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Christ the King & Vietnamese Martyrs

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on November 25, 2001

Posted in: Homily.

November 25, 2001 2 Samuel 5:1-3 + Colossians 1:12-20 + Luke 23:35-43

It is a wonderful and thoughtful co-incidence of dates that often brings together the Church’s Feast of Christ the King and the Feast of the Martyrs of Vietnam. Here in our parish it is even more festive and more appropriate for us to combine these observances of the Universal Church; for the message the Church proclaims to the world on the Feast of Christ the King is the very message that sustained the faith and the witness of the Church of Vietnam during decades of suffering and violent persecution. The Gospel on this dayturns royal dreams and ideology upside down. This King we proclaim is indistinguishable from the bloodied martyrs whose loyalty to their King Jesus brought them to glory and roots them forever in our memory.

The long journey to Jerusalem this year led us to the home of Zachariah, and then to the Temple where the Lucan Jesus cleansed the Temple and preached his final sermon before turning his head toward the cross which ends up being more of test of our belief than of his courage and wish to fulfill the Father’s Will. As Luke finishes the story, we begin to see that the whole story has been about power.

Human history is one long list of Power’s abuse which would give us every reason to abandon royal images. But the feast gives us another vision of Power. This power is for love. This power is for service. The great struggle for power, which is the dynamic tension of Luke’s Gospel, is finally displayed in these two men on either side of him. They say it all. They reveal it all. They leave us stunned by their honesty with no way to avoid or deny what it’s all about.

The power of Jesus is never more evident and effective than at that moment. Now it is not power to come down from the cross, call from a tomb, restore sight or hearing, or straighten twisted limbs. Now it is power over the human heart. Only Luke’s Gospel tell of these two men, and by placing them in the great contest of power, Luke shifts the image slightly so that suddenly it is not just about Jesus. He isn’t the only one who dies. He isn’t the only one who faces raw power. He isn’t the only who looks death in the face. Those two men draw us into the picture as well. In them we  see ourselves and all humanity. Now, the consequences of power used or abused are inescapable. At the end, there are only two choices, darkness or light, right or wrong, power or service, death or life.

In the context of our celebration today in this parish, we lift up the memory of those who made the choice. The image of this King which would confuse those who look for power and might, gave comfort and courage to those who saw themselves in his suffering. It bonded them in a loyalty that led them to victory.Those who abused power and killed them are long forgotten, dead in the eyes of this world, ignored and forgotten except as examples of evil. Those who were loyal to their King Jesus are alive in glory, remembered, imitated, and treasured as examples of faith and hope’s best glory.

Martyrs of Vietnam or of any age or place, for that matter, are the surest sign of the Gospel’s vitality and the ultimate victory of service and love over power and self. They speak the words of a thief, the words of a sinner, the words of one overwhelmed by the power of love. The words are perhaps the first act of faith, the very first creed: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” They are words of intimacy. They are words that express a simple faith, and words that once spoken establish a bond of loyalty and friendship that even death cannot destroy. In some way, I believe that the martyrs of Vietnam, the martyrs of central America in our own age, the martyrs of North America, the martyrs of Rome, and the faithful loyal servants of others we always remember in this season said the same thing in some way or another. We can hardly do better if we make the choice of that one hanging beside Jesus, and make his words and his hope our own: “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom”.

Ordinary 33

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on November 18, 2001

Posted in: Homily.

November 18, 2001 Malachi 3:19-20 + 2 Thessalonians 3:7-12 + Luke 21:5-19

We like permanence. We like to pretend that things will last a long time, and we get impatient when they wear out. Yet, we live in an economy based upon obsolescence There is a light bulb in a fire station somewhere in this country that has been burning for more than 100 years, and the company that made it is gone!Adolescents live as thought they are indestructible and will live forever. They become impatient with those who have passed fifty or so seasons and might suggest seatbelt, helmets and caution. In this country, we consume the resources of this earth as though they were permanent and inexhaustible. There are some who resent and ridicule anyone who would suggest caution and care.

The Jews at the time of Jesus hada history of destruction and desolation. Yet something about that Temple was beginning to suggest otherwise to them in spite of the fact that they were an occupied nation under the control of the Romans. That place must have been something, the biggest and the best of everything. Herod had doubled it’s size. It was big before he started. You could see it from a long way off. No expense had been spared in its construction. It was older than most of the pilgrims who came there to pray, lacked nothing that could astound the mind or the eye. It was covered on all sides with plates of gold. When the sun would shine on it, people for miles would have to tum away their faces because the light was so intense. The suggestion of Jesus that it would come down was intolerable, unacceptable, and a little over the line of loyalty. It struck at their very identity.

Since September 11, 2001, what goes on in this piece of Luke’s Gospel has a different ring to it for us, especially in this country. Now what Jesus explores and suggests is a little bit more than just history and squabble between himself and the Jews in the Temple. It is a little harder to avoid what he is proposing, and the Lucan image is a little more real to us. That Temple came down, all the way down just like those buildings in New York City. It didn’t come down without the cost of human life either, and the experience of those people who lived to see it was not much different than our own.

It raises big questions about what lasts and what doesn’t, what  matters and what matters not, about whether or not bigger is better, and about how much control power really has, and what makes us secure and what makes us afraid.

Faced with their experience, those early Christians thought that it all was a sign that the world was going to end. Here we are, a couple of thousand years later looking at their expectation and wonder with a little more experience. There are some these days who, like those first Christians, think it’s all over, and we’d better get ready for the rapture. In time, by prayer, grace, wisdom, and the power of the Spirit, they came to understand and hear what Jesus was telling them: “that not a hair of their heads would be harmed.” “By patient endurance you will save your lives.”

What he promises is not that we shall be free of risk, danger, death, and destruction; but that we shall have the strength to endure what comes and victory when it’s all over. Our identity is not in the things we have made nor built; but in what we have become through our relationships with Christ Jesus andeach other. Since we all die sooner or later, there is only one possible interpretation of the promise Jesus makes there in Jerusalem. It is the guarantee that no one can destroy us within, take away our faith or our integrity, or cause us to lose our eternity with God.

We have heard all this before, but we need to thrill to the promise again, to react the way a lover does when the beloved is speaking. That lover, the one who delivers us, is Jesus, and he has many names. The old testament prophet we just heard calls him the SUN OF JUSTICE. When we are wounded by life, beaten down, or simply tired, when we are ill and unable to avoid that final darkness, then those words come true for us: “The Sun of Justice will arise with its healing rays.” This is the Word of the Lord.

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Ordinary 32

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on November 11, 2001

Posted in: Homily.

November 11, 20012 Maccabees 7:1-2,9-14 + 2 Thessalonians 2:16-3:5 + Luke 20:27-38

This question about death comes to us in Luke at two levels, andit is not at all difficult to identify with one of them.Thefirst is theliteral level of a conversation between Jesus and the Sadducees.It is cold, impersonal, theoretical, and full of subtle threat.Their aim is to argue, embarrass, and force Jesus into one school of thought or another.There is no spirit of inquiry or a desire to learn.They want to divide the audience, and they are simply baiting Jesus with one of their classic “what if’ questions.It is a question they have already decided.They do not believe in the resurrection of the dead. J esus answers their question, not their attitude.The second is the personal, pastoral level of the Lucan church which is experiencing the death of friends and relatives creating a mood of unrelieved grief, sadness, and mourning,much like the mood that has settled upon our country in the past six weeks.

This Gospel is for us, not the Sadducees.The specific response of Jesus leads us beyond trying to imagine what it’s like on the other side of death to reflect on what matters on this side and what matters on that side.The “how” and “what” and “when” and “where” of resurrected life is not what we are given,and our Christian ancestors knew no more about it than we do. What is revealed to us in the Gospel is that we are to anchor ourselves in a sure faith that we have a living and loving God who has accomplished our salvation by the death and resurrection of Jesus.This faith gives us hope that provides meaning and purpose for our days and nights until we shall move beyond time into everlasting life.

There is nothing revealed to us that should lead us to be swayed or confused by ideas that lead us to an unhealthy and unholy fascination with popular phenomena like seances, mediums, psychics and advisors who claim  ontact with the dead.Out of body experiences have nothing to do with faith and life  everlasting.They are distractions to a people who are urged by the Gospel to keep their feet on the ground and stick with what we know to be true:that God is a God of the living and our relationship with thatGod is all that matters.What we know to be true is that all life, here and hereafter, consists in friendship with God.Death may put an end to physical existence, but not to a relationship that is eternal.Consequently, Jesus says, the relationship of those brothers (in the silly story of the Sadducees) to each other and to this woman is of no consequence whatsoever.At death, we lose everything except our relationship to God.

What is revealed to us is that all the effort, concern, worry, and anxiety that fills our lives over what people are going to think of us, what they may say about us, how well they will like us, is as silly as the story of the Sadducees.This Gospel proposes that we take a look at how much of our energy and time is spent on things that are irrelevant and on relationships with others in this life in terms of what they can do for us, or how they are going to help us get ahead.It proposes that we look at how much time and energy we put into the relationship we have with God, because in the end,that’s the only relationship that is going to get is anywhere at all.

The Lucan church was beginning to figure this out as things fell apart all around them,and family and friends suddenly and violently began to be taken from them.They began to realize that what really mattered was their sound and deeply rooted relationship with God.Friendship with God is what constitutes life here and hereafter.Death cannot take that away nor change it.On this truth rests our expectation of resurrection.

Ordinary 31

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on November 4, 2001

Posted in: Homily.

November 4, 2001Wisdom 11:22-12:2 + 2 Thessalonians 1:11-2:2 + Luke 19:1-10

We are at the end of the Journey Liturgically for us it was a 19 week trip that walked us through Luke’s School of Discipleship. Scripturally for us it was an exploration of Lukan thought from chapter nine to nineteen. It began with these words in verse 51 “Now it happened that as the time drew near for him to be taken up, he resolutely turned his face towards Jerusalem….” But notice how it ends. This visit to the house of Zacchaeus was not a delay or a detour on his journey to Jerusalem. This was and is, the very purpose of the journey “The Son of man came to seek and to save what was lost.” Luke will get Jesus to Jerusalem in another few verses; but that city is not where Jesus is going. He is headed for our homes to stay with us, be with us, live with us, and die with us.

The final virtue of the disciple – that characteristic perhaps toward which all the others have pointed is the virtue that brings Jesus, that attracts him, draws him, invites him: the virtue of Repentance.

Zacchaeus stands before us in sharp contrast to that crowd who can’t quite see Jesus because they are too busy looking at and criticing Zacchaeus. They have shut him out, and in their righteous critique of his life, they have shut out Jesus. Zacchaeus, unlike the crowd can see Jesus, wants to see Jesus, and is willing go to some inconvenience and take some risk to do so. Never mind his dignity, stature, or what he might look like in the eyes of others, he will see Jesus, and he will do what ever it takes; and Jesus sees him. You can almost see the two of them walking over to the house – walking away from the crowd, their backs turned away from the whispering, accusing, blaming crowd who do not hear themselves called “Children of Abraham”, and will find no salvation in their homes. It is the crowd that is indicted by this story They were so put off by their suppositions concerning Zacchaeus that they failed to “see” that in terms of the righteousness of God they were as “lost” as anyone, and were diverted from “seeing” Jesus and gladly welcoming him to their salvation.

In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus announces three times that salvation has come. First at the synagogue when his tum came and he rolled up the scroll, sat down, and said. “Today this message of salvation is being fulfilled.” (4:20). It happened in Nazareth and it caused a riot. Then, a second time he says it in today’s passage in Jericho. He will say it one more time to a condemned dying thief hanging at his side (23:42). What it takes to experience this “salvation” is seen in these two who are outside the symbolic synagogue: repentance.

In Zacchaeus we see it best and understand what it means. The virtue as Luke explores it is not something Zacchaeus did, but something he became that brought  other consequences. Luke’s Gospel of Grace is joined to Repentance, and this Repentance is not solely a transaction of the heart. It isn’t just feelings.Repentance bears fruit: this was made clear as early as m the preaching of John the Baptist as soldiers, and tax collectors came to him in repentance asking: “What shall we do?”

This life of repentance bears fruit, not only for the household of Zacchaeus, but also the poor who will be beneficiaries of his conversion as well as those people whom he may have defrauded. Repentance has more than personal effects. There is a domestic, social, and economic dimension as well. In Luke, salvation is not simply a matter of the soul. It touched the whole human family and the whole fabric of human before.

In the great, soon-to-unfold story of Jesus and the cross, the presence of the Risen Christ makes noble and holy the home and the table of the faithful disciple. It happened in Jericho, it happened in Emmaus, and it can happen here ifwe will be his disciples.

