1 Samuel 17:32-33, 37, 40-51
Psalm 144:1-2, 9-10
Mark 3:1-6
Today’s reading is a real David and Goliath story. That might be a cliché, but here it applies literally. There is a reason that people are always comparing various events to this story: it is one of the most powerful themes in the human soul. That the just though weak can beat the unjust though strong is our dearest hope. In our world it seems as if the powers of chaos and darkness are always just about to take over.
The story is reflected in the Gospel today. Jesus is like David fighting against Goliath. He is one man fighting against a culture of corruption, against the selfishness of the human heart. It seems like a useless battle. True, since he is God he is the strongest. That would be important if he was trying to destroy or kill his enemy. He could simply choose it, and all humanity would be instantly destroyed, but since he is trying to save us he appears weak.
He appears weak in the same way that goodness appears weak. How can we convince people to be chaste when the alternative is such a strong temptation? How can we convince people to be good when it is so much easier and more pleasurable to be bad? We seem weak because we are proposing something which no one wants. Satan seems strong because he is telling people to do that very thing they want to do anyway.
This is how God, though all-powerful, is in the place of David, and Satan, though nothing in comparison, is in the place of Goliath. In every human soul, God stands there with five stones ready to do battle against an enemy better armed. In every human soul, including your own, including my own. In your soul there is an enemy, a sin, a temptation, that right now seems like Goliath: giant, insurmountable, unconquerable.
Do not be deceived! Look at your Goliath with the eyes of David. When David saw Goliath he did not think “No one can beat that man” and he did not think “This is hopeless.” He thought that he could beat Goliath with the help of God. Know most confidently that whatever giants are preventing you from being a saint can, with the help of God, be conquered as easily as David conquered Goliath.
Daily Homilies
Showing posts with label Salvation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Salvation. Show all posts
March 5, 2013 - Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent
Daniel 3:25, 34-43
Psalm 25:4-9
Matthew 18:21-35
When they were translating the Gospel today, they decided to use the phrases “a huge amount” and “a much smaller amount” instead of using the numbers and the ancient currency that is actually mentioned. Something is lost in the translation. No adjective, certainly not a mere “huge” can describe the debt of the first servant. If we do a rough equivalency to modern money, the amount was approximately 2 billion dollars. Billion, with a “b”. We might wonder how exactly a servant came to be 2 billion dollars in debt to his master. Why did the master keep loaning him money? How did the servant waste so much?
The story is clearly pointing to our relationship with God. If I consider how much God has given me, I recognize that no value is sufficient to describe it. Who could pay a ransom for their life? Besides life, I might try to add up the value of the air I breathe and the water I drink. What is the value of an hour? Of a day? If I try to do a rough equivalency into modern money, I find that I have indeed borrowed well over 2 billion dollars worth so far. What do I have to show for this massive investment that God has made in me? If I were to compare the love with which God has loved me and the love with which I have loved God and my neighbor, I find that, like the servant, I am bankrupt.
The joy of being forgiven should be unequal to the lesser joys of this world. If I won the lottery tomorrow, I would rejoice, but I would still be unable to pay God back for all the grace that I wasted. When we see people on television jumping and screaming, expressing uncontainable excitement, because they have won some few million dollars, we Christians are put to shame. Where is our excitement? Why are we not jumping up and down? We should rejoice always, pray constantly, and give thanks in all circumstances. People should be asking us the reason for the hope that is within us.
This joy was what the servant lacked. When he met the other servant, who owed him about $5000, he should have laughed and cried. Imagine caring about $5000 when you have been forgiven 2 billion! Imagine caring about the little ways people hurt us when we have been forgiven all our sins!
Psalm 25:4-9
Matthew 18:21-35
When they were translating the Gospel today, they decided to use the phrases “a huge amount” and “a much smaller amount” instead of using the numbers and the ancient currency that is actually mentioned. Something is lost in the translation. No adjective, certainly not a mere “huge” can describe the debt of the first servant. If we do a rough equivalency to modern money, the amount was approximately 2 billion dollars. Billion, with a “b”. We might wonder how exactly a servant came to be 2 billion dollars in debt to his master. Why did the master keep loaning him money? How did the servant waste so much?
The story is clearly pointing to our relationship with God. If I consider how much God has given me, I recognize that no value is sufficient to describe it. Who could pay a ransom for their life? Besides life, I might try to add up the value of the air I breathe and the water I drink. What is the value of an hour? Of a day? If I try to do a rough equivalency into modern money, I find that I have indeed borrowed well over 2 billion dollars worth so far. What do I have to show for this massive investment that God has made in me? If I were to compare the love with which God has loved me and the love with which I have loved God and my neighbor, I find that, like the servant, I am bankrupt.
The joy of being forgiven should be unequal to the lesser joys of this world. If I won the lottery tomorrow, I would rejoice, but I would still be unable to pay God back for all the grace that I wasted. When we see people on television jumping and screaming, expressing uncontainable excitement, because they have won some few million dollars, we Christians are put to shame. Where is our excitement? Why are we not jumping up and down? We should rejoice always, pray constantly, and give thanks in all circumstances. People should be asking us the reason for the hope that is within us.
This joy was what the servant lacked. When he met the other servant, who owed him about $5000, he should have laughed and cried. Imagine caring about $5000 when you have been forgiven 2 billion! Imagine caring about the little ways people hurt us when we have been forgiven all our sins!
