1 Samuel 4:1-11
Psalm 44:10-11, 14-15, 24-25
Mark 1:40-45
Whose side is God on in a war? Neither side. God is greater than humans, so he cannot be on our side. We can be on his side, in the sense that we can do what is right. Whenever we do what is right, we are on his side. Indeed, two men on opposite sides of the battle, each one fighting for his country, trying to do what is right, could both be on God’s side. Such are the unfortunate circumstances of this fallen world.
The Israelites were losing their war with the Philistines, but then they had an idea. They thought that they could not possibly fail once they had brought the Ark of the Covenant into their camp. Then they lost the war worse than ever before. They had faith in the power of God to win the battle for them. The Philistines were frightened at the thought of fighting against the powerful God of the Israelites. So what went wrong? The Israelites forgot to account for one thing: God is not our slave who does whatever we tell him to do.
God is powerful, but his power is not at our beck and call. If God had let the Israelites win that battle, what sort of lesson would it have been for them? They would have thought of the Ark as a magical device. They would have thought of God as a power that they could control. We are constantly tempted to see God as our servant and to be upset with God when he does not do as he is told.
Either God is our servant, or he is our equal, or we are his servants. Which is the truth? The truth requires us to submit in service to God. This means that I must view my life as that of a servant. This is a completely different mindset that affects my whole life. The purpose of my life is not to seek pleasure or to amass wealth or to win the esteem of my fellow humans. The purpose of my life is to serve, and that is the purpose of your life too. It does not matter – deacon, priest, husband, wife, whatever – we are called to serve. To live as a servant is to grow up, to be an adult. This world is full of the spectacle of fully grown people wanting to be served like children. We Christians are called to put away childish things, to be grown ups, which means being servants.
Daily Homilies
Showing posts with label Maturity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Maturity. Show all posts
May 9, 2012 - Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Easter
Acts 15:1-6
Psalm 122:1-5
John 15:1-8
Jesus explains to us today a great deal through this metaphor of the vine and the branches. He tells us that he is vine, which is to say that he is the center, the foundation of reality. There are branches on this vine. We are the branches. We are peripheral and contingent.
Some branches do not bear fruit, so they are removed. These branches have failed at their purpose in life. There is a long standing debate between philosophers who believe that life has a purpose and philosophers who believe that we make our own purpose up as we go along. Jesus falls on one clear side of this debate. Every branch has a purpose: to bear fruit. It is not up to the branch to decide what it is going to do with its life. Every life has a purpose: to bear fruit. To be good means to bear fruit, to fulfill your purpose. To be bad means to be fruitless, to waste your life.
What is fruit? Fruit is the part of a plant that is not meant for itself. It is meant for others. A branch that does not bear fruit is completely self-concerned. It may be a strong, healthy branch, but it has never lived for others. What is fruit? Fruit is the part of the plant responsible for reproduction. A branch that does not bear fruit is doing nothing to prepare the seed of faith which they received for others.
But if a branch is bearing fruit, Jesus says, it must be pruned, which is to say, cut back. It is not enough to bear just any fruit. Jesus wants us to bear good fruit, so he cuts back what is going astray and allows what is promising to come to maturity. He prunes us with his word, his teachings which tell us what parts of our lives we need to cut off and what we need to encourage.
Jesus also tells us what would be a supremely arrogant phrase unless he is God himself: “Without me you can do nothing.” We branches exist to remain with the vine. A branch that has broken off the vine is not even a branch anymore; it is just a stick. Even if we were producing wonderful fruit, but then broke off from the vine, it will never mature. All of our nourishment, all of our life, comes from the vine.
Psalm 122:1-5
John 15:1-8
Jesus explains to us today a great deal through this metaphor of the vine and the branches. He tells us that he is vine, which is to say that he is the center, the foundation of reality. There are branches on this vine. We are the branches. We are peripheral and contingent.
Some branches do not bear fruit, so they are removed. These branches have failed at their purpose in life. There is a long standing debate between philosophers who believe that life has a purpose and philosophers who believe that we make our own purpose up as we go along. Jesus falls on one clear side of this debate. Every branch has a purpose: to bear fruit. It is not up to the branch to decide what it is going to do with its life. Every life has a purpose: to bear fruit. To be good means to bear fruit, to fulfill your purpose. To be bad means to be fruitless, to waste your life.
What is fruit? Fruit is the part of a plant that is not meant for itself. It is meant for others. A branch that does not bear fruit is completely self-concerned. It may be a strong, healthy branch, but it has never lived for others. What is fruit? Fruit is the part of the plant responsible for reproduction. A branch that does not bear fruit is doing nothing to prepare the seed of faith which they received for others.
But if a branch is bearing fruit, Jesus says, it must be pruned, which is to say, cut back. It is not enough to bear just any fruit. Jesus wants us to bear good fruit, so he cuts back what is going astray and allows what is promising to come to maturity. He prunes us with his word, his teachings which tell us what parts of our lives we need to cut off and what we need to encourage.
Jesus also tells us what would be a supremely arrogant phrase unless he is God himself: “Without me you can do nothing.” We branches exist to remain with the vine. A branch that has broken off the vine is not even a branch anymore; it is just a stick. Even if we were producing wonderful fruit, but then broke off from the vine, it will never mature. All of our nourishment, all of our life, comes from the vine.
April 16, 2012 - Monday of the Second Week of Easter
Today's Readings
Nicodemus comes to Jesus secretly, at night. He tells Jesus that he knows that he comes from God. He actually says a little more. He says, “We know that you have come from God.” Who are “we”? From his words, it seems that Nicodemus either came with a contingent or at least representing a contingent. This was an opportunity for Jesus. Nicodemus comes offering the friendship of some of those in high places. He is telling Jesus that he has supporters in high places.
Jesus does not seem to take full advantage of the offer. Instead of discussing possible political strategies with Nicodemus, he answers with an obscure teaching about being born again. Nicodemus is open to the teaching and tries to understand what Jesus means. Clearly Jesus is not saying that we need to be born again as we were born the first time. Being physically born is a process that a person can only go through once. Jesus clarifies that he is not talking about a physical birth. He means that a person must be born again by water and the Holy Spirit.
What exactly does that mean? When a person is born, their life changes entirely. The first 9 months of life are a certain experience, then birth changes everything. The life of a newborn is very different than the life of child about to be born. If we could interview a child about to be born and asked them whether they would like to give up the warmth and comfort of the womb for a harsh, cold world, they might be reluctant, but no adult would want to go back to the way life was before they were born.
So too it is for us and being born again. When we were born physically, our physically life changed. When we are born again of water and the Holy Spirit, our spiritual life changes. There is a difference, however. We had no choice about being born physically, and once we were born, we grew up as a matter of course. It just happened. We may or may not have chosen to be baptized, but growing up spiritually is our choice. If we choose to be spiritual infants, still in diapers, we will remain immature. If we want to become mature Christians, saints, we need to go beyond being born again: we need to grow up again.
Nicodemus comes to Jesus secretly, at night. He tells Jesus that he knows that he comes from God. He actually says a little more. He says, “We know that you have come from God.” Who are “we”? From his words, it seems that Nicodemus either came with a contingent or at least representing a contingent. This was an opportunity for Jesus. Nicodemus comes offering the friendship of some of those in high places. He is telling Jesus that he has supporters in high places.
Jesus does not seem to take full advantage of the offer. Instead of discussing possible political strategies with Nicodemus, he answers with an obscure teaching about being born again. Nicodemus is open to the teaching and tries to understand what Jesus means. Clearly Jesus is not saying that we need to be born again as we were born the first time. Being physically born is a process that a person can only go through once. Jesus clarifies that he is not talking about a physical birth. He means that a person must be born again by water and the Holy Spirit.
What exactly does that mean? When a person is born, their life changes entirely. The first 9 months of life are a certain experience, then birth changes everything. The life of a newborn is very different than the life of child about to be born. If we could interview a child about to be born and asked them whether they would like to give up the warmth and comfort of the womb for a harsh, cold world, they might be reluctant, but no adult would want to go back to the way life was before they were born.
So too it is for us and being born again. When we were born physically, our physically life changed. When we are born again of water and the Holy Spirit, our spiritual life changes. There is a difference, however. We had no choice about being born physically, and once we were born, we grew up as a matter of course. It just happened. We may or may not have chosen to be baptized, but growing up spiritually is our choice. If we choose to be spiritual infants, still in diapers, we will remain immature. If we want to become mature Christians, saints, we need to go beyond being born again: we need to grow up again.
January 12, 2012 - Thursday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
Whose side is God on in a war? Neither side. God is greater than humans, so he cannot be on our side. We can be on his side, in the sense that we can do what is right. Whenever we do what is right, we are on his side. Indeed, two men on opposite sides of the battle, each one fighting for his country, trying to do what is right, could both be on God’s side. Such are the unfortunate circumstances of this fallen world.
The Israelites were losing their war with the Philistines, but then they had an idea. They thought that they could not possibly fail once they had brought the Ark of the Covenant into their camp. Then they lost the war worse than ever before. They had faith in the power of God to win the battle for them. The Philistines were frightened at the thought of fighting against the powerful God of the Israelites. So what went wrong? The Israelites forgot to account for one thing: God is not our slave who does whatever we tell him to do.
God is powerful, but his power is not at our beck and call. If God had let the Israelites win that battle, what sort of lesson would it have been for them? They would have thought of the Ark as a magical device. They would have thought of God as a power that they could control. We are constantly tempted to see God as our servant and to be upset with God when he does not do as he is told.
We cannot be entirely independent of God, so we must either see ourselves as his servants or see him as ours. The only solution is to submit in service to God. I must view my life as that of a servant. This is a completely different mindset that affects my whole life. The purpose of my life is not to seek pleasure or to amass wealth or to win the esteem of my fellow humans. The purpose of my life is to serve, and that is the purpose of your life too. It does not matter – deacon, priest, husband, wife, whatever – we are called to serve. To live as a servant is to grow up, to be an adult. This world is full of the spectacle of fully grown people wanting to be served like children. We Christians are called to put away childish things.
Whose side is God on in a war? Neither side. God is greater than humans, so he cannot be on our side. We can be on his side, in the sense that we can do what is right. Whenever we do what is right, we are on his side. Indeed, two men on opposite sides of the battle, each one fighting for his country, trying to do what is right, could both be on God’s side. Such are the unfortunate circumstances of this fallen world.
The Israelites were losing their war with the Philistines, but then they had an idea. They thought that they could not possibly fail once they had brought the Ark of the Covenant into their camp. Then they lost the war worse than ever before. They had faith in the power of God to win the battle for them. The Philistines were frightened at the thought of fighting against the powerful God of the Israelites. So what went wrong? The Israelites forgot to account for one thing: God is not our slave who does whatever we tell him to do.
God is powerful, but his power is not at our beck and call. If God had let the Israelites win that battle, what sort of lesson would it have been for them? They would have thought of the Ark as a magical device. They would have thought of God as a power that they could control. We are constantly tempted to see God as our servant and to be upset with God when he does not do as he is told.
We cannot be entirely independent of God, so we must either see ourselves as his servants or see him as ours. The only solution is to submit in service to God. I must view my life as that of a servant. This is a completely different mindset that affects my whole life. The purpose of my life is not to seek pleasure or to amass wealth or to win the esteem of my fellow humans. The purpose of my life is to serve, and that is the purpose of your life too. It does not matter – deacon, priest, husband, wife, whatever – we are called to serve. To live as a servant is to grow up, to be an adult. This world is full of the spectacle of fully grown people wanting to be served like children. We Christians are called to put away childish things.
December 19, 2011 - Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent
Today's Readings
Zechariah is really severely punished. He just asked one question: “How am I to know this?” Where did he get this question? He got it from Abraham. It is the exact question that Abraham asked when God told him that he and Sarah would have a son even though they were very old. So when Zechariah is told the same thing, he follows the example of Abraham, but instead of being given a sign like Abraham received, he is given a different sort of sign: he is punished by having his ability to speak removed.
So what is the problem? The problem is that in 2000 years, there should have been some spiritual progress. What was good enough for Abraham who was the first to believe was not good enough a hundred generations later. Just as we ought to be more spiritually mature than the early Christians after 2000 years of Christianity, so Zechariah ought to be more spiritually mature than Abraham.
This is not to say that Zechariah is better than Abraham, or that we are better than the early Christians. Who is the greater artists, Da Vinci or the first caveman to paint an animal on the wall? Who is the greater scientist, Einstein or the first person to map the stars? The point is that Zechariah had the benefit of Abraham’s experience, so he should not have asked Abraham’s question.
Contrast this conversation with another conversation that Gabriel had. Mary asked a question too, but her question shows a wisdom and spiritual maturity that the old priest lacked. She simply asks, “How can this be?” She does not doubt. She simply wants to know how she is going to become pregnant and yet remain a virgin her whole life. She does not ask for proof, just a little clarification.
Of course it is not fair to compare Zechariah to Mary, the Immaculate Conception, the sinless girl who would never sin. None of us is going to look very good in comparison with Mary, but that is just the point: Mary is exactly what we ought to be; her “let it be” is exactly what we ought to say. Mary is the perfect disciple. Zechariah erred by looking back to Abraham as his example, but we will never go wrong if our example is Mary.
Zechariah is really severely punished. He just asked one question: “How am I to know this?” Where did he get this question? He got it from Abraham. It is the exact question that Abraham asked when God told him that he and Sarah would have a son even though they were very old. So when Zechariah is told the same thing, he follows the example of Abraham, but instead of being given a sign like Abraham received, he is given a different sort of sign: he is punished by having his ability to speak removed.
So what is the problem? The problem is that in 2000 years, there should have been some spiritual progress. What was good enough for Abraham who was the first to believe was not good enough a hundred generations later. Just as we ought to be more spiritually mature than the early Christians after 2000 years of Christianity, so Zechariah ought to be more spiritually mature than Abraham.
This is not to say that Zechariah is better than Abraham, or that we are better than the early Christians. Who is the greater artists, Da Vinci or the first caveman to paint an animal on the wall? Who is the greater scientist, Einstein or the first person to map the stars? The point is that Zechariah had the benefit of Abraham’s experience, so he should not have asked Abraham’s question.
Contrast this conversation with another conversation that Gabriel had. Mary asked a question too, but her question shows a wisdom and spiritual maturity that the old priest lacked. She simply asks, “How can this be?” She does not doubt. She simply wants to know how she is going to become pregnant and yet remain a virgin her whole life. She does not ask for proof, just a little clarification.
Of course it is not fair to compare Zechariah to Mary, the Immaculate Conception, the sinless girl who would never sin. None of us is going to look very good in comparison with Mary, but that is just the point: Mary is exactly what we ought to be; her “let it be” is exactly what we ought to say. Mary is the perfect disciple. Zechariah erred by looking back to Abraham as his example, but we will never go wrong if our example is Mary.
December 4th, 2011 - Second Sunday of Advent (B)
Today's Readings
It is written in the Old Testament that nothing new ever happens and that is basically true. One of the essential steps to maturity is realizing that the world has been going on like this for thousands of years. You meet someone and get married, but billions of people have met and gotten married. You have your first child, but it is not the first child in the history of the world. Each person has many new experiences throughout their life, but Adam and Eve had those experiences too. A child has new experiences every day, but as we grow older these experiences are fewer and farther between, so it becomes easier to reflect and realize that life is just repetitive. Our life repeats itself, and certainly a very similar life has been lived before by some person in history.
Of course, this is difficult to believe in an era of rapidly expanding technology. Something better always seems to be around the corner. Ten years ago, it was difficult to watch movies on your phone. Twenty years ago, it was impossible. What will we be able to do in ten more years? This rapid progression of technology has changed our outlook on the world. It can seem as if something new is always just around the corner. In month or year, we will be able to buy happiness, or at least a small share in it.
Some people have begun speaking about what they call the singularity. It is the point when computers become more creative than humans. Then computers will invent the new computers, and the new computers will invent newer computers, and on and on, until we suddenly advance in one year as far as technology can be advanced. Then we will know how to prevent people from dying, so everyone alive when the singularity comes will not die until every star in the universe burns out. So there are people right now who are anxious to bring about the singularity as soon as possible, perhaps in fifty years or so.
And what if it did happen? What if we manage to not destroy ourselves with another world war before it comes? And if it all worked out, and the computers do not just take over, what then? Will a life have more meaning because it lasts a trillion years? Will we find something new if we can travel to distant planets? We might at first. We would be like children make new discoveries all the time. We might visit every planet in the universe, but then we would discover that some are just like the others. During the second trillion years, we would come to the same conclusion: there is nothing new under the sun, this sun and every other sun.
And if we follow this contemplation to its very extremes and consider ourselves to be weary travelers of the universe, or if we keep our feet on this planet, in life as we now know it and our years on this planet have been enough to produce a kind of world-weariness, then we are ready for the gospel today. We call it good news, and it truly is new. “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.” Here, finally, is something new. Even though it is 2000 years old, it is new, it is unique. It happened once.
A man appeared in the desert, clothed in camelhair and eating locusts. That is not new. It might be rare, but such men have appeared before. Yet this man is not a prophet, he is a messenger. He is preparing the way of the Lord. So it is something new because it is the prelude to the something new. It is, simultaneously, the last act in the old play and the first act in the new play. If any technological singularity is ever achieved, it will not be as important, as interesting, as the message that this man came to announce: “Someone is coming.”
Who is coming? John tells us that he is “mightier than I”, but that is nothing new. We have seen strong men before. Is there anything else? “I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.” Well, it must be God then. No matter how important a merely human person is, no one could literally be unworthy to untie their shoes. If someone asked you to be the official shoe untier of the pope or some emperor, you might take the job or leave it, but you would not say, “I am not worthy”, not seriously anyway.
But we knew God existed, and while it is interesting, and new, that he will have sandals, which means that he will have feet, which means that he will have a body, which means that he will be a human, what is in it for us? How does it affect our lives? Is God just going to stop by and visit? Surely that is exciting for anyone in that time and place, but how does it affect us 2000 years later? Is the world any different now than before he came? “Yes,” John says, “I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Before, a human could be sorry for their sins; now, we can be forgiven. Before, humans could only love each other a little; now, we can love each other with the love of God. Before, every human lived and died; now, we can live, and die, and live again. Before, it was impossible to please God; now God dwells within us.
I am not sure if the technological singularity will ever come, but I am confident that if it does, we will just use the technology to commit old sins in new ways. No matter what powers we may discover in the universe, we will find a way to use them to be cruel and selfish and powerhungry. But in the Holy Spirit, there is something new. There is power beyond any technology that could ever be developed, and there is wisdom to use it well. And there is another advantage that the Holy Spirit has over any technology. Someday, Jesus is coming again, and when he comes this universe “will be dissolved in flames, and the elements melted by fire.” It says so right there in the second reading. No technology is going to work when that happens.
It is written in the Old Testament that nothing new ever happens and that is basically true. One of the essential steps to maturity is realizing that the world has been going on like this for thousands of years. You meet someone and get married, but billions of people have met and gotten married. You have your first child, but it is not the first child in the history of the world. Each person has many new experiences throughout their life, but Adam and Eve had those experiences too. A child has new experiences every day, but as we grow older these experiences are fewer and farther between, so it becomes easier to reflect and realize that life is just repetitive. Our life repeats itself, and certainly a very similar life has been lived before by some person in history.
Of course, this is difficult to believe in an era of rapidly expanding technology. Something better always seems to be around the corner. Ten years ago, it was difficult to watch movies on your phone. Twenty years ago, it was impossible. What will we be able to do in ten more years? This rapid progression of technology has changed our outlook on the world. It can seem as if something new is always just around the corner. In month or year, we will be able to buy happiness, or at least a small share in it.
Some people have begun speaking about what they call the singularity. It is the point when computers become more creative than humans. Then computers will invent the new computers, and the new computers will invent newer computers, and on and on, until we suddenly advance in one year as far as technology can be advanced. Then we will know how to prevent people from dying, so everyone alive when the singularity comes will not die until every star in the universe burns out. So there are people right now who are anxious to bring about the singularity as soon as possible, perhaps in fifty years or so.
And what if it did happen? What if we manage to not destroy ourselves with another world war before it comes? And if it all worked out, and the computers do not just take over, what then? Will a life have more meaning because it lasts a trillion years? Will we find something new if we can travel to distant planets? We might at first. We would be like children make new discoveries all the time. We might visit every planet in the universe, but then we would discover that some are just like the others. During the second trillion years, we would come to the same conclusion: there is nothing new under the sun, this sun and every other sun.
And if we follow this contemplation to its very extremes and consider ourselves to be weary travelers of the universe, or if we keep our feet on this planet, in life as we now know it and our years on this planet have been enough to produce a kind of world-weariness, then we are ready for the gospel today. We call it good news, and it truly is new. “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God.” Here, finally, is something new. Even though it is 2000 years old, it is new, it is unique. It happened once.
A man appeared in the desert, clothed in camelhair and eating locusts. That is not new. It might be rare, but such men have appeared before. Yet this man is not a prophet, he is a messenger. He is preparing the way of the Lord. So it is something new because it is the prelude to the something new. It is, simultaneously, the last act in the old play and the first act in the new play. If any technological singularity is ever achieved, it will not be as important, as interesting, as the message that this man came to announce: “Someone is coming.”
Who is coming? John tells us that he is “mightier than I”, but that is nothing new. We have seen strong men before. Is there anything else? “I am not worthy to stoop and loosen the thongs of his sandals.” Well, it must be God then. No matter how important a merely human person is, no one could literally be unworthy to untie their shoes. If someone asked you to be the official shoe untier of the pope or some emperor, you might take the job or leave it, but you would not say, “I am not worthy”, not seriously anyway.
But we knew God existed, and while it is interesting, and new, that he will have sandals, which means that he will have feet, which means that he will have a body, which means that he will be a human, what is in it for us? How does it affect our lives? Is God just going to stop by and visit? Surely that is exciting for anyone in that time and place, but how does it affect us 2000 years later? Is the world any different now than before he came? “Yes,” John says, “I have baptized you with water; he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”
Before, a human could be sorry for their sins; now, we can be forgiven. Before, humans could only love each other a little; now, we can love each other with the love of God. Before, every human lived and died; now, we can live, and die, and live again. Before, it was impossible to please God; now God dwells within us.
I am not sure if the technological singularity will ever come, but I am confident that if it does, we will just use the technology to commit old sins in new ways. No matter what powers we may discover in the universe, we will find a way to use them to be cruel and selfish and powerhungry. But in the Holy Spirit, there is something new. There is power beyond any technology that could ever be developed, and there is wisdom to use it well. And there is another advantage that the Holy Spirit has over any technology. Someday, Jesus is coming again, and when he comes this universe “will be dissolved in flames, and the elements melted by fire.” It says so right there in the second reading. No technology is going to work when that happens.
September 1, 2011 - Thursday of the Twenty-Second Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
“Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man”, St. Peter says today. He is right about being a sinful man; unlike the Pharisees, he knew that he was sinful, but he was wrong to ask the Lord to leave. It is precisely because of his sins that he needs the Lord. He does not feel worthy to be in the Lord’s presence, and he is not worthy, but he is loved. To be loved is so much more important than to be worthy.
St. Paul addresses this question of being worthy in the first reading today. He is praying for the Colossians so that they may “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.” This first use of worthy goes back to the etymology of the word. To be worthy is to be worth as much. St. Paul is praying that their actions will be worth as much as the Lord. The Lord has given himself to us: in creation, in the Eucharist, and in the Holy Spirit. Our actions should be worth as much as these gifts.
How will this be possible? St. Paul tells us further on that the Father “has made us worthy to share in the inheritance of the holy ones”. This time worthy is a different word: fit, strong enough, virtuous enough. The Father has made us good enough to share in the inheritance of the saints. He has done this by his gifts of creation and salvation. He has done this by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell within us.
So the gift of God which we have to live up to is the same gift that makes us able to live up to it. This means that our worthiness is only a question of not wasting the gift. We are worthy to receive the inheritance when we will no longer throw it away as if it were worthless. Just as a parent would not give a gift to an 18-month-old that they would tear up and destroy, so our Father will not give us an inheritance that we will despise. We first need the wisdom and understand to appreciate its value, so that we will in turn treat it according to its value. What is the value of an hour? What is the value of health in mind and body? Beyond measure! Yet people despise these great gifts every day.
“Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man”, St. Peter says today. He is right about being a sinful man; unlike the Pharisees, he knew that he was sinful, but he was wrong to ask the Lord to leave. It is precisely because of his sins that he needs the Lord. He does not feel worthy to be in the Lord’s presence, and he is not worthy, but he is loved. To be loved is so much more important than to be worthy.
St. Paul addresses this question of being worthy in the first reading today. He is praying for the Colossians so that they may “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.” This first use of worthy goes back to the etymology of the word. To be worthy is to be worth as much. St. Paul is praying that their actions will be worth as much as the Lord. The Lord has given himself to us: in creation, in the Eucharist, and in the Holy Spirit. Our actions should be worth as much as these gifts.
How will this be possible? St. Paul tells us further on that the Father “has made us worthy to share in the inheritance of the holy ones”. This time worthy is a different word: fit, strong enough, virtuous enough. The Father has made us good enough to share in the inheritance of the saints. He has done this by his gifts of creation and salvation. He has done this by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell within us.
So the gift of God which we have to live up to is the same gift that makes us able to live up to it. This means that our worthiness is only a question of not wasting the gift. We are worthy to receive the inheritance when we will no longer throw it away as if it were worthless. Just as a parent would not give a gift to an 18-month-old that they would tear up and destroy, so our Father will not give us an inheritance that we will despise. We first need the wisdom and understand to appreciate its value, so that we will in turn treat it according to its value. What is the value of an hour? What is the value of health in mind and body? Beyond measure! Yet people despise these great gifts every day.
June 5, 2011 - Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord
Today's Readings
At Easter we celebrated the Resurrection. Today we celebrate the solemn feast of the Ascension, on which Jesus, forty days after the Resurrection, went up into heaven. Just as, on Easter, the Resurrection was the cause of great joy for us, so too, today, the Ascension of our Lord into the highest heaven is a reason to celebrate. This is the day when our humble humanity was carried up, in Christ, above every angel, beyond the most powerful creatures in the universe, to God the Father.
Today, in spite of what could reasonably have been expected, in spite of the withdrawal from sight of him who is the cause of our joy, faith does not fail, hope is not shaken, love does not become lukewarm. We celebrate today because Jesus, the head of the Church, is with the Father, and we celebrate today because the Church, the body of Christ, survives, not without Jesus, but without being able to see him.
This event in the life of the Church proves how well Jesus had prepared his disciples, how great a light he put into their minds. After the source of light was gone, they continued to see by faith what they could no longer see with their eyes; they began to desire what they could no longer see.
Indeed, the current invisibility of our Savior allowed a great step of maturity in our faith, which no longer had to depend on what was visible. Our faith is stronger and more excellent, because sight, which comes and goes, has been replaced by a teaching, which remains. The illuminating rays of this supernatural teaching fills our hearts as no earthly light could. Before the Ascension, the disciples worshipped Jesus but doubted. Afterward, they worshipped Jesus and wondered.
This new faith, forced upon the disciples by the Lord’s Ascension, would have died away quickly if left to human strength. This faith is more than anyone can sustain by their own efforts. Yet, as we know, nothing was able to frighten it away, neither chains, nor prisons, nor exile, nor hunger, neither fire nor wild beasts, not even the most horrible tortures ever invented. Throughout the whole world, not only men but also women, little boys and girls as well, died for this faith. This faith sustained them through all, and, moreover, it has driven out demons, healed the sick, and raised the dead.
How did this faith survive and become so strong? It was not by human strength. Consider how, forty-three days earlier, the Apostles, who had had their faith confirmed by countless miracles and teaching, were too afraid to stand with Jesus while he suffered and were not able to accept the Resurrection without doubt. Yet after the Ascension of the Lord what had before filled them with fear, now filled them with joy. Their faith that was conceived in the teachings and miracles, which was first tested in the pains of the Cross, and grew to maturity in the Resurrection and Ascension, is sustained entirely by the Holy Spirit.
At Easter we celebrated the Resurrection. Today we celebrate the solemn feast of the Ascension, on which Jesus, forty days after the Resurrection, went up into heaven. Just as, on Easter, the Resurrection was the cause of great joy for us, so too, today, the Ascension of our Lord into the highest heaven is a reason to celebrate. This is the day when our humble humanity was carried up, in Christ, above every angel, beyond the most powerful creatures in the universe, to God the Father.
Today, in spite of what could reasonably have been expected, in spite of the withdrawal from sight of him who is the cause of our joy, faith does not fail, hope is not shaken, love does not become lukewarm. We celebrate today because Jesus, the head of the Church, is with the Father, and we celebrate today because the Church, the body of Christ, survives, not without Jesus, but without being able to see him.
This event in the life of the Church proves how well Jesus had prepared his disciples, how great a light he put into their minds. After the source of light was gone, they continued to see by faith what they could no longer see with their eyes; they began to desire what they could no longer see.
Indeed, the current invisibility of our Savior allowed a great step of maturity in our faith, which no longer had to depend on what was visible. Our faith is stronger and more excellent, because sight, which comes and goes, has been replaced by a teaching, which remains. The illuminating rays of this supernatural teaching fills our hearts as no earthly light could. Before the Ascension, the disciples worshipped Jesus but doubted. Afterward, they worshipped Jesus and wondered.
This new faith, forced upon the disciples by the Lord’s Ascension, would have died away quickly if left to human strength. This faith is more than anyone can sustain by their own efforts. Yet, as we know, nothing was able to frighten it away, neither chains, nor prisons, nor exile, nor hunger, neither fire nor wild beasts, not even the most horrible tortures ever invented. Throughout the whole world, not only men but also women, little boys and girls as well, died for this faith. This faith sustained them through all, and, moreover, it has driven out demons, healed the sick, and raised the dead.
How did this faith survive and become so strong? It was not by human strength. Consider how, forty-three days earlier, the Apostles, who had had their faith confirmed by countless miracles and teaching, were too afraid to stand with Jesus while he suffered and were not able to accept the Resurrection without doubt. Yet after the Ascension of the Lord what had before filled them with fear, now filled them with joy. Their faith that was conceived in the teachings and miracles, which was first tested in the pains of the Cross, and grew to maturity in the Resurrection and Ascension, is sustained entirely by the Holy Spirit.
The Ascension taught the disciples to think of Jesus as God alongside the Father, since the body of Jesus no longer stood in the way of their faith. Surely it was difficult for the disciples to worship someone whom they lived with, shared meals with, and talked with so easily. They knew he was God; Jesus had taught them that he was equal to the Father, but only after he left them, were they able to realize that he had always been in heaven even while he walked on earth.
Now they knew that Son of Man was truly the most excellent and holy Son of God, that he is worthy of all honor and glory with the Father. After the Ascension, even for those who had known Jesus in the flesh, he began to be understood as God. Most wonderfully, in a way that cannot be described in words, Jesus was now closer to them as God than he had ever been in his humanity.
Today the body was taken away from them, but Jesus came closer. He remains and always will remain fully human; his glorified body maintains its human nature, but we, his disciples, do not know him by physically touching or holding or seeing. We touch the Only Begotten One with our spiritual understanding. God has given us a Spirit of wisdom and revelation, resulting in knowledge of him. So it is that we know the Father through the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. We know God through God by the power of God.
Someday, Jesus will come again. We must not let fools cause us to doubt the coming of the Lord. A man predicted that he would come a few weeks ago, but he did not. This does not reflect badly on his coming, but on the predictive power of the man. If the coming of Jesus is predicted a thousand times before he comes and he fails to come each of those times, that is no reason to doubt that he will come. He told his disciples, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.” We do not know WHEN he is coming, but we do know THAT he is coming. It is only our responsibility to be ready for the end of this age.
In the meantime, we have his promise: “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” He did not say, “I will be with you” but “I am with you”. Even as he was leaving us, he was with us. Even now, he is with us. Where is he? Our Redeemer’s visible presence has passed into the sacraments. He is present when someone pours water and says, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” He is present when a priest says, “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” He is present when the bishop anoints a Christian with the Sacred Oil of Chrism and says, “Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit.” He is present when two people give their bodies to each other in the lifetime commitment of marriage. He is present when a bishop lays his hands on a man and prays the prayer of consecration, making him a deacon or a priest or a bishop. He is present when a sick person is anointed by a priest who says, “Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit.”
In these six sacraments, our Lord Jesus Christ, is still present among us. These have been his presence among us from the time he ascended into heaven until he comes again in glory. In each of these visible sacramental actions is the invisible action of Jesus. The seventh sacrament, of course, is different. There too the action of Jesus dying for us on the Cross is present when the priest says “This is my body” and “This is the cup of my blood”, but it is only in this sacrament that the entire presence of Jesus, body, blood, soul, and divinity, remains with us, so that we can say as we enter this Church, “We are in the presence of Jesus Christ”, and we can say, when we receive Most Holy Communion that we have received Jesus Christ.
Now they knew that Son of Man was truly the most excellent and holy Son of God, that he is worthy of all honor and glory with the Father. After the Ascension, even for those who had known Jesus in the flesh, he began to be understood as God. Most wonderfully, in a way that cannot be described in words, Jesus was now closer to them as God than he had ever been in his humanity.
Today the body was taken away from them, but Jesus came closer. He remains and always will remain fully human; his glorified body maintains its human nature, but we, his disciples, do not know him by physically touching or holding or seeing. We touch the Only Begotten One with our spiritual understanding. God has given us a Spirit of wisdom and revelation, resulting in knowledge of him. So it is that we know the Father through the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. We know God through God by the power of God.
Someday, Jesus will come again. We must not let fools cause us to doubt the coming of the Lord. A man predicted that he would come a few weeks ago, but he did not. This does not reflect badly on his coming, but on the predictive power of the man. If the coming of Jesus is predicted a thousand times before he comes and he fails to come each of those times, that is no reason to doubt that he will come. He told his disciples, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.” We do not know WHEN he is coming, but we do know THAT he is coming. It is only our responsibility to be ready for the end of this age.
In the meantime, we have his promise: “I am with you always, until the end of the age.” He did not say, “I will be with you” but “I am with you”. Even as he was leaving us, he was with us. Even now, he is with us. Where is he? Our Redeemer’s visible presence has passed into the sacraments. He is present when someone pours water and says, “I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” He is present when a priest says, “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” He is present when the bishop anoints a Christian with the Sacred Oil of Chrism and says, “Be sealed with the Gift of the Holy Spirit.” He is present when two people give their bodies to each other in the lifetime commitment of marriage. He is present when a bishop lays his hands on a man and prays the prayer of consecration, making him a deacon or a priest or a bishop. He is present when a sick person is anointed by a priest who says, “Through this holy anointing may the Lord in his love and mercy help you with the grace of the Holy Spirit.”
In these six sacraments, our Lord Jesus Christ, is still present among us. These have been his presence among us from the time he ascended into heaven until he comes again in glory. In each of these visible sacramental actions is the invisible action of Jesus. The seventh sacrament, of course, is different. There too the action of Jesus dying for us on the Cross is present when the priest says “This is my body” and “This is the cup of my blood”, but it is only in this sacrament that the entire presence of Jesus, body, blood, soul, and divinity, remains with us, so that we can say as we enter this Church, “We are in the presence of Jesus Christ”, and we can say, when we receive Most Holy Communion that we have received Jesus Christ.
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