XXXIV SUNDAY : II Sam 5: 1-3; Col 1: 12-20; Lk 23: 35-43
Today's Feast - Christ the King - has an interesting history. Even though the Bible clearly presents Jesus as King, it wasn't until 1925 that the Church established a feast day with that title. Pope Pius XI inaugurated this celebration as a response to the totalitarian regimes that emerged in the early twentieth century. Those regimes claimed absolute power over their citizens and they scoffed at the role of God in guiding people's lives. Against this grab for absolute control, the Church said, "No, the state does not have the highest authority. That belongs to God." And as Christians, we know that Jesus is God. He is the King over all kings. In our second reading, St. Paul states that all things were created through Jesus and for him. "He is before all things...preeminent."
We belong to Jesus. He is our king. If a government overreaches itself, if it demands a submission that we cannot give, we have a simple, direct response: Jesus is our king. We see an example of this from the nineteen-twenties. At that time a totalitarian regime gained control of Mexico and it tried to suppress the Church. To resist the regime, many Christians took up the cry, "Viva Cristo Rey! Long live Christ the King!" They called themselves "Cristeros." The most famous Cristero was a young Jesuit priest named Padre Miguel Pro. Using various disguises, Padre Pro ministered to the people of Mexico City. Finally the government arrested him and sentenced him to public execution. The president of Mexico (Plutarco Calles) thought that Padre Pro would beg for mercy, so he invited the press to the execution. Padre Pro did not plead for his life, but instead knelt holding a crucifix. When he finished his prayer, he kissed the crucifix and stood up. Holding the crucifix in his right hand, he extended his arms and shouted, "Viva Cristo Rey." At that moment the soldiers fired. The journalists took pictures; if you look up "Padre Pro" or "Saint Miguel Pro" on the Internet, you can see that picture.
Like the good thief in the Gospel today, Padre Pro died acknowledging Jesus as King. Hopefully you and I will die with the name of Jesus on our lips and in our heart. But, more important, we live today acknowledging Christ as our King. Now, we do not live in a totalitarian country. Unlike Mexico in the twenties (or the Soviet Union or Nazi Germany) we enjoy religious freedom. At the same time we must be vigilant. Government can infringe on what ultimately belongs to God.
It is not enough, therefore, for Christians to hold onto their faith just in their private lives. We must bring Christ and Christian values in to culture, politics, and every sphere of society. If we truly believe in Christ, why would we be afraid of defending and spreading Christian values? Why would we let ourselves be bullied by secular fundamentalists who try to exclude Christ from culture?
In 1908, the famous English historian and writer, Hilaire Belloc, ran for the British Parliament. His opponents tried to scare off his supporters by claiming that Belloc's faithfulness to the Catholic Church would inhibit him from being objective. Belloc responded in a speech: "Gentlemen, I am a Catholic. As far as possible, I go to Mass every day. This is a rosary. As far as possible, I kneel down and tell its beads every day. "If you reject me on account of my religion, I shall thank God for having spared me the indignity of being your representative."
The crowd was shocked for a minute, and then burst out in applause.
Belloc went on to win that election, and many more. If Christ truly is King, which he is, we should not be afraid to spread his Kingdom.
The feast of Christ the King is a day of glory, exaltation and majesty. And yet, the strange thing is that today, we read the story of the crucifixion. After all, if there was a low tide in the Kingship of Christ, it was when he died, his life and work mocked, his hope crushed. Surely, at that moment, he was least a king. "lf you are a king, save yourself", they said. But of course, Jesus was not a king in the only fashion in which they could understand the word, namely a king by the exercise of his power. By dying, he displays the kind of king he is, one who suffers trusting in God and punishes no one.
The Good Thief understood this. The bad thief didn't. The rulers didn't. As Jesus hung on the cross, revealing God's saving love, they sneered and jeered at him. They knew that he had claimed to be the Messiah, the Savior, the King of Israel, but they could only imagine kingship in earthly terms. And so they challenged Jesus to show that he was truly a king by coming down from the cross. If Jesus could eliminate human suffering and injustice (symbolized by coming down from the cross), so they thought, he would prove himself to be a worthy king. But Jesus didn't do it. He didn't even respond to them with an explanation. He simply kept suffering unfairly until the very end. And as he suffered, the Good Thief realized the truth. He realized that there is more to the human story than what we see, experience, and understand here on earth. He realized that Jesus held the key to a Kingdom much greater than any the earth would ever know. He realized that Christ's Kingdom could begin on earth, through faith, hope and obedience, but that it would only reach its fullness hereafter, and so he makes his prayer: "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." To that request, Jesus responded.
As a true King, he granted the favor. He didn't take away the Good Thief's suffering - Christ's Kingdom is not of this world - but he gave it purpose: he made it a path to Paradise. And as the Good Thief hung on the cross, dying, tortured, in excruciating pain, he was happy, because he had placed himself under the King's protection, and the King would keep his promise.
We are with Jesus as he makes the rounds of healing, preaching and working miracles. But we find it hard to remain in his company when we must keep fellowship with him in his suffering. We want a Messiah who is king with all the trappings of glory but not a Messiah who invites us to follow him on the way of the cross. Why then do we Christians have a king who reigns from the cross?
St. Luke provides a powerful response. Jesus is on the cross because we need him to be there. We find both the good thief and the bad one within ourselves. We want Jesus to get off the cross and make everything right. We need a quick fix solution to all our problems and the bold display of power.
There are many Christians who demand of Christ the disappearance of suffering, injustice and war. There are other people who say that if Christ has royal power, let him fashion for us a better society, and then they will believe in him. At the same time, we also realize that Jesus must remain on the cross if we are to hear these words: "I assure you: this day you will be with me in paradise."
We are ambassadors of Christ the King. We represent him to the world.
Through us, his wisdom enlightens culture. Through us, his grace reaches into every corner of the human community and heals it of selfishness, greed and injustice. Our job as ambassadors is simply to be loyal. That means first of all that we must know the King's desires and priorities.
Today especially, before we receive our Lord in Holy Communion, let us put more meaning than usual into the words that sum up every christian’s fundamental mission and deepest desire: Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
XXXIII-Sunday in Ordinary Time
XXXIII Sunday: Malachi 3:19-20;: 2 Thess 3: 7-12;Gosple: Lk 21: 5-19
Next Sunday is the feast of Christ the King and the following Sunday is the first Sunday of advent. As the Church year comes to an end, the Sunday readings reflect on the final days of the world, our own death and the final judgment. Today’s gospel passage warns that the date of the end of the world is uncertain. Signs and portents will precede the end, and the faithful will be called upon to testify before kings and governors. The good news, however, is that those who persevere in faithfulness to the Lord will save their souls and enter God's eternal kingdom.
Early Christian community had experienced much persecution. Jesus' words about people being "handed over by parents, brothers, relations and friends," were beginning to come true. Hence Luke encouraged them, in today’s gospel, to rely on Jesus’ promise of the protective power of a providing God and to persevere in faith and its practice, “By your perseverance you will secure your lives."
The purpose of the apocalyptic literature was to encourage dispirited people by proclaiming that God is in control of history and that punishment of the wicked will come about by God’s doing. It was also intended to encourage the believers to remain faithful through the coming ordeals. Luke gives them Jesus’ assurance that they are to trust his words against their persecutors. They must make use of this opportunity to bear witness to Jesus. This test of faith was also an opportunity to bear witness before the court officials and the public at large. Thus, the persecution would become a massive evangelization campaign [21:12-13]. Jesus cautions against their despairing in the face of wide-ranging opposition and persecution.
Before the breakup of the Soviet Union, Christians of all denominations were routinely persecuted for their faith by the Communist regime.
One small group of believers used to meet in a family home every Sunday. They would arrive at different times, to avoid suspicion. On one particular Sunday they were all safely inside the building, with curtains drawn and doors locked. They had been singing and praying for awhile when the door burst open and two armed soldiers crashed in.
One shouted, "Everybody up against the wall. If you wish to renounce your faith in Jesus Christ, you can leave now and no harm will come to you."
Two people left right away, then a third and fourth straggled out.
"This is your last chance!" the soldier warned. "Either turn your back on this Jesus of yours or stay and suffer the consequences!" Two more slipped outside, crying and ashamed. No one else moved. Parents with small children trembling beside them looked down reassuringly. They fully expected to be gunned down on the spot, or imprisoned. After a few moments of silence, the soldiers closed the door. One of them said, "Keep your hands up - but this time in praise to our Lord Jesus Christ, brothers and sisters. We, too, are Christians. We were sent to another house church like this several weeks ago, and we became believers."
The other soldier added, "We are sorry to have frightened those who left, but we have learned that unless people are willing to die for their faith, they cannot be fully trusted." In times of trouble our faith is tested, and we have a chance to do for Christ what he did for us: love him to the end.
Instead of destroying us, persecution and martyrdom will gain us eternal life. At the end of the discourse, Jesus gave the assurance, “Not a hair from your head would perish" (21:18). God's saving purpose will certainly triumph, because, contrary to appearances, he remains firmly in control. Finally, the way to glory is traveled more often through day-by-day endurance, rather than through isolated acts of heroic virtue.
'Do not be terrified'. 'Not a hair on your head will be destroyed.' Why should we not be terrified? Because we have a sure hope that it won't be the end of the world. At least, it won't be the end of our world. For those who love God, who are secure in the love that God has for us, our world will never end. But our trials and sufferings will help us transform to a better stage of life. And so avoidance of suffering will not help us in transforming us to what God wants us to be.
A man found a cocoon of an emperor moth and took it home to watch the moth come out. One day a small opening appeared. The man sat and watched the moth for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress.
The man thought it was stuck, and decided to help. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon so that the moth could get out. Soon the moth emerged, but it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch, expecting that in time the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would simultaneously contract to its proper size. Neither happened. In fact, that little moth spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly. The man in his haste didn't understand that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the moth to get through the tiny opening had a purpose. They force fluid from the body into the beautiful wings so that the moth can be ready for flight once it emerges from the cocoon.
Just as the moth could only achieve freedom and flight as a result of struggling, we often need to struggle to fulfill our life's mission.
This life on earth, for us and for the Church as a whole, is like the moth's life in the cocoon. The struggles God permits us have a purpose - by facing them bravely, with faith, and with the help of his grace, we and the Church will become what he created us to be.
Jesus himself saved us through his suffering and death and set before us an example of how we should face the struggles in life. Some times people think their world is ending when someone very close to them leave this world. They find no meaning for living further. Their world seems falling apart. But our world does not end there, if we have faith in the Lord’s loving protection , to carry us through. Some times God uses our sufferings for the return of others to God and to salvation.
Do I recognize that my Christian response to the hardships of life in this fallen world will serve as advertisements for Christ and bring others to salvation ? Do I use the tough times in my life to give testimony to my faith in the savior who saved me through suffering ?
Let us conclude this Church year by praying for the grace to endure patiently any trials that are essential to our affirmation of Jesus our Savior.
Next Sunday is the feast of Christ the King and the following Sunday is the first Sunday of advent. As the Church year comes to an end, the Sunday readings reflect on the final days of the world, our own death and the final judgment. Today’s gospel passage warns that the date of the end of the world is uncertain. Signs and portents will precede the end, and the faithful will be called upon to testify before kings and governors. The good news, however, is that those who persevere in faithfulness to the Lord will save their souls and enter God's eternal kingdom.
Early Christian community had experienced much persecution. Jesus' words about people being "handed over by parents, brothers, relations and friends," were beginning to come true. Hence Luke encouraged them, in today’s gospel, to rely on Jesus’ promise of the protective power of a providing God and to persevere in faith and its practice, “By your perseverance you will secure your lives."
The purpose of the apocalyptic literature was to encourage dispirited people by proclaiming that God is in control of history and that punishment of the wicked will come about by God’s doing. It was also intended to encourage the believers to remain faithful through the coming ordeals. Luke gives them Jesus’ assurance that they are to trust his words against their persecutors. They must make use of this opportunity to bear witness to Jesus. This test of faith was also an opportunity to bear witness before the court officials and the public at large. Thus, the persecution would become a massive evangelization campaign [21:12-13]. Jesus cautions against their despairing in the face of wide-ranging opposition and persecution.
Before the breakup of the Soviet Union, Christians of all denominations were routinely persecuted for their faith by the Communist regime.
One small group of believers used to meet in a family home every Sunday. They would arrive at different times, to avoid suspicion. On one particular Sunday they were all safely inside the building, with curtains drawn and doors locked. They had been singing and praying for awhile when the door burst open and two armed soldiers crashed in.
One shouted, "Everybody up against the wall. If you wish to renounce your faith in Jesus Christ, you can leave now and no harm will come to you."
Two people left right away, then a third and fourth straggled out.
"This is your last chance!" the soldier warned. "Either turn your back on this Jesus of yours or stay and suffer the consequences!" Two more slipped outside, crying and ashamed. No one else moved. Parents with small children trembling beside them looked down reassuringly. They fully expected to be gunned down on the spot, or imprisoned. After a few moments of silence, the soldiers closed the door. One of them said, "Keep your hands up - but this time in praise to our Lord Jesus Christ, brothers and sisters. We, too, are Christians. We were sent to another house church like this several weeks ago, and we became believers."
The other soldier added, "We are sorry to have frightened those who left, but we have learned that unless people are willing to die for their faith, they cannot be fully trusted." In times of trouble our faith is tested, and we have a chance to do for Christ what he did for us: love him to the end.
Instead of destroying us, persecution and martyrdom will gain us eternal life. At the end of the discourse, Jesus gave the assurance, “Not a hair from your head would perish" (21:18). God's saving purpose will certainly triumph, because, contrary to appearances, he remains firmly in control. Finally, the way to glory is traveled more often through day-by-day endurance, rather than through isolated acts of heroic virtue.
'Do not be terrified'. 'Not a hair on your head will be destroyed.' Why should we not be terrified? Because we have a sure hope that it won't be the end of the world. At least, it won't be the end of our world. For those who love God, who are secure in the love that God has for us, our world will never end. But our trials and sufferings will help us transform to a better stage of life. And so avoidance of suffering will not help us in transforming us to what God wants us to be.
A man found a cocoon of an emperor moth and took it home to watch the moth come out. One day a small opening appeared. The man sat and watched the moth for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress.
The man thought it was stuck, and decided to help. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon so that the moth could get out. Soon the moth emerged, but it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch, expecting that in time the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would simultaneously contract to its proper size. Neither happened. In fact, that little moth spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly. The man in his haste didn't understand that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the moth to get through the tiny opening had a purpose. They force fluid from the body into the beautiful wings so that the moth can be ready for flight once it emerges from the cocoon.
Just as the moth could only achieve freedom and flight as a result of struggling, we often need to struggle to fulfill our life's mission.
This life on earth, for us and for the Church as a whole, is like the moth's life in the cocoon. The struggles God permits us have a purpose - by facing them bravely, with faith, and with the help of his grace, we and the Church will become what he created us to be.
Jesus himself saved us through his suffering and death and set before us an example of how we should face the struggles in life. Some times people think their world is ending when someone very close to them leave this world. They find no meaning for living further. Their world seems falling apart. But our world does not end there, if we have faith in the Lord’s loving protection , to carry us through. Some times God uses our sufferings for the return of others to God and to salvation.
Do I recognize that my Christian response to the hardships of life in this fallen world will serve as advertisements for Christ and bring others to salvation ? Do I use the tough times in my life to give testimony to my faith in the savior who saved me through suffering ?
Let us conclude this Church year by praying for the grace to endure patiently any trials that are essential to our affirmation of Jesus our Savior.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
XXXII-Sunday in Ordinary time.
XXXII –Sunday-: 2 Mac 7:1-2, 9-14; 2 Thess 2: 16--3:5;Gosple: Lk 20: 27-38
General Charles de Gaulle was France's president from 1959-69. His private life was not without sorrow. One of his three children, Anne, was born subnormal after a car accident involving his wife. De Gaulle used to spend hours with Anne. Eventually she died at the age of 20. At the graveside, after weeping silently, de Gaulle said softly to his wife, "Come. Now she is like the others." Death is called the universal leveler. Everyone is born to die. But death is not the last period for those who believe in God. There is resurrection for those who die in Christ.
As we near the end of the Church's liturgical year, the readings become more eschatological -- having to do with the end times. The main theme of today’s readings is the reality of life after death and of the relationship between our lives on earth and the life of glory or punishment that will follow. The readings invite us to consider the true meaning of the resurrection in our lives.
The first reading states the first century B.C. Jewish theology of martyrdom and the resurrection of the just. The intense sufferings to which good Jews were subjected brought them to the conviction that the justice of God would reward the faithful in the afterlife, and would also punish the wicked. This selection describes a Jewish family, consisting of a mother and her seven sons, who refused the command of Antiochus Epiphanus IV to eat pork, (forbidden as “unclean” by Jewish law). Because of their faith and obedience to God, they endured suffering and accepted martyrdom. The conviction that the dead would be raised on the last day had not become widely accepted at that time, nor even by the time of Jesus. But in our first reading three of the brothers speak, and each of them finds strength in the belief that he will eventually be raised by God. One says, “You may discharge us from this present life, but the King of the world will raise us up.” Another says that he hopes to receive his severed limbs again in heaven. The fourth son also says that he is “relying on God’s promise that we shall be raised up by him.” So they express faith in the life after death.
Today’s gospel affirms the victory of God’s love over the power of death. Jesus speaks of God as the God of the living. The gospel shows us how Jesus ingeniously escaped from a doctrinal trap set for him by the Sadducees.
Pharisees and Sadducees are often mentioned together in the gospels, but in their beliefs they could not be further apart. The Pharisees were a religious party with no political ambition; they believed in the resurrection, in angels, in spirits; they expected the coming of the Messiah.
The Sadducees constituted a party of wealth, power and privilege, which controlled the Temple worship. Although few in number, the Sadducees were the Jewish governing class, and they supported Roman rule. They were secular in outlook, and did not believe in the coming of any Messiah (who might upset the system); they did not believe in the next life, nor in the existence of angels or spirits. Nearly all priests were Sadducees. They acknowledged only written Scripture as bearing God’s word, accepting only the first five books of the Hebrew Bible as authoritative. They rejected the oral tradition which the Pharisees found necessary for applying God's revealed word to everyday life. The Sadducees believed in unrestricted free-will and not in fate or providence. They assumed that we control our own destinies through our personal actions.
When the Sadducees posed their question about the status of the woman who was married in this life to seven brothers, they were only making fun of the belief in a next life. No Rabbi had ever brought a ‘proof’ of it from the first five books of the Scriptures .But Jesus provides positive Biblical proof for the reality of resurrected existence. Jesus presumes that Yahweh's burning bush statement about being the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is in the present tense. This would prove that these three patriarchs were still alive at the time of Moses, 600 years after their death. Thus, Jesus uses the Sadducees' sacred text of the Torah to respond to their anti-resurrection belief. God said to Moses from the burning bush, "I am the God of your Fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob" (Ex.3:1-6). Since God claims to be God of the patriarchs, He must somehow sustain the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by granting them resurrection and eternal life. Therefore the resurrection of the body can be proved from the Torah itself. Jesus also explains that the afterlife won't be just an eternal replay of this life. Our happiness there will far exceed the sexual joys of marriage in this life, so the ridiculous problem of a man who had seven wives in this life won't apply in the next. A little girl and her father were walking on a clear, starry night. She turned to him and asked, “If the wrong side of heaven is so beautiful, what will the right side be like?”
When it comes to talking about the hereafter, no one is clearer than Paul: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived, What God has prepared for those who love him."
Since God is God of the living and not of the dead, to trust in this God means to realize we are meant to be alive. And being alive consists of being with Him in a continuous manner, forever. Furthermore, “and for him all are alive” (Lk 20:38): God is the source of life. The believer, submerged in God through the Baptism, has been able to escape forever from the clutches of death.
Resurrection is not some natural right that we are given. It is a remarkable gift or the grace of God. Pessimists say we die like any animal and that is it. Look at Ecclesiastes and you will find this emphatic despair.
Christianity believes that life continues after death." Death does not snuff out the candle of our soul. God gives us the gift of life: Earthly life and Resurrection life: Both are Gift! Both are Grace!"
Some people say there is only one life and so enjoy it. Certainly it is true. But the quality of the enjoyment should be pure and holy. The second part of the movie after the intermission is built upon the first part. So we need to hold faith in the afterlife, the life that lasts for ever with Christ. So a Christian should always prepare for that.
The story is told of an American tourist who paid the 19th century Polish rabbi Hofetz Chaim a visit. Astonished to see that the rabbi’s home was only a simple room filled with books, a table and a bench, the tourist asked, “Rabbi, where is your furniture?” “Where is yours?” replied the rabbi. “Mine?” asked the puzzled tourist. “But I’m only a visitor here. I’m only passing through.” “So am I,” said Hofetz Chaim. We are only passing through here, it is not our permanent dwelling place.
Among other things, the Chinese Boxer Rebellion of 1900 tried to wipe out Christian influence on Chinese society. During the Rebellion, some members of the Rebel party surrounded a Christian mission school and barricaded all gates and doors except one. Across this threshold they placed a cross. Whoever trampled on that cross, implicitly denying their Christian faith, would go free; whoever stepped around it would be shot. The first seven students chose to trample on the cross. They went free. Next came a teen-age girl. She stopped, knelt before the cross, rose, and stepped around it. A shot rang out. She was dead. But the other ninety-two students in the school, inspired by her example and her courage, likewise stepped around the cross and accepted death rather than trample upon the symbol of their faith. If I believe only in this life, I won’t get the courage sacrifice my life, or empty myself for others, even for my own children.
Paul says that we were meant to grow until "we attain to the full height of the stature of Christ." Resurrection is the way where by we can grow to the full height of the stature of Christ.
There is an Italian legend about a master and servant. The servant was not very smart and the master used to get very exasperated with him. Finally, one day, in a fit of temper, the master said: "You really are the stupidest man I know. Here, I want you to carry this staff wherever you go. And if you ever meet a person stupider than yourself, give them this staff."
So time went by, and often in the marketplace the servant would encounter some pretty stupid people, but he never found someone appropriate for the staff. Years later, he returned to his master's home. He was shown into his master's bedroom, for the man was quite sick and in bed. In the course of their conversation the master said: "I'm going on a journey soon."
"When will you return?", asked the servant. "This is a journey from which I will not return." the master replied. The servant asked: "Have you made all the necessary arrangements?"
"No, I guess I have not…The servant said: You have not made arrangements for a journey from which you will not return ? Even for a small journey we make enough arrangements and you did not make arrangements ? I think you deserve this staff. I haven’t seen anyone more dumb than you.
Do we deserve a stupid’s staff ? How have I prepared myself for that journey which can begin any moment from now ?
Does thee proclamation that our God is the God of the living mean something positive to us. It should affect our lives today and every day, especially during our Sunday worship. Let us give thanks to Almighty God for this foretaste of the Heavenly Banquet that awaits us in the place that God has prepared for us. Let us reaffirm our belief in the life of the world to come, since this is the most effective means to escape the stranglehold of materialism in our lives here on earth.
General Charles de Gaulle was France's president from 1959-69. His private life was not without sorrow. One of his three children, Anne, was born subnormal after a car accident involving his wife. De Gaulle used to spend hours with Anne. Eventually she died at the age of 20. At the graveside, after weeping silently, de Gaulle said softly to his wife, "Come. Now she is like the others." Death is called the universal leveler. Everyone is born to die. But death is not the last period for those who believe in God. There is resurrection for those who die in Christ.
As we near the end of the Church's liturgical year, the readings become more eschatological -- having to do with the end times. The main theme of today’s readings is the reality of life after death and of the relationship between our lives on earth and the life of glory or punishment that will follow. The readings invite us to consider the true meaning of the resurrection in our lives.
The first reading states the first century B.C. Jewish theology of martyrdom and the resurrection of the just. The intense sufferings to which good Jews were subjected brought them to the conviction that the justice of God would reward the faithful in the afterlife, and would also punish the wicked. This selection describes a Jewish family, consisting of a mother and her seven sons, who refused the command of Antiochus Epiphanus IV to eat pork, (forbidden as “unclean” by Jewish law). Because of their faith and obedience to God, they endured suffering and accepted martyrdom. The conviction that the dead would be raised on the last day had not become widely accepted at that time, nor even by the time of Jesus. But in our first reading three of the brothers speak, and each of them finds strength in the belief that he will eventually be raised by God. One says, “You may discharge us from this present life, but the King of the world will raise us up.” Another says that he hopes to receive his severed limbs again in heaven. The fourth son also says that he is “relying on God’s promise that we shall be raised up by him.” So they express faith in the life after death.
Today’s gospel affirms the victory of God’s love over the power of death. Jesus speaks of God as the God of the living. The gospel shows us how Jesus ingeniously escaped from a doctrinal trap set for him by the Sadducees.
Pharisees and Sadducees are often mentioned together in the gospels, but in their beliefs they could not be further apart. The Pharisees were a religious party with no political ambition; they believed in the resurrection, in angels, in spirits; they expected the coming of the Messiah.
The Sadducees constituted a party of wealth, power and privilege, which controlled the Temple worship. Although few in number, the Sadducees were the Jewish governing class, and they supported Roman rule. They were secular in outlook, and did not believe in the coming of any Messiah (who might upset the system); they did not believe in the next life, nor in the existence of angels or spirits. Nearly all priests were Sadducees. They acknowledged only written Scripture as bearing God’s word, accepting only the first five books of the Hebrew Bible as authoritative. They rejected the oral tradition which the Pharisees found necessary for applying God's revealed word to everyday life. The Sadducees believed in unrestricted free-will and not in fate or providence. They assumed that we control our own destinies through our personal actions.
When the Sadducees posed their question about the status of the woman who was married in this life to seven brothers, they were only making fun of the belief in a next life. No Rabbi had ever brought a ‘proof’ of it from the first five books of the Scriptures .But Jesus provides positive Biblical proof for the reality of resurrected existence. Jesus presumes that Yahweh's burning bush statement about being the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is in the present tense. This would prove that these three patriarchs were still alive at the time of Moses, 600 years after their death. Thus, Jesus uses the Sadducees' sacred text of the Torah to respond to their anti-resurrection belief. God said to Moses from the burning bush, "I am the God of your Fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob" (Ex.3:1-6). Since God claims to be God of the patriarchs, He must somehow sustain the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob by granting them resurrection and eternal life. Therefore the resurrection of the body can be proved from the Torah itself. Jesus also explains that the afterlife won't be just an eternal replay of this life. Our happiness there will far exceed the sexual joys of marriage in this life, so the ridiculous problem of a man who had seven wives in this life won't apply in the next. A little girl and her father were walking on a clear, starry night. She turned to him and asked, “If the wrong side of heaven is so beautiful, what will the right side be like?”
When it comes to talking about the hereafter, no one is clearer than Paul: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived, What God has prepared for those who love him."
Since God is God of the living and not of the dead, to trust in this God means to realize we are meant to be alive. And being alive consists of being with Him in a continuous manner, forever. Furthermore, “and for him all are alive” (Lk 20:38): God is the source of life. The believer, submerged in God through the Baptism, has been able to escape forever from the clutches of death.
Resurrection is not some natural right that we are given. It is a remarkable gift or the grace of God. Pessimists say we die like any animal and that is it. Look at Ecclesiastes and you will find this emphatic despair.
Christianity believes that life continues after death." Death does not snuff out the candle of our soul. God gives us the gift of life: Earthly life and Resurrection life: Both are Gift! Both are Grace!"
Some people say there is only one life and so enjoy it. Certainly it is true. But the quality of the enjoyment should be pure and holy. The second part of the movie after the intermission is built upon the first part. So we need to hold faith in the afterlife, the life that lasts for ever with Christ. So a Christian should always prepare for that.
The story is told of an American tourist who paid the 19th century Polish rabbi Hofetz Chaim a visit. Astonished to see that the rabbi’s home was only a simple room filled with books, a table and a bench, the tourist asked, “Rabbi, where is your furniture?” “Where is yours?” replied the rabbi. “Mine?” asked the puzzled tourist. “But I’m only a visitor here. I’m only passing through.” “So am I,” said Hofetz Chaim. We are only passing through here, it is not our permanent dwelling place.
Among other things, the Chinese Boxer Rebellion of 1900 tried to wipe out Christian influence on Chinese society. During the Rebellion, some members of the Rebel party surrounded a Christian mission school and barricaded all gates and doors except one. Across this threshold they placed a cross. Whoever trampled on that cross, implicitly denying their Christian faith, would go free; whoever stepped around it would be shot. The first seven students chose to trample on the cross. They went free. Next came a teen-age girl. She stopped, knelt before the cross, rose, and stepped around it. A shot rang out. She was dead. But the other ninety-two students in the school, inspired by her example and her courage, likewise stepped around the cross and accepted death rather than trample upon the symbol of their faith. If I believe only in this life, I won’t get the courage sacrifice my life, or empty myself for others, even for my own children.
