Dear Beloved in Christ
Yesterday afternoon, I gathered with between thirty and forty of our parishioners to clean our yard, here at Sts. Peter and Paul, and get ready for fall. Although, I have to admit, I was a little worried because, when I got here at ten minutes until one, I was alone. I walked around and found the White House open and someone, I’m pretty sure it was Don Johnson, had cut out the pine bushes in front of the White House earlier in the day. So, I decided to walk to the back yard to see what was happening. Again, no one was there but I noticed that there were weeds growing under some of the pine trees. So I walked over and started to pull a few weeds from under one of the trees when I heard the first few parishioners start to show up who had brought a hand saw. Eventually everyone showed up, which allowed for some distribution of labor. Some of us worked on clearing some bricks around the white house that were, at one time, markers for a flower bed. They had become, instead, an obstacle for man and mower alike. Others of us decided to clean out the dead branches of the pine trees so that it would be easier to mow and maintain. I am comfortable using a manual, muscle driven, hand saw. I enjoy it really. I like the feeling of achievement when you get done sawing a dead branch from a tree using a hand saw. But, to paraphrase St. Paul, to me a handsaw is like Christ and a chainsaw is death. I can’t use one because I’m one of the world’s biggest klutzes! So, I let a few of the guys run the chainsaw while I dragged the limbs out from under the tree, onto trucks, and onto the burn pile. I started off full of energy and excitement but, by a couple hours into it, I was exhausted. I remember thinking that I should just leave and go home and read for my class but I hated the idea of leaving people when there was still a lot of work to do.
I think that’s a typical reaction most of us have toward doing a job: don’t quit until the job is complete. We have an unwritten understanding of how to do things that our parents taught us as kids. And, when we see someone who doesn’t do it the way we were taught, we are obliged to let them know that they’ve done something wrong. I think this is a pretty cross-cultural concept: we do things because it’s what we were taught is fair. That’s precisely what workers who have at least put in a ten hour, if not twelve hour, day think when others who haven’t worked as long as they have are getting paid as much as they are. It’s bad business sense. How is this landowner going to get someone to work in his vineyard tomorrow if they know that they can wait until five o’clock in the afternoon and get paid as much as those who start at six in the morning? I imagine, this landowner will soon find that he is paying all his workers a full days pay for an hour of work.
Of course, this isn’t Jesus way of teaching the ten steps toward successful business practices. This is a parable, as we heard in the first sentence, about the Kingdom of God. Some suggest that this is a way for Matthew, who was probably writing to a largely Jewish audience, to emphasize that Gentile Christians are going to receive the same salvation that they are going to receive. They may ask themselves how it is that God has “made them equal to us.” But, God is going to give a similar response to the one given by the landowner in the gospel, “Am I not free to do as I wish with my salvation? Are you envious because I am so generous?”
Sometimes, while talking with people, I’m amazed to hear them doubt the superabundant generosity of God’s forgiveness and love. They see themselves as unworthy of God’s love because of some sin they have committed. And, to be honest, in some ways, shouldn’t we all feel like that? In some ways, we are all more like the later laborers than the earlier ones. Maybe we were born and raised catholic but we don’t always practice the faith. Sometimes, we are down-right un-Catholic in the jokes we tell, the actions we do to one another, or the thoughts we have. But, we sometimes feel like the earlier ones because we know something about someone that doesn’t make them seem all that holy. Maybe you donate your time to some charitable organization and you wonder where your fellow St. Peter and Paul parishioners are as you are volunteering. Or maybe you feel very passionately about an issue involved in the upcoming election and you can’t understand why your fellow Sts. Peter and Paul parishioners would dare vote for the politician that doesn’t support your issue. Before we give up on each other, let us very carefully hear the call of Christ in the gospel who rewards all his faithful equally, despite our weaknesses and let us rejoice at those who were lost who show up late and, nonetheless, get the job done.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Overwhelmed
In seminary, I took a personality inventory that told me I was apt to take on too much responsibility and then not be able to fulfill it. Finding that out was rather eye opening for me because I was finally able to put in my mind a patter that would happen. I would want to get involved in everything and still be able to do all the fun things that typical college students do...well not all the fun things. The things that didn't involve needing to go to confession the next day. But, invariably, I'd realize you can't do everything and I'd get to the point where I just felt overextended.
