30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C - October 27, 2019

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle C

October 27, 2019

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

Merton and Humility 

There was an American priest named Thomas Merton.

Merton died in 1968 at the age of fifty-three. Many of you may know that he was a contemplative monk – a member of the Trappist monastery in Kentucky. 

Merton wrote a number of books on spirituality and the spiritual life. These have had a significant impact on Catholics, other Christians and persons of all faith traditions.

Merton often reflects on the importance of the virtue of humility, on our being humble persons. In one place, he says this – just two sentences! 

“Humility is absolutely necessary if one is going to avoid acting like a baby all one’s life.  To grow up, in fact, means to become humble, to throw away the illusion that I am the center of everything.”

 

Jesus and Humility 

Jesus also talks about humility in today’s gospel.

He tells a parable about two people in the temple. The contrast between their attitudes and words and body postures is absolutely dramatic.

And then Jesus draws his teaching from this image. “Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”   

These words at fist sound nice, pious, but also unrealistic. After all, we live in a culture where it seems that we have to promote or “exalt” ourselves, to use Jesus’ word, if we are going to get ahead or even just stay afloat.

And yet, the words remain – that we need to “humble ourselves,” to embrace humility if we are to become the kind of persons Jesus calls us to be. We need to do this if we are going to “grow up,” as Thomas Merton says, and become mature persons. 

Today I don’t want to give a definition of humility, but I do want to try to describe it from our own experience. As I see it, here are some of the things that this Christian virtue means for us.

We Are Humble When… 

We are humble

when we are like the tax collector in Jesus’ story and can admit our weaknesses and mistakes, things that we did that were wrong or rash, 

Or

when we can laugh at ourselves, at our own idiosyncrasies and foibles.

We are humble

when we are not like the Pharisee in Jesus’ story and do not look down on others and see ourselves as better,

Or

when we look at those who are different from us – in race or religion or culture or nationality or whatever – and see them as persons, as human beings with needs and feelings and hopes like our own.

We are humble

when we are willing to look at our part in the breakdown of a relationship – and there is almost always an “our” part – and we do whatever we can on our side to work things out,

Or 

when I as a priest or we as a Church do not judge those who no longer come here and instead look at ourselves and ask how we could do ministry better to bring the Lord more effectively to the twenty-first century.

And finally, we are humble

when we listen to others while they are speaking and try to take in their ideas and feelings, 

Or

when we pause to think before we speak and don’t have to be first or the loudest in saying something.

Conclusion

I am sure there are more things we could say to describe humility.

Admittedly, this is not a popular or easy virtue. But I believe it is a personal trait we need to work at embracing if we are to be disciples of Jesus and even if we are to become mature persons. 

Let’s just remember: “To grow up means to become humble and throw away the illusion that I am the center of everything.”  And, “Those who humble themselves will be exalted.”   

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C - October 20, 2019

29th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle C

October 20, 2019

8am at Saint Mary Parish, Pylesville

11am at Saint Matthew Parish, Baltimore

“Will he find faith…?” 

“When the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?”  

This is the very last sentence in today’s gospel. At first, it may seem out of place.

Jesus has just told a story about a widowed woman who keeps asking a judge to render a fair decision for her. Here it is important to recall that women in Jesus’ day had no rights at all.

For example, they couldn’t own any property – including money. So, if a woman became widowed, the money and property – which her husband owned – did not belong to her, as it usually does in our culture.

Instead, it would go to their son – if they had a son – or to some other male relative. The woman was left with nothing.

That’s the context for Jesus’ parable today. We are told that a widow is persistent or persevering in seeking a just decision, and that is the point here – her perseverance.   

That is Jesus’ focus when he says: “When the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth?” Jesus sees perseverance as central to faith. 

3 Ingredients of Faith 

This passage led me to recall a presentation that I recently heard about faith.

The presenter is a man named Don Bisson. He has been a Marist Brother, a religious in our Church for fifty years.

Brother Don Bisson has degrees in liturgy, spirituality, and psychology. He gives retreats and does spiritual direction.

