God: The Center of Our Lives

"Forgetting about God leads to harmful and idle chatter such as: 'How can we know about God if we have never seen him? And why should we have any regard for him if we have never set eyes on him?' People who talk like that are no longer mindful of their creator, and their minds are in the darkness of unbelief. But God had created human beings to be full of light so that they could see the radiance of pure ether and hear the songs of angels. He had clothed them in such radiance that they shone with the splendor of it. But all this was lost when man disobeyed God's commandment and so caused nature to fall with him. Yet the natural elements retained a glimmering of their former pristine position, which human sin could not destroy completely. For which reason people should retain a glimmering of their knowledge of God. They should allow God to return to the centre of their lives, recognising that they owe their very existence to no one else save God alone, who is the creator of all."

(From A Reading from The Book of Life's Merits by Hildegard of Bingen,

in Celebrating the Saints, compiled by Robert Atwell

Canterbury Press, Norwich: 1998, pp. 325-326)

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Perdido y Encontrado

El pecado es una parte muy real de todos los aspectos de nuestras vidas. El escritor de Éxodo (32:7-14) habla acerca de cómo el pueblo de Israel se comportaban perversamente, se hacían a un lado, y adoraban un ídolo de oro fundido. Cada uno de nosotros podría admitir que, junto con San Pablo, quien escribió a Timoteo (1:12 ) que "Cristo Jesús vino al mundo para salvar a los pecadores, de los cuales yo soy el primero." Y en el Evangelio de San Lucas (15:1-10) Jesús es criticado por asociarse con "los pecadores", pero habla abiertamente y con valentía en su nombre. A veces puede parecer que "el pecador" es la otra persona, pero el único "pecador" que usted y yo conocemos de primera mano realmente es nuestro propio ser. San Juan nos recuerda, "Si decimos que no tenemos pecado, no engañamosa nosotros mismos y no hay verdad en nosotros."

"Los que tienen espíritu de pobres", las personas comunes como nosotros, se sienten seguros de ser justos. Nos preguntamos nuestros propios motivos, y nos preocupamos de traicionarnos a nosotros mismos. En general, no cometeremos grave mal. Desagradable que puede ser, nuestro sentido del pecado personal es exactamente lo que nos impide ser demasiado egoísta. A pesar de que es muy doloroso a veces, es una enorme bendición y es una garantía eficaz contra este grave mal.

Las Escrituras hoy, sin embargo, nos ayudan a reflexionar sobre la "común" variedad de pecado. Una de las mejores descripciones del pecado se encuentra en el Libro de Oración Común: "El pecado es seguir nuestra voluntad en lugar de la voluntad de Dios, deformando así nuestra relación con él, con las otras personas y con toda la creación."

En la Biblia hay dos expresiones principales por el pecado: 1) "errar el tiro", perdiendo así una recompensa o premio; y 2) "vida desmandada", sin guías. Que se supone que vive una persona irresponsable, y vive como un tonto. Por último, el pecado es egoísmo. Es el intento de hacer uno mismo Número Uno. Ese egoísmo abusa de y distorsiona nuestras relaciones: con Dios, con otras personas y con toda la creación.

El increíblemente buena noticia es que, al igual que Dios hizo en la vida de San Pablo y en muchas otras vidas a lo largo de los siglos, de modo que Dios tiene para usted y para mí el don de la vida eterna, simplemente porque el paciente, amoroso Jesús quiere que tengamos. Este amor de Dios se nos reveló en Jesús que nos amó tanto que abrió sus brazos y murió por nosotros en una cruz. Como alguien dijo, la grandeza del cristianismo y de la Iglesia, se mide por los brazos abiertos que tiene.

Dios sólomente le pide que me reconocer humildemente, reconocer y confesar mi pecado, y que abrirme con mucho gusto a fuerza de Dios, a la gracia de Dios, la gracia de Dios en Jesús, a fin de cambiar mi. El objeto de la misericordia de Dios debe ser un pecador: una persona que reconoce la necesidad por salvación. De lo contrario, Dios es impotente. Liberación de nuestra debilidad humana y el egoísmo, y de todas sus consecuencias, sólo es posible por la voluntad de Dios en Cristo, porque de la Gracia Divina y la misericordia rebosante en nuestro nombre. Ese fue el sentido de la misión de Jesús. Y esa es nuestra misión: hacer una verdadera compasión, misericordia y amor una realidad para nuestros hermanos y hermanas.

¿Cómo puede ser que esta misericordia de Jesús es tan accesible, de manera incondicional? La perfecta paciencia de Jesús es el modelo para todos los que creen en él para la vida eterna. Si creo en Jesús, si usted cree que su misericordia funciona de esta forma, usted y yo voy a hacer lo mismo y incorporar esta misericordia en nuestras propias acciones.

