Sesame Street Readings

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

    As a young child I remember a segment of “Sesame Street” that was called “One of these things.”  The point was to identify things that didn’t belong together before the jingle ended.  It speaks to the effectiveness of the jingle that, all these years later, I can still sing the tune and the words in my head without much effort.
    We might think, as we heard the three main readings today, that one of these things is not like the other, and one of these things just doesn’t belong.  Our first reading and Gospel focus on whether or not the people stay committed to God, while the second reading has a slightly different focus, to say the least.  And frankly, when the lectionary was revised after the Second Vatican Council, the principle was that the first reading and the Gospel would be related, while the second reading, usually from an epistle of St. Paul, would be more of a continuous reading, a lectio continua, from the non-Gospel New Testament works.
    But they do all belong together.  And it’s my job to help you see how that applies, even with this longer second reading that probably does not fall well on the ears of modern couples.  The first unifying aspect to all three readings is that all three describe realities that, at one time or another, would be difficult to accept.  In the first reading, Joshua has led the people into the Promised Land after Moses died.  They were finally occupying the lands, but remnants of pagan nations who worshiped false gods still remained to be cast out.  Joshua knew, from his experience since the Exodus, that this people did not always remain faithful to God, and would often abandon God when things got difficult.  So he encourages them to stay with God.  
    In the Gospel, Jesus having taught the people that they have to eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to have eternal life, most of the disciples abandon Him.  They struggle to understand this drastic teaching, which Jesus never waters down or modifies to sound easier, and so they leave.  Finally, Jesus turns to the Twelve, His closest friends, and asks them if they will stay with Him or abandon Him.
    In the second reading, probably most people in the time of St. Paul did not find it strange that St. Paul encouraged wives to be subordinate to their husbands, but it probably was striking that husbands were to love their wives “as Christ loved the church.”  And even if it all strikes us differently, St. Paul teaches that this isn’t simply something that is determined by cultural norms, but is “in reference to Christ and the church.”  
    Secondly, all of the readings remind us of who we should be when it comes to God.  We are the people God chose as His own, who works wonders and signs for us, and brings us from slavery to sin into the promised land of freedom of grace.  But He is God, and we are not.  We don’t get to decide which of the teachings that God revealed we maintain, and which of the teachings God revealed we jettison because it’s hard or seems odd.  We all are the bride, and Christ is our head, to whom we need to be subordinate.  When God reveals the way we are to live, just like He revealed the Ten Commandments to the Chosen People, which included Joshua; just like when He revealed the teaching on the Eucharist, that it truly is His Flesh and Blood which give us eternal life; just like when He revealed that we are to “be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ,” and that wives are to “be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord,” and husbands are to “love your wives as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her,”; we cannot simply pick and choose.  God’s word is life, and a rejection of some of His teaching is a rejection of some of the fullness of life that God wants for us.
    Having said that, God allows us our freedom.  Not long after the people pledged to serve God in the Promised Land, they abandoned Him and served other gods.  They found it didn’t work out so well, as other nations invaded and oppressed them, but God allowed them to exercise their free will, even as He constantly called them back to Himself.  In the Gospel, Jesus didn’t run after the people and given them a secondary teaching on the Eucharist to help them understand it in different ways.  He gave them the teaching they needed, and they either abandoned Him (most disciples) or stayed with Him (the Apostles and a few others).  Jesus told them how they could have eternal life within them, and they had to choose whether they wanted it or not.  And even with marriage, God does not force His way upon couples.  Couples can do the power struggle thing where each tries to be the most important, or tries to make everything about him or herself, probably resulting in an unhappy marriage or even divorce.  Or they can accept Christ’s teaching that they need to live for the other, and not be so concerned about their own will and their own desires, and find a happier marriage.  God reveals what will make us happy and give us new life, but we are free to accept or reject that.
    Sometimes things don’t seem related.  Or we like the Jesus who says, “‘I am the bread of life,’” but don’t want to hear that we can’t worship other gods, or that marriage has a particular meaning and way of being lived out that brings about grace.  But it’s the same God who reveals all ways in which we are to follow Him, as He lovingly lets us choose to follow Him, or to choose other gods who bring upon us slavery, error, and unhappiness.  As for me, I know that God has the words of eternal life, so there is no where else to go.  As for me, I will serve the Lord.

