Month: October 2019

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The tax collector’s love

a drawing of the solar system with the word me at center and planets are my stuff

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Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass Readings

First Reading: Sirach 35:12-14, 16-18
Responsorial: Psalm 34:2-3, 17-19, 23
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18
Gospel: Luke 18:9-14

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/102719.cfm

“The Lord hears the cry of the poor,” is our responsorial today and in the first reading from Sirach we hear, “The prayer of the lowly pierces the clouds…” Again, in these passages as we have heard before, those who are “poor in spirit” are those who do not put other things before God, like wealth or other worldly attachments. In other words, this is a poverty that is not focused on me, but on God. Indeed, these readings lay the foundation for what we hear proclaimed in the Gospel according to Luke today.

Consider this idea from the noted Catholic theologian Karl Rahner, from the time we are born, we as individual babies are perhaps the most self-centered beings in all creation. We behave as if we are the center of the world, and perhaps that’s how it must be if we are to survive. But as we grow and develop – that is, as we mature – the goal is for us transcend our selfishness and move toward openness to the other. Shifting our focus away from ourselves and toward other is truly an act of love. As Christian disciples, our ultimate goal is to shift our focus away from ourselves and this world and to focus on the God who saves us through Christ Jesus.

To illustrate this point in today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee in prayer to God describes just how much better he is over everybody else because of the things he does. What is that prayer about? Well, he’s all me, me, me, isn’t he? You have to wonder if the god he prays to isn’t really himself and in that sense, perhaps the Pharisee is without love.

But the tax collector comes before God and bows low. He knows he has lead a life of sin by collaborating with the Roman occupiers. Maybe he considers himself unworthy, and yet he finds the courage enough to approach God and ask for mercy. His prayer is simple and beautiful. In contrast to the Pharisee whose prayer is turned inward, the tax collector who probably does the things he knows he shouldn’t, but can’t for various reasons stop himself, prays to God and begs for mercy.

His prayer has become known as the Jesus prayer, and I encourage you to learn it. The prayer is a reminder that we are not the center of the universe – that we are accountable to the people around us and to the God who will judge us at the end of time. Even if there are circumstances in our lives that lead us to sin that we cannot get rid of, we must continue to seek mercy as we endeavor to make changes in our lives. We should strive to be like we heard in our second reading from 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.” Indeed, for those who keep the faith, we remember that Christ is our King. His throne is a wooden cross and that is where His victory was won, and He is King forever.

Homework! Having been nourished by the Word of God proclaimed and, in the Eucharist, I encourage you to reflect upon and to do the following:

  1. Make a list of the good things you do and could brag about if you wanted to. We should be mindful of those things we attach an inordinate amount of pride to.
  2. Make a list of the things you do that make you feel unworthy and in need of God’s mercy.
  3. When you finish your lists, read them carefully, then pray silently the Jesus Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

I think by doing our homework this week we might be reminded to exercise our focus away from ourselves and toward those around and ultimately toward our Savior Jesus Christ. Do you go it? Do you get it? Good! Now go make disciples! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

Notes:
1. Catechism of the Catholic Church, Jesus Prayer nos. 2616 and 2667.

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A Little Help

picture of people helping each other climb a rocky hill

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Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass Readings

First Reading: Exodus 17:8-13
Responsorial: Psalm 121:1-8
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 3:14 – 4:2
Gospel: Luke 18:1-8

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/102019.cfm

My brothers and sisters, in today’s Gospel Jesus tells us the interesting story about the widow who sought justice from an unjust judge. Jesus says, “Pay attention to what the dishonest judge says,” (Luke 18:6).

And what does the judge say?

“…because this widow keeps bothering me I shall deliver a just decision for her lest she finally come and strike me down,” (Luke 18:5).

Is his motivation really about justice? No, of course not. The motivation is clearly self-preservation at best. But the judge does give us a glimpse into something very important. His motivation is not based on his faith in the absolute truth upon which the Law based, the inspired Word of God. His comment betrays his lack of real faith. This prompts Jesus to conclude the “Parable of the Persistent Widow” with a question: But when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? (Luke 18:8).

But the journey of faith can be difficult. Perhaps a life of hard work can leave a person feeling jaded or cynical. Or perhaps you’ve lived a life filled with chapters you hope are never published. Either way, it’s all too easy to distance ourselves from living a life of faith – from living a life believing in anything other than those things which we define as real for ourselves.

In contrast with this idea, we hear in the first reading the extraordinary story of Israel’s battle against Amalek. Moses believed that as long as he held his arms up holding the staff of God in his hand, Israel would win the day. Indeed, as the battle raged, whenever Moses’ hands were held up, Israel succeeded, but when his arms dropped, Israel suffered. Wow! That’s a story of faith –the belief of the army of Israel that God would stand with them as long as Moses kept his arms up.

Scripture tells us again and again the amazing things we can accomplish with faith – real, absolute, unconditional faith in the God who saves. “Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth,” we hear from our Psalmist today.

But Moses could not keep his arms up without help. Scripture tells us that Aaron and Hur each supported one side of Moses until sunset. By the end of the day, Joshua and the army had indeed defeated Amalek. In the end, their faith, Moses’ faith in God and the army’s faith in Moses and God, saved the day. But what would have happened if Moses didn’t have help?

Help. That may be the most difficult word for some of us to speak. How many of us, I wonder, go through life believing we have to do it all on our own? “…be persistent,” we hear in our second reading from 2 Timothy 4:2. Be persistent like the widow in today’s parable.

