Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C

LUKE 10:25-37

AN OLD FAMILIAR STORY. IT'S EVEN GIVEN OUR LANGUAGE A PHRASE, “GOOD SAMARITAN” TO DESCRIBE ANYONE WHO GOES OUT OF HIS WAY TO HELP SOMEONE IN NEED. WHEN I LOOK OVER SERMONS WHICH HAVE BEEN WRITTEN ABOUT THIS GOSPEL, MANY OF THEM TRY TO IMAGINE THE STORY IN MODERN TERMS – A HOMELESS PERSON HELPING OUT SOMEONE WHO WAS MUGGED; A PALESTINIAN MUSLIM COMING TO THE AID OF AN ISRAELI SOLDIER WHO WAS WOUNDED. IT SEEMS AS THOUGH WHEN WE TRY TO RE-IMAGINE THIS STORY, WE CONCENTRATE ON THE FACT THAT THE SAMARITAN WAS FROM A MINORITY WHICH WAS LOOKED DOWN UPON. BUT WHAT DOES THAT TELL US? THAT WE SHOULD LOOK TO HOMELESS PEOPLE OR PEOPLE FROM OPPRESSED MINORITY GROUPS TO BE THERE FOR US WHEN WE ARE IN TROUBLE? NOT LIKELY. OR DOES IT MEAN THAT BECAUSE THE SAMARITAN IN THE STORY HELPED OUT THE TRAVELER, WE SHOULD RECIPROCATE BY HELPING OUT PEOPLE WHO ARE AT THE EDGE OF OUR SOCIETY, THE POOR, THE HOMELESS, THE ADDICTED, THE FOREIGNER IN OUR MIDST? THAT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE THE POINT OF THE STORY EITHER.

I THINK IT'S INTERESTING THAT WHENEVER WE USE THE TERM “GOOD SAMARITAN” WE THROW IN A WORD THAT JESUS NEVER USED WHEN HE TOLD THE STORY. WHEN WE THROW IN THE WORD “GOOD” WE CHANGE OUR PERCEPTION AS WELL; WE SEE THE SAMARITAN IN CONTRAST TO THE PRIEST AND LEVITE, NOT JUST BECAUSE HE STOPPED TO HELP, BUT BECAUSE WE INTERPRET WHAT HE DID AS GOOD, IN CONTRAST TO WHAT THE PRIEST AND LEVITE DID; WE SAY THAT NOT STOPPING TO HELP IS A BAD THING.

AND THE LAST POINT IS THAT THE WORD “NEIGHBOR” FOR US ENGLISH SPEAKERS MEANS THE PERSON NEXT DOOR, OR THE PERSON WHO LIVES IN OUR TOWN. IT'S A STRETCH TO SAY THAT THE HOMELESS PERSON DOWN ON MAIN STREET IS NEIGHBOR, OR THAT SOMEONE IN HAITI IS NEIGHBOR. IF WE INCLUDE THE WHOLE HUMAN RACE IN THE TERM “NEIGHBOR” THE WORD CEASES TO HAVE MEANING.

THE GREEK WORD THAT IS TRANSLATED INTO “NEIGHBOR” MEANS “NEAR ONE” – AND SO DOES THE ARAMAIC WORD WHICH WE PRESUME JESUS AND THE LAWYER MUST HAVE USED. SO WE CAN IMAGINE THE LAWYER ASKING “WHO IS THE NEAR ONE FOR ME?” AND THEN THE STORY OF THE SAMARITAN TAKES ON A DIFFERENT SHADE. THE PRIEST AND THE LEVITE MAY HAVE VERY GOOD REASONS FOR AVOIDING THE STRICKEN TRAVELER. IT WAS, AFTER ALL, A POTENTIAL TRAP, WHERE SOMEONE WOULD PRETEND TO BE INJURED AND WHEN SOMEONE STOPPED TO HELP, BANDITS WOULD POP OUT OF THE BUSHES AND ROB THE HELPER. THAT'S THE PLOT LINE IN MANY TV DRAMAS. OR IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN THAT THE PRIEST, WHO HAD TO BE RITUALLY CLEAN FOR HIS WORK, COULDN'T STOP AND TOUCH SOMEONE WHO WAS BLEEDING AND MAY EVEN BE DEAD. WE CAN'T IDENTIFY WITH HIS THINKING, BUT IN THE OLD TESTAMENT WE SEE HOW IMPORTANT THIS WAS TO THE PEOPLE OF THAT TIME. AND LEVITES WERE ENTRUSTED WITH MONEY FROM THE TEMPLE TREASURY USED TO HELP THE POOR; THE LEVITE'S FIRST RESPONSIBILITY WAS TO MAKE SURE THE MONEY GOT TO WHERE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO GO. IT MAY HAVE BEEN THAT THE PEOPLE LISTENING TO JESUS DIDN'T SEE THE PRIEST AND THE LEVITE AS DOING ANYTHING WRONG; ON THE OTHER HAND, JESUS PAINTS A PICTURE OF THIS SAMARITAN REALLY GOING OUT OF HIS WAY TO HELP THE STRANGER – ALMOST TO THE POINT OF BEING LAUGHABLE –BINDING UP WOUNDS, CARRYING HIM TO THE NEAREST TOWN, DROPPING HIM OFF IN A MOTEL, TELLING THE INKEEPER TO KEEP A TAB ON EXPENSES, AND PROMISING TO PAY HIM WHATEVER IT COST WHEN HE GETS BACK – I MIGHT HAVE GIVEN FIRST AID AND BROUGHT THE MAN TO THE NEAREST POLICE STATION OR HOSPITAL EMERGENCY ROOM, BUT PROBABLY WOULDN'T HAVE OFFERED TO PAY HIS BILLS.

SO THE LAWYER ASKS JESUS, “WHO IS MY NEIGHBOR? WHO IS THE ONE NEAR TO ME THAT I AM SUPPOSED TO LOVE?” AND JESUS TELLS THE STORY, AND ASKS, “WHO WAS THE ONE NEAR TO THE PERSON WHO WAS ROBBED?” AND THE LAWYER NOW UNDERSTANDS – “THE ONE WHO SHOWED MERCY!” BECAUSE AFTER ALL, THE PRIEST AND THE LEVITE HAD ALSO BEEN NEAR THE MAN WHO HAD BEEN ROBBED; THE DIFFERENCE WAS IN THE ACTION, NOT THE FACT OF PROXIMITY, NOT IN THE FACT THAT TWO JEWISH OFFICIALS HAD NOT STOPPED TO HELP A FELLOW JEW; A PERSON BECOMES NEIGHBOR WHEN HE OR SHE SHOWS MERCY, WHEN HE OR SHE ACTS OUT OF MERCY. WE CAN ALL CLAIM THAT WE LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR, BUT THOSE ARE JUST WORDS; LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR, JESUS IS SAYING, MEANS ACTION; MEANS TO ATTEND TO THE NEEDS OF THE PERSON RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW.

MOTHER THERESA WAS ONCE INVITED TO A CONFERENCE IN INDIA ABOUT DEVELOPING POLICY FOR DEALING WITH THE HOMELESS PEOPLE IN THE LARGE CITIES. ACTIVISTS AND GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND RELIGIOUS LEADERS FILED IN TO THE AUDITORIUM – ALL GOOD, CONCERNED PEOPLE WHO WANTED TO HELP. BUT MOTHER THERESA NEVER GOT TO SPEAK. AS SHE AND HER COMPANIONS APPROACHED THE ENTRANCE THEY SAW SEVERAL STREET PEOPLE BEGGING; SO THEY STOPPED AND TENDED TO THEM. THE SICK ONES WERE BROUGHT BACK TO THE HOSPICE; THE HUNGRY ONES WERE FED; THE NAKED ONES WERE OFFERED CLOTHING. DID THIS MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR THE POOR PEOPLE OF INDIA? NOT A BIT. THE PEOPLE IN THE AUDITORIUM WERE HOPING THAT THE POLICIES AND PLANS THEY WERE DEVELOPING WOULD MAKE A DIFFERENCE. THAT WASN'T A BAD THING, IN FACT, IT WAS A VERY GOOD THING, BECAUSE SEVERAL OF THEIR SUGGESTIONS WERE ADOPTED BY THE GOVERNMENT, AND A DENT IS BEING MADE IN THE PROBLEM; MAYBE MOTHER THERESA WOULD HAVE BEEN ABLE TO OFFER EVEN MORE GOOD IDEAS.

BUT WHEN WE ASK THE QUESTION, WHO IS OUR NEIGHBOR THAT WE ARE TO LOVE AS OURSELVES, WE ASK, HOW DO WE LOVE OURSELVES? WE SEE THAT WE ARE FED, CLOTHED, SHELTERED, ENTERTAINED, LOVED AND EDUCATED. WE SEE THAT WE HAVE THINGS – CARS, COMPUTERS, HOMES, FURNITURE, MONEY – AND WE PLAN TO GET MORE STUFF, JUST WAIT. AND WHEN WE SEE SOMEONE WHO DOESN'T HAVE WHAT WE HAVE, AND WE ADDRESS THAT PERSON'S NEEDS JUST AS WE ADDRESS OUR OWN, THEN AND ONLY THEN ARE WE FULFILLING THE COMMANDMENT TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELVES.

THE JEWS, NOW AND IN THE TIME OF JESUS, DO NOT CONSIDER GIVING MONEY TO THE POOR AS AN ACT OF CHARITY – IT'S AN ACT OF JUSTICE. AND WHEN WE SUPPORT OUR FAVORITE CAUSES WITH OUR TIME AND OUR MONEY, IT'S NOT QUITE THE SAME THING AS LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR AS OURSELVES. THIS WEEK LET US ALL MEDITATE ON WHAT IT MEANS, AND WHETHER WE ARE BEING NEIGHBOR.

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C

LUKE 10:1-12, 17-20

THE CHURCH JESUS FOUNDED GREW VERY RAPIDLY. IT'S ESTIMATED THAT SAINT PAUL TRAVELED 10,000 MILES HIMSELF; AND HE WAS JUST ONE OF THE MANY WHO GAVE UP EVERYTHING TO GO AND PREACH THE KINGDOM. WE KNOW THAT CHRISTIANITY WAS PRESENT IN CHINA IN THE 6^TH CENTURY; WE KNOW THAT SYRIAN MISSIONARIES BROUGHT CHRISTIANITY TO INDIA AND WHAT ARE NOW THE GULF STATES. THE TWELVE APOSTLES DIDN'T DO IT ALL, BUT PEOPLE LIKE THE 72 MENTIONED IN TODAY'S READING. WHEN WE READ SAINT PAUL'S LETTERS, IN ONE OF THEM HE INSTRUCTS HIS PEOPLE HOW TO TELL WHETHER A MISSIONARY WHO IS VISITING IS GENUINE OR MERELY TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THEIR HOSPITALITY. AND WE FIND IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES AND PAUL'S WRITINGS CONTROVERSIES THAT WERE POPPING UP AS DIFFERENT MISSIONARIES PREACHED DIFFERENT VERSIONS OF THE GOSPELS. BUT THE QUESTION COMES, WHERE DID ALL THIS ENERGY COME FROM? REMEMBER, THERE WERE NO RELIGIOUS ORDERS, AND PAPAL AUTHORITY WAS PRACTICALLY NON-EXISTENT OUTSIDE OF ROME. WHAT SET THESE PEOPLE ON FIRE? AND WHY DON'T WE HAVE THAT KIND OF FIRE TODAY?

JESUS IS ALWAYS A MASTER OF THE HUMAN HEART. HE TOLD HIS DISCIPLES TO DO TWO THINGS – FIRST, GET RID OF ALMOST EVERYTHING; SECOND, DEPEND ON GOD TO PROVIDE FOR YOUR NEEDS. AND HE PROMISED THAT IF THEY WERE SINGLE-MINDED ABOUT THEIR MISSION, GOD WOULD NOT ONLY LOOK AFTER THEM, BUT WOULD GIVE SUCCESS TO THEIR MISSION. AND I THINK WHEN WE READ ABOUT THE GREAT MISSIONERS DOWN THROUGH THE AGES, THAT'S WHAT WE SEE. FRANCIS XAVIER WHO SINGLE-HANDEDLY PLANTED CHURCHES ALL OVER THE COASTS OF INDIA, CHINA, AND JAPAN, WENT FROM ONE SPOT TO ANOTHER BY BEGGING SHIP CAPTAINS FOR A FREE RIDE. MOTHER CABRINI, WHO LEFT ITALY FOR THE UNITED STATES WITH NOTHING, NOT EVEN A KNOWLEDGE OF ENGLISH, ESTABLISHED HOSPITALS AND SCHOOLS AS FAR OFF AS DENVER, AND LEFT BEHIND A THRIVING RELIGIOUS ORDER. AND THE STORIES GO ON AND ON. I HEARD A STORY FROM A PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER. WHEN THE PRESBYTERIANS SENT MISSIONARIES TO THE UNITED STATES, THEY HAD TO HAVE CALVIN'S “INSTITUTES OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION” – A REGULAR SET OF ENCYCLOPEDIA – AND SEVERAL OTHER BOOKS. THE LUTHERANS WEREN'T MUCH DIFFERENT. BUT THE METHODISTS AND THE BAPTISTS – ALL THEIR MISSIONARIES NEEDED WAS A BIBLE. WHILE THE PRESBYTERIANS WAITED UNTIL THE RAILROAD COULD BRING THEM AND THEIR LIBRARIES INTO THE INTERIOR OF THE COUNTRY, THE METHODIST CIRCUIT RIDERS WERE SETTING UP WORSHIPPING COMMUNITIES WHEREVER THEY COULD.

NOW WE CAN'T ALL BE MISSIONARIES – OR MAYBE WE CAN. MAYBE TODAY'S GOSPEL TELLS US SOMETHING ABOUT HOW OUR MESSAGE CAN BE THE MOST EFFECTIVE. IF WE DON'T WAIT AROUND UNTIL EVERYTHING IS JUST RIGHT; IF WE DON'T DEPEND ON COORDINATED EFFORT; IF WE ARE WILLING TO BE REJECTED, WHICH ALWAYS HURTS, WE WILL BE SUCCESSFUL. WE WILL HEAL THE SICK AND CURE THE LAME, AND JESUS WILL TELL US THAT OUR PLACE IS SECURED IN HEAVEN.

THE GOSPEL IS SUPPOSED TO BE PREACHED TO ALL HUMAN BEINGS. THAT'S YOUR AND MY RESPONSIBILITY. THERE IS URGENCY HERE. HOW MANY PEOPLE MIGHT HAVE COME TO KNOW JESUS IF WE WERE A LITTLE MORE BOLD? THAT NEIGHBOR OF OURS, THAT RELATIVE, THAT EMPLOYEE – WILL A DAY COME WHEN THEY WILL SAY, “WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THE GOOD NEWS?” AND WE WILL HANG OUR HEADS IN SHAME.

WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE LOCATION OF THIS GOSPEL IN THE BIBLE, YOU WILL NOTE THAT THE READING COMES FROM THE TENTH CHAPTER OF LUKE, VERSES 1-12 AND 17-20. WHEN I SEE SOMETHING LIKE THIS I ALWAYS WONDER WHAT WAS LEFT OUT. LISTEN TO WHAT WAS LEFT OUT:

“WOE TO YOU, CORIZON! WOE TO YOU BETHSAIDA! FOR IF THE MIRACLES HAD BEEN PERFORMED IN TYRE AND SIDON WHICH OCCURRED IN YOU, THEY WOULD HAVE REPENTED LONG AGO SITTING IN SACKCLOTH AND ASHES. BUT IT WILL BE MORE TOLERABLE FOR TYRE AND SIDON IN THE JUDGMENT THAN FOR YOU. AND YOU, CAPARNUM! YOU WILL NOT BE EXALTED TO HEAVEN, WILL YOU? YOU WILL BE BROUGHT DOWN TO HADES. HE SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES THEN (AND THAT'S YOU AND I) “THE ONE WHO LISTENS TO YOU LISTENS TO ME, AND THE ONE WHO REJECTS YOU REJECTS ME. AND HE WHO REJECTS ME REJECTS THE ONE WHO SENT ME.”

SO THE LESSON HERE IS NOT TO WAIT UNTIL YOU ARE PERFECT, NOT TO WAIT UNTIL YOU HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS, NOT TO WAIT UNTIL YOU ARE SURE YOUR MESSAGE WILL BE RECEIVED FAVORABLY. BECAUSE WE ARE LOSING THE WORLD. THE EQUIVALENT OF WHOLE CITIES WILL BE LOST BECAUSE NOT ENOUGH CHRISTIANS ARE PROCLAIMING THE GOOD NEWS. INSTEAD, WE ARE LOST IN THE CONFUSION THAT WE ARE SUPPOSED TO ELIMINATE; OUR CHRISTIANITY HAS BEEN MISSIONIZED BY THE WORLD AND WHEN YOU DO STUDIES, YOU FIND THAT AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN CATHOLICS HOLD EXACTLY THE SAME ATTITUDES AS THE NON-CHRISTIANS, STATISTICALLY. IF WE HAVE BEEN CONVERTED TO THE WORLD, IT'S VERY SAD, BECAUSE JESUS TOLD US THAT WE WOULD BE THE SALT OF THE EARTH.

GO OUT TODAY AND BE A MISSIONARY TO SOMEONE THIS WEEK. BRING UP JESUS CHRIST AND HIS GOOD NEWS. YOU WILL FEEL SHY AND A LITTLE SILLY. AND YOU MIGHT GET LAUGHED AT. BUT YOU MIGHT FIND SOMEONE WHO NEEDS TO HEAR WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY, BY YOUR WORDS AND BY YOUR LIFE, AND FOR WHOM IT WILL MEAN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DEATH AND ETERNAL LIFE. AND THAT PERSON WILL BE FOREVER GRATEFUL TO YOU – LITERALLY FOREVER. ISN'T THAT WORTH THE EFFORT?

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C

LUKE 9:51-62

WHEN I WAS IN MEDICAL SCHOOL IN CALIFORNIA, THE HIPPIE MOVEMENT TOOK HOLD. THEY WERE PRETTY THICK IN SAN FRANCISCO, JUST NORTH OF WHERE I LIVED. AND OVER AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA IN BERKELY, THEY WERE ALL OVER AS WELL. ANY TIME YOU WENT ON THE CAMPUS THERE WERE PEOPLE WITH CARDBOARD TABLES TRYING TO GET YOU TO SIGN PETITIONS – END THE WAR, IMPEACH THE PRESIDENT, SAVE THE FOREST OR OCEAN. IT WAS AN INTERESTING TIME, AS YOUNG PEOPLE TUNED IN, TURNED ON, AND DROPPED OUT. IT WAS A TIME OF COMMUNES GROWING MARIJUANA AND INVENTING NEW RELIGIONS. IT WAS A TIME OF GREAT EXPERIMENTATION IN ART AND MUSIC. AND THERE WAS A SMALL SUBSET OF THE HIPPIES – THEY CALLED THEMSELVES “JESUS PEOPLE”. THEY WERE DISTINGUISHED BY THE LARGE CROSSES THEY WORE, THE LONG HAIR, AND THE CLOTHING WHICH RESEMBLED WHAT THEY IMAGINED JESUS WORE. AND THEY WENT AROUND IN BANDS PREACHING AND PRACTICING, ACCORDING TO THEM, UNCONDITIONAL LOVE – ALL THE WHILE BEGGING FROM PASSING STRANGERS.

ONE MAN SAYS TO JESUS, “I WILL FOLLOW YOU” AND JESUS TELLS HIM IT WOULD MEAN GIVING UP A PLACE TO LIVE AND WANDERING THE ROADS OF PALESTINE. HE COMMANDS ANOTHER TO FOLLOW HIM, AND THAT PERSON WANTS TO WAIT UNTIL HIS FAMILY OBLIGATIONS HAVE BEEN DISCHARGED. AND A THIRD SIMPLY WANTS TO GO BACK AND SAY GOODBYE, AND TO THAT ONE, JESUS SAYS IN EFFECT THAT IF YOU HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW HIM AND LOOK BACK, THEN YOU AREN'T WORTHY OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. I HOPE JESUS IS SPEAKING FIGURATIVELY, BECAUSE I LOOK BACK, I MAKE EXCUSES, I DON'T REALLY WANT TO STEP OUT OF MY SECURITY, AND I CAN SEE MYSELF IN ALL THREE OF THESE MEN WHO WANT TO FOLLOW JESUS BUT ONLY SO FAR; THEY ARE EACH UNWILLING TO LEAVE BEHIND THAT TO WHICH THEY ARE ATTACHED, AND THAT IS JESUS' CALL TO EACH OF THEM. I THINK WE GET THE MESSAGE – IF YOU ARE GOING TO COMMIT TO JESUS, REALLY COMMIT. IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE A CATHOLIC, COMMIT TO THE CHURCH AND HER TEACHINGS.

BUT THERE IS ANOTHER QUESTION HERE. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO FOLLOW JESUS? DOES IT MEAN TO BE LIKE ONE OF THOSE JESUS PEOPLE, TRYING TO IMITATE THE WAY JESUS LIVED, OR AT LEAST HOW WE IMAGINE HE LIVED, RIGHT DOWN TO THE CLOTHING AND THE SANDALS? AFTER ALL, SAINT FRANCIS WAS PROBABLY A JESUS PEOPLE. BUT I THINK WE ALL RECOGNIZE THAT HE DOESN'T MEAN THAT WHEN HE ASKS US TO FOLLOW HIM.

A LOT OF PEOPLE THINK THAT FOLLOWING JESUS IS GOING ABOUT DOING GOOD. WORKING IN SOUP KITCHENS, MANNING THE PICKET LINES FOR ABORTION CLINICS, VISITING THE SICK, FEEDING THE HUNGRY – ALL THE WORKS THAT JESUS DID AND JESUS TOLD HIS FOLLOWERS TO DO. AND ALL THESE THINGS ARE GOOD, AND CERTAINLY APPROPRIATE ACTIVITIES FOR CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. BUT WHO IS TO SAY THAT THE PERSON ACTUALLY FEEDING THE HUNGRY IS SUPERIOR TO THE PERSON WHO WORKS AT SOME SECULAR OCCUPATION AND PROVIDES THE MONEY THAT BUYS THE FOOD? AND CAN WE TALK ABOUT CHRISTIAN MINISTRY IN THE WORK PLACE, WHERE PEOPLE DO THEIR VERY BEST TO EXERCISE THEIR SKILLS AND TREAT THEIR FELLOW MAN WITH HONESTY, EVEN THOUGH THEY GET PAID FOR WHAT THEY ARE DOING? JESUS CALLS ALL OF US TO BE MINISTERS, AND IF WE CAN BE MINISTERS IN THE WORK WE DO, WE AREN'T FAR FROM THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. BUT GOING ABOUT DOING GOOD IS PROBABLY NOT THE SAME THING AS FOLLOWING JESUS.

I THINK THAT FOLLOWING JESUS MEANS THAT WE TRY TO SEE THE WORLD THE WAY HE DID; WE TRY TO RESPOND TO SITUATIONS THE WAY HE WOULD. IF THIS IS THE CASE, THEN FOLLOWING JESUS IS OPEN TO EVERYONE, REGARDLESS OF YOUR STATE IN LIFE, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER YOU ARE RICH OR POOR, MALE OR FEMALE, A PRIEST OR A LAYMAN. AND IT MEANS THAT YOU CAN BE FOLLOWING HIM EVEN WHEN YOU AREN'T OUT DOING A GOOD WORK, OR EVEN WHEN YOU AREN'T AT YOUR OCCUPATION. YOU CAN BE FOLLOWING HIM EVERY WAKING MOMENT. AND THAT'S WHAT HE CALLS US TO DO – EVERY WAKING MOMENT.

SO HOW DO WE GET THIS MIND-SET, TO PUT ON CHRIST, AS SAINT PAUL CALLS IT. TO LIVE, NOT MYSELF, BUT CHRIST LIVING IN ME, TO PARAPHRASE SAINT PAUL AGAIN.

OUR BEST SOURCE OF LEARNING ABOUT THE MIND OF JESUS IS THE NEW TESTAMENT, ESPECIALLY THE GOSPELS. SOME OF US MAY THINK WE ALREADY KNOW – JESUS WAS WARM AND FUZZY AND ACCEPTING, AND PATIENT AND KIND. HE WAS INDEED. BUT HE ALSO WASN'T AFRAID TO CALL A SIN A SIN, TO CONFRONT GOOD PEOPLE WHO WERE MISSING THE FOREST FOR THE TREES, LIKE THE PHARISEES; AND HE WASN'T AFRAID EVEN TO REBUKE HIS OWN FRIENDS WHEN THEY STRAYED – AS HE DOES TODAY WHEN THE APOSTLES OFFER TO CALL DOWN FIRE FROM HEAVEN TO PUNISH THE PEOPLE WHO WOULDN'T GIVE THEM HOSPITALITY. WE ALL TRY TO BE WARM AND FUZZY, BUT VERY FEW OF US HAVE THE COURAGE TO DO THE OTHER THINGS.

