TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

SOLEMNITY OF SAINT PIUS X

23 AUGUST 2020

 

          As we continue to read from the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Jesus gradually reveals himself to others.  Even though he needed to be alone to grieve the death of John the Baptist, he pitied a huge crowd, taught them, healed their sick, and fed them with five loaves and two fish.  Then he walked on the water and calmed a fierce storm threatening the lives of his disciples in a boat.  Now, he asks his disciples to tell him who the Son of Man is.  They say that there are lots of opinions on the posts of people’s first century Facebook:  John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.  When he asks who they say that he is, Simon Peter says, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

            This discussion happens at Caesarea Philippi in northern Galilee.  Scholars tell us that there were a dozen or more ancient temples in the area once used for worship of the god of fertility, Ba`al. A cavern in a nearby hill was said to be the birthplace of the Greek god of nature, Pan. There was a huge marble temple built by Herod the Great to honor the Roman emperor, Caesar.  Simon Peter has not hit upon a lucky guess.  The heavenly Father has revealed the truth to him.  At a place where people had searched for centuries for one who would save them, Simon Peter correctly identifies the true identity of Jesus as the Messiah. He has not come to deliver human words.  He is the Word made flesh.  He has not come to save his people from the Romans.  He has come to give his life completely for the salvation of all.

            In response, Jesus changes Simon’s name to Peter, which means “Rock.”  On this rock of Peter’s profession of faith, he will build his Church.  His Church is not a physical building, but a community of believers.  He gives the keys to the kingdom to Peter, symbolizing Peter’s role of leadership of this new Church, this new gathering of God’s holy people.  And he promises that the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.  

            We recognize the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, as the successor of Saint Peter.  Over the centuries, Popes have accepted their roles of loosing and binding on earth.  They have taught the authentic identity of Jesus Christ.  They have issued juridical laws that govern the Church.  They have offered spiritual direction to the flock entrusted to them.  All of the successors of Saint Peter have been flawed human beings, including Peter himself.  Some have focused more attention on their own needs rather than on the flock entrusted to them, much as Shebna had failed in his position as steward of the royal household.  But through heroic and saintly popes, along with immoral and corrupted popes, the Lord has kept his promise to his Church.

            We need to hear this message today.  We have gone through a very difficult period dominated by the clergy sexual abuse crisis, shaking the faith of many.  Now we are caught up in this pandemic.  Not only is everyone affected in one way or another, but we are divided about how to respond.  Despite all our weaknesses and sins, Christ continues to build us, the living stones, into his temple.  Christ never gives up on us and will protect us from the evil one.

            Today we celebrate the Solemnity of our patron, Saint Pius X.  At the beginning of the twentieth century, he faced enormous challenges and took the motto “To Renew All Things in Christ.”  He never abandoned his humble origins and complained about the pomp surrounding him as Pope.  He encouraged active participation in the Liturgy.  We ask his intercession today as we accept the challenge of renewing all things in Christ at the beginning of this 21^st century.  We pray for the current Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis, and all bishops in union with him.  We renew our trust in the promise of Jesus that his Church will prevail, no matter what.

 

NINETEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

9 AUGUST 2020

 

          The prophet Elijah finds himself in a difficult situation.  As the only remaining prophet of God, he had won a tremendous victory over the prophets of the false gods at Mount Carmel.  He had effectively demonstrated that those gods were not real and had called on the people of Israel to return to the Covenant that had been sealed through Moses at Mount Sinai.  He had slain the prophets of the false gods.  That enraged the pagan queen, Jezebel.  She had ordered her troops to hunt him down and kill him.  Her death threats caused him to look past his victory and see only the threat of death looming over him.  Afflicted with fear, he wondered where God was.  But an angel fed him with water and hearth cakes and told him to walk forty days and forty nights through the desert to Mount Horeb, the name given by the northerners to Mount Sinai. 

            At the mountain, he looks for an epiphany, a manifestation of God’s presence.  But God does not manifest himself in the dramatic ways that Moses had experienced.  God is not in the wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire.  Instead, he experiences the presence of God in a completely unexpected way:  in a tiny whispering sound.  Encouraged by this epiphany, Elijah returns to Israel to continue calling his people to be faithful to the Covenant.  He finds even greater success in the work done by Elisha, his successor.

            Seven hundred years later, the disciples of Jesus find themselves in an equally difficult situation.  Like Elijah, they too had experienced a victory.  They had been with Jesus when he tried to find a quiet place to mourn the death of his cousin, John the Baptist.  They had witnessed his compassion in setting aside his grief and tending to the needs of the crowd.  He healed the sick and fed the huge crowd with five loaves and two fish.  As he remained to pray, they are in a boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee in a terrible storm.  They fear for their lives.

            Jesus then manifests himself in an unexpected way.  He walks toward them on the waves.  At first, they think that it is a ghost.  They know from the Psalms that only God has power over storms and raging waters.  Jesus identifies himself with divinity by responding to them as God had responded to Moses in the burning bush:  “It is I.”  “Do not be afraid.”  Peter responds by asking permission to walk on the water.  But he quickly looks past Jesus and sees only the raging wind.  As he sinks into the water, Jesus grabs him by the hand and saves him.  Once Jesus has calmed the storm, Peter and the other disciples affirm his identity as the Son of God.  They will be commissioned to carry on his mission after his death and resurrection. Jesus entrusts the leadership of his Church (known throughout the centuries as the barque or boat) to Peter.

            We too find ourselves in a difficult situation.  Even though we had hoped to have put this pandemic behind us by now, we continue to deal with its continued assault on us.  The virus continues to ravage our lives like the storm at the Sea of Galilee.  And the arguments about how to handle this pandemic also rage.  We have become more acutely aware of injustice in our world, especially the lack of respect for the dignity of the human person, whether in the womb or in a person of another color or nationality.  We are deeply divided in ways that tear apart families and communities along political fault lines.  It is easy to keep our eyes on all these raging winds.  But Jesus invites us to focus on him, on his presence in our lives, and on his command that we need to take courage and not be afraid.  It is fear that keeps us from embracing the precautions that can save the lives of other people.  It is fear that causes us to lose hope and wonder if God is with us in this storm.  It is fear that keeps us from recognizing the unexpected ways in which the Lord manifests himself to us today.  We are together in this boat, this Church, this barque of Peter.  In the midst of all that rages around us, the Lord is with us.  He will not abandon us.

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

26 JULY 2020

 

          When Solomon succeeded his father David as king, he was aware of his own weakness before God.  He was a young adult and lacked experience for the task he was undertaking.  When God offered him anything he wanted, Solomon was humble enough to ask for wisdom.  With the gift of wisdom, he could govern the kingdom which he had inherited from his father.  God affirmed his choice, pointing out that wisdom was much more important than a long life for himself, or riches, or the life of his enemies.

            A thousand years later, Jesus invites his disciples to have the wisdom to embrace the kingdom of heaven that he has introduced.  We have been hearing about that kingdom from the Gospel of Saint Matthew for the past two Sundays.  Instead of speaking in precise and difficult theological language, Jesus has been telling parables that connect people with their everyday experience.  The Lord has sown the seeds of the kingdom and invited his listeners to make sure their soil is open enough to receive it.  Mixed in with the good of the kingdom of heaven are the weeds that continue to be sown by the devil.  Even though the kingdom may be as insignificant as a mustard seed, it will continue to grow.  Even when the dynamics of the kingdom may not be visible, the leaven of the kingdom continues to have an effect on the dough of this world.

            Today, Jesus continues to use simple parables to impart wisdom in choosing the values of the kingdom of heaven.  The Promised Land had always been a battle ground, as empires from the east and west fought to gain control.  People would bury their treasure in fields when they had to flee violence.  Often, they did not return to retrieve it.  In the parable, the person who finds a buried treasure realizes its value and is wise enough to sell everything to buy the field.  Merchants are trained to know the price of a very valuable pearl.  When the merchant in the parable finds a pearl of great price, he has the wisdom to sell everything else to buy it.  Those who fish for a living catch all kinds of sea creatures in the nets they drag through the sea.  Once on shore, they have the wisdom to separate the good from the bad.

            Jesus invites us to embrace that same wisdom.  Remembering what Saint Paul says to the Romans, we too trust that “…all things work for good for those who love God.”  We who love God have been given many good things.  Like the person who discovers the treasure hidden in the field, we discover treasures right under our feet.  Despite all the difficulties imposed on us in these last few months, we have discovered the treasure of spending more time with family.  We have learned new ways to pray in the domestic churches of our homes.  Like the merchant who finds the pearl of great price, we discover that the good things of life are best enjoyed when we are generous and share a portion of our blessings with others. 

            The kingdom of heaven is in our midst.  As sons and daughters of Solomon, we pray for the wisdom to adjust our priorities to embrace fully the values of the kingdom in our midst.  We have been caught in God’s great dragnet.  The Lord challenges us today to continue to turn more completely toward him and his kingdom of unconditional love, justice, peace, and compassion.  That involves separating the bad from the good within each one of us.  It also involves leaving the ultimate judgment of what is bad and good to God, who will make the final separation at the end of time.  We are called to be scribes, disciplined in the workings of the kingdom of heaven, who have received both the Torah and the knowledge and teachings of the life of Jesus Christ.  We are guided by the authentic teachings of the Church to be witnesses of the kingdom of heaven in our midst, trusting its power to transform us and the world. 