Well, in his presentation, Brother Don says that there are three ingredients in becoming a person of real faith. These ingredients can be remembered by the letters I-P-A.

For those of us who enjoy beer, here I-P-A does not mean India Pale Ale. Instead, those letters stand for: 1) Insight, 2) Perseverance, and 3) Action.

1.   Insight

First, we need Insight.

We need an understanding of ourselves as being created and loved by God. We need a blueprint for living, by loving God and loving others as we love ourselves.

And we need a vision that someday we will return to God and come to the fullness of life. So, we need this Insight. 

But, Brother Don Bisson insists, this Insight is not enough. In fact, psychology can give us Insight, but we need more than that to become full persons of faith.

Left alone, by itself, Insight leaves us incomplete. It needs to be maintained throughout life and it needs to be lived and put into practice. 

2.   Perseverance

So, besides Insight, we also need Perseverance.

This isn’t always easy for us. We live in a culture that likes quick-fixes to things. 

We want our chipped tooth fixed and a crown put on it right away, and on it goes. So, Perseverance can be difficult for us.

But we need this, for example, when we are sick, especially with a serious or prolonged illness. At some point, most of us will have to face this. 

When this happens, we are invited to identify with Jesus in his emotional, spiritual, and physical suffering. We need to draw upon the power and grace of God to help us. 

This Perseverance is an essential ingredient of faith and it helps us to become the kind of person God wants us to be. The woman in today’s gospel is a great example of this.

3.   Action

And that leads to the final ingredient: Action.

The idea is that faith is not just a God-and-me thing. We are to share it by our words and definitely by our deeds.

So, we are to do what we can to assist those in need in our families and our community – like our parish community. And we are also to care for those who are on “the margins of life,” to use Pope Francis’ expression. 

This would include the seventy million people in our world who are refugees – people fleeing where they have lived and seeking life or simply survival in another country. If nothing else, we at least pray for them. 

Action like this helps to make our faith complete. So, I-P-A – not India Pale Ale, but 1) Insight, 2) Perseverance, and 3) Action – these are needed for us to become persons of real faith. 

28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C - October 13, 2019

28th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Cycle C

October 13, 2019

“Where Are the Other Nine?”

Jesus heals ten persons with leprosy.

One returns to thank him.  “Where are the other nine?”

The Other Nine 

One of the healed lepers goes off to build a new life for himself.

He busies himself finding a job, a new place to live, and maybe even a family.  He becomes so busy building a new life for himself that he forgets the great blessing he has received.

Another of the lepers is filled with fear and worry because he has few skills and cannot imagine who will hire him and how he will support himself.

He is so afraid and worried that he is virtually paralyzed from doing anything.  He remains huddled at the town gate, alone like a leper. 

Still another of the lepers determines to even the score with everyone who has ever laughed at him or scorned or ignored him because of his illness.

He vows: “They will pay for what they did to me.”  He is obsessed with vengeance and never experiences any joy in his cure.

One of the healed lepers runs as far away as he can.

All he wants is to forget his old life and everything about it.  He even tries to block out the cries of others who are suffering.

Another of the lepers just goes out and parties and parties and parties.

His joy lasts as long as the wine and money do. Once they are gone, he has to face his new life, lost and alone.

Still another of the lepers believes that there must be a catch and that he is not really clean and healed.   

He thinks: “After all, why would anyone, especially God, do this for me?”  So, he does nothing and just waits for the leprosy to return.

Healed or Not

On and on it goes with these other nine.

Because they lack a sense of gratitude for the miracle they have experienced, the miracle does not last very long.  Their self-absorption, their fear and worry, their anger, their repression, their misplaced values, their skepticism, – these responses have just made them lepers all over again.

The One Who Thanks

But there is the one leper who realizes that he has not just been made clean.

He realizes that he has been touched by God and so, he returns to give thanks to Jesus.  This reflects the healing that has happened in his soul as well as in his body.

This leper has faith.  Faith is primarily the recognition of the love and compassion of God.

This recognition moves us to give praise and thanks to God. In this, the one leper is a great model for us.

Our Response

God is in our midst, active in our lives.

But sometimes, like the nine lepers, we are not aware of this. Sometimes our self-centeredness isolates us from one another.

Sometimes our fears and worries trap us.  Sometimes our anger dictates our behavior.

Sometimes our skepticism or doubting or questioning becomes an end in itself.  Sometimes our misplaced hopes and values lead us away from the divine, the transcendent, away from God.

When all of this is the case, we do not experience God in everyday life.  And so, we need to look to the one leper for our lead on this.

We need to approach life with a sense of faith.  We are to realize the presence and love of God in the birth of a baby, in the magnificence of creation, in the tenderness of a spouse, in the skill of a doctor, in our own ability to bring life to another through our love and care.

Maybe the bottom line is this: that for no reason other than a love that we cannot even fathom, God has breathed life into us and given many other gifts to us as well.  Our only fitting response is to stand humbly before God in quiet thanks.

This gratitude can transform us.  It can make so much of life an experience of God’s presence, love, and healing action.

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C - October 6, 2019

27th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Cycle C

October 6, 2019          

Saint Matthew Parish, Baltimore 5pm and 11am

Saint Mary Parish, Pylesville 8am

The Vision 

Today, I am focused on one word in the Scripture passages – the word vision.

In the first reading, God says: “Write down the vision. The vision will have its time and will not disappoint you.”

God wants to make sure that his people will remember the vision when life is tough – as it was at that time. That’s why he tells them to write it down.

God’s advice about the vision is important. We are to 1) see the vision, 2) trust the vision, and 3) live the vision.

1.   See the Vision

First, we are to see the vision.

This means that we need to see Jesus himself.  We are to see him as the way to God and the way to know God because he is God present in our humanity.

And so, we need to work to know Jesus just as thoroughly as we can.  We are to see his vision of God as a loving Parent – One who loves us unconditionally.

We are to see his vision of ourselves – as human and sometimes sinful, yes, but also as worthy and beloved by God. And we are to see his vision of all humanity – of all persons as God’s sons and daughters.

  

This vision gradually shapes who we become as persons. It shapes how we see our life, ourselves, others, our world and God himself. 

 

2.   Trust the Vision 

Then, with this seeing, we are to trust the vision.

Here we have to go back to the first reading – the prophet Habakkuk.  The people are suffering and crying out to God.

“How long will this last, O Lord?  We are surrounded by violence and destruction.

“There is strife and discord everywhere.  So, how long, O Lord, how long?”

And the Lord reassures them: “Write down the vision. The vision will have its time and will not disappoint you.”

So, we are to trust the vision. Maybe we are in the middle of difficult chemotherapy treatments.  

Or maybe we are in-between jobs and worried about how we are going meet our mortgage and cover all of our other bills.  In situations like these, God asks us to trust the vision.

God asks us to trust that Jesus is walking this journey with us. God asks us to trust that the Holy Spirit will give us the strength we need to get through it all.

3.   Live the Vision 

And then, with this seeing and with this trust, we are to live the vision very intentionally – with intentionality.

Jesus says today: “If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can move mountains.”  In other words, we are to set out to live the vision that faith gives us.

So, a child or teen is to tell their parents the truth about what they did even if they will be sent to their room or grounded for a while. They tell the truth.

Or, we support human life not just in one area or on one issue, but in all areas and on all issues. We accept that this is complicated and not simple, and we try to be consistent in our human life ethic.

So, we live the vision. We make this a priority, or rather, the priority to guide us in our lives.

Conclusion

If we do this, this in itself will be our reward.  

This is what Jesus means in our gospel passage when he talks about the servants not expecting the master to wait on them. Here Jesus isn’t talking about how a master in his day should treat servants or how we in our day are to treat one another.

Instead, he is talking about our vision of ourselves – all of us, you and me seeing ourselves as servants of God. He doesn’t want us to expect acclaim or feel entitled to this or that.

Rather, he wants us to 1) see the vision, 2) trust the vision, and 3) live the vision. And he is saying that an inner satisfaction and peace will be our reward and we will find that to be enough.