THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

30 OCTOBER 2022

 

          Three details about Zacchaeus help us understand the power of this Gospel.  First, we know that he is short in height.  There is a reason that Saint Luke tells ss that Zacchaeus is short in height, when no Gospel provides details of the physical characteristics of Jesus Christ.  We rely on the imaginations of artists to visualize what our Savior looked like.  Perhaps Zacchaeus had been made fun of throughout his childhood and given derogatory nicknames for his stature.  He was more than likely bullied.  Could he have made a childhood vow: “one day, they will look up to me?”  He could have learned to be ruthless in the loneliness and isolation of his childhood.  He is not the first or the last whose bruised adulthood began with childhood mistreatment.

            The second detail about Zacchaeus is that he is very rich. He has gotten rich by working with the hated Roman occupation forces to rip off his own people.  Tax collectors collected taxes well above what the Romans required and kept the rest for themselves.  The local community hates him for his ruthless means of becoming rich.  Earlier in Saint Luke’s Gospel, Jesus met a rich young man who wanted to follow him.  When Jesus told him to give away his wealth, he walked away sad.  At least he was a good man who lived the commandments.  Not Zacchaeus!  He is the town’s chief sinner according to every religious, political, or polite standard. 

            The Gospel of Saint Luke warns us about the dangers of wealth for disciples.  We heard the parable of the rich farmer who dies while planning to build bigger barns to enlarge his wealth.  We heard the parable about the rich man who ends up in torment because he has ignored the plight of Lazarus.  We heard that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to be saved.  Will Jesus condemn anyone who is wealthy?

            The answer is no.  That is why the third detail about Zacchaeus is so important.  He may be embarrassing himself by climbing the sycamore tree to see Jesus.  Jesus wants to see him.  Jesus had intended to pass through Jericho on his way up to Jerusalem.  When Jesus sees him, he calls him to come down and invites himself to dinner at his house.  Jesus looks at him with love, even though he knows his sins.  Zacchaeus responds and promises to give half of his wealth to the poor.  He promises to repay those he has defrauded four times over.  No matter how much the people of Jericho may hate him for the ways in which he has cheated them, Jesus sees the potential in him.  By loving him, his grace transforms him into who Zacchaeus really is:  a child of Abraham.  It is possible for the camel to pass through the eye of a needle.

            Last week, we pilgrims passed through Jericho, where we saw a huge sycamore tree.  Throughout our pilgrimage, we visited many sacred sites associated with the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. The local Catholics call the Holy Land “the fifth Gospel,” because the actual places have the power to deepen what we learn from the four Gospels.  We encountered Jesus Christ in new and unexpected ways as we traveled “the fifth Gospel.”  Through those encounters, we encountered one another in our huge group of 93 pilgrims in new ways.  That is what this encounter between Jesus and Zacchaeus teaches us.  We tend to write off those whom we find offensive.  We easily dismiss the possibility that those are doing wrong can change.  As the Book of Wisdom reminds us, God creates only what is good.  We too can respond to the invitation of Jesus to come down from our sycamore tree to dine with him.  As this Eucharistic banquet, we join everyone in trusting in the transforming love of Jesus Christ that gives everyone a chance to turn more completely to him and his manner of loving.

 

 

TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

16 OCTOBER 2022

 

          Jesus has a way of getting our attention.  In telling this parable, he contrasts two interesting characters to make a point.  The dishonest judge is a member of the elite.  As a judge, he should have had concern for those who are at the bottom of society.  This widow is at the bottom and among the most vulnerable, because she has no one to support her.  But the judge has no concern for her, because he neither fears God nor respects any human being.

            But the widow is persistent and relentless in pestering the judge for justice.  He finally renders a just judgment, not because he cares about her cause, but because she wears him down, torments him, and even browbeats him.  The original hearers of the parable must have smiled when Jesus says that the judge fears that this helpless widow will give him a black eye!

