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What Does Heaven Cost? A Homily for the 28th Sunday of the Year

The Sunday Gospel invites us to wrestle with these fundamental, essential, focal questions: “What does Heaven cost?” and “Am I willing to pay it?”

I. Problematic Pondering – A rich man asks Jesus, Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

Though his question is a good one, it is problematic because he couches it in terms of his own personal power and achievement. He wonders what he himself must do to attain eternal life.

The problem is that none of us has the holiness, the spiritual wealth, or the power to attain Heaven based merely on what we do. The kind of righteousness we need can come only from God. The misguided question of the rich man betrays two common misunderstandings that people bring to the question of salvation and the need for redemption.

The first misunderstanding comes about because we underestimate the seriousness of our condition. We tend to think that we’re basically in good shape. Perhaps we have a few flaws, but fundamentally we mean well and are decent. We suspect that a few sacraments, occasional prayers, and some spiritual “push-ups” will be sufficient. Any look to the crucifix should belie these notions. If it took the horrible death of the Son of God to rescue us, then our condition must be worse than we, with our darkened intellect, imagine.

Jesus related a parable of a man who owed a huge debt—10,000 talents (cf Mt 18:24). This was an amount so large as to be almost unimaginable. No one with such a debt is going to be able to repay it merely by working a little overtime or picking up an additional part-time job. The point is that we humans are in deep trouble and have absolutely no ability to rescue ourselves.

A second misunderstanding comes about because we tend to intellectualize and minimize what the law of God requires. We ask, “What must I do?” rather than “What must I become?” This bespeaks a law-based approach that seeks a manageable list of things to do in order to be saved rather than an open-ended relationship with God. “Okay, so I’m not supposed to kill anyone. No problem, I don’t like the sight of blood anyway. I’ve got this commandment down!” This thinking minimizes the commandment and what it asks of us.

These two misunderstandings seem to undergird the problematic nature of the rich man’s question. In order to engage the man further, Jesus in effect plays along with the premise; this leads us to the second point.

II. Playful Prescription – Jesus decides to follow up on the man’s premise, saying to him, You know the commandments: You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal; you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother.

Jesus is being playful here in that He continues with the flawed premise of the man: that he can attain to Heaven by something he does.

It is interesting to ponder why Jesus quotes only the Second Table of the Law, the part pertaining to love of neighbor, omitting reference to the First Table of the Law, the commandments pertaining to love of God. Perhaps it is because the Lord recognizes that the man does love Him, for he is seeking the Kingdom of Heaven and asking how to enter into it. Therefore, the Lord focuses on the Second Table of the Law, which is in evidence in this man’s life, at least in this interaction. Further, as Scripture says elsewhere, How can you say you love God whom you do not see, if you do not love your neighbor whom you do see? (1 John 4:20) Hence, the Second Table of the Law fleshes out the First Table of the Law.

The Lord is not affirming here that the keeping of the commandments can save us or justify us. Even if we consider ourselves blameless, Scripture says, the just man sins seven times a day (Prov 24:16). We can affirm with Isaiah that, I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips (Is 6:5), and we must say with St. Paul, I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died for no purpose (Gal 2:21).

While the law gives us a necessary and clear frame of reference for what pleases God, its summons Be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy (Lev 19:22) is not attainable through mere human effort unaided by grace. Jesus makes it clear that when God says, Be holy, He does not have in mind mere human holiness, for Jesus says, Be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48).

Thus, Jesus is drawing out the man’s problematic premise, but as we next see, the rich man doesn’t take the hint.

III. Perceived Perfection – Strangely—and humorously to our mind—the man boldly says, Teacher, all of these I have observed from my youth.

Notice that the man’s perfection is perceived; simply noting it in himself does not mean that he actually has it in himself. Having heard Jesus quote the Second Table of the Law, he announces that he has observed all of these from his youth.

To be fair, his self-analysis was not uncommon for a Jewish man of his time. The Jewish people had a great reverence for the law, a beautiful thing in itself, but they tended to understand it in a fairly legalistic and perfunctory way.

For example, in a conversation with Jesus, a scribe of the law asks Him, And who is my neighbor? (Luke 10:29) It’s as if he is saying, “If I have to love my neighbor—and I acknowledge my duty to do so—how can I define ‘neighbor’ in such a way that this is manageable?” In other words, I recognize that I have limits. If justice comes to the law, then the law must have limits, defined in such a way that the keeping of the law remains within my power.

Jesus sets aside such thinking in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7), in which He calls for the law to be observed not in a minimalistic sense but in a way that fills it to the fullest. Jesus says that it is not enough not to kill; we must also reject anything that ultimately leads to killing or to wishing people were dead. The commandment not to kill requires not only that we not take life, but also that we banish from our heart and mind, by God’s grace, hateful anger, retribution, and revenge. The commandment not to commit adultery requires not merely that we avoid breaking the marital vows, but also that we banish from our heart and mind, by God’s grace, any lustful, impure, and unrighteous sexual thoughts.

Hence, the commandments and precepts of the law cannot, and should not, be understood in a minimalistic way. Jesus sets aside the usual manner of the people of His day: reducing the law to something manageable and then declaring that they have kept it. God seeks more than perfunctory observance. His grace desires to accomplish within us wholehearted observance. We need grace in order to be saved, in order to qualify for anything that God calls holy.

So, Jesus sets aside the rich man’s claims of righteousness and is now is ready to address the question, “What does Heaven cost?”

IV.  Pricey Prescription – What does Heaven cost? Everything! Jesus, looking at the man with love, says to him, You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.

Ultimately, the cost of Heaven is leaving this world and everything in it to go and possess God and Heaven. To have Heaven we must set aside this world, not only its life but its pomp, ephemeral glories, and passing pleasures. If you want Heaven you’ve got to leave here!

Although we know this, we often live in a way that seeks to postpone the inevitable and to ignore the joke that this world is ultimately playing on us. The world says, “You can have it all!” Yes, you can, but then you die and lose everything. We like to postpone facing that fact, pretending that perhaps it ain’t necessarily so. We’re like the gambler who goes to the casino thinking he will be the exception to the general rule that the house always wins. You can’t cheat life; whatever we have when we die, whatever we claim to have won, we lose.

In the end, there is only one way to attain the things of lasting value. Only what you do for Christ will last. The Lord says, Store up for yourselves treasure in heaven, that neither rust nor moths can corrode, nor thieves break in and steal (Lk 12:33).

The Lord says that being generous to the needy and poor is a way of storing up treasure in Heaven. Sadly, most of us don’t believe that, thinking that clinging to our “treasure” here is a way of keeping it. It isn’t. Whatever we have here is slipping through our fingers like so much sand. The only way to keep it unto life eternal is to give it away to the needy and poor and to allow it to advance the Kingdom of Heaven and its values.

Otherwise, wealth is not only not helpful it is actually harmful. There are many texts in the Scriptures that speak of the danger and the harm of wealth, how it compromises our souls and endangers our salvation:

        • Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said again, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Mk 10:23-25).
        • For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world;  but if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their hearts with many pangs (1 Tim 6:7ff).
        • No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money (Luke 16:13).
        • But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep (Luke 6:24-25).
        • But many that are first will be last, and the last first (Mat 19:30).
        • Listen, my beloved brethren. Has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which he has promised to those who love him? (James 2:5).