WE LEARN ABOUT THE MIND OF JESUS BY LISTENING TO HIS CHURCH. AFTER ALL, IF WE ARE CATHOLICS, AND SERIOUS ABOUT OUR FAITH, WE BELIEVE THAT WE BELONG TO THE CHURCH THAT JESUS FOUNDED, AND SAID THAT HE WOULD PROTECT ALL THROUGH TIME. IF WE REALLY BELIEVE THIS, WE AT LEAST OWE IT TO OURSELVES TO KNOW WHAT THE CHURCH TEACHES. IF WE DON'T MAKE THE EFFORT WE CERTAINLY MISS OUT ON A MAJOR WAY TO FOLLOW JESUS.

THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE THESE DAYS WHO BELONG TO NO ORGANIZED RELIGION. MOST OF THEM ARE NOT ATHEISTS, BUT AT THE SAME TIME WOULD HAVE A HARD TIME TELLING YOU WHAT THEY BELIEVE; THEY ARE “SPIRITUAL” BUT NOT “RELIGIOUS”. BUT JESUS WAS SAYING, “FOLLOW ME.” THERE ARE GOOD PEOPLE IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD, PEOPLE WHO ARE MEMBERS OF ALL KINDS OF DIFFERENT RELIGIONS OR HAVE NO RELIGION AT ALL. THAT WAS TRUE IN JESUS' TIME AS WELL, BUT HE SAID , “FOLLOW ME” AND “I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE”, AND “NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME.” IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO BE GOOD, TO BE SPIRITUAL.

IN OUR CHURCH THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE WHO HAVE ONE FOOT IN THE CHURCH AND ONE FOOT IN OUR SOCIETY, WHO SEE NOTHING INCOMPATIBLE ABOUT IGNORING WHAT THE CHURCH TEACHES AND YET CONSIDERING THEMSELVES GOOD CATHOLICS. THAT'S NOT A CONDEMNATION. BUT IT IS A REASON FOR EACH OF US TO ASK THE QUESTION, “WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO FOLLOW JESUS?” AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, “AM I FOLLOWING JESUS.” BECAUSE I DO NOT WANT TO BE JUDGED UNWORTHY OF THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN.

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C

LUKE 9:18-24

MY MOTHER USED TO TALK ABOUT HOW, WHEN SHE WAS A LITTLE GIRL, HER OWN MOTHER WOULD MAKE THE CHILDREN STAND WITH THEIR ARMS OUTSTRETCHED FOR THREE HOURS ON GOOD FRIDAY. MY MOTHER STILL REMEMBERED HOW HARD THIS WAS. BUT MY GRANDMOTHER WAS ONTO SOMETHING, AND WHILE IT MAY SOUND A LITTLE EXTREME TODAY, THERE WAS A TIME WHEN CATHOLICS EMBRACED PENANCES, NOT BECAUSE THEY WERE MASOCHISTS, BUT BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO BE CLOSER TO JESUS.

IN THE EARLY DAYS OF CHRISTIANITY THERE WERE A LOT OF MARTYRS – PEOPLE WHO WERE PUT TO DEATH FOR BEING CHRISTIANS, AFTER HAVING BEEN GIVEN THE CHANCE TO RENOUNCE THEIR FAITH. BUT THERE WERE TWO OTHER NOTABLE CLASSES OF CHRISTIANS; THERE WERE THOSE WHO HAD COME CLOSE TO DEATH BUT HADN'T DIED; AND THERE WERE THOSE WHO DID RENOUNCE CHRISTIANITY AND EVENTUALLY WANTED TO BE REINSTATED. TO BE REINSTATED WAS A TERRIBLE ORDEAL; YOU FIRST OF ALL HAD TO CONVINCE THE BISHOP AND THE LOCAL COMMUNITY THAT YOU WERE SERIOUS; BECAUSE THEY COULD SIMPLY REFUSE TO HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH YOU, AND THAT WAS CONSIDERED THE EQUIVALENT OF BEING CONDEMNED TO HELL. AND IF YOU WERE ACCEPTED IT MEANT USUALLY A LIFETIME OF PENANCE AS A CATECHUMEN, AND AFTER MANY YEARS, PERHAPS EVEN AT THE TIME OF DEATH, YOU WERE FINALLY ALLOWED BACK INTO THE CHURCH AS A FULL-FLEDGED MEMBER. BECAUSE APOSTASY WAS ONE OF THE MOST SERIOUS SINS OF THEM ALL.

THOSE WHO HAD NEARLY DIED WERE CALLED “CONFESSORS” BECAUSE THEY HAD CONFESSED THEIR FAITH EVEN WHEN THEIR LIVES WERE BEING THREATENED. THEY WERE CONSIDERED TO HAVE ACCESS TO GOD'S EARS, PERHAPS TO ACTUALLY EFFECT THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS THROUGH THEIR PRAYERS. AND SO WHEN A PERSON WHO HAD APOSTATIZED WANTED TO RETURN TO THE CHURCH, HE MIGHT SINGLE OUT A CONFESSOR TO ADVOCATE FOR HIM BEFORE THE BISHOP. AS TIME WENT ON, THE TERM WAS APPLIED TO ANY HOLY PERSON, SO THAT BY THE MIDDLE AGES IT SORT OF BECAME A WAY OF DESCRIBING A SAINT WHO WASN'T A VIRGIN, A MARTYR, OR A CLERIC. I BRING THIS UP BECAUSE WE HAVE IN TODAY'S GOSPEL ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE MOMENTS WHEN JESUS SEEMS TO SAY SOMETHING THAT IS VERY HARD TO UNDERSTAND. AFTER HIS APOSTLES RECOGNIZE HIM, HE REBUKES THEM AND TELLS THEM TO TELL NO ONE. SOME BIBLE TRANSLATIONS SAY HE ENJOINED THEM, OR FORCIBLY ORDERED THEM – BUT THE GREEK WORD IS MORE CLOSELY RELATED TO REBUKE, OR IF YOU PREFER, SCOLD. SO WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?

THE APOSTLES HAVE DEFINITELY MADE PROGRESS; THEY'VE FIGURED OUT THAT JESUS IS THE CHRIST OF GOD, THE MESSIAH. IF JESUS HAD SAID, “GO AHEAD, TELL EVERYONE!” THEY WOULD HAVE GLADLY DONE SO. AFTER ALL, THAT WOULD SEEM TO BE VERY GOOD NEWS FOR A PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN UNDER THE ROMAN THUMB, AND BEFORE THAT, SEVERAL OTHER COUNTRIES; A PEOPLE WHO HAD BEEN EXPELLED FROM THEIR HOMES AND LAND AND ALLOWED BACK TO LIVE ON JUST A SMALL PART OF IT; A PEOPLE WHO PAID TAXES TO A FOREIGN POWER SO THAT ROME COULD KEEP LARGE NUMBERS OF SOLDIERS IN THE AREA.

BUT JESUS IS SAYING, TELL NO ONE!” AND HIS WORDS ARE SHARP. BECAUSE THERE'S MORE TO BEING A MESSIAH THAN MERELY CLAIMING THE TITLE. JESUS EXPLAINS TO THE APOSTLES THAT HE WILL BE A MESSIAH WHO SUFFERS AND DIES AT THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE'S LEADERS; AND HE TELLS THEM THAT THEY ARE TO TAKE UP THEIR OWN CROSSES JUST AS HE WOULD TAKE UP HIS.

CONFESSORS WERE PEOPLE WHO HAD DONE MORE THAN LIVE GOOD LIVES; WHO HAD PRAYED AND FASTED AND GIVEN ALMS – ALL OF WHICH WAS PART OF LIVING A CHRISTIAN LIFE. CONFESSORS HAD WALKED THAT LONELY ROAD THAT JESUS WALKED, AND LIVED TO TELL ABOUT IT. THEY HAD HELD ONTO THEIR FAITH EVEN IN THE FACE OF TORTURE AND THE THREAT OF DEATH. THEY HAD CARRIED THEIR CROSS AS JESUS COMMANDED, AND THAT MEANT THAT THEY UNDERSTOOD WHAT IT MEANT TO BE A CHRISTIAN IN A WAY THE REST OF US COULD ONLY GUESS.

