"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?”
 

Izzone? How about Godzone?

Third Sunday of Lent

            For what are we zealous?  We heard in our Gospel today that, when Jesus was throwing out the moneychangers and those who sold oxen, sheep, and doves, his disciples recalled the words of Psalm 69, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”  The abuse of the sacred house of God made Jesus zealous.  What makes us zealous?

            As I thought about a more modern example of what ignites zeal in the hearts of people, the first thing that came to mind was the Izzone.  I have been very blessed this year to be able to attend a handful of games at the Breslin Center to watch the Spartan men play basketball.  And at every game there was the ring of the Izzone, supporting their team, and ensuring future business for audiologists in the greater-Lansing area. 

            Those students who make up the Izzone are zealous.  They are zealous about the Spartan men’s basketball team.  They know each player by name and face, and loudly cheer them on when they make a clutch 3-point shot, get an “and-one” call, or have a nice ally-oop or dunk to show off MSU swag.  They cry foul when they are convinced that one of the players is being hacked on his way up for a lay-up, but the official does not see or call the foul.  Their hearts are set on one thing alone: helping MSU to win by cheering them on to victory.

            Do we have the same zeal for this sacred place as the Izzone has for the men’s basketball team?  Are our hearts as focused while we are here on entering into the Mass with our hearts, minds, and voices, as the students are on entering into the rites of basketball?  Now, let me be clear: I’m not advocating that any of the men start coming to Mass shirtless with a big, green cross painted on their chest.  I’m not advocating that we get a jumbotron to show me coming out of the sacristy, as the crowd cheers loudly and music plays.  I’m not advocating that when we have a guest presider from outside the parish, the assembly responds: “Who cares?”  And certainly some of the language that certain members of the Izzone use is inappropriate for Church, let alone in regular polite conversation.

            Are we zealous for this sacred space and this sacred time?  But notice, St. John the Evangelist, our beloved patron, also says that Jesus talks not so much about the stone and mortar that held the temple in Jerusalem together, but about His body.  So our zeal cannot be limited to this physical space, as important as it is that we set aside certain places for the worship of God.  We must be zealous for Jesus and His Body.

            We talk about Jesus’ Body usually in two ways: His People and His Church.  St. Paul calls us individual members of the Mystical Body of Christ.  And so our zeal has to be for each other: for supporting each other in tough times; for educating each other in the teachings of Jesus; for lifting up each other in prayer.  If you are a student, do you give of your time, as precious as it is, to help others with a class that maybe is harder for one than it is for another?  Do you invite others, whom you know are Catholic, to come to Mass with you?  Do you spend time with the less socially adept students to support them and make them feel loved and a part of this community?  Do you stand up for each other when others are using a particular person as an emotional punching bag?  Do you help to keep each other away from illegal activity, and social events that can be harmful because there is drug or alcohol abuse, or sexual or violent crimes that could easily take place?  Of course, this also goes for non-students as well, but in the workplace and with friends rather than on campus.  Are we zealous for each other, helping to build each other up in virtue and support each other in living a holy life, focusing our minds, hearts, and souls on God in all we do, not just in the time we spend here at Mass?

            Our zeal also has to be for the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church.  Are we zealous in learning what and why our Church teaches what it does, or are we happy having the knowledge of our faith comparable with a fifth-grader?  It always saddens me that, after confirmation, so many think and act as if they’re done with learning about what the Church teaches about the Trinity, the Sacraments, Scripture, morality, and so much more.  There’s an old adage: you can’t give what you don’t have, and the reality is that if we don’t have a mature, adult understanding of the faith, then we can’t pass on that faith to the next generation, and allow them to share in the joy of knowing Jesus Christ while on earth, so that they are prepared to rejoice with Him forever in heaven.  And if we don’t know the faith, then we can’t live the faith. 

            We are engaged in a battle against the world, the flesh, and the devil.  All three of those would love to see us stay infants in the faith.  All three would love to have us be ignorant and keep our religion to ourselves, except for when we go to Church on Sunday.  That way, when good is called bad, and virtue called vice, we don’t know enough and we don’t care enough to take a stand and push back against the powers of the world, the flesh, and the devil and stand up for what is true, not just for Christians, but for all people, since truth is, by its very nature, true for all, not just for some.

            I have never been a doomsday prophet.  I have never wanted to see or say that the Catholic Church is being besieged.  For most of my life, I have felt that we could engage in dialogue with the culture, and that we could live in peace in the world.  But when we are openly mocked in ways that are never acceptable for any other religious group for the teaching of Jesus through His Church; when our defense of the teachings of our faith in public is called bigotry and hate speech; when we are told to reject our consciences as the price we pay to live in a democratic society, then I must sound the warning.  If the current trends continue as regards the treatment of the Catholic Church, both her institutions and her people, then ours will once more be a Church of the Catacombs.  Ours will be a persecuted Church.  As His Eminence, Francis Cardinal George, the Archbishop of Chicago has been quoted recently, “I expect to die in bed.  I expect my successor to die in jail.  I expect his successor to die as a martyr in the public square.”  And for those who do not have zeal for Jesus, the cost will be too much.  And if forced to choose between Jesus and getting by, they will get by, while also endangering their eternal salvation.

            Do we have zeal for Jesus?  Do we have zeal for supporting each other, especially the household of God, to grow in knowledge and love of Jesus?  Do we have zeal for standing up for the teachings of Jesus through His Church?  Wouldn’t it be a blessing if, when we stand united to defend each other and the beliefs that Jesus handed on to us through His apostles in public, others would think of Psalm 69 when they see us and say, Zeal for your house will consume me?