November 29, 2012 - Thursday of the Thirty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Revelation 18:1-2, 21-23; 19:1-3, 9
Psalm 100:1-5
Luke 21:20-28
The readings today are about destruction, above all the destruction of Babylon the great city and Jerusalem. The destruction of Jerusalem happened about 40 years after Jesus spoke about it. The destruction of Babylon is yet to come. There has been a great deal of speculation about what Babylon might be. If it refers to a particular country, America is a likely candidate. Babylon is known for its corporations and entrepreneurs: “Your merchants were the great ones of the world.” The culture of Babylon leads the other nations astray like sorcery.
This reading is either good news or bad news depending on whether our hope is in Babylon or in heaven. Those in heaven sing “Alleluia!” because of the destruction. Why? Because salvation, glory, and strength belong to our God. No technology will bring salvation. No amount of money will bring true glory or strength. If Babylon does not symbolize some particular nation, then it does symbolize the whole commercial aspect of our modern world. This is all going to be destroyed. The new earth will come without money or possessions. Some people will cry and faint as they see everything they have built in this world pass away.
We were not made for smartphones and cars and airplanes. I have some packages coming that I ordered this past weekend during the shopping days of Black Friday. I am sort of anxiously awaiting them. One of these days, they are going to show up at the door. It is sort of like Christmas, when the packages arrive and I get to unwrap them. We know what it is to wait for material goods, or to wait for a paycheck; how much more should we be waiting for Jesus! We need to have the perspective that Jesus talks about in the Gospel: our head raised up, looking at the sky. That is where our redemption will come from. One of these days the Son of Man will come on a cloud with power and great glory.
Material things only help us live in this difficult world, this valley of tears. When Jesus comes, and the time for all that has passed, when we can finally let go of all our possessions and throw away all of our money and watch the world pass away before our eyes, our response should not be sadness at the loss. Our response should be, “Finally!”
Psalm 100:1-5
Luke 21:20-28
The readings today are about destruction, above all the destruction of Babylon the great city and Jerusalem. The destruction of Jerusalem happened about 40 years after Jesus spoke about it. The destruction of Babylon is yet to come. There has been a great deal of speculation about what Babylon might be. If it refers to a particular country, America is a likely candidate. Babylon is known for its corporations and entrepreneurs: “Your merchants were the great ones of the world.” The culture of Babylon leads the other nations astray like sorcery.
This reading is either good news or bad news depending on whether our hope is in Babylon or in heaven. Those in heaven sing “Alleluia!” because of the destruction. Why? Because salvation, glory, and strength belong to our God. No technology will bring salvation. No amount of money will bring true glory or strength. If Babylon does not symbolize some particular nation, then it does symbolize the whole commercial aspect of our modern world. This is all going to be destroyed. The new earth will come without money or possessions. Some people will cry and faint as they see everything they have built in this world pass away.
We were not made for smartphones and cars and airplanes. I have some packages coming that I ordered this past weekend during the shopping days of Black Friday. I am sort of anxiously awaiting them. One of these days, they are going to show up at the door. It is sort of like Christmas, when the packages arrive and I get to unwrap them. We know what it is to wait for material goods, or to wait for a paycheck; how much more should we be waiting for Jesus! We need to have the perspective that Jesus talks about in the Gospel: our head raised up, looking at the sky. That is where our redemption will come from. One of these days the Son of Man will come on a cloud with power and great glory.
Material things only help us live in this difficult world, this valley of tears. When Jesus comes, and the time for all that has passed, when we can finally let go of all our possessions and throw away all of our money and watch the world pass away before our eyes, our response should not be sadness at the loss. Our response should be, “Finally!”
October 22, 2012 - Monday of the Twenty-ninth Week in Ordinary Time
Ephesians 2:1-10
Psalm 100:2-5
Luke 12:13-21
There are two wrong ways that people commonly think about how to get into heaven. The first is what Protestants accuse us Catholics of, called works-righteousness. According to this idea, we do good things and bad things and God keeps track, and then if the good is more than the bad we get into heaven. This is what many people, Catholic and Protestant, tend to believe. It is wrong. We are not saved by works of the law. The other wrong way is the traditional Protestant teaching that they get from misreading these verses, called Sola Fide. According to this idea, if a person believes that Jesus is Lord then they will get into heaven no matter what they have done. Jesus himself says that this is wrong.
The true Catholic teaching is what St. Paul gives in this reading today: “By grace you have been saved.” Salvation is by grace alone. What is grace? “It is not from you; it is the gift of God.” It is the power of God to change us. We do not go to heaven by having more good actions than sins. We do not go to heaven because of what we happen to believe. We go to heaven if the grace of God changes us into the sort of people who can live in heaven. The reason why Protestants accuse Catholics of works-righteousness is that good works are one way to tell whether the grace of God is active in my life. If today I am more likely than last year to serve the poor and do the other things that Jesus says, then I clearly have changed for the better. There is progress in the right direction.
Also, because of free will, when we choose to do bad things, we are refusing the grace of God and not changing for the better. This is why no one can say that they have done enough good to get by with a little sin. Like the man in the Gospel today, when he decided to tear down his barns instead of sharing his bountiful harvest with the poor, it made him a little smaller and worse. Faith is important. “By grace you are saved through faith.” Knowing about Jesus and his teachings helps us to accept the grace of God, but knowing and even believing mean nothing if we are not changed for the better by them.
Psalm 100:2-5
Luke 12:13-21
There are two wrong ways that people commonly think about how to get into heaven. The first is what Protestants accuse us Catholics of, called works-righteousness. According to this idea, we do good things and bad things and God keeps track, and then if the good is more than the bad we get into heaven. This is what many people, Catholic and Protestant, tend to believe. It is wrong. We are not saved by works of the law. The other wrong way is the traditional Protestant teaching that they get from misreading these verses, called Sola Fide. According to this idea, if a person believes that Jesus is Lord then they will get into heaven no matter what they have done. Jesus himself says that this is wrong.
The true Catholic teaching is what St. Paul gives in this reading today: “By grace you have been saved.” Salvation is by grace alone. What is grace? “It is not from you; it is the gift of God.” It is the power of God to change us. We do not go to heaven by having more good actions than sins. We do not go to heaven because of what we happen to believe. We go to heaven if the grace of God changes us into the sort of people who can live in heaven. The reason why Protestants accuse Catholics of works-righteousness is that good works are one way to tell whether the grace of God is active in my life. If today I am more likely than last year to serve the poor and do the other things that Jesus says, then I clearly have changed for the better. There is progress in the right direction.
Also, because of free will, when we choose to do bad things, we are refusing the grace of God and not changing for the better. This is why no one can say that they have done enough good to get by with a little sin. Like the man in the Gospel today, when he decided to tear down his barns instead of sharing his bountiful harvest with the poor, it made him a little smaller and worse. Faith is important. “By grace you are saved through faith.” Knowing about Jesus and his teachings helps us to accept the grace of God, but knowing and even believing mean nothing if we are not changed for the better by them.
October 6, 2012 - Saturday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time
Job 42:1-3, 5-6, 12-17
Psalm 119:66, 71, 75, 91, 125, 130
Luke 10:17-24
A lot of people dislike the ending of Job, because it almost suggests that everything he went through is all better because he now has twice as much as before. He lost his children, but now he has more children. We know that to some extent this is true though. When we are going through suffering, we forget the good times, and when we are going through good times, we forget the suffering. God even gives Job another 140 years to make up for the time that was lost. God has repaid Job in full for the suffering he experienced, though that suffering was really just the loss of God’s previous gifts. Then, at the end of the reading, Job dies. Sure, he was surrounded by his family. Sure, he was old and full of years. But he still dies. At the beginning of the book, God allows Satan to inflict any torture on Job so long as he does not kill him. So, in a certain sense, the ending of this book is more depressing than the beginning. Death comes for us all.
This is the point that Jesus is making to the disciples he sent out. “Do not rejoice because you have powers to remove suffering from the world, to defeat evil spirits and cure sickness, to be immune to venom, but because your names are written in heaven.” It does not matter how good we make this world if we are going to die in the end. A person can be a billionaire with every pleasure that can be purchased, but, if death is awaiting them, it does not matter how good this life was. What is the point of building a house of cards, only to see it knocked down? What is the point of a long, productive life, only to have it all destroyed by death?
This is the good news that Jesus brings: there is another possibility. This is what the kings and the prophets desired to hear but did not hear: existence is not merely a flash of lightning, gone as soon as it appears, but continues forever. And this perpetual existence, which would be torture if it were an endless succession of suffering interspersed with periodic moments of reprieve, has the potential to be different than the life we have experienced up to now. Not only will we live forever, but we will live forever with the perfect happiness of knowing God.
Psalm 119:66, 71, 75, 91, 125, 130
Luke 10:17-24
A lot of people dislike the ending of Job, because it almost suggests that everything he went through is all better because he now has twice as much as before. He lost his children, but now he has more children. We know that to some extent this is true though. When we are going through suffering, we forget the good times, and when we are going through good times, we forget the suffering. God even gives Job another 140 years to make up for the time that was lost. God has repaid Job in full for the suffering he experienced, though that suffering was really just the loss of God’s previous gifts. Then, at the end of the reading, Job dies. Sure, he was surrounded by his family. Sure, he was old and full of years. But he still dies. At the beginning of the book, God allows Satan to inflict any torture on Job so long as he does not kill him. So, in a certain sense, the ending of this book is more depressing than the beginning. Death comes for us all.
This is the point that Jesus is making to the disciples he sent out. “Do not rejoice because you have powers to remove suffering from the world, to defeat evil spirits and cure sickness, to be immune to venom, but because your names are written in heaven.” It does not matter how good we make this world if we are going to die in the end. A person can be a billionaire with every pleasure that can be purchased, but, if death is awaiting them, it does not matter how good this life was. What is the point of building a house of cards, only to see it knocked down? What is the point of a long, productive life, only to have it all destroyed by death?
This is the good news that Jesus brings: there is another possibility. This is what the kings and the prophets desired to hear but did not hear: existence is not merely a flash of lightning, gone as soon as it appears, but continues forever. And this perpetual existence, which would be torture if it were an endless succession of suffering interspersed with periodic moments of reprieve, has the potential to be different than the life we have experienced up to now. Not only will we live forever, but we will live forever with the perfect happiness of knowing God.
July 18, 2012 - Wednesday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Isaiah 10:5-7, 13-16
Psalm 94:5-10, 14-15
Matthew 11:25-27
The economy of salvation is the official theological name that we give to how things work. To learn about the economy of salvation is to learn how God is saving us. Economy here comes from the Greek word for household. Economy does not mean financial but the house rules of the universe.
There are many aspects to the economy of salvation, but our readings today illustrate one clearly: God never works directly when he can work indirectly. This rule is why the common statement, often used to denigrate the communion of saints: “I like to pray directly to God” is just silly. God does not do anything directly. The Father sends the Son. The Son sends the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit acts through human beings. This is all very inefficient, but it is God’s way of acting.
In the economy of this world, we are always trying to cut out the middle man, because the more efficient the process, the less waste there is. In the economy of salvation, God includes as many middle men and women as he possibly can. He could have destroyed Israel, but he chose to do it through the Assyrians. He does not punish them directly. He empowers the Assyrians to punish them. God is angry that Assyria has overstepped its bounds, but he would not have that problem if he had just punished Israel directly.
No one has seen the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. It would be more efficient if God revealed himself to us directly. Perhaps we can understand the inefficiency of the Trinity, or at least accept it, but the inefficiency of relying on imperfect humans to reveal God is very frustrating. Our relationship with God happens through the Church, despite the sin and inadequacy of most every member of the Church. How many people have broken their relationship with God because of their experience of the sinful humanity of the Church? It would seem more logical, more efficient if God would just work with each person directly.
Of course, really, we understand that God knows what he is doing. This inefficiency is just love: the love of the Father for the Son and the Holy Spirit, and the love that he wants us to have for each other. He does not want to save us on our own, individually. He wants to save a Church, an assembly of people in love with each other, and he wants us to be a part of that Church.
Psalm 94:5-10, 14-15
Matthew 11:25-27
The economy of salvation is the official theological name that we give to how things work. To learn about the economy of salvation is to learn how God is saving us. Economy here comes from the Greek word for household. Economy does not mean financial but the house rules of the universe.
There are many aspects to the economy of salvation, but our readings today illustrate one clearly: God never works directly when he can work indirectly. This rule is why the common statement, often used to denigrate the communion of saints: “I like to pray directly to God” is just silly. God does not do anything directly. The Father sends the Son. The Son sends the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit acts through human beings. This is all very inefficient, but it is God’s way of acting.
In the economy of this world, we are always trying to cut out the middle man, because the more efficient the process, the less waste there is. In the economy of salvation, God includes as many middle men and women as he possibly can. He could have destroyed Israel, but he chose to do it through the Assyrians. He does not punish them directly. He empowers the Assyrians to punish them. God is angry that Assyria has overstepped its bounds, but he would not have that problem if he had just punished Israel directly.
No one has seen the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. It would be more efficient if God revealed himself to us directly. Perhaps we can understand the inefficiency of the Trinity, or at least accept it, but the inefficiency of relying on imperfect humans to reveal God is very frustrating. Our relationship with God happens through the Church, despite the sin and inadequacy of most every member of the Church. How many people have broken their relationship with God because of their experience of the sinful humanity of the Church? It would seem more logical, more efficient if God would just work with each person directly.
Of course, really, we understand that God knows what he is doing. This inefficiency is just love: the love of the Father for the Son and the Holy Spirit, and the love that he wants us to have for each other. He does not want to save us on our own, individually. He wants to save a Church, an assembly of people in love with each other, and he wants us to be a part of that Church.
May 30, 2012 - Wednesday of the Eighth Week in Ordinary Time
1 Peter 1:18-25
Psalm 147:12-15, 19-20
Mark 10:32-45
I love St. Peter's casual example of perishable things here: silver and gold. We were not ransomed by silly, useless, passing away garbage like silver and gold. These shiny metals that people have killed for, that armies have conquered for, are like nothing in comparison to what we have found. A huge ransom in the ancient world would be a talent of gold, a pile of gold as big as your fist, but St. Peter assures us that we were not ransomed with something as worthless as that. We were ransomed with the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
And so we were. When people ask me if I have been saved, I answer, “Yes I have”, and when they ask me where and when, I say that it was on a hill just outside Jerusalem about 2000 years ago. I was ransomed by Jesus Christ, who spilled his blood willingly so that I could be free of the chains around my heart.
And so we are free, but free for what? Free to sin? Free to rewrap those chains that lie broken? St. Peter suggests that, given this enormous ransom that has been paid to free us, we are now free to love one another.
We were born into this slavery, so when we were ransomed, we did not even know how to be free. Jesus is the example for us of a truly free man. He is walking toward Jerusalem when he announces that upon his arrival there, he will be mocked, spit on, tortured, and killed. Then he keeps walking to Jerusalem. He is free. He does what he wants, and what he wanted was to give his life as a ransom for many.
We are not free so long as there are conditions that restrict our ability to live, to love, to serve. If our time is limited because we have shows to watch every night, we are not free. If our generosity is limited because we are afraid of not having enough tomorrow, we are not free. If our time is wasted in obsessive addiction and entertainments, we are not free.
Jesus Christ willingly went to death so that we could be free. The potential exists for us to love freely and give ourselves in return. Yes there is prudence. Yes there are different vocations. But if I am not free right now to give everything to God if he asked, I hold cheap the priceless price that Jesus paid for my freedom.
Psalm 147:12-15, 19-20
Mark 10:32-45
I love St. Peter's casual example of perishable things here: silver and gold. We were not ransomed by silly, useless, passing away garbage like silver and gold. These shiny metals that people have killed for, that armies have conquered for, are like nothing in comparison to what we have found. A huge ransom in the ancient world would be a talent of gold, a pile of gold as big as your fist, but St. Peter assures us that we were not ransomed with something as worthless as that. We were ransomed with the precious blood of Jesus Christ.
And so we were. When people ask me if I have been saved, I answer, “Yes I have”, and when they ask me where and when, I say that it was on a hill just outside Jerusalem about 2000 years ago. I was ransomed by Jesus Christ, who spilled his blood willingly so that I could be free of the chains around my heart.
And so we are free, but free for what? Free to sin? Free to rewrap those chains that lie broken? St. Peter suggests that, given this enormous ransom that has been paid to free us, we are now free to love one another.
We were born into this slavery, so when we were ransomed, we did not even know how to be free. Jesus is the example for us of a truly free man. He is walking toward Jerusalem when he announces that upon his arrival there, he will be mocked, spit on, tortured, and killed. Then he keeps walking to Jerusalem. He is free. He does what he wants, and what he wanted was to give his life as a ransom for many.
