Walk the Talk - 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

The worst part of being a parent or a teacher is when you encounter a situation where you violate a rule or principle you have established for others to follow. Invariably your children or students will catch you, and you are then forced to give a defense for your indefensible action. In my youth I remember all too well the reply that came from my parents and teachers: Do as I say, not as I do. That reply wins no support in any polling I have ever done on those who have heard such a phrase, and yet people in government, business, and religion all adhere to it in one form or another. The readings today challenge us to overcome the talk and look at our walk.

The prophet Malachi begins our set of readings by describing the problem: the priests of Israel are a bad example and have taught others to forsake the covenant with God. Consequently, the nation will suffer punishments as a result of the actions of the priests, and the punishments will be most severe for those priests who have led others astray. No doubt many in the pews have a similar sentiment in their hearts as a result of the recent events in our diocese, but before we get ready to throw stones at the clergy, we must first consider the other readings to get a more complete picture of the situation.

Jesus seems to develop a similar condemnation against the scribes and Pharisees of the law in his day. However, Jesus had no quarrel with their teaching of the law; he has far more to say about their living the law themselves. Bad example in many ways is worse than bad teaching. Bad teaching can be refuted with sound argument and truth because it is only directed at the mind. Bad example, however, cuts to the very core of a person and reaches the heart. The effects can be long lasting and some never fully recover from bad example.

The solution Jesus offers is not merely a condemnation of the actions of the scribes and Pharisees, for the words of condemnation are just that - merely words. Instead, Jesus encourages us to live faithfully to God through humble service to others. Later in his ministry Jesus will provide the ultimate example to drive home the point about humble service: he takes up a basin and towel, and washes the feet of his disciples - an act that not even a servant would perform for another. This example certainly provides the motivation for Paul's ministry of treating the Thessalonian community as a nursing mother would care for her child, toiling day and night so as not to be a burden to others.

We have received a great deal of criticism as a church in the past several months as a result of the recent events in our diocese, some of which is justified. People certainly have a right to be angry and hurt. However, the solutions provided by many critics are merely punitive and retributive. In no instance do we find anyone stating that the cure for our present malady is to commit ever more deeply to serve one another in profound humility and love. And yet this is precisely the message of Jesus for us today. Yes, we must repent and atone for the mistakes we have made, but more importantly we must also follow Jesus in his example: serve one another in humility and love.

God's covenant with Israel is a great challenge for his people, one they continually failed to achieve as individuals and as a community. The people of Israel had no example to show them how perfectly live the law of God. Jesus becomes that example of perfect living of the law of God, a theme Matthew highlights time and again in his gospel. Jesus is the only person to perfectly live the law of God, and this individual fidelity should be the example that the community of the Churhc should embody in their lives.

As we gather this weekend to grow in our Christian life and calling, we ask God's continual help along the way: "Let us pray in the presence of God, the source of every good. Father in heaven, God of power and Lord of mercy, from whose fullness we have received, direct our steps in our everyday efforts. May the changing moods of the human heart and the limits which our failings impose on us never blind us to you, source of every good. Faith gives us the promise of peace and makes known the demands of love. Remove the selfishness that blurs our faith. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen."

Who is My Neighbor? - 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

From the earliest days of the Church, pilgrimage has been one of the most fundamental experiences of Christian piety. The concept of pilgrimage certainly goes back to the experiences of Israel: Abraham's pilgrimage from Ur to Canaan, Israel's move from Egypt to the Promised Land, and the return to Israel from the Babylonian captivity. The most profound experience of being a pilgrim is that of being a stranger in a strange land. The pilgrim is utterly dependent upon the hospitality of the residents there, as the language, land, and customs are utterly foreign to the visitor. The pilgrim is also one who must trust in the good will of those who occupy this strange land. Today's readings highlight for us the reality of our pilgrim status on earth.

The Gospel text provides its original audience the definitive interpretation of the Old Law by Jesus. The Law consists in love of God and love of neighbor - two commandments that cannot be separated. Matthew's readers were Jewish Christians living after the destruction of the Temple and the beginning of their expulsion from the synagogues. This audience was keenly aware of their status as strangers and aliens in a foreign land: the land of Israel that no longer welcomed them, and the land of the Roman Empire that was no home to the Christian community. Loving God and neighbor became the way of living as a pilgrim in this foreign place that speaks a different language than that of the Christian.

