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.

The Best of All Saints (11-1-24 Feast of All Saints)

 

When I was very young, the sisters who taught me religion made it clear that God wants all of us to be saints.  Now, I am not sure if they believed that as much as they wanted to control my behavior.  Apparently, I was not there yet.  Either way, they motivated me to fully embrace that idea.  I wanted to be the best of all saints. 

As I got older, however, I came to understand that the word “saint” literally means holy, and holy in one sense means dedicated to the service of God.  Thus, we are all saints because we are all holy because we are all children of God.  Our baptism provides a more formal acknowledgement of our status as the saints we are from the beginning.  Among our Jewish brothers and sisters, the term “zaddik” applies to all the righteous and saintly persons who are deeply pious and generous in their service to others.

This devotion to serving God inspired the early Christian communities to use the term “saint” in reference to all those who believed in Jesus Christ and were devoted to his teachings.  These were considered the holy ones of God.  This is the reason St. Paul often refers to the addressees in his epistles as the saints of a particular city. 

For example, Paul addresses the Ephesians “as fellow citizens with the holy ones and members of the household of God” (Eph 1:1; 2:19).  He salutes the Corinthians as “those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints” (1 Cor 1:2); and those in Rome as “God’s beloved…who are called to be saints” (Rom 1:7).  These and other references show that, in the early church, “saints” were those so transformed by Christ and his gospel message that they were considered holy saints.

Over time, however, the word “saint” applied more narrowly to those venerated as holy after their deaths by the members of their local church.  The Christians in the region where these people lived were familiar with their good deeds, and therefore bestowed on them the title of “saint” after their death to honor their memory and good example.  In 1234, Pope Gregory IX established a formal process through which such venerable persons could be recognized as saints by all.  These are known as canonized saints, and we celebrate their feasts throughout the year, usually on the date of the saint’s death.

This great feast of All Saints, however, is a celebration of not only those persons formally recognized by the Church as saints for their holiness and good works.  This feast also celebrates the countless anonymous saints known only to God (Rv 7: 9).  These holy persons, who come from every part of the world, devoted their lives to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  They literally consumed themselves out of love for God and neighbor in giving material and spiritual aid to those in need. 

This group of anonymous saints is also an important part of the communion of saints—that great assemblage of all the faithful who are pilgrims of Christ on earth as well as the blessed ones in heaven (Paul VI, CPG § 30; CCC 946).  From this perspective, a saint is simply someone through whom we catch a glimpse of what God is like and what we are called to be—fully human in love with God, his children, and his creation (Lumen Gentium, Chp 5).  Saints in essence are very ordinary persons who live very ordinary lives.  The liturgy for today focuses on the holiness of such ordinary faithful servants.  Their lives show that the way of holiness is open to all of us. 

Jesus shows us a special way to live holy lives through the beatitudes.  In recounting these principles, Jesus uses the word “blessed” in the sense of consecration to God.  When Jesus calls the poor, the hungry, and the marginalized blessed, he declares their consecration to God.  He declares that God takes the poor, the hungry, and the marginalized under his wing.  God has a special love and concern for their welfare and he will not forget their suffering.  Indeed, God intends to reverse their suffering.  They will receive their fill; they will laugh; they will be satisfied.  God himself has blessed the downtrodden and they will be happy.

The beatitudes were benchmarks for those saints whose feast we celebrate today.  They followed these principles as a daily guide to their love and concern for others.  Despite their trials, doubts, and personal failures, their everyday practice revealed the truth of these words.  As a result, they discovered the future glory and joy of God's kingdom here on earth already present in their daily lives.

To put it more briefly, we can say that sainthood is a universal call to be fully human by expressing the attitudes and values of the beatitudes in everyday life (Mt 5:48).  This is why St. Paul urges us to live in a manner worthy of the calling that we have received, “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another through love, striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace” (Eph 4:2-3; 1:4).  In the spirit of the dear sisters who taught me so long ago, applying the beatitudes in ordinary life is how we all manifest the sainthood we already have.

(additional source:  “Solemnity of All Saints,” John Paul II, 11-1-00).

An Unexpected Event (Lk 12:35-38)

 

Jesus frequently describes his return in terms of an unexpected event, with an added warning that there is work for us to do in the interim.  For this reason, Jesus also emphasizes an urgent need for vigilance and active participation on our part in that regard.  The question is, why should we be concerned about his unexpected return, and what exactly does Jesus expect us to be doing until then?

As to our concern about his return, 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).  The urgency in this instruction suggests that things will not go well for those found negligent and inattentive in keeping watch upon his return.  But what does it mean to keep watch?  What did it mean for the disciples of long ago, and what does it mean for us today?

The answer has to do with bringing about the kingdom of God.  This is the work Jesus expects us to be doing upon his return, and the key in that regard is service to others.  Our calling is to serve others.  We bring about the kingdom of God by doing good works.  The followers of Jesus are faithful servants who renew their commitment to serving others each day.  Jesus makes it clear things will go well for those found carrying out this expectation when he returns.

Jesus speaks this way not only in reference to his second coming, but also to those times each day when he comes to us through our families, our neighbors, and our communities.  Serving others is especially critical for those living in the second and third watch where the expectation of his return is least.

We know the kind of service Jesus has in mind—feed the hungry, clothe the naked, care for the sick, visit the isolated, promote peace and justice, show mercy.  These instructions echo the words of Isaiah, who says we should learn to do good, seek justice, redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, and defend the widow (Is 1:17).

According to St. James, doing good works is precisely what it means to be a religious person (Jm 1:27).  This is how we show our love for God and neighbor.  When and how often is also clear—as often and for as long as the need is there.  Seven times seventy times is one way Jesus characterizes our role in that regard.  The greater the need, the more necessary the service on our part.

Through his own life and mission on earth, Jesus provides many examples of what it means to be great by serving others, especially those close to us.  We can do no better than to follow his example.   

 

 

 

Collaborative Anonymous Travel (Lk 10:1-12)

 

Jesus is the master storyteller who provides few details in his stories.  The sending of the 72 disciples is a good example.  In this story, Jesus gives the 72 some general direction and a few rules to follow, but he does not provide them with a specific how-to plan.  They had to fill in the details.  They knew Jesus well enough to know, however, that they were to carry out his mission on their journey.  His mission was to proclaim the good news and spread the kingdom of God.

Short as it is, their story provides us with three lessons.  The first lesson is that spreading the kingdom of God is a collaborative effort.  Ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers, yes, but Jesus did not send the 72 alone.  He sent them in pairs.  He also asked many others to help him in his mission along the way, and he asks the same of us.  Like the 72, Jesus does not expect us to go alone.  We are in this life together.  Our mission is to care for each other in a collaborative, caring manner.

The second lesson is that we can expect to remain anonymous.  We never learn the names of the 72.  In fact, they go among wolves rather than among those who want to learn their names.  Likewise, most of us will do our part in promoting the kingdom of God in our ordinary way in ordinary circumstances, and few will know us.  Even though the world may not know us, Jesus will know who we are and what we did for him.

The third lesson is that we must travel lightly.  Do the work.  Wish others peace and good will.  Then, move on.  In a practical sense, that means we must rid ourselves of those things that hamper our relationship with God and with others.  We must rid ourselves of all unnecessary baggage.  For some, this includes ridding ourselves of the psychological burden of guilt over past mistakes and errors of judgment.  Guilt is a heavy burden that slows us down and restricts our unconditional love.  To be spiritually free, we must shake off the dust of past mistakes and replace our guilt with wisdom learned. 

Spiritual freedom allows us to do the right thing, to imitate Christ in our daily lives.  We imitate Christ best by meeting people where they are in the ordinary circumstances of their lives.  As we become aware of their needs, the love of Christ empowers us to give the appropriate response.  This is the good news that we bring to others.

At times, imitating Christ is a difficult challenge, especially when loving others means sacrificing our own interests—the greater the sacrifice, the greater the challenge.  However difficult the task, the power of the Holy Spirit enables us to bring about the kingdom of God by bringing the love of Christ to those we meet in our daily lives.

Missed Opportunity (B 28 Sun 24; Mk 10:17-30)

 

The parable about the rich man is a story about missed opportunity. The man in the story might have been the 13^th apostle had he met the challenge proposed by Jesus.  He begins to squander his opportunity with his very first question—what can I DO to inherit eternal life.  Putting it this way suggests that he wants eternal life on his terms.  He prefers his way of doing things.  Not to be put off, Jesus answers with a gentle reminder about keeping the commandments. 

The man remains unconvinced and presses for more instruction.  We might expect a rebuke from Jesus since the man did not accept his first response.  Instead, Jesus acknowledges that indeed there is one thing more that the man lacks.  Notice, however, that Jesus never explicitly identifies what that one thing is.  Rather, he proposes that he sell his possessions, give to the poor, and follow him.  In effect, Jesus wants him to rid himself of those things that tie him down and hamper his freedom.  Then, he can follow Jesus wherever the journey leads. 

