Category: Reflection

REFLECTION FOR THE 22^ND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR C

With further destruction of innocent human life in the State of Texas by gunfire, and the lies perpetuated by the governor of that state, who signed into law the complete obliteration of gun control laws in the state, it is very hard to write this reflection.

The primary focus of Sirach’s reading and that of Luke’s Gospel today is focused on the virtue of humility. Time and time again in sacred scripture, God makes it very clear that it are those who are lowly and humble that will be elevated to greatness by God, while the proud and the powerful will be reduced to nothing. Read these words of Mary in her canticle from the Gospel of Luke:

“My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord;
my spirit rejoices in God my savior.
For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness;
behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed.
The Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is from age to age
to those who fear him.
He has shown might with his arm,
dispersed the arrogant of mind and heart.
He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones
but lifted up the lowly.
The hungry he has filled with good things;
the rich he has sent away empty.
He has helped Israel his servant,
remembering his mercy,
according to his promise to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.” (Luke 1:46-55, NAB)

These words are not just isolated to that of Luke’s Gospel. Everywhere we look in the Gospels we find the embodiment of humility in the person of Jesus. Humility is not just something found in the Christian Testament, but is the backbone of the Hebrew Testament. We find Mary’s words predated in the mouth of Hannah in 1^st Samuel. We find them throughout the Psalms and the prophets. How many times in sacred scripture do we find human beings exalting themselves only to be justly cast aside by God. King David, himself, was brought to his knees by his pride and the sin that his pride caused. Over and over throughout scripture the proud have been humbled. We might think that eventually us humans would finally get the point. But no, we continue over and over to turn a deaf ear to the virtue of humility. And, over and over, we have been brought to our knees by our own pride.

We can’t turn on the news without hearing some politician falsely boasting that they have the best intellect, the best words, the best policies, and ideas the world never has ever heard before. Of course, this is not just isolated to politicians. We hear the same from sport heroes, industrialists, intellectuals, professionals and specialists caught up in their own self-promotion, their own self-glory, and all the other lies they want to hear about themselves.

What does the virtue of humility teach us. It teaches us that the gifts that we have are not something self-made. We live in a world where the myth of the self-made person is perpetuated to the detriment of all humanity. Scripture teaches that all good comes from God. Our gifts and talents originate in God, who has called us to use those gifts for the sole purpose of using them to benefit others. My father, a brilliant mathematician and  mechanical engineer was a prime example of a man truly gifted, but acknowledged that the gifts he had were solely attributed to God.

My dad worked as a mechanical engineer and salesman for Westinghouse Air Brake Company. He was often called as a professional/expert witness in lawsuits involving deaths cause by the collision of railroad trains and cars, trucks etc. Dad would be asked whether the train could have stopped in time, preventing the collision. The mathematical formula to determine this was flawed. So dad, in his spare time, developed a mathematical formula that took in variables like the number of cars an engine was pulling, the speed of the train, the condition of the tracks, to determine whether the train could have stopped in time to prevent the collision. His mathematical formula was tested by the railroads and they found that the degree of error in the formula was plus or minus 5 feet. The previous degree of error in other formulas was plus or minus 100 plus feet. Dad copyrighted the formula, and it is the formula used to this very day in courts of law to decide the outcome of many lawsuits involving train/vehicle collisions.

I asked dad whether he made any money off his formula. He told me, “No. From the very beginning, it was never my formula. It all belongs to the Holy Spirit, who inspired me to come up with it. Because it never belonged to me, it belongs to all people.”

If there was ever a virtuous man alive, it was my father, who never felt compelled to boast of having the best words, the best policies, and abilities never ever seen by the world. My dad’s life was a living parable of humility, and it was in his humility that his greatness was revealed to all who knew him. To use Jesus’ image in the Gospel today, Dad was content just to be able to sit at the table, never needing to seek out the high place at the table.

If we are truly humble, we will recognize that the gifts we have didn’t originate in us, they originated in the God of love who created us. And like my dad, when we use those gifts humbly in service of others, the greatness of God will be revealed in our lives for all to see.

