Balancing Act

 

29^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle A

It is serendipitous that this gospel reading falls during an election year, and especially these past couple of weeks, when the question of faith vs. the law has been foremost in the news. How are people of faith to live as faithful citizens? Are we to separate our religion from our citizenship? Can there be a true separation between church and state for us? What does that really mean? Can we truly put our faith in one box here and our interactions with the world in a box over there?

Is it acceptable to pay the census tax? The Pharisees were really asking Jesus if it were acceptable for the Jews to submit to Roman authority. The two great symbols of Roman oppression were the Roman army and Roman taxes, both of which were overwhelming and ever present. A sign of allegiance to the Roman empire was the payment of taxes. To resist paying was treason. That is one reason why tax collectors were so hated. Not just because oftentimes they cheated and got wealthy off their neighbors, but because they were seen as Roman sympathizers, traitors to their people. And so, the Pharisees were asking Jesus if it were ok to commit an act of civil disobedience, rebellion actually. If he said yes they could turn him over to the authorities. If he said no the people would turn against him.

He said to repay to Caesar what is Caesar’s and give to God what is God’s. Was Jesus telling them to practice separation of church and state, to offer dual allegiance both to the emperor and to their God? Was it ok to serve two masters? Was he telling them that it was ok to support the emperor, but only on the outside? Sort of like, throw the coins in the basket, but cross your fingers behind your back?

Jesus was practical about it. The Roman occupation was a reality, and he understood that earthly authority had its place, but God’s people were to ultimately submit to a higher authority. The kingdom his followers were to be subjects of was not of this world. It was in the world but not of it. Yes, we have to submit to earthly authority, if for no other reason than it allows societies to organize themselves safely, but we are not to offer our ultimate allegiance to it. That is reserved for our true king and creator. I think Jesus was preaching a rebellion of the spirit and of the soul. His message from the moment he began his public ministry was “Repent, the Kingdom of God is at hand”. In that message and mission he refocused our allegiance where it truly belonged. To Him.

This is a tough duality and is often really hard to balance. Do you choose your faith based upon your politics, or are your politics determined by your faith? If there is a political position or law that is contrary to the gospel, what are we to do? If a law is immoral, are we called to observe it anyway or are we called to change it? Are we called to resist it or even overthrow it? The questions are even more basic than that. Where does law come from? There is God’s law and there is human law. Where does morality come from? Is it a human construct or does it come from the creator? These questions were actually the basis of the Declaration of Independence, and they are the questions of conscience we all must face.

Why would faith in God be contrary to human law in the first place? Flip that around. Why would human laws be contrary to God’s law if they are just? If morality comes from God, then justice also comes from God. Therefore, laws that are just must conform to the law of God if they are to be moral and good. This may be hard for some people to grasp, but it's important. Catholics don't hold their positions on moral questions because of "deeply held religious convictions." Rather, they are held because of the conclusions of right reason applied to the understanding of the Natural Law. To be a good citizen means to live in the world but to order our lives around the moral and the good, and we do that best through the eyes of our faith.

In Gaudium et spes, the great Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World from Vatican II, the fathers stated, “The Council exhorts all Christians, as citizens of both cities, to perform their duties faithfully, in the spirit of the gospel. It is a mistake to think that, because we have here no lasting city, but seek the city which is to come, we are entitled to evade our earthly responsibilities…But it is no less mistaken to think that we may immerse ourselves in earthly activities as if these latter were foreign to religion…”

Jesus gave us the great commission to go and make disciples of all nations, and to do that we must teach them everything he has commanded us. We are to be active in the world and actually convert it. We are to spread Jesus’ commandments of loving God and our neighbor. We cannot just compartmentalize our faith and our interactions with the world. Our faith must be our interaction with the world. We have a responsibility to society and to one another. We cannot simply remove ourselves. We are our brother’s keeper. Jesus is the truth. We are to testify to the truth.

Two opposing positions cannot both be true. Either one is right and the other wrong or they are both wrong. To what truth do we adhere? I know plenty of people who have left the Catholic Church because they do not agree with this or that teaching. They go and find a church that agrees with them rather than take the time to really understand what the church is telling them. Because it is easier to do that than to admit that me might have to change our views and change our lives. It is oftentimes easier to render unto Caesar.

We are approaching one of our greatest privileges and responsibilities as citizens in a few weeks – voting. We exercise this privilege as citizens of the world. How we vote should be exercised as citizens of the Kingdom of God. As mature Christians we must vote our conscience, but that conscience must be properly formed. Again, do you choose your politics based upon your faith? Everyone has a conscience, but if you do not knowingly and willfully form that conscience society will do it for you. And we Catholics should turn to our church to help us form ours.

St. Paul said in his letter to the Romans, “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." Jesus Christ established his church on earth upon his apostles and said that the Holy Spirt would always be active in and through it, until the end of time. He gave his apostles authority both in heaven and on earth. “What you bind on earth is bound in heaven.” He declared that he and his church are one in the same. He said, “He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects Him who sent me.” And the one who sent him is our king. And so, the Church has the moral authority to help us form our consciences.

So, whether you have made up your mind on how to vote or not, take some time to check your conscience. The US bishops put out a good guide for voting called Faithful Citizenship that you can find on the USCCB website. It is very balanced and does not endorse any political party. It does, however, state some truths of our faith as they apply to the public square that we should all consider and adhere to. Give to Caesar by voting. Give to God by voting with a properly informed conscience.

How would the world be if we truly lived as subjects of our true king? How would your lives and the lives of those around you be changed if you and I truly lived according to the two greatest commandments? The world fears the rule of God because it threatens earthly power and licentiousness. We do not.

What is Caesar’s are material things. What belongs to God is our souls.

We submit to authority but understand who the ultimate authority is.

We must work for justice in the world because we know who the ultimate judge is.

God himself is intimately involved in the world, so we are intimately involved.

The rule of Caesar is flawed and temporary. The rule of God is perfect and eternal.

 

 

It's Not Fair!

 

26^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle A

Ez 18:25-28

Phil 2:1-11

Mt 21:28-32

 

It’s not fair! And thank God it’s not.

Today’s readings tie in nicely with last week’s, where we heard the parable of the vineyard workers where the workers who were hired for only a short time received the same wage as those who had worked all day under the sun. The ones who had worked all day felt cheated because the vineyard owner was generous with his money. We hear from the prophet Ezekial today that the Israelites felt they were not being treated fairly by God because there were consequences to their actions. Ezekial sets them straight just as the vineyard owner last week did with the workers who had felt cheated.

It is so good that God does not treat us as we treat each other. It is so good for us that God’s ways are not our ways. What we think is fair may not be what God thinks is fair. We think that getting our fair share means someone else misses out. God gives everyone the same based upon our actions. Our idea of justice is really around punishment. God’s idea of justice is all about mercy. We are all given as many chances as we like to repent and return to God, up until the very moment of our death. And it doesn’t matter what other people do. It’s our choice and we will each have to suffer the consequences of our choices.

It doesn’t matter how long it takes us, just as long as we make the right choice.

Both sons in the vineyard story today had a change of heart, but the only decision that mattered was the one that ultimately conformed to their father’s will. We aren’t given any reasons for their decisions. We don’t know why they ultimately changed their minds. Perhaps the first son who initially agreed to go into the vineyard was attacked and vilified for it. Maybe his friends lured him away to go have some fun instead.  Perhaps the second son was hard-headed and proud, but came to obey his father out of love for him. Or maybe his friends guilted him into it. Their situations didn’t matter, only their decisions did.

We are all called to work in the vineyard of the Lord and be faithful to his commandments. And his commandment is to love one another as he has loved us. To love someone else as God loves them is to humbly serve them.

I spend too much time on social media, I admit it. It seems that every day someone posts a meme or a comment about how important it is to focus on yourself, to rid yourself of people who do not bring out the best in you, or don’t reciprocate your affection or attention. Be strong and be alone. Don’t rely on others. Such an American way of thinking, isn’t it? But that is not how God thinks. St. Paul says today that not only should we be of one mind and heart, we should actually live for one another, to empty ourselves just as Jesus did.

Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory;
rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves,
each looking out not for his own interests,
but also for those of others.

