Mustard and Bread

Gospel: Luke 13: 18-21

Little things become big things.  The tiny mustard seed grows to become a large shrub, but to what purpose? To provide a place of sanctuary and nesting for the birds of the air.  The minute specks of yeast are kneaded into dough, but to what end? To provide bread that will serve as nourishment and sustenance for people in their hunger.  The point of the kingdom of heaven is not merely its growth from something small to big, but the purpose for which the growth exists.

For too long we have seen this image of growth in terms of institutional power, influence, and occupying space on this earth.  But the point in being instruments of the kingdom of heaven is to be people who provide a haven, sanctuary, and refuge for others; people who will be ones to nourish and sustain others here on earth in body, mind, and spirit.  To grow in faith is to grow in becoming these things for the sake of others.

Growth in faith is not a self-interested enterprise; it does not consist in earning merit or acquiring influence or prestige in the world.  It is a life of selfless giving: the mustard seed and yeast die and no longer exist - they pass away in order to become something else, something that will be for the benefit of others in the world.  That is the Christian life in its entirety.   

Love Has No Limits

Gospel: Luke 13: 10-17

Yesterday we were commanded to love God and neighbor.  Today we find a concrete application of that command and a scene that is worthy of reflection.  A woman in the synagogue is frail and ill; she does not ask Jesus for healing.  He simply approaches her and heals her on the spot.  People object because this took place on the sabbath and in the synagogue, but Jesus does it anyway.  

It is always the case that whenever Jesus sees someone in need - whether they ask for help or not - he heals them and provides for their need.  And how often is it the case that the disciples and religious leaders will object to Jesus helping someone, arguing the person is not worthy, or it is not the right day or place or it cannot be done.  In every case Jesus ignores them.  How often it is the case that Jesus performs healings in religious buildings that should be places of healing but are not because they have become private social clubs rather than hospitals of body, mind, and spirit.

We read the Gospels to become more like Jesus in our daily lives.  We have the disciples and religious leaders in these stories to remind us where we at, falling short.  How often do we - how often would we - seek to prevent someone from encountering Jesus and find healing in him? But we have the example of Jesus that inspires us to be open and compassionate to all. 

We Have One Job

Gospel: Matthew 22: 34-40

Another day and another episode wherein Pharisees try to trap Jesus with a question.  Today the question is: what is the greatest commandment of the law? There are 613 laws in the Jewish Torah and the opinions are many and varied on this point - which one is most important?  Jesus gives us two laws and merges them into one: love God and love neighbor.  We only love God by loving our neighbor, by showing compassion and mercy in concrete ways to everyone.  

Seems simple, right? But in Luke's Gospel the lawyer will seek to know who our neighbor is.  That entails another set of opinions and Jesus' simple answer of "everybody" is as difficult to accept now as it was then.  Today's generation of Pharisee and lawyer would ask what is meant by love.  After all, executing people, refusing help to immigrants, refugees, and the poor, and amassing wealth are surely acts of love for the modern Christian.

None of us is worthy of Jesus' help and yet he stooped down to save us.  There is not a single instance in the Gospels where Jesus refused to help someone, no place where he acted cruelly toward others, no time when the rich get a pass.  We are called to love as Jesus loved - extended to all without condition or qualification.   

A Mission for All

Gospel: Luke 6: 6-12

Jesus calls twelve people to help him in his mission to the world, and since then we seem to have the idea that this is somewhat select, unique work just for them.  But is it? Is it any different from the work of the additional seventy-two Jesus sends out later in the Gospel?  In both the mission was to call people to repentance, announce the arrival of God's kingdom, heal people of their infirmities, and to proclaim peace to all.  It is, in fact, a mission for us all.

We have come to treat such a mission as some highly specialized task like being an astronaut, but it is not.  We have restricted sacramental healing ministry to such a small elite that over time fewer and fewer people have access to such healing, and that is cause for rejoicing for those who long for a smaller, purer church.  But that is not the church Jesus called us to be - he who ate with all and who compared the kingdom to a net pulling in all it can from the sea.  

