Wisdom of the Widows (32nd Sunday, Year B)

  One of the greatest honors of priesthood is being invited into peoples’ lives, often at the bookend moments which are either the happiest or saddest a human experiences. Every weekend, it’s really incredible to look out and know so many stories, represented in the faces seated in the pews. I smile inside when I catch a glimpse of the couple I married a few years ago who are still holding hands and crazy about each other. My heart is full when I see parents wrangling unruly toddlers who are trying to escape church because years earlier they asked me to pray for a healthy pregnancy. I also see people whom I visited in the hospital after a health scare, who received the anointing of the sick and now are back in action, full of new life and energy. And finally, I see many who have a lost a loved one and are walking through the various stages of grief. It’s hard for me to believe, but in my time at IW, I have celebrated more than 150 funerals and those stories always stick with me. Most of all, I am moved by the widows I have served as a priest. More often than not, there is a certain grace in their sorrow, an openness to God in their loss, and an honesty about the vulnerability and uncertainty which lies ahead. There has never been a good time to be a widow, but in the ancient world, it was pretty much the worst fate that could befall someone. It is only recently that social programs and safety nets were put in place for those who lost not only their beloved spouse but also their protector, provider, and advocate. For this reason, widows have a special place in God’s heart throughout the Scriptures. Over and over again, God sends prophets to call for their protection and condemns those who take advantage of their desperate situation. In Luke’s gospel, Jesus raises the son of a grieving widow and today he praises another for her generosity and trust. What might you and I learn from the example of the two widows presented in our readings?

What I first notice about both of them is that, despite their tremendous loss and hardship, they maintained a connection with God. So often, when things go wrong for us (sometime it only takes a trivial thing), we begin to doubt God’s love and goodness. Tragedy that is filtered through the lens of “why me” or “this is not fair” often moves us to pull away from God and even forsake him completely. For those who are able to hold on to faith, even in the worst moments of heartbreaking loss, there is the ability to walk with God, even in the darkness which gives no answers. The widow of Zarephath practices hospitality towards Elijah, even though she is down to her last bit of flour and oil, because her faith tells her that in welcoming the stranger, one might be ministering to God himself. The widow in the temple continues to give, even though she too is down to her final reserves, because somehow she still realizes and acknowledges all that God has done for her. Even in tragedy, even in hardship, even in poverty, these women live generously. When there is nothing left to give, they give a little more! 

Faith simplified these women. Trust brought them to a place in their poverty that carved out a capacity for God and a generosity that defies caution and conventional wisdom. Sometimes, my heart can get so cluttered that there is little capacity for God. If I actually stop and do an "inventory" of my heart, I discover all kinds of desires there, all sorts of attachments, a wide variety of hostilities and judgments, and most of all, a list of worries, tensions and fears. Even though I might turn to God in prayer to give me what I want and remove what I don't, I can't always say my heart is full of the Lord. It takes honest reflection to discover the many ways our possessions and our plans possess us. Our needs and our anxieties quietly erode our capacity for trust.

St. John Paul II captured this holy disposition of the two widows in a phrase called the law of the Gift. This spiritual principle is counterintuitive but it states that you become more fully human, more alive, and more completely the person God made you to be to the extent you give yourself away. If you want to save your life, lay down your life. It is in giving that we receive. Abundance comes from the willing gift of who I am and what I have to others and to God! 

In that place of total trust in God, the jar doesn't go empty and the jug never runs dry. Then, instead of asking God to take away my troubles or punish my enemies, I'm asking God to help me to be a source of joy, comfort, assistance to others, to help me be generous because I now see all those who are in greater need than I am. When we are hooked onto the one, true God, who is pure gift and love, we can give and give and we will not run empty.

Now, the opposite is also true. If I cling to substitutes for God, if I turn things into God that are not God, I can hoard all the wealth, power, fame, and pleasures possible and it will still not be enough. I will still feel empty and insecure. 

With these readings today, we could ask for the grace to be able to give more from the deepest reserves of who we are and what we have. We get God’s love by giving God’s love away. We can ask, who needs this kind of generosity from me. Who in my family needs what I had instinctively feel is more than I could give? Who in the world, in the church, in this parish needs my generosity, not from my leftovers but from my deepest reserves?

