Living As Children of Light - 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Most of us have had the following experience: we hear a radio personality or a group of people they know rail on and on about the state of our world today. The culture of death is all about us; the world is going to heck in a hand basket; this age is the apocalyptic times. Leaving aside the fact that such sentiments seem to have been popular over the last two thousand years, we might well consider the solution to such a state of affairs. Very often the diagnosis of a problem is quite easy; a remedy is a more rare bird indeed.

The first reading for this Sunday seems to be a voice noted above: there is much corruption about - the poor are being exploited by the rich and God is not happy. Unless we change our ways God will punish us with great severity for our injustices both individual and social. The prophet Amos offers us no solution; what is more, he is stating a perennial problem that the prophets have been railing against for generations. Amos sees no solution - God will act with great severity soon.

In many ways Amos bears a great deal of similarity to John the Baptist and the ministry of Jesus. Both John and Jesus preach a message of repentance that is addressed to an audience in Israel filled with groups offering solutions. The problem is Roman occupation leading to poverty and compromise with God's law. Various groups offer differing solutions: the Sadducees tell the people just to go along to get along; the Zealots are urging armed revolt; the Pharisees offer the solution of passive resistance and fidelity to God's law; the Essenes have left altogether, waiting for the Apocalyptic battle to come.

Jesus, however, offers a completely different solution: radical conversion and identification with the poor and marginalized. Care for the poor and voiceless is the most fundamental part of Jewish law - the part that matters. Jesus chose to become poor in order to serve the poor, a radical step unheard of in ancient times, but one that has been followed by many since the time of Jesus. In the Gospel text, Jesus is not content with half measures in approaching the reign of God. Those seeking wordly riches are far more aggressive in their projects than the children of light who claim to be seeking the reign of God. Only when the followers of Christ embrace fully the example of Christ in our lives will we arrive at a fundamental solution to the problems of the world. There is no other way - no panacea or silver bullet that can lead to a quick solution. The only path to renewal in our lives and in the world is when we take seriously the teaching and example of Christ and live as Jesus lived.

One of the false solutions finds an allusion in the reading from the first letter to Timothy. Some believe in social agitation and political empowerment through community organizing as the main solution to society's problems. Yet neither Jesus nor Paul offers that solution. Paul encourages us to pray for those in authority so that they will come to the conversion they need in their lives to arrive at the truth of authentic renewal in our lives and in the life of society. Our task as Christians in society is to deliver the truth that people need to hear, to pray for all, and to live as Christ has shown us both as individuals and as a society. As Pope John Paul II stated, "Humanity is loved by God! This very simple yet profound proclamation is owed to humanity by the Church. Each Christian's words and life must make this proclamation resound. The Master has said it already: if only we children of the light were to put at least as much effort and obstinacy into doing good as the children of darkness put into their activities." (John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation, Christifidelis Laici #34, 1988)

Let us conclude our reflection by praying and incorporating into our lives the words of the Opening Prayer for today's Mass: "Let us pray to the Lord who is a God of love to all peoples. Father in heaven, the perfection of justice is found in your love and all mankind is in need of your love. Help us to find this love in each other that justice may be attained through obedience to your law. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."