THIRTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

31 OCTOBER 2021

 

          This scribe knows that the Pharisees have listed 613 commandments drawn from the Law of Moses.  Instead of being hostile and trying to trap Jesus, he is asking an honest question.  He wants to know:  of all of these many commandments, which is the first? Jesus cuts through all the complications and quotes Deuteronomy 6:6.  It is the Shema Israel prayed by every faithful Jew several times a day:  “Hear, O Israel!  The Lord our God is Lord alone!  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”  Without hesitating, he quotes Leviticus 19:18: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  He joins two existing commandments in such a radical way that they can never be separated.  If we love God, then we must love our neighbor.  If we love our neighbor, then we must love God.

            In the Gospel of Luke, a scribe asks the same question.  But he is trying to trap Jesus and wants to know who his neighbor is.  In response, Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan. He makes it clear that anyone whom we encounter and needs our help is our neighbor.  At one level, we define “encountering” in terms of physical contact.  In this era of mass communication, we can encounter neighbors in need from around the world.  Those in developing nations know that we are blessed with more material goods and live more comfortably in our first world country.  We can be inundated with requests for aid from around the world. 

            That is why we have a Diocesan Office of the Propagation of the Faith.  Individual parishes cannot possibly respond to those who seek their help.  They are invited to apply to the Propagation of the Faith to assign them to one parish in our Diocese.  That parish invites the mission speaker to make an appeal at Mass and take up a collection to respond as a neighbor.

            The Office has assigned Father Larry Kanyike’s parish in Uganda as our “neighbor” this year.  We pray for his parish every Sunday.  Father Larry himself had planned to be with us to make his appeal in person.  However, the COVID situation in Uganda has presented him from coming.  Since we have been friends since our ordination in 1974, I can speak confidently about his needs.  In the past, we have helped him to build a new church, a new school, a new convent, and provide upgrades to Saint Monica Health Clinic (the only source of health care in the area).  We have also helped him to pave the road in front of his school, protecting the children from breathing in dust every day.

            I traveled to Uganda for the dedication of his new church and can assure you that 100% of our donations go directly to the good of his people.  There are no administrative costs.  He keeps nothing for himself.  In fact, he made the front page of the local paper on the Sunday of the dedication.  He was contrasted with so many “prominent” people in the area who buy themselves fancy cars, new shoes, and expensive suits from the donations they have received.

            Father Larry tells me that his parishioners have been devastated by the pandemic, which is still raging beyond control in Uganda.  Many of his parishioners have become sick, and too many have died.  People have lost their jobs and cannot support their families.  The pandemic is wreaking much more havoc in his parish than what we have experienced here.  He cannot serve his parish without our help.

            In his name, I thank you for being a good neighbor in this particular situation.  There are envelopes in all the pews for your contribution.  You can take one home and bring it back next week.  I witnessed the intense gratitude of his parishioners myself a few years ago.  As our assigned neighbors, they continue to be grateful today.

 

THIRTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

24 OCTOBER 2021

 

          On most Sundays in this liturgical year, we have been hearing from the Gospel of Saint Mark.  He begins his Gospel with these simple words:  “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”  Having revealed this truth, he chronicles how Jesus slowly reveals the truth about himself to his contemporaries.  After being baptized in the Jordan by John the Baptist and tempted in the desert by Satan, Jesus begins his Galilean ministry by calling people to follow him.  Those first disciples saw people drawn to Jesus in large numbers, because he proclaimed that the kingdom of God was in their midst.  As they walked with him on his way to Jerusalem, the saw him revealing his identity as the Son of God by working many miracles:  curing the sick, healing lepers, driving out demons, feeding thousands of people with five loaves and two fish, and calming a dangerous storm on the Sea of Galilee.  They even witnessed Simon Peter identify him as the Christ, the long awaited Messiah.

            But they were so focused on seeing Jesus as a conquering hero that they could not see their beloved teacher as a suffering servant who would be crucified at the end of their way to Jerusalem.  Even though Jesus has clearly told them this truth three times, their eyes were blinded.  Last week, James and John revealed their blindness by asking Jesus for positions of power, authority, and fame.  They were unable to “see” that true disciples are humble servants.

            Today, Jesus begins his final ascent to Jerusalem.  He and his disciples are part of a large group of pilgrims on their way to celebrate Passover in Jerusalem.  They are in Jericho, the oldest and lowest city on the earth at 850 feet below sea level.  A blind man begging for scraps of bread “sees” the truth about Jesus that had eluded the disciples with good physical eyesight.  He cries out, “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me.”  Even though other people in the crowd try to silence him, he calls even louder, “Son of David, have pity on me.”  Jesus calls him to come to him.  Unlike the rich young man who could not give away his many possessions to follow Jesus, Bartimaeus leaves behind his only possession – the cloak that would keep him from freezing at night.  Jesus asks him the same question he had asked James and John, “What do you want me to do for you?”  Bartimaeus states, “Master, I want to see.”  Jesus is impressed with his deep faith.  He grants his request and tells him to go his way.

            Grateful for the gift of physical eyesight, Bartimaeus does not go his own way.  Having “seen” the truth about Jesus instead of imitating the blind ambition of the disciples, he follows him along the way.  He will enter Jerusalem to see crowds welcoming Jesus with shouts of “Hosanna to the Son of David.”  Later in the week, he will see him betrayed, tortured, and crucified.  He would see him raised from the dead three days later.  Some have suggested that the name of this blind man is remembered, because he became one of the earliest disciples who embraced the message of sharing in the Lord’s cross and his call to humble service.

            We too are disciples walking on the way to the new and eternal Jerusalem.  We can be blinded by our desires for honor and power and fame.  The Lord can open our eyes to see him in the poor and those who reach out to us in need.  He can open our eyes to see his presence in this Body of Christ in the midst of anger and political divisions.  He helps us to see that we share in his redemptive work when we bear our crosses and endure those sufferings that are thrust upon us.  We too can see the truth as Bartimaeus saw it and follow him on the way. 

 

TWENTY-NINTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

17 OCTOBER 2021

 

          As we continue to reflect on the Gospel of Mark again this Sunday, we know that Jesus is walking on the way with his disciples to Jerusalem.  He has made it clear that he is the Christ, the Messiah.  But he has also made it clear that his mission is not what they had hoped for.  He is not a conquering hero like King David, driving out their enemies to establish an earthly kingdom.  He will be the suffering servant of the Prophet Isaiah.  In his suffering, he will justify all and bear their guilt.  Their way will end in Jerusalem, where he will die on a cross like a common criminal.  He has just told them this truth for the third time prior to today’s Gospel.

            The disciples either do not hear what he is saying or they cannot imagine that this man whom they love could possibly be a crucified Messiah.  James and John, the sons of thunder, have not listened.  They express their stark ambition by insisting that Jesus do for them whatever they ask of him.  They want to share in his glory by sitting at his right and left sides, places of power, honor, and prestige in the royal courts of their time.  Jesus clearly loves them, just as he had loved the rich young man in last Sunday’s Gospel.  He does not yell at them or chastise them for their clueless request.  He calmly informs them that they do not know what they are asking.

            He asks them if they can drink of his cup.  They understand his question.  They know that God gives everyone a cup to drink from, a cup that would represent God’s fate for their lives.  However, they do not understand that the cup from which Jesus drinks is the work of suffering given to him by his Father.  In fact, he will beg the Father to take that cup from him when he is in agony in the Garden of Gethsemani.  He also asks if they can be baptized in the baptism with which he is baptized.  They insist that they can, not knowing that Jesus will be drowned in the floodwaters of pain, torture, and death.

            Jesus tells them that they will eventually drink from his cup and be drowned in the baptism of his death.  On Calvary, they will see that those on his right and his left will be the two thieves dying on the cross with him.  But those seats on either side of him in glory can only be given by the Father, who gives both the cup and the baptism to Jesus and his faithful disciples. 

            When the other ten hear about the brothers’ request, they become indignant.  They are indignant, not because they are shocked at their request, but because the sons of thunder got to Jesus before they did to ask the question.  So, Jesus explains his role and their participation in that role.  He tells them that if they want to be authentic leaders in his kingdom, they too must drink his cup and be drowned in his baptism of suffering.  The hallmark of true leadership is humble service.  If they want glory, they must imitate his humbling, self-emptying love.

            Saint Vincent de Paul understood this when he told his followers:  “Let us work with a new love in service of the poor, looking for the most destitute and abandoned among them.  Let us recognize that that before God they are our Lords and masters, and we are unworthy to render them our small services.”  The members of our parish Saint Vincent de Paul Society model the same truth for us.  They stand at the right and left of Christ to have their hands full of food for the hungry, medicines for the ill, holding neglected children, and giving support to the infirm.  They invite the rest of us to be grateful for the gifts of time, talent, and treasure that each of us has received from God.  They encourage us to embrace stewardship as a way of life.  As good stewards, we lead best by being humble servants to those we are called to serve.

 

 

TWENTY-EIGHTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

10 OCTOBER 2021

 

          This young man is probably a well-respected member of his society.  The disciples of Jesus more than likely look at him with admiration.  He had been blessed with wealth from God.  He practices his faith, taking seriously the commandments.  Yet, he senses that something is lacking.  He wants to know what else he must do to inherit eternal life.  Jesus looks at him with love.  Then, he gives him three more commandments.  Go.  Sell what you have.  Give to the poor.  Once he has followed these commandments, he will have treasure in heaven and follow Jesus.  The young man is very sad and walks away.  He is too attached to his many possessions.  They are more important to him than becoming a disciple and following Jesus.

