What is Eternal Life?

I often think  we haven’t done a very good job in setting forth the doctrine of Eternal Life. For most people the concept seems a rather flat one, namely, that we shall live for ever and ever and ever…. And frankly for many such a concept seems rather unappealing even if the place of it is heaven. Heaven too is often poorly understood. It is reduced to a rather egocentric notion of a place where I will be happy. I’ll have a mansion, I’ll see my mother again, I won’t suffer…. But most moderns in their description never get around to mentioning God. If God is mentioned at all he’s down on the list somewhere, not at the top where he belongs. This is sad for the heart of heaven is to be with God!

Pope Benedict in his Encyclical Spe Salvi also ponders the problem of the poor understanding of eternal life:

Perhaps many people reject the faith today simply because they do not find the prospect of eternal life attractive. What they desire is not eternal life at all, but this present life, for which faith in eternal life seems something of an impediment. To continue living for ever —endlessly—appears more like a curse than a gift. Death, admittedly, one would wish to postpone for as long as possible. But to live always, without end—this, all things considered, can only be monotonous and ultimately unbearable….The term “eternal life” is intended to give a name to this known “unknown”. Inevitably it is an inadequate term that creates confusion. “Eternal”, in fact, suggests to us the idea of something interminable, and this frightens us; “life” makes us think of the life that we know and love and do not want to lose, even though very often it brings more toil than satisfaction, so that while on the one hand we desire it, on the other hand we do not want it. (Spe Salvi, 10, 12).

My own pondering and experience of the concept of eternal life is that ultimately eternal life is not about the length of life, it is about the fullness of life. To enter eternal life mean to become fully alive. For now we are not fully alive. We experience much of death in these lowly bodies of ours. However, most of us do get glimpses of eternal life and can experience aspects of it even now. For example, have you ever had a day when you had all the energy in the world. Not only did you feel energetic but your mind was sharp and your day was efficient and effective. Everything seemed to click and there was joy and contentment. Most of us have days like that from time to time but they don’t last. 🙁  But it is a glimpse of what eternal life might be like multiplied by a factor of 10 Trillion.

Another experience I have of eternal life I hope you share too. At age 48 my body is not in prime condition. It is aging to be sure and death will one day come to it. But my soul is more alive than ever. I am more joyful, more serene, more confident, more prayerful, more content. Many sins that used to plague me are gone or greatly diminished. In effect, I am more alive at 48 than I was at 28. And wait to you see me at 68 and 88! As I get older I become more alive. What I am saying is that eternal life doesn’t just begin after we die. It begins now and should grow in us more and more. It’s fulfillment will only be heaven but I am witness (and hope you are too) that eternal life has already set deep roots in me.

So again, the main point here is that with eternal life the word “eternal” refers not so much to the length of life as to the fullness of life. To enter eternal life is to become fully alive with God forever, to experience untold joy, serenity and peace in an eternal embrace with God forever. And having our communion with God perfected we will also have our communion with one another perfected. Who really needs a mansion when you can live in the heart of God? That is our true dwelling place that the Father is preparing. It’s not about houses and seats of honor its about a place in the heart of the God who made us and loves us. It is to become fully alive and perfect as the Father is perfect.

Pope Benedict also has a very beautiful image of eternal life in Spe Salvi:

To imagine ourselves outside the temporality that imprisons us and in some way to sense that eternity is not an unending succession of days in the calendar, but something more like the supreme moment of satisfaction, in which totality embraces us and we embrace totality—this we can only attempt. It would be like plunging into the ocean of infinite love, a moment in which time—the before and after—no longer exists. We can only attempt to grasp the idea that such a moment is life in the full sense, a plunging ever anew into the vastness of being, in which we are simply overwhelmed with joy. This is how Jesus expresses it in Saint John’s Gospel: “I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you” (16:22). (Spe Salvi, 12)

In the following video Fr. Robert Barron makes an interesting point, one that I have made elsewhere in these pages, namely, that when the Church fails to teach her doctrine well or casts aside her traditions, the world often picks them up but distorts them. In this rather Halloweenesque video Fr. Barron notes that as we have struggled to present well the concept of eternal life the world has taken up the notion of those “who can never die” in the vampire craze. Obviously the fact that they live forever is a horrible curse to them and any biblical notion of eternal life is absent. They are merely the “un-dead.” When the Church drops the ball the world pick it up but flattens and distorts it.

 

The Fixation of Modern Culture: Stuck on Teenage

Psychologists define fixation in the following way:

Fixation refers to a persistent focus of pleasure-seeking energies on an earlier stage of psychosexual development. A fixation occurs when an issue or conflict in a psychosexual stage remains unresolved, leaving the individual focused on this stage and unable to move onto the next.

I would like to argue that our modern culture seems to manifest many fixations on the teenage years. In fact, one way to describe our modern culture is to see it as developmentally like a teenager. This of course presents rather serious problems for our culture not only in terms of facing life with the necessary sobriety, seriousness and maturity but it also means that there are many people in our culture who never grow up.

Let me try to illustrate some examples of what I see as a fixation on teenage issues and mentality.

