Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B

MARK 13:1-8

WE HAVE REACHED THE LAST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME. IT SEEMS TO BE ABOUT THE END OF THE WORLD. IT TALKS ABOUT THE GREAT TRIBULATION, WHERE THE SUN WILL BE DARKENED, THE MOON WILL NOT GIVE FORTH ITS LIGHT, THE STARS WILL FALL, AND THE SON OF MAN WILL COME. AND HE WILL SEND OUT HIS ANGELS TO GATHER THE ELECT FROM THE ENDS OF THE EARTH TO THE ENDS OF THE SKY.

WHAT ARE WE TO MAKE OF THIS? WE CAN TAKE IT AS A WARNING, I GUESS, THAT LIFE IS PRECIOUS, THAT WE DON'T HAVE MUCH TIME, THAT WE BETTER MAKE A DECISION RIGHT NOW THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE AMONG THOSE ELECT.

BUT JESUS GOES ON TO SAY THAT ALL OF THIS WILL HAPPEN BEFORE THIS GENERATION PASSES AWAY. ON FIRST GLANCE, THAT WOULD SEEM TO MAKE JESUS A VERY POOR PROPHET. THERE AREN'T ANY OF THAT GENERATION LEFT, AND GENERATIONS AND GENERATIONS HAVE COME AND GONE, AND STILL THE GREAT TRIBULATION HASN'T HAPPENED.. THAT'S NOT TO SAY THAT PEOPLE HAVEN'T THOUGHT IT WAS HAPPENING; DURING THE FIRST GENERATION OF CHRISTIANS YOU COULD BE EXCUSED FOR THINKING THAT IT WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN; THE CHURCH WAS BEING PERSECUTED TO DEATH. AND A COUPLE OF HUNDRED YEARS LATER, THE PEACE OF THE EMPIRE WAS BEING SHATTERED BY BARBARIANS. AND THEN ISLAM CONQUERED BYZANTIUM, THE EASTERN HALF OF CHRISTENDOM; AND THEN CAME THE BLACK PLAGUE – AND YOU GET MY DRIFT. BUT LOOKING BACKWARDS NONE OF THESE LIFE-SHATTERING EVENTS TURNED OUT TO BE THE GREAT TRIBULATION, AND THEIR GENERATIONS HAVE COME AND GONE.

MAYBE JESUS ISN'T TALKING ABOUT LITERAL GENERATIONS. MAYBE HE IS TALKING ABOUT THE GENERATION THAT PAYS ATTENTION TO THE THINGS OF THE WORLD, THAT LIVES IN RELATIVISM, THAT SEEKS ONLY TO PLEASE ITSELF. THE GENERATION THAT THINKS HUMAN LIFE IS DISPOSABLE OR TO BE USED. THE GENERATION THAT BELIEVES WAR CAN BRING ABOUT PEACE. THE GENERATION THAT LAUGHS AT GOD'S LAWS. THE GENERATION THAT BELIEVES THAT THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS OBJECTIVE TRUTH. OUR GENERATION, THE GENERATION OF THE FIRST CHRISTIANS, AND EVERY GENERATION IN BETWEEN.

WE DON'T SEE THE HUMAN RACE GETTING BETTER WITH TIME. OH, WE'VE LEARNED TO CURE A LOT OF ILLNESSES; WE'VE MADE LIFE A LOT EASIER FOR SOME OF US. TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE HAVE REPLACED SLAVERY IN ALLOWING A FEW PEOPLE TO LIVE IN LUXURY BY EXPLOITING THE MANY. BUT WE ARE NOT A LOT DIFFERENT FROM THOSE WEALTHY PEOPLE IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE; WE TAKE FOR GRANTED THAT WE HAVE A RIGHT TO THREE SQUARE MEALS A DAY, A DECENT HOUSE, AN ANNUAL VACATION, FREEDOM FROM PAIN. WE FORGET THAT PEOPLE LIKE US MAKE UP ABOUT TEN PERCENT OF THE POPULATION OF THE WORLD – PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE.

WE ARE THE GENERATION JESUS IS TALKING ABOUT. JESUS INVITES US TO LEARN FROM THE FIG TREE. ANYONE CAN TELL WHEN SUMMER IS NOT FAR OFF; THE BRANCHES OF THE TREE BEGIN TO GREEN UP; FLOWER BUDS BEGIN TO FORM. THE TREE KNOWS WHAT IS HAPPENING, AND PREPARES. THE TIME OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION IS NOT A FAR DISTANT THING, BUT IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN. JESUS PROMISES THAT.

HOW WILL IT HAPPEN? I DON'T KNOW. I THINK JESUS IS TELLING EACH OF US THAT WE WILL EXPERIENCE IT.

I KNOW A LADY OVER AT THE NURSING HOME. SHE'S ABOUT NINETY. SHE CAN'T GET OUT OF BED ANYMORE, AND NEEDS TO BE FED. SHE SLEEPS MUCH OF THE TIME, BUT SHE'S LUCID WHEN SHE WAKES UP. SHE NEVER FAILS TO REMIND ME THAT SHE'S HAD A GREAT LIFE, AND THE PICTURES THAT SURROUND HER BED SAY THIS AS WELL. BUT SHE'S THE LAST OF HER FAMILY; HER HUSBAND HAS PASSED AWAY; HER CHILDREN ARE BUSY WITH THEIR OWN LIVES; AND FOR HER, THE SUN HAS DIMMED AND THE MOON HAS LOST IT'S LIGHT. SHE SPENT HER LIFE AS A FAITHFUL CATHOLIC; SHE'S RECEIVED THE SACRAMENT OF THE SICK MORE THAN ONCE; AND SHE HAS NO FEARS OF THE NEXT LIFE. BUT HER LIFE IS ONE OF TRIBULATION AT PRESENT.

WE ARE ALL PART OF THIS GENERATION; WE WILL ALL EXPERIENCE THE TRIBULATION; WE WON'T KNOW WHEN OR HOW; AS JESUS SAYS ONLY GOD KNOWS. BUT IF YOU WALK THROUGH A NURSING HOME, OR THE CORRIDORS OF A HOSPITAL, OR GO TO A WAKE, OR WATCH THE EVENING NEWS, YOU WILL SEE THE SIGNS, YOU WILL LEARN FROM THE FIG TREE.

JESUS PROMISES US THAT AT HIS COMING THE ELECT WILL BE GATHERED UP. I BELIEVE HE OFFERS EACH OF US A PLACE AMONG THE ELECT.

TODAY'S READINGS NOT ONLY GIVE US A WARNING, BUT A REMEDY AS WELL. IN THE PSALM, WHICH I INVITE YOU TO READ THOUGHTFULLY AND WITH PRAYER, WE ARE TOLD WHERE OUR ATTENTION SHOULD BE. “YOU ARE MY INHERITANCE, O LORD”, THE PSALMIST REMINDS HIMSELF. “YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO THE NETHERWORLD, NOR WILL YOU SUFFER YOUR FAITHFUL TO UNDERGO CORRUPTION. YOU WILL SHOW ME THE PATH OF LIFE.”

JESUS PROMISES TO SEND HIS ANGELS TO GATHER HIS ELECT. IF WE HAVE MADE JESUS THE CENTER OF OUR LIVES, IF WE DO SEE HIM AS OUR INHERITANCE, AS OUR TEACHER, AS THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS ANYTHING WORTHWHILE TO OFFER, AND WE ACT ACCORDINGLY, THEN WE ARE HIS ELECT. IF WE PERSIST IN BEING PART OF THIS GENERATION, HE'S WARNED US OF THE CONSEQUENCES.

WHEN TRIBULATION COMES TO US, LET US PRAY THAT WE ARE AMONG THE ELECT, THAT JESUS IS OUR INHERITANCE, THAT WE NO LONGER BELONG TO THIS GENERATION.

Thirty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B

MARK 12:38-44

WHEN MY SON WAS VERY YOUNG, I TOOK HIM CHRISTMAS SHOPPING. HE HAD TEN DOLLARS TO SPEND, AND WANTED TO GET A PRESENT FOR EACH OF HIS FIVE OLDER SISTERS, AS WELL AS HIS MOTHER. I GUESS HE FIGURED I DIDN'T NEED A PRESENT. IT SEEMED LIKE AN IMPOSSIBLE TASK. WE WENT TO A FEW STORES, AND FINALLY, I THINK WE WERE IN ONE OF THOSE ULTRA-DISCOUNT STORES, HE FOUND ONE OF THOSE BUBBLE-WRAPPED THINGS CONTAINING FIVE COMBS, DIFFERENT SIZES AND DIFFERENT COLORS. THAT TOOK CARE OF ABOUT FOUR DOLLARS, AND THE REMAINING MONEY HE BOUGHT SOMETHING FOR HIS MOTHER WHICH GIVEN THAT I'M GETTING OLD, I'VE FORGOTTEN WHAT IT WAS. I SUSPECT IT WAS SOME CHEAP PERFUME OR SOMETHING.

WHEN CHRISTMAS MORNING CAME AROUND THE SISTERS OPENED HIS GIFTS, TOOK ONE LOOK, AND PUT THEM IN THEIR GIFT PILE, MOVING ON TO THE NEXT GIFT. THEY WERE NOT VERY IMPRESSED, AND I COULD TELL HIS FEELINGS WERE HURT. HE HAD GIVEN ALL HE HAD – ALL HIS MONEY, A LOT OF TIME AND DELIBERATION, AND HIS HEART HAD GONE INTO THE GIFTS.

THERE IS A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE SCRIBES WE HEARD ABOUT TODAY AND THE WIDOW. IT ISN'T OBVIOUS UNLESS YOU DO SOME BACKGROUND READING. THE SCRIBES WERE LIKE ANY PROFESSION; SOME GOOD, SOME BAD, AND A LOT IN BETWEEN. THEY STUDIED HARD – THE RABBIS TODAY ARE THEIR DESCENDENTS, BUT SO ARE AMERICAN LAWYERS – SO THAT THEY COULD APPLY THE LAW TO CIRCUMSTANCES OF LIFE. AND THEY DID THIS FOR A FEE. IF TWO JEWS WERE HAVING A DISPUTE OVER SOMETHING, THEY'D GO TO A SCRIBE. IF THERE WAS A QUESTION ABOUT WHAT YOU COULD DO ON THE SABBATH, A SCRIBE WOULD TELL YOU. SCRIBES ALSO HAD ANOTHER ROLE. WIDOWS SOMETIMES HAD A LITTLE PROPERTY – USUALLY A HOME AND A BIT OF LAND FROM THEIR HUSBAND. BUT THEY COULDN'T DO MUCH; THEY COULDN'T GET A JOB, THEY COULDN'T SELL THEIR PROPERTY EXCEPT TO SOMEONE RELATED TO THE HUSBAND, AND IN GENERAL, IT WAS TOUGH LIFE TO BE A WIDOW. SCRIBES WERE ASKED TO STEP IN TO HELP WITH THE DISPOSITION OF THE PROPERTY AND THE CARE OF THE WIDOW. THIS DIDN'T ALWAYS BENEFIT THE WIDOW. AND THEY WOULD WEAR THEIR RELIGION ON THEIR SLEEVES WITH PRAYERS AND OTHER ACTS, AND VERY FEW PEOPLE, PARTICULARLY UNEDUCATED WIDOWS, WOULD THINK ANYTHING BUT GOOD THOUGHTS ABOUT SOMEONE WHO WAS SO WELL VERSED IN THE LAW AND KNEW HOW TO SAY REALLY WONDERFUL PRAYERS.

AND MAYBE JESUS ISN'T COMPLIMENTING THE WIDOW; AFTER ALL, IF HE WANTED TO SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE GENEROSITY OF THE POOR, HE COULD HAVE POINTED TO A POOR MAN OR WOMAN, OR EVEN REFERRED TO THIS LADY AS A POOR WOMAN. BUT THE TERM “WIDOW” DENOTED SOMEONE WHO WAS AT THE BOTTOM OF SOCIETY, SOMEONE WHO ALONG WITH ORPHANS AND ALIENS THE JEWISH PEOPLE WERE OBLIGED TO CARE FOR. SO MAYBE JESUS IS SAYING TO THE APOSTLES, “LOOK AT ALL THESE GOOD CHURCH-GOING PEOPLE DROPPING THEIR SPARE CHANGE INTO THE TREASURY. AND THERE IS A WIDOW JUST LIKE WHO I HAVE BEEN TALKING ABOUT, WHO HAS BEEN BRAINWASHED INTO THINKING SHE HAS TO GIVE WHAT LITTLE SHE HAS TO BUY CANDLES AND PAY FOR DECORATIONS.” DO YOU OR I NOTICE THE WIDOWS AMONG US? AND WHAT DO WE DO ABOUT THEM?

BUT GETTING BACK TO MY SON. IT'S A LEGITIMATE QUESTION. WHAT DOES GOD EXPECT FROM US? DOES HE EXPECT US TO GIVE THE CHANGE IN OUR POCKETS? OR MAYBE HE WANTS US TO TITHE, WHICH AFTER ALL IS THE ONLY GUIDELINE WE HEAR ABOUT . TITHING MEANS TO GIVE TEN PERCENT – BUT IT HAD TO DO WITH CROPS AND SUCH, AND WAS MEANT TO PROVIDE THE LEVITES, ONE OF THE TWELVE TRIBES WHO HAD NO LAND AND FROM WHOM CAME THE HEREDITARY PRIESTHOOD, WITH A LIVELIHOOD. SOME SCHOLARS THINK THAT TITHING WAS ONLY REQUIRED OF FARMERS, VINYARD OWNERS, AND PEOPLE WHO OWNED HERDS. IN OTHER WORDS, IF GOD GAVE YOU SOMETHING, YOU OWED TEN PERCENT BACK. OF COURSE MANY PEOPLE WHO READ THIS STORY OF THE WIDOW BELIEVE IT IMPLIES THAT WE SHOULD GIVE EVERYTHING. AFTER ALL, THAT IS KIND OF REFLECTED IN THE FIRST READING. THERE A WIDOW GIVES HER LAST BIT OF FOOD TO THE PROPHET, TRUSTING THAT GOD WILL PROVIDE. AND OF COURSE IF THAT'S WHAT IS EXPECTED OF US, THEN WE ARE ALL IN SERIOUS TROUBLE.

AND YET, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO GIVE EVERYTHING – MANY OF THE SAINTS, SOLDIERS ON THE BATTLEFIELD, POLICE OFFICERS AND FIREMEN GIVING UP THEIR LIVES IN THE LINE OF DUTY. IS THAT IN SOME WAY BETTER THAN A SAINT WHO INHERITS A FORTUNE AND USES IT FOR GOOD, LIKE KATHERINE DREXEL, OR SAINT MARGARET OF SCOTLAND, WHO DIED A QUEEN WITH SERVANTS AND A CASTLE AND INDEED, GREAT WEALTH?

I THINK NONE OF THE ABOVE ARE TRUE. JESUS HIMSELF GAVE US THE CRITERION FOR GIVING. HE SAID, “GIVE AND IT SHALL BE GIVEN TO YOU … FOR THE MEASURE YOU USE, IT WILL BE THE MEASURE USED FOR YOU.” SAINT PAUL ECHOED THIS: “HE WHO SOWS SPARINGLY WILL ALSO REAP SPARINGLY, AND HE WHO SOWS BOUNTIFULLY WILL ALSO REAP BOUNTIFULLY. EACH ONE MUST DO JUST AS HE HAS PURPOSED IN HIS HEART, NOT GRUDGINGLY OR UNDER COMPULSION, FOR GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER.” SAINT JOHN SAID: “BUT WHOEVER HAS THE WORLD'S GOODS, AND SEES HIS BROTHER IN NEED AND CLOSES HIS HEART AGAINST HIM, HOW DOES THE LOVE OF GOD ABIDE IN HIM?”

IN OTHER WORDS, FOR CHRISTIANS OUR GIVING MUST BE MOTIVATED BY LOVE, MUST BE A RESPONSE TO HOW MUCH GOD LOVES US. IF WE DON'T BELIEVE WE ARE LOVED, OUR GENEROSITY WILL REFLECT THAT. IF WE UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE LOVED COMPLETELY AND PASSIONATELY BY GOD, MAYBE OUR GENEROSITY WILL REFLECT THAT.

SAINT PAUL SAID, “I COUNT ALL THINGS TO BE LOSS IN VIEW OF THE SURPASSING VALUE OF KNOWING CHRIST JESUS MY LORD, FOR WHOM I HAVE SUFFERED THE LOSS OF ALL THINGS, AND COUNT THEM BUT RUBBISH SO THAT I MAY GAIN CHRIST.”

MY FOUR YEAR OLD SON GAVE ALL HE HAD, AND HE GAVE IT OUT OF LOVE. THE FACT THAT IT WAS NOT MUCH AND NOT APPRECIATED BY THE RECIPIENTS OF HIS GIFTS HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE VALUE OF HIS GIFT. AND THE REAL QUESTION IS NOT HOW MUCH WE GIVE, BUT WHETHER OUR GIVING REFLECTS OUR LOVE. AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT CAN ONLY BE ANSWERED IN OUR HEARTS.

All Saints Day, 2015

MATTHEW 5:1-12

OUR CATHOLIC CHURCH VENERATES SAINTS. WE DON'T WORSHIP THEM. UNTIL ABOUT THE TWELFTH CENTURY, SAINTS WERE PEOPLE WHO HAD DONE SOMETHING WHICH CAUGHT THE ATTENTION OF AT LEAST A FEW PEOPLE – MAYBE CURING ILLNESSES, MAYBE BEING MARTYRED, MAYBE BEING SUCCESSFUL MISSIONARIES OR FOUNDERS OF MONASTERIES OR DEFENDERS OF THE FAITH. SOME WERE KINGS AND QUEENS. BUT PEOPLE SAW IN THEM SOMETHING OF JESUS CHRIST, AND BEGAN TO ASK THE SAINT TO INTERCEDE WITH GOD. A FEW OF THESE EVENTUALLY BECAME VENERATED THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE CHURCH, AND THEY CONTINUE TO BE EVEN TODAY – SAINT LAWRENCE, SAINT LUCY, SAINT NICHOLAS, TO NAME A FEW.

BUT IN THE TWELFTH CENTURY MAKING SAINTS BECAME THE PREROGATIVE OF THE POPE, AND BY THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY THE CURRENT PROCESS WAS CODIFIED. PEOPLE WHO WEREN'T MARTYRS HAD TO HAVE LIVED LIVES WORTHY OF IMITATION AND HAD TO HAVE TWO MIRACLES THAT HAD BEEN DECLARED AS MIRACLES BY SPECIAL ADVISORS TO THE POPE. THE MIRACLES WERE CONSIDERED TO BE GOD'S APPROVAL OF THE CANONIZATION. AT THAT POINT IN A SOLEMN CEREMONY THE PERSON WAS DECLARED A SAINT. NAVIGATING THE BEAUROCRACY OF THE VATICAN TOOK TIME AND MONEY, AND MOST OF THE SAINTS SINCE THAT TIME HAVE BEEN MEMBERS OF RELIGIOUS ORDERS. SOMETIMES A DIOCESE WOULD SPONSOR THE PROCESS FOR A PARTICULARLY NOTEWORTHY PRIEST OR BISHOP. VERY FEW “ORDINARY” PEOPLE MADE THE CUT.

RECENTLY IN A FIRST, POPE FRANCIS CANONIZED A MARRIED COUPLE, LOUIS AND ZELIE MARTIN. I THINK THEY HAVE PARTICULAR RELEVANCE TO OUR TIME. LOUIS TRAINED AS A WATCHMAKER, AND ZELIE WAS SKILLED IN MAKING LACE. THE TWO OF THEM MANAGED TO MAKE A PRETTY GOOD LIVING AT THEIR TRADES, AND WERE COMFORTABLY MIDDLE CLASS IN THE FRANCE OF THEIR TIME. THEY HAD NINE CHILDREN, FOUR OF WHOM DIED IN EARLY CHILDHOOD. THE FIVE WHO SURVIVED ALL BECAME NUNS, ONE OF WHOM IS SAINT THERESE OF LISEAUX, THE LITTLE FLOWER, A DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH. ONE OF HER SISTERS, LEONIE, IS CURRENTLY A CANDIDATE FOR CANONIZATION.

ZELIE SAW LOUIS WHEN SHE WAS CROSSING A BRIDGE, AND HEARD AN INNER VOICE TELL HER THAT HE WAS THE ONE FOR HER. SHORTLY AFTERWARDS, THEY MET, BECAME ENGAGED, AND MARRIED THREE MONTHS LATER. THEY WERE KNOWN AS PEOPLE WHO WOULD GO OUT OF THEIR WAY TO HELP ANYONE WITH A PROBLEM. FROM THERESE'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY WE KNOW THAT THEY PRESIDED OVER A VERY HAPPY HOME, BUT ONE IN WHICH PRAYER AND DISCIPLINE WERE IMPORTANT. IN THE WAR BETWEEN FRANCE AND GERMANY, THE GERMAN ARMY BRIEFLY HELD PARTS OF NORTHEASTERN FRANCE, DURING WHICH TIME LOUIS AND ZELIE WERE FORCED TO ACCOMMODATE NINE GERMAN SOLDIERS IN THEIR HOME. THEY IMPRESSED THEM BY TREATING THEM WITH RESPECT AND DIGNITY, EVEN THOUGH IT MEANT HARDSHIP FOR THEIR OWN CHILDREN.

WHEN THERESE' WAS 4 AND ONE HALF, HER MOTHER DIED OF BREAST CANCER, FROM WHICH SHE HAD SUFFERED FOR OVER A YEAR. LOUIS SOLD HIS BUSINESS AND MOVED TO LISEAUX. WHEN THERESE' WAS 15 AND HAD BEEN ACCEPTED TO ENTER THE CARMELITE ORDER, LOUIS SUFFERED THE FIRST OF SEVERAL STROKES. DURING HIS LAST FIVE YEARS HE WAS NOT ABLE TO TAKE CARE OF HIMSELF AND COULD BARELY SPEAK. HE ALSO SUFFERED FROM DEMENTIA.

I THINK WE ALL CAN SEE ASPECTS OF OUR OWN LIVES REFLECTED IN THE LIVES OF THIS COUPLE. THEY WERE NOT CELIBATE; THEY WERE NOT POOR. THEY HAD TIMES OF JOY AND THE BLESSING OF A CLOSE-KNIT FAMILY. THEY HAD GREAT SORROWS, WITH THE LOSS OF FOUR CHILDREN. BOTH OF THEM WORKED IN TRADES. LOUIS LOST HIS WIFE TO CANCER; HE HIMSELF SPENT HIS LAST YEARS INCREASINGLY HELPLESS AND ILL.

THEIR DAUGHTERS AND OTHERS WHO KNEW THEM DESCRIBED A COUPLE WHO LIVED EXEMPLARY LIVES AND AN EXEMPLARY MARRIAGE. THEY ARE CERTAINLY PEOPLE WHO CAN INSPIRE MARRIED COUPLES.

TODAY JESUS DESCRIBES HOW TO BE BLESSED, HOW TO BE A SAINT. THERE ARE EIGHT BEATITUDES. THE FIRST FOUR DEAL WITH CIRCUMSTANCES YOU FIND YOURSELF IN – BEING POOR, MOURNING, BEING AT THE LOW END OF THE SOCIAL LADDER, BEING THE OBJECT OF INJUSTICE. JESUS SAYS THAT IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES, YOU CAN FIND BLESSINGS, AND YOU CAN BE ASSURED THAT IN GOD'S TIME THINGS WILL BE REVERSED. THE SECOND FOUR DEAL WITH CHOICES WE MAKE, ALSO WHICH CAN BE THE SOURCE OF BLESSINGS – BEING MERCIFUL, STRUGGLING TO OVERCOME OUR TENDENCIES TO SIN; BEING PEACEMAKERS, AND TRYING TO BRING ABOUT JUSTICE. AND JESUS PROMISES THAT EVEN WHEN IT LOOKS LIKE OUR EFFORTS ARE NOT BEARING FRUIT, THEY WILL. AND HE PROMISES THAT WHAT WE DO FOR HIS SAKE WILL NOT GO UNREWARDED, ALTHOUGH PERSECUTION CAN BE EXPECTED, AND BEING ONE OF HIS FOLLOWERS IS NO GUARANTEE OF A LIFETIME OF HAPPINESS AND PROSPERITY – IN FACT, THE GOSPEL PASSAGE SEEMS TO IMPLY THE OPPOSITE.

LOUIS AND ZELIE MARTIN LIVED THE BEATITUDES AND AS THEY WENT THROUGH THEIR ORDINARY LIVES ACCEPTED ALL THE JOYS AND SUFFERINGS THAT CAME THEIR WAY FOR THE SAKE OF THE MASTER THEY SERVED. SAINT THERESE WAS TO WRITE: "GOD GAVE ME A FATHER AND A MOTHER WHO WERE MORE WORTHY OF HEAVEN THAN OF EARTH". SHE DESCRIBED HER PARENTS AS "PARENTS WITHOUT EQUAL, WORTHY OF HEAVEN, HOLY GROUND PERMEATED WITH THE PERFUME OF PURITY."

ALL OF US CATHOLICS SHOULD PICK A FEW SAINTS TO KNOW WELL AND TO BE OUR INTERCESSORS IN HEAVEN. IT'S GOOD TO KNOW THEM AS REAL HUMAN BEINGS WHO PUT UP WITH THE SAME THINGS WE PUT UP WITH, WHO SUFFERED JUST AS WE WILL SUFFER, AND WHO ARE WORTH IMITATING. SAINT PAUL URGED HIS CORINTHIAN CONGREGATION TO BE IMITATORS OF HIM, JUST AS HE WAS AN IMITATOR OF CHRIST. THAT'S WHAT SAINTS ARE FOR; THEY SHOW US BY THEIR LIVES HOW TO IMITATE CHRIST..

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B

MARK 10:46-52

BIBLE SCHOLARS HAVE SPECULATED FOR 2000 YEARS ABOUT WHY THIS MAN, BARTIMEAUS, IS THE ONLY PERSON THAT JESUS EVER HEALED WHO IS NAMED. AND THEY HAVE WONDERED WHY MARK CALLS HIM “BARTIMEAUS, THE SON OF TIMEAUS”. BECAUSE BARTIMEAUS ACTUALLY MEANS, “SON OF TIMEAUS”. WHEN I WENT TO MY SOURCES, I FOUND THAT “TIMEAUS” COMES FROM A GREEK ROOT MEANING “HONOR”. HOWEVER, WHEN APPLIED TO A PERSON, IT CAN MEAN “ENLIGHTENED” OR “HAVING LIGHT”. AND THERE IS A GREEK PLAY IN WHICH A PERSON WHO IS PORTRAYED AS HAVING NO REDEEMING QUALITIES – DIRTY, UNDERHANDED, UGLY, FOUL-MOUTHED – IS IRONICALLY NAMED “TIMEAUS”. AND OF COURSE THERE'S THE POSSIBILITY THAT THIS RELATIVELY COMMON GREEK NAME SIMPLY DESIGNATED SOMEONE WHO WAS VERY WELL KNOWN TO THE EARLY CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY AND AS SUCH WAS AN IMPORTANT WITNESS TO CHRIST'S HEALING MINISTRY AND POWER.

BUT I THINK I'LL GO WITH “ENLIGHTENED”. BECAUSE MARK LIKES TO USE DOUBLETS IN HIS GOSPEL – SEPARATE STORIES LINKED BY A PHRASE OR AN IMAGE, TO MAKE A POINT. AND IN THIS CASE, THE STORY OF BARTIMEAUS FOLLOWS THE STORY OF JAMES AND JOHN. JAMES AND JOHN, AS YOU REMEMBER FROM LAST WEEK, CAME TO JESUS AND ASKED HIM TO PROMISE TO DO WHATEVER THEY ASKED HIM TO DO. AND HE REPLIED, “WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO FOR YOU?” AND THEY WENT ON TO ASK FOR POSITIONS OF HONOR WHEN JESUS CAME INTO HIS GLORY. BARTIMEAUS LIKEWISE SAYS, “SON OF DAVID, HAVE PITY ON ME!” AND JESUS REPLIES, “WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO FOR YOU?” AND BARTIMEAUS ASKS TO BE ABLE TO SEE.

I THINK THERE ARE SEVERAL THINGS TO SEE IN THIS STORY. CONSIDER WHAT THINGS WOULD BE LIKE IF YOU WERE A BLIND BEGGAR IN PALESTINE. FIRST, EVERYONE, INCLUDING YOURSELF, WOULD BELIEVE THAT YOU WERE BLIND BECAUSE YOU WERE CURSED IN SOME WAY, OR PERHAPS YOUR PARENTS WERE CURSED. AND BEING CURSED COMES FROM BEING HATED BY GOD, OR BECAUSE OF A SIN. AFTER ALL, PEOPLE BELIEVED THAT GOD DISLIKED SOME PEOPLE FOR REASONS THAT WERE NEVER VERY CLEAR; THE SCRIPTURES SAY “HE LOVED JACOB BUT HATED ESEAU”. WE NEVER DO FIND OUT WHY GOD REJECTS THE SACRIFICE OF CAIN BUT ACCEPTS THAT OF ABEL. KING SAUL, ONCE GOD'S FAVORITE, COMMITS AN OFFENSE AND GOD PROMISES THAT NOT ONLY WILL THE KINGDOM BE GIVEN TO ANOTHER, BUT NO ONE AMONG SAUL'S DESCENDENTS WILL EVEN SURVIVE; AND YET DAVID DOES ALL KINDS OF TERRIBLE THINGS, AND GOD CONTINUES TO LOVE HIM AND FAVOR HIM. BUT BARTIMEAUS DOES NOT ACCEPT HIS FATE; EVEN WITH THE CROWDS TRYING TO KEEP HIM QUIET, HE CAUSES A RUCKUS.

WHEN HE IS TOLD THAT JESUS IS CALLING HIM, HE THROWS ASIDE HIS CLOAK. A BEGGAR DURING THE DAY PUT HIS CLOAK ON THE GROUND BEFORE HIM TO COLLECT WHATEVER PEOPLE MIGHT OFFER. AT NIGHT, THE CLOAK WAS HIS SHELTER. BARTIMEAUS THROWS HIS CLOAK ASIDE, ABANDONING THE ONE THING THAT DEFINED HIM, THE ONE THING BY WHICH HE MADE HIS LIVING, WITH WHICH HE KEPT WARM AND AVOIDED THE WORST PART OF THE OCCASSIONAL RAIN STORM. WHEN JESUS CALLS YOU AND I, THERE IS SOMETHING WE HAVE TO ABANDON; IT MAY NOT BE EVERYTHING, BUT IT IS ALWAYS SOMETHING. AND IT'S NEVER EASY TO GIVE UP OUR STUFF, OUR POSITION, OUR ROUTINE.