En el Evangelio de San Lucas, Capítulo Quince presenta las historias de Dios de inmensa misericordia: la oveja perdida, la moneda extraviada, y el hijo pródigo. Dios es muy felices cuando Dios encuentra el que se pierde. Es como si la misericordia de Dios y el perdón debe encontrar su expresión en la pura celebración y compartir sin límites. Hoy las parábolas de la oveja perdida y de la moneda extraviada de la mujer estrés llamando al "justo" a celebrar y participar en alabanza de Dios, que no conoce límites de paciencia, misericordia, el cuidado y el amor, en lugar de llamar a los pecadores al arrepentimiento. Si usted y yo son resistentes y no están dispuestos a unirse para celebrar la misericordia de Dios a los demás, entonces nos excluimos de la gracia de Dios, al igual que los refunfuñones entre los Fariseos y los escribas.

Autor Corita Kent dice: "La maldad, tal vez, no significa ver lo suficientemente bien. Tal vez, lo sólo que hay que ver más con el fin de ser menos mal, a ver lo que no hemos visto antes…" Que Dios nos ayude a ver con los ojos del Cristo misericordioso!

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Sin is a very real part of all of our lives. The writer of Exodus (32:7-14) speaks about how the people of Israel acted “perversely”, turned aside, cast an idol for themselves and worshiped it. Each of us could admit, along with St. Paul who wrote to Timothy (1:12-17) that “...Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” And in Luke’s Gospel (15:1-10) Jesus is criticized for associating with “sinners”, yet he speaks openly and boldly in their behalf.  Oftentimes it may seem to us that “the sinner” is the other person, but the only “sinner” whom you and I really know firsthand is our self. St. John reminds us, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”

 

“Those who are pure in spirit”, ordinary people like us, feel uncertain about being righteous. We question our own motives, and we worry about betraying ourselves. In general, we don’t commit serious evil. Unpleasant as it may be, our sense of personal sin is exactly what keeps us from being too selfish. Even though that feels quite painful at times, it is an enormous blessing and is an effective safeguard against doing serious evil.  

The Scriptures today, however, help us to reflect on the “common” variety of sin. One of the best descriptions of sin is found in the Book of Common Prayer: “Sin is seeking of our own will instead of the will of God, thus distorting our relationship with God, with other people, and with all creation.” 

In the Bible there are two major expressions for sin: 1) “missing the mark”, thus losing a reward or prize; and 2) “living lawlessly”, without guidelines. It implies that a person lives irresponsibly, and lives as a fool. Ultimately, sin is selfishness. It is the attempt to make oneself Number One. Such selfishness misuses and distorts our relationships: with God, with other people, and with God’s whole creation.

The incredibly Good News is that, just as God worked in the life of St. Paul, and in many other lives throughout the centuries, so God holds out to you and me the gift of eternal life, simply because the patient, loving Jesus wants us to have it. This love of God is revealed to us in Jesus who loved us so much, who opened his arms to us, and who died for us on a cross. As someone has said, the grandeur of Christianity and of the Church is that of its open arms. 

God asks only that I humbly acknowledge, admit and confess my sin, and that I willingly open myself to God’s strength, God’s favor, God’s grace in Jesus, in order to change me. The object of God’s mercy must be a sinner: a person who acknowledges the need to be saved. Otherwise, God is powerless. Our release from human weakness and selfishness, and all their consequences, is possible only because of God in Christ, because of Divine Grace and Mercy overflowing on our behalf. That was the whole meaning of the mission of Jesus. And that is our mission: to make genuine compassion, mercy, and love a reality for our sisters and brothers.

How can it be that this mercy of Jesus is so accessible, so unconditional? The perfect patience of Jesus is the model for all who believe in him for eternal life. If you believe Jesus, if you believe that his mercy works this way, then you and I will do likewise and incorporate such mercifulness into our own actions. 

In the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 15 consists of stories of God’s overwhelming mercy: the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost prodigal son. God is so overjoyed when whatever or whoever is lost is found. It is as if God’s mercy and forgiveness must find expression in pure unbounded celebration and sharing. Today’s parables of the lost sheep and of the woman’s lost coin stress calling the “righteous” to celebrate and join in praise of God’s unlimited patience, mercy, caring and love, rather than calling sinners to repentance. If you and I are resistant and unwilling to join in celebrating God’s mercy to others, then we exclude ourselves from God’s grace, just like the grumblers among the Pharisees and the Scribes. 

Author Corita Kent says: “Evil may be not seeing well enough, So perhaps to become less evil we need only to see more, see what we didn’t see before…” May God help us to see with the eyes of the merciful Christ!

