25th Sunday in
Ordinary Time
Cycle C
September 22, 2013 10:30am
and 12 noon
Saint
Margaret Parish, Bel Air
My Parents: Three Fundamentals
When I
look back to my childhood and teenage years, I have to say that my parents gave
my brother Charlie and me an awful lot.
I especially
mean that they taught us a lot of important things. When I think about today’s readings, I recall
three core things my parents gave us.
First,
they grounded us in God. They took us to
Church every Sunday.
They
made sure that we learned our catechism and religion lessons. What came across was that God is first and
that our life ought to be built on God.
The
second thing I recall is a sense of right and wrong. They taught us what is good and bad and it
was based on our faith.
For
example, they taught us to respect our elders and to tell the truth, and not to
cheat in school or to use bad language.
And all of this was based on the commandments of God.
And the
third thing that they left us with is care for the poor. My father had the saying: “Never forget the little guy” and by
that he meant persons who didn’t have much or were simply poor.
My
father wanted us always to be sensitive to those in need. He taught us social justice without using the
expression.
The Fundamental Option
Now
what my parents taught us in those formative years was crucial.
And of
course, what all parents teach your children in those years is crucial. Some of our Catholic theologians speak of
what is called the Fundamental Option.
These
theologians say that somewhere along the line, we all make a Fundamental Option
about our lives. This is the basic
direction or guiding theme or value we choose for our life.
For
most of us, our experiences in those childhood and teenage years have a great
effect on the Fundamental Option that we make. And then, as we mature and go through life, we
may reaffirm or change our Option.
Our
Fundamental Option may not be perfect.
So I can choose to make God and Jesus and the gospel the guiding force
for my life.
And
yet, I can say and do things that are inconsistent with that. This means that I need to grow to greater
wholeness and get my life more fully lined up with my Fundamental Option.
We can
also change our Fundamental Option. I
can back off of my Option for God and start living just for myself, or I can
back off of living for money and career and start living for God.
The Scriptures: Fundamental Option
Today’s
Scripture passages lead me to share all of this.
In
today’s gospel, Jesus says it in one sentence: “You cannot serve God and mammon.”
The word “mammon” means
anything besides God that we make the center of our lives.
So
Jesus is saying we cannot serve both him and something else. Somewhere along the line we must make a
choice about the purpose and direction of our life.
In this
gospel, Jesus is also concerned about right and wrong in everyday life. He calls us to be honest and trustworthy.
Jesus
calls us to do this out of our basic choice or option for him. And if we do this now, in everyday matters, then
he says God will give us greater blessings in eternity.
And
finally, the prophet Amos in the first reading focuses on our relationship with
the entire human community. He decries
taking advantage of or neglecting the poor.
Amos calls
us to social justice – to compassion and justice for those in need. He sees this as part of our relationship with
God, part of our Fundamental Option.
Conclusion
So, maybe the question today is: what Fundamental Option
have we made?
We have all made one, consciously or subconsciously. It is good to get in touch with this and see
what we have to do to tighten it up or even change it.