            Jesus uses this parable to give us an important lesson about praying.  He has just taught the disciples how to pray, giving them the Lord’s Prayer.  He has instructed them to pray for the coming of the kingdom.  In this parable, he is saying that if a dishonest judge can give a just judgment, how much more will the Father who loves us and wants the best for us give us what we need.  As he faces the reality of the cross, Jesus tells his followers not to get discouraged.  Our prayer opens our eyes to God’s kingdom, already in our midst.  We must continue to pray, even to the time when he will come again in glory and usher in the fullness of God’s kingdom.

            When we do not see the results of our persistent prayer, we can think that the Father is not listening.  We can be tempted to think that we can win over the Father to our point of view by continually bugging him in prayer and trying to make deals with him.  But, that is not the point of persistent prayer.  Persistent prayer opens our hearts to the loving care of the Father and the gift of his only Son, whose prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane will not be granted.  Jesus will leave the garden to face the horror of his shameful death.  However, he will be raised from the dead and complete the Paschal Mystery for himself and for us.  That Paschal Mystery informs and directs our persistent prayer.  The Father will not abandon us on our crosses, any more than he did not abandon his Son on his cross.

            There is another way of perceiving the Paschal Mystery in this parable.  Could it be that we are the dishonest judge?  Could it be that we get so caught up in our pursuit of our desires for wealth and honor and privilege that we no longer fear God?  Could it be that we can become so obsessed with our own needs and concerns that we ignore the needs of other human beings?  If that is true, the widow represents God, much like the woman in a previous parable resembles God.  She swept her house until she found the lost coin and invited her neighbors to celebrate her victory.  Like the vulnerable and defenseless widow, Jesus Christ took on our human nature and emptied himself of the riches of divinity.  He shows us the paradox of the Paschal Mystery.  In the Paschal Mystery, he provides strength in weakness and life through death.  Like the widow, he relentlessly pursues us to turn our attention away from ourselves and our narrow concerns to recognize his kingdom already in our midst.

            We have structured this “Year of Encounter” in such a way to provide a variety of new efforts to encounter the Lord in our daily lives, especially in the Sacramental life of the Church.  In encountering the Lord, we open our eyes to the many ways we encounter him in each other, especially in the needy, the vulnerable, and those pushed to the edges of our society.  This encounter will occur when we pray persistently and faithfully, even when we do not see an apparent answer to our prayers.  In our persistent prayer, we increase our trust in God’s unconditional love.  We must make sure that the Lord finds faith when he comes again.

 

TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

9 OCTOBER 2022

 

          Naaman is a very important and powerful Syrian general.  But he is also afflicted with leprosy, a skin disease that causes terrible physical pain and the destruction of his body.  This contagious and incurable skin disease also separates Naaman from his community.  One of his Jewish slaves tells him about a prophet in her homeland known for healing people.  Naaman travels to Israel and meets Elisha, the prophet.  Elisha tells him to plunge himself seven times in the waters of the Jordan River.  Naaman is insulted, because the rivers in Syria are much more impressive than the Jordan.  But he humbles himself and does what Elisha tells him to do.  After emerging from the Jordan completely healed, he wants to give Elisha a gift.  But Elisha refuses, because he has been the Lord’s instrument in a grace-filled healing that is freely given.  Instead, Naaman takes two mule-loads of earth back with him to Syria.  He will give thanks to the God of Israel, and not to the local pagan gods he had previously worshipped.

            The ten people who encounter Jesus in today’s Gospel are afflicted with the same painful and isolating skin disease.  They recognize the power of Jesus and call him by name.  They beg him to have pity (mercy) on them, using the same Greek word that we pray during the Penitential Act in Advent and Lent.  He tells them to go and show themselves to the priests, because only a priest can verify an authentic healing and return lepers to their rightful place in the community.  On their way, they are all healed.

            Only one returns to fall at the feet of Jesus in humility to thank him.  He is a hated Samaritan who has nothing in common with the other nine Jews.  Jesus asks where are the other nine.  We do not know.  We tend to think negatively of the nine who do not return to give thanks.  However, before we pass judgment, we might consider different reasons for not returning to give thanks.  Maybe one of them is a literalist with a narrow focus on obeying Jesus’ instruction to show himself to a priest.  It could be that another is keeping a vow to immediately give himself in humble service to the poor if he is healed.  Perhaps another is so overwhelmed with joy that he simply forgets.  The others might be thinking of nothing else other than running back home to accept the welcome embraces of family members and neighbors.