IT SAYS THAT BARTIMEAUS “SPRANG UP AND CAME TO JESUS”. ANOTHER TRANSLATION SAYS HE “JUMPED UP”. MARK WANTS US TO SEE THAT HE HAS NO HESITATION WHEN HE IS CALLED. THAT'S ANOTHER PROBLEM WE HAVE, I THINK. A LOT OF THE TIME WHEN WE CONSCIOUSLY DO SOMETHING BECAUSE WE ARE CHRISTIAN, WE DO SO WITH A LITTLE RELUCTANCE. WHEN WE GIVE OF OUR TIME, TALENT AND TREASURE, SOMETIMES WE DO SO WITH A TINGE OF RESENTMENT, OR WE DON'T GIVE AS MUCH AS WE COULD, OR WE GIVE UP OUR COMMITMENT AT THE FIRST SIGN OF RESISTANCE. EVEN THOUGH OUR ACTIONS ARE MOTIVATED BY OUR FAITH, WE AREN'T ALL IN, WE ARE HOLDING BACK. THE BLESSED MOTHER SAID, IN RESPONSE TO THE ANGEL, “BE IT DONE TO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD!” BUT A BETTER TRANSLATION IS “NOW DO TO ME WHAT YOU SAID YOU WILL DO!” OUR RESPONSE TO GOD'S CALL NEEDS TO BE WHOLE-HEARTED.

AND THEN JESUS GRANTS THE REQUEST OF BARTIMEAUS, AND HEALS HIS BLINDNESS INSTANTLY, WITHOUT TOUCHING HIM. NOW SOME OF YOU REMEMBER THAT IN ANOTHER PLACE IN MARK, HE HEALS A BLIND MAN WITH HIS OWN SPIT, AND AT FIRST THE HEALING IS PARTIAL; JESUS HAS TO MAKE A SECOND PASS IN ORDER TO CLEAR UP THE VISION COMPLETELY. WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE HERE? JESUS HIMSELF POINTS TO IT – IT'S THE MAN'S FAITH. PERHAPS THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE FIRST AND SECOND MIRACLE IS THAT JESUS, WHO IS GOD, IS ALWAYS READY TO GIVE US WHAT WE NEED, BUT TO RECEIVE EVERYTHING HE WANTS TO GIVE US REQUIRES FAITH ON OUR PART. THE FIRST BLIND MAN HAD BEEN BROUGHT TO JESUS BY HIS FRIENDS, AND PROBABLY HAD LITTLE FAITH; BARTIMEAUS FULLY EXPECT THIS SON OF DAVID TO HAVE THE POWER TO HEAL HIM. SAINT AUGUSTINE SAID THAT GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING WE NEED, AND IS READY TO GIVE IT TO US. THE REASON WE PRAY IS NOT TO CHANGE GOD'S MIND, BUT TO ENLARGE OUR DESIRE FOR WHAT GOD WANTS TO GIVE US.

THE LAST POINT TO MAKE IS THAT WHEN HE IS HEALED, BARTIMEAUS DOESN'T GO “ON HIS WAY” AS JESUS TOLD HIM TO DO, AND OFTEN TELLS OTHERS TO DO. INSTEAD, HE JOINED THE CROWD THAT FOLLOWED JESUS.

SO MARK HAS SHOWN US JAMES AND JOHN, WHO ASK FOR POWER AND GLORY FROM JESUS, AND WHO ARE TOLD THAT IF THEY REALLY WANT TO BE FIRST IN HIS KINGDOM, THEY HAVE TO BE SERVANTS. JESUS HAS TO SET THEM STRAIGHT. AND THEN MARK TURNS OUR ATTENTION TO THE BLIND BEGGAR, THE ENLIGHTENED ONE, WHO ALSO ASKS JESUS FOR SOMETHING, BUT DEMONSTRATES REMARKABLE, OVERWHELMING FAITH IN DOING SO.

 THINK OF WHAT YOUR LIFE WOULD BE LIKE IF YOU WERE LIKE BARTIMEAUS. YOU WOULD BE UNAFRAID; YOU WOULD NOT CARE WHAT PEOPLE THOUGHT OF YOU. YOU WOULD SEE THAT BEING CALLED BY JESUS IS NOT A TERRIBLE DISRUPTION IN YOUR LIFE, BUT A CHANCE TO ENTER INTO A NEW LIFE. AND YOU WOULD ANSWER HIS CALL WITH JOY, AND HAPPILY GO THROUGH THE REST OF YOUR LIFE IN HIS COMPANY. BARTIMEAUS, DESPITE HIS BLINDNESS, IS TRULY THE ENLIGHTENED ONE.

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B

MARK 10:35-45

WHEN YOU HEARD THE GOSPEL TODAY, DID YOU THINK SOMETHING WAS MISSING? IF SO, YOU HAVE A GOOD MEMORY. BECAUSE THIS SAME STORY IS IN MATTHEW'S GOSPEL, BUT IN THAT CASE, IT'S THE MOTHER OF JAMES AND JOHN WHO ASKS JESUS FOR THIS FAVOR. MARK'S GOSPEL WAS WRITTEN FIRST, AND IN IT, THE APOSTLES DON'T SEEM TO BE VERY BRIGHT. MATTHEW AND LUKE WERE WRITTEN MUCH LATER, AND BY THEN, THE APOSTLES ARE PORTRAYED AS MORE NOBLE, MORE INTELLIGENT. SO MATTHEW PROBABLY FIGURED THAT JAMES AND JOHN WOULD NEVER ASK JESUS A QUESTION LIKE THAT, – FULL OF PRIDE AND ARROGANCE, BUT IT WOULD BE THE KIND OF QUESTION A DOTING MOTHER MIGHT ASK. SO MATTHEW CHANGED THINGS A BIT, PERHAPS, TO SHOW THE APOSTLES IN A BETTER LIGHT.

BUT AS IS OFTEN THE CASE WHEN WE HEAR A READING FROM THE GOSPELS, WE DON'T CATCH THE MORE SUBTLE THINGS – IF ONLY WE COULD HEAR THEIR VOICES, SEE THEIR GESTURES. MY FIRST REACTION TO THIS GOSPEL WAS THAT JAMES AND JOHN HAD A LOT OF NERVE. WHAT MADE THEM EVEN THINK THAT JESUS WOULD CONSIDER THEIR REQUEST? I SYMPATHIZED WITH THE OTHER APOSTLES, WHO ACCORDING TO THE GOSPEL, ARE ANGRY, OR INDIGNANT. BUT THEN I THOUGHT, IT WASN'T TOO LONG AGO THAT JESUS LET PETER HAVE IT FOR TELLING JESUS THAT HE SHOULDN'T GO AROUND SAYING HE WAS GOING TO BE IMPRISONED AND TORTURED AND PUT TO DEATH. SO WHEN JESUS ANSWERS JAMES AND JOHN IN A VERY REASONABLE WAY, THERE MUST BE MORE GOING ON THAN SEEMS TO BE.

THE FIRST THING TO REMEMBER IS THAT PART OF THEIR PROBLEM WAS JESUS' OWN FAULT. HE HAD PROMISED THAT THE TWELVE APOSTLES WOULD SIT AS JUDGES OVER THE TWELVE TRIBES OF ISRAEL. SINCE THEY ALL HAD A VAGUE IDEA BY THIS TIME THAT JESUS WAS THE MESSIAH, AND THEIR CONCEPTION OF A MESSIAH WAS A CONQUERING KING, A HIGH PRIEST, A GREAT PROPHET, THEY ENVISIONED THEIR FUTURE AS BEING THE PEOPLE WHO REIGNED WITH THE MESSIAH. AND JAMES AND JOHN, TWO OF THE THREE APOSTLES CLOSEST TO JESUS, DID NOT THINK THEIR REQUEST WAS SO UNREASONABLE; THEY MIGHT HAVE ALMOST EXPECTED IT AND WERE JUST LOOKING FOR REASSURANCE.

