What Question Do We Ask God?

Thirty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time

            This past Monday, Bishop Mengeling gave a wonderful talk on the Year of Faith and his time at the Second Vatican Council.  He had some amazing slides from both outside and inside St. Peter’s during some of the sessions.  Before the talk, a few members of the pastoral staff and members of the adult formation team had dinner with Bishop Mengeling and I.  At one point of the conversation, Bishop Mengeling mentioned the questions he would have for God when he died, and some of the others mentioned their own questions to God that they are saving up for when they meet their Maker.

            In today’s Gospel, a scribe asked Jesus a question.  Now, recall that the scribes and Jesus didn’t always get along.  The scribes, along with the Pharisees and Sadducees, were always trying to trap Jesus, to get Him to say something so they could write Jesus off as neither a prophet nor sent by God.  At the first hearing of the question, maybe we think it’s another trap being set: “‘Which is the first of all the commandments?’”  Maybe, we could think, this scribe was trying to trick Jesus into giving a wrong answer. 

            Jesus responds with the Shema, the text we heard from our first reading, which forms the heart of the Jewish faith, and was to be said by Jews each day: “Hear, O Israel!  The Lord our God is Lord alone!  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.”  He then adds a second commandment, from the Book of Leviticus: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  The scribe then agrees with Jesus.  But rather than Jesus condemning the scribe for trying to trap Him, as Jesus did with so many others, Jesus says, “‘You are not far from the kingdom of God.’”  This is a different type of question; one asked not so much to trap, as to truly find out the truth.

            What question would we ask Jesus?  What question do we ask Jesus?  Maybe there’s lots of little trivia that we want to know: did Adam and Eve have belly buttons?  What does Jesus really look like in His human body?  How many angels can fit on the head of a pin?  But this scribe, who was basically congratulated for his question, asked about salvation.  The question of ‘what is the greatest commandment?’ is basically a question about what the most important thing is to know and do.  And Jesus answers that question.

            Especially in an academic community like East Lansing, we can have lots of questions for God.  Sometimes they are questions about trivia.  Sometimes they are weightier questions about life and death, why suffering exists.  Those are not bad questions.  But there’s a hierarchy of truths, and the first one on our mind should be ‘how do I get to spend eternity with God?’  If God made us for Himself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in Him, to paraphrase St. Augustine, then the first question on our minds should be how we come to rest in God?  To answer that, we turn back to the scribe’s question.

            Jesus answers that the first commandment is about knowing and doing.  We must know who God is.  Only in the measure that we know God can we love God.  If we know God well, we can love Him more.  If we know God poorly, we won’t love God as much as we need to or want to.  Jesus starts out with the unity of God; God is one.  And yet, God is love, and love is self-diffusive; it gives out.  So our one God is also a communion of Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  And God sent His Son, Jesus, to reveal to us in a human body just how far that love goes.  That’s what we see on the cross: God’s love.  Then God sends the Holy Spirit to those who have gotten to know Jesus in order to continue the work of Jesus after He ascended into heaven.  That’s the Church.  The Holy Spirit continues the work of Jesus by continuing to teach the truth (the teaching office of the Church) and by sharing God’s love with those who want it and who have faith in God (that’s the sacramental life of the Church, where God’s love which is grace, is poured into our hearts by the 7 Sacraments and by our connecting to Jesus through prayer).  Just like in the New Testament, some continue to receive the truth and love that God reveals (especially those who recognize their need for God, that is, sinners), and there are some who continue to reject the truth and love that God reveals (especially those who think that they have all the answers themselves, and who don’t need anyone). 

            But besides just knowing who God is, Jesus also reminds us that we are called to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; in other words, with all of who we are.  Jesus calls us not just to know, but to act and respond to that love.  And if we are called through Baptism to be members of Christ’s Body, the Church, then our mission is the same as Jesus’ mission: to reveal the truth and the love of God.  We are also called, in loving God with our entire self, to preach the truth to others by our words and to give them the love of God through our actions.  Some may reject the light of truth and choose to remain in the darkness of their own opinions.  Some may even reject God’s love because it makes demands on their life and calls for conversion.  But, as Jesus Himself said, “‘If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.  If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.’”

            In this Year of Faith, let us continually seek to rest in God by taking practical ways to get to know God better—through prayer, study, and silence—and by taking practical ways to love God better—through prayer, giving of our time and talent, and supporting one another—so that, at the end of our lives, we can say when Jesus questions us, that we have tried our best to know the God who is One, and to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.  

