Nothing Wasted

Gospel: Matthew 13: 47-53

Over the years of human experience we have come to realize just how little actual trash and useless material exists.  We have come to recycle most every material - paper, glass, rubber, metals.  We can turn even weeds into usable compost and new soil.  Items we once would throw into a landfill can be used for all sorts of helpful items to benefit the earth and its inhabitants.  That we often fail to do so is a reflection on our own character and not on the inability to accomplish the feat.

In the context of this parable our human experience is important for us to reflect upon the implications of the lesson.  For we will come to discover that what we regard as trash God does not, and that the amount of trash is far less than we imagine.  This fact will disappoint those who long to cast others into the flames of hellfire, though their own actions contribute more than anything else to such a fate than they would care to admit or realize.  

So, our discernment of what is trash and what is of value requires deep reflection, just as in the parable of the wheat and weeds.  We might be too hasty in both instances in removing what we think is bad when in fact it might not be and may actually be positive good.  Happily, judgment is God's alone, not ours, and the goodness and mercy of God far exceeds ours in every respect.  May we seek to imitate God's vision and not our own. 

Genuine Pearls

Gospel: Matthew 13: 44-46

The meaning of these two parables is obvious enough: the kingdom of God is so precious we should do all we can to acquire it.  What is more challenging is the fact that so often we misjudge just what the kingdom of God is and where it can be found.  We imagine it as some earthly power or institution that leads us astray.  We move from one to another in disappointment such that we think at some point it does not exist at all.  

John Steinbeck wrote a novel called The Pearl wherein he reflected on this topic.  A poor man finds a rare and valuable pearl.  Thinking he can get a bright future for his infant son, he goes about in search of the highest price for the pearl.  Chased by traders and scammers, the man's infant son winds up being killed in the midst of this pursuit of wealth.  It is only at that point that the man realizes that the real pearl was his son, this irreplaceable and precious child.  

It is the same with the kingdom of God.  It is found in relationships with other people, not in buildings made of stone or in power, influence, or institutions seeking such.  The kingdom of God lies within each person and it is there in relationship that we find the kingdom and real treasure.  When we attend to these relationships, honor, and cherish them, then we acquire the kingdom of God, and we do not ever want to lose it or these relationships. 

A Lesser Part?

Gospels: John 11: 19-27; Luke 10: 38-42

We have been instructed over the centuries to regard Martha as a lesser figure to her sister Mary, who seemingly chose the better part.  And yet here we are today celebrating Martha's feast day while her sister Mary has no corresponding day.  We have been instructed to view Martha through the lens only of this encounter at her house wherein Jesus rebukes her for her anxiety over many things, an instruction that ignores two important facts.

First, Martha is like many women leaders of the Church in the New Testament.  She, like many other women, make their homes available for the celebration of the Eucharist and other gatherings.  They provided for and presided over the assembly as Martha did in her home.  The second point is that Martha is at the tomb of her brother expressing faith in Jesus and the resurrection while Mary is at home.  Martha utters the very same profession of faith as Peter.  

Just as Jesus healed Peter's mother-in-law in his home and she rises to serve others, so Jesus comes to Martha's home to raise up her brother Lazarus.  Martha is no less great than Peter or any other disciple.  Her faithful devotion to the Lord in her hospitality and in her profession of faith in the midst of a hostile crowd who use this occasion to plot against Jesus shows that Martha indeed has chosen the better part and is rewarded for it.

Avoid the Flash

Gospel: Matthew 13: 31-35

It is not surprising that most people consider faith life in terms of the flashy and dramatic events.  They act powerfully on our emotions, but they require constant application like an addictive drug, for once the drama fades it is often the case that such faith wanes away as so often happened in the life of the Israelite people.  They were in awe of the plagues of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the marvels at Mt. Sinai, but it did not last long and grumbling and idolatry would soon overtake them.

Jesus gives us a different model of faith, things small and ordinary but reliable and trustworthy: the mustard seed and yeast, things that produce things we need and upon which we rely each day.  They are not flashy or dramatic, but rather common and unnoticed.  Yet, these small things provide what is needed for the mustard tree to grow and bread to rise, giving birds their home and our daily bread for continued human existence.  

Modern faith life loves the dramatic show - the stage, band, and laser light show.  It sells seats and pumps up our emotions.  But the high eventually fades and we are left empty with such a self-centered spirituality.  Authentic faith life is in the ordinary, everyday common things that nourish and sustain us.  They are small, hidden, and unnoticed, but they are reliable and trustworthy, far more fitting images for God than the flashy and brash.  

The Big Ask

Gospel: Luke 11: 1-13

Jesus tells us that whatever we ask for God will give us.  So, if I ask, will he let me win the lottery?  Will the Bills win the Super Bowl if I pray for such?  How about peace in the world - lots of people pray for that?  God is not a cosmic gum ball machine wherein we insert the coin of our prayer and we get an automatic outcome that satisfies our request.  The context of the passage and its connection to the first reading provide us with the proper content of our prayer.

In the prayer Jesus gives us we ask to receive God's will, and we pray for mercy for ourselves.  We find this to be the very posture Abraham takes with God in this back and forth exchange regarding the fate of Sodom.  Abraham continually pleads for God's mercy, and each time God grants that mercy.  The content of our prayer must also be about mercy - mercy for ourselves and for others.  The entire life and ministry of Jesus was about mercy, and so too must our lives be.

In praying for mercy we too must be merciful.  The extent to which mercy is granted to us and others is proportional to the mercy we extend to others.  If our mercy to others is meager, so too will the mercy be given us.  If, however, our mercy is wide and generous, then the mercy provided us will be likewise.  As we pray for mercy our hearts grow ever more merciful toward others.  That is the greatest prayer, and the greatest outcome. 

Selective Discernment

Gospel: Matthew 13: 24-30

So many people are eager to pull out the weeds, often in other people's gardens.  They think their garden to be immaculate while that of another is rife with weeds.  But wheat and weeds look identical; it is not until much later that their differences begin to appear.  It is impossible to know their difference until the distinguishing characteristics appear.  How often do we harm the wheat in our excessive zeal in seeking to pull out the weeds?

It is often wisest to let these things be handled by the master gardener.  We often want to correct others but rarely ourselves.  In correcting others how often are our efforts counterproductive and harmful.  We are so quick to expel, excommunicate, deport, execute, and imprison another - so quick to deny due process to those people but insist upon it for ourselves.  How many innocents do we harm - how many guilty who may have reformed, but instead die or become hardened by our actions!

The same disciples who would wield the sickle in the garden were the same who wanted to call down fire on a Samaritan town who rejected them.  Jesus had to rebuke his disciples then, just as he does now in our time and in our present circumstances.  Would that we would spend more time in the sick bays, hospitals, homeless shelters, migrant camps, care facilities, and prisons and less time in pulpits and podia! Would that we would tend the weeds of our own garden! 

Thrones, or Thorns

Gospel: Matthew 20: 20-28

The Sons of Zebedee in today's Gospel portion represent the dominant strain of Christianity since this conversation took place.  It is the constant striving for position, status, power, influence, and wealth.  It is the endless bickering over control and who is greatest in the kingdom.  It is seeing the kingdom of God entirely in worldly terms and not in any sense in which Jesus intended the term to mean.  It is intra-religious cell division.

This dominant strain runs counter to the authentic message of Jesus given here about service and humbling of self.  Each of the Synoptic Gospels begins Jesus' public ministry with his encounter with Satan in the devil wherein Jesus rejects all the temptations to power, influence, status, and wealth.  Instead, Jesus relies entirely on God for his support, a posture he adopts throughout his public ministry and up to his last breath on earth.

The quest for thrones and wealth always comes at the expense of so many other people who are used and abused so that a few can gain such things.  It is an inherently unethical road in life, which is why Jesus rejects it and urges his followers not to adopt it.  Our neglect of this lesson comes at our own peril and that of others, not to mention being the single greatest contributor to the decline of religion in general.  The only authentic path of religion is that of the desert, of renunciation and dependence.   

The Wisdom of Parables

Matthew 13: 10-17

Jesus teaches in parables because they can convey so much more than a monologue or lecture could accomplish.  An effective storyteller can teach a variety of lessons and impart deep wisdom in just one well-told story.  We might think parables are designed to hide truth from us, but in reality they exist to release truth to us over time.  In the constant reflection and retelling of a parable we can learn more and more each time.

Consider, for example, the parable of the Good Samaritan, told by Jesus in answer to the question - who is my neighbor.  Now to be sure the parable answers that question - everyone is our neighbor, but it does so in a compelling way by making a bitter enemy the one who shows mercy and compassion.  The story also teaches us that anyone can be virtuous, and that showing mercy to others is more important in our faith life than temple worship.

Jesus could very well have answered the lawyer by saying that everyone is our neighbor, but then we would not have these other lessons to reflect upon.  We would not have the scenario itself of the traveler that forces us to consider in what life situations of ours can we extend mercy and compassion to others in the way the Samaritan did.  The parable is a teaching method that is ever providing wisdom and insight to those who revisit them time and time again. 

The Landing Spot

Gospel: Matthew 13: 1-9

So many people view this Gospel portion in fatalistic terms.  They see a sort of predestination in the seed landing in different types of ground and nothing can be done about it.  The first point to be made in response to this dilemma is to see the infinite hope that God has in providing the word of God to all people in all places and times, hoping that this word will take hold and grow in the most unexpected places in our world.

At the same time, however, we human beings know that topography is not fixed; it can be altered and changed.  If a farmer finds rocky ground he digs up the rocks and makes the soil more receptive to the seed.  If weeds and thorns are found in the field they are pulled up to make room for the seed to be sown.  The same is true in our hearts and souls.  If we find our heart rocky and thorny, we can dig up those impediments and prepare the way for a fruitful planting.  

Jesus uses this analogy of farming not only because it would resonate and be familiar to his audience, but also because it reflects well the realities of the spiritual life.  It requires effort and hard work on our part.  Yet, we have the assurance that the seed provided to us is good seed, and that we will receive the sunlight and rain needed in order for the seed to bear rich fruit - the fruit of love and mercy that nourishes and feeds others as it did in the life of Jesus in his life and ministry on earth. 

She Persisted

Gospel: John 20n: 1-2, 11-18

Mary Magdalene stands in a line of women in the Gospels who are the first to proclaim good news to others.  Mary the Mother of Jesus announces her good news to her cousin Elizabeth, who in turn has good news to share.  The Samaritan woman at the well brings the good news of her encounter with Jesus to her village, and the entire population comes to follow Jesus through her proclamation.  Peter's mother-in-law is the first to model discipleship in her healing experience, getting up and serving others.

Mary Magdalene is the only woman mentioned in all four Gospels as being present at the death of Jesus.  While everyone else fled and hid, she persisted in her following the Lord to the very end.  She is also the only one mentioned in all four Gospels who goes to the tomb, her persistence in following Jesus continuing even after his death.  She alone is mentioned as the one to bring the news of the resurrection to the rest of the disciples.

Mary is not believed by the other disciples.  It will take multiple encounters with the risen Jesus before they come to believe what she said in the beginning.  It is, then, not surprising that the Church cannot find it within itself to recognize the full value of women in ministry.  But these women and this feast today remind us that they too are called, and perhaps one day we will all hear what they hear and see what they have seen.  

Evil Signs

Gospel: Matthew 12: 38-42

Jesus repeatedly rejects the seeking of signs and calls such enterprises evil.  We are shocked at such a condemnation largely because we base our faith today on the seeking of such signs.  Whether it is in the enamor of faith healers or Marian apparitions  or some other alleged manifestation of God's power, we are incessantly in search of such things to convince ourselves that what we believe is true.  We continually seek permanence and certitude in an impermanent world where faith is required.  To seek signs is to reject faith.

What is more, Jesus spends his entire life of ministry going about performing deeds of love and mercy to others.  He heals the sick and infirm.  He frees people from their demons.  He nourishes and feeds people at table.  To seek a sign is to say that love and mercy are inadequate, that God is in fact not love and that mercy is not God's greatest attribute.  To seek signs is to seek what, then?  It is truly an evil undertaking to seek signs.

The life of an authentic believer is to follow the Lord Jesus in our life.  It is to have the faith he had in God.  It is to love and extend mercy to others as he did in the world.  Existence itself is enough for us to know God in our lives.  Love alone is the sign we need that what we are about is good, true, and beautiful.  It is the one and only permanent thing in an impermanent universe. 

The Better Part

Gospel: Luke 10: 38-42

Worry and anxiety are a part of every human life.  All of us face anxieties of life from meeting our responsibilities to cultivating our relationships with others to maintaining our health.  Life is especially anxious in our times when vulnerable people are threatened at home and abroad, and when the basic right to object is itself threatened.  So, it is quite natural to find ourselves sympathetic with Martha in this Gospel story.  

However, what Jesus is trying to teach us all is to rest and to just be present with another, listening attentively to them.  In this posture we do not have to do anything except to be present and to listen.  That is hard for us to do.  We get impatient if we are not occupied with some task.  We define ourselves by what we do, and we measure our success in terms of our activities.  Jesus is asking us to just be actively present and to listen to the voice of God within us.

Over time we will find our anxiety lessen if we undertake this discipline.  We can eventually find ourselves like Jesus asleep in a boat in the midst of a storm, upset only that we were awakened by the fear of others.  The authentic religious person will be a mystic who learns to just be present and listen, or they will not be anything at all.  This is the better part to which we are all called by Jesus in this Gospel scene.  

Unassuming Goodness

Gospel: Matthew 12: 14-21

What might it be like if we simply went about doing good in a quiet, humble way?  No websites, no social media, no advertising, no "stewardship" campaigns.  So much of what religion has become is self-promotion and ego driven enterprises.  So much hype is spent on big fundraising galas and auctions that we little know what the money is even being spent on.  As long as we outbid our neighbor for that trip to Cabo, it'll all be worth it.  

Jesus went about from place to place doing good to others: healing sick people, liberating people gripped by their demons, feeding them at table.  Time and again he exhorted people to tell no one about it, and time and again they ignored him.  They just had to "witness" or "testify" or "evangelize".  But was it really about all that, or were they instead making it all about themselves, and in the process doing great harm to the work of Jesus on earth?

We might well consider these questions, along with this little exchange from Robert Bolt's play "A Man for All Seasons":

• Sir Thomas More: But Richard, that's a little bribe. At court they offer you all sorts of things, home, manors, manor houses, coats of arms. Why not be a teacher? You'd be a fine teacher; perhaps a great one.
• Richard Rich: If I was, who would know it?
• Sir Thomas More: You; your pupils; your friends; God. Not a bad public, that. Oh, and a quiet life.

Mercy, Not Sacrifice

Gospel: Matthew 12: 1-8

"It is mercy I desire and not sacrifice."

Which measuring stick do we use in gauging our progress in the religious and spiritual life?  If we use the measure of sacrifice, we take the time to make lists of all that we are doing in terms of prayer disciplines and activities.  We look upon them as sacrifices of our time and treasure.  Implicit in all of this is the element of ego that exists.  The focus is primarily on what I am doing and what I am giving up, and not so much on the other person.

Mercy, however, is directed entirely to the care of others.  It does not seek one's own welfare or consider what might be in it for me.  There is no sense of ownership over one's actions or time or possessions.  Mercy is entirely for the sake of others and their needs.  Mercy in this sense does not measure at all, for everything is given entirely for the benefit of other people in need of mercy and compassion.  Mercy is the only valid standard in religion and spirituality.

The entire life and ministry of Jesus was directed entirely to mercy extended to others.  He went about healing other people, liberating them from their demons, and nourishing them at table.  All our actions and disciplines have no value at all if they are not directed to and by mercy.  Everything else is vanity and ego.  So today is a day for committing ourselves to the measure of mercy, the standard by which Jesus lived and ministered to others on earth.

Bearing the Burden

Gospel:  Matthew 11: 28-30

"For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

Is this what we experience in religion? How often the opposite is the case!  We often find religion as a great burden where piles of guilt are heaped upon us, where we are made to endure physical, sexual, and psychological abuse, and where we reel from the incessant lust for power, influence, and wealth that churchmen pursue at the expense of the Gospel and the care of souls.  What are we to do when religion itself is the burden?

We find ourselves torn between two realities.  The first is the attraction we have for Jesus, his example and message that is truly liberating and salvific.  We long to imitate his example and go along the path of divinization he marks out for us.  But then we encounter those who claim to be his followers and successors who are not at all following this path.  They only seek their own power and influence.  We are repulsed by what we experience there.  

The path as always is to follow the way and example of the Lord Jesus and to ignore the false ways of the charlatans who claim is mantle but only seek their own ego.  This is the way of the cross, the way Jesus himself walked in his own journey on earth.  When we let go of our own ego and our desires for power, influence, and wealth, the burden becomes much lighter indeed. 

Knowing God

Gospel: Matthew 11: 25-27

To be sure study and education are important parts of our lives, and we learn a great deal from those disciplines.  But what about when it comes to God?  A lot of books on God and theology have been written over the centuries, and reading them cam have some value.  But what is gained in that study is a survey of other people's ideas and experiences of God.  We cannot and will not find our own experience of God therein.

We can only discover God as a child discovers all things - through living and experiencing the world.  If God is being and existence itself, if God is love then it follows that the only way to know God is through our experiences of living and loving.  By constantly reflecting on our experiences we come to know God in our lives.  Some of what we experience may be similar to that of others.  Some of it will be unique for us.  

Authentic religion and spirituality is reflecting on these experiences with others, in comparing them with those found in scriptures and in the experiences of other people.  It is at the same time, like a child, remaining ever open to new experiences and insights about God, for if God is infinite, then our knowledge of God can never be closed or static.  Today we recommit to the posture of a child in our spiritual journey. 

Woe to Us

Gospel: Matthew 11: 20-24

When we experience in our lives or in the lives of others the mercy and compassion of God - when healing, liberation, or nourishment comes to us from God - what is our reaction? What should our response be? For Jesus, the answer is that we ourselves must become loving and merciful, we too should be helping others to heal, become free from their demons, and be nourished at table.  When mercy is extended to us, we in turn must show mercy to others.

But very often this is not what happens.  Like these towns that Jesus rebukes, we are all to ready to receive love and mercy for ourselves, but we are not willing to extend it to others.  We gather in our churches to ask for God's mercy, but we will not welcome and help the immigrant, the migrant, the refugee, the poor, and the marginalized.  Instead, we demean them and dehumanize them.  We create the conditions that cause their poverty, that ruined their homelands, and we are unwilling to help them as they seek help.  

Today is a day for deep reflection and soul searching.  If we seek - as we should - the love and mercy of God, then we must also extend that love and mercy to all people.  We cannot be people of war and state execution.  We cannot be people of exclusion and mass deportation.  Jesus healed, liberated, and nourished all people, excluding no one.  It is our task to do the same, or else the woe is upon us too. 

Misplaced Aggression

Gospel:  Matthew 10: 34: 11: 1

It is often the case that the mission of providing healing, liberation, and nourishment to all people without exception will face hostility and violence.  Throughout the Gospels we find people objecting to Jesus healing people who are foreigners, unclean, or unworthy in their eyes.  We find them object to every instance of Jesus freeing someone from their demons.  We find protest at Jesus eating at table with sinners of all types.  Running throughout is the growing plan to execute Jesus.  

Our world is no different today.  Notice the vitriol at any attempt to help and defend immigrants, migrants, refugees, the poor and marginalized of all stripes.  Observe the hatred when sinners of all kind are welcome to the table of the Lord by those who think themselves to be the bouncers at the Lord's banquet.  The opposition to the mission of Jesus is alive and well, present in our families and sadly in our faith communities too.  

Today's Gospel portion is set in the context of the mission of the disciples.  Jesus is not asking us to declare war on anyone.  The mission of love will provoke inexplicable anger and violence in others.  But as this chapter has noted, our focus is to be solely on providing mercy and care to others.  If opposition and violence comes our way, we are to bear it as Jesus himself did, forgiving those who would do us harm.   

True Worship

Gospel: Luke 10: 25-37

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus does not openly condemn the priest and Levite for their failure to help the dying man, who would have been a fellow Jew as he had been journeying from Jerusalem.  It is likely that both men did not stop to help in order to remain ritually pure so that they might perform their proper tasks of worship in the Temple.  In their minds, the greatest commandment to love God would not be able to be performed if they stopped to help this man.

And yet this story begins with the question: what must I do to gain eternal life?  And it ends with the question: which one was neighbor to the one in need? It is then followed by the exhortation: go and do likewise.  Temple worship is not unimportant, but it is secondary to our primary task of caring for others - in healing, liberating, and nourishing other people in need.  That is the way we love God, and that is the way to eternal life.

Temple worship is important for us.  It provides us with the spiritual help we need in order to fulfill the primary work of care for others.  However, our primary worship, the main we in which we show love for God is in loving others, in undertaking the works of mercy for those in need.  This was the mission of Jesus, the mission to which he calls us to continue in our lives. 

Disciple and Master

Gospel: Matthew 10: 24-33

In the previous Gospel portions Jesus has done two things.  First, he sent out the disciples on mission to do the works Jesus himself has been doing: healing people, delivering people from their demons, nourishing them at table, offering peace.  Second, he instructs the disciples on how to undergo adversity and opposition - with silence and joy, just as the Lord Jesus himself has done and will do in his suffering and death.  

Now, in today's Gospel portion he reminds his followers that a disciple is not greater than their master, that if one is to call oneself a follower of Jesus, a disciple of Jesus, that one must do these same things: proclaim peace, heal others, free people from their demons, nourish them at table, all in a life of simplicity and joy.  The mission of Jesus is our mission.  The suffering and death of Jesus is our suffering and death as well.

We will be scandalized by churchmen who seek political power and influence, wealth and riches, fame and esteem - all the things Jesus rejected in the desert when tempted.  We cannot let that scandal detract us from the work of healing, liberation, nourishing, and peace.  The scandal of the false Christian must not take away our joy and simplicity in following the master in his work of ministry and reconciliation in the world. 

Facing Adversity

Gospel: Matthew 10: 16-23

Seeing how little we have followed the instructions of ministry Jesus gave to us, we now come to the instructions on how to deal with adversity and persecution we will face in ministry.  He instructs us to say nothing before the courts of men, relying entirely on God to guide us.  If we face persecution in one town, we are to flee from that place and go to another.  We are not to grumble or complain, but to rejoice in these trials and persecutions.  

In the present age we find incessant moaning and complaint among Christians at even the slightest opposition or word spoken against us.  The constant striving for power and status in society is an attempt at finding some security and avoidance of persecution.  We seek to claim our rights in these matters, and we have much to say when faced with opposition.  What is worse, how often has the Church become the one persecuting others instead of the one suffering persecution?

The advice Jesus gave to us is the very advice he himself modeled at his own trial and death.  In the face of his accusers he remained silent.  He relied entirely on God, praying in the garden for assistance and then reciting Psalm 22 on the cross.  Jesus then forgave everyone who had a part in his death - his betrayer, his denier, those who abandoned him, the soldiers, the crowd - everyone.  His instruction and example is for us to follow in all things.

The Posture of Peace

Gospel: Matthew 10: 7-15

Jesus again sends out his disciples on mission, the features of which have not changed: heal people of their infirmities, liberated people from their demons, provide fellowship and nourishment at table, live simplicity.  In addition, however, is the posture that a disciples is to have toward others, and that is one of peace.  The disciples is to offer peace wherever she goes, and if rejected by some place the peace of the disciple is not to be disturbed.  She simply moves on to another place, offering no malice or retaliation.

Also noteworthy is the place where ministry takes place.  Ministry occurs in the homes and workplaces of people in the world.  There is no ownership of property or grand campuses for the disciple.  The disciple is to be in the midst of the world offering peace, offering healing, liberation, and nourishment at table.  Peace is attained when one is not attached to anything, when one is not consumed by the possessions of land and building and status.  

People lament the closure of churches and schools within the Christian realm.  We measure success in terms of buildings and fundraising and other material statistics, none of which have anything at all to do with the mission Jesus has repeatedly invited us to undertake. Perhaps the loss of these buildings will return us once again to that original mission, to that posture of peace which we have long lost, and to a more faithful walk with the Lord Jesus on the way to the reign of God. 

The Mission Reimagined

Gospel: Matthew 10: 1-7

If a person were to stand outside any given church and ask members what the mission of the church is, what might people say?  If they were asked to describe what their particular church does on a regular basis, would it in any way reflect the mission to which Jesus calls his disciples again and again throughout the Gospels?  Can a church that is only open for one hour per week be said to be participating actively in the mission to which Jesus calls us?

Here again we find Jesus calling his disciples to go about healing people of their infirmities and delivering them from the demons that hold people captive.  We find Jesus telling his disciples to lead a simple life in carrying out this mission.  The disciples for their part are eager to partake of this mission of Jesus, and they rejoice together in recounting stories of people being healed and liberated from their demons.  They come together to rejoice together and to support one another in this work.

Now, imagine if our churches of today were reconstituted toward this image we find in the Gospels.  What if church attendance were about this support we need to carry out these tasks of healing and liberation, and what if everyone in attendance were empowered to do this work? What might the church look like?  What might our world look like? One thing is certain: the pollster would get different answers to his questions we considered at the beginning of this reflection.

