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Virtual Does not Mean Real – As Seen on TV

Video commentary:

For most people, the word “virtual” has become a synonym for the Internet or the computer world, as in “occurring or existing primarily online.” But the word virtual has an original meaning that is actually quite descriptive of a modern problem.

Prior to its application to the computer world, the word virtual meant being something in effect, though not actually, or expressly being such. In other words, something virtual has aspects of the real thing, but is not the real thing. So, in the sentence, “He is a virtual goldmine of knowledge on the subject,” one would be silly to look for a physical goldmine or to think that he is either gold, or a mine, or both. There is no actual, no physical goldmine. His knowledge has aspects of a goldmine (value, worth, depth) but he is not an actual goldmine.

The adverb “virtually” means, for the most part, almost. In other words, it is close to the thing, but is not the thing or quality described. So in the sentence, “He was so exhausted, he was virtually dead,” he is not, of course, actually dead, but, rather, shares some of the qualities of the dead (unmoving, unconscious, lying down, etc.).

So virtual may mean “almost,” “like,” or “similar,” but NOT “is.” The virtual is not the full reality. It is lacking in existence and other important qualities of the actual reality.

And this is a very important truth to recall in today’s “virtual” world of the Internet. Many people are substituting too much of the virtual for the actual. They spend more time interacting with Facebook friends than physically interacting with actual friends and family members. Many people digest large quantities of virtual Internet life and only small amounts of real life. In an actual meeting with real people present, many have their heads in their phones and are only vaguely present in the real meeting (see photo above right).

I have noticed some tourists here in DC so buried in their phones (perhaps reading about a particular monument), that they spend little time looking at the monument itself. Some fiddle so much to get the perfect picture that they miss the actual moment. A picture is not real, it is virtual. It shares aspects of the real thing but is not that thing. We spend a LOT of time with our eyes focused on a virtual world while often neglecting the real world among us.

A strange migration has happened for many today wherein we interact more “virtually” than really. As a result, old-fashioned things like dating, marriage, meeting new people, and just getting together with friends have declined.

Another problem with the virtual world is that it is, most often, self-defined. We select our favorite sites and bookmark them. We set up Facebook filters, RSS feeds, Twitter feeds, iPod playlists, and the like. In effect, we create our own little virtual world. Meanwhile the real world, with all its diversity and less desirable things, is increasingly neglected. Our world becomes smaller and our personal formation more stilted.

Even more so, our ability to listen and be a “captive audience” has declined. We increasingly demand that everything should appeal to us quickly. Otherwise we should be able to click on a new bookmark, change the channel, or skip to the next song in the shuffle. But the real world is not quite so accommodating. Patiently listening and working with what “is” seems more odious as we start to prefer the virtual to the real.

Well, let the video above make the point. Enjoy a humorous look at how virtual notions do not work in the real world.

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Of Pictures and the Pope – A Humorous Look at Our Growing Need for Photographs

2015-09-24 22.16.23In all the coverage of Pope Francis’ visit to Washington, many are doing an admirable job of analyzing what is being said and done. The nature of this blog is less the coverage of “happening now” news and more a steady pondering of the message of the Gospel and how it relates to our cultural setting.

Permit, therefore, a brief observation of the papal visit from the standpoint of the crowds that flock to see him. Please do not take this as a strong critique, but rather as a humorous commentary on how quirky we can be.

Thus, one of the questions that occurs to me is whether the crowds that assemble to see the Pope really DO see the Pope, or whether they are so busy getting “the picture” that they almost miss the moment. The scramble seems to be less to see him than to get that picture.

I guess I notice this because I live just up the street from the U.S. Capitol and I have noticed for years the tourists going by on the buses. Many of them are so busy taking a picture of the Capitol (a picture they could easily find in a book or on the Internet) that I wonder if they ever see the Capitol with their own eyes.