We are not free so long as there are conditions that restrict our ability to live, to love, to serve. If our time is limited because we have shows to watch every night, we are not free. If our generosity is limited because we are afraid of not having enough tomorrow, we are not free. If our time is wasted in obsessive addiction and entertainments, we are not free.
Jesus Christ willingly went to death so that we could be free. The potential exists for us to love freely and give ourselves in return. Yes there is prudence. Yes there are different vocations. But if I am not free right now to give everything to God if he asked, I hold cheap the priceless price that Jesus paid for my freedom.
May 1, 2012 - Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Easter
Today's Readings
We live in the time of fulfillment. That which is prophesied in the psalm today has been fulfilled in our sight. All the nations praise the Lord. In every nation on earth, there are people who turn to Jerusalem as the holy city. God’s salvation has spread throughout the world. Jesus Christ poured out his Blood, as he told the Apostles, “For you and for many.”
Who were the “many” whom he was speaking about? It is us. We form just a small part of that many. Jesus told the Pharisees, “you are not among my sheep”, but we are among his sheep. We are gladly numbered among the innumerable sheep who follow the good shepherd. Innumerable to us who are incapable of counting so many, but to God it is numerable. God not only knows the number of his sheep, he knows each one of the many individually.
Jesus assures us that no one can take us out of his hand because no one can take us out of the Father’s hand because no one is greater than the Father. He says that he and the Father are one. This is the clearest declaration of the truth behind the doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity. Perhaps without this statement, a case could be made that Jesus is somehow less than the Father, that he is the greatest creature but not actually God, but with this statement, Jesus makes himself equal to God, which is why the next verse after our Gospel today is “The Jews again picked up rocks to stone him.”
So, if Jesus truly is God, as he said, and he has poured out his Blood for the many, as he said, and we, forming part of that many, part of his flock, cannot be taken out of his hand, as he said, the world begins to look different. There are still troubles, but who ever rejected a gold mine because of all the dirt mixed in? Life is hard, but so long as the gold is there, it is worth it.
Without Jesus our lives are meaningless as a sheep without a shepherd. Without Jesus, we wander around this life without any idea of why we keep going. What is the point? What is the purpose? But when we hear Jesus call our name, and we turn and follow him, joining his flock, we have a reason greater than ourselves, we have a treasure that Jesus calls eternal life.
We live in the time of fulfillment. That which is prophesied in the psalm today has been fulfilled in our sight. All the nations praise the Lord. In every nation on earth, there are people who turn to Jerusalem as the holy city. God’s salvation has spread throughout the world. Jesus Christ poured out his Blood, as he told the Apostles, “For you and for many.”
Who were the “many” whom he was speaking about? It is us. We form just a small part of that many. Jesus told the Pharisees, “you are not among my sheep”, but we are among his sheep. We are gladly numbered among the innumerable sheep who follow the good shepherd. Innumerable to us who are incapable of counting so many, but to God it is numerable. God not only knows the number of his sheep, he knows each one of the many individually.
Jesus assures us that no one can take us out of his hand because no one can take us out of the Father’s hand because no one is greater than the Father. He says that he and the Father are one. This is the clearest declaration of the truth behind the doctrine of the Most Holy Trinity. Perhaps without this statement, a case could be made that Jesus is somehow less than the Father, that he is the greatest creature but not actually God, but with this statement, Jesus makes himself equal to God, which is why the next verse after our Gospel today is “The Jews again picked up rocks to stone him.”
So, if Jesus truly is God, as he said, and he has poured out his Blood for the many, as he said, and we, forming part of that many, part of his flock, cannot be taken out of his hand, as he said, the world begins to look different. There are still troubles, but who ever rejected a gold mine because of all the dirt mixed in? Life is hard, but so long as the gold is there, it is worth it.
Without Jesus our lives are meaningless as a sheep without a shepherd. Without Jesus, we wander around this life without any idea of why we keep going. What is the point? What is the purpose? But when we hear Jesus call our name, and we turn and follow him, joining his flock, we have a reason greater than ourselves, we have a treasure that Jesus calls eternal life.
March 13, 2012 - Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent
Today's Readings
When they were translating the Gospel today, they decided to use the phrases “a huge amount” and “a much smaller amount” instead of using the numbers and the ancient currency that is actually mentioned. Something is lost in the translation. No adjective, certainly not a mere “huge” can describe the debt of the first servant. If we do a rough equivalency to modern money, the amount was approximately 2 billion dollars. Billion, with a “b”. We might wonder how exactly a servant came to be 2 billion dollars in debt to his master. Why did the master keep loaning him money? How did the servant waste so much?
The story is clearly pointing to our relationship with God. If I consider how much God has given me, I recognize that no value is sufficient to describe it. Who could pay a ransom for their life? Besides life, I might try to add up the value of the air I breathe and the water I drink. What is the value of an hour? Of a day? If I try to do a rough equivalency into modern money, I find that I have indeed borrowed well over 2 billion dollars worth so far. What do I have to show for this massive investment that God has made in me? If I were to compare the love with which God has loved me and the love with which I have loved God and my neighbor, I find that, like the servant, I am bankrupt.
The joy of being forgiven should be unequal to the lesser joys of this world. If I won the lottery tomorrow, I would rejoice, but I would still be unable to pay God back for all the grace that I wasted. When we see people on television jumping and screaming, expressing uncontainable excitement, because they have won some few million dollars, we Christians are put to shame. Where is our excitement? Why are we not jumping up and down? We should rejoice always, pray constantly, and give thanks in all circumstances. People should be asking us the reason for the hope that is within us.
