An Unlikely Witness (Jn 1:29-34)

 

John the Baptist came as a witness to prepare the way for Jesus.  Although faithful to his calling, John is a most unlikely witness.  He is not a religious leader.  He is not even part of the religious establishment.  He lives alone in the desert, on the margin of society.  He has no visible means of support, and goes around dressed only in camel hair.  John looks and acts homeless.  No one at the time would have guessed that John is God’s chief witness.  Yet, that is exactly his role.  John proclaims to others what he has seen and heard about the coming of the Lord Jesus.  The aim of his testimony is to inspire belief in Jesus.

For this reason, John’s testimony provides a threefold model that we can follow in our own efforts to be a witness for Christ.  First, John speaks from personal experience.  A genuine witness only testifies to what she or he has seen and heard.  Genuine witness therefore always depends on personal experience, along with an underlying commitment to the truth.  John’s calling from God led to his personal encounter with Jesus, and that encounter motivated and sustained his faithful witness to the truth of who Jesus is and what he is about.

Second, John speaks with confidence.  Witnesses can speak with confidence when their testimony stems from their personal knowledge.  Personal knowledge is always the basis of confident assertion.  Witnesses to Jesus are confident in their testimony because they speak with knowledge about who Jesus is and the truth that he proclaims.  Jesus proclaims that God longs for our love and wants to share his eternal life with us.  Knowledge of this truth is the basis of John’s confident witness to Christ.

Third, John speaks to awaken belief in Jesus.  Giving witness is not a matter of simply repeating someone else's words or reporting events as a detached observer. The fundamental reason for giving testimony is to inspire belief in the assertions made.  Such belief more likely comes about when a witness asserts what he or she personally believes to be the case.  This is the sole purpose of John’s testimony—to awaken belief in Jesus Christ.  Thus, his testimony stems from his own belief in the saving presence of Christ who shows us the way to eternal life and happiness.

These three characteristics of John’s witness can serve as a model and inspiration for us today.  Following John’s example, we too can draw on our personal experience and speak with confidence to awaken faith in Jesus.  We may not see ourselves as likely witnesses to Christ, but this is our calling as much as it was John’s.  In fulfilling our role, we bring Christ to others.  We become the instruments of Christ's presence.  We become a sacrament to others.  Our efforts form a partnership with the Holy Spirit who awakens faith in others. 

In the end, we can be confident of receiving the promise Jesus made when he said: “Everyone who acknowledges me before others, I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father” (Mt 10:32).  Therefore, our prayer this Christmas season and throughout the year is for the Holy Spirit to help us make good on our calling to be a witness for Christ. 

More Than a Social Gathering (1Jn 1:1-4)

 

The Evangelist John speaks of fellowship in the early Christian community in a way that differs from a modern understanding of that term.  Today, the word fellowship most often refers to a social gathering with family and friends, especially at church.  These gatherings are a point in time for shared activities, friendly conversation, or the presentation of a worthwhile topic.  Sometimes we serve food and refreshments at these gatherings.  At the conclusion, we often leave with pleasant memories and a feeling of connection with those who share our values and interests.

For John and the early Christians, however, fellowship went beyond a point in time to a chosen way of life centered on love for one another in the spirit of Christ.  This way of life derived from belief in Jesus Christ and a commitment to imitate him by carrying out the heavenly Father’s will.  As John puts it in his letter, “what we have seen and heard we proclaim now to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; for our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ (1Jn1:3). 

The aim of such Christian fellowship was to promote charitable living and to strengthen the faith of the community members.  Fellowship on these terms relied on the idea that knowledge of God and love for one another are inseparable.  This idea reflects a common focus on charitable living found throughout the New Testament—not only in word and speech—but also in deed and in truth (1 Jn 3:17-18).   In fact, John’s gospel points to charitable living as the lifeblood of Christian fellowship.

            St. Paul expresses a similar idea in his letter to the Philippians.  In that letter, Paul says very plainly that, “If there is any encouragement in Christ, any solace in love, any participation in the Spirit, any compassion and mercy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, with the same love, united in heart, thinking one thing.  Do nothing out of selfishness or egotism.  Rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for one’s own interests, but for the interests of others.  Have among yourselves the same attitude that Christ Jesus had (Phil 2:1-4).

            Long before Paul wrote this advice, however, the Annunciation provides a prime example of Christian fellowship.  Mary’s response to the angel Gabriel was to devote herself to Christ even before she understood the full ramifications of that commitment.  Thereafter, Mary expressed her faith and union with Christ in her love for others, especially at the Visitation.  At that time, Mary not only brought the good news about Jesus to Elizabeth.  She also spent time with Elizabeth caring for her during her pregnancy.  Care and concern for others is at the heart of a life based on Christian fellowship.

            This is the spiritual legacy and way of life that we have inherited from the early followers of Christ.  Accepting that inheritance in the spirit of Mary calls us into partnership with Christ to love what God loves—his children and his creation.  This is the whole point of the two great commandments.  Although love on these terms can be a tall order at times, the Christmas season provides special opportunity to renew our commitment in meeting this challenge both now and throughout the coming year.

A Moment in Time (Lk 1:26-38)

 

Advent is a special time to commemorate the Annunciation, for the Annunciation is a decisive moment in human history.  Oddly enough, that moment does not occur when the Angel Gabriel announces to Mary that she would conceive and bear the physical reality of God in her womb.  This announcement is not decisive because it is not a divine command.  Rather, Gabriel informs Mary of an event that is contingent upon her agreement.  Therefore, the decisive moment occurs when Mary acknowledges and accepts her role as the mother of Jesus.  Her acceptance is decisive because it inaugurates the earthly mission of Jesus, who comes as the Son of God that we may have life more abundantly, both here and hereafter in his eternal kingdom (LK1:30-35; Jn 10:10).

The significance of Mary’s acceptance inspired St. John Paul II to assert an inseparable connection between the Annunciation and the Eucharist itself.  In his view, this spiritual connection begins with Mary’s acceptance that reflected the way she lived her earthly life—with humble response, joyful cooperation, and from this moment on, with complete love in union with the Word of God.  John Paul defined Mary’s life in terms of a living Eucharist and model for how we too can live in union with Christ (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 55 ff).

Mary herself gives voice to this union at the Visitation when she says to Elizabeth, “My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.  From this day all generations will call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me and holy is his Name.” (Lk 1:46-49). 

With these words, Mary becomes the first evangelizer, bearing in her womb the Word made flesh and bringing that Word to Elizabeth and the baby John.  This occasion also reveals Mary as the first “tabernacle” wherein the Son of God remained invisible to human eyes, all the while radiating his divine light through her eyes and voice.  Like Mary, we too are living tabernacles of the Lord who remains invisible and hidden in our hearts.  Thus, like Mary, we too can be the eyes and voice of Jesus in our relationship with others.

From the beginning, Mary understood that Jesus came for others, especially the stranger, the foreigner, the oddly dressed, the downtrodden, the sinner. She also understood that Jesus encounters us most often in the ordinary circumstances of our lives.  Perhaps this is why she and Joseph lived very ordinary lives with Jesus for the first 30 years of his life.  Mary’s whole life demonstrates that Jesus is our ever-present, devoted companion who sheds light on our own way of life and helps us shed that light for others.

This is the spiritual legacy we have inherited from our Blessed Mother.  Her humble response and devotion to her son Jesus is a model for our own way of life—pursuing God’s will in union with Christ.  Mary lived out the two great commandments—love of God and love of neighbor.  If we follow Mary’s example, our union with Jesus will transform our daily lives in a way that continues into eternity.  To that end, our Advent prayer is to always hold Jesus in our hearts and share him with others, especially with those who need him most.

