKE ROYALTY COMING OUT OF HIS PALACE AND STEPPING OVER THE BODY OF A BEGGAR. AND YOU CHEER WHEN THEY BOTH DIE, AND THEY BOTH GET WHAT'S COMING TO THEM. BUT THEN YOU BEGIN TO HAVE SECOND THOUGHTS; THE RICH MAN IS NOT JUST IN TORMENT, HE IS IN ETERNAL TORMENT. THE FLAMES BURN HIM, HE CAN BARELY BREATHE, HE LONGS FOR A DROP OF WATER. AND AS HE SPEAKS, YOU BEGIN TO SYMPATHIZE – YOU HEAR HIM BEG FATHER ABRAHAM THAT IF NOTHING CAN BE DONE FOR HIM, SAVE HIS BROTHERS FROM THIS TORMENT. AND WHEN JESUS FINISHES THE STORY, YOU HAVE MIXED FEELINGS; DID THE RICH MAN REALLY DESERVE WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM? JUST FOR IGNORING LAZARUS, THE POOR MAN? AND MAYBE, IF YOU THINK AGAIN, YOU MIGHT WONDER IF LAZARUS, THE POOR MAN, REALLY DESERVED ETERNAL HAPPINESS – JUST FOR BEING POOR AND MISERABLE.
AND MAYBE AFTER YOU THINK ABOUT THIS PARABLE FOR A LONG TIME, YOU MIGHT WONDER IF WHAT JESUS IS REALLY SAYING IS THAT FOR THERE TO BE HAVES AND HAVE NOTS, FOR THERE TO BE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN LONGMEADOW WHO WORRY ABOUT WATCHING THEIR WEIGHT AND PEOPLE IN HAITI WHO LIVE ONE OR TWO MEALS AWAY FROM STARVATION; FOR THERE TO BE PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES WHO CONSUME 25% OF THE ENERGY PRODUCED IN THE WORLD AND PEOPLE IN NORTH KOREA WHOSE NIGHTS ARE UNYIELDING BLACKNESS BECAUSE THERE IS NO ENERGY FOR LIGHT OR HEAT; IF YOU BELIEVE THE OLD PROPHETS; IF YOU HAVE ANY SENSE OF JUSTICE, EVEN IF YOU ARE ONE OF THE RICH, WELL FED, HAVES, YOU SORT OF KNOW THAT IF THERE IS A GOD, THERE WILL BE JUSTICE. WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND. IF THERE IS A LIFE BEYOND THIS ONE, JUSTICE MUST BE DONE.
AND JESUS IS SUGGESTING THAT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY. IF THOSE WHO HAVE LIFT UP THOSE WHO DON'T HAVE, IT IS A WIN-WIN SITUATION. LAZARUS WON'T HAVE TO LIE IN THE DOORWAY, ATTENDED TO BY DOGS, WISHING FOR A FEW CRUMBS; AND THE RICH MAN WON'T HAVE TO SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES OF IGNORING LAZARUS. BOTH WILL ENJOY THE GOOD THINGS THIS LIFE HAS TO OFFER, AND BOTH WILL REST IN THE BOSOM OF ABRAHAM.
A FEW WEEKS AGO, BILL GATES, THE RICHEST MAN IN THE UNITED STATES, WHOSE WORTH IS ABOUT 54 BILLION DOLLARS, AND WARREN BUFFET, WHO ISN'T FAR BEHIND, PLEDGED TO GIVE MOST OF THEIR FORTUNES AWAY AND SUGGESTED THAT OTHERS WHO HAVE ACQUIRED FORTUNES DO LIKEWISE. WE ALL KNOW ABOUT TOM DONAHUE THE FOUNDER OF DOMINO'S PIZZA, AND THE FORMER OWNER OF THE DETROIT TIGERS, WHO HAS USED HIS FORTUNE TO BUILD A CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY AND A CATHOLIC-ORIENTED CITY IN FLORIDA. AND THERE ARE MANY OTHER EXAMPLES.
THESE ARE SPECTACULAR STORIES. BUT I KNOW OF A FEW OTHERS AS WELL. I KNOW OF A HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATOR AND A NURSE WHO, AFTER THEY RAISED THEIR FAMILY, SOLD EVERYTHING THEY HAD AND ADOPTED A TOWN IN THE MOUNTAINS OF MEXICO. OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS THEY BUILT A HEALTH SYSTEM, TAUGHT SOME OF THE TOWNSPEOPLE HOW TO DO CARE FOR COMMON ILLNESSES, AND SET UP A SYSTEM THAT WAS SELF-SUSTAINING. THEY DIED WITH NOTHING. AMONG THE BUDDHISTS IN THAILAND, THOSE WHO TAKE THEIR RELIGION SERIOUSLY SPEND THE LAST FEW YEARS OF THEIR LIVES AS MONKS. AFTER SEEING TO IT THAT THEIR FAMILIES ARE TAKEN CARE OF THEY GIVE AWAY EVERYTHING ELSE AND DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO PRAYER AND MEDITATION, AND LIVING SIMPLY.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A CHRISTIAN TO REALIZE THAT IF YOU DIE WITH IMMENSE WEALTH, OR EVEN WITH MODERATE WEALTH, THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THAT. IF YOU BELIEVE IN LIFE AFTER DEATH, YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU WILL ANSWER FOR THE EXCESS THAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR POSSESSION. YOU WHO HAVE HAD THE GOOD THINGS IN LIFE … AS JESUS SAYS. WE ALL HAVE A FEW YEARS LEFT. HOW ARE WE GOING TO SEE TO IT THAT WHEN WE DIE, THERE IS NOTHING LEFT THAT WE OWN? THAT OUR LAZARUS'S WILL BE WELL FED AND SHELTERED AND WEARING DECENT CLOTHING, AND NOT WISHING THAT THEY COULD HAVE THE CRUMBS THAT FALL FROM OUR TABLE?
VERY EARLY IN THE HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY, PREACHERS USED THIS PARABLE TO REASSURE THE MEMBERS OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION THAT ALL THE SUFFERING THEY WERE GOING THROUGH WOULD BE REWARDED IN THE NEXT LIFE. AND THIS WAS PROBABLY A COMFORTING MESSAGE WHEN BEING A CHRISTIAN MEANT THAT AT THE MINIMUM YOU WERE EXCLUDED FROM GOOD JOBS AND NICE PLACES TO LIVE, AND THERE WAS A GOOD CHANCE THAT YOU MIGHT BE FED TO THE LIONS OR GET YOUR HEAD WAS CHOPPED OFF.
BUT AFTER CHRISTIANITY BECAME THE DOMINANT RELIGION AND INDEED, THE RELIGION OF THE STATE, HUMAN BEINGS DID WHAT THEY ALWAYS DO – THEY SORTED THEMSELVES ONCE AGAIN, INTO THOSE WHO RULED AND THOSE WHO WERE RULED OVER. THE CHRISTIAN WORLD WHICH HAD ONCE BEEN A WORLD OF EQUALITY, A WORLD WHERE EVERYONE SHARED WHAT THEY HAD AND BISHOPS AND PRIESTS AND DEACONS HAD DAY JOBS, AND NO CHRISTIAN WOULD LET ANOTHER CHRISTIAN GO HUNGRY, – THAT WORLD BECAME LIKE ALL HUMAN WORLDS; AN UPPER CLASS WITH POWER AND RICHES AND BEAUTIFUL HOMES AND RICH FOODS – AND A LOWER CLASS WHO WORKED FROM DAWN TO DUSK, POORLY FED AND CLOTHED, LIVING IN SQUALOR. AND THE PARABLE OF LAZARUS AND THE RICH MAN CONTINUED TO BE PREACHED – BUT NOW TO JUSTIFY OPPRESSION WITH THE SAME MESSAGE – YOU POOR WILL SOMEDAY BE REWARDED IN THE NEXT LIFE.