Paul's community in Thessalonica also experienced this pilgrim status as they go forth in new territories for the Gospel message. In moving westward from Asia Minor to the Greek mainland, Paul enters a new world and the word alone will not be able to win people to the Gospel of Christ. By living the faith and imitating the deeds of Jesus, people in this strange land come to accept the Gospel. When a person is not able to speak the language of a strange land, actions are the universal language to overcome this barrier. Christians come to embody the love of neighbor in welcoming the stranger in their midst. This hospitality leads to the acceptance of the Gospel by those who were foreign to this language.

The first reading from the book of Exodus challenges the Israelite community to remember their status as strangers and aliens in a foreign land. God commands them to welcome the stranger and alien into their midst because they were once in that position. God anticipates Israel's movement from a minority under rule by a dominant empire to the day when they would have their own land. Such transitions are a challenge to any society. It is easy to be in favor of social justice when one is the minority and experience injustice from others. It becomes more of a challenge to live the message of social justice when you become the majority and feel threatened by the presence of those different from you.

The history of our nation is replete with examples of oppressed minorities crying for justice who later become part of the majority and then become the oppressors of the new stranger and alien. In very many cases it has been Catholic populations from other lands who have experienced such hostility, and sadly enough in more recently times it is some Catholics who seek to oppress the new group of strangers who themselves are Catholic! Today the most prosperous nation on earth has initiated harsh and extremely limiting laws to prevent people from entering our land lawfully. At the same time we look the other way when immigrants are exploited for their work so that we might continue to live as we like. Such policies have only increased the scourge of human trafficking and drug trafficking globally and in our own land. We must never forget our history as strangers and aliens, nor must we forget our theology of being a pilgrim people who everywhere are strangers and aliens in a world that does not speak the language of Jesus the Lord.

As we seek to recover our pilgrim identity and imitate our ancestors in faith who welcomed the stranger, let us pray in the words of the Church in today's liturgy: "Let us pray in humble hope for salvation. Praised be you, God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is no power for good which does not come from your covenant, and no promise to hope in, that your love has not offered. Strengthen our faith to accept your covenant and give us the love to carry out your command. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."

The Lord is King - 29th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

In the world of mathematics you will be hard pressed to find a two sided object in geometry. In order to create a shape with sides, at least three sides are required. Despite this truth, people try in vain to reduce various things to only two sides - left and right, black and white, and the like. The readings for this Sunday point out the complexity of our world while at the same time showing forth the simplicity of God. The issue of church and state presented here is not to be viewed through a political lens, but rather with the eyes of faith that present a deeper vision than the two dimensional perspective of polemic.

The first reading from the prophet Isaiah presents us with the figure of Cyrus, king of Persia. Known in the ancient world as being a ruthless leader, we nevertheless encounter a positive image of him in the biblical text. However, the prophet also reminds us that political power does not lead to divine status, a common failure of ancient monarchies and empires. Kings are dependent upon God for their success just as everyone else. Even a ruthless person such as Cyrus can make decisions favorable to the people of God, a lesson we might reflect upon in our American political climate of demonization.

At first glance one might get the impression that the passage from Paul has little connection to the other readings. However, Paul is the first to use the term "gospel" to refer to the message of Jesus. This Greek term had been employed by the Roman empire. The emperors, who thought themselves divine, saw their words as being good news for their people. Paul, however, uses the term to refer to the message of Jesus - that message of Jesus which is truly good news for all. What is more, this message is not merely words as were the decrees of emperors, but the message is also mighty deeds of power and the Holy Spirit. Hence, it is not political power but rather divine power that gives authority to the gospel of Jesus.

The gospel text is well known to us, but often it is used as a defense of the separation of church and state instead of its original intent of correcting our attitudes toward political power, God, and money. Two groups come to question Jesus on whether it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar: the Pharisees opposed Roman occupation and thus would take a negative answer to the question, while the Herodians who favored Roman rule would prefer Jesus to answer in the affirmative. Each sought to trap Jesus so that he would be in trouble with one or the other. Jesus' answer dumbfounds his audience - both then and now.

