October 29, 2017

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time A Exodus 22: 20-26; 1 Thessalonians 1: 5-10; Matthew 22: 34-40 How am I loving? How am I loving each of the classes of people in my life: family, relatives, neighbors, friends, schoolmates, workmates, people in the businesses I frequent, strangers on the street, people I will never meet except in the news media or entertainment fields? Do I realize that to God they are all my brothers and sisters? Is it hard for me to live with certain ones? How would I describe my love? Is it self-giving? Is it all inclusive? Does it depend on the person I am with? Is my love given equally to all? Do I ever reflect on the reasons why I hold back my love? These can be very interesting reflections and insights. Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s famous poem, How do I love Thee? is an interesting starting point. Actually this is sonnet number 43 taken from The Sonnets from the Portuguese which was published in 1850. She chose this title to fool her audience into believing that she had translated this from the Portuguese. Actually it was dedicated to a fellow poet, Robert Browning, her husband. He had rescued her from her home in London. Her father was very possessive and controlling. As a result Elizabeth lived a reclusive lifestyle in an upstairs room. She obviously was very frail and sick and needed opium and laudanum, an alcoholic solution from morphine, to relive her pain. Her preoccupation was her poetry which led her to Robert Browning. She broke from her father and was happily married for 16 years. Basically her poem is a list set in the present that reflects her very deep love. I wonder how many us have ever tried to make a corresponding list? Today’s readings concentrate on our love of God and our love for our neighbor. They asked if we love ourselves in the way that God loves us. These are very simple statements but living them out daily is difficult, many times seemingly impossible. So we look to the readings for some help. The Book of Exodus is a description of the Israelites escaping from Egypt and their forty years wandering in the desert wilderness. Actually this is a side theme; the major theme was the forming of a people into the people of God. Today, Moses is giving some direction and moral principles concerning the people who come into their daily lives who are in need and ‘forgotten’. His list includes aliens; people from other countries, cultures, religious beliefs. He affirms their dignity and said that they are to be respected and not oppressed or molested. He looks at widows and orphans. In their culture when a man dies, his widow has no source of income she has to resort to begging and the children are orphans. God is with them especially because they are unwanted and hurting. Do I realize that God is asking me to help them? He then concentrates on the poor. They as well as us live in a world of ‘have and have nots’. We do not have to question why they are in this condition but to realize that God has blessed us. Are we sharing our blessings? Love of neighbor consists in loving, caring, forgiving, helping and letting those we come into contact with know that God loves them. God sends us to help and let them know of God’s love. Also, do we pray for them? Paul had just come from Philippi when he had been mistreated and abused. He went Thessalonica where the people received his gospel and were living it with much conviction. So much so that Paul says that they “…have become model for all the believers in Macedonia and Acaia”…for “every place your faith in God has gone forth.” For us, it is a wonderful reflection at the end of the day to see where we have seen God and how we have reacted. Also to see how we responded to those in need…did they somehow see God’s love in and through us? Jesus today is confronted with another test to really embarrass Him before the crowds and to stir them up to eventually support the Pharisees’ condemnation and crucifixion efforts. Today a legal scholar poses the question about which commandment is the greatest. Now Moses delivered the Ten Commandments. Down through O.T. times these have been explained; as a result more were added. Rabbinic Judaism believed that there were 613 commandments in the Torah, 248 were positive while 365 were negative. Debates were frequent as to which was the best and highest; today Jesus is questioned. Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:5 which states, “Here, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone! Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength.” This is not focused on an emotional feeling but on each person willing and acting. Many rabbis would have chosen the same passage, so Jesus was saying nothing unique. BUT Jesus adds a quote from Leviticus 19:18 stating, “Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow country men. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” Jesus is saying very directly that there is a direct connection between loving God and loving your neighbor as yourself. The combination of these two passages was not found before Jesus. Jesus is definitely stating that the whole law (the Ten Commandments and Jesus’ Law of Love) and the prophets (all the teachings and prophecies the they received from God) depend on these two commandments. Jesus exposes a richness that was already present in these teachings but only He could see it. So we are to love God no more or nor less than we love others. We cannot claim to love God if we don’t love our neighbor as ourselves. 1 John 4:20 states, If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. This is the commandment we have from Him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” St. Francis deSales gives us very practical advice: “Put others in your place and yourself in theirs, then treat the other the way you would like to be treated. That’s how we love God, neighbor, and self.” So I reflect on: • In my life, who is the alien, widow, orphan or person in need that I have trouble seeing as my neighbor? Do I know why? • I look at the times that God’s love has inspired/pushed me to love. What was God like in this? What did I learn? • Do I see God in others, or do I see them as a means to my own ends? • When I am angry, prejudiced, and being hurtful, is this the person I want to be? • Do I want to be the kind of person who uses my words to hurt the people I love? Sacred Space 2017 states, “Isn’t it possible for my heart, soul, and mind to want different things sometimes? Jesus calls me to integrity and to wholeness. As I am drawn into relationship with Him, I come to love what He loves, to desire what He desires, and to think as He thinks. I can do nothing to make God love me more. God’s love shines on me as the sun shines on Earth. Real prayer includes resting gratefully in that love. I have a treasure in my heart, which is the limitless love of God for me. But I must share it with my neighbors. I ask to be a true escort of God’s love to others.”

October 22, 2017

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time A Isaiah 45: 1, 4-6; 1 Thessalonians 1: 1-5; Matthew 22: 15-21 How much time do I spend with God? Do I give Him my best time? Do I give Him only my left-over time? Do I give Him only time on the weekends when it doesn’t interfere with my family, social, business, recreational needs? Does the time that I spend with God have anything to do with forming a deeper relationship of love, gratitude and caring? Do I view God as one I ‘have to make a report to’ like at work, or home or business? If I tend to operate in this direction do I go for a ‘passing grade’ and then feel I am free to do anything that I want since my ‘job’ is done? Do I feel that if I don’t finish this ‘Godjob’ I will definitely be in trouble? Does God view me as a person He is deeply in love with or as a person that needs to be a rule-first person? Do my actions and words show how deeply I am in love with God? Do I feel that God has favorites and plays favorites? Stephen Decatur in an after dinner toast of 1816-1820 said, “Our Country! In her intercourse with foreign nations may she always be in the right; but right or wrong, our country!” Is this how God views our country? Is it how I view the country? Where is God leading us? Is He leading us? Today’s scriptural readings give a direction for us to go deeper into an understanding of God’s plan for His creation. In the verse before today’s passage, Isaiah is speaking of the wonderful power of God. “Thus says the Lord, your redeemer, who formed you from the womb: I am the Lord, who made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens; when I spread out the earth, who was with me?” But then Isaiah tells how God used a foreign king for Israel’s benefit. It is so very interesting and must have shocked the Jewish people when Isaiah started today’s verse, Thus says the Lord to His anointed, Cyrus, whose right hand I grasp, subduing nations before him and making kings run in his service….” Now Cyrus founded the Persian Empire after Babylon surrendered to him in 539 BC. Here Isaiah calls him ‘God’s anointed’ which is the term originally only referred to those in Israel. In Hebrew this word is mashies…in Greek it is christos and it is the root of the work ‘messiah’. So Cyrus is anointed not only so that he could serve as a redeemer of Israel but also freeing them from their captivity. It also means that those non Israelites are also bound by the God of Israel. Cyrus was a brilliant ruler because of his forward thinking policies toward other countries. He also allowed the exiles of Israel to return to their homeland. Isaiah shares how Cyrus’ victories are possible only because God holds “his right hand” and “God has called you by your name.” God calls Cyrus, ‘His servant’ a title which is reserved for a select few in the Bible. Paul also in his writing refers to Nero as the servant and minister of God. God’s plans includes everyone. God rules over all. Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians is the earliest written document in the New Testament. Paul probably wrote it during his time at Corinth in 50 AD. He had founded the church at Thessalonica a little before and had to leave quickly so he wants to see how things are going. Timothy comes back with a glowing report sharing the selfless love of the people in sharing the Good News, the Gospel of Love. Paul guarantees them that they can rely on the Holy Spirit to continue to give them all the strength, ability and grace they need to live the love of God. Some background for the Gospel: the Pharisees snd Herodians never agreed. Jesus always challenged them. The Pharisees taught that the people had to live by a strict, complete adherence to the Jewish Law. The Herodians were much more political and wanted to keep peace with Rome so that they could continue to live a comfortable life of power and wealth. They had no problems ignoring the commandments, laws and rules the Pharisees felt were so important. Today the Pharisees are out to trick Jesus in front of the people about paying taxes. So many feel that this encounter has to do with how we are to live in the political climate we find ourselves…it is not. The Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus in an uncomfortable position. If Jesus says, ‘Pay the tax’ they can easily accuse Him of siding with the hated Romans. If Jesus says, ‘Don’t pay the tax’ they can even bring Him to court for disobeying civil authority. I find the next part interesting; Jesus asks for a coin. Now why would the Pharisee who hated Rome just happen to have a Roman coin, but he does and Jesus points out Caesar’s image and says, “Then repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God..” Jesus is pointing out how petty the Pharisees are because they are so enwrapped in their own games that they miss the deep mysteries of God right under their noses. We do the same…we argue about the principle of things when the real issue is a few little things. So who cares where I sit at the banquet table…head table…is my screaming at the almost invisible dent in my car an issue of life and death. Jesus is telling the Pharisees…Jesus is telling us. The Kingdom of God is at hand…AND…the Pharisees never noticed…Do I notice that I am called every minute to live the Kingdom of God’s love? Jesus calls us to pay to God what belongs to God? This means that what is in question is What is God’s? The answer is unavoidable and inescapable: EVERYTHING! We have received everything from God. We have received the gift of life, the gift of our faith, the gift of family and friends. We have received the gift of our five senses in addition the unique gifts of thought, speech, love and laughter which are totally unique in each person. What astounding, amazing gifts! Am I grateful? Do I realize that I have been given these gifts for the advancing each moment of the day for the Kingdom of God’s love? If I really want to thank God and be grateful, I must put God first in my life. Do I? Or does God get the leftovers? This reflection must not be put off…I must take time and examine myself as belonging to God, living for God, loving as God needs me to be and always being grateful. So I reflect on: • Does it make a difference in my life that I have been chosen by God with a continuous special mission of love? • What is my duty, as being loved by God, when the law denies the bare essentials to the disadvantaged? Is this the same as my duty as a citizen? • So I get ‘down and dirty’: What priorities do I put before God? How does my life reflect my priorities? • Do I really believe God is all powerful? more powerful than any of my fears? • The first commandment makes it very clear: I am not God…how am I living this? Sacred Space 2017 states: “To be a good citizen and to serve God are not in contradiction, since God works through all human systems and institutions to build the final community of love. God needs me to help build good relationships wherever I find myself. Some people have tried to use this reply of Jesus to justify revolution against an oppressive regime others to bolster their conservatism. Lord, you hungered for justice, but You sought change by peaceful means. Help me do the same.”

