The Things That Matter to God (18th Sunday, Year C)

To listen to this homily, click here.

This weekend we see one of the strange features of our lectionary: In the heart of the summer, when many people are relaxing and enjoying the beauty of beaches and mountains, we have some of the Bible’s most depressing readings. Qoheleth gives the famous words: “Vanity of vanity! All things are vanity!” Then he goes on to describe the toil, anxiety, sorrow and grief which fills man’s days. And on top of this, even though he is plagued by fatigue, he no longer experiences the sweetness of falling gently into sleep.

Jesus is equally stark. A man comes to him all worked up because his brother has cheated him out of the inheritance. Rather than settle this seeming injustice, Jesus tells a story about a person who stored up wealth, hoping it would bring him peace of mind. Just at the moment when everything fell into place, God demands his life and all his planning and sacrificing amounts to nothing!

These are hardly the thoughts anyone wishes to meditate on as part of summer vacation. In fact, most of us avoid thinking about these heavy topics all year long, for years at a time until we are forced to do so by these readings or the loss of a loved one. But while these themes of death and judgement are uncomfortable, it is actually a blessing to ponder them now before death actually happens, which it inevitably will for each of us, sooner or later.

The central message of today’s Scriptures is to examine our priorities and passions, the things that receive the most and best of us. Are they things that matter to God, heavenly things as St. Paul describes them? Will our current goals and priorities be significant in our final moments or we will look at them with regret, wishing we had spent our time, talent, and treasure differently? Are the most important things in our lives right now used only for ourselves and our enjoyment and comfort? Or are they utilized to help others and lift them up? Is our life, and everything in it, all about us? Or is it directed generously towards others? There is a saying that the only things we take with us in the next life are the things we give away.

Then there is the story of the elderly lady who approached her priest after Mass. She told him that her husband had recently died and she was going to make a significant donation to the parish. She revealed her plan to give the bulk of her estate to the Church. The priest was grateful, but also curious. He mentioned that most people usually left everything to their children. "I know they do," said the woman. Then she smiled, "but I want my children to be sad when I die!"

Each person of course has to decide what to do with their estate, but one thing is clear. As Jesus points out today, none of us can take it with us. And He is not just talking about material riches; it also includes health, beauty, fame, power, influence, popularity, and so many other things that seem so important but fade quickly after we are gone.

The day of our passing may seem far away, especially to the young and healthy, but the years go by quickly. Today's Psalm describes our lives as a passing dream - a flower that unfolds in the morning, but by evening wilts and fades. The same Psalm says that seventy is the sum of a man's years - or eighty if he is strong. For being written thousands of years ago, that still seems dead on the money, if you pardon the pun. 

Even though our lives pass swiftly, the psalmist does not encourage resignation. He tells us to "number our days aright," to live each day to the full, to pursue things that matter to God and are important in the context of eternity. That is a challenge for us. We live in a world of short term thinking; buy today, pay tomorrow. Live for the moment, do whatever makes you happy regardless of the consequences. But that is not the way of Jesus. His way acknowledges the goodness of this earth and everything in it while never forgetting that we are made for much more. This world, this mortal life is not the final stop and we must be diligent in storing up treasure in heaven.

We should keep the end of our life before us always. Four military chaplains did this in an extraordinary way. They were serving on a ship called the "U.S.A.T. Dorchester." One of the chaplains was a Catholic priest, two were Protestant ministers and one a Jewish rabbi. None of these men of God wanted to die, but as chaplains they spoke to the soldiers about the need to prepare for eternal life.

On February 3, 1943, as they crossed the North Atlantic Ocean, a torpedo struck the Dorchester. The lights went out; in panic, the soldiers fled to the main deck. Only a few of the lifeboats worked and as the ship listed, many fell into the frigid water.

One of the survivors described landing in the water near the ship. Realizing it would soon sink and drag him under, he swam with all his might. His life preserver had a small red light, which a life boat saw and hauled him aboard. He told about looking back and seeing other small red lights "like a Christmas tree." At the bow of the ship stood four dimly outlined figures, none of them with the little red light. The four chaplains had given their life jackets to others.

Above the noise of the waves, the soldier heard music. It came from the direction of the four figures. The Jewish rabbi was chanting a prayer in Hebrew. The Protestant ministers sang a soft Gospel hymn. The Catholic priest had a beautiful Irish voice and chanted in Latin. The four chaplains had locked arms. They sang and prayed to encourage the others. Of the 904 men aboard the Dorchester, over six hundred died that night - including the four chaplains.

There is much to be said for the way those four chaplains died; fully aware, opening their hearts to meet God. Their final acts were service to others with generosity, peace, and acceptance; treasure that would be waiting for them in heaven! That attitude and calm doesn’t happen on it’s own. It is cultivated now, throughout the years and decades of our life by acts of love and kindness, by ensuring our priorities and values will be the ones we will still be proud of when we stand before God to give account of the time, talent, and treasure he shared with us. 

