True Freedom in Jesus

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Last week, as I prepared to leave my last parish, St. Joseph, I found it providential that God put as the readings Elisha leaving his home to follow Elijah as a prophet, and Jesus saying that, in ministry, birds of the air have nests and foxes have dens, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.  This week I find it providential that, as I settle in to my new home here in Flint, our Gospel focuses on sending missionaries to preach the Gospel and extend Jesus’ peace into the homes that the disciples visit.

So today I come before you as a missionary; not in the sense that we often think of: a member of a religious community who travels around the world to teach pagans about Jesus.  Rather, I come as a missionary of the New Evangelization, to proclaim to you Jesus, crucified and risen from the dead, and to invite you, with me, to conform our lives more and more each day to Jesus, who will truly make us happy.  I come today to say, “Peace to this household.”  This peace is not merely the cessation of arguments and violence, but the wholeness that only God can bring.

And I come to you today on Independence Day weekend.  I don’t know if this is a normal size crowd for Mass (if it’s like every other parish I’ve been at, I’m sure there are a good amount of people who are vacationing for the long, holiday weekend).  But as we celebrate Independence Day as a nation, as a Church we look at Jesus’ instructions on independence.  He talks about it today in the readings in His instructions to the disciples: “Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals.”  Now, the word Independence is not there, obviously.  But Jesus is telling His disciples not to rely on worldly things, but to trust in Him and in the mission He is giving them.

I certainly also know that in my life.  When I was a young man (maybe the word younger is more appropriate), my dream was to be married, have a few kids, a few dogs, be decently wealthy, and be a lawyer, and then maybe later a politician.  Am I married?  Nope.  Kids?  Nope.  Dogs?  Tried it, but could never make it work.  Wealthy?  Not in financial terms.  A lawyer or politician?  Nope.  I’m a priest.  And yet I am happy.  In fact, I can’t imagine myself happy as anything but a priest.  If I would have insisted on having things my way, on doing things independent of God, then I wouldn’t be here with you today, and I wouldn’t be embarking on a great, new adventure with in my priesthood.  

In our modern understanding, independence means doing whatever we want.  But in Jesus’ understanding, independence means not being tied down by things, dreams, or even people, who want to lead us away from God.  Being truly independent, being free, means being obedient to Jesus, and following His will.  It means not letting our passions control us, not being slaves to sin.  The one who is least free is the sinner, because God never enslaves us, but that’s all Satan wants to do.  Sin binds us to death, whereas life in Christ binds us to resurrection.  Sin shackles us to despair, whereas Jesus gives us hope.  

Freedom is not doing whatever want.  Freedom is not freedom from someone else.  Freedom is freedom for someone else: Jesus, and how He reveals Himself in our neighbors.  Peoples certainly have the right to direct how they are governed, and we celebrate the freedoms enshrined in our Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights, freedoms which come to us not because the government allows us certain permissions, but freedoms which come to us from God, and which no government can legitimately curtail.  We celebrate the freedom which is proper to every human person, no matter that person’s race, religion, sexual orientation, age, or gender.  But that freedom is meant to help us choose the good in life, not simply wherever our fancies and desires take us.

Jesus used His freedom to lay down His life for us.  And so St. Paul reminds us that we are never to boast, “except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.”  May we use our freedoms to preach the Gospel by word and deed, and use our freedom in being able to choose the good things that God has in store for us.

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.