Following Jesus with such abandon would have led to a different kind of life, eternal life.  Although Jesus cloaked his proposal with mystery, he offered a gift of love.  Accepting love always requires trust and abandon, and this is what the man lacks—a willingness to trust Jesus and abandon his own way of life.  Thus, he missed an opportunity to be yet another apostle.  His story, however, provides us with at least three good reasons to follow Jesus. 

First, Jesus appeals to our natural fondness for adventure in inviting us on a journey of love.  This is the whole point in asking the man to exchange his love of wealth for love of others.  Jesus wants the man to journey with him, who is love itself.  Jesus invites us to go on the same adventure of love.  He is fully aware that accepting his invitation means that we abandon our fear of the unknown and trust in him.  He also knows how difficult following him can be at times.

Second, Jesus appeals to our natural fascination with mystery.  We like the mysterious.  This is what makes Halloween and ghost stories so much fun.  Jesus tells the man to follow him without saying where they shall go or what they will do together.  Jesus makes this same appeal to mystery in asking us to follow him.  His invitation comes without details.  We do not chart the way.  We do not decide when to rest and when to go on.  We do not even know what the experience will be like along the way.  We simply answer his call and follow him. 

Third, Jesus appeals to our natural desire for community.  The invitation is to voluntarily associate with Jesus and his followers.  Living in community provides the most fundamental way we experience love, especially in our families and faith communities.   In community, we can learn how to love. 

These three elements—adventure, mystery, and community—are the heart and soul of the proposal that Jesus makes to us.  With these elements, Jesus aims to show that the journey of love, however mysterious, is an adventure that leads to eternal life.  That adventure begins with a genuine attitude of trust and abandon.  Our choice to follow Jesus calls for us to think about our lives in comparison to how Jesus invites us to live—seeking peace, honoring justice, showing mercy, and above all, loving others in our community without bias and judgment.  We have nothing to fear on this adventure when we trust the Holy Spirit to show us the way and to provide the necessary grace to walk the path (2 Cor 12:9). 

 

Word, Faith, Love (Lk 11:15-26)

 

The German theologian, Rainer Albertz, argues that “monotheistic religions become dangerous when their adherents use their cherished beliefs about devils and demons to label others as “children of the devil” (Albertz, 2011).  The danger comes from the way this label creates the illusion of an enemy who must be defeated in any way possible.

This is the path followed by the Pharisees in their claim that Jesus derived his power to drive out demons from Beelzebub, the prince of demons.  The Pharisees behaved this way because they had first embraced the lie that Jesus was a child of the devil.  In other words, they used their cherished belief in the devil to demonize Jesus.  He then became their enemy, and they aimed to kill him.

Jesus responds to the lie by turning their accusation into a dilemma.  On the one hand, if the Pharisees are correct, then Satan is a house divided against itself and thus on the verge of falling.  If they are wrong, on the other hand, then Jesus derives his power from God and the kingdom of God has arrived.  No matter how they unravel this dilemma, Jesus concludes that “whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.”

The Pharisees lied about Jesus because they embraced the influence of Satan, who is the father of lies (Jn 8:44).  Lying is how Satan derives his power to influence behavior.  A lie works to influence behavior when it appears to satisfy some physical, psychological, or spiritual need we have.  We conform our behavior to the lie when we embrace the possibility that the lie will satisfy the need at stake.  This raises a question of how to distinguish a lie from the truth.

Jesus shows us how to identify a lie in his encounter with Satan in the desert.  At the end of his 40-day preparation in prayer with the Father, Jesus faced three temptations presented by the “tempter” (Mt 4:3).  The devil uses each temptation as an appeal to a physical, psychological, and spiritual need that all humans share at one time or another.

The first temptation by the devil to turn stones into bread is an appeal to physical hunger.  Jesus responds that we do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God (Mt 4:4).  The devil then appeals to a common need for safety and security in tempting Jesus to test God by jumping off the parapet.  Jesus responds with a command to have faith and trust in God rather than test him (Mt 4:7).  The third temptation that offers kingdoms to Jesus is an appeal to worship a false God.  Jesus responds that worship belongs to the true God, who alone is the one to serve (Mt 4:10).  His life and mission show us that we worship God and serve Him best by loving what He loves—his children and his creation.        

The response that Jesus gives to each temptation—Word, Faith, and Love—reveals the tools that we too can use against the devil in time of temptation.  These three tools give us hope to overcome all temptation (1 Cor 10:13).  They also intensify the power of our prayer (Jm 5:16).  In the words of St. James, resist the devil (with Word, Faith, and Love) and he will flee (Jm 4:7).