Servants and Stewards - 8th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

In the movie The Empire Strikes Back, Luke Skywalker continues his training to become a Jedi knight under the tutelege of the ancient master Yoda. Yoda repeatedly warns him about the dangers of the dark side of the force, and in typical male bravado Luke boasts, "I'm not afraid." To which Yoda replies, "You will be. You will be!" There is a tendency to think that courage is the absence of fear, when in reality it is the willingness to do what is right and necessary in spite of our fears. The readings for today's Mass highlight this point clearly.

The first reading from the prophet Isaiah is set within the context of exile in Babylon. The Jewish people had just lost their homeland and they were led away into bondage by the powerful empire of Babylon. There was no expectation that they would return one day to their homeland or that they would receive any beneficial treatment while in exile. They came to lose their homeland because they saw it as an end in itself and not a means of serving God. Israel fell into idolatry, disunity, and committed acts of injustice against the poor. Yet God does not forget his people, and he reminds them of his love for them in one of the more tender images possible. The prophet could not conceive of a mother forgetting or neglecting her child - born or unborn - and yet even if such were to happen God would never forget his people. Reassuring this is for us in an age that sees such levels of child abuse and abortion.

Paul reminds his audience at Corinth that they are called to be servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. In this community there was a belief that since the kingdom of God had been entrusted to the Christian community that they were then entitled to certain liberties since their salvation was almost assured. Paul knows all too well from Jewish history that this very attitude led to the Babylonian captivity and subsequent punishments from God as the hands of other empires. By reminding us that we are servants of Christ Paul seeks to instill the authentic Christian vocation of service to others within his community. A servant serves others and a steward oversees property that is not his own. We are not masters but servants; the kingdom of God does not belong to us by right but rather is entrusted to us as a gift.

In the Gospel reading, Matthew relates further Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, and this passage focuses on the choices we need to make in our lives. Matthew's community was struggling with great pressure: the Jewish authorities were beginning to expel Christians from the synagogues. This expulsion carries a grave consequence: the Christians no longer have protection from the exception from Roman law requiring religious tribute to the Roman emperor. Such an exemption was granted only to the Jewish people. Now that the Temple has been destroyed and their status as Jews revoked, the Christian community has to choose its loyalties: will they succumb to the pressures and return to the synagogue to receive the Roman exemption, or will they follow Christ who was rejected by his own people for the sake of the kingdom of God? Matthew encourages his people to choose Christ by providing for his readers this sermon of Jesus that relieves the fear and encourages us to be courageous in our choice.

The people of Isaiah's time has a great deal of fear. What would the future bring? What pressures will there be in remaining faithful to the one true God? Matthew's community faced similar fears and pressures. Both communities found the courage needed to overcome their fears and to be faithful to God. Both communities chose service and the role of a steward as the path of an authentic follower of God, and Christ provides us with the example to follow in bearing with love the opposition from hostile crowds.

As we seek the strength to follow the example of Christ and our ancestors in faith, we pray that God would help us in our journey: "Let us pray that the peace of Christ may find welcome in the world. Father in heaven, form in us the likeness of your Son and deepen his life within us. Send us as witnesses of Gospel joy into a world of fragile peace and broken promises. Touch the hearts of all men with your love that they in turn may love one another. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."

The Long Arm of the Law - 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

If we only had the first reading to be our guide in life, the spiritual and moral life seems rather simple: follow the commandments of God, choose good and not evil, and all will be well in this life and the life to come. What is more, the Responsorial Psalm confirms the message of Sirach nearly to the letter.

However, Paul saw difficulties in this approach. As a former Pharisee, Paul had followed the law of God faithfully and yet he was far from the heart of God. Paul thought he knew what was good and what was bad - and yet he saw his friends and associates choose against Jesus. He himself had initially chosen against Jesus, persecuting the early Christian church. Apparently, choosing rightly isn't as easy as it seems.

Paul realized that the difficulty lies not in God but in ourselves. We humans create all sorts of criteria that determine what is good and successful: good health, riches, a good reputation and standing in the community, and popularity. All of these things are external criteria that are all wrong. Paul reminds us that God's wisdom is mysterious and hidden. In order to discern this wisdom we need to find it not in the external but in our hearts by listening to the Spirit who dwells within. Once we have heard the voice of God through the Spirit dwelling within can we have deeds that show forth the faith we profess in our deeds.

The Gospel text returns us to the ministry of Jesus where we encounter the Lord interpreting various parts of the law. This selection provides us with four particular cases that the rabbis endlessly debated. All of these examples deal with the person's relationship with other people. The center of these rabbinic debates traditionally involved interpreting a person's external behaviors in these particular situations. Jesus, however, gets to the root of each precept of the law: what lies within the human heart that leads to our decisions.

In the first instance, the law seems simple enough: you shall not kill. Most of us would not condemn ourselves in this commandment. Most of us haven't shed blood, but we all have thought badly of our neighbor, spoke ill of them, or failed to reconcile ourselves with our neighbor when performing our religious rituals. The Spirit would convict us of violating the law in this regard, as these little things - if left unchecked - will lead to actual shedding of blood.

Similarly, the law against adultery seems straightforward, and most of us have not transgressed this law through physical intimacy with one who is not our spouse. Yet, our hearts and thoughts often betray us in this regard, and if we fail to fight against these smaller battles that take place within us we will fail in the more obvious matter of the actual external action.

The final two examples appear to involve external actions: we should not divorce, and we should not make oaths. Yet, the act of divorce presupposes a tendency of humans to make exceptions to this law so that we can do as we like. Jesus restores us to the original understanding of marriage that God gave in the beginning: what God has joined together no one can separate. In the same way, the very fact that we find it necessary to make oaths implies that humans have a tendency to lie. The story of the fall from paradise makes this fact plain enough. If the children of God were truly listening to the Spirit of God dwelling within them, then there would not be any thought of putting away our spouse to marry another or to lie.

We may, then, never kill anyone, commit adultery, swear an oath, or divorce our spouses - and yet we could be far from living the law. Only God can see the human heart, and if we examine our conscience with care and in communion with the Holy Spirit we will see what God sees and discern rightly how we must live our lives.

Connection to the Spirit can only take place in a life of deep prayer, for only God can help us in this struggle within us and only there can wisdom be found to guide our behaviors that conform to the life of the Spirit. What is more, the example of Jesus provides us with the authentic interpretation of the law through his words and deeds that lead us to salvation. We therefore pray with the Church universal for this help: "Let us pray for the wisdom that is greater than human words. Father in heaven, the loving plan of your wisdom took flesh in Jesus Christ, and changed mankind's history by his command of perfect love. May our fulfillment of his command reflect your wisdom and bring your salvation to the ends of the earth. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."