The strangest and latest twist on this idea that getting the picture is more important than actually seeing, is the notion of the “selfie.” I saw more than a few folks along the route with their backs to the Pope holding up the camera. The “selfie” shows them in the foreground with the Pope passing by in the background. Talk about not seeing the Pope! Quite literally, their backs are turned to him. It seems more important to capture the fact that “I was there” than to actually experience seeing the Pope, or any dignitary or historic site for that matter.

Before digital photography, one had to be judicious in taking pictures. A roll of film had perhaps 24 pictures, and developing and printing the pictures was expensive. Today, the whole process is practically free. Now, hundreds of pictures may be taken whereas only two or three were possible before. This limitation of the past preserved the actual experience and relegated the pictures of it to a lesser role. Today the pictures are increasingly eclipsing the event itself.

Again, please do not take this observation in a weightier manner than it is intended. I am not writing to strongly condemn all of this. I just want to point out, humorously I hope, how quirky we can be, especially in enthusiastic moments. I have written on more significant concerns about the liturgy here: Photos and the Liturgy.

Perhaps a bit of advice is in order to us who frantically seek to get the picture while we risk missing the actual experience: “Don’t just do something, stand there!”

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If You Don’t Know the Bad News, the Good News is No News – A Meditation on the Coming Year of Mercy

blog9-23-2015As we prepare for the “Year of Mercy” we need to continue to understand that mercy is very good news. However, there is an old saying, “If you don’t know the bad news, the good news is no news.”

Sadly, many people today understand mercy in a very detached way, a way that is apart from repentance and a deep knowledge of our sinfulness. Too many people think that mercy means that God merely overlooks our sins, or doesn’t really care about our sins. Hence, the thinking goes,

“Since God is merciful, He doesn’t really care that I live with my girlfriend or fornicate. He doesn’t really care that I skip Mass or refuse to forgive someone who has hurt me. No, God is merciful so He doesn’t care about all that stuff.”

But of course this notion isn’t mercy at all. Rather, it cancels it and there is nothing to celebrate. For if God doesn’t care about sin, or even regard sin as sin at all, then mercy is not needed. And in this way if we do not grasp the bad news (that sin is real and a serious problem for us) then the good news (mercy) is no news.

In this year of mercy, we ought first to contemplate (by which I mean to grasp, deeply and innately) our sins, in order to rejoice profoundly in God’s mercy and abide in it. In doing this we are raised to higher and better things by confident joy and gratitude in God

Consider the following wisdom from St. Bernard of Clairvaux, as he speaks to this “cycle” of contemplating our sins and God’s mercy:

The first stage of contemplation, my dear brothers, is constantly to consider what God wants, what is pleasing to him, and what is acceptable in his eyes. We all offend in many things; our strength cannot match the rectitude of God’s will, being neither one with it nor wholly in accord with it. [L]et us then humble ourselves …

Once the eye of the soul has been purified by such considerations, we no longer abide within our own spirit in a sense of sorrow, but we abide rather in the Spirit of God, with great delight!

… The whole of the spiritual life consists of these two elements:  When we think of ourselves, we are perturbed and filled with a salutary sadness. And when we think of the Lord, we are revived to find consolation in the joy of the Holy Spirit.

From the first we derive fear and humility, from the second hope and love (Sermo 5,4-5, St Bernard Abbot).

Note that St. Bernard uses the phrase “salutary sadness.” Thus contemplating our sins is not envisioned as a self-loathing, or as a merely accusatory action. Rather, it is to lay hold of our need for mercy and for God. St. Paul in Second Corinthians distinguishes between godly and worldly sorrow: For godly sorrow produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but worldly sorrow produces death (2 Cor 7:10).

Hence we go to the foot of Cross and there behold what our sins have done to us, to others, and to Christ, and we weep there for our sins. But our sorrow is turned to joy as we also there encounter the true glory of mercy available to us.

Note: it is our repentance that unlocks mercy. It is our sorrow that brings consolation and joy. It is knowing the bad news that makes the good news, astonishing news.

Scripture admonishes, “Do not forget the works of the Lord!” (Ps 78:7) And thus we are summoned to remember.

What does it mean for me to remember? It means to have so present in my mind and heart what God has done for me that I am grateful and different.

And this work of God’s mercy that we should never forget, takes place at the foot of the Cross, where I am summoned to bring the burden of my sins, weeping for them and humbly admitting them. Yes, I need this death of Jesus’. That’s how bad off I am! But then rushes in gratitude and joy. And this experience of God changes and elevates me. Grateful people are different. They are more confident, generous, forgiving, and joyfully complaint in whatever God asks of them.

The year of mercy is not a declaration that God doesn’t really care about sin. It is a declaration that He cares about us and knows what sin does to us and to others. He seeks our repentance and sorrow in order to unlock His mercy, which elevates and changes us.

To summarize St. Bernard, the whole spiritual life consists looking to our self honestly so that we acquire salutary sorrow and run to the Lord, who transforms us by His grace and mercy. Repentance unlocks mercy and brings healing.

This song says,

If might I hide my blushing face 

While Calvary’s cross appears 

Dissolve my heart in thankfulness 

And melt my eyes to tears. 

At the cross at the cross

Where I first saw the light

And the burdens of my heart rolled away. 

It was there by faith I received my sight 

Now I’m happy all the day.

Here’s a very different version from the “We Sing” concert:

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If No One is Pope, Everyone is Pope. A Reflection on the Unitive Dimension of the Pope’s Office and Charism

popeFrancis-blogadw-placeholderToday we welcome Pope Francis to the United States. In so doing, we welcome more than just a popular public figure. We welcome someone whom the Lord prays for in a very special manner. Simon Peter and his successors enjoy a special charism to unite us, by the Lord’s prayer and grace. Let’s look at the scriptural foundation of this prayer and charism and see how essential the office of the pope is for us.

One day, near the final ascent to Jerusalem, the Lord warned of a fundamental problem that the Church would face: disunity. He turned to Simon Peter and said of the Twelve,

Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you all that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers (Luke 22:31-32).

To “sift like wheat” is to divide, and Satan would work hard at it in order to divide the apostles, and the Church with them. The debate about who was the greatest only served to show what a mess we human beings, when left to our own devices, will make of something.

Yes, Jesus plainly says that the devil is going to work hard to divide you. And Jesus’ plan is not to write a book and then just hope that everyone follows it and interprets it in the same way. His plan is not to pray that they all work out their differences.

Jesus’ plan is to pray for one man, Simon Peter. Now Peter is not invisible, nor do his words require interpretation. For if anyone wants to ask, “What do you mean by this?” he can just go right up to Peter and say, “Peter, what do you mean by this?” And the real Peter can answer.

So, the Lord’s plan for unity is to have one visible man; one living, breathing source of unity. The Lord will pray for him; thus we can be assured of right outcomes in matters of faith and morals if we follow Peter (and his successors, the popes) in matters that might divide us.

Peter fulfilled this task of unity well and consistently, as recounted in the Acts of the Apostles, the history of the early Church. He rose to settle the question of Judas’ successor (Acts 1:15ff). He preached the first public sermon (Acts 2). He was inspired in a dream and then baptized the first Gentile converts (Acts 10). He arose at the Council of Jerusalem to settle the dispute between the “Party of James” and Paul, Barnabas, and others about Gentile converts (Acts 15).

Yes, Peter strengthened and unified the brethren. This does not mean that he did so without sin. On one occasion St. Paul even had to rebuke Peter (cf Gal 2). For though Peter had taught correctly (that Gentiles were in without lots of customary Jewish observances), he did not fully live the teaching, drawing back from close association with the Gentiles in order to avoid offending Jewish Christians. We do not argue that Peter and his successors are sinless, only that in solemnly teaching on faith and morals they enjoy the prayer of the Lord and the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, never to teach error and thus unite us in the truth.

