A Prophet Like You - 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

Most of the time prophets are not very popular people. No one wants to hear their message: repent, reform your lives, be obedient to the will of God. More often than not the harbinger of such messages winds up in exile or dead. Last week we saw the story of Jonah, who ran from the calling of a prophet because he knew what happened to prophets in Israel. And yet the prophetic message was accepted by the people of Nineveh, much to Jonah's chagrin. Today's readings lead us to reflect upon the role and nature of prophecy in the life of Israel, the life of Jesus, and in the life of the Church.

The first reading from the book of Deuteronomy is the first instance in the Hebrew Scriptures where the office of prophet is mentioned. In the midst of establishing the covenant with the Israelites and in giving them a law to follow, God tells the people through Moses that one day God would send them a prophet like them - a human person, but one who has the authority of God - who would be the definitive revelation of God on earth. Many prophets would appear in Israel in subsequent generations, and all of them had a valid mission from God to bring the people back to obedience to God and the covenant. However, none of them were successful in their ministry; Israel disregarded the message of the prophets time and again, for the message was not popular.

The ministry of Jesus marks a unique and definitive time in the life of Israel, and the passage from Mark's Gospel today makes that point clear. The passage relates the first event in Jesus' public ministry: teaching in the synagogue of Caparnaum. It is important to note a particular theme present in Mark's Gospel: Jesus is set in opposition to institutional Judaism throughout. In the first part of the Gospel that opposition is set in relation to the synagogue, while in the latter part of the Gospel the contrast is between Jesus and the Temple. The text today has Jesus' first public act of ministry the expulsion of a demon from a man in the synagogue. The implication, of course, is obvious: the synagogue is possessed by a demon, and only Jesus can cure the sickness. His authority is unparalleled and people marvel at this work. Jesus is the prophet like us promised by God so long ago in the desert of Sinai.

The covenant relationship established by God with the people of Israel is continually described as a marriage relationship between God and his bride Israel. Fidelity to God is akin to the fidelity spouses have for one another in the institution of marriage. That is why throughout the prophetic tradition infidelity to God is referred to as adultery, and that adultery took two forms: worship of false gods and committing injustices against other people. In this context we can understand Paul's message in the second reading. Our relationship with God is also like a marriage: in baptism we partake of the nuptial bath and are betrothed to God, while in Confirmation we ratify that betrothal in the formal marriage of the person to God, and in the Eucharist we consummate our relationship to God in the most intimate union of receiving Jesus in communion.

Paul's advice to his people regarding marrying or not marrying is his own opinion, which he makes clear throughout this section of his letter to the Corinthians. It is an attempt to help people discern the best way for them to remain faithful to God in their own particular vocation. For Paul, this meant committed celibacy, while for others it did not. In our own lives we make that decision as to how we live out our commitment to God, and once the commitment is made we strive to remain faithful throughout our lives to the commitment we have made. Very often celibates are jealous of married couples, while those who are married often are jealous of celibates - a situation that hearkens back to a scene in the life of Socrates when one of his students asks whether he should marry or remain unmarried. Socrates replied, "Either way you'll regret it."

Following God by being a disciple of the Lord Jesus is becoming a prophet in whatever age or place we live. Baptism makes us priest, prophet, and king as we are incorporated into the ministry of Jesus the Lord. As we seek to live faithful to God in imitation of Jesus, we pray together for the grace to live as we ought: "Let us pray joining in the praise of the living God, for we are his people. Father in heaven, from the days of Abraham and Moses until this gathering of your Church in prayer, you have formed a people in the image of your Son. Bless this people with the gift of your kingdom. May we serve you with our every desire and show love for one another even as you have loved us. Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen."

This is the Time of Fulfillment - 3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time Year B

In our times a great many cottage industries have arisen in order to help people discover their career path or professional track. Every high school has college counselors, colleges have career centers, and headhunters are omnipresent ready to help someone find the next job or change careers. Even in the Church we place a great deal of emphasis on discernment of our vocation with vocation directors, retreats, and the like. Today's readings, however, suggest that very often we can over-think the call of God when in point of fact the calling is rather obvious.

The first reading provides us with the familiar story of Jonah, the man who epitomizes the reality of over-thinking the call of God. In this text we find Jonah fulfilling the call of God only after he had attempted to run away from that call previously. At the same time, we find the people of Nineveh embrace the call of God in their lives at once. Jonah had not even gone through half the city before the entire populace had turned away from sin and accepted the call of God. Jonah was an Israelite, a person of the nation that the one true God had made his own, and yet he could not accept the call of God fully in his life. However, the people of Nineveh, a foreign people, accept the message of God from the prophet of Israel.