A Song and Dance (Mt 11:16-19)

Why is it that the people heard the call of the flute but did not dance, and heard the call of the dirge but did not mourn?  Because they were not prepared to hear the call and thus neither danced nor mourned.  Jesus uses these examples to show how people were not prepared for his coming or that of his chief witness John.  People heard the call of both John and Jesus and saw what each had done, and yet, they either rejected the message or were indifferent to it.  Most people at that time were so unprepared that they said John was possessed by a demon and Jesus was a glutton and a drunkard.

There are countless reasons why the people of long ago were so unprepared for the coming of Jesus and his call to a new way of life.  Among those most unprepared to hear the call of Jesus were the Pharisees.  By the time that Jesus arrived on the scene, the Pharisees were so corrupt in their own way of life that they did not perceive Jesus as the coming of the promised messiah.  Rather, they saw Jesus as a threat to their greed and lust for power.  Their corruption was so complete that it motivated their desire to kill Jesus.

Their violent response to Jesus is perhaps not all that surprising.  On the one hand, the Pharisees held the seat of Moses, and their positions entitled them to cite the law of Moses.  On the other hand, they intentionally misconstrued their authority to cite the Law as license to misappropriate the Law for their own purposes.  They used the letter of the Law to impose hundreds of unnecessary and burdensome rules on the followers of Moses that they themselves did not follow.  Instead, they violated the spirit of the Mosaic Law—love of God and love of neighbor—to protect their own power and wealth.  Their corruption and hypocrisy ran so deep that Jesus branded the Pharisees whitened sepulchers—clean on the outside but full of decay and filth on the inside.  They appeared righteous, but were guilty of predatory self-indulgence and evil deeds that violated the spirit of the Law (Mt 23:25-28).

In that light, it seems odd that Jesus would nevertheless tell his disciples “to do and observe all things whatsoever the Pharisees tell you, but do not follow their example” (Mt 23:3).  This is just another way of saying that, while the Pharisees had authority to cite the Mosaic Law, they did not have a right to embezzle the Law and use it to promote false teaching.  Thus, the disciples were under no obligation to follow the hypocritical interpretations and applications of the Law imposed by the Pharisees. 

The question for us today during this Advent season of preparation is how to hear and respond to the call of Jesus.  Jesus provides a clue with his claim that wisdom is vindicated by her works (Mt 11:19).  If we want to hear the call and stay on the right path, we can look to Jesus.  He is the standard for correct judgement (Mt 7:28-29; cf 9:6; 12:8).  Do the works that Jesus does; love the way he loves; teach what he teaches; live the way he lives (Mt 28:19-20).

Jesus provides a compelling summary of all this when he says to his disciples, “I give you a new commandment: love one another.  As I have loved you, so you also should love one another.  This is how all will know that you are my disciples…” (Jn 13:34-35).  May the principle of love guide our Advent preparation for the coming of Jesus.

 

The Eyes of Faith (Mt 9:27-31)

 

Of all the stories in the New Testament, the most prominent perhaps are stories about the healing of the blind (cf. Mk 10:46-52; 8:22-26; Jn 9:1-41).  The irony of the story in today’s gospel is that, on a spiritual level, the two blind men have no need of healing.  They approach Jesus with the clear vision of faith.  Despite their physical blindness, they clearly understand and accept that Jesus has the power to heal them.  They demonstrate their belief with a positive answer to his question, do you believe that I can do this.  In healing them, Jesus affirms their steadfast faith and the clarity of their spiritual understanding.

This story underscores the need for light in both a physical and a spiritual sense.  Jesus highlights this dual role in his teaching that “the lamp of the body is the eye.  It follows that if your eye is sound, your whole body will be filled with light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be in darkness.  And if the light in you is darkness, how great will the darkness be” (Matthew 6:22-23).  Notice the connection that Jesus makes between light and the ability to see in both the physical and spiritual sense.  Scripture reveals three ways light functions in this dual sense. 

The first role is the physical function of light found in the creation story.  On the first day of creation when the earth was covered with darkness, God created light that he called day, while he called the darkness night (1:1-5).  On the fourth day, God created the sun to illuminate the day and the moon and stars to illuminate the night (1:14-17).  In this scenario, God is not the light.  Rather, the light is merely a manifestation of His presence (Ps 4:6).

