Whom do We Serve?

Gospel: Mark 6: 17-29

We ought not be surprised when those in power take vengeance on those who rebuke them for their misdeeds and injustices.  Nor should we be surprised when those same ruling powers make decisions on a whim, even those that result in the death of another person merely because of pleasure, convenience, and events wholly unrelated to the life of the person in question.  These events and decisions are endemic to the ruling class and elites of the world.

Unfortunately, we also are no longer surprised when clergy and religious leaders put their lot in with the ruling powers of the world - when the religiously clad bless such injustices or at the very least say nothing at all when people are trampled upon by the ruling elite.  We might be saddened, but we ought not be surprised, when religious leaders choose to become chaplains of the empire rather than pastors and guardians of the defenseless sheep.  

In life and in death John the Baptist was the forerunner to the Lord Jesus.  John and Jesus lived prophetic lives of love, mercy, and care for others.  Both suffered death at the hands of the powers of this world and with the blessing and silence of the religious institutions of the day.  For those who choose a life of religious dedication, a further choice lies before us: will we follow the path of the professional religious elites, or the way of John the Baptist and Jesus? 

A Test of Perseverance

Gospel:  Matthew 25: 1-13

The parable of the wise and foolish virgins begins a series of images Jesus provides on various qualities essential to the spiritual life.  The image of the lamp is representative of wisdom itself, but not for its own sake.  It is the wisdom that accompanies charity and care for others, of providing the light and warmth of mercy and loving kindness that is the essence of authentic religion.  This parable hearkens back to Jesus telling us to let our light shine that our good deeds may be seen and enlighten others.  

In the beginning of our spiritual journey we are eager and avid in providing this light for others.  But for some their light grows dim and tired.  They have run out of oil, run out of zeal for mercy.  The first instinct is to borrow from others, but this is an unwise move as it will drain others and not fully meet your needs either.  We must return to the source, but we find now that we have missed the opportunity to serve the Lord in others.  We lacked wisdom and lost the glow of our charity.  

Wisdom is the recognition that the spiritual life is a marathon, not a sprint.  It is the realization that we must always have what we need to adequately provide light and warmth, mercy and love for others throughout our entire journey of life.  Today is a day for us to check our lamps and our provisions of oil, to be adequately supplied with the wisdom we need in order to be the light of the world, to be the love and mercy of God on earth.

The Lord Has Come

Gospel: Matthew 24: 42-51

The topic of the coming of the Lord is a paradoxical one, for we are simultaneously indifferent to it and obsessed with it.  Our indifference stems from the fact that in the common understanding the timing of the event cannot be known.  Like waiting for Godot, we have no idea when he will come or what the arrival will even look like, and we have waited so long for this event deemed ever imminent that every mention of it leads to an even greater indifference.

On the other hand our obsession is equally acute.  In the common understanding this event of the Lord's coming has been charged with such dread and impending doom that every bad event in the world is said to portend this coming day of judgment.  Such forecasting is undertaken by people across the spectrum where each pet cause is attached to the lore of the final coming such that each sibyl has created their own barometer for awaiting this day of darkness.

But the Lord has come.  The Lord comes each day in the person of our neighbor, and each encounter does come with its own judgment on whether we have treated our neighbor with mercy, love, and compassion, or whether we have treated them with malice and judgment.  We can dispense with the oracles of doom.  We can awake from our indifference.  The Lord comes to you and me today in other people as images of God, temples of the Holy Spirit, and Christ himself.