Wednesday, December 27, 2017

It's All About the Children


Christmas Eve
 

There’s a saying that Christmas is for children, and I guess in many ways it is. I was sitting in front of the Christmas tree while writing this homily, and I got to looking at all the ornaments on the tree. Nancy and I only put ornaments up that have some significance for us. No generic bulbs for us. Most of them are handmade from early on in our marriage, when we couldn’t afford to buy ornaments. Many of them have our children’s names on them, along with the year they were acquired. You know, baby’s first Christmas, things like that. And as I was looking at the ornaments I was remembering what my children were like at those various stages of their lives, and it brought me closer to them and to the spirit of Christmas.

There’s something about children at Christmastime that makes it what it is. If we adults were in charge it would lose a lot. To us old folks Christmastime is often full of stress, with so many things to do and plan. We have parties to host and attend, presents – and not just any presents, but just the right ones – to buy, wrap and give. And we have so many responsibilities around Christmas that we have to weave in and around the whirlwind of our everyday lives. Many of us dread Christmas because of this. We have so many expectations of what the perfect Christmas should be that we get all wound up in the stuff of Christmas while forgetting what Christmas was for us when we were children.

For children, especially little children, Christmas is so much simpler, so much easier, so much more wonderful. Little children have not yet been spoiled with the expectation of presents. For them it’s not about what they expect to receive that is so wonderful. It is all the sights and sounds and smells, especially around the baby Jesus. There’s something about a newborn baby that captivates us all, but especially for the little children.

I love to see parents each year bringing their little ones up to see the holy family statues here. You see it at every creche. Moms and dads clutching little hands, bringing them up close to see the manger scene, pointing out the baby Jesus. Telling them the story of that first Christmas. When I was young my job was to set up the creche in our home. I would carefully unwrap each porcelain figurine and gently place it in its particular place in the creche.

After everything was just right we would then as a family read the story from the gospels of that Christmas night. Many of you have similar traditions, or I hope you do.  That is one of the first lessons in faith many children receive from their parents, the reality of the baby Jesus. Silent night, holy night. Calmness, heavenly peace, shepherds and angels on high. Peace on earth, goodwill towards men. Isn’t that what Christmas is all about? For one shining moment, the entire world is focused on one single event in history, on one single person, on one single baby.

Children understand what Christmas is really all about. That is, until we spoil it for them. They understand the reality of what a baby truly is. A baby is hope. A baby is the ultimate proof that God exists, with its perfect little fingers and toes, in its wonderful complexity and simplicity. We don’t remember what we were like as babies, we must see in our children what we once were.

Jesus was once like that. Have you ever stopped to think about just how radical the Christ child is? The very thought that this little baby, so vulnerable and innocent and perilous, is God himself? The most radical and cataclysmic event in all of human history, the incarnation, God becoming man, started out in such a simple way? God chose to become one of us in the same way he chooses to have each of us enter the world. And the result of that is peace on earth, goodwill towards men, glory to God in the highest. In a newborn baby we see the goodness of the world, the rightness of creation, even for a brief moment. That’s how we all started and how we should all view ourselves, as goodness and right. As persons of hope.

Jesus said that unless we become like little children we cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Unless we become like the perfect child, Jesus Christ, we will not and cannot be one with him forever in heaven. Because that child, who started out so innocent and calm, shook the world to its core and set up a choice that has divided the world for 2000 years.

You see, the entrance of God into history as man demands a choice for every human being. We have no choice in how and when and why we are born. But we are all ultimately confronted with a choice. Will we follow that perfect child? Will we model our lives after His? Will we submit to the will of the Father has he did, and can we live with the consequences of that choice?

That child grew up and lived an unconventional life, a radical life. He cured the sick, raised the dead, admonished sinners, set the existing religious order upside down, challenged the status quo in every individual heart, and had a simple message. Come, follow me. He demanded of us no less than what he himself did. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick and the prisoners, care for the poor and the marginalized, go out and make disciples of all the nations, spread the good news that God himself has become one of us so that we can become one with Him.

Do you see that man in the creche before you? Do you see the choice before you tonight? Can you see that beyond all the sentimentality of the scene and the season is the awesome reality that that child was born to die? His very reason for living was to die…for you. The quiet and peace and innocence of the baby’s nativity was to end in the horrible violence of the cross. Do you see that just as we enter into the remembrance of his birth we must also enter into the reality of his death and what that means for each of us? The hope that began with Jesus’ birth continues in the hope of his resurrection and his promise of eternal life.

It is good that we become like little children at Christmas. It is good that we enter into the sights and sounds of the season in order to reconnect ourselves with the simplicity and innocence of the manger scene. It is good that we, for one brief moment every year, look upon the baby Jesus and see ourselves, what we can become, what we are called to become.

The message of Christmas is one of renewal. Our children are our hope for the future and each newborn baby is a sign that things will continue. Each newborn baby is a regeneration, a renewal for our families and for our world. I think that is one reason we are all drawn to them, wonder at them, and make such a fuss about them. And I think that is why Christmas is for the children. Because it is about the children. It’s about the children we once were, and about the children we can become again.

It’s all about the children.  It’s all about the child.

 

 

Saturday, November 18, 2017

Investment Advice


Investment Advice

33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle C

A majority of Americans invest money in the financial markets in some way, either through owning stocks directly, through mutual funds, 401k and IRA accounts, company retirement plans, etc. This is usually part of an overall investment strategy, and many people use professional financial planners to help them manage their investments. The most important question investors ask themselves is what are their investment goals. What kind of return do they want to receive on their investments over what period of time, and what level of risk are they willing to assume. Those things determine how much a person should invest and where.

Today we hear the famous parable of the talents. Each servant is given by their master an amount of property to steward while their master is away. The master gives to each according to his abilities. But he never tells them what to do with it. The property is not theirs, it is not even a gift. It remains the master’s. But the servants know that their master is a man who expects a lot of his servants. They know that they are expected to do something with his property, and so, like any good investor, they begin by setting their investment goals. What do they think the master expects as a return?

One servant, the one who had been given the largest amount, invested aggressively. He immediately went out and doubled what had been entrusted to him. The second servant did likewise. They kept their eye on the end goal based upon what they thought the master expected of them. But the third servant, the one who the master had judged to have the least ability, let his fear overcome him and did nothing with what had been entrusted to him. He may have had as much investment savvy as the other two, but he was afraid of failure, and so he played it safe.

What kind of an investor are you? This parable today talks about talents, and we tend to think about talents as abilities today. What are our personal talents that we can contribute to the community. But in Jesus’ time a talent had a monetary value. The talent typically weighed about 75 lb. At today’s price of gold, a talent would be worth over $1.5 million! With that in mind, how would you react if someone suddenly gave you almost $8 million dollars and told you to invest it?

Would you be an aggressive investor, seeking the highest return in the shortest period of time? Would you be a growth investor, looking for a steady, safer return over time? Would you be afraid that you will lose your principal if you invest at all, and so do nothing, conserving what you have? Which type of investor does the Lord seek? Which does he consider to be a good and faithful servant?

As servants of the Lord we are all His stewards. Everything about our existence – who our parents are, which country we were born into, our material goods, the food we eat and the clothes we wear, the very air we breathe and our next heartbeat – are not ours. We did not create them and we did not create ourselves. Everything we have and everything we are is not truly ours. They have been given to us by our creator, and we are expected to do something with them. The master does not tell us how to invest them, but the expectation is that we do something with them, to increase them for the benefit of ourselves and the people of God.

God expects a return on his investment in us. What do you invest in?

You are wonderfully made, and God has created you to be totally unlike any other person the world has ever seen or ever will see. He has made you, you. The human person is the summit of all creation. All the amazing elements of creation, from the smallest atomic particle to the stars themselves, are not made in the image and likeness of their creator. But you are. How do you invest first of all in yourself?

What do you do to increase the talents the master has given you? How do you invest your time? You only have so much of it, do you use it wisely? How much do you waste? How much do you use on busy work or meaningless tasks? How much do you spend in prayer or contemplation? On study? On scripture? On other people?

How do you view your body and how do you take care of it? It seems that society today does not view the human body as being a temple or a gift, but something to exploit. It’s my body and I can do with it what I will. That is true to a certain extent, but what does the master want you to do with it? Is the body simply for pleasure? Is it to be neglected or protected? Is it really yours or is it to be used for the benefit of others? We have been given both body and soul, and both are of equal importance. We should not neglect the body and emphasize our souls, and vice versa.

What of your soul? How often do you even think about your soul? Our souls image God, are connected to God, are one with God. Is your investment strategy for eternal life one of hope, or is it based upon fear of the consequences if you fail? Do you feed your soul or bury it in the ground? Do you look forward with joy to the promise of salvation, or do you just fear going to hell? Do you take advantage of all the gifts God has given you to grow your soul, such as the sacraments, prayer, and your church community? It’s not the mind that’s a terrible thing to waste, it’s the soul.

And what of your mind? How aggressively do you invest in your intellect? What do you read and how do you expand your horizons? Is your entire understanding of the world just what you see on television? Do you think for yourself or just parrot the ideas of others? Do you inform your conscience or do you allow society to do it for you? Did you stop growing and thinking in high school or college? What truly original thought have you had lately?

How do you invest in your family, especially your children? This goes hand-in-hand with investing in your soul. It’s not about you, after all. You grow your soul when you grow the souls of others. How are you stewarding your spouse and your children? We heard in the first reading from Proverbs today that the worthy wife brings her husband good, and not evil, all the days of her life. Obviously, that applies to the husband as well, and to both of them as parents of their children. We have been given each other to steward, to cherish and nourish, with the ultimate reward being eternal life in heaven. How is your family set up to get all of you to heaven, together?

The family is the domestic church, and cannot be separated from the church as a whole. How do you invest in your church? We are not saved alone, but in community. How important is your church in your life? I recall one mother, when signing her children up for religious education classes, declared that her children would miss about half of the classes and class Masses that year due to all the other activities on the calendar. When the teacher commented on her priorities, the mother said that church was about fifth on their priority list. What number is it on your list?

The best way we invest in our church is to come to Mass. The best way to invest our time, in our minds, bodies and souls, is to come to Mass. The best way to invest in our families is to come to Mass. The Mass is the source and summit of who we are as Catholics. We are called as servants to worship our master, and Jesus told us how to do that. Do this in memory of me. If we simply concentrate on the Mass, learn and understand what it truly is, participate fully and actively each and every Sunday, and truly give of ourselves as part of the sacrifice, all our other investments will flow and increase from that. It’s a simple strategy for success.

Jesus said that those who have much will grow rich and those who have little will lose what little they have. This may or may not have referred to wealth, but it does apply to faith. It’s all about the return on investment. If we invest the talents we have been given well they will increase, but if we bury them they will not stay the same, they will wither and eventually die. If you are trustworthy in little things God will entrust you with greater things. You will be that good and faithful servant.

And you will share your Master’s joy.

Sunday, October 29, 2017

Aliens


30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle C

Thanksgiving is only a few weeks away. How many of you have a tradition at your house to invite people to Thanksgiving dinner who don’t have family or friends here? We always seem to have a place for someone who was planning on spending the holiday alone. We like having new and different people at our table. We don’t do it out of pity or some sense of obligation. We want to share the joy of the day with others, no matter who they are. Usually the invitation is given at the spur of the moment. You don’t have plans for Thanksgiving? Then why not come over to our house? At first the opportunities just came up every year, but now it’s sort of a tradition, and we actively think of people we can invite.

I guess part of it is that we don’t want people to be unhappy, and to us, spending a holiday like Thanksgiving alone would make us unhappy. Maybe some folks like to be alone on Thanksgiving. Maybe being without family or friends at that time brings up painful memories of a loss or of a broken relationship. Maybe they are estranged from their families or have had bad experiences around the dinner table. I never think of those things. Doesn’t matter. I usually just jump in and invite anyone who will come.

To me and my family that’s hospitality. It’s hard to nail down the definition of hospitality. Part of it is cultural, I guess. I grew up with lots of different people around the dinner table. I was raised to believe that it is better to give than to receive. And, I basically just like people. But is it more than that? Is hospitality a matter of faith or just a social construct?

To the people of the ancient Near East, at the time the book of Exodus was written, hospitality was more than a cultural thing, it was often a matter of life and death. Recall the story of Abraham, who was sitting in the entrance to his tent one day when three strangers approached. Abraham jumped up, greeted them heartily, and insisted they stay for a meal. He treated them as important people. He killed some goats and prepared a big meal for them, after ushering them into his tent where it was cool. Turns out they were angels, and they told Abraham in return for his hospitality his wife would bear a son in her old age. Who knew?

In the desert, food and water was in short supply. They were wandering Bedouins, and oftentimes the only way you would eat that day is if you came upon another wanderer who gave you some food. Hospitality was necessary for survival, and people gave it without question, because they knew that someday they themselves would have to rely on the hospitality of someone else.

