Author: Msgr. Charles Pope

In the Gospel of the Samaritan Woman from this past Sunday, Jesus gives an important teaching on sowing seeds and reaping harvests. The teaching has special importance for us who live in a modern, technological age that is so insistent on instant results. So easily we become resentful and discouraged when our efforts not yield quick fruits, or when solutions take time.

We often take these attitudes to our spiritual life as well. Perhaps we think our progress is too slow. Perhaps we are frustrated because we have prayed for years for someone’s conversion and think that little or nothing has come of it. Yes, too often we fail to remember that there is a delay between the sowing of the seed and the reaping of the harvest. Indeed, there are usually many months that pass between them.

In our technological, instant update, instant download, Internet-infused culture we have lost the patient insight of the farmer. Thus, we do well to listen carefully to what Jesus teaches us about sowing and reaping.

The context of his teaching is the aftermath of an interaction he had with a Samaritan Woman at a well. Having her desires clarified and having been called to conversion by Jesus, she is now beginning to experience the living waters that resulted from the dialogue and the journey she has made with Him. She has left her water jar and run to town joyfully to bring others to the Lord Jesus. The disciples return, and are puzzled that Jesus had been speaking with a woman, something not very common in that modest, segregated culture. In answer to their concerns, Jesus speaks about the harvest, reaping and sowing, and the need to appreciate both aspects of life:

Do you not say, ‘In four months the harvest will be here’? I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest! (John 4:35)

Thus Jesus begins his teaching on sowing and reaping. He reminds them of the delay between the sowing of the seed and the reaping of the harvest. And while he is overjoyed as he sees the harvest (the Samaritans walking across the field toward him), Jesus is quick to remind the apostles of the “four months” delay between sowing and reaping.

Yes, Jesus is about to enjoy the harvest. But perhaps his mind also goes back to his many years preparing for ministry, living and working humbly in Nazareth. Perhaps too he thinks of his forty days in the desert, or of his many difficult days walking throughout Galilee preaching, calling disciples, and naming apostles. He also recalls the months of toil and difficulty, the misunderstandings and hostility of others, the slowness of the apostles to understand, the long journey to Samaria, and the long conversation with the Samaritan woman in the heat of the day.

So, the sowing of the seed was but the beginning. Great labor and time were required for the harvest to be realized.

But now the harvest is here, and how glorious it looks as the Samaritans in their white robes come across the field toward him.

Jesus goes on to say,

For here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the work, and you are sharing the fruits of their work.”(Jn 4:37-38)

And here too is another very important lesson about sowing and reaping. We often sow seeds that we ourselves will not be able to reap, others will. And we too reap the harvests of seeds that others have sown and tended.

As a priest, I most often walk into buildings I did not build and minister to congregations I did not found. Others have done this, and I am grateful for everything I harvest from their hard work. In my last assignment, I built a 5.5 million dollar building for youth. No sooner was the paint dry than I was transferred. Now others yield a harvest in that building that I struggled to build. But praise the Lord it is bearing fruit!

At the rectory, it is not uncommon for the doorbell to ring and for someone I do not know to ask to speak to me. Some years ago, an older man came to the rectory in just that way and told me that his wife of 47 years had recently died. She had always prayed for him to be baptized, but he had always refused. Now that she was dead, somehow he knew it was finally time for him to be baptized. He asked me to prepare him. I joyfully reaped a harvest of seeds I did not sow. His wife sowed those seeds and watered them with her tears. She did not live to see the harvest in this world, but in fact this was the harvest she had prayed and worked for. Shortly after his baptism, the man died. And now they both enjoy the harvest.

Never give up. Harvests come, but there is time between the sowing of the seeds and the reaping of the harvest. Too many today are easily discouraged by any delay, any separation in time between the sowing and the harvesting. But we must learn to accept this delay; any harvest takes time.

Many also do not like the hard work of planting seeds. They prefer only to reap harvests. But of course life does not work that way. Scripture says, A man will only reap what he sows. Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously (2 Cor 9:6). Scripture also speaks to the difficulty in sowing seeds: Going they went and wept, casting their seeds. But the same verse says of the harvest: they shall come with joyfulness, carrying their sheaves. (Ps 126:6)

The Lord teaches us in this gospel not to be discouraged. There is some delay between the sowing of the season and the reaping of the harvest. Jesus euphemistically refers to it as “four months.” But we all know that it is sometimes much longer than four months. The point is, there is some delay. Indeed, we may not even live to see the fruits of some of the seeds we sow. But we must also realize that we often reap the harvests of those before us who did not live to see the fruits of the seeds they sowed.

Listen carefully to what Jesus teaches here about sowing and reaping. Don’t give up; keep sowing seed; sow it bountifully. Do not worry if you will see the harvest; just know that it is a good and holy thing to sow the seeds. The Lord will bring about the harvest when and where he sees fit. Scripture says And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not (Gal 6:9). And again, I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. (1 Cor 3:6-8)

Do your work; leave the harvest to God and the one to whom he assigns it.

This section of the movie The Color Purple is an allegory of the Samaritan woman bringing the townsfolk to see Jesus:

The beautiful gospel of the woman at the well, which we read, Sunday, has so many wonderful teachings that not all can be dealt with in a single sermon. Hence, I’d like to consider today just a couple of the teachings that relate to this gospel.

In this post, I’d like to deal with the question of the efficacy of Grace, which many struggle to experience when it comes to the promises that Jesus extends. Jesus promises the Samaritan woman water that will satisfy her, unlike the water of the world. Specifically, Jesus says, Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:13-14).

The Samaritan woman seems less than convinced, at one point even scoffing that Jesus doesn’t even have a bucket! While perhaps rude, her scoffing does give voice to legitimate questions people raise to the promises of Christ, and those of us who preach his message.

Even many faithful Catholics struggle to understand exactly what Jesus means when he says that we will never thirst again. Indeed, many who have accepted Christ still struggle, still long for completion, still feel thirsty.

How then, can we understand what the Lord is teaching here? What does it mean to never thirst again, and how do we lay hold of this promise? Let’s look at the issue in three stages.

I. Clarity – As the Gospel opens, we have a teaching from Jesus that helps us to clarify our desires. A woman (this means you) comes to a well (this means the world). She comes because she is thirsty (and this refers to all of our desires). She thinks the well will satisfy her, but it will not. For no sooner does she have a drink, than she’s on her way to being thirsty again. And thus the well (i.e., the world) can provide momentary pleasures, but no lasting ones.

Jesus is there waiting for her. He is also waiting for you and me who are filled with many desires and questions. He says to her, Everyone who drinks from this will be thirsty again (John 4:13). In this he is helping her, and us, to clarify that it is a simple fact that our desires are infinite and unlimited. Therefore, a finite in a limited world cannot satisfy us.

And in this, the Lord clarifies our desires. They are in fact infinite; we are never really satisfied. Therefore our desires are not really about the world at all; they are ultimately pointing us to God who alone is infinite, and who alone can truly satisfy our desires or fill the God-sized hole in our hearts. Yes, here is clarity: only God can satisfy us; the world simply cannot cut the deal; it is finite and limited.

Meeting us at the well of the world, where we come (once again) to draw from it, the Lord says in effect “How’s that working for you?” Indeed, how foolish we are! We really think that a new job, a new relationship, a little more money, the latest upgrade to the software, etc. will somehow satisfy us. It will not; it cannot. An old song says it well, “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” Everyone who drinks from this will be thirsty again.

So here is clarity about our desires:

• First, they are infinite.
• Second, the well, i.e., the world, cannot fulfill our      infinite desires because it is finite.
• Third, our desires are thus about God who alone can      satisfy us since he alone is infinite.
• Fourth, Jesus says he is the One; he is      God who can give us living waters welling up to eternal life so that      we will never thirst again.

Okay Lord, thanks for the clarity, but now along with the Samaritan woman we want to say to you, “Give us this water so that we will not be thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water!” (John 4:15)

In other words, how do we unlock this blessing? Do we simply answer an altar call? Do we simply accept baptism? Do we simply say “I believe, now give me my blessing”?

Some of us may be even more cynical, saying, “Look I’ve been doing this walk with Jesus for a while now, and I’m still thirsty; I still haven’t found what I’m looking for!”

And thus the questions “How do I unlock these blessings?” “How do I lay hold of this promise of Christ?” become critical ones for the Church, and for any who would preach this gospel.

The answer is twofold: conversion and conversation. Let’s look at each one in turn.

II. Conversion –  When the Samaritan woman says, “Give me this water…”  Jesus answers her by saying, Go call your husband and come back. (John 4:16).

In other words, Jesus wants to give her this blessing, but first there is an obstacle, an obstacle that must be dealt with. Most of us to know the story of the Samaritan woman and thus know that she has had five husbands, and is now simply living with a man outside of marriage. Though we do not have all the details, this personal history speaks to us of her many sorrows, sins, and struggles. Surely there are issues of sexual sin; she’s living together with a man outside of marriage. But there are any number of other issues that must have accompanied her many marriages such as struggles with forgiveness, patience, mercy, self-esteem, the list could go on. These struggles and sins must be dealt with before the living waters can fully flow.

Consider I have fifty gold bricks to give you, and you are holding a box, but it is full of sand. In order to make room for the gold bricks, I must first help you to empty your box of the sand. The sand must go in order to make way for the gold. So it is with us; our sins must give way to make room for the living waters of God’s grace.  Conversion is necessary and essential to laying hold of the promises of Christ.

And so the Lord says to this woman “Go call your husband.” What does the Lord have to say to you? What conversions are necessary in your life? What obstacles must be removed for the living waters to flow?

And thus, the Lord’s promise of living Waters is not mere magic. It is a promise that stands, but simply answering an altar call, or thinking some perfunctory declaration will be enough is just not realistic. There is more involved here than simply cleaning a house. Human beings are complicated; we have many moving parts. Through conversion, we must increasingly turned to the Lord allow him to make way for these living waters.

III. Conversation –  The Lord goes on to have a rather lengthy conversation with the Samaritan woman. We do not have all the details, and many of them are none of our business. Nevertheless, the conversation leads her, by stages, to greater joy, and finally to the point that she is able to leave her water jar (a very symbolic act) and run to town joyfully telling others of the glorious Lord and Messiah she has met!

Of course her conversation is a symbol for the longer conversation the Lord needs to have with us. “Conversation” can be understood here as a kind of journey we make with the Lord, who along the way enters into an ever-deeper dialogue with us through prayer and his presence in our life.

There is for the Christian the summons to enter into an ever deeper, living, and conscious contact with the Lord at every moment of our day. And thus, not only in our prayer, but throughout our day, in the people we meet, in the created world, and in the events of our day, we experience the Lord speaking to us, present to us.

Here then is described an ever-deepening conversation with the Lord, a transformative union in which his living waters flow ever more deeply. The increasing results, if we stay with him in the conversation, are deeper serenity, joy, freedom from sin, and ever-deepening satisfaction with the magnificence of his grace, and his word.