The second role is the spiritual light of Christ we need for eternal life.  Jesus reveals this role for himself in his claim that he is “…the light of the world.  Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (Jn 8-12).  With this claim, Jesus declares himself to be spiritual light for the world.  Jesus is the light that gives life, for in the beginning all things were created through him, including life itself.  This life is light for everyone, and it “shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (Jn 1:1-5).

The significant role for light in this spiritual sense motivates Jesus to tell his disciples, “The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light” (Mt 11:35–36). 

To be a child of light is the third role that scripture defines for light.  The children of light are the followers of Jesus.  The followers of Jesus are light for the world and salt for the earth.  Jesus makes this clear when he says to his followers: “You are the light of the world; do not hide your light under a bushel basket.  Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father” (Mt 5:13-16).

In the words of St. Paul, God created us in Christ Jesus for good works.  Doing good for others out of love is the sure path to eternal life (Ep 2:10).  The challenge is to see others with the eyes of faith rather than with physical eyes alone.  However difficult, loving others with the eyes of faith is the only way to be children of light.

The Beginning is the End (Lk 21:25-28; 34-36)

 

Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of Jesus Christ.  The spiritual theme of this season centers on waiting, conversion, and hope.[1]  In an unexpected way, however, that theme begins with a focus on the end times as reflected in the gospel.  The first part of the gospel reveals those events leading up to the second coming of Christ, while the second part highlights the need to prepare and stay ready for the adversity that will occur at that time.  In other words, the purpose of Advent is to memorialize the first coming of Christ at his birth as a way to prepare for his second coming at the end of time.

In modern times during Advent, however, we focus more on the birth of Christ and not much on his second coming, at least not like the people did at the time of Jesus.  In those days, when Jesus spoke about his eventual return, people developed the idea that he would return during their lifetime.  Paul was among those who held this view.  In his letter to the Thessalonians, for example, Paul writes that, “…on the word of the Lord…we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will surely not precede those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thes 4:15).

As time passed, however, and Jesus did not return as expected, many early Christians concluded that he would not make good on his promise.  They used the apparent delay as justification for their immoral behavior.  This prompted Peter to warn them that, “The Lord does not delay his promise, as some regard ‘delay,’ but he is patient with you, not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pt 3:9).  When Peter said this, he might have had in mind a verse from the Psalms that reads: “A thousand years in your eyes are merely a day gone by” (Ps 90:4).  Peter understood that God simply does not count time the way we do.

In any case, whether there is a delay in the second coming no longer seems to be a concern for us today.  Most of us have no trouble believing that Jesus will indeed come again as he promised.  Like the early Christians, we just don’t know when.  So, instead of predicting when he will return, we just count on when he won’t.  We believe that Jesus won’t come again in our own day.  If we thought that he would come in our day, we might take more seriously the warning that he gave his disciples.

Several times Jesus warns his disciples to “stay awake and keep watch, for you do not know on which day your Lord will come; be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come” (Mt 24:42-44).  But, what does it mean to keep watch?  What did this mean for the disciples of long ago, and what does it mean for us today?

Jesus provides a full flavor of what he means with a story about a man who takes a trip.  In that story, the man leaves home and places his servants in charge, each with work to do while he is away.  He also orders the gatekeeper to keep watch because no one knows when the lord of the house will return.  If he returns suddenly, the servants want to avoid being found asleep and not doing their work.  Do not become drowsy. “Be vigilant at all times,” he tells his disciples (Lk 21:36).  This is especially true for those who keep the second and third watch.  Jesus extends this warning at the end of this story when he says to his disciples, “What I say to you, I say to all, watch.” (Mk 13:34-37).

This final comment extends the warning beyond his first coming to all future generations.  Therefore, this warning is meant for us as well—we who may be living in the second or third watch.  In this story, Jesus is the man who goes on a trip and we are the servants who have been given work to do while he is away.  We cannot plead ignorance of the work he has in mind.  Jesus left many benchmarks to identify the work he left us to do.

We know from the Beatitudes, for example, that we are following Jesus when we are poor in spirit, that is, when we acknowledge that all good comes from God alone.  We follow Jesus when we comfort those who mourn; when we are meek; when we seek peace and justice; when we love God by loving what He loves—his children and his creation.

Over the years, we have learned many other ways to keep watch.  Prayer and meditation are among the best ways we open our hearts to the light of the Holy Spirit who leads us to all truth.  Relying on the Holy Spirit keeps us strong in our faith and reveals to us the will of the Father in our daily lives.  The promise of the Holy Spirit motivates Paul to warn the Ephesians: “Watch carefully then how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise, making the most of the opportunity…do not continue in ignorance, but try to understand what is the will of the Lord...be filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:14-18).

To be filled with the Spirit is to be spiritually awake at all times.  Buddhists call this mindfulness.  On this view, mindfulness is a matter of being aware of what is going on within and around us.  Such awareness sees life as God expects us to see it—full of hope and possibility, despite the suffering and longing for completeness that we also see. The fruits of such awareness are understanding, acceptance, love, hope and a desire to relieve the suffering of others and bring them joy (lblc 14).  Loving others in a meaningful way is the work we have to do while Jesus is away.

Throughout his earthly life Jesus encouraged us not to lose hope.  He warned us not to be fooled by an apparent delay in his return (Lk 21:34).  He is coming back, just as he promised.  Until then, he wants us to be aware of and imitate the work he himself came to do.  When we live as Jesus would live and do the works he would do, we memorialize the humble beginning of the Lord Jesus at his birth while we wait for his glorious return.  When Jesus returns, we know that “we shall become like him for we shall see him as he really is” (Jn 3:2).  This is our Advent hope and the whole point of any spiritual conversion—to become more and more like Jesus in all ways. 

 

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[1] Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, December 17, 2001, Vatican City, 96.

An Attitude of Gratitude (11-28-24; Lk 17:11-19)

 

Thanksgiving is an interesting national celebration of gratitude for what we have.  We tend to think of Thanksgiving as a unique invention of the U.S., but many other countries have an annual day of Thanksgiving.  The United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, and the Philippines are a few of the others.  Although our own Thanksgiving can be traced to the 1600’s, it was President George Washington who proclaimed, in his words, “November 26, 1789 as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God.” [1]  President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday, but did not specify an official day.  That did not happen until President Franklin Roosevelt proclaimed the fourth Thursday in November as the official national holiday of Thanksgiving.

In my younger days, sometimes I would complain to my mother that I didn’t have something I wanted.  Although she would acknowledge my complaint, she would often tell me to count my blessings.  Be grateful for what you do have—she would say—and don’t focus on what you don’t have.  I was totally unimpressed with her response back then.  Today, however, there is solid psychological evidence that indeed it is better to focus more on what we have and less on what we don’t.  An attitude of gratitude, so to speak, is good for us.  It can improve our mental health and our outlook (“Can expressing gratitude improve your mental health…”, Mayo Clinic, 12-6-22).

This sage advice has long been found in scripture.  We read in Psalms, for example, that “This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice in it and be glad” (118:24).  That might not go over so well on gloomy days.  More helpful perhaps is the Psalm that urges us to “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his mercy endures forever (118:29).  In the New Testament, Paul advises the Thessalonians to give thanks in all circumstances (1Thes 5:18).  For Paul, gratitude is a natural outgrowth of faith.

Faith and gratitude are the centerpiece of the story about the ten lepers who ask Jesus for mercy.  Notice they do not ask to be healed.  They ask for his mercy.  In those days, the leper was considered unclean under Mosaic Law because the disease itself was viewed as punishment for sin.  Thus, the leper was no longer holy before God.  For this reason, the leper was cut off from the living faith community, and stood to forfeit for all time his or her relationship with God and with all other community members.

The only available remedy for leprosy in the ancient world was to be healed through a direct intervention by God (Ex. 15:26), or through an appeal to God’s mercy and compassion by a prophet (Ex. 15:25; II Kings 2:21; II Kings 20:7–8).  This is why the lepers do not ask Jesus for healing because mercy is the more likely remedy.