While the Lord’s claim that Heaven costs everything bewilders us, we cannot fail to see its truth and that the world’s claims on us are rooted in a lie, in false declarations that we can be secure in the passing glories of the world. You can have the passing glories of the world, but then you die—end of glory. Because we like the lie, we entertain it. In the end, though, we give everything back because it was never ours to begin with, it only seemed that way.

How foolish we are, how blind! Speaking of blindness, note that the Lord looked at the man with love, yet the man went away sad. That look of love from the Lord never reached his soul. If it had, the result would surely have been different.

V. Powerful Possibility – So shocking is this teaching that even the apostles, who had in fact left everything to follow the Lord, are shocked by it. They see and are in touch with the depth of this wound in the human heart, the depth of our delusion that the world and its goods can satisfy us. They see and know how strong and numerous are the hooks that this world has in us. Thus, they cry out, Then who can be saved? Jesus responds, For man it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.

In the end, salvation must be God’s work. He alone can take these tortured hearts of ours, so rooted in passing things, and make them willing to forsake all things for the Kingdom of Heaven.  Only God can take our disordered love and direct it to its proper end: the love rooted in God and the things awaiting us in Heaven. Only God can remove our obsession with the Titanic and place us squarely in the Noah’s Ark that is the Church, the Barque of Peter.

Yes, God can give us a new heart, a properly ordered heart, a heart that desires first and foremost God’s love, a heart that can say, “I gratefully receive what you give me, Lord, and I covet nothing more. Thank you, Lord. It is enough. You, O Lord, are enough.”

Don’t miss the look of love that Jesus gave the young man, the look that He gives you. In the end, only a greater love, God’s love received, can replace the disordered love we have for this world.

St. Augustine wrote,

Such, O my soul, are the miseries that attend on riches. They are gained with toil and kept with fear. They are enjoyed with danger and lost with grief. It is hard to be saved if we have them; and impossible if we love them; and scarcely can we have them, but that we shall love them inordinately. Teach us, O Lord, this difficult lesson: to manage conscientiously the goods we possess and not covetously desire more than you give to us (Letter 203).

I prayed, and prudence was given me;
I pleaded, and the spirit of wisdom came to me.
I preferred her to scepter and throne,
and deemed riches nothing in comparison with her,
nor did I liken any priceless gem to her;
because all gold, in view of her, is a little sand,
and before her, silver is to be accounted mire.
Beyond health and comeliness I loved her,
and I chose to have her rather than the light,
because the splendor of her never yields to sleep.
Yet all good things together came to me in her company,
and countless riches at her hands (Wisdom 7:7-1).

 

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Cain and Abel

I am compiling a “Back-to-Basics Catechesis” by focusing on Biblical Stories. Here is a reflection on the Fall of Man. A PDF of this reflection is here: HERE 

Earlier in Genesis, we saw how the beauty of creation was marred by the Sin of Adam and Eve. Not only was creation harmed, but Adam and Eve were also wounded in their very nature. They had been immortal, and their superior intellects had authority over their passions and emotions. But now, suffering, and ultimately death, have come to them. Passions and emotions like anger, love, sexual drives, hunger, fear and so forth now tend to dominate them and their descendants. It is hard for them to resist these drives with their minds and wills weakened. The strong inclination to sin we inherit is called by the Church, “concupiscence” and all of us know it well. For example, we know many things that are harmful for us, and we still want them, in abundance. We also know of things that are good for us and we don’t want them all that much. Something is desperately wrong with us and the Church teaches that this “concupiscence” is a lingering effect of Original Sin. It is only with effort and time that we gradually overcome these tendencies.

This weakened condition is illustrated very well in the sad story of Cain and Abel. It focuses on two deep drives of sin in us: envy and anger. Let’s read the story in full and learn some of its lessons.

The Story of Cain and Abel

And Adam had relations with his wife Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man,” she said. Later she gave birth to Cain’s brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, while Cain was a tiller of the soil. So in the course of time, Cain brought some of the fruit of the soil as an offering to the LORD, while Abel brought the best portions of the firstborn of his flock. And the LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but He had no regard for Cain and his offering. So, Cain became very angry, and his countenance fell. “Why are you angry,” said the LORD to Cain, “and why has your countenance fallen? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.”

Then Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let us go out to the field.” And while they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. And the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I do not know!” he answered. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” “What have you done?” replied the LORD. “The voice of your brother’s blood cries out to Me from the ground. Now you are cursed and banished from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. When you till the ground, it will no longer yield its produce to you. You will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” But Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, this day You have driven me from the face of the earth, and from Your face I will be hidden; I will be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.” “Not so!” replied the LORD. “If anyone slays Cain, then Cain will be avenged sevenfold.” And the LORD placed a mark on Cain, so that no one who found him would kill him. So Cain went out from the presence of the LORD and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.(Gen 4:1-16)

At this very early stage we are told of the birth of Cain and Abel. While other children are not mentioned, the text mentions the existence of other siblings later.

Greed

Abel was a shepherd and Cain was a farmer. In their offerings to God, Abel’s sacrifice was favored by God since Abel offered the “firstfruits” of his labor while Cain brought some indefinite offering from among his harvest. This likely indicates some greed in Cain who prefers to keep the best for himself whereas Abel gave the best and first of his fruits to God.

Envy and Anger

God favored Abel’s offering over Cain, and this elicited in Cain a deep and sinful drive we call “envy.” Envy is sorrow and anger at the goodness or excellence of another person because I take it to lessen my own standing or excellence. In effect, Cain thinks that Abel’s excellence makes him look bad by comparison. The proper response to seeing excellence in another person is to seek to imitate it if possible. And we should be happy when others are recognized for their excellence or performance. But too often, like Cain, we seethe with indignation that someone was favored over me or that they are better at something. Envy is far worse than jealousy since, if I am jealous, at least I want the good thing that you have. But when I am envious, I seek to destroy the goodness in you, so I don’t look bad by comparison. That is why St. Augustine calls envy, “the diabolical sin.” Cain’s envy causes an anger in him that is so deep he plots to kill Abel and so eliminate this threat to Cain’s own standing. It is very ugly, and far too common in the human family. The envious do not always murder, but they often do discredit goodness and excellence and are more than willing to question or “murder” the reputations of those they perceive as competitors to their standing in the community.

A Warning and Teaching from God

Cain’s passions of envy and anger are rising. And God warns him:

“Why are you angry… If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you refuse to do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it.”

Here then is God’s first instruction to us after Original Sin: “Sin is crouching at your door, but you can master it.” As we considered above, Adam and Eve had been weakened by their sin and handed on to us a human nature that was weak and prone to sin. Yes, sin and temptation are always crouching at the door, but God teaches us that he provides sufficient grace for us to take authority over our sinful drives and do what is right. Cain’s proper response is to accept correction, follow Abel’s example, and do what is right. Our passions like envy are simmering, and our anger is often loud, but we can and must master them. If not, things get only worse. In our life we must grow virtue (good habits) and starve vices (bad habits). If not, sin multiplies, and consequences grow such as addictions, compulsions, and many bad habits that further weaken us. Listen to what God is saying. We can and must master our passions and the strong inclinations that “crouch at our door!” God will help us if we call to him. But, like most “skills” in life, it is a long journey and involves much training. That is why we must make use of all the help and medicines available to us such as Scripture to instruct us, Sacraments to heal and nourish us, prayer to steady us, and holy fellowship to encourage and admonish us (See Acts 2:42). Stay close to God and follow his paths and instructions. Otherwise, all bets are off and further misery awaits us, crouching at the door.