AND JESUS GIVES THEM CONDITIONS – HE DOESN'T JUST LAUGH IN THEIR FACES OR PUT THEM DOWN. HE REQUIRES TWO THINGS; TO DRINK THE CUP HE MUST DRINK, AND TO BE BAPTIZED IN THE BAPTISM HE MUST BE BAPTIZED IN. WE'VE HEARD THAT REFERENCE TO CUP BEFORE. IN THE 23^RD PSALM IT MEANS GOOD THINGS; “MY CUP RUNS OVER” WHEN MY SHEPHERD LEADS ME TO GREEN PASTURES. IN ISAIAH, ON THE OTHER HAND, THE CUP REFERS TO BAD THINGS; IF JUDAH WILL TURN BACK TO THE LORD, THE CUP OF WRATH WHICH THEY CURRENTLY HAVE WILL BE TAKEN FROM THEM. AND OF COURSE WE HEAR JESUS HIMSELF, IN THE GARDEN OF GESTHEMENE, PRAYS TO HIS FATHER THAT “THIS CUP BE TAKEN FROM ME”. SO A CUP SEEMS TO BE YOUR LOT IN LIFE; WHAT YOU GET WITHOUT SEEKING IT. WHEN WE DRINK OF THIS CUP, WE ACCEPT THE WILL OF GOD IN THAT SITUATION. SO JESUS IS SAYING “CAN YOU ACCEPT WHAT GOD HAS IN STORE FOR YOU WHATEVER IT IS?”

THE BAPTISM IS SOMETHING ELSE. IT DOESN'T MEAN THE SACRAMENT TO WHICH WE GIVE THAT NAME. THE GREEK WORD MEANS “TO DUNK” OR “TO DIP”. THE BAPTISM OF JOHN WAS A SIGN OF COMMITMENT TO CHANGING YOUR LIFE, TO STRENGTHENING YOUR LOYALTY TO THE DREAM OF ISRAEL AS GOD'S OWN PEOPLE. TO JAMES AND JOHN IT PROBABLY MEANT COMMITMENT TO A CAUSE, REAL LIFE-CHANGING COMMITMENT. YOU BURNED YOUR BRIDGES BEHIND YOU.

AND JESUS ASKS JAMES AND JOHN, AND YOU AND I, TO DO THE SAME – NOT ONLY TO ACCEPT, BUT TO EMBRACE THE WILL OF GOD, TO BE LIKE MARY, WHO REPLIED TO THE ANGEL, “THEN DO IT TO ME!” WHICH IS A BETTER TRANSLATION THAN “BE IT DONE UNTO ME ACCORDING TO YOUR WORD”. AND TO DO THIS WITH TOTAL COMMITMENT, WITH WHOLE-HEARTEDNESS, NOT LOOKING BACK, LIKE JESUS DID IN ANOTHER PART OF THE GOSPEL WHERE IT SAYS “HE SET HIS FACE TO GO TO JERUSALEM.”

WE CAN FOLLOW THE REST OF THE STORY WITHOUT TOO MUCH HELP. JESUS TEACHES THAT IF YOU WANT TO BE GREAT, YOU NEED TO SERVE. ONE OF THE POPE'S TITLES IS “SERVANT OF THE SERVANTS OF GOD”. WE DEACONS WEAR A STOLE WHICH IS SUPPOSED TO REMIND US OF THE TOWEL A WAITER WOULD WEAR; THE VERY WORD “DEACON” COMES FROM A WORD MEANING “TO WAIT ON TABLES”. CHRISTIANITY IS ALL ABOUT SERVICE, ALL ABOUT BECOMING A SERVANT TO OTHERS. AND WE DON'T TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY ENOUGH. RIGHT HERE IN LONGMEADOW THERE ARE PEOPLE WHOSE LIVES COULD BE GREATLY IMPROVED IF YOU AND I WERE MORE CONSCIOUS OF JESUS' COMMAND TO BE SERVANTS.

JESUS TELLS US THAT THE POSITIONS ON HIS RIGHT HAND AND LEFT HAND ARE RESERVED; HE CAN'T PROMISE THE APOSTLES THOSE PLACES; THEY ARE ALREADY SPOKEN FOR, ALTHOUGH JESUS IN HIS HUMAN NATURE DOESN'T KNOW WHO THOSE PEOPLE WILL BE.

I DON'T KNOW WHO THOSE PEOPLE WILL BE EITHER. ONE THEORY I LIKE IS THAT THEY ARE FOR MARY, JESUS' MOTHER; AND MARY MAGDALENE. THE MOTHER OF JESUS ISN'T A BIG STRETCH; AFTER ALL, SHE IS SINLESS, SHE COMMITTED HERSELF TOTALLY TO GOD'S WILL, AND SHE SUFFERED AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS. SHE DRANK THE CUP AND WAS BAPTIZED WITH THE BAPTISM JESUS SPOKE OF. AND SHE WAS THERE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE STORY OF JESUS, OF GOD TAKING ON HUMAN NATURE. AND I THINK THE OTHER ONE IS MARY MAGDALENE, WHO WAS RESCUED BY JESUS FROM SEVEN DEMONS; BECAUSE SHE WAS THERE AT THE NEW BEGINNING. WHEN JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD HE APPEARED TO HER FIRST, AND SENT HER TO THE APOSTLES. AND ON EASTER SUNDAY, MARY WAS THERE LOOKING FOR JESUS' BODY WHEN THE APOSTLES WERE STILL HIDING IN THEIR ROOM.

THAT'S A NICE THEORY. BUT MAYBE JESUS LEFT THOSE PLACES AT HIS RIGHT AND LEFT HAND EMPTY BECAUSE THEY ARE THERE FOR YOU AND I. IF WE WISH TO BE GREAT IN THE KINGDOM, WE MUST SERVE, EVEN TO THE POINT OF GIVING UP OUR LIVES. MAYBE SOMEONE IN THIS CHURCH WILL TAKE UP HIS OR HER POSITION ON JESUS' RIGHT HAND OR LEFT HAND. MAYBE IT'S YOU.  

Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B

MARK 10:17-31

THERE WAS AN ARTICLE IN THE PAPER THIS WEEK ABOUT RINGO STARR, THE DRUMMER FOR THE BEATLES. HE IS NOW SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS OLD. UNLIKE THE OTHER BEATLES, HE IS STILL MARRIED TO HIS FIRST WIFE AND STILL ALIVE. IN THE COURSE OF THE INTERVIEW, WHICH LARGELY HAD TO DO WITH A TOUR THAT IS COMING UP, HE TALKED ABOUT A CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION HE AND HIS WIFE HAD SET UP. MUCH OF WHAT HE EARNED FROM HIS LIFETIME ROYALTIES AND TOURING AND INVESTMENTS WENT INTO THE CHARITY, AND THE TWO OF THEM TRIED TO FIND WORTH-WHILE PROJECTS TO SUPPORT THAT THEY THEMSELVES WERE INTERESTED IN. AND OF COURSE WE KNOW OF OTHERS LIKE THIS – WARREN BUFFET, BILL GATES, THE FOUNDER OF MICROSOFT, AND OF COURSE MANY OTHERS WHO HAVE MADE IT BIG AND HAVE SET UP A WAY TO GIVE SOME OF THEIR BLESSINGS BACK.

TODAY WE MEET THE RICH YOUNG MAN ONCE AGAIN. I ALWAYS FEEL A LITTLE GUILTY WHEN I HEAR THE STORY, BECAUSE I CERTAINLY HAVEN'T GIVEN UP EVERYTHING TO FOLLOW JESUS. BUT I THINK WHEN WE LOOK A LITTLE DEEPER, THAT ISN'T WHAT HE IS ASKING OF YOU AND I, NECESSARILY.

THE FIRST HINT IS THAT WHEN THE YOUNG MAN ASKS WHAT HE CAN DO TO HAVE ETERNAL LIFE, JESUS GIVES HIM AN ANSWER – KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS. PERHAPS THE YOUNG MAN SHOULD HAVE STOPPED RIGHT THERE. HE KNEW HE'D DONE THAT, AND MAYBE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER TO HAVE KEPT QUIET. DID JESUS EVER ASK ANYONE ELSE TO GIVE UP EVERYTHING AND FOLLOW HIM? I CAN'T THINK OF ANYONE. HE NEVER ASKED PETER TO SELL HIS BOAT AND HIS HOME; HE NEVER ASKED ZACCHEUS THE TAX COLLECTOR TO GIVE UP HIS RICHES TO FOLLOW JESUS. IT'S TRUE, AS PETER LATER SAYS, THAT PEOPLE THEN AND NOW HAVE GIVE UP EVERYTHING TO FOLLOW JESUS; BUT THERE HAVE BEEN GREAT SAINTS WHO REALLY NEVER DID.