What Jesus hears in their request is faith.  He acknowledges their faith by telling them to present themselves to the priests.  They in turn act with trust to carry out his instruction.  On the way, all ten realize they have been healed of their ailment through faith.  Only one, however, the Samaritan—the foreigner—perceives that God is the source of his healing, and only he returns to give thanks.  The Samaritan leper perceived the presence of God in the person of Jesus.  The Samaritan sees what the Pharisees failed to see, and he gives thanks.

The awareness of God compels the Samaritan to express gratitude at the feet of Jesus, who accepts the Samaritan’s gratitude as an appropriate response of faith.  Jesus affirms the validity of the Samaritan’s faith by calling attention to the end result, his salvation—“Stand up and go; your faith has saved you” (Lk 17:19).  The Samaritan’s realization that he has been “healed” by God becomes a realization that he has been “saved” by God.  His faith in Jesus Christ has thus made him whole in both a physical and a spiritual sense, and he is grateful.

In this encounter between Jesus and the lepers, notice that Jesus did not require them to express any repentance or renunciation of sin before healing.  This is true despite the fact that leprosy was understood in those days as punishment for sin.  Nor does Jesus ask the lepers to change their ethnic or religious identity before he heals them.  All he expects and looks for is faith.  Their very request for mercy demonstrates their faith, and Jesus reaches out to them where they are and heals them.  In effect, God uses this opportunity to demonstrate his unconditional love for all people regardless of their social, religious, or ethnic status.  God does not care about such things.  God cares about faith and unconditional love.

The unconditional love of God for all people is why Jesus yearns for us to seek him with all boldness, without fear, and without condition.  “Come to me all you who labor and are burned, and I will give you rest” (Mt 11:28).   Jesus does not restrict who may seek him.  Clearly, the lepers sought Jesus WHEN they were in need of healing, BEFORE they were made clean.  Jesus did not say:  Go get holy, and then knock on the door.  Rather, Jesus is saying:  Knock on the door and I will open it; seek and you will find.

This encounter between the lepers and Jesus shows that hope, trust and compassion are the more compelling aspects of faith than are law and ritual.  We can approach Jesus no matter what our circumstances.  Jesus meets us where we are.  He looks for faith and is eager to respond to the faith that each of us can muster, however little or much that might be. 

We can be sure that Jesus will respond to our needs with compassion.  For, compassion is the natural and universal response of unconditional love, and gratitude is the natural and universal response of the one who receives such love.  As the Psalmist puts it, “Sing a new song to the Lord, for he has done marvelous deeds” (Ps 98:1-4). 

What do we want from Jesus?  What do we ask for?  What do we seek?  Why do we knock?  Today—Thanksgiving Day—is one day set aside for a more public show of gratitude for blessings received.  Those blessings reveal the goodness of God and are reason enough to place our hope and trust in the Lord on our journey through life.  The sign posts for a safe journey are simple—trust in God leads to wholeness of spirit.  Here I am Lord.  Tell me what to do Lord, and I will do it.  Like the lepers, we express our faith in Jesus, and Jesus responds.  In turn, we trust Jesus; we follow his instruction, and we are made whole (Is 55:3).  Thus, we have every reason to give thanks to God.

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[1] Hodgson, Godfrey, A Great and Godly Adventure; The Pilgrims and the Myth of the First Thanksgiving. New York: Public Affairs (2006), p. 212.

A King of Another Kind!!!

 

Kings and queens are out of place in our culture and way of life in the U.S.  For us, they are little more than a media curiosity with celebrity status.  We value independence, autonomy, and the right to self-determination far too much to allow a serious role for a king in our society.  For this reason, celebrating Christ as King of the universe as we do today is a bit contrary to our values and way of life, especially in light of his crucifixion.  One hardly expects a powerful king to be treated in such a cruel and shameful manner.  The contradiction is even more dramatic considering the royal treatment Jesus had just received a short time before this shameful death.

As Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on his donkey, his followers threw their cloaks on the road before him and proclaimed him a king sent from God: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord” they shouted.  The people adore Jesus as a king sent by God one day, and the next, demand his execution as a common criminal who threatens Caesar and the Roman Empire.  Proof positive of how fickle people are, perhaps, but how else to explain this golden calf reaction to the apparent failure of Jesus to meet their expectations.  When God fails our expectations, we look for another god with more promise.

Our relationship with Jesus today is no less dramatic, and the feast of Christ the King presents us with a challenge no less real.  The challenge is how to acknowledge and honor Jesus as the king of our lives.  The challenge intensifies with the paradigm offered by Jesus, the very opposite model of royalty as ordinarily understood today.

The challenge and the paradigm presented by this feast begin with the birth of Jesus, who was born into poverty rather than wealth.  His birthplace was a stable for animals rather than a lavish castle for monarchs.  Soon after birth, he becomes a refugee rather than ruler of an empire.  With no royal army for protection, his family whisks him away to Egypt out of fear for his life.  At the age of 12, with no palace guard to watch over him, he gets left behind in the temple, and when found, makes the odd claim that he was simply going about his father’s business.

As an adult, Jesus lives as a hermit for forty days in a desert.  Afterwards, he visits a social outcast named John and asks John to baptize him, a truly strange request for the king.  Yet, the only explanation Jesus offers is that for now it will fulfill all righteousness (Mt 3:15). Jesus then travels the countryside as a homeless person with no place to sleep, no country estate to take his rest.  He preaches the good news of salvation and claims that love of enemy and prayers for those who persecute is the better choice.  Even so, many of his followers see him as a political warrior who will save them from Roman oppression. 

Jesus, on the other hand, wants to save them from the oppression of sin and death.  He eats with tax collectors and sinners and enlists the aid of women to lead his mission.  He even treats women as equals—hardly the mark of a king in his day.  Indeed, a woman anoints his feet with tears and oil, rather than his head as the high priest would anoint a worldly king.

In fact, that is the whole point.  Jesus promotes a kingdom not of this world, where membership is freely offered to everyone, not earned by loyal subjects.  In his kingdom, love rules supreme, not power and wealth. Those who listen do not understand nor do they accept his message that love of God and love of neighbor go hand in hand with peace and mercy.  Serving others as the way to love God is simply not in their vocabulary.

This is the message of kingship that Jesus delivers over and over.  He informs his followers that the Son of Man came to serve, not to be served.  He tells them that they must not lord it over others.  That the greatest among them must be the least, the one who washes the feet of the others.  The last shall be first and the first shall be last is just not the way a king talks.  He heals the sick; he cares for the poor, the vulnerable, the marginalized; he challenges injustice; he insists that mercy and compassion overrule custom and ritual.  He sums up the entire Mosaic Law with the dual command to love God and to love neighbor as self.  

Jesus demonstrates what being a king means and what participation in the kingdom of God entails.  Jesus is the obedient Son who is one with the father and claims that we too can one with him and the father.  Jesus does the Father’s will, rather than build lavish castles, and tells his followers to conduct their own lives in the same manner.  His steadfast motto is “Seek the lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near” (Is 55:6).  Those who love Jesus will do the same.  They will keep his commandments in union with him.  Their treasure is not silver or gold, but an everlasting life of joy in an intimate relationship with God.

Jesus plays no one for a fool, however.  He warns his disciples that following in his footsteps is dangerous business.  So risky in fact that it may even cost them their lives.  His own fate makes clear that those who challenge greed and injustice may face a similar fate.  More frightful perhaps is the only assistance offered by Jesus—a sure promise to send his Spirit to guide the way and provide the necessary defense.  At first, the disciples don’t understand what fate he has in mind.  But before long, they witness firsthand what awaits their beloved teacher and king, only to catch a glimpse of their own futures—and they run.