IS THAT WHAT JESUS MEANT, THOUGH? DID HE TELL THIS STORY TO DRIVE HOME THAT THE RICH WOULD BURN IN HELL AND THE POOR WOULD ENJOY ETERNAL BLISS AFTER DEATH? I DON'T THINK SO. JESUS WAS FAMILIAR WITH THE GREAT PROPHETS OF HIS TRADITION. AND TODAY WE HEARD A SELECTION FROM THE PROPHET AMOS, WHOSE WRITING WAS ALL ABOUT SOCIAL JUSTICE; HE SPOKE FOR GOD IN CONDEMNATION OF THE PEOPLE WHO TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THEIR POSITIONS, WHO ABUSED THOSE WHO WERE POOR AND WITHOUT POWER. AND AMOS WASN'T THE ONLY ONE. ISAIAH AND JEREMIAH AND MOST OF THE PROPHETS HAD SOMETHING TO SAY ABOUT SOCIAL JUSTICE AS WELL. AND IT WAS ALWAYS THE SAME MESSAGE – GOD HEARS THE CRY OF THE POOR, AND JUSTICE WILL BE DONE.
I THINK JESUS ISN'T CONCERNED ABOUT LIFE AFTER DEATH, AND DOESN'T TELL THIS PARABLE TO TELL US HOW IT WILL BE IN THE NEXT WORLD. PUT YOURSELF IN THE PLACE OF ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO HEARD JESUS. YOU ARE POOR, AND YOU DON'T MUCH LIKE RICH PEOPLE. SO WHEN JESUS DRAWS THE PICTURE OF THE RICH MAN, YOU SEE A VERY WELL FED MAN DRESSED LIKE ROYALTY COMING OUT OF HIS PALACE AND STEPPING OVER THE BODY OF A BEGGAR. AND YOU CHEER WHEN THEY BOTH DIE, AND THEY BOTH GET WHAT'S COMING TO THEM. BUT THEN YOU BEGIN TO HAVE SECOND THOUGHTS; THE RICH MAN IS NOT JUST IN TORMENT, HE IS IN ETERNAL TORMENT. THE FLAMES BURN HIM, HE CAN BARELY BREATHE, HE LONGS FOR A DROP OF WATER. AND AS HE SPEAKS, YOU BEGIN TO SYMPATHIZE – YOU HEAR HIM BEG FATHER ABRAHAM THAT IF NOTHING CAN BE DONE FOR HIM, SAVE HIS BROTHERS FROM THIS TORMENT. AND WHEN JESUS FINISHES THE STORY, YOU HAVE MIXED FEELINGS; DID THE RICH MAN REALLY DESERVE WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM? JUST FOR IGNORING LAZARUS, THE POOR MAN? AND MAYBE, IF YOU THINK AGAIN, YOU MIGHT WONDER IF LAZARUS, THE POOR MAN, REALLY DESERVED ETERNAL HAPPINESS – JUST FOR BEING POOR AND MISERABLE.
AND MAYBE AFTER YOU THINK ABOUT THIS PARABLE FOR A LONG TIME, YOU MIGHT WONDER IF WHAT JESUS IS REALLY SAYING IS THAT FOR THERE TO BE HAVES AND HAVE NOTS, FOR THERE TO BE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN LONGMEADOW WHO WORRY ABOUT WATCHING THEIR WEIGHT AND PEOPLE IN HAITI WHO LIVE ONE OR TWO MEALS AWAY FROM STARVATION; FOR THERE TO BE PEOPLE IN THE UNITED STATES WHO CONSUME 25% OF THE ENERGY PRODUCED IN THE WORLD AND PEOPLE IN NORTH KOREA WHOSE NIGHTS ARE UNYIELDING BLACKNESS BECAUSE THERE IS NO ENERGY FOR LIGHT OR HEAT; IF YOU BELIEVE THE OLD PROPHETS; IF YOU HAVE ANY SENSE OF JUSTICE, EVEN IF YOU ARE ONE OF THE RICH, WELL FED, HAVES, YOU SORT OF KNOW THAT IF THERE IS A GOD, THERE WILL BE JUSTICE. WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND. IF THERE IS A LIFE BEYOND THIS ONE, JUSTICE MUST BE DONE.
