EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

31 JULY 2016

          As Jesus continues his journey to Jerusalem in Saint Luke’s Gospel, he has been speaking to thousands of people.  In particular, he has been addressing his disciples:  those who have left everything to follow him.  He is honest with them, telling them that their commitment to him and the Gospel will involve suffering and persecution.  To balance his warning, Jesus also assures his followers that those sufferings and persecutions will not last.  Authentic followers will be richly rewarded in the fullness of God’s Kingdom at the end of time.

            All of a sudden, someone in the crowd interrupts him.  Clearly, this person is not listening, because he wants Jesus to settle a dispute about his father’s inheritance.  It is almost a first century version of Jesus taking on the role of Judge Judy in The People’s Court.  Instead of allowing himself to be drawn into a dispute about issues of inheritance, Jesus doubles down on his message of eternal life.  He echoes the words of Qoheleth and warns that all is vanity.  In telling the parable of the rich man, he reminds his listeners that death is the defining moment for everyone.  No matter how hard we work or how carefully we plan, we cannot take the goods of this earth with us when we die. 

            This is an extremely important message for us who are disciples of Jesus Christ.  As Saint Paul reminds us, we died with Christ when we entered the waters of Baptism and have been raised with Christ when we emerged from those waters. Saint Paul echoes the words of Jesus about suffering for the sake of the Kingdom when he reminds us that we die to the vanities of this life every time we keep our baptismal promises.  That does not mean that we should not work hard to support our families or make wise investments for our future or the future of our children and grandchildren.  Nor does it mean that we should not work with estate planners to carefully craft wills for those who succeed us after death. 

            Instead, both Jesus and Saint Paul insist that we distinguish between enriching ourselves now and making ourselves rich in those things that last beyond death.  To put it in another way, being disciples means that we distinguish between what we want and what we need.  We may want fancy cars to grab the attention of others.  But we need safe vehicles to transport us from one place to another.  We may want huge homes that impress the neighbors.  But we need safe and clean places in which we live and raise our families.  We may want to accumulate as much wealth as we possibly can.  But we need to be mindful that our possessions are ultimately gifts from God, allowing us to share a portion of those gifts with the poor and those who do not have what they need to live.  We may want to ensure that the money we leave for our children will guarantee them success.  But we need to trust that God will take care of those we love, no matter what happens to the market or any fluctuations in the economy beyond our control.

            In one of his letters, Saint Paul suggests where we need to place our energy in making investments that last: the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and love.  In making sure that our families have a sound footing, we invest in the virtue of faith.  We may not leave our children millions, but they stand on the firm rock of faith.  In planning for their future security, we can give them hope – hope that the love of Jesus Christ will never abandon those who trust in him.  In giving them the best gifts money can buy, we remember that the greatest gifts are the gifts of our self-sacrifice – the gifts of love which death cannot destroy.  Unlike the rude man in the Gospel who is obsessed with the trivial, superficial jealousy of the money he did not get in his inheritance, we keep our focus on the gifts given to us through the Paschal Mystery:  dying with Christ to share in the fullness of his resurrection.

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

24 JULY 2016

          The disciples of Jesus observed him praying frequently.  They also learned that there was an intimate connection between the quality of his praying and the quality of his living, teaching, and healing.  So, they ask him to teach them to pray.  In response, Jesus teaches what we know as the Lord’s Prayer.  The version which we pray comes from the Gospel of Matthew.  This version from the Gospel of Luke is shorter and more direct.

            In praying, we address God as Father.  Like Abraham, whose intimate relationship with God allowed him to barter honestly with God, we can know God so personally that the Father we address is our “daddy,” the English equivalent of the Aramaic word which Jesus uses.  God’s name is to be hallowed, or protected, because God is all holy.  God’s kingdom is in our midst now:  not the kingdom where people attack each other because they disagree, but a kingdom of radical peace and justice.  We ask for daily bread, because we cannot take the gift of food from God for granted.  We ask for the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharistic Bread at Mass.  We acknowledge that we are sinners in need of God’s mercy.  Aware of our sinfulness, we ask for the courage to extend that same mercy to those who are in debt to us.  Finally, we ask that we be given the strength to resist all the temptations facing us now and in the future.

