It's About the Yes

Fifth Sunday of Easter

It’s a sad reality that talk is often cheap.  This is not universal, but is especially true in our Western culture.  We need a contract for everything.  When planning for my pilgrimage to the Holy Land, I wanted to go with a local group from Palestine.  However, they’re not big on contracts, and as an American that makes me leery.  Because I have been to the Holy Land before, I know that, in the Middle Eastern culture, a person’s word is everything, and if they do not live up to what was agreed, that person can lose everything, including his honor.  But I also know that, as Americans, we like to have things in writing.  So instead of going with a more local group, I went with an American tour company that has pilgrimages to the Holy Land.

St. John reminds us that we are called to love, not only “in word or speech but in deed and truth.”  It’s very easy to say that we follow Jesus, but do our actions back up what our mouths say?  In fact, St. John goes on to say that loving Jesus means keeping His commandments.  If we do this, then the Holy Spirit remains in us.  On the contrary, if we don’t keep Jesus’ commandments, then we lack a reality of the life of Christ.

John could say this because He heard Jesus say what was in our Gospel today, which is also from St. John.  Jesus told us that we need to stay connected to Him, as branches with the vine.  It’s not enough to say that we’re branches, we have to truly remain connected to Jesus.  If we are not connected, we’ll waste away and be good for nothing else then burning.  If, however, we stay connected to Jesus, then we’ll bear fruit that proves that we not only profess faith in Jesus, but also live in the way He shows us.

Words do mean, something, however.  They are cheap if they are not followed up by actions, but they can also be profound if they are connected to action.  For example, a relatively recent Pope wrote about the dangers facing society.  He warned against increased dangers of marital infidelity, and a lowering of moral standards.  He warned about how easy it is for young people to be tempted, and how they need to be taught how to live the moral law.  He also warned of a lack of respect for women, and how men could so easily make them objects of the satisfaction of their desires, rather than an equal partner “whom he should surround with care and affection.”  This pope wrote about these dangers 50 years ago, in 1968.  And in many ways, his prophecy, his words spoken from God, have come true.  It is more and more common for spouses to cheat on each other; I don’t think anyone would argue that morality has decreased over the past 50 years; young people more and more don’t know how to live the moral law, and are exposed to grave evils at younger and younger ages; and women are seen more and more not as people, equal in dignity and respect, but as tools to satisfy lust.  

These words were penned by Pope Bl. Paul VI.  And he wrote this in his very famous, and often derided, Encyclical, Humanae vitae.  This summer we celebrate 50 years since the promulgation of this prophetic document about human life.  I know it is a very contentious document, but Bishop Boyea has asked us to preach about it this weekend.  I think that one reason it is so often seen as negative is because it seems to simply say no to artificial contraception.  In fact, it actually talks about the great value of human life, something that needs to be reinforced, especially in light of the Alfie Evans’ recent.  Many people think that all the Church says is “no.”  But in fact, while the Church does say no, that no means an ability to say yes to other goods.

The Church teaches that all artificial contraception is gravely wrong, not because it can spread out childbirth, which can be a moral decision, but because the marital act between a woman and a man is meant to be a full gift of self, and artificial contraception of any kind means holding back one aspect of the gift of self, the ability to conceive, and makes that moment a lie, because one is not truly giving his or her entire self.  

But again, we can see it as no.  But in fact, sometimes, in order to say yes to a good, we have to say no to other lesser goods.  Think about when a man marries a woman.  That man, in marriage, is saying no to every other woman that has ever or will ever come along.  He is forsaking that special relationship of marriage with any other woman (and vis versa for a woman towards other men).  But I have never met a man who is so focused on the no to other women.  He is focused on the yes to that one woman.  He can’t say yes to that one woman without saying no to all others.  But it doesn’t meant it’s about the no.  It’s about the yes.

And look at what has happened with the ubiquitousness of contraception: we have a lower sense of morality, marriages break apart more and more, and we have recently seen the epidemic of men treating women in a way that is beneath the dignity and respect that they deserve.  Pope Bl. Paul VI’s words have been followed up by actions, a reality that is sad and has caused no small amount of pain in the lives of perhaps most families in America.

Today the Lord challenges us to not simply say that we will follow Him, but to actually do it, including in the ways that we regulate the size of our families.  May we not be focused on all the things we give up by following Jesus in word and deed, but in all the greater yeses that are made possible by following Jesus “in deed and truth.”