The second reading from the first letter to the Corinthians in many ways is similar to the story of Jonah. Paul is preaching to a community that is plagued by sin at all levels. Ritual prostitution was a prevalent practice in Corinth, a wealthy trading city that also had many other pagan temples and other forms of debauchery. Paul is exhorting a community to remain faithful to the Gospel by living as Christ lived: detached from the material things of the world, ever in tune to the voice of God present to us. In this case, Paul is the faithful servant of God and the community has rethought the call of God in their lives. The call of God is really quite simple; it is we who make it complicated.

The Gospel text for today is the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. After coming out of the desert Jesus begins preaching repentance, telling people that the call of God is now. We need not wait for the coming expectation; the fulfillment of the expectation is present to us. Mark highlights this call of God coming to us now in the calling of the first followers of Jesus. Mark presents the calling of these disciples in a way unique from the other Gospels: here Jesus calls two pairs of brothers to follow him, and in each case these brothers follow. In the Hebrew Scriptures we often find sets of brothers at odds with one another: Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, Joseph and his brothers. Jesus' call to us ends the ancient divisions of brothers and brings us together into one family of God. What is more, these two sets of brothers were rival fishermen who were in competition with one another. Again, Jesus ends the divisions of economic rivals, leading us to heed the Gospel message over and against our own self-interests.

It was self-interest that prevented Jonah from hearing the call of God in his life. That same self-interest prevented him from seeing God at work in the foreign people of Nineveh. The Corinthian community fell away from the call of the Gospel because they considered their self-interest over the call of the Lord Jesus. The economic pressure of conforming to the culture around them proved too great for many in Corinth, and the example of these two sets of brothers in the Gospel who gave up their economic security and self-interest to follow Jesus had faded from their memories. In our own day the Lord Jesus calls us now to follow him. There is not much to discern here: either we follow our own self-interest and live for ourselves, or we can forsake our desires, follow the Lord Jesus, and live for others. As the Psalmist says in the responsorial psalm today God "guides the humble to justice and teaches the humble his way."

As we seek for the strength to be faithful to this call of God throughout the ages, we pray together: "Let us pray, pleading that our vision may overcome our weakness. Almighty Father, the love you offer always exceeds the furthest expression of our human longing, for you are greater than the human heart. Direct each thought, each effort of our life, so that the limits of our faults and weaknesses may not obscure the vision of your glory or keep us from the peace you have promised. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."

Here I Am Lord - 2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

When I was 15 I played for our city's all-star Babe Ruth baseball team, but typically I didn't play much. I was a pitcher and saw clean up work at best. Our team was in the district final of a double elimination tournament that would lead to a berth in the state finals. We were down 8-3 in the 4th inning and I overheard the coaches decide to let me pitch and "We'll win the next game." Not exactly a vote of confidence, but I was called upon to pitch in the game. We surrendered no more runs and we came back to win 9-8. While not exactly the calling I would have liked to have had as a player, it was still a call to play nonetheless. The readings today provide us with a similar theme of unexpected callings.

In the first reading we encounter the call of Samuel to be a judge in Israel. Samuel kept hearing his name called in the night, and he assumed that his teacher Eli was the one calling him, unaware of God's voice in his life. Even the master judge Eli did not at first recognize the call of God in Samuel's life, but eventually he did discern that this voice was God calling Samuel. The advice Eli gives to Samuel is one that every good spiritual director gives to their charges: "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening." When God calls us, we cannot lay upon him any conditions; we must be completely open to whatever God calls us to do, no matter how difficult.

The Gospel text also provides us with the theme of following God - this time in the person of Jesus. The call discipleship, however, comes from some unusual places. First, John the Baptist encourages his two disciples to follow after Jesus, whereupon Jesus encourages them to come and see where he lives. The next calling to follow Jesus comes from Andrew to his brother Simon Peter. In each case the call from God is found in the voice of another person with whom we are familiar - a friend, a brother, a neighbor. Very often God calls us to perform some act of discipleship in this same way, i.e. through an encounter with someone we know. How often are we invited to come and see where the Lord Jesus is living, and in how many different places will we find him: in the poor, a child, a sick friend, a sister or brother in a desperate situation. Wherever love needs to be, it is there that we are called to be Christ for others.

The mission of being Christ for others is the fundamental message in Paul's letter to the Corinthians today. Paul exhorts us to glorify God in our body. We could focus on the other aspects of the passage and think that to glorify God is to avoid immorality, which is certainly true. However, a positive command requires a positive action, not merely an action of avoidance. To glorify God in our body is to offer our entire lives for others just as the Lord Jesus did for us. It means hearing the voice of God calling us in the cries of the poor, in the heartache of our neighbor, in the pain of our children, and the sorrows of our brethren. We cannot be a disciple by merely avoiding that which is evil; we can only be a disciple when we go out of ourselves to serve others as Christ served us.

