(Image from “Très Riches Heures,” 15th century book of hours,courtesy of Wikipedia)
This is Dr. Deborah Wilhelm’s latest homily, “Hear the Voice of Holiness.”
Dr. Wilhelm is the co-author of Preaching Matters with Bishop Sylvester Ryan. She was my Homiletics (preaching) teacher. In this podcast, she addresses the negative demonic voices within us and how we can be delivered from them.
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Many years ago, when my children were in early elementary school, there was a program they enjoyed watching with their father. I think it was on NPR and I don’t remember its name. But one phrase repeated frequently during the program has remained with us to this day: “Measure carefully!”
The program featured a chef at a Western ranch. He used local ingredients and prepared what looked like delicious meals. It was not a competition like so many we see today, just the preparation of foods for guests at the ranch featuring ingredients more often seen as Western, including chilies.
The chef would get out a bowl as he explained what he was going to prepare. Then he would begin assembling the ingredients. One after another, he tossed them into the bowl and mixed them together. The amount of some things was clear – one egg, two carrots. But when it came to others, although he had a recipe, everything was approximate. As he put in a handful or two of flour, he would say, “Measure carefully.” As he shook the salt out of the shaker into the bowl, again, “Measure carefully.” The same went for spices such as red chili or coriander, and liquids. He might use a measuring cup, but it was far from an exact science in his kitchen. The amazing thing was that everything seemed to come out tasting good. At least the folks to whom the dishes were served always praised them!
Today as we cook, in our own homes or together, it’s not uncommon for someone to remark as they add a “glug of milk” or a “pinch of salt” or a “dash of chili” to the dish, “Measure carefully!”
As Moses neared the end of his life, he spoke to the people about their way of life and the commandments they had received from the Lord to govern their lives. The commandments dealt with many different facets of life, far more than the simple Ten Commandments which so many of us assume is the total sum of the Law. Ways of living, including what kinds of food could be eaten, how it was to be prepared, what rules of cleanliness applied in daily life, how to deal with illness and people who were ill, how strangers were to be treated, and much, much more were spelled out in the Law.
Moses told the people that they needed to observe the guidelines and rules of the Law if they were to enter into the Promised Land and take possession of it. The land was, in fact, already filled with other peoples who would not be happy to give it up. But the Lord would give it to them, provided they observed his commandments. They were to follow the commandments as received.
In following the commandments, the people would demonstrate to all the nations their wisdom and intelligence. Seeing this, the peoples of other nations would recognize the greatness of the Lord who had chosen them as his own. “You shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it.” Seeing their life of obedience to the law, observers would know that no other nation “has statutes and decrees that are as just as this whole law…” or has a God so truly great and close to them in daily life. (Dt 4:1-2, 6-8)
The story of the Exodus and the Covenant, with the Law that laid out its terms, were written down long after the times in which they were reported to have happened. The book of Deuteronomy, for example, was composed many centuries after the Israelites had settled in the Promised Land. In those many years, the traditions and customs described in the book had developed and been influenced by those of surrounding peoples. The essentials of the relationship with God were unchanged. The Covenant that bound them together was still foundational. But many years of dealing with events that might not have been foreseen originally would have been included in the texts.
We see similar things in our lives today. A law is written and signed, but just what the day-to-day implications of that particular rule are sometimes takes a while to figure out. In some cases, entire governmental agencies are set up to administer the laws regarding a particular facet of our common life and to develop the specific details and rules for keeping everyone safe.
Both recipes and laws can have areas that are not always crystal clear in their implementation. Getting to a balance between too much and too little, meeting the intention of the original vision, can be a challenge.
By the time of Jesus, the Law was very complicated. Its requirements were complex. Ritual purity was fundamental in daily life. Washing of hands in a ritually determined way before eating or when returning from the marketplace, the ritual purification of equipment used for cooking and eating or beds for sleeping, the restrictions on foods that could be eaten and how they were to be prepared – all were defined as part of the Law. The purity laws were based on understandings of how things are supposed to be, based on observation of how most things of a certain type are. For example, pigs are unclean because they do not chew their cud as other animals with cloven hooves do. A characteristic of their nature makes them ritually unclean – not a member of the club.
Jesus’ disciples, we are told, did not always cleanse their hands ritually before eating. When a group of Pharisees came out from Jerusalem to meet Jesus, they noticed this behavior and confronted him. “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”
Jesus didn’t try to explain why the ritual actions required by the purity code were not being followed. Instead, he quoted Isaiah’s condemnation of those whose outward behaviors are in conformity with what is legally required, but whose hearts are intent on something totally different. Human traditions and practices are not necessarily equivalent to God’s commandments. Unnecessary burdens have been added to the law of God.
Rather than require his disciples to change their approach and put ritual purity first, Jesus called the crowd and made his position clear. “Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile.” (Mk 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)
Human traditions can develop that add extra burdens which get in the way of living out the Covenant, living in close relationship with God.
St. James speaks of gifts, specifically those given by God. “Every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights…” God’s first gift is to give us life through the word of truth, a sharing in the life of Christ, the Word.
We who have received the word are to be doers, not simply hearers. If we are to be pure before God, unstained by the world, our response to the gift must be to take practical steps to help the afflicted, to do the works of justice. James speaks specifically about widows and orphans, the two groups of people in his time who had no one that would step up and protect or support them. Without a husband or a father for protection and support, they were the poorest of the poor and the most likely to be abused. (Jas 1:17-18, 21b-22, 27)
This imperative, this requirement of the Law, and the results of being doers of justice and mercy is key to a life of faith. Psalm 15 asks, “O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy mountain?” The response is that those who walk blamelessly and do justice “will never be disturbed.” They are the ones who live in the covenant with the Lord.
We are called to be doers of the word, the word of justice and truth from the Father. We don’t have a recipe for every situation. We can’t fix the injustices that leave some folks needing to flee their homes and travel to a new place. We can’t personally feed every child or adult who has no income. We can’t declare peace on earth and have all wars and injustice stop.