            Having taught this prayer, Jesus insists that our prayer be persistent.  We need to get into the habit of persistent prayer and not just falling on our knees when things go badly in our lives or when we need a favor.  Like the friend in the parable who keeps pounding on his neighbor’s door, we need to continue to ask and seek and knock in our daily prayers.  We enter into this persistent prayer not to change God’s mind, but to trust that in God’s Kingdom, the Father will not give us a snake when we ask for a fish, or a scorpion when we ask for an egg.

In bartering with God, Abraham did not change God’s mind.  In his persistent prayer, Abraham came to understand that the people of Sodom and Gomorrah were bringing the destruction of their towns on themselves.  In contrast to Abraham’s incredible hospitality to the three divine visitors, the people of those towns had not only been hostile to them, but they had also tried to take advantage of them sexually.  Things had gotten so bad that there were not ten innocent people in that town.  In his persistent prayer, Abraham was changed.  Abraham began to understand the mysterious balance of God’s mercy and God’s judgment.

            Persistent prayer requires incredible trust in the Father’s goodness and love.  At every Mass, the final prayer in the Prayers of the Faithful invites us to “commend the prayers in the Book of Intentions and our own prayers to the Lord in the silence of our hearts.”  Take a look at the intentions written in that book on the stand near the baptismal font.  There are many heart-felt needs written in that book and commended to our prayers.  One intention is for the healing of one of our parishioners.  Tim is a devoted husband and father of four children.  He has a rare form of stomach cancer, and the doctors do not offer much hope.  We are praying for a miracle through the intercession of Blessed Basil Moreau, the founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross.  Father Moreau needs one more miracle to be canonized.  Tim needs one miracle to continue to remain here with his family.  We are asking, seeking, and knocking in a big way!  However, we are also trusting that God loves Tim and his family.  We are trusting in the ultimate miracle of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

When we pray, we pray with the trust of Saint Paul, who reminds us in the second reading that Christ has wiped away the debt for all of us.  We pray with the awareness that in the midst of suffering, pain, and evil, God’s Kingdom is in our midst.

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

17 JULY 2016

          Our Scripture readings today present us with two ancient versions of the Food Channel.  Abraham hurries and fusses over his visitors.  He and Sarah prepare a lavish meal that would have fed hundreds of people.  The meal includes nearly 80 pounds of bread and 700 pounds of meat.  His servants and neighbors probably stuffed themselves for days on the leftovers.  Martha also hurries and fusses over her visitor.  Saint Luke does not tell us what is on her menu.  But it must have be a feast, because she calls out for more help in the kitchen.

            Abraham’s visitors turn out to be messengers sent directly from God.  In return for his hospitality, they promise that he and Sarah will bear a son (even though the two of them are older than I am!).  Martha’s guest is the Eternal Word made flesh.  Instead of praising her efforts to provide a meal that have impressed any foodie, Jesus corrects her.  To those of us who enjoy cooking and offering hospitality, the words of Jesus might seem unfair.  He appears to encourage those who do not pitch in to sit around while we do all the work.

Years ago, when I served at Saint Monica in Mishawaka, the parish hosted a weeklong mission.  The pastor was very impressed with so many people who had gathered to pray every evening.  So, on the last day, the pastor heaped lavish praise on all those people who had gathered in the church for prayer every day.  He had completely forgotten about the army of parishioners who had worked in the basement to prepare food for the participants.  As he went back to the presider’s chair, one of the women stood up and shouted, “What about us Martha’s?”  All of us acknowledged their humble service and went downstairs for a final meal. 

            Like those parishioners, Jesus would have deprived of a meal without Martha’s efforts.  But that is not the point.  Martha is so busy in her hurrying and fussing around that she cannot focus on her guest.  Instead, she gets annoyed at her sister, Mary.  Echoing the customs of the time, Martha implies that a woman’s place is in the kitchen, not sitting at the feet of a rabbi.  She so focuses on the physical preparations that she cannot hear what he has to say.  Abraham hurries and fusses over his visitors also.  But in addition to attending to the physical needs of his visitors, he opens himself to hear the word they have to speak.  Abraham understands that the better part of hospitality is paying attention to the guests and what they have to offer.  In a sense, Abraham combines both Martha and Mary in entertaining divine visitors.    

