Sunday Readings

The King and I

Year after year, I have written homilies on the Feast of Christ the King. Most of these are of the excellent quality you have come to expect. But I did notice that they were all remarkably the same. They all seem to deal with how we, as Americans, handle governmental and cultural authority. That’s not a bad topic in a world rife with conflicts - at home and abroad – over which way of living will emerge triumphant. But this year I want to pause and consider one aspect we all find uncomfortable. In fact, the only way we deal with it is through the icon, the image, of the Gospel today.

The trial of Jesus in St. John is a unique glimpse into divine authority. Standing before this worldly judge, the judge of the world to come the constitution of the Kingdom of God. This new order is about one thing only – the truth. Today’s Gospel omits Pilate’s response of every age – “What is truth?” In this new social structure, the truth is the only standard. There is no room for slick commercials, convincing arguments and talking points. And we all wish that this the way of our world. We all complain that there is so little honesty, so little truth in the politics of church, state, town and business. We see and experience abuses of power all over the spectrum.

But despite our rage and offended sense of justice, we are powerless. Sure, there is power in numbers and some display tremendous conviction as they try to change the world. A few even do. But after the rallies and the rebellions, we are still powerless and we hate it. That’s why we cling to the shallow idealism of ‘Flower Power’ and its attendant silliness from the 60’s. Beyond the post-adolescent desire to make our mark on the world, we can enter the wasteland of cynicism and apathy. So many who tried to change human nature fell victim to it; they wanted to change things for the better and found things were still the same.

Humans grow numb to what is hurtful. The urge to control and contain looses its passion as it fails to succeed. Sometimes we engage a mechanism that does work – in the short term – and a movement is born. Today’s revolutions revolt against yesterday’s. But we grow tired and accept being powerless like a bad neighbor. And there is no uprising comparable to the simmering unrest of power denied. All the power and potential we yearn to realize is wasted away.

Could there have been a greater waste than Jesus Christ? Imagine if He had called on those hosts of angels and cast out the injustice of human depravity! What if His kingdom truly came among us where the weak were protected and those who lacked found sufficiency! It would be perfect, but it would never be free. Truth can only survive in true liberty. That’s the reason the first thing fascists hit is the free press. But even with political and intellectual freedom, human beings still long for the automatic liberation of autonomy. And it never comes because it can only exist from within.

In the apparent helplessness of a man brutalized by the domination of an oppressive government, we see the majesty of God. The Truth Himself spoke the truth to a power that had no idea what it was. The lie of human omnipotence demands the support of others who believe the same. The truth, however, stands alone. And the kingship of Christ, and the authority of the Kingdom, stands in that solitude still.

So if we claim Christ as King, when we claim the royal dignity of our Baptism, how could we expect to face opposition any differently? Do we really expect to achieve acclaim by living the truth when no one else is interested? And when we face the enemy within of our own tainted nature, are all the other human impulses going to cheer because we chose a virtue over a vice? The truth admits no lie and has few friends. Character does not tolerate fraudulence. Grace does not need the approval of sin. If glory and achievement are found in a crown placed on our head, we will never discover that it really resides within the soul. They can try to convince us that we can grab it by knocking out the competition, but the truth of charity lays bare that lie.

So claim the kingdom of God within you. Stand in the royal authority of your Baptism in the demanding glare of those who try their lies and tricks. In your regal majesty, rally the forces of virtue when your vices begin rebelling. Like a monarch on the throne, and like the King upon the cross, you may be by yourself, but you are not alone. You reign by the divine right of grace given you in Baptism. You share in His royal family and He see you as His own.

Viva Christo Rey! Long live Christ the King - and we with Him!

Sunday Readings
Happy Apocalpyse!

The crazy man wore a sign that read: “The End is near.” And staring into the camera, rang his bell and said, “God loves you and He will destroy the world.” A spoof indeed, but how true, how true! This is what we think of when we hear that the ‘end is nigh.’ Something wicked crept into religion that makes people think that the best way to make things right is to end it all. And with some special effects, riveting headlines, and memorable phenomena, we envision the molecular destruction of all creation – because God is good.

Does anyone else have a problem with this? I never bought it. I could never understand the crowd who said that the Apocalypse was the only solution. And I never trusted them to have their hand near the button or the launch codes! Why do we do this and why did it find its way into the Bible?

Let me propose the following: we take the worst (as well as the best) of human nature and project it on God. We take our deepest revenge and passionate hatred and transfer this ugliness to Divine wrath. Are the powerful ruining our livelihood? Well our God is more powerful and will win. Are institutional injustices thwarting me? God will radically knock them down. They think my beliefs are wrong? God will show them, yes He will. Could there be a more perfect and more perfectly indisputable cure to what ails the world than a Creator who destroys? Like some two-faced pagan deity, we come up with a loving God who hates the evildoer. We can live with a contradictory God and even worship one. But that is not the point.

In the imagery and drama of the end of the world, we touch the darkness within. We take all that is wrong, and the all the wrong we have done, and find a conclusion that incinerates as it renovates. It is a purgation of the effects that brings glory in the process. It is a very human desire and God understands. And while it is expressed in the hope of converting the unconvertible, it betrays our own stubborn hearts. It lays bare the ultimate truth that what is wrong, evil, and nasty lies within. “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars /
But in ourselves.”

When we hear the prophesies and visualize the cataclysm, we forget this. We look anywhere but within. The renovation is fine for others but we can skip it. Holiness is for the saints and hell is for the sinners. We’re somewhere between the two and we like it there. Religion, modern religion, is more about affirming the good than challenging the bad. Save the ‘end of all things’ lectures for the sinners who don’t show up here. And if you don’t, aren’t you just preaching to the choir?

Not at all. It is my fondest hope and deepest desire that all of us lead apocalyptic lives. It is the hope of the Eucharist itself that the transformation by cataclysm occurs in the souls of every person who receives it. This Sacrament proclaims, as we will in a short a while, that ‘Christ will come again’. We pray that we may be free of anxiety ‘as we wait in joyful hope’ for the advent of the King of Glory. This is just how God works.

The word ‘apocalypse’ comes from the Greek word ‘to reveal’. It is a revelation of the highest order that the world is bound by a truth of divine origin. It destroys the illusion and fabrications of human foibles. And in doing so, it communicates the shining reality of God Himself. Blowing up the sun and blasting away the moon and stars may be impressive, but does it really compare with losing a job or getting sick? Does the avenging angel hold a candle to the college admissions process? Can swiping the mountains from the face of the earth come near a divorce?

In these personal ‘disasters’, the same thing is happening. The will of God allows them and in them, something is revealed. The limitations and expectations we work so hard to maintain are swept away in the tsunami of real life. The justice of God shows its healing power. The strength of grace is proven in the aftermath. Like those who look forward to God ‘getting back’ at sinners, we stand on the sidelines of conscience and wonder if this all didn’t happen for something higher.

So as you prepare for the family gathering around the Thanksgiving table, prepare yourself for the apocalypse. (No, not for that reason ) Prepare for the coming of the King of Glory riding on the chariot of your date book. Announce the glorious majesty of Divine triumph through the dreaded meeting and fearsome appointment. Proclaim the ‘end is neigh’ to yourself as you inch closer on the checkout line. No, I am not belittling the world changing events of history that have all-too often revealed the awesome power of God. It’s just that we all overlook the ones that really count.

We have canonized the mysteries and prophesies of these ‘fun’ books of the Bible with all their fearsome drama. And well we should. But read the book of revelation we see everyday in the mirror or piling up on our desks. Uncover the will of God there and it is a message we cannot ignore. And that, like us, will be the ‘Gospel of the Lord.’

Sunday Readings
Might and Mite

Gloria Perez was a saint. None of you knew her but you all know the type. She lived in a small apartment in a run-down railroad flat. She had problems with her eyes and her legs. But Gloria was something else. Her home was a true place of prayer and there were always a handful of people there praying, talking or laughing. She had been widow for some years when I met her. She was not a lonely person and was a comfort to so many.

When I read this Gospel, I always think of her but not for the reason you’d think. When Jesus points out the ‘widow’s mite’ in her small offering today, He is saying it in a sad anger. He sees a form of religion in front of Him that essentially steals from the weak to prop up the specialists. Well, there was a ‘bishop’ – as he liked to call himself – who had a ministry to widows and disadvantaged youths. He ran his own church as he saw fit and by his own rules. Gloria was one of his targets. I came over once while he was there doing his ‘work’ and, after finding out that I was in the College Seminary, he soon found reason to leave – but not without a little white envelope from Gloria. I felt an anger I rarely feel. I told Gloria that he was ripping her off. She smiled and said that she knew what he was doing but she said that he was in need and God would figure it all out.

