17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C - July 28, 2019

17^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle C

July 28, 2019      

Saint Mary Parish, Pylesville   4pm

Saint Matthew Parish, Baltimore        11am

“Lord, teach us to pray”

The disciples ask Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray,” and Jesus responds with a fifty-five-word prayer.

That’s why we call this the Lord’s Prayer. Today I want to share maybe a fresh way of appreciating this. 

The idea is that we can see the Lord’s Prayer as having three sections. First, the address or salutation.

Second, the “thy” section with three phrases each containing the word “thy.” And third, the “us”section with three phrases each containing the word “us”or “our” or “we.”

1.   “Our Father”

So, first, we begin with the salutation, “Our Father, who art in heaven.”

To appreciate this, the words we use to introduce it here at Mass are helpful. In the introduction, the priest says, “We dare to say.”

Well, we, today, don’t find it daring or risky to say the Our Father. But, it was daring when Jesus taught it.

The Jewish people would never address God by name or in a familiar way. They saw God as distant and felt it was irreverent to use a name for God, except the word “Lord” or something like that.

So, here Jesus teaches us to speak to God as “Our Father.” He introduces us to a closeness, a close relationship with God.

We are to see God as our parent, our dad. We still see God as greater than us and as transcendent.

That’s why we say, “who art in heaven.” But we now also dare to relate to God as relational and loving – as “Our Father.”

2.   “Thy”

That takes us to section two of the prayer – the “Thy” phrases.

We say,“Hallowed be thy name.” The idea here is that first and foremost, we need to praise God.

We need to worship God – and that’s what we do here at Mass and whenever we pray the Our Father. This keeps a check on our own egos and keeps us humble in a very healthy way. 

Then, we say, “Thy kingdom come.” Here we are focusing not on what we want to do or control. 

Instead, we are focusing on what God wants to do for us. We are honoring God’s intention and plan for us.

And to make this completely clear, we say, “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” We presume that God’s way or will is done in heaven because that is what heaven is.

We pray that God’s way or will also permeates all that we do as human beings. This is the way that God’s kingdom will come.

3.   “Our/We/Us”

And that takes us to section three of the prayer – the “Our/We/Us” phrases.

We say, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Here we are making an act of faith, or maybe better, an act of trust in God. 

We are not asking God for long-term needs. We are simply placing our trust in God for what we need to get through this day.   

Next, we say, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Here I have to note that nine times in this prayer, we use the words “our” or “us” or “we.”

Jesus never tells us to use the words mine or me or I. It is always in the plural, to include all God’s people and that really means all people.

So, in this phrase about forgiving us as we in turn forgive, Jesus is reminding us that we are all human and imperfect. We all need to be forgiven and remembering this helps us to be forgiving.

Finally, we say, “Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” Pope Francis has talked about the translation of these words.

He says that instead of “Lead us not into temptation,” the more precise meaning is, “Do not let us fall into temptation.” His idea is that God, our loving Father, would never lead us into temptation.

The devil or ungodly tendencies in our world may lead us into temptation, but not God. So, we are really praying here, whether the words are ever changed or not,“Do not let us fall into temptation.”     

Conclusion

So, we dare to speak to God as “Our Father” – a loving parent who is in heaven.

And then we focus on God – the three “thy” phrases, and finally on ourselves in relation to God – the three “us/our/we” phrases. That, I hope, will bring some fresh life to the way we pray the Lord’s Prayer.

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C - July 14, 2019

15^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle C

July 14, 2013      

Saint Mary Parish, Pylesville   9:30 and 11:15am

Hurrying and Helping

Some years ago, Princeton University did a study on what they called “Good Samaritan” responses.

The University divided some students into three groups.  Each group was told to report to another building across the campus to take a test.

The first group was told to get there immediately and they were called the “high hurry” group.  The second group was told to get there in fifteen minutes and they were called the “middle hurry” group.

And the third group was told to get there sometime that morning and they were called the “no hurry” group.  Without knowing it, the students had been set up for a study.

Along the way, various individuals posed as persons in need.  One was crying, another pretended to be sick, and another had a flat tire.

Interestingly, none of the students from the “high hurry” or the “middle hurry” groups stopped to help anyone.  But every student from the “no hurry” group stopped.

This was one indicator that led the Princeton study to conclude that as the hurry in our lives increases, our caring decreases.  This finding strikes me as pretty accurate.

The Good Samaritan

This Princeton study gives us a helpful angle for looking at today’s gospel.

The gospel says that someone asks Jesus, “What do I have to do to inherit eternal life?” Maybe this person is really asking: “What do I have to do and what don’t I have to do?”

Jesus ends up telling the parable of the Good Samaritan.  As I look at the parable, I have to imagine that there are three levels of response to the man lying by the side of the road: 1) Seeing, 2) Feeling, and 3) Acting.

Seeing, Feeling, and Acting

All three people who are walking on this road see the injured man lying there.  The first two, the priest and the Levite, just keep walking.

They know that if they get near this guy or touch him, the religious law makes them ritually unclean.  And if that happens, they will have to jump through some time-consuming hoops to become ritually clean again.

So, the first two people see the man but don’t slow down to really see what has happened or to help. The third man comes along, a Samaritan, and he sees the injured man and then slows down and stops.

The Samaritan sees to the point that he feels compassion for the beaten man.  And with his compassion, he then acts and does what he can to help.

So, to go back to the Princeton study, it seems that we have to slow down enough to see, to really see the person who is in front of us.  For us, it could be a homeless person at a traffic light, carrying a cardboard sign asking for help.

Or it could be a son or daughter who is upset about a relationship that has fallen apart but is trying to hide it.  We have to be slow enough to really see who is before us.

And then, if we allow ourselves to do that, we will probably feel compassion for the person or persons who are hurting. And once again, if we are slow enough, the feeling of compassion will move us to act – to do what I humanly can to help, even if it means delaying whatever I was going to do.

So, seeing leads to feeling and feeling leads to acting.  But the first thing in this process is that we are willing to slow it down, to live slowly enough at least within ourselves 1) to really see and then 2) to really feel the other person’s plight and then 3) to take time to help.

Conclusion

That seems to be the answer that Jesus gives to the question: “What do I have to do to inherit eternal life?”  

So, this slowing down so that we 1) see and 2) feel and 3) act must be pretty important stuff.

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C - July 7, 2019

14^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle C

July 7, 2019

Unfinished America

This may sound like a strange request, but if you have a $1 bill in your wallet or purse, please take it out for just a minute.

And no, I am not going to collect them!  Go to the backside of the dollar bill and notice what we call the Great Seal of the United States of America.

One side of the Seal – the side on the right – features the American eagle.  The eagle is clutching arrows in one of its talons and an olive branch in the other, with 13 stars above its head.

Now notice the other side of the Seal – the side on the left.  This shows, under the eye of divine providence, a pyramid, but notice that the pyramid is unfinished, with no top on it.

The interpretation I have read says that the designers of our Great Seal saw America as unfinished.  They were conveying that America is a country that always remains incomplete.

Building a nation of liberty and justice is a never-ending task.  It began 243 years ago and continues right down to today.

The Contributions of Catholics

The question I want to ask this Fourth of July weekend is this:  What can we as Catholic Americans, or for that matter all Christian Americans, what can we contribute to the unfinished work of our country?

What can we, as persons of faith, contribute?  I see two contributions that are rooted in today’s gospel.

Contribution 1: Think Broadly

Our first contribution is to think broadly.

Luke in today’s gospel says that Jesus sends out 72 disciples.  That number is significant.

It goes back to the story of Noah and the flood in the Book of Genesis.  Noah’s children had 72 sons.

So, the number 72 is symbolic of everyone on the earth – all persons and peoples.  Our contribution then can be to think beyond myself and beyond what is good only for me.

We in Harford County need to think of the well-being of Baltimore City.  We in Maryland need to think of the well-being of the entire country.

We in the United States need to think of the well-being of the entire world.  When we fail to think this way, we easily get into a dog-eat-dog world.

Distance and mistrust and hostility easily develop. But when we do think this way, we are more connected with others.

And then trust and harmony have a much better chance.  So, thinking broadly is the first contribution we can make.    

Contribution 2: Live Simply

And our second contribution is to live simply.

Jesus in the gospel tells the 72 disciples to carry “no money bag, no sack, no sandals.”  In other words, take only what you really need.

I think Pope Francis is giving us a good example of this.  He lived in a simple apartment in Argentina, is now living in a simple apartment in the Vatican, dresses simply, and on it goes.

By his example, he is already calling the Church and all of us to a simpler lifestyle.  One thing I think we all could do is look at what we intend to buy and see if it is a need or just a want.

And if it is only a want or a desire, do I hold off from buying whatever it is and use the money in a different way?  We also need to look at waste.

Do we waste food or water or electricity and oil?  Can we make a conscious effort to cut out the waste?

Living more simply helps us to stay in touch with what is really important.  It keeps us from just living on the surface.

It also keeps us in touch with the great disparities in our world, where 3 billion of the 7 billion people live on $2 a day or less.  So, living simply is a contribution we can make.

  

Conclusion

Of course, there are other contributions we can make, but to 1) think broadly and 2) live simply are rooted in today’s gospel.  

In doing these things, we will be respecting others and creating an environment where the peace that Jesus talks about has a chance to emerge.

13th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C - June 30, 2019

13^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle C

June 30, 2019     

Saint Mary Parish, Pylesville   9:30 and 11:15am  

A Journey

Jesus’ statements in today’s gospel really need some explanation. 

I mean, at first hearing, they can sound cold and insensitive. So, we need to look at these statements, but first I want to note something else.

In this rather brief passage, Saint Luke uses the word “journey” four times. Luke apparently is trying to make a point. 

He sees Jesus’ entire ministry as a journey to Jerusalem. For Jesus, this was both a geographical and a spiritual journey. 

Jesus was literally on a journey from Galilee in the north to Jerusalem in the south, but he was also on a spiritual journey, a mission for us and all of God’s people. Saint Luke also wants us to know that Jesus’ journey is symbolic of a spiritual journey that each of us is on. 

Each day is another step in the journey – with Jesus, and back to God. It is a journey with new opportunities and new challenges always coming up.  

Seeing my life as a journey helps me to see myself as on the way and not yet there, in other words, as human and imperfect and in need of growth. So, the theme of journey is important and powerful. 

Virtues for the Journey

Now, in today’s gospel, we see some of the traits that Jesus calls us to have for the journey of life.

These traits emerge in Jesus’ response to some people who want to follow him. As I said at the beginning, we need to understand Jesus’ responses carefully because they may seem rather blunt and callous. 

1. Go Beyond Comfort Zone

One person says, “I will follow you wherever you go.”Jesus responds, “Foxes and birds have places to stay, but I do not.”

Jesus is saying that sometimes following him won’t be very comfortable. Sometimes we will have to push ourselves and go out of our comfort zone.   

So, maybe we’ll have to swallow hard, eat our pride, admit we made a mistake, and ask for forgiveness. Or maybe we’ll have to open our minds and be willing to think differently about something.

The point: if we are going to journey with Jesus, sometimes we’ll have to go out of our comfort zone.

2. Do Good Now

Then, someone says that he’ll follow Jesus but first he wants to go and bury his father. Jesus bluntly says, “Let the dead bury their dead.”

Scripture scholars tell us that from the original wording here, this man’s father was not dead and not even dying. Instead, this man’s words were an expression of the day and he was just saying that he’d follow Jesus but not now, sometime later on in his life.  

Jesus’ response is that if we are drawn to do something good, do it now and don’t put it off. So, if we feel drawn to send a note expressing our appreciation and love to our parents or children or wife or husband, just do it.

The point: if we are going to journey with Jesus, do right now the good things that we feel drawn to do.

 

3. Look Ahead

Then someone else says that he’ll follow Jesus, but he first wants to say good-bye to his family. Here Jesus says that if you’re plowing a field and look back over your shoulder, that’s no good.

Jesus is using a farming image that some of us would understand right away. His idea is that if you are planting rows of corn, the rows won’t be straight if you’re looking over your shoulder and behind yourself. 

Jesus doesn’t want us to get stuck in the past but live in the present and for the future. So, don’t be bogged down in past hurts or in past mistakes or in regrets about the past.

The point: if we are going to journey with Jesus, look ahead and make the most of today’s opportunities.

  

Conclusion

So:

1) Sometimes we’ll have to go beyond our comfort zone. 

2) Do good now and don’t put it off until later. 

3) Look ahead and don’t get bogged down in the past. 

They are some of the traits for living life as a journey with Jesus and back to the Father.