What truly belongs to Caesar? Money - something of little importance and clearly a man-made object. What belongs to God? Everything! What do we have that does not come from God? Nothing! God has given us our world and our very being, and these things are what we owe to God. Yet, we always hold something back from God, much like Cain. Matthew's readers would know all too well the conflict that this scene presents to them. On the one side they are faced wtih pressure from the Jewish synagogue to conform to the prevailing Jewish theology and reject Jesus as Messiah. On the other side they face the pressure of the Roman Empire in forsaking Jesus for the cult of Caesar. In both cases the worldly security of money comes forward as the pressure point used to bring about conformity.

In our own day we have many who would co-opt the Gospel in creating political pressure upon the followers of Jesus. We will be told by various people that voting in certain ways is the authentically Catholic way of the Gospel, and others will tell us that we must defend America as a Christian nation. Failure to conform to these folks will lead to exclusion and rejection. Yet, the psalmist today states that the Lord is king, not Caesar; and that our true homeland is heaven, not America. This does not mean that we do not engage in the political arena, but we must do so based on Gospel values that cannot be translated into a political platform and bthat cannot be embodied in any one candidate or political party.

As we seek to make God the Lord of our life, we ask for his constant help in the words of today's opening prayer: "Let us pray for the gift of simplicity and joy in our service of God and man. Almighty and ever-living God, our source of power and inspiration, give us strength and joy in serving you as followers of Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen."

The Marriage of Heaven and Earth - 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

Story book weddings - the ones where everything goes off without a hitch - are perhaps the most fictitious narratives ever designed. I have yet to meet a couple who did not have something go awry in their wedding plans, ceremony, or reception. Nevertheless, we all love the idea of the perfect wedding because we are all romantics at heart. Love should be perfect and neat and tidy, though the travails of planning and executing a wedding are good preparation for the struggles that married life entails.

The prophet Isaiah presents us with a picture of the perfect wedding feast. The food is perfect, the setting is perfect, and there are even no tears to be had at this wedding. The prophet provides this setting to describe the fulfillment of the Messianic age in Israel, a time when oppression will end, fidelity to God will reign, and all the people will treat one another with justice and love. No doubt Isaiah's audience needed such a message in the midst of the Babylonian captivity when Israel was no longer their homeland and the people had no idea if they would ever return. Such an image provided the Israelites with the hope of eventual return and the fulfillment of all their longings.

Jesus uses the wedding image of Isaiah in describing the kingdom of God. Yet, this wedding scene is not perfect as it was in Isaiah. Someone enters the wedding banquet without the wedding garment - a crasher to the party. The person is escorted out so that the wedding feast can continue as it should. Jesus always referred to the kingdom of God as something we await, but also as something that is present already in our midst. In the life of the Church our sacramental actions are our participation in the kingdom of God here and now, in addition to an expectation of future completion in heaven. How can we, then, understand the actions of the Gospel's wedding banquet?

In the ancient world marriage was a threefold process: betrothal, wedding ceremony, and the consummation of the marriage. Betrothal was not really akin to our notion of engagement. Betrothal was a legal obligation to marry the other person at a future date already determined by the families. It required legal action to break a betrothal, as we see early in Matthew's Gospel when Joseph intends to break his betrothal to Mary. Both betrothal and the wedding ceremony were once in a lifetime events; you could only engage in these events once. Without going into the details, the consummation of a marriage can take place more than once in the life of a couple.

I mention this dynamic to highlight how it is we encounter the reign of God here and now in our sacramental life. Baptism can be likened to betrothal to God. We are pledged to God and become part of the family of God irrevocably. In Confirmation we celebrate the wedding day by confirming the pledge of baptism and being sealed in that relationship with God. Finally, in celebrating the Eucharist - the banquet of the Lord Jesus - we consummate our relationship with God in joyous celebration of union with our beloved Lord. This analogy explains why it is we ordinarily do not allow those who are not baptized or confirmed to receive the Eucharist. The current western practice of receiving confirmation before Eucharist is an historical aberration that is slowly being corrected. RCIA has restored the proper order of receiving these sacraments.

