XVII Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Gn 18:20-32
Ps 138:1-2, 2-3, 6-7, 7-8
Col 2:12-14
Lk 11:1-13

What gives Abraham the guts to bargain with God?  I mean… in life we try to sheepishly bargain with God, but look at what Abraham’s boldness!  If God is determined to do something, something tells me it’s gonna happen.  He wants the earth round; He’s got a round earth.  He wants to give a giraffe a long neck, we’re gonna have a giraffe with a long neck.  If He wants the male seahorse to have the baby seahorses, the male seahorse is going to have babies.  That is the sovereignty of God.  So if God, in His righteousness, wants to destroy a city – that’s His prerogative right?!?!? But Abraham talks Him down!  He is able to save a wretched city if he were to find ten innocent people.  Abraham is not really invested in this city; it’s not even his home, why does he care and yet he is able to save it.  Few people in scriptures are able to do what Abraham does right here.

And as I think about how amazing Abraham is in bargaining with God and getting what he wanted, I also wonder what “convinces” God to do what He did.  God doesn’t really work like that does He?  Do you think that Abraham really “convinced” God to do something?  This is God we are talking about here!!  The Divine Eternal Being that created everything and is beyond all the “linear timey-wimey goobledegook string theory and parallel universes.”  Do you think this Being would let some schmuck in the desert change His mind?  I don’t think so… but yet let’s think about it some more.

If man cannot change the mind of God, then what good is prayer?  What good is it to pray to God?  This is where a lot of people quit religion; they give up.  And this is where they are wrong!  To subscribe to this beautiful faith means we must also accept the offer and invitation of Jesus Christ – the Son of God.  In Christ we see efficacy of prayer, but we must pray the way He exhorts us to pray.

In the Gospel, we hear of the disciples asking Jesus how to pray.  If prayer was ineffective, He wouldn’t have said anything – He would have told them that they didn’t do anything.  But no, He gives them the Lord’s Prayer: the powerful prayer that has been passed through the ages: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name.  And then He gives them some examples and further reinforcement on the importance of prayer:  persistence or perseverance in asking.

Let us take a closer look at these two examples: the first one is almost hilarious.  Because all you have to do is go to the supermarket and stand in the checkout line with little kids running around.  Kids ask for something that they want from their parents.  What’s the first answer? No.  The second? No. The third? No. Eventually through some sort of cuteness and persistence and sometimes arm-twisting tantrums they eventually get what they want.  They wear ‘em down. Perseverance: it’s powerful stuff.  It’s probably happened to you before, a simple beggar on the street asks for some change and they just keep asking until you hand whatever is in your wallet over just to get them off your back.  If it worked for a stranger… imagine if we did it to God, who is not a stranger but one who loves us unconditionally.

Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened….  These again are powerful words.  And as we reflect upon them – we see the power of prayer in Abraham asking on behalf of the people. Prayer is as far off as asking for that help and assistance from God. But lest we turn God into our own genie in a bottle – for He is certainly not.  Remember that Christ teaches us to call God “Father”, not “slave”.  We must discern first what we are asking.  He is a Father who loves us and desires the best for us; His will be done because we trust in Him.  When we ask God and we pray to God and it is not happening the way we would like we must stop and think:  Are we asking for snakes and scorpion?  Our Father will give us our daily bread, but sometimes we are asking for the wrong thing, which is like asking for snakes and scorpions, which any good father will not do [unless you are the Crocodile Hunter].

We are assured that prayer works, but now the task at hand for us is to find out how to pray and what we are praying for.  Prayer is our conversation with God – one that is familiar and also one that seeks to better understand His will and desire.  Ultimately, He already knows what we are asking – but the benefit of prayer allows us do a few things: 1.) to explicitly understand what you are praying for, 2.) to discern whether or not you really need what you are asking for, and 3.) to trust in His providence.

At the heart of prayer is communication and relationship.  Here’s an experiment and exercise for you:  record your prayer and play it back to yourself.  (Nobody else needs to hear it.)  You may notice that it is not polished, that’s okay – you can work on that.  BUT - Are you praying from the heart or are you just giving lip service?  Is it just fluffy words or are you able to relate the very core of yourself to Him?  

For some of you, this exercise may be quite embarrassing because what you are praying about and praying for are exactly those scorpions and the snakes that Christ refers to in the Gospel – and God, for your own good, is not gonna give them to you.  But perhaps you really are asking for something good and proper – perhaps you are praying for that daily bread, that fish, or that egg.  Here is where perseverance comes into play, where you must discern further: How is He answering your prayer? Do you trust in His good providence?

There is no magical formula in prayer – because that is not how God works.  Ask and you shall receive is not a blank check.  Abraham was able to do what He did because He was asking for THE good, he persevered, and his request was very much in line with God’s will.  Prayer is not so much about changing God’s mind, but having our minds change to match His.  He is the Father who loves us and desires the best for us.  When we pray we are asking Him to open that goodness to us – that we may always seek and unite ourselves to His will.  As we continue this celebration of the Mass, let us turn our hearts to Him, uniting ourselves in communion in the Holy Eucharist.

