In Plain Sight

Gospel: Luke 17: 20-27

People ask Jesus when the kingdom of heaven will come.  His answer will be utterly unintelligible to them.  He talks about the kingdom in terms of natural, ordinary everyday items: mustard seeds, yeast, fishing nets, and the like.  These things make no sense to those who see the kingdom of God in purely political and military terms, who seek it in a powerful leader and military set to trample over others.  

So, when Jesus says that the kingdom is already here, their heads explode.  How can that be? The Roman are still in charge and our people are not.  They do not realize that God's kingdom is God's presence in the world, in the ordinary everyday things and doings of the world.  It is not at all a political kingdom.  God's presence and love are among us at all times and all places.  It is just for us to realize it and recognize it, to acknowledge it and allow that presence to permeate our lives.

Those who would reduce God's kingdom to the political are the great enemies of faith in all times and places.  That path only brings violence, coercion, and destruction to the world. It leads people to a loss of faith.  It is the great heresy.  Today we are reminded where the kingdom really exists in the world and where we can find it and rejoice in it.  

Giving Thanks

Gospel: Luke 17: 11-19

Human beings have two tendencies regarding giving thanks that are flawed.  The first is found in today's Gospel reading wherein most do not give thanks at all for the blessings bestowed upon them.  We tend to think that the universe owes us these things, that we are entitled to them.  Or we think that we somehow have earned or deserved them when in fact we do not.

The second tendency is giving thanks for that which we have taken and does not belong to us in the first place.  We give thanks for a bountiful land we claimed as our own and drove off those who did live on it.  That lend then became bountiful through coerced slave labor we took from other lands.  In all of this, there is not much really to give thanks for, and it only serves as a means of exalting ourselves for character traits that are not worth having.  

In the Catholic tradition thanksgiving is everyday.  It is the daily offering of the Eucharist - thanksgiving - in gratitude for creation, redemption, and sanctification by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  It is the daily recognition that all we have comes from God and belongs to God, that it is to be shared with all, and that even our meager cooperation with God in this work is due to his grace given to us.  

Our Place in This World

Gospel: Luke 17: 7-10

Jesus provides us with an example from the world in order to have us understand our place in the kingdom of God.  He does this because then, as now, many fight and argue over status and power in the name of God's kingdom.  But here Jesus reminds us that our status is that of a servant whose work is never done.  We are ever in the posture of serving those in need, those poor and marginalized due to the wars over power and status in the world.  

However, the servant in the world lived a harsh existence where they were often maltreated and disrespected.  They lacked any rights whatever in society.  In the kingdom of God, however, the yoke is easy and the burden light.  We are given refreshment and comfort by the Lord, for it is his example we follow.  He came to serve, not be served.  He lived entirely to heal those sick and diseased, deliver those in bondage by their demons, and nourish those hungry and thirsty.

The mission of the Lord is our mission; the example he sets is the one for us to follow.  We are not called to create centers of power, wealth, and influence.  We are called to serve the poor and marginalized.  This task is never complete on this earth, and we must never rest in the task of caring for and defending the weak and needy of this world.