Our Camaraderie with God

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

            Many of the adults I talk to who have children who frequently misbehave, tell me that they feel like they are getting their just desserts.  “Father,” they tell me, “when I was a kid I was a real trouble maker.  I kept my mom and dad up late at night, worrying about whether I was ok.  At the time, I didn’t think it was a big deal, but now that I have kids, I realize how difficult I made it for my mom and dad, and I appreciate all their love and concern all the more.” 

            There’s something about having someone know exactly what you’re going through that gives you a real sense of camaraderie.  While anyone can be a critic, only coaches know how hard it is to get your players to perform at the level of which you know they are capable so the team can win.  When there is a death of a loved one, especially a spouse, parent, or child, we rightfully support each other, but only one who has lost a spouse, parent, or child truly understands what that person is going through.

            What camaraderie we have, then, with our God!  God knows us.  He knows us better than we do ourselves.  He knows what will truly make us happy, and how we can best achieve that happiness.  But the shocker is that, not only does God teach us how we are to live in order to be happy, but He joins us to Himself and experiences life just like we do, but without sin.  This is the scandal of the Incarnation: that God, who existed before all else, who cannot suffer, who was subject to nothing, would lower Himself and take on human flesh and feel the heat of the burning sun, the cool of the desert night, would stub his toe occasionally while walking, and would be tempted to all the things we are, and then freely be nailed to a cross in order to save us.  While we have grown used to this narrative over 2,000 years, this is truly amazing!!  God did not have to join a human nature to His divine nature in Jesus.  There was no compulsion to take on human limitations.  But out of love for us, Jesus did all that.

            In our first reading, God talks about how He will lead his people from exile into joy.  He promises to bring gather them, and to console them after their sorrows.  He will even make the road easy for them, without hills or valleys, without twists or turns.  He will free them from their oppression.  And in Jesus, God does that.  In our Gospel, Jesus heals a blind man, Bartimaeus.  He restores light and vision to the man’s eyes, the man who had walked in darkness for a long time.  But God does not just do this like a magic trick.  He does not simply will it to be from the heavens.  Instead, He takes the journey with us, from exile into freedom, from darkness into light.

            In Jesus, God knew the weight of sin, though He was sinless Himself.  As holiness itself in a human body, Jesus could sense all the disobedience around Him.  It must have made His very being convulse interiorly at the separation that sin causes.  But, He took that sin upon Himself and freed us from it.  It is as if He took our hand as we were lost, and told us, “I’ll lead you back home.”  In Jesus, we could hold hands with God, and be led where we needed to go.

            Although God knows the eye better than we do ourselves, in Jesus God sees with His eyes.  He has eyes that receive light and shadow and color, and so as He comes to Bartimaeus and senses his faith, He restores sight to that man to bring him back into the light. 

            Our God is not the god of the deists, a disinterested clockmaker who set the world in motion and lets it work according to its mechanical rules.  Our God is the loving Father, who sends His Son to experience life with us, and to show us the way to true happiness.  Yes, He knows the pain of sin because He knows how He created us and He knows that sin does not fulfill who we are.  But He also knows the weight and pain through Jesus’ human nature, such that He cries out from the cross using the words of King David in Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”  Through always united to God, He drinks the pain of sin, not just a sip, but to the dregs, so that we can have life.  Yes, God knows darkness because He separated the day from the night, but He also has eyes that see and experiences the joy of vision with human eyes.

            So, do you know that God?  Do you know the God who not only knows you because He is God, but because He has also taken to Himself human flesh, never to separate from it?  Would you be comfortable enough having breakfast with this God?  Or do you prefer the anonymous, distant god?  To be honest, the anonymous, distant god is easier to deal with.  It’s like that fourth cousin, once removed who lives in Mississippi.  Sure, we’re family, but there’s no real relationship there.  And that way, he makes no demands on me, and I make no demands on Him.  We’re just associated with each other.  Do you know Jesus such that you would be comfortable spending time with Him, and making a sacrifice for Him?  A relationship means that there are demands on one’s affections.  Friends do this and don’t do that.  Jesus invites us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.  He invites us to be pure of heart, mind, and body.  Jesus invites us to take up our cross daily and follow Him, to value everything less than our relationship with Him.  Those demands only make sense if we have a relationship with Him.  If not, they just seem like rules and regulations.

            The Good News is that Jesus knows us, and He knows the reality of our situation, in His human nature as one like us in all things but sin, and in His divine nature as our Creator.  The upside is that, if we are willing to have a relationship with the God who took on human flesh, then we can grasp that fleshy hand as He says to us, “Come with me.  Let me take you from the exile of sin into the freedom of holiness; from the darkness of death into the light of life.”  “Come, follow me.”  

Kenny Chesney & the Rich Young Man

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

            This may come as a surprise to some of you, but I’m a fan of country music.  Others may have noticed my cowboy boots and country hat that I have worn.  One of the popular country stars in these days is Kenny Chesney.  He has such hits as “Boys of Fall,” “You and Tequila,” and “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.”  Lesser known is his song, “Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven.”  The words of the refrain are: “Everybody wants to go to heaven/ Have a mansion high above the clouds/ Everybody wants to go to heaven/ but nobody wants to go now.” 

            Today’s readings also focus us on what our priorities are: are they earthly or are they heavenly?  In the first reading, the Sacred Author, traditionally regarded as King Solomon, says that he prayed for prudence and wisdom, and he received it.  He wanted it more than “scepter and throne, and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her, nor did [he] liken any priceless gem to her; because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand, and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.”  He didn’t care about good health and being attractive, and even about sleep.  Solomon here is not just talking about being book smart or street smart, but is talking about the wisdom from above, the wisdom from God so that Solomon could know what is important, and what is less or unimportant.  But, even though Solomon talks about only wanting the wisdom of God, he also says, “Yet all good things together came to me in her company, and countless riches at her hands.”  Having the wisdom of God did not deny Solomon the good things, but, instead, brought the truly good things to him.

            Jesus, in the Gospel, talks about obstacles to heaven, as seen in the Rich Young Man.  The man had kept all of the commandments, and so Jesus told him that he lacked just one thing: “‘Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.’”  But the man couldn’t bring himself to make that radical step.  The Word of God, Jesus Christ the Divine Word, was sharper than any sword for that man, penetrated between soul and spirit, joint and marrow, and was able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart, and that Rich Young Man’s heart loved his possessions more than he loved Jesus.  Now, to be clear, Jesus did not condemn wealth.  But, Jesus did condemn making wealth a god, and preferring it to following Him.  He also warned how easy it is for riches to become an obstacle to salvation, going so far as to say, “‘It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’”  Money so easily becomes a god unto itself which beckons like a siren to be loved and treasured above all else, and to try and make more and more and more.

            Now, money isn’t an obstacle for all people.  It’s so easy to place other lesser goods between us and the Lord, so that the demand isn’t so great.  We could prefer status to Jesus; or vacation; or power; or prestige; or even just our own will.  Each of those things, and so many more, can be things that we feel we cannot let go, even if the Lord is calling us to abandon them in order to follow Him more deeply.  Our relationship with Jesus, truly knowing Him and loving Him, has to be first, with no excuses why anything else is more important.  If today Jesus appeared right in your midst, in His glorified body, and said to you, “You can spend two hours with me here, or I will give you the winning Powerball numbers so you can win $50 million dollars,” what would we say?  I know what I should say.  And maybe you’re like me, and want to immediately rationalize what we could do with $50 million dollars.  But the only right answer is Jesus.  And even if money isn’t your temptation, it could be good grades, a good job, a nice vacation getaway, or, again, maybe just having your own way.  But, the key is, what comes first for us?

            What’s interesting is that the choice isn’t: follow Jesus and be miserable, or follow whatever little god is important to you and have pleasure.  After St. Peter tells Jesus, “‘We have given up everything and followed you,’” Jesus replies, “‘there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age…and eternal life in the age to come.’”  Now, Jesus is also clear that with following Him comes persecution.   But you also receive a lot more, even in this age, not to mention eternal life and happiness with God.  Bl. Teresa of Calcutta attests to that; she preferred nothing to Jesus.  And even though she didn’t even own the sari on her back and went through intense spiritual darkness, she was truly happy.  Venerable Solanus Casey is another good example.  He was ordained a priest, but he was not allowed to hear confessions or preach sermons.  Most of his work was opening doors to the monastery, and serving the poor.  Yet I dare you to find a happier man, who also brought such joy to those he met. 

            Nothing is more important than our relationship with Jesus.  Nothing even comes close to its worth.  The Lord asks each of us today: what is an obstacle to our relationship?  What keeps us from drawing close to Him?  “‘Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides.’”