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A Psalm About Two Choices

In my almost 50 years as a priest, I haven’t often preached specifically on the Psalm of the liturgy. That’s really a shame because the Psalms are so down-to-earth and full of very real and emotional human stuff. They’re poetry and prayer, poured out to God from human hearts like ours, sometimes full of praise and joy, sometimes anguished statements of suffering and despair, sometimes pleas of ardent longing and even of bitterness and anger. Today’s Psalm 1, part of a group of 34 title-less Psalms, often called “orphan Psalms”, is quite basic and sets the teaching tone, not only for the whole Psalter, but also for today’s liturgical readings.

In the fall of 1964 I was a newly ordained Catholic priest, assigned to teach freshman and senior religion classes at St. Anthony’s High School in Detroit. While studying the Bible, specifically the Psalms, I asked the freshman class to choose one of the 150 Psalms and to rewrite it in their own language, according to their personal interests. They produced some rather remarkable paraphrases, one in particular which I’ve carried around with me for these 50 years and have used in many sermons. A young man who was pretty average academically, but whose passion was cars, chose to rewrite Psalm 1 thus:

“Man is like a car,
    oiled well and kept in good running condition.
That runs good when necessary
    whose pistons will never crack.
Not so the wicked, not so;
    they are like dirt, which the air filter removes.
Therefore, in a check-up 
    the dirt will be no more,
    nor the grime, in the motor of man.
For God, the mechanic, watches closely,
    so the dirt and grime will be no more.”

Jim Cyrowski, wherever you are...thank you for once again inspiring me and the people who may be reading this today!

Psalm 1’s themes of reward for the righteous and virtuous person, and of punishment for the wicked and the ungodly, characterize Israel’s ancient wisdom teachers, particularly the writers of the books of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes. The psalm dates from about c. 400 B.C.E., when wisdom and God’s law were considered virtually identical. In the simplest terms, the sage-writer of Psalm 1 aims to teach people how to live. Wisdom: hokma in Hebrew, means human wisdom as it is lived and practiced. The “wise” person is one who has “practical ability”, “professional skill”, one who can live well, rule well, think well. Such a person is interested in the great questions of life, and how to translate the wisdom of the insights and answers to such questions into everyday, practical, here-and-now living. A wise person or sage is one who gains such knowledge through a relatively long life, through many and varied experiences, and through integrity, wholeness, and holiness learned from relationship with one’s self, with one’s fellow human beings, and, most of all, from one’s relationship with God.  Such a person is called righteous: possessing true shalom = peace, because one’s relationships, with self, with other human beings, and with God, are integral, whole, and therefore, sacred. Sadly, such a concept of wisdom is increasingly quite foreign to the American culture.

Like the Beatitudes of Jesus, verses 1-3 of Psalm 1 describe the righteous one using the wisdom-writers’ term, happy, blessed = makarios, in Greek. That’s truly a wise and clever device, isn’t it, because, right away, it holds out to all who hear or read it exactly what each of us presumably really wants in life: to be happy. The psalmist then goes on to show how a person can accomplish this, in three ways: 1) negatively, 2) positively and 3) by means of a metaphor,.  

Negatively, he advises against a threefold, progressive association with undesirables: “don’t walk in the counsel of the wicked”; “don’t stand in the way of sinners”; “don’t sit in the seat of scoffers”. Shun evildoing; don’t follow advice from those who act contrary to God’s wishes, or take as role models people who’ve gone off the path of the true and the right. Don’t join the company of the arrogant who scorn and sneer at others and at God.

Positively, take delight in Torah, commonly called “the law of the Lord”, which is not meant in a written or legal sense. It refers, rather, to God’s guidance and instruction, God’s Sophia or Wisdom, i.e., God’s very Self. That is to be one’s “delight”, God’s Wisdom, such that it’s never a burden or a yoke, but the sweet, stable foundation of the whole of one’s life. Meditation or prayer is to center at all times, throughout the entire day, and, indeed, throughout one’s whole life, on the Holy One who is All Wisdom and All Truth.

Finally, by means of a metaphor used frequently throughout the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures, whereby the psalmist depicts the righteous person as a tree, “planted by streams of water, which yields fruit in its season, and whose leaves do not wither…” It’s a picture of abundance, prosperity, productivity, usefulness, and ability to endure life’s hardships: all made possible by the nourishing streams of the outpouring of Godself into one’s life. For an Israelite, trees and water were essential sources of food and of relief from the heat. As a tree graciously flourishes and becomes fruit-bearing, so a righteous person branches out, reaches out, graciously and generously to others.

The image of “streams of water” suggests many things: 

• Torah, God’s law, divine Wisdom, pouring Itself out in the creation of the natural world and of humankind; 
• the life-giving Blood of Jesus which the Epistle to the Hebrews refers to as “a better word than the blood of Abel” and as “the new and living way... opened for us”; 
• and, finally, the waters of Baptism where, as the Book of Common Prayer says, we’re “sealed by the Holy Spirit [often symbolized as Sophia/Wisdom]...and marked as Christ’s own for ever”. The celebrant also prays that we be given “an inquiring and discerning heart, [and] the courage to will and to persevere…and the gift of joy and wonder in all [God’s] works.”

In verses 4-6 of Psalm 1, the sage contrasts the righteous one, the flourishing tree by the water-stream, with the image of chaff, recalling the harvesting process. This involved cutting the grain with sickles,  gathering it into sheaves, then taken to the threshing floor where metal-toothed sledges drawn by oxen could thresh the grain. As grain was winnowed, or tossed into the air, the wind carried off the chaff, leaving the heavier kernels and straw to fall to the ground. Finally, the kernels were shaken in a sieve, made of a wooden hoop with leather thongs, after which the grain was sacked and stored. The Psalmist likens the ungodly, conniving, wicked person, i.e., the fool, to chaff: “The wicked are...like chaff that the wind drives away…”. The life of one caught up in godlessness and evil, rather than being “happy”, is pictured as being foolish: fleeting, without permanence, shifting, never settled. Such a person isn’t integral, whole, or at peace with oneself, with others, or, most of all, with God. Sadly, by  their own choice, such people live in separation from God and from “the congregation of the righteous”.

Psalm 1 concludes, in the literal rendering of the Greek text, stating that “the Lord tells/teaches the path of the righteous, whereas the path of the wicked leads to losing oneself.” Another source describes it more graphically: “The path followed by the righteous is broad and safe, because the Lord knows, i.e., it is under his protection. In contrast the path of the wicked, like a desert trail, leads nowhere and will soon peter out... perhaps beside a dry water hole marked by the skeletons of those who followed it.”

The other readings today each suggest in their own way the two options for living which the wisdom-writer of Psalm 1 presents to us. Moses, in Deuteronomy (30:15-20), expresses it most clearly, perhaps: “See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction...life and death, blessings and curses…” Probably written well after the conquest of what we know as the Holy Land, the text hints that God’s people had, time and again during the years after the Exodus, ignored God’s words. They’d taken up the worship of other gods, and had suffered both the consequence of becoming a relatively powerless people whose land was the crossroads of other mighty empires, and the consequence of their own failures and betrayal of God. Deuteronomy presents Moses' words in the context of Israel’s having experienced a happy, as well as tragic, roller coaster ride in the years after entering the promised land: without Moses, of course. 

Moses is shown giving a final pep-talk to the descendants of those with whom he escaped from Egypt a generation back. They’re on the frontier of the Promised Land. God has already informed Moses that he’ll glimpse it before he dies, without ever entering it. Moses himself never saw the Torah as any sort of burden. He assures the people that God’s will, “the law of the Lord”, is "not too hard ..., nor is it too far away". God's Wisdom is, in fact, "in your mouth and in your heart". That’s how intimate and immediate God’s Presence is to people in leading them on the path of the righteous. The community of Israel already has the Torah on its collective lips and in its heart, presumably as the result of their continual individual and communal reflection on it. The choice for them is quite clear: if you love God by doing God's will, then you’ll have long life and blessing. If you serve other gods, then you’ll die. God calls all heaven and earth to witness to the choice which God offers again: life or death.  

The Letter to Philemon (1-21) is slightly different in that Paul poses a choice, a rather radical one at that, to Philemon regarding his runaway slave. Philemon was a dearly beloved friend of Paul’s, as well as a leader in the Colossian community. Paul refers to “the church in your house”. Philemon’s slave, Onesimus, had somehow ended up running away from, or at least leaving, Philemon’s household and serendipitously connecting with Paul, most likely in Ephesus. Paul was in prison there, and Onesimus became Paul’s right-hand man, much to Paul’s delight. Paul several times plays on the name, Onesimus, which means useful or beneficial.  

Paul proposes that Philemon accept Onesimus back. In returning Onesimus, Paul wants to be “legally correct”, because that would’ve been the right thing to do, and he makes it very clear both that Onesimus will honor Philemon’s decision, either way, and that he, Paul, will pay any outstanding expenses which Philemon has incurred. Paul says that he’d prefer that Philemon would honor his request willingly, instead of feeling pressured to do so. Yet, Paul is shamelessly unrelenting in laying a guilt trip on Philemon. Paul plays the "age card": “...I, Paul, do this as an old man…”, then adds the "suffering servant card": “...and now also as a prisoner of Christ Jesus…” He tells Philemon that Onesimus has been such an invaluable assistant in the ministry that he’s become like a son. Paul even hints that he’d like to keep Onesimus with him, truth be told! Yet though Paul would welcome Philemon’s sending Onesimus back to him as a gift, he’s willing to let him go, if only Philemon will take him back unconditionally, no longer as a slave, but as “a beloved brother”. In fact, Paul urges Philemon to “welcome him as you would welcome me”, throwing in the little jab that “I say nothing about your owing me even your own self”. Paul admits his confidence that Philemon “will do even more than I say”. 

It’s possible that Paul’s letter wasn’t just meant for Philemon, but that Paul wanted it to be read to the Colossian community also. That would prod others to reassess their conscious willingness to accept all others as Christ would. Imagine yourself as Philemon, hearing this read during the Sunday announcements! I also wonder if anyone took bets on what Philemon would ultimately choose to do!

Then there’s that Gospel passage (Luke 14:25-33), where Luke’s Jesus expresses, most painfully and uncompromisingly of the three readings, the gist of Psalm 1’s message: “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even life itself—cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” There’s no way to tone down or euphemize the intensity of the verb usually translated as "hate": the word miseo, in the Greek text, is clear. 19 out of 21 translations which I checked use that exact word. Parenthetically, the Gospel of Thomas, an ancient source, not included in our Christian canon of Scripture, has virtually the same passage and wording in two places. St. Matthew’s Gospel account (10:37), gives a softened version: “Any one who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and any one who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” This is a dilemma, at least for me, because I can’t imagine Jesus teaching anyone to literally hate another person for any reason, much less a close family member. The commentaries which I’ve studied either side-step the question or go along with Matthew’s viewpoint. Here’s what I personally feel sure of: that I’m called to do no less than what Matthew’s Jesus commands, i.e., to love no person or thing more than Jesus the Christ. As to what Luke’s Jesus commands, here’s something for you to maybe  “chew on” and to pray about for yourselves during the coming week:

Pastor Lisa Davison, of the Disciples of Christ Church and professor of religious studies at Lynchburg College in Virginia, offers this: “...As Jesus has been making his way to Jerusalem, the crowd following him has increased, as more people are moved by his message and make the spontaneous choice to join the cause. Most, if not all, of them have no idea what they are signing up for...On down the road, when the going gets tough, they will turn away...Jesus does not want such unthinking discipleship, and he also does not want anyone to be uninformed of what will be asked of them. He overstates the level of commitment that is required of his followers (e.g., hating family and life) to make clear that nothing else can come before their loyalty to God and the gospel message. Nothing and no one in their lives can come before God.”

The Grace & Mercy Which Trumps All

Whatever our age, regardless of what we do, we’re all aware of the inner struggle for acceptance, for being recognized, for being valued in some way. To be accomplished in at least one thing is something which can motivate us. For some it would be sports skills, for others being gifted musicians or dancers. More common perhaps, for various motives, is the attempt to try to dazzle others with knowledge or position on the corporate ladder; or with the car we drive; or with the size of our house; or with our perceived handsome face or abeautiful body. In itself, the desire to improve and to excel is quite natural, and today’s texts reflect upon this very human need for recognition and self-esteem.

As was his frequent custom, Jesus used parables and stories, to convey his message. The examples in Luke’s Gospel (14:7-14) relate to the role of guests and hosts at table. Jesus notes how guests are maneuvering for the honored places. He’s also aware that his host has put him, and probably others of prominence, on display in order to impress the host’s friends. And Jesus challenges both for that. In this setting his message points to a higher wisdom, allowing one to escape being preoccupied, often to one’s own detriment and to that of others, with an unending quest for recognition. The Epistle from Hebrews (13:1-8; 15-16) helps us to apply this message of the Gospel parable to some very specific areas and people in our lives, guiding us to understand the real source of human esteem and worth.

Jesus had been invited to a Sabbath dinner at the home of a Pharisee, probably a VIP, well-recognized and prominent in the community. Of course, Jesus was no slouch either when it came to being noticed! Earlier, in Chapter 11, Luke records a woman from a crowd eagerly blurting out, “Blessed is the womb that bore you and the breasts that nursed you!” In the next chapter Luke says that “many thousands had gathered” to hear Jesus, “so that they were trampling on one another”: this, at a time long before rock concerts, mind you! In last week’s Gospel, from Chapter 13, Luke comments that “the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing”, on that particular occasion, making the religious hypocrites in the synagogue look foolish.

Luke’s next words today, then, shouldn’t surprise us: “...they were watching him.” Some, much to the delight of the host, would ogle Jesus because here was someone whom the townspeople were talking about, this prophet of Nazareth, an “item” of interest. Others, however, Jesus’ enemies, the “religious” folks, were engaged in a sort of “rabbi-sting operation”: pretending open hospitality, yet waiting for, hoping for, some indiscretion on Jesus’ part that would justify their getting rid of him. Perhaps as the evening wore on Jesus would loosen up a bit with food and wine, and say or do something that would make their day!