Be a Prophet!!

Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

            So often I think when Catholics hear the word “prophet,” we think of someone who can foretell the future.  In fact, in the Biblical accounts, while prophets do sometimes tell people what will happen as a result of their sin or conversion, the prophets are the ones who speak for God.  Their job is not to say on what exact date the world is going to end (apparently that job was already taken by the Mayans), or which lottery numbers to play, but to speak for God.  And in our first reading, we hear how God pours out a spirit of prophecy of 70 elders.  Towards the end of the passage today, Joshua gets a little envious, and is upset that Eldad and Medad, who were outside the camp when they were supposed to be with Moses, still received the spirit of prophecy.  Moses then prophesies, “‘Would that all the people of the Lord were prophets!  Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all!’”  That prophecy was fulfilled at Pentecost, when the Lord poured out His Spirit upon the Blessed Mother, the Apostles, and the Disciples gathered in the Upper Room.  And then the Lord poured out His spirit on the new believers. 

            We, for our part, have also been made prophets.  The Lord has poured out His Spirit on us in Baptism and Confirmation.  At Baptism we were anointed with the Sacred Chrism, which reminded us that we are now a member of the Anointed One, the Messiah, the Christ, and we share in his priestly, prophetic, and kingly ministry of all the faithful.  In Confirmation, the Bishop or Priest called down the Holy Spirit upon us through prayer, and then anointed us again with the Sacred Chrism to seal us with the gift of the Holy Spirit.  And so, the prophecy of Moses was fulfilled in us as we were made prophets, those who speak for God.

            As a good examination of conscience we can ask ourselves: how do we speak for God, both by our words (the prophets of the Old Testament are always saying, “Thus says the Lord”) and by our deeds (like when Jeremiah made the clay pot, or Ezekiel acted as if he were in exile)?

            Are we a prophet when it comes to defending the dignity of the poor and truly assisting them?  People can debate the best way to help the poor legitimately.  But, as prophets, we must ensure that the poor, widows, and orphans, those whom the Lord favors, are protected from neglect and are not punished for their lack of means.  Are we a prophet when it comes to defending the dignity and definition of marriage?  Our culture is really confused about marriage right now.  But we know that marriage was created by God as the union between one man and one woman for life, and that good, happy, holy marriages should be protected because of the important role they play in forming good, happy, and holy societies.  Are we a prophet for the infant in the womb and the homebound, who are so often neglected?  Do we give those who do not have a voice our voice and speak for God so that mothers and fathers can make the only good choice, the choice for life, and so that the homebound are not “done away with” because they are a burden to society?  Are we prophets for religious freedom, the God-given right that we have to worship and to take what we have received in worship into the public sector and not be punished for our beliefs or for serving those who are not Catholic?

            Are we prophets by what we say and what we do (and in this election year, being a prophet includes speak for God when we vote)?  When we are not prophets, by what we say and by what we do, then we causes others to sin by assisting them in thinking that God’s message does not really matter; that we can separate what we believe and how we live.  That is the sin of scandal, and it occurs when, by our words or actions, we provide a witness that does not live up to our prophetic call to speak for God, so that others do not consider, for example, protecting the poor, the infant in the womb, the homebound, the true definition of marriage, and religious freedom.  When we don’t exercise our prophetic vocation that we received in Baptism and Confirmation, others notice: when they know that as Christians we are called to assist the poor as an act of charity, and yet we make wealth and possessions our little idols; when we say we’re pro-life but then our actions don’t reflect that belief; when we don’t assist married couples, especially when times are difficult for them; when we are silent in the midst of the government telling us that they will decide who qualifies for conscience protection; then we cause scandal and lead others to think that those issues don’t really matter.  And if that happens, woe to us, because Jesus is quite clear what we can expect: “‘it would be better for him [or her] if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.’”

            But, when we live up to our prophetic call to infuse the culture, our families, our neighborhoods, our jobs, politics, and all aspects of life with the message of God, the Gospel, then we will not lose our reward.  When we speak for God and not for ourselves, then others will know what God wants for this world in order that all people might life in peace, justice, and the love of God.  The Spirit of the Lord is upon you, because He has anointed you.  Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord.