Keeping It Simple

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year A

Exodus 22:20-26; Psalm 18; 1 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Matthew 22:34-40

"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the greatest and the first commandment.  The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments."
Matthew 22:37-40

Love God; love your neighbor.  Our Lord had a way of making things easy.  In today’s Gospel we hear Him take all the laws of the Old Testament and summarize them in this way.  If you can’t remember all the particulars and all the subtle nuances, then default to our Lord’s summary: love God and love your neighbor.

The two go together.  We demonstrate our love for God by loving others.  We learn to truly love others by loving God.

These thoughts serve as an excellent launching point to address a critical issue that arose this past week in the news.  The facts are still coming in, but it appeared that the Holy Father made statements in a personal interview advocating for legal unions for same-sex couples.  We will leave the particulars of the interview.  But this raises the topic of how the Church responds to those with same-sex attraction.

Let’s look at this topic through the lens of the two great commandments given to us.  Let’s begin with the second: love your neighbor as yourself.

The Catechism is helpful here.  Paragraph 2358 states, referring to those with homosexual tendencies, “They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.”  Let me expand a little on that.  Every person has been created in the image and likeness of God.  Consequently, each person has an inherent dignity with which they must be treated.  While sin has marred God’s original intention it has not eclipsed this dignity in any of us.  So we must embrace our homosexual neighbors with love and compassion.  This is, after all, what any of us would want for ourselves.

But we must understand that loving the person does not mean loving, or even condoning, everything they might do.  As much as we love our children, disobedience, lying, stealing, or violence must always be opposed lest our children get the impression that these are acceptable behaviors and grow up to continue in the same.  Our society has succeeded in convincing most of us that homosexuals must act on their inclinations in order to express who they are.  This is no more true than it is for heterosexuals.  God has not created us to be like animals who merely respond to instinct, but, as we said, He has created us in His image and likeness which means we possess the faculty of reason to choose what we will do with our bodies, either to honor or dishonor God.

This brings us to the first command: love God.  Our love for God cannot mean any less than obedience to His commands and full surrender to them.  Jesus said, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments,” [John 14:15].  One of God’s commandments is “You shall not commit adultery”.  This takes in all sins of a sexual nature.  The perspective is to draw our attention to marriage as God intended: one man and one woman for a lifetime with openness to life.  That is the standard.  Within that context sexual relations are blessed.  But outside of it, they are gravely sinful.  Following the Church’s unbroken Tradition going back to our Lord Himself, the Church has always seen homosexual actions as “intrinsically disordered.  They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved,” [CCC 2357].  “Disordered” can be seen as opposed to the proper use of the sexual gift.  “Sexuality is ordered to the conjugal love of man and woman,” [CCC 2360].

It is love, not hate, which leads us to warn those who are practicing homosexuals to turn from their sins in order to receive God’s forgiveness and His grace.  We love them enough to tell them the truth, even if we are vilified for it.  The truth will truly set them free and bring them the love, peace, and joy they are craving.  

I recognize that my words appear as bigoted, ignorant, and outdated to those who refuse to accept what God has revealed.  Still, we make our plea: “Be reconciled to God,” [2 Corinthians 5:20].

Dear friends, please do not be swayed by the winds of popular sentiment.  Rather, immerse yourself in prayer and in the teaching of the Church.  Draw near to God to love Him with all that you are and He will fill you with His love to dispense to a world so desperately in need of it.

Love God; love neighbor.  It’s really all you need.  It applies to this issue and every other.  If in doubt, default to these two great commandments!                                          

Whose Image?

Twenty-Ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year A

Isaiah 45:1, 4-6; Psalm 96; 1 Thessalonians 1:1-5; Matthew 22:15-21

“Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."
Matthew 22:21

Our text seems eerily appropriate as we are only weeks away from a presidential election.  It speaks to the dichotomy, or the balancing act, that every Christian is called to observe.  We have dual citizenship.  We are citizens of the kingdom of heaven by Baptism and we are citizens here by birth or naturalization.  How do we live as good citizens of both?  Today’s Gospel gives us a key insight.

First, it would probably be helpful to understand what is meant by our Lord’s statement.  The occasion of this exchange is a confrontation with the Pharisees.  They, along with the Herodians, another sect of Judaism, wanted to trap Jesus into saying something that would either undermine His credibility with the people or bring Him trouble from the Roman authorities.  Both would be even better.  They thought they had Him pinned into a no-win situation.

