There is a story told about Alexander the Great, the
Macedonian leader from the 4th century BC who ruled one of the
largest empires in the ancient world, which stretched from Egypt, to Greece, to
Pakistan. Alexander was in the desert on one of his military
campaigns, leading thousands and thousands of troops. The men had been in the desert for a very long
time, and had trouble finding an oasis where they could replenish their water
containers. Suddenly, Alexander’s scouts saw a caravan of
tradesmen on their camels coming toward them from a distance. The scouts rushed over to the caravan and secured
from them all the water they had, which was an amount small enough to fit into
one of their metal helmets. The scouts returned to Alexander, very proudly
presenting him with the small amount of water. Alexander took the helmet full of water as his
troops watched him, parched from the lack of water. But rather than drink the water, he took the helmet
and dumped the precious water on the ground, telling his troops – “If there is
not enough water for all of us to drink, there is not enough water for me to
drink.” The troops
let out a thundering roar of approval, proud that their emperor stood in
solidarity with them.
Alexander the Great showed that he was an
extraordinary leader. He did what was
unexpected of him, gaining the loyalty and love of his men. This pales in comparison, however, to the way Jesus
is an extraordinary leader for us as his followers, how he defied expectations
and led us beyond the way people normally viewed God and his law in Israel and
in the Ancient World. Jesus commands us as his disciples to do some of
the most difficult things imaginable: to turn the other cheek, to not
retaliate, to love our enemies, to pray for those who attack us. We know that this is what we are expected to do as
Christians. We also know that is as difficult a task as we can
imagine, one that is almost impossible to carry out in any kind of consistent
manner. And then he tells something even more extraordinary
at the end of today’s Gospel: to be perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. Rather that thinking we will ever be perfect in
this way, I think that Jesus is challenging us to strive to perfection, to live
out the values of God’s kingdom as best we can in the midst of our reality, to
always try to live out the values of God’s kingdom, to live out God’s purpose
for us here on earth.
What is it that God is calling each of us to be,
especially in the context of Jesus’ very radical message this morning? Paul tells us in the Letter to the Corinthians that
each one of us is a Temple of God, that the Spirit of the Lord dwells within
us. Paul goes on to explain that we may think we are
wise in the way that our world defines wisdom, but often what is wise in the
eyes of the world is foolishness in the eyes of the Lord. We may claim to belong to this parish or that
parish, to a certain school or a particular organization, but the one we really
belong to is Jesus Christ our Lord. And our identity in Christ is what will
help us strive toward perfection. I have a good friend named Sister Paulinus, a very
feisty nun who worked in drug and alcohol rehab in Jackson at St Dominic
Hospital. In fact, at one point, she was the football
coach at St Joe’s High School in Jackson many, many years ago when she was a
young nun. I was at a function when I was a priest at St.
Richard in Jackson when Sister Paulinus was telling the pastor Father Mike
O’Brien how she had me helping her in her ministry and how I was doing
different things for her, how grateful she was for my help. Father Mike has a great sense of humor, and you all
know how the Irish priests are always kidding each other, so Father Mike turned
to me & said: “Well, Father Lincoln, who is it that you really work for,
Sister Paulinus or St. Richard?” Believe me, you learn to defend yourself in our
diocese, so I responded to him, “I don’t work for Sister Paulinus or St.
Richard: I work for the Lord.” They all
liked that answer. So, if we see
ourselves as Temples of the Lord, if we feel that the Holy Spirit is working
within us, how does that motivate our actions, how does that call us to love
our neighbors or our enemies or those who have done wrong to us?
We are called to share God’s love with others in
light of Christ’s radical message, but it often happens something is holding us
back. Perhaps there is a certain fear, a certain memory,
a certain hurt or resentment that is keeping us from becoming the people God
wants us to be, from embracing God’s calling in our lives. With those things weighing us down, sometimes it is
very difficult to love and forgive and help others in the way God is calling to
on our journey of faith. It is hard letting go sometimes, isn’t it? Often times, when we’re mad at someone or when we
are overwhelmed by the emotions of fear or resentment, we seek revenge or
vengeance. Not only do we hurt other people in the process,
but what damage does this do for our faith and our spirituality? How far does this take us from the values of faith
that we should be living out? The anger
& the hatred that we can harbor in our hearts can destroy us faster than
any disease or any weapon. I think Jesus
knew this so well. Christ’s message is very radical indeed; it is easy
to water it down or to make it into something that is easier than it is. His message that we are hearing today contains a
wisdom that is often so different from the message we get from the world. If we Christians don’t live out this message and
proclaim it to the world, then it won’t be heard at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment