Understanding the Mysteries of God (13th Sunday, Year A)

To listen to this homily, click here.

Something that bothers many people when they read the Scriptures is the number of apparent contradictions they encounter. Humans in general and modern minds for certain like things to be logically clean and straightforward. If you expect that line of reasoning in God’s Word, you will be disappointed. For example,

• the last shall be first; 

• lose your life to find it; 

• take the lowest seat if you want the highest;

• the Son of Man came to serve, not to be served; 

• a virgin will conceive; 

and,

• if you are an old childless woman with an old husband, and either of you are nice to a mysterious visitor, you will have a child in about a year!

Worldly wisdom tells us if we want something, we need to take charge and make it happen. if we want to be first, we must get to the front of the line, not the end of it. And, if we want to be alive, it's up to us to preserve our lives. These seem to be common sense statements but do they hold true according to the wisdom of Almighty God? 

If we want to gain understanding of the mystery of God’s plan for us and for the world, we have to first be willing to empty ourselves, our pre-conceived notions, and expectations of how God should be and what we want him to do. We have to humble ourselves and recognize that so many of the contradictions we see in the bible are not problems God needs to solve before we believe in him. Rather they are mysteries we have to live with until God’s wisdom shines forth for us to see. Sunday’s readings are introducing us, gently and partially, to ways in which our common sense opinions are not necessarily wrong but do not go deep enough into the mystery of God’s plan.

In the First Reading a distinguished lady in the little village of Schunem shows great hospitality to the prophet Elisha, even to the point of building and furnishing a little room on the roof of her house with a bed, table, chair, and lamp for him for whenever he visits. She is childless, yet Elisha promises that in one year she will be holding a baby son. She is shocked. But the promise comes true. Then, when the boy becomes a young man, he suddenly dies. Elisha comes from twenty miles away and brings him back to life. Life is given twice where there was no hope of life; death triumphing but life restored. Talk about mixed messages! Is this the way of the Lord?

In the Second Reading, St. Paul writes to the Church in Rome that they are baptized into Christ’s death and are buried with him!  It doesn’t seem like a teaching that would attract many followers or take over the world. But he goes even further when he writes, “if we die with Christ, we shall also live with him” We must die in order to live? Incredibly, yes! And Jesus goes first to show us the way.

In the Gospel Jesus makes the most enigmatic statement: “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” No matter how we try to explain that statement away and sanitize its meaning, it still means what it says. Losing your life is the only way to possess it. Letting go is the only way to hold on. How can such contrary claims simultaneously be true?

A wise priest offered the metaphor of a drinking glass to make sense of these contradictions. A cup has to start out empty in order to succeed as a cup. If it is sealed up, solid, or already full, nothing can be poured in. A container has to be empty if it is to be filled. The same goes for us. We have to be empty and receptive to Divine Wisdom so God can pour life and love into us. This is the source of all the “contradictions” in the Gospels and in the readings this Sunday. If our hearts are already full of our plans, our wisdom, and our human power, there is no room for God’s. If we try to figure everything out ourselves, to fix both personal and public problems with worldly wisdom, we don’t allow God to share his solutions. We have to be emptied out if we are to be filled with God’s gifts. And that is most often what  life’s contradictions do to us; they expose the limits of our wisdom, plans, and power. They provide opportunities to accept what the Word of God offers: Life in the midst of death, power  in weakness, joy in sorrow. 

Our world, our community, our church, and many of our families have some pretty big problems these days. Let’s not be fooled into dismissing the wisdom of God simply because it contradicts what we have in mind. Time and time again, God has proven he can and will bring life and goodness out of the most unlikely situations. Let God’s love and life fill you! Don’t be afraid to empty yourself of whatever might be keeping you from accepting the will of God in your life. He will not and cannot let us down! But we have to learn to be comfortable with his apparent contradictions, knowing that he will make sense of things in his time. God is good! He can be trusted! Let’s make the words of the psalm our own, “For ever I will sing the goodness of the Lord.”

Fear in the Scriptures (Fathers' Day- 6/21/20)

Happy fathers day to all our dads with us today: gift of fathers is to provide safety and formation while leaving enough room for each child to become who they were meant to be.

Fear is featured prominently in our readings.

Fear is real- it is foolish to try and create a world where we don’t feel it or ignore it

Fear is given to us by God but for a very narrow purpose.

Good fear: we dread the things that will harm us physically, psychologically and spiritually. 