Sadly, as the story recounts, Cain did not master his sinful drives, vented his anger and yielded to envy’s lie that his brother was a rival to his glory. But of course, none of this makes anything better for Cain. Sin is never a solution; it only complicates and worsens things.

Am I My Brother’s Keeper?

Sin almost never affects us alone. It boils over into the lives of others and spreads misery. Cain’s envious anger claims Abel’s life. The loss of Abel grieves his family and, as we shall see, spreads the infection of anger and vengeance. The loss of Abel also deprives the early human community of his gifts and good example.

Note also that God hears Abel’s blood crying out from the ground where it was shed. Human life is sacred to God, and we are not to take life, except in rare and regrettable moments of self-defense. We will answer to God one day for what we have done (see 2 Cor 5:10). And thus, God asks Cain of his brother: “Where is your brother?”  Cain’s cynical response shows how disordered his heart has become: “Am I my brother’s keeper.” The answer is yes. The well-being of our brothers and sisters should be very important to us and we should guard and keep them from harm and ruin. We are called to love our neighbor, and even our enemy. Yes, we are our brother’s keeper.

Consequences of Cain’s Sin

Cain’s sin also affects him. He laments that his sin has separated him from the human family: “I will be a fugitive and hidden from the land.” He also laments how his sin has further distanced him from God: “From Your face I will be hidden.”  His violence has begotten fear in him of more violence in the vengeance of other members of the human family: “Whoever finds me will kill me!” Sin sets evil loose. The punishment for sin is more sin.  But God does not utterly forsake Cain and says that despite his sin, Cain remains sacred to the Lord and that no one is to take his life. They will answer to God if they try and be punished severely. Sinners are still God’s children and are to be respected as such.

Cain is exiled to the east of Eden in a place called “Nod.” In Hebrew, “Nod” means to wander. Hence Cain becomes a vagabond, a fugitive, expelled from the Land. He is also exiled from the fruits of civilization: agriculture, and animal produce. Since he poisoned the land with Abel’s shed blood, the land will yield nothing to his farming. Now he must forage from whatever the wild uncultivated land gives.

Sin is a terrible reality and its consequences are real. But in the greatest story ever told, God does not forget Cain and places a mark of love upon him.

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Marriage Is a Miracle! A Homily for the 27th Sunday of the Year

Both today’s first reading and the Gospel speak to us of the miracle of marriage. If your marriage is working even reasonably well, it is a miracle! We live in an age that is poisonous to marriage. Many people look for marriage to be ideal, and if there is any ordeal, they want a new deal. Our culture says, if it doesn’t work out, bail out. Marriages are also a miracle because they are, ultimately, a work of God.

Today’s readings bring before us some fundamental teachings on marriage. Let’s look at today’s Gospel in five stages.

I. Rejection – The Gospel opens with the Pharisees approaching Jesus and asking, somewhat rhetorically, “Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?” Jesus, aware of their hypocrisy (they do not really want an answer from Him on which to base their lives), asks them in return, “What did Moses command you?” They gleefully respond, in essence, that Moses permitted a husband to divorce his wife as long as he “filled out the paperwork,” if you will.

Jesus will have none of it, telling them that Moses only permitted this regrettable thing called “divorce” because of their hardened hearts.

Among the rabbis of Jesus’ time, there was the belief that this seemingly lax provision permitting divorce resulted because Moses had reasoned that if he were to say to the men of his day that marriage was until death then some of them might very well have arranged for the death of their wives. So, in order to prevent homicide, Moses permitted the lesser evil of divorce. It was still an evil, however. God Himself says in the Book of Malachi,

And this again you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering … You ask, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord is witness to the covenant between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. Has not the one God made and sustained for us the spirit of life? And what does he desire? Godly offspring. So, take heed to yourselves, and let none be faithless to the wife of his youth. For I hate divorce, says the Lord, the God of Israel, and covering one’s garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. Yes … take heed to yourselves, and do not be faithless” (Malachi 2:13–16).

Thus, in the opening lines of today’s Gospel, Jesus highlights how the Pharisees and many other men of His time have rejected God’s fundamental teaching on marriage. Jesus is about to reiterate that teaching. For now, though, just note that the rejection evidenced in the question of the Pharisees is one that Jesus ascribes to hearts that have become hardened by sin, lack of forgiveness, and refusal to accept God’s plan.

God hates divorce not only because it intrinsically rejects what He has set forth but also because it is symptomatic of human hardness and sinfulness.

II. Restoration – Jesus, having encountered their hardened hearts, announces a restoration, a return to God’s original plan for marriage. The Lord quotes the Book of Genesis, saying,

But from the beginning of creation God made them male and female. And for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate.

Note that Jesus begins with the phrase, “but from the beginning of creation.” In other words, anything that may have happened in the aftermath of Original Sin, any compromises or arrangements that have emerged during the reign of sin, are now to be done away with in the reign of grace that will come as the result of Jesus’ saving death and resurrection.

On account of the grace that will be bestowed, we are now able, and expected, to return to God’s original plan for marriage: one man and one woman in a lifelong, stable relationship that is fruitful, bringing forth godly children for God and His kingdom. This is God’s plan, a plan that has no room for divorce, contraception, or anything other than fruitful, faithful, stable love.

In today’s Western culture there have been many attempts to redefine God’s original and perfect plan for marriage, substituting something erroneous, something humanly defined. While current attempts to redefine marriage to include same-sex unions are a particularly egregious example, they are not the first or only way in which God’s plan for marriage has been attacked.

The attempts began in the 1950s, when divorce began to occur among Hollywood celebrities (e.g., Ingrid Bergman). Many Americans, who seem to love and admire their Hollywood stars, began to justify divorce. “Don’t people deserve to be happy?” became the refrain. In this way marriage, which up to that point had as its essential focus what was best for children, began subtly but clearly to be centered on what was best for adults. The happiness of the adults began to take precedence over well-being of the children in the mind of most people.

During the 1950s and 1960s pressure began to build to make divorce easier. Until the late 1960s, divorces had been legally difficult to obtain in America; wealthier people often traveled to Mexico to secure them. In 1969, California Governor Ronald Reagan signed the first “no-fault” divorce law, making divorces fairly easy to obtain. Within ten years most states had similar laws. As a result, divorce rates skyrocketed.

This was the first redefinition of marriage. No longer was a man to leave his father and mother and “cling to his wife.” Now, at the first sign of trouble, men and women could just renege on their marriage vows, in direct contradiction to God’s plan. Thus, we engaged in what amounts to a redefinition of marriage.

The second redefinition of marriage occurred when the contraceptive mentality seized America. It began in the late 1950s and continues to this day. Though God said to the first couple, Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth … (Genesis 1:28), children have become more a way of “accessorizing” a marriage than an integral part and an expected fruit. Children are no longer seen as an essential purpose of marriage, but only an optional outcome based on the wishes of the adults. This directly contradicts God’s instruction to “be fruitful and multiply.”

The third redefinition of marriage—the current rage—is the attempt to extend it to include same-sex unions. The absurdity of this proposal flows from the sinful conclusions of the first two redefinitions, which in effect state that marriage is simply about two adults being happy and doing whatever pleases them.

If that is truly the case, then there seems little basis to protest same-sex couples getting “married,” or, frankly, any number of adults in any combination of sexes, getting “married.” (Polygamy and/or polyandry are surely coming next.)

The heterosexual community has misbehaved for over fifty year now, redefining essential aspects of marriage. The latest absurdity—and it is an absurdity—of gay “marriage” flows from this flawed and sinful redefinition. We have sown the wind; now we are reaping the whirlwind.