The questions they posed was this: “Is it lawful to pay the census tax to Caesar or not?"  If Jesus said yes, He would be seen as a traitor to the Jews who viewed the paying of such a tax as an odious reminder of their subjugation to uncircumcised Gentiles.  If He said no, He would run afoul of the Roman government.  Jesus’ answer was actually amazingly simple.

“Show me the coin that pays the census tax.  Whose image is this and whose inscription?"  The answer was, of course, Caesar’s.  Then our Lord concluded, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God."

To understand our Lord’s reasoning, let me borrow a quote from Tertullian, one of the Church Fathers, who, writing around the end of the 2^nd century, commented on this passage: “That is, the image of Caesar, which is on the coin, to Caesar, and the image of God, which is on man, to God; so as to render to Caesar indeed money, to God yourself. Otherwise, what will be God's, if all things are Caesar's?”

To Caesar money; to God yourself.  That was the emphasis.  If Caesar’s image is on the money, then the money belongs to him.  And if God’s image is on the person, then the soul belongs to Him.  To broaden this out we could say that material things belong to Caesar, or the civil government.  But our souls, our very devotion, and all our worship belong to God.

That sounds pretty simple, and, indeed, it is.  But sin has an insidious way of complicating things and we find it no different in this area.  So I would propose that a great many of us have almost turned this on its head and we do the reverse: we give money and material things to God, but our hearts are given to this world- to Caesar.

You may be inclined to disagree.  But stop and think about it for a moment.  There are a great many people who think the sum of their duty to God is to spend an hour in church where they will be sure to put some money in the collection basket.  Others, going a bit further, think they will gain favor with the Most High if they make a sizable donation to the church.  Still others believe that by donating of their goods or even of their time they will gain good standing in the eyes of God.  But their hearts are kept for their own interests and pursuits and, therefore, they need the favor of Caesar.

To put this theory to the test ask yourself how much time and energy you have put into worrying about the upcoming election.  Shouldn’t we be concerned about such things?  Of course we should.  But they should not consume us.  Nor should we find ourselves with a growing sense of dread if things don’t turn out the way we hoped.  Even if it were to be the end of American life as we know it, what difference would that make to the person whose heart is truly set in heaven?  I am certainly not advocating a “too heavenly minded to be any earthly good approach” nor am I attempting to minimize the importance of choosing good people to lead us.  But if our perspective is truly as that taught by Jesus then the worst that will happen is that we may lose our money or material goods, or perhaps even our personal freedoms.  But our souls will be thoroughly intact and we will continue to worship God freely in our hearts until the day when we step into glory.  Then no one will take our rewards from us!        

This is the perspective that fueled the martyrs.  They looked with disdain on the things of this world.  Material goods were passing and so they were to be used, but not loved.  God was their focus and their heart was set ablaze with love for Him.  Nothing thrilled them more than to think of the moment when they would behold Him face to face. 

I think the issue at present is that we are too earthly minded to be any heavenly good.  Our worries are the symptoms to let us know that we have heart trouble- our heart has been given to temporary things here instead of the eternal things hereafter.

I am praying for the upcoming election.  I am researching to find out what I can about the candidates and the issues.  I will vote in the election.  But then it will be in the hands of God and so will I.  Regardless of what happens in time, God will remain master for all eternity.  I will cultivate the place of worship in the sanctuary of my soul and I will live, by His grace, faithfully until my life here is finished and my life in eternity begins.

Temporary things deserve momentary attention.  Eternal things should be our focus continually.  May God grant the necessary graces so we have the perspective straight and God will indeed be all in all!

 

The Banquet Of The Blessed

Twenty-Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year A

Isaiah 25:6-10; Psalm 23; Philippians 4:12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22:1-14

Some ignored the invitation and went away.
Matthew 22:5

I had not been Catholic long when I heard the following term: “Holy Day of Obligation”.  It struck me as odd.  I didn’t go to Mass because I felt obligated.  I went because it was a tremendous blessing and I didn’t want to miss it.  However, I found that not everyone shares that motivation.  The issue has come to the fore in recent times.  Catholics are typically “obligated” to attend Mass on all Sundays and other Holy Days of Obligation.  But in recent times because of the virus the obligation has been suspended.  Fair enough!  That’s probably a good pastoral practice, given the times.  But how should we respond?