Advent is a time of anticipation and a time of remembering. The scriptural readings for the first two Sundays in Advent point to the second coming of Jesus.  The final two Sundays in Advent, recall the long wait of Israel for the promised Messiah. During Advent, we, as Christians, ironically find ourselves in the posture of Israel, awaiting the first coming of the Messiah. This is implied in much of the liturgical music for Advent. As we sing, “O come, O come Emanuel”, or, “O Come Divine Messiah”, or, “People Look East”, it is not the first coming of Jesus about which we sing. What we express in our Advent chants and hymns is our longing for Jesus to come to us again, just as Jesus came to the people of Israel over 2000 years ago.

The key word is the word “longing”. Do we really long for Jesus to come again? How is our longing expressed in what we say, and what we do in our preparation for Christmas? Longing for Jesus is more than just dazzling light displays set up around our homes, the smell of Christmas cookies and other treats baking in the oven, and an LED lit tree set up somewhere in our home. Longing for Jesus is more than just Christmas parties at work and within families. Looking around our Christmas decorated homes, what is in the greatest place of prominence? Is the Christmas Creche in that place of prominence or is it hidden under the boughs of the Christmas tree?

“The Word become flesh and dwelt among us” is the best definition of the word, Incarnation. Jesus, the one through whom all was created, took on our mortal form and became one with us. May we, in turn, incarnate the presence of Christ  in what we say, in our relationships with others, and in those moments of silent prayer when we speak and listen to Jesus dwelling within us.

We are in our final week of this liturgical year. As Advent nears, how do we respond to the title of this feast, Jesus Christ, King and Lord of the Universe? As we celebrate this last week of Ordinary Time, how does Jesus fit in with what it means to be a King and a hero in light of human history and a media filled with images and stories of “super heroes”? The following is my bulletin reflection on this important feast.

When my kids were young, they would come home from school and turn on the television to watch the cartoon show, He-Man. He-Man, a creation of Mattel, the toy manufacturer, was depicted as a tall, blonde, behemoth on a massive amount of steroids, who fought to keep Eternia from the clutches of the evil Skeletor. Throughout human history we have elevated similar figures to herodom, some real and some fictional, in our folklore, in poetry and literature, and in our entertainment. Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Charlemagne, King Richard the Lionhearted, William Wallace (Braveheart), George Washington, Davy Crockett, Lawrence of Arabia, Rambo, to name just a few, capture the human imagination with their exploits, some based on truth, and much, on very elaborated fiction.

On this Solemnity of Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, one would think that with our human fixation on “heroes” such as those listed, we might see Jesus as some Marvel hero, dressed in a spandex super hero suit, packing six-pack abs, rippling muscles, square jaw, and a big JC emblazoned on his chest. However, Jesus was the complete antithesis of what human imagination depicts as a King and hero. With the exception of his own blood, Jesus ushered into our world a bloodless revolution that utterly changed our world. He was not a commander of vast armies. His name had none of the appellations we like to attach to the names of our heroes, like Lionhearted, the Great, or, the Terrible. Rather, the only appellation we attach to Jesus’ name is, “the Christ.”

If we want an image of a true hero, I encourage us to meditate upon the image of Jesus on the cross of San Damiano. We see the crucified Jesus, not dead, but alive. The witnesses of his crucifixion to the right and left of the cross. The angels on the crossbeam marveling in awe at the crucified Lord. At the top of the cross is the victorious Jesus rising from the dead in the company of ten angels. Jesus was born so that he would destroy our death by his own death, and with his resurrection from the dead raise us to eternal life. He used no guns, no swords, nor explosives. His only weapon was love, namely his love for God, his Father, and his love for us. Now that is a true hero!

 

Many years ago, I ministered alongside Fr Barry Schneider, a Franciscan Friar and the pastor of St Hubert in Chanhassen. One day, Barry asked me, “Bob, why does the Church complicate things so much?” I asked him for clarification. He replied, “The Pharisees were criticized for burdening the Jewish people with Mosaic Law, yet, the Catholic Church has over 3000 Canon laws governing the Church. Jesus gave us only two laws to follow, ‘Love God with all you heart, your mind and your strength. Love your neighbor as yourself.’ This is all the law that we need. Why have we (the Church) complicated things so much?” His question remained unanswered. Barry fervently believed in the Great Commandment of Jesus, which we hear in the Gospel today. For much of his priestly life, Barry ministered to the Black Community on the South Side of Chicago. He marched with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr through the streets of Cicero, Chicago, enduring cursing and objects thrown at him and his fellow marchers by those along the street, many of whom he recognized as Catholic parishioners from the white suburban Catholic parishes at which he helped celebrate Mass on the weekends.