Demonic Attachment

Gospel: Matthew 9: 32-38

In every instance where Jesus expels a demon from someone there exists a cohort of people who object to the action.  In this particular story the complaint is that it is because Jesus himself is possessed by Satan that he can cast out devils, an absurd claim if ever there was one.  But the hyperbole forces us to confront the very real fact that there are these constant objections to Jesus liberating people from their demons throughout the Gospels.

We human beings like to complain about our demons, but we do little to free ourselves from them.  Even when such a possibility seems attainable we cling to our demons.  We have grown comfortable with them.  They are part of our landscape.  What would we complain about if we did not have our demons? What would these industries that babysit our demons do? We love our wars and violence, our drugs, hared toward others, poverty...

Today we must decide whether we want our demons exorcised or whether we prefer things as they are.  Jesus offers us healing and liberation; the crowd of cynics offers us more of the same.  Put in these terms the choice seems simple, until we realize how attached we have become to our demons.  Recovery is a hard road, as is the way of the cross, but it is the only path to true freedom and peace in our lives. 

Preferential Option

Gospel; Matthew 9: 18-26

In today's Gospel portion we find two instructive items for our life as Christians today.  The first is that Jesus provides care to people of all backgrounds, classes, and conditions.  In this text he makes himself available to a royal official whose daughter is ill, while at the same time stopping to care for a poor woman in need of healing herself.  Jesus is interrupted in his original plan of seeing the royal official's daughter, but makes time to care for this woman in need.

In stopping to care for this woman he puts her needs first.  He could very well have said to her that he will come see her after going to the royal official's house, but he did not.  Jesus stopped in that moment to care for this woman of lower status and importance in society than the royal official.  In doing so Jesus shows that priority of care must go to the poor and vulnerable in their dire need while at the same time not neglecting the needs of the higher classes too.

Clearly we have not created a secular society where the needs of the poor matter at all.  The more important question is whether we have Christian communities that do so.  To be sure we will find some communities of faith where that care for the poor and marginalized is front and center.  In other places it is merely lip service, while in still others they have helped to create the secular society of utter neglect and contempt for the poor.  The example of Jesus is clear in terms of which is authentic Christian witness. 

Essential Christianity

Gospel: Luke 10: 1-12, 17-20

In today's Gospel and elsewhere Jesus sends disciples out on mission.  In that mission they are to do the following things: proclaim peace, heal the sick, deliver people from their demons, live simply, and be with others at table.  These tasks are the very things Jesus has done and will continue to do throughout the Gospel texts.  These things represent the fundamental core of Christianity in its mission and in its posture toward the world.

If we look about the Christian landscape in our world today, we find a lot of buildings, most of which are used for an hour or so on a Sunday but sit empty the rest of the week.  We find vast media empires led by pastors who live rather well.  The message being proclaimed is often anything but one of peace, and the mission may include care for the sick, possessed, and poor, but very often that is marginal to the larger mission of fundraising for other things.

So, when we look for authentic Christianity in the world today, we have this model to help us find it.  And it can be found in the world today too.  If we are looking to create an authentic Christian mission in the world today, we have the blueprints right here: proclaim peace to all people, care for the sick, deliver people from the demons that grip them, live a simple lifestyle, and be with others at table, excluding no one.

New Wine, New Being

Gospel:  Matthew 9: 14-17

Jesus teaches an important lesson in two steps in today's Gospel portion.  First, we encounter the Pharisees and disciples of John who seek to order their lives according to rules.  Each has a rule about fasting which they do not see in Jesus' disciples.  Jesus teaches them that discernment is needed in terms of when to fast.  We do not fast at wedding parties, but instead we feast.  We do not put patches on things that need replacement.  Our action must conform to what is needed in the moment.

This process of discernment represents an entirely different way of looking at religion for the people of Jesus' day.  For so long they had been accustomed to law as the sole method of religious practice.  Now, however, Jesus challenges us to discern the will of God in our lives and to follow God's will for what is needed at each time and place.  An entirely new wineskin is needed for this undertaking.  A simple patch of the old will not do.  

So, we are challenged to become an entirely new being and entity in which to embody this discernment so that we can be loving and merciful to people in the world, to provide them the healing, liberation, and nourishment they need as the situation demands.  This is what Jesus did, going from place to place extending mercy and healing to all, even stopping for the unexpected visit when needed, refusing no one the help they needed.  This is our mission as well.

