"But for Wales?"

Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fr. Mychal Judge

    For what would you give up your life?  Probably when we think about giving up our life, we think of our soldiers who have sacrificed their lives serving our country.  Or maybe we think about our first responders, especially firefighters who rushed into burning buildings, never to run out, or our law enforcement officers who rush towards danger when everyone else is running away, who were killed by gun shots, stabbings, or even by being hit by a car that wasn’t paying attention.  One of my heroes is Fr. Mychal Judge, who, as a New York City Fire Department chaplain, ran into one of the towers on 9/11 to try to rescue any survivors and show them the way to safety.  There is an iconic photo of first responders carrying out his lifeless body on a stretcher, an image of what laying down one’s life for the good of another looks like.
    So as we heard the first reading, we may have wondered what the big deal was.  These seven brothers and their mother refused to eat pork, because the Law of Moses, received from God, didn’t allow the eating of any cloven-footed animal that did not eat cud.  We might think that death is a bit extreme option, rather than eating a BLT. 
    Thinking about the cost we are willing to pay for what matters reminds me of a scene from “A Man For All Seasons,” about St. Thomas More.  Richard Rich, a former friend of Sir Thomas, perjured himself in order to obtain the office of attorney general of Wales.  St. Thomas, on finding the reason why his so-called friend should lie in court, said, “Why Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world.  But for Wales?”  In other words, was the perjury worth the promotion?

St. Thomas More

    Many tend to view life from a utilitarian point of view.  I would dare say that at least some of us here have utilitarian morals: as long as it turns out ok, then it’s ok to do.  In other words, the ends justify the means.  If I can do some greater good, even if I have to do something evil, then it’s ok.  But those are not Catholic, nor even Christian morals.  The ends never justify the means.  Even the pagans knew that.  One cannot achieve good by doing evil, as they run in opposite directions. 
    Early Christians had to deal with this dilemma, too.  As the persecutions continued against the new, Christian religion, more and more friends and family became known as followers of Christ.  So those who were responsible for their punishment, their own kith and kin, would sometimes seek to ease the requirements in order to avoid punishment, and, in most cases, death.  Instead of worshiping a false idol, or worshiping the emperor, some Christians were given the option to simply sign a document saying that they worshiped the emperor.  It was just a small lie, one that would save their lives.  Surely the good that could be done by the Christians in the future would be outweighed by their single act of infidelity to God.  Christ is merciful; just turn to Him for forgiveness afterwards. 
    There’s a word for those who did sign: apostates.  In other words, those who abandoned God.  At the end of the day, the pork wasn’t the big deal.  But what was a big deal was disobeying what you knew to be something that God had communicated.  The food wasn’t as weighty as the rejection of God’s ways, signified by the kosher laws.  The holy mother and sons in Maccabees were models because, rather than disobey God and reject His ways, they chose earthly death.  But, they also had hope that, while others could harm the body, God would reward their faithfulness, not only with the soul, but in the resurrection on the last day. 
    There’s another story from the Old Testament, this one long before the Maccabees, about King Saul and the prophet Samuel.  God had told Saul to place all Amalekite people and property under the ban; they were to be destroyed because of how they had previously oppressed God’s Chosen People.  But King Saul decided to keep some sheep and oxen, and spare the life of the king.  Samuel found this out, and confronted Saul.  Saul replied, “‘I did indeed obey the Lord and fulfill the mission…. I have brought back Agag, the king of Amelek, and…I have destroyed the Amalekites.  But from the spoil the army took sheep and oxen, the best of what had been banned, to sacrifice to the Lord your God.’”  It seems like Saul was doing something good.  He saved the best sheep and oxen so that they could be sacrificed to the true God.  But Samuel responded, “‘Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to the Lord’s command?  Obedience is better than sacrifice.’”  And, because of Saul’s disobedience, he loses the kingdom, which will eventually be transferred to David, son of Jesse.
    Our view ought to be a heavenly one, not an earthly one.  What is best is not necessarily what helps us in this life, but what helps us in the life to come.  It is so easy to get caught up like the Sadducees, and see things from our limited vantage.  Instead, God sees all from an eternal vantage, and encourages us to trust Him, even when our minds can create some reason why going our own way appears better.
    I have not often taken the view that we, as Catholics, will have to undergo another persecution in our country.  I’m not quick to talk about the possibility that fidelity to God will cause us suffering.  But the more our State and country move away from God, the more likely we will have to choose between comfort in this world, and comfort in the next.  Already many Catholics have abandoned the position that all life is sacred, including the infant in the womb.  They have chosen their own logic, and why abortion is fine in some, if not all, circumstances.  Those who oppose are called backwards, anti-woman, anti-science, and misogynist.  If Proposal 3 passes, there will be no safeguards for conscience protection against abortion in our State.  Nurses and doctors may be required, in some circumstances, to perform or assist with an abortion, or lose the job.  What will be more important? 
    And what will be more important for you?  Staying faithful to the Catholic faith, to what God has revealed to us for our happiness?  Or abandoning the faith that Christ taught for social status, economic advancement, or even simply family harmony?  What is more important for you?  Status?  Money? Family?  Or God and heaven?  “Why Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world.  But for Wales?”
 