After all these years, I believe the question that Barry meant to ask was, “Why haven’t Catholics believed and lived Jesus’ Great Commandment of loving God and neighbor?” Mahatma Ghandi, a Hindu, studied the Bible and believed the message of Jesus in the Gospels. He once remarked to a Christian, that if Christians actually lived what Jesus commanded, Christianity would be the most powerful force in the world. Sadly, Ghandi observed, Christians have not done so. Ghandi’s words were so prophetic.

Over the past week there has been horrific violence in the United States. Two Black Americans senselessly gunned down in a Louisville grocery store as they bought food for their families. Eleven Jewish people slaughtered by gunfire as they worshipped in their Pittsburgh synagogue. Fourteen pipe bombs mailed to prominent American citizens, among them, two former presidents. Hateful rhetoric in political ads, speeches, and rallies.The separation and jailing of migrant children from their parents. Using the Great Commandment of Jesus as a template, it is clear that America is far from being the “Christian” nation about which some like to boast. How about you and me? How “Christian” are we? Do we believe and live Jesus’ Great Commandment?

The Eschaton (pronounced ES-ka-ton) is a fancy way to say “THE END OF THE WORLD.” As a kid, I was horribly afraid of the end of the world. All the dark images we hear in the scriptures (Daniel 12:1-3; Mark 13: 24-32) were highlighted and expanded upon by the nuns to frighten us kids into heaven. Sr. Angeline made it a point to tell my second grade class that ten of us were going to hell. (Of course, we knew who they were.) However, I wondered frighteningly, “Was my name in the book of the saved or the book of the damned?”

The images of the Gospel, sun and moon darkened, stars falling from the heaven, Jesus coming at the end of time to judge me and everyone, didn’t produce much hope for salvation. Allow me to illustrate this in an adaptation of Santa Claus Is Coming To Town. “You better watch out! You better not cry! You better be good, I’m telling you why! Jesus Christ is coming to town! (And he is VERY mad!).” At that time, we didn’t run to Jesus to intercede for us. We were too afraid of him (read the English translation of the Dies Irae, sung at all Requiem Masses, funeral Masses at that time, to find out why.). Rather, we fled to Mary, so that she could soften Jesus up a bit so that he would not damn us. The END OF THE WORLD, as taught by the Church at that time, was a thing of nightmares. W.C. Field once stated, “The good old days, may they never return.” I completely concur with him!

It is true that we will be held accountable by God when we enter eternal life at our death. It is important that our lives must be ones that love God with all our mind, heart and strength, and, equally, love our neighbor as ourselves. Let us meditate upon and focus our lives instead on these words of St Paul, “What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?  No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things, nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

There is a beautiful verse from St Paul’s 2^nd letter to the Corinthians in which he writes, “Everything indeed is for you!” For those of us who are parents, this phrase expresses how we feel toward our children. We want our children to be happy and we are willing to do everything within our power for them to experience true happiness. God is the quintessential parent. God wants all that he has created to experience the fullness of happiness. We hear this expressed in John’s Gospel, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3:16, NAB) If God’s will is to do everything for us so that we might find eternal happiness, are we willing to give fully of ourselves in return to God?

We are confronted with this question in today’s Gospel. Jesus and his disciples sit opposite the Temple treasury and observe the people contributing money to the treasury. Jesus points us that the rich, though contributing a lot of money, give from their surplus. In contrast, the widow gift, small in amount as it is, is her livelihood, the very funds upon which she feeds and houses herself. The rich hold back what they could truly give, while the widow gives totally of herself. Jesus’ observation forces us to examine our generosity of self to God. It is not just about what we place in the contribution basket on the weekend.  Rather, are we willing to give totally of ourselves back to God, or, do we like the Pharisees and the rich of Jesus’ time, hold back, and, only give a small portion of ourselves to God?

Are we willing, like the widow, to completely detach ourselves from not only material possessions, but detach ourselves from the pride and pretentiousness of our lives, and depend entirely and solely on God? If we truly wish to experience the full blessedness and joy of God we must live lives in which everything indeed is for God.