Let’s delve a little bit into the whole idea of “obligation” where Mass is concerned.  Why does the Church even speak in such language?  Understand it like this: the Church obligates her children to Mass on certain occasions the same way that parents obligate their children to three square meals a day.  It is because our mothers know what is good for us that they establish these minimal standards.  There are an abundance of graces available at a single Mass and we are desperately in need of receiving them.  Were we to never come to Mass and feed on the Body and Blood of our Lord, we would be weak and anemic Christians who would eventually die in the realm of the spiritual life of grace.

Unfortunately, we are fallen creatures and we cannot always be motivated by such good and loving overtures.  We sometimes need the fear factor.  This is often criticized as being beneath the dignity of true religion.  But it isn’t.  It’s a natural consequence.  If a mother told her small child not to touch a hot stove because he may be burned or don’t play in the street because he could be struck by a car, she is not unduly frightening the child.  She is merely warning against the real consequences of those actions.  In fact, her warnings will be seen as the loving thing to do once they are properly understood.  This is exactly the case with the Church when she lovingly warns the faithful about the consequences of intentionally missing Mass.  We lose out on the opportunity to receive the graces present and we place ourselves in spiritual danger.

Please bear this in mind as we consider today’s Gospel.

Jesus tells a parable about a king who gives a wedding feast for his son.  Naturally, he expects that people will be honored to attend a feast given by a king.  However, he finds it is quite the opposite.  They begin to make excuses for why they cannot attend.  The king is furious.  He is giving a feast and he will have guests.  So they go out into the highways and bring in whoever they find.

Such is the case with the heavenly banquet.  God has called us to come to the feast.  However, many are content to ignore the invitation.  Then God will look for others.  There will be a feast and He will have guests.  This is why there are so many that we might not think to be suitable guests who actually go in to the feast while we are left out.

I can’t help but feel this is what often happens every Sunday.  We are all called to dine with the Lord in the Holy Eucharist.  The feast is made ready.  But we often ignore the invitation and go away.  We choose golf, or fishing, or vacations, or even just sleeping in to being with the King at the great feast.

Imagine- the Son of God offers Himself freely for us and our response too often is, “I have better things to do.”  This is why it is a mortal sin to intentionally miss Mass on a Holy Day of Obligation. 

But the obligation has been suspended.  These things don’t apply now, right?

For those unable to attend Mass it is never a sin when they are absent.  In the current times, this would include those who have strong reason to believe they would be in danger were they to contract the virus.  But if we are turning away merely because the bishops have lifted the obligation then we are missing the point. 

What if a mother was to tell her sick child it is not necessary for her to come down and join the family for dinner?  Would that apply to the healthy children as well?  Certainly not!  They still need their proper nourishment.  So it is in the spiritual realm.  If we stay away merely for convenience then we are left in the place where we are starving because we are never actually fed the Holy Eucharist.

Dear friends, it is certainly not my intention to add undue burden to those who cannot safely assemble with us.  But it is certainly the point that there are a great many who have adopted absence from the wrong motivation.  Let us return to the Mass, and quickly!  Our Lord awaits.  May He wait no longer!

The feast has been prepared, the guests have been invited, and our Host waits.  To those who gladly accept the invitation, untold graces await.  To those who make excuses, they do so to their own loss.  In the Gospel, eternal punishment awaited those who stubbornly refused the king’s invitation.  The same fate awaits those who stubbornly refuse the grace of God compelling them to join in the feast.  Don’t wait for someone to tell you the obligation has been reinstated.  Instead, choose to join now and be blessed!

 

I Am A Role Model

Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year A

Isaiah 5:1-7; Psalm 80; Philippians 4:6-9; Matthew 21:33-43

Keep on doing what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me.  Then the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:9

I remember a number of years ago when NBA star, Charles Barkley emphatically stated, “I am not a role model!”  It was literally a game changer as millions of boys were used to looking up to their favorite athlete in admiration.  Sometime before Barkley’s comment there was the Nike ad campaign that stated “I want to be like Mike” after NBA star, Michael Jordan.  Numerous boys could echo that comment.  Others wanted to be like baseball greats, Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron.  My childhood hero was Roger Staubach, quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys in the 1970’s.  I wanted to be just like him.