Peter’s successors must unite us. Though they are not sinless men, we trust in God’s protection for their solemn teachings and thus preserve union through the prayers of the Lord for Peter.

And boy do we need it! We Catholics are a difficult lot. Shepherding Catholics is harder than herding cats. But thanks be to God for the Lord’s Prayer and for the Holy Spirit. If it were not for these, the Church wouldn’t have lasted twenty minutes! But here we are more than two thousand years later, not without our troubles and tensions, but here and fundamentally united (with legitimate diversity). There is just no other way to describe the fundamental unity of the Catholic Church for all these years than as a miracle.

Compare this to the Protestant denominations, which severed their ties to Simon Peter and have now divided and subdivided some thirty thousand times—sifted like wheat to say the least. And the divisions are not just about minor things like vestments or the type of music. The differences are about fundamental and essential doctrines such as how one is saved, if once saved means always saved, if Baptism is necessary, if adultery is grounds for divorce, whether homosexual acts are sinful, if abortion is wrong, whether there is a priesthood, and how critical texts of the Bible are to be understood. The moral and doctrinal divisions are deep and concern foundational matters related to salvation. So divided is Protestantism that many Evangelicals have more in common with Catholics (on the moral issues) than with the old, mainline Protestants.

The tragic disunity of Christendom is not entirely the fault of the Protestants. We Catholics contributed to breaks that happened in the 12th century (with the Orthodox) and the 16th century (with the Protestants).

But the disunity among Protestants does put to the lie that people can be united by a book or by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (apart from the authentic discernment of the Church’s magisterium).

The simple fact is that we have to have a pope. And if no one is pope, everyone is pope. Some may be dismissive of the need for “some pope” to tell them what to think. But truth be told, by not acknowledging some visible authority outside their own mind, they are merely appointing themselves as pope of their own little “denomination of one.”

The pope is not possessed of unlimited power. He is the Servant of Divine Revelation, not its source. He cannot overrule dogmatically defined faith that comes from Holy Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Neither does he micromanage every aspect of Church life. But in service of the Lord’s prayer and vision, Simon Peter and his successors strengthen and unite us by working with the bishops to resolve significant matters that arise in the Church in terms of discipline and the understanding of doctrine.

But without him, we are trouble, serious trouble—trouble times thirty thousand!

In welcoming Pope Francis, we welcome the visible source of our unity. It is not merely that Jorge Bergoglio is a good negotiator. Whatever personal skills he may have, our faith lies not in those skills but in the prayer of the Lord Jesus for him to strengthen and unify us. Unity is not always easy. To accept the leadership of another is, frankly, hard. But the unity the Lord intends us to have with Simon Peter is a lot easier than the endless divisions we create on our own, apart from the Lord’s Prayer for Peter.

Welcome Pope Francis today and pray for unity among all Catholics and Christians. We may have minor differences and even a few hurtful ones, but thank God we don’t have thirty thousand differences!

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A Study in Contrast and Paradox: The Pope’s Thursday Schedule

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CREDIT: Jaclyn Lippelmann, The Catholic Standard

On Thursday morning, Pope Francis will speak at a joint session of Congress. Shortly thereafter he will journey to a nearby center of Catholic Charities. In so doing, he will be meeting very different groups of people: politicians, and the poor, legislators and the less fortunate.

There is in these visits a powerful contrast. But not all things are as they appear for not as man sees does God see. Let’s consider both.

The day will begin in the well of the U.S. Congress. This will be the first time that a pope has addressed a joint session of Congress. He does so as a religious and moral leader, but also as a head of state. In fact, many of the honors the pope has been accorded, including arrival at Andrews Air Force Base, an official welcome, and Secret Service protection are due to his status as the head of state of the Vatican City State, the smallest internationally recognized state in the world.

