Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
As I think I mentioned in a bulletin article, my favorite music is country music. This past Thursday I had a chance to go to the Tim McGraw concert in Lansing at Common Ground with Fr. Brian Lenz, one of the newest priests of the Diocese of Lansing. One of his recent big hits is “Humble and Kind.” Some of the lyrics are: “Go to church ‘cause your momma says to” [one of my favorites], “always stay humble and kind.// Hold the door, say please, say thank you/ Don’t steal, don’t cheat, and don’t lie/…Always stay humble and kind…When the dreams you’re dreamin’ come to you/ When the work you put in is realized/ Let yourself feel the pride but/ Always stay humble and kind.// Don’t expect a free ride from no one/ Don’t hold a grudge or a chip and here’s why/ Bitterness keeps you from flyin’/ Always stay humble and kind.”
It strikes me as a sign of the times that an artist has to sing about holding the door, saying please and thank you, not stealing, cheating, or lying, and the rest. These were things many of us, if not all of us, learned as children. Somewhere, though, it stopped being taught, or maybe was just ignored. And many of the problems we have in the world today could be solved by following these simple pieces of advice.
In our first reading today, Moses tells the people that the Law that God has given them is not overly complicated. In fact, it is already in the hearts of the people. They don’t have to go to extreme lengths to get the Law. God has shared it with His People as a way that they can be fully alive in Him.
The scholar of the law in today’s Gospel tried to trick Jesus by asking him how to get to heaven. The scholar must have figured this young man (Jesus was likely only 32 or 33 at this point, a fine age to be, I might add) wouldn’t know what to say. But Jesus asks him about the Law that was supposed to be written in his heart. The scholar replies with the second half of the Shema, the great profession of faith of Israel: “Hear O Israel: the Lord is God; the Lord is one. Therefore you shall love the Lord, your God…” and we hear the rest of it today. The scholar then also quotes the Book of Leviticus, as he says that we need to love our neighbor as ourselves. But then Luke adds that the scholar was not humble, but wanted to show off his mental skills, so he asks Jesus, “‘And who is my neighbor?’”
When we hear this, it does seem like common sense (which is not that common these days). But how often do we do these things? We have lots of reasons not to help people these days: times are tough; I have my own problems; everyone has a cell phone and can call for help themselves; there are some dangerous people out there who pose as people in distress to try to hurt others. The list goes on an on. Even I struggle to live this out. About a month ago, I was on my way to Adrian from Lansing, and there was a bad accident on southbound 127 around Mason. As a priest, I can often gain access to a scene to see if anyone needs a priest or a person to pray with them, whether the victim or the first responders. But that day I was tired, and while I slowed down, and the thought entered my mind, especially since I was, at the time, a Fire Department Chaplain, I drove by. All the rest of the way to Adrian I knew I should have stopped. Odds are that they would have said everything was taken care of. Odds are that they would have said they didn’t need me. But I will never know, because I never stopped.
Certainly we need to know the dangers of a situation, and sometimes we are not equipped to actually help the situation. But when we are, do we stop? Do we help a neighbor in need? It doesn’t have to be on the road. Maybe it’s an elderly neighbor who could use a ride to church, or could simply use a visit. Maybe it’s a family that could use help with their lawn. Whatever it is, Jesus today invites us to live by the law that is in our hearts.
Tim McGraw isn’t Jesus; Tim’s words do not save. But the lyrics I quoted are examples that are based in the Word of God, and will help us to live as disciples. “Hold the door, say please, say thank you/ Don’t steal, don’t cheat, and don’t lie/…Always stay humble and kind…”