            The disciples are also stunned at their master’s response.  They are accustomed to seeing wealth as a sign of favor from God.  They have already given up everything – their fishing boats, families, all their possessions, to follow Jesus.  They respond to Jesus’ talk of the dangers of wealth by asking, “Then who can be saved?”  Jesus responds that no one inherits or earns eternal life.  Only God can give the gift of salvation.  They need to move beyond the idea of “giving something up.”  We learn that from our Lenten disciplines.  “Giving something up” might be a good first step in growing closer to the Lord.  But we need to take further steps to make sure that we are investing not only in the present age, but also in the age to come. In time, the disciples will understand why wealth can be a danger to salvation.  Wealthy people can rely so much on their own comfort that they forget that sharing wealth in this age is an investment in the age to come.  Like the young man, they might sense that something is missing and accumulate more stuff to think that more wealth means more security.

            Jesus speaks these same words to us, who are blessed with many possessions.  Answering his call to “come follow me” means giving up much – and gaining even more.  Saint Ignatius of Loyola said that we can transition into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ by developing what he called “holy indifference.”  Holy indifference gives us the freedom to love God above all else.  If we learn to practice holy indifference, we still care about the things of this world – people, places, objects, experiences.  But we are detached enough that we can leave behind the things that pull us away from God.  We can take a step in faith and increase our trust in God’s love and care for us.  That is embracing stewardship as a way of life provides a structured way of being intentional disciples.  As good stewards, we can invest in the things that bring us closer to God, not only in this life, but also in the next.

            The rich young man may have obeyed important commandments.  But his focus is on himself:  “…all of these I have observed from my youth” and “…what must I do to inherit eternal life.  Despite his good intentions, he cannot achieve salvation on his own.  He relies on himself, rather than on God.  He believes that salvation is yet another possession to gain, rather than a gift to inherit.  Jesus turns the young man’s focus back to relationships.  God will bring about eternal life.  Giving to the poor will lead to treasure in heaven.

            Thomas Merton wrote:  “People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall.”  Our goal is to learn to be utterly dependent on God, who alone gives us the gift of eternal life.  With the spirit of holy indifference, we can make sure that our ladder is leaning against the wall that leads us to Jesus Christ.  With the spirit of holy indifference, we can let go of whatever stands in the way of our relationship with the Lord and give it away.  Then we can expect much more in return, in this age, and in the age to come.

 

TWENTY-SEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

3 OCOTBER 2021

 

            The Pharisees know from the Book of Deuteronomy that Moses permitted a husband to write a bill of divorce against his wife.  However, they are trying to draw Jesus into the political debate of the day.  The followers of Rabbi Shammai strictly interpret the situations that allow a husband to write a bill of divorce.  They argue that only infidelity would be an acceptable reason.  However, the followers of Rabbi Hillel are much more lenient.  They allow the husband to write that bill for any reason, including the bad cooking of his wife.

            Jesus refuses to be drawn into that argument.  He points out that Moses did not give a formal law about divorce.  Rather, he permitted divorce as a concession to human weakness.  Jesus also understands the unfairness of this concession.  The wife has absolutely no say in this process.  It is the right of the husband alone.  Jesus insists that God’s intentions for marriage have their roots in creation.  We heard that in the reading from the Book of Genesis.  In God’s creation, a man and woman leave their parents and are joined as one.  Not only are they joined as one in the physical act of making love.  But that union is a new existence shared by couples in an unbreakable covenant.  No human being has the power to separate that bond.

            When his disciples gather privately in the house, they question his tough teaching.  Jesus is initiating a new reign of God in which he will restore the harmony of the Garden of Eden.  He sees divorce as a profound spiritual, mental, and psychological tearing apart of one flesh.  He invites his listeners to have the simplicity of a child.  This teaching can be accepted only with simplicity and trust.

            In our teaching, we Catholics are faithful to this difficult teaching when we insist that a valid marriage can be ended only by death.  We regard divorce as a legal decree, but it does not end a valid marriage.  The Church has made accommodations to human weakness.  Those who question whether their marriage was really valid in the first place can apply for an annulment.  Father Jake Runyon, the Judicial Vicar of the Diocese, will give a presentation on this subject on Tuesday evening, October 19.  If you are divorced, please consider coming to this informational session.  We also provide a ministry to those people who are divorced or separated.  We also encourage anyone who has been wounded in any way to seek therapy. 

            Instead of making judgments, we continue to hold high the teachings of Jesus on the sanctity of marriage.  We work as a team to prepare couples for marriage.  We encourage married couples to embrace the crosses and difficulties involved in keeping their marriages healthy.  Deacon Lou and Lori Giovannini offer their sessions “Marriage in Christ,” and we continue to develop programs to assist married couples to live their vocations.

            This teaching on marriage by Jesus spells out the implications of discipleship for daily living.  During this month of October, we focus on the implications of recognizing all life as a precious gift from God.  In a throwaway culture driven by a sense of consuming as much as possible, we accept the challenge of recognizing the sanctity of the unborn and the need to care for the elderly.  We accept the challenge of rooting out any form of racism or hatred of the immigrant.  We must see the image of Christ in the poor, the vulnerable, and those shoved to the edges of our society.

            Jesus makes great demands of us, who claim to be intentional disciples.  Together, during this month of October, we are given many specific opportunities to embrace the sanctity of the Sacrament of Matrimony and to respect the dignity of human life from the moment of conception through natural death.