All Saints

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on November 1, 2001

Posted in: Homily.

November 1, 2001

As Luke tells the story, Jesus is surrounded by the desperate and the despised. They probably pushed and shoved wanting to touch him because they needed healing. Some translations begin by saying that Jesus “lifted up his eyes to them”. It gives us a sense that he was down there on the ground with them tending the pain, looking them in the eye, touching their tears, listening to their whispered pleas. He was there in solidarity with the needy. He was more comfort giver than teacher, more tender than instructive, more embracing of their pain than the distant lawgiver.

Then he talks of them to those who are watching. He speaks of the poor, the persecuted, the grieving, the lowly, the hungry, the sad, the hated, the outcasts and he calls them “Blessed.” They are the holy ones, they are the Saints. Not the comfortable, powerful, respected, and secure. His message comes as a surprise to a people who look upon the comfortable, powerful, respected and secure as being blessed and special.

It is a message that belongs on this day: All Saints Day, and it is one that bears repeating, year after year until we get it right. The Saints, the Holy Ones, the ones who bear the face of God for us are not all in heaven, and they are not dead.They don’t look too good. They are dirty and feverished. Theyare poor and diseased. They don’t wear the latest style, and no one is pushing to sit next to them. Yet, Jesus says: they are Blessed, and he’s down there with them.

Perhaps this dayinvites us to get real about Saints; to get honest about them; and get serious about our own call to sanctity. The road to holiness may not be a way of piety, countless pious prayers, and perfectly sinless lives.Considering those Jesus has called Blessed, one might wonder how they got that way: how they got hungry, poor, persecuted, abandoned, and sorrowful. It might just be because they took Jesus seriously, and they paid a price for it.

Ordinary 30

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on October 28, 2001

Posted in: Homily.

October 28, 2001 Sirach 35: 12-14 ,16-18 + 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 Luke 18:9-14

The parable is not about Payer, Pharisees, nor Tax Collectors.When we start with thinking, then we reveal that we think it’s about us. It isn’t.It’s about God.It’s about a God who forgives and justifies sinners.All that is needed to experience the divine mercy is to recognize oneself as such before God. (That, just as an aside, is one of the reasons why we Catholics go to confession. not because it’s the only way to be forgiven, but because it publicly gives witness to our condition as sinners in need of mercy )

What is happening here on the road to Jerusalem is Luke’s effort to bring disciples to recognize that they are Justified,but the point is that they are justified not by what they do, who they know, or where they are,but that they are justified by God, not by anything they can do or sayAgain, Luke is looking at virtues, not behavior It’s a matter of attitude.There is nothing wrong with either prayer in this storyIn fact, they are both reciting psalms: the Pharisee is using Psalm 17 and the Tax Collector is using Psalm 34.The problem is not the prayer, the problem is the focus. All the Pharisee can do is recite what he has done.His prayer is all about him.What the Tax Collector does is make God the center of his prayerOne has no room for God because he is so filled with his own accomplishments. The other acknowledges God as the source and ground of his life and hope.He is justified, not the other one.

Disciples of Jesus Christ are a people justified, not by what they do,but by the God who saves them, has mercy on them, and sees truth in the heart. What we hear in the parable is not just what these two men think of themselves. They also reveal what think of God.The Pharisee regards God as something he deserves or earns: like stock in a corporation. It’s as though he is waiting for some special honor or privilege. The Tax Collector sees God as wholly other, as holiness, yet so in love with sinners like him that he could be pardoned.

Disciples of Jesus Christ are a people justified, not because God owes them something,  but because they have stood in truth before God and acknowledged their need and the inadequacy of their own deeds to save themselves.It is discomforting to recognize how much of the Pharisee there is in us,how quickly when sorrow comes we say· “Why has this happened to me? I go to Mass, I pray, I’m just and fair and good? Why?”It’s a thinking that suggests that we have a right to expect favors, and if they don’t come, everythmg falls apart.This is not the disciple’s virtue.