  1. Wanting all the rights but none of the responsibilities– It is not uncommon, as a child approaches adulthood the hear them declare that, since they are now and adult, they can do what they want. They often boldly declare this to their parents. If a parent is smart he or she will teach the child that adulthood does not magically happen at 18. Rather adulthood happens when they move out, get a job, pay their own rent, pay their own bills, drive a car that they own, purchase their own insurance etc. In other words, adulthood is about accepting and exercising responsibility for one’s own self. But the teenage mentality claims the rights of adulthood (self-autonomy etc.) without wanting to accept the responsibilities that come with it. This is very often the case with our culture today. Strident claims are made regarding our rights but little is said of our duties.  Accepting responsibility for our actions is often cast aside by excuses that blame others: “I’m not responsible, my mother dropped me on my head when I was two, I grew up poor, I have ADHD”  and so forth. There can be legitimate excusing or explaining factors in life  but we have made an art of it. Our culture has a hard time insisting that people take responsibility for their actions. Those who do suggest such things are called insensitive and harsh. Not only do many make excuses for their bad beahvior but they also try to shift blame, “What about him!”  Further, we often see that in our culture people increasing expect others to provide them what they ought to provide themselves. There are expansive notions of entitlements on both the right and left. Surely there are some basic needs that government and industry can and should provide, and there are those among us who truly cannot care for themselves, but the list grows ever longer and money it seems is no object. All of these behaviors I have described tend to overemphasize rights but underestimate personal responsibility. I am arguing that this bespeaks a teenage mentality. An adult attitude respects the need to take responsibility for our lives, ask for help when we need it but does not ask other to do for us what we can do for ourselves. An adult attitude also takes responsibility for the consequences of decisions that are made and does not shift blame for things I have done.
  2. Sexual immaturity– Teenagers experiencea powerful sexualawakening and their bodies flood with hormones. This leads to a number of effects. First of all there is a general silliness about sexuality that sets up. There is giggling and off color jokes. Everything is thought of in terms of sex and many ordinary words and references have ulterior meanings. There is a kind of obsession with sex. They begin to dress provocatively and “strut their stuff.” Sadly too teenagers struggle a lot with sexual misbehavior and very bad judgment about sexual matters. This is all the more prevalent since we do not often chaperon and oversee youth in the way we should, neither do we teach them well in regard to sexuality and modesty. American culture too often exhibits a teenage mentality and immaturity about sexuality. There is the incessant chatter and exhibition of sex in movies, music, books and the general media. In many ways our culture seems like a sex obsessed teenager. There are off color jokes. Many comedians devote lengthy sections of their monologues to sex and speak of it in very demeaning and unedifying ways and everyone thinks its a big joke. Surely too there is great irresponsibility today with regards sexual behavior: premarital sex, babies out of wedlock, the even greater tragedy of abortion, adultery, homosexual behavior and on and on. People often exercise very poor judgement about sexuality. Further many celebrate lewdness and sexual irresponsibility often applying moral thinking  more reminiscent of a college frat party than a truly thoughtful and responsible perspective on the matter. An adult and mature attitude accepts that sex is a very beautiful and personal gift given to the married. It is holy and good and is an important part of life. It has its place but is not the only thing there is. The obsession, silliness and out of control quality exhibited in our culture bespeaks an immaturity that reminds one of untutored and uncorrected teenagers.
  3. Hatred of Authority– As children grow into the teenage years they begin to push the boundaries with parents and other authority figures. They test limits and ask tough questions. Now this is not all bad. They are not little children any longer and increasing autonomy is sought and often times incrementally appropriate. However, teenagers also can go too far and be both disrespectful and disobedient. At times they engage in inappropriate power struggles with their parents and other elders. They start to assert that no one should tell them what to do and some even go through periods of intense dislike and contempt for their parents and any who would try to direct them. So too our culture today struggles with the issue of authority. One of the geniuses of the American Political System is a balance of power and that elected officials should be accountable. So there is such a thing as healthy and vigorous debate and a proper limiting of the power of authority. However, some of the snide attitudes toward legitimate authority, not just government officials, but police, supervisors at work, pastors, and community leaders et al. seems at times a bit immature. Whispering behind their backs, dragging of feet, ugly comments, outright disrespect of elders and leaders all seem a bit teenage. One might argue it has always been this way. But there seems to have been a major uptick in this sort of beahvior starting in the mid to late 1960s. Rock music helped to usher in very negative attitudes about authority and that thinking has become widespread in our culture. An adult attitude respects the place of authority and the need for it. It does fear authority but speaks sincerely, truthfully and respectfully to those who have it.
  4. The “It’s not Fair!” Mentality– One of the most common cries of children and teenagers is that something isn’t fair. It is usually a plaintive cry that is self serving. It usually means that “I didn’t get what I want but it seems like others did.” Basically this cry is “all about me.” Truth be told life is NOT fair. Both my brothers were smarter than I was. Neither of them seemed  to have to study much and they still got “A’s” I had to struggle mightily just to get C’s and B’s. Not fair. But I had other gifts they didn’t have. Bottom line is that we all get dealt the cards we have and we have to play them. No one has exactly the same cards. In our culture too the plaintive cry often goes up about something not being fair. The most troublesome version of it comes in relation to moral and doctrinal  issues. The Church is often excoriated for her positions in ways like this: “Are you saying Gays can’t get married? That’s not fair. Are you saying women can’t be ordained? That’s not fair! Are you saying that people who are dying can’t commit suicide by euthanasia and that they have to accept suffering? That’s not fair. Are you saying a woman has to carry her child to term and can’t abort?  Not fair especially since the man can usually walk away. Again, notice that most such claims of unfairness are rather egocentric: Something isn’t fair because I can’t do what I want. An adult attitude accepts that life is not always fair. An adult attitude DOES fight against true injustice. Not all of life’s inequities should be tolerated. But here too an adult and mature attitude distinguishes between matter of true justice and merely getting what I want. The battle for true justice usually involves the needs of others and the whole community not just personal or egocentric concerns.