In our own day we have a clear call from God in our community. A great many people are in pain throughout our diocese as a result of the events of the last year. Many people are poor and in need due to a lagging economy. There are others who are suffering from injustice and oppression right in our community. God is calling us to proclaim good news to those caught in these situations of pain, poverty, and injustice - God calls us to be healing, wealth, justice, and love for others.

At times we feel unworthy of the call to discipleship, or we may wallow in the pain of past events through continued blame and anger. Samuel, Andrew, and Simon Peter were called with no prior distinction of worth. God has called us all to be players in the game. It remains for us to step up and play the game well. As we seek the strength and courage to live out our calling, we pray together: "Let us pray for the gift of peace. Almighty and ever present Father, your watchful care reaches from end to end and orders all things in such power that even the tensions and tragedies of sin cannot frustrate your loving plans. Help us to embrace your will, give us the strength to follow your call, so that your truth may live in our hearts and reflect peace to those who believe in your love. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."

Love in the Ruins - Epiphany 2012

Every January we reflect back on the year that has passed to assess the bad and the good. At the same time we look forward to the year that has already begun, holding out some hope that this year will be better than those that preceded it. Those of us who have undertaken this ritual for decades realize the futility of the endeavor if we only look at the human dimension: war and poverty still ravage the earth, injustices will continue, and our home town sports teams will find new ways to disappoint us. However, the readings for today's feast of the Epiphany provide us with the supernatural dimension that finds God present even in the midst of these annual calamities.

The prophet Isaiah undertook his ministry during one of the most difficult and painful chapters in Israel's history: the Babylonian captivity. Jerusalem lay in ruins, the Temple had been ravaged, and the people of God were held captive in a foreign land for decades. There were few expectations of brighter days with the marking of each new year. And yet Isaiah proclaims a message of hope to the people: God's light still shines upon us even in the midst of these troubles. What is more, God will send a Savior who will restore Israel and bring all nations into unity with her in worshipping the one true God. The prophetic imagination has the ability to see the hope in the midst of ruins. It takes deep faith to pierce through the gloom of calamities, but God is still present and the promises of God are always faithful.

The ministry of Paul was certainly filled with peaks and valleys. More often than not, however, Paul experienced hardship and opposition in proclaiming the Gospel. Ephesus was a great city in the ancient world, immensely wealthy and filled with pagan temples, bustling markets, theatres and spectacles of all sorts. We tend to romanticize Ephesus because of Paul's minstry there, as well as John's time spent there and the tradition that Mary the Mother of Jesus had lived her last days there. However, those events of Christian history occurred on the margins of the city. Great opposition to the Gospel was the prevailing sentiment. And yet the passage from Paul's letter to the Ephesians is again a message of hope: the Gentiles are now connected to the one true God through the person of Jesus. Gentiles now have the same hope that the people of Israel have had throughout their history. No amount of opposition or discouragement can separate us from this reality of God's abiding love for all people.

The Gospel text provides us with the story of the wise men from the East coming to find the newborn king of the Jews. The human dimensions of the story are familiar enough to us as they present us to the injustices with which we are so accustomed from age to age: the jealousy and fear of worldly rulers, the murders and atrocities to support corrupt power, the lies and intrigue used to trap people of good will. Yet, in the midst of such evil we see God at work, guiding these Gentiles from the east and protecting Mary, Joseph, and their child. We might find God's intervention mysterious and foreign to us as we don't often experience God speaking to us in dreams. Yet, for those who are attuned to listening to the voice of God there is the realization that God often chooses very ordinary means to speak to us. God is present right in our midst, guiding us if we but let him do so.

Very often we overlook God's voice and presence because we are looking for something dramatic: an apparition or vision in some distant place, the face of Jesus on my breakfast pancake, or a loud booming voice shaking the earth. The fundamental truth of our existence, however, is that God is very near to us, very near. We need not search far and wide for what is right in front of us. There is an eastern story of a man who took his boat from shore to see what the other shore was like. After an arduous journey the man discovers that he was back at the very shore from which he began. The point of the story is that all shores are alike when it comes to discovering the mystery and presence of God, for God is present on every shore, including our own. The great celebration of Epiphany is the realization that hte one true God who had chosen the people of Israel so long ago is present to us and accessible to all peoples at all times.

As we celebrate God's presence among us and discern his mystery in our lives, we pray for the wisdom to see God and his love in the midst of the ruins of the world: "Let us pray, grateful for the glory revealed today through God made man. Father of light, unchanging God, today you reveal to men of faith the resplendent fact of the Word made flesh. Your light is strong, your love is near; draw us beyond the limits which this world imposes, to the life where your Spirit makes all life complete. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen."