Amos 9:11-15
Psalm 85:9-14
Matthew 9:14-17
The prophet Amos, whom we have been reading all week, has some very serious accusations for the Israelites. They have done some terrible things. He also is telling them that because of their crimes they will be punished by God with war and exile. It is a harsh book, but it still ends with comfort. Today, God says, “I will bring about the restoration of my people Israel.” Even in the midst of the accusation and punishment, there is comfort. Because God loves us.
It is a difficult theological problem, trying to consider whether what we suffer is the punishment of God for our sins or simply the random situation of life. On the one hand, God does seem to punish people for their sins throughout the Scriptures, exactly as we see here in the book of Amos, but on the other hand, people do not seem to suffer in proportion to their sins. Even here in the book of Amos, the Israelites are being punished because they afflicted the poor. So the suffering of the poor was not the punishment of God. Moreover, the punishment of God was war and exile. Surely the poor suffered through this punishment as well, the good with the bad.
So if we say that all suffering is punishment from God, we are clearly wrong, but it would also seem to be wrong to say that suffering is never punishment from God. How do we tell the difference? The classic way is to consider all the suffering of other people as simply suffering, deserving our sympathy and not our judgment, and to consider all of our own suffering as punishment, because we know our sins and we know that we deserve it.
Some people consider this method as too harsh. If I consider every sickness, every injury, every setback in my life as a punishment from God, will it be too difficult, or even impossible, to see God as love? If God loves me, why would he cause me to suffer? Then we should remember the reading today. Even before he has carried out his harsh punishment, the Lord is already speaking of restoring his people. The Lord is never out to hurt us. Everything he does is for our own good. If God is ever punishing us for our sins, then his punishment is yet another expression of his love. He loves us and does not want anything other than our good.
Daily Homilies
Showing posts with label Punishment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Punishment. Show all posts
February 3, 2014 - Monday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
2 Samuel 15:13-14, 30; 16:5-13
Psalm 3:2-7
Mark 5:1-20
The unclean spirits beg Jesus to let them enter the pigs. When they do enter the pigs, it does not do them any good. The pigs run off a cliff and die. The unclean spirits are afraid to be cast out entirely, but they cannot be at rest even where they ask to be sent. It was pointless to be put into the pigs, but Jesus does not argue with them. They are self-destructive, and Jesus let them be self-destructive however they want. These unclean spirits are like a person who cannot be free from addiction to a sin like pornography or gluttony. They destroy themselves through their own will.
Then the people of the town beg Jesus to leave. They are above all afraid of this man, Jesus, who can control realities greater than we can see. These townspeople are like a person who wants to live life without religion. Just make money and spend money and forget God. The see God as just a troubler of their everyday lives. When God comes and visits them, they beg him to leave. They reject their chance at salvation because of their concern for the things of this earth.
Then the man who has been freed from the unclean spirits begs Jesus to let him follow as a disciple. Jesus refuses his request. He has other plans for this man. He sends him away to preach the Gospel, which means that this man was an Apostle, and we do not even know his name.
It is this way with us. So long as we are self-destructive or worldly, God lets us do whatever we want; there was no point in guiding our foolishness, but when we begin trying to follow God, roadblocks suddenly appear; God is guiding us according to his plan. We can destroy ourselves or ignore God in any way we want, but if we decide to become a disciple, he will be firm with us. “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son or daughter whom he accepts.”
In the first reading, David is punished for his sin, and he is punished severely. Meanwhile many people commit similar sins and worse yet seem to receive no punishment. It is because it would do them no good. By punishing David, God is saying that he has plans for David, that David is worth preparing for greater things. We do not want God to grant our every prayer. We want God to make us better, even if that means suffering and obstacles.
Psalm 3:2-7
Mark 5:1-20
The unclean spirits beg Jesus to let them enter the pigs. When they do enter the pigs, it does not do them any good. The pigs run off a cliff and die. The unclean spirits are afraid to be cast out entirely, but they cannot be at rest even where they ask to be sent. It was pointless to be put into the pigs, but Jesus does not argue with them. They are self-destructive, and Jesus let them be self-destructive however they want. These unclean spirits are like a person who cannot be free from addiction to a sin like pornography or gluttony. They destroy themselves through their own will.
Then the people of the town beg Jesus to leave. They are above all afraid of this man, Jesus, who can control realities greater than we can see. These townspeople are like a person who wants to live life without religion. Just make money and spend money and forget God. The see God as just a troubler of their everyday lives. When God comes and visits them, they beg him to leave. They reject their chance at salvation because of their concern for the things of this earth.
Then the man who has been freed from the unclean spirits begs Jesus to let him follow as a disciple. Jesus refuses his request. He has other plans for this man. He sends him away to preach the Gospel, which means that this man was an Apostle, and we do not even know his name.
It is this way with us. So long as we are self-destructive or worldly, God lets us do whatever we want; there was no point in guiding our foolishness, but when we begin trying to follow God, roadblocks suddenly appear; God is guiding us according to his plan. We can destroy ourselves or ignore God in any way we want, but if we decide to become a disciple, he will be firm with us. “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son or daughter whom he accepts.”
In the first reading, David is punished for his sin, and he is punished severely. Meanwhile many people commit similar sins and worse yet seem to receive no punishment. It is because it would do them no good. By punishing David, God is saying that he has plans for David, that David is worth preparing for greater things. We do not want God to grant our every prayer. We want God to make us better, even if that means suffering and obstacles.
August 23, 2012 - Thursday of the Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
Ezekiel 36:23-28
Psalm 51:12-15, 18-19
Matthew 22:1-14
In this first reading we have such a beautiful description of the new covenant. Baptism is here: “I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities.” And it says, “from all your idols I will cleanse you” and we now no longer really have idols, not literal statues anyway. And it says, “I will put my spirit within you”, the Holy Spirit whom we have received.
This is the new covenant which we live under, but what about the Old Testament? This very reading comes after the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile, and these beautiful words are not fulfilled for another 500 years. The Old Testament is full of God’s wrath. God kills two of Aaron’s sons because they used the wrong incense. He destroys Sodom and Gomorrah. He kills Uzzah just for touching the Ark of the Covenant.
Jesus’ parable reflects the difference in the covenants. The king kills all the people he first invited. It was just; they had murdered the servants who came to invite them. But it is not how we think of God. God now invites and invites and invites over and over again. I am glad that God does not smite people anymore. I am pretty sure that I would have been smited by now. When the king invites the new people, it is really an invitation. There are no armies to kill anyone who refuses to come. Just servants in the streets inviting everyone, bad and good alike.
But how should we think about God’s actions under the old covenant? He is the same perfect God, then and now. It is so difficult to understand the difference that some Christians try to forget about the Old Testament, or even say that that was a different God. Other Christians say that were just lucky to live under the new covenant, and all those other people cannot get forgiveness because they were born too early. I think that we do not know. It is difficult enough to discern the workings of God under the covenant we know; his plans for other people are beyond us.
So thank God we are under this new covenant, where the pattern is invite, invite, invite, forgive, forgive, forgive, but, lest we think that this means that our actions no longer matter, the king does punish the man who is not wearing a wedding garment. There is still punishment in the new covenant.
Psalm 51:12-15, 18-19
Matthew 22:1-14
In this first reading we have such a beautiful description of the new covenant. Baptism is here: “I will sprinkle clean water upon you to cleanse you from all your impurities.” And it says, “from all your idols I will cleanse you” and we now no longer really have idols, not literal statues anyway. And it says, “I will put my spirit within you”, the Holy Spirit whom we have received.
This is the new covenant which we live under, but what about the Old Testament? This very reading comes after the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile, and these beautiful words are not fulfilled for another 500 years. The Old Testament is full of God’s wrath. God kills two of Aaron’s sons because they used the wrong incense. He destroys Sodom and Gomorrah. He kills Uzzah just for touching the Ark of the Covenant.
Jesus’ parable reflects the difference in the covenants. The king kills all the people he first invited. It was just; they had murdered the servants who came to invite them. But it is not how we think of God. God now invites and invites and invites over and over again. I am glad that God does not smite people anymore. I am pretty sure that I would have been smited by now. When the king invites the new people, it is really an invitation. There are no armies to kill anyone who refuses to come. Just servants in the streets inviting everyone, bad and good alike.
But how should we think about God’s actions under the old covenant? He is the same perfect God, then and now. It is so difficult to understand the difference that some Christians try to forget about the Old Testament, or even say that that was a different God. Other Christians say that were just lucky to live under the new covenant, and all those other people cannot get forgiveness because they were born too early. I think that we do not know. It is difficult enough to discern the workings of God under the covenant we know; his plans for other people are beyond us.
So thank God we are under this new covenant, where the pattern is invite, invite, invite, forgive, forgive, forgive, but, lest we think that this means that our actions no longer matter, the king does punish the man who is not wearing a wedding garment. There is still punishment in the new covenant.
August 7, 2012 - Tuesday of the Eighteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Jeremiah 30:1-2, 12-15, 18-22
Psalm 102:16-21, 29, 22-23
Matthew 14:22-36
We see such a contrast between the beginning of the first reading and the end. It begins with “no healing for you” and ends with “I will restore the tents of Jacob.” This means that there is no healing now, but there will be healing in the future. God has begun to punish Jerusalem, and he will not hold back his punishment. For 70 years, the people of Jerusalem will have to suffer the punishment that he sends, but the day will come when the punishment is ended.
If God immediately removed the punishment as soon as the people asked him to, it would be a sort of game. As soon as the enemy was at the gates, the people could repent of their sins, and God would have to send the enemy away. Actually, this would be fine. God would send the enemy away if the people would repent of their sins, but repentance does not come easily to a people who are unused to it. As soon as the enemy had left, they would begin to sin again. The repentance would only be a matter of words. True repentance is not so easily accomplished.
True repentance is all any parent wants to see. No matter what crime their child has committed, the punishment will be removed if there is true repentance. But no parent is willing to be played like a fool. To cancel every punishment at an insincere apology will teach the child all the wrong lessons. It would be wonderful, of course, if every offense were just a mere misunderstanding and a conversation could take the place of punishment, but this kind of parenting exists only in the imagination of non-parents. Sometimes children are disobedient liars. Why? Because we humans, ever since that fruit, have been disobedient liars. The threat of a punishment that is never carried out is useless. We will always be seeking second-chances, and soon we will plan our actions know that second-chances are cheap.
So God does punish Jerusalem for their sins, but he points beyond the punishment to hope. He has not stopped loving his people. He still intends that “You shall be my people, and I will be your God.” The punishment is to make them better. And it works. The Jews came back from exile with a far deeper understanding of religion than they had before.
Psalm 102:16-21, 29, 22-23
Matthew 14:22-36
We see such a contrast between the beginning of the first reading and the end. It begins with “no healing for you” and ends with “I will restore the tents of Jacob.” This means that there is no healing now, but there will be healing in the future. God has begun to punish Jerusalem, and he will not hold back his punishment. For 70 years, the people of Jerusalem will have to suffer the punishment that he sends, but the day will come when the punishment is ended.
If God immediately removed the punishment as soon as the people asked him to, it would be a sort of game. As soon as the enemy was at the gates, the people could repent of their sins, and God would have to send the enemy away. Actually, this would be fine. God would send the enemy away if the people would repent of their sins, but repentance does not come easily to a people who are unused to it. As soon as the enemy had left, they would begin to sin again. The repentance would only be a matter of words. True repentance is not so easily accomplished.
True repentance is all any parent wants to see. No matter what crime their child has committed, the punishment will be removed if there is true repentance. But no parent is willing to be played like a fool. To cancel every punishment at an insincere apology will teach the child all the wrong lessons. It would be wonderful, of course, if every offense were just a mere misunderstanding and a conversation could take the place of punishment, but this kind of parenting exists only in the imagination of non-parents. Sometimes children are disobedient liars. Why? Because we humans, ever since that fruit, have been disobedient liars. The threat of a punishment that is never carried out is useless. We will always be seeking second-chances, and soon we will plan our actions know that second-chances are cheap.
So God does punish Jerusalem for their sins, but he points beyond the punishment to hope. He has not stopped loving his people. He still intends that “You shall be my people, and I will be your God.” The punishment is to make them better. And it works. The Jews came back from exile with a far deeper understanding of religion than they had before.
July 28, 2012 - Saturday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
What does this mean: “The Temple of the Lord! The Temple of the Lord! The Temple of the Lord!”? Israel, the northern kingdom of Hebrews, had been destroyed, but the Assyrian army was not able to approach Jerusalem because the Lord defended it with a miracle. So the people had begun to think that it did not matter whether they sinned. If God was unwilling to let Jerusalem be conquered because he loved his temple so much, the Jews had nothing to be afraid of, no matter what they did. God would never follow through on a punishment because of this technicality.
God is letting them know that he is perfectly willing to destroy his temple. The Jews are his people, but if they do not act with justice and mercy, what is the point? Why would he protect them from the Babylonians if they are just as bad as the Babylonians, or even worse? In retrospect we can see that God never actually gave up on his people. The exile to Babylon was in some ways the beginning of the Jewish religion. It was there that they got serious about worshipping God and reading Scripture.
The plans of God are so complex that we are really hopeless when we try to anticipate them. The best we can hope for is to appreciate his handiwork in retrospect. He allows the wheat and the weeds to grow next to each other. This is not because he is ignorant of proper agricultural techniques. He has plans for that wheat, and it is stronger for having grown up with weeds. The enemy snuck in and planted weeds, but God will make all things work for good.
He let Jerusalem be destroyed and the Jews be taken into exile, but they came back 70 years later with a much stronger and more profound faith which had been lying dormant in them for the past thousand years. When Jesus arrived 500 years later, it was to possibly the most religious culture in the history of the world, a culture ready to hear his message, a culture where a fisherman and a tentmaker were ready to be Apostles to the ends of the earth, above all a culture that prepared a young girl to be sinless and accepting of the vocation of being God’s mother. Salvation is from the Jews, who suffered as a people because God had chosen them for this high calling.
What does this mean: “The Temple of the Lord! The Temple of the Lord! The Temple of the Lord!”? Israel, the northern kingdom of Hebrews, had been destroyed, but the Assyrian army was not able to approach Jerusalem because the Lord defended it with a miracle. So the people had begun to think that it did not matter whether they sinned. If God was unwilling to let Jerusalem be conquered because he loved his temple so much, the Jews had nothing to be afraid of, no matter what they did. God would never follow through on a punishment because of this technicality.
God is letting them know that he is perfectly willing to destroy his temple. The Jews are his people, but if they do not act with justice and mercy, what is the point? Why would he protect them from the Babylonians if they are just as bad as the Babylonians, or even worse? In retrospect we can see that God never actually gave up on his people. The exile to Babylon was in some ways the beginning of the Jewish religion. It was there that they got serious about worshipping God and reading Scripture.
The plans of God are so complex that we are really hopeless when we try to anticipate them. The best we can hope for is to appreciate his handiwork in retrospect. He allows the wheat and the weeds to grow next to each other. This is not because he is ignorant of proper agricultural techniques. He has plans for that wheat, and it is stronger for having grown up with weeds. The enemy snuck in and planted weeds, but God will make all things work for good.
He let Jerusalem be destroyed and the Jews be taken into exile, but they came back 70 years later with a much stronger and more profound faith which had been lying dormant in them for the past thousand years. When Jesus arrived 500 years later, it was to possibly the most religious culture in the history of the world, a culture ready to hear his message, a culture where a fisherman and a tentmaker were ready to be Apostles to the ends of the earth, above all a culture that prepared a young girl to be sinless and accepting of the vocation of being God’s mother. Salvation is from the Jews, who suffered as a people because God had chosen them for this high calling.
July 7, 2012 - Saturday of the Thirteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Amos 9:11-15
Psalm 85:9-14
Matthew 9:14-17
The prophet Amos, whom we have been reading all week, has some very serious accusations for the Israelites. They have done some terrible things. He also is telling them that because of their crimes they will be punished by God with war and exile. It is a harsh book, but it still ends with comfort. Today, God says, “I will bring about the restoration of my people Israel.” Even in the midst of the accusation and punishment, there is comfort. Because God loves us.
It is a difficult theological problem, trying to consider whether what we suffer is the punishment of God for our sins or simply the random situation of life. On the one hand, God does seem to punish people for their sins throughout the Scriptures, exactly as we see here in the book of Amos, but on the other hand, people do not seem to suffer in proportion to their sins. Even here in the book of Amos, the Israelites are being punished because they afflicted the poor. So the suffering of the poor was not the punishment of God. Moreover, the punishment of God was war and exile. Surely the poor suffered through this punishment as well, the good with the bad.
So if we say that all suffering is punishment from God, we are clearly wrong, but it would also seem to be wrong to say that suffering is never punishment from God. How do we tell the difference? The classic way is to consider all the suffering of other people as simply suffering, deserving our sympathy and not our judgment, and to consider all of our own suffering as punishment, because we know our sins and we know that we deserve it.
Some people consider this method as too harsh. If I consider every sickness, every injury, every setback in my life as a punishment from God, will it be too difficult, or even impossible, to see God as love? If God loves me, why would he cause me to suffer? Then we should remember the reading today. Even before he has carried out his harsh punishment, the Lord is already speaking of restoring his people. The Lord is never out to hurt us. Everything he does is for our own good. If God is ever punishing us for our sins, then his punishment is yet another expression of his love. He loves us and does not want anything other than our good.
Psalm 85:9-14
Matthew 9:14-17
The prophet Amos, whom we have been reading all week, has some very serious accusations for the Israelites. They have done some terrible things. He also is telling them that because of their crimes they will be punished by God with war and exile. It is a harsh book, but it still ends with comfort. Today, God says, “I will bring about the restoration of my people Israel.” Even in the midst of the accusation and punishment, there is comfort. Because God loves us.
It is a difficult theological problem, trying to consider whether what we suffer is the punishment of God for our sins or simply the random situation of life. On the one hand, God does seem to punish people for their sins throughout the Scriptures, exactly as we see here in the book of Amos, but on the other hand, people do not seem to suffer in proportion to their sins. Even here in the book of Amos, the Israelites are being punished because they afflicted the poor. So the suffering of the poor was not the punishment of God. Moreover, the punishment of God was war and exile. Surely the poor suffered through this punishment as well, the good with the bad.
So if we say that all suffering is punishment from God, we are clearly wrong, but it would also seem to be wrong to say that suffering is never punishment from God. How do we tell the difference? The classic way is to consider all the suffering of other people as simply suffering, deserving our sympathy and not our judgment, and to consider all of our own suffering as punishment, because we know our sins and we know that we deserve it.
Some people consider this method as too harsh. If I consider every sickness, every injury, every setback in my life as a punishment from God, will it be too difficult, or even impossible, to see God as love? If God loves me, why would he cause me to suffer? Then we should remember the reading today. Even before he has carried out his harsh punishment, the Lord is already speaking of restoring his people. The Lord is never out to hurt us. Everything he does is for our own good. If God is ever punishing us for our sins, then his punishment is yet another expression of his love. He loves us and does not want anything other than our good.
June 19, 2012 - Tuesday of the Eleventh Week in Ordinary Time
1 Kings 21:17-29
Psalm 51:3-6, 11, 16
Matthew 5:43-48
King Ahab was a weak and wicked man married to a very wicked woman. They have persecuted those who serve the Lord, they introduced all sorts of horrible religious practices into Israel, and they just killed a man so that he could have a vegetable garden nearer to his house. When Elijah arrives with the prophecy of destruction and doom, it is a relief for us; finally he will get his due. Then Ahab goes around in sackcloth and ashes and God pulls back. Ahab did not become a good man after this. He is perhaps not quite as evil until the day he dies in battle, but his conversion is not very strong.
That is no way to run a universe. Every parent knows that you have to follow through when you threaten punishment. God is such a softie. It takes forever before he starts making threats and then he so rarely does what he threatens. People are always saying that the Old Testament God is cruel and angry, but for every Sodom destroyed by fire or plagues in Egypt there are far more examples of his mercy and forbearance.
Sometimes we might wish that God was a bit more vindictive. He makes the rain fall on the just and the unjust, but would it not be better if he did withhold the rain from the unjust? Would it not be better if he did strike the wicked with lightening to prevent their evil deeds? It is what we would do if we had the power to. Stop evil with violence seems right to us, but God does not. Evil happens all through the world, even though he could stop it with a little smiting. And when he threatens to smite, he relents at the sign of a little repentance.
God’s problem is that he loves us. All of us. We are quick to divide the world between good and bad, but God looks at us and all he sees are his children whom he loves. He does not look at anyone and think that they are hopeless. He just sees potential. He sees the image of himself that he put within us. His will for us is to love him forever in perfect happiness. It is not how we would run the universe, but then we are not perfect like he is perfect.
Psalm 51:3-6, 11, 16
Matthew 5:43-48
King Ahab was a weak and wicked man married to a very wicked woman. They have persecuted those who serve the Lord, they introduced all sorts of horrible religious practices into Israel, and they just killed a man so that he could have a vegetable garden nearer to his house. When Elijah arrives with the prophecy of destruction and doom, it is a relief for us; finally he will get his due. Then Ahab goes around in sackcloth and ashes and God pulls back. Ahab did not become a good man after this. He is perhaps not quite as evil until the day he dies in battle, but his conversion is not very strong.
That is no way to run a universe. Every parent knows that you have to follow through when you threaten punishment. God is such a softie. It takes forever before he starts making threats and then he so rarely does what he threatens. People are always saying that the Old Testament God is cruel and angry, but for every Sodom destroyed by fire or plagues in Egypt there are far more examples of his mercy and forbearance.
Sometimes we might wish that God was a bit more vindictive. He makes the rain fall on the just and the unjust, but would it not be better if he did withhold the rain from the unjust? Would it not be better if he did strike the wicked with lightening to prevent their evil deeds? It is what we would do if we had the power to. Stop evil with violence seems right to us, but God does not. Evil happens all through the world, even though he could stop it with a little smiting. And when he threatens to smite, he relents at the sign of a little repentance.
God’s problem is that he loves us. All of us. We are quick to divide the world between good and bad, but God looks at us and all he sees are his children whom he loves. He does not look at anyone and think that they are hopeless. He just sees potential. He sees the image of himself that he put within us. His will for us is to love him forever in perfect happiness. It is not how we would run the universe, but then we are not perfect like he is perfect.
January 30, 2012 - Monday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
The unclean spirits beg Jesus to let them enter the pigs. When they do enter the pigs, it does not do them any good. The pigs run off a cliff and die. The unclean spirits are afraid to be cast out entirely, but they cannot be at rest even where they ask to be sent. It was pointless to be put into the pigs, but Jesus does not argue with them. They are self-destructive, and Jesus let them be self-destructive however they want. These unclean spirits are like a person who cannot be free from addiction to a sin like pornography or gluttony. They destroy themselves through their own will.
Then the people of the town beg Jesus to leave. They are above all afraid of this man, Jesus, who can control realities greater than we can see. These townspeople are like a person who wants to live life without religion. Just make money and spend money and forget God. When God comes and visits them, they want him gone as soon as possible. They reject their chance at salvation because of their concern for the things of this earth.
Then the man who has been freed from the unclean spirits begs Jesus to let him follow as a disciple. Jesus refuses his request. He has other plans for this man. He sends him away to preach the Gospel, which means that this man was an Apostle, and we do not even know his name.
It is this way with us. So long as we are self-destructive or worldly, God lets us do whatever we want; there was no point in guiding our foolishness, but when we begin trying to follow God, roadblocks suddenly appear; God is guiding us according to his plan. We can destroy ourselves or ignore God in any way we want, but if we decide to become a disciple, he will be firm with us. “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son or daughter whom he accepts.”
In the first reading, David is punished for his sin, and he is punished severely. Meanwhile many people commit similar sins and worse yet seem to receive no punishment. It is because it would do them no good. By punishing David, God is saying that he has plans for David, that David is worth preparing for greater things. We do not want God to grant our every prayer. We want God to make us better, even if that means suffering and obstacles.
The unclean spirits beg Jesus to let them enter the pigs. When they do enter the pigs, it does not do them any good. The pigs run off a cliff and die. The unclean spirits are afraid to be cast out entirely, but they cannot be at rest even where they ask to be sent. It was pointless to be put into the pigs, but Jesus does not argue with them. They are self-destructive, and Jesus let them be self-destructive however they want. These unclean spirits are like a person who cannot be free from addiction to a sin like pornography or gluttony. They destroy themselves through their own will.
Then the people of the town beg Jesus to leave. They are above all afraid of this man, Jesus, who can control realities greater than we can see. These townspeople are like a person who wants to live life without religion. Just make money and spend money and forget God. When God comes and visits them, they want him gone as soon as possible. They reject their chance at salvation because of their concern for the things of this earth.
Then the man who has been freed from the unclean spirits begs Jesus to let him follow as a disciple. Jesus refuses his request. He has other plans for this man. He sends him away to preach the Gospel, which means that this man was an Apostle, and we do not even know his name.
It is this way with us. So long as we are self-destructive or worldly, God lets us do whatever we want; there was no point in guiding our foolishness, but when we begin trying to follow God, roadblocks suddenly appear; God is guiding us according to his plan. We can destroy ourselves or ignore God in any way we want, but if we decide to become a disciple, he will be firm with us. “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son or daughter whom he accepts.”
In the first reading, David is punished for his sin, and he is punished severely. Meanwhile many people commit similar sins and worse yet seem to receive no punishment. It is because it would do them no good. By punishing David, God is saying that he has plans for David, that David is worth preparing for greater things. We do not want God to grant our every prayer. We want God to make us better, even if that means suffering and obstacles.
November 17, 2011 - Memorial of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary, religious
Today's Readings
Jesus today prophesies the destruction of Jerusalem. It happened, exactly as he described, about forty years later. The prophecy is so accurate that some say that Luke invented it after seeing the destruction of Jerusalem. Some people will believe any nonsense rather than acknowledge the power of God.
Jesus gives more than a prophecy here. He also gives a reason: because the city failed to recognize the time of its visitation. It is not politic to say that Jerusalem was destroyed because they killed Jesus, and the idea is tied up with anti-Jewish attitudes, but we cannot reject the word of the Lord. Jerusalem was destroyed because they failed to recognize the time of their visitation. The destruction of Jerusalem was divine justice.
As Mattathias asks in our first reading today, “Will it benefit us to forsake the law and right-living?” The king may give them gold and high positions, but who wants gold and high positions if they cannot live the way they should? Nothing is as valuable as the freedom to serve God. Any city that chooses money or pleasure or political safety over the grace of God has chosen poorly. It is only appropriate that such a city should be destroyed.
Yet, though Jerusalem was destroyed by divine justice, this is not an anti-Jewish idea. The example of Jerusalem threatens all of us. Every city and every nation that fails to recognize the Lord is in danger of destruction. It does not come immediately, as imagined by a cartoonish, childish understanding of divine justice. Jerusalem was not destroyed for forty more years. The destruction comes at the appropriate moment.
Our country has been killing innocent children by the millions for 40 years now. We have chosen, as a society, convenience and selfishness over justice and love. Who can doubt that we are in danger of destruction? We pray for God to bless America, and we consider our country a shining beacon of freedom and safety in a dangerous world, and God has blessed America and continues to bless her, but how much longer will he put up with this injustice? Empires have risen and fallen before. God does not need America; America needs God.
So we pray for our country, our motherland. We pray for God to save her from the destruction due to her in justice, for the blood of 55 million babies killed even before they were born cries out to God for vengeance. We pray for God to remove this injustice in our midst, we work to remove this injustice in our midst, and we offer the sacrifice of fasts and prayer in reparation for injustices that have been committed.
Jesus today prophesies the destruction of Jerusalem. It happened, exactly as he described, about forty years later. The prophecy is so accurate that some say that Luke invented it after seeing the destruction of Jerusalem. Some people will believe any nonsense rather than acknowledge the power of God.
Jesus gives more than a prophecy here. He also gives a reason: because the city failed to recognize the time of its visitation. It is not politic to say that Jerusalem was destroyed because they killed Jesus, and the idea is tied up with anti-Jewish attitudes, but we cannot reject the word of the Lord. Jerusalem was destroyed because they failed to recognize the time of their visitation. The destruction of Jerusalem was divine justice.
As Mattathias asks in our first reading today, “Will it benefit us to forsake the law and right-living?” The king may give them gold and high positions, but who wants gold and high positions if they cannot live the way they should? Nothing is as valuable as the freedom to serve God. Any city that chooses money or pleasure or political safety over the grace of God has chosen poorly. It is only appropriate that such a city should be destroyed.
Yet, though Jerusalem was destroyed by divine justice, this is not an anti-Jewish idea. The example of Jerusalem threatens all of us. Every city and every nation that fails to recognize the Lord is in danger of destruction. It does not come immediately, as imagined by a cartoonish, childish understanding of divine justice. Jerusalem was not destroyed for forty more years. The destruction comes at the appropriate moment.
Our country has been killing innocent children by the millions for 40 years now. We have chosen, as a society, convenience and selfishness over justice and love. Who can doubt that we are in danger of destruction? We pray for God to bless America, and we consider our country a shining beacon of freedom and safety in a dangerous world, and God has blessed America and continues to bless her, but how much longer will he put up with this injustice? Empires have risen and fallen before. God does not need America; America needs God.
So we pray for our country, our motherland. We pray for God to save her from the destruction due to her in justice, for the blood of 55 million babies killed even before they were born cries out to God for vengeance. We pray for God to remove this injustice in our midst, we work to remove this injustice in our midst, and we offer the sacrifice of fasts and prayer in reparation for injustices that have been committed.
October 6, 2011 - Thursday of the Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
In the story Jesus tells, we are not the man knocking at the door. That is Jesus. We are the man in bed. Jesus is not telling us that God will only answer our prayer if we bother him enough. He is telling us that we will only answer God’s call if he bothers us enough. If we do not give God what he wants out of love for him, we will eventually give him whatever he wants because of his persistence. What God wants from us is us. He intends to save us despite our laziness. He needs us to get up and give him our memory, our understanding, our entire will.
How interesting that in our first reading today, the reward of the just and the punishment of sinners is the same! About the wicked, the Lord says, “the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch.” “But for you who fear my name,” he adds, “there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays. The sun is a giant ball of fire. So fire comes for the good and fire comes for the wicked, but it destroys the wicked while healing the good.
What is this fire other than the Holy Spirit, God himself? Jesus promises that the Father will send the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks. Have you asked for the Holy Spirit lately? We might ask God for money or some object or help with some task, and we might receive what we ask for, but whether we do or not, we are guaranteed to receive something better than anything else: the Holy Spirit. God in his wisdom may refuse other requests, but he will never refuse to send his Holy Spirit.
So the question for us is whether we want the Holy Spirit to come into our life. If we have given ourselves over to God, we can receive the Holy Spirit as healing rays of the sun. If we have held back anything, it will be burned by the Holy Spirit, root and branch. If our confidence is in ourselves, we will be destroyed when the Holy Spirit comes. If we fear the Lord, will we have nothing to fear. If we are bad, our punishment is the Holy Spirit. If we are good, our reward is the Holy Spirit. Either way, it is the same Holy Spirit. The difference is in us.
In the story Jesus tells, we are not the man knocking at the door. That is Jesus. We are the man in bed. Jesus is not telling us that God will only answer our prayer if we bother him enough. He is telling us that we will only answer God’s call if he bothers us enough. If we do not give God what he wants out of love for him, we will eventually give him whatever he wants because of his persistence. What God wants from us is us. He intends to save us despite our laziness. He needs us to get up and give him our memory, our understanding, our entire will.
How interesting that in our first reading today, the reward of the just and the punishment of sinners is the same! About the wicked, the Lord says, “the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch.” “But for you who fear my name,” he adds, “there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays. The sun is a giant ball of fire. So fire comes for the good and fire comes for the wicked, but it destroys the wicked while healing the good.
What is this fire other than the Holy Spirit, God himself? Jesus promises that the Father will send the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks. Have you asked for the Holy Spirit lately? We might ask God for money or some object or help with some task, and we might receive what we ask for, but whether we do or not, we are guaranteed to receive something better than anything else: the Holy Spirit. God in his wisdom may refuse other requests, but he will never refuse to send his Holy Spirit.
So the question for us is whether we want the Holy Spirit to come into our life. If we have given ourselves over to God, we can receive the Holy Spirit as healing rays of the sun. If we have held back anything, it will be burned by the Holy Spirit, root and branch. If our confidence is in ourselves, we will be destroyed when the Holy Spirit comes. If we fear the Lord, will we have nothing to fear. If we are bad, our punishment is the Holy Spirit. If we are good, our reward is the Holy Spirit. Either way, it is the same Holy Spirit. The difference is in us.
September 27, 2011 - Memorial of Saint Vincent de Paul, priest
Today's Readings
The Samaritans hated the Jews, and the Jews hated the Samaritans, but the Samaritans did not refuse to welcome Jesus because he was Jew, but because he was on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. We know from other stories that Jesus stayed and taught in Samaritan towns for days at a time, but this time Jesus was one of many thousands of Jews heading to Jerusalem for the feast. The Samaritans are refusing to be hospitable specifically because of the pilgrimage.
James and John are not only offended for Jesus’ sake; they are offended as Jews. Normally they would simply spit on the town and curse it, but they are taking seriously Jesus’ claim that God will do whatever we ask with faith. So they ask the Lord politely whether he wants them to call fire down from heaven to destroy the city that was so offensive.
James and John grew up hearing about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by fire from heaven. They are exaggerating to equate inhospitality with the rape and violence of those cities, but it was in the heat of the moment.
They were expecting the Christ to conquer the enemies of Israel. They were expecting the Christ to establish and everlasting kingdom. They were expecting the Christ to come in power and majesty. That day they learned, not for the first time nor for the last, that Jesus Christ was not what they were expecting. He was a conqueror, a king, powerful and majestic. He conquered sin and death. He established the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. His power and majesty were perfectly revealed on the Cross.
It is not as if God got older and wiser. It is not as if he was just trying something out there in Sodom but has changed tactics since. God does not change; he is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The God of fire and brimstone raining down on the Sodomites, the God of a flood destroying all of humanity except one family, the God who killed the first-born sons in all of Egypt, is Jesus Christ.
All of those acts were just, and it would have been just to destroy that town too. Forty years later, God destroyed Jerusalem, the city where he was killed. As God said to Ezekiel, “I have no delight in the death of the wicked, but rather that he turn from his way and live…but in the injustice that he has done he shall die.” God has been merciful to us, but do not imagine that this means that God has forgotten how to punish!
The Samaritans hated the Jews, and the Jews hated the Samaritans, but the Samaritans did not refuse to welcome Jesus because he was Jew, but because he was on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. We know from other stories that Jesus stayed and taught in Samaritan towns for days at a time, but this time Jesus was one of many thousands of Jews heading to Jerusalem for the feast. The Samaritans are refusing to be hospitable specifically because of the pilgrimage.
James and John are not only offended for Jesus’ sake; they are offended as Jews. Normally they would simply spit on the town and curse it, but they are taking seriously Jesus’ claim that God will do whatever we ask with faith. So they ask the Lord politely whether he wants them to call fire down from heaven to destroy the city that was so offensive.
James and John grew up hearing about the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah by fire from heaven. They are exaggerating to equate inhospitality with the rape and violence of those cities, but it was in the heat of the moment.
They were expecting the Christ to conquer the enemies of Israel. They were expecting the Christ to establish and everlasting kingdom. They were expecting the Christ to come in power and majesty. That day they learned, not for the first time nor for the last, that Jesus Christ was not what they were expecting. He was a conqueror, a king, powerful and majestic. He conquered sin and death. He established the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth. His power and majesty were perfectly revealed on the Cross.
It is not as if God got older and wiser. It is not as if he was just trying something out there in Sodom but has changed tactics since. God does not change; he is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The God of fire and brimstone raining down on the Sodomites, the God of a flood destroying all of humanity except one family, the God who killed the first-born sons in all of Egypt, is Jesus Christ.
All of those acts were just, and it would have been just to destroy that town too. Forty years later, God destroyed Jerusalem, the city where he was killed. As God said to Ezekiel, “I have no delight in the death of the wicked, but rather that he turn from his way and live…but in the injustice that he has done he shall die.” God has been merciful to us, but do not imagine that this means that God has forgotten how to punish!
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