9/22/2013 - 25th Sunday in ordinary time – Luke 16:1-13; Amos 8:4-7

      The Scripture readings we hear at mass and the liturgy we celebrate are meant to go beyond what we do in our Eucharistic celebration. The message of the readings and the meaning we take away from the Eucharist should influence our lives, they should influence how we live out our faith day-in and day-out.  Yet, even when this is our intent, it may be difficult for us to be clear as to what we are to take with us from mass, especially as we hear a message in today's readings that we might struggle to understand and wonder what meaning it has for us in our daily lives of faith. 

     Today, the prophet Amos boldly decries the rich who crush and exploit the poor, yet, who still claim to follow the values of their faith.  Then, Jesus tells us the parable of the dishonest steward who uses his shrewdness to plan for the future after being dismissed from his job.  When you think about it, money, wealth, and what we do with our treasures are at the center of a lot of Jesus' teachings.  When we look at our modern world today, we see many who struggle with money issues, from a lack of money for daily survival, to how we spend our money, save for the future, and how we share our treasures with others.  How we spend our money and resources is intimately connected to our faith and our values, which is why we struggle with this issue so much and why Sacred Scripture devotes so much time to this issue. 

      Jesus praises the dishonest steward in today's parable, but it's not entirely clear why.  It seems to me that Jesus is praising the steward for his shrewdness, not for his dishonesty.  We don't know why the steward is dismissed from his job, but once he knows he's going to have to fend for himself, he realistically looks at his situation, evaluates his options, and shrewdly plans for his future.  The steward reduces the amount the debtors owe his master on their promissory notes: he could be reducing it by the amount of interest they owe, just allowing them to pay back the principal, or he could be removing the amount of his commission from the loans so that they might in turn help him out after he leaves his job.

     So, why would Jesus tell his disciples this parable?   I don't think he's telling us to be dishonest or for us to cheat others in order to fend for ourselves, but, perhaps he's telling us to use greater wisdom and shrewdness in the way we interact with the world, in the way we use our earthly riches.  Many of the youth in our parish used some of their summer break and their own earthly treasures to reach out to others in need.   From Catholic Heart Work Camp in both St Louis and Jamaica, to going up to Mound Bayou in the Mississippi Delta, to bringing Vacation Bible School to parishes that would not be able to have it on their own, to help out at our own Vacation Bible School here at St James, our youth have done so many things to reach out to others.  I think Pope Francis would be so proud of our youth – he would see our youth using their talents, their personalities, their enthusiasm and most importantly, their faith and their love of God to reach out to touch the lives of others, especially those in need. Amos was representative of the prophets of Ancient Israel – they preached that we are to reach out to the poor rather than to oppress them and exploit them.  Our youth have lived out that message in their lives as modern-day Catholic.  We are now going to hear from Dawn and some of our youth as the share from their hearts what their missionary experiences have meant to them. 

9/23/2012 – 25th Sunday in ordinary time – Mark 9:30-37; James 2:14-18

            Last Sunday, we heard Jesus tell us that if we are to truly follow him and be his disciples, we must deny ourselves and take up our cross.  He called us to lose our life for his sake and the sake of the Gospel in order to save it.  Today's Gospel message is just as challenging & radical.   

         Jesus continues to teach his disciples about God's kingdom as he proclaims a radical new order to the world.  He describes how his mission to transform the world will involve his death, but that he will rise again.  Jesus doesn't want personal acclaim or adulation – he asks to be our servant leader. The disciples don't understand what he is telling them, but they're afraid to question him.  Yet, in the midst of talk about Jesus' coming betrayal & death, the disciples argue amongst themselves who is the greatest. Imagine that!  The disciples don't see themselves as serving others - they instead seek personal power at the expense of their fellow companions.  Don’t we see many in our society like that as well?  Some of those we see in sports, politics, or the business world want fame and power all to themselves, working for their own personal good and not the good of their team, their society, or their company.

         As he tends to be, Jesus is patient with his disciples when they don't understand.  He lifts up a child as an example to them.  In ancient Israel, a child was the lowest and most vulnerable member of society -  with no legal rights, no power, no protection. Jesus says that by welcoming a child, we welcome Jesus himself.  This child Jesus lifts up symbolically represents any person of humble stature in our society. So many of us want power, glory, and honor for ourselves, yet Christ is calling us to reach out to the powerless and to those who can't speak for themselves: to the dispossessed, the poor, and the oppressed. As we listen to today's Gospel, I bet most of us can think of those we as individuals or as a society do not welcome as we should. 

         The letter of James helps us to reflect upon how we think about ourselves and how we treat others.  James asks: “From where do jealousies and conflicts among you arise?”  James sees them coming from our passion, selfishness, and ambition.  This contrasts with the wisdom we can learn from God, wisdom which comes from above, wisdom which is pure, merciful, and consistent. Although we are made in the image of God, that image becomes unclear from the affects of sin in our lives, from the bad choices we make, from the affects of bad examples, from some of the difficult experiences we’ve had in our lives.  James challenges us to reflect upon our ability to put ourselves aside in order to be servants. 

          As I thought about today’s Gospel message, I thought about the importance of humility as a virtue in our lives of faith, a virtue that helps us discover the truth and goodness of God in our lived reality.  Humility can be a great challenge, for how do we know when we are truly being humble?  Where do we draw the line between taking care of ourselves and taking care of others? 

         John of the Cross, the great 16^th century Spanish mystic, once said: “To be taken with love for a soul, God does not look on its greatness, but on the greatness of its humility.”  We are called to humility by God, but in a healthy, integrated way.  Yes, it is good for us to be recognized and appreciated in life, but spiritually, we should not desire this recognition and praise as part of our identity and being, but see ourselves in service for Christ, to see our works and recognition as praising him and as ways in which we live out our faith.  Yes, it is indeed hurtful and painful when we are insulted and put down by others.  Yet, in our hurts, pains, and sufferings, we’re called to trust in Jesus, to trust in our journey of faith, to not be afraid of what we face on that journey.  In competing and achieving, we are not to do so in order to satisfy our pride and our egos, but in accomplishing our goals in life and in doing our best, we’re also called to notice the needs of others, to live with compassion, mercy, and living-giving hope.  We are not to degrade ourselves or to lack self-confidence and self-respect, but we are also not to lose our sense of charity and solidarity. 

         Coupled with humility, the other virtue I see as a fruit of today’s Gospel is joy.  The spiritual joy that Christ calls us to is not felt in the accumulation of power, might, and influence.  Rather, the joy we will feel as followers in Christ goes beyond any earthly-based happiness or pleasure that is disconnected from our faith.  While his disciples were worried about the fleeting values of this world, such as who would be considered the greatest from a very worldly point of view, Jesus’ deepest desire was for us as his followers to feel the unsurpassable joy that he felt in his constant communion with God.  This joy is found in God’s love, God’s peace, and God’s will for us.  

         The concepts of spiritual joy and humility that Christ calls us to are very different from what so many in our secular world are chasing after in their lives.  Even today, so many centuries after Christ lived, his message is still so radical and shocking, and a quest for humility and Christian joy is still difficult and challenging.  But unless we are willing to wrestle with what it really means to be a follower of Christ, then the life that he calls us to will always be far from our grasp.