Paul says that we were meant to grow until "we attain to the full height of the stature of Christ." Resurrection is the way where by we can grow to the full height of the stature of Christ.
There is an Italian legend about a master and servant. The servant was not very smart and the master used to get very exasperated with him. Finally, one day, in a fit of temper, the master said: "You really are the stupidest man I know. Here, I want you to carry this staff wherever you go. And if you ever meet a person stupider than yourself, give them this staff."
So time went by, and often in the marketplace the servant would encounter some pretty stupid people, but he never found someone appropriate for the staff. Years later, he returned to his master's home. He was shown into his master's bedroom, for the man was quite sick and in bed. In the course of their conversation the master said: "I'm going on a journey soon."
"When will you return?", asked the servant. "This is a journey from which I will not return." the master replied. The servant asked: "Have you made all the necessary arrangements?"
"No, I guess I have not…The servant said: You have not made arrangements for a journey from which you will not return ? Even for a small journey we make enough arrangements and you did not make arrangements ? I think you deserve this staff. I haven’t seen anyone more dumb than you.
Do we deserve a stupid’s staff ? How have I prepared myself for that journey which can begin any moment from now ?
Does thee proclamation that our God is the God of the living mean something positive to us. It should affect our lives today and every day, especially during our Sunday worship. Let us give thanks to Almighty God for this foretaste of the Heavenly Banquet that awaits us in the place that God has prepared for us. Let us reaffirm our belief in the life of the world to come, since this is the most effective means to escape the stranglehold of materialism in our lives here on earth.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
XXVIIth Sunday in Ordinary time
XXVII SUNDAY HAB.1:2-3; 2:2-4; II TIM 1:6-8, 13-14;: LUKE 17: 5-10
The story is told of a man who fell off a mountain cliff. Half-way down the cliff he succeeds in grabbing a branch of a tree. There he is, dangling on the branch, unable to pull himself up yet knowing that by letting go of the branch he would definitely fall to his death. Suddenly the man gets an idea. He looks up to heaven and shouts, “Is anyone up there?” A voice comes from heaven, “Yes, I am here. I am the Lord. Do you believe in me?” The man shouts back, “Yes, Lord, I believe in you. I really believe. Please help me.” The Lord says, “All right! If you really believe in me you have nothing to worry about. I will save you. Now let go of the branch.” The man thinks about it for a moment and then shouts back, “Is anyone else up there?”
Is the man in the story a believer? O course he believes that God exists. He believes in the power of prayer. He believes that God is able to help him and save him from his predicament. But he does not take God on His word. Many of us laugh at the story because we can recognize ourselves in this man. We believe in God, but when the going gets tough and things do not work out as we expect we take matters into our own hands or look for help elsewhere. We believe, yes; but we are people of little faith
The apostles too were men of little faith. They believe in Jesus and follow him, but when they see the soldiers approaching in the garden of Gethsemane they abandon Jesus and flee. They are men of little faith. The big difference between us and the apostles is that whereas we often see ourselves as keeping the faith all right, the apostles see themselves as men of deficient faith. They know their faith lacks something.
In response to the request of the apostles to increase their faith, Jesus tells them the parable about the unprofitable servant who comes back from plowing the field and proceeds straight away to prepare supper for his master and to wait on him while he eats. Only after the master’s needs are fully satisfied does the master then give the servant leave to attend to his own need for food and rest. How does this parable answer the request of the apostles for an increase of faith. Jesus is saying that if we have mature faith we would put the will and pleasure of God first in our lives at all times. If we have faith we will not grumble and complain that we have been working for God all day long, now we are tired and it is God’s turn to attend to our needs. Rather we will forget ourselves and work ourselves to death in God’s service, knowing that God will come to our aid when and how He deems right.
Faith for my deliverance is not faith in God. Faith means, whether I am delivered now or not, I will stick to my belief that God loves and cares for me. This is the mistake of the young man caught in the mountain cliff. He has faith in his own deliverance, not in God’s infinite power to save and His unfailing love for him. God’s unconditional love for us demands only one proper response from us, our unconditional love and service of God. So many of us Christians today believe that true and mature faith consists in our ability to obtain miracles from God. The truth that today’s gospel shows us is that mature faith consists not in how much God attends to our immediate needs but in how willing we are to serve God unconditionally, without counting the cost.
Faith is believing and trusting in God. Faith is like a muscle, you have to exercise it every day to make it strong. My faith will grow stronger if I exercise it by trusting in God each and every day. Faith is not faith if kept in reserve for emergencies. Faith is lived daily and shapes the way we think and behave. It is about receptivity to God's presence in our daily lives and it is seen in our faithful behaviour.
The size of faith doesn’t matter because God is the one doing the moving. If it is my faith that moved the mountain, then the bigger the mountain the more faith I would need to move it. The bigger the obstacle the more strength I’d need to climb it. The more serious the illness, a faith even greater would be required to overcome it. The more serious the sin the more faith I would need in order to have it forgiven. That kind of thinking, kind of makes sense, but that’s not how faith works. In fact, faith doesn’t do the work at all. God is the one doing the work through faith. Think of faith as the key that opens the door to God acting in our lives. If I have a bigger key ring than you do, does it matter? The size of a key ring doesn’t matter – key rings don’t open doors but it’s that little key on the ring that opens doors. Even a little faith opens the door for God to move the mountains and trees and even our hearts. That little faith is the little opening for God to enter our life to do the work in our life.
Here Jesus cautions us that it is the quality of faith rather than the quantity of faith that needs to be increased. That is why Jesus compares faith to a tiny mustard seed – a living thing whose power does not depend on its size, but on its life principle that is hidden deep within itself. Unless we understand this distinction, we run the risk of deceiving ourselves. We can easily end up thinking that the more prayers we say, the more faith we have. Or that the more good works we do, the stronger our faith becomes.
Faith is more like life itself. It is something that can grow in a qualitative sense and become deeper, richer and more fruitful. Faith is more than praying with bowed heads and clasped hands.
St. Paul tells us: "Bear your share of hardships which the gospel entails with the strength that comes from God." This is because it is in the fire of affliction that our faith is best tested. The book of Job bear testimony to this. It is this faith that can draw out the poison that is in every sorrow and quench the fire in every pain. Only with such faith can we trust the past to the mercy of God, the present to his love and the future to his providence.
It does not follow that faith will give us the power to literally move trees. But faith will give us power to cope with difficulties and attempt great things for the Lord. It is the power to persevere through difficulties, the power that comes from knowing that our Father is in charge.
The Responsorial Psalm we heard today gives us one sure way to activate the power of faith: "If today you hear his voice, harden not your heart."
Faith is practical. If we believe in God's wisdom, love, and power, we will obey him. We will follow where he leads. And he is always leading us somewhere - always making his voice heard. The most common way he does so is through our conscience. Our conscience is like an inner radio station that is always tuned to God's voice. But it's not the only station out there, and, unfortunately, it's not always the loudest. Sometimes we turn up the station of peer pressure and fashion really loud, or the station dedicated to self-indulgence, irresponsible pleasure, and other soothing but deadening sounds. The sounds that we usually hear loud and clear these days is the sound of death. Pronouncing death for defenseless for one’s easy comfort. Today is respect for life Sunday. Our faith demands respecting life in all its forms. At least 25,000 innocent lives are taken everyday the world over. We feel terribly over the loss of 4000 lives on 9/11; Six million lives by Nazis during world War II. We condemn them. But the most contemptible atrocity ever done on human lives is committed or being committed in these decades by promoting abortion. Does that pain me at all ? Do I condemn that ? If not, I don’t live my faith. Even though I may call myself a Catholic, I don’t believe what the Lord teaches me- to protect the life of the defenseless. President Reagan said: I have noticed that all who are for abortion are already been born. The un-borns can not speak for themselves. So it is the duty of those already born and living, to stand for the right to life of the unborn. Jesus said: I have come that you may have life, life in abundance. And he also said that the thief/Satan comes to steal and kill. So those who are up for abortion are Satan’s agents. Jesus is truly a liberating force. He liberates us from all that endangers our life.
This seventh is the feast of the our Lady of Holy Rosary whose intercession led to the defeat of the advancing Muslims on the Medittaranean Christian countries in the 1500s. Let’s pray to her that blinding scales from the eyes of all the spiritually blind may fall off, so that they may see the value of human life as God’s precious gift. That they may see that procured abortion, Euthanasia, Suicide, Doctor- assisted suicide, embryo destruction for scientific experiments are all evil in themselves which are to be avoided as children of God.
The story is told of a man who fell off a mountain cliff. Half-way down the cliff he succeeds in grabbing a branch of a tree. There he is, dangling on the branch, unable to pull himself up yet knowing that by letting go of the branch he would definitely fall to his death. Suddenly the man gets an idea. He looks up to heaven and shouts, “Is anyone up there?” A voice comes from heaven, “Yes, I am here. I am the Lord. Do you believe in me?” The man shouts back, “Yes, Lord, I believe in you. I really believe. Please help me.” The Lord says, “All right! If you really believe in me you have nothing to worry about. I will save you. Now let go of the branch.” The man thinks about it for a moment and then shouts back, “Is anyone else up there?”