But we can reach out in our own communities. We can smile at people we meet on the street as we wait for their dog to finish sniffing a fence so they can walk on their way. We can share the extra food from our gardens. We can help a child learn to read. We can help find work and food for refugees or low-income members of our communities. We can go the extra mile and accompany those who are ill or dying or mourning the loss of a loved one.
The limitations that our cultures and traditions put on reaching out in service are not always binding. Sometimes we need to remember that recipes don’t have to be followed as exactly as the mixing of a medication would require. Sometimes the social expectations with which we grew up need to be ignored or modified. Sometimes, we need to “Measure carefully” and toss in our hearts and our very being as we live the Covenant with our God. Then we will find that what results is just right. No more and no less.
Readings for the Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle B
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Pushy people sometimes drive me crazy. Perhaps because sometimes, I am told, I can be a bit pushy myself! But if someone says a decision is needed immediately, or something has to be done immediately, my reaction is to move more slowly. Hold on a second. What’s the big hurry? Is someone bleeding? Can it wait for a more convenient time? I had other things I was planning to do right now! You get the picture.
I tend to be more of an introvert than an extrovert, so I need time to think things through before I’m ready to speak or act. Then, once I have figured out what I think, I’m not always as ready to go through the many questions and negotiations with others about why my analysis is correct…
As I thought about the readings for this First Sunday in Lent, St. Peter’s statement that God patiently waited while Noah was building the ark struck me as interesting. The two stories of Noah and the ark both include a recognition on God’s part that it takes time to build a boat/ship as big as the ark would need to be, to say nothing of the time to get all of those animals collected and safely on board. (Parenthetically, in one story only one pair of animals was required while the other story provided for seven pairs of the preferred animals and fewer of the non-preferred ones.)
So, God waited patiently until the ark was built, animals on board, and family safely accommodated. Then it started to rain. Forty days and forty nights, we’re told. The entire earth was covered with water.
When the rains stopped and the water gradually receded, a new relationship and legal agreement, a covenant, was proposed by God. This agreement was set up to be unending. “This is the sign that I am giving for all ages to come… a covenant between me and you and every living creature with you.” The sign, of course, was a rainbow. Whenever the rains come, a rainbow will remind God that they must stop before the earth can be flooded completely again. (Gn 9:8-15)
St. Peter mentioned God’s patience in waiting for the ark to be built when he was speaking of Christ’s suffering and death. He described Christ after his death going to preach to those who had had been disobedient to God in the past and had already died. They too heard the Good News of God’s love and forgiveness. Peter describes the way Noah’s family of eight were saved through flood waters as a prefiguring of the waters of baptism. Through baptism, we enter into the mercy of God, who is patient and forgiving with us even though we are not perfect. God is willing to wait for us to learn and grow towards perfection. (1 Pt 3:18-22)
Even Jesus spent time learning. Immediately after his baptism, St. Mark tells us, “the Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert.” While he was there, he faced temptation. Angels ministered to him as he spent time among the wild animals there and grew in understanding of his mission. When he returned from the desert, he immediately began telling others whom he met in Galilee, “This is the time of fulfillment. The Kingdom of God is at hand.” Pay attention and hear this good news I’m bringing to you. (Mk 1:12-15)
Jesus spent forty days in the desert, the same amount of time the rains fell in the days of Noah. We too spend forty days in preparation to celebrate the great mystery of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus.
God is patient. God waits for us. God doesn’t give up on us. God knows some things just take time for creatures whose lives are formed within the dimension of time.
As we enter the first week of Lent, may our eyes and ears be open to perceive the presence of God around us. In what way are we in a desert? In what way will we make room for encounters with the Lord? What do we learn from the rains and storms of winter or the heat of summer, depending on our location on this Earth?
God waits patiently for us. Let’s not be too slow!
Readings for the First Sunday in Lent – Cycle B
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I attended a play recently in which the world and all within it was beautiful and peaceful until spirits of anger, fear, doubt, distrust, and other negative emotions began to surround and disable the healthy functioning of the people. Eventually a wise old man went into the forest alone to seek wisdom and a solution for this terrible problem. He was advised to seek the solution through the air, the water, the earth, and fire. The wise ones of the mountain told him the people would need to pass through trials involving these forces and elements in order for life to return to the peaceful state that had existed before the coming of those evil forces. The people passed through these challenges and emerged into a community, singing of the wonders of life.
This play took the place of the more traditional ones for the festival in which it was performed. In those traditional plays, there is a dragon (from one or another of the world’s traditions) that somehow is threatening the people. With the help and guidance of angelic or spiritual forces, specifically Michael the archangel in some stories, brave people are able to tame the dragon. The dragon then provides power and help to the community to support life for all.
I have been reflecting on the difference in these stories. The first left me and many others with a sense of incompleteness. The forces that had upset the lives of the people had not really been addressed. They had not been transformed in any meaningful way. There was no reason to assume they would not return at a future date to cause even more harm. Anger was not transformed into forgiveness. Fear did not give way to courage. Doubt did not grow into a readiness to explore deeply and find inner, hidden truths. Distrust didn’t grow into a willingness to take a chance on reconciliation and healing. There was no redemption or transformation of the deep, and often fearful powers that can cause such pain and suffering in human life and damage to our ecosystem. The dragon-powers within each of us that can cause such hurt and suffering in human life did not receive the gift of transforming grace. In the traditional stories, the dragon-forces are brought under control and improve life for all. A much more satisfying result.
These thoughts fit into my reflection on the readings this week. The prophet Ezekiel spoke to the Jewish people in exile in Babylon. Prior to his time, the assumption had been that God’s judgement and any punishments for wrongdoing were communal. If others in a family or a community had broken the law, everyone would have to suffer the punishment. God was seen as a judge whose decisions affected all, whether guilty or not. So the sins of the parents were punished in the lives of their children too. If a child was born blind, for example, the question might be asked, as it was yet in Jesus’ time, “Whose sin was it that caused this”– the child’s or the parents’?