The Real Lesson of 9/11: Forgiveness

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

            There are times in each of our lives, I believe, when God confirms in a very real way that He is in charge.  These are the moments when, without our planning, everything falls into place and a great blessing is bestowed or a great lesson is learned.  In these moments we experience wonder and awe in the presence of God who is the Lord of all History, to Whom all time belongs.

            Ten years ago, our country was attacked in a horrible way.  Innocent civilians lost their lives because of terrorists who chose hatred and death.  In those moments, it was very easy to wonder where God was.  As a senior in high school, and likely for many of you, for me it was a time of real fear at the evil that was unleashed by sinful men.

            And yet, here we are today, with readings that were chosen in the 1970s for the twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, chosen by men, guided by the Hand of God, about forgiveness.  There was no way that those men could have known what was going to happen on September 11, 2001.  There was no way for them to know that ten years after that event, September 11 would fall on a Sunday, the twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time.  And yet, here we are, with God confirming in a very real way in our midst the lesson of forgiveness that He wants us to embrace on the anniversary of a day that we as a country were sinned against.  We should have wonder and awe in the presence of God that all of these variables lined up just so.  As Pope Bl. John Paul II said, in Divine Providence, there are no such things as coincidence.

            Our lesson on forgiveness from the Divine Teacher begins with the first reading: “Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.  The vengeful will suffer the LORD’s vengeance, for he remembers their sins in detail.  Forgive your neighbor’s injustice; then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.  Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the LORD?  Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself, can he seek pardon for his own sins?”  The words from the Book of Sirach are very challenging, but they are truth.  As the Letter to the Hebrews says, “The word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword…able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart.”  Where are we in forgiving those who attacked us ten years ago?  Where are we in forgiving those who have hurt us since then, not only terrorists, but also neighbors, family, friends, co-workers?  “But Father, you don’t understand what they did!  I just cannot forgive them!  The pain they caused is too great!!”  Forgiveness is certainly difficult, especially when the offense comes from someone who is close to us.  And yet, we hear God in His inspired word saying that if we are holding on to wrath and anger, than we can count ourselves among the sinful.  If we do not forgive others, we will not be forgiven by God.  As Jesus says, “the measure which we measure out to others will in turned be measured out to us.”  The level at which we forgive is the level at which we can hope to be forgiven.  If we cannot forgive, then neither can we hope to be forgiven.

            Now, to be clear, forgiveness does not mean being a doormat.  Forgiveness does not mean ignoring past actions.  It does not mean that we do not guard our nation carefully.  It does not mean that we forgo screenings at airports.  It does not mean that we blithely trust someone who has betrayed our trust, especially in a major way.  But it does mean that we pray that God will extend His mercy towards them, and heal them of the evil that has grown in their heart, and that they will convert and be blessed by God with His love. 

            It is easy to hold on to hatred.  It is easy to carry a grudge.  It takes almost no effort at all.  The hatred and the wrath seem to bubble up naturally.  It takes real power, though, to forgive.  It takes real strength to be the bigger man, the bigger woman, to not hold on to past offenses.  When we see a person who has been wronged hating another, it almost seems commonplace.  When we see a person who has been wronged forgiving another, we are moved by that person’s soul.  Think of a mother who has lost her child to murder.  It is not newsworthy when she spews out more hatred toward the murderer.  It is newsworthy when that mother, in the midst of her real pain and sorrow, has the strength of soul to say to that murderer, “I forgive you.”  Does the murderer still go to jail?  Certainly.  But the mother is no longer imprisoned by her hatred, but has been set free by forgiveness.

            How many times do we forgive terrorists?  How many times do we forgive a spouse who has betrayed the spousal trust?  How many times do we forgive a friend who hurt us?  How many times do we forgive the stranger who changed the lives of so many by acts of violence and hatred?  Jesus tells us that we forgive them always, so that when we need forgiveness, maybe in small ways, maybe in big ways, our hearts are prepared to receive the forgiveness of God.  If we do not forgive, then our hearts are not open to receive the forgiveness that God wants to bestow upon us.

            “But what about justice, Father?  What about paying the price for your crimes?”  If you insist on justice, then let me lead you to the cross.  Let me lead you to Calvary, because that is where justice leads.  That is where justice led Jesus, who suffered for us, innocent as He was, so that we could have eternal life.  That is where He who shared our human nature died, fulfilling the justice that original sin required, so that we who share that human nature with Jesus could also rise with Him to glory.  We should be careful about insisting on justice, or asking that the “fires of [God’s] justice burn,” because we might just receive that justice, and the wages of sin is death, as St. Paul says.  Justice for sins brings death.  Forgiveness and love bring life.

Fr. Mychal Judge being carried out
by NY Emergency Personnel after the
South Tower collapsed

            What we saw on September 11, ten years ago, was that hatred only brings destruction and death.  Hatred led those terrorists to end the lives of so many innocent people in the World Trade Center buildings, at the Pentagon, and on United Flight 93.  Love, which is at the root of forgiveness, led Fr. Mychal Judge to care for the souls of those who were in the Twin Towers and to pray for them even as the South Tower collapsed.  Love led the many heroes of the police and fire department personnel to risk their lives to try to save others who were in and around the Twin Towers.  Love won that day.  Love builds us up to be more human, to be more in the image and likeness of God. 

We mourn those who lost their lives that fateful day.  We protect ourselves now from future attacks.  In the midst of it all, we pray for forgiveness.  “Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.”  Amen.