Because none of us knows how or when we will die, that preparation starts now. For that reason, these readings are a gift, a blessed reminder to live each day like it is our first, last, and only. While it is sobering to think about these heavy truths, we are always encouraged that Jesus has prepared incredible things for those who use this life to become rich in the things that matter to God! 

The 4 Types of Prayer (17th Sunday, Year C)

 To listen to this homily, click here.

Whenever I have to make a large purchase, I think of the story of Abraham and how nice it would be to have him with me. Somehow he gets God to agree to save Sodom if Abraham can find 10 righteous people. The original quota was 50! So that is a savings of 80%! Of course we don’t want to miss the point of that story and of all our readings today which is simply this: Know how to pray; don’t be afraid to ask God for what you desire. If it is good for us and for others, God will happily give it and do so with a generosity we cannot fathom. 

Interestingly enough, Abraham’s back and forth with God does not result in the sparing of the sinful cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. This wasn’t Abraham’s fault nor was it a case of God being unwilling; there was simply no one left who wished to be saved. And so God’s generosity and Abraham’s petition have no room to work. But the beauty of the type of prayer we see described in the first reading, is that it does not change God, it changes us. Abraham’s experience going to God in this moment, paves the way for him to trust God more and more and become the father of many nations. This prayer of petition, simply put, asking God for stuff, is one of 4 main types of prayer with God. This is the type of prayer most people think of when they hear the word and it is a fundamental and important part of developing a relationship with God. He wants us to ask him for things and we need to tell him what we want and desire. We should not be afraid to show him our heart. But we should always end each payer with trust in his will and wisdom; that he will give us the things which are best for us and others in light of eternal life!

The Catechism defines prayer as the lifting of the mind and heart to God. John Henry Newman says prayer is “cor et cor loquitur” which is Latin for “heart speaking to heart.” St. Teresa of Avila called prayer, “nothing more than sharing between friends”. 

How do we look at prayer? Do we think of it in terms of the saints, who saw it as an exercise of friendship with God? Do we pray often about things large and small? Boldly and with confidence? How often do we make it complicated? Or worry about saying the right words? As a result we miss out on the beauty of prayer and see it as a chore or boring obligation!

No matter who we are, our prayer will go through cycles: highs and lows, feast and famine, consolation and desolation. This is normal. St. Theresa of Avila had about 20 years where her prayer was difficult and felt dry. St. Teresa of Calcutta revealed that much of her prayer felt uninspired and unfruitful. What makes our prayer life-changing is not how it feels but how faithful we are to it. We cannot let our feelings decide whether we pray or not.

I don’t know about you, but my prayer is sometimes affected by things going on in the world. Tragedies and natural disasters can make it more difficult to pray, which I am sure the devil wants. The killing of innocent people, the anger and division of politics, and the all-too-common observation of the wicked prospering while the righteous suffer really fill me with anger and make me ask God, “where are you right now?” Is there any hope for our world which is filled with so much hatred and violence? Sometimes the only prayer I can muster is to ask God for the help not to let my own heart become contaminated by hatred for those who have so little regard for the lives of others. I need his help not to become bitter or cynical about the world. Sometimes I just  have to sit before God and share with him the nasty feelings and thoughts that I am experiencing. Even this can be prayer as long as it is turned over to God; it doesn’t have to be nice and perfect like some holy card.

Our readings today teach us about the richness and necessity of prayer. Prayer of petition for sure. But we also learn about the other three types of prayer in the Our Father. There is prayer of adoration, where we praise God for all the good he has done and for his beauty and perfection. Nature has a wonderful way of moving our hearts in this direction. This prayer reminds us that God is God and we are not…and that is a very good thing. There is also prayer of reparation, where we tell God we are sorry for our sins and offenses against him and others. This type of prayer is healing for our souls and often leads us to repair the damage of our pride and selfishness against other people. Properly done, prayers of reparation bring peace, joy, and new life to our friendship with God and other people. Finally, there is prayer of thanksgiving, where we thank God for the blessings in our life, large and small. The more we practice this type of prayer, the more we see God’s hand taking care of us and providing for what we need. It’s almost magical, to be honest with you. If you take a few moments each day to thank God for 3 , 4, or 5 blessings in your day, you will start realizing how close he is to you, guaranteed! And you will be so content and grateful as well! 

I want to leave you with a beautiful little meditation on the “Our Father,” a version of which we heard from St. Luke’s gospel. 

"I cannot say `our' if I live only for myself. I cannot say `Father' if I do not approach God like a child. I cannot say `who art in heaven' if I am not laying up some treasure there right now. I cannot say `Hallowed be thy name' if I am careless with that name. I cannot say `Thy kingdom come' if I am not working to make it a reality in the here and now. I cannot say `Thy will be done' if I am resentful of that will for me at this moment. I cannot say `on earth as it is in heaven' if I don't look on heaven as my future home. I cannot say `Give us our daily bread' if I am overanxious about tomorrow. I cannot say `Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us' if I am waiting to settle a score with someone. I cannot say `Lead us not into temptation' if I deliberately put myself in a place to be tempted. I cannot say `Deliver us from evil' if I am not prepared to pray as though everything depends on God and work as though as everything depends on me."  

