Servant Problems, October 18, 2009

I’ve told this joke before and, if you remember it, I hope you’ll forgive the repetition. Jesus says that the Greatest among us must serve the rest. In response to this Gospel, the Pope has used the title, “Servant of the Servants of God.” And the story goes that that makes the Bishops the servants of the servant of the servants of God, and that makes the priests the servants of the servants of the servant of the servants of God. Do you know what that makes you? People with a lot of servant problems.

One thing that stands out in the Gospel of Mark is that Mark does not portray the Apostles in a positive light. He's forever portraying them as people who don't get it and who don't understand. So in the Gospel today Jesus is teaching the Apostles that he's going to suffer and die, and how do James and John respond? "Give us whatever we ask." What they want are places of honor in the kingdom.

So Jesus says, "Well, what do you want?"

"Can we sit at your right and your left when you come to your glory?" They don't get it. And Jesus tells them that. You don't get it. You don't know what you're asking for.
The ten are indignant. Are they indignant because they're so zealous for service or because they got out jockeyed by James and John? Whenever I read the Gospel I'm tempted to be critical and to say they don't get it.

I'm tempted to be critical when I look at our church and our society. Maybe you are, too. How many of you would be tempted to look at the church and leadership in our society and say they don't get it? Wouldn't we all?

So, anyway, I've been reading over the past several weeks a commentary by a Francis Maloney on the Gospel of Mark. And in this passage there was just one sentence that caught my eye and gave me an “aha!” moment. What he said was Jesus does not abandon the failing disciples James and John, but he teaches them. He teaches them, not as a law giver or a rule giver, but he teaches them by saying, "Follow my example." He gives them his own example of coming not to be served but to serve and to give his life.

Well, for some reason that hit me. It hit me in my feeling of wanting to be critical of everybody that fails to live up to my standards -- and there are many -- and in my desire to be critical of myself when I don't live up to my standards. So what hit me between the eyes was the realization that, when I fail Jesus does not abandon me, but he teaches me and he teaches me by his example.
When others fail my call is not to condemn them and not to abandon them, but to teach them and to teach them, above all, not by criticism, not by repeating the law, not by picking up the Bible and hitting them on the head with it, but by my own example. And that is difficult, isn't it?
That's just the thought that struck me in the Gospel and in Jesus' reaction. Jesus does not abandon the failing disciples, but he teaches them.

And by the way, about James and John. They said, "We can," when he said, "Can you drink the cup that I will drink?" And do you know what? They did, and all of them did.

I sometimes imagine this Gospel ‑‑ yesterday I did a wedding and I could imagine saying to the couple, "You don't know what you're asking. Can you drink the cup and be baptized with the baptism?"

Can you imagine people wanting to have children and saying to them, "You don't know what you're asking." Or somebody saying, "I want to be a priest." You don't know what you're asking. Or somebody saying, "I want to be a teacher." You don't know what you're asking.
And this could go on and on, and in our hope and enthusiasm we would answer, "We can." And do you know what? I think we will, with God's help and with God's teaching.

How Hard for those with Wealth to Enter the Kindgdom of God. October 11, 2009

I’d like to begin by reviewing last week’s homily. I mentioned that up to now in the Gospel Jesus has been teaching about taking up the cross, receiving the Kingdom of God as children, and welcoming children. Chapter 10 in Mark's Gospel is an interlude in the story in which there are three questions: A question about divorce, a question about welcoming children, and the question about money -- and inheriting God's Kingdom in today's Gospel. I asked, "Where does the rubber meet the road in following God?" The answer was that it's in marriage, in raising children, and in how we handle our money.

Listen for a moment to the words of Jesus today: How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God.

What's your reaction to that? You're a shoo‑in to get that? Okay. Who draws the line about who's wealthy? Okay. What about wealthy people who are philanthropists?

Just as a point of information, it says somewhere in the Gospel that Jesus was followed by many women who supported him out of their means. In the letters of Paul the Apostle there were many wealthy women who supported Paul. They weren't allowed to speak in church, but they supported the church. I wonder if they felt, I wonder how they felt about that.

[inaudible response] Okay, he said it makes you think. Your first question, then, is, "Well, then, how do we get to heaven? What if you have to give every day, every week?"

[inaudible response] Okay, two questions: One, if you have that much wealth, you're focused on it; and two, the question how did you get it?

Apparently in this story, the young man came by it quite honestly because he was able to say, "I've observed all the commandments from my youth."

[inaudible response] So, two things: One, it says the man went away sad. It doesn't say why he was sad. Maybe he was going to give everything away and follow Jesus and he was sad about that. And the other thing is, there are some commentaries that interpret the needle as a door in a fortress that was so small that a warrior couldn't get through it, a warrior on a horse.