Disciples of Jesus Christ are justified by the truth of their sinfulness and God’s free gift to all who will come m that truth.It is not a matter of human achievement.In the new order Jesus came to maugurate, it is the era of salvation and justification experienced as a gift, not as a nght.In such disciples then, righteousness is never about self, but always about the God who saves with mercy, forgiveness and love.As Disciples in formation then,we come humbly into this holy place and into the prayer of this Eucharist acknowledging what God has done for us in spite of what we have failed to do, and we rejoice in what is promised to us and to all who seek and share mercy and forgiveness.We might therefore cling to the hope that we shall go home today justified and give glory to God.

Ordinary 29

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on October 21, 2001

Posted in: Homily.

October 21, 2001 Exodus 17:8-13 + 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2 + Luke 18:1-8

Luke pulls a switch with this the parable todayI suspect that when Jesus used this parable, it was, like all his parables, about God, his “Father”In which case, the point of the story was the judge, and the listener would have drawn into a reflection upon the surprising figure who is moved by this persistent widow to provide the justice for which she pleas.Yet, when Luke tells the story it is not so clearly about the judge.In the context of the journey to Jerusalem the widow emerges as the story’s focus.

For the past sixteen weeks, the Jesus of Luke’s Gospel has been guide and mentor in the way to Jerusalem.The ongoing spiritual formation of disciples provides sound advise to sober and strengthen believers who day after day live with the challenges of a worldly kingdom and walk the moral minefields of materialism and consumerism.The injustice that surrounds us makes this parable all too real.We know the two-tier society of rich and poor, those on the inside and those on the outside, the “haves” and the “have nots” are not invisible.We know how “justice” as a system works too, and so the thought of this judge is not too far from the truth.He has no conscience, this judge; he cares nothing for ethics, and he functions only for his own good, not for the widow’s.She doesn’t have the right connections to gain access to justice, so she uses prayer, and she uses it persistently.

She emerges as the prime figure for us in our study and reflection on discipleship; not because she is a widow,not because she is alone, not because she is woman,nor because she is an uneducated outcast without a name, wealth, land or power But she emerges because, unlike others of her kind, she is persistent, constant, steady, and unbending in face of any obstacle.The virtue she offers disciples is the virtue of persistent prayerAgain, it’s not something you do, it’s a virtue and a way of doing things. It means that prayer in the life of disciple is not occasional nor convenient. It does not only rise up in time of trouble, but it is constant, steady, and persistently a part of every day and every moment.

This kind of life – filled with prayer, is the clearest sign of faith.It is not about the “right” prayer, about devotions, or about the prayers of Christians, Jews, or Muslims.

It is about a life style that is constantly prayerful, always lived in the presence of God, and seeing and relating all things to divine will and the divine presence.This kind of faith is not something taught in catechism or school, but something caught by attitude and example.It is the consequence of a God-centered life rooted in conviction and trust in a God who will never abandon or ignore those who entrust themselves to the divine power, care and mercy in prayer.

It is because of the shift from self to God that perseverance in prayer becomes possible,because God, who is utterly reliable,has pledged to hear prayers and has promised that those who ask receive, those who seek find and those who knock will find that no door shall be closed to them. In that kind of faith, persistent prayer becomes not only possible but a permanent practice in the life of the believer and disciple.

The first witness to this truth is Jesus himselfwhose life is one of prayer that ultimately leads him through darkness, loneliness, death, and the grave to the ultimately victory of Justice.It can be no different then for his disciples.The judges of this world tell us “No” and “Go away”but prayer in the style of this widow sustains our hope and renews the courage of all who cry for justice.If a corrupt and self-preserving judge will finally give way to the cry of that widow,how much easier will be it be with a God of Mercy and Compassion?

Ordinary 28

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on October 14, 2001

Posted in: Homily.

October 14, 2001 2 Kings 5:14-17 + 2 Timothy 2:8-13 + Luke 17:11-19

It is certainly a story about boundaries – about boundaries disregarded.It makes no difference that those unclean are to avoided. It makes no difference that they live across the boarder, and it makes no difference that they are SamaritansWhere there is faith, there is healing: that is the issue here, and faith is not limited to just the “right” people:those who live on the right side of the boarder or those who are nice and clean.With Jesus Christ, and for His disciples, there are no boundaries when it comes to service and a share in healing grace.There are no boundaries when it comes to restoring those who have been excluded,but boundaries is not exactly what this is all about, and this story,told on the way to Jerusalem, puts before us a contrast from which we may draw another of the disciple’s virtues.