WHEN THE CHURCH BECAME LEGITIMATE AND WAS SUPPORTED BY THE ROMAN EMPIRE, PERSECUTION STOPPED; HOWEVER, THE INSIGHT THAT SUFFERING WAS IN SOME WAY PART OF THE CHRISTIAN CALLING CONTINUED. WE HAVE SOME GREAT STORIES FROM THIS TIME, AS THE MONASTIC MOVEMENT BEGAN AND PRODUCED PEOPLE WHO WORE HAIR SHIRTS AND SLEPT ON ROCKS AND PRAYED EVERY MOMENT OF THEIR WAKING HOURS. WE HAVE SAINTS WHO SPENT THEIR LIVES PERCHED ON PILLARS; WE HAVE OTHERS WHO LASHED THEMSELVES WITH CHAINS. AND WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THESE PEOPLE WE THINK THEY WERE MASOCHISTS, THAT THEY WERE JUST PLAIN CRAZY. BUT THEY WERE PIONEERS, TRYING TO DEVELOP WAYS OF INTEGRATING SUFFERING INTO THEIR OWN LIVES. SAINT BENEDICT CAME ALONG AND REFORMED MONASTACISM; HE ADVOCATED BALANCE; AND HIS RULE INFLUENCES CHRISTIANITY TO THIS DAY.

HOWEVER, WE HAVE FORGOTTEN THAT IF WE ARE TO PROFIT FROM THE SUFFERING THAT WILL OCCUR IN EVERYONE'S LIFE AT SOME TIME OR ANOTHER, WE HAVE LEARN HOW TO SUFFER. IN THE OLDEN DAYS, WE USED THE WORD “MORTIFICATION”. IF KNEELING WAS UNCOMFORTABLE, WELL, WE MIGHT KNEEL A LITTLE LONGER. IF SOMEONE SERVED ME FOOD THAT I DIDN'T LIKE, I'D EAT IT ANYWAY. IF I REALLY LIKED TO SLEEP IN ON SATURDAY MORNING, I WOULD GET UP NEVERTHELESS. MORTIFICATION IS A PROCESS IN WHICH I TEACH MY BODY AND MIND WHO IS BOSS, AND I DO ALL THIS BECAUSE IN ORDER TO GROW SPIRITUALLY, I'VE GOT TO TEACH MYSELF THAT I AM NOT THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE. IN ADDITION TO SIMPLE THINGS LIKE THESE, PAIN WILL COME ALONG; PHYSICAL PAIN, MENTAL PAIN. AGAIN, IN THE OLDEN DAYS, WE WERE TOLD TO “OFFER IT UP”. IN OTHER WORDS, WE CAN TAKE THE PAIN THAT WE DON'T ASK FOR AND WE CAN MAKE IT PART OF THE CROSS WE TAKE UP TO FOLLOW JESUS.

CONFESSORS WERE PEOPLE WHO HAD FACED DEATH, AND IN SO DOING HAD MADE THE DECISION THAT FOLLOWING CHRIST, EVEN TO CALVARY AND THE CROSS, WAS PREFERABLE TO THE PAIN, SUFFERING, AND EVEN DEATH THAT THEY FACED. OTHER CHRISTIANS RECOGNIZED THAT BECAUSE THEY VOLUNTARILY SUFFERED, BECAUSE THEY REFUSED TO WAVER IN CIRCUMSTANCES DAUNTING TO MOST PEOPLE, THEY COULD CLAIM TO BE TRUE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS. AND YOU AND I MAY NOT LIKE IT, WE MAY FIND THE VERY IDEA REPULSIVE, BUT WE CAN'T TURN OUR BACKS ON THE VERY WORDS OF JESUS: “IF ANYONE WISHES TO COME AFTER ME HE MUST DENY HIMSELF AND TAKE UP HIS CROSS DAILY AND FOLLOW ME.” SUFFERING IS PART OF LIFE. JESUS HAS GIVEN US THE POWER TO MAKE SUFFERING OUR GATEWAY TO ETERNAL LIFE.

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C

LUKE 7:36-8:3

SIN – WHAT IS IT? WE CAN USE THE LANGUAGE OF THE BALTIMORE CATECHISM AND TALK ABOUT MORTAL SINS, VENIAL SINS, AND FAULTS – BUT THAT DEFINITION MAKES SIN SOMETHING OUTSIDE OF YOU, SOMETHING THAT CAN BE COUNTED UP. WE CAN SAY THAT SIN IS ANYTHING THAT OFFENDS GOD, BUT IT'S HARD TO BELIEVE THAT A PERFECT, INFINITELY WISE AND INFINITELY POWERFUL BEING CAN BE OFFENDED BY ANYTHING I CAN DO, AND OF COURSE THE NATURAL CONCLUSION OF THIS REASONING IS THAT IF GOD IS OFFENDED, THEN HE MIGHT VERY WELL ZAP US IN SOME WAY OR ANOTHER. BUT ALL SIN REALLY REDUCES TO ONE THING – EVERY SIN COMES FROM ME THINKING AND ACTING AS THOUGH I'M THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE – SIN COMES FROM LIVING THAT LIE.

THEY SAY THAT ONE OF THE THINGS THAT DISTINGUISHES OUR SOCIETY FROM PREVIOUS SOCIETIES IS THAT WE PEOPLE IN THE WESTERN WORLD NO LONGER HAVE A SENSE OF SIN. SOME PEOPLE THINK THIS IS A GOOD THING. PEOPLE WHO WEAR HAIR SHIRTS AND BEAT THEMSELVES WITH CORDS AND FAST UNTIL THEY NEARLY DIE AS PENANCE FOR SIN SEEM TO US TO BE MORBID. AND SOME OF THESE PEOPLE DIDN'T HAVE MUCH IN THE WAY OF SIN, AT LEAST BY OUR STANDARDS. AND A SENSE OF SIN CAN BE CARRIED TOO FAR; MARTIN LUTHER, WHEN HE WAS A YOUNG MONK, PRACTICALLY WENT CRAZY THINKING ABOUT HIS OWN SINFULNESS. HE USED TO CONFESS HIS SINS NEARLY EVERY DAY TO ANY PRIEST WHO WOULD LISTEN. ONE TIME A YOUNG PRIEST HEARD HIS CONFESSION, AND NOT KNOWING WHAT TO SAY, ASKED MARTIN TO SAY THE APOSTLE'S CREED, ONE LINE AT A TIME. WHEN LUTHER CAME TO THE LINE, “I BELIEVE IN THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS” HE IS SAID TO HAVE REMARKED, “I WANT TO BELIEVE THAT!” AND OF COURSE HE WENT ON TO START THE LUTHERAN CHURCH AND PROTESTANTISM, A CENTRAL IDEA OF WHICH IS THAT IT DIDN'T MATTER HOW SINFUL YOU WERE, OR WHAT YOU DID AS PENANCE; JESUS HAS ALREADY TAKEN CARE OF EVERYTHING; OR IF YOU WERE A CALVINIST, YOUR ETERNAL DESTINY WAS DETERMINED AND THERE WAS NOTHING YOU COULD DO ABOUT IT. MAYBE THIS THEOLOGY IS ULTIMATELY WHY WE'VE LOST OUR SENSE OF SIN, AND WHY MOST CATHOLICS DON'T PARTICIPATE IN THE SACRAMENT OF PENANCE ANYMORE. TO DO SO WOULD BE TO ADMIT TO ONESELF THAT THINGS ARE NOT ALL RIGHT.

MY THREE YEAR OLD GRANDSON WAS GETTING PRETTY FRISKY THE OTHER DAY AND HE JUMPED ON MY CHEST. HE IS NO LIGHTWEIGHT, AND I THOUGHT A RIB HAD BEEN BROKEN. WHEN HE SAW THAT I WAS IN PAIN HE CRAWLED INTO A CORNER AND WOULDN'T LOOK AT ME. THE SENSE OF SIN, OF DOING SOMETHING YOU KNOW IS WRONG, STARTS AT A VERY EARLY AGE.

SO A QUESTION IS WHETHER THE SENSE OF SIN, WHICH IS REALLY SOMETHING THAT IS BUILT IN TO US, IS SUPPOSED TO BE DEVELOPED OR SUPPRESSED. IF YOU LOOK AT THE HEADLINES ON THE MAGAZINES IN THE CHECKOUT LINE OF THE GROCERY STORE, YOU WILL SEE THAT THERE ARE QUITE A FEW PROMINENT ENTERTAINERS WHO SEEM TO HAVE COMPLETELY SUPPRESSED ANY SENSE OF SIN; AND AT THE SAME TIME WE SEE PEOPLE LIKE SAINT JEROME, SAINT ANTHONY OF THE DESERT, OR SAINT BENEDICT WHO SEEMED TO BE ALMOST ATHLETIC IN THEIR SELF-PUNISHMENT.