And so the message of repentance goes unheard, the kingdom unknown, people without healing, and peace not proclaimed.  So when we look about our world and see what we see today we ought not be surprised.  We the disciples of Jesus have made it so, to our great failure and shame. 

The Fundamental Option

Gospel: Luke 12: 54-59

We human beings are obsessed with forecasting and predicting future events and outcomes.  From the weather to the stock market to sports betting we have created entire industries and sciences dedicated to outcome prediction.  And yet when it comes to the ethical and spiritual life we have entirely neglected these fields for similar exploration and development.  We do not develop our interior conscience, the innate power we have to do such work, and so we are left rudderless in these areas.  

The reason for this incongruence is simple.  In the areas of weather, stocks, and Vegas betting we are pursuing profit and our own self-interest.  We seek advantage for ourselves to acquire more money, position, power, influence, and stuff.  But in the ethical and spiritual life it is the opposite.  There we must give up our egos and self-interest for the good of others; we must let go even of our precious stuff - and this we are not willing to do.

And so we would rather pursue a case in court for our self-interest, knowing we will almost certainly lose, rather than settle with our opponent and seek to help both our enemy and ourselves.  We would rather commit untold crimes of war and economic competition rather than share the land and its plenty with others. Which is the way of Jesus? Which is the way to authentic human life? 

Of War and Peace

Gospel: Luke 12: 49-53

This passage seems almost inexplicable and incongruent to us.  All the passages wherein Jesus speaks of drawing all things to himself, making all things new, and proclaiming peacemakers blessed - and now we have this passage about conflict, division, and separation.  What meaning can we possibly derive from today's Gospel portion?

Consider the reaction to the peacemaker: when she announces that all are welcome she is met with words of derision.  When she reaches out to care for the marginalized and foreigner, she is accosted by the mob who detests such people.  When she dares to suggest some flaw in a nation with so many mass shootings, suggest that school shootings are intolerable, she will inevitably be met by the never-ending defense of the gun.

This was the same reaction Jesus had when he ate with those deemed unworthy, when his disciples tried to prevent him for caring for the marginalized ones, when he told us to put away our sword and rebuked us for wishing doom upon a village.  The peacemaker brings the division because she calls to abandon our false gods and tools of violence, and that is a message we cannot bear.  We will prefer Babel to Eden, war over peace, division over unity.  And we will blame the peacemaker for our choices and the consequences that come with them. 

The Intended Audience

Gospel: Luke 12: 39-48

The disciples of Jesus are continually preoccupied with the question of whether Jesus intends his teaching just for them or for the whole world.  In short, are the disciples a special, privileged group who can lord it over others for having this special knowledge or not?  The answer is one the disciples of Jesus then - and now - really do not want to hear.

The teaching of Jesus is fundamentally one of love and mercy extended to others, a message written on the heart of every human being.  In that respect, the message is not special.  What is special is the example of Jesus in showing us how to live this message written on our hearts.  It is an example that should lead ones privy to it to live in their lives, but sadly this is not the case.  More often than not followers of Jesus are more interesting in empire building and special status for themselves rather than actually living this message. As in the parable, others are abused by them and leave wounded and marred.  

The disciples did not want to hear this message.  They thought it was a reference to Israel and they would replace that former kingdom, but in reality Jesus was speaking to his disciples, then and now.  Judgment will fall on us for all the people we have driven away and abused.  But there are those who do live the message of love and mercy Jesus provides - those who are his followers and those who are not.  Let us be these blessed souls who bring loving kindness to the world. 

A King Unlike Any Other

Gospel: Luke 12: 35-38

What king has ever sat his servants at the table of his royal banquet hall? What king has ever put on an apron and served his servants at table this great feast he has prepared for them? It is unheard of among us humans, for our kings are vain and seek to be served at all times and they treat their servants with derision as a general rule.  If any kindness is ever showed to a servant it is only for the benefit of the king and his selfish ends.  

By now we should regard the kingdom of God as entirely different and opposite from any kingdom here on earth.  God's kingdom is not run by arbitrary decrees from an impetuous ruler; it is run by love and the example of the king himself who extends love and presents himself as a servant, not a warrior.  By the example of the king are we to live our lives, for our king obeys his own commands and is love itself.  

It is for this reason that spirituality and interest in Jesus persists while religion in general declines.  Jesus lives what he teaches, he loves without measure.  Religious leaders will act as the rulers of the world; they will cloak their hypocrisy in the pretentious robes of external piety.  They will tell us to do one thing but themselves do quite another.  But we have Jesus, our only model and guide, the one alone who saves and leads us to holiness, to the kingdom of God. 

Barns and Silos

Gospel: Luke 12: 13-21

Jesus is not kind to the rich throughout the Gospels.  He continually warns us to avoid becoming so, encouraging a life of poverty and simplicity that looks to the needs of others.  The early church initially had no property or possessions; the offering collection was taken for the needs of the poor and distributed to them each week.  We are far removed from those days.

In our time religion is often an apologist for the rich and for its own property interests.  Has a capital campaign in a church ever been about the needs of the poor? The message often given on care for the poor is couched more in terms of it being praiseworthy but in no sense obligatory.  Heaven forbid we offend the sensibilities of the rich...

Jesus sent out his disciples two by two urging them to a life of simplicity.  Jesus himself had no place of his own but relied entirely on the hospitality of others. The message was not about attending services, engaging in programs, or buying the latest cottage industry book.  The message was about God's kingdom, not our own, and a message of peace extended to all we meet.  We are far removed from those days... 

God and Caesar

Gospel: Matthew 22: 15-21

Modern Christians seek to separate themselves into labeled categories: progressive or traditional; modern or medieval; conservative or liberal.  Much like the Pharisee and Herodian, each seeks the mantle of God for what is in reality not a theological claim but a political one.  Which false god are we really promoting - the Roman empire or the restoration of an ancient kingdom God didn't want in the first place?  It is a false choice we create, for neither choice is really the one Jesus is pointing to - God alone.  

The real test for the Christian was not at Vatican II or the advent of the modern age or any other popular myth of the culture wars.  The real defining moment was Europe in 1940-1945: were you someone who sought to protect innocent people from the gas chambers, or were you enabling Nazis in that work and in escaping to other countries?  To protect human dignity and being is to love God in loving our neighbor.  To enable the powers of this world to commit atrocities is to make a false god, a political idol.

Cyrus of Persia was a brutal, awful man; ancient historians attest to this fact.  Israel anoints him for an isolated nicety he does for them; they made an idol of the political.  Throughout history Christians have done likewise with kingdoms, nations, and political parties to our own day.  Perhaps someday Paul's words to the Philippians will sink in for us: "For our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there alone that we await a savior." 

What to Say...

Gospel: Luke 12: 8-12

We are told not to worry about what we are to say, that it will be given to us when the time comes. But how often are we obsessed with talking!  We feel compelled to fill every waking moment with sound and conversation, no matter how trivial or inconsequential.  We cannot abide silence and empty space as human beings.  We fill it up with noise and occupy its space with whatever we can.  

But consider the example of Jesus.  When brought to trial to face his accusers he said nothing at all.  When hanging on the cross and facing a taunting crowd he gave only the opening lines of Psalm 22, a Psalm that provides all we need to understand the entire drama of Jesus' life.  The silence spoke more eloquently than any oration or speech could in those moments.

Consider the effect a life governed by the spirit of silence: a life of awe and wonder, a life of contemplation and appreciation, a life of love and gratitude.  The words that flow from such a life are few but considered and wise.  They flow from the depths of our being and are inspired by the Spirit of God dwelling within our soul.  They are not rash, unjust, unkind words; they are words of love and grace.

Our Many Insecurities

Gospel: Luke 12: 1-7

Jesus continually tells his disciples not to be afraid throughout the Gospels.  We human beings continually live in fear and find various ways to hide our insecurities.  We erect elaborate defense mechanisms to hide our true selves from others.  We spend lots of money on security systems to protect ourselves and our stuff.  We get more stuff to protect the stuff we have, and we have all this stuff to prop up our egos and find security in things that ultimately do not satisfy and only bring us more insecurity.