In the end, Jesus will have none of this. He rejects the attempts of the men of His time to redefine marriage. Through His Church, His living voice in the world today, He also rejects the sinful and absurd redefinitions that our culture proposes, be it divorce, contraception, or homosexual “marriage.”

God has set forth that a man should leave his father and mother and cling to his wife, and that the two of them become one flesh. In making a suitable partner for Adam, God created Eve, not Steve; hence homosexual unions are excluded. A man is not a suitable partner for a man; a woman is not a suitable partner for a woman. Further, in making a suitable partner for Adam, God did not make Eve and Ellen and Jane and Sue and Beth. Hence, polygamy, though mentioned and tolerated for a time in the Bible (but always a source of trouble) is also not part of God’s plan.

God intends one man, for one woman, in a relationship of clinging; that is, in a stable relationship that bears the fruit of godly offspring.

This is the Lord’s plan; Jesus does not entertain any notion from the people of His day that will alter or compromise the original design for marriage. He thus announces a restoration of God’s original plan for marriage, as set forth in the book of Genesis.

III. Reality – As is true today, Jesus’ reassertion of traditional, biblical marriage was met with controversy. In Matthew’s account, many of the disciples react with disdain, saying, If that is a case of a man and his wife, it is better never to marry (Matt 19:10).

In today’s Gospel we see that the disciples are somewhat troubled by what Jesus says and ask Him about it again later. Jesus does not back down; He even intensifies His language, saying, Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.

There will be no apology from Jesus: divorce/remarriage is adultery. There may have been some in Jesus’ time (and today) who would hold up their divorce papers and say that they have a divorce decree. Jesus implies that He is not impressed with some papers signed by a human judge and is not bound by the decision of some secular authority. What God has joined together, no man must separate. Jesus once again establishes that once God has joined a couple in Holy Matrimony, the bond which God has effected is to be respected by all, including the couple.

Marriage has a reality beyond what mere humans bring to it or say of it. Marriage is a work of God; it has a reality and an existence that flows from God’s work, not man’s. All of our attempts to redefine, obfuscate, or alter marriage as God has set it forth are sinful and not recognized by God.

IV. Reemphasis – Now comes an interesting twist, which includes a reminder of one of the most essential purposes of marriage:

And people were bringing their little children to Jesus that he might touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he became indignant and said to them, “Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”

This is not a new element to the story; neither have we gone into a separate pericope. Rather, Jesus’ remarks about children remind us of the essential reason that marriage is structured the way it is. Why should marriage be between two heterosexuals? Why should it be stable? Why should it include a father and a mother rather than two fathers, or two mothers, or just a mother, or just a father?

The fundamental answer is that the essential work of marriage is to procreate and then raise those children. Because children are marriage’s most fundamental fruit, it makes sense that marriage should be structured based on what is best for them. The fact is, children are best raised in a stable, lasting environment in which their parents have committed to each other in mutual support and partnership in raising them. Further, it makes sense psychologically that a child should receive influence from both father and mother, the male parent and the female parent. There are things that a father can teach a child that a mother cannot; there are things that a mother can teach a child that a father cannot. Psycho-social development is best achieved in the environment that God and nature have set forth: every child growing up with both a father and a mother, a male and a female influence.

Anything else amounts to something that is less than ideal. To the degree that we intentionally impose the less-than-ideal on children, we are guilty of doing them an injustice. Bringing children into the world prior to marriage or apart from it, such that they will be raised in a single-parent home, is an injustice. It is even more unjust that children conceived under these promiscuous circumstances are far more likely to be aborted.

This preference for stable, lasting, heterosexual unions clearly excludes homosexual ones. Same-sex “parents” are far from ideal for a child. To raise children in such circumstances intentionally is an injustice, for it is to subject them to that which is unnatural and far from ideal.

Catholics have every obligation both to uphold and insist upon traditional marriage as what is right and just, not only because it is God’s plan, but because it is clearly what is best for children. Marriage is fundamentally about children. It is not simply religious sensibility that should lead us to this position; it is a position deeply rooted in natural law, common sense, and what is best for children.

Traditional marriage should be encouraged in every way. Becoming “fuzzier” about what marriage is, or “defining it down” does not help our culture to esteem traditional marriage. Traditional marriage has pride of place because it is focused on raising the next generation and is critical to the essential functioning of our society.

There is much talk today about the rights of people to do as they please. So-called gay “marriage” is presented within this framework. Sadly, many who discuss rights only refer to the rights of adults; they seem to care much less about what is best for children. What is good and right for children needs to have a much higher priority in our culture today than it currently does.

Jesus reemphasizes the teaching on marriage by pointing to the young children before them and telling the disciples not to hinder the children. One of the clearest ways we hinder children from finding their way to God and His kingdom is with our own bad behavior: promiscuous sexual acts (endangering children through abortion or single-parent households), divorce (placing children in divided situations and saddling them with confused loyalties), and insistence on adult rights taking precedence over what is best for children. To emphasize all of this bad behavior, Jesus points out the young children and says, “Do not hinder them.” Our bad behavior does hinder them.

V. Reassurance – To be sure, this teaching about marriage is to some degree “heavy weather.” Indeed, many in our culture have tried, and failed, to attain to the vision of marriage that the Lord teaches. There are complicated reasons, too many to note here, that so many people struggle to live this teaching today.

Whatever our own failures have been, we need to go to the Lord with a childlike trust, a trust that cries out for help. Jesus says at the conclusion of today’s Gospel, Amen, I say to you, whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it.

Children often feel overwhelmed, and when they do they run to their parents for help. It is in this spirit that the Lord asks us to receive this teaching. Indeed, many may well have to run to God and say “Abba, God, I don’t know how to live this teaching. My marriage is in ruins, and I don’t know how to save it. I’ve tried, but my spouse is unwilling. I can’t go back and undo what I did years ago.”

Note how the Lord embraces the child in this Gospel. He is willing to embrace us as well, in our failures and our difficulties. If we have failed, we should be like a young child and run to the Father. What we should avoid most is being relentlessly adult-like, digging in our heels and saying, “God is unreasonable; the Gospel is unreasonable!”

In the end, only God can accomplish strong marriages and strong families for us. We must run to Him as Father and seek His help. Even if one has failed in his/her marriage, one must still impart to the next generation what God teaches.

God’s plan remains His plan for everyone, no matter our personal failings. We have every obligation to run to Him, trust Him, and ask for His help. Even in the midst of our own personal failures, we can and must announce and celebrate the truth to others. In the end, God does not give us His teaching in order to burden us or to accuse us but rather to bless us. We must be assured of His mercy and His ability to write straight, even with the crooked lines of our lives.

If we in this generation have failed, and many of us have failed, we must still announce God’s plan for marriage to the next generation. We must not cease to hand on God’s perfect plan.

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Things we Can Learn From Dogs and Cats

With the Feast of St. Francis upon us we do well to thank God for many things. It is a tradition in many parishes to bless animals on this feast. It is also a good time to ponder what our pets and animals can “teach” us.

In the past I have shared a list of things we can learn from dogs. When I was growing up, we always had a dog, so although I did not compose the list below, I can vouch for its accuracy.

Over my years of city living as an adult, I have grown accustomed to having cats (they are great mousers in old rectories). So, I set my thoughts toward composing a similar list of what I have learned from cats. They are such independent and self-assured animals! They really let you know who’s boss but mitigate their arrogance somewhat with clownish play and affectionate head-butts.

God speaks to us in all of creation, including our pets, to whom we are often so close. What is God saying? Many things!

Here is my list of what I have heard God say through the cats I have loved over the years: Tupac, Katy Bell, Jenny June, Gracie Girl, Rita Hayworth, Ellen Bayne, Jerry McGuire, Benedict (Benny), Daniel, and Jewel. Some of them lived in the alley and a few in the house, but they have all taught me things. Here some pearls of wisdom they conveyed:

  1. If you can’t get your way, lie across the keyboard until you do. (Be persistent.)
  2. Keep them guessing with meows and long looks to keep their attention. (Mystery attracts.)
  3. When you’re hungry, meow loudly so they feed you just to shut you up. (Get your needs met.)
  4. Always find a good patch of sun to lie in. (Simple pleasures have their place.)
  5. Life is hard and then you nap. (Be well-rested.)
  6. Climb your way to the top; that’s why the curtains are there. (Be resourceful and creative.)
  7. We are Siamese if you please. We are Siamese if you don’t please. (Be yourself.)
  8. Purr often and use head-butts judiciously. (Express gratitude.)
  9. Sleep on their clothes and personal items so as to leave your scent. (Forget-me-nots have their place.)
  10. Use your litter box. (Be clean and polite.)
  11. Be a mouser. (Earn your keep.)
  12. Clown around and do silly stuff. (Be humble.)
  13. Run around wildly for no apparent reason; chase toys and laser pointers. (Exercise often.)
  14. Rest in hidden places. (Solitude has its place.)

The following list of things we can learn from dogs has been making the rounds on the Internet for years, but it really is rather instructive. Dogs do have a lot to teach us, and I thank God for the dogs to whom I have been close over the years: Prince, Missy, Molly, Taco, Salsa, Chili, Kaila, Lucy, Clancy, and many others. And again, although others compiled this second list, I can affirm through much experience how true it is!

Fifteen things we can learn from dogs:

  1. Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joy ride.
  2. Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.
  3. When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.
  4. Let others know when they’ve invaded your territory.
  5. Take naps and stretch before rising.
  6. Run, romp, and play daily.
  7. Eat with gusto and enthusiasm.
  8. Be loyal.
  9. If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.
  10. When someone is having a bad day, be silent. Sit close by and nuzzle them gently.
  11. Thrive on attention and let people touch you.
  12. Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.
  13. When you’re happy, dance around and wag your entire body.
  14. No matter how often you’re scolded, don’t buy into the guilt thing and pout. Instead, run right back and make friends.
  15. Delight in the simple joys of a long walk.

Happy Feast of St. Francis!

All creatures of our God and king
Lift up your voice and with us sing,
Alleluia! Alleluia!

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Of Friends and Foes: A Homily for the 26th Sunday of the Year

In this Sunday’s Gospel there is a certain tension between legitimate freedom and truths we must insist upon. We also have a lot to learn in sorting out friends and foes.

I. Foe or Friend? – The text begins, John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to prevent him because he does not follow us.” Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There is no one who performs a mighty deed in my name who can at the same time speak ill of me. For whoever is not against us is for us.”

The Apostle John’s consternation bespeaks confused priorities. Task number one is to advance the Kingdom of God, taking back territory from the Evil One. If someone can drive out demons in Jesus’ name, we ought to praise the Lord! Such a one is not a foe; the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

The apostles seem more concerned with pedigree and control. Perhaps notions of personal advancement, power, prestige, and pride beset them as well. Souls being set free seems to have been a secondary concern.

Misplaced priorities! There should be more about Jesus and His Kingdom, less about me and my glory. Don’t stop others from driving out demons. Help them, or at least get out of the way!

This command not to prevent him is of course a general norm not an absolute one. There are certain things that the Lord gave only for the apostles to do. It was they, not just anyone, who were to preach and formally teach in Jesus’ name, to baptize, to confirm, to celebrate the Eucharist, to forgive sins, to lead with authority, and to appoint successors and helpers by the laying on of hands. In addition, the Rite of Major Exorcism is reserved to appointed priests, though many lay people have charisms to heal and to drive away the influence of demons through approved methods such as unbound and other forms of deprecatory prayers.

Thus, even though priests have certain exclusive duties, it is foolish to think that every gift is reserved for the priesthood. Lay people bring many gifts: prayer, holiness, and the abilities to teach and to share leadership in parishes. They bring practical skills, too, such as administration, organization, and works of charity.

“Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth” are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: “the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements.” Christ’s Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him, and are in themselves calls to “Catholic unity” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #819).

Indeed, I have found that many wonderful Catholics come to us from the evangelical denominations. They bring some many gifts with them. They love Scripture. They love Jesus. They have a wealth of zeal. In the Rite of Reception, we thank God for the communities where they first learned of Christ even as we welcome them to full unity with the Church.

Thus, some whom we see as foes are actually friends in the Lord’s eyes. We should rejoice in the graces of Christ wherever we find them and seek to find full unity in the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church.

II. Friends are Fundamental – The Lord admonishes the apostles, Whoever is not against us is for us. Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will surely not lose his reward.

This, of course, implies that the apostles will in fact need help, encouragement, and basic necessities as they undertake to proclaim the gospel. Scripture says, Woe to the solitary man! For if he should fall, he has no one to lift him up (Ecclesiastes 4:10).

The attitude of wanting to do everything oneself is not only prideful, it is foolish and impossible. We must accept that one of the provisions necessary for those who would be prophets is the help and support of others.

Neither can the Church blithely reject the help of medical science, psychotherapy, or of the business or government sectors. Other things being equal, there can and should be a proper partnership with these areas of human knowledge and expertise. While distinctions must be made and errors rejected, there is a partnership that should not be rejected. When the ship is sinking (and it is, since the fall of man) it’s all hands on deck.

III. Falsehood is the Fiercest Foe – Through the use of several analogies, the Lord illustrates just how serious it is to lead others into sin by scandal or false teaching: Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut if off. It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’

Here, then, are the worst enemy of all: false teachers and those who give scandal. The “little ones” Jesus refers to here are not just children; all of his disciples are His “little ones.” The Lord uses the strongest language possible here to express His wrath at those who lead His disciples into sin by false teaching or seduction. It would be better for them to die or be maimed than to do such a thing. The Lord says in Jeremiah, Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, declares the LORD. … You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the LORD (Jeremiah 23:1-3). My people have been lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray and caused them to roam on the mountains. They wandered over mountain and hill and forgot their own resting place (Jeremiah 50:6).

Yes, to mislead or give scandal to God’s people is so awful that Jesus says being cast into the sea with a millstone around one’s neck is a better option. Otherwise, hellfire and worms will be their lot. Jesus says that it is more serious to sin in this way than to lose a hand or a foot or an eye! Elsewhere, Jesus calls false shepherds “wolves.”

The ancient prophets held up the sins of the people before them and called them to return to the Lord wholeheartedly. What about us? In the midst of a moral meltdown and a cultural collapse there are too many silent pulpits. Even more deplorable are those shepherds who outright mislead the faithful through false teaching, deliberate ambiguity, and bad example. Too many today make light of, or excuse, what God calls sin. These problems are not limited to the clergy. They are found in Catholic schools where the faith is contested rather than taught. They are also found among parents who have strayed from the faith and mislead their children.

All of us in any leadership position should consider the strong language Jesus uses here. We do well to ponder whether we are a friend of the Lord or an enemy. The Book of James warns, You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God (James 4:4). A false or misleading teacher or one who gives scandal to God’s people is the worst sort of enemy to God.

The Gospel opened with John seeing a foe where there was really a friend. Jesus says, in effect, “That’s not what an enemy looks like. He’s driving out demons, and that’s good work for the Kingdom. Do you want to know what an enemy really looks like? Anyone who causes one of my disciples to sin is an enemy in my eyes.”

True friends of the Lord drive out demons by holy teaching, good example, and prayer. Enemies of the Lord drive in demons by false teaching, bad example, and outright seduction. True friends of the Lord lift Him up for all the world to see.

Enjoy this old hymn; try not to tap your toe while you listen!

Don’t exalt the preacher,
don’t exalt the pew,
Preach the Gospel simple,
full, and free;
Prove Him and you will find his promise is true,
“I’ll draw all men unto Me.”

Lift Him up, lift Him up;
Still He speaks from eternity:
“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth,
Will draw all men unto Me.”

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The Fall of Man

I am compiling a “Back-to-Basics Catechesis” by focusing on Biblical Stories. Here is a reflection on the Fall of Man. A PDF of this reflection is here: THE FALL OF MAN

God had made all things, and He pronounced it “very good.” And yet, something very tragic took place that would shake and alter the very foundations of what God had set forth. That event is call by various titles: Original Sin, the Sin of Adam, The Fall of Man, and so forth. The story begins in the third chapter of Genesis:

Now the serpent was more cunning than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. (Gen 3:1-7)

Two things surprise us right away. Why was there a serpent in the garden of paradise and, why was there a tree from which they should not eat? Both questions have a similar answer: They are there because of human freedom. When God made Adam and Eve He made them, and later us, to be His children, not His slaves. We were not like the animals who live by instinct, nor the plants which simply vegetate. No, we have rational souls, and the glory of our person is that we unite two orders of creation, the spiritual and the physical. We are called to love God as His sons and daughters. But love requires freedom and thus, real alternatives must be available to us.

Why This Tree?

The” Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil” stood near the middle of the Garden of Eden and God had said that Adam and Eve should not partake of its fruit (see Gen 2:17). This tree stands as a kind of image of our freedom. Its name also speaks to a deeper meaning. God did not want them to “know” evil. To “know” in the Bible is usually deeper than mere intellectual knowing. It refers to deep, intimate, personal experience of the thing or person known. Hence God was saying He did not want Adam and Eve to experience evil for themselves, it would surely bring them sorrow, suffering and ultimate death. Rather, God invited them to let Him tell them what was good or evil and live in faith, trusting that what He told them was true and for their good.

As such, they were free to trust Him and live in paradise, or to mistrust Him, refuse any limits and decide for themselves what is good or evil, even at the cost of suffering and eventual death. Alas they chose to reject God’s offer and gave way to colossal pride, mistrust and ingratitude. Satan exploited this and drew them away from the true paradise with lies of a greater glory that would come to them outside the protection of faith and trust in God. We have been miserable ever since. Though God must give us freedom so we can love, Adam and Eve abused this freedom and sought their own glory and happiness apart from God. They trusted Satan more than God. The catechism gives this cogent summary of their sin:

Man, tempted by the devil, let his trust in his Creator die in his heart and, abusing his freedom, disobeyed God’s command. This is what man’s first sin consisted of. All subsequent sin would be disobedience toward God and lack of trust in His goodness. (# 397)

What the Devil?

But what of the serpent? Why was he in this garden of paradise? It is no less than Satan himself. Satan was a fallen angel, now referred to as a demon. He is the prince of all the demons who fell with him from the heavenly ranks of angels when they too abused their freedom and defied God. The text says that he takes up the form of a serpent since it was the most cunning of all the animals God had made. Today we think of serpents as snakes, but it is not clear that this is what the serpent looked like to Adam and Eve. Only later does God cause the serpent to slither on the ground and have the form of a snake. This may explain why Eve does not seem startled that a “serpent” is talking to her.

The Devil’s Deceit

Note however the nature of the devil’s appeal. First, he tries to cast doubt on what God had taught by saying, “Did God really say…?” Then he makes God seem unreasonable by exaggerating and misrepresenting God’s command. He misquotes God as saying, “You shall not eat of ANY tree…” Many tempters today do the same things. But Eve, to her credit did not fall for that and corrected Satan.  Next. Satan simply lies and says, “Surely you will not die…” Now he appeals to her pride and casts a doubt:

“God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God! This struck a note and Eve began to think that even forbidden knowledge was a good thing and gosh, that fruit sure did look good and tasty…what could go wrong?

Whither Adam?

And where was Adam during all this? The text says he was right there with her. Notice he said nothing while the devil carried on with his wife. He had been told by God to guard the garden, (see Gen 2:15-17) and, by extension to guard his wife. But he’s down on the job. This is why the Scriptures call Original Sin the “Sin of Adam.” He was the head of that household and told to guard the garden, his wife and their hearts. He failed, as do many of us.

After this, things fall apart rapidly. Adam and Eve lose their innocence and their righteousness, experiencing it as a nakedness they think they can cover with mere leaves.  The story continues:

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called. “Adam, where are you!?”

Surely God knows all that has happened and where Adam is. But He has not given up His love. Hear the almost plaintive cry, “Adam, where are you?” As if to say, “Adam where is your heart, where is Eve?” He calls to them, He does not merely apprehend them. God’s concern and love are not exhausted. Then Adam steps forth, saying: I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” God said, “Who told you that you were naked?”

Here too the question is rich in meaning. It is as if to say, “Who told you to be afraid of me? Who told you, you were no good or inadequate, or ugly, or an embarrassment? I did not tell you these things. “Ah,” said the Lord, “You have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” Yes, this is where your suffering and deadly self-reproach comes from. I tried to prevent this by warning you. Now suffering and death have found you.

Pointed Fingers

But Adam in classic form cannot face his guilt and says, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Yes, here is the classic finger-pointing in all directions but self. Adam, who moments ago delighted in Eve as bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh, now distances himself from her, blaming her for his own failure to guard the garden and assist her in the moment of temptation. Eve blames the serpent as if she did not have an intellect and free will along with the clear instruction of God to stay away from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Consequences

It falls now to God to explain the consequences of what they have chosen. But first He punishes the devil:

Because you have done this, cursed are you…on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat… I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall crush your head, while you strike at his heel.”

Here is the first good news! God will limit Satan’s power and points to forward Mary and Jesus saying that “the Woman” shall one day bring forth a savior who will crush Satan’s power.

Adam, for his part is told that his sin has also harmed all creation, God says, “Cursed be the ground because of you.” Paradise is no more and this world, though still beautiful, will exhibit hostility in its extremes. Welcome to “Paradise Lost.”

Eve for her part will see many tensions introduced into family life: A Husband who at times is authoritarian, but whom she needs and loves. And bringing forth her children will cause her pain and grief.

Alas, so much has been lost! A beautiful creation set forth by God is now disfigured by man. But the greatest story ever told is a story of the enduring Love, God’s love which does not end. This is tenderly depicted at the end.  And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. (Gen 3:21).

For now, paradise is gone. But that’s not how the story ends. We are in for a rocky ride. But God goes with us!

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Asking a Crucial Question: A Homily for the 25th Sunday of the Year

In the Sunday Gospel, the Lord Jesus is asking a crucial question. The word crucial here is selected carefully; it comes from the Latin cruces, meaning “cross.” Indeed, looming over this entire gospel reading is the cross. In it, Jesus makes the second prediction of His passion, death, and resurrection. It is in the context of this teaching that the Lord asks the “crucial” question of us: What is most central in your life? Let’s look at this gospel passage in five stages.

I. The Processional Picture – The gospel text opens this way: Jesus and his disciples left from there and began a journey through Galilee. This will be Jesus’ final journey through Galilee. He is heading south, unto His passion, death, and resurrection.

Do not miss the importance of seeing our own life as a kind of procession, a journey. We, too, are making a journey through this life, our first and only journey. With every step we take, we too move closer to death and, we pray, resurrection with and unto the Lord.

All along the way we meet people and find things that will either help us or hinder us in preparing for life’s true destination. Because this is a fallen world, there will unfortunately be much to distract and divert us into foolish desires, pointless paths, and frivolous and harmful philosophies. More on that in a moment.

For now, simply note that the Lord is on a procession. He is headed for a critical destination, one that matters, one on which rests our very destiny. We, too, are on such a path, and while we cannot save ourselves we can surely harm ourselves. Our destiny is caught up in the decisions we make on life’s journey. Yes, we are on a procession with Jesus.

II. The Pain that is Proclaimed – The text says that though Jesus was journeying through Galilee, he did not wish anyone to know about it. He was teaching his disciples and telling them that the Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death, the Son of Man will rise. While the Lord surely says this in great confidence, knowing what the end will ultimately be, we must not overlook the undercurrent of pain.

Jesus tries to journey through Galilee quietly, likely because He does not want to be diverted by the endless requests that often accompanied His public appearances. In our grief, we sometimes need to draw aside, to be with close friends and family rather than at large gatherings.

Yet even as Jesus is teaching the disciples some very difficult things about what He will go through, they are dealing with their own issues. They seem to draw back and become quiet. The text says, they were afraid to ask him any questions about this matter.

The text implies this drawing back when it later recounts that Jesus had to ask them what they were discussing as they journeyed. So, it would seem that either they drew back from Jesus or perhaps Jesus walked somewhat apart from them, alone in His thoughts.

Although we have to read be between the lines to see it, there seems to be a portrait here of Jesus in some pain and somewhat alone in that pain. His pain was surely increased by the selfish and egotistical discussion He must have known the disciples were having. He asked them what they were discussing as if He did not know, but He knew they were debating as to who was the greatest.

III. Their Pretentious Pride – The text says, They had been discussing among themselves on the way who was the greatest.

It’s hard to believe they were having such a discussion, but a consistent theme in Scripture is that of the inept response. Over and over again Jesus will give a teaching, often with great solemnity, and immediately thereafter the apostles will give a response that indicates that they don’t understand Him at all, that they have completely missed the point. Inept they are, even indecent and pretentious. Having heard the Lord speak of dying painfully at the hands of others, they digress into a pretentious conversation about which of them is the greatest.

Before we scorn or laugh at the apostles, though, we must remember that we are the disciples. We do this very sort of thing. We divert our attention to all kinds of foolishness. We worry about who gets to be in charge or who’s the most important. How pointless and foolish! How inept of us would-be disciples to get carried away with these sorts of concerns! But we do it every day, dozens of times a day.

The woefully inept and pretentious response of the disciples, which only increased Jesus’ pain, leads Him to ask the crucial question. It leads us to the central point of today’s Gospel.

IV. The Probing Point – It is at this moment that Jesus asks the crucial question, a question not only for the Twelve, but for us as well. The text says that they came to Capernaum and, once inside the house, Jesus asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” They remain silent out of sheer embarrassment, for they had been discussing who among them was the greatest.

Why is this a crucial question? Perhaps examining the Greek will help. The Greek word that is translated here as arguing is διαλογίζομαι (dialogízomai), which means to reason, consider, ponder, wonder, or debate. The dia, at the beginning of the word is an intensifier and indicates a kind of back-and-forth aspect, giving us the concept of a debate or an argument.

With this in mind, perhaps we can hear the Lord questioning them in this way: “What are you discussing as you make your journey in life? What are you passionate about? What peaks your interest? What engages you and what do you choose to engage others about? What is going on in your mind all day long?”

It is both sad and embarrassing that so many of us who call ourselves disciples are so preoccupied with things that are futile, passing, and of little importance. Even things that have some relative importance get an undue amount of our attention.

Meanwhile, things that do matter, things that matter most to God, such as salvation, knowledge of Him, preparation for death and judgment, repentance, love, justice, mercy, truth, goodness, decency, virtue, prayer, and frequent reception of the sacraments—all these things rank pitifully low in the lives of most people, even those who call themselves Christians and disciples.

We can spare three or four hours for a football game but have no time for prayer. We find time for everything else and so little time for God and what matters to Him. We get so passionate about politics, sports, or some popular television show, but have little interest in the fact that so many souls are lost, that so many are deeply rooted in unrepentant sin, that so many don’t know why they were made, and that so many don’t know the Lord or His glorious Gospel. The slightest scare regarding our physical health sends us reeling, while our spiritual health goes so easily unattended.

Yes, what are we discussing; what are we thinking about as we make our journey? It is a crucial question. It says a lot about where our heart lies.

Do not miss this crucial question. What are you discussing; what are you thinking about on the way? Answer the Lord honestly and let Him go to work.

V. The Paradoxical Prescription – At the heart of the Lord’s crucial question is a diagnosis of our wrongful priorities and worldly thinking. The Lord turns everything on its end and says, Then he sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.”

In this gospel passage, the disordered thinking of the disciples is related to wrongful notions of importance, leadership, and greatness. The Lord directly addresses these wrongful notions by presenting this deeply paradoxical teaching. The paradox is that the greatest are not those who are served, but those who serve. The cleanup crew at the black-tie dinner gets the Lord’s attention more so than those at the head table.

We tend to think of greatness in terms of how much money a person earns, how much authority he has, how much influence he has, or where he lives. None of these things matters at all to God. We are forever impressed by the rich and the famous, but God looks to the lowly, the poor, and especially those who serve. This teaching of the Lord’s is paradoxical from any worldly perspective.

Yes, it is all very paradoxical; it shows the folly of our worldly obsessions. When we appear before Him someday, God will not care how much money we earned (except the extent to which used it to be generous to the poor). He will not be impressed with the square footage of our home, the brand of our car, or how big the television screen in our great room was. He certainly won’t care who our favorite sports hero was, what team we rooted for, or even if we were popular.

No, what will most impress Him is whether we served, whether we loved, and whether we knew Him and humbly sought to live His truth. He will not care whether we called the shots, but He will care whether we embraced His vision, lived His truth, and charitably cared for others by serving them in the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Did we feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, harbor the homeless, visit the sick, ransom the captives, and bury the dead? Did we comfort the afflicted? Did we instruct the ignorant, counsel the doubtful, admonish sinners, bear wrongs patiently, forgive offenses willingly, and pray for the living and the dead? Did we humbly submit to the Lord in our life by seeking to live chastely, to control our anger, and to resist greed?

The fundamental prescription for us is that we change the way we think. In short, God will want to know if we were rich in what matters to Him.

The greatest are those who serve, who have others in mind, who seek not their own glory and will but the glory and will of God and the goodness of others. This is greatness to God; everything else is foolishness to Him.

In the end, the question resounds: “What are you discussing; what are you thinking as you make your way through this life?” It is the crucial question. Only the cross and its power can fix our foolishness. Too easily we are like the disciples, debating among ourselves about who’s the greatest; who’s the most important; who’s in charge; who gets to call the shots.