The Icon of Marriage

Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

            If there’s one gift that I admire in people, it’s the gift of being an artist; of being able to take pencils, or crayons, or paints, or charcoal and create an image that truly looks like something, whether it’s a landscape, a person, or a scene.  Try as I might, I just don’t have that gift.  The best I can do is stick figures and basic shapes, and they never seem to look like what I am imagining or picturing in my head, no matter how hard I try.

            When a piece of art looks like what it represents, it’s easy to tell the correlation.  When the art doesn’t look like what it represents, it’s difficult to find the correlation.  When an artist paints the Coliseum in Rome, you can tell what it is.  Why I try to draw the Coliseum, it could be a bathtub, a strainer, or just a blob.

            Jesus’ teaching today on marriage is all about correlation.  Marriage is meant to be an icon, and image, or something else.  And we see that in the beginning in Genesis.  Adam and Eve are created to be a communion of persons.  They are not simply to be two persons who happen to be in the same area, but they are meant to be joined in a relationship.  “‘It is not good for the man to be alone,’” God says, and so he makes Eve for Adam.  But Adam recognizes that this is not simply a second, but a part of him.  “‘This one, at last,’” Adam says, “‘is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.’”  The two are meant for each other.  And in that first couple, we see the design of marriage, as the sacred author says at the end, “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one flesh.”

            But what are Adam and Eve, two persons but joined as one flesh, meant to represent?  They are the icon of the God’s relationship with humanity.  Adam and Eve are meant to be a physical representation in their marriage of God and human nature.  Just as Jesus is one Person, so Adam and Eve are both human.  And, just as Jesus has two distinct natures, so Adam and Eve retain their individuality.  Of course, an icon is an image; it is not the same.  And there are differences between the relationship between God and humanity and Adam and Eve.  But Adam and Eve are an image of the communion of marriage of God to humanity.

            Through the years, after the Fall of Adam and Eve, that image became marred.  It’s as if Fr. Anthony started to draw the image.  Yes, it had some resemblances to the original, but there were flaws.  Whereas God’s original plan was for one man and one woman to be joined as one flesh for life, very soon after the Fall men and women started to abuse the gift of their sexuality and so marred the image of marriage.  It was no longer one man and one woman, but maybe one man and lots of women.  And even in the Law given through Moses, while adultery is clearly forbidden (the Sixth Commandment), still, divorce is allowed by Moses, and the image of God’s communion of Persons is still not quite an accurate portrayal.

            But Jesus, the full revelation of the Father, the new Moses, cleans up the image.  He reminds the Pharisees that the husband and wife are not two, but one flesh, and what God has joined cannot be separated (unless, as in the passage from the Gospel according to St. Matthew, the marriage is not valid from the start).  Jesus calls the Chosen People back to the idea of radical fidelity, even in the face of unfaithfulness.  That is the message of almost all the prophets, who remind Israel that she is the Bride of God, and that she has been unfaithful.  But God, for His part, never abandoned her, and remains faithful for all time.  That image of marriage is based upon God Himself, who took to Himself a human nature, and will never separate or divorce that human nature from Himself.  He is one flesh with humanity.    And so Jesus says there this is no such thing as divorce from God’s perspective. 

            This is a tough teaching because it is a difficult image to live up to.  But that is precisely what marriage represents: the relationship between Jesus and humanity.  That is why preparation for marriage is so important, so that the union of a man and a woman is an accurate representation of the marriage of the divine to the human in Jesus Christ.  That is why it is so important for married couples to support each other, especially in difficult times, to remain faithful to their vows and to that image, as long as it does not endanger a person’s spiritual, mental, or emotional well-being.  The Church certainly does not want a spouse to be a punching bag, and sometimes separation is necessary.  Sometimes there was something that was missing from the marriage from the start, which may or may not have been known.  That is why the Church grants Declarations of Invalidity, or annulments, to recognize that what was necessary for that image to even be crafted may not have been there.  It does not illegitimate any of the aspects that looked like a real marriage, including the children, but it does recognize that something necessary was missing.

            To all those who have civil divorces in our community: while we cannot change Jesus’ teaching, we can also emphasize that Jesus still loves you and wants you as a part of His Body, the Church.  I have too often heard from people who have felt that because they are divorced (even though they are not civilly remarried) they cannot participate in the life of the Church.  That is the farthest from the truth.  As long as you are not doing anything which is improper for a married person, if you are divorced, you are still welcome to present yourself for all the sacraments, especially the Eucharist.  And whether you have or have not attempted remarriage outside of the Church, do not be afraid to come and meet with a priest to try to regularize your situation and obtain a declaration of invalidity.  Especially if you have attempted remarriage, Fr. Mark and I want to help you so that you can once again return to the sacramental life of the Church.