Luke omits what Jesus did next, in the shift from verse 1 to verse 7. Verse 2 reads: “There in front of [Jesus] was a man suffering from dropsy.” [More commonly called edema, dropsy refers to an abnormal accumulation of fluid which can affect the eyes, the extremities, the feet and other organs.] “...So taking hold of the man,” says Luke, “he healed him and sent him away...”

 The sacredness of the Sabbath for the Jewish people had been enshrined in the Genesis creation story itself, with God’s own “resting” after creation, justifying the foundation and basis of the Sabbath day of rest for all. Nevertheless, over the centuries the weekly rest, meant to be a blessing rather than a burden, had become a source of bondage for many Jews. Law after law defined what was work and what wasn’t. Some 39 kinds of work were forbidden on Shabbat. Because one could walk only a certain distance from home on the Sabbath, even an act of mercy to someone in need was to be avoided in order to be “on the safe side”. 

What Jesus asked and eventually did at the dinner was quite astounding, and, to Pharisees, outrageous! Jesus‘ so-called “indiscretion” at this dinner far exceeded their wildest hopes! Here’s this man with dropsy sitting before him. “Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the Law, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?‘“ He’s met with stony silence. You can imagine them looking from Jesus to the man with dropsy, and thinking, “He wouldn’t dare.” But he did dare! “...taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him away.” 

One can only imagine the headlines the next day: “Yeshua bar Joseph Caught In Synagogue, Blaspheming on the Sabbath!” Jesus was clearly either guilty of breaking the Law, or else he was conveying a radically new message to the Pharisees, and to us. The message is simple: God’s grace and mercy trumps everything else. The only recognition, esteem or worth, the only thing which really makes you and me valuable and acceptable, and therefore equal, that makes you and me Number 1, is the fact that God accepts us through God’s enduring grace.

Many of us don’t find it easy to “accept that we are accepted” by God, as theologian Paul Tillich phrased it. The idea of grace: that I would be accepted and recognized and loved by God, simply for who, and what, and as I am, is so foreign to the way human beings normally deal with one another that we think that there must be a catch of some sort! Throughout his ministry, Jesus, in essence, has to almost jump up and down, and do and say outrageous things just to get people’s attention and convince them, and us, that it’s true.

God is graciousness personified: grace, gratia = free gift. For a Cursillo weekend three years ago, I was assigned the talk on Grace, and I love the Prayer Book’s definition given in the Outline of the Faith, which I quoted in my talk: “Grace is God’s favor towards us, unearned and undeserved; by grace God forgives our sins, enlightens our minds, stirs our hearts, and strengthens our wills.” That graciousness never wears thin. “The loving kindness of the Lord endures forever”, says the Psalmist.

Fr. Michael Malone writes the following: “Imagine the following scene. A person feeling badly about himself; he has been involved in a minor traffic accident, hitting the car in front of him. It had been mostly the other driver’s fault for stopping abruptly without warning. The driver of the rear car has straightened out the matter, apologizing to the other driver as he feels a Christian should. But he knows that he has not meant the apology and really doesn’t feel sorry. A friend notices and says, ‘You speak now as though you regret something.‘ ‘Yes, I know I should have felt the sorrow which I expressed but didn’t feel.‘ ‘In other words, you feel sorry about not feeling sorry?‘ the friend asks. ‘Yes. I’m dissatisfied with myself: I don’t feel the sorrow which I think I should feel.‘ The friends asks, ‘And if you really did feel sorry about hitting the other car, then would you be happy?‘  The man says, ‘Well, I guess so. Then I wouldn’t feel as if God is holding up a final installment of forgiveness until I feel the way I think I ought to feel.‘ His friend smiles. ‘Do you think that God’s grace is conditional upon your feelings?‘ ‘I guess that’s what I think,‘ the driver admits. ‘Then how is that ‘grace‘ in any sense of the word? If you’ve earned it, then it isn’t a gift!’”

So often we believe that God’s forgiveness and grace “takes” only if we’re perfect, only if we do and feel the “right” things. We live with guilt and with the suspicion that sooner or later we’ll ring up a “No Sale” at God’s cash register! So often we write ourselves and others off as something less than we really are. “Why would God look twice at us?” How could God be more of a “patsy” or a pushover than we are?