What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself? Is it as simple as extending hospitality to one another? In scripture, God talks a lot about reciprocity. Love your neighbor as yourself. You will be forgiven to the extent that you forgive. Welcome the alien because you were once aliens. Abuse the widows and orphans and I will make your wife a widow and your children orphans. That whole Golden Rule thing is about getting what you give, in similar proportions. Treat people as you want to be treated. And there seems to be a built-in quid pro quo. We do it because we want to receive something in return. But is that really love?

Do we extend hospitality because someday we want to receive it? Is that how it should be?

Remember the story of the Good Samaritan? St. Luke has this same story in his gospel, but it is not the Pharisees who were questioning Jesus but a righteous man. Remember that the man wanted to justify himself, so he asked snarkily “But who is my neighbor?” Jesus answered him with the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan extended compassion and mercy to the man beaten by robbers without asking who he was, or what tribe he belonged to, or what his politics were or how much money he had. He didn’t help him expecting to ever be repaid. He offered hospitality even though he knew he probably would never need the same help himself. Jesus said that is what a true neighbor is. 

We heard in our first reading today from the Book of Exodus, “You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens in the land of Egypt.” We talk a lot about aliens in this country these days, don’t we? And there are strong feelings on each side, each with valid points of view. If hospitality is just a social construct, then it is easy to look at the quid pro quo of immigration, legal or illegal. We must protect our borders. We can’t keep on spending so many resources on people who are here without permission. We need to concentrate on our own people first. We can’t just open the door to everyone. Valid arguments.

But if hospitality is a matter of faith, what are we called to do? How did Jesus offer hospitality? Did he ever discriminate against anyone who came to him? Jesus never rejected anyone who wanted to follow him, even though he was often rejected himself. He offered lifegiving water to the Samaritan women at the well. He invited himself to dinner at the home of Zacchaeus the tax collector. He forgave Peter his betrayal. He spoke in parables of the absurd generosity of the Father.

Jesus offered hospitality to everyone because of the way he viewed them. He saw each and every person as being special, as having an inherent dignity just because God had created them. Every person created is a reflection of the Creator. Every person images God, and so has God within him or her.

If God showed up at your door on Thanksgiving, would you let him in? Would you notice his race, look at the way he is dressed, how well groomed he is, determine his social status? Would you ask yourself what God could give you in return if you let him in? Or would you welcome him in just because he is who he is?

The hospitality of faith transcends all the complicated social, political, economic and racial arguments, and narrows the criteria for acceptance down to one simple reality – your neighbor really is yourself. If God has offered you his hospitality just because you are his son or daughter, you must do the same, because we are all His sons and daughters. All that matters is that God made you. And he made us all for himself.

God shows us the ultimate hospitality. He shows us the ultimate dignity. He dignified humanity to the point of becoming human himself. He showed the value of every human life by dying on the cross for each and every human being ever created. He showed the value of the lowest of the low – he was condemned to a traitor’s death – in his very self. It was when he was brought low that he was raised up high.

The hospitality of faith and the hospitality of society are not exclusive of one another, but build on each other. Social mores and laws are necessary for the survival of our culture. But as we determine what they are to be, we, as Christians, must begin with the reality that each and every human being has inherent dignity because we are Children of God. It is not quid pro quo. It is just because.

We don’t create just laws because of what we will get in return. We don’t decide how to treat other people based upon what they can or cannot contribute to us or to society. Who are we to decide the worthiness of another person’s life? Jesus Christ has already settled that on the cross. We create just laws because they are just. Because God is just.

And it goes beyond laws and social norms. It goes to all our relationships. The alien is anyone who is different from us. Aliens are treated with suspicion. Aliens are not part of us. They can be scary. They can force us out of our comfort zones to perhaps take a different look at ourselves.

Aliens disagree with you. Aliens belong to a different political party. Aliens belong to a different religious group, or hold no religious beliefs at all. Aliens have physical or mental disabilities. Aliens have tattoos and piercings. Aliens are the old and frail who can no longer contribute to society. Aliens are the inconvenient unborn in the womb. Aliens are conservative, aliens are progressive. Aliens are older than you. Aliens are younger than you. Aliens have less money than you. Aliens have more money than you.

You are an alien, and I am an alien. And together, we are wonderfully made.

Sunday, September 10, 2017

Who Am I to Judge?


23rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle A

Who Am I to Judge?

That seems to be the theme of our civilization today. Who am I to judge?

The media and a lot of people have taken part of a quote from Pope Francis and have turned it into an excuse for tolerating any type of behavior. Whatever the crisis of the day is, whatever moral norms are being turned upside down, it doesn’t matter, because we are not to judge, are we? It’s a wonderful, all-encompassing excuse for not taking any responsibility for our actions or the actions of other people. It’s not my fault, it’s not your fault, it’s not anyone’s fault. We must be open and welcome and accept, even celebrate, any behavior in anyone, because to do otherwise is to be judgmental, and that’s bad.

It’s not only bad, it’s really hard to do sometimes, because if we are seen as judgmental we risk a lot. We risk ridicule, usually on social media, loss of friends, our jobs, and sometimes outright violence. Nobody wants to be seen as judgmental. As long as what you do doesn’t infringe on my rights, go ahead. It doesn’t affect me.

But is that true? Am I really my brother’s keeper?

What do we hear in today’s readings? The people of the prophet Ezekial’s time believed that the consequences of offending God was often death, physical death. They didn’t have the same concept of the afterlife that we do. Therefore, the worst that could happen to someone was for them to die. We have a similar understanding of the consequences of sin, however, ours is based upon our understanding of eternal life. If we live a life of sin without repenting, and die in that state, then we will suffer not only physical death but spiritual death as well, separated from God forever.

So, as St. Paul says, the wages of sin is death. The stakes are really high. The Lord tells Ezekial that it is his responsibility as a prophet to warn people about those consequences, and try to turn them away from their sin, so they will not die. If he does not, then not only will the person die anyway, but Ezekial will be held responsible. That’s a high price to pay for not being judgmental.

And Jesus builds upon this understanding of responsibility in the gospel. He lays out a detailed process for dealing with people who sin. If someone does something wrong that you are personally aware of, you have a responsibility to talk to them about it. Sometimes people are unaware that they have hurt you or that what they did was wrong. A young person asked me once if something is a sin if she didn’t think it was a sin. At first I thought that yes, there are some actions that are always sinful, in and of themselves. Then after a while I came to the conclusion that that may be so, but there’s a difference between thinking something is a sin and knowing it is a sin, and doing it anyway. I think we have raised entire generations that have no awareness that some things they think are natural and good are actually wrong. It is our responsibility to inform them of reality, as we have been taught by Jesus and his church. And, as Jesus tells us today, not just the responsibility but the authority to do so.

But what if they don’t listen, or outright reject our message? Jesus says we are to bring in backup. Take a couple of witnesses with us and try again. In Jewish law, all it took to establish a case was to have the collaborating testimony of two or three witnesses. If even that fails, take it to the church. To the church? What have they got to do with it?

Jesus clearly states here that the church has both the responsibility and the authority to judge questions of faith and morals. When we sin, it affects not only our relationship with God and with those we hurt, it affects everyone. It affects the church, the people of God. It affects the entire world. Wow, when I steal that candy bar from the 7 Eleven it hurts people in China? In a way, yes. Sin, especially unrepentant and unforgiven sin, does hurt everyone. Like George Lucas said, there’s a disturbance in the force. If only we could feel something when somebody else sinned, maybe we would be more aware of the seriousness of sin.

There are sins that individuals do not commit that affect their lives profoundly. When someone hurts us, it obviously affects us personally. But how can what one person does to another that we are not even aware of affect us personally? Well, how many of you own slaves? How many of you are sexual offenders? None of us own slaves, but we are all affected by the sin of slavery in this country that was ended over 150 years ago. Every day we see the effects of racism, and it hurts us all and paints entire populations with the same brush, because of the actions of others. And as Catholics, we are all affected by the actions of a few clergy, aren’t we, even though we would never dream of acting that way ourselves.

And if we are all affected by the sins of others, we are also responsible for trying to correct and forgive those sins.

When he told his apostles, “whatever you bind on earth is bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth is loosed in heaven” he gave them the authority to judge actions and establish laws that apply here on earth that are backed by the authority of God himself.

Finally, Jesus proclaims judgment on the unrepentant sinner. Treat them as you would treat a gentile or tax collector. And we know how the Jews treated those folks. They had no contact with gentiles and they ostracized and abused tax collectors. That’s pretty harsh, and doesn’t really paint a picture of a merciful Jesus.

But it’s not judgmental to give someone a chance to repent. Several chances, in fact. And how did Jesus treat tax collectors? He ate with them. One of them was actually an apostle. The door was always open, but Jesus never pulled any punches with sinners. He always called them to repentance and always forgave and welcomed them back into relationship with him.

That’s what people do when they love each other. Jesus wasn’t laying out a legalistic process for judging sinners. He was giving them a lot of chances. He was telling us to be persistent and gentle in calling people back into relationship. And most of all, he is telling us to try, at least try. I think that many of us don’t even take that first step when someone hurts us. We don’t have the courage to tell the person how we feel and reach out to them. Most of us would just let it go and write them off.

We must always treat sinners with compassion, because we are all sinners who need and want compassion ourselves. Loving our neighbor as ourselves means we treat them as we want to be treated, and nobody wants to feel condemned and outcast. We correct our children all the time when they do something wrong. We also punish them when necessary. We do that out of love for them because we do not want them to suffer any long term harmful consequences. That is not being judgmental, that is being responsible parents.

We are our brother’s keeper. We are all responsible for one another. Remember that admonishing the sinner is one of the spiritual works of mercy, along with instructing the ignorant, counseling the doubtful, and bearing patiently those who wrong us.

We are all just beggars looking to be fed. And so we must be there for one another. Just as we provide for the physical needs of people we must also look out for one another’s spiritual needs. We do it out of love. We do it because we want to be loved. The most loving thing you can do for someone is help them get to heaven, to be with the God who created them. To correct someone who sins is to show them the ultimate compassion.

It is to lead them to the thing that will bring them the greatest happiness.

Happiness does not come from doing whatever we want to do. Happiness comes from living as we were created to live, according to the commandments of the Lord. Those commandments are not just a set of arbitrary or oppressive rules. God set them up for us to guide us to him. Jesus said that we are his friends if we keep his commandments. He then gave us the responsibility and authority to help one another keep them.

That’s not being judgmental. Only God will judge us. One day each and every one of us will stand before the Lord, alone, and there will be judgment. That is the moment when we will feel the effects of the gentle corrections we had received during our lives here on Earth. How we reacted to those corrections will make all the difference. At that moment we will also experience the consequences of how we responded to those times we were called to be loving to our neighbor. And that includes when we were called to show mercy to the sinner.

For we will be shown mercy to the extent that we show mercy.

Friday, August 11, 2017

Transfigure Me


Feast of the Transfiguration

Cycle B

It really depends upon your point of view, doesn’t it?

Have you ever had your life changed because you suddenly saw things a bit differently? Many times we get caught up in the ordinary of our everyday lives and miss the truth of what’s going on around us.

Dr. Steven R. Covey, author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, tells in his book of an experience he had on a New York subway one Sunday morning. He says that people were sitting quietly. Some were reading newspapers, some were dozing, others were simply sitting with their eyes closed. It was a rather peaceful, calm scene. At one stop a man and his children entered the car. The children were soon yelling back and forth, throwing things, even grabbing people’s newspapers. It was all very disturbing and yet the father just sat there next to him and did nothing. It was not difficult to feel irritated. Steven could not believe the man could be so insensitive as to let his children run wild and do nothing about it. It was easy to see that everyone else in the car was annoyed as well. So finally, with what he thought was admirable restraint and patience, Steven said to the man, “Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn’t control them a little bit more?” The man lifted his gaze as if coming out of a dream and said, “Oh, you’re right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don’t know what to do and I guess they don’t know how to handle it either.”

Dr. Covey said, “Can you imagine what I felt at that moment? Suddenly I saw things differently. Because I saw differently, I felt differently. I behaved differently. My irritation vanished. I didn’t have to worry about controlling my attitude or my behavior. My heart was filled with this man’s pain. Feelings of compassion and sympathy flowed freely. ‘Your wife just died? Oh, I’m so sorry! Can you tell me about it? What can I do to help?’”

That was Steven Covey’s moment of transfiguration, a moment of revelation that sustained him in a difficult situation. Peter, James and John had the vision of Jesus’ transfiguration to sustain them during the difficult times to come. The next time Jesus took the three of them off with him by themselves was in the Garden of Gethsemanie. But what about us? After all, we could put up with an awful lot if we had a remembered moment of glory to sustain us, a clear indication of who Jesus really is, some sign that when it was all over, everything would be all right. What’s our transfiguration moment?

To be transformed is to be changed. To be transfigured is to see things differently, as they really are. Peter couldn’t see clearly up there on the mountain. But over time, with a lot of prayer, pondering, suffering and preaching the good news, he came to see Jesus for who he really is. Jesus didn’t change. Peter’s understanding did. Because he saw differently, he felt differently, and because he felt differently, he behaved differently.

And how Peter had changed from the time of this gospel account until he wrote his letters decades later! In the gospel, he’s really scared. He falls down to the ground in fear, and says some pretty silly things. Like the man on the train, Peter didn’t really know what to say or do; he didn’t understand what was happening before him.

The Peter we hear in his second letter is very different. Gone is the simple fisherman from Capernaum. Gone is the rough man unsure of himself. He is calm, confident, and collected. He is no longer the frightened disciple, he has become the leader. He has been bringing others to knowledge of Jesus, and he is reassuring them that his message is true. Something happened to him, and James and John as well, after they saw Jesus differently, after they saw him in his glory, that changed the very direction of their lives.

And if you thought it scared Peter to see Jesus as he really was, how do you think it made him feel as he himself was transfigured? It can be frightening to learn who you really are, who you are called to be for the world. Peter had come to know what it means to be truly human. To be truly human is to be like God. And Peter saw what that God was doing. He was teaching, preaching, working tirelessly to bring the gospel to the people. Desperate to have his children truly know him for who he was. He was putting his life on the line daily, and he finally lost that life in a horrible way.

Is that what was in store for Peter if he lived out his true humanity? Is that what’s in store for all of us? Peter didn’t know. But he, James and John had a decision to make. They could take their newfound knowledge of Jesus and continue to follow him, or they could go away, back to their livelihoods. Or worse yet, they could drift off to the fringes of his followers, simply tagging along without taking on any of the responsibilities of discipleship.

We all have the same decision to make that the apostles did. Sooner or later we’ll be hit with the realization of who Jesus really is in our lives, and we’ll have to decide what to do next. That realization might be found in a passage of scripture, it may be found here at Mass, or during a serious illness or family crisis. It may be a simple acceptance that grows out of many years of quietly walking with the Lord. But our lives will transfigured. And we can either continue in our old ways of living, we can drift off to the fringes of the community without taking on the added responsibilities that discipleship brings, or we can embrace those responsibilities and reach out to others as the Master did.

Our greatest hope is to someday see Jesus in all his glory. We can catch glimpses of it at times here on earth. Maybe not as dramatically as the apostles did, but perhaps it comes in a flash of inspiration, or the deep affection we have for those we love, or maybe in the glint of hope in a dying person’s eyes. The apostles were overcome with fear, but Jesus allayed their fears. Jesus’ glory can seem terrible to us now, because we live sinful lives in a sinful world. But our hope is that ultimately Jesus’ glory will be our glory. We too will be touched by Him and take our place at his side in heaven, where there is no fear.

Then we will be as we were truly created to be.

 

 

Sunday, July 16, 2017


15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle A

Farming in Jesus’ time was very difficult. The soil in the middle east can be very hard and required hard work to break up, using rudimentary plows, really just sharp sticks that were dragged across the surface by a team of oxen. Back breaking work. The sower would then simply grab a handful of seed from a sack and throw it out over the field. He didn’t dig a hole, drop in a seed, and then put in some fertilizer. He didn’t tend the field after planting it. He relied upon the rains to water it, and as you know, there wasn’t a lot of rain. He didn’t weed it. He basically left the seed where it landed and hoped for the best. It was up to the field itself to determine if anything grew or not.

The ancient farmers saw everything they received as a gift from God. They trusted that God would provide the rain and snow to water the plants to create seed and wheat for bread. They were totally reliant upon the whims of nature, or, as they saw it, the pleasure of the creator. Whether the farmer’s family ate or starved was at the mercy of God.

So the people listening to Jesus that day could really relate to the story. They understood the seriousness of the situation because they experienced it first hand. They just had a hard time relating themselves to the story. The did not understand how it applied to them. What could they do to affect the harvest when it was really all in God’s hand?

This is not a passive parable. There are two actors working together in this parable: the sower and the field. Each has an active role in whether or not the seed bears fruit.

The sower firstly chooses to sow. The sower prepares the field. It’s the same field, but with different conditions in different areas of the field. It receives the same water and sunlight, and the sower scatters seed to the entire field. He does not discriminate or play favorites.

The field also has a choice in the matter. The conditions of the field can change if the field wants them to. We are the field. If we want we can move to a better part of the field. I think we are always moving around the field. Sometimes we are the rocky soil, sometimes we are among the thorns, other times we are the good soil. Heck, I’ve been in all three areas just in one day!

This parable is all about the choices we make. We can choose to let the seed fall on the hard ground, or we can cultivate the hard ground to receive it. Are our hearts open to the seed? Do we want to truly understand? Have we hardened ourselves to the word of God, to Jesus? We prepare the ground of our own hearts and we accept the cultivation and sustenance we are given.

Some seed fell on the path and the birds ate it before it could take root. There was no understanding, and so the devil came and took it away. To take root and flourish, the word of God must be received with understanding. That requires that we seek to understand. We receive understanding first from the Holy Spirit revealing the word to us in scripture and in the teaching of Jesus that has come down to us from the Apostles. Understanding is how we prepare the soil of our hearts. We break up the hardness to allow the seed to penetrate deeper, where it can take root.

Knowledge leads to understanding, understanding leads to decision, and decision leads to action.

Some seed fell on shallow rocky ground. It sprang up quickly but had no depth so it soon withered in the hot sun. Sometimes people base their faith upon emotion or self-centeredness only, and so once the excitement wears off and trouble comes, the faith dies. They are attracted by the externals of religion, or by a charismatic preacher or teacher or the music they like, or by the feeling they get in a certain community. But they never really go deeper, never seek to truly understand, and so they don’t stay long. They don’t study their faith. They don’t seek God in service to others. They just want to be fed themselves. They hop from congregation to congregation, always looking for that one experience that will make it all click. That is not a faith that survives adversity and suffering.

Some seed fell among the thorns, and when those thorns also grew up alongside them, they overwhelmed the good plants and choked them out. Worldly desires and worries choke them out. We can choose to let the world choke out the word, or we can clear the path of all the things that distract us and cause us to turn away. We are all planted in the same field, however, we are in the world but should not be of the world.

Oftentimes those thorns are on rosebushes; they are really attractive and beautiful. We are drawn to their beauty and don’t see the thorns underneath. Sometimes the thorns seem so tall and so strong that they overwhelm us, and we lose hope. The thorns are all around us. The key is to not let the thorns be the focus, but the word. Letting go of worldly desires and anxieties is a choice we have the power to make, and it can be liberating.  

But Jesus says that the seed that falls on good ground not only grows but yields so abundantly that it makes up for all the seed that did not produce anything. The field will therefore be plentiful, even though only a small part of the seed took root and flourished. Because in God’s plan everything he does bears fruit. His word will not return to him until it produces exactly what he sent it to do.

God has a choice and he chooses to send us his word to give us life. He offers that life to everyone he has ever created and will create, without favor. It is the same life for everyone. He doesn’t plant good seed in one field and poor seed in another. His will is that the seed take root and accomplish what he sent it to do. It will accomplish that because God cannot fail. However, when and where His will is accomplished requires a decision and action on the part of the recipient. We have the ultimate say in the matter.

We are not passive actors in this play. We are not simply receptors of the message, but active searchers and cultivators. We are active participants in the growth of the seed. God will do his part. He will send his word to us like he sends the rain to the earth, and that word will give life to the world, whether we as individuals accept and cultivate it or not.

God will not be denied, but we can deny God. It is our choice. We choose what to do with the word and with the life it can give us. The seed has been planted in you. What will you choose to do with it?

 

 

 

Saturday, May 13, 2017

To Serve and To Give


5th Sunday of Easter

Cycle A


 
Ever since Easter Sunday we have been reading from the Acts of the Apostles, hearing about how the early Church sought to live out the mission that Jesus had given them. We have no record of Jesus giving the disciples instructions on how to organize themselves into Church. It is interesting how they chose to do so. From the very beginning we see them putting into place an attitude and a structure of service. First and foremost service to one another, and then expanding to service of the entire community.

We will be listening the next few weeks to verses from the Gospel of John from what is called, “The Last Discourse”. This passage today comes immediately following the story of the washing of the feet we heard on Holy Thursday, where Jesus told his disciples, “If I washed your feet – I who am teacher and Lord – then you must wash each other’s feet. What I just did was to give you an example: as I have done, so you must do.”

This is where the Church received its marching orders from Jesus, and we are beginning to see how they chose to live out those orders. This took on a very practical orientation. From the very beginning the Church ordered itself in practical ways to carry out its mission of service. This attitude of loving service, of subordination to each other, was what attracted so many people to Christianity.

The Church addressed both the spiritual and physical needs of its members. The role of the apostles was to preach and teach the gospel. They also governed the community. When they found themselves being bogged down with the temporal needs of the people, they set aside certain people to take on that role.

We hear today the story of the ordination of the first deacons; the very name means servant in Greek. Their job was to take care of the poor and the sick and the needy, just like today. They were the servants at table, both the dinner table and the altar of the Eucharist. It may seem that the Apostles were delegating the dirty work to lesser men, but in fact service at table is what Eucharist is all about, isn’t it?

Archbishop Niederauer, whose motto was “To Serve and To Give”, liked to say that Eucharist happens under the table as well as on top of it. We gather around the table to share in the banquet on the top, but we serve down below. Because foot washing happens under the table. If we are to be people of Eucharist, we must be foot washers for one another.

“Whoever believes in me will do the works that I do,” Jesus said, “and will do greater ones than these.” Jesus in his earthly ministry fed the hungry, healed the sick, raised the dead, taught his disciples, gave himself in Eucharist to us, gave his very life for us. As his disciples we are called to do the same. Jesus did all these things himself, because he was giving us example. However, we aren’t called to serve God’s people all by ourselves; we are called to do our part as members of the larger Body of Christ. Some of us feed the hungry, some of us heal the sick, some lead us in Eucharist, still others teach, but all of us are called to give our lives for others, not necessarily literally, but we are called to live our entire lives in service.

Service is not an option; it is what we are compelled to do through the Holy Spirit. If you have the spirit of God within you you will do great works. That is how you know you have the Spirit. When the Spirit came down upon Jesus at his baptism, he didn’t just go off somewhere to study or to keep this power within him. He didn’t keep it just between God and himself. He immediately went throughout the entire countryside spreading the gospel he had found. He was driven into the desert by the spirit and then from there spent the rest of his life in service to God’s people. He didn’t work a year or two and then say, “Well, I’ve done my part, now it’s time for someone else to take over.” He was serving unto his death. He was obedient to the will of his Father unto his death. Only when he went back to the Father did he hand over his ministry to his disciples. To us.

It really is all about stewardship. We have all been given great gifts from God. Everything we have – our health, our relationships, our children, our jobs, our material possessions – ultimately come from God. We have been given so much, and we have an awesome responsibility to take care of those gifts.

As stewards we understand that while we have so much, we do not really own anything and nothing really owns us. We are here to nurture and grow the gifts we have been given, to increase their worth and give them back to the creator who gives them to us in the first place. The greatest gift we are called to take stewardship of is one another. By serving one another we help each other to grow and become the people God intends us to be.

It’s fitting that we celebrate Mother’s day this weekend. A mother is a natural steward. Motherhood is a vocation of service, of nurturing, of giving tirelessly of self for the benefit of others. There is something about having a child that brings out this selflessness. We fathers also feel this need, but a mother’s love begins in the womb, with a baby’s total reliance on her for sustenance. The connection between mother and child is both physical and spiritual. And once born, a mother’s selfless service to her family only grows deeper and stronger.

The Church is a lot like the womb in that regard. One of the strongest images we have of the church is as mother. Mother Church we call it. As Church we look out for one another. We take care of the spiritual and physical needs of others, whether they belong to our community or not. We see each other as special gifts from God, and we offer up our own unique talents for the benefit of all.

Because that’s what love is and that’s what love does. Jesus gave us our mission. “Love one another as I have loved you.” And then he gave us his example of humble service to show us how to live that love.

A good friend of mine posted today on Facebook,

When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I have nothing left, I used everything you gave me."

To me, that says it all.

 

 

Sunday, April 2, 2017

Will Jesus Cry When I Die?


5th Sunday of Lent

Cycle A

Will Jesus Cry When I Die?

I attended the funeral of Deacon Ricardo Arias on Friday. Ricardo and I were ordained in the same class, and he is the fifth of my class that has died. He had suffered from cancer for a long time. The funeral Mass was held at the cathedral, and the bishop presided, along with dozens of priest and deacons, and the cathedral was filled with people who came to pay their last respects.

The bishop spoke of Ricardo’s quiet, unfailing love for and service to the church. He spoke of his dedication to God’s people. He had been a good and faithful deacon. Ricardo had obviously touched a great many people. Many wept.

