Somewhere in the immense crowd, a man is able to garner Jesus' attention. (Lk 12: 13-21) He wants Jesus to arbitrate a division of property between himself and his brother. Such arbitration of disputes by a rabbi was not unusual. However, Jesus recognizes this request as motivated by greed, and not a desire for justice. For that reason he refuses and uses the encounter as a parabolic teaching moment. Jesus speaks of a rich businessman who, without thought for God or neighbour, frets over growing possessions and decides to tear down his old buildings and erect newer, larger ones to hold his stuff. God speaks to the rich fellow. He calls the man a "fool" (the same word Jesus uses of Pharisees who are motivated by greed, and neglect justice and the love of God.) God informs him that he will die that night, and all his plans be for naught. So it goes, Jesus says, with wealthy folks who do not put their assets towards God's work.
In numerous texts, from Dives and Lazarus, to the Rich Young Ruler, to the Eye of a Needle, our Lord has emphasized that wealth is the single greatest hazard to a person's spiritual health. As the author of First Timothy tells us,"the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." (6:10) In other words, the problem is whether and how one's wealth is distributed and the character deficiency is attachment.
How can anyone misunderstand Jesus' view of greed? And, yet, in our society many prominent religious leaders are turning tricks for the wealthiest, and building up enormous treasures on earth for themselves. Many mega-churches now appear to be little more than tax-free cover operations for transferring donations from the pockets of parishioners to the pockets of their pastors. Jesus must surely be weeping.
Attachment leads to other spiritual disorders. First, we may see that it causes us to forget that everything we possess is from God. We bring nothing into the world, take nothing out, and we do nothing except by blessings we have received. There are no self-made men: we create nothing. Our natural God-given talents allow us to succeed. There is nothing wrong with "reverent" entrepreneurship.
Second, attachment leads us to a lack of trust in Providence. The reality is that if we are lavishly, unconditionally generous, we can trust God to take care of us. Years ago we were challenged to make sacrificial gifts to charity every month, and then trust God with the rest of the budget. That has never failed us. My charitable giving now exceeds the ten-percent biblical tithe; and we have always been truly blessed in that. One cannot outdo God in generosity; and trusting in God's Providence makes us better stewards -- better managers of resources -- which include time and talent, as well as wealth.
Third, attachment leads us to self-justify, to imagine that everyone starts on a level playing-field, that our moral superiority entitles us to a disproportionate amount of the world's goods. We are attracted to the nonsensical and popular "prosperity theology" of today, which Jesus would never recognize. And, on a global scale, tens of thousands die daily from preventable causes, because we have the means, but not the will, to provide for the basic needs of humanity.
Fourth, attachment causes us to lose our sense of priorities. When God is said to demand "no other gods in my presence," we can take that to the bank. The Deity we worship demands to be first in our lives. If wealth accumulation -- and the security and lifestyle it brings -- is more important to us than anything else, then it is our god, and the God of Israel is not. In all things, let us turn away from the idolatry of false values to worship the Living God who wants to be our number one..
Sunday, July 31, 2016
Sunday, July 24, 2016
Pentecost X: Jesus on Prayer
Like any good rabbi, Jesus liked to draw on the rich wisdom of his Tradition. The "Summary of the Law" which he taught is a quotation from Hillel. The Our Father (called by protestant's "The Lord's Prayer") is a wonderful Jewish work as well. Every Jewish male in the first century was obliged to recite three times per day the Amidah prayer. Jesus, who had just been talking about limiting one's words in prayer, abridged the key elements of that prayer to make the succinct oration we know today as the Our Father.
The version in today's gospel (Lk 11: 1-13) contains portions of the full prayer which can be found in Matthew. Important key portions. Let's take a look.
Father - The first words the Jewish child would learn are "imma" and "abba," mama and papa. The latter is never used as a title for God anywhere in Hebrew Scripture or worship resources. To call God, in effect, "Daddy" is simply too intimate a form of address to a transcendent deity. But, in the experience of Jesus, we do come into intimate relation with God in a new way.
Hallowed be your name - The verb is passive . God sanctifies his own name by blessing his People.
Your Kingdom come - From childhood the Jewish child knew the kaddish {"holy") prayer which is about the coming reign of God on earth as in heaven, final victory. Yet, we reflect God's blessing of us by being a blessing to others through smaller daily victories of love, justice and peacemaking, as agents of the redemption of the world.
Give us each day our daily bread - We ask for what we need for the coming day. Not what we want. Not everything we can steal or hoard away. Years ago some nun friends of mine gave away bumper stickers which said, "Live simply that others may simply live." This line is countercultural. And when we pray for what we need, we may find that what we really need is quite different from what we have imagined. God is a God of blessing to those open to his guidance and blessing.
And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us - This is the ancient Jewish teaching that we may not approach God for forgiveness until we have straightened out relationships with other people. We cannot withhold forgiveness from others and be ourselves forgiven. Each year on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) no Jew is welcome to come to Temple in the evening to ask for God's forgiveness and blessing for the coming year who has not first made a sincere effort to forgive and ask forgiveness of others.
And do not bring us to the time of trial - The operative expression is "hard testing." Life is hard enough, so we ask to be given a break even as we hope for the grace to persevere in life's trials. For, as Jesus reminds us, it is the only the one who perseveres to the end who will find salvation-- that is, right relationship with God. (Mt 24: 13)
From this wonderful, abridged Amidah we see our way clearly. In intimate relation with the Father, we seek to be a blessing in the world as kingdom-builders and therein are ourselves blessed. And as we proceed we seek only what we truly need and seek to be in straight relation with others, knowing that our relationship with God depends on it, and finally we persevere to the end in God's true life.
The version in today's gospel (Lk 11: 1-13) contains portions of the full prayer which can be found in Matthew. Important key portions. Let's take a look.
Father - The first words the Jewish child would learn are "imma" and "abba," mama and papa. The latter is never used as a title for God anywhere in Hebrew Scripture or worship resources. To call God, in effect, "Daddy" is simply too intimate a form of address to a transcendent deity. But, in the experience of Jesus, we do come into intimate relation with God in a new way.
Hallowed be your name - The verb is passive . God sanctifies his own name by blessing his People.
Your Kingdom come - From childhood the Jewish child knew the kaddish {"holy") prayer which is about the coming reign of God on earth as in heaven, final victory. Yet, we reflect God's blessing of us by being a blessing to others through smaller daily victories of love, justice and peacemaking, as agents of the redemption of the world.
Give us each day our daily bread - We ask for what we need for the coming day. Not what we want. Not everything we can steal or hoard away. Years ago some nun friends of mine gave away bumper stickers which said, "Live simply that others may simply live." This line is countercultural. And when we pray for what we need, we may find that what we really need is quite different from what we have imagined. God is a God of blessing to those open to his guidance and blessing.
And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us - This is the ancient Jewish teaching that we may not approach God for forgiveness until we have straightened out relationships with other people. We cannot withhold forgiveness from others and be ourselves forgiven. Each year on Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) no Jew is welcome to come to Temple in the evening to ask for God's forgiveness and blessing for the coming year who has not first made a sincere effort to forgive and ask forgiveness of others.
And do not bring us to the time of trial - The operative expression is "hard testing." Life is hard enough, so we ask to be given a break even as we hope for the grace to persevere in life's trials. For, as Jesus reminds us, it is the only the one who perseveres to the end who will find salvation-- that is, right relationship with God. (Mt 24: 13)
From this wonderful, abridged Amidah we see our way clearly. In intimate relation with the Father, we seek to be a blessing in the world as kingdom-builders and therein are ourselves blessed. And as we proceed we seek only what we truly need and seek to be in straight relation with others, knowing that our relationship with God depends on it, and finally we persevere to the end in God's true life.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Pentecost IX: Two Lessons
Jesus loved those people in the strange household in Bethany. They were sisters Mary and Martha, who lived with their brother Lazarus. Today's pericope (Lk 10: 28-32) follows Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus shifts now from emphasis on "works" (building the Kingdom of God on earth) to emphasis on "faith" (radical trust in God.) Mary is listening to Jesus. Martha is following all the protocols for hospitality, a central core value in that society, and wants Jesus to force Mary back into the kitchen. Jesus refuses. Mary, he says, has chosen the better part.
Like Martha, how often we become worried and distracted by all that we have to do, caught up in worldly cares and responsibilities, forgetting to nourish our spiritual side. We are nourished through our relationship with the Divine, and "conversation" is necessary to maintain relationship. That will take different forms for different people: some are into serious meditation, listening for God's word; others like the Rosary so as to pray to God with Mary as prayer partner, still others engage writings, sacred and otherwise, to spark insights. There are numerous examples of clergy and religious who become burnt out, because they lose grounding by neglecting matters of faith in favour of pure service. That can happen to anyone. First lesson: nourish your Spirit, balance faith and works.
Martha appears in two more vignettes in Scripture: one where she believes Jesus can raise her brother and he does, the other where John adapts the woman-anointing-Jesus'-feet story to identify that character with Martha. Clearly the message is: She "got it," and so must we as disciples.
But what about the rest of the story? In the so-called Golden Legend, our trio are converted from Judaism (remember Jesus was a Jew) to Christianity by Saint Maximian. As newly-minted Catholic Christians, the three go to France. There Mary becomes contemplative, Lazarus becomes the Bishop of Marseilles, and Martha becomes ascetic while continuing to model spiritually-centred servant leadership. The kingpin story speaks of a dragon terrorizing the wood between Avignon and Arles. Martha comes with a crucifix and holy water. With the water she puts out the dragon's flames, and the cross takes all of the spirit out of the malevolent creature, so he is weak and easily slain. This story prompts our second lesson: Ask yourself what you are doing to slay the dragons of ignorance and fear, the dragons of poverty and inequality, the dragons of injustice and oppression.
Like Martha, how often we become worried and distracted by all that we have to do, caught up in worldly cares and responsibilities, forgetting to nourish our spiritual side. We are nourished through our relationship with the Divine, and "conversation" is necessary to maintain relationship. That will take different forms for different people: some are into serious meditation, listening for God's word; others like the Rosary so as to pray to God with Mary as prayer partner, still others engage writings, sacred and otherwise, to spark insights. There are numerous examples of clergy and religious who become burnt out, because they lose grounding by neglecting matters of faith in favour of pure service. That can happen to anyone. First lesson: nourish your Spirit, balance faith and works.
Martha appears in two more vignettes in Scripture: one where she believes Jesus can raise her brother and he does, the other where John adapts the woman-anointing-Jesus'-feet story to identify that character with Martha. Clearly the message is: She "got it," and so must we as disciples.
But what about the rest of the story? In the so-called Golden Legend, our trio are converted from Judaism (remember Jesus was a Jew) to Christianity by Saint Maximian. As newly-minted Catholic Christians, the three go to France. There Mary becomes contemplative, Lazarus becomes the Bishop of Marseilles, and Martha becomes ascetic while continuing to model spiritually-centred servant leadership. The kingpin story speaks of a dragon terrorizing the wood between Avignon and Arles. Martha comes with a crucifix and holy water. With the water she puts out the dragon's flames, and the cross takes all of the spirit out of the malevolent creature, so he is weak and easily slain. This story prompts our second lesson: Ask yourself what you are doing to slay the dragons of ignorance and fear, the dragons of poverty and inequality, the dragons of injustice and oppression.
Sunday, July 10, 2016
Pentecost VIII: Amos or Amaziah?
Today's assigned readings feature several moving passages of Scripture, especially Amos 7:7-17 and Luke 10:25-37. The latter is the story of the Good Samaritan in which we learn that the Christ Figure --, the one doing God's work in the world --, is of the 'wrong' race, class, culture and religion. It is a reminder that what matters to God is the doing, the building up of God's Reign on earth.
In the first reading, we find Amos having a vision -- not some complicated technicolour spectacle as customarily seen in apocalyptic writings and other theophanies, but rather a simple image. He sees a plumb line (that's a guess; actually no one knows what that Hebrew word means) but the message is clear. God will no longer accept the Israelites' worship because of their economic injustice, especially towards the working poor in the agricultural sector.
Israelites have been worshipping at the King's central sanctuary called Beth-el, "Daughter of God." Amos lives in Judaea south of Israel but has travelled to Bethel to deliver God's message that Israel is in moral failure and will collapse. Amaziah is the chief priest at the shrine, no doubt a pragmatic and loyal follower of his government and its cult and friend to the business community. No doubt he sees free-market capitalism as just the way it has to be, and the oppression of the poor as a necessary but unimportant component of the system. God says no to that analysis. So says Amos.
In response to God's word, Amaziah's defensive posture is not surprising. He accuses Amos of being a professional prophet for hire and motivated by greed for money. None of that is true. And he bans Amos from the shrine, telling him to go back where he belongs.
The stunningly simple question for each of us is: Am I Amos or Amaziah? Do I, as best I can, stand up for those our system has left behind or do I excuse or simply ignore injustice? And do remember today's Gospel teaches us that our neighbour can be anyone in any place whom we might help. This week's news included a report on the Constellation Brands factory in Zaragosa, Mexico. This plant makes for U.S. consumption Pacifico, Modelo, and Corona beers. They have so drained the aquifer that there is virtually no tap water for the inhabitants of Zaragosa to use for drinking, cooking, or hygiene. Not to worry, just use beer instead! That reminds me of an incident in Colombia many years ago when a beverage manufacturer did the same thing to the water supply, telling locals there to give their kids soda instead of water. And when an attempt was made to organize the plant, the manager hired a death squad to execute the leaders. These are just a couple of examples of the kind of Amaziah-type thinking that we can work to overcome, or else take our chances with the ultimate consequences.
I personally support Resist, a charity which does nothing but provide small grants of a few thousand dollars to numerous grassroots organizations trying to help the poor and oppressed to take charge of their lives. That is how I try to be a part of the solution. Intervene when and as you can, if you want to be Amos, not Amaziah.
In the first reading, we find Amos having a vision -- not some complicated technicolour spectacle as customarily seen in apocalyptic writings and other theophanies, but rather a simple image. He sees a plumb line (that's a guess; actually no one knows what that Hebrew word means) but the message is clear. God will no longer accept the Israelites' worship because of their economic injustice, especially towards the working poor in the agricultural sector.
Israelites have been worshipping at the King's central sanctuary called Beth-el, "Daughter of God." Amos lives in Judaea south of Israel but has travelled to Bethel to deliver God's message that Israel is in moral failure and will collapse. Amaziah is the chief priest at the shrine, no doubt a pragmatic and loyal follower of his government and its cult and friend to the business community. No doubt he sees free-market capitalism as just the way it has to be, and the oppression of the poor as a necessary but unimportant component of the system. God says no to that analysis. So says Amos.
In response to God's word, Amaziah's defensive posture is not surprising. He accuses Amos of being a professional prophet for hire and motivated by greed for money. None of that is true. And he bans Amos from the shrine, telling him to go back where he belongs.
The stunningly simple question for each of us is: Am I Amos or Amaziah? Do I, as best I can, stand up for those our system has left behind or do I excuse or simply ignore injustice? And do remember today's Gospel teaches us that our neighbour can be anyone in any place whom we might help. This week's news included a report on the Constellation Brands factory in Zaragosa, Mexico. This plant makes for U.S. consumption Pacifico, Modelo, and Corona beers. They have so drained the aquifer that there is virtually no tap water for the inhabitants of Zaragosa to use for drinking, cooking, or hygiene. Not to worry, just use beer instead! That reminds me of an incident in Colombia many years ago when a beverage manufacturer did the same thing to the water supply, telling locals there to give their kids soda instead of water. And when an attempt was made to organize the plant, the manager hired a death squad to execute the leaders. These are just a couple of examples of the kind of Amaziah-type thinking that we can work to overcome, or else take our chances with the ultimate consequences.
I personally support Resist, a charity which does nothing but provide small grants of a few thousand dollars to numerous grassroots organizations trying to help the poor and oppressed to take charge of their lives. That is how I try to be a part of the solution. Intervene when and as you can, if you want to be Amos, not Amaziah.
Sunday, July 3, 2016
Pentecost VII: On the Road
In the tenth chapter of Luke, Jesus is described as sending out seventy emissaries (seventy-two in some manuscripts). Either number is fine, both were important in Judaism. I prefer seventy, because the Jewish scripture describes Moses also sending out seventy, and it would make sense that the Mosaic tradition be the source of that detail in this vignette. Jesus sends out these seventy like lambs being sent into the midst of wolves, he says, and with orders to travel light -- no luggage, no sandals -- and not to greet people, but rather to stay focussed on the mission of being a blessing and not a curse. They are to depend on the generosity of those whom they evangelize. They will proclaim the nearness of the Kingdom and shake off the dust of communities that will not listen. [One of my ancestors lived in Bath, North Carolina, at the same time the retired pirate Blackbeard resided there. On several occasions the early Methodist leader and famed orator George Whitefield preached there without desired effect. Following his final visit, he cursed the town, literally dusted off his feet, and departed, never to return.]
The seventy return, declaring that they have been successful, and Jesus tells them that he has had a vision of Satan falling from heaven, but that they should not fancy "success" against the Dark Side but, rather, right relationship with God.
What might this pericope have to say to us in this age? First, an abundant harvest is promised, but it is clear that we will not bring in the Kingdom of God. God will do that in God's good time. But God will not bring in the Kingdom around us, either. We are in partnership, The effort of the seventy portends the downfall of "Satan" and inauguration of the new age when God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven. Are you and I doing our part of build the Kingdom of God on earth. Do we need to be "raptured" into the world to make a difference?
Second, these envoys are to travel light. I believe that is a good reminder that we may use our possessions but must never be owned by them. Once, at lunch with a nun long before I went to seminary but after I became a lay leader, she castigated me for having bought a Lincoln Mark III automobile. I paused and said that I could appreciate the beauty of the design, the car's wonderful engineering, and the pleasant experience of using it, but that if it mattered a whit whether I lost it, I would get rid of it tomorrow. She seemed to think that a good response. Attachment is the issue. Nothing must be imprescendible for us. That reminds me of Saint Francis who, after conversion, gave away all his goods and appeared nude before his bishop, to be assigned! His Grace kindly provided Francis with a staff and cloak, and the rest is history.
Third, we can see that our reward will be salvation, which is right relationship with God, now and always. Our eternal life in God grows as we do the Gospel and diminshes when we don't. Let us stay in the right direction, the direction that leads to Life
The seventy return, declaring that they have been successful, and Jesus tells them that he has had a vision of Satan falling from heaven, but that they should not fancy "success" against the Dark Side but, rather, right relationship with God.
What might this pericope have to say to us in this age? First, an abundant harvest is promised, but it is clear that we will not bring in the Kingdom of God. God will do that in God's good time. But God will not bring in the Kingdom around us, either. We are in partnership, The effort of the seventy portends the downfall of "Satan" and inauguration of the new age when God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven. Are you and I doing our part of build the Kingdom of God on earth. Do we need to be "raptured" into the world to make a difference?
Second, these envoys are to travel light. I believe that is a good reminder that we may use our possessions but must never be owned by them. Once, at lunch with a nun long before I went to seminary but after I became a lay leader, she castigated me for having bought a Lincoln Mark III automobile. I paused and said that I could appreciate the beauty of the design, the car's wonderful engineering, and the pleasant experience of using it, but that if it mattered a whit whether I lost it, I would get rid of it tomorrow. She seemed to think that a good response. Attachment is the issue. Nothing must be imprescendible for us. That reminds me of Saint Francis who, after conversion, gave away all his goods and appeared nude before his bishop, to be assigned! His Grace kindly provided Francis with a staff and cloak, and the rest is history.
Third, we can see that our reward will be salvation, which is right relationship with God, now and always. Our eternal life in God grows as we do the Gospel and diminshes when we don't. Let us stay in the right direction, the direction that leads to Life
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)