The disciples watch from a safe distance as Jesus is treated as an enemy of the state.  His enemies arrest him in the middle of the night, strip off his garments, and mock him with purple cloak and a crown of thorns rather than a bejeweled crown of gold.  Jesus suffers a most egregious beating and torturous death, and the public disgrace of a sign overhead that ridicules his kingship.  Only after his humiliating death does Jesus claim his throne of love.  Only then does he come into his kingdom to rule the hearts of those who follow him in the way of peace and love.

Soon, we begin our Advent preparation for the coming of our great King, Jesus Christ.  We do so with full awareness of the real challenge that participation in his kingdom brings to bear.  Following Christ literally takes courage to pick up a daily cross of self-denial, rather than a royal scepter of power, wealth, and self-absorption.  It means rejecting the lure of apparent value and nurturing an ambition for that which has lasting value.  In the words of St. Paul, following Jesus means living a life worthy of the gift and calling that we have received—living in peace and unity, with patience and humility, bearing with one another through love—in other words, living in the Spirit of Christ our King (Eph 4:1-6; cf. 2 Pt 1:10-11).

Respect, Love, and a House of Prayer (Lk 19:45-48)

 

The story of the angry Jesus in the temple gives a whole new meaning to God’s house of prayer.  When Jesus enters the temple and sees the moneychangers and peddling of wares going on, he becomes angry.   He upends their tables and drives them out with a whip because they were guilty of a perverted disrespect.  They had turned God’s “house of prayer” into a “den of thieves” who put their thumb on the scale and cheated people.  Those driven out had hearts that were incompatible with the meaning of God’s house of prayer.

On one level, this story indicates that God’s “house of prayer” is a physical space dedicated to God that warrants respect and dignity for that reason (Is 56:7).  Indeed, this basic principle is revealed in the story of Moses and the burning bush.  When Moses approaches the burning bush on Mt. Horeb out of simple curiosity, God stops him and says, “Do not come near!  Remove your sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground” (Mk 3:1-6).  From within that sacred space, God identifies himself and communicates his purpose to Moses.  He is the God of Abraham who wants Moses to lead his chosen people out of Egypt.

On a deeper level, however, this interaction between God and Moses suggests that a “house of prayer” is more than a designated physical space.  When God tells Moses to remove his sandals, He insists that respect for His presence is the necessary foundation for their interaction.  Moses shows that respect by removing his sandals.  This initial interaction between God and Moses therefore shows that a “house of prayer” is fundamentally a mutual experience between God and a person with a right heart rather than a particular place.  A right heart is one that shows respect for the presence of God.  In short, "Rend your hearts and not your garments” (Jl 2:13) is the first principle for the mutual experience of a “house of prayer.” 

The prophet Jeremiah gave voice to this principle when he stood at the gate of God’s house and warned the Israelites to reform their ways and deeds so that God may dwell with them where they were (Jer 7:2-3).  Jeremiah further explained that a right heart is humble, always treats others with justice, protects the freedom of aliens, shows genuine care and concern for vulnerable persons, and refuses to be deceived by false gods (Jer 7:3-6).  For Jeremiah, respect for God and loving others allow for worshiping God in truth and spirit.

Jesus reaffirms this point when he says to the Samaritan woman at the well that the hour is coming when worship of the Father will neither be on this mountain nor in Jerusalem; “true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; and indeed, the Father seeks such people to worship him” (Jn 4:21-23).

The inevitable conclusion to all of this is that God’s “house of prayer” is more than designated physical spaces.  A house of prayer is fundamentally a mutual experience between God and a person with a right heart that respects the presence of God by loving his children.  Such respect and love are the necessary conditions for the worship of God in truth and spirit.   

This is why St. Paul claims that each of us is a house of prayer and temple of the Holy Spirit of God because of our faith and union with Jesus (Eph 1:13).  “Remain in me, as I remain in you,” Jesus says to his disciples (Jn 15:4).  We remain in union with Jesus by keeping his commandment to love one another as he loves us.  Loving others in truth and spirit is how we respect God, honor our own holiness and the holiness of others, and remain a “house of prayer.”