Like her, we are active disciples who roll up our sleeves and work to provide humble service.  As Saint Paul points out, the invitation to become disciples is extended to everyone, regardless of our gender, race, age, or state in life.  Writing from his prison cell, he knows from his own experience that following Christ will involve suffering and the cross.  He argues that his suffering is filling up what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ.  In making that statement, he does not imply that Christ’s suffering and death lacked anything.  Instead, he tells us that our suffering can continue the power of the Paschal Mystery and positively affect the Church, the Body of Christ, when we place our suffering and crosses within the context of Christ’s suffering and cross.

  As active disciples, we need to sit at the feet of Jesus and listen to him, as Mary did.  If we focus only on the work we do, we can easily become burned out and become resentful that others do not pitch in.  Instead of building up the Body of Christ through redemptive suffering, we entertain thoughts of self-pity.  Like Abraham, we need to combine the virtues of both Martha and Mary.  We spend time sitting at the feet of the divine guest and listening carefully to him.  Then, we can serve him better in our families and in his Church.

FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

10 JULY 2016

          The scholar of the Law asks Jesus a question about inheriting eternal life not because he wants to know the answer, but because he wants to test him.  This guy is highly educated with a degree in the Law of Moses.  Even though he addresses Jesus as teacher, the scholar knows that he is a peasant from Galilee with no academic credentials.  As a good teacher, Jesus asks a question in return:  what is written in the law?  How do you read it?  The scholar knows the right answer and summarizes the law as love of God and neighbor.  Jesus pats him on the head and tells him what a good student he is.  But because he wants Jesus to know how smart he is, he asks him to parse the word “neighbor.”

          In response, Jesus tells this parable of a man who is severely beaten and left half dead on the dangerous road which goes from the heights of Jerusalem to the depths of Jericho.  Both the priest and the Levite are neighbors to the victim, because he is a fellow Jew.  He does not give a reason why the priest and the Levite do not respond.  Some have speculated that each of these temple officials avoid their neighbor, because they fear that he might be dead.  The Law of Moses requires being quarantined for a week as a result of contact with a dead body, keeping them from their Temple duties.  But, they are traveling from Jerusalem and the Temple.  They are lazy.  They don’t want to deal with their neighbor.

          It is the hated Samaritan who comes to the aid of the victim, who would never have been considered a neighbor.  The scholar of the Law is so stunned by this new definition of a neighbor that he could not say the actual word.  He has to admit that “the one who treated him with mercy” is the neighbor. 

          In telling the scholar of the Law to go and do likewise, Jesus says the same thing to us. Neighbors are not just those people we like.  Neighbors are those we encounter who need our help.  A neighbor might be someone who has a completely different political view than I do, but I treat that person with respect and debate issues instead of attacking.  A neighbor is someone who asks directly for our assistance, as our neighbors at our sister parish of Saint Adalbert do, or those people with cardboard signs at intersections along Indiana 23.  A neighbor might be someone who is the butt of gossip at school or at work.  Instead of jumping in and adding more juicy red meat, we walk away or try to defend the person.

          Saint Augustine had an interesting take on this parable.  He said that each of us is the victim, beaten up by life’s difficulties.  Jesus is the Good Samaritan who pours oil and wine into our wounds and binds them with his garment.  He takes us on his beast of burden to the Church, which is the Inn where his Sacraments heal us and make us stronger.  If the Divine Physician has treated us in this way, then we can extend that same mercy to neighbors who need our help.

FOURTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

3 JULY 2016

          The prophet Isaiah describes the joy of his people returning home to Jerusalem after spending 50 years of exile in Babylon.  He gives a beautiful image.  Jerusalem is like a mother, embracing her children and nursing them with care and love.  Through the restored city of Jerusalem, God will comfort his children and heal their self-inflicted wounds.

            It is with this type of joy that the 72 disciples return to Jesus to relate the success they had achieved.  He had sent them on a mission to announce the Kingdom of God. He had told them not to take much stuff with them, because the Gospel was all they needed.  He had told them to accept whatever food and drink would be offered to them.  In accepting food not prepared in kosher kitchens, they proclaimed the Kingdom to everyone.  Even though they would be traveling in hostile territory with the constant risk of rejection, they would have at their disposal the three gifts Jesus had given them, the three P’s: partner, peace, and power.

            His first gift had been sending them out as partners.  They did not go as isolated individuals.  They went in pairs.  They needed the support of another person in proclaiming the Kingdom.  Traveling together also became part of the message.  Despite all the hassles that come from spending together, they saw the value of living together in community.  It reflected the triune nature of God, inviting others to share the joy of being part of a community of faith.

            We who form this community of faith at Saint Pius know this joy.  We know it when we roll up our sleeves and put on a week long Vacation Bible School, or our annual parish picnic, or any of the other activities that draw us together.  The joy of living the Gospel is contagious, and people are drawn to recognize God’s Kingdom present in our midst.  They will more likely seek a deeper union with the Lord when they sense that joy in our community.

            His second gift is the gift of peace.  They had been instructed to give this greeting as they entered each household.  The gift of peace is not some empty greeting, but the inner gift of being in a right relationship with God. It is the gift that they had received from Jesus when they left everything to follow him.  It is the gift they received by being in the Lord’s presence. 

            We have also been given that same gift of peace.  The gift of peace is not an absence of conflict.  Conflict is part of every-day human life, and it is certainly part of living and working together as a parish.  Even when there is conflict, we know the gift of peace when we have opened ourselves to the self-emptying love of Jesus Christ.  We know that peace when we have struggled to make the right decision in coming to accept God’s love and will for us.  We give that gift of peace when we offer hospitality and welcome to all who come to us.

            His third gift is the gift of power.  The 72 had seen the power of the miracles of Jesus as he drove out demons and healed the sick.  They had seen his power when he forgave sinners and touched lepers.  When they in turn gave that gift to others, they did not take any credit for what they had done.  They knew that they were being instruments of the one who sent them. Jesus underscores their status by reminding them that their names are written in heaven.

            We too have received the gift of power.  We use that power when we serve the needs of other people, when we work together with Habitat for Humanity to build homes, when we prepare casseroles for the Homeless Shelter, when we tend to the sick or the homebound.

            At the end of every Mass, we are sent forth in peace.  We will be sent today to proclaim God’s Kingdom not so much by what we say, but by how we behave. We are partners in giving the peace we have received at this Altar in such a way that the power of our acts of humble service will make a difference, announcing that the Kingdom of God is truly in our midst.

THIRTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

26 JUNE 2016

          When Saint Paul brought the Gospel to the people of Galatia, he proclaimed a radical freedom resulting from faith in Jesus Christ.  However, his enemies accused him of giving baptized people the freedom to do whatever they want.  Paul responds to that accusation in today’s second reading.  He admits that the Law of Moses has much to offer.  But, that Law cannot save.  Only Jesus Christ can save.  Disciples of Jesus Christ are freed from the demands of the Law to live a much higher and more demanding law:  to love your neighbor as yourself.  Christ gave his entire gift of self for each individual person.  Loving others means that we give our neighbors that same gift.

            Saint Paul knows that living this freedom is challenging and counter cultural.  To make his point, he makes a distinction between flesh and spirit.  When he uses the term “flesh,” he refers to whatever we can perceive with our senses.  The flesh can draw us away from God.  If we work at freeing ourselves from the flesh, freed from whatever can enslave us, we can be truly free to be guided by the Spirit to follow Christ.

            Jesus offers us this freedom in today’s Gospel.  Leaving both his native Galilee and the false expectations of what a Messiah should do, Jesus sets his face resolutely to journey to Jerusalem.  It will be in Jerusalem that he will suffer, die, and be raised from the dead.  On his way, the people of a Samaritan village reject him, because Jews and Samaritans hate each.  James and John want to call down fire from heaven, as Elijah had called down fire from heaven centuries before to win the victory over the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.  But Jesus is very different from Elijah.  In rejecting their demand, he teaches them the same lesson he teaches us.  Do not bring hatred and vindication on those who disagree with you.  Do not despise others when they are different from us.  Use the freedom of being a disciple and move on.

            Jesus is honest with the next three people who want to follow him.  He cannot promise any sort of comfort or security to the first person.  The same is true of us when we choose to follow Christ.  He rejects the excuse of the second potential follower.  Jesus is not opposed to doing the corporal work of mercy of burying the dead.  But he will not tolerate delays in making a decision to follow him.  This potential disciple wants to wait until his father has died before making the decision to follow Christ.  He tells the third person to abandon the security of his family, much as Elisha had done, and keep his hand to the plow.

            These qualities, Jesus tells us, will make us fit for the Kingdom of God.  If we are fit for the Kingdom of God, we will be fit for the New and Eternal Jerusalem awaiting us at the end of time.  But that Kingdom is here and now, because it was established by Christ outside the walls of the ancient city of Jerusalem.  We are fit for the Kingdom when we know the freedom of being authentic followers of Jesus Christ.  Authentic followers are freed from the need to get revenge on those who disagree, because we trust in God’s judgment.  Authentic followers do not depend on comfort or security.  Authentic followers do not make excuses or delays in embracing the crosses that come from discipleship.  Authentic disciples do not look back and pine for the safety of the “good old days.”  We keep our eyes fixed firmly in hope to the future, trusting that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the light.

            We often define freedom as the ability to do whatever we want.  Jesus (and with him Saint Paul) defines freedom very differently.  When we yoke ourselves to the Gospel and the demands of discipleship, we will be truly and completely free:  free to love others as God has loved us, free to be fit for the Kingdom of God.

TWELFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

19 JUNE 2016

          In Saint Luke’s Gospel, Jesus always spends time in prayer before an important event.  Emerging from prayer today, Jesus reveals his identity.  First he asks his disciples the opinions of others.  He asks, not because he is curious, but because he wants his disciples to be aware of the common expectations of those awaiting the Messianic Era:  that he is John the Baptist or Elijah back from the dead, or one of the ancient prophets.  When he asks directly who do they say that he is, Peter gives the correct answer:  “the Christ of God.”  Even though he correctly identifies Jesus’ true identity, Jesus rebukes them and directs them not to tell this to anyone.

            Jesus has a good reason for giving this directive.  Having established his identity, he now talks about his mission as the Christ.  His mission is to give himself totally out of love, a mission that even his disciples will not understand until after the resurrection.  His mission will include suffering, rejection, and a humiliating and painful death on the Romans’ favorite means of execution.  His mission will have nothing to do with dominance or power or prestige.  His mission goes against the grain of the cultural norms of his time.  His mission is all about service, self-sacrifice, and a love that wills the good of the other as the other (Saint Thomas Aquinas).

            Then Jesus tells his disciples that following him will involve sharing in this same mission.  Maybe they will not suffer the horrors of a Roman execution – the dreaded cross.  But they will share in a daily dying to self if they follow him.  They must go against the grain of cultural expectations about what it means to love.  That is what Saint Paul talks about when he writes to the Galatians.  He reminds them that they obtained their truest identity in Christ when they were baptized.  It does not matter whether they are Jew or Greek, slave or free person, male or female.  They are one in sharing the identity of Christ.  They are one in sharing his mission of dying to self out of love for others.

            Saint Paul gives the same message to us.  We are united with one another through Baptism.  We emerged from the waters of Baptism clothed in Christ.  It does not make any difference whether we are men or women, young or old.  It does not matter what our skin color is or what our national origin may be.  Neither does it matter whether we are single or married, or what our vocation or occupation might be.  We share in the mission of Jesus Christ: to love as Christ has loved us, to will what is best for the other as the other.

            Loving as Christ loves us goes against the grain of our cultural norms and our fallen human nature.  We are always fighting temptations to take care of “number one” and put our own needs and interests at the center of everything.  Many temptations stand in the way of sharing in the mission of loving as Christ has loved us.  We are quick to judge and even quicker to gossip about coworkers or fellow students.  We are tempted to believe that possessions can fill the voids of our lives.  It is so easy to ignore those things that last and pursue those things that satisfy us and are gone too quickly.

            On Father’s Day, the Lord might be speaking directly to us who are fathers.  He commends us for the sacrifices that we already make for our families and encourages us to continue loving our families as Christ has loved us.  The Prophet Zephaniah talks about the Lord pouring out on us a spirit of grace and petition.  He invites us to admit the mistakes we have made as a way of accepting God’s mercy to change whatever needs to be changed to make us loving Fathers.  In a spirit of humility, we can gently do the same with the members of our families whom we love so much, inviting them to turn more firmly toward the Lord and his mission of loving others as he has loved us.