Luke proposes a distinction here between the nine and the one:a distinction we might describe as physical healing and spiritual healing. Notice that the healing of their physical infirmity did not bring salvation.Although the nine who did not return to Jesus were indeed cured physically, there is no mention at all of their spiritual healing or salvation.On the other hand, the one who returns to Jesus, the one who acknowledges what God had done for him through Jesus Christ is the one who is saved by faith.Because of his gratitude by which he gave evidence of his faith, this GRATEFULleper was enabled to experience salvation beyond his physical cure.It is Gratitude that Luke singles out as a virtue to be found in disciples of Jesus Christ.In Luke’s thought, the grateful recognition of God’s initiative that brings healing and salvation is surest sign of faith.One’s faith is confirmed by the witness of gratitude. Without it, there is no assurance of Salvation.

Faith for the disciple of Jesus is not a matter of rules kept nor prayers said.It is a matter of Gratitude in response to the initiative God has taken on our behalf.Disciples are Grate/ul.They recognize what God has done for them.They return again and again to the feet of the master and “speak his praises”, as the Gospel describes it.This is a public recognition, please take note.

It is not something the leper does quietly in his heart or at home in his room.This “gratitude”, found in a disciple of Jesus, moves one to public recognition and acknowledgment of one’s gratitude.This 1s why we are here, in this public place rather than on the golf course, at brunch, or in bed at this hourThe disciple of Jesus is grateful in an open, public wayThe disciple of Jesus is found at the master’s feet giving praise and thanks.

Gratitude for a disciple of Jesus is way of life, not passing emotion.It is a life changing conversion that is as public as a known leper throwing himselfat the feet of Jesus Christ in a Samaritan town. We are not talking personal, private stuff here.Disciples formed in Luke’s traditionare a people who have known what it meansto be accepted, included, healed, saved, and graced by a God who ignores all boundaries,and their gratitude is contagious.

Ordinary 27

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on October 7, 2001

Posted in: Homily.

October 7, 2001 Habakkuk 1:2-3;2:2-4 + 2 Timothy 1:6-8;13-14 + Luke 17:5-10

An interesting and very revealing thing can happen with this parable if you want to pay attention to yourself. Think for a moment about which of the two people you identify with, and then as you reflect on the parable, you begin to see it from one side or the other; the master or the servant/slave. There is not much in our culture and society that would encourage us to hear this parable from the side of the slave/servant. I think almost invariably, we tend at first hearing to work from the view point of the master Now granted, the grammar and structure of the story as we receive it is tilted somewhat toward the master’s side; but anyone who is a real servant/slave at heart would continue to hear it from the other side. That is important to think about, because the real issue here is not how the boss treats the servant but how the servant understands his role. If we hear this parable in it’s place on the journey to Jerusalem with all its commentary on the virtues of a disciple, then it’s the servant in the story who has the most to tell us, and from whom we should be drawing the lesson.

The story, in a somewhat “back-door” way, reminds each ofus of our servant­ hood, and how tempting it is to opt for a role reversal. The story speaks to us of Duty, and it proposes that a disciple of Jesus is dutiful.

From the time of our mythic ancestors called: Adam and Eve, creatures and servants have attempted the role reversal so evident in this parable. Faith gives us the insight to see who we are: servants in the manner of Jesus who did not cling to anything godly, but emptied himself and assumed entirely the role of the servant/slave. When the disciple views what God has done for us in Jesus Christ, then the responsible disciple gives back what is due – which is what “duty” is all about: giving what is due. It isn’t something extra, nor is it something for which congratulations should be in order It is simply a matter of recognizing what is due. Discipling in this sense is done then not because God deserves it, but because the disciple recognizes that God is God and we are servants. That’s the way it is from the very beginning.

Fidelity to the duties of discipleship provides no grounds for triumphalism nor feelings of moral superiority, nor does should it anticipate special honor or appreciation. A servant serves the master That is what a servant does. It is the servant’s duty, because the master is “due” service. This kind of thinking and self awareness is part of the very fabric of the disciples identity It is rooted in the virtues we have already explored: Humility, Watchfulness, Awareness, Wisdom, and Prudence. They all provide the character that brings one to fulfill one’s duty

In the disciple of Jesus Christ, there is no room for the “look what I have done”  attitude. In fact, there 1s no time for such vainglory, because there is always more to do. Created and sustained in every breath by God, we know that we owe everything to God.