But do not miss the stunning image here: a pope addressing Congress. Such a thing would have been unthinkable before the 1960s. Catholics were generally considered with suspicion by the Protestant majority in the United State. They wondered if our loyalties were here or with the Vatican. Wave after wave of Catholic immigrants in the early 20th century also created fear in the minds of many Americans. These Catholics immigrants were poor and brought with them many of the social ills associated with poverty. Thus, anti-Catholic sentiment ran deep before the 1960s. And despite Catholics gaining local power in many northeastern cities, it was generally difficult for Catholics to be elected to national office. In those times, people who talked about the important of the “separation of Church and State” usually had Catholics in mind.

Much of the severity of sectarian hostility has waned, even as secular hostility against the Church has risen. But most people who lived before 1960 could never have imagined a pope addressing a joint session of Congress or receiving the sorts of state-sponsored honors you have seen; it would have been politically impossible.

Yet note a further paradox! In many minds, this address of the pope to Congress is one to arguably the most powerful body on this planet. The men and women gathered there sit atop billion dollar budgets and make decisions that affect the entire world, let alone the United States. The fate and well-being of many depends on them.

But not all things are as they appear. For that body of individuals is likely the second most important group the pope will address on Thursday. The most important and influential group awaits him at his next stop: the poor at Catholic Charities.

Please be assured that I do not make this observation with the common class hatred/envy that simplistically concludes that all rich and powerful people are evil and greedy while all the poor are good and holy. Things are never that black and white. There are sinners and saints in each group.

But understand this: the poor, the suffering, and the vulnerable are far more powerful than most of us imagine. Consider that while the poor need us in this life, we are going to them in the next. The Lord Jesus counseled us, I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, they will welcome you into eternal dwellings (Lk 16:9). In other words, if we are generous to the poor here, they are going to be powerful advocates for us on our judgment day.

Mother Mary, too, spoke of a great reversal that is coming: he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty (Lk 1:52-53). And Jesus added, But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first (Matt 19:30). And Psalm 72 says, The Lord hears the cry of the poor (Ps 72).

It seems that many of us here are going to have to make an appointment to be able to see them in Heaven! Many who are poor, suffering, and vulnerable now are going to have the highest places in Heaven, and they’re going have a lot to say about our final judgment. It’s not bad advice to befriend them now because we’re going to need them later!

So which is the most powerful group the pope will address on Thursday? Well, you decide. But remember, things are not always as they appear; God does not see as man sees.

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The Apostolic and Evangelical Journeys of Jesus, Writ Large! A Reflection on the Biblical Roots of a Papal Visit

blog9-20-2015In the papal visit soon to unfold in this country we see writ large a process and pattern established by Jesus Himself. In this blog post we will look especially at the process of preparation and see that it is quite directly connected to the way in which Jesus operated.

To many readers of the gospel, who overlook the details, it could seem that Jesus and the Twelve just wandered about in a haphazard manner, charismatically deciding “on the fly” when and where to go. But according to Scripture, this is not the case.

Jesus had a plan, an itinerary of his journey, laid out rather carefully it would seem. Further, He sent “advance teams” on ahead to prepare the people for His arrival. Consider the following quotes:

Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Luke 10:1-2).

And He sent messengers on ahead of Him, and they went and entered a village of the Samaritans to make arrangements for Him (Luke 9:52).

Further, His “apostolic band” required financial and personal support. Here, too, this support was not accomplished in some disorganized way; it was more organized than many today would think. Scripture attests to this:

Jesus journeyed from one town and village to another, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom of God. Accompanying him were the Twelve and some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza, Susanna, and many others who provided for them out of their resources (Luke 8:1-3).

So the evangelical journeys of Jesus were not some haphazard wandering about.They visits were planned and the people were prepared. And here was the goal: that when Jesus entered, The crowd welcomed him, for they were all waiting for him (Luke 8:40).