Can we imagine being this generous, this free? We can only get closer to that place by asking for these graces boldly, by letting God love us into freedom, by letting our Lord convince us that our real happiness will be in letting go of more and more, and falling into the hands of a loving God - who keeps faith forever, who protects and provides for widows, and who sets captives free.

Shema is for All! (31st Sunday, Year B)

At first look our readings might seem a little dry; I certainly thought so when I started wrestling with them. Then, as I read a commentary on the original text, I was blown away at what is being said to us in the Scriptures. I will try my best to give you the clifnotes.

In the first reading, it appears Moses is mainly telling the people a whole bunch of rules. "Fear the LORD, your God, and keep, throughout the days of your lives, all his statutes and commandments which I enjoin on you.” How many laws and commandments were there? Most of us would say 10 because we remember that great story where Moses comes down the mountain with the two stone tablets inscribed with the commandments. Ah, but that is not all of them! Over time, there would be 613 commandments from the law of Moses. Why so many?! Remember the story of Adam and Eve? God gave them only two commandments: “Be fruitful and subdue the earth, and eat of any tree except the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil.” We know what happens. They can’t even honor those two commandments. And pretty quickly, humanity chooses sin and runs away from God. As this happens, God has to introduce more and more commandments to keep us from hurting ourselves and others. Think of God’s commandments as guardrails to keep us safe…and we are really bad drivers! 

The speech we hear from Moses is one of the most holy and important scriptures for the Jewish people, even to this day. "Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.” This prayer is called the Shema, which is the first word of the passage in Hebrew, and it gave them their identity. At the time of Moses, no one worshiped one god. You would worship a whole bunch of gods and let them fight it out to see which one was better. The Chosen People were different. They belonged to one God and him alone they served. But they kept messing up and wandering off. And so God would give them more commandments and laws to bring them back in line. 

Today Moses is reminding them of this reality once again so they can enter the Promised Land. So how do they stay faithful?

The first word for us to pay attention to is “hear” which is that Hebrew word shema. In Hebrew, this word is not just listening for a sound, it also the word to obey. Unlike English, there are not two different words.  So, if you truly hear someone, including God, and you shema them, you obey them. And of course it’s not possible to hear and obey the one true God while at the same time hearing and obeying all those other gods that Israel kept sneaking off to serve. 

This prayer was everything to the Jewish people: it would be whispered into a baby’s ear when it was born, it would be spoken in the moments when someone was dying, and it is one of the prayers worn on the forehead in little boxes by Orthodox Jews as well as the Mezuzah, displayed in every Jewish home.

But obedience isn’t all. Moses tells them to love God as well, in the same way someone would love his or her spouse. Time and time again, God will compare Israel to a spouse who keeps running off with strangers who don’t love her. Jesus constantly uses spousal images as well. How are we called to love God? Like a husband, like a wife.  

With all your heart is not just feelings or emotions. That’s not what heart means in the Hebrew language. The Hebrew word for heart is “lavav” and means a place of decision, a place where we meet God face to face, and choose who we will serve. The word for heart means to decide to serve.

Nephez is the word for soul and it means “personality” “weirdness”, “quirks”. So we are called to love God with all our strangeness and uniqueness that makes us who we are. That is the full meaning of loving him with all our soul.

Mayod is the Hebrew word for strength and it is not actually a word. It is the equivalent of 5 exclamation points. So put it all together it means: “make a decision, before God, to serve him with all my personality, and weirdness all bold type with 5 exclamations points!!!!!

Psalm refrain picks this up and uses this Mayod word again, “I love you Lord my strength”, my mayod, my exclamation point.

The Shema, this most important prayer of the Jewish people was what Jesus tells the scribe in today’s gospel when he asks which of the 613 commandments is the most important. Interestingly enough, Jesus adds one additional thing to loving God with your whole heart, soul, and strength. He adds that we must also love God with all our mind too. Why? We cannot choose to love God or serve him until we know him. And it is with our mind that we come to know who God is and how best to love him with all that we are.

As any good teacher would, Jesus ties everything together as he connects loving God and keeping the commandments with loving our neighbor as ourselves. We can say we are holy and such great people and do all these things for God but if we treat each other like dirt, then those religious gestures and practices mean very little to God. The Lord wants to see us integrated, consistent in how we practice our faith and worship. The scribe, who is seeking truth, recognizes immediately that Jesus has revealed something special and life-changing and Jesus lets him know, “you are not far from the kingdom of Heaven.” Only one thing separates this scribe from perfection; now he needs to follow Jesus. It’s not enough simply to know him, we also have to hear, to obey, to Shema, the Lord.

Reflecting on the richness hidden in the original text of today’s readings leaves us with some challenging questions:

Do I hear the Lord as he speaks to me in Scripture and the teachings of the Church? Do I hear in a biblical way, meaning do I obey him?

Do I love the Lord with a free, total and conscious decision or only when I feel like it?

Do I love him with all my weirdness and uniqueness that makes me me?

Am I willing to make my love for God, the equivalent of Mayod, five exclamation points, my everything?

Will I incorporate Jesus’s addition to use my mind to know and love God and not just rely on my emotions?

Last and perhaps most important, as I work on these things, will I follow after Jesus, wherever that following may take me, even if it leads to the cross?

More than likely we have some work to do. I know I sure do!

 

Holy Desperation (30th Sunday, Year B)

  This week, as I was trying to pull something together for the weekend preaching, I looked over previous homilies. Not surprisingly, they all centered on the star of the show in today’s Scriptures, Blind Bartimaeus. In past preaching, the message was pretty straightforward: don’t listen to the voices around you, scolding you to be quiet, telling you to leave Jesus alone, he is too busy, too important for you. Be bold, don’t give up, trust! These messages are all true and I stand by all of it. But something different has jumped out at me this time around, something I hadn’t quite lingered on before so I would like to focus on that.

These last few years have been really hard. I can only speak for myself but I think many of you can relate. It’s not really one thing in particular but a whole series of battles, frustrations, hurts, and losses. After a while, they all add up. I start to wonder, is something wrong with me? Is everyone going through this level of resistance, pushback, anger, and insecurity? Is this how life looks from here on out? No matter how much I do, no matter how hard I try, so much seems to be incomplete and insufficient! I feel like Covid was the beginning of a whole culture shift not only in our society but also in the Church. After we limped out of that whole mess, we went right into All Things New. After hobbling through that, we had a brief repose and now a highly contentious election. As a priest and preacher, I feel like more and more of my life and work is a white-knuckle ride. Some days I simply pray, “Lord, just get me through this next appointment” or “help me survive this day”. In my more reflective moments, I step back and wonder: can I keep up this pace, can I continue to listen, to exercise patience and empathy, and find joy in living a life of service for 30 more years?! I am ashamed to say, some days, I just don’t know or I continue on because I don’t know if I could do anything else.

I am not sharing this to seek affirmation or pity for myself. Although the details of your struggle are different, can’t you also relate to those seasons in life where the hits keep coming? Where you can’t seem to do anything right, when everything keeps breaking, where your best efforts aren’t quite good enough, and no matter how hard you work, you feel further and further behind? I believe you know exactly how this feels because it is part of being human, with flaws, shortcomings, and limitations. Ultimately, what gets me through these moments is the hope that a solution will present itself, that tomorrow will be better, that I can fake it until I make it, and this rough patch won’t last forever. I’d love to tell you that the thing that always drives me is complete faith and hope in God. But sometimes, it is more like: I can try harder tomorrow. I still have something left in the tank. There is one more thing I can try. My personal persistence will win.

Let’s go to Bartimaeus. Until experiencing my own prolonged weariness and desolation, I don’t think I appreciated how desperate and lonely he was. Bartimaeus, blind and begging, was nothing, he had nothing, he could do nothing. For so many around him, he had become invisible, an annoyance at best, someone others wished would just disappear. For Bartimaeus, there was no “tomorrow will be better”. For him it was, tomorrow I will still be blind, I will still be asking asking people for support who wish I would just go away. Even those who helped, many did so with contempt, after dispensing preachy advice and judgement. Bartimaeus knew this degrading, dark, miserable routine was his future, until the day he died. There was no miracle cure for blindness waiting in a doctor’s office. There was absolutely nothing he could do to save or heal himself, no matter how badly he wanted it. 

We might not think of it at first but in this forsaken, terrible situation, Bartimaeus is actually more free than most of us! He knows, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he cannot save or heal himself. He has nothing left to lose when Jesus passes by that fateful day outside of Jericho. A person with more personal resources, someone who had a reputation to protect or worried at all about what others think would just keep their mouth shut. Not Bartimaeus!!! “Jesus, son of David, have pity on me”, he cries out! And here is the heart of what I want to share with you today/tonight. Do you think Bartimaeus said this quietly and calmly? ….. NO!!! I am confident his cry sounded more like a wounded animal than human speech. This was a sound that would give us goose bumps and make the hair on our necks stand up. How do you think it sounded for Jesus to hear someone cry out from the depths of a broken heart? It was a primal scream, complete desperation, the sound of someone who knew this was their last chance. Bartimaeus realized if Jesus wouldn’t stop and help, the rest of his life was condemned to the darkness he had been living. Tomorrow would not be better. That is why Bartimaeus didn’t listen to the voices around him, telling him to be quiet, to stop making a fool of himself, to stop bothering Jesus. The similar voices inside of Bartimaeus that said these same things had already been silenced; the opinions and judgements of others no longer had any power.

Psalm 34 says, “The Lord is near to the broken-hearted.” Jesus cannot ignore Bartimaeus or anyone who has exhausted all their options and now realizes only Jesus can help them. As I reflect on the holy, heartbreaking desperation of Bartimaeus, I realize I still put far too much stock in my abilities, my reputation, my efforts, my accomplishments, and my resources. Even in my darkest moments, I have not yet cried out to Jesus as though he is my last and only hope. I still let the voices in and around me shush me to silence instead of crying out even louder, with all my might, until my voice cracks, my lungs burn, and nothing is held back.

What about you? Are you also under the illusion that you are self-sufficient and able to save yourself? Are you embarrassed and shy, willing to be invisible as Jesus passes by because of what you might lose by screaming for Jesus to save you, to heal you, to open your eyes?!

Jesus, give us the holy desperation of Bartimaeus! Jesus, help us to see that only you can save us, only you can heal us, without you, we are utterly poor! Jesus, we want to see. Jesus, Son of David, Son of God, have mercy on us!!

When In Doubt, Choose Service! (29th Sunday, Year, B)

  There are lots of perks to being a priest! You get to meet incredible people, you never have to worry about finding a seat in church, and the majority of my daily work is meaningful and directly tied to people’s lives. One of the secondary benefits of being a priest, especially serving as pastor, is that you learn lots of interesting, random things you probably wouldn’t otherwise know. As a naturally curious person, I find this wonderful! One of the things I’ve learned a lot about is boilers and my education is usually renewed around this time of year when we turn them on for the first time. Inevitably, what happens is that a room or two will be blazing hot because the thermostat controlling the radiator in that space loses its mind. I asked the repair tech why it always seems the failure causes an overheated room rather than having no heat at all. His response was that it is by design! Whenever there is a problem, whenever something isn’t quite right, the system is designed to fail OPEN, to error on the side of sending heat. I asked why this was. He replied that it is much cheaper and easier to open a window to cool down a hot room than to clean up a flood from a frozen pipe in a room that got too cold. I never would have thought about that but this failsafe made total sense. When in doubt, send heat!

A similar sort of failsafe is proposed in today’s gospel. Jesus had become incredibly popular at this point of his ministry, working miracles, attracting huge crowds, and some are even trying to make him king. James and John can sense the authority and power Jesus has and they want some of it for themselves. James and John ask Jesus for places of honor, one at his right and one at his left. But they want it for the wrong reasons. They want this power so they can be in charge and enjoy the worldly perks of prestige and rank. Jesus patiently reminds them that his followers must use any power and authority they receive as leverage to serve others. The failsafe for Christians is this: when in doubt, choose to serve rather than to be served. True greatness is using ourselves and our gifts to help others. 

Leadership, of course, is essential. Power is necessary. Power makes decisions and gets things done. But all power eventually corrupts unless it is grounded in the teachings of Jesus Christ. And leaders include not just the high and mighty CEOs, but us: parents, principles, managers, teachers, board members, policemen, scoutmasters, pastors, doctors —- anyone who has authority or leads the lives of others. In the Christian life all such leaders, including you and me, are servants who are there “not to be served but to serve and to give their lives as a ransom for many.” That radical teaching - and it is outrageously radical if you think about it - is a deep spirituality to live by, a necessary and humble default a Christian must embrace. The more power I have, the more service I must render, the more aware of others I must be.

