Friends
Peace be with you.
This past week, I was up at an Air B&B in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, finishing up my sabbatical. This was my first experience staying in an Air B&B. It felt like I was staying at someone else’s house but they weren’t home. I kept waiting for them to come home and start yelling at me to get out of their house, even though I knew that wasn’t going to happen. But, after a day without someone yelling at me, I was finally able to realize I was safe in this home and started to relax. It was the first time since in three weeks that I had watched any kind of television. I was behind on two science fiction television shows I generally watch so, on Tuesday night when it was cold and rainy up there, I decided to watch them. Both had a common theme that I found kind of disturbing but also rather typical of a lot of science fiction. In both shows, there was a being that far surpassed humans in power and intelligence and this being basically decided to play with humans as though we were animals in a scientific experiment. It read the minds of the humans and projected what it thought would be the perfect or the most terrifying world. The conclusion is what I found disturbing. Both shows said that, in order for human beings to progress, we had to get rid of the idea of family and gender and God and nations and, one of them even said we to get rid of the notion of self, in order to progress as a society. It turned into a form of scientism, the belief that eventually science will be able to answer all the questions that humans have if we just give it enough time. Please know, when I talk about scientism, I’m not referring to all of science, which is a really good and useful tool for humanity. And, not all scientists ascribe to scientism. There are many scientists who have a deep faith and would never in a million years believe science will answer all the world’s questions. In fact, most scientists I know say that the struggle with science is that, in answering one question, they unearth five more questions that are as difficult if not more difficult to answer. However, the most outspoken believers of scientism tend to be scientists and would all, in general, say that we have moved past a point of needing religion to explain why things exist or giving us morality because science will explain it all. You can probably understand why a priest would be a little disturbed by this trend, especially among young people, to buy into this attitude wholesale. Yet, I can’t entirely blame them. As I said, it is a viewpoint that shapes the way a lot of television shows, not just science fiction by the way, operate under. The presumption is that, if you are intelligent and forward looking, you believe in science and if you are a simpleton or regressive in your belief system, you believe in God. Whether it’s a political talk show or a cartoon or a 30 minute sitcom, chances are this attitude has been present for you at some point.
So, if atheistic scientism has its disciples, who is speaking for God? In today’s gospel, we hear that Jesus calls 72 disciples to go and prepare for his visit to various towns in Galilee. The number of disciples echoes an Old Testament experience in which Moses, realizing he can’t deal with all the disputes that are being brought to him as he is leading the people to the Holy Land, asks God to take some of his power to empower people to help him. God calls forth 72 people to help Moses in the desert just as Jesus now empowers 72 people to go and prepare the way for him. Let’s talk about what that preparation looks like. I hear two interrelated categories of preparation that may guide us today. First, we need to simplify. We need to ask ourselves if we really need something or if it is more of a distraction. This is the question that someone who moves a lot should constantly ask himself, by the way: do I really need this? It’s not to say we can’t have nice things, things that we find relaxing or recreational. But, I think we’re at a point for a lot of people where we think we are entitled to have stuff simply because society tells us we need it. For instance, I got rid of the internet at my house. I have it on my phone if I really need it but that’s the only device that has it at my house. And, you know what, I’ve survived. In fact, I’ve continued reading more, which I started during my three weeks in the monastery. I know most people would consider internet a necessary thing in today’s world but are we becoming dependent on it? It’s useful, yes, but we can probably live with out it in our homes. Other things to think about are clothes or food or fishing gear, do we have too much of it? It’s not even a question of whether we can afford it. It’s a question of do we need it.
But why is this simplicity necessary? Because having and marinating the stuff of our lives stops us from being the kind of disciple we are called to be. I have a friend who has a dog. Dogs are great. I love them. I see a dog and I smile. But, I couldn’t get a dog because I know I would spend all my time taking care of that dog. When people came into the confessional, I would be thinking about getting them out so I could go pet my dog. I would probably try to have my dog with me at Mass, sitting on the left side so the deacon could sit on the right and he may even have some part in the Mass like carrying up the gifts. When people called me in the night to come and anoint them, I would think that I’m sure the dog will hear me if I leave so I first have to walk the dog before going. He would stop me from doing the kind of evangelization that I know needs to be done, even if he is the bestest boy. I would use my dog as an excuse to get out of meetings. And, if we hear and believe Jesus, the message is too important to allow anything to get in its way. The message is that “The Kingdom of God is at hand for you”. God wants us in heaven. We shouldn’t count on being able to repent tomorrow for yesterday‘s or today’s sins. It is here and it is now and we need to be prepared. It’s kind of like, instead of it being July of 2022, we’re in Philadelphia in July of 1776 and the nation of the United States of America is at hand for us. That’s the kind of urgency Jesus wants us to have. It’s not meant to be a frightening or threatening message. It’s a very hopeful message. It’s time to be prepared. But how can we help people be prepared? We can help them to know the maker of the kingdom that is at hand for them, the God who loves them and wants to get to know them. Invite them to Mass with you. If they say “no”, tell them you’ll ask again later. If they say yes, help them to know what’s going to happen if they have never been to Mass or if it’s been a while. Make sure they know not to receive communion if they aren’t Catholic but that they can receive a blessing. If coming to Mass is too much, we can pray with them. Say an Our Father or a Glory be. I’ve heard of grandparents teaching their grandchildren or great grandchildren the “Now I lay me down to sleep prayer” as a powerful means of evangelization.
The reality is, the forces of atheistic scientism have their disciples. Jesus calls us today to be his, to tell people the Kingdom of God is at hand for you. Are we prepared with simple lives or do we need to simplify a little and are we open to reaching out to our neighbor tell them this message of hope in the kingdom of God?
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