It is like this with the upcoming visit of Pope Francis. The pope is the Vicar of Christ; that is, he is Christ’s representative. People are not clamoring to meet Jorge Bergoglio; they are eager to meet the Christ he represents and whose Vicar he is.

It is much like the visits of Jesus in ancient Galilee and Judea, just writ larger—much larger! The villages and towns of the ancient Holy Land were seldom larger than a thousand people. Only Jerusalem, Caesarea, and some of the Greek cities of the Decapolis were much larger. Today, metropolises contain millions of people and the distances between them are global!

Many have been preparing the cities of Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and New York for his coming, and crowds will greet the pope, the Vicar of Christ.

Consider well the complex preparations! Be grateful to those who have labored long and hard. There have been long hours, complex arrangements, publicity, fundraising, logistics, last-minute changes, public safety, and delicate negotiations with religious and government officials and private citizens.

I have personally observed the sacrifices that many at the Pastoral Center of the Archdiocese of Washington have made. Do not underestimate the personal price that many have paid to ensure that all is ready, safe, and organized.

Be grateful, too, for the many benefactors who have generously supplied funds for this visit. Gratitude is also due to government officials, the Secret Service, the D.C. Police, and many other “first responders” who stand ready for the arrival and poised to care for any difficulties that might arise. Acknowledgement is also due to many individuals and business owners who will be inconvenienced due to the festivities. We are and must be grateful for their patience and sacrifice!

Yes, it is the apostolic and evangelical journeys of Jesus, writ large. They were organized and underwritten. So is this one. Many sacrificed to prepare towns for Jesus; many here have done the same for the pope. The Scriptures are really not so distant after all. They are still fulfilled in ever larger and more visible ways.

Surely Pope Francis would be the first to say, “Viva Christo Rey!” Indeed, may Jesus Christ be praised!

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

blog9-19-2015In today’s gospel, the Lord Jesus is asking a crucial question. The word crucial here is selected carefully. It comes from the Latin cruces, meaning “cross.” Indeed, looming over this entire gospel is the Cross. Jesus makes the second prediction of His passion, death, and resurrection. It is in the context of this teaching that the Lord asks the “crucial” question of us: What is most central in our life? Let’s look at this gospel in five stages.

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

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

All along the way we meet people and find things that will either help us or hinder us in getting ready for life’s true destination. There are people and things that will help us, and people and things that will distract us. Since this is a fallen world, it is a sad and perhaps unfair fact that there will be more to distract and divert us into foolish desires, pointless paths, and frivolous and harmful philosophies. More on that in a moment.

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

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

That Jesus seeks to journey quietly through Galilee is likely because He does not want to be diverted by the often-endless requests that surrounded His public appearances. But one can also imagine here a portrait of pain.

In our grief, we sometimes need to draw aside, to be with close friends and family. Large gatherings are not for us during these times.

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

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

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

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

Are you kidding me? No, a very consistent theme in the Scriptures that of the “inept response.” Over and over again Jesus will give a teaching, often with great solemnity, and then immediately thereafter the apostles will give a response indicating that they don’t understand Him at all, that they have completely missed the point. Inept they are, even indecent and pretentious. Having heard the Lord speak of dying painfully at the hands of others, they digress pretentiously into a conversation about which of them is the greatest.

But before we scorn or laugh at the apostles we must remember that we are the disciples. We do this very sort of thing. We divert our attention to all sorts of foolish things that don’t matter. We worry about who’s the big cheese or who’s the most important. How pointless and foolish these conversations and concerns are! How inept of us would-be disciples to get carried away with these sorts of concerns. But we do it every day, dozens of times a day.

This woefully inept and pretentious response of the disciples (and of us), which only increased Jesus’ pain, leads Him to ask the crucial question. It leads us to the central point of this gospel.

