Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Experiencing God 226 The Laborers' Struggle

 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing.  He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right. So they went.  He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing? Because no one has hired us, they answered.  He said to them, You also go and work in my vineyard. 

When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman. Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.  The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius.  When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner.  These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day. But he answered one of them, I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?  Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you.  Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ So the last will be first, and the first will be last.
Gospel of Matthew

In the early nineties, I was asked to chair a committee which was set up to begin a recognition and awards program for the office employees.  The purpose was to increase motivation and moral in the office by recognizing employee achievements.

The first thing the committee decided upon was to give awards based on years of service.  From that point on, anyone achieving ten years of service would receive a pin, and anyone achieving twenty years service would receive a pen with their name engraved on it.

What surprised the committee were the complaints that begin to come in from those who had previously achieved their ten and twenty years of service.  They wanted the awards as well.  Their complaints were so vocal that the committee changed their plans and gave these token awards to all staff who had previously achieved their service requirements.  

In the workplace, there is nothing that irks employees more than to see a staff member receive a benefit that has not been given to them as well. It generates a sense of injustice and a feeling of unfairness.

So we can see why the above Gospel reading is a challenge to us. Why should someone who worked for only one hour get paid the same wage as the one who worked all day; and to add insult to injury, to get paid first?  This opens up other questions as well. Why does one person live to the ripe old age of one hundred, while another dies in the prime of their life?  Why are some people good looking, smart, rich, etc. while others struggle financial, are unpopular, and never seem to get ahead?  These are questions we all struggle with.  And the reason we struggle so much with them is because they challenge our human perception of reality and fairness. 

What Jesus is telling us in this Gospel parable is that God does not measure things by our human standards and perceptions. 

The great scripture writers of the past (and this applies not only to Christianity but all of the world religions) have emphasized that we must not get too caught up in the standards ingrained in human consciousness as to what is important and what is not. The human ego will always focus on "self" and looking after "oneself" first. God's focus is on the "other". God's focus and concern is on us. 

The "First Principal and Foundation of Faith" found in the St. Ignatius Exercises speaks of God's focus.

"We are created to praise, reverence and serve God our Lord, and by this means to save our soul.  The other things on the face of the earth are created to help us in attaining this end, for which we were created.  Therefore, we are to make use of things in as far as they help us in the attainment of this end, and rid ourselves of them in as far as they prove a hindrance.

Therefore, we must make ourselves indifferent to all created things, as far as we are allowed free choice and are not under any prohibition.  Consequently, as far as we are concerned, we should not prefer health to sickness, riches to poverty, honor to dishonor, long life to short life.  The same holds for all other things.  Our one desire and choice should be what is more conducive to the end for which we are created."   

God's plan for creation has little to do with what we are able to attain for ourselves, but everything to do with how we use ourselves and our gifts to build His Kingdom among us.  We all possess a strong human urge that works against this, yet dying to "self" will always be the means by which we give witness to God's presence and love.  This gives answer to the very curious phrase at the conclusion of the parable:  "Therefore, the last will be first, and the first will be last."

Monday, December 26, 2016

Experiencing God 225 Our Illusion Of Greatness

"After leaving the synagogue, Jesus, James, and John went home with Simon and Andrew. Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed, sick with a fever, and they told Jesus about her at once. He went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her, and she served them. That evening, at sunset, people brought to Jesus those who were sick or demon-possessed. The whole town gathered near the door. He healed many who were sick with all kinds of diseases, and he threw out many demons. 
Gospel of Mark

Most of you probably recall the intriguing story surrounding Jim and Tammy Faye Baker. Back in the eighties, they were well known for their involvement in the PTL (Praise The Lord) Club. I'm sure that when this couple graduated from Bible school in Minneapolis in 1961 to become itinerant evangelists, their intentions for being good Christian witnesses was probably real. As they clung to their early victories and successes in their ministry, their fame eventually rose to where they had an audience of over twelve million TV viewers, and they had contributions in excess of one million dollars a week flowing into their coffers. At the peak of his ministry, Jimmy Baker had been recorded as saying: "I believe that if Jesus were alive today, He would be on TV."
Of course, we all know that the Baker reign finally ended when it was revealed that he had lost large sums of money donated by thousands of people for the right of memberships in a luxury hotel at "Heritage" which did not exist.  

Its easy for any of us to get caught up in our successes to the point where what started out as God's will becomes only our will.  Many times this happens at a subconscious level even before we are aware of it.  Has this happened to me?  Many times.  The fact is, we like to do what we do well.  We like the attention it brings us, and often times, we see our successes as God's special gift to us.

In the above Gospel account, Jesus is having all kinds of those successes.  He cures Simon Peter's mother-in-law.  He cures all the diseases of those who are brought to Him.  Devils are being cast out, lame people are walking, blind people are seeing, deaf people are hearing.  If anyone could lay claim to being a great healer, it is Jesus.  We read: "The crowds were looking for Him and when they caught up with Him, they wanted to prevent Him from leaving."  Jesus' response to them was: "That's not the reason I'm here.  "I've come  to proclaim the good news in other places as well." 

If anything should convince us that Jesus is who He says He is, it should be the fact that He refuses to get caught up in our ego centered world.  He refuses to cling to all those illusions of success, illusions of importance, illusions of power that so easily take us off God's path and place us on our own path.  Often this path that we take leads to greater suffering, not only for ourselves, but for others.  

Jesus' success to sticking to God's plan is tied up in one line of our Gospel reading.  "When daylight came, He left the house and made His way to a deserted place to pray."  

If Baker had taken the time to leave his glittery life style and go to a deserted place by himself and really pray, then perhaps he would have heard that quiet voice within that spoke of God's plan for him, and not the plan he had for himself.  

"Doing" is great.  We all need to be "doing"; but if our "doing" is not guided by the Spirit discovered during the times that we spend in secret, in a deserted place; then how can we get in touch with God's hidden presence to seek the guidance we need.  We will only be guided by our own illusions, our own little successes, our own need for recognition or power.       

Monday, December 19, 2016

Experiencing God 224 Act Justly, Love Kindly, Walk Humbly

"With what shall I come before the Lord?  What is good, and what does the Lord require of me. To Act Justly, To love kindly, and to walk humbly with God"
Micah

If you have ever visited St. John XXIII Church, you may have noticed a banner over the choir area of the church with this particular quote from the sixth chapter of the prophet Micah.  

Too often in church life, we impose expectations on ourselves and others that often go far beyond what is necessary or acceptable. One of the root causes of this is that we get so caught up in what we are doing that we forget the real reason as to why we are doing it. And worse still, we become quite indigent if someone tries to interfere by suggesting an alternative way.  When this happens, then we have stepped beyond what is acceptable and forgotten the basics of "acting justly", "loving kindly" and "walking humbly with God".

St. Paul has written a lot about this in his letters to the Thessalonians.  

The doctrinal importance of these two short letters cannot be understated.  They were written to the small Christian community in Northern Greece to help them focus on what was really important in the practice of Christian faith.  It had nothing to do with having the best choir, the best church, the best homilies, or the best program.  These things were not even mentioned in the letters.  I would like to take a quick look at what St. Paul is emphasizing as important to the new community in Thessalonia.   

1.  The qualities of faith, hope and love is really what characterizes the Christian way of life.  Are you growing in these attributes, and are you encouraging others in these areas?
2.  Jesus is our Lord, the Son of God raised to new life.  For those who accept and live by this truth share in this promise of new life.
3.  God has given the Holy Spirit to assist those who believe in the Good News of Christ.
4.  Christians must grow in and live a life of chastity, justice, order and charity, working at our tasks in the expectation of Christ's coming anew.
5.  Persecution and resistance is an integral part of the Christian vocation.
6.  The nature of the apostolic mission is a commission from God and is to be discharged with a disinterested love, in constant prayer and thanksgiving. 
7.  Our success in this apostolic mission depends not on ourselves, but on the power of Grace.  Confidence in prayer and the Presence of Grace is necessary for growth in the Christian life. 

