No Pain, No Gain

The Catholic Liturgy for the 6^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Feb. 17, 2019. Gospel – Luke 6:17-26. Topic: No Pain, No Gain.

Struggle, sacrifice, self-denial…. these are all a part of our lives and not just when things go wrong or only when we have to go through some trials or difficulties.  Often times, we intentionally embrace these things when we want to better our situation in life. For example: If we want to advance in our occupations, we put in extra effort and time to prove our dedication and competence.  If we want to work on our appearance and health, to lose weight, build muscle or whatever, we embrace a strict regimen of proper nutrition and commit ourselves to a routine of physical exercise.

We willingly chose sacrifice and self-denial in order to come out on the other side with the joy of accomplishment and a better form of living.  Jesus is telling us in today’s Gospel that we should have the same level of commitment and determination for our spiritual growth and development as we do for our physical well-being. And in both cases, as the saying goes, “no pain, no gain.”

If we value and want to promote our spiritual health and well-being, we must willingly and intentionally embrace the struggle, sacrifice, and self-denial that come with choosing to live according to the way laid out for us by Jesus. Today’s Gospel presents us with His fundamental teachings that have come to be called the Beatitudes. These are attitudes and behaviors that are so characteristics of Jesus, and include such things as poverty, mercy, humility, kindness, justice, patience in suffering and fidelity to God even in persecution. They describe and define who we are as Christians.

And as we heard today, the Beatitudes have both negative and positive aspects. They are a blessing for those who embrace them, and a condemnation for those who refuse to do so. 

They teach us that those who make material possessions, self-fulfillment and the pursuit of pleasure at any cost their motivation in life will end up with those things, but nothing more. If their whole focus in life is what this world has to offer, then when their life on planet Earth comes its end so will they. God was not their focus. Heaven was not their goal. The needs of others were not considered or served. And so, such people will get what they lived for: an eternity in which there is no room for God and no experience of real love.

Conversely, Jesus teaches that those who do embrace the struggle, sacrifice and self-denial of the Gospel will also get what they seek and lived for: blessings from God in this life and happiness with Him forever in the next. Despite difficulties and even when being ridiculed or misunderstood by others, they chose a lifestyle inspired by Jesus that was poor and simple, sacrificial and giving; a life focused on loving God and neighbor instead of primarily oneself.

I find it very interesting and very revealing that the Beatitudes start off by naming poverty as the first Beatitude, that it receives pride of place.  I think it’s important for us to understand what the Gospel means by the term “poverty” because when many of us hear this we get confused and even turned-off. As 21^st century Americans, when we hear “poverty” we think it means “destitution”, you know, living in the poverty-level, with not enough to eat or wear or have to take care of oneself.  But this is not at all what Jesus means in this Beatitude.

Gospel poverty means simplicity of life, being content with what one needs and not being suffocated by an over-accumulation of things one wants and then so often wastes.  It is a Beatitude that is especially important and necessary in today’s culture that is so steeped in materialism and driven by the desire for more. As Christians, we embrace a simple lifestyle which, while allowing for our fair share of this world’s goods, keeps in mind the just needs of others and provides us with the means to help them, by not needlessly spending all our money on ourselves.

When I think of this Beatitude, I often recall some of the home renovation shows that I enjoy watching. They will typically highlight a newly enlarged walk-in closet and you see so many clothes, and a whole ocean of shoes, that you wonder how in the world they can even keep count of what they have, let alone ever even get around to wearing all that they have stored up.  Meanwhile, others in their town go around with barely enough food to survive, or without proper clothing to wear.  As Christians, we must admit that there is something so very wrong with that picture. It is such a glaring contradiction to the first Beatitude.

So, let’s take to heart the words that Jesus speaks to us in today’s Gospel: Blessed are you who struggle, and sacrifice and embrace self-denial for the sake of love, you shall be forever rewarded in the Kingdom of God. But woe to you who have served and pampered yourselves, for you have had your consolation in this world and will be denied it in the next.

Risen is the Reason

The Catholic Liturgy for the 5^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Feb. 10, 2019. Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Luke 5:1-11. Topic: Risen is the Reason.

When I was reflecting on the Scriptures in preparation for our liturgy, the second reading from St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians really jumped off the page for me. Even though it’s tucked in between the Old Testament and the Gospel, I think it’s the most important reading of the three for us today. 

In this reading, St. Paul deals with the very reason why we are at Mass today; the reason why we strive and even struggle to live the teachings of the Gospel; the reason why we stand up for the welfare of the poor and the protection of the vulnerable; in other words, it is the very reason why we are Christians. And that reason is this: the historical, actual, physical Resurrection of the Crucified Lord Jesus from the dead.

St. Paul will go on to say to the Corinthians – in a part of this letter which we are not reading at Mass today - that if Jesus Christ is not truly risen from the dead, then people are right to laugh at us and poke fun at our faith. If Jesus Christ is not truly risen from the dead then we have been duped, hoodwinked and been made into fools for believing such a ridiculous claim.

But St. Paul knew full well that our faith in the Risen Jesus is based on fact not fantasy.  So, he reminds the Corinthians that the reality of a Risen Lord who conquered death, is based on eye-witness testimony and not simply religious myth or story-telling. He tells then that he himself has seen the Risen Lord, and he goes on to list others who saw and heard and touched the Risen Jesus, naming them by name because the Corinthians knew them and could ask them. He even reminds them that 500 disciples experienced a visit from the Risen Lord as they were all gathered together, most likely for Mass.

We need to hear this as much as the first Christians did, because no matter when in history you live, it is a strange thing, indeed, to believe that a man who was tortured, killed and buried has risen up from the dead to a more awesome and glorious life.  And it is even more strange to be told that you, too, can have your life totally transformed in this world and share the very same resurrection-glory with Him in the next. This promise of a real and new eternal life seems too good to be true to many people, and so there are those who challenge our faith by objecting to what they call a fantasy Resurrection story.

And yet, as St. Paul declares, this the heart of our faith. The Resurrection confirms the very foundation of our belief that Jesus of Nazareth is indeed God-come-in-the-flesh to teach us the truth, to take away the penalty of our sins, and to lead us to Heaven.

And that’s why Peter could trust Jesus when He told Him to pull out into the deep for a miraculous catch of fish. That’s why Peter, along with his brother Andrew and the brothers James and John, could trust Jesus enough to pull their boats ashore and leave everything behind to follow Him in a new way of life.

And that’s why when we encounter something in our lives that seems difficult or even impossible, we can trust that Jesus will make things work out for us, even if it’s hard to see how that can be done, because Jesus is Master of the impossible.

Prophets of the God of Love

The Catholic Liturgy for the 4^th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Feb. 3, 2019. Readings: 1 Cor. 13:1-13; Luke 4:21-30. Theme: Prophets of the God of Love

Very often in our liturgy the gospels take up where we left off on the prior Sunday.  And such is the case today. Recall for a moment that last Sunday we heard about Jesus attending worship services in his hometown of Nazareth.  He read a prophecy from Scripture which spoke about God sending Israel an anointed Prophet to liberate them from their oppression. And then, while all his neighbors were looking on, Jesus informs that that He, the village carpenter who grew up with them, is this prophet called and chosen by God.

At first the people are impressed by his words, but then they recall his ordinariness, the fact that he is just like them, and they refuse to believe. They turn on Him, and on that day in Nazareth, Jesus got not only rejection but a death threat from the very people with whom He had lived and worked and socialized.

I think we all can relate in one way or another to what Jesus experienced. When we try to live the gospel ourselves, sometimes our family and friends might also start to wonder, like Jesus’ neighbors, “who in the world does he or she think they are speaking and acting like that?”  Our good intentions and sincere efforts can be misunderstood or even rejected by those who know us best. But that didn’t deter Jesus from carrying out His mission as prophet. And it shouldn’t stop us from carrying out ours, either.

Are you surprised to hear me say that you and I are prophets, called and chosen by God? This is the very teaching of the New Testament and of the Church. When we were baptized and then later confirmed, we received the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and this sacred anointing with chrism made us prophets with Jesus, each one of us. We were anointed to go out and give witness to the Gospel, to a God who is love and goodness.

And the best way to give this witness is by our actions, our behavior, our lifestyle.  Of course, we also need to know our faith and be able to speak about it intelligently, but as we say “words are cheap” and “actions speak louder than words.” The best witness, the most believable witness is found in our actions, that others see that how we live is consistent with what we believe. And this must be true about all aspects of our behavior: at work, in politics, in our relationships and our social life. 

So that might make us ask: what does this look like? What does it mean to live the gospel message of Jesus among those with whom I live, work and socialize? St. Paul gives us the spot-on answer to this question in today’s second reading describing love.  He lays it out very clearly and simply for us, teaching us that it means being patient, kind, humble, forgiving, encouraging, uplifting, and hopeful.  This is how prophets of the God of love reflect Him to others. By witnessing our behavior, people should be able to get a glimpse, and idea, of what the God of love is like.

I was on a retreat once, years ago, and the retreat director used this exact reading from 1 Corinthians 13 on love. He reminded us that this primacy of love is the distinctive teaching of Christianity among the world’s religions, and that our being living examples of it is a precious contribution to making the world a better place.  He told us to go back to our rooms and slowly, mindfully, re-read the passage several times, substituting our first names for the word “love” in the reading. And then to ask God for the grace to make this passage a reality in our lives.

It was a very powerful and enlightening spiritual experience. I urge you to go home and try this yourselves today. Doing this personal meditation on 1 Corinthians 13 will help show you what it means for you yourself to live out your prophetic mission as a Christian, giving witness to our God who is love, among those with whom you live, work and socialize.