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

“What were you arguing about on the way?” Why is this a crucial question? Perhaps if we see the question in other formats it will help. The Greek word that is translated here as arguing is διαλογίζομαι (dialogízomai), which means to reason, consider, ponder, wonder, or debate. The dia, at the beginning of the word is an intensifier and indicates a kind of back-and-forth aspect. And hence we get the concept of a debate or an argument.

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

Honestly, it is a sad and embarrassing reality that so many of us who call ourselves disciples are overwhelmingly preoccupied with things that are futile, passing, of little real in importance, frivolous, and oftentimes just plain stupid. And even things that have some relative importance get an undue amount of our attention.

Meanwhile, things that do matter, the things that matter most to God, such as our salvation, our knowledge of Him, our preparation for death and judgment, repentance, love, justice, mercy; what is true, good, decent, virtuous, and beneficial in salvation; prayer, the frequent reception of the sacraments, and things spiritual—all these things rank pitifully low in the lives of most people, even those who call themselves Christians and disciples.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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For Faith Comes by Hearing – As Seen in a Short Animated Film

blog.9.18The short film below is an allegory of one young boy’s journey back to the light from the sad, dark world left to him by his mother and other elders of previous generations. I have seen this journey in the lives of many young adults in the Church today.

You might wish to view it first, but here is my summary:

The film opens with a mother (but it could be any elder) returning fearfully from the dark, tragic world she and others of her generation have made. It is noteworthy and emblematic that there is only a mother; no father is present nor is there any evidence of him. The mother has with her some “antiques” she has scavenged from the ruins outside. Her young son is anxious to see what she has found.

She tries to interest him in a flashlight and at first he is mesmerized. But then he hears the sounds coming from an old tape player she found and his eyes and heart light up (for faith comes by hearing, and hearing from the Word of God). The recording is one of a group of children playing. The voice of one child in the recording calls out, “Do you want to play with us?” Somehow the boy hears a call to come back to an old world, one where children still play and sing and dance (as Chesterton described in Orthodoxy).

The boy wants to look more closely at the tape player, but his mother will have none of it. For her, it is just something to sell in the dark world she and her generation have made. She puts it high up on a shelf out of reach and sends him to bed.

But he has heard a truth. His mind and heart have been touched. And so he makes a journey to the world he heard for just a brief moment. He leaves the dark, colorless world of poisoned cultural air and, listening to the tape (for faith comes by hearing, and hearing from the Word of God), enters a colorful world where children still play and can breathe the air without dying.

I have found this little story writ large and true in the lives of an increasing number of young adults in the Church. They have inherited from my generation (the Baby Boomers) a ruined world. Collectively speaking, we Baby Boomers are perhaps the most selfish, egotistical, spoiled, and destructive generation this planet has known. We launched a self-centered revolution and left in our wake a ruined culture, destroyed families, and great darkness; the very air of our culture is too poisonous to breathe.

But some younger adults have heard a Word of truth that calls them out of the ruins. Perhaps they wander into an older, untouched church built by a generation prior to the Baby Boomers. (The Baby Boomers built drab, deconstructionist, iconoclastic churches.) Perhaps they stumble upon a spiritual classic, attend a Latin Mass, or see a classic movie from before the revolution. Perhaps they hear a sermon by a priest or deacon who is “unreformed,” or who preaches solidly and unapologetically from Scripture and the Catechism.

Whatever it is, some young adults are rediscovering the wisdom that was cast off collectively by the Baby Boomers. I do not claim that most young adults are making this journey, just that there are enough to make the pattern noticeable. They come to Mass and to the bible studies and lectures I give. They want solid food; they want the truth, not some watered-down version of it. They do not want to make the mistake their parents made. They do not all go to the Latin Mass, but they seem to have an appreciation for the traditions that we Boomers cast aside.

There is something of this movement in the video below. A young boy hears a snippet of truth from a previous era. Unlike his mother, he is touched by it and makes a journey toward the truth he has heard.

How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news! … So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world” (Rom 10:15-18).