What happened to those days?  Why do more and more celebrities identify with Charles Barkley in not wanting to be a role model?  To be fair to Barkley, his point was largely that parents need to be role models to their children.  But why didn’t he want to be one?  And why is he not alone?

I think this line from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians can shed some light on this idea.  St. Paul regularly used himself as a role model for others to follow.  It wasn’t an egotistical thing either.  It was common in his day for a teacher to use himself as the example for his students to follow.  How else can people learn unless they have role models?  To the Corinthians St. Paul wrote, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ,” [1 Corinthians 11:1].  To the Philippians he wrote, “Brethren, join in imitating me, and mark those who so live as you have an example in us,” [Philippians 3:17].  Then again in the passage before us he emphasizes that the Philippian believers are to do exactly as he taught them by his own example.  Who of us would dare to say something similar today?

And that’s the point.  Like Charles Barkley, none of us wants to be held up as a role model.  It’s too big a role to fill.  What happens if we fail?  No one wants that kind of pressure.  But Paul willingly took it on and a number of saints have followed in the same vein.  What has happened to us?

First, I would propose that the problem lies in this: that we have not followed the examples that went before us.  Numerous saints are held up to us as examples to follow, but we don’t.  In fact, we sometimes are prone to take pride in the fact that “I’m no saint.”  It sounds akin to “I’m not a role model.”  But God intends that we should follow the examples of the saints.

What do we learn from looking at the lives of the saints?  We learn to deny ourselves, to trust in God, to give to those in need, to live lives of virtue, prayer, and service.  This is the pattern that was presented to us as worthy of imitation, but we have largely left it alone.

If we have not followed the pattern that was handed on to us then it is no wonder that we feel inadequate to model it for others.  So what should we do?

Let’s return to Paul’s statement.  “Keep on doing what you have learned…”  What have we learned?  We have learned the way of Christ which is the way of the cross.  We have learned to deny ourselves and lay down our lives for the good of others.  This is the way of love.  It’s not merely some ideal.  It’s what our Lord calls us to do.  It’s what He expects of us.

“And received.”  What did we receive?  We received Baptism, and along with this we received the Faith of Christ.  We received God’s grace to enable us to resist sin and live holy lives.  All of this was given to us as a gift from God.  What have we done with these graces?

“And heard.”  What have we heard?  We have heard the good news of Jesus Christ: that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting our sins against us, but offering us freely the opportunity to become the sons and daughters of God.  Are we listening to that message?  Are we sharing it with others so they can hear it too?

“And seen in me.”  What have we seen?  We’ve watched, as it were, the saints throughout history abandon wealth so others could become rich.  We’ve watched them pour out their lives even to death so that eternal life could be brought to the world.  We’ve watched the grace of God at work in our own lives, for which we have much to give thanks.

If we follow the pattern of those who have gone before us and walk in the way of the cross, which is the way the Church teaches us, then we will have true peace because the God of peace will dwell with us and remain with us.  Everyone craves peace, but few find it because they look for it in all the wrong places.  Only God brings true peace.  And the line of that peace coming to us is in the example of the saints who have gone before us.

But what about the next generations?  Who will be the example for them?  Each generation is in need of a new “incarnation”, that is, they need to see a living example of the things Jesus taught us.  Who will be that example?  Will we do it?  And if we don’t, then who will?

It’s scary to be in the place of an example.  Yet, this is the place God calls us to be in.  He calls us to be patterns for our children, our neighbors, our co-workers, our family, other parishioners; in short- to everyone.  We need to daily seek this grace from our loving God who is more than willing to supply all the grace we need.

Take some time today to reflect on the examples God placed in your life.  Perhaps it was your parents, or a priest.  Maybe it was a family friend, or a school teacher.  Maybe it was a co-worker who modeled Christ to you and brought you into the Faith.  Whoever it was, take some time to reflect on their example and thank God for sending them to you.  Maybe even send them a quick note to thank them if you can.  Then ask the tough question: “Am I ready to be an example to others?”  Probably not.  No one is.  But God will supply the needed grace.  Trust Him and move forward.  Then you will not be afraid to boldly proclaim, “I am a role model!”