In the Gospels, the ones who created the greatest resistance to this plan were the Scribes and the Pharisees.   Woes or warnings were issued to them often.  Most of these warning had to do with their insistence of following external practices that lead to an attitude of self-justification for those who practiced them but a burden for those who failed.  

"Woe to you Scribes and Pharisees, for you are like white-washed tombs, which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of bones of the dead."  

As a result, they neglected the basics. 

"With what shall I come before the Lord:  To Act Justly, To Love Kindly, and to Walk humbly with my God."

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Experiencing God 223 On Missing The Mark

Within my earthly temple there’s a crowd;
There’s one of us that’s humble, one that’s proud.
There’s one that’s broken hearted for his sins,
There’s one that unrepentant, sits and grins.
There’s one that love his neighbour as himself,
And one that cares for naught but fame and wealth.
From much corroding care I should be free,
If I could once determine which is me. 
Poem by Edward Martin

At the beginning of each of our church services, we say the prayer of contrition, acknowledging that we have missed the mark, we have failed to meet the standards of holiness that we know God is calling us too.

I believe we can all acknowledge that we often miss the mark; we fall short. But is it much more difficult for us to know why we do it, and then take the appropriate action to correct the inappropriate behavior. 

So I got angry at the kids and shouted at them again.  I was unkind to the lady at the supermarket.  I ate too much at the party last night and was up most of the night.  There appears to be a breakdown in communication between what I know to be correct and what I actually do. 

Sin or missing the mark is like living with a divided self. There is the inner self that knows what is right, but another self that fails to respond in the most appropriate fashion.  

In chapter seven of Romans, St. Paul explains the problem this way:

"I do not understand my own actions.  For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh.  I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me."

In his commentary on "Inner Conflict", St. Paul speaks at length about this divided self, how it comes about, and what to do about.  For St. Paul, the answer to the dilemma is to be found in the person of Christ and the gift of grace.  

It is not enough just to understand this intellectually.  It's not enough just to know that Jesus died for my sins; that I am forgiven.  And it is not enough to know that if I do this, I will be with Him some day in heaven.  This understanding does not resolve the problem of the split that we experience within ourselves, between what we know to be right and what we do.  We must also surrender to and experience the Grace that is able to enter this split within ourselves in order to heal the brokenness that lies there.  What is this Grace?

The word Grace means gift.  A gift is something that you do not buy.  There is no price you can put on it. This gift is just there.  It's a gift that comes from within.  Why is it there?  We don't know.  It just is.  You can call it Spirit.  You can call it love.  You can call it God.  The name is not that important. Grace is symbolic of "the power of God within us". 

St. Paul concluded his chapter seven of Romans with the following:  "Wretched man then I am.  Who will rescue me from this body of death.  Thanks be to God through Christ Jesus our Lord."

To be healed of our brokenness requires more than believing, although believing is a great place to start.  Like St. Paul, we must be open to receiving the gift of Grace, and we must surrender to it.  Grace is efficacious; that is, it effects the change within us that it symbolizes. It symbolizes the power of God within. Grace draws our Spirit in union with Christ's Spirit so that we may live a life of Grace. 

We are on a journey towards wholeness.  Grace gives us the ability to change.  Although we will continue to struggle against the forces of our false self which seem to have dominion over us, surrendering to Grace must be the refuge we seek.  

Saturday, December 17, 2016

Experiencing God 222 The teacher Leaning Hard On Thee.

LORD, who am I to teach the way
To little children day by day,
So prone myself to go astray?

I teach them KNOWLEDGE, but I know
How faint they flicker and how low
The candles of my knowledge glow. 

I teach them POWER to will and do,
But only now to learn anew
My own great weakness through and through.

I teach them LOVE for all mankind
And all God’s creatures, but I find
My love comes lagging far behind.

Lord, if their guide I still must be,
Oh let the little children see
The teacher leaning hard on Thee. 

The Teacher by Leslie Hill


I thought this poem to be very appropriate on the Feast Day of Simon and Jude because very little is known about them.  For those who are accustomed to hearing a long list of achievements and sacrifices accompanying our Saints, Simon and Jude will be a disappointment.  But, then again, maybe they can serve as a reminder to all of us that apostleship has really little to do with a record of achievements. 

As expressed in the poem, it has much more to do with leaning hard, by faith, on the one who calls us into discipleship in the first place.  

Simon and Jude were called to be apostles of  Christ.  They said "yes" to that request.  This "yes" to Christ for them meant that they were to share, as best they could, Jesus' message that the Kingdom of God is close at hand.  The message that they taught is beautifully captured by St. Paul in his writing to the Ephesians during those early years when the church was just beginning.  St. Paul's message was for all people, but in a particular way, for the Gentiles who found themselves not only outside, but alienated from the Jewish culture and tradition.

"You are no longer aliens or foreign visitors.  You are citizens like all the saints and part of God's household.  You are part of a building that has the apostles and prophets for its foundation;  and Jesus Himself for its main cornerstone.  You too, referring to all people, are being built into a house where God lives in the Spirit. "

This vision of church presented by St. Paul is much more universal than what we find in his other letters.  In his other letters, St. Paul speaks of the church as being the Body of Christ from a local perspective, but in Ephesians, he blows that image away and emphasizes a universal image including people of all cultures. Jews and Gentiles are joined together as one great people of God.  In his earlier chapters of Ephesians, he announces that this is God's great plan, hidden from the beginning of the world.  It's as if God, through Christ, wishes to erase all social and religious barriers that had previously divided humankind into separate and conflicting groups, to create a united people, a new community of the faithful.

When we look at the world today with its seemingly unending conflicts, war and division, we must sometimes wonder how such a universal vision presented some two thousand years ago could ever take place.   

The way, as Jesus taught, the way as illustrated by the above poem, is not to be found in our own individual achievements and plans. 

Lord, if their guide I still must be, 
Oh let the little children see
The teacher leaning hard on Thee. 

Experiencing God 221 Remembrance Day

"Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!”
Gospel of Matthew

On this remembrance day, we have just heard the Gospel story about the healing of the ten lepers. This group that met Jesus on the road were composed of both Jews and Samaritans. The companionship of those who are usually considered bitter enemies indicates the desperation of their condition, a condition which led them to depend on one another. So this group, who largely depended on the charity of others for survival, shouted after Jesus at a distance. Jesus’ response to them is a single command. They were told to show themselves to the priests whose responsibility it was to judge whether a leper was permitted to return to society. They obeyed Jesus’ instruction, and were healed of their affliction.

The jarring part of the story is that only one of them returned to express gratitude, even though all ten were healed.

And even more shocking to the people who witnessed this event is the fact that one who returned was a foreigner, a Samaritan.

Why did only one leper out of the ten return to show gratitude? Without passing judgement on the nine who continued on their journey, let’s take a look at the one who returned. It is said that he was filled with gratitude for what had been done for him.

If we look at gratitude or gratefulness, we discover that it is related to grace. Gratefulness means “the release of loveliness”. It is the quality of the heart which responds with graciousness in expressing an act of thanksgiving.

I just finished a book by Caroline Myss called “Invisible Acts of Power”. This book is full of stories of people whose lives were transformed, changed forever, because of a small and often invisible acts of kindness performed by someone to a person in need.  Some were given money when desperately broke. Others were given encouragement when filled with despair. Others were challenged to pursue a gift or talent. These small invisible acts were received with overflowing gratitude because it gave witness to something much greater than the act itself. I was loved, I was accepted, even during the time when I was unable to love and accept myself; at the time of my greatest need.

The Samaritan approached Jesus with reverence, and gave praise to God. He was able, through grace, to recognize, to appreciate the mercy and love shown to him, given to him, as a free gift, during a time when hope was lost. Are we able to recognize those times in which we should be filled with gratefulness as well?

St. Paul showed this depth of gratitude when he wrote in Titus: "For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions, passing our days in malice and envy, despicable, hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God appeared, He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy and love.
The faith of all the lepers led to their physical healing; and who knows, perhaps it was more than this for the others as well; but for the Samaritan, at least, the healing brought salvation through wholeness and a proper relationship to God.

In the book “Invisible Acts of Power”, it was the people who received their unexpected gift with “gratefulness” that were changed and transformed. They in turn, began to “release their loveliness” on those around them. Where ingratitude easily leads to a poor return for kindness received, intolerance towards others, discontentment and grumbling; gratefulness leads to the opposite. It seems that it is the grateful who wish to fight the objects of despair, darkness and poverty they see around them with a release of their own loveliness upon those they encounter.

It is from this that we can better understand John MacRae's poem, "In Flanders Fields".

Take up our quarrel with the foe; 
To you from failing hands we throw the torch: 
Be yours to hold it high. 
If you break faith with us who die we shall not sleep, 
though poppies grow in Flanders fields.

Remembrance day is not just a time to fast and mourn. It is not just a time to remember those who died in war. Still less, is it not a time to say that war or fighting in war is good and honorable. But it is a time to show gratitude to those who, through no desire of their own, chose to confront the despair, darkness and poverty they saw, that threatened the hope and freedom of those they loved. It is a time that we in turn commit ourselves in the struggle against despair, darkness and poverty, the things that lead to war, so that war will not happen again.

This Remembrance Day, like the leper healed of his affliction, we return to show gratitude. We share a hope, a freedom, a gift of life made possible through the love and sacrifice of those who have acted on our behalf. And through the grace of our gratitude, we are urged to participate in the ways that lead to peace.

Experiencing God 220 The Joy Of Giving

"For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property.  To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.  He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more.  So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money."
Gospel of Matthew

A few years ago, I found an article in the newspaper called "Questions to ask before you say yes".  If started out with the following story:

"For months, I had spent time helping Jane to understand why she needed Jesus.  As we studied the Gospel story of the parable of the talents found in Matthew, she suddenly recognized that such a truth demanded a decision.  There was a brief heavy silence.  Then, "No".  I could never be a Christian", Jane announced.  "I don't have time for all those church meetings."  Amazed, I tried to convince her that she had gotten the wrong idea about what it meant to be a Christian. But she had made up her mind.  Just then, her children came home from school, and the moment was lost.  Sadly, I walked back to my house.  Had I given her that impression of Christianity?  Did something so vital and wonderful as a relationship with Christ appear to an onlooker as no more than a requirement to attend all those meetings.  I'm still troubled by my friend's conclusion."

We all know the parable of the talents found in Matthew's Gospel.  I don't know if a reflection on this particular parable has ever actually been instrumental in a person deciding not to become a Christian, but I do believe it poses a problem to most of us at times by raising the question: "Am I doing enough".  This can generate a sense of guilt as to the extent of our involvements.  Is this what Jesus intended when he shared this parable with His disciples on the road to Jerusalem?  Although it may be a healthy exercise to reflect periodically on ones involvements, and to decide how best to use ones gifts, I don't think the parable was written for that purpose.  

In its present form, the parable is designed to answer questions as to what we are suppose to do during the time between the resurrection of Christ and our present day.  Are we to sit around idle, preserving the status quo, waiting in wonder for Jesus to return, or are we to get on with the business at hand; being the eyes, ears, feet and hands of Christ for the world.  The problem encountered in the parable story, the servant with the one talent placed it in a hole in the ground.  He was not open to God's action in his life.  He lived with a closed and fearful heart incapable of seeing and sharing the abundance of riches that was part of his graced filled inheritance.  He chose to ignore it, or as it is described, he chose to bury it in the ground.  And because he buried it, he lost it.  

This gives rise to the question:  Am I fully aware of God's presence in my life?  Am I open to receive God's abundant grace and love, and be a carrier of that grace to those I encounter in my day to day journey?  Am I willing to be one who participates, in whatever way I can, in building God's kingdom, right here, right now.  

It has nothing to do with multitasking.  It has everything to do with openness, awareness, and willingness to be a part of a dynamic grace driven process of which we are all a part.  

If our purpose and mission is kept on the forefront of our minds, then the ways and means by which each of us fulfill this purpose and mission will fall into its rightful place.  It should not be driven by a duty filled obligation to attend all of those meetings, or whatever else that is motivated by guilt or shame.  Our action must give rise to a joy, not only from gratitude for the gift that is present, but for the opportunity to share it.