TODAY WE MEET A MAN, SIMON, WHO SEEMS TO HAVE NO SENSE OF SIN. AND THAT'S NOT SURPRISING; HE'S A PHARISEE, AND A GOOD PHARISEE KNEW THAT BY FOLLOWING THE LAW TO THE LETTER, HE HAD NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT. AND BECOMING BETTER AND BETTER AT FOLLOWING THE LAW WAS THE CHIEF AMBITION OF THESE PEOPLE; SAINT PAUL EVEN BRAGGED THAT HE HAD SURPASSED EVERYONE IN HIS ZEAL FOR THE LAW. AND WE MEET AN UNNAMED WOMAN, WHOM MANY ASSUME WAS A PROSTITUTE, ALTHOUGH THE TEXT DOESN'T SAY THAT. BUT MAYBE SHE WASN'T A PROSTITUTE – MAYBE SHE WAS A SINNER BECAUSE SHE WAS ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO PREPARED PEOPLE FOR BURIAL – THEY WERE UNCLEAN. OR, MAYBE SHE WAS MARRIED TO A GENTILE – THAT MADE YOU A SINNER. MAYBE WE THINK SHE'S A PROSTITUTE BECAUSE WE CAN'T IMAGINE ANYONE BEING VERY UPSET OVER THOSE OTHER KINDS OF SINS. AND SHE IS VERY CONSCIOUS OF HER SIN; SHE KNOWS SHE SHOULDN'T EVEN BE THERE, BUT IN HER DESPERATION SHE HAS BROKEN ONE MORE SOCIAL CONVENTION PERHAPS BECAUSE SHE HAS HEARD THAT JESUS CAN FORGIVE SIN. AND SHE WEEPS OVER HER SINS, SHE FEELS HER SINFULNESS DEEPLY.

AND WE REMEMBER THE TAX COLLECTOR IN THE PARABLE; HE SAID, “LORD, BE MERCIFUL TO ME, A SINNER.” OR ST PETER, WHO SAID, “DEPART FROM ME, FOR I AM A SINFUL MAN”. OR SAINT PAUL, WHO SAID, “WRETCHED MAN THAT I AM, WHO CAN DELIVER ME FROM THIS BODY OF DEATH?” ARE ALL THESE RHETORICAL STATEMENTS? AND THE APOSTLE JAMES SAID SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE CONCERN EACH OF US VERY MUCH: WHOEVER KEEPS THE WHOLE LAW AND YET STUMBLES AT EVEN ONE POINT IS GUILTY OF BREAKING ALL OF IT”.

A SENSE OF SIN IS ACTUALLY A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. TODAY JESUS GIVES US A CLUE AS TO WHY. THE ONE WHO IS FORGIVEN MUCH IS THE ONE WHO LOVES THE MOST. AND LOVE IS OUR GOAL – TO BURN WITH LOVE FOR GOD AND FOR OUR NEIGHBOR IS WHERE WE WANT TO BE AS CHRISTIANS. AND WE GET THERE BY KNOWING OURSELVES TO BE SINNERS, BY FEELING THE IMMENSE DISTANCE BETWEEN US AND GOD, BY REALIZING THAT WHAT WE SHOULD BE AND WHAT WE ARE ARE SO FAR APART; WE ARE THE RICH MAN IN HELL, LOOKING AT ABRAHAM ACROSS THE GAP THAT COULD NOT BE CROSSED.

IF YOU KNOW YOURSELF TO BE A GOOD PERSON, AND YOU FORGIVE YOURSELF FOR YOUR MINOR TRANSGRESSIONS, AND YOU REALIZE THAT IF GRADED ON A CURVE, YOU ARE WAY UP THERE IN A MUCH BETTER POSITION THAN THE PEOPLE ON THE FRONT OF PEOPLE MAGAZINE, WELL, YOU DON'T NEED MUCH SAVING, DO YOU? AND IF YOU DON'T NEED MUCH SAVING, YOU DON'T HAVE MUCH TO BE GRATEFUL FOR; AND IF YOU DON'T HAVE MUCH TO BE GRATEFUL FOR, YOU DON'T HAVE MUCH IN THE WAY OF LOVE. BUT IF YOU LOOK AT YOURSELF WITH CLEAR EYES, NOT EVEN DARING TO COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHER PEOPLE – IF YOU LOOK AT WHAT YOU ARE VERSUS WHAT YOU COULD BE – IF YOU LOOK AT GOD AND LOOK AT YOURSELF – THEN YOU ARE DOING WHAT THE GREAT SAINTS DID. YOU BECOME AWARE THAT NEXT TO GOD YOU ARE NOTHING; JUST BY BEING A HUMAN BEING YOU PARTAKE OF HUMAN SIN WITH EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE. FOR EVERY STEP FORWARD THERE SEEMS TO BE TWO STEPS BACK, EVERY TIME YOU GET UP, YOU FALL AGAIN. YOU BECOME AWARE THAT AS A SON OR DAUGHTER OF GOD YOU ARE A REAL PRODIGAL SON, EVEN IF YOU ARE A PRIEST OR A POPE. AND THEN, WHEN YOU ARE AWARE OF YOUR SINS, WHEN YOU ARE DRAWN TO WEEP OVER THEM, WHEN YOU SEE HOW GOOD GOD IS AND HOW YOU, ON THE OTHER HAND, ARE A SINNER, UNWORTHY OF EVEN THE LIFE HE HAS GIVEN YOU – AND THEN YOU REALIZE THAT JESUS CROSSED THAT GAP BETWEEN YOU AND GOD AND DIED FOR YOU, AND WOULD HAVE DONE SO IF YOU WERE THE ONLY HUMAN BEING EVER; WHEN YOU'VE REACHED THAT POINT, IT BECOMES POSSIBLE TO LOVE DEEPLY; AND IN THAT DEEP LOVE, AS JESUS SAYS, LIES THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN.

SINCE THE THIRD CENTURY, MONKS HAVE MEDITATED ON THE FOUR LAST THINGS – SIN, DEATH, HEAVEN AND HELL. WE DON'T WANT TO BE MORBID, BUT WE DO WANT TO FULLY UNDERSTAND OUR SINFULNESS SO THAT WE CAN LOVE MORE DEEPLY AND SO THAT WE AN SEE THE DIRECTION IN WHICH WE ARE SUPPOSED TO GO. OUT OF OUR REALISTIC VIEW OF OUR OWN SINFULNESS COMES THE POSSIBILITY OF LOVING AWAY OUR SINS.

Tenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle C

LUKE 7:11-17

IT WAS DURING THE FIRST YEAR OF MY FELLOWSHIP IN CANCER MEDICINE THAT I REALIZED THAT I WAS GOING TO DIE. WE ALL KNOW THIS INTELLECTUALLY – EVEN LITTLE KIDS CAN SAY THE WORDS. BUT FOR ALL OF US, THERE IS MOMENT WHEN IT JUST HITS YOU IN THE HEART. MY MOMENT DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE PATIENTS I WAS TAKING CARE OF – RELATIVELY YOUNG PEOPLE, MANY MY OWN AGE, WITH LEUKEMIA. IT HAD TO DO WITH A CALL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT FROM MY MOTHER, TELLING ME MY FATHER HAD DIED SUDDENLY. HE WOKE UP AND TOLD HER TO TAKE HIM TO THE HOSPITAL, WHERE HE SUFFERED A CARDIAC ARREST AND COULD NOT BE RESUSCITATED. HE WAS 57. FOR MANY WEEKS AFTERWARD I WOULD WAKE UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, FEELING AS THOUGH I COULDN'T BREATHE, AND IN THOSE DARK MOMENTS DEATH WAS REAL, DEATH WAS INEVITABLE. GRADUALLY THOSE MOMENTS FADED AWAY. NOW, OF COURSE, AS I GET CLOSER TO THE END OF MY LIFE, I THINK ABOUT DEATH A LOT, BUT MY THOUGHTS ARE NOT ACCOMPANIED BY THAT SENSE OF PANIC.

THE STORY OF THE YOUNG MAN THAT JESUS BROUGHT BACK FROM THE DEAD IS ONLY FOUND IN THE GOSPEL OF LUKE. OUR CHURCH PUTS THIS GOSPEL TOGETHER WITH THE STORY OF ELIJAH RAISING THE SON OF THE WOMAN WHO WAS SHELTERING HIM WHEN HE WAS EXILED FROM ISRAEL. I THINK THE CHURCH WANTS US TO SEE THE CONTRAST – ELIJAH IS FIRST OF ALL BLAMED FOR THE DEATH OF THE BOY; HE IN TURN BLAMES GOD. THEN HE TAKES THE BOY UP TO HIS ROOM AND PRAYS TO GOD WITH ALL HIS HEART – HOLDING THE BOY CLOSE, HOPING TO GIVE THE CHILD SOME OF HIS OWN LIFE. AND GOD ANSWERS HIS PRAYERS. JESUS, ON THE OTHER HAND, SEES A WIDOW WEEPING BESIDE A COFFIN; FEELS HER PAIN, AND SIMPLY STOPS THE PROCESSION AND TELLS THE YOUNG MAN TO GET UP, AND HE DOES. NO PRAYING, NO BLAMING. ELIJAH IS A PROPHET, BUT JESUS IS GOD.

MOTIVE IS IS DIFFERENT AS WELL. ELIJAH SEES THE DEATH OF THE BOY AS STILL ANOTHER BAD THING HAPPENING – HE'S BEEN DRIVEN OUT OF HIS COUNTRY, THERE IS A PRICE ON HIS HEAD, HE'S LIVING IN A HOVEL WITH A WIDOW WHO WAS ABOUT TO STARVE TO DEATH BEFORE ELIJAH CAME. ELIJAH THOUGHT HE COULDN'T SINK ANY LOWER, BUT HERE HE WAS, BLAMED FOR THE DEATH OF THE BOY. HIS SORROW IS FOR HIMSELF, AND THAT IS WHY HE CRIES OUT TO GOD. JESUS SEES A WIDOW WEEPING; FEELS HER PAIN, TELLS HER NOT TO CRY, AND RAISES THE BOY – NOT FOR ANY REASON OTHER THAN HIS PITY FOR HER. SURE, THE CROWDS PAID ATTENTION; BUT JESUS ISN'T PLAYING TO THE CROWDS. NOBODY IN THAT CROWD EXPECTED HIM TO RAISE SOMEONE WHO WAS DEAD, EVEN THE ONES WHO HAD SEEN HIM HEAL.

THE TWO BOYS WE HEAR ABOUT TODAY, AND THEIR MOTHERS, AND THE CROWD THAT FORMED THE FUNERAL PROCESSION, AND ELIJAH, AND EVEN JESUS ALL DIED. SO DID THE LITTLE GIRL WHO WAS THE DAUGHTER OF THE TEMPLE OFFICIAL. SO DID LAZARUS, EVENTUALLY. ONLY JESUS CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD AND STAYED ALIVE, EVEN TILL TODAY.

WHEN I HEARD MY FATHER HAD DIED, I KNEW THAT MY MOTHER HAD PROBABLY BEEN PRAYING NON-STOP FROM THE MOMENT SHE WOKE UP UNTIL THE DOCTOR TOLD HER THERE WAS NOTHING MORE THAT COULD BE DONE. WHY DIDN'T JESUS LISTEN TO HER? AND WHY DOESN'T HE SEEM TO LISTEN TO ALL THE PLEAS FROM PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE PROCESS OF LOSING THEIR LOVED ONES?

JESUS IS MOVED BY PITY TO RAISE THE WIDOW'S SON FROM DEATH, BUT IN THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS, HE DIED ANYWAY. AND THE WIDOW HAD A FEW MORE YEARS WITH HER SON; AND I WOULD HAVE LIKED TO HAVE A FEW MORE YEARS WITH MY FATHER. BUT WE ARE ALL BORN TO DIE, AND IT WILL ALWAYS SEEM LIKE THE WRONG TIME. THAT CAN WORK BOTH WAYS, YOU KNOW. HOW MANY OF US HAVE KNOWN PEOPLE WHO WOULD HAVE AVOIDED A GREAT DEAL OF SUFFERING IF ONLY THEY'D DIED SOONER? HOW MANY OF US HAVE WATCHED A RELATIVE OR FRIEND GO THROUGH MENTAL AND PHYSICAL DECLINE UNTIL THERE IS NOTHING LEFT OF THE SELF WE KNEW?

SO WHAT CAN WE LEARN? ELIJAH WAS GOD'S FAVORITE PROPHET; GOD WAS ALWAYS WORKING MIRACLES THROUGH HIM. JESUS WAS THE SON OF GOD. YOU AND I CAN'T RAISE THE DEAD, WE CAN'T CURE PEOPLE WITH A TOUCH; BUT WE CAN SEE IN JESUS A MODEL FOR OUR OWN APPROACH TO THOSE WHO ARE CRYING OUT IN PAIN.

FIRST, WE NEED TO NOTICE. WE NEED TO BE SENSITIVE TO THE PAIN IN THE HEARTS OF OTHER PEOPLE.

SECOND, WE NEED TO CARE ENOUGH TO DO SOMETHING. BUT DOING SOMETHING ISN'T ENOUGH.

THIRD, WE HAVE TO HAVE COMPASSION. COMPASSION MEANS THAT WE FEEL WHAT THE OTHER PERSON FEELS. OF COURSE WE CAN'T FEEL WHAT THEY ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW; BUT WE CAN REMEMBER OUR OWN PAIN WHEN WE'VE FELT ABANDONED BY GOD, WHEN WE'VE LOST A DEAR ONE.

AND WHAT JESUS DID FOR THE WIDOW, WE CAN DO FOR PEOPLE IN PAIN. WHEN THE BOY WAS RAISED FROM THE DEAD, HER PAIN WAS GONE. THAT WAS A MIRACLE AS WELL. WE MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO TAKE AWAY SOMEONE'S PAIN QUICKLY AND COMPLETELY, BUT IF WE NOTICE, IF WE CARE ENOUGH TO DO SOMETHING, IF WE HAVE COMPASSION, SO THAT WE TAKE ON PART OF THAT PERSON'S SUFFERING, HEALING WILL TAKE PLACE, MAYBE NOT SO COMPLETELY OR QUICKLY, BUT IT WILL.

WHEN MY FATHER DIED, THE DOCTOR WHO RAN OUR FELLOWSHIP IMMEDIATELY REARRANGED THE SCHEDULE SO I COULD LEAVE FOR A WEEK. MY COLLEAGUES IN THE FELLOWSHIP GLADLY TOOK ON EXTRA NIGHT CALL TO HELP ME OUT. WHEN I ARRIVED IN MONTANA FOR THE FUNERAL MY MOTHER AND SISTERS AND I WERE CONSOLED BY THE FRIENDS OF MY FATHER, WHO HELPED US REMEMBER HIS OWN KINDNESS AND COMPASSION FOR OTHERS. THE FUNERAL ITSELF WAS CONSOLING, AS THE PRIEST PREACHED ABOUT THE DESTINY OF CHRISTIANS, THAT DEATH WAS NOT THE END. AND WHEN I WOULD WAKE UP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT WITH THOUGHTS OF DEATH AND PANIC IN MY HEART, MY DEAR WIFE WOULD WAKE UP WITH ME, REMINDING ME WITH HER PRESENCE THAT LOVE CONQUERS DEATH. AND GRADUALLY I WAS HEALED, AND MY PAIN WAS GONE, AND SINCE THEN I'VE EXPERIENCED MANY DEATHS – PATIENTS, BELOVED RELATIVES, AND THAT OF MY OWN MOTHER – AND I GUESS THERE IS ONLY ONE TIME IN LIFE WHEN YOU REALIZE DEEP IN HOUR HEART THAT YOU WILL DIE, AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT. JESUS WAS THERE IN THE PEOPLE WHO CONSOLED ME WHEN MY FATHER DIED, AND HE IS STILL HERE, REMINDING ME THAT HE IS LIFE ITSELF.

Corpus Christi, 2013

LUKE 9:11B-17

MOST CHRISTIANS HAVE A CEREMONY COMMEMORATING THE LAST SUPPER. SOMETIMES IT'S ONLY ONCE A YEAR, AND FOR US CATHOLICS, IT'S EVERY DAY. BUT WE DISAGREE ON WHAT IT ALL MEANS. WHAT WE DO AGREE ON IS THAT IT IS AN ANSWER TO JESUS' COMMAND TO HIS APOSTLES TO “DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME.”

WE CATHOLICS ALONG WITH THE ORTHODOX CHURCHES LOOK AT SCRIPTURE AND SEE THAT NOT ONLY DID JESUS SAY THAT THE BREAD AND WINE WERE HIS BODY AND BLOOD, BUT IS DESCRIBED IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN AS HAVING INSISTED ON THIS EVEN WHEN THOSE FOLLOWING HIM LEFT HIM, SAYING “HOW CAN THIS MAN GIVE US HIS FLESH TO EAT?” AND “THIS IS A HARD SAYING.” AND WE KNOW THAT IN SOME OF THE EARLIEST WRITINGS OF THE CHURCH FATHERS, THE FACT THAT THE BREAD AND WINE BECOME THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST WAS WIDELY BELIEVED; EVEN PROTESTANT SCHOLARS ADMIT TO THIS.