Through Ezekiel the Lord asks, “Is it my way that is unfair, or rather, are not your ways unfair?” The Lord reminds them that if a good person turns from doing good things and chooses evil, that person will bear the guilt. But if a person who has been doing evil things turns away from evil and begins to do the right thing, that person will live rather than die. It’s never too late to turn away from evil. It’s a question of individual decisions and actions. God will always give life to the one who chooses to do the right thing. (Ez 18:25-28)
And what is the right thing? St. Paul reminds the Philippians that humble, loving service to each other in the community and beyond is the calling of Christians. We are to be humble as Christ was humble. To make his point even more clear, he quoted an early hymn in which we are reminded that “though he was in the form of God … he emptied himself … coming in human likeness…” Jesus even accepted death on a cross – a shameful, humiliating death. (Phil 2:1-11)
In his teaching, Jesus made the same point about our choices as individuals, by telling a story. “A man had two sons…” He asked each of them to do some work in the family vineyard. One son refused, but later changed his mind and went to work in the vineyard. The other son said, “Sure, Dad.” But he never quite got around to going into the vineyard and doing what his father had asked him to do. Jesus posed the question to the religious leaders who were questioning him, “Which of the two did his father’s will?” Of course, the answer was clear. The one who initially refused, but then changed his mind and did what had been requested.
Jesus made it clear that the ones whose actions, professions, or status in society made them the least likely to be counted among those pleasing to God, would be welcomed into the kingdom because they heard and believed his message. Those whose positions seemed to make them more likely to be pleasing would find themselves excluded because of their failure to believe it and change their lives. (Mt 21:28-32)
We each must decide, again and again it seems. How do we live out our calling to service? Where are our talents needed? Where is a kind word, or a smile, or a simple act of forgiveness going to be the key that helps another person to hope and continue onward on their journey? How do we help to bring reconciliation and transformation of the dragons within ourselves and in our society to build a better world?
As we enter into a new month and a new season, may we be ready to listen and to allow ourselves to be transformed into sources of healing and reconciliation in our families, our workplaces, our communities, our nation, and our world. It’s a beautiful world, just waiting for us to wake up and grow together in love.
Readings for the Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A
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“My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord.” (Is 55:8)
Each of us enters life like a bit of a blank slate. It’s not a totally blank slate, however. There are pre-existing conditions for each of us, such as our basic physical characteristics and the physical realities resulting from the genetics of the bodies with which we have been blessed. Nevertheless, for the most part, we are set to learn and develop into adults through the example and support of the family and community into which we are born.
Once we get here, we begin to experience the expectations and knowledge of our families and communities. How are babies expected to behave? How do we expect them to eat and sleep and learn to sit up, crawl, walk, and eventually run? How do we teach them to carry out their expected roles? Will the boys learn to be fathers? Will the girls learn to be mothers? What else will they learn to be? Are roles strictly divided by physical sex? Where does gender fit into it all?
Once we get all of that figured out, then we deal with our cultures. The culture into which we are born plays a huge part in the experience we have of life. What is the creation story of our people? What do we need to do to fit into the larger society in which we live? Are the deities of our people ones who care about us, or do we need to try to please their every selfish whim as they battle for power among themselves?
The people of Israel were used to worshiping and encountering God at the temple in Jerusalem before the invasion of the Babylonians and destruction of the temple. Large numbers of the people were carried into exile – and to their surprise, God was present with them there too. As the end of the exile appeared and they returned to their own land, they took this awareness with them. Yet there was still a sense that it would be important and even necessary to return to temple sacrifice as a major form of prayer and encounter with God.
The Prophet Isaiah reminds them, “Seek the Lord while he may be found, call him while he is near.” He is not far away. He is near. He is ready to listen. He doesn’t follow our ways of thinking or interacting with each other. It’s never too late to turn back to the Lord. Scoundrels should forsake their ways. The wicked turn from evil thoughts and plans. Turn to God for mercy. Why? Won’t God just punish and destroy the evildoers? That’s what would happen in human justice. Isaiah describes God as the one “who is generous and forgiving.” Our God is not one who will take out his spite or anger on his people and break off relationships forever. Our God sticks around and hopes for reconciliation, always ready to respond in love and forgiveness. (Is 55:6-9)
Jesus told a story to his disciples: “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner…” (Mt 20:1-16a) Landowners held a great advantage in their society. They had a resource on which they could count for supporting themselves and their families. They were not dependent on the whims of an employer or the fluctuations of the “job market” – harvest time, planting time, time between seasonal jobs, and so forth.
This landowner needed harvesters. The vines were full of ripe grapes. The harvest was ready. The year’s income was at stake. Time to hire day laborers.
Everyone knew what the regular wages would be for a day of work. It may not have been expressed as an hourly wage, but folks knew what their labor was worth. There was no question of surprises at the end of the day.
A few hours later, the landowner went out and saw more people in need of work, so he sent them into his vineyard too, with the promise to pay them “what is just.” They did not expect full wages. That would not have entered their minds. They expected a reduced wage and would have been completely happy to receive that. Much better than having nothing to take to the market for buying food on the way home.
Around noon, the same thing happened again. The next group went willingly into the vineyard, expecting about a half day’s pay.
Three o’clock, same story. Five o’clock, more idle workers in the market. Off to the vineyard with them too. Same promise – “I will give you what is just.”
Finally, the sun was setting and it was time to stop work for the day. Some of the laborers had worked from dawn to dusk. Others for three, six, nine, or eleven hours less. It was time to receive their pay and head home.
The landlord instructed his foreman, “Summon the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.” Now, one would think this would be very satisfying to the ones who had been working all day. They would see the “slackers” hired at the end of the day get just a few coins in payment. The next group a few more, and so forth. Eventually, they themselves, who had been up and ready to work first thing in the morning, would get their full day’s pay and go home with their heads held high and bragging rights about what great providers they were.
