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.”  

Who Would Notice (Lk 17:26-37)

 

At times, Jesus spoke about his coming into the world and what that means for the kingdom of God, as though most would not take notice.  To illustrate this point, he calls attention to the days of Noah and those of Lot.  In those days, people were going about their daily lives unaware of the disaster headed their way.  Most in those days had no idea of the impact that his coming would have for them and for the generations to follow.  This is why Jesus further suggests that this lack of awareness will extend from his first coming through to his second coming (Lk 17:22). 

Jesus spoke this way because the kingdom of God is not something to be observed, but to be lived (Lk 17:20).  Jesus indicates that love is the key to that experience when he says, “Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses it will save it” (17:34).  In other words, we cannot live an egocentric life and expect to participate in the kingdom of God where love is prime.  On this view, those who participate in the kingdom are those whose lives and values are in sync with the values of the kingdom—love of God, love of self, and love of neighbor.  This is why the Apostle John taught the early Christian communities that “whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him” (1 Jn 4:16).

When we live in truth by the principle of love, we grow rich in what matters to God (Lk 12:21).  What matters to God is what matters to Jesus, for he came to do the Father’s will.  This is why he tells his disciples, “If you know me, then you will also know my Father” (Jn 14:7).  What matters most to Jesus is that we love one another as he loved us (Jn 13:34).  This is the new commandment he gives us because love allows us to remain as close to Jesus and to each other as he is to the Father (Jn 17:11).

Jesus is the Word of God who from the beginning teaches us how to live rightly in this world in preparation for our eternal home.  Today we learn those lessons primarily from the written Word.  For example, from Genesis, we learn that we are made in the image and likeness of God.  We are thus “hard-wired” to be like God—to BE good and to DO good.  From the story of Noah, we learn that God repents, makes promises, and is faithful to His promises.  From the story of Abraham, we learn that we belong to God, that we are His own.  From Hosea, we learn that God is an ever-faithful lover, even when we are not faithful to Him.  In Joel, we learn that God is always a great forgiver.   

From these and many other passages, we learn that God is a healer; God is open to all people; God forgives much; God does not hold grudges; God weeps in the face of stubborn injustice; God raises people to life; God inspires people to search for truth and to leave behind harmful ways of thinking and living. 

The key in applying these lessons is to allow the Holy Spirit to transform us.  The Holy Spirit empowers us to seek the good, to love, to be kind, compassionate, and forgiving.  In the words of Jesus, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me.”  His anointing in the Spirit empowered Jesus to preach the good news, to heal the sick, to give sight to the blind, to proclaim freedom to the poor and oppressed.  By staying close to Jesus and to each other, the Holy Spirit empowers us to make the kingdom of God present among us.