The 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 30th, 2012

Numbers 11:25-29; James 5:1-6; Mark 9:38-43,45,47-48

          Around the end of the 19th century, a tourist from the United States visited the famous Polish Rabbi Hafez Hayyim.

          The tourist was astonished to see that the rabbi's home was just a simple room filled with books. The only furniture was a table and a bench.

          "Rabbi, where is your furniture?" asked the tourist.

          "Where is yours?" replied Hafez.

          "Mine? But I am only a visitor here."

          "So am I," said the rabbi.

(by Anthony de Mello in Song of the Bird, 1984).

          Many of us define ourselves by what we own, what we are able to control, and what exclusive rights we possess. We want others to be keenly aware of those things which make us unique, different, and of more importance.

          However today's scripture readings remind us that God doesn't operate this way.

          In the first reading from the book of Numbers, not only Moses and the seventy elders receive the spirit and prophesized, but also some others receive exactly the same gifts.  Moses does not seem to believe that he and the other 70 elders have an exclusive right  to God's spirit and the gift of prophesy. In spite of the prompting of Joshua, Moses stays very firm in his belief. He even wishes that God's gifts be distributed as widely as possible.

          James in his letter, warns those who have an abundance of material goods, warning them that they have effectively become idolaters, valuing their wealth over the human beings who are God's image and likeness in the world. Doesn't that ring a bell for many of us living in our consumer and materialistically driven society where I, me and myself and what I have become our gods?

          And in the gospel, Jesus warns his disciples not to restrict God's salvation to only their group alone.

          Unfortunately, we Catholics and particularly some of our hierarchy, many times in the history of our church believed that we possess some exclusive rights in regard to God and His gifts, spiritual or material ones.

          For example, several councils and popes have insisted that there is no salvation outside the Roman Catholic and apostolic church, Innocent III in 1208, Boniface VIII in 1302, Council of Florence in 1442, Pius IV in 1564, Pius IX in 1854. Pope Eugene IV solemnly declared in 1441 the following: “The most Holy Roman Catholic Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schematics, can have a share in life eternal; but….will go into the eternal fire” (Catholic Virginian, September 21, 2009, Fr.John Dietzen).

          Only in the 20^th century was this self-proclaimed monopoly acknowledged and surrendered. Prompted by the Spirit, Paul VI and the participants at the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s acknowledged and wrote in one of their documents, Lumen Gentium -Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, that all Christians “are joined with us in the Holy Spirit for to them also the Spirit gives gifts and graces and is operating among them with sanctifying power” (Lumen Gentium, #12). Further prompted by the Spirit, the council also acknowledged that the two-thirds of the world’s population who are not Christian “are most dear to God,” and therefore “we ought to believe that the Holy Spirit, in a manner known only to God, offers to every human being the grace of being blessed by the paschal mystery…For it is God, who gives to all life and breath and every other gift, who, as Savior, calls that all be saved”(Lumen Gentium #16; Gaudium at Spes #22).

          Perhaps the next time when we are so totally convinced that we have a monopoly on a place, a community, any group of people, monopoly on certain believes, ethics and morality, a monopoly on God and His truth, we might take a deep breath and remember today’s scripture readings.

Our gods of we, ours, ourselves and what we possess are the false gods and worshipping them brings us emptiness and unhappiness.  Our existence should not be defined by what we own, what we are able to control, and what exclusive rights we possess, but by the way we fulfill God's will in our lives.

Hopefully one day, God willing,  we all be the residents in his fully realized Kingdom cherishing what God, in whose image we are created, cherish. But for now we are only the visitors who help the Kingdom to come to its fulfillment by realizing God's will in our lives, and by respecting and cherishing others the same way God does.

Germany:

 http://ncronline.org/news/global/german-bishops-defend-exclusion-catholics-who-stop-paying-tax

The 25th Sunday in Ordinary Time, September 23, 2012

Wisdom 2:12,17-20; James 3:16-4:3; Mark 9:30-37

            Our social conventions have exulted childhood as a privileged time of innocence. Most of us have this romantic view that children are so cute and so innocent. They are still not spoiled by the world. Although we may be annoyed when children become disruptive in public places we bear that most of the time. We believe that young children have individuality and dignity like we adults do. Children are allowed to do almost anything. Many of us feel  very uncomfortable or upset when we see parents disciplining children publicly. The teachers are quite often  made a responsible party when children misbehave or  when children  start failing academically. How many times we have heard the phrase that children and the youth are our future. 