This joy was what the servant lacked. When he met the other servant, who owed him about $5000, he should have laughed and cried. Imagine caring about $5000 when you have been forgiven 2 billion! Imagine caring about the little ways people hurt us when we have been forgiven all our sins!
When they were translating the Gospel today, they decided to use the phrases “a huge amount” and “a much smaller amount” instead of using the numbers and the ancient currency that is actually mentioned. Something is lost in the translation. No adjective, certainly not a mere “huge” can describe the debt of the first servant. If we do a rough equivalency to modern money, the amount was approximately 2 billion dollars. Billion, with a “b”. We might wonder how exactly a servant came to be 2 billion dollars in debt to his master. Why did the master keep loaning him money? How did the servant waste so much?
The story is clearly pointing to our relationship with God. If I consider how much God has given me, I recognize that no value is sufficient to describe it. Who could pay a ransom for their life? Besides life, I might try to add up the value of the air I breathe and the water I drink. What is the value of an hour? Of a day? If I try to do a rough equivalency into modern money, I find that I have indeed borrowed well over 2 billion dollars worth so far. What do I have to show for this massive investment that God has made in me? If I were to compare the love with which God has loved me and the love with which I have loved God and my neighbor, I find that, like the servant, I am bankrupt.
The joy of being forgiven should be unequal to the lesser joys of this world. If I won the lottery tomorrow, I would rejoice, but I would still be unable to pay God back for all the grace that I wasted. When we see people on television jumping and screaming, expressing uncontainable excitement, because they have won some few million dollars, we Christians are put to shame. Where is our excitement? Why are we not jumping up and down? We should rejoice always, pray constantly, and give thanks in all circumstances. People should be asking us the reason for the hope that is within us.
This joy was what the servant lacked. When he met the other servant, who owed him about $5000, he should have laughed and cried. Imagine caring about $5000 when you have been forgiven 2 billion! Imagine caring about the little ways people hurt us when we have been forgiven all our sins!
January 18, 2012 - Wednesday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
Today’s reading is a real David and Goliath story. That might be a cliché, but here it applies literally. There is a reason that people are always comparing various events to this story: it is one of the most powerful themes in the human soul. That the just though weak can beat the unjust though strong is our dearest hope. In our world it seems as if the powers of chaos and darkness are always just about to take over.
The story is reflected in the Gospel today. Jesus is like David fighting against Goliath. He is one man fighting against a culture of corruption, against the selfishness of the human heart. It seems like a useless battle. True, since he is God he is the strongest. That would be important if he was trying to destroy or kill his enemy. He could simply choose it, and all humanity would be instantly destroyed, but since he is trying to save us he appears weak.
He appears weak in the same way that goodness appears weak. How can we convince people to be chaste when the alternative is such a strong temptation? How can we convince people to be good what is so much easier and more pleasurable to be bad? We seem weak because we are proposing something which no one wants. Satan seems strong because he is telling people to do that very thing they want to do anyway.
This is how God, though all-powerful, is in the place of David, and Satan, though nothing in comparison, is in the place of Goliath. In every human soul, God stands there with five stones ready to do battle against an enemy better armed. In every human soul, including your own, including my own. In your soul there is an enemy, a sin, a temptation, that right now seems like Goliath: giant, insurmountable, unconquerable.
Do not be deceived! Look at your Goliath with the eyes of David. When David saw Goliath he did not think “No one can beat that man” and he did not think “This is hopeless.” He thought that he could beat Goliath with the help of God. Know most confidently that whatever giants are preventing you from being a saint can, with the help of God, be conquered as easily as David conquered Goliath.
Today’s reading is a real David and Goliath story. That might be a cliché, but here it applies literally. There is a reason that people are always comparing various events to this story: it is one of the most powerful themes in the human soul. That the just though weak can beat the unjust though strong is our dearest hope. In our world it seems as if the powers of chaos and darkness are always just about to take over.
The story is reflected in the Gospel today. Jesus is like David fighting against Goliath. He is one man fighting against a culture of corruption, against the selfishness of the human heart. It seems like a useless battle. True, since he is God he is the strongest. That would be important if he was trying to destroy or kill his enemy. He could simply choose it, and all humanity would be instantly destroyed, but since he is trying to save us he appears weak.
He appears weak in the same way that goodness appears weak. How can we convince people to be chaste when the alternative is such a strong temptation? How can we convince people to be good what is so much easier and more pleasurable to be bad? We seem weak because we are proposing something which no one wants. Satan seems strong because he is telling people to do that very thing they want to do anyway.
This is how God, though all-powerful, is in the place of David, and Satan, though nothing in comparison, is in the place of Goliath. In every human soul, God stands there with five stones ready to do battle against an enemy better armed. In every human soul, including your own, including my own. In your soul there is an enemy, a sin, a temptation, that right now seems like Goliath: giant, insurmountable, unconquerable.
Do not be deceived! Look at your Goliath with the eyes of David. When David saw Goliath he did not think “No one can beat that man” and he did not think “This is hopeless.” He thought that he could beat Goliath with the help of God. Know most confidently that whatever giants are preventing you from being a saint can, with the help of God, be conquered as easily as David conquered Goliath.
November 14, 2011 - Monday of the Thirty-Third Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
He heard the crowd, so he asked those who could see what was going on. “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” So he cries out, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!” How did this man know Jesus? How did he know that Jesus was descended from King David? How did he know that Jesus could do anything for him? Perhaps he has heard stories. Perhaps someone had told him about the prophet who could heal the blind, and now – here he is.
The leading men try to shush him. They want a respectful silence. They should have joined in. “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.” Who would be unable to say this? Who does not need mercy? We admire this man so much that we repeat his words at every Mass: “Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.” We join in. They should have joined in.