IN THE EARLY DAYS OF THE CHURCH THE EUCHARISTIC CELEBRATION WAS THE THING THAT UNIFIED CHRISTIANS. YOU COULD GO ALL OVER THE ROMAN EMPIRE, AND INDEED, TO INDIA AND PERSIA AND THE EASTERN COAST OF AFRICA AND FIND CHRISTIANS RE-ENACTING THE LAST SUPPER. THEY DEVELOPED DIFFERENT LITURGIES AND DIFFERENT EMPHASES, BUT IN ALL, THE PRIEST HELD UP THE BREAD AND WINE AND SAID THE WORDS OF JESUS: “THIS IS MY BODY...THIS IS MY BLOOD.” UNFORTUNATELY THE EUCHARIST NOW DIVIDES CHRISTIANS.

PERHAPS ONE OF THE REASONS HAS TO DO WITH THE TEACHING WE REFER TO AS TRANSUBSTANTIATION. THIS DOCTRINE MAINTAINS THAT WHEN A VALIDLY ORDAINED PRIEST PRONOUNCES THE WORDS OF CHRIST OVER BREAD AND WINE, THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST BECOME REALLY PRESENT, AND THE BREAD AND WINE ARE NO LONGER PRESENT. MARTIN LUTHER COULD ACCEPT THE FIRST PART OF THAT STATEMENT, BUT NOT THE SECOND; JOHN CALVIN SAID THAT THE BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST WERE SACRAMENTALLY PRESENT, NOT REALLY PRESENT. IF WE CATHOLICS BELIEVE IN THE REAL PRESENCE, OF COURSE WE REVERENCE THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS; IF OTHER CHRISTIANS THINK THE BREAD AND WINE ARE ONLY SYMBOLS, THEY HAVE NO REASON TO REVERENCE SYMBOLS. SO WE TELL OUR BROTHER CHRISTIANS THAT TO RECEIVE THE EUCHARIST YOU MUST BELIEVE IN THE REAL PRESENCE.

WHAT DO WE REALLY MEAN BY THIS TEACHING? I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER AREA OF DIVISION. IF THIS IS THE SAME BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS, IDENTICAL TO HIM WHO WALKED THE EARTH 2000 YEARS AGO, ARE WE CANNIBALS? IT'S THE LOGICAL CONCLUSION, ISN'T IT?

BUT I THINK THE ANSWER TO THAT IS THE FACT THAT JESUS AT THE FIRST MASS SAID THOSE WORDS OVER BREAD AND WINE, AND HE HADN'T DIED, THE APOSTLES COULD SEE THAT HE WAS NOT IDENTICAL TO THE FOOD AND DRINK ON THE TABLE. BUT IT WOULD REALLY BE TROUBLING IF THE MASS THAT JESUS SAID DID NOT RESULT IN “TRANSUBSTANTIATION”; OBVIOUSLY THE APOSTLES AND THE FATHERS OF THE CHURCH BELIEVED IN THE REAL PRESENCE DESPITE THIS FACT.

I THINK THE WAY TO UNDERSTAND THIS MYSTERY, AND IT IS A MYSTERY, IS TO THINK ABOUT THE FACT THAT WE ARE PERSONS WHO CAN EXPRESS OURSELVES AND INTERACT WITH THE WORLD AND EACH OTHER ONLY THROUGH OUR BODIES. EVEN IF WE HAVE A MYSTICAL EXPERIENCE, IT HAS TO BE MEDIATED BY THE BODY. AND THOUGH MANY OF US CARRY AROUND THE IDEA THAT WE ARE CREATURES MADE UP OF BODY AND SOUL, AND WE THINK OF THE SOUL AS A GHOST THAT LOOKS LIKE US ONLY TRANSPARENT, OR A BALLOON THAT'S TIED TO OUR BODY BY A STRING, THE REALITY IS THAT OUR BODIES ARE SACRAMENTS OF OUR PERSONS. JOHN PAUL II USED THIS CONCEPT WIDELY IN HIS THEOLOGY OF THE BODY TALKS. BY IT HE MEANT THAT OUR BODIES ARE SIGNS OF AN UNDERLYING REALITY, AND THEY MAKE THAT REALITY PRESENT. A SACRAMENT IS A SIGN THAT CAUSES WHAT IT IS A SIGN OF.

WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS, WE OF COURSE MEAN THAT JESUS IS FULLY PRESENT, UNIQUELY AND COMPLETELY, UNDER THE APPEARANCE OF BREAD AND UNDER THE APPEARANCE OF WINE; THAT'S CHURCH TEACHING. YOU COULD RECEIVE EITHER AND THE EFFECT WOULD BE THE SAME AS RECEIVING BOTH. JESUS CAN'T BE BROKEN UP INTO PARTS. THROUGH A UNIQUE MIRACLE MEDIATED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE BREAD AND WINE WHICH USED TO SIMPLY REVEAL BREAD AND WINE, NOW REVEAL THE PERSON OF JESUS; THEY BECOME THE SACRAMENT OF THAT PERSON, JUST AS THEY DID AT THE LAST SUPPER, JUST AS THEY DO NOW; AND THEY ARE, THEREFORE, IDENTICAL TO THE BODY OF JESUS, WHICH REVEALS EXACTLY THE SAME THING – THE PERSON OF JESUS. WHEN TWO THINGS ARE IDENTICAL TO A THIRD, THEY ARE IDENTICAL TO EACH OTHER.

WHY DID JESUS LEAVE US WITH THIS MIRACLE? WHY SO CLOSELY ASSOCIATED WITH FOOD AND DRINK? I THINK WE CAN LOOK AT THE THEOLOGY OF THE BODY HERE AS WELL. THE MOST LOVING ACT THAT WE CAN BESTOW ON OTHER PEOPLE IS TO GIVE THEM FOOD AND DRINK. IN DOING THIS WE AFFIRM THAT WE WANT LIFE FOR THEM, WE WANT HEALTH, WE WANT THEM TO HAVE THE PLEASURE OF EATING, WE WANT THEM NOT TO HUNGER. AND WE DO THIS BY INTERACTING WITH THEIR BODIES, BECAUSE THAT'S THE ONLY WAY WE CAN HAVE ANY RELATIONSHIP TO THE PERSON FOR WHOM THE BODY IS A SACRAMENT. AND THE HIGHEST KIND OF LOVE IS LOVE WHICH GIVES ITSELF AWAY – AGAPE LOVE. JESUS INITIATED THE SACRAMENT OF THE EUCHARIST SO THAT HE COULD GIVE HIMSELF AWAY, ALL OF HIMSELF, IN LOVE, TO EACH OF US, NOW AND DOWN THROUGH THE AGES. THAT'S WHY THE SACRAMENT IS SO SIMPLE. IN OUR CHURCH WE INSIST THAT THE BREAD USED FOR THE EUCHARIST BE MADE FROM PURE WHEAT AND THAT THE WINE FROM PURE GRAPE JUICE THAT'S BEEN ALLOWED TO FERMENT USING ONLY THE YEAST THAT OCCURRED NATURALLY ON THE GRAPE SKIN. BUT WE ALLOW HOSTS MADE FROM WHEAT STARCH HELD TOGETHER BY GELATIN FOR PEOPLE WHO CAN'T TOLERATE GLUTEN; AND WE ALLOW GRAPE JUICE WHICH HAS ALMOST NO ALCOHOL TO BE USED BY PEOPLE WHO CANNOT TOLERATE ALCOHOL. THE POINT IS THAT WHILE THE CHURCH HAS EVERY RIGHT TO SPECIFY HOW ITS SACRAMENTS ARE TO BE CONDUCTED, IT CAN CHANGE THE RULES; JESUS OBVIOUSLY WANTED IT TO BE POSSIBLE FOR ANYONE WHO COULD EAT OR DRINK TO RECEIVE HIS REAL PRESENCE.

JESUS PROMISED THAT HE WOULD BE WITH US UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD. HE DID NOT MEAN THIS IN A SPIRITUAL SENSE, OR A FIGURATIVE SENSE. HE MEANT IT LITERALLY – BECAUSE TO BE WITH A HUMAN PERSON, YOU HAVE TO INTERACT WITH THAT PERSON, YOUR BODY AND HIS OR HER BODY. WHAT WAS BREAD AND WINE BECOME THE BODY AND BLOOD OF JESUS, AND THE BREAD AND WINE ARE NO LONGER PRESENT.