And so we, like the woman at the well, see less and less need for a water jar, that is, for our obsessive need to collect the things of the world and store them up. We, like the woman at the well, come to the point where we can leave the water jar behind. We live more simply, are less needful of the world’s false and empty promises. We live more simply and joyfully in the presence of the Lord, in the power of his Word and Sacraments, in the joy of knowing him, and in his Body the Church.

And thus, for those who might scoff or be cynical of the Lord’s promise of living waters wherein we will never thirst again, there comes a double call to be converted, and to embark on a lifelong conversation with the Lord.

It works only if you work it; so work it because you’re worth it! Of this, I am a witness. I am 53 years old, but I have only been serious about my spiritual life for the last 30 of those 53 years. Prior to that time I lived frivolously and the details are both unedifying and unnecessary. But 30 years ago I entered the seminary and began to pray for an hour every day, to read Scripture every day, to attend Mass every day, and to go to confession once a week. The result? My life has become simpler and richer. Less do the passing obsessions of this world interest me. The Lord is my strength and my song. Living Waters are in fact welling up within me; I am increasingly satisfied only by God and the things of God. Yes, the Lord’s word is true!

As we examine the Gospel for this weekend’s Mass, we do well to understand that it is fundamentally a gospel about our desires and how the Lord reaches us through them. Prior to looking at the text, consider a few things:

1. What it is that really makes you happy?      There are endless ways this question could be answered. We desire so many      things: food, water, shelter, clothing, and creature comforts. We long for      affection, peace, and a sense of belonging. Sometimes we hope for      stability and simplicity; at other times we yearn for change and variety.      Our hearts are a sea of desires, wishes, and longings. The gospel today      says that a woman went to the well to draw water. She is each one of us,      and her desire for water is a symbol of all our desires.
2. Have you ever considered that your desires      are in fact infinite? Can you even think of a time when you      were ever entirely satisfied, a time when you needed absolutely nothing?      Even if you can imagine such a time, it didn’t last did it? In fact, our      desires are infinite, without limit.
3. The well in today’s gospel symbolizes this      world. Jesus says to the woman and to us, “Everyone who      drinks of this water will thirst again.” The world cannot really provide      what we are looking for. No matter how much this world offers us, it will      never ultimately satisfy us, for the world is finite and our desires are      infinite. In this way, our heart teaches us something very important about      ourselves: we were not made for this world, we were made for something,      for someone, who is infinite,      who alone can satisfy us. We were made for God.
4. The Water offered is the Holy Spirit.  Jesus says elsewhere, If any one thirst, let him come to me      and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, ‘Out of his      heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ Now this he said about the      Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive… (Jn.      7:37-39).
5. The Catechism of the Catholic Church has      this to say about the meanings of our longings: The desire for God is written in the human      heart, because man is created by God and for God; and God never ceases to      draw man to himself. Only in God will he find the truth and happiness he      never stops searching for…With his longings for the infinite and for      happiness, man questions himself about God’s existence. In all this, he      discerns signs of his spiritual soul. The soul, the seed of eternity we      bear in ourselves, irreducible to the merely material, can have its origin      only in God (Catechism # 27, 33).
6. Scripture too speaks to us our desires.      Of You my heart has spoken: “Seek His      face.” It is your face O Lord that I seek; hide not your face! (Psalm      27:8-9). Or again, Only      in God will my soul be at rest, he is my hope, my salvation      (Psalm 62:1,5) St. Augustine wrote classic words to describe our hearts’      truest longings: Thou      hast made us for Thyself O Lord and our hearts are restless till they rest      in Thee. (Confessions 1,1).

With this in mind, let us look at the journey that this woman (this means you) makes to Jesus. Things start out rough, but in the end she discovers her heart’s truest desire. The journey is made in stages.

I. Rendezvous – Notice that the initiative here is Jesus’ As the Lord teaches elsewhere, It was not you who chose me, it was I who chose you (John 15:16). Jesus encounters a woman from Samaria at Jacob’s well. She desires water, but Jesus knows that her desire is for far more than water or anything that the world gives. Her desire has brought her face to face with Jesus, a holy and fortunate rendezvous, if you will. Jesus begins a discussion with her about her heart’s truest longing.

II. Request – The discussion begins with a request. The text says: It was about noon. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” Imagine, God asking you for anything. What a stunning thing! What can she or we really give God? The answer is simply this, the gift of our very selves. God has put a threshold before our hearts that even he will not cross, unless we say “Yes.” This request of Jesus’ initiates a discussion, a dialogue of two hearts. As we shall see, the woman, like most of us, struggles with this dialogue. It is, to be sure, a delicate, even painful process for us to accept the invitation to self-giving that the Lord makes. Something in us draws back in fear. Scripture says, It is an awesome thing to fall into the hands of the living God! (Heb 10:31).

III. Rebuke – Sure enough, she draws back with fear and anger. She says, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” –For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans. In our journey to God, we do not always trust or understand Him at first. Some fear to relate to God because they think their freedom will be lost, or too many changes will be required. Others loathe the commandments, or fear they cannot keep them. Still others are angry at the unexpected twists and turns of this life and do not want to trust a God who doesn’t always play by their rules. The woman’s anger, in particular, is based on the prejudices of her day. Her anger is not really at Jesus; it is at “the Jews” to whom Samaritans are hostile. This is sometimes the case with God as well. It is not always the Lord Jesus, or God the Father, that people hate or distrust, it is Christians. For it remains true that some have been hurt by the Church, or by Christians. Others have prejudiced opinions influenced by a hostile media and world. But, praise God, Jesus is willing to stay in the conversation. And so we next see:

IV. Repetition – Jesus repeats his offer for a relationship. He says, If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. I don’t know about you, but I am mighty glad that the Lord does not merely write us off when we say “No.” Jesus stays in the conversation and even sweetens the deal by making an offer to give her fresh, living water. The Lord does the same for us. First he gave the Law, then he gave the prophets, now he gives his Son. It just keeps getting better! First he gave water; then he changed it to wine; then he changed it to his blood. And, despite our often-harsh rejection of God, he keeps the dialogue open and going.

V. Ridicule – The Woman is still hostile and now even ridicules Jesus: Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep; where then can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself with his children and his flocks? To the world, the teachings of God often appear to be foolishness. People often dismiss religious faith as fanciful and unrealistic. But here too the Lord is patient and continues on.

VI. Reminder – Jesus now reframes the question by reminding the woman of the obvious: Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again. What she is relying on can’t come through for her. The world’s water does not satisfy us; the world’s delights are transitory. They promise satisfaction, but twenty minutes later we are thirsty again. The world is the gift that keeps on taking, it takes our money, our loyalty, our freedom, our time, and gives us only transitory, and ultimately unsatisfying pleasures in return. It’s a bad deal. Everyone who drinks from this well will be thirsty again.

VII. Re-upping the offer – Jesus says, But whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life. Here the Lord speaks of happiness and satisfaction that he will give, that grows in us and makes us more and more alive. The “water” he offers, as we saw above, is the gift of the Holy Spirit. As the Holy Spirit lives in us and transforms us, we become more and more content with what we have. As the life of God grows in us, we become more alive in God and joyful in what he is doing for us. This is what the Lord offers us: the gift of a new and transformed life, the gift to become fully alive in God. I am a witness of this. How about you?

VIII. Result – The woman has moved in Jesus’ direction. She has warmed to his offer and so she says: Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water. Here is the result of the Lord’s persistence. Thank God that he does not give up on us; he keeps calling, even when we say “No,” even when we sin; he just keeps calling our name!

IX. Requirement – Jesus wants to give this gift, but first he must help her make room for it. For the truth is, she has unrepented sin. A glass that is filled with sand cannot be filled with water. The sand must be emptied first and then the cup cleansed. Only then can the water flow. Thus Jesus says, “Go call your husband and come back.” The woman answered and said to him, “I do not have a husband.” Jesus answered her, “You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’ For you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true.” Now she does what most of us do when we are in an uncomfortable spot: she changes the subject. She attempts to engage in a discussion about what mountain to worship on. Jesus is patient with her and answers her, but ultimately draws her back to the subject, which is her heart and what her desires are really all about.

X. Reconciliation – Now here the conversation gets private; we are not permitted to listen in. It is just between her and Jesus. But whatever it was, she is elated and will later declare: “He told me everything I ever did.” And there is no sense in her tone that Jesus was merely accusatory. Rather, it would seem that Jesus helped her to understand her heart and her struggle. An old song says, I once was lost in sin but Jesus took me in and then a little light from heaven filled my soul. He bathed my heart in love and he wrote my name above and just a little talk with Jesus made me whole. Here Jesus reconciles her with God and with her own self.

XI. Rejoicing – The woman left her water jar and went into the town and said to the people, “Come see a man who told me everything I have done. Could he possibly be the Christ?” They went out of the town and came to him. Do not miss that little detail: she left her water jar. The very thing she was depending on to collect the things of the world is left behind. What is your water jar? What do you use to gain access to the world and to collect its offerings? For most of us, it is money. And scripture says, For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs (1 Tim 6:10). At any rate, she is joyfully empowered to leave this enslaving water jar behind. Now, freed from its load, she is able to run to town and declare Jesus to others. Her joy must have been infectious, for soon enough they are following her out to meet the Lord!

So here is the journey of a woman who is ultimately each one of us. This is our journey out of dependence, out of a kind of enslaving attachment to the world, and unto Jesus, who alone can set us free. Here is our journey to understand that our desires are ultimately about God.

(Photo Credit above Martin Howard via Creative Commons)

The mp3 version of this homily is here: Just a Little Talk With Jesus

I have it on the best of authority that as she joyfully journeyed to town she was in fact singing this old Gospel song:

Back in my Seminary days we would often study the question of authorship when it came to books of the Bible. Especially in modern times there are extensive debates about such things. I remember being annoyed at the question, since in most cases I didn’t really care to whom the Holy Spirit gave the text; in the end, God was the author.

I was also annoyed at some of the premises used to reject apostolic authorship. For example, it was widely held by modern scholars that St. Paul couldn’t possibly have been the author of the Pastoral Epistles (1 & 2 Timothy, Titus) since the description of the Church was “far too developed” to have been written prior to 65 AD. Never mind that the Acts of the Apostles describes many of the “dubious” hierarchal elements (presbyters (e.g., Acts 14:23), deacons (e.g., Acts 6:3), and apostles (bishops)). Never mind any of that. For us moderns there is the tendency to consider early eras as “primitive.” So Paul’s authorship was questioned by many in those days.

John’s gospel was also considered far too lofty by modern scholars to have been written by a “simple fisherman.” Where could this “unlettered man” have gotten such profound and mystical insights? Again, never mind that he may have been as old as 90 when he authored the gospel, and may have pondered it for some 60 years. Never mind that he lived for at least part of that time with the sinless Virgin Mary, who knew her son as no one knew him and saw him with sinless eyes. No, never mind the power of grace and infused vision. No, it was too much for many modern and rationalistic scholars to accept that a simple fisherman could pull it off. It must have been by some other more lettered man like “John the Elder,” or it must have been other “smarter types” in the Johanine community or school that authored this.

Here, too, I was just a simple 25-year-old seminarian but it seemed to me that far too many modern interpreters stressed only the human dimension of Revelation. Something more mystical was missing from the view of the Bible experts who equated wisdom with scholarly credentials. That God could somehow give a profound vision and an infused mysticism to the early Apostles was almost completely absent in their analysis.

Even as a 25-year-old I knew better than to exclude that. I was young, but had already experienced aspects of the charismatic movement where inspiration and gifts were to be sought and expected.

And had not Jesus himself said to the Apostles, But the Paraclete, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring all things to your mind, whatsoever I shall have said to you (Jn 14:26)?

I recently came across a quote from Origen, the early 3rd Century Father, whose insight into John struck me as profound and telling, deeply faithful, and challenging for every Christian. Pondering where John “got all this,” Origen in effect sets forth the two most crucial requirements for a theologian:

We may therefore make bold to say that the Gospels are the first fruits of all the Scriptures, but that of the Gospels that of John is the first fruits. No one can apprehend the meaning of it except he that has lain on Jesus’ breast and received, from Jesus, Mary to be his mother also. (Origen, Commentary on John, 6)

There it was, the lynchpin, the truest answer, the two most crucial reasons for John’s mystical heights. John had mystical vision and saw the Lord in the loftiest way because he knew and experienced the heart of the Lord, knew and experienced the love of the Lord, and had Mary for his Mother.

John was a brilliant theologian and possessed deep insight, less because he knew books, and more because he knew the Lord, heart to heart; he experienced the love of God and loved him in return.

Second, surely and truly, Mary’s role in John’s insight cannot be overlooked. Think of the conversations she and John must have had, the mystical prayer she must have enjoyed and shared with John, the memories and the things that only the heart of a sinless mother could see and know. How John must have marveled at the gift of her! And how he too, who had known the heart of the Lord, and rested at his hearth, at the Last Supper must have been able to pray and converse with her.

Speculation you say? Perhaps. But it is a vision I share with the great theologian Origen. It was love that gave John insight; it was relationship with Jesus, and with Mother Mary by Jesus’ own gift, that his mystical gospel took flight and reached the loftiest heights.

And what of you and me? How will we gain insight into the Lord, and the truth of his Gospel? By books and learning?  By studying Greek? By reading commentaries? Sure, all well and good. But these things are best at telling you what the text is saying. It takes a deep relationship with the Lord to see Scripture’s mystical meaning. And Mary’s beautiful intercession and motherly promptings help things to soar, for she herself pondered all these things and reflected on them in her heart.

Want to be a great theologian? Study for sure. But don’t forget to pray! Scripture comes from the heart of the Lord and it is only there, by entering the heart of the Lord and living there through prayer, that Scripture’s truest meaning will ever be grasped.

Step two, entrust your study and reflection to Mother Mary. No one loves and understands Jesus like his Mother Mary. Ask for her intercession and help and she will show you the heart of her Son.

Jesus gave John two gifts: his heart and his mother. And John soared to such places that people could ask, “How did he get all this?” But you know how.

He offers you and me the same. Do you want vision? Do you want to appreciate the depths of scripture and all God’s truth? Do you want the eyes of your heart opened to new mysteries and mystical experience? Accept the gifts Jesus offers: the gift of his heart and the gift of his mother.

Consider well the admonition of one of the most learned men who ever lived, Origen: No one can apprehend the meaning of it except he that has lain on Jesus’ breast and received from Jesus Mary to be his mother also.

Here is Fr. Thomas Luis de Victoria at his most mystical: O Magnum Mysterium (O Great mystery and wondrous sacrament, that animals would witness the birth of Christ. O Blessed Virgin whose womb merited to carry the Lord Jesus Christ, Alleluia!)

We discussed two days ago on the blog how the Church is the Body of Christ and is the place where we first and foremost find Him. We cannot really have Jesus without his Body, the Church, despite the privatized claims of many. Just as it pertains for a head to be together with its body, so too it pertains for Jesus the Head of Church to be united with his Body the Church. So, Jesus is at one with his Church and the Church is the place where we first and foremost find his presence.

But to say we find him here does not mean that all people DO find him here. There are many issues that keep people from experiencing his presence here. There are also some practices we ought to better observe in order to better manifest the presence of Jesus. Let’s consider first some problems and then some remedial practices.

I. Problems – If Jesus is present in his Church then this is most evident in his action and presence in the Liturgy and Sacraments of the Church. Yet any cursory look into a typical Catholic parish would reveal little to indicate an obvious awareness of the presence and action of Jesus in the Liturgy and Sacraments.

A. Bored and Disengaged? The assembled people, including the clergy, often look bored, distracted, and mildly irritated at having to endure the event. Where is the alert joy that one sees at sporting events, or at the visits of famous people? If Jesus is alive and ministering in this moment why do so many look more as if they’ve come to get a flu shot? It is as though there is a wish that the whole experience be over as quickly and painlessly as possible.

Some will argue that many people are just reserved. But most of these same people are animated enough at football games or in political discussions. The answer seems to be more related to a lack of vivid faith and understanding that the Liturgy and Sacraments are encounters with the Risen Lord Jesus.

B. Perfunctory?  Further, in terms of the overall spiritual life of many of the faithful there is a perfunctory “check off the God-box” observance wherein those who observe norms at all, such as Sunday Mass or yearly confession, do so more as a duty than with eager love. The minimum is sought and only that is done. The box is checked and one seems relieved that the “duty” is done. It is almost as though one is placating the deity rather than worshipping and praising the God they love and are grateful to. The upshot is that Sacraments are thought to be tedious rituals rather than transformative realities or real encounters with Jesus.

C. Low Expectations?  Expectations are also low when it comes to the Sacraments. Many put more trust in Tylenol, than in the Eucharist. When they take Tylenol, they expect something to happen; they expect there to be healing, for the pain to go away, or the swelling to go down. But do these same people have any real expectations about the Eucharist or other Sacraments? Almost never.

Much of the blame for these low expectations lies with the priests and catechists who have never really taught the Faithful to expect a lot. At best there are vague bromides about being fed, but little else is vigorously taught about radical transformation and healing.

D. Unevangelized? The general result is that many in the pews are sacramentalized but unevangelized. That is to say, many have received Sacraments and gone through other Catholic Rites of passage but have never really met Jesus. They have gone through the motions for years but are not really getting anywhere when it comes to being in a life-changing, transformative relationship with Jesus Christ. To a large degree the Lord is a stranger to them. They barely know him at all and are far from the normal Christian life of being in personal, living, and conscious contact with the Lord.

II. Principles and practices – If these be some of our common problems, then what are we to do? Perhaps some of the following principles and practices can point the way.

A. Clarity as to the fundamental Goal of the Church – Clearly the fundamental mission of the Church is to go to all the nations, teach them what the Lord commands, and make disciples of them through Baptism and the other Sacraments. (cf Matt 28:20).

But making disciples and being disciples are about more than just “membership.” To become a true disciple is to have a personal, life-changing, and transformative relationship with Jesus Christ. It is to witness and become a witness of the power of the Cross to put sin to death, to bring every grace alive, and to make of us a new creation in Christ. This must become more clearly the fundamental goal of the Church. We cannot and should not reduce discipleship to membership.

The goal is to connect people with the Lord Jesus Christ so that he can save them and transform their lives in radical and powerful ways.

 B. Conviction in Preaching – Those who preach, teach, and witness to others cannot simply be content to pass on formulas and quote others. Priests, parents, catechists, and others must begin to be firsthand witnesses to the power of God’s word not only to inform, but to perform, and to transform. They must be witnesses of how the Lord is doing this in their own lives.

They ought, if they are in touch with God, to exhibit joy, conviction, and real change. They must be able to preach and teach with “authority” in the richer Greek sense of the word. Exousia (the Greek word for authority) means more literally to preach “out of one’s own substance.” Hence the summons is to speak from one’s own experience as a firsthand witness who can, with conviction, say, “Everything the Church and Scriptures have always announced is true, because in the laboratory of my own life I have tested these truths and found them to be true and transformative. I who speak these things to you, along with every Saint, swear to you that they are true and trustworthy.”

A firsthand witness knows what he saying; he does not merely know about it. The video from Fr. Martin below speaks to this practice. Preaching, teaching, and witnessing with conviction are essential components of renewal in the Church.

C. Cultivate Expectation! – We have already noted that most people don’t expect much from their relationship with Jesus Christ. Most of us expect to, and have, met people who have changed our lives. Perhaps it was our spouse, or a teacher, or maybe a professional contact who helped us launch our career.

But if ordinary people can change our lives, why can’t the Lord Jesus Christ? And yet most people think that having tepid spiritual lives, spiritual boredom, and only a vague notion about the truths of faith is normal. Really? Is that the best that the death of the Son of God can do for us that we should be bored, tepid, uncertain, and mildly depressed? Of course not!

We need to lay hold of the glorious life that Jesus died to give us, to have high expectations and to start watching our lives be transformed.

Consider, as an image, the woman who came up to Jesus in the crowd and said, “If I just touch the hem of His garment I will get well.” Jesus was amazed that one woman from among a crowd of thousands who were bumping up against him, one woman actually touched him. He said to her, “Your faith has healed you.” (Luke 8:47). Who has the faith, who has the expectation to be healed, to get well, to be delivered? King Jesus is a-listening all day long!

D. Catechetical refocus – We have tended to teach the faith more as a subject than as a relationship. And hence we focus on and measure success based on whether we can list the seven gifts of the spirit, or the four marks of the Church. Now, of course faith has a content that must be mastered, but without relationship to Jesus most people lose command of the facts shortly after the test.

We need to begin more with relationship. Get people, both children and adults, excited about Jesus, and joyful in what he has done. Then the motivation to learn will come naturally.

Some years ago (in the late 1960s) I became a fan of Star Trek.  Captain James Tiberius Kirk was all the world to me. Even though he was a fictional character, I wanted to know all about him: where he was born, what he did, and what he thought. When I discovered the actor who played Kirk, I joined the William Shatner fan club. I then wanted to know what Shatner thought about important issues, when he was born, what his favorite hobbies and activities were, etc. Fascination drew me to a mystery of the facts about both Kirk and Shatner. You didn’t have to make me learn this stuff; I was way ahead of any requirements!

Do people think this way about Jesus? Usually not. And why not? Because we do very little to cultivate this fascination and joy. We teach more about structures, rules, and distinctions than about Jesus. Again our intellectual tradition is important and essential, but without starting from a relational interest, we might as well be building on no foundation at all.

Jesus said, “Come and see” as an initiation. Creedal details came later and were important, but relationship was first. Friendship precedes all the facts, which come later.

Where in our catechism do we inculcate a love for, respect of, and fascination with Jesus?

E. Come on, Testify! – Catholics are terrible at testimony and witness. What is your story? How did you meet Jesus? What has he done; what is he doing in your life? Have your children ever heard you say you love Jesus? Do they know what he has done for you? Do parishioners ever hear their priests testify? Arguments and proof have their place, but without personal testimony and conviction, these truths remain abstractions.

There may come a time when, through argument, you actually get someone to “buy in.” But then comes the question: “Well, that’s all good news. But how do I know it’s true?” And that’s when you have to convincingly answer, “Look at me!” It’s not enough to state facts and quote others. At the end we have to know what we’re talking about, personally, and convincingly.

Bottom line, that means we have to be converted, and having experienced conversion go forth as those who know the Lord, not just know about Him. I gave my testimony story here How I met Jesus. What’s your story?

Some problems and practices. How say you? Add your own!

 

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When asked, most people identify their most serious problems as issues related to their physical health, or finances. Family and career issues also rank up there.

But frankly, our biggest problem is pride, and all the sins that flow from it. Nothing is more serious than our sins, which can destroy us forever. Worldly problems are temporary. The worst they can do is to make life unpleasant, or kill us; then we get to go home and meet God if are faithful.

Therefore, to God our most serious problem is our sin. This was well-illustrated when, at one point in the Gospels, a paralyzed man was presented to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said “Your sins are forgiven.” Yes, that’s right, Jesus looked at a paralyzed man and saw his sins as the most serious thing to be dealt with first.

We don’t think like this. And even when taught that we ought to think like this, we still don’t think like this.

But since it is true that pride is our most serious problem, and all the sins that flow from it, then we do well to ponder how suffering can be one of the things that God permits in our life so as to keep us from becoming too prideful. For to God, it is better that we suffer some here, learn humility and be saved, than to remain prideful and go to Hell.

Personally, I will say, I have gifts and blessings. But if it weren’t for some degree of suffering, and humiliation in my life, I’d be so proud I’d go right to Hell. There’s just something about suffering that can keep us very humble, and calling on God.

St. Augustine reflects on this in his great work, The City of God. The work, which he considered his greatest, was occasioned by the decline of the Roman Empire and the sacking of the city of Rome by barbarians under Alaric in 410 AD. Augustine wrote the work to ponder how a once mighty empire had fallen into such decay.

There were of course many sufferings inflicted on the citizens of Rome by the Barbarians. “Sacks” are not pleasant events.  Some were killed, many women were raped, grave damage was inflicted on the city, and the property of many was damaged and taken.

In chapter 28 of the City of God, Augustine ponders why God would have allowed such suffering, especially to the Christians of that city, and in particular to the Christian women of virtue who were raped.

At times, his reflections seem almost unsympathetic. But in effect, St. Augustine points to humiliation and suffering as a strong but necessary medicine for pride, which is far worse than any of the ills suffered to remedy it.

St. Augustine begins by disclaiming any ability to offer a complete explanation for suffering. He says:

If you ask me why they [the Barbarians] were allowed the liberty of committing these sins, the answer is that the providence of the Creator and Ruler of the world transcends human reckoning, and that “incomprehensible are his judgments… unsearchable his ways.“

But Augustine then adds (somewhat boldly) to those in Rome who suffered:

Nevertheless, carefully scrutinize your own souls and see whether you were not unduly puffed up about your virtue.

And he ponders:

They [those who suffered] may possibly have in them some latent weakness which could have swollen to overwhelming pride had they escaped this humiliation….So violence snatched something away from them lest prosperity should endanger them.

He goes on to conclude:

But they learned humility… And were delivered from a pride that had already overtaken them…a pride that threatened them.

And what of us who have suffered? We ought not to exclude the possibility, even the likelihood, that such suffering is permitted by God in order to humble us and keep us from a far worse enemy called pride.

As such, we must also conclude that when God allows suffering for this purpose he also gives grace so as to help us avoid extreme anger or despair. And thus St. Augustine concludes his reflection:

God would never have permitted these evils if they could destroy in his saints that purity of soul which he had bestowed on them and delights to see in them.

Reflections such as these do not generally please modern ears. We do not usually like the notion that God permits suffering for some greater good. Too easily we call him unfair and harsh for doing such a thing. We prefer to think of him as a doting grandfather rather than the disciplining father described in Hebrews 12:4ff.

Our dismissal of suffering as a medicine is largely because we fail to see just how serious a sin pride is. We are dismissive of the serious toll that sin takes upon us, and the extreme danger that it causes in our hearts. Hence we reject any medicine at all, let alone strong medicine. But God will not spare us merely to please us if in sparing us he would lose us.

Suffering a course is complex and mysterious. That God permits it cannot be explained by any one thing. But as Saint Augustine makes clear, we ought not to overlook the salutary effect that suffering can bring through the humility it engenders.

That, in and of itself, is a very good thing; for pride is our worst enemy.

This song, translated from the Latin says:

Sadness and anxiety
have overtaken my inmost being.
My heart is made sorrowful in mourning,
my eyes are become dim.
Woe is me, for I have sinned.

But you, Lord,
who does not forsake
those who hope in you,
comfort and help me
for your holy name’s sake,
and have mercy on me.

I was asked to go to a neighboring parish and address some fundamental questions related to the necessity of the Church. Many today question the need for a church or The Church and claim they can have Jesus without the Church. And thus the fundamental question “Who needs the Church?” ought to be addressed.

I propose here a rather more doctrinal answer to the question and hope tomorrow to offer a more personal answer. But, the fundamental answer I offer to “Who needs the Church?” is that everyone does, because the Church is the Body of Christ.

To the related questions “Why do I need to come to Church?” and “How can the Church possibly be relevant to me?” the fundamental answer is because it is in the Church that Jesus is first and foremost to be found.

I. To those who reject that anything special is to be found in the Church that cannot be found elsewhere Jesus says,

1. Wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them (Matt 18:20) And thus we see that Jesus is present in the gathering we call the Church in a more perfect way than he is in my private prayer, or on some mountaintop. He says, THERE am I in the MIDST of THEM.
2. [Jesus said to the disciples] The one who hears you hears me Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; and he who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me. (Luke 10:16) And thus Jesus speaks and teaches in and through his Church in a personal manner that he does not elsewhere, such that to hear his voice in the proclamation of the Church is to hear him in a more perfect way than “in my heart,” or in creation, or in any other person or place outside the Church
3. Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life in you. (Jn 6:53) And thus the liturgy of the Church is an essential source of true life for us since apart from Holy Communion that Jesus offers in the Mass we “have no life” in us.

II. To those who say, “I can have Jesus without the Church,”  I say “no can do.” For the Church is the body of Christ and it pertains to the head of a living Body to be found with his body, not apart from it. That the Church is the Body of Christ is clear in many Scriptures such as

1. Jesus is the head of the body the Church (Col 1:8)
2. Now you are the body of Christ, each one of you is a part of it. (1 Cor 12:27)
3. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Since we have gifts that differ (Rom 12:4-6)

Hence, Christ the Head cannot be had or found apart from his Body the Church.

III. To those who say, “I can read my Bible alone,” it must be said that there would be no Bible if it were not for the Church. Jesus didn’t write a book. He founded a community he called “My Church” (Matt 16) and sent them to “Teach all that I have commanded” (Matt 28:20).

Of course it would be silly to have things depend solely on a book in the ancient world when almost no one could read, and even those who could, could scarcely afford books, which all had to be hand-copied prior to the invention of the printing press.

Further, the Bible is a Church book and is meant to be read in the context of Church life. Scripture itself warns: Our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. (2 Peter 3:16). In effect Peter goes on to warn them to read Scripture in conformity with the Church.

IV. To those who say “I can watch Church on TV,”  I say “Yes, but you can’t get Holy Communion on TV!” which as we saw above is essential if we are to have life in us.

Neither can we be in that place “wherever two or three are gathered” and thus be there where Jesus says he is, by sitting at home in front of a TV.

Neither can we have real fellowship, as Scripture admonishes us to do, by watching at home. And let us consider how to spur one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24-25)

Nor can we fulfill most of the vision of the life of the early Christians, who, as Scripture says, devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers (Acts 2:42)

V. To those who say, “I like Jesus but I can’t stand the Church, with all those hypocrites,” but Jesus was found in strange places, among sinners. So much so that he scandalized the Pharisees. Jesus ate with tax collectors, prostitutes, and other sinners and unsavory characters. Even his best followers, the apostles, had great character defects.

The fact is, if you reject the company of sinners you’re going to have a hard time finding Jesus who is found among sinners, sinners that he loves and calls his brethren, As Scripture says, For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, “I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the assembly I will sing your praises.” (Heb 2:11-12)

So Jesus is found in the assembly of sinners and loves them. It is a strange disconnect to say to Jesus, “I love you but I hate the people you love and call your brethren; I just refuse to consort with them.”

Considering too that sinners are joined to Christ as members of his body, think of the strange logic in going to someone and saying, “I love and respect you, but I can’t stand your body. It is ugly and awful. I want to be with you, but I hate your body, I just can’t endure it. I will relate to you, but not your body.” This sort of talk is absurd and disrespectful.

VI. To those who say “It’s the institution of the Church I object to, not the Body of Christ,” sorry, but bodies are not abstractions. They have parts and functions. They require a head with executive functions as well as other parts and members with other functions. Neither is the Body of Christ an abstraction. It must have headship and governance along with other members and parts having various roles and functions.

Further, the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistles all talk a LOT about “institutional aspects” such as offices and structures:

1. There are offices like apostles, bishops, priests, deacons, catechists, administrators, etc.
2. There are Councils that issue binding documents and interpretations considered authoritative (e.g., the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15).
3. There is an insistence by the apostles as to their authority on numerous occasions.
4. Each local Church is overseen by a priest or bishop (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5).
5. There are disciplinary functions such as excommunication, disciplining of the clergy and faithful, etc. (1 Cor 5; Matt 18:17).
6. There are sacraments being celebrated and certain norms associated with them (e.g., 1 Cor 11).
7. There are liturgical norms being promulgated (e.g., 1 Cor 14).

All of these “institutional” aspects are necessary and biblical. They are not some medieval addition, or “tradition of men.” They are right there at the beginning as the Scriptures attest.

VI. To those who say that the Church is irrelevant, outdated, and arrogant because it does not reflect the modern age or most of its members, it must be pointed out that the Church does not exist to reflect the views of its members, but to articulate the views and truths of her head and founder, Jesus Christ. Her mandate from Jesus is to make disciples from all the nations teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. (Mat 28:20).

And the Holy Spirit admonishes every Bishop through St. Paul: I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. (2 Tim 4:1-5)

Therefore the Catholic Church is the enduring, visible presence of Jesus Christ in the World. It is the Body of Christ who still walks this earth preaching, teaching, healing, forgiving, feeding, admonishing sinners, consoling the repentant, being loved but also hated, being appreciated but also persecuted. The Church is not an institution; it is the Body of Christ, and also his Beautiful Bride; for in marriage the two become one. You cannot have Christ without the Church.  You cannot have the groom without his Bride. You cannot have the head without his Body. You cannot love the one and despise or be indifferent to the other. Jesus is first and foremost to be found with his Body, the Church.

Yes, the Church is the enduring, visible yet spiritual, structured yet Spirit-led, human yet divine presence of Jesus Christ in the World today. To the scoffers who set up false dichotomies Jesus says, “Saul, Saul why are you persecuting me?!”

Who needs the Church? You might as well ask, “Who needs Jesus?”