When Jesus sent out his disciples on mission, the packing list was minimal, so much so it was practically nonexistent.  If we have no possessions, if we are reliant on the hospitality of others and on God's providence, what fears can we have? We would have no fear of being robbed for we have little and what we do have no one really wants.  And our lives our in God's hands entirely; if we die, we return to the God who loves us and provides for us.  

We fear poverty and a lack of stuff because then we have to face our self, to be alone and undistracted with our self and with God.  This reality frightens us more than anything else, which is why we fear death.  But this is why we are continually reminded that God is love, for if God is love what fear would we have? Only the realization that our self lacks love and trust in this loving God.  But if we get rid of even this self, then there is God alone, the God of love where no fear exists.

Get Out of the Way

Gospel: Luke 11: 47-54

How often are we obstacles to others in their path to God? We often see the obstacle as an active deterring others from access to God, and certainly that occurs often in the Gospels.  Note how often Jesus' own disciples act as self-appointed gatekeepers and seek to prevent others from approaching Jesus, or in seeking to tell Jesus to have nothing to do with certain people.  Note also how in every instance Jesus either ignores or severely rebukes them for doing so.  Let the self-proclaimed "faithful" Christians take note...

At the same time we can be an obstacle to others in passive ways, as in the story of Zacchaeus.  Here, we are just standing around, self-absorbed in our relationship with Jesus, unconscious of the fact that we are blocking the way for Zacchaeus, unaware of his needs.  People have to work hard to get around us in order to see Jesus because we are not the window we should be, enabling the light to shine through and allowing others to see the presence of God among us.  Let the smug, self-satisfied Christian take note...

In order for a window to be effective in letting in light and enabling others to see, it needs to be cleaned often.  This requires a continual examination of ourselves to make sure we are not obstacles to others in their path to access God in the world.  How many have been deterred by our actions or indifference?  

 

Telling the Story

 

Luke 10: 1-9

If you have ever had to tell the story of your life on multiple occasions, you know that it never comes out the same each time.  We leave things out from previous versions; we add things; we forget things, and we remember things.  Very often we tailor our story for the audience to whom we are presenting, and our story is different based on when in our life we are sharing it.  Which version of our story is true?  Well, they all are in a way, as we can see our lives from a variety of perspectives within us and outside of us.

The same is true in the story of Jesus.  Today we celebrate the feast of St. Luke who provides one of the four canonical Gospels that are our sources for the life of Jesus.  Each of these stories is both similar and different, not unlike the different versions of our own stories.  Each one is true in their own way and provide us with insight into the life of Jesus, the meaning this particular version had for its author and the community to whom he was writing. 

We do not belong to those original communities, and we are far removed from the original events.  But like the telling of our own stories the point is what that particular version of the story means for us.  How does my life intersect with the life of Jesus.  What meaning can I derive in my own life from the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life.  Today we are grateful for St. Luke and all the Gospel writers for sharing the story and leading us to this relationship we have with the Lord Jesus.

Table Manners

Gospel: Luke 11: 37-41

Imagine inviting someone over for dinner and you spend the entire time criticizing that person for all the different things they do wrong, or you spend the time criticizing other people for all the things they do wrong.  It would not be much of a dinner party and most people would not want to return.  This is exactly the dynamic of the dinner party to which Jesus is invited in today's Gospel.  The Pharisee spends his time criticizing Jesus for failing to do this and that for the entire time.

By contrast, whenever Jesus is invited to the table of a tax collector or other sinner, he is just welcomed into the home and everyone partakes of dinner.  There is no criticism of Jesus or anyone else; the presence of Jesus is allowed to be and take effect on people.  Then what happens is that the host realizes his sinfulness, realizes his shortcomings, and they make resolutions to give away their possessions and help the poor.  

What type of host are we to Jesus? Do we invite Jesus to our homes in order to justify ourselves, to show him how "faithful" and righteous we are by criticizing others? Or do we invite the Lord to our home and table in order to allow his presence to transform us and others, that we might become better for the occasion?  

Shopping for Signs

Gospel: Luke 11: 29-32

Why do we seek signs when we already know the way? We are like people who search for a doctor who will tell us what we want to hear: no need to exercise or lose weight; eat what you want, do what you want - we have a pill for whatever ails you.  Wouldn't it be great if such were true? But it is not, and it never has been and it never will be.  Yet we seek results without the work.