As the Letter to the Hebrews notes, the reason God is gracious to you and me is because God created us with the Love which is grace, and in God’s Son, “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and for ever”, God redeemed us by grace and mercy, even when we were unworthy of it. God assures us that grace is ongoing: “I will never fail you nor forsake you.” The only way in which you and I could not be Number 1 in God’s eyes is if we were to deliberately choose, through selfishness, to be less than that. True, God’s grace and mercy isn’t without challenge. Once accepted, it will certainly push us to our limits. It may even offend us because it’s so unlike how we would act, so foreign to the yardstick we generally use to measure recognition and success.

Michel Quoist writes:

“You said it in your Gospel: ‘not one hair of your head falls
without my permission.’

It’s true, Lord, that you are always thinking of us.
It’s true, from the beginning of time, before we existed,
Even before the world existed,
You have been dreaming of me,
Thinking of me,
Loving me.
And it’s true that your Love created me,
Not on an assembly-line, but unique,
The first one so made, and the last,
Indispensable to humanity.
It’s true, Lord, that you have conceived for my life a unique
destiny.
It’s true that you have an eternal plan for me alone, 
A wonderful plan that you have always cherished in your heart,
as a [parent] thinks over the smallest details in the life of [the]
little one still unborn.
It’s true that, always bending over me, you guide me to bring
your plan about, light on my path and strength for my soul.
It’s true that…when I stray or run away...you hasten to pick me up if I 
stumble or fall...

You, the divine Attentive One,
the divine Patient One,
the divine Present One,
See that at no time I forget your presence.
I don’t ask you to bless what I myself have decided to do, but
Give me the grace to discover and to live what you have dreamed
for me.” 
( From Prayers, Michel Quoist, “The Bald Head”, Sheed & Ward, 1963, pp. 91-92) 

The Saint Who Lost His Head For the Truth

(Sculpture on wood, by Santiago Martinez Delgado, 1942, 

Museo Nacional de Bogota Colombia)

"Since the memory of blessed John the Baptist is not to be passed over cursorily, it is important that we should note who he was, and by whom, and for what cause, and how, and when he was slain. A just man is slain by adulterers, and the guilty passed sentence of death upon the judge. Further, the death of the Prophet was the reward of a dancing girl. Lastly (which all the barbarians even would be likely to shudder at) the order to consummate the cruelty went forth amid feasting and conviviality; and from the banquet to the prison, from the prison to the banquet, the obedient agents of this death-dealing and disgraceful act went to and fro. How great are the crimes contained in this single infamy!"

(From the book of St. Ambrose, Bishop, On Virgins)

St. Augustine of Hippo

(Icon by Richard G. Cannuli, OSA)

"Too late have I loved you, O Beauty so ancient and so new,

too late have I loved you!

Behold, you were within me, while I was outside: 

it was there that I sought you, and, deformed creature,

rushed headlong upon these things of beauty which you have made.

You were with me, but I was not with you.

They kept me far from you, those fair things which, 

if they were not in you, would not exist at all.

You have called to me, and have cried out, and have shattered my deafness.

You have blazed forth with light, and have shone upon me,

and you have put my blindness to flight!

You have sent forth fragrance, and I have drawn in my breath, and I pant after you.

I have tasted you, and I hunger and thirst after you.

You have touched me, and I have burned for your peace."

(The Confessions, Book 10, Chapter 27)

God's Answer To Setting People Free

“We are determined to be free in ’63!” Those words were spoken by Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. 50 years ago at the March on Washington. What more fitting time can there be, than the current celebration of this historic event and of King’s memorable speech, to reflect on the gift of freedom.

The simple message of Luke’s Gospel passage (13:10-17) is that God’s purpose is always to see us free. Luke’s story unfolds as Jesus is teaching in “one of the synagogues”. We’re not told where it is. A woman is there who’d been crippled for 18 years, so that she was bent over and unable to stand up straight. This isn’t a rare thing even in our own day. One of my priest friends has scoliosis severe enough that he has to stand back in the supermarket aisle in order to see the top shelf. 

The woman, apparently, has come as a worshipper, perhaps a regular one. She’s undoubtedly sitting with other women in their section. In Orthodox Judaism, a mechitzah, i.e., a wall or curtain, separates the women from the men, sometimes placing women in a second floor balcony. A Jewish commentary explains the rationale thus: 1) mingling of the sexes can lead to frivolity. One’s mind is supposed to be on prayer, not on the pretty girl praying near you; and 2) even if the sexes are separated, they shouldn’t be able to interact much during a religious service, lest this lead to gazing and impure thoughts. Many pagan religious ceremonies in ancient Jewish times involved sexual activity and orgies. The separation was seen to prevent, or at least to discourage, this. Interestingly, although men shouldn’t be able to see women during prayer, women are permitted to see men during prayer. It may be that women are judged as better able to concentrate on prayer with an attractive member of the opposite sex visible, than vice versa! Because of these restrictions, the mechitzah is usually opaque, at least from the men's side. Some mechitzot divide the front and back of the synagogue; others divide the left and right sides of the synagogue, thus enabling the women to not be farther away from the service than the men.