Jesus insists that the man be brought to him. He cannot turn down this request for mercy. He came to have mercy on us. Everything he did was for the sake of mercy. His whole existence as a man was an act of mercy. Now here is a man crying out as the whole world ought to have been crying out: “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.” So he stops. God stops what he was doing and waits for the man. We think that we are too busy to help other people, but God stopped and waited.
Jesus offers this man a wish. What do you wish that I will do for you? His question includes a promise: “I will do for you” he says. The blind man wants to see again. We want to see again too. We used to see clearly, before our eyes were opened, before the fall. This man is a symbol of all humans. He could see and then he lost his sight and Jesus restored it. We could see and then we lost our sight and then Jesus restored it.
The man ends by following Jesus and glorifying God.This man is not only a symbol, but an example. As he moves from hearing about Jesus to begging for mercy to praising God, he moves quickly and readily, revealing his abundant faith. When the people see him praising God, they praise God too. His faith is contagious.
He heard the crowd, so he asked those who could see what was going on. “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” So he cries out, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!” How did this man know Jesus? How did he know that Jesus was descended from King David? How did he know that Jesus could do anything for him? Perhaps he has heard stories. Perhaps someone had told him about the prophet who could heal the blind, and now – here he is.
The leading men try to shush him. They want a respectful silence. They should have joined in. “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.” Who would be unable to say this? Who does not need mercy? We admire this man so much that we repeat his words at every Mass: “Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.” We join in. They should have joined in.
Jesus insists that the man be brought to him. He cannot turn down this request for mercy. He came to have mercy on us. Everything he did was for the sake of mercy. His whole existence as a man was an act of mercy. Now here is a man crying out as the whole world ought to have been crying out: “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.” So he stops. God stops what he was doing and waits for the man. We think that we are too busy to help other people, but God stopped and waited.
Jesus offers this man a wish. What do you wish that I will do for you? His question includes a promise: “I will do for you” he says. The blind man wants to see again. We want to see again too. We used to see clearly, before our eyes were opened, before the fall. This man is a symbol of all humans. He could see and then he lost his sight and Jesus restored it. We could see and then we lost our sight and then Jesus restored it.
The man ends by following Jesus and glorifying God.This man is not only a symbol, but an example. As he moves from hearing about Jesus to begging for mercy to praising God, he moves quickly and readily, revealing his abundant faith. When the people see him praising God, they praise God too. His faith is contagious.
July 21, 2011 - Thursday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
We modern people hold a strange contradiction in our minds. On the one hand, we think that times are changing so rapidly that there is almost no similarity between ourselves and people only a hundred years ago, let alone 3000 years ago. The response, “Things were different then” is used to explain away any difficulty we have in understanding the Scriptures. On the other hand, it surprises us that God acts so differently in the Old Testament, particularly in the early parts. This is a contradiction because if things really were so different back then, it is completely logical that God would act differently. God always speaks to us in a way we can understand, not only in our spoken language but using appropriate symbols and actions.
We tend to exaggerate how different people were 3000 years ago. They were a lot like us. There is nothing new under the sun. The only really important way that people have changed in the past four millennia is in our religious sense. Jesus could have come to Earth whenever he wanted to; he could have led the people out of Egypt himself. Instead, he used Moses and the prophets to prepare the people. For 2000 years after he called Abraham, he got the people of Israel ready for his coming. Many prophets and righteous people longed to see him but did not.
It has now been 2000 years since he came. Some people would say that the Gospel has made very little progress in changing the world but they cannot see properly. Nowadays, helping the poor is considered a good thing. Nowadays, slavery is considered a bad thing. Nowadays, human sacrifice is almost non-existent. This is not only true among Christians but worldwide. The Gospel has changed the world. Just as God, with fire and trumpets and smoke and Ten Commandments written in stone, taught a nation of people to respect him, so now the influence of the Gospel is evident in every corner of this world.
Standing above all of history is the Divine Plan. The history of the world really is a story: the history of salvation. God is shaping the world, improving our religious sense, over millennia. He knows perfectly when to shout in fire from a mountaintop and when to come whispering. His intricate plan takes everything into account. Whether or not the world consciously accepts the Gospel, it is changing the world.
We modern people hold a strange contradiction in our minds. On the one hand, we think that times are changing so rapidly that there is almost no similarity between ourselves and people only a hundred years ago, let alone 3000 years ago. The response, “Things were different then” is used to explain away any difficulty we have in understanding the Scriptures. On the other hand, it surprises us that God acts so differently in the Old Testament, particularly in the early parts. This is a contradiction because if things really were so different back then, it is completely logical that God would act differently. God always speaks to us in a way we can understand, not only in our spoken language but using appropriate symbols and actions.
We tend to exaggerate how different people were 3000 years ago. They were a lot like us. There is nothing new under the sun. The only really important way that people have changed in the past four millennia is in our religious sense. Jesus could have come to Earth whenever he wanted to; he could have led the people out of Egypt himself. Instead, he used Moses and the prophets to prepare the people. For 2000 years after he called Abraham, he got the people of Israel ready for his coming. Many prophets and righteous people longed to see him but did not.
It has now been 2000 years since he came. Some people would say that the Gospel has made very little progress in changing the world but they cannot see properly. Nowadays, helping the poor is considered a good thing. Nowadays, slavery is considered a bad thing. Nowadays, human sacrifice is almost non-existent. This is not only true among Christians but worldwide. The Gospel has changed the world. Just as God, with fire and trumpets and smoke and Ten Commandments written in stone, taught a nation of people to respect him, so now the influence of the Gospel is evident in every corner of this world.