XV Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Dt 30:10-14
Ps 66:14, 17, 30-31, 33-34, 36, 37
Col 1:15-20
Lk 10:25-37

You’ve probably heard it before; it is the common mantra out there in world:  “You don’t need religion.  All you need to do is just be a good person.”  This kind of “good person” religion doesn’t work.  Perhaps maybe back in ancient times where there was some sort of sacro-sanct moral codes this could work.  But now that we live in a pluralistic, relativistic, and ostensibly tolerant society, your definition of good and my definition of good will probably not be the same.  People’s standards and moral values have changed – everybody, I hope, is trying to be good.  But his good and her good don’t always match up and then conflict arises.

All early civilizations had a set of governing laws and you could say that they are more or less consistent on what was good and what was bad.  Even cannibals, I have heard, use discretion and draw lines of what they can and cannot eat.  Murder is bad, stealing is bad, and adultery is bad.  It’s pretty simple.  We see something of an innate moral code that is built into every single human person, what is called “Natural Law”.  As societies develop, the peripherals may change but the core should remain the same.  And as knowledge and wisdom increases, adjustments are made.

In particular, we look at Divine Revelation: starting with the Hebrew people of ancient times all the way through the time of Christ and the Apostles.  In Deuteronomy, Moses says to the people, “For this command that I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you… it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out.”   God, speaking through Moses is saying that although there are so many laws – the essential is there in your heart and soul.  When God gives the law to the Jewish people – there moral codes were raised to a new level.  They were not only doing what was natural but ordering their lives in response to this Divine Revelation.   It was a gift for them and they tried, as they did, to adhere to them.  This was to prepare the ground, as it were, for the next “installment” of Revelation in the Incarnation of Christ.

When we hear the story of the Good Samaritan, we are reminded again of going above and beyond what is required into the heart of God’s revelation to us.  The Old Testament required ritual purity and also had a hierarchy of treatment starting with family, extended relatives, and finally as a race. Those outside, the slave, servant, and stranger and foreigner were treated differently.  You have probably heard that the Jews and Samaritans did not get along.  Using this contemporary animosity of these social groups, Christ drew his teaching point:  all people needed to be treated with respect and dignity.  Christ expands the definition of neighbor to not only be family and the Jewish people, but to everyone – even their enemies. Therefore, we have heard it time and time again in Church: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  You have probably heard of the Golden Rule and different versions of it.  It is no surprise that Christ brings this into the picture.

But going back to the beginning of my homily about the “Good Person” religion, one might ask, “Well if the Golden Rule is all I need – why should I bother with this mumbo jumbo religion stuff. I’ll just do that and I’ll be fine.”  To which I would reply, “That’s not good enough.”  Why?  Because we live in a pluralistic world of utility and everybody’s definitions are all over the place.  What if a murderer welcomed being murdered?  Fits the Golden Rule right?  Doesn’t sound right does it?  Natural law only prepares the ground to receive something more: Divine Law through revelation.  Just as in the Old Testament made the soil fertile for the salvation of Christ to come about, we in a secular age must be able to transcend into the fullness of His revelation: Jesus Christ. The Law is the “what” but Jesus is the “how”.  They are not contradictory, but work in harmony – so that those who do not yet know God can still approach Him.

As St. Paul writes to the Colossians, Christ is the image of the invisible God… He is before all things… He is the head of the body, the church.  When we as the human race receive something from God, it isn’t optional.  He came so that we may have life and have it more abundantly (cf. Jn 10:10).  Therefore, He knew that what He had revealed would have difficulty meeting people where they were at and so the establishment of the Apostles and the Church was only natural and intentional.  The Church then, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, becomes the place where we seek help in understanding “how” we should love and “how” we should worship.  This cornerstone of the Faith is essential for us as Catholics.  Otherwise we run the risk of being no different than the secular world out there – picking and choosing what they want to value and what they devalue.

The hot and controversial topics that we hear about today in the media and news cannot simply be determined by our prior experience and knowledge which may be biased – but rather our reactions and responses must be determined through prayer and understanding through the Church.  One cannot demand others to respect life and then mistreat immigrants or criminals or strangers.  The Gospel today calls us to task.

The great commandment demands love and compassion for our neighbor – anyone and everyone.  The Church teaches that there is a preferential option for the poor – to bring relief to those who suffer and an end to injustices.  These are things that we must work on in society, but to do that we must first begin with calling ourselves to task – how have I helped those around me?  When I saw a need did I ignore it and pass by on the opposite side?  Did I treat my neighbor as if they were my own flesh and blood?

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta loved the poorest of the poor and her heroic compassion seemed to be unmatched with her contemporaries.  It was a deep spirituality for her to face the repugnance and dirtiness of festering wounds of her neighbor so that she could love the Lord, her God, with all her heart, being, strength, and mind.  Would that we do the same and enter and bathe the wounds of Christ as we clean the wounds of our neighbors with compassion.


 

XIV Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle C

Is 66:10-14c
Ps 66:1-3,4-5,6-7,16,20
Gal 6:14-18
Lk 10:1-12, 17-20

When we look at what our Lord had asked these seventy-two men to do, we see something that nearly impossible – or at least not humanly possible.  One was to go out into the towns without anything.  First He warns them: “You will be utterly defenseless and you just might be eaten alive. The outlook is not gonna be good.”  After that bleak prediction you would think that our Lord would offer a bit of advice and encouragement, but he just makes it worse!!  “Don’t bring money, don’t bring luggage, don’t bring anything for the journey, and don’t bring anything.  Don’t even ask for help.  Just go and evangelize.  See ya later.”
Another way to look at it would be Jesus goes out to his disciples who are drowning in the middle of the sea.  The disciples look absolutely desperate and afraid.  And Jesus, in the most loving way that our Lord could look at His disciples, tells them, “Here’s something to help you swim and then hands each of them an anvil, “See you at the shore, have fun, ooh. watch out for that shark!” But what is the result?!  The seventy-two return rejoicing!  “Lord, even the demons are subject to us because of your name.” This is an incredibly fascinating account of disciples casting out demons, healing the sick, and bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to all they encountered.  But have you ever wondered why they were so successful?

On the one hand, it is quite obvious: the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the name of our Lord is just that powerful and compelling.  On the other hand – and I think this has to do a bit with how we as instruments of God must approach this mission – I believe it has to do something with the evangelical counsels.  What are the evangelical counsels?  Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience.  These are the three vows that religious men and women take when they enter the religious life.  Diocesan Priests and Deacons also take a form of these three promises.  But these three promises free one to do the work of God in a unique way.  How does it work?

Imagine yourself going to a foreign land where you can hardly speak the language and you are trying to share the Gospel with them.  What do you think the native people are thinking about you when you arrive?  “These are some strange people, I wonder what they want.  Are they here to conquer us? Are they a threat to us?  Do they want to take our things?  Do they want to rule us?  Do they want to steal our wives and husbands and family away?”  Through these three evangelical counsels – one is able to remove the barriers that may prevent one from receiving the Gospel.

By taking a vow of poverty, missionaries are saying that they are not there to make a quick buck or to steal anything from anyone.  By taking a vow of chastity, they are saying that they are not there to steal spouses or destroy families.  By taking a vow of obedience, they are saying that they are not there to rule over them and make the people subjects or slaves.  In fact these missionaries are subject to someone else – someone greater.  So you can see how these vows break down a certain human barrier and makes a nice bridge to say that they are there for one purpose and one purpose only: to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
The humble service and work that these seventy-two did are examples for us who have taken the vows of poverty, chastity, obedience.  There are some that will argue that religious orders, especially priests should get married so that they have the support of a wife and family.  But what does that do?  If I were to have a wife, that automatically eliminates chastity – there’s a big jump from nothing to something and beyond something isn’t that big of a difference; and then poverty is difficult because I would have to support and raise a family; and then obedience?  Well between the parish council and my wife, who am I going to listen to?  (The parish council can’t really make me sleep on the couch.)

The evangelical counsels are there for us as examples to spread the good news but for priests and religious brothers and sisters, we must also be inspired with St. Paul’s words to the Galatians: May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.  All of the sacrifices that have been made must be made in cross of Jesus Christ.  When priests and religious have failed in their counsels and left the religious life, it is usually because they have ceased to pray and have ceased to unite themselves with the Cross of Christ.
For all of us, we must take to heart the words of St. Paul and the words of Christ - the words of our Lord.  Though you may not take on these vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience; we look to these men and women as examples and models to live a life in imitation of them and of Christ.  This is probably the greatest take away from our scripture today: the example of complete and utter dependence on God for our future and well-being.  If we have nothing, we have nothing depend on but God.  Everything is seen as a gift from Him.  Our lives would be a lot easier and filled with a lot more thanksgiving when we see all the things around us as gift rather than taken for granted.  We don’t have to be dedicated missionaries to try to live this way – but a simplicity of life makes life easier especially when we are called to preach the Gospel to all nations; every one of us!

As you follow step by step and day by day in Him, you will find yourself living out these virtues in a very special way.  You will find yourself less attached to material goods and status.  You will find yourself open and obedient to God’s will in your life and also find yourself less stressed with those things that are hanging over your head. And finally, you will orient yourself in chastity: to love yourself and to love others as what is proper to your state in life: having good temperance of the fleshly appetites of not only food and drink, but also carnal desire.

When you see yourself growing closer to God through prayer and through these virtues you too will see Satan fall like lightning from the sky.  Therefore, let us be inspired but the examples of our religious brothers and sisters, our priests, our deacons, and bishops.  Let us be inspired by the saints that have gone before us with the heroic virtues that they model.  Let us be inspired by and led to the Cross of Christ so that we can draw our strength from Him.  Let us humbly approach the sacred meal of the Eucharist as that source of strength for our daily life – our daily bread for ever and always.