The cry of the apostles: “Increase our faith.” which began this section reflects their awe at the enormity of what Jesus asks of them. His suggestion is that 1t is not a matter of quantity, but simply a matter of trusting the faith that God has given them, and fulfilling their duty as disciples. The issue arises in this case by a teaching of Jesus we did not hear proclaimed m the verses assigned for today, but they are there just before we began with an instruction to them about forgiveness. It is not the quantity or extent of a person’s faith that is at issue here. It is not a matter of more faith, but of a life consistent with that faith we already have. What matters for the disciple of Jesus Christ is the exploitation of the faith that we already have in the fulfillment of our duty as servants. That is what it will take to bring the fulfillment of God’s saving plan. servants who know and fulfill their duty

Ordinary 26

Posted by Father Tom Boyer on September 30, 2001

Posted in: Homily.

September 30, 2001 Amos 6:1 7 + 1 Timothy 6:11-16 + Luke 16:19-31

Like you, I have heard this parable countless times. It is so familiar that any of us could finish the story if it were stopped after the most brief of introductions. Over the years, I have come to respect this one in torment, at least to suspect that he was a decent man. After all, when his request is turned down by Abraham, he is at least thoughtful enough to care about his brothers and hope that they might not share his torment. It is important to realize that he is not condemned because he is rich..He finds himself in never ending torment because he never saw Lazarus. It isn’t that he refused or that he did something evil. It is simply that he never saw Lazarus.

One of the saddest aspects of this parable and one of the most sobering is the fact that the rich man raised his eyes and saw Lazarus only when it was too late for him to redeem himself. Insulated like him by our gates, security guards; burdened with out own day to day responsibilities, the desperate needs of others often never figure into our thoughts. We easily justify ourselves by insisting we’ve done nothing wrong, when the truth is we’ve done nothing at all, which is just exactly what put the rich man of the parable in such torment. We sanitize poverty and it’s primary cause: Injustice by hiding in privatized religion. This age in which we live has reduced religion to worship on Sunday and a very small area of morality Be kind, Be chaste, Try to stay married, Don ‘t quarrel in front of the children. Pray Nowhere do we hear the voice of the prophets that cry out: “Be Just!” or “Be Passionate”, or “Do something about the injustice that oppresses most of this world’s inhabitants.

Being tidy, temperate, and chaste is nice, but it is not enough to make one fully a good person or a disciple of Jesus. Every generation raises up another church­ going Christian who makes a personal fortune off underpaid workers who have no health care, no rights, and no hope.

Being unaware of injustice is not compatible with disciples of Jesus. They will be aware of every Lazarus in every generation and nation. They will be aware of what the Prophets have said about justice, and restless agitation and action will mark their behavior For them, religion is love and justice. Religion is love of neighbor as one’s self. Religion is blessing the food at meals and bringing the blessing of food to those without it. Religion is worshiping God. on one’s knees as it were, but on one’s knees washing the feet of the poor.

“The poor you will always have with you.?’ is not an excuse for saying: “That’s just the way it is.” It is a reason for never becoming unaware or ceasing to look  everywhere for them. They will always be there, so we must always find them, be aware of them, and never cease being aware of the sufferings of others.  Never listening to the prophets, the rich man found himself in unending misery Never listening to Jesus, we run the same risk. This story is told to the Pharisees, those good, law-abiding, religious folks who prayed in the synagogue and sacrificed in the Temple. Yet, they were not aware of who was in their midst, and they were deaf to what he asked of them.

The rich man failed to remember one great truth, that he was a steward of God’s gifts, and that everything he had was only on loan from God to whom he would one day give an account. He thought it was all his, and it made him blind, and deaf, and unaware of what and who was right at his doorway

The great abyss of regret and unrealized good intentions threatens us all, and it continues to keep us from one another all too often. Disciples of Jesus hear the master’s words. Aware of His presence and His Gospel, they become aware of injustice as corporate sin, as evil done by government, business, industry, university, and sometimes by church. They recognize its evil and are not unaware of their share in it and responsibility for it. They do not insulate themselves with a puny, private religion. They are always aware of the gifts of God’s love and mercy they are given to dispense.