            In both the first reading and the Gospel, those who return to give thanks are foreigners – Naaman the Syrian and the Samaritan.  In humbling themselves to express their gratitude, each one experiences a much deeper healing.  Both are healed of bigotry, racism, national pride, and self-righteousness.  The Samaritan in particular displays an overwhelming desire to continue a relationship with Jesus Christ, the same relationship Saint Paul describes to Timothy and recommends to us.

            We gather every Sunday to express our gratitude for all that has been given to us when we celebrate the Eucharist (a Greek word which means “to give thanks.”)  But this communal expression of thanksgiving can become routine.  I became aware of my own tendency to experience the Mass as routine during the Easter Season earlier this year.  I watched as those who had received the Sacraments at the Easter Vigil came to Mass overwhelmed by our parish fellowship.  They wept when they sang the hymns.  They received the Eucharist with amazement and awe.  They eagerly heard the Scriptures.  They reminded me that I can take these mysteries too lightly.  They restored my sense of wonder at the presence of Christ in the Sacraments.

            At this Eucharist, we humble ourselves to thank the Lord for everything he has given us, especially for his self-giving sacrifice made present here as we remember it.  We listen to the Lord inviting us to encounter him more deeply and to know the deeper healing of the Samaritan. 

 

TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

2 OCTOBER 2022

 

          We have been hearing from Saint Luke’s Gospel these past Sundays. Jesus has been telling parables to teach us how to be disciples.  His parable of the unjust steward teaches us to be resourceful.  But we must avoid causing scandal.  We cannot become moral stumbling blocks that cause others to sin.  Disciples must be willing to forgive.  The older brother of the prodigal son refused to forgive his brother.  We must forgive when there is evidence of true repentance.  We cannot limit the times to forgive repentant sinners who have done us harm.

            The Apostles seem overwhelmed with these demands.  They wonder how they can remain authentic disciples of such a demanding Master.  So, they ask the Lord to increase their faith.  His response is interesting.  He assures them that if they have the faith the size of a mustard seed, they could say to the mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey them.  If their faith is the size of this tiniest seed, they could uproot a tree with deep roots in the soil to have it survive in water.  In other words, they can trust that God will allow them to accomplish seemingly impossible things if they have just a little faith.

            The Lord is giving us, his disciples today, the same message.  We can easily become discouraged.  Like the Prophet Habakkuk, we can ask God why there is so much violence and strife and discord in our culture today.  Like Timothy, we may want to give up when we do not see many results from our efforts to make a difference in our world.  Saint Paul reminds Timothy that the Lord has not given him a spirit of cowardice.  Neither has he given that spirit to us.  He has given us the spirit of power and love and self-control.  We use these gifts when we have the humility to see that we are not in charge.  We are humble servants trying to use even the smallest amount of our faith to make a difference in our world by encountering and living the Gospel.

            We are like those servants who return from plowing.  We plow when we make efforts to evangelize our world.  Evangelizing can be as simple as encouraging someone who is not doing well or showing respect to someone who disagrees with us.  It can be as difficult as forgiving a past hurt and letting go of the hatred and bitterness caused by unjust behavior.  We tend sheep as priests and staff members in doing our best to serve the needs of our parishioners in guiding them to encounter the Lord in each other.  We do not embrace these tasks to get a reward or be recognized for outstanding achievements.  We move beyond our comfort zones because we are disciples of Jesus Christ, humble servants of the Gospel.

            The month of October gives us many opportunities to be humble servants who promote a culture of life in a culture that has so many other priorities.  The parish Respect Life Ministry provides information on our website and in the bulletin.  Many parishioners give a generous portion of their time to the organizations and ministries that make the culture of life more visible in our community.  Please take time to read that information.  Better yet, visit the Respect Life display in the Parish Life Center to make a commitment to join fellow parishioners in this effort.  There are ways we can walk with moms who are experiencing difficult pregnancies.  We can learn how to be more supportive of those who are dealing with any kind of disability.  We can participate in the parish ministries to those who are homebound or in nursing homes.  With a little faith and a great deal of humility, we can make a difference in a world.  With faith, we can recognize the Lord’s gift of power and love and self-control.  We can promote the sacredness of human life, made in the image of God.   

 

TWENTY-SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

25 SEPTEMBER 2022

 

          This is the only parable in which Jesus names someone: Lazarus, which means “God helps.”  But, could there be a person less “helped” than this beggar?  He sits outside the gate of a rich man’s house, hoping for the scraps thrown away after the rich man’s meal.  In the ancient world, diners do not use napkins.  Instead, they wipe their faces and hands with pieces of cheap bread.  Lazarus does not even get a napkin.  In addition to being hungry, he is covered with sores.  Dogs come to lick his sores. These are gentle house pets who come to comfort him.  Dogs are scavengers on four legs, and they circle over his body as he loses strength.  They are waiting to finish him off for good.  The rich man has a proper funeral when he dies.  There is no funeral for Lazarus.  The implication is that the dogs offer his body a final indignity.

            The truth is that God does help this poor beggar.  He has given the rich man more than he can ever need.  But the rich man ignores Lazarus and neglects to share anything with him, even the napkins.  Now in eternity, the gate continues to separate him and the beggar.  Their roles are reversed.  Saint John Chrysostom puts these words in the mouth of father Abraham: “When you were living in your wealth, when you were free to see at your own will, you did not choose to see him.  Why do you have such keen sight now?  Was he not at your gate?  How could you avoid seeing him?  When he was near you did not see him; and now do you see him from a distance, even across such a chasm? … The man whom you passed by a thousand times, whom you did not want to see – now do you seek to have him sent to you for your salvation?’  The rich man had not listened to the Scriptures about God’s love for the poor.  He remains unrepentant and wants to order Lazarus around.  His brothers have the same Scriptures.

            We have those same scriptures that speak of God’s love for the poor.  We also have the one who humbled himself to become poor and has risen from the dead.  He speaks to us today through the Gospel of Saint Luke.  He tells us, his disciples, about the place of wealth in our lives.  He does not condemn wealth in today’s parable.  Wealth is a blessing from God.  But he makes it very clear that we cannot hoard our wealth and use it to enrich ourselves only.  We must be mindful of the poor and the needs of others.  We must recognize Lazarus lying at our gate.

            The problem in this age of mass communication is that we see Lazarus every day.  We can be overwhelmed by the needs of the poor and feel that we cannot make a difference.  That is why our Saint Vincent de Paul Society uses the food we bring each month to distribute to those who need it.  They invest the funds we donate to reach out to Lazarus in our day.  That is why our parish tithes 5% of our income to Saint Adalbert and sets aside another 3 ½ % for those who ask our help.  That is why we are mindful of Fr. Larry’s Parish in Uganda and will respond to Father’s Arthur’s plea for help for his work in Uganda next month.  That is why so many of you have chosen your own special charities so that God can help through you.

            Saint John Chrysostom puts our wealth into perspective.  Father Abraham asks the rich man: “And where are your cup bearers?  Where are your flatterers?  Where is your vanity?  Where is your presumption?  Where is your buried gold?  Where are your moth-eaten garments?  Where is the silver which you valued so highly?  Where are your ostentations and your luxury?  They were leaves – winter seized them, and they were all withered up.  They were a dream – and when day came, the dream departed.  They were a shadow – the truth came, and the shadow fled away.”  Saint John Chrysostom challenges us to invest our wealth wisely.  He reminds us that we need to recognize the needs of others and share our blessings with them.  We cannot take our wealth with us when we die.  Our kindness to the poor lives on forever.

 

TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

18 SEPTEMBER 2022

 

          All of the parables of Jesus have surprises and unexpected turns to get our attention.  However, today’s parable not only gets our attention.  It baffles us!  Is Jesus encouraging us to be dishonest?  Is he telling us that it is acceptable to cheat our employers?