AND JESUS IS SUGGESTING THAT IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY. IF THOSE WHO HAVE LIFT UP THOSE WHO DON'T HAVE, IT IS A WIN-WIN SITUATION. LAZARUS WON'T HAVE TO LIE IN THE DOORWAY, ATTENDED TO BY DOGS, WISHING FOR A FEW CRUMBS; AND THE RICH MAN WON'T HAVE TO SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES OF IGNORING LAZARUS. BOTH WILL ENJOY THE GOOD THINGS THIS LIFE HAS TO OFFER, AND BOTH WILL REST IN THE BOSOM OF ABRAHAM.
A FEW WEEKS AGO, BILL GATES, THE RICHEST MAN IN THE UNITED STATES, WHOSE WORTH IS ABOUT 54 BILLION DOLLARS, AND WARREN BUFFET, WHO ISN'T FAR BEHIND, PLEDGED TO GIVE MOST OF THEIR FORTUNES AWAY AND SUGGESTED THAT OTHERS WHO HAVE ACQUIRED FORTUNES DO LIKEWISE. WE ALL KNOW ABOUT TOM DONAHUE THE FOUNDER OF DOMINO'S PIZZA, AND THE FORMER OWNER OF THE DETROIT TIGERS, WHO HAS USED HIS FORTUNE TO BUILD A CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY AND A CATHOLIC-ORIENTED CITY IN FLORIDA. AND THERE ARE MANY OTHER EXAMPLES.
THESE ARE SPECTACULAR STORIES. BUT I KNOW OF A FEW OTHERS AS WELL. I KNOW OF A HOSPITAL ADMINISTRATOR AND A NURSE WHO, AFTER THEY RAISED THEIR FAMILY, SOLD EVERYTHING THEY HAD AND ADOPTED A TOWN IN THE MOUNTAINS OF MEXICO. OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS THEY BUILT A HEALTH SYSTEM, TAUGHT SOME OF THE TOWNSPEOPLE HOW TO DO CARE FOR COMMON ILLNESSES, AND SET UP A SYSTEM THAT WAS SELF-SUSTAINING. THEY DIED WITH NOTHING. AMONG THE BUDDHISTS IN THAILAND, THOSE WHO TAKE THEIR RELIGION SERIOUSLY SPEND THE LAST FEW YEARS OF THEIR LIVES AS MONKS. AFTER SEEING TO IT THAT THEIR FAMILIES ARE TAKEN CARE OF THEY GIVE AWAY EVERYTHING ELSE AND DEVOTE THEMSELVES TO PRAYER AND MEDITATION, AND LIVING SIMPLY.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A CHRISTIAN TO REALIZE THAT IF YOU DIE WITH IMMENSE WEALTH, OR EVEN WITH MODERATE WEALTH, THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THAT. IF YOU BELIEVE IN LIFE AFTER DEATH, YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU WILL ANSWER FOR THE EXCESS THAT YOU HAVE IN YOUR POSSESSION. YOU WHO HAVE HAD THE GOOD THINGS IN LIFE … AS JESUS SAYS. WE ALL HAVE A FEW YEARS LEFT. HOW ARE WE GOING TO SEE TO IT THAT WHEN WE DIE, THERE IS NOTHING LEFT THAT WE OWN? THAT OUR LAZARUS'S WILL BE WELL FED AND SHELTERED AND WEARING DECENT CLOTHING, AND NOT WISHING THAT THEY COULD HAVE THE CRUMBS THAT FALL FROM OUR TABLE?
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