            The Church’s teaching on marriage can seem hard.  It can seem to many to be out of date and punitive.  But what the Church teaches is what Jesus teaches: that marriage is not just about one man and one woman becoming one flesh.  That union is meant to symbolize the bond of one human nature and one Divine nature in the one Divine Person of Jesus, a bond which Jesus will never separate, because God has joined them together.  Let us support each other, especially married couples, in living out that icon of love, so that the image is clear and recognizable of the unending and unbreakable bond of love of God with humanity.

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.

Sophomores

Twenty-Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

            I was talking to a high school student from Lansing Catholic a couple of weeks ago.  He was showing me his iPod and all the songs he had on it, and talking about how the songs he had were true music.  So, I showed him my iTunes library on my phone to compare.  As it turns out, according to him, I only had a few songs that were actually “music.”  The rest was just “noise,” apparently.  Now, sometimes high school students in any grade know it all.  But if there’s one class that epitomizes the attitude that they know it all  (because, after all, they’ve studied) it would certainly be a sophomore.  You see, in general, freshmen know that they don’t know anything and that they’re just starting out.  Juniors and have studied enough to realize that, while they know a lot in their particular area of interest, that they have only scratched the surface of available knowledge.  Sophomores, on the other hand, think they know it all, but haven’t learned enough to realize that they don’t: a particularly dangerous combination.  But that’s why we use the word sophomore to describe their class year: it comes from the Greek words sophia and moros, meaning wisdom and fool.  Sophomores are, again in general, wise fools.

            The Word of God in today’s readings talks about wisdom, and sets before us two types of wisdom: the wisdom of the wicked, and the wisdom from above.  Our first reading focuses on the wisdom of the wicked.  In their mind, the just one needs to be eliminated, or “taken care of,” as a wise guy might say.  The wicked consider a holy person obnoxious, and they are insulted by his correction of their faults.  They are ready to put the just one to the test and see if all this “God talk” adds up, and if God will really protect His so-called servant.  The wicked see a holy life as a threat and a danger to their way of life, and so they have to destroy it so that they can continue in their own way. 

            The wisdom from above, on the other hand, is “pure, then peaceable, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, without inconstancy or insincerity.”  It is a different way of looking at the world.  It does not waver in the face of threats, and is always sincere and true.  It seeks peace, not just an absence of conflict, but true justice for all.  It forgives wrongs and does not go looking for a fight.  Jesus also tells us in the Gospel that the wisdom from above turns the wisdom of the world on its head.  Whereas in the view of the world the truly great person is the one who is in charge of everything, in the wisdom from above, the great person is the one who is the servant of all. 

            If it were that easy to pick out the two types of wisdom, our world would probably be a better place.  But we are beset by weakness, but concupiscence, the desire for lesser goods, and the wisdom of the wicked often looks more enjoyable, more attractive.  When it comes to skipping class, or alcohol, or sex outside of marriage, the wisdom of the wicked seems much more appealing.  But wisdom from above gives true happiness, not just passing pleasure.

            If we are truly convinced that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, the Life, rather than just one way, or one truth, or one life, then we who have the wisdom from above should seek to share it with others.  If the Gospel truly is Good News, and true wisdom, than to keep it to ourselves not only does us harm, but also does those who need to hear that Good News and that wisdom harm.  That is one way that we serve others: by sharing with them the wisdom and joy that we have in Christ.  Have you asked a roommate or a friend, whom you know is Catholic but is not coming to Mass, to join you on Sundays for Mass, or for men’s or women’s group?  We are not called to condemn, but to invite.  We warn others about the dangers of the wisdom of the wicked, but we do not cajole others into joining us.  We simply extend an open hand of love and joy. 

            When those who are wise in wickedness are confronted—by a friend, a family member, or religion—it’s always portrayed as people just trying to rain on the parade.  We may be called obnoxious by our friends.  Laziness, drunkenness, and debauchery look like a ton of fun.  And they certainly are pleasurable.  But they do not lead to happiness.  They quickly fade, and often leave a path of destruction in this world.  Meanwhile, the just, those striving for holiness, often put up with a lot more suffering, a lot more pain, certainly less pleasure in the eyes of the world.  But, if God created the world, and He knows best how it works, and He is the best answer for the desire of every human heart, then following the wisdom from above makes sense, not just in this world, but also in the world to come.  A life of restraint and service is what makes for a great life, not a life of license and using others.  It’s upside down from our view.  But if we take it from God’s perspective, then it’s just the way God intended it. 