To be truly human is to serve others. Jesus said that he did not come to be served but to serve. God didn’t have to become man. He didn’t have to redeem us. He didn’t have to suffer our ignorance. He didn’t have to suffer and die on that cross. He chose to. He humbled himself and became one of us, because he loved us so. He not only became human, Paul says he took on the form of a slave, the lowest form of human. He became obedient and humbled himself. Are we greater that that? Are we called to anything other than that?

Jesus always turns things on their head. We think that success will come from being self-reliant, smart, and focused on ourselves. Jesus says the greatest person is the one who is the servant of all. We think that those that work harder should get more. Jesus says that everyone is subject to his mercy, no matter what. We think that appearances matter. Jesus says that we will be judged not by our words and our promises but by our actions. Those who do nothing will receive nothing, but even the reluctant workers will get the rewards.

And we are given every chance throughout our lives to make decisions to act, even to the very end of our lives. The workers in last week’s parable thought it was not fair that those who had worked in the vineyard only one hour should get the same pay as those who worked all day. And we may think that it’s not fair that someone who had lived a wicked life but at the end repents will gain the same reward as the person who was faithful their entire life. But what if you were that person, would you care if it were fair, or would you rejoice in your good fortune? We should not consider it a slight to ourselves if God is merciful to others. We should rejoice with them.

I find it a great comfort to know that I can choose God even in the last moment of my life, and he will be merciful. I also know that I can not choose God, and there will be consequences to that. I know that I am called to work every day of my life for others if I am to be a true disciple. And discipleship will bring me happiness and will greatly benefit those around me, and will ultimately lead to eternal life with God. It’s really hard to think of myself last, and I rarely do it well, but I am still called to try, even if I fail.

Think not as human beings do but as God does. We never seem to understand that, do we? It seems to be so difficult for us to live not for ourselves but for others. We don’t understand that the best way to be happy in ourselves is to deny ourselves and live for others. The path to happiness and fulfillment in life is through selflessness. That is the way God thinks. Jesus proved that.

We are not to worry about what others are doing. Worry about yourself. Only an empty cup can be filled. Empty yourself and you will be filled. By humbling himself Jesus was exalted. It will be the same with us.

It’s really not fair. Isn’t that wonderful?

 

Get Behind Me, Satan

 

22^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle A

Jer 20:7-9

Rom 12:1-2

Mt 16:21-27

 

Do you remember in last week’s gospel Jesus asked his disciples who people were saying the Son of Man was? Some thought Jesus might be the prophet Jeremiah, and this week we hear why. Jesus was a lot like Jeremiah. Jeremiah was a fearless prophet, who suffered many persecutions and attacks upon him by kings and false prophets who did not like his message of repentance in the face of destruction. Jesus also prophesized about the destruction to come, and preached repentance and conversion. Jesus was also persecuted and killed for his message and his claim. Without calling it such, Jeremiah was preaching the gospel and foreshadowing the coming Messiah. And so, we can understand why people might have thought of Jeremiah when they heard Jesus.

 

Jeremiah is not one of the most uplifting prophets. The weeping prophet, he is called. Jeremiah was called to prophetic ministry in 626 BC. He was young, probably just a teenager or in his early twenties, and he was a reluctant prophet. He really didn’t want to be God’s mouthpiece, and he came up with all sorts of excuses not to do it. He came from a well-off priestly family, and probably was not what most people thought of when they thought of a prophet.

 

The times in Judah were tough. The last few kings had not been faithful to God, choosing to worship the god Baal, one of the local pagan gods. They went so far as to adopt the practice of child sacrifice. There were rumors that the Babylonians were planning to sweep down and invade the country, as they had so many others, so the people were looking to the king to make the right alliances to protect them.

 

And so Jeremiah shows up and starts telling them that they don’t need to rely on human alliances, they really just need to repent and put their trust in God. Jeremiah’s job was to reveal the sins of the people and explain the reason for the impending destruction and captivity by the Babylonian army. “And when your people say, 'Why has the Lord our God done all these things to us?' you shall say to them, 'As you have forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve foreigners in a land that is not yours.'" Not exactly a popular message. And Jeremiah was attacked and ultimately killed for it.