I preside at a lot of funerals. Many of them are for people I have never met or known. Many times the only Catholics in the church are myself and the person in the casket. I hear a lot of stories about the deceased, how he or she has touched the lives of their friends and family. Some are good and some not so much so. Some are pretty vacuous. Most people don’t live heroic lives. Many lives are defined by the activities they contained rather than how they affected the lives of others.

Funerals often make me think about what my own funeral will be like. What will I be remembered for? What will people say about me? How many people will be there out of respect for me or my family, and how many will be so perturbed at losing me that they will weep? How many lives will I have touched and influenced? How many have I led to Christ?

Like Lazarus, will my life, and death, be for the glory of the Son of God?

This was not the first time Jesus had raised someone from the dead. He had raised Jairus’ young daughter, and the son of the Widow of Nain. He had done so out of compassion for the grieving parents, and he did so in privacy. Lazarus was different. Jesus didn’t cry when those young people died, but here we hear those famous words written for the first and only time in the gospels – “And Jesus wept.”

For Jesus, Lazarus’ death was personal. Outside of his apostles, Mary, Martha and Lazarus are the only people named as his friends. I imagine that Jesus often went to their home just outside of Jerusalem to rest and get away from the crowds. Jesus had a special place in his heart for them. He was very close to them, and so it is understandable that Jesus would be upset when his friend died.

Jesus weeps for his friends. Jesus weeps for them because they are not just some people he meets on his way. Jesus happened upon Jairus and the Widow. Jesus had a personal relationship with Lazarus. Jesus wept for Lazarus because he was his friend. He was his family. He loved him because he was loved by him.

Will Jesus cry when I die?

Will I just be another disciple among the crowd, or will he consider me his friend? His close friend? His family? Will I have invited him into my home? Will we have broken bread together often? Will I have sat at his feet while he taught me? Will I have thrown myself down before him in shame and have asked for his forgiveness? Will Jesus know me so well that he will be perturbed when I suffer?

Today’s gospel is the promise. This is what it is all about. This is why we believe and this is what we hope for. Without Jesus’ promise of the resurrection from the dead why should we bother? Jesus’ resurrection really means nothing for us unless it points to our own destiny. Why should you change your life, why should you become His disciple if it were not for the reward of everlasting life?

Those are the fundamental questions we ask ourselves sooner or later. We all want to believe that there’s something after this life. We all want the promise. That’s why Lazarus’ story is our story, because we all have that promise.

Jesus didn’t just say he was the resurrection and the life, he proved it. He rose again to a new kind of life, a glorious life, and he promised that we would have that same life, too. That’s why this story is for all of us, because Jesus came so that all may have everlasting life. The promise he gave to Martha is the promise he gives to us.

May we all live as children of the promise.

 

 

 

 

Sunday, March 19, 2017

Don't You Understand?


3rd Sunday of Lent

Cycle A

Do you understand what you believe? Do you believe what you understand?

Jesus challenged the woman at the well on this. She had questioned his nationalism. "How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?" She questioned his veracity. "Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water?” She questioned his authority. “Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob?” She questioned his piety. “Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem." To Jesus, none of that mattered. She needed to understand.

If you only knew who was sitting here with you and to whom you are speaking. And he proceeded to open her eyes.

It is through reason that we understand with the head. It is through prayer and contemplation and worship that we understand with the heart. If all you have is book learning then your faith has no motivation. If all you have is emotion, your faith has no roots. It is like the person Jesus said builds his house on sand. When trials and tribulations blow there is no conviction there to keep it from being torn down.

Conviction comes from the heart. Why is it that sports teams that have the most talent do not always win the championship? Every player knows the rules of the game, and all of them possess great skills. It is what is in the heart that makes them champions. It is the heart that gives them the strength and courage to go further, to excel, to conquer in the face of great adversity.

The woman at the well was faithful to her understanding of her beliefs, but that alone would not ensure her salvation. It was not until she had a conversation with her God, one to one, face to face, did she begin to understand. And that conversation was brutal and honest. It brought into the light what had been going on in the darkness.

I think it’s the same with many people today, maybe even with most people today. Why do you worship the way you do? Why are you Catholic and what do you really understand about your faith? How much have you studied what your Church teaches you? How much time have you spent in contemplation and prayer to try to ascertain why those teachings are necessary for your life? How has that brought you face-to-face with Jesus? Are you inspired by your beliefs? Do they change you? Do they change the people around you?

I think we cradle Catholics oftentimes worship out of a sense of obligation or fear or habit, without ever trying to understand the what or the why. When you come here on Sunday, do you really listen to the readings as they are being proclaimed? Is that the only time in your week that you experience the scriptures? Is the weekly homily the only time you think about what the scriptures are trying to tell you, to change you? Do you fully participate in the Mass every Sunday? Is this the only time you pray?

I think the reason I am Catholic is that I have studied and contemplated my faith and it makes sense to me. It’s reasonable. I believe I have a good understanding of what I believe and therefore can see its relevance in my life and its place in the world. I can also explain it to others in a logical way. But that only takes me so far. Like the woman at the well, once she gained a better understanding of who the person before her was, she was able to not only change her own behavior, but bring others to Christ.

I’ve said many times before that unless you can internalize the intellectual you cannot make it personal. Unless you have an actual encounter with Jesus yourself all you will have is a bunch of knowledge. Knowledge and understanding can help stoke the fire within you, but it is not the fire itself. Knowledge does not drive people to be greater than they were. Knowledge is only the starting point for conversion.

It takes looking into the very eyes of your Savior.

The apostles had a good understanding of their faith, but what compelled them to leave hearth and home and become the most influential human beings in history was their personal relationship with Jesus. He was not just an intellectual exercise to them. He was their friend and brother.

For over 25 years I have had the privilege of walking alongside hundreds of adults who have answered the call to become Catholic. Each of them has a unique story of their call. Some are dramatic. Some have gone through some horrific experiences. Some have battled some pretty strong demons. But all have one thing in common: they all were looking for that personal encounter with God. Something had called them to the Church, but it wasn’t until they experienced the touch of Jesus that they felt they had made the right decision. It wasn’t until then that they felt at home.

We may call these encounters conversion experiences, and they are, but for most of us our conversions are much more subtle. We encounter God in the stuff or our everyday lives, many, many times, and each encounter requires a response from us to God’s outreach.

Most of us experience God in the simple things all around us. A newborn child, a lover’s kiss, the awesome beauty of a landscape, a sunrise or sunset. Most of us don’t have life shattering encounters with our God. Most of us encounter Him in countless little ways throughout the days of our lives. I think actually those encounters are the most lasting and the strongest. Because they build upon one another.

You know what we call these daily encounters with God? Grace. Grace is simply God touching our lives in some way. Sometimes His grace is strong and obvious, like on your wedding day or when you held your firstborn for the first time. Sometimes it hits you over the head like a rock. We can be shaken when we encounter God for the first time. It can be life-changing and can re-direct our lives in ways we never imagined.

Has that ever happened to you? Has something soul-shaking ever happened to you? I often see it in families who have suffered the sudden loss of a loved one, or who have sickness thrust upon them. Times like that force us to focus on the fact that we are ultimately not in control of our lives, no matter how much we want to believe that. But what usually happens is that when we finally release our grip God takes over.

Lent is the perfect time to encounter the risen Christ. How have you been preparing for that encounter? Have you taken the time to pray, fast and give alms this Lenten season? Have you taken advantage of the most awesome example of God’s grace, to see the Lord face-to-face in the confessional? You see, the most obvious result of saying yes to God’s call is to change your life. We are all called to repentance, each and every day. Conversion requires repentance. We must first see ourselves for who we truly are, coldly and honestly, before we can accept the burning fire of God’s love in our lives.

And while that conversion experience is a very personal one, it will also affect those around you. Like the woman at the well, once she said yes she changed. She changed her view of herself, she changed her view of God, and she then went out and changed the world.
Will you do the same?

 

Saturday, February 11, 2017

Broken Windows


6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle A

Sir 15:15-20

1 Cor 2:6-10

Mt 5:17-37

 

I guess I must have been about 13 years old. I can’t remember exactly what I had done wrong, but my dad had caught me red-handed and I was sitting on my bed waiting for him to come in for “the talk”. You see, whenever I did something wrong, first my dad would send me to my room for a while to “think about it”. Then, after he figured I’d been softened up enough, he’d come in and we’d talk about it. Usually he talked and I listened. Those were some of the most profound learning experiences I’ve ever had in my life.

Anyway, on this occasion I must have done something particularly heinous, because he proceeded to explain to me that what I had done had actually broken each and every one of the ten commandments. Each and every one. And he walked me through all ten in order and explained how I had broken it.

At first I was incredulous. I thought he was exaggerating. Surely I hadn’t killed anyone or anything like that. I don’t think I even knew what “covet” meant at the time, but I’d broken those two also. But, like Jesus in today’s gospel, he showed me how there were the seeds of my transgression that day in each of those ancient commandments. Dad was trying to tell me that I need to see further than do’s and don’ts.

He wasn’t trying to make me feel bad…well, maybe a little. He wanted me to be able to make decisions based upon more than just a set of rules. He wanted me to expand my awareness of right and wrong. And obviously, since I still remember it, that event has helped direct my conscience throughout my life.

Why was Jesus addressing this with his disciples that day? He had just finished preaching the Beatitudes to them. He had just told them that there was a new, proactive way of following the law. The ten commandments were mostly prohibitions. Necessary for any society to order itself, but full of “thall shalt nots”. The Beatitudes were a new way of looking at the world and the relationships among people. They were more about attitudes than actions. Was Jesus issuing a caveat here? Was he reminding them that this new way of acting and thinking was just a natural extension of those ancient prohibitions? Was he also trying to expand their awareness of right and wrong?

Or when Jesus said things like the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath, did some of his disciples think he was throwing out the old for the new, and so they weren’t bound by the law anymore? Were they trying to find loopholes in the law, those exceptions that gave them a free pass in this or that situation? They had done it with the law on divorce. They did it with how they treated foreigners and strangers. They were always looking for exceptions, for reasons the law didn’t apply to them. I think we all look for loopholes when we don’t want to keep the law because it is difficult or inconvenient to do so. We do it with the laws of society and the laws of God.

I don’t think Jesus was using hyperbole here. Jesus was talking about the sin of complacency. He was warning about getting bogged down in the letter of the law and ignoring the spirit of the law.

I’ve never killed anybody, so I’m off the hook with that one. But how many times have I murdered someone’s reputation through my gossiping?

I honor my father and mother, so that one doesn’t apply to me, either. Most of us honor our parents. But we can also honor the stranger amongst us.

Most of us are honest most of the time. But we can all work to be more transparent with those we love. How often does our yes mean yes and our no mean no?

Jesus wants us to see beyond the do’s and don’ts, to look beyond the law to the person who fulfilled it. But to Jesus it’s not just the spirit of the law that is important, but the letter as well. “Whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do so will be called least in the kingdom of heaven.”

You’ve probably heard of the “broken window” theory of law enforcement. I believe it started in New York City in the ‘80’s. The thought was that if police tried to stop the simple petty crimes such as graffiti and vandalism, more serious crime would also be reduced. Clean up Times Square and other crimes would diminish. They even got rid of those guys who came up and tried to wash your windows while you were stopped at a light. Instead of spending all our resources on the big stuff… sort of a top down strategy…spend time also on the little stuff, because usually those people who committed the big crimes started out by committing little crimes. And it worked. Major crime was reduced drastically, and New York City is considered one of the safest major cities in the world today.

The letter springs out of the spirit. The letter is how we act out the spirit. It must be both. If it is just the spirit of the law then we will always rationalize a way around it. If it is just the letter then we will become rigid and unmerciful.

Originally the Jewish people saw the law as a very positive thing. It was written by the very hand of their God and given to them as a sign of the special covenant God had made with them. If they kept God’s law God would protect them and make them prosper. If they broke the law usually bad things happened to them. But over time the law itself became the most important thing and not the covenant it represented. It is sometimes easier to focus on the action and not on the meaning behind it. It can become blind obedience, not life changing behavior.

Christianity is not a completely new faith that sprung up on Pentecost two thousand years ago. Practically all of the teachings of Jesus can be traced to their roots in the Judaism he practiced. And if we truly believe that Jesus is the Word Made Flesh that has been with the Father since the beginning, then Christianity has been around since then also. St. Paul says today, “We speak God’s wisdom, mysterious, hidden, which God predetermined before the ages for our glory”.

If something is true it’s true. God does not change, only our understanding of God changes. Only the way we follow God changes. God set up the law so that we could live as we were created to live. The law is to guide us to God. It isn’t supposed to be about punishment, it is supposed to lead to our salvation. “If you choose to keep the commandments, they will save you.” The law is not intended to imprison us but to set us free.

We do not follow the law because if we don’t bad things will happen to us. We follow the law because it leads to so much more.

What eye has not seen, and ear has not heard,
and what has not entered the human heart,
what God has prepared for those who love him.