            We can stay sophomores in our faith; we can be wise fools.  God gives us that freedom.  We can pretend that we can do whatever we want now, and just make up for it in some possible future act of repentance that we may never make.  Or, we can be truly wise, and move beyond our sophomoric ways, and live by the wisdom that comes from above, that gives us and those around us true peace and joy.  And then, being truly wise, we will see the need to serve others by sharing with them the wisdom from above, so that they can find that peace and joy that we have by living a truly wise life.

Throw Your Life Away!!

Twenty-Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

            As a seminarian, it was not uncommon to hear people talk about certain seminarians, and say, “Why is so-and-so throwing his life away?  He has such great potential!”  Bishop Mengeling, when we were on retreat as seminarians, would sometimes use that phrase to remind us of what we were doing with a twist, that we were truly throwing our life away for the Lord, just as a married couple throws their life away for each other.

            We often don’t think of throwing our life away as a positive thing.  That’s not the phrase we use to celebrate big events like an ordination, or a wedding (though the phrase may be tossed around at bachelor or bachelorette parties, or by heartbroken girls who would rather have a seminarian as the father of their children instead of being a spiritual father).    It generally has a negative connotation, as if we are wasting some sort of potential.  And yet, in our Gospel, the Lord is very clear: “‘whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it.’”  It is as if Jesus is saying, “If you try not to throw away your life, you will, but if you throw away your life for me, you will truly preserve it.”

            When a man and woman pledge themselves to each other as husband and wife; or when a man is called to be a priest and responds to that call; or when a man or a woman respond to the call to be consecrated for the sake of the Kingdom; all those people are throwing away their lives.  The married couple is promising to stop looking for someone better with whom to share their entire life and with whom to have children.  The priest is promising to devote his life first and foremost to God, so that he can serve His people.  The consecrated man or woman is promising to devote him or herself to Christ and be a witness of what life will be like in the Kingdom of Heaven, especially through witnessing the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty, and obedience in imitation of Jesus who was chaste, poor, and obedient. 

They are throwing away other opportunities that could have come up in their life in the future.  The husbands are throwing away the possibility that they will meet another woman, and the wives are throwing away the possibility that they will meet another man, who will be a suitable partner, a lifelong companion, and the person with whom they want to share physical intimacy and raise children.  The priest is throwing away the possibility of marriage and having biological children of his own so that he can have deep intimacy with Christ and be the caretaker of His bride, the Church.  The consecrated man or woman is throwing away the possibility of being a father or a mother, and, in the case of men and women religious, is throwing away the accumulation of wealth and the ability to direct their lives how they want, and when they want, and where they want.

And yet, as proof of what Jesus says (in case we don’t take Him at His word), the happiest people I have met are those who have thrown away their lives and not looked back.  I see it in couples that have been married, for example, for 50 years, who have spent a lifetime together, struggling to make ends meet, to raise children, to live out their faith, and while things haven’t always been easy, they always, without fail, say to me that they would do the same all over again if they had the chance.  I see it in the consecrated men and women, like Judith Stegman, a consecrated virgin, or Sr. Dorothy, our Director of Campus Ministry, or Sr. Liz, our Director of Senior Ministry, in the joy that they have found in consecrating their lives to Christ.  And I also see the overwhelming majority of my brother priests, who, though they have left all to follow Christ and serve His people, are already receiving 100-fold for what they have left behind.

What concerns me a little is that our culture does not encourage us to throw everything away for marriage, or consecrated life, or priesthood.  Whether it’s middle or high school students, or the college students at MSU, or even adults, so many are afraid to make any commitment, just in case there’s something better around the corner.  As a culture, we are afraid of commitment because it means that we may have to give up the future goods that we think we might possibly get by holding out.  Even in marriage, there is a general societal view that, if things don’t work out, you can always break it off in case you find something or someone better.  We see it especially in couples living together while dating or engaged, pretending to live a married life with each other under the same roof, in the same bed, but free to call it off in case something better comes along.  Only in marriage is that decision to throw it all away for the other protected, because both spouses commit to that marital love for the entire duration of their lives.  And sadly, Jesus’ words ring true that those who try to save it all, end up losing it.  Some studies state that 67%, or 2 out of 3 couples that live together before marriage, end up divorcing, and that it’s often in the first decade of their marriage. 

Is throwing it all away easy?  Certainly not.  There are times when a couple, or a consecrated man or woman, or a priest, feels the weight of the cross.  There are times when disciples have to experience people who metaphorically beat their back, or pluck their beard, or spit on their face.  But, when we throw it away, with God’s help, when we lose our life for the Son of Man and the gospel, then we can say with the prophet Isaiah from our first reading, “The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame…See, the Lord God is my help.”  When we lose our life for the sake of Jesus and the Gospel, it is then that we, in fact, find it, and save it for eternal life.

The Divine Physician

Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

            The Word of God is often challenging.  It calls us to deeper conversion as we turn our lives away from sin and towards Jesus, trying to live our life in conformity with the love that Jesus showed us by what we say and do.  As a spiritual father, it is not uncommon for me to have to deliver a tough message, a message which calls us to rethink the way we’re living, to re-examine our priorities, and to change our habits of sin to habits of grace and virtue.  Just like a biological father or mother who must, from time to time, correct children to ensure that they will succeed in the world, not only as citizens of earth but also as citizens of the New Jerusalem in heaven, sometimes I have to correct the sheep of the Lord’s flock.  But today is not one of those days. 

            Today, the message the Lord speaks to us is one of His healing love.  Both in our Gospel and in our first reading, we hear about the tender love of our God which wants to heal us.  The Lord says to us today, as He spoke through Isaiah then, “Be strong, fear not!  Here is your God…he comes to save you.”  We hear that he will open the eyes of the blind, and clear the ears of the deaf.  He will make the lame leap like stags, and loose the tongues of the mute.  He will turn the desert into a watered garden.  And in our Gospel, Jesus fulfills that prophecy by healing the man who was deaf and had a speech impediment.  Jesus, as the very revelation of God the Father, makes present for us the healing love that God has for His people.

So, the question is, will we accept that healing touch of God?  Will we welcome the Divine Physician into our hearts to cure us from what ails us?  To those of you who have frightened hearts: of what are you afraid?  What causes you anxiety?  Whatever it is, open your hearts up to the Lord, and hear Him say to you as He said to the frightened disciples in the boat as the waves were crashing about it, and as He said to St. Peter as He bade Peter walk across the water, “Be not afraid!”  Those were the words that opened the pontificate of Bl. John Paul II in 1978, and we still need to hear those words: “Be not afraid!”  Because, as St. Paul says, “If God is for who, who can be against us?”  The waves of the world may crash all around us, but Jesus is in our boat, and He who separated the dry land from the water at the creation of the world will not let us capsize in the waters of chaos. 

Where do we not see the Lord?  Where do we think that He is absent from our lives?  Cry out like the blind man in Jericho, “‘Lord, that I may see!’”  Feel the warm, callused, but tender hand of our Lord over your eyes so that you may recognize Him: in the poor, the downtrodden, the infant in the womb, the elderly, the homebound, even in your enemy.  Let the Lord bring the light of the Gospel truth to the darkness of sin which blinds us to the presence of God in the world.

Where do we not hear the Lord?  Are we familiar with how the Lord speaks to us?  Sometimes it is in great moments when the Lord appeared to Moses on Mt. Sinai.  Other times, like with Elijah, it is in the whisper of a soft voice inside our hearts.  Ask the Lord to touch your ears and say, “‘Ephaphtha!’—that is, ‘Be opened!’” so that when you sit in silence, you will hear the clear Word of God in your heart and recognize the voice of the Good Shepherd speaking to you, leading you to green pastures. 

How are our mouths bound so that we do not speak?  How do we mumble the Word of God in our words and our deeds?  Ask the Lord to open you lips so that you proclaim His wonderful works in all that you say and do.  Ask Him to cleanse your speech so that when people hear you speaking, they are truly listening to the voice of God.  Ask Him to allow you to proclaim from the mountaintops that our God has come to save us, and the day of our vindication is at hand! 

But know this, if we do not ask; if we leave this building and act as if nothing has changed, then we will not be healed.  Not because the Lord does not love us, but because God, who did not ask to create us, will not heal and save us without our permission.  God loves us and respects our free will so much, that He will not force us to take His medicine, even if we will die without it.  We must recognize that we need the Lord’s help (which is itself a gift from God) and then ask Him to heal our infirmities, whatever they are, whether of body and/or soul, and He will come to us quicker than any ambulance ever could. 

Brothers and sisters, the Lord’s love for us will renew our youth and irrigate those parts of us that are as dry as deserts so that they are a luscious garden, full of life.  Our Lord comes to heal us so that we may not labor under the sickness of sin, but may have the fullness of life through the power of the Holy Spirit.  “Be strong, fear not!  Here is your God, he comes with vindication; with divine recompense he comes to save you.”  “He has done all things well.”

Doers of the Word

Twenty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

            I’m sure this has never happened with anyone here, but imagine a scenario where a parent tells a child to do something while that child is doing something else like watching TV, or playing video games, reading, or texting.  Then imagine that, lo and behold, that child does not, in fact, do what the parent tells the child to do (I know, this must be shocking for you that this actually happens in some families).  The usual response from the parent would be some variation of, “Why didn’t you listen to me?”

            St. James tells us in the second reading, that we are to be “doers of the word and not hearers only.”  We have been blessed with the greatest message of all time.  It started in the Old Testament, with the message that God had chosen a people, and had cared for them and brought them to a land.  And, even after they were enslaved, God freed them and returned them to that land flowing with milk and honey.  He game them laws so that they might be just and upright, and know the good to do and the evil to avoid.  This is what Moses is talking about in the first reading.

            And even “when through disobedience [humanity] had lost [God’s] friendship, He did not abandon [us] to the domain of death…Time and again [God] offered them covenants and through the prophets taught [us] to look forward to salvation.”  And then, “in the fullness of time [God] sent [His] Only Begotten Son to be our Savior.  Made incarnate by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, he shared our human nature in all things but sin…To accomplish [God’s] plan, [Jesus] gave himself up to death, and, rising from the dead, he destroyed death and restored life.”  And the Church was formed, the New Israel, who was called to proclaim this Good News of the death and resurrection of Jesus, which saves us from our sins.  And, in response to this love first shown to us in God, the members of the Body of Christ are to configure themselves to Jesus, by the guidance of the teaching of the Apostles and their successors who continue the teaching of Jesus in new times and new circumstances.

            That is the Good News that we received.  That is the Good News that we are to proclaim.  But are we just hearers of the Word?  Does what Jesus said apply to us, too: “‘Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written: This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me;’”?    Week after week we hear the Word of God and we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, our Savior.  But does it change us?  Has the Gospel penetrated our hearts?  In the movie “Godfather III,” the cardinal who hears Michael Corleone’s confession pulls a small rock out from a fountain of water.  It is wet, of course, on the outside.  But he breaks the rock in two, and the inside is dry.  He says that the people are like the rock in the fountain.  They have been surrounded by the water of Christianity for centuries, but Christ, like the water, has not penetrated them.  How many of us are surrounded by Christianity, but Christ has no penetrated us because we are hearers of the word only, and not doers?

            St. James tells us that if we are hearers only, and not doers, then we are deluding ourselves.  If we think that being surrounded by Christianity is enough, then we have truly not heard Jesus, just as the child did not truly hear its parent.  At our baptism, a solemn promise was made for us, if we were infants, or we made it for ourselves, if we were adults: that we would reject sin and Satan, that we would believe in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and that we would raise the child in the faith, and practice it ourselves.  This is the same promise that these families will make today for their children.  We promised to be doers of the word.  God, for His part, promised to assist us in that promise with sacramental grace which would strengthen us to do what we cannot without His help.  Have we lived up to these promises?  Have we, in the ways we are able, changed the world to better reflect the Gospel?  Or have we tried to let the culture change the Gospel to better reflect our world?  Have we been the salt of the earth, preserving our corner of the world in holiness of life, of have we lost our flavor? 

            For months we have been hearing from politicians how they have the right policies that will bring America prosperity.  We will hear how they will do x, y, and z to protect the poor, defend life from natural conception to natural death, to turn the economy around, etc.  And politics certainly has a legitimate role to play in implementing the Gospel.  But, before that can be effective, we ourselves must be converted.  We must be doers of the word, and not hearers only.  Because if we are truly doers of the word then we ourselves will guard against greed and consumerism and will hold others to that as well.  If we are doers of the word then we will assist the poor, truly helping them to use the gifts God has given them for their benefit and the benefit of society.  If we are doers of the word then we will stand up for the rights of the defenseless infant in the womb from the moment of conception and the elderly who are sick, both of whom can easily be exploited because they are the weakest members of our society.  If we are doers of the word then we will stand up for religious freedom so that we can truly practice our faith in peace, and not be compelled to do anything which is against the teaching of Christ and His Church.  “Dearest brothers and sisters:…Be doers of the world and not hearers only.”