Notice that the woman in the Gospel, keeping a low profile, isn’t the one who asks for healing. Jesus notices her and simply announces: “Woman, you’re set free from your ailment.” Disregarding Jewish custom, he walks over to her and lays hands on her. Luke says the woman stood up right away and began praising God: out of habit, one could assume. 

As in many congregations, regardless of denomination, there’s always one self-righteous person who feels compelled to enforce the liturgical “rules” by the book! In this case, Luke says, it’s the leader of the synagogue. We can imagine him, with his prissy, indignant face, jumping up and announcing loudly: “People... there are six other days when work is supposed to be done! Please come only on those days, not on the Sabbath!” He’s a perfect example of one who’s made the Law and the Sabbath an idol.

Jesus is quick to challenge him and any others in the congregation who share such views: “You hypocrites!” Jesus draws a vivid contrast between their willingness, on the Sabbath, to rescue a thirsty ox or donkey, leading it to water, and their  hardened resistance to his acting on the Sabbath in behalf of a woman “whom the Adversary had bound for eighteen long years” by her physical ailment: she, who was “a daughter of Abraham”.  Luke notes that Jesus’ opponents were publicly shamed, and that the others, “the entire crowd was rejoicing at all the wonderful things that he was doing.”

Jesus is about freedom, about unbinding people from what holds them back, about releasing them: from physical ailments, from interior anxiety and sickness, from the confining limits of false religiosity. This is the object of God’s ministry to us and among us, and God calls you and me to that same ministry of freeing others to do the work to which God calls them.

The basis for this is what the author of the Letter to the Hebrews speaks about in the second reading (12:18-29). The gracious God has called us in Baptism as citizens “of the living God”, to “the heavenly Jerusalem”, to a “festal gathering” which is “the assembly of the firstborn...to the spirits of the righteous made perfect...and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood” which he shed in order for us to be unbound, released, truly free. His blood, shed for us, is the unique sign of the communication of life between God and us. We’re sisters and brothers in Christ in God’s family, and, as such, are called to “offer to God an acceptable worship with reverence and awe”. Worship doesn’t happen just at church on Sunday: it happens all week long in the way we relate to and reverence one another, in the ways we carry out our ministries so that everyone with whom we associate can be free from whatever would bind or control or limit them from doing what they’re called to do. The author of Hebrews warns us: “See that you do not refuse the One who is speaking.” We refuse the One who speaks to us any time we cause another to be less free for doing the will of God.

In 1997, Guidepost magazine told the story of a woman from Chappaqua, NY, named Elizabeth Sherold. Elizabeth was working at her computer one afternoon when all of a sudden she saw a skunk stumble across her front yard wearing a yellow helmet, at least it looked like a helmet! It actually turned out to be a yellow plastic yogurt container which was stuck on the skunk’s head. The skunk ran around frantically trying to get it loose, but the container wouldn’t come off. So the skunk continued blindly running this way and that, unable to see. Elizabeth called the Department of Wildlife and asked what she should do, and was politely told that she needed to pull the yogurt container off the skunk’s head! “What if it sprays me?” she countered. “Well, if a skunk can’t see you, he won’t spray you”, said the official.  “Yeah, but what happens”, Elizabeth asked, “when I pull the container off?” “Make sure he doesn’t feel threatened!”, came the answer.

She thanked the official somewhat unconvinced, hung up and went outside. The skunk was nowhere to be found. As she was about to turn and go back inside, all of a sudden a black and white streak suddenly emerged from the bushes and ran straight toward her.  Throwing caution to the wind, she stooped down, quickly grabbed hold of the container, and pulled it off the skunk’s head. Suddenly Elizabeth found herself staring into two alert black eyes a mere two feet away.  But it was free, no longer limited, released! She held the skunk’s gaze for a full 10 seconds before it turned, ran a few yards, then continued on, disappearing down a culvert. 

Here’s what Elizabeth Sherold wrote later about that encounter:  “A timeless parable played itself out, I thought.  For this skunk was all those needs that I hesitate to get involved in.  You know, involvement takes time.  And I have deadlines to meet.  I probably can’t do anything anyway.  And somebody else with more expertise can probably handle it better.  And besides, involvement can be ugly, and the stench may rub off on me.  And all of those things, of course, may be true, but I’ve got a yellow pencil holder on my desk—a rather scratched and battered one—to remind me that every now and then God’s answer to a need is me.”

Without pressing the comparison of a skunk to anyone in your life or mine (!),  “every now and then God’s answer to a need”, to helping someone else get, at least metaphorically, “straightened up”, loosened from their burden, made free again, is you and me!