Standing above all of history is the Divine Plan. The history of the world really is a story: the history of salvation. God is shaping the world, improving our religious sense, over millennia. He knows perfectly when to shout in fire from a mountaintop and when to come whispering. His intricate plan takes everything into account. Whether or not the world consciously accepts the Gospel, it is changing the world.
July 16, 2011 - Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
The psalm today repeats the phrase: “for his mercy endures forever”, which sounds well enough, until we get to “who smote the Egyptians in their first-born, for his mercy endures forever” and “who swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea, for his mercy endures forever.” The contrast here makes us pause and think about what we believe. Did God really kill all those children “because his mercy endures forever”? Did he really drown Pharaoh and all the soldiers of Egypt “because his mercy endures forever”?
Perhaps we would rather not think about such parts of salvation history; at best we would talk about how different the times were then, but to suggest that not only did God kill all the first-born sons of Egypt but that it was an expression of his mercy is difficult. Yet how else could such a thing be understood? The mercy of our God is infinite. The central point of this psalm is that everything that God does is an expression of his mercy, and that is absolutely true. God did not wake up angry one morning and smite the Egyptians.
But how could thousands, perhaps millions, of dead children be an expression of God’s mercy? We encounter here the mystery. We do not stand in judgment of God; he stands in judgment of us. We are not greater than God, so it is not reasonable to expect to understand his works completely. He is the Most High God, as far above us as the heavens are above the earth. Can your dog understand everything you do? How much more is God incomprehensible to us!
Nevertheless, God has given us reason and the ability to explore mysteries that we cannot comprehend. We know that God loves us, and not only us but all of humanity. God loved those Egyptian boys whom he killed. The history of the universe is a history of God’s merciful plan toward us. We will never comprehend the mystery of salvation, for it is as infinite as God is infinite. Someday, God willing, we will have the rest of forever to consider the mystery. After 10,000 years, we will begin to realize how events that looked so cruel from earth were, in reality, wonderful acts of mercy. For now, although we do not understand why he allows cancer or earthquakes or war, we are certain of one thing: his mercy endures forever.
July 6, 2011 - Wednesday of the Fourteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Today's Readings
In the Old Testament we have the twelve sons of Jacob, who was renamed Israel. In the New Testament we have the twelve apostles of Jesus, who is the Christ. The twelve sons were the founders of the nation of Israel, the chosen people of God. The twelve apostles were the founders of the new Israel, the new chosen people of God, the Church. The sons sold one of their own, Joseph, into slavery for 20 pieces of silver. One of the apostles betrayed his teacher, Jesus, for 30 pieces of silver.
Joseph was sold because he was a tattletale and an arrogant dreamer. Jesus was sold because he was an innocent man. After being sold, Joseph suffered for a while, but eventually became second only to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. After being sold, Jesus suffered for a while and died, but he was second to no one, the king of the universe. Though his brothers were evil for having sold Joseph into slavery, it was all part of God’s plan to save his people Israel in the midst of famine. Though Judas was evil for betraying Jesus to the Sadducees, it was all part of God’s plan to save the whole world in the midst of sin.
Joseph was responsible for enslaving all of Egypt to Pharaoh by unjustly selling the people back their own grain, which is the life of the body. Jesus was responsible for freeing the whole world from slavery to sin by unjustly having his life taken from him. When Joseph saw his brothers again, he toyed with them for years, as we hear in the reading today, before finally revealing who he really was and forgiving his brothers. Jesus forgave us in the midst of his sufferings, from the Cross itself he said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
So it is with the readings today; so it is with the whole Old Testament. The Old Testament is the word of God, and the New Testament is the word of God. The true meaning of the Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament by the similarities and differences. The Old Testament, beginning to end, speaks to us about Jesus Christ in a hidden way, which is why we still read the Old Testament, why we did not throw it away when we received the New Testament. They both tell us, one implicitly and one explicitly, about Jesus Christ.
In the Old Testament we have the twelve sons of Jacob, who was renamed Israel. In the New Testament we have the twelve apostles of Jesus, who is the Christ. The twelve sons were the founders of the nation of Israel, the chosen people of God. The twelve apostles were the founders of the new Israel, the new chosen people of God, the Church. The sons sold one of their own, Joseph, into slavery for 20 pieces of silver. One of the apostles betrayed his teacher, Jesus, for 30 pieces of silver.
Joseph was sold because he was a tattletale and an arrogant dreamer. Jesus was sold because he was an innocent man. After being sold, Joseph suffered for a while, but eventually became second only to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. After being sold, Jesus suffered for a while and died, but he was second to no one, the king of the universe. Though his brothers were evil for having sold Joseph into slavery, it was all part of God’s plan to save his people Israel in the midst of famine. Though Judas was evil for betraying Jesus to the Sadducees, it was all part of God’s plan to save the whole world in the midst of sin.
Joseph was responsible for enslaving all of Egypt to Pharaoh by unjustly selling the people back their own grain, which is the life of the body. Jesus was responsible for freeing the whole world from slavery to sin by unjustly having his life taken from him. When Joseph saw his brothers again, he toyed with them for years, as we hear in the reading today, before finally revealing who he really was and forgiving his brothers. Jesus forgave us in the midst of his sufferings, from the Cross itself he said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
So it is with the readings today; so it is with the whole Old Testament. The Old Testament is the word of God, and the New Testament is the word of God. The true meaning of the Old Testament is revealed in the New Testament by the similarities and differences. The Old Testament, beginning to end, speaks to us about Jesus Christ in a hidden way, which is why we still read the Old Testament, why we did not throw it away when we received the New Testament. They both tell us, one implicitly and one explicitly, about Jesus Christ.
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