So I offer you this analysis. I do not say everyone is equally afflicted. But the big picture looks pretty teenage if you ask me. We take a very long time to grow up in our culture and some never do. We seem stuck on teenage issues. You may not agree with my view, or you may want to add to it. Please use the comments and weigh in. I do not want to seem harsh in this analysis but it seems more and more clear to me that we’re stuck. Seeing it for what it is the first step to correcting the tendency.

….Until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.  14Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. 15Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. 16From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.(Eph 4:13-16)

This brief video shows the usual sitcom scenario: parents (especially fathers) are stupid and kids are smart and that it’s OK for them to be sassy, and disrepsectful. Afterall it’s a teenage world.

Liturgy at the End of an Era

Author’s note: I am away this week preaching a retreat for priests in Connecticut. I may post some new material this week but I also thought in my absence to re post some of my older articles that some newer readers may have missed. Here is one I posted back in Sept 2009:

I received my First Holy Communion in 1968 on my knees at the altar rail in our parish church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help  in a suburb North of Chicago called Glenview. I received from a very elderly pastor, Fr. Dussman, whose hands shook from Parkinson’s. It was an awesome and fearsome event. I was more nervous since Father’s hands shook and receiving communion from him could be a challenge, especially for the first time.

I remember well how seriously we took Church in those days. We had special Church clothes (always a coat and tie), special Sunday shoes and approaching the altar rail was something quite wonderful but very formal: hands folded before the chest, fingers straight, right thumb crossed over left. Kneeling and waiting for the priest and altar boy to pass by was a time of anticipation, a kind of distracted prayer, alert and ready, don’t make the priest wait! Suddenly a altar boy slid a Paten under your chin. Head back, tongue out (not too far!) just over the lower lip! The priest spoke in an ancient language (Latin). Only years later did I learn exactly what he said. I am sure the Sisters taught me but I couldn’t remember(I was only 7 going on 8): Corpus Domini Nostri Jesu Christi custodiat animam tuam in vitam aeternam (May the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ guard your soul unto life eternal). And suddenly there he was, Jesus in Holy Communion. Pretty awesome, very special, beyond my comprehension but no doubt this was holy, this was serious and sacred.

But little did I know I was at the end of an era. Within a year strange things began to occur that I did not understand, things that did not comport with my training. I remember my mother telling me that we were going to a special youth mass. I had heard of a school mass, but not a youth Mass. We got there early and I noticed something that confused me. “Mom!” I whispered, (you always whispered in Church in those days), “What are those drums doing there? Right in front of the Mary Altar, behind the rail too, were electric guitars, a drum set and chairs. Then out came these guys I had never seen before, a couple of them were wearing jeans too (a major no-no in the old days). After Church my mother asked me if I liked it. I said no and she was surprised. “But Mom, I don’t know those songs and they were so loud.” I was confused. The sisters said we should dress well, be very quiet in Church so others could pray and only talk or sing when it was time to do that. It all seemed “a violation of my training.” But an era had ended. Something was taking its place. Little by little the familiar gave way to the new. The transition was at times startling, at times exciting.

I do not write this post to “bash” the liturgical changes. Just to document an experience. I have become quite accustomed to the “new” Mass. I am also privileged to say the Traditional Latin Mass. I guess I am blessed to enjoy the best of both worlds. I am proud of the glory of the new Mass as it is celebrated in my parish. We have a wonderful gospel choir which also does classical very well. There is great joy at every Mass. I am also  so happy to be able to celebrate ancient Latin Mass that reminds me of the joy of my youth (qui laetificat juventutem meam).  I merely document here, I leave the judgements to you my faithful readers.

The following video depicts a Mass in the year 1969. It is from an Elvis movie entitled “Change of Habit.”  What an amazing little video for me! It’s just as I remember it as the changes set it. Notice the still strong presence of traditions: people all dressed up for Church, nuns in traditional habits, the priest at the high altar facing east. But notice too the guitars and “informality”  of the musicians. The music is up front not back in the choir loft. And many struggle to understand the new lay of the land. It was 1969. It was the end of an era.

Sober, Serene and Scriptural about Sex

Author’s note: I am away this week preaching a retreat for priests in Connecticut. I may post some new material this week but I also thought in my absence to re post some of my older articles that some newer readers may have missed. Here is one I posted back in Sept 2009:

When I was in high school back in the mid-1970s catechism in the Catholic Church was at a low point. I remember making a lot of felt banners with slogans like “Gather as God’s People” and so on. We also had a lot of “rap sessions.” Now back in the 1970s Rap Music was unknown. So what was meant by a “rap session” in those days was an informal discussion usually conducted in a circle with issues that interested young people. Now a teacher may have tried to guide the discussion, but usually we teenagers dominated the discussion. We often tweaked the teacher by bringing up controversial issues and then taking exotic or extreme positions, meant to shock. We were playing the teacher. But since relevance was so highly touted in those days and adults seemed desperate for us to like them, we played the system and we played it well.

Point is, I learned very little in religious education in the 1970s. We were largely on our own in terms of learning doctrinal and especially moral issues. Among the issues critical to teenagers is sexuality. We got little or nothing in terms of instruction about that. Most of us had some awareness that there were teachings against premarital sex but why it was considered wrong was vague to us. We just sort of figured the Church had “hang-ups” and was in general “hopelessly out of date.” Our parents too were from a different, more repressed time, so what did they really know?  Or so we thought. The generation of the 1960s just before us had blown the roof off everything. They were hip and free. Most of us took our clues from them. After all, when you’re a teenager, you usually look for the more permissive opinions.

Through most of this the Church was silent. Not, officially, but at the local parish level little was really done to counter the sexual  revolution that had taken place a mere ten years earlier. I really regret that no one ever took the Scriptures and read me what God had written. I figured there was nothing wrong with premarital sex since God had only said not to commit adultery. I wasn’t married and so couldn’t break that, or so I wrongly thought. I just figured the prohibitions against premarital sex were hang ups of adults and clergy. But that God had something to say directly to me was never shown me. I think it would have made a real difference in my attitude had I seen premarital sex forbidden by God, right there in black and white, in the Bible. But it was not until years later, in the seminary, that I was finally shown such texts.

I would like to exhort teenagers and young adults to be familiar with what God teaches about pre-marital sex (or fornication as the Bible calls it). I would also like to admonish adults who are parents to be sure to teach their children what the Scriptures say about sex and sexuality.  To that end, I have a attached a PDF document (see below) which summarizes about a dozen New Testament texts wherein God speaks clearly to the questions of sexual morality, in particular pre-marital sex. As I have noted, the Biblical word “fornication” is the word that corresponds to what we call today “premarital sex.” Hence, “Fornicator” means one one engages in premarital sex. There are a very few places in the Scriptures where the word fornication (in Greek Porneia) is understood to mean sexual misconduct in general. But usually fornication simply means premarital sex since there are other terms for adultery (moichao);  and homosexual acts (arsenkoites). The passages in the PDF document all treat of fornication (premarital sex) and in each case God spells out very clearly that God it is wrong and a serious sin. Please share these texts:

PDF DOCUMENT ON BIBLICAL TEXTS ON FORNICATION OTHER SEXUAL MATTERS

But why does God say it is wrong? Is he just trying to take away our fun? No indeed. But God is trying to save us a lot of pain and to protect and dignify marriage. Consider some of the following reasons that God’s teaching makes sense:

  1. To Protect Marriage and Family – Sexual intercourse is a gift given to the married. God wants to strengthen marriage with a special gift that only the married enjoy. It is a great pleasure and thus helps make marriage attractive. It also draws the spouses to each other frequently and helps to knit them together in a stronger bond because of a shared joy. But the unique and restricted place of marriage for this pleasure is essential. If this pleasure is made available by a culture before or outside of marriage then marriage is both delayed and threatened by infidelity. Notice how much weaker marriage has become in a promiscuous time such as ours. Thus God wants to strengthen marriage as his first reason to limit sexual intercourse to marriage.
  2. To Protect Children – Children are also protected by God’s prohibition of sex outside of marriage. Obviously children need and deserve to be conceived in an environment that is stable, committed and loving. Marriage prior to engaging in sexual intercourse is a matter of justice and premarital sex is injustice. Children conceived outside of marriage are at high risk for abortion. And, although it reamins true that it is good when life is chosen over abortion, it must be admitted that Children in single parent families are raised in irregular and less than ideal settings. God wants to protect children from all this. And don’t tell me that contraception can prevent all this. Contraceptives have a high failure rate, aside from being immoral. Notice that abortion has gone up, not down since contraceptivces have become more widely available. Likewise, out of wedlock births have gone up, not down since contraceptives arrived on the scene. God wants to protect children and give them the best.
  3. To Protect the Individual – God wants to protect individuals from all sorts of ills. Promiscuity brings all sorts of woes: sexually transmitted diseases, teenage pregnancy, AIDS, broken families, single parenthood, broken hearts, objectification of women,  abortion, adultery, Children without both parents,  and on and on. God loves us too much not to tell us the truth and insist we live it.

So, another post that is far too long. I’ll end. But spread the word! God loves us and wants to save us some mileage. If you struggle with sexuality, don’t despair of God’s mercy. But don’t call good what God calls wrong. Repent, try to stay chaste. If you fall, get back to confession and start again. In the end, the truth will set us free.

Here’s a video from Archbishop Fulton Sheen recorded back in the 1970s. Sadly it never made its way to my catechism class. But the video sparked my reflection and memories this evening as I post. In it he explains the need for boundaries and rules.  I post here only an excerpt. The full 29 Minute video where he goes on to talk about sexuality is available here: Bishop Fulton Sheen on Youth and Sexuality

Going Deeper with the Parable of the Good Samaritan

The Parable of the Good Samaritan is often read by many in a rather single manner to mean that we ought to be more generous to those in need or that we ought to not neglect those who suffer. Perhaps too, that racial and ethnic boundaries must be overcome as we broaden what it means to consider some one a neighbor.  All of this is fine enough, there are plenty of social justice themes at work here to permit such a reading and they ought not be neglected. But as is always the case with scripture, there is more at work here than the merely obvious interpretation. In effect the whole passage before us goes a long way to show some of the deeper drives we have regarding the pride and self-righteousness, along with a stubborn tendency we have to reduce holiness to something “manageable” and merely human. Let’s take a look.

1. There was a scholar of the law  who stood up to test him and said, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”  (Luke 10:25) – On the face of it this question is absurd. It is rooted in self-justifying notions. What must I DO to obtain eternal life….The simple fact is that we cannot save ourselves. We do not have the resources to obtain eternal life. No amount of human flesh power could even come close to paying the debt we owe. We do not have a rocket ship powerful enough to fly to heaven. We have no ladder tall enough to climb there. The lawyer’s flawed question sets him up for a series of misunderstandings about salvation and the absolute need for grace. Because he thinks that eternal life is somehow in his power to obtain it he looks more and more foolish as the interaction goes on.

2.  Jesus said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?”  He said in reply, “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” He replied to him, “You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.”  (Luke 10:26-28) In way Jesus is humoring him and drawing him out. The man has suggested that salvation is in his power to accomplish. So, in effect Jesus says to him, “Since you think such a thing is possible, explain to me how you think so with your legal background.” The lawyer quotes the great Shema, the summary of the whole law contained in Deuteronomy 6. Now there is nothing wrong with the Law, and so Jesus says, “You have answered rightly.” But what IS wrong is thinking that this law is within my own unaided flesh power to keep. To love God with our whole heart, mind, being and strength is a remarkable call that should not be taken lightly or reduced a few ritual tokenary things. The honest truth is that most human beings do not love God this way and NO human being apart from grace even stands a chance of getting close. The human mind and heart apart from grace have been so wounded as to make such a law unattainable. The fact is not only do human beings (apart form grace) not love God with their whole heart, they barely give him leftovers. The usual human approach is to serve myself and the world and then, from whatever is left, I’ll throw a few scraps to God. I’ll pray, if I have time left over at the end of my busy worldly day. I’ll read scripture if it doesn’t interfere with my watching of the sports event or soap opera. I’ll put money in the collection plate after I pay my mortgage, Sears bill, magazine subscriptions and see what is left over. I’ll follow the teachings of God so long as they don’t interfere with my politics or worldview. So God barely gets leftovers from most people and that includes many who describe themselves as religious. For us to think we, by ourselves,  are really going to pull off loving God with our whole heart, mind, being and strength or even come close is absurd on the face of it. And we haven’t even considered loving our neighbor yet! Jesus answers the lawyer (probably with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek) “Do this and you will live.” 🙂  He might as well have told him to leap a tall building in a single bound or to define the universe and give three examples. Does the lawyer really have any idea what it means to “do this?!” Surely not, as we see next.

3.  But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:29) And now we surely have reached the endgame of legalism and trying to be justified by our own flesh power. In effect the Lawyer says, “OK, if I have to love my neighbor as myself, let’s keep the meaning of neighbor as minimal and manageable as possible.” In other words if there are too many neighbors running around, with the requirement that I love them as myself, I might not be able to pull the thing off. So let’s dumb down and minimize what and who is meant by neighbor. This is what the flesh does. It salutes God’s law but doesn’t really take it seriously. The usual tactic of the flesh is to argue about meaning (e.g. the famous, “That depends on what the meaning of the word “is” is.”) and then to minimize the observance as much as possible by all sorts of legalistic minimalism. Hence the lawyer seeks to quibble over a precise definition of “neighbor” and keep that category as small and minimal as possible. He has to do this because he wants to accomplish the Shema on his own, by his own merit and power.

4. Jesus doesn’t take the bait and goes on to tell the well known parable of the Good Samaritan. With it he devastates the concept of a small manageable notion of neighbor. Neighbor cuts across national, ethnic, religious and political boundaries to encompass…..everyone. Jesus will not accept the reductionist demands of the flesh and its legalism.

5. He also sets aside another form of reductionism in the parable, that of religious reductionism. A priest and Levite pass also and refuse to help to victim by the roadside. Perhaps they were afraid, perhaps they had concerns about blood which would render them unclean and unfit for Temple duties. But whatever their reasons they also represent the human tendency to think we can buy God off by religious observances. If I go to Church, pay my tithes, and say a few prayers I can check off the “God box,” consider myself righteous and to have met all my duties. It becomes all too easy to walk past the needy, to walk past injustice, to tolerate evil, to remain silent and protect my hide and ego and all the while think God won’t mind because I sat in the pew last Sunday. This is just another form of reductionism and the Lord’s parable makes it clear that he is not impressed. We can’t buy God off. We ought to be in Church every Sunday, financially support the word of God, pray and so one. There is no excuse for not doing these things. But they are not the end of faith, they are the beginning of faith. If I really sat in the pew last Sunday to any real effect that I cannot walk on past the needy, ignore injustice, tolerate evil or remain silent in the face of error.

6. Thus in the end the love of God and neighbor are expansive loves that go beyond the ability of the unaided flesh to do. Without the healing of grace we are simply too selfish, greedy, egotistical, thin-skinned, resentful, envious, bitter, lustful and revengeful to even come close to loving God and our neighbor the way that is described. We have to stop playing games with God’s Word and stop trying to explain it in a way that makes it manageable. God’s word means what it says. And, with our unaided flesh it is impossible to fulfill it.

7. What then are we to do? Seek lots of grace and mercy. This parable is about more than caring for the poor. It is also about the absolute need for grace. Only with tons of grace and mercy do we even stand a chance in coming close to what the Shema sets forth. Only God can really give God the love he deserves. Only God can really love the poor as they ought to be loved. That is why we have to die to our self and allow Jesus Christ to live his life in us. He does this through the sacraments fruitfully received, through faith mediation on his Word and through prayer. Those who faithfully attend Mass and regularly receive communion worthily, those who confess their sins frequently and fruitfully receive the graces of that sacrament, those who faithfully and thoughtfully meditate on God’s Word, begin to experience a transformation that enables them to love. They receive a new heart and a new mind, the heart and mind of Christ. As Christ lives in them they see the Shema come alive, they begin to love God above all things and their neighbor as their very self. And it is not they who do it. It is Christ who does it in them.

8. What must I do to inherit eternal life? I must decrease and Christ must increase (Jn 3:30). I must die so that Christ may live in me (Gal 2:19-20).

The audio version of my homily is here: Going Deeper with the Good Samaritan

This song says, “When you see me trying to do good, It’s just Jesus in me….Loving my neighbor like a Christian should, It’s just Jesus in me.”

Vacation and the Kingdom

Summer is a time when the fortunate can get a little time to “vacate” (to get away). As you do consider this as an “Image for the Kingdom.”  The road to Emmaus shows us two disciples who encounter Jesus while on journey and, as the walk they talk with the Risen Lord who gives them insight into Scripture and the true meaning of all the events they have recently experienced (his crucifixion and death). Eventually they enter a house for a meal and come to recognize him in the breaking of the bread.

There is an image of the Kingdom at work here:  The image is “Walking, Talking and Dining.”  It’s also not a bad plan for vacation: lots of walking, talking and dining. Encounter the Kingdom on your vacation! Lot’s of walking, talking and dining (don’t forget to rest)! And remember that, as you do these things, the Lord walks, talks and dines  with you and helps unfold the meaning of your life and puts things in perspective. If you can get away, enjoy a foretaste of the Kingdom.

Just for fun: V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N  by Connie Francis:

Do Not Doubt the Father’s Love and Truest Desire For You. A Meditation on Hosea 11

Two days ago we pondered the story of Hosea’s marriage and through had a glimpse into the heart of God. In today’s reading from Hosea at Mass we get another look into the heart of the Father, not from the perspective of God as husband, but this time,  from the perspective of God as Father and Israel as son. Here too we get another moving portrait of God who loves us tenderly and immensely but who is also grieved at His son’s rebelliousness and all the trouble it brings.

Perhaps we can look at Hosea 11 and grow in deeper knowledge and appreciation of God’s love for us as a Father. I have varied the verse order just bit to group the thoughts that the text treats more as parallelisms. I have kept the verse numbers so you can see my edits to the order. The text is in bold black and italics, my comments are in red.

  1. Fond memories – When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son…..3 It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms; but they did not realize it was I who healed them. 4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed themGod the Father has always loved us. Jeremiah 1:4 attests that he knew and loved us before we were ever formed in our mother’s womb by Him. Here the moving image of a Father who loves and is proud of his son is given to us. There is the tender image of God, like a father, stooping down to feed his son. There are the bands (cords) of love and kindness that are tied, almost reminiscent of the swaddling clothes of an infant. This young son had wandered to Egypt and there was vexed and troubled (by 400 years of slavery). And God called for his son to come forth from that awful and fearful state. I once was at a store and noticed that a child became separated from his father. Suddenly he realized he did not know where his father was and he cried out “Daddy….Daddy!” Then the father a mere aisle over leaned back from around the end cap and said “Here I am…..come!” It was a moment of tender rescue and also of bonding for father and son. Clearly God’s son Israel was in a far worse jam than being lost in a store. But when Israel cried out to God, God,  through Moses and Aaron said, “Here I am…..Come!” ‘It was a moment of tender rescue and of bonding for Father and son. And so God describes his love for Israel from his infancy and youth with great fondness and tender love.
  2. Wandering son2 But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me.  They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images…..5 “Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent? 6 Swords will flash in their cities, will destroy the bars of their gates and put an end to their plans. We have all had the experience of a toddler or young child running from us when we wanted to hug them or console them. Perhaps they were just fidgety, or perhaps they were sulking. But as we reached out for them they turned away or ran off almost as if escaping something they feared or misunderstood. Under certain circumstances this can cause pain for us. God here expresses such a pain. He calls to His son, but His son runs further. Perhaps it is fear, perhaps misunderstanding, perhaps aversion and not wanting to be under authority. But hear the “grief” in the Father’s heart. I put grief in quotes since, as was said on Tuesday’s post, how God experiences passions such as grief, anger, sorrow and such is mysterious to us. These things are said by way of metaphor and analogy and they say something that is very real but exactly how God experiences something like grief is mysterious to us. God’s grief extends to what happens next. When His son Israel runs off bad things begin to happen. His son, turns to the false and fearsome gods of the Canaanites who even demanded child sacrifices. He also forms alliances with Egypt and thus incurs the wrath of Assyria. Israel’s wandering brought war and calamity. All of this grieves the heart of God. He also grieves at what our sin and wandering does to us. I have had the sad duty of burying more than a few young men who got involved in gang activity and died violently. It is often the case that their parents, like God here, remember back to their son’s more innocent years as a young child when they had more joy and less anger, when they were home instead of out running the streets. Yes, I have seen the same grief on the faces of parents that God expresses of himself here.
  3. Hardened sinner7 My people are determined to turn from me. Even if they call to the Most High, they will by no means exalt them…..12 Ephraim has surrounded me with lies,  the house of Israel with deceit. And Judah is unruly against God, even against the faithful Holy One. God is grieved at Israel’s hard an impenitent heart. Occasionally they pay God lip service and go through ritual observances but they are not really worshipping God. Lies, deceit, and just plain unruly behavior are the norm. As God says in verse 8 below, this angers him, it causes pain and grief. We too are possibly guilty of lip service and mere ritualistic, half hearted observance. Meanwhile we stubbornly refuse to repent and can become hardened in sin and unruly and deceitful toward God. God is not indifferent to this. 
  4. Grieved and moved Father8“How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel? How can I treat you like Admah? How can I make you like Zeboiim? My heart is moved within me; all my compassion is aroused. 9 I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. For I am God, and not man— the Holy One among you. I will not come in wrath. Admah and Zeboiim were two cities destroyed along with Sodom and Gomorrah. But though he considers venting his anger, the Father recoils from it. His heart is moved with compassion. He will not punish as he did at Sodom. His mercy is stirred and he reminds us that He is not like a man who, having anger, must it seems always vent it. He does not seek revenge and has no egotistical need to “get back” at people. If he does punish it is always with conversion for us in mind.  It is medicine. Despite our lack of love, God renews his love and extends his mercy. Thanks be to God! This is the Father’s heart who said elsewhere, As I live, says the Lord, I do not wish the death of the sinner, but rather that he turn to me and live. (Ex 33:11)
  5. Homeward bound10 They will follow the LORD; he will roar like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from the west. 11 They will come trembling like birds from Egypt, like doves from Assyria. I will settle them in their homes,”  declares the LORDThe Father’s ultimate goal for us all is that we will be with Him forever in heaven our true home. God restored ancient Israel, after the Babylonian captivity and once again the people, (his son Israel), were settled in their homes. But this is a prefigurement of a far greater settling that the Father provided for us due to Christ’s passion and resurrection. In the Father’s heavenly kingdom are many mansions and there he desires to settle us,  in our home. This is what is in the Father’s heart and what he desires for us. That Hell exists is not because the Father desires it for us but rather that He respects our choice insofar as His desire is concerned. He will not force His love upon us nor force us to accept the Kingdom of God and its values. We are summoned to love and love must be free. Thus Hell is real and many (according to Scripture) choose it and its values over heaven. But have no mistake what God desires for us: a great homecoming where he will settle us in our true home.

Here then is a second look into the heart of God, God the Father. Do not doubt His love and his truest desire for you.

Here is a video I recently put together. The  song is a plaintive, almost mournful spiritual. The text says, Sinner please(!) don’t let this harvest pass….before you die and lose your soul at last. Consider the text as coming from the Father.

Mind your Mind: On The Reverence of God for the Mind

There is a tendency in the modern age, at least in the Western world,  to trivialize the human person. One of the ways we do this is to say, in so many words, that it does not really matter what a person thinks or believes. All that matters is that they behave well. Hence if a person is a good citizen, pays his taxes, does not beat his wife, is kind to children and animals then it doesn’t matter what he believes. But this trivializes us since we were made to know the one, true God, to know the truth and, knowing this truth be set free (Jn 8:32). God’s plan for us is more than good behavior from some humanistic perspective. Rather he offers us a complete transformation, a new mind and new heart that is attained through personal knowledge and experience of him. Now all of this will surely affect our behavior but we must be clear that God is offering us something more than being nice in the sight of men and getting along with people.

One of the ways Scripture expresses what God is offering us at a deeper level is the appeal to the mind that so frequently occurs in the New Testament. The very opening words of Jesus as he began his public ministry announce the invitation to receive a new mind. Sadly most English translations do not well capture what the Greek text actually reports Jesus as saying. Most English renderings of Jesus opening words are “Repent and believe the Good News”  (cf. Mark 1:15; Matt 3:2). Now to most people “repent” means to reform your behavior, to do good and avoid evil, or to stop sinning. That is its most common English meaning. But the Greek word is far richer than this. The Greek word is Μετανοείτε (metanoeite) which most literally means  “to come to a new mind.” It is from the Greek  meta  (hard to translate perfectly in English but it often indicates accompaniment, change, or movement of some sort) and nous or noieo; (meaning mind or thought).  Hence metanoeite means to think differently, i.e. Reconsider, to come to a new mind. So what the Lord is more fully saying is “Come to new mind and  be believing in the Good News”

Thus Jesus is not saying merely that we should clean up our act he is inviting us to come to a new mind that he alone can give us. When we think differently we will surely act differently and hence metanoeite can and does include a notion of reformed behavior. But notice that it is the result of a new mind. When we think differently by the new mind Christ will give us we start to see things more as God does. We share his priorities, his vision. We love what He loves, we think more as He does. This then effects a change in our behavior.

There is an old saying that goes: Sow a thought, reap a deed. Sow a deed, reap a habit. Sow a habit reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny. Notice how it all begins with the mind. Our mind shapes our decisions, habits, character and ultimately our destiny.

The mind is the deepest part of the human person. It is not always possible in Scripture to perfectly distinguish the words mind and heart. Sometimes they are used interchangeably sometimes distinctively. But for our purposes here, the mind can be understood as the quite similar to the heart in that it is at the deepest part of the human person where thought, memory, imagination, and deliberation take place. The mind is not to be merely equated with the brain or simply with the intellect. It is deeper and richer than these. It is not simply a function of the physical body but more fully it involves the soul. The mind is where we live, think, reflect, ponder, remember and deliberate.

Hence, in appealing to the mind, God is offering a transformation to whole human person for it is from within the mind and heart that all proceeds forth. Good behavior is a nice goal but God does not trivialize us but only trying to reform our behavior, He offers much more by offering to reform US.

Thus, what a person thinks and believes DOES matter. In our hyper-tolerant times where tolerance is one of the few agreed upon virtues left, we want to brush aside the details. We are almost proud of ourselves as we affirm that people can think and believe whatever they want so long as they behave well. Well perhaps a person is free to think what ever they please but we are foolish if we think that this does not ultimately influence behavior. Our dignity is that we were made to know the truth and thus to know Jesus Christ who is the truth and the only way to the Father (Jn 14:6). Hence our dignity is not just an outer transformation but an inner one as well. In fact it is an inner transformation that most truly leads to an outer transformation.

Here are a few more texts that refer to the mind as the locus of transformation and and also the main battleground where grace must win. Without a transformed, clear and sober mind we will give way to sin and every form of bad behavior. Transformation starts with the mind. My comments on each text are in red.

  1. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Rom 12:2) Note, transformation comes by the renewal of our minds.
  2. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness…..For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their senseless minds were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools….Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. ….he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. (Rom 1:17ff selectae)  Notice here how a suppression of the truth leads to a depraved mind and a depraved mind to shameless and depraved behavior. It begins in the mind which is the real battleground
  3. Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires (Rom 8:5) Again, the sinful nature proceeds from a worldly mind. Those who have received the gift of the Spirit and embraced it fully have their minds set on what God desires. The remainder of Romans 8 goes on to describe the complete transformation of the human person that results from having a mind set on what God desires.
  4. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God (2 cor 4:4) This text says simply that worldly thinking leads to spiritual blindness
  5. So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. You, however, did not come to know Christ that way…..put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness(Eph 4:17-24) The bad behavior of the Gentiles comes from a mind that is frivolous and darkened. But the new mind we have received from Christ gives us a new (transformed) self.
  6. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. (Phil 3:19) Destruction comes from a mind set on earthly things.
  7. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. (Heb 8:10) God wants to transform us interiorly not merely improve our behavior. He wants to give us a new mind and heart that have his law written deeply in them.
  8. The double-minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8) When the mind is impure or divided, the ways, the behavior is corrupted.
  9. Therefore, gird the loins of  your mind; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. (1 Peter 1:13) A sober and clear mind that assertively seeks God’s will will lead to a self-controlled and hopeful life.
  10. The end of all things is near. Therefore be of clear mind and self-controlled so that you can pray. (1 Peter 4:7) In turbulent times a clear, sober mind is necessary so as not to lose control of one’s behavior and also to be serene enough to pray.

This song says “I’ve got my mind made up and I won’t turn back ’cause I want to see my Jesus someday.” This is a lively Carribean medley by Donnie McClurkin.