SO WHAT IS JESUS REALLY DOING HERE? THE YOUNG MAN HAS FOLLOWED THE COMMANDMENTS AND WE HAVE NO REASON TO BELIEVE THAT HE IS NOT A DEVOUT PERSON. BUT JESUS CALLS HIS ATTENTION TO HIS GIFTS – HIS WEALTH. AND JESUS ESSENTIALLY TELLS HIM, “TAKE YOUR GIFT AND PUT IT INTO THE SERVICE OF YOUR FELLOW MAN, AND THEN YOU WILL BE REALLY RICH.” DO YOU KNOW WE ALL HAVE GIFTS? THE WORD WE CAN USE FOR THESE GOD-GIVEN GIFTS WHICH ARE MEANT TO BE USED TO SERVE EACH OTHER, TO SERVE THE CHURCH (WHICH OF COURSE IS “EACH OTHER”) IS “CHARISM”. ONE OF THE RICH YOUNG MAN'S CHARISMS, AND PROBABLY ONE OF THOSE POSSESSED BY RINGO STARR AND WARREN BUFFET AND BILL GATES, IS AN ABUNDANCE OF THE GOODS OF THIS WORLD. SOME PEOPLE GET THESE GIFTS THROUGH INHERITANCE; OTHERS THROUGH HARD WORK. BUT THERE IS ALWAYS AN ELEMENT OF LUCK; HOW MANY TALENTED DRUMMERS AT THE AGE OF 75 ARE SO WEALTHY THAT THEY SET UP A CHARITABLE FOUNDATION? NAME TWO. THE POINT IS, PEOPLE WHO ARE REALLY WEALTHY ARE ALWAYS LUCKY BECAUSE YOU CAN ALWAYS FIND PEOPLE JUST AS SMART, JUST AS TALENTED, JUST AS DRIVEN WHO DIDN'T MAKE IT. AND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, IT ISN'T LUCK, IT'S GRACE. AND THE CHARISM OF WEALTH IS GIVEN TO THE PERSON TO USE TO SERVE OTHERS – THROUGH CHARITY, THROUGH THE CHURCH.

THIS IS THE REAL FAILURE OF THE RICH MAN – THAT GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY, HE FAILED TO USE HIS CHARISM. AND WE ALL CAN BE GUILTY OF THAT. EACH OF US HAS AT LEAST ONE GIFT THAT GOD GIVES US TO BUILD UP THE CHURCH. YOU MAY ALREADY KNOW YOURS, BUT IF YOU DON'T IT ISN'T HARD TO FIND OUT. AND THE WONDERFUL THING IS THAT PEOPLE WHO USE THEIR CHARISMS AS GOD INTENDS THEM TO BE USED ARE GIVEN AN INNER JOY, BECAUSE THEY ARE DOING EXACTLY WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN CREATED FOR. THAT'S WHAT JESUS MEANS HE PROMISES THAT THOSE WHO HAVE GIVEN UP EVERYTHING WILL RECEIVE SUCH AN ABUNDANCE – BECAUSE GOD WILL NOT BE OUTDONE IN GENEROSITY.

OUR PROBLEMS ARE LIKE THOSE OF THE RICH YOUNG MAN; DID HE REALLY WALK AWAY SADDENED BECAUSE HE WANTED TO GO BACK HOME AND FONDLE ALL HIS POSSESSIONS? I DON'T THINK SO. I THINK HE WAS RICH NOT BECAUSE HE WAS SHREWD OR CLEVER OR TALENTED, BUT BECAUSE HE HAD INHERITED HIS FATHER'S TRADE OR BUSINESS – PERHAPS HE EMPLOYED PEOPLE; PERHAPS HE KNEW THAT IF HE SOLD ALL HE HAD AND FOLLOWED JESUS, IT WOULD DEVASTATE HIS COMMUNITY – AFTER ALL, WE DO SEE THAT HE IS A GOOD PERSON. AND THAT'S WHAT WE DO AS WELL; WE ALLOW THINGS, EVEN GOOD THINGS, TO STAND IN OUR WAY WHEN WE ARE CALLED TO FOLLOW JESUS BY USING OUR GIFTS. SOMETIMES WE TELL OURSELVES THAT WE HAVE OBLIGATIONS TO OUR FAMILIES OR OUR JOBS; BUT GOD ALWAYS PROVIDES. SOMETIMES WE TELL OURSELVES THAT OUR GIFTS AREN'T REALLY GOOD ENOUGH; BUT IF THAT'S THE CASE, WHY WERE THEY GIVEN IN THE FIRST PLACE? SOMETIMES WE SAY “OTHER PEOPLE ARE MORE QUALIFIED THAN I AM” BUT WE FORGET THAT WE ARE EACH OF US IRREPLACEABLE IN GOD'S PLAN.

THE CHURCH IN THIS COUNTRY, IN THIS DIOCESE, IS NOT DOING WELL. PARISHES HAVE BEEN CLOSED; ATTENDANCE IS DOWN AND KEEPS DROPPING; THE AVERAGE AGE OF OUR PRIESTS IS INCREASING AND THEIR NUMBERS DECREASING. AND YET EACH OF US HAS BEEN GIVEN GIFTS TO BUILD UP THE CHURCH. THE ONLY CONCLUSION THAT WE CAN DRAW IS THAT WE AREN'T USING THEM.

THE RICH YOUNG MAN WENT AWAY SAD. HE HAD BEEN INVITED TO PARTICIPATE IN THE GREATEST WORK OF ALL, TO BUILD UP THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN, TO BE AN APOSTLE. AND HE CHOSE HIS POSSESSIONS OVER THIS. EACH OF US HAS BEEN GIVEN THE SAME INVITATION – TO USE OUR GIFTS, GIVEN FREELY BY GOD, TO BUILD UP THE KINGDOM. WILL WE ALSO GO AWAY SADDENED, BECAUSE WE ARE FASTENED TIGHTLY TO THE ORDINARY, THE ROUTINE, AND DON'T WANT ANYTHING TO UPSET THAT?

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, cycle B

MARK 10:2-16

ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ALWAYS PUZZLES ME IS THE CONTRAST BETWEEN THE IDEAL OF MARRIAGE, WHICH THE CHURCH PREACHES, AND THE REALITY OF MARRIAGE, WHICH WE SEE AROUND US. I THINK WE ALL GET MARRIED WITH THE INTENTION OF HAVING THE BEST MARRIAGE POSSIBLE, BUT SOMEHOW, IT NEVER SEEMS TO WORK OUT THAT WAY. I'VE BEEN EXTREMELY BLESSED IN MY MARRIAGE, BUT I KNOW IT COULD BE BETTER, LARGELY BECAUSE I COULD DO BETTER. WE GET MARRIED AND THEN THE WORLD HAPPENS TO US.

BUT WE CAN LEARN SOMETHING FROM PEOPLE WHO STUDY MARRIAGE. WHAT DRAWS US TOGETHER IS NOT WHAT KEEPS US TOGETHER. BEING DRAWN TOGETHER IS NEVER LOGICAL. WE “FALL IN LOVE” WHICH IMPLIES A LACK OF CONTROL, WHICH IS BASICALLY TRUE. BUT THERE ARE OTHER WAYS OF BEING DRAWN TOGETHER. IN SOCIETIES WHERE MARRIAGES ARE ARRANGED THERE MAY NEVER BE “FALLING IN LOVE”.

ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS FOR FAILURE IN AMERICAN MARRIAGES IS THAT MOST MARRIED COUPLES FALL OUT OF LOVE. A FEW WEEKS OR MONTHS OR YEARS GO BY, AND THEY LOOK AT EACH OTHER AND SAY, “WHAT WAS I THINKING? WHO IS THIS STRANGER?” AND BECAUSE THE LOSS OF THE FEELING OF “BEING IN LOVE” IS SUCH A DISAPPOINTMENT, MANY COUPLES BREAK UP, AND MANY OF THOSE WHO REMAIN TOGETHER DO SO BECAUSE THERE ARE TOO MANY OBSTACLES TO BREAKING UP. SOONER OR LATER, SOME SORT OF ACCOMMODATION SETS IN AND THEY AREN'T TOO UNHAPPY AND THEY FIND THAT THEY CAN GET ALONG WITH LOWERED EXPECTATIONS. BUT THAT'S KIND OF SAD.

JESUS LIVED IN A SOCIETY WHERE PEOPLE DIDN'T FALL IN LOVE. A JEWISH GIRL HAD HER MARRIAGE ARRANGED. JEWISH LAW SAID THAT SHE COULD REFUSE TO MARRY THE ONE PICKED OUT FOR HER, BUT THERE WERE A LOT OF PRESSURES. THE PARENTS USUALLY TRIED TO FIND THE BEST MATCH THEY COULD, AND WHEN THAT DIDN'T WORK OUT, THEY WOULD GO OUT LOOKING AGAIN; BUT WHO WANTS TO BE SECOND BEST? JEWISH GIRLS PROBABLY KNEW THAT POTENTIAL HUSBAND NUMBER 2 AND 3 WOULD NOT MEASURE UP TO NUMBER 1. THE SECOND PROBLEM WAS THAT MARRIAGE WASN'T ENTIRELY BETWEEN THE COUPLE. VERY OFTEN THE PARENTS WANTED TO CEMENT RELATIONS BETWEEN TWO FAMILIES, OR RAISE THEIR STATUS. THEY WANTED THE BEST FOR THEIR DAUGHTER, BUT IF OTHER GOOD THINGS HAPPENED, WHAT WAS WRONG WITH THAT? AND THE THIRD PROBLEM WAS THAT A JEWISH HUSBAND COULD DIVORCE HIS WIFE FOR PRACTICALLY ANY REASON, BUT THERE WAS LITERALLY NO MECHANISM FOR A JEWISH WIFE TO DIVORCE HER HUSBAND.

SO THIS IS THE CONTEXT IN WHICH JESUS QUOTES FROM GENESIS, AND IMPLIES THAT THE MARRIAGE BOND SHOULD LAST UNTIL DEATH, REGARDLESS OF CIRCUMSTANCES. AND THE CHURCH HAS GOTTEN A LOT OF FLACK FOR ITS INSISTANCE THAT THIS SHOULD BE THE CASE. OH, WE HAVE ANNULMENTS, AND THAT'S A TOPIC FOR ANOTHER TIME. IT'S INTERESTING THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE A TRIBUNAL DECLARE THAT THERE NEVER WAS A SACRAMENTAL MARRIAGE IN THE FIRST PLACE, BUT THE ORTHODOX CHURCHES, WHICH ALSO FORBID DIVORCE, DON'T HAVE A MECHANISM FOR ANNULMENTS. THEY PRESUME A MARRIAGE IS SACRAMENTAL UNTIL IT ENDS, AND IF IT ENDS, THAT'S A SIGN THAT IT NEVER WAS SACRAMENTAL IN THE FIRST PLACE.

JESUS KNEW THAT FALLING IN LOVE IS NOT WHAT SUSTAINS A MARRIAGE. WE COULD SAY THAT COUPLES WHO ARE MARRIED, HOWEVER THEY GOT TO THAT POINT, NOW HAVE TO SPEND THEIR LIVES GROWING IN LOVE. YOU CAN'T DO THAT IF DIVORCE IS A POSSIBILITY; YOU CAN ONLY DO THAT IF BOTH OF YOU REJECT THE POSSIBILITY OF DIVORCE AND YOU TAKE TO HEART THAT YOUR PURPOSE IN MARRIAGE IS TO BECOME ONE FLESH. BECOMING ONE FLESH IS NOT THE SAME AS OCCUPYING THE SAME BODY. IT HAS TO DO WITH VALUING AND TREASURING THE SPOUSE AT LEAST AS MUCH AS YOU VALUE AND TREASURE YOURSELF. IN HOLY COMMUNION JESUS OFFERS TO BECOME ONE FLESH WITH US. MARITAL COMMUNION IS A REFLECTION OF THIS.

GROWING IN LOVE FOR A MARRIED COUPLE IS WORK. AND IT IS VERY HARD TO DO IF YOU ARE CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR OWN EGO, YOUR OWN PLEASURES, YOUR OWN STUFF; IT'S VERY HARD IF YOU SEE YOUR SPOUSE AS SOMEONE WHO IS THERE PRIMARILY TO MAKE YOU HAPPY.

WHEN JOAN AND I SPEAK TO COUPLES WHO ARE PLANNING TO MARRY IN THE PRE-CANA PROGRAM, WE LIKE TO GIVE THEM A LITTLE REFRIGERATOR MAGNET. ON IT IS A DRAWING OF A YOUNG COUPLE HOLDING HANDS AND THE STATEMENT ON THE CARD IS “GOD MADE ME TO SHOW YOU HOW MUCH HE LOVES YOU.” IF THIS WERE THE FIRST THOUGHT IN OUR MINDS EVERY MORNING, IT WOULD GO A LONG WAY TO REDUCING THE DIVORCE RATE AND MAKING MARRIAGES HAPPIER AND MORE JOYFUL.

MARRIAGES, OF COURSE, ARE MEANT TO REFLECT THE LOVE CHRIST HAS FOR HIS CHURCH. ALL OF US ARE CHURCH AND ALL OF US ARE CHRIST TO EACH OTHER – THAT'S KIND OF WHAT CHRISTIAN MEANS. IF WE ARE AWARE OF A FEW VERY GOOD MARRIAGES, PERHAPS WE SHOULD LOOK AT THEM AS EXAMPLES OF HOW WE SHOULD TREAT EACH OTHER.

WHEN I WAS FIRST MARRIED AND WOULD HEAR THE READING WHERE JESUS TELLS HIS FOLLOWERS THAT IN HEAVEN THEY WILL NEITHER MARRY NOR BE MARRIED, I USED TO FEEL SAD; I WANTED MY MARRIAGE TO GO ON FOREVER, NOT TO END WITH DEATH. BUT THE POINT IS THAT THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT HEAVEN IS ALL ABOUT. IN THIS LIFE WE CAN MARRY ANOTHER PERSON AND SPEND OUR LIFETIMES TRYING TO SHOW THAT PERSON HOW MUCH GOD LOVES HIM OR HER. THAT, BY THE WAY, WILL MAKE US HAPPY AS WELL, BECAUSE IN CARRYING THAT OUT, WE FORGET OUR OWN EGOS, WE LOSE SIGHT OF WHAT WE THINK IS OWED TO US; AND LOSING SIGHT OF THE SELF IS NECESSARY FOR TRUE HAPPINESS.

BUT IN HEAVEN, THERE WON'T BE MARRIAGE AS WE KNOW IT; WE WILL ALL BE MARRIED TO EACH OTHER, AND OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH EACH OTHER WILL BE MORE INTIMATE, MORE JOYFUL, MORE FULFILLING THAN ANY MARRIAGE ON THIS EARTH, BECAUSE GOD WILL BE THE ONE WHO BINDS US TOGETHER IN JESUS CHRIST.

IF YOU ARE MARRIED, LOOK AT YOUR SPOUSE WITH NEW EYES AND ASK, “DO I REALLY BELIEVE THAT GOD MADE ME TO SHOW MY SPOUSE HOW MUCH HE LOVES HIM OR HER?” AND IF YOU ARE NOT MARRIED, DO YOU KNOW OF A MARRIAGE WHICH SHOWS HOW CHRIST LOVES HIS CHURCH, AND HOW YOU MUST AS WELL?