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

19 JULY 2020

 

          When Jesus began his public ministry, his message was clear:  the kingdom of heaven is in your midst.  Many became disciples, because they saw his miracles as signs of the presence of the kingdom.  They listened to his teachings and embraced his message of mercy, compassion, and unconditional love.  But as they continued to follow Jesus, questions begin to emerge about the effectiveness of his Kingdom.  To each of these questions, Jesus responds with parables that relate to their common experience, not with complicated and precise theological language.

            To the question of why evil remains in the kingdom of heaven, he tells the parable of the good seed and the weeds.  His listeners would be familiar with the weed Jesus describes.  Darnel is a poisonous plant that quickly spreads its roots.  Pulling up the weeds would endanger the entire crop.  Jesus says that Satan has planted evil in the midst of good.  God is patient with human weeds and continues to give time for people to repent.  Saint Matthew understood this dynamic.  He repented of his greed as a tax collector and embraced the Gospel.  We need to be patient with those who do evil actions.  We need to be aware of the weeds intertwined with the good in our lives.  God gives us time to separate the good from the evil.  We leave that judgment to God, who will judge at the end of time.

            To the question of why there are such insignificant beginnings in the kingdom of heaven, he tells the parable of the mustard seed.  His listeners know that the mustard seed is the tiniest of seeds.  They also know that this annual plant grows quickly.  It will never be like the giant cedars of Lebanon.  Instead, the kingdom grows through humble beginnings that do not draw attention.  Saint Benedict planted the humble seeds of a movement that produced monasteries of prayer and work throughout the centuries.  Saint Francis planted the humble seeds of poverty that formed a religious order that persists to this day.  Mother Theresa planted the seeds of compassion and care that became a worldwide movement even before she died.

            To the question of why the dynamic of the kingdom of heaven is so hidden, Jesus tells the parable of the yeast.  Jewish Christian listeners would be surprised at his analogy, because they regard yeast as a corrupting influence.  But Jesus sees it as positive.  The woman takes yeast and mixes it with three measures of wheat flour.  That is sixty pounds, enough to feed one hundred people!  The parable invites us to believe that a little yeast of the kingdom of heaven can make a huge difference in our ordinary lives.  In fact, the parable points to the perfected kingdom of heaven at the end of time, an extraordinary banquet foreseen in the banquet of the Eucharist.

            We often think of the kingdom of heaven as a kingdom that only exists in the heavenly realm, or as a kingdom that will be present at the end of time.  But Jesus speaks these parables to us today.  The kingdom of heaven is in our midst.  Like the good seed, that kingdom involves tolerance, mercy, compassion, and an invitation to see all people created in the image of God and deserving of respect.  There is an abundance of evil mixed into that kingdom, both in us and in other people.  But the Lord is patient, waiting for repentance.  The kingdom sometimes seems so insignificant that we wonder if it makes a difference.  But the Lord invites us to trust in small steps, like being generous to the poor and treating with respect those with whom we disagree.  The kingdom is often hidden.  But the Lord wants us to know that our decisions to remain faithful in marriage or strong in our commitments to the vulnerable will have an effect in daily life.  The kingdom of heaven is in our midst.  Embrace that kingdom and allow others to see its dynamic.  Do not get discouraged!

FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

12 JULY 2020

 

          In the ancient world, teachers would speak to their people from a seated position. Jesus takes his seat in the boat and speaks to explain the mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven.  He does not use technical theological language.  Instead, he tells a simple parable to a crowd of Galileans familiar with farming.  They know the expense of seed.  They know the importance of good soil for producing a ten-fold harvest.  They understand the dynamics of the parable Jesus is telling.  But then Jesus puts a hook in this parable to get their attention. 

The hook is the method the farmer uses to sow the seed.  Farmers are careful not to waste expensive seeds.  But this farmer sows the seed everywhere – not only on the rich soil, but also in the hardened path, on rocky ground, and even among the thorns.  Galilean farmers would understand why these seeds would not produce any fruit.  Of course, the birds would eat the seed on the hardened path.  With little soil, the seeds sown in rocky ground would not last long.  And the seeds sown among thorns would be choked off in the blistering Palestinian sun.  But Galilean farmers would be amazed that the seeds sown in the good soil would produce such an incredible harvest:  not tenfold of what had been sown, but a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. 

And that is the point of the parable.  God is not a human Galilean farmer.  God spreads his love and the invitation to belong to his Kingdom to everyone.  To echo the prophet Isaiah, God’s word is like the rain and snow that come from the heavens.  God loves everyone and speaks his word to everyone.  God’s word has incredible power, and nothing can diminish the word that is not only spoken, but that acts in the lives of everyone.

However, God’s word can produce great fruit only in those who receive it.  If a person’s heart is hardened, like the well beaten path, then there will be no understanding of God’s word.  Jesus sees that happening already in his public ministry.  The Scribes and Pharisees have seen his miracles.  They have heard his teaching.  But their hearts are hardened to the word spoken by the Eternal Word of God.  The word cannot take root.

Jesus also sees what happens when the hearts of his followers are strewn with rocks.  Many of his disciples have responded with great joy and walked with him for a way.  But they lack discipline.  When they experience some kind of persecution, when they are criticized or thrown out of their families because of their decision to follow Jesus, they have fallen away.

Jesus also understands the response of those who allow the thorns of their lives to interfere with their decision to follow him.  Their priorities are not in the right place.  Even though he has looked with love at the rich young man, he watched as the rich young man goes away sad.  His priorities were focused on his wealth and the comfort provided by that wealth.  He could not trust that following Jesus would produce fruit that he could not imagine.

Like the disciples who remained with Jesus, we too have chosen to stay with him.  He looks at each of us with love and invites us to make sure that our soil is open to receive his word.  He invites us to hear that the Kingdom of Heaven is in our midst.  He invites us to make sure that we are disciplined, so that the message is not choked out by fear.  He invites us to examine our priorities to realize that wealth or status will not last.  Isaiah gives hope to a people in captivity.  Saint Paul tells the Romans that their present sufferings are nothing compared to the glory to be revealed in them.  Jesus tells us that the Kingdom of Heaven is in our midst.  He invites us to cling to the values of the Kingdom, especially the value of the dignity of human life made in the image of God.  We are living in tough times.  But if we make sure that our soil receives this message, we can produce incredible fruit beyond our wildest imaginations.             

FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

5 JULY 2020

 

       The prophet Zechariah writes to a people under occupation in the Promised Land.  The Egyptians had dominated them from the south, and later the Assyrians and Babylonians had occupied them from the northeast.  After defeating the Persians, Alexander the Great’s Greek Empire is now in total control.  Zechariah knows that his people are mindful of their history of occupation and oppressions.  As a result, they see very little hope for peace or security.  But that is what he promises them.  He speaks of a savior.  This savior will not ride into Jerusalem as a mighty warrior on a horse accompanied by chariots and bows, the instruments of war and destruction.  Instead, this savior will ride into Jerusalem on a donkey, a beast signifying peace and humility.  With this hope, Zechariah tells his people to rejoice heartily and shout for joy.

            Saint Matthew recognized that this prophecy had been fulfilled when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday.  The “little ones” of the city rejoice at his entrance and lay palm branches in his path.  They hope that this savior will finally free them from the Romans, the current oppressors.  However, the wise and the learned (the scribes and Pharisees) would condemn this savior to bear the heavy yoke of a cross and be executed like a common criminal later in that week.  But some of those little ones would become witnesses to the peace of the Savior when he was raised from the dead and break through the locked doors of the room where they were hiding in fear.    

In today’s Gospel, we hear the savior addressing his disciples, his “little ones.”  Jesus has just reproached the citizens of Capernaum, the home base for his ministry, because they have not heeded his teachings, even though they have witnessed his mighty deeds.  He contrasts the wise and learned to his disciples.  They are the “little ones,” his uneducated followers who have witnessed his mighty deeds and opened their ears to his teaching.  Jesus knows that the wise and learned have piled on 613 different laws from the Law of Moses on his little ones, burdening them without making any effort to help them carry those laws.  Instead, Jesus invites them to carry his yoke, his simple and straightforward teachings about loving God and neighbor.  Instead of imposing a yoke that they alone would carry, he promises to carry the yoke with them.  He is gentle, unassuming, and considerate.  In giving himself totally on the cross out of love, he promises that they will not be alone.

He makes that same promise to us today.  He reminds us of our union with the Father and him through the waters of baptism.  He promises us that he will carry with us whatever yokes we assume when we obey his command to love God and neighbor.  He urges us to be meek, a virtue that is greatly misunderstood.  Meekness does not mean that we become wimps and allow everyone else to walk over us.  Meekness implies that we trust his promise of peace, even when we give nonviolent resistance to violent and manipulative oppressors.  He encourages us to face the uncertainties of this pandemic and the heated divisions, hate, and anger that have the power to discourage us and rob us of hope.

We can accept his words, precisely because of what Saint Paul tells the Romans.  As baptized members of the Body of Christ, we are not doomed to living in the flesh.  In other words, there is more to us than our fragile human bodies that come from the earth.  We are given generous amounts of God’s spirit, enabling us to maintain our conviction in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  He carried our yoke with us and will teach us the true value of being meek, of sharing a peace with him that the world cannot give.