What I want to suggest is, I can't explain it, and even if I could I wouldn't, because I think the reaction of the Apostles is the best reaction. Be amazed and to say, "Well, then, who can be saved?"

I want to call your attention to the young man's question. He says, "What can I do to inherit the Kingdom of God?" Well, what can you do to earn the Kingdom of God? Nothing. You can't earn it; you can't inherit it. Jesus has been teaching all along you can only receive it as a little child receives, and if you don't receive it like a little child you won't enter it. So there's nothing I can do to earn God's Kingdom, but I can receive it, and I can respond to God's call to receive it, and God's call might come to me in many ways.

In my letter in the bulletin I raise this question: When you pray about money, how do you pray? I won't ask you to raise your hands, but how many of us pray for more money? How many of us pray for more security? Or when we think about giving ‑‑ I know there was a time in my life when I thought, well, when I've taken care of this need and that need and this problem and that problem, then I will give. The biblical answer is trust God and give, and everything else will fall in place.

In the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous there are promises that come after somebody has worked many of the steps, and the promise is, "Fear of economic insecurity will leave us."
I remember asking an old timer once, "Does that mean we'll be secure?"
And he said, "No, it just means you won't fear insecurity."

Does it make sense? Perhaps the invitation in the Gospel, as it has been throughout the teaching, is to be receptive to God's call, to trust God's call, to let go of our fears around money and around possessions and to focus on what it is that God calls us to do. Throughout the biblical message the call of God to those who have wealth can always be summed up in two words: Share it. Realize that it's intended for everybody and for the benefit of everybody, not just for you.
But anyway, as we pray today let's be amazed like the Apostles and maybe hear God's call to trust and to receive what God's offers us as a little child.

Homily for October 4, 2009 The Question About Divorce

Every now and then I pass a church with a sign that says “Full Gospel Church." I don't know what they mean by it, but I see that, and I say we are the Full Gospel Church, because we read the full Gospel in our Sunday liturgy, even when it's awkward and inconvenient, like today.
So, first I want to ask you, how many are divorced, have family members who are divorced, or close friends who are divorced? Everybody! We're not judging them. It’s not about that. We don't know the circumstances of their life, and we know they came to be in their circumstances by very difficult decisions and discernment.

I also want to acknowledge that our church has legal procedures for dealing with divorce and remarriage. I've met people who found them very healing and very freeing, and I've also met people who found them very wounding. Again, I can't judge because I don't know the circumstances. So this is not about individuals or judging individuals. There's enough guilt and shame in people's lives.

What I want to do is talk about chapter 10 in Matthew's Gospel and where it fits in the story. I quote a Scripture scholar in my letter in the bulletin who belongs to a field of Scripture scholarship called narrative criticism. This is a group of Scripture scholars who approach things primarily by saying, "Where do they fit in the story, and what place do they take in the story?"
Jesus has been preaching about the need to take up the cross. He's been telling people that he himself will take up the cross, and if you want to be his follower you have to take up the cross. He's been preaching about the need for service and an attitude of service, and he's been preaching about receiving little children. That's the preaching.

Chapter 10 is an interlude in that preaching that has two questions and one scene. It has the Pharisees asking about divorce; it has the scene of blessing the children. By the way, that scene is the window in the very back of church on this side, so look at it when you leave or go out.
Then it has a rich young man approaching Jesus and saying, "What must I do to inherit eternal life?" You know the story.

Jesus says, "Go sell what you have and give it to the poor." And he walks away sad. That's chapter 10: Three scenes that break into the story.

And by the way the custom of Jesus' day was that, if a man was displeased with his wife, all he had to do was write her a bill of divorce and send her away. And in doing so he was sending her out of the family, out of her system of support and survival, and forcing her to find another man. The Scripture scholar I quote says that is the height of male arrogance, and Jesus is saying this is not God's design.

Well, if you take these teachings ‑‑ taking up the cross, service, and receptivity to little children ‑‑ where does the rubber meet the road, and where are we most challenged to put theory into practice?

How about marriage? How about when you're tired and distracted and worried about many things, and needy children come to you? How about our use of money and the economic questions? Would you agree with me that that's where the rubber meets the road and that's where we are most challenged? And when people come with legal questions, Jesus doesn't want to go there. Instead he says, "What is God's design?"

Well, let's take that word, "God's design." The Scriptures have many descriptions of God's design for the relationship between men and women. By the way, in the first reading what is God's design? They are suitable partners; they are equal; they are one flesh. The Scriptures have many words about treating children ‑‑ and by the way, the words about treating children are not because they were sentimental about children. They were because children were expendable and they were the least in society.

The Scriptures have many words about human relationships, and they have many words about our use of wealth and possessions. The Scriptures are also a description of our failure to live God's design, and they're a description of God's faithfulness and God's mercy.
So, let me just ask you a question, and again, I'm not asking us to judge individuals, but to judge our culture and the institutions of our society. How many of you saw on the news last week that there are five counties in Indiana that are among those with the highest divorce rate in the country? How many of you saw that on the news? I forget what five they were. Wayne County where Richmond is, and Vigo County where Terre Haute is, were two of them. I forget the other three. I don't think Marion County was one of them.

Well, the news article speculated on why that was true. Do you know the reason it gave? Indiana has the easiest divorce laws in the country. It's easier to get divorced in Indiana than in other places.

Review all of the things about child abuse and child welfare that you read about in the paper, and look at the high unemployment rate, the millions of people without health care, and the increasing number of people who live in poverty. Let me ask you, about our failure to live according to God's design for life. Where does it come from? Is it because God's design is unrealistic and too idealistic, or is it because of our hardness of heart?

I'll just end with that question. What do you think?

Thoughts for Sunday October 18

My Dear People,

The scene in today’s Gospel is familiar. Jesus is teaching his disciples about his suffering and death. James and John don’t get it. They ask for positions of honor in his kingdom. The other ten don’t get it either. They are indignant at James and John. Perhaps their indignation is more about being out jockeyed than it is about zeal for service.

I for one would have to confess that I’m often like the ten. My indignation at those who seek power is more due to my own desire for power than it is my zeal for the right way of exercising power.
As I read the excellent commentary on Mark by Francis J. Moloney, there was an “aha” moment. Moloney says, “Jesus does not abandon the failing sons of Zebedee, but instructs them.” I have usually read that Gospel passage with a high dose of criticism for James and John and for the ten. I’ve read it with a high dose of criticism for bishops and other leaders who, in my humble opinion, “Don't get it.” I’ve read it as a rejection of them. So Moloney’s words that “Jesus does not abandon the failing sons of Zebedee, but instructs them” opened my eyes to a different way of reading the text.

Jesus is forever the teacher who teaches by example and not as a distant lawgiver. He does not abandon us when we fail. Our failure is the opportunity for him to teach us. He does not teach us in a theoretical way. He asks us to follow him.

I for one an extremely distressed by the increasing polarization of our society, by the hate filled tone of much of our public discussion. I am distressed by leaders who do not serve the people but seem to serve themselves. I am distressed by the jockeying for position that I see around me. I am tempted to reject and to condemn.

Jesus does not abandon us when we fail, but instructs us. He instructs us by example. He asks us to follow him. I’ve struggled to accept that about myself. Jesus does not abandon me when I fail. I’ve struggled more to accept that about others. Jesus does not abandon them when they fail.
Jesus does not abandon, but instructs. He instructs by asking us to follow him. Perhaps my reaction of indignation at others should be channelled more into allowing myself to be instructed and hear the challenge to follow Jesus.

Love,
Fr. Larry

Thoughts for Sunday October 11

My Dear People,

Today’s Gospel is the familiar story of the rich young man who asks Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” The answer is to sell what he has and give it to the poor.

For centuries some commentators read this as if only some people, those with a vocation to a religious order, are called to live this. They neglected to consider that all of us are called to discipleship and called to discipleship with the way we use our possessions.

Once again, I am indebted to Francis J. Moloney and his commentary on the Gospel of Mark for some of these insights. The young man asks the wrong question. He asks, “What can I do?” The answer is nothing. We can’t do anything to enter God’s Kingdom. We can only receive it as a gift. Part of receiving it as a gift, however, is receptivity to God’s grace and to God’s call to Discipleship. Jesus tells his disciples that for humans it is impossible but that all things are possible with God. With God’s grace all things are possible!

Let me ask you. Do you pray about money and financial concerns? If you do, and I imagine you do, what do you pray for? For more money? For financial security? How many of us pray to know God’s will for us in regard to money? How many of us pray about purchases and whether they are necessary according to God’s will for our lives? How many pray for the grace to be less fearful and more generous? How many pray for the grace to trust God?

When I reflect on my own giving, I realize that there was a time when my attitude was that, when my needs were met, I would begin giving more. Like many, I discovered that this was a backwards approach. The better approach, the only approach, is to trust and begin giving. Like many, I have found that, when I do that, things fall in place.

In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous there are promises listed after the 9th step. That is, promises are made after we have surrendered our lives to God, made a searching inventory of our resentments and fears and moral failures, prayed to God to remove our defects of character and made amends to people we have harmed. One of the promises is that fear of economic insecurity will leave us. I remember asking an old timer if that meant we would be economically secure. He said, “No. It just means your life won’t be dominated by fear when it comes to finances.”

Can that be the called for response to today’s Gospel. Pray for the grace to trust. Pray to have our fear removed. Pray for the trust to share what we have and to give to the poor. What do you pray for when you pray about money and economic matters?

Love,
Fr. Larry