The Company We Keep

Gospel: Matthew 9: 9-13

This story of the call of Matthew highlights two important and fundamental aspects of authentic religion.  The first is the awareness and recognition of our sinfulness.  Matthew and his fellow tax collectors as well as other public sinners are conscious of that reality, and as such they are able to move beyond it in order to grow.  The Pharisees by contrast are unaware of their sinfulness and the fact that all humans are sinners.  Consequently they cannot grow and thus remain stagnant and self-righteous.

The second fundamental aspect is the fact that despite our sinfulness, or perhaps because of it, Jesus invites us into his presence and to share a meal with him.  It is through this meal and encounter with the Lord that transformation, renewal, and progress in our lives becomes possible.  Through the meal we are given inspiration and nourishment to undertake this journey of change, this journey of illumination and divinization to which we are called.

This invitation continues even today at the table of the Lord.  We are to exclude no one from it, and to encourage others to come.  At the table we are conscious of our sin and we want to do better, and at the table we find the extension of mercy and the path to renewal and illumination.  We can accept the invitation and welcome others like Matthew, or we can be Pharisees and exclude others and stunt our own growth.    

You'll See

Gospel: John 20: 24-29

Everyone has doubts in life.  There is not a single person who has gone through life with the assurance of absolute certainty about all things.  We human beings doubt, which is necessary in order for faith to exist.  Today's feast is a reminder that we all doubt.  It is also a consolation that we are provided moments of lucidity and clarity that help to sustain our faith throughout our lives, moments that will help us when the doubts return.

For Thomas it was this encounter with the Risen Lord.  For each one of us it is unique.  It may be the encounter with another person.  For another person it may be an experience of nature's beauty and awesome power.  For still others it may come in a moment of existential crisis when an insight has been given to us that brings meaning to our lives.  Moments of grace are all around us.  Which one that becomes our moment of insight  is up to us to discover.

So we should not worry about our doubts.  We cannot know faith without them, just as we cannot know light without darkness or white without black.  At moments we see only darkness and black, but light will come if we allow it.  Remain open to these encounters with the Risen Jesus in all these different ways and our faith will be restored, our doubts will ease, and our love will expand to carry on the mission of mercy and care for others.

Pigs or People?

Gospel: Matthew 8: 28-34

What would we do for another person to see them freed from the demons that torment them?  How many people see their loved ones in the grips of addiction or mental illness - and what they would give to see their loved one made whole again, or even for the first time!  What that person in the grips of their demons would not give in order to be liberated from what has oppressed them for so long! Imagine the joy they would feel at being set free!

Yet, the people of this town in today's Gospel portion feel otherwise.  They do not at all rejoice at seeing these two people freed from their demons.  They are more concerned about their livelihood of tending swine - an unclean practice in Jewish law and therefore sinful! - than with the welfare of two fellow human beings who have suffered for so long under the torments of their demons.  They beg Jesus to leave their town.  

Consider a nation that calls itself Christian and that takes away assistance to the poor in order to demonize immigrants, refugees, migrants, and foreigners in general.  How often do we beg Jesus to depart from us in the person of the poor and the stranger we refuse to help and whose misery we have caused with our own actions!  How often do we find money for sports stadiums for the rich by cutting services to the poor!  We prefer the city of pigs to the city of God.

The Ultimate Fear

Gospel: Matthew 8: 23-27

Storms are a familiar occurrence.  They happen so often that we should not be surprised by them at all.  And yet we become fearful at their presence in our midst. Why? We fear the loss of life and property, to be sure.  But property is a replaceable thing and we ought not be attached to our things anyway.  Yet the amount of money we spend on extra storage units, alarm systems, and guns to protect our stuff indicates we are a long way away from Jesus' ideal.

And the fear of dying?  Well, this is the ultimate fear, an event even more familiar to us than storms, for everyone will die one way or another.  Storms remind us that we do not get to choose the manner in which we die.  We could indeed die in this storm, but is that such a bad thing? Are we afraid of what lies beyond death? Are we afraid that nothing lies beyond death? All of this suggests we have some regrets about how we have lived life to the present time.

Jesus rebukes the disciples - and us - in fearing death and storms.  If we truly are loving God and others, what fear should we have of death?  If we have lived the best version of ourselves, what regrets should we have?  How many storms in our life are merely illusory and of our own making? Today is a day for reflecting on why it is that we are afraid of such things and addressing those issues in our lives.