October 15, 2017

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time A Isaiah 25: 6-10; Philippians 4: 12-14, 19-20; Matthew 22: 1-14 How do I view life? This is a very interesting reflection. Do I view it from my parents eyes who trained me in the ways of family love and caring? Do I view life from my education in the seminary and from my years of priesthood. Do I view my life from the teachings and laws of the Church and from the guidance of the popes? Do I view life from the political system of the country and the different political parties? Do I view life from the point of view of the importance of democracy? Do I view life from the capitalist viewpoint? Do I ever take the time to reflect on life and view life from God’s viewpoint? The readings today help us to see life as God has demanded us to view it. Demand is the correct word because life is about God. God created all life and the world we live in. God did not create the world and our life just as an object that He can watch and enjoy or to punish or to condemn. All Scripture and revelations from God stress that God is love and God created out of love. God desires that all know Him, love Him and serve Him. All life and creation are not from God’s whims. There is a purpose and the purpose concerns itself with love forever with God. The question posed today is how do I view life and creation through God’s eyes? Isaiah has been considered the greatest of the prophets. His call from God in the latter part of the eighth century BC came at a very critical time in Israel’s history. The northern kingdom had been completely wiped out by Assyria. Jerusalem was living with invading armies at its gates. Chapter 6 describes the divine summons from God for Isaiah to show the people the tremendous distance between God’s love and goodness and the people’s growing deeper and deeper into sin. Isaiah describes this moral breakdown and advises the king to lead the people back to God. Today’s reading comes from chapters 24-27 which are called ‘The Apocalypse of Isaiah’. It envisions a future time when a city in chaos is destroyed by God and the holy mountain Zion, Jerusalem, will be the site of God’s saving actions. Isaiah describes the victory celebration as an enormous banquet of rich food and choice wines which will be for all people. This future will be one of hope, the absence of death and the people will turn their lives to God forever. This passage celebrates the wonderful transformation that is possible once human pride is set aside and people turn their lives living according to God’s ways. They will look to God, not their own desires. God’s ways are life, man’s ways lead to destruction. Paul is giving insight into what it means to live according to God’s ways: there will be good days and bad days. There will be suffering and sadness and relief and love. Paul thanks the Philippian community for their support. He is still in prison and their care has been stupendous. The sacrifices they made for him show the hallmarks of what a true Christian is: caring, merciful, forgiving, loving, overall being a disciple of love. God will continue to provide all people in whatever circumstances they find themselves. Even in suffering God’s presence supports and enriches the disciple to continue to love. The Gospel continues the parable of the vineyard from the last few weeks. It is addressed to the same audience: the chief priests and the elders of the people. Today’s parable envisions the kingdom of heaven as wedding feast much like the messianic banquet from Isaiah 25: 6-9, the first reading. One special note is that Matthew’s parable today is very similar to one from Luke 14: 16-24. Luke talks about a banquet that is given and people are invited but he does not include the addition in Matthew’s gospel of the need to wear a wedding garment. This addition by Matthew brings up questions, especially, about the poor man being expected to have a wedding garment since he is poor and also how could he be expected to have a wedding garment since he has been hauled in unexpectedly from the street? What does it mean? Jesus always urges ‘readiness’ of the coming Kingdom. The kingdom comes as a ‘thief in the night’ because no one knows when the end will come. Am I prepared? In the ending in Matthew’s gospel the invitation to the wedding came sooner than the man expected and it caught him unprepared. The clear meaning is ‘Woe to the man.’ Woe to me if I think that ‘when the time comes’ I will start to focus on being the Christian that Jesus needs me to be. This parable is meant for me, the time is now. Every moment God is calling me closer to Himself and giving me the grace, the help to respond to His invitation. Do I find too many of my creature comforts in the way of listening, reflecting, following and loving? Living the Word, Scripture Reflections and commentaries for Sundays and Holy Days has a wonderful Reflecting on the Word today: A few weeks before writing this reflection, the Vatican released Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Amores Laetitia (The Joy of Love.) It has caused many a reaction. One of its most powerful lines is a quote form a homily Pope Francis preached at a Mass celebrated with new cardinals in February, 2015: ‘The way of the Church is not to condemn anyone for ever, it is to pour out the balm of God’s mercy on all those who ask for it with a sincere heart… For true charity is always unmerited, unconditional and gratuitous.’ These words sum up today’s readings. God provides for all people, friend and foe alike, on the mountain described in Isaiah. God’s providential love is gracious and unconditional. The king in today’s parable sends his servants out to invite to the wedding banquet whomever they find after others rejected his invitation. Someone is cast out for not wearing a wedding garment. All are invited, but we need to dress for the banquet by asking for and responding to God’s gratuitous and loving balm. Our wedding garment entails clothing ourselves with gratitude, humility and love, like Paul in the Letter to the Philippians. Paul learned how to respond with humility and gratitude to all of life’s situations. Paul’s example challenges me to be grateful for what I have in abundance or want, and give God glory and praise at all times. Jesus reminds me to clothe myself with gratitude for God’s generosity and mercy. Pope Francis also challenges me. Avoid condemning anyone forever . Be a vessel that pours out the balm of God’s unmerited, unconditional, and gratuitous mercy so others can dress for the banquet, too.” This is God’s plan, these are God’s ways. We pray to get on the right track and stay there. So I reflect on: • Do I reflect of God’s mercy? Where have I been forgiven and loved so much it has brought me to tears? Have I learned God’s lesson? • On God’s Holy Mountain all are provided for. I do not have to understand this, just to know that God says this. God doesn’t lie. • How is the invitation to join Jesus in heaven like the invitation to the wedding in today’s Gospel? • Does my acceptance of the invitation mean that I can readily accept the values of my society? Or will I continually have to test those values against the words of the Gospel? Why? Sacred Space 2017 states: “O Lord, how we need Your constant invitation to come to You and learn from You. Rid us of our garments of selfishness, our judgmental attitudes, our stubborn hearts, and clothe us instead with Your garments of salvation. As generous and open-ended as God’s invitation is, it is not to be exploited or taken for granted. For my part, I ask God to help me respond as best I can, to prepare my heart to receive God’s gifts.”

October 8, 2017

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time A Isaiah 5: 1-7; Philippians 4: 6-9; Matthew 21: 33-43 As in last week’s readings, the theme we hear today is about ourselves: Am I greedy? Am I jealous? Do I feel that I am entitled? Do I feel that ‘life owes me’ or that God owes me? Now thinking on this, how could God possibly owe me? He has brought me into this world at this time in this age. I didn’t have to do anything. I was born into a family that cared for me. If I didn’t receive the care or the love that was needed, I now see that I sit here and have survived. In this survival I have learned that I am cared for and that I am loved. I wouldn’t be reading this blog or be a regular at attending the Liturgy where I learn of God’s love and care if I haven’t been touched by God. So now I have come to the point that I know that I am loved…that the Holy Spirit has blessed me with special gifts and that through the nurturing of these gifts I become aware of the fruits of the Holy Spirit which enable me to live and interact as a witness to Jesus’ love. The readings today call each person to see how urgent is this task. As we read the beginning of Isaiah’s book, it is evident that the prophet is calling for a change of heart from the people. They had been wandering far away from God. Isaiah is telling them that God is upset with them, they have disappointed God in living sinful lives. In today’s passage, Isaiah is explaining how ‘his friend’ has been very concerned with the vineyard. He prepares the land, plants the best seeds and protects the vines from any harm. The wine press is all set to begin the process of making wonderful wine. It is a nice story, people are pleased to listen to it…then the bottom falls out. The crop is a complete failure. Why? The grapes are the culprit. Everything must be started anew. One scholar, Fr. Eugene Hensell explains it this way, “As Isaiah’s audience marvels at this sad outcome, the prophet suddenly reveals that they themselves are the failed vineyard Despite all God’s efforts to teach the people good judgment and true justice, they turn to bloodshed and violence.” Isaiah starts out in a very ‘happy go lucky way’ but then very cleverly the ending comes as a brick of lead. We can so easily become set and comfortable in our ways without seeing that these are our ways…are they in keeping with God’s ways? Paul tells us to not become set with the status quo and