October 30, 2011

Malachi 1:14- 2: 10 + Psalm 131 + 1 Thessalonians 2: 7:13  + Matthew 23, 1-12

If you did the assignment I gave two weeks ago, you will have read the entire Epistle to the Thessalonians and refreshed yourself with a tender, sincere, joyful, and life-giving message from Saint Paul. The Epistle is a challenge to a sober and fearful relationship with God. Laugher in the company of another is sure sign of the depth of friendship. We all laugh the loudest and longest when we are around those we know well, love, and treasure. A people who really love God and trust in God’s love for them are going to find humor, and smiles, and laughter even in prayer. I’ve always suspectedd that those who only run to God in some crises would have a hard time with this. When I was little I thought of God as the great problem solver, who would fix up my problems if I used the right prayers, repeated them in the right sequence, or prayed hard enough. God was like the cosmic gum-ball machine. If I put the right prayer in the slot, out would pop my good fortune. After failing a few tests in college and graduate school over which I had prayed more than studied, I got over it. What I’ve learned as I get older is that it’s fun to call friends when something really wonderful happens or when I’m laughing at myself over something foolish that I’ve done or said. They like those calls a lot better than if I would only call when I need somthing. Our relationship is a lot better.

Thinking about and remembering things that make us happy, make us laugh leads to gratitude, and living gratefully is likely to keep us joyful throughout the day. If all you can think about and for that matter pray about is how bad everything is and how much trouble you have there will be no gratitude, and then there will trouble. “Rejoice always” says Paul to the church at Thessalonica. It was a church just like us that lived in the midst of human suffering and injustice having every reason to NOT be joyful. This makes me think of the great American spirituals. Listen to this:

Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen

Nobody knows but Jesus,

Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen:

Glory Hallelulia.

Sometimes I’m up sometimes I’m down

Oh yes, Lord.

You know, sometimes I’m almost to the ground

Oh yes, Lord.

What a lasting sign of great faith in the African American Christian is this legacy in their hymns. These are not songs of passive resignation, they are freedom songs of joy consitent with divine revelation: Glory Halleluia! they sing in the midst of slavery and misery. How can they do that except that they are in love with God and live in faith.

Joy, deeper than happiness, is a virtue that finds its foundation in the knowledge that we are loved by God. It does not mean that suffering does not bring sadness, and that injustice is not wrong and evil, but it does mean that suffeirng is not the last word in the life of Jesus or for us. That knowledge leads to Joy.

Joy, Prayer, Gratitude are what Paul urges us to practice. They are bound together. Joy springs out of a grateful heart, yet Joy can lead us to gratitude. Our joy over good news moves us to gratitude and it moves us to prayer. In Joy we want to be with God. Sharing a joyful life gratefully in prayer is what brings us to this holy place. Yet as soon as I begin to think this way, I begin to wonder: “Why is it that churches fill up when there is a disaster, and are half empty when things are good?”

Half the problems I listen to as your pastor come from evil, injustice, mean, and sinful behavior. The other half come from taking ourselves way too seriously and lacking a sense of humor about how silly we really are, how we get things all out of proportion, and let little things seem ten times bigger and more important than they really are in the grand scheme of things. Humor and Humility are very close friends. Those puffed up Pharisees in today’s Gospel were taking themselves way to seriously. Jesus pokes a little fun at them with their widened phylacteries and their great long tassels, and in their pride they can’t take it. With that the message is lost on them. It cannot be so with us.

Joy, Prayer, Gratitude are important virtues, and each supports the other. When one is missing, the others fade away. Prayer awakens gratitude. Gratitude leads to Joy. Joy leads to prayer; and this is Paul’s simple advise to us today given nearly two thousdand years ago. We still need to hear it.

October 16, 2011

Isaiah 45, 1, 4-6 + Psalm 96 + 1 Thessalonians 1: 1-5 + Matthew 22, 15-21

It is the oldest book of the New Testament. It was written justs 17 years after the death and resurrection of Christ. You would think that Christian people would know it as well as any of the gospels and quote verses of it by memory, hold up signs with chapter and verse numbers as one sees on occasion for John and Romans, but that never happens. Most people cannot even pronounce the name of it. I can’t count how many times I have heard well-meaning but unprepared lectors stand up and say: “A reading from the first letter to the Theologians.” The same readers by the way think Paul wrote letters to Philadelphia!

Perhaps the fact that the First Letter to the Thessalonians is only proclaimed on seven Sundays out of 156 Sundays in the three year cycle of our Lectionary contributes to our ignorance of this gem. It is not proclaimed nearly as often as Romas or 1 Corinthians both of which we hear 34 times over the three year cycle. I don’t know what this means in the mind of those who arranged the lectionary, but I do know what it is doing to us. Being pounded for offences, hearing short clips of serious theological rhetoric leaves us all longing to get the second reading over as quickly as possible so we can stand up for Alleluias and dive into the Gospel where there is something to imagine and wonder about. Now three of the seven occasions to hear 1 Tessalonians occur this month, and I do not want the opportunity to draw upon this most ancient wisdom to slip away. So today I want to turn your attention back to the second reading on this first of three Sundays. Two weeks from now I will speak of it again. In the meantime, I want to urge you to take up 1 Thessalonians at home and read it and read it again with this knowlege.