What are you discussing as you make your way? It’s a crucial question.

An old spiritual says, simply, “Fix me, Lord; fix me. Fix me for my long white robe. Fix me, Jesus; fix me. Fix me for my journey home. Fix me, Jesus; fix me.”

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The Greatest Story Ever Told – The Creation

In my parish I am beginning a “back to basics” catechesis, reading the fundamental biblical stories of our faith and teaching from them. This is episode # 1 on the Story of creation.

The greatest story ever told is the great drama of God with His people. It begins with the simple but awesome words, “In the beginning God…” (Gen 1:1). That is to say, in the beginning, before anything ever was, God IS. He has always been, He always will be, and He is the very act of being itself! Everything else that “is” or has being, takes its existence and is sustained by Him. We are not living in a machine. Creation is a loving work and revelation of God. St. Paul says of this creation, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship” (Rom 1:20). Yes, even before the Bible we have the “book of creation” that teaches us of God’s wisdom, His order, His design, His purposes and His eternal law. All things work together in a wondrous harmony and synchrony. Above us the stars and planets, the sun and moon set forth a clock-like precision and a glorious song:

Though they in solemn silence, all
Move round our dark terrestrial ball. 
In reason's ear they all rejoice,
And utter forth a glorious voice.
Forever singing, as they shine,
The Hand that made us is Divine!

Yes, the hand that made all is Divine! And God did not make us because He was lonely. Creation is an act of pure love. It is the nature of love to be effusive, that is, to pour itself out in generous sharing. God bestows His power, His existence, His life and order on all things in many and different ways. There are flowers with delicate beauty, Mountains with craggy grandeur. There is the vast cosmos beyond telling, and tiny, hidden worlds in a mere drop of water. There are fabulous things that we see, and even more glorious things that are unseen.

An old hymn says,

This earth, with its store
of wonders untold,
Thy power O God
hath founded of old;
Established it fast
by a changeless decree,
And round it hath cast,
like a mantle, the sea.

Thy bountiful care,
What tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air,
it shines in the light.
It streams from the hills,
it descends to the plain,
And sweetly distills
in the dew and the rain.

Yes, God has done all things well. In the beginning, God!

The Story of Creation

The story of creation is wonderfully described in the opening chapters of Genesis (a word which means “beginnings”). Many debate today if Genesis is a literal account which describes with scientific precision what happened, or if it is a more poetic account using allegory and symbol. The Catholic answer to this is generally a moderate approach. What we are surely taught is that God, by a sovereign and loving act made everything out of nothing. He did so in an orderly way and oversaw every detail. He continues to maintain and sustain every aspect of creation from its grandest glory to its most hidden minutia. Every mighty galaxy rolls through space by His power, every hair of our head is numbered. Further, we are instructed by the Church to safely hold that Adam and Eve are historical figures, actual persons directly created by God. They are not symbolic figures merely representing “mankind.” They are indeed our actual parents from whom all human beings descend.  (see: Humani Generis, 37, Catechism #s 359, 371, 375, 388, 402, 404, 417).

In the Book of Genesis God creates all things by “speaking” them into existence. When God says, “Let there be light,” there is light! The New Testament clarifies and elaborates this when it teaches us that the Word through whom God the Father creates all things is His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ who is also the Word made Flesh (see John 1:1,3, 14). The Letter to the Colossians says, “All things were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” (Col 1:16-17) The Gospel of John echoes: “Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made.” (Jn 1:3) So, the Father created all things, but always with and through His Son, Jesus, both of them working in the unity of their Love who is the Holy Spirit.

The “days” of creation may not be literal days of 24 hours. Though one is free to hold this, Catholics are also free to hold that these days represent epochs or periods of time longer than an earth-day. It will be noted that the sun and moon, which clock our days here on earth, were not created until the fourth day. Whatever the case we have a beautiful description of what God does in the Biblical accounts of Genesis 1 and 2.

In a poetic sort of way God goes about creating certain “canvases” first and then paints in the details, by creating them.

On the first day God begins by creating a canvas of light and darkness and separating them.

On the second day, God creates the canvas of the “sky” and separates the heavens from the earth.

On the third day, God creates the canvas of the sea, separating it from the dry land.

On these canvases of the earth, the sea and the sky, God now “paints in the details.” He begins with the earth, creating vegetation of all kinds (also day three).

On the fourth day God turns to the canvas of the Sky creating the Sun, the moon and the stars.

On the fifth day God turns to the canvas of the sea creating all the sea creatures of every kind. He turns back to the sky and creates the birds.

On the sixth day God turns to the canvas of the earth and creates every beast of the earth, wild and tame, each according to its kind. And then, as the pinnacle of His earthly creation, he made Adam and Eve and commanded them to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it.

On the seventh day God rested and looking upon all He had made and pronounced it all to be very good.

A Doxology for God’s Creation from Scripture:

How beautiful are all God’s works, delightful to gaze upon and a joy to behold! All of them differ, one from another, yet none of them has He made in vain; For each in turn, as it comes, is good; can one ever see enough of their splendor?

 The beauty of the celestial height and the pure firmament, heaven itself manifests its glory. The sun at its rising shines at its fullest, a wonderful instrument, the work of the Most High! Great indeed is the LORD who made it, at whose orders it urges on its steeds. It is the moon that marks the changing seasons, governing the times, their lasting sign The beauty of the heavens and the glory of the stars, a shining ornament in the heights of God. Now, behold the rainbow! Then bless its Maker,

 The thunders of His voice make the earth writhe; by His power He shakes the mountains. A word from Him drives on the winds, whirlwind, hurricane, and storm winds. He makes the snow fly like birds; Its shining whiteness blinds the eyes; the mind is baffled at its steady fall.

 Those who go down to the sea recount its extent, and when we hear them, we are awestruck; In it are His creatures, stupendous, amazing, all kinds of life, and the monsters of the deep.

 Lift up your voices to glorify the LORD as much as you can, for there is still more. Beyond these, many things lie hidden; only a few of His works have we seen. (Sirach 42-43 selected verses).

A Summons to Wonder and Awe

And so, as we see, God did a wonderful thing and set forth all creation well. For us there remains a summons to wonder and awe. Too often today, many fail to revere the mystery of all things and the glory of all things great and small. We reduce and simplify the glory and intricacy of creation and think that, because we know some things, we know all things. We do not. Indeed, the more we learn, the more we discover what we do not know. As St. Paul observed, knowledge puffs us, but love builds up. Ask the Lord for an increase in love for Him and what He has done. Ask also for humility and awe as well as the mystical vision that faith supplies. Creation is no mere machine or physical reality. It is a revelation of God himself who made it. Be amazed and humbled at the love He shows in His extravagant creation. He did not create because He was lonely or bored. He created all things purely out of the extravagance of His love and  wanted to share His glory and His gifts with all creation, especially us. Yes, be amazed and deeply grateful.

In the beginning God…

The greatest story ever told begins with creation, a creation God called “very good.” (Gen 1:31) Sadly, things go awry due to human sinfulness. A drama of good and evil is introduced into the beautiful stage of creation. Future flyers will detail this. But through it all, do not forget that what makes this the greatest story ever told is that God never gives up on us. He is faithful, even when we are unfaithful, He loves even when we hate. The greatest story ever told is a love story, a love that never fails. Prepare your hearts for a story of unrelenting love even in the face of human sinfulness. And always re-member, God can make a way out of no way.