The life of the Christian, then, can be likened to a marriage relationship. In such a relationship we are in a deep loving relationship with another, a relationship that grows and evolves over time. Love is what shapes our decisions and actions in the relationship, and yet it is God who always initiates the relationship and shapes its course in our lives. We merely respond to that love as we would in our human relationships of love. Hence, Paul in today's second reading finds himself in every circumstance of life, content to be hungry or satisfied because love has led him to this life of service to others.

As we seek to respond to love with love, we ask God's help in today's opening prayer: "Let us pray in quiet for the grace of sincerity. Father in heaven, the hand of your loving kindness powerfully yet gently guides all the moments of our day. Go before us in our pilgrimage of life, anticipate our needs and prevent our falling. Send your Spirit to unite us in faith, that sharing in your service, we may rejoice in your presence. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."

The God of Peace - 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

War is certainly a more profitable business than peace. Defense contractors certainly earn far more than farmers or mediation experts. The same is true regarding the ever present cottage industries of the negative message. How many people in our culture profit from tearing down others: politicians, business leaders, religious leaders, and many others. There is no real talent in tearing down other people, but it takes great skill to build up another person - just ask a parent or a teacher. Today's readings provide us with an opportunity for us to decide what we choose to do: to build up, or tear down; to be peacemakers or war mongers.

The first reading from the prophet Isaiah and the Gospel text from Matthew provide us with bleak images of the Lord's vineyard on earth. In Isaiah's day Israel was decimated by the invading Babylonian Empire, a fate that befell God's people for the failure of its leaders to remain faithful to the covenant of Israel. In this particular selection we see little signs of hope, though later in the book Isaiah provides a message of hope by looking ahead to the Messianic age and the deliverance of Israel from this horrid plight.

Similarly Matthew is presenting us with this lesson of Jesus, who invokes the prophetic tradition of the wasted vineyard of Isaiah in describing the condition of Israel in both Jesus' day and in the time in which Matthew is writing his gospel. The leaders of Israel complain loudly about Roman occupation in Jesus' time, yet they fail to see its cause lies once again in their infidelity to God. They have ignored the message of the prophets and they will kill the son of the vineyard owner. All of this will lead to the destruction of Jerusalem and the final diaspora of the Jewish people from Palestine. When Matthew writes his gospel text in the eighth decade of the first century, the Jewish leaders are expelling Christians from the synagogues, thereby completing the break between Christians and their older brothers in faith. Once again, new leaders will replace older leaders of God's vineyard.

It is at this point that the cottage industries of negativity stop. These negative images are all they need to manipulate the masses, attempting to convince us that they are modern day prophets like Isaiah or Jesus. Yet, Isaiah and Jesus ultimately had messages of hope found not in political structures or economic models but in the death and resurrection of Jesus, the dawn of the Messianic age for which Isaiah longed. It is precisely here that Paul picks up the message of hope for us in the second reading. We long for peace in our lives, personal and communal. How are we to acquire this peace?

Paul exhorts us to think about whatever is good, whatever is noble, whatever is true, whatever is just, whatever is worthy of praise. These thoughts will lead us to the peace for which we all long. In the modern era we have a tendency to look at that which divides us in terms of culture, politics, and theology instead of what we hold in common and what is good and pure in other traditions that differ from ours. The ancient church recognized what was good and worthy in the world of antiquity, accepting and borrowing freely from ancient Greece and Rome, pagan cultures both. We must not be afraid to find similar treasurs in other cultures, and in fact we are encouraged to do so by the Second Vatican Council and subsequent acts of the Magisterium. The Gospel has the transformative power to find the good in any culture and make it holy. The words and deeds of Jesus and his redemptive death and resurrection provide us with the peace we need to have no anxiety in our interaction with other cultures and traditions. We need not be defensive or engage in unnecessary apologetic; we can only benefit in learning new approaches to the faith of the ages.

If we truly have the faith of Jesus we will have the peace we desire in our individual hearts. In our positive interaction with other cultures and traditions we create a model for peace that can show the world how to live in the way God calls all of humankind to live. Let us pray for this faith that leads to peace in union with the Church universal: "Let us pray before the face of God in trusting faith. Almighty and eternal God, Father of the world to come, your goodness is beyond what our spirit can touch. Lead us to seek beyond our reach and give us the courage to stand before your truth. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."