The city is still there in modern day Greece. When Paul was there, it was politically a Roman city for two hundred years, but very Greek in culture. It was the capital of the province of Macedonia. A port city on the Aegean Sea made it a very complex mix of cultural, commercial, and religious influences. Paul, Silvanus and Timothy came there, and their preaching was effective in turning hearts to Christ. It did not take long for the Jewish leaders to rise up and throw the apostles out claiming that they were causing an “uproar.” After a short time, Paul sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to see how things were going among the convert/christians, and he sent Timothy with this letter. Today we heard the greeting. There is no heated theological debate going on. There is no error or misconduct to correct. There is simply encouragement for a holy life. Toward the end of chapter five when you do your reading, we will come upon a verse that is the heart of this Epistle proposing three things that will nurture and sustain holiness in life. He says: “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumsstances: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

In light of this, I wonder why in a culture of plenty where there is so much to satisfy us — wealth, clean water, food to waste, medical achievements, technological advances, way more entertainment than a balanaced life needs is there so little joy and so much sadness, depression, and anxiety? Why are mood altering drugs as common as asperine in our medicine cabinets? Our society has succeeded in multiplying pleasures, but it has difficultly in generating joy because joy is a spiritual value. It is a sure sign of the presence of the Holy Spirit. Thomas Aquinas thought that Joy was the most noble human act. We are drawn to joyful people, and I believe it is because we are always drawn to God. Joyful people can lead us to God.

For the past several weeks, we have been laughing at ourselves at Mass as we stumble along through a few minor changes of langauage; and the laughter is good. This is a celebration; but often it doen’t look like it. Sometimes I wish there was a huge mirror here and you could see what I see. Paul speaks to us today, just as he did to the Thessalonians. The Joy he looks for and calls for in us is not shallow silliness, but a deep and confident way of looking trouble in the face and of laughing it away. The Gospel today is a perfect example for us. The topic of taxes sets us up for a squint eyed examination of a controversial and divisive issue. Wouldn’t you like to hear the Tea Party, the Democratic Party, Republican Party, and Independents give you their read on this Gospel? I’ll bet in the end the giving to God ends up being the pocket change that’s left over! So you read today’s Gospel and you have to smile and maybe laugh at those silly Pharasees in league with their own enemies, the Herodians. Jesus catches them red-handed with Ceasar’s coin! You can almost see those standing around laughing as the Pharisees and Herodians realize they have been caught with that coin they should never have had in their pocket. The trappers have just been trapped!

Joy springs from gratitude. When we recall things, events or people for which and for whom we are grateful, our joy increases. We are in this place today to remember, and to give thanks. How could we leave here without more joy?

As I read and re-read 1 Thessalonians this past week, I began to remember my great Jesuit training for which I am so grateful everyday. And then I remembered this:

There’s a barber in a small town. One day he’s sitting in his shop, and a man walks in wearing a pair of sandals and a long brown robe with a hood. The man, very thin and quite ascetic looking, sports a short beard. He sits down in the barber’s chair. “Excuse me,” says the barber. “I was wondering, why are you dressed like that?” “Well, “says the man, “I’m a Franciscan friar. I am here to help my brother Franciscans start a soup kitchen.” The barber says, “Oh, I love the Franciscans! I love the story of Saint Francis and how he loved the animals. I love the work you do the poor, for peace, and the enviornment. The Franciscans are wonderful. The haircut is free. And the Franciscan says: “Oh no, no, no. We live simply, and we take a vow of poverty, but I do have enough money for a haircut. Please let me pay you. “Oh no,” says the barber, I insist. This haircut if free!” So the Franciscan gets his haircut, thanks the barber, gives him a blessing and leaves. The next day the barber comes to his shop and finds a surprise waiting for him. On the doorstep is a big wicker baskest filled wih beautiful wildflowers along with a thank-you note from the Franciscan.

That same day another man walks into the barber’s shop wearing a long white robe and a leather belt tied around his waist. When he sits down in the chair, the barber asks, “Excuse me, but why are you dressed like that?” And the man says, “Well, I‘m a Trappist monk. I’m in town to visit a doctor, and I thought I would come in for a haircut.” And the barber says,, “Oh I love the Trappists! I admire the way your lives are so contemplative and how you all pray for the rest of the world. This hairtcut is free.” The Trappist monk says, “Oh no. Even though we live simply I have money for a haircut. Please let me pay you.” “Oh no,” says the barber. “This haircut is free” So the Trappist gets his haircut. Thanks him, gives him a blessing, and leaves. The next day the barber comes to the shop, and on his doorstep there is a surprise awaiting him: a big baskest filled with delicious homemade cheese and jams from the Trappist monastery along with a thank-you note from the monk.