You and I are called to be servant-leaders of whatever power or authority has been given to us. What are some practical ways we can know if we are imitating Christ’s example? First, servant leaders pay attention to the rank-and-file people around them. No person, no matter what their education, influence, or occupation, is dismissed or looked down on. How about us? How do we treat the people who work the cash register, prepare our meal, repair our homes and vehicles, or pick up the trash? Are we kind, polite, and aware of them as individuals? Do we remember their name, learn about their lives and families, and sincerely ask how they are doing? When they answer, do we listen? Secondly, servant leaders learn to think communally, not selfishly. What goes into our decision-making? Is it only about profit, sales, career, getting ahead, or what benefits me? Are there considerations to the long-range impact on the family, the community, or the environment? Finally, servant leaders strive for that humility which enables them to ask if they're part of the problem. They’re not afraid to be accountable to others and accept constructive criticism, knowing they’re far from perfect. Are we someone people feel they can challenge and correct or are we unapproachable? I think this is the most difficult of the three to adopt and embrace. Very rarely does correction come from someone who is blameless or flawless. And sometimes 90% of what they are saying doesn’t apply. But with an open heart, we can grow from the 10% that does. We should never forget that without challenging feedback, any one of us can become a tyrant. 

Let’s return to James and John who wanted the privilege, power, and position without the cross; they want his leadership without serving others. It must've been totally embarrassing when, at the end of the day, there were two lowly thieves, one at Jesus’ right and one at His left as he prepared to enter his heavenly kingdom. Not quite what they first imagined, but it made Jesus’ point.

We might wonder: did James and John and the others eventually get the message? Did they get to drink from the same chalice Jesus drank? I think so. About 12 years after Jesus' death, James was the first apostle to suffer martyrdom. Tradition adds that Andrew was tied to a cross, Bartholomew was skinned alive, Peter was crucified upside down in Rome, the other James was thrown from the Temple roof, Thomas was run through with a lance in the East Indies, Jude was pierced with arrows, Philip was hanged; only John escaped a gruesome death. Interestingly enough, he was the only apostle present during the crucifixion.  

We probably won’t have to go so far as martyrdom, but we must recognize the gospel message clearly states that worldly power and position are on the other side of servant leadership: followers of Jesus do not sit and wait to be served. They stand in solidarity with the world's most famous foot-washer and they serve everyone regardless of social status. And they do so with clear intentions of God’s love and joy because that is where true greatness is found! Our failsafe must always be to serve! In putting others first, we achieve true greatness and everlasting power that cannot be lost!

Don't Settle for Less! (28th Sunday, Year B)

Every child has heard some version of the following lines from their parents and no matter how it was said, we all disagreed with every fiber of our being. “This is for your own good”, “One day you will thank me”, “This hurts me more than it hurts you”! Perhaps we received this reply when we asked if we could have dessert instead of dinner, go over to a friend’s house instead of doing homework, get out of being grounded, or simply wanted to go to bed without brushing our teeth. Despite what we thought at the time, these experiences of tough love came from people who cared about us, who wanted the very best for us, and who refused to let us settle for less. These people were our parents, teachers, mentors, clergy and true friends. 

In my own experience, there were many instances of this. One in particular involved my spelling homework in grade school. Every week, I was expected to learn 28 new words with an exam on Friday. In preparation for this weekly test, Mom also required me to use the word in a sentence and not simply memorize the spelling. So I was supposed to write 28 sentences every week. Did my mother think I was Charles Dickens? I was lazy and hated to write so this was pure torture. At first I listed all 28 words and added the phrase, “are my spelling words” to complete a single sentence using all of them. That apparently was not acceptable. What followed was a weekly battle between me and my mom to write as few sentences as possible while using as many words at a time to form a tortured phrase of limited literary value. Here are a few: The creature ran in the evening to conceal the cheese (4). The storage of a harvest of pig hearts was in the port of a harbor (5). In the colonial days, pioneers hustled to get several level, equal, settlements (7).

My poor mother had to put up with this nonsense for years, fighting with me to accept my spelling homework and actually use the words in a way that was coherent. She could have said spelling the words correctly was good enough but she wanted more than just rote memorization for me. At the time I thought she was cruel and crazy; why did I need to understand how to spell and use so many words!! In the end I am so grateful she challenged me to do more than I was willing to settle for. In my work and ministry, I use my words all the time and I am forever grateful!

In our gospel today, we have a rich young man who is truly good. He has kept the commandments from his youth and he is wondering if there is something more he can do. He is not just trying to get by with the bare minimum like I was. It would have been easy for Jesus to look at him and say, “you are doing better than just about everyone else these days.” But God never compares us to other people; He looks at us with a love that acknowledges our goodness but also calls us to be better as we seek to follow him. Jesus desires the absolute best for each of us, whatever that is in our individual circumstance. The gospel today is about Love’s challenge, about God wanting the very best of what is possible and not allowing us to settle for less, which we are so often content to do. 

The secret to seeking this holy excellence is found in the first reading from wisdom. King Solomon reigned over the most prosperous and peaceful eras the Chosen People ever experienced. The Lord appeared to the young king and promised him anything he desired. Imagine the thoughts that must have gone through Solomon’s mind. Should he ask for unlimited power? Endless riches? Ceaseless pleasure? Perfect health? Certainly we would rank these requests high on our list. But instead of these, he begs the Lord for something much more subtle and profound. He asks for Wisdom, one of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and all the other gifts followed.

So what is this wisdom that Solomon received? It is really the combination of three traits working together in perfect unity. True wisdom is the blending of knowledge, experience, and good judgment to inform every decision a person makes. This harmony of knowledge, experience, and good judgment makes a person wise and able to see things for what they are, both good and bad. A wise person has perspective when it comes to setbacks and disappointments, he knows what to fight for and when to concede. The people who possess wisdom know the right order for living, how to make good choices, avoid evil, and most importantly, how to have the right priorities. With wisdom, we are willing to ask God, what more can I do, what needs to be let go of, to be closer to you?

A truly wise person can live with incredible wealth or complete poverty and still be happy. And whether they find themselves surrounded by friends or under siege by enemies, they still find peace. And in any other circumstance you can think of, good or bad, the wise person has all they really need because their strength and joy and comfort come first from the Lord, who never breaks his promises and who never stops protecting those who call upon him in faith. 

Our readings today require us to look inward and ask if we are truly wise. Have we asked God for his gift of knowledge, experience, and good judgement to live within us? Are we humble enough to accept the lessons that wisdom teaches us, lessons that often require letting go of something good to receive something even better? Can we believe that if we seek his wisdom then everything else that matters will be given in abundance? Or will we falter like the rich young man, whom Jesus saw and loved and invited to draw one step closer to perfection and eternal life? Will we go away sad because we cannot escape the power which worldly things have over us? Are we willing to settle for less instead of letting go and striving for the best?

To possess wisdom and live wisely is not easy, in fact on our own we won’t get there. But with the help of God’s grace, learning from him in daily prayer, he will share this wisdom freely. May we be wise enough to put the things of this world in their proper place and when Christ invites us to trust and follow him, may we joyfully answer yes, without sadness or hesitation.  

Dragons Can Be Defeated! (26th Sunday, Year B)

To listen to this homily, click here.

One of the best moments before bedtime in any childhood was the reward of hearing a story or two before drifting off to sleep. Whether that was a personal anecdote from mom or dad’s younger days, a story from the Bible, or a favorite tale from a children’s book, it’s hard to think of anything that fed the imagination more than these special moments. In addition to their entertainment value, these stories had a point, a lesson, something to reveal about the world that enabled the youngster to sleep in peace, knowing they were safe and had something to dream about until tomorrow. The Scriptures this weekend have all the elements we associate with these foundational stories: in the first reading, a mysterious, supernatural power is given to the Elders who helped Moses; even those who were away from the group received it remotely; proving that God’s gifts and power are not limited by time and space. The second reading from James is a warning for those who have trusted in the wrong things and done evil to gain what they have; a day of reckoning is coming! And finally we have the gospel with references to spiritual battle with demons, eternal fire, and the need to endure any sacrifice to win final victory. It’s tempting, when Jesus speaks this way, to believe He is just exaggerating for effect, that he doesn’t really mean what he’s saying. But I think there is more to Jesus’ words than that. He wants his words to make an impression on us, just like those bedtime stories did when we first heard them. 

Last week, Jesus invited us to become like children. So, it’s no accident that he also teaches us like children: with stories. With parables. With strong images of sacrifice, demons, and battles between the forces of good and evil. Children’s fairytales are the same! In both there is a clear line between right and wrong, even though it might be difficult to know at first where the characters stand. There is also a need for decisive, courageous action. And all of this is built on the notion that choosing the good will be rewarded while choosing evil will lead to ruin. 

The reason why fairy tales get passed on generation after generation is that they acknowledge something even kids know to be true: evil is present in our world. And they present a starting point for how to defeat it. GK Chesterton, a 20^th century British author, pointed out the real purpose of these stories. “Fairytales do not tell children dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children that dragons can be defeated.”

So what is the point of this reflection on fairytales? It is to remind us that we too live in the midst of a battle between good and evil. No matter how old we are, the lessons we first learned through these stories apply to our life and our world right now. But the fight is easy to ignore because it is primarily spiritual, not physical. As St. Paul put it, “our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with principalities, with powers, with the rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens.”

The Second Person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ, became man and entered human history in order to show us the same thing. That while there are dragons here and now, while they do prowl about the world, seeking the ruin of souls, they can be defeated and destroyed. It is Christ, who tells us, “I tell you this so that you may have peace in me: In the world you will find trouble, but take courage. I have conquered the world.” It is Christ who allowed the forces of evil in this world to unleash their fury upon him in his passion and death, only to rise victorious on the third day. Christ has shown us in reality what fairy tales have only whispered in myth: Good triumphs over evil. God defeats Satan. Jesus rises victorious over sin and death. 

For Christians, the Scriptures give us what fairy tales cannot. They provide the secret to defeating evil in all its forms in every circumstance. They show us our role in the battle and how we are to act in times that can be confusing, overwhelming, and sometimes, seemingly hopeless. 

So what is the destructive dragon of our time? What is the instrument of evil that must be fought and defeated? In a few short weeks, voters in Missouri will be asked to change the state constitution through Amendment 3. This proposal masquerades as keeping the government out of anything that pertains to so-called “reproductive freedom”. To the casual reader, the amendment seems to simply let people make their own decisions about deeply personal matters. What it actually does is create a lawless bubble around anything that could be classified as reproductive freedom. This amendment contains the legal framework to eliminate parental notification and consent for minors around anything that could be labelled reproductive freedom. It would shield negligent healthcare professionals from malpractice for any actions while treating “reproductive health”. It would also open the door for abortions funded by tax dollars and carried out at any stage of pregnancy, for any reason, even when the unborn child can feel pain. In subsections 3 and 6 of this amendment, buried in language about anti-discrimination, gender transition procedures are equated to pregnancy care and could not be blocked even by a minor’s parent or guardian. 

The passage of amendment 3 will allow evil to thrive. It is a poison apple offered to women who are afraid and desperate. It will hurt women and children the most and this is who Satan always targets in his battle with God. You and I have a role to play in this battle. We are not just spectators, powerless to do anything. In fact, we must not sit on the sidelines or be non-committal. To fail to vote ‘no’ on amendment 3 is to be complicit in what it brings about. There is no moral justification for a Christian to vote ‘yes’ on Amendment 3 and most people oppose the effects it will unleash once the amendment is explained.

So what is our role as Catholics and followers of Christ? I know you are good people who want to fight evil and help others. So the obvious thing, for those of us old enough to vote, is to vote no on amendment 3. But that’s not all. Sometimes we can be tempted to think the victory is up to us, that we can do enough to defeat evil ourselves, if we just do the right things. But Jesus is the one who wins the victory, not us. And we will not be victorious primarily through arguments, pamphlets, or ads. These are good but they are not enough. First, we must pray for the defeat of this amendment and all things that contribute to the culture of death. We should pray for the conversion of hearts; first our own and then also all those who see Amendment 3 as a good thing. We should pray for all men and women who find themselves in desperate circumstances and feel alone. For those who think abortion is their only way out. We must also pray for every person who has been wounded by these lies and the culture of death. We should ask God to show them his mercy and offer ourselves as ambassadors of his healing love. Finally, we should be fasting and making sacrifices that good triumphs over evil. This practice of offering something up is ancient and effective and no sacrifice you offer is insignificant because God magnifies it with his grace. 

More than anything, we cannot be silent or indifferent about this evil. It is either ‘yes’ or ‘no’. We each have a part to play in the battle between good and evil. In baptism we were enlisted in God’s army and given a role in the story of salvation. Our witness, our vote, our prayers, no matter how small or simple, will let the world know that there are dragons out there and they can be defeated. We place ourselves and our cause under the protection of Mary, who herself battled the evil one, as together we say, “Hail Mary…”

 

Comfort or Conversion? (25th Sunday of OT, Year B)

Have you ever gone out of your way to do a good deed from someone, only to have it blow up in your face? Has there been a time when you did something that was good, right, difficult --- yet found that you were being criticized for your kindness or your intentions were questioned? When this does happen, we find ourselves asking a very basic question: Why are some people so cruel? Why are some so willing to assume the worst in others rather than presuming the good? Sadly, these are questions even young children ask. One of the most difficult experiences of raising a child is helping the youngster cope with classmates or teammates who are mean and cruel. This type of behavior exists in every stage of life. The basic plot of many novels and movies revolves around people who are downright mean and cruel. We would like to think that it is those “other people” who embody this dark side of human nature. But if we are reflective, we realize it doesn’t take much for us to cross the line and begin to treat people badly. 

Today’s first reading from the Book of Wisdom presents mean, cruel people. They plot against the just man. They want to destroy him. The reasons for their hatred are petty and immature. They are jealous of his goodness. They find his witness to God offensive. Worst of all, he has earned what they themselves desperately want but do not deserve: the respect of others.  Instead of humbly imitating the Just One and reforming their lives, they put their energy and resources into destroying the one who challenges them and makes them uncomfortable. 

The passage from Wisdom not only acknowledges this aspect of human nature; it is also prophetic. Even though these verses were written hundreds of years before Christ, they describe the attitude of those who put Jesus to death.  The Temple priests, the Sadducees and Pharisees attacked Jesus because He questioned their arrogance, their hypocrisy and his just lifestyle was offensive to them. They hated it when Jesus told them that they were not true to the law. Instead of changing themselves, they decided: Jesus had to die. Comfort took precedence over conversion.

This cruel situation often exists in our families, our nation, and even in our Church. A member of the family who is intent on living the faith might be mocked or hated by those who secretly wishes their faith was at the same level. In our society, the media often mocks those who are seeking to live properly. Our culture glories in pointing out the mistakes of just people. Instead of joining them in virtue, it would rather tear them down and show that good people are no different than immoral people or, if they are, it is only that they are judgmental, mean and absolutely no fun! Sadly, something similar happens in the Church. This shouldn’t surprise us because the Church is made of human beings. There are people within parishes, including clergy, who are ready to attack those whose virtue is perceived by others as greater than theirs, or whose lives make them uncomfortable. Comfort often takes precedence over conversion. 

It would be easy to stop here; to end the homily after reflecting on all those other people who can be cruel, unkind, and petty. But that would be incomplete. we must also look at ourselves and  examine the ways we fall into those same sins. In some way, we all feel threatened by the presence of the Just One in our midst. Sometimes that presence is the voice of a close friend or family member, challenging us to a more excellent way of acting or thinking. Other times it is the teaching of the Church which challenges us to stop thinking as the world does and start looking at things as Christ would. It can even be the correction of legitimate authority that offends our pride and causes us to attack whatever threatens our way of life.  

We all have areas of our lives we prefer to keep just the way they are. There are parts of our hearts and souls we prefer that God just leave alone. We want to be our own masters. And if anyone comes along to challenge us, even if it be the Just One of God, well, we will take that person out. Perhaps by attacking their reputation. Maybe by pointing out their faults. Or questioning their motives. Or mocking their old-fashioned values and rigid morals.

The truth is: not a single one of us has all of the answers! No one here in church has it all figured out or all together. And if our first reaction to correction is to go on the attack and try to lash out at the one who dares question us, well then we are the ones who have a problem. When we respond this way we close ourselves off and risk silencing the Just Ones God sends us in the form of friends, family, clergy, co-workers, classmates, and even random strangers.

Jesus was crucified because a lot of people heard the gospel but didn’t want to change or be challenged. They chose to fight to be comfortable in their sinfulness and this caused them to be cruel, to the point of killing the innocent Son of God. Will we make the same mistake? Will we accept Jesus’ challenge to be excellent, to suffer with him, to be corrected and converted and separated from our selfishness so that we can be his Just Ones to a troubled world? If we say yes to being challenged, if we say yes to being corrected and occasionally uncomfortable for the sake of the gospel, then we will forever sing the confident words of the psalmist: “Behold, God is my helper; the Lord sustains my life.”