That’s the way the story should end. It would demonstrate the value of hard work and responsibility. The whole pull-yourself-up-by-your-sandal-straps ideal. Those who work hard will prosper and the rest will just fall by the wayside. It’s their own darn fault for being lazy…
But no, that’s not the way the story goes. Those hired last received a full day’s pay, not a penny more. The same for those hired at 3, those hired at noon, and those hired at 9 in the morning. All received a full day’s pay. Well, that boded well for those who had spent all day working, right? Surely, such a generous landowner would have a bonus for the hardest-working among them. Yet no such thing happened. Those hired first received the same day’s wages as those hired at 5 in the evening.
Does that sound fair? Not to most of us. Certainly not to those hired first. But suppose you were one of those hired late in the day? It would be an amazing blessing, to be forgiven for not having worked all day, for having come late to the market, or simply not have been lucky enough to be offered work earlier.
The landowner in the story asks, “What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money?”
Most of us live in relative comfort. We have our concerns and struggles. But most of us don’t have to deal with loss of home due to loss of income, or the inability to feed our children, or criminals taking over our farms, or severe, disabling health conditions, or a need to care for others who cannot care for themselves. Most of us have friends on whom we can count and a future to enjoy.
It’s not easy to remember that the Lord’s ways are not our ways. When someone hurts us, we want justice in return. We don’t want to share what we have, especially with the one whom we believe hurt us. We are not ready to forgive quickly. We hold on to the hurt and resentment and anger. It builds and sours in our hearts and interferes with our openness to love and forgiveness. If and when the time comes that we speak about the incident with the person who harmed us, we may discover that they also felt wronged and misunderstood.
But the Lord doesn’t work in this punitive, restrictive way with us. The Lord doesn’t get angry and cut us off. The Lord is as ready to forgive as a parent whose small child has lashed out in anger and screamed at them while running out of the room. As would a loving parent, the Lord gives us a moment to calm down, then begins a game of peek-a-boo, hoping to coax us back into a laughing, loving interaction.
“My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord … As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts.” (Is 55:8)
May we be open to see the Lord’s hand in our lives this week, and glimpse him peeking around a doorway playing peek-a-boo with each of us, coaxing us back home.
Readings for the Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A
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In the olden days when I was a girl, I knew a woman who told me of a time when some of her classmates were teasing her. She had an older brother and he gave her a piece of advice that she carried with her into her old age: “Don’t get mad, get even!” Unfortunately, she took the advice to heart and it caused difficulties in interpersonal relationships for as long as she lived.
We often hear a version of this advice even today. We are encouraged to take revenge, sometimes phrased in the guise of obtaining justice or “evening out” the balance. Perhaps the most chilling version of it is the statement, “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” The very words send a chill. Where does it end? As Mahatma Gandhi remarked, “An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.”
An ancient Hebrew scribe, Ben Sira, collected a variety of ethical instructions, organized by theme, into a book which survives to this day. “Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight.” “Could anyone nourish anger against another and expect healing from the Lord?” He advises us all to remember that in the end, all will die. Better than seeking vengeance, “set enmity aside … cease from sin.” Sounding much like Jesus, he advises all, “Think of the commandments, hate not your neighbor; remember the Most High’s covenant, and overlook faults.” (Sir 27:30-28:7)
Great advice, but it’s not easy to live this way. Our feelings are hurt, we are embarrassed, we get angry. Yes, we get angry. Anger is an emotion that we all feel from time to time. But what do we do with the angry energy? If we harbor and feed it, it grows stronger. It takes energy we could be using to move on or to build something worthwhile in its place. The anger we are building can even take on a life of its own, prodding us forward with ever greater plans for getting even, that only result in more angry energy flooding back over us.
Ben Sira’s advice is solid. Set enmity aside, let it go! What happened was not right? OK. Recognize that. State that. Then let it go. Don’t let it begin to control or define you.
I totally admit, as a person with a temper that can flare, that letting go of anger is not easy. However, when I find myself beginning to go over in my mind the offenses that have happened to provoke the anger, and feel the anger building, I have learned most times to tell it, “Go away! I don’t need you right now! You are not helping!” And much to my surprise, it typically goes away. Sometimes I have to insist and say it more than once, but it will go away and I will have the energy to do the next thing that I need to do.
Jesus made the same point about forgiveness of injuries to Peter. The number seven is symbolic in Scripture. It’s the number that represents perfection. All was created in six days and on the seventh day, the day of perfection, God rested. When Peter asked Jesus if it was necessary to forgive an offender seven times, he was essentially asking about how far it is necessary to go. Is there any limit to the requirement to forgive? Surely, there must be a time when we can just turn away from an offender, cut the person out of our lives, and move on? But Jesus doesn’t allow that. Not just seven times. Seventy times! There’s no end to the requirement to forgive. (Mt 18:21-35)
This plays out in daily life in practical ways, as the parable of the servant who owed a master a great deal of money demonstrates. The master forgave the debt, until the servant refused to forgive a smaller debt owed by another servant. When the master discovered that unwillingness to forgive, then the first servant lost the debt forgiveness he had already received.
The lesson Jesus and Ben Sira want us all to remember is that if we don’t offer forgiveness to others, we cannot receive it ourselves. It’s just plain impossible. Our hearts are sealed off in a cold room, with not a sliver of light able to enter and bring warmth and healing. We can’t receive forgiveness, so the Lord can’t give it to us. The Lord respects our free will and will not force us to open. That would be a violence against us and the Lord loves us too much to do that.
We can only heal when we are willing to let go of anger and accept healing.
We are the Lord’s. We live and die for the Lord. And as we set enmity aside, we share in the life of Christ. (Rom 14:7-9)
As we move through this week, seeing the high points and low points of our human interactions and our responses to the natural disasters that come along around the world, let’s try to remember to set anger and enmity aside in our own personal worlds. We can’t resolve the issues of the larger world by ourselves. However, we can become an island of peace and forgiveness in our own families and communities. We can help to heal old wounds as we offer forgiveness and acceptance. We can refrain from passing on the wounds that we have been dealt in the past. We can make a better world – one day and one person at a time.