Do Not Fear

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time

What do we do when we’re afraid?  When we’re younger, we often try to hide underneath the blankets (sometimes even going into the fetal position because the blankets don’t quite cover everything from the tip of the head to the soles of our feet).  We might turn lights on to see what is there.  I’m sure night lights are still on sale and a popular buy for some children’s rooms.  We might run to a parent when we’re afraid, either as a child or as an adult.  I’m sure some parents here have been woken up in the middle of the night with a child crawling into their bed after a bad nightmare.  Some parents have received heart-wrenching phone calls from an adult child who is going through a difficult or traumatic time.  Fear is a very powerful force.

But Jesus today says not to fear three different times: “‘Fear no one’”; “‘do not be afraid…’”; and again “‘do not be afraid…’”.  In the first place he speaks about fear of someone concealing something, or a secret, or not being totally honest.  In the second place he speaks about fear of those who can attack our person.  And in the third place he talks about fearing about our physical needs.

Sometimes we can be afraid of speaking the truth.  We’re afraid of what someone might think, or maybe that if we speak out, someone will say something else about us.  Maybe we’re afraid about talking about Jesus.  Maybe we’re afraid because we worry that someone will think we’re a Jesus freak or a hyper-religious person.  To that fear, Jesus covers us with the blanket of His love, and says, “‘Fear no one.’”  In our first reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, Jeremiah was afraid of what the people would say about him because he was speaking the word of God.  He hears the whispering of those around him; he hears his so-called friends denouncing him to find fault with his message, which is not his message, but is a message from God.

Fear of those who can do physical harm is also easily understood.  Our bodies naturally put us in a fight or flight mode when we think someone might do us harm.  And certainly Jesus is not saying that we cannot defend ourselves.  But He is inviting us to trust in Him, even when we are threatened with bodily harm.  Because while the body is good, it is the soul that is the most important.  We can struggle with all sorts of bodily ailments, disfigurements, or disabilities, but our soul could be as strong as ever with God’s help.  If our soul is in a good place with God, then while our body can be tortured (either from enemies, or even just from old age or sickness), what others do to the body does not necessarily have any effect on what happens after we die, which is what we should be most concerned with.

Think about our brothers and sisters who are Catholic and Orthodox in the Middle East.  Some of them, especially in Syria, Iraq, and Egypt, go to Mass, and they must know that, given the terrorists in those countries, their church could be bombed or set on fire.  And yet they go to Mass.  Why?  Because they want Jesus; they want to hear the Word of God and receive the Body and Blood of Jesus in the Eucharist; because in some cases there, and in other places around the world, they only have Mass once a month, and it means that much to them.  But they are willing to risk life and limb to be connected with Jesus and spend time with him (and their Masses are often even longer than one hour!!).

Fear about our physical needs is also a tough fear to fight.  We know we need food, water, housing, and clothes to survive. But we are worried that we will not have enough.  Especially here in Flint, we are afraid that our water is not drinkable.  Those outside Flint don’t understand why at least some people, and maybe some here, are skeptical when the city or the State or the feds tell us that the water is fine to drink.  But we have been burned before.  So how can we trust in God to provide these things?  

We can trust in God to give us the gifts we need to work hard and contribute to society to the best of our ability, and receive as payment the money we need to take care of ourselves.  Certainly, we need to prioritize.  If we put cable TV ahead of a meal, or even fancy food ahead of the basic staples that we need to survive, then our priorities need to be rearranged.  While the cost of living has gone up, and maybe more than our wages, think back to your parents or your grandparents: so many of them were able to provide a good living on one income.  I’m not saying only one person should work, but I think our parents and grandparents prioritized better than we do (at least in general).  Our parents or grandparents probably didn’t take exotic trips every year for Spring Break, or have the newest gadgets.  But they put good food on the table, and often times they paid for a Catholic education.  There’s nothing wrong with Spring Break in Panama City Beach or having a gadget, but they should be placed behind other more important needs and wants.  And think about your parents or grandparents: maybe they didn’t have it all, but they never wanted for anything they needed.  And for those who had more, they often passed along their resources to those who legitimately could not work, or maybe just helped someone make it for a few weeks who had fallen on some hard times.  We also become the ways in which God takes care of all His children.  But no matter what, God cares for us, and knows what we need.

So we don’t need a blanket to hide us; we don’t need an LED lightbulb to illumine the darkness; we simply need God, and to trust in Him to help us not be afraid.  Talk to others about Jesus; work on having a strong soul; prioritize life with the truly important things at the top of the list.  With God, we need not be afraid.