            No, he is not.  If we understand the historical context of this parable, it makes more sense.  The rich man more than likely pays barely subsistence wages to peasants, slavers, and sharecroppers to do the hard work.  They resent his lavish lifestyle living in poverty. His steward is in charge of the daily operation and probably keeps a bit of the produce here and there for himself.  When the rich man returns from a journey, he discovers the actions of his steward and demands an accounting.  The steward is very shrewd and reduces the debts owed to his master.  When the rich man returns, the debtors do not welcome him with resentment.  They are glad to see him and are grateful for the breaks they have received.  The rich man commends the steward for his practical wisdom.

            Jesus addresses this parable to us.  It helps us understand how disciples should handle wealth.  God is the rich man in the parable who does not throw the dishonest steward in jail.  Instead, God gives mercy.  The parable reminds us that everything we have is a gift from God.  We are stewards of those gifts.  We need to use them not just to enrich ourselves, but to focus on what is most important – the gift of salvation offered by the Lord to us.

            It is in this spirit that Bishop Rhoades asks us to consider giving a portion of our sacrificial gift to the Annual Bishop’s Appeal.  Our gifts to the Appeal help to provide services to many who are in need in our Diocese.  They support our ministries as a parish.  Please give your attention to the Appeal Video, to allow Bishop Rhoades to speak for himself. 

  

 

TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

11 SEPTEMBER 2022

 

          As Moses communes with God on Mount Sinai for forty days and nights, the Israelites have become anxious and worried.  Has God forgotten us?  Has Moses abandoned us?  Are we stuck in this Sinai wilderness to never reach the Promised Land?  In response, the people give their jewelry to Aaron, who fashions a golden calf in the divine image.  In the apparent absence of God, they can see and touch and worship.  God sees this as infidelity and becomes angry.

            The Book of Exodus gives us an insight into the remarkable relationship between God and Moses.  God offers to allow his wrath to blaze up and consume them.  Then, God will make of Moses a great nation.  However, Moses has the courage to remind God of his promise to their ancestors.  “Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and how you swore to them by your own self….”  Moses becomes a mediator for his people.  He tells the Lord, “You would look pretty silly going back on your promises.” In using the word “remember,” he is appealing to God’s very nature.  God has not forgotten them.  On their part, the Israelites need to remember who God is and who they are.  They need God, even when God seems distant to them.

            In our journey to the new and eternal Jerusalem, we can find ourselves in a wilderness.  When life gets difficult, we do not pitch in all our jewelry to fashion a calf.  Like the ancient Israelites, we want real assurances that God has not forgotten us.  We want something tangible, something we can see or touch, when we are weary or disillusioned.  We want our leaders to be nearby to lead us, and not up on some mountain communing with God.  There are times when we want God to intervene directly to get us through whatever wilderness in which we find ourselves.

            That is why Jesus tells these three parables.  The Lord wants us to remember that he seeks us out when we are lost, like the shepherd who goes after the lost sheep, or like the woman who searches diligently for the lost coin, or like the father who never gives up on a son who had considered him dead.  While we may sometimes feel that we are alone in a particular wilderness, the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin remind us that the Lord is always near and always remembers us, even when we feel abandoned.  Like the son in the third parable, we sometimes make some very bad choices and wander away from our Father who loves us and from others who care about us.  We often call this the “parable of the prodigal son.”  The son is prodigal, in the sense that he makes outrageous demands of his father, considering him dead.  But it is the father who is also prodigal, because he makes the outrageous choice to give his son what is not his.  He is outrageous in his desire to watch for his son’s return.  He is outrageous when his son comes to his senses and then receives him back fully as his son.  

            Jesus addresses these parables to the Pharisees and scribes, who have been critical of his practice of welcoming sinners, tax collectors, and prostitutes and eating with them.  He addresses these parables to us, especially when we think that the Lord has not remembered us.  He wants to share his joy when we who are lost have been found.  As a confessor, I am humbled when I become an instrument of the Father’s prodigal mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and when I give the Apostolic Pardon to a dying person who has been away from the Church for a long time.  Jesus continues to eat with us sinners at this Eucharist.  No matter how lost we may be, or how much we might have thought that he has not remembered us, he seeks us out to share his great joy when he finds us.