“Set enmity aside.”
Readings for the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
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Did you ever think about whether Jesus knew that his mission was not limited to the Jewish people? I had not really thought much about it, having grown up as a member of the Church. Then one day, I read the story of what happened when Jesus went across the border into an area which was not historically nor actually at that time a part of the kingdom of Israel. The area in question was around the cities of Tyre and Sidon, on the Mediterranean Sea north of Israel.
Jesus’ reputation as a healer preceded him. A woman from that area came to where he was. She was a Canaanite, one of the traditional enemies of the Israelites. She came to ask him to heal her daughter, who was being tormented by a demon. Today we would say she had a mental illness.
Jesus simply ignored her. He did not even respond negatively. Just silence. As if she didn’t even exist. She was a woman and a foreigner. No concern of his.
His disciples were irritated with her. She kept calling after them, requesting healing for her child. They asked him to send her away. “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” was his response.
But she was persistent. She bowed before him and begged, “Lord, help me.”
We often think of Jesus as a kind, patient, polite man, but this time he was just plain rude. “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs!” Pretty clear who was being compared to a dog.
This mother did not let that insult stop her. She was desperate for healing for her child. “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.”
This brought an insight to Jesus. Healing could be for those who had faith. It is not limited to any religious or ethnic group. “O, woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” The child was healed and Jesus learned an important lesson about God’s mercy and his mission. No one is to be excluded who comes in faith. (Mt 15:21-28)
This was not actually a new idea in Judaism. Isaiah spoke of a similar idea to the folks who had returned from exile in Babylon. Their temple had been rebuilt and now it was possible to offer sacrifice there again. But what about all the time away and the time before the temple was rebuilt? How had it been possible to keep the sabbath holy and to maintain the covenant with the Lord if temple sacrifice could not be offered?
The Lord, through his prophet, told them to take notice of what is right and just. Watch and see how the Lord’s justice is revealed. It is revealed as foreigners join themselves to the Lord and become his servants. All who keep the sabbath and hold on to the covenant will be welcomed to the holy mountain of the Lord. Their sacrifices offered on the altar will be as valid as those of the original community. The Lord’s house is “a house of prayer for all peoples.” No one will be excluded from his mercy. (Is 56:1, 6-7)
St. Paul expresses the community’s understanding of the Lord’s call in his letter to the Romans. He speaks of himself as “the apostle to the Gentiles.” He has been sent to spread the message of God’s love and mercy beyond the Jewish community into the entire world. If the people of Israel had welcomed Jesus with open arms and become his followers, it’s quite possible that the faith would not have expanded out to include everyone. Paul says that in their refusal to believe, their disobedience, his own people had made it possible for Gentiles, all the other peoples of the world, to receive the Lord’s mercy and love. No one is to be excluded. (Rom 11:13-15, 29-32)
As our communities divide into camps with opposing ideas these days, I believe we are again called to ask ourselves if we are truly willing to accept each other and wish each other well. Are we sisters and brothers in the Lord? Are we sisters and brothers, children of one creator. Are we equally loved and forgiven for our small mindedness and smug self-confidence. Too often we say, “I know what is right and you are totally wrong!”
In religious circles, it is especially important to be patient and loving with each other. We may not agree on all topics. Some will be more open to changes in social standards and structures than others. Some may interpret Scripture more literally than others. Some will distrust the findings of social or physical sciences. However, all are children of the same Father, who calls all to mercy and mutual forgiveness.
How do we keep from being a community that turns in on itself when confronted with others who have different experiences of God’s presence and love? How do we remain open and welcoming? Is it by condemning those whose ways are different from ours? Or by setting up rules and regulations to restrict access to the Eucharist and sacraments? Or do we recognize that God is bigger than all of our rules and categories. God loves all of creation and especially all people. He did, after all, according to our very ancient tradition, create us in his own image and likeness,. If that is truly the case, then we are called, like Jesus himself, to be open to those whose ways are different from our own. We are called to offer healing and reconciliation in and between communities. We are called to let the power and unrestricted love of our Father flow out through us to heal those who are suffering, physically, socially, mentally, spiritually.
God’s mercy excludes no one. So we must not exclude others either. Instead, we come together in prayer and Eucharistic thanksgiving to remember and be nourished. Then we go forth into our world and share the graces and blessings received as we allow the love of God to flow out in healing mercy through us.
This week, let’s focus on seeing the goodness and mercy of God in our families, our neighbors, our communities, and our world. All are welcomed in the Kingdom of God and all receive the merciful love of our Father.
Readings for the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle A
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“I will rise and go to my father.” (Lk 15:18)
Have you ever had the experience of doing something that you know was wrong and were hoping no one would notice? Perhaps you were embarrassed about it. Perhaps you were afraid of punishment. Perhaps you feared that what you had done could never be forgiven. Maybe you were a child and hid in a closet or out in the back yard for as long as you could, rather than face the parent whose anger or disappointment you feared. Maybe you simply didn’t respond to the letter or phone calls of the friend whom you had hurt.
Rejoice. You’re not alone. I think we all have had this kind of experience at least once in our lives. The peoples of the Bible had these kinds of experiences too. You are not alone, and you don’t have to stay in that frightened, embarrassed place forever.
Shortly after the Exodus from Egypt, Moses received the Law from the Lord on Mt. Sinai and presented it to his people. Then Moses was called again to the mountain of the Lord. The book of Exodus devotes many chapters to the encounters of Moses with the Lord and the reception of the Law. This time when he went up the mountain, he again disappeared into the cloud at the top and did not return for many, many days – forty days in all! The people waiting at the foot of the mountain became afraid. What had happened to their leader, the one who faced Pharaoh, the one who led them across the Red Sea and through the desert? Had he died? They believed that anyone who saw the face of the Lord would die. Who would be their leader now? Who would be their representative to God? They had welcomed the proclamation of the Law from Moses and offered sacrifice to confirm their agreement to it before he left again. Why was he gone so long? Maybe what they needed was a god they could see and touch, like the ones of the peoples among whom they lived.
Aaron, brother of Moses, was approached by a group of them, asking him to help them find a god whom they could worship and who would protect them. Not knowing what had happened to his brother, Aaron ordered them to bring gold jewelry and coins. He melted them down and formed a calf from the gold. Calves were worshiped by many of the surrounding peoples as representations of their gods. The people rejoiced and began to worship the golden calf.
Up on the mountain, the Lord noticed what was happening and was not amused. “Go down at once to your people, whom you brought out of the land of Egypt, for they have become depraved.” (Ex 32:7-11, 13-14) The Lord was angry and proposed to Moses that he would simply destroy them all, then make a new nation for himself from the descendants of Moses. This would have been the right and just thing for a monarch or a god to do, according to the experience and traditions of the nations at that time, so that is the response ascribed to the Lord in this account.
However, Moses boldly spoke up and presented a different option, imploring, “Why, O Lord, should your wrath blaze up against your own people… Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel” and the promise made to them. With this reminder, “the Lord relented in the punishment he had threatened to inflict on his people.”
Did that settle the issue forever? No. There was much more to the story, as Moses descended from the mountain, broke the tablets on which the Lord had written the Law, punished the people who had rebelled, and again returned to the mountain top for another forty days, so the tablets could again be inscribed with the Law. The relationship between the Israelites and God continued to be rocky through the centuries, but God always remained merciful. There were times when things went very badly for Israel and they interpreted the suffering that came to them as punishment for having offended God. But when once again peace returned and all was well, they rejoiced in the mercy of their God, who never left them.
The Psalms often speak of the loving mercy of God, asking God to wipe out our offenses, cleanse us of sin, and open our mouths to proclaim his praise. “A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.” (Ps 51)
St. Paul also experienced mercy from the Lord. Paul was the Roman name of a pharisee named Saul who grew up in Tarsus. Tarsus was a Roman city in an area northwest of Syria. Saul was a Roman citizen because of his birth in Tarsus, but he was also a Jew. He had studied in Jerusalem and was greatly distressed by the teachings of Jesus’ disciples after the resurrection. When the authorities began to arrest Christians, Saul was totally in favor of wiping out this new, heretical group. In fact, he was a witness to the stoning of the first Christian martyr, Stephen. Those who were throwing the rocks at Stephen laid their cloaks at Saul’s feet for safekeeping as he looked on with approval.
Later, as the Christian community dispersed to other cities in the empire, Saul followed after them to Damascus, planning to arrest them, return them to Jerusalem, and witness their deaths. But the Lord had other plans for him.
On the road to Damascus, Jesus appeared to Saul. Saul was totally blown away by the appearance of Jesus. Jesus instructed him to continue his journey to Damascus. There he met members of the Christian community and became one of them. Thus began his long journey as a follower of Jesus and apostle to the Gentiles.
Many years after his conversion, Paul wrote to Timothy, one of the men who had been converted by Paul’s teachings and had become a companion on some of his missionary journeys. (1 Tim 1:12-17) Paul spoke of his experience of having received mercy from the Lord, despite his earlier attempts to wipe out Jesus’ followers. “I was mercifully treated, so that in me, as the foremost, Christ Jesus might display all his patience as an example for those who would come to believe in him for everlasting life.” It was through the mercy of God that Paul found a new meaning and way in life. A new kind of justice.
Jesus embodied God’s approach to sinners. Sinners were anyone who did not live by Jewish Law and customs. As in any society, there are always folks who skirt the rules or refuse to follow them. Most people avoided contact with public sinners – tax collectors, prostitutes, thieves, and so forth. But Jesus went out of his way to speak with them. This brought constant criticism from the religious authorities. “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” Eating with someone who was a sinner, who was ritually unclean, made a person also ritually unclean. It was a big deal.
In response to the criticism, Jesus told three stories. (Lk 15:1-32) The first was about a shepherd who had one hundred sheep. One of them got lost. The shepherd left the ninety-nine and went in search of the missing one. When he found it, he returned to the rest of the flock and called his friends to celebrate with him because he had found the missing sheep. Jesus told his audience that in heaven, there will be much greater joy over the repentance of a sinner than over those who have always lived righteously. Like his listeners, we might wonder about the wisdom of leaving ninety-nine sheep to fend for themselves. In practical terms, unless others were watching out for the flock, the rest of the sheep would probably be gone by the time the shepherd returned with the stray. But Jesus takes it for granted that a true shepherd would care about the missing one too.
Another example of God’s extravagance is that of the woman who had ten coins. When she lost one, she lit a lamp and cleaned the house carefully, looking for the coin. When she found it, she called her friends and neighbors to celebrate with her because the coin had been found. Having recently found a coin that I had dropped and been unable to find for several days, I can appreciate her delight. For me the coin was not a huge issue, but I had been wondering where it had managed to hide when I dropped it. For her, the coin was much more important. Important enough to burn expensive oil in the effort to find it. Jesus explained again that the angels rejoice when each sinner repents. The cost doesn’t matter to God and the angels rejoice.
The final story is one we often know as that of the Prodigal Son. It might also be called the story of the Extravagantly Merciful, Welcoming Father. A son requests his share of the family wealth, takes the money and spends it all on wild living. Then he finds himself without resources in a foreign land as drought and famine rage. Eventually he comes to his senses and declares, “I will rise and go to my father…” The son intends to ask for a job as a servant in the household, but his father, seeing him coming down the road, runs out to welcome him. He treats him as a much-loved son and restores his position in the household. A great celebration then begins, with no expense spared, to welcome the son back to the family.