That same day another man walks into the barber shop wearing a black suit and clerical collar. After he sits down, the barber says, “Excuse me, but why are you dressed like that?” And the man says: “I’m a Jesuit priest. I’m in town for a theology conference.” And the barber says, “Oh, I love the Jesuits. My son went to a Jesuit high school, and my daughter went to a Jesuit college. I’ve even been to the retreat house that the Jesuits run in town. This haircut is free.” And the Jesuit says, “Oh no. I take a vow of poverty, but I have enough money for a hairtcut.” The barber says, “Oh, no. This haircut is free.” After the haircut the Jesuit thanks him, gives him a blessing, and goes on his way. The next day the barber comes to his shop, and on his doorstep there is a surprise waiting for him: ten more Jesuits.

There you are, my friends: joy, laughter, and humor are unappreciated values in a spritiual life. They are desperately needed every day. With a smile and some laugher, you can face any evil everyday of this week and nothing will get you down. Do your homework: read 1 Thessalonians before the end of the month.

October 9, 2011

Isaiah 25, 6-10 + Psalm 23 + Philippians 4, 12-14,19-20 + Matthew 22, 1-14

There is more to think about in these ten verses of Matthew’s Gospel than would be required for a PhD Thesis.

1) It is the third encounter of Jesus with the Scribes and Pharisees in just two chapters

2) The parallel between this story and a previous one that told of people being called to work in the vineyard are too obvious to dismiss.

• The violence toward the messenger/servants is the same.
• The persistence of the principal character is there too.
• The openness to anyone and everyone is consistent in the stories as well.

So Matthew obviously would have us read these stories against one another. In his typical abrupt and clear way, he concludes with a one-liner that sums it all up:

Many are invited, but few are chosen.

With this line, we are left to reflect upon the details of the story.

As  child, I would hear this Gospel every fall. Matthew’s Gospel was the principal source of Gospel readings at Mass for years and years as I was growing up. It was not until the 1970s that we began using this three year cycle with the other Gospel writers added in. So many of us older Catholics simply grew up with Matthew. Year after year this story would be told, and I would wonder about these details and think how unfair it was to treat someone who was invited at the last minute so harshly.

It wasn’t till I got into the seminary course of Matthew’s Gospel that I figured out that for Matthew this is the Robe of Baptism, and there is something deeper going on here.

In that time and place, when you got to the banquet, the “King” would have opened a great wardrobe for the guests, and everyone would have been supplied a suitable garment.

This is not about the King except to reveal his desire to have everyone at the wedding. For Matthew, as the allegory of this story unfolds, this garment is the robe of Baptism, and this man in the clever plan of Matthew represents some of the baptized who have been invited to the banquet of king; an image of God’s reign. Each of these details represents different groups. The religious leadership of Israel is represented, and they decline the invitation and make light of it. They act in the presence of Christ as though nothing important is happening and they just go on about their business. Some go beyond ignoring. They are violent toward the messengers, or servants who might well be for Matthew, the apostles. As always, their violence leads them to a violent end. It is always so. They destroy, and they are destroyed in the end. Then others are invited: an indiscriminate guest list. Everyone is welcome and encouraged to come. There is no requirement. What seemed at first to be a banquet for the privileged and chosen becomes a feast of beggars. When they come in, they put on the garment, the only requirement which is offered by the king. Remember those words in the Rite of Baptism when we robe our babies and converts saying: “Today you have put on Christ.”

This garment signals a readiness to understand and act on the teachings of Jesus. The invited must make them their own. In a sense, as one commentator suggests, the guests are the bride at this feast. Notice that there has been no mention of the bride at all, only the Son, the groom. The guests then are invited to become one, to unite with the Son, and in that union, they must bear fruit: justice, peace, compassion, mercy. But there is one who even though invited and present has not put on the garment, and as Matthew says: as soon as he is noticed, there is silence. He is and remains silent.

Something happens at that moment, and a story that began as a judgement against the leadership of Israel becomes a cautionary tale to Christians. Just belonging and just showing up is not enough. Just sitting at the banquet silently is not acceptable. Hearing the call is the first step. It is not the final condition. Everyone of us is chosen as a bride for Christ. It is an ancient name for the church: the “Bride of Christ”. Hearing the call is easy, wearing the garment, marrying the son is difficult. This idea of marrying the son is a way of speaking about the Christian adventure of spiritual development. As a church we carry the mystery of Jesus Christ. When we enter the church through Baptism, we enter into he mystery of Jesus Christ, but to enter is not the same as being in full communion.

In this story, and in this room there are some who even though they are present have not quite made themselves a bride of Christ, That man in the story thought he could come on his own terms. He did not put on the robe. He wanted to do it his way and have it his way. Matthew suggests that we must come to the banquet on the terms of the host, and that we cannot remain if we want to have it our way; and for those invited silence in the face of this truth leads to disaster.