Is the man in the story a believer? O course he believes that God exists. He believes in the power of prayer. He believes that God is able to help him and save him from his predicament. But he does not take God on His word. Many of us laugh at the story because we can recognize ourselves in this man. We believe in God, but when the going gets tough and things do not work out as we expect we take matters into our own hands or look for help elsewhere. We believe, yes; but we are people of little faith
The apostles too were men of little faith. They believe in Jesus and follow him, but when they see the soldiers approaching in the garden of Gethsemane they abandon Jesus and flee. They are men of little faith. The big difference between us and the apostles is that whereas we often see ourselves as keeping the faith all right, the apostles see themselves as men of deficient faith. They know their faith lacks something.
In response to the request of the apostles to increase their faith, Jesus tells them the parable about the unprofitable servant who comes back from plowing the field and proceeds straight away to prepare supper for his master and to wait on him while he eats. Only after the master’s needs are fully satisfied does the master then give the servant leave to attend to his own need for food and rest. How does this parable answer the request of the apostles for an increase of faith. Jesus is saying that if we have mature faith we would put the will and pleasure of God first in our lives at all times. If we have faith we will not grumble and complain that we have been working for God all day long, now we are tired and it is God’s turn to attend to our needs. Rather we will forget ourselves and work ourselves to death in God’s service, knowing that God will come to our aid when and how He deems right.
Faith for my deliverance is not faith in God. Faith means, whether I am delivered now or not, I will stick to my belief that God loves and cares for me. This is the mistake of the young man caught in the mountain cliff. He has faith in his own deliverance, not in God’s infinite power to save and His unfailing love for him. God’s unconditional love for us demands only one proper response from us, our unconditional love and service of God. So many of us Christians today believe that true and mature faith consists in our ability to obtain miracles from God. The truth that today’s gospel shows us is that mature faith consists not in how much God attends to our immediate needs but in how willing we are to serve God unconditionally, without counting the cost.
Faith is believing and trusting in God. Faith is like a muscle, you have to exercise it every day to make it strong. My faith will grow stronger if I exercise it by trusting in God each and every day. Faith is not faith if kept in reserve for emergencies. Faith is lived daily and shapes the way we think and behave. It is about receptivity to God's presence in our daily lives and it is seen in our faithful behaviour.
The size of faith doesn’t matter because God is the one doing the moving. If it is my faith that moved the mountain, then the bigger the mountain the more faith I would need to move it. The bigger the obstacle the more strength I’d need to climb it. The more serious the illness, a faith even greater would be required to overcome it. The more serious the sin the more faith I would need in order to have it forgiven. That kind of thinking, kind of makes sense, but that’s not how faith works. In fact, faith doesn’t do the work at all. God is the one doing the work through faith. Think of faith as the key that opens the door to God acting in our lives. If I have a bigger key ring than you do, does it matter? The size of a key ring doesn’t matter – key rings don’t open doors but it’s that little key on the ring that opens doors. Even a little faith opens the door for God to move the mountains and trees and even our hearts. That little faith is the little opening for God to enter our life to do the work in our life.
Here Jesus cautions us that it is the quality of faith rather than the quantity of faith that needs to be increased. That is why Jesus compares faith to a tiny mustard seed – a living thing whose power does not depend on its size, but on its life principle that is hidden deep within itself. Unless we understand this distinction, we run the risk of deceiving ourselves. We can easily end up thinking that the more prayers we say, the more faith we have. Or that the more good works we do, the stronger our faith becomes.
Faith is more like life itself. It is something that can grow in a qualitative sense and become deeper, richer and more fruitful. Faith is more than praying with bowed heads and clasped hands.
St. Paul tells us: "Bear your share of hardships which the gospel entails with the strength that comes from God." This is because it is in the fire of affliction that our faith is best tested. The book of Job bear testimony to this. It is this faith that can draw out the poison that is in every sorrow and quench the fire in every pain. Only with such faith can we trust the past to the mercy of God, the present to his love and the future to his providence.
It does not follow that faith will give us the power to literally move trees. But faith will give us power to cope with difficulties and attempt great things for the Lord. It is the power to persevere through difficulties, the power that comes from knowing that our Father is in charge.
The Responsorial Psalm we heard today gives us one sure way to activate the power of faith: "If today you hear his voice, harden not your heart."
Faith is practical. If we believe in God's wisdom, love, and power, we will obey him. We will follow where he leads. And he is always leading us somewhere - always making his voice heard. The most common way he does so is through our conscience. Our conscience is like an inner radio station that is always tuned to God's voice. But it's not the only station out there, and, unfortunately, it's not always the loudest. Sometimes we turn up the station of peer pressure and fashion really loud, or the station dedicated to self-indulgence, irresponsible pleasure, and other soothing but deadening sounds. The sounds that we usually hear loud and clear these days is the sound of death. Pronouncing death for defenseless for one’s easy comfort. Today is respect for life Sunday. Our faith demands respecting life in all its forms. At least 25,000 innocent lives are taken everyday the world over. We feel terribly over the loss of 4000 lives on 9/11; Six million lives by Nazis during world War II. We condemn them. But the most contemptible atrocity ever done on human lives is committed or being committed in these decades by promoting abortion. Does that pain me at all ? Do I condemn that ? If not, I don’t live my faith. Even though I may call myself a Catholic, I don’t believe what the Lord teaches me- to protect the life of the defenseless. President Reagan said: I have noticed that all who are for abortion are already been born. The un-borns can not speak for themselves. So it is the duty of those already born and living, to stand for the right to life of the unborn. Jesus said: I have come that you may have life, life in abundance. And he also said that the thief/Satan comes to steal and kill. So those who are up for abortion are Satan’s agents. Jesus is truly a liberating force. He liberates us from all that endangers our life.
This seventh is the feast of the our Lady of Holy Rosary whose intercession led to the defeat of the advancing Muslims on the Medittaranean Christian countries in the 1500s. Let’s pray to her that blinding scales from the eyes of all the spiritually blind may fall off, so that they may see the value of human life as God’s precious gift. That they may see that procured abortion, Euthanasia, Suicide, Doctor- assisted suicide, embryo destruction for scientific experiments are all evil in themselves which are to be avoided as children of God.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
XXVth Sunday- ( based on second reading)
XXVth Sunday homily
A minister stands before a hall full of graduating theology students and decides to demonstrate the theme of his address. “Please stand up,” he says. “I will read out the names of some high government officials for whom we have a responsibility to pray. If you know that official’s name, keep standing. If not, you sit down.” He begins with the president. No one sits down. Then the state governor, and a few people sit down. When he mentions the senator from the state more people sit down. By the time he gets to the congressperson representing the district only about 25 percent of the audience remain standing. To conclude the demonstration, he says to those still standing: “If you have not prayed for each of these at least once since the beginning of this year, please be seated.” One person, and only one person, is left standing. If we carry out the same demonstration in our church today, how shall we fare?
In today’s second reading, Paul gives instructions to Timothy on Christian worship. The first injunction he gives him is on praying for everyone, especially for civil authorities: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions” (1 Tim.2:1-2a). Today we take it for granted that we should pray for our leaders, but when we realize that Paul wrote this letter at a time when Christians were going through a most brutal state-approved persecution under the wicked emperor Nero, then the injunction to pray for the emperor raises eyebrows. Why would Christians pray for this emperor and his deputies who are out to eliminate the church?
Paul anticipates the question and gives Timothy two reasons why the church should pray for the king and all who are in high positions. The first reason is “so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity” (verse 2b). The church needed to pray so that the king would reverse his bad and discriminatory laws against Christians, which would enable them to live their lives in quiet and peace, fulfilling their religious obligations without fear of arrest, molestation or death. In other words, they were not praying for the emperor so that he would continue in power with his bad policies and decrees, they were praying so that he would change his heart and his policies against Christians.
The second reason to pray for the emperor is more altruistic. As Christians we know that “God desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (v.4). But the emperor and his nobles are living in the darkness of error and sin. So the church needed to pray for them to come to the light of truth and salvation. The religion of the emperors was emperor worship. In death emperors were deified and proclaimed to be gods, in life there were called sons of god (filii divi). Paul says that they are in error because there is only one God and one Son of God, who mediates between God and humankind, Jesus the Christ. Since the emperor and his officials are in error, Paul enjoins Christians to pray for them so that they may realize that truth and salvation are found in Christ “who gave himself a ransom for all” (v 6).
When Paul asks us to pray for the king, he is not asking us to automatically support the policies of whoever happens to be the head of government. He is asking us to pray so that our rulers may govern us with laws that allow us freedom of worship so that we can freely carry out our religious duties without hindrance. How often do we pray for our leaders ? One out of every 5 persons in the United States is a catholic. Of the remaining 4 are from hundred of other denominations and other religions. So a catholic can play a great role in choosing the leaders to this country if we exercise our voting power responsibly keeping the Christian values in mind.
As Bishop Robert Vasa pointed out, clarifying the teaching of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops in their excellent pastoral letter "Faithful Citizenship," a candidate or office holder is disqualified from receiving the vote of a Catholic in good conscience if they hold a pro-abortion position. In other words pro-choice candidates under the current set of circumstances are disqualified because of their pro-death political positions. We cannot vote for them. As the Bishops of Kansas asserted in their voter's guide, "Catholics would 'commit moral evil' by voting for a candidate who supports abortion and other intrinsically evil things. Voting is a moral act, and voting for pro-choice candidates is evil in itself. One becomes a collaborator in evil by so doing. No amount of rationalization can escape this logical and moral conclusion."
The Church clearly teaches that life begins at conception. As Pope John Paul II stated many times, "abortion is murder." Following logically from this, if a single abortion is murder, then 48,000,000 (the approximate number of abortions in this country since Roe v. Wade) of them is genocide. In less than two months you will be casting your votes again to choose leaders. But before doing that spend time in prayer, consult the holy Spirit to know his will.