never hesitate asking God for strength to live His ways. We can become so sure of ourselves that we fail to see that the purpose of our existence is from God and for God. Paul tells us to set aside our anxiousness and to trust that God hears all our prayers. He is implying that we should look at how we are living our lives as Jesus taught. Think about what is honorable, just, pure, lovely, gracious. Think about how I am acting and living and how I have arrived at this point. Paul encourages me to continue living in this way. He holds himself up as an example. What does he mean by this? By his examples of love and caring and kindness? I don’t think so. Paul understands that his life as an apostle, and my life as a follower, means a life of suffering which is a manifestation of the Cross of Christ. So am I patterning my life on the easy life or on the knowledge that being a person of love involves sacrificing what I want to do for what Jesus needs me to do. This involves the cross… carrying my cross…living my crosses…helping others with their crosses…when convenient and especially when inconvenient. This is what it means to be a servant of God. In the Gospel, Matthew has reworked a story found in Mark 12: 1-12. It deals with salvation history and why Jesus was killed. The focus involves a deep criticism of the leaders in Israel. They are incompetent. They have not listened to the urgent plea from the prophecy of John the Baptist to reform their lives and be converted. They act like, ‘Why do I have to be converted… I’m doing everything right… I’m a teacher and an expert…people should be listening to me…I know what God says…I will be the first to know when the Messiah will come…because, ‘I’m the best’…. The parable Jesus uses shows the vineyard as Israel. The tenant farmers are Israel’s leaders. The householder is God. The servants are the prophets. The son is Jesus. We hear of the absentee landlord who leases his property who cares for it while the owners is gone. When he returns, he will collect payment from the proceeds of the crops. The tenants want the property and goods themselves…’ ‘we deserve it for all we’ve done’…The landowner sends his son to collect, the tenants kill the son; Jesus is again predicting His own crucifixion and death. What will the owner do when he comes? The answer is that he will have them killed and then lease his vineyard to other tenants; tenants who will produce good fruit. I become set in my ways, like the tenants in the Gospel. I am too quick to reject whatever scares me or threatens me, whatever I don’t understand. I reject whatever challenges me and I want to stay in my soft, comfortable little world. I want to create the vineyard to be what I want it to be…but its God’s vineyard…the world God created. How am I responding to God’s call to work in and to continue to create His vineyard in His image? Living the Word shares this wonderful insight: “When I listen to reports about what people do or do not have and how they respond to their life situations, I’m struck by the difference between those who are grateful and those who feel entitled. It seems that a sense of entitlement fills many of us and destroys the virtues of gratitude and responsibility. When I feel entitled I often envy what other’s have and focus on what I do not have. Envy blinds me from seeing what I do have and keeps me from being grateful. It also feeds the need for more rather than seeing that often I have enough. I can become willing to do anything to grab more, even violence. This is the dynamic in the Gospel parable. The tenants wanted what was not theirs. In their lust for more they become violent, even to murdering the owner’s servants and son, mistakenly thinking that they would be given the vineyard. … Philippians offers an antidote: Seek whatever is true… Truth can lead to accepting what our gifts are and are not, and help us grow in right relationship with God, others and ourselves. Truth invites gratitude for our gifts and the ability to develop them. Truth fosters appreciation of others’ gifts. Then when we mourn what we lack, we discover that we have all we need, or we find ways to seek what we need without destroying another.” So I reflect on: • I look at the times that I felt ‘entitled’…that I deserved this job…promotion…grade , etc. How did this affect me? Was I anger and bitter or grateful for God’s love? • Each person of religion must ask, ‘What are the practical consequences of my belief? Does this produce anger, pride, greed? Does it bring me closer to God? • When I have dealt with the failures in my life, have I discovered that I have spent more time in praying and listening to God? What has God told me? How deeply has it affected me? Sacred Space 2017 states: “Jesus reminds us that the kingdom does not belong to us—it is a gift of God. I consider what it is that I think I own and consider how its is that all good comes from God’s hands. So I give thanks. Lord, what fruits of the kingdom will You bring out of my life? Help me cultivate faith and pay attention to Your gifts to me.