 

You can see why Jeremiah was tempted to give it all up. He saw the futility of it all, the danger. He says that God duped him, that reality wasn’t what he thought he had been offered when he accepted the role of prophet. He was understandably angry and discouraged.

 

Jesus slams Peter pretty hard today. Last week we heard Jesus proclaim Peter to be the rock upon which he would build his church and he gives him the keys to the kingdom of heaven. In the next passage he seems to call him Satan. But it was not Peter Jesus was rebuking, it was the opportunity to take the easy way out and not fulfill his mission as his Father wanted him to.

 

Peter wasn’t doing anything wrong when Jesus rebuked him. In fact, he was acting out of love for Jesus. But Peter didn’t see the big picture, he didn’t understand the plan like Jesus did. Peter was thinking as any friend would when someone they loved was placing themselves in danger. But Peter wasn’t thinking as God thinks. Peter didn’t yet fully understand that Jesus must suffer and die, and that the good news of the gospel was the outcome of that death.

 

I am often frustrated and bewildered at hatred for the gospel today. The world still does not see things as God sees them. When given the choice, we choose ourselves over God. And it’s sad and ironic that by doing so we are going against our own self-interest. The world has distorted its understanding and view of the gospel to be exactly the opposite of what it really is. They see it as a set of oppressive rules, stifling the human spirit, when in fact it is the most freeing and human thing we could embrace. Jesus Christ didn’t become man to enslave us but to redeem us. And that path had to lead to the cross. The good news of Jesus Christ is that God became human so that we could become divine.

 

The world has left out half of that equation, believing that we are already dieties, that humanity is all there is, everything begins and ends with us, we are in control, and God is a myth. Our plan is focused tightly on ourselves; we see only what is before our eyes, and we have no understanding of the greater plan, because we think we are the plan.

 

Jesus understood the true plan and knew where it would lead him. Through Peter Satan was tempting Jesus to take the easy way out. If anyone could do that, Jesus could. It was the same temptation Satan had given Jesus earlier in the desert. If you are the Son of God, make it easy on yourself and eat. Declare and exercise your power over heaven and earth and take dominion of all the nations. You can choose not to do this, so don’t. It’s too hard. It’s futile. They won’t love you for it. They will reject you. They will kill you. So, don’t do it. Leave them to themselves and their own destruction. They don’t deserve so great a redeemer.

 

But like Jeremiah, Jesus couldn’t resist the Spirit. Like Jeremiah, Jesus had the Spirit burning in his heart, and he was compelled to follow the will of God. All prophets know the consequences of their message. They are often afraid. But the Spirit of God uplifts them and strengthens their resolve. Get behind me, Satan. I will not go the easy way. I will sacrifice myself for the ones I love.

 

Do you have a burning in your heart to speak the truth? Is there anything in your life that you would have the courage to stand up for and profess, even at the risk of losing your friends, your livelihood, even your life? We live in fear; fear of viruses, fear of violence, fear of being destroyed if we say or do the wrong thing or speak the truth. We distrust all our institutions, our church, our government, our neighbors. As Jeremiah laments, “violence and outrage is my message”. And, just as Jeremiah tried to remove himself from his prophetic mission, we often shy away from ours as well.

 

It takes great courage to be a prophet, but we are all called to prophesy. When we were baptized we were anointed with the Sacred Chrism as priest, prophet and king, just as Jesus was. On that day we were sent on our mission. We have the same choice Jeremiah and Jesus had. We can resist our mission and take the easy way out, or we can surrender ourselves, allow ourselves to be duped by God and embrace it. We are called to speak truth to power, we are called to admonish one another, instruct the ignorant, and correct our own behavior that goes contrary to the truth. We are called to live lives of persistence, fortitude, and courage.

We must continue to be the light of the world and proclaim the good news that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Now. Not just 2000 years ago. We must declare our allegiance to Jesus Christ and not to the world. It may cost us dearly. We may lose friends, position, and power. But we must do these things because we must love as God loves.

 

Do not conform yourselves to this age
but be transformed by the renewal of your mind,
that you may discern what is the will of God,
what is good and pleasing and perfect.