In the realm of religion it is no different.  We already know the way: repent, accept the mercy of God, and extend this mercy to others.  Yet we look for that sign that will tell us what we want to hear: do what you want, Jesus has done it all, no need for you to do anything.  How much easier is that than changing our behaviors and loving other people!  

People now are longing for peace and praying for it.  Yet we will prefer war to the conditions of peace, for the terms of peace are forgiveness, repentance on our part, and love for our enemy.  That requires too much of us, and so instead we will choose genocide, yet another refugee crisis - and us not wanting to help the refugees we create! - and endless war.  This is the sign of Jonah: Nineveh repented and found peace; Jonah kept hate in his heart and was consumed by the heat of the day. 

The Invited Ones

 

Gospel: Matthew 22: 1-14

The focus ordinarily in this Gospel passage often revolves around two points.  The first is a focus on the man without a wedding garment and how important it is to be clothed in the baptismal garment to be in the banquet hall of the Lord.  The second is with those original invited ones, but here the message is that it was a reference to the people of Israel and how their invitation was taken away and given to others due to how they received the invitation.  But in both cases we typically think of others as to whom Jesus is speaking, not ourselves.

But consider these people who rejected the invitation of the King and how they maltreated the messengers who announced the invitation to one and all.  How often are the voices who welcome all and invite everyone to the banquet condemned and reviled for such a message? They consider the invitation as only for themselves and not for others; the invitation stifled for many, and the banquet hall not filled to the King's dismay.  

The Lord invites all to the banquet.  If there are few at the table, it is not the fault of the generous king who invited all to attend.  It will be our fault for preventing others from attending, for considering them not worthy of an invitation.  It may be that we will find ourselves without a seat.  We may have a baptismal garment - we may have gone through the ritual, but have we lived it?  We have taken God's mercy, but have we shared it with others?

Be the Blessing!

Gospel: Luke 11: 27-28

We human beings have the tendency to look at blessings as connected to things beyond our human control: winning the lottery; being born to certain people in certain times, places, and circumstances; having your team win the Super Bowl.  While these may all be fortunate occurrences, they are not anything we have earned or merited.  They occur by chance.

Jesus tells us that blessings come solely from one source: hearing God's word and carrying it out in our lives.  And that word is accepting God's mercy extended to us and extending that mercy to others in the world.  This is entirely within our control and ability to carry out.  Regardless of our station or lot in life, every human being has the capacity to receive this blessing and share it with others.

It is surely the case that we do not deserve or in any way merit the mercy of God; it is a pure gift offered freely to all by a generous and loving God.  And it may be the case that the people to whom we offer mercy do not deserve it either, but that is exactly the point.  If we did not deserve God's mercy and still accept this free gift, how can we deny it to anyone else? 

Religion and Violence

 

Gospel: Luke 11: 15-26

It has been the history of human beings that we escalate the scope and lethal nature of violence.  If we but look at the development of weaponry over the centuries we see how in each generation we have created more deadly weapons and higher body counts.  And we rely on these weapons and our strength to protect our material possessions and self-interest.  Many who read today’s Gospel see the passage entirely along these lines.

But the house we protect is not our material possessions; the house is a symbol of our soul, the dwelling place of God in the world.  It is that we seek to protect, and to rely on our own strength and possessions is useless, for we will face another stronger than us and more well-armed.  But if we rely on the one who is to dwell in our house, the all-powerful God, then we have no worries at all.  Our house will be safe and our peace secure.

When we make religion about occupying space, about ourselves and our possessions, then we are far from its real meaning and we will find no satisfaction.  But when we see religion as a process, a pilgrimage and journey, when we see the house as where the one thing necessary – our peace with God dwelling within us – then we have found the pearl of great price and authentic peace found in life with God.

Answering the Bell

Gospel: Luke 11: 5-13

Jesus gives an analogy to prayer: people in need asking for help from their neighbor, from their parents.  Here the idea is that prayer reminds us that we are dependent upon God for all things as a child is dependent on her parents, or a needy neighbor is dependent on the help of others to provide when they are unable to do so for themselves.