In this country the signs of the faith can no longer be displayed in public: prayer has been banned in schools, crucifixes have been removed from public buildings, and “Merry Christmas” has been changed to “Happy Holiday.” Let us pray today for our government officials so that they may recognize the universal kingship of Christ and make it possible for us to practise our faith both in private and in public.
A minister stands before a hall full of graduating theology students and decides to demonstrate the theme of his address. “Please stand up,” he says. “I will read out the names of some high government officials for whom we have a responsibility to pray. If you know that official’s name, keep standing. If not, you sit down.” He begins with the president. No one sits down. Then the state governor, and a few people sit down. When he mentions the senator from the state more people sit down. By the time he gets to the congressperson representing the district only about 25 percent of the audience remain standing. To conclude the demonstration, he says to those still standing: “If you have not prayed for each of these at least once since the beginning of this year, please be seated.” One person, and only one person, is left standing. If we carry out the same demonstration in our church today, how shall we fare?
In today’s second reading, Paul gives instructions to Timothy on Christian worship. The first injunction he gives him is on praying for everyone, especially for civil authorities: “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions” (1 Tim.2:1-2a). Today we take it for granted that we should pray for our leaders, but when we realize that Paul wrote this letter at a time when Christians were going through a most brutal state-approved persecution under the wicked emperor Nero, then the injunction to pray for the emperor raises eyebrows. Why would Christians pray for this emperor and his deputies who are out to eliminate the church?
Paul anticipates the question and gives Timothy two reasons why the church should pray for the king and all who are in high positions. The first reason is “so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity” (verse 2b). The church needed to pray so that the king would reverse his bad and discriminatory laws against Christians, which would enable them to live their lives in quiet and peace, fulfilling their religious obligations without fear of arrest, molestation or death. In other words, they were not praying for the emperor so that he would continue in power with his bad policies and decrees, they were praying so that he would change his heart and his policies against Christians.
The second reason to pray for the emperor is more altruistic. As Christians we know that “God desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (v.4). But the emperor and his nobles are living in the darkness of error and sin. So the church needed to pray for them to come to the light of truth and salvation. The religion of the emperors was emperor worship. In death emperors were deified and proclaimed to be gods, in life there were called sons of god (filii divi). Paul says that they are in error because there is only one God and one Son of God, who mediates between God and humankind, Jesus the Christ. Since the emperor and his officials are in error, Paul enjoins Christians to pray for them so that they may realize that truth and salvation are found in Christ “who gave himself a ransom for all” (v 6).
When Paul asks us to pray for the king, he is not asking us to automatically support the policies of whoever happens to be the head of government. He is asking us to pray so that our rulers may govern us with laws that allow us freedom of worship so that we can freely carry out our religious duties without hindrance. How often do we pray for our leaders ? One out of every 5 persons in the United States is a catholic. Of the remaining 4 are from hundred of other denominations and other religions. So a catholic can play a great role in choosing the leaders to this country if we exercise our voting power responsibly keeping the Christian values in mind.
As Bishop Robert Vasa pointed out, clarifying the teaching of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops in their excellent pastoral letter "Faithful Citizenship," a candidate or office holder is disqualified from receiving the vote of a Catholic in good conscience if they hold a pro-abortion position. In other words pro-choice candidates under the current set of circumstances are disqualified because of their pro-death political positions. We cannot vote for them. As the Bishops of Kansas asserted in their voter's guide, "Catholics would 'commit moral evil' by voting for a candidate who supports abortion and other intrinsically evil things. Voting is a moral act, and voting for pro-choice candidates is evil in itself. One becomes a collaborator in evil by so doing. No amount of rationalization can escape this logical and moral conclusion."
The Church clearly teaches that life begins at conception. As Pope John Paul II stated many times, "abortion is murder." Following logically from this, if a single abortion is murder, then 48,000,000 (the approximate number of abortions in this country since Roe v. Wade) of them is genocide. In less than two months you will be casting your votes again to choose leaders. But before doing that spend time in prayer, consult the holy Spirit to know his will.
In this country the signs of the faith can no longer be displayed in public: prayer has been banned in schools, crucifixes have been removed from public buildings, and “Merry Christmas” has been changed to “Happy Holiday.” Let us pray today for our government officials so that they may recognize the universal kingship of Christ and make it possible for us to practise our faith both in private and in public.
Saturday, September 11, 2010
XXIVth Sunday in Ordinary time.
XXIV-Sunday EXOD 32: 7-14; I TIM 1: 12-17;Gosple: LK 15: 1-32
The parable of the prodigal son, has been called the greatest short story in the world. But, is it in fact a parable about a prodigal son? To put the younger son at the centre of the parable is already to start to misunderstand it. What is at the centre- is the father's great attachment and concern, his willingness to welcome the sinners back. This story reveals 3 amazing things about God's love for us. First, God's love is personal. God doesn't love us globally, but each of us individually in a special, personal way. Second, God's love is unconditional. God does not love us on the condition that we stay good and do not stray into sin. God loves us even when we stray--and to the point of going in search of us. Finally, God's love is a rejoicing love. God's response upon finding us is total joy--with no admixture of rebuke.
The parable of the Good shepherd shows how God is a good shepherd to us. There's an old story, about a little boy who cried out in the night. "Daddy, I'm scared!" Half awake Daddy said, "Don't be afraid, Daddy's right across the hall." There was a brief pause and the little boy called out, "I'm still scared." So Daddy pulled out the big guns, "You don't have to be afraid, God is with you. God loves you." The pause was longer but the little boy called out again, "I don't care about God, Daddy; I want someone with skin on!"
God knew we needed that assurance of someone with skin on. So God wrapped all the glory of heaven into the flesh and blood of Jesus and stepped into this world as the Good Shepherd just to show us how much we are loved. The Good Shepherd isn't satisfied until all of the sheep are safely gathered into the flock. Not even a one percent margin of loss was acceptable. He will not rest if only one sheep is missing, or one coin is lost. They show us that he cares deeply enough to go out of his way to save us when we are lost.
These parables teach us more about the heart of God than a whole library full of theological treatises. All three parables of Luke 15 end with a party or a celebration of the finding. The self-righteous Pharisees, who accused Jesus of befriending publicans and sinners, could not believe that God would be delighted at the conversion of sinners.
The elder brother in the parable of the lost son represents the self-righteous Pharisees who would rather see a sinner destroyed than saved. He reflects the Pharisees' attitude that obedience to Mosaic Law is a duty, not a loving service. Like the Pharisees, the elder brother lacks sympathy for his sibling and levels accusations at him. As a self-righteous person, he refuses to forgive. Thus, his grudge becomes a sin in itself, resulting in his exclusion from the banquet of his father’s love. That is what we all do when we sin. We exclude ourselves from the banquet of God’s love.
The Pharisees could not understand this forgiving image of God, because they have painted their image of God in their own likeness.
Our view of God affects every decision and relationship in our life. Kathleen Chesto wrote to Catholic Digest to tell them about an incident that occurred in her family. Her five-year-old child approached her one day in the kitchen and asked, "Mom, is God a grown-up or a parent?"
Mom was a little puzzled by the question. "I'm not sure what you mean," she said. "Is there a difference between a grown-up and a parent?" "Oh yes," her five-year-old answered quickly. "Grown-ups love you when you are good and parents love you anyway." If we have never received unconditional love, we have never given it. Some of us are still trying to earn our way to heaven. And we are expecting others to earn their way as well, like the pharisees. Jesus is trying to tell us in this parable that God's love doesn't depend on our goodness; it depends on God's character. Here is this truth expressed in I John 4: 10, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."
God’s love is a persistent, tenacious kind of love. By looking at just how lavish in the parable is the father's welcome for his lost son, we might well say that it is the father who is 'the prodigal', that he is prodigal of his mercy. The father heaps presents on the younger son. Throughout the Bible we are shown just how much care God lavishes on us, despite a catalogue of infidelities and betrayals and failings on our part.
The younger son didn't really know his father. He didn't know how much his father loved him and how eagerly his father wanted to bequeath him prosperity and joy. As a result, he paid his father a colossal insult by demanding his share of the inheritance while his father was still alive.
It was a way of saying that his father would be of more use to him dead than alive. The older son was no better. On the surface he seemed to do everything right, but he had no idea about how much his father cared for him, and so he resented the celebration at this brother's return. Although they had lived their entire lives under the same roof, the two brothers had never opened their hearts to their father; they had closed themselves into the petty little world of their egoism.
We can easily do the same: spend our whole lives as "practicing" Catholics, going through all the right motions and looking great on the outside, but not opening our hearts to God, not getting to know him on a personal, intimate level. That's a risky way to live our faith: we could easily end up separated from the Father for good, eating corn husks and missing out on the joyful celebration of the Father's love.
As the sheep that strayed out far from the herd, the younger son is lost from home, and this is reflected in the geographical distance he travels away from home; he ends up in a distant country. Like the coin that was lost in the house, the older brother stays put, but he risks getting lost by cutting himself off from his brother and his father. There are separations that need no great physical gap. The Pharisees “lived” in the house of God, but could not experience the forgiving love of God, the publicans and sinners were away from the so called people of God, but experienced the forgiving love of God through Jesus. This parable teaches us that it is possible to live "in the Father's house" without really getting to know the Father.
This can be for us a Sunday of self-reflection and assessment. As forgiven prodigals, we must be forgiving people. God’s forgiving attitude was shown by Jesus when he prayed for his killers saying that they did not know what they were doing (Luke 23:34). If those who killed the Son of God could be forgiven because they acted in ignorance, then every human sin could be forgiven because there is an element of ignorance that clouds our spiritual and moral insight at the moment of sin.
Nine years ago today, the United States suffered the greatest terrorist attack ever on American soil, with almost 4,000 dead. To mark that event this Sunday is observed as peace and justice Sunday. It brings us face to face with the ugly face of world terrorism on the one hand, while on the other it makes us to look up to God for the ever growing problems we find ourselves surrounded with. God created a just and peaceful society for us to live. But our sins disrupted that peace in the world. The so called terrorists act out of ignorance, blinded by wrong teachings of fanaticism. They need God’s grace to see the wrong they do and seek God’s forgiveness for their wrong. In the perspective of the terrorists, others are at wrong, not they. If there is something wrong on our side as a nation, we need self examination and see the wrong on our side to rectify and seek God’s grace to remove the speck or log, out of our eyes. As we pray for peace in the world let’s ask God to give eternal light and peace to all who died on 9/11/2001 at World Trade Centre. Christianity will be known by the fruits of love, kindness, compassion and mercy. As Christians, being led by the Holy Spirit, let’s show our identity by the forgiveness we offer who hurt us.
The parable of the prodigal son, has been called the greatest short story in the world. But, is it in fact a parable about a prodigal son? To put the younger son at the centre of the parable is already to start to misunderstand it. What is at the centre- is the father's great attachment and concern, his willingness to welcome the sinners back. This story reveals 3 amazing things about God's love for us. First, God's love is personal. God doesn't love us globally, but each of us individually in a special, personal way. Second, God's love is unconditional. God does not love us on the condition that we stay good and do not stray into sin. God loves us even when we stray--and to the point of going in search of us. Finally, God's love is a rejoicing love. God's response upon finding us is total joy--with no admixture of rebuke.
The parable of the Good shepherd shows how God is a good shepherd to us. There's an old story, about a little boy who cried out in the night. "Daddy, I'm scared!" Half awake Daddy said, "Don't be afraid, Daddy's right across the hall." There was a brief pause and the little boy called out, "I'm still scared." So Daddy pulled out the big guns, "You don't have to be afraid, God is with you. God loves you." The pause was longer but the little boy called out again, "I don't care about God, Daddy; I want someone with skin on!"
God knew we needed that assurance of someone with skin on. So God wrapped all the glory of heaven into the flesh and blood of Jesus and stepped into this world as the Good Shepherd just to show us how much we are loved. The Good Shepherd isn't satisfied until all of the sheep are safely gathered into the flock. Not even a one percent margin of loss was acceptable. He will not rest if only one sheep is missing, or one coin is lost. They show us that he cares deeply enough to go out of his way to save us when we are lost.
These parables teach us more about the heart of God than a whole library full of theological treatises. All three parables of Luke 15 end with a party or a celebration of the finding. The self-righteous Pharisees, who accused Jesus of befriending publicans and sinners, could not believe that God would be delighted at the conversion of sinners.
The elder brother in the parable of the lost son represents the self-righteous Pharisees who would rather see a sinner destroyed than saved. He reflects the Pharisees' attitude that obedience to Mosaic Law is a duty, not a loving service. Like the Pharisees, the elder brother lacks sympathy for his sibling and levels accusations at him. As a self-righteous person, he refuses to forgive. Thus, his grudge becomes a sin in itself, resulting in his exclusion from the banquet of his father’s love. That is what we all do when we sin. We exclude ourselves from the banquet of God’s love.
The Pharisees could not understand this forgiving image of God, because they have painted their image of God in their own likeness.
Our view of God affects every decision and relationship in our life. Kathleen Chesto wrote to Catholic Digest to tell them about an incident that occurred in her family. Her five-year-old child approached her one day in the kitchen and asked, "Mom, is God a grown-up or a parent?"
Mom was a little puzzled by the question. "I'm not sure what you mean," she said. "Is there a difference between a grown-up and a parent?" "Oh yes," her five-year-old answered quickly. "Grown-ups love you when you are good and parents love you anyway." If we have never received unconditional love, we have never given it. Some of us are still trying to earn our way to heaven. And we are expecting others to earn their way as well, like the pharisees. Jesus is trying to tell us in this parable that God's love doesn't depend on our goodness; it depends on God's character. Here is this truth expressed in I John 4: 10, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins."
God’s love is a persistent, tenacious kind of love. By looking at just how lavish in the parable is the father's welcome for his lost son, we might well say that it is the father who is 'the prodigal', that he is prodigal of his mercy. The father heaps presents on the younger son. Throughout the Bible we are shown just how much care God lavishes on us, despite a catalogue of infidelities and betrayals and failings on our part.
The younger son didn't really know his father. He didn't know how much his father loved him and how eagerly his father wanted to bequeath him prosperity and joy. As a result, he paid his father a colossal insult by demanding his share of the inheritance while his father was still alive.
It was a way of saying that his father would be of more use to him dead than alive. The older son was no better. On the surface he seemed to do everything right, but he had no idea about how much his father cared for him, and so he resented the celebration at this brother's return. Although they had lived their entire lives under the same roof, the two brothers had never opened their hearts to their father; they had closed themselves into the petty little world of their egoism.
We can easily do the same: spend our whole lives as "practicing" Catholics, going through all the right motions and looking great on the outside, but not opening our hearts to God, not getting to know him on a personal, intimate level. That's a risky way to live our faith: we could easily end up separated from the Father for good, eating corn husks and missing out on the joyful celebration of the Father's love.
As the sheep that strayed out far from the herd, the younger son is lost from home, and this is reflected in the geographical distance he travels away from home; he ends up in a distant country. Like the coin that was lost in the house, the older brother stays put, but he risks getting lost by cutting himself off from his brother and his father. There are separations that need no great physical gap. The Pharisees “lived” in the house of God, but could not experience the forgiving love of God, the publicans and sinners were away from the so called people of God, but experienced the forgiving love of God through Jesus. This parable teaches us that it is possible to live "in the Father's house" without really getting to know the Father.
This can be for us a Sunday of self-reflection and assessment. As forgiven prodigals, we must be forgiving people. God’s forgiving attitude was shown by Jesus when he prayed for his killers saying that they did not know what they were doing (Luke 23:34). If those who killed the Son of God could be forgiven because they acted in ignorance, then every human sin could be forgiven because there is an element of ignorance that clouds our spiritual and moral insight at the moment of sin.
Nine years ago today, the United States suffered the greatest terrorist attack ever on American soil, with almost 4,000 dead. To mark that event this Sunday is observed as peace and justice Sunday. It brings us face to face with the ugly face of world terrorism on the one hand, while on the other it makes us to look up to God for the ever growing problems we find ourselves surrounded with. God created a just and peaceful society for us to live. But our sins disrupted that peace in the world. The so called terrorists act out of ignorance, blinded by wrong teachings of fanaticism. They need God’s grace to see the wrong they do and seek God’s forgiveness for their wrong. In the perspective of the terrorists, others are at wrong, not they. If there is something wrong on our side as a nation, we need self examination and see the wrong on our side to rectify and seek God’s grace to remove the speck or log, out of our eyes. As we pray for peace in the world let’s ask God to give eternal light and peace to all who died on 9/11/2001 at World Trade Centre. Christianity will be known by the fruits of love, kindness, compassion and mercy. As Christians, being led by the Holy Spirit, let’s show our identity by the forgiveness we offer who hurt us.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
XXII- Ordinary Sunday.
XXII Ordinary Sunday : SIR. 3:17-18, 20, 28-29, HEB. 12:18-19, 22-24a Gospel: LK 14:1, 7-14
During the American Revolution, a man in civilian clothes rode past a group of soldiers who were busy pulling out a horse carriage stuck in deep mud. Their officer was shouting instructions to them while making no attempt to help. The stranger who witnessed the scene asked the officer why he wasn't helping. With great dignity, the officer replied, "Sir, I am a Corporal!" The stranger dismounted from his horse and proceeded to help the exhausted soldiers himself. When the job was completed, he turned to the corporal and said, "Mr. Corporal, next time you have a job like this, and don’t have enough men to do it, inform your commander-in-chief and I will come and help you again." Too late, the proud Corporal recognized General Washington. Today’s readings challenge us to be truly humble.
The readings warn us against all forms of pride and self-glorification. The first reading, from the book of Sirach, reminds us that if we are humble, we will find favor with God, and others will love us. In today’s gospel Jesus explains the practical benefits of humility, connecting it with the common wisdom about dining etiquette ( Prov. 25:6-7; Sir. 3:17-20).
At a formal meal, seating arrangements are important. Usually the most distinguished guests sit at the top of the table. To avoid the embarrassing situation described in today's Gospel a wise host will decide the order of precedence beforehand.
Here Jesus makes fun of those pretentious people who scrambled for the most prestigious places, only to be demoted lower on the arrival of someone of greater importance. Jesus wasn't interested in table etiquette, nor in helping us to avoid public humiliation! Still less is he urging a false humility in the hope that people, recognizing our true worth, will give us a more prestigious place. Such a person would simply be a crafty status seeker -- far worse than someone who simply grabbed the best seat.
This meal, like all the others in the Gospels, anticipated the heavenly banquet. Here Jesus is telling us that we are not the ones to decide which position we deserve. Our very presence at the heavenly banquet is God's gift. None of us deserves this. He will overturn our sense of priorities and will give the highest places to those whom the worldly consider to be the least important.
Jesus himself came to serve, not to be served. While Adam fell through his pride leading him to strive to become equal to Almighty God, the Son of God emptied himself of the glory which was his by right. Jesus became humble and obedient, even to death on the cross. The God of glory became despised and rejected. And yet it was precisely in his lowliness that Jesus revealed his true greatness. The crucified Christ shows us where our true greatness lies. Not in the honor or status we may bestow on ourselves, but in following Jesus along the way of the cross. Like him, we are called to serve, rather than be served, to give of ourselves, rather than grab for ourselves. Sometimes that will be costly, painful and humiliating. But, with the grace of God, this will bring out the very best in us. And God will give us a place of honor at his heavenly banquet.
We Christians could easily make the mistake of thinking that this parable was directed at the Pharisees alone. If so, we should remember that the disciples were forever bickering among themselves as to which of them was the greatest. The sons of Zebedee even sought privileged positions in the Kingdom.
When Jesus taught us that to enter his Kingdom we have to become like children, this was one of the characteristics he had in mind.
Children tend to remember more easily that they are not God. They know that they are dependent on their parents for food, shelter, and everything else, so it's natural for them to accept being dependent on God as well. But it's not a sad, pessimistic dependence. True humility is joyful, because it opens the door to a real relationship with God, something arrogant self-sufficiency doesn't allow.
A couple years ago at a Catholic summer Bible camp, one of the seven-year-olds won the silver medal in the mini-soccer competition. He was so happy that he wore it around his neck all the time. On the last day of the camp this boy left one of the counselors a note. It mentioned that he had left his medal in the chapel. The counselor went to the chapel but couldn't find it. When the campers had gone home and the counselors were taking one last look around to gather up any left over items, the same counselor went back into the chapel and found the medal somewhere he would never have thought to look: it was on the crucifix. The boy had stacked up three chairs so that he could reach high enough and put it around Christ’s neck.
To grow in humility we need to fight our pride. Because pride is the opposite of humility. After the construction of the Titanic, a reporter asked the man who had built it how safe the ship would be. "Not even God can sink it," he answered. Well, God didn't have to sink it; an iceberg was sufficient.
A school principal once asked his teachers to write down their new year decisions on a paper. And later he put all the papers on the bulletin board. One lady teacher looked at the board and did not find her paper on the board. She got so agitated and was beside herself for not putting her paper on the bulletin board. The principal felt very bad about his oversight and went to look for her paper from the bulk of other papers on his desk. Later he found it and put it on the bulletin board. It read: This year I will try to be more humble and not let myself be upset by little things. How apart was her new year resolution and her practical life.
Humility does not mean the beautiful woman pretending that she is ugly, or the clever man pretending he is stupid. Humility means recognizing talents and even achievements for what they are, namely things given to us by God out of sheer goodness; things for which we can take little credit or none but which impose upon us a responsibility.
Humility means recognizing that even our greatest achievements are insignificant and an inadequate return for all that God has given us. Humility is the state of being empty before God. Only when we are empty before God can God fill in us His joy, His love and His peace.
Humility means the proper understanding of our own worth. It requires us neither to overestimate nor to underestimate our worth. The humility that the gospel urges upon us has nothing to do with a self-deprecation that leaves a person without proper self-esteem. We must simply admit the truth about ourselves: we do not know everything, we do not do everything correctly, we are all imperfect and sinners. Nevertheless, we also recognize that we are made in the image and likeness of God, and that we are called to help build the kingdom of God with our God-given gifts. We are of value, not because of those gifts, but because we are loved by God as His children, redeemed by the precious blood of His son Jesus.
The quality of humility that Jesus is talking about has a sociological dimension too. For Jesus is inviting us to associate with the so-called "lower classes" of society -- even the outcasts. Jesus invites us to change our social patterns in such a way that we connect with the homeless, the handicapped, the elderly, and the impoverished -- the "street people" of the world. True humility is not bothering where we sit; not insisting on being seen only with the right people; being willing to be overlooked, to associate with those who can do nothing for us.
Let’s come to God in that spirit of humility and we will be overwhelmed and overjoyed at God's generosity like Mary who said: The almighty has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. He has scattered the proud hearted and lifted up the lowly. Let’s examine who are the People I associate with ? DO I hesitate to associate with people of lower status ? DO I boast and speak highly of myself before others ?
During the American Revolution, a man in civilian clothes rode past a group of soldiers who were busy pulling out a horse carriage stuck in deep mud. Their officer was shouting instructions to them while making no attempt to help. The stranger who witnessed the scene asked the officer why he wasn't helping. With great dignity, the officer replied, "Sir, I am a Corporal!" The stranger dismounted from his horse and proceeded to help the exhausted soldiers himself. When the job was completed, he turned to the corporal and said, "Mr. Corporal, next time you have a job like this, and don’t have enough men to do it, inform your commander-in-chief and I will come and help you again." Too late, the proud Corporal recognized General Washington. Today’s readings challenge us to be truly humble.
The readings warn us against all forms of pride and self-glorification. The first reading, from the book of Sirach, reminds us that if we are humble, we will find favor with God, and others will love us. In today’s gospel Jesus explains the practical benefits of humility, connecting it with the common wisdom about dining etiquette ( Prov. 25:6-7; Sir. 3:17-20).
At a formal meal, seating arrangements are important. Usually the most distinguished guests sit at the top of the table. To avoid the embarrassing situation described in today's Gospel a wise host will decide the order of precedence beforehand.
Here Jesus makes fun of those pretentious people who scrambled for the most prestigious places, only to be demoted lower on the arrival of someone of greater importance. Jesus wasn't interested in table etiquette, nor in helping us to avoid public humiliation! Still less is he urging a false humility in the hope that people, recognizing our true worth, will give us a more prestigious place. Such a person would simply be a crafty status seeker -- far worse than someone who simply grabbed the best seat.
This meal, like all the others in the Gospels, anticipated the heavenly banquet. Here Jesus is telling us that we are not the ones to decide which position we deserve. Our very presence at the heavenly banquet is God's gift. None of us deserves this. He will overturn our sense of priorities and will give the highest places to those whom the worldly consider to be the least important.
Jesus himself came to serve, not to be served. While Adam fell through his pride leading him to strive to become equal to Almighty God, the Son of God emptied himself of the glory which was his by right. Jesus became humble and obedient, even to death on the cross. The God of glory became despised and rejected. And yet it was precisely in his lowliness that Jesus revealed his true greatness. The crucified Christ shows us where our true greatness lies. Not in the honor or status we may bestow on ourselves, but in following Jesus along the way of the cross. Like him, we are called to serve, rather than be served, to give of ourselves, rather than grab for ourselves. Sometimes that will be costly, painful and humiliating. But, with the grace of God, this will bring out the very best in us. And God will give us a place of honor at his heavenly banquet.
We Christians could easily make the mistake of thinking that this parable was directed at the Pharisees alone. If so, we should remember that the disciples were forever bickering among themselves as to which of them was the greatest. The sons of Zebedee even sought privileged positions in the Kingdom.
When Jesus taught us that to enter his Kingdom we have to become like children, this was one of the characteristics he had in mind.
Children tend to remember more easily that they are not God. They know that they are dependent on their parents for food, shelter, and everything else, so it's natural for them to accept being dependent on God as well. But it's not a sad, pessimistic dependence. True humility is joyful, because it opens the door to a real relationship with God, something arrogant self-sufficiency doesn't allow.
A couple years ago at a Catholic summer Bible camp, one of the seven-year-olds won the silver medal in the mini-soccer competition. He was so happy that he wore it around his neck all the time. On the last day of the camp this boy left one of the counselors a note. It mentioned that he had left his medal in the chapel. The counselor went to the chapel but couldn't find it. When the campers had gone home and the counselors were taking one last look around to gather up any left over items, the same counselor went back into the chapel and found the medal somewhere he would never have thought to look: it was on the crucifix. The boy had stacked up three chairs so that he could reach high enough and put it around Christ’s neck.
To grow in humility we need to fight our pride. Because pride is the opposite of humility. After the construction of the Titanic, a reporter asked the man who had built it how safe the ship would be. "Not even God can sink it," he answered. Well, God didn't have to sink it; an iceberg was sufficient.
A school principal once asked his teachers to write down their new year decisions on a paper. And later he put all the papers on the bulletin board. One lady teacher looked at the board and did not find her paper on the board. She got so agitated and was beside herself for not putting her paper on the bulletin board. The principal felt very bad about his oversight and went to look for her paper from the bulk of other papers on his desk. Later he found it and put it on the bulletin board. It read: This year I will try to be more humble and not let myself be upset by little things. How apart was her new year resolution and her practical life.
Humility does not mean the beautiful woman pretending that she is ugly, or the clever man pretending he is stupid. Humility means recognizing talents and even achievements for what they are, namely things given to us by God out of sheer goodness; things for which we can take little credit or none but which impose upon us a responsibility.
Humility means recognizing that even our greatest achievements are insignificant and an inadequate return for all that God has given us. Humility is the state of being empty before God. Only when we are empty before God can God fill in us His joy, His love and His peace.
Humility means the proper understanding of our own worth. It requires us neither to overestimate nor to underestimate our worth. The humility that the gospel urges upon us has nothing to do with a self-deprecation that leaves a person without proper self-esteem. We must simply admit the truth about ourselves: we do not know everything, we do not do everything correctly, we are all imperfect and sinners. Nevertheless, we also recognize that we are made in the image and likeness of God, and that we are called to help build the kingdom of God with our God-given gifts. We are of value, not because of those gifts, but because we are loved by God as His children, redeemed by the precious blood of His son Jesus.
The quality of humility that Jesus is talking about has a sociological dimension too. For Jesus is inviting us to associate with the so-called "lower classes" of society -- even the outcasts. Jesus invites us to change our social patterns in such a way that we connect with the homeless, the handicapped, the elderly, and the impoverished -- the "street people" of the world. True humility is not bothering where we sit; not insisting on being seen only with the right people; being willing to be overlooked, to associate with those who can do nothing for us.
Let’s come to God in that spirit of humility and we will be overwhelmed and overjoyed at God's generosity like Mary who said: The almighty has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. He has scattered the proud hearted and lifted up the lowly. Let’s examine who are the People I associate with ? DO I hesitate to associate with people of lower status ? DO I boast and speak highly of myself before others ?
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