This good fear keeps us safe; 

About three years ago I was preparing to visit Glacier National park, which required lots of planning and thinking ahead. One of the things I read over and over again was to have a healthy fear of the large wildlife you might encounter. A moose, grizzly bear, or elk doesn’t care about your feelings regarding nature and conservation. If you get in their way or strike them as threatening, they will make short work of you. Most of the accidents and tragedies that happen in our beautiful National Parks take place because someone didn’t have a healthy fear of a wild animal, the power of water, or the universal authority of gravity. 

Bad fear is an inordinate dread of things that may indeed be dangerous but we allow that fear to rule us.

Bad fear might keep us safe from one danger but it doesn’t allow us to grow into the person we are called to be. That limited safety comes at a terrible price.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve seen and experienced so much fear the last 4 or so months and I am challenged to know what’s good and what’s bad.

I know for a fact that the Coronavirus is dangerous, especially to certain portions of the population. But I’ve also talked to and ministered to many who have isolated themselves from the world and from the parish winning themselves safety from the pandemic, but they are so afraid that their mind and soul is being consumed. Is the health of the body more important than the health of the soul? If protecting our physical health is destroying our spiritual vibrancy, then maybe we’ve gone too far. Which one does Jesus tell us to guard against losing?

Before all of this happened, I wanted to believe I had a healthy faith in God. But recognizing the reaction within as lockdown took over, the economy fell, and chaos entered makes me think I have placed far too much trust in social structures and routines that I have built. No wonder I experience such fear!

How about the social unrest going on right now? I feel like I could handle a pandemic, economic meltdown, or social unrest but not all at once!

How fragile is the human society in which we live! It feels more and more like a tower of babel we have constructed pridefully, thinking we know better than God how to live and love. And we don’t even know it is collapsing until it falls on our heads.

What alarms me most is the shrinking personal freedom in our country. God, as perfect father, gives us a set of laws, the commandments to live by. But then he gives us tremendous personal freedom to live them and grow into the saints the world and church need to thrive. That’s why we have such a rich variety in the communion of saints. There aren’t just one or two for us to imitate but men and women from every age, demographic, and background. Holiness brings freedom, diversity and variety of expression. 

What seems to be more and more true in our time is that personal freedom is not allowed. In terms of addressing the racial wounds facing our country, are we leaving any room, as God does, for people to use their gifts and experiences to address the problem and bring healing? Are  we even consulting God for a solution?  Since these problems involve sin, only God can provide the way to healing. 

We are told silence is violence, you must say something but if it is the wrong thing you must be punished, fired, and destroyed with no mercy. On the other hand, if you come from a privileged place, you must be quiet, unless you utter perfect contrition and personal recriminations, and you have nothing to add to the dialogue. There is no doubt our country has a problem with racism but the approach that seems to be favored is a total destruction of the structure our laws and country. It’s like seeing a spider in your house and burning your house down to get rid of it.

Whether it is using fear to get people to stay home during a pandemic or address racism and inequality, we as a country need to step back and see how God addresses terror, sin, hurt, and tragedy. He knows us better than we know ourselves!

Jesus shows us the only response to heal the wounds of the world and address both the moral and physical evils which afflict us must be rooted in prayer, humility, openness, mercy, and love. 

Worldly power can’t do it. Brute force won’t work. Shame will backfire. Legislation will fall short.  There is no political messiah waiting in the wings to fix our world. Weaponizing fear will breed resentment, obscure truth, produce discouragement, foster hopelessness, and multiply sin.

It is easy to shake our fist at the world and be outraged. But perhaps we are here because good people have lived in fear of the wrong things? Instead of fearing sin and separation from God, haven’t we sometimes been more concerned about our social standing, of being different than mainstream culture, or rocking the boat? Isn’t it true that many times Christians have put more truth in the power of politics or economics rather than the power of God to show us the way.

I know I have. And now I see how limited the power of the world and my own ability to control things really are. These can be good for sure but only if it is obedient to God and his plan for us. 

It seems like an odd prayer, but in this time of uncertainty and upheaval we can ask God increase the healthy fear in us, the fear of moving away from Him and losing his grace. The beautiful and ironic thing about that prayer is that it will also take away the unhealthy fear that seems to be taking over more and more of our lives. Jesus wants us to live in peace, joy, and charity. As a perfect father he wants us to grow and flourish and live in harmony despite our imperfections and differences. May God bless our lives and remove all fear that keeps us from loving him and each other!