But the analogy is also a reminder that we ought not to pray for things that we ourselves have agency and power to control.  We can relieve the hunger of a starving person; we ought not pray about that.  We have the power to avert war - we certainly have no trouble creating them; we ought not pray about that either.  It is folly to pray to God for things we are able but unwilling to do for ourselves and the world.   It is further folly to blame God for that which we have created and which we have power to resolve.

If we are to pray about these things, we seek the wisdom from God to be part of the solution to the problems we see in the world.  How can I help relieve poverty in the world? How can I be a sower of peace in the world? Here we pray for the grace from God to take up these tasks and for the wisdom to discover their solutions.

Seeking No Distinction

Gospel: Luke 11: 1-4

The disciples of Jesus ask that he teach them to pray, not that they have never previously prayed, but to have a way of prayer that makes them distinctive like the disciples of John, a prayer that sets them apart from others.  How often in religion do we seek to make distinctions from others, to set ourselves apart as special with particular dress, liturgical form, or whatever!

What Jesus does instead is give us a prayer that in no way makes us distinct.  In having us call God 'Father' we are reminded that all of us are children of God and utterly dependent upon the Creator.  In asking for our daily bread we are reminded that this is both a need and right of all people.  And in asking for forgiveness we are reminded both that all are in need of God's mercy and that we ourselves must be merciful to others as well.

The disciples went seeking distinction; Jesus gives them instead a prayer of solidarity with all people.  Whenever we seek to be distinct from others we are not seeking God but ourselves and our own vanities.  And whenever we do so God calls us back in humility to the prayer of Jesus, the prayer of solidarity with all people that Jesus taught by word and deed to embrace. 

Feeding Our Insecurities

Gospel: Luke 10: 38-42

This account of Martha and Mary has received a lot of ink over the centuries and the various interpretations are well known.  Can anything more be said about it?  Consider this point: what if Martha had said nothing at all about her sister Mary not helping her?  Had Martha just gone about her work in silence while Mary sat with Jesus, we would never know this event or conversation ever took place.

Martha was anxious about many things, and this anxiety was rooted in being anxious about things she had no business being anxious about.  She looked to what her sister was or was not doing; she was judging her sister, using herself as the measuring stick by which all others are measured.  Herein lies the fault, and Jesus is quick to act in this regard.  

When we set ourselves up as the standard and measure, we will always be anxious about many things, for we will have countless people to judge over and against ourselves.  But if we do our duty in silence and humility, leaving everything else to God's providence, then we are at peace.  We are not anxious; we are not a measure we cannot measure up to, and our neighbor is not an object to be judged but a subject to be in relationship with, a fellow pilgrim on the way to the reign of God.

A Tale of Two Questions

Gospel: Luke 10: 25-37

The story of the Good Samaritan begins with a question from a lawyer to Jesus:  what must I do to inherit eternal life? The story ends with Jesus asking a question back to the lawyer: which one was neighbor to the one in need?  When the lawyer responds - the one who treated him with compassion - Jesus tells the lawyer to go and do likewise.  The second question answers the first.

The way to eternal life is one lived in continual mercy and compassion offered to others in concrete acts of love.  The way to eternal life is not found in a particular church membership, attendance at the "correct" liturgy, exhaustive knowledge of theology and the catechism, the construction of churches, or the endless recitation of prayers.  Eternal life is found only in a life of mercy and compassion shown to others, even our worst enemies and rivals.

Each day provides us with countless opportunities for such service.  There are family members and neighbors who need our help.  Countless people are in hospitals, nursing homes, and prisons who need compassionate interaction and care. There are migrants and refugees who need our help in adjusting to a new home.  Today is a day to reflect on how God is calling us to walk the way to eternal life.

Care of the Soul

Gospel: Matthew 21: 33-43

Christian polemicists will seize upon today's readings to argue that God has replaced Israel with the Church, the new Israel, as tender of the kingdom of God.  But what happens when the Church as the new Israel is no better than the old and comes to neglect and trample the vineyard just as much as in the old regime?  And wherein lies this kingdom anyway?

The garden and vineyard have always been metaphors for the soul of a person.  It is there that the kingdom of God resides.  Institutions have been entrusted with the care of the soul and when they work well souls thrive.  But when they do not, people are left to themselves and seek out the nourishment they need wherever they can find it.  When the religious institutions are in the service of earthly kingdoms of political ideology, they are not serving the kingdom of God.  And when souls seek nourishment they are not cruising a cafeteria or being consumeristic; they seek care for their vineyard.

The number of people unaffiliated with any religion is now the highest percentage of the population. Some religious bodies take that as a badge of pride, glorying in the small, pure church they so desire.  Others are oblivious like the crowd blocking Zacchaeus from seeing Jesus.  Only a few will take these things to heart and seek to authentically care for the vineyard of souls in our world who need loving kindness and attention. 

Accessibility for All

Gospel: Luke 10: 17-24

When Jesus tells us to rejoice at seeing what we see for kings and others longed to see them, he is not referencing some inability to access Jesus because of temporal and spatial inaccessibility.  That is something that happens by chance and is not something over which we have control.  The access Jesus references is one that is available to all people in all times and places.  Kings and the powerful could not see it for they only seek spectacles like Herod or they only want their biases and beliefs confirmed like so many of us.

But what Jesus speaks of is a radical openness to God at all times of our lives, the ability to find God present in all things and in all people's lives.  It is to live in acceptance of God's mercy for oneself and to offer that mercy to others we encounter in the world.  For when mercy is offered possibilities are opened; when mercy is not offered, no possibilities are found - there is only alienation from God and others.  

So, today we are invited by the Lord Jesus to this openness to God's mercy and to extend that mercy to others, to open possibilities for ourselves and others through this mercy.  Life is not a battle where only two possibilities exist; it is a relationship with God, a relationship with others where endless possibilities exist for flourishing through mercy and love. 

The Path of Peace

Gospel: Luke 10: 13-16

In 66 C.E. the people of Israel revolted against the Roman Empire.  Initially they had some success, but inevitably Rome invaded with full might and laid waste to the entire region, putting Israel into harsh slavery and diaspora.  The Christian community did not take part in the revolt; they fled to Petra in Jordan and to other places. It is within this context and setting that today's Gospel must be read, for herein we are provided with two pathways through this world.

Throughout its history Israel saw the path to freedom as being one of military conquest and political establishment. This pathway affected the Messianic expectation and events of the first century C.E. But Jesus provides a very different path to freedom, one that is internal, one that frees us from our attachments, one that is not dependent and that subjects us to political ideologies and military bravado.

Jesus continually admonishes his disciples for their predisposition toward violence.  We are told to put away our swords and to embrace the cross instead. Authentic freedom is found in the depths of our hearts in a life of loving union with God extended outward to others through deeds of mercy and kindness.     

Accent Marks

Gospel: Luke 10: 1-12

What we emphasize in a story or passage says a lot about us as people in that moment.  In today's reading we will often find stressed the punishment of those who reject us as disciples.  Here the emphasis is on the fate of other people for a decision they make, the fate being the destruction and ruin of those we would deem to be our enemies.  What does such an emphasis say or mean about us?

Instead, what if we reflected on other aspects of the story: the fact that Jesus sent us out to live simple, humble lives with few possessions; the fact that we are sent to be among people, accepting whatever they provide for us like pilgrims; the fact that we are called to be among people in order to provide healing from illnesses; or the fact that we are called to announce the Good News of God's mercy extended to all in advance of God's kingdom coming among us.  

In reflecting on this list of considerations, now we place the emphasis in the right place, now we are considering our own behaviors and not those of others.  We are now not focused on thoughts of vengeance and glee over the destruction of those who reject us, but instead we see if we measure up to what Jesus calls us to do and be in this passage.   

Yes...But

Gospel: Luke 9: 57-62

All of us are like these would be followers of Jesus in today's Gospel reading.  We want to follow the Lord, but we have stuff that holds us back.  For some of us, it is a clinging to the dead things of the past that we must let go of because God is doing something new in our midst.  For others it is a preoccupation with the present things that are not really important and only distract us from following the call of God.

Some will say, 'Truth cannot change' and this is no doubt true.  But our understanding and awareness of what that truth really says does change.  At one time we thought truth told us slavery was a natural institution that must be defended; now we realize that was wrong and that truth really says something different.  Did the truth change? The object itself did not, but our awareness of it did because the knower is not identical to the object known.  

To follow the Lord is to be in a constant state of discernment and listening to the voice of God within us.  It is not a slavish attachment to the past, nor is it a license to do and justify what we want.  It is a demanding discipline of balance that requires great humility and continual dialogue with others.  No authority can do the work for us.  We must do the work of putting aside the dead things of the past and the ephemeral of the present to hear the voice of God calling us to authenticity.   

Rejecting Religion of Violence

Gospel: Luke 9: 51-56

Jesus' disciples do not like opposition in their ministry, and so their solution is an old and easy one in recourse to violence and the destruction of one's enemies.  Jesus, however, reprimands them for this approach.  Jesus will conquer not through genocide and bloodshed as Israel had done in the past, but through love and suffering of violence through the cross.  Those who would use violence to further the Gospel reject the cross and the rebuke of Jesus.

It is a sad fact, however, that time and again even to our own times that many a Christian continue to use violence as a method of forcing others to accept the Gospel.  The only result of such efforts is people walking away from religion entirely, and people less open to God in their lives.  A religion that will accept no rebuke, no thought of ever being wrong on any point is a religion of violence, a false Christianity that rejects the cross in favor of violence.  

God has inscribed on every heart the truth that God is love and is accessible only through love.  Every human being instinctively knows this fact and recognizes the false religion of violence and coercion.  The Gospel - the kingdom of God - is had only through love and persuasion of love.  The tools of violence will not fit through the narrow gate.   

The Care of Children

 

Gospel: Matthew 18: 1-5, 10

 

Jesus tells us not to harm children.  This seems obvious and yet we find children harmed all the time through abuse both physical and sexual; we see them neglected, traumatized psychologically and spiritually.  That such has been allowed to happen to children even in the church by clergy and covered up with impunity is a travesty beyond all imagining.  The financial bankruptcy of the church is but an outward manifestation of its moral bankruptcy in the care of children entrusted to them. 

 

Jesus bids us to be like children in our relationship with God.  Children are simple, innocent, open to life, and loving to all people.  Children do not hate by nature; they are taught to do so by adults.  Children are not mistrustful or deceitful or malicious by nature; they are taught by adults to be so.  Woe to us who have harmed their good natures.  It is children who will inherit God’s kingdom and those who have their disposition in their relationship with God. 

 

If we cannot follow the exhortation of Jesus on something that should be this basic in the care of children, then how can we be expected to be trustworthy in anything else? If we cannot do right by children, our alleged obedience on fasting, liturgical attendance and practice, or anything else is of no value.  Today a child is placed before us, and Jesus bids us to care for them, to be like them.  Can we please? 

Keeping Receipts

Gospel: Matthew 21: 28-32

Tax collection is not sinful by nature; it becomes so when dishonesty enters the picture, and when the taxes are so severe on a population that it leads to dire poverty for the people.  Prostitution is sinful by nature; and yet women are often forced into the profession in order to avoid grinding poverty, or they are coerced into it through unscrupulous men who traffic human beings for unseemly gain.  Those in these professions do not want to be there; they long for a better life and a more just society.  

By contrast the professional religious class place themselves as the ideal for all to follow.  They stand at the pulpit denouncing the sexual sins of others, and yet half of them are engaged in sexual sin and the other half knowing about it consort to keep quiet about it and cover it up.  Hence, an entire culture of lies and hypocrisy is created over and above the culture of sexual dalliance.  In this world no remorse is had, and no one is coerced into such behaviors.  

This is Jesus' point in today's Gospel.  The professional religious class has always been a more depraved world; they, in fact, help to create the unjust structures that haunt the tax collector and prostitute.  The tax collector and prostitute want to be cleansed of this, want a better society that is more just.  Hence they will enter the kingdom, but for the professional religious class...