Are you angry hearing this? You should be. I still am. Few things hit us harder than the clear wrong of some one taking advantage of some one weak. And that reaction is intensified when it is done in the name of God. Frauds and charlatans have always hung around the doors of religion. Some have even worn the robes of its service. ‘God for gold and gold for God’ is nothing new.

Sure, it’s easy and accurate to point out the clerical manipulation of the underprivileged. We certainly can do so in our own Catholic history. But we all have to ask if we have done the same. We can all examine how we approach faith and how we can misuse it.

The scribes were comfortable in affirming a social system in a religious base that gave order to life. They interpreted this system as a Divine mandate even to the point of acting against the perceived good of others. The honor, status, and rank they enjoyed were clearly defined as Biblical commands and they did little to discourage it. In other words, no one votes themselves out of power.

We do not live anymore in a world where religious garb gives automatic entitlements. Trust me, I know that for a fact! But how we handle religion, how we communicate our own ideas of a world ordered according to faith, can take on authority beyond the wildest ego dreams of the scribes. We have whole groups committed to causes – so-called conservative or liberal – that demand an orthodoxy regardless of implication. They believe that to change people you must change the law. Tax codes, criminal law and such must be the method of their new world. Human suffering – they leave that one to the charities. And while a legal structure is a just protection of rights, it is not meant to address the person. And while some legal changes are good in themselves, it cannot excuse those responsible for the changes from obligations due the needs of their fellow citizens.

Alright, so don’t be politically ideological to the point of cause over concern. But there is a more personal level that we can address. It is something we would prefer not to highlight. It is something subjective and rather dogmatic.

We all, in so many ways, understand our faith as best we can. We choose what we believe whether or not it is the message of the Gospel. I remember a neighbor who was – by her own definition – a religious and traditional Catholic. She told me the Bible says ‘an eye for an eye’ and this is the way we should act when some one harms us. I told her that Jesus brought that one up and said something little different. She corrected me and told me that only the Church can interpret the Bible and I had no business doing so. She was right and I was wrong. And, to be fair, she has lived out her own take on this doctrine with complete fidelity. She righteously and consistently practices an ‘eye for an eye’ revenge. P.S. – We don’t speak anymore and no one likes her.

Her doctrine demanded of others something both wrong and impossible. How often we do that ourselves - and to the harm of others. How many family gatherings are wrecked by the demands of one? How many relationships fail because of the need for some one else to conform and behave? How easily have people been cut off because they did not agree? The description ‘doctrinaire’ is so perfect for this attitude and it is sadly a less-noble fault of even the good. When we apply it to ourselves, it is a self-loathing that can only be called sad. When we act from it toward others, it is just plain loathsome.

If I were King (as you know I should be!) everyone would drive better, act nicer, and get out of my way. Unfortunately, I will not ascend to such omnipotence. And should I attempt to establish such a crown, I would be opposed by more than a few. Despite that resistance, we all – in some degree – see this world as ripe for the claiming. And when we do, people – especially those nearest us – can be hurt. Like the widow in the Gospel, we can see the effect of our doctrines. And like Jesus, we should be mad when these effects are harmful.

My principles and my beliefs are my own. They may be revealed by God or I may think they are. But there is never an excuse or a justification for harming another because they do not share them. I can challenge and argue, I can debate and communicate. And in a free society, I can and should. But they can never, ever \give a pass on human kindness or divine charity to others. Any form of religion that seeks only to dominate another is idolatry. When we fume that others are not in line, we are out of line. When justice means more than mercy, we are wrong.

Perhaps this is what they mean by ‘tolerance.’ To be honest, I don’t know. I do know that Jesus’ condemnation of the scribes did not give them high marks on how well they tolerated others. Their silence in the face of a widow going broke does not lead us to believe their principle aim was compassion.

The sword can motivate but only the heart can inspire. Demand what you can of yourself and see how it works out. But hold off the demands on others. Call out the wrong without crushing the audience. Expect the best and be delighted when it shows itself. But treed lightly with those closest to you. They will read your heart long before they hear your words. And what and how we believe is the Gospel they will see. Leave the rules to God since He made them in the first place.

And despite our intentions, desires and preferences, He is alone King.

Sunday Readings
New To You

A couple of months ago, a doctor I had just met began explaining to me how a muscle works with its nerves endings. He was very nice, but I really am not at the point where I would need such a basic explanation. Smiling, I told him that, of the few things in life I do know, this is one of them. I was amused, not offended, by the attempt to make me understand. When it comes to a subject like this, I am not an amateur. Sure, some could be offended that a doctor does not have a well-honed clairvoyance. In my line of work, I have been the direct object of such objection. People – and I’m not kidding – get angry because I did not know something they never told me.

The scribe in today’s Gospel is no beginner. He needs no introduction and would be considered an expert himself in the ways of a godly life. He asks a question that is no challenge. It is a normal and mature way of communication. Jesus does not take it as a test or a trap (like some others in the Gospel). No, this expert is asking for an executive summary. Of the Biblical 613 commandments in the Torah (and you thought 10 were too much!), these two capture the whole thing. And the scribe gets it.

What we have here is some one advanced who needed to focus on the basic. There is a sense here that to progress, you need to go deeper. There is no false humility that says what he knew was all wrong and he has to go the beginning. He was immersed in the Word of God and needed to move to the foundations. This is some one who is a faithful convert, not a heathen. He is not new to religion and what he had been doing was not wrong.

This is something that does not occupy most of our attention. We like the drama. We enjoy the stories of conversion, and the more wicked the sinner, the better. Our patron, St. Augustine, is one of these. His Confessions are definitely not G-rated! Yes, we love the gutter-climbing accounts of depravity conquered. There’s nothing as good as the reject who gets religion!

But let’s drop the self-deprecation for a moment. I don’t mean to be insulting here, but we’re not that good at being that bad! I know that you are the worst sinners – ever! Most of us are not that creative. Yes, we sin, yes, we need God’s grace, but we are not new at this. We are not beginners. Sometimes we think that God is only interested in converting the pagans. And some of His employees can act that way. But we ‘are not far from the kingdom of God.’ If you need proof, look where you are. If you were a desperado looking for pleasures no religion can offer, you would not be here.

At the same time, no one is exempt from a call to the basics. And as we move through a life of faith, we return to those pillars but at a deeper level. Love of God and neighbor means something different to the child than to the adult. There is a different level of perception that varies from one to another. Some one whose faith is functional understands this one way. To some one whose faith is foundational, their understanding is at another level. Whether deeper or not is a competition Jesus has no time for. We get caught up in the holiness race but God is so bored by that petty marathon. His interest is in a different league. He is looking for a trophy that doesn’t consider the other players. It is only and ever about each one of us.

When you consider the faith you have, and forgetting about how advanced or not you think it is, do you see it as a gift from God that is unique? Do you hear the message of love of God and neighbor as if addressed to you and you alone? If religion does not go to this level it is nothing more (and nothing less) than a belief system. The word of God is aimed squarely at each human being at whatever point they happen to be. Is it hitting the target? Is the message of the Gospel reaching you? And if so, how?

We have a God of some serious compassion. He reaches out in the most personal and powerful way. He speaks to the sin-stained soul of the libertine as well as to those whose knees are calloused from prayer. Our God sees the different stages of His children’s progress and delights in them.

The other day, an eighth-grader defined an adult as an ‘older kid who knows the difference between right and wrong and where their life is heading.’ This wise Christian, aside from his well-chosen like of Country Music, is not far from adulthood himself. When we begin to see the power of what we are by God’s grace, when we have a clear idea of purpose, we can find transformation at the root of life. It is a discovery in dialogue: God speaks the word of life to individuals as they are. And each time He does so, we are in a new place. This is a word that is ‘ever ancient, ever new.’ You’ve heard it all before and there is nothing new in the message to love God and neighbor. But you not the same as when you heard that message so long ago or even a few moments ago. Forget about where others were or are except if it inspires you to go for more and keep you from less. God is speaking to you as if you were the only one listening.

And as far as He is concerned, you are.