But I suggest that one idea from our readings today is a reminder that we are in fact not alone. We are part of a community of believers. So, when our arms are tired, figuratively speaking, and we perhaps desire to take the easy path, let persistence nudge us forward and open us up to ask for help. How can we do this? Well, an accountability group like a Bible study with a group of friends might benefit us greatly. Or perhaps we could turn to a spouse or close friend or family member and ask for help. Of course you may ask me for help either by clicking the contact me button on the website or sending me a prayer request from the website and I’ll gladly help.

And we can pray – pray that God will place us in contact with the right person at the right time to help support our faith. I can’t tell you how many times this has happened in my life and continues to happen – the chance meeting with a person who truly is the answer to a prayer. So, we are encouraged by today’s readings to act with faith like Moses and not with selfish motivations like the unjust judge. No matter how difficult the road ahead is, we are reminded to, “Remain faithful to what you have learned and believe…” (2 Timothy 3:14).

Homework! After being nourished by the Word of God proclaimed and in the Eucharist, I encourage you to reflect on the following two questions:

  1. Who are your Aaron and Hur? Who are the people who support you in your faith? Thank God for them!
  2. How can you be an Aaron or a Hur for someone this week?

I think by doing our homework, we can better recognize how God is trying to help us in our journey and how we can help others too. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

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Learning from the Margins

A healed leper kneels before Jesus giving thanks

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Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass Readings

First Reading: 2 Kings 5:14-17
Responsorial: Psalm 98:1-4
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 2:8-13
Gospel: Luke 17:11-19

http://usccb.org/bible/readings/101319.cfm

In today’s readings, we hear the message that we need to be thankful. In the first reading, the army commander of the King of Aram suffered from leprosy. But he returned to thank the Prophet Elisha for his healing through Yahweh and to pledge his allegiance to the God of Israel. In the Responsorial, the Psalmist urges us to, “Sing joyfully to the Lord…Break into song; sing praise!” St. Paul advises Timothy in the second reading to be grateful to God even in his physical suffering and despite the dangers of spreading the Word of God. And in today’s Gospel, one of the 10 lepers returned to thank Jesus.

So, having a spirit of thankfulness is a central theme of the readings today. But notice something very interesting. In both the first reading and the Gospel, it is the foreigner – the outsider – the one who lives on the margins – who returns to give thanks. In the first reading from 2 Kings 5:14-17, the pagan and foreigner Naaman is healed by the Yahweh. He returns to thank Elisha and he takes with him two mule-loads of earth so that when he returns to Damascus, he can pray to Yahweh on the soil of Israel.

In today’s Gospel, the ten lepers cry out to Jesus for help. He tells them to present themselves to the priests. One leper realized he they had all been healed. He turned back and fell at Jesus’ feet and gave thanks to God for his healing. Jesus asks him, “Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? Has none but this foreigner returned to give thanks to God?” Then he said to him, “Stand up and go; your faith has saved you,” Luke 17:17-19.

Isn’t it interesting? The outsiders – the foreigners return to give thanks to God for their healing. I think there’s a lesson there.

I think that sometimes we can become so comfortable in our lives that we take things for granted – be it our relationships, our work, and even our faith. We lose our sense of wonder at the beauty around us. In other words, we take things for granted. I know there have been times in my life when I put my faith life on autopilot. I just went through the motions without any thought for what I was doing or why. Perhaps we can call this a spiritual leprosy. Of course, spiritual leprosy could also be caused by our own sinful, selfish, proud choices.

During these times in our lives, how did you handle it? Did you turn in to yourself and live with fear, guilt or despair? Did you try to self-soothe during these times in your life, like abusing alcohol, drugs, pornography, sex?

How do we get back on course? You would think that we who are baptized and catechized wouldn’t need any help finding our way. Once we realized we’d made a mistake, we’d snap out of it and get back on track. But unfortunately, it’s not that easy, is it? But God does not abandon us. As we’ve heard in the many parables over these last several weeks, God seeks us like the shepherd in search of the lost sheep or the father who runs through the fields to embrace the prodigal son.

No matter how far we might wander off the path because of our leprosy, the God who loves us unconditionally can speak to us in some of the most interesting ways. For example, a chance encounter with someone – a stranger – on the train or in a coffee shop can be the setting for an encounter with Jesus Christ. Perhaps something the stranger says or does something that triggers an awareness in us. By the stranger’s example, we might realize what we’re doing to ourselves and turn back to God.

Isn’t it ironic that so many of us are indifferent to or even hostile to the stranger – the outsider – the foreigner? But like in today’s readings, the example of thankfulness can come from outside our circle of family and friends. The question is, are we open to those experiences?

Jesus Christ left us this amazing church which offers us so many opportunities to experience the same healing that Naaman and the Samaritan experienced. We experienced this cleansing in the waters of Baptism. We experience this cleansing and healing again and again in the Sacrament of Penance. We can experience this cleansing and healing in the Eucharist. Like Naaman and the Samaritan, we have the opportunity to thank God each and every time we go to Mass. We offer ourselves in sacrifice—falling on our knees before our Lord, giving thanks for our salvation. In this Eucharist, we remember the merciful and healing power of Jesus Christ. And we pray, as Paul in Second Timothy, to persevere in this faith.

Homework! After being nourished by the Word of God proclaimed and by the Eucharist, I encourage you to reflect on the following questions:

  1. I would like you to write out ten things you are thankful for in your life.
  2. I encourage you to use the opportunity of going to mass to give thanks to God for your salvation, and for all the many blessings in your life, like those on your list.

I think by doing our homework we will develop a better and more consistent sense of thankfulness that we should all have as disciples. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!