The brother who had remained with his father is very hurt and angry at the way his father treats the one who had gone away and wasted the family resources. He refuses to enter the house and join the celebration, considering his father’s actions to be unfair. But the father of both young men explains, “now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again.”
Like the Extravagantly Merciful, Welcoming Father in the story, we are loved and welcomed by our God, who is a parent to us. Sometimes we really make wrong choices. Sometimes we deliberately do what we know is wrong. Sometimes we don’t do what we know we should do. Like the Israelites in the desert, or Saul on the road to Damascus, or the young man who went off and spent his share of the family money, our actions can be very wrong. Yet God does not punish us. God doesn’t interfere with our free choice to turn away. But God always wants us to return, not to be afraid to come back. The circle of love is always open to receive us again. We just have to turn back and accept the big hug that God wants to give us. The justice of God is not something to be feared. The justice of God is extravagant mercy and love. Today, tomorrow, and always.
Thanks be to God!
Find the readings for the Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Cycle C
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A few weeks ago, a neighbor child was out with her father, walking the dog before bedtime. I was out pulling weeds in the front garden as they came by the house. As we were visiting, she noticed the sparkly glass mosaic gems we have in the curb around the front yard. She was entranced by them. “What are they?” “How did they get there?” “Can I have one?”
At the school my children attended, these gems are known as ‘dragon tears,’ so that’s the name I gave her for them too. Did I mention, she was entranced? I told her I had some extras and would bring one to her soon. They went on their way and I finished with the weeds.
The next week, I stopped by their house with a few things to share. Her parents were away, but I was welcomed as always. Later that evening, as I returned home from a walk, I met the children, dog, and sitters. The first thing out of the mouth of the child was, “You didn’t bring the dragon tears!” I had totally forgotten that she was expecting them. I assured her that it was a terrible error on my part and I would certainly get them to her and her sisters.
When I got home, I learned the rest of the story. The group of them had come to the front door and knocked. When I didn’t come right away, they began calling for me. Eventually someone came to the door and explained that I was out walking, so they went on their way too. She was hoping to find me while they were out. It was shortly afterwards that we met on the way.
The readings for this Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time speak of asking and receiving with the confidence of a child. When last we saw Abraham, he was walking down the road towards Sodom with his three guests. (Gen 18: 20-32) As they walked, one of the guests, who turned out to have been the Lord, thinks over whether to share his thoughts with Abraham. Deciding to do that, he shares that he has heard bad things about the behavior of people in Sodom. He’s going there himself to see whether they are true. If they are, he plans to destroy the city.
Abraham is dismayed. His brother and family live in Sodom. So Abraham begins to bargain with the Lord. “Will you sweep away the innocent with the guilty? What if there were fifty innocent people in the city? … Far be it from you to do such a thing, to make the innocent die with the guilty.” The Lord agrees not to destroy the city if there are fifty innocent people there.
Abraham does not stop at fifty. He persists, asking about forty-five innocents, or forty, or thirty, or twenty, or ten. Each time, the Lord agrees not to destroy the city for the sake of those ten innocent men.
That’s as far as we go this week. Unfortunately for the city of Sodom, there was only one good man and his family in the city. He was warned in advance and left the city with at least some of his family before it was destroyed. But that’s another story for another time. The important thing to note this week is that even the Lord God is willing to listen to requests and change plans when one of his children asks, politely but confidently.
The Psalmist (Ps 138) sings of the Lord’s kindness, hearing “the words of my mouth.” The Lord strengthens us, preserves us from our enemies, exalts the lowly, completes what he has done for us. “On the day I called for your help, you answered me.”
St. Paul (Col 2:12-14) speaks of the death and resurrection of Jesus “obliterating the bond against us,” and removing all barriers between humans and God. This extends to the division between Jews and Gentiles as well. We are now all children of God because of our link and union with God’s Son, Jesus.
St. Luke (11:1-13) tells of the time Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them to pray. This was and is a common thing. Students ask their teachers to show them how to do something. The teacher shares the way they have learned to do it in the best way they’ve found.
The words Jesus gave to his friends sound quite formal, maybe because we’ve heard them so often in formal settings. He begins with a single word in this version, Father.
The word Father sounds very formal in families in which that is not the title used to address the man who is the father of the children. In many families, there are affectionate names used to address this parent. Some of them include Dad, Daddy, Papa, and Pop. The term Jesus used is “abba,” an affectionate name like Papa or Daddy. It indicates the closeness of very small children with their male parent.
So, what do we say to our Papa God? May your name be holy (a power and strength of great wonderfulness). Your kingdom come (may your leadership and rule fill all of creation). Give us each day the food we need (very practical request). Forgive us our sins (we mess up regularly) for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us (uh oh, this is challenging). Do not subject us to the final test (don’t ask more than we can do).
These are very concrete instructions. Not a lot of fancy words. Pretty much covers everything that needs to be said, though.
We might be tempted to think it’s too much to ask. We might not believe that our heavenly Papa cares enough about us to hear our requests. And what if I want or need something more than bread?
Jesus continues with more encouragement to trust. We know that our friends and neighbors might not be willing to help if the time is inconvenient. Jesus reminds us that even in the middle of the night, when all are asleep and getting up to help is totally inconvenient and disruptive, persistent requests that could become even more disruptive will get a response from another human. Someone shouting at the front door is likely to be noticed. He continues, “ask and you will receive; seek and you will find.” Humans give good gifts to their children. God will do no less. He concludes the thought with, “How much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?”
We may not get exactly what we’re asking if it’s something material or if another person is not willing or able to grant our wish or be open to healing in a relationship. But we will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit present and living in our hearts and minds. Ask and you shall receive. Call God Papa, or Dad, or Pop or Father. Whatever affectionate name for a very special parent you would use, because that is who our God is.
Then ask for the blessings of seeing God present in all of creation and in our lives and relationships. Ask for practical things like food for the day, or impractical but wondrous things, like the mosaic gems my little friend is hoping to receive. Ask with the confidence and persistence of a child.
Will things materialize out of nothing? Probably not. Often there’s a basis from which the Lord works to respond. Then again, some things might not be for the glory of God or for your own best spiritual interest, so those requests may be answered differently than you expect. But you might be surprised where and how God’s answers to your requests appear. Sometimes, you might even be the one whose actions make the prayer of another answered.
Now where did I put those dragon tears?
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When I was a little girl, getting ready for first grade, my mother was quite worried. I loved to sing. This would not typically be an issue, but two of my favorite songs were from the musical Oklahoma. The songs in question were not something lovely like “Oh what a beautiful morning,” or something rousing like “Oklahoma.” No, my favorites were the ones sung by Ado Annie, the young woman with a less than stellar reputation for faithfulness or prudence in relationships. These songs, especially in the Broadway play version we had on our record, were quite risqué. Mom was afraid I would sing them to “Sister” and scandalize her (whoever she turned out to be). As soon as the movie version, with more family-friendly lyrics, was available, she bought it for us and that was the record I was allowed to enjoy.
Of Ado Annie’s two songs, “I Cain’t Say No” and “All Er Nothin,” the one that comes to mind and is running through my head after looking at the readings for the Thirteen Sunday in Ordinary Time, is “All Er Nothin.” Annie’s boyfriend, Will, has just returned from the big city, Kansas City, with tales of what “modren livin” is going to be – indoor plumbing, gas buggies goin by theirselves, buildings twenty stories high, etc. Will has heard rumors that Annie hasn’t exactly been the most faithful girlfriend while he was away. He confronts her in the song “All Er Nothin,” declaring “With me it’s all er nothin. Is it all er nothin with you?” She asks for clarification, and the song continues with examples and conditions. If you haven’t heard it, it’s worth checking out. (The same goes for “I Cain’t Say No”!)
In the first reading, Elijah the prophet receives instruction from God to anoint Elisha to be his successor as prophet. (1 Kings 19:16b, 19-21) Elijah has been in trouble with the rulers of the land off and on for a long time. He has just met God on the mountaintop, recognizing his presence in a gentle breeze. Now he has been sent to find the man who will succeed him as prophet in Israel.
When Elijah found Elisha, the latter was plowing the land. He had twelve yoke of oxen, the large team of a prosperous family. Elijah didn’t spend any time explaining why he had come or what his plans were. He simply approached Elisha and threw his cloak over him. In this way, he signaled that the cloak of prophet of the Lord was now his too.
Elijah didn’t stick around to explain what his action meant. Elisha understood immediately what had just happened. He ran after Elijah and requested permission to return to his family and tell them goodbye. Elijah didn’t refuse the request. He simply told Elisha to go back, adding, “Have I done anything to you?” At this Elisha makes his decision. He kills the oxen, burns his plowing equipment to cook the oxen, and gives the meat to the people to eat. Then he follows Elijah as an apprentice, learning to be the Lord’s prophet. All or nothing …
The psalmist sings in praise of the Lord, who is a refuge, gives counsel, is faithful, leads on the path of life and is his inheritance. With the Lord, nothing is lacking. (Ps 16)
St Paul writes to the Galatians (5:1, 13-18) with a similar theme. A huge controversy was raging over whether non-Jews (aka Gentiles) had to become Jews and be subject to the Law of Moses in order to become Followers of the Way (aka Christians). Paul said no and so did the leadership in Jerusalem when they were consulted. The reasoning backing up this decision included the understanding that the Law had been fulfilled in the coming of Jesus. The new Law of freedom to love took the place of the old laws that dictated what, where and when people were allowed to engage in particular activities. There were food prohibitions, rules about when and how work could be done, with whom one might speak, and many more. The new freedom to act in love superseded these old rules. If someone needed to be helped on the Sabbath, for example, then the new law required Jesus’ follower to help. No foods except blood, meat from strangled animals, and foods sacrificed to idols were prohibited. Women and men were equally children of God.
This new freedom did not mean license to do whatever one wished – that would be a question of acting according to the flesh. No, to act according to the Spirit required doing what would be best for the other person, what one would wish for oneself. Service in this new freedom is based on love. Only in love can one live in the Spirit. It’s again a question of “All er nothin!”
Finally, we see Jesus as he sets out for Jerusalem for the final time. Luke (9:51-62) describes Jesus’ single-minded focus on this journey. If those in the Samaritan village didn’t welcome them, OK, move on to another village. No time to stop and try to change their minds or punish them either! If someone offers to follow Jesus, OK, but know that we’re not going to be settling down anywhere along the way. “The Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” (Son of Man was a term used in reference to the coming Messiah in Jewish tradition. Jesus used it to refer to himself.) Someone else wanted to go home and bury his father, but Jesus had no time to wait. “Let the dead bury their dead.” In other words, Let those who are not with me take care of each other. “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” It’s all or nothing!
These are strong words and images. How do we understand them today? Are we to take them literally? How do we act in loving freedom to address the pressing issues of our day? Wars are raging, between nations, between gangs, between religious groups… Refugees are camped at the borders. Some are allowed to enter. Others with equally horrendous stories of probable personal danger are turned away. Issues of protection of the vulnerable among us divide our communities. Who is to be protected and how far will we go to help? It’s all well and good to speak in generalities. Who will pay the ultimate price of decisions that are being made far away by folks who don’t know us or our situations?
It’s not an easy time. We are called to the Law of Love, to the Freedom of the Spirit. Let us pray today and in the days to come for the courage to respond wholeheartedly, in prayer and in compassion, to the needs of our sisters and brothers. Not relying on logic and rules, but on the requirements of loving support and accompaniment.
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The Synod has ended. Bishops, priests, nuns, and lay persons from around the world have again gathered in Rome to pray, listen, and reflect on where the Holy Spirit is leading us as a community in this new era. As their reflections and recommendations are offered to us, we are invited to join them in prayer as we move forward, always open to the guidance and inspiration of the Spirit.