May we learn these lessons of prayer for our good and the good of the world!

The Bare Minimum is Everything (15th Sunday, Year C)

 To listen to this homily, click here.

Looking over past homilies, I realized I’ve preached on the Good Samaritan many times. While there are nuances to what I’ve focussed on, the main message of the homilies was to be aware of the needs of your neighbor and not limit who you define your neighbor to be. Pretty good stuff and more than enough to challenge most of us in the way we live our lives, practice our faith, and interact with others. We all have blind spots and types of people we tend to avoid as we make our way through life.

But there is another lesson in the gospel we heard today, one that is more subtle and easy to miss. The scholar of the law who asked the question, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” wasn’t confused about the commandments. In fact, he answered his own inquiry when Jesus asked what he thought he had to do to make it into heaven. What this scholar was actually asking, which is made clear by his second question, “who is my neighbor?” is “what is the least I must do to gain eternal life?” 

The more you think about his question, the more strange, yet familiar it seems. He doesn’t ask: what is the best way to fall deeply in love with God and bring joy to his Divine Heart by fulfilling all the commandments. He asks, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” He is looking for the bare minimum to get into heaven! We certainly can’t be too hard on this biblical minimalist. How many Catholics, perhaps even ourselves, have asked, “how late can I come to Mass and still have it count?” Or we go to a wedding on Saturday and figure that it is a two-for-one deal. Do I have to go to mass again that weekend?! How spiritually cheap! I’m ashamed to say that some of the most precise and punctual moments of my life have been when I am wrapping up prayer. If God was budgeted 30 minutes or an hour for that day, that is pretty much exactly what he got. But binge-watching on Netflix or researching some random interest online? What’s another few minutes? Or hours?! This attitude doesn’t stay simply with time but also bleeds over into how we allocate our other resources of talent and treasure. How generous we can be to ourselves and at the same time, so stingy, so technical and legalistic with God!

Eternal life and our spiritual lives are meant to be a union, a relationship with God. Who would want to get married to someone who said, “what’s the least I have to do so you won’t divorce me?” How many of you parents would be heartbroken if your children came to you and asked, “what is the minimum love, respect, and attention I need to show you so that you won’t disown me or stop caring about me?” No person, serious about a meaningful, healthy, nurturing relationship would ever ask that sort of question. And yet, how often do we, if not with our words, then with our actions and attitudes, do this when it comes to the Lord?

Jesus, wonderful teacher that he is, gets the lawyer to answer his own question, and the lawyer gives the right answer. This is not a matter of knowing the right thing but rather of wanting the right thing. What you have to do, the minimum necessary, is everything. Love God wholly, and love your neighbor as yourself. This is an unsettling answer, of course, because in this life none of us is ever going to do everything. So if everything is the minimum necessary, then none of us is getting in. At least not on our own power and effort. This is why we need God’s help, I.e. the sacraments, especially the eucharist and confession. It’s no longer enough to say, “I didn’t hurt that person.” We are now accountable if someone needed our help and we didn’t provide it.

The lawyer realizes what he is getting himself into and expresses his anxiety with the question of “Who is my neighbor?” He wants a definition of neighbor which gives him the minimum number of people to count as the people he has to love. But Jesus continues to frustrate the lawyer’s desire for the minimum by giving him another maximum: everyone you can love is your neighbor. If you can do good to a person, he or she counts as your neighbor. 

I imagine the lawyer kicking himself after Jesus walks away. In his heart, in our hearts, we know Jesus is right. We are called to do the maximum, to shoot for the stars when it comes to charity. But we are much more comfortable with trying to find the bare minimum. There is probably part of the lawyer that wishes he would have just kept his mouth shut and continued to make his own rules about who deserved his love and concern. Don’t we sometimes wish for moral ignorance instead of the burden of knowing the truth and the responsibility that comes with it? 

But that is the price of eternal life! It is gained only by entering into a relationship with Jesus Christ. And that relationship must be defined by generosity, respect, care, and concern for all those we can help. We must be influenced by the heart of Jesus that constantly expands to reach out to all those in need; not simply the people we like or who are like us. Heaven will not appeal to those who only want to do the bare minimum and so we need to use our time on earth practicing that holiness which is defined by offering ourselves generously.

Giving everything out of love for God is a holiness we can find only through grace. We cannot do it on our own! We receive that Divine Help in the sacraments, in daily prayer, and in holy, healthy relationships with others and with the Church. May you and I cultivate hearts that seek to do the maximum for God and for anyone the Lord sends our way! May we be Good Samaritans defined by generous love, kindness, and concern!