            However in Jesus' times the child was a non-person. It was someone who lacked any social status and legal rights. The child was socially invisible. She or he totally dependent on others for nurture and protection, and of course one could not expect to gain anything either socially or materially from kindness to a child. Childless Romans who needed heirs commonly adopted adults rather than children.

            When Jesus pointed to his new family, in chapter 3 of Mark's gospel, as those who do the will of God, he spoke of mother, brothers, and sisters, not children. And at Jesus' times children were  typically with the women, not hanging around any teacher and his students. 

            To insist by Jesus  that receiving a child might have some value for disciples, was inconceivable. The disciples just failed trying to cast our demons in Jesus' name, now he asks them to receive someone as inconsequential as a child? What do you think this does to their self-esteem and social status?

            It seems as in today's gospel Jesus is challenging the usual perceptions of greatness and honor which might exist in any society or any community we are a part of. This is quite a challenge to any of us who try to respect well-established behavior patterns. We often pay the lip service to the view that the "first shall be last, and the last shall be first." We love quoting this phrase as long as we are not challenged to put that view to the test by:

• accepting someone who might be consider a real "outsider;"  
• or when we should side with someone who might not hold a lot of power while unreasonable and not gospel oriented demands are placed on us by those with great influence, or money or a unique gossip or rumor skills.

    Perhaps this weekend the questions we might ask ourselves are: 

• When was the last time when we were challenged this way?
• And what choice did we make?

The 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time, September 02, 2012

Deuteronomy 15:2-3, 3-4, 5-6; James 1:17-18, 21b-22; Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

          The Israelite needed certain rites, rituals, and practices, such as eating kosher food, washing of hands, circumcision, the celebration of Sabbath, not just for health or hygiene reasons, but to remind themselves that they were different from other tribes and nations. All these external practices were to help them to preserve their faith in God as the true creator, ruler, and judge in the world so other gods of the more powerful nations would not become the object of their worship. As we read the Bible this particular theme regarding observance of different rites, rituals, and practices comes up all the time. And as it does some of us quite often feel justified to pass a judgment on those whom we read about and on their practices. Quite often some of us feel superior to them. We feel that we are so much more enlightened and spiritual in our times.

          But the truth is, if of course we are willing to pause and look more objectively at ourselves, that we are truly no different from them in the ways we think and do things. So then let us ask ourselves this simple question: what are some of the rites and practices which set us apart us Catholics from many other religious groups?

          The Blessed Sacrament Adoration, the rosary, the Stations of the Cross, the first Friday Communions or Confessions, not eating meat on Fridays, wearing the mark of the cross on Ash Wednesday, having a pope, just to name some of them. We have our own rites and practices which set us apart from others. Does that make us wrong or less enlightened or less spiritual? Of course, not, unless:

·       those practices and rites become our god and we believe they automatically save us;

·       or they become the source of oppression or manipulations of others;

·       or  they are observed and exercised with no internal transformation of our hearts.

         

          For the next several weeks we will be listening to the passages from the letter of James. We will be reminded over and over again that what truly separates us from others is the way we practice our religion. For James the true religion is not abstract or detached; rather is expressed in service and care of others. It seems as for him true worship of God for those who believe in Christ does not lie, as for some in our days, in elaborate vestments, or magnificent music, or in a meticulously correct religious service but in the practical service of humankind and in the purity of one's own character.

         

          What would James say to any church who is so taken up with the beauty of its buildings and the splendor of its liturgy that it has neither the time nor the money for practical Christian service?

          It is easy for any religious community or group to sacrifice faith in order to gain security and safety:

·       by preserving at any cost their traditions;

·       by protecting and hording their money and other resources,

·       by protecting their special and unique rites,

·       and by separating themselves from other by many various external practices.

          Perhaps this weekend we might remind ourselves not be so quick in passing any judgment on other people's religious rites and practices, and look deeper into what we practice and why, and ask ourselves:

          Are we still people of faith?