That's where I'm at right now. I have said "yes" to just way too much right now and I probably can't get everything done. And, so, I'm having to trim stuff out. It's never easy to do this because it means that I have failed and, in all likelihood, someone will be disappointed and/or angry.
That's where I'm at right now. I have said "yes" to just way too much right now and I probably can't get everything done. And, so, I'm having to trim stuff out. It's never easy to do this because it means that I have failed and, in all likelihood, someone will be disappointed and/or angry.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Upon this rock...
I was doing some research to a question a student had for me and I came upon this really interesting article...
http://www.catholic.com/library/Peter_the_Rock.asp
I learned a connection I hadn't made before from this article. I've heard about the argument about the name of Peter but never had an evangelical argue with me about it personally. But, I'd never thought that, if Matthew was originally written in Aramaic, intended to evangelize an predominately Aramaic-speaking group of Jews, it makes sense that the point evangelicals are making is moot. It also makes sense that 1 John and Paul, two authors that are very theologically distinct in terms of style, both use the Aramaic version of Peter's name, Kephas/Cephas.
Peter really is the rock on which God built his church. It just gets more convincing all the time.
http://www.catholic.com/library/Peter_the_Rock.asp
I learned a connection I hadn't made before from this article. I've heard about the argument about the name of Peter but never had an evangelical argue with me about it personally. But, I'd never thought that, if Matthew was originally written in Aramaic, intended to evangelize an predominately Aramaic-speaking group of Jews, it makes sense that the point evangelicals are making is moot. It also makes sense that 1 John and Paul, two authors that are very theologically distinct in terms of style, both use the Aramaic version of Peter's name, Kephas/Cephas.
Peter really is the rock on which God built his church. It just gets more convincing all the time.
Monday, September 15, 2008
John 3:16 AND 3:17
Dearly Beloved in Christ
I imagine most undergraduates either have or will experience this or something like it in your residence hall. Sometime, maybe you’ll be studying or relaxing watching TV and you’ll hear (Knock 3xs). You get up from to answer the door, like you do when someone knocks at the door, and find at the door someone from your floor. They look innocent enough. Maybe you’ve had a conversation with them in the bathroom if you’re a woman or maybe you’ve said hello to them in the hallway so you know them but not really well. They ask if they can come in to your room and you say yes, again, like you do when someone comes to the door. They sit down and ask you one of those questions that we Catholics hate to be asked, “Do you know if you are saved?” or “Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior?” Or, “Do you know if you’re going to heaven?” Or one of a dozen other questions that they have memorized to start the God conversation. You may start to feel trapped. You may even wish at this point that you had never asked them to come into your room in the first place. Some of you may feel energized and ready to explain your beliefs and, if that’s you, I’d suggest you talk to Misty Heinen who is one of our campus ministers. She’d love to have your enthusiasm with the outreach team. But, I imagine most of you feel trapped in more of an adversarial way than in a way that makes you want to explain your faith because you may feel like you aren’t able to articulate it well enough. I hope that, in the context of this homily, you’ll learn a tip or two about what to do when this happens.
You may be asking why this topic is coming up on this feast day of the exultation of the Holy Cross a celebration that commemorates when St. Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, found the true cross in Israel. It was September 14th in the year 320. Of course, considering the fact that if you were to gather all the fragments of the “true cross” you’d likely have about four or five true crosses at this point, one wonders if the original point of this celebration is still clear. I’d suggest not. Instead, I’d like to suggest that church wants us to focus on a topic connected to the example I stated in the beginning, knowing your faith and knowing the cross.
We hear from the Old Testament this very interesting story about the Israelites whining in the desert. As whining had almost become second nature to the Israelites, we shouldn’t be surprised that it’s happeneing. But, we should be surprised at God’s reaction. Why would God send seraph serpents to harm his people, this people he has removed from slavery, promised a new home, and helped to guide through the wilderness. All they are asking for is food, for goodness sake. Who can complain about food. Do you remember, as a kid, sitting down at the table and seeing some food that you didn’t like? Brocolli or spinach or pizza with vegetables on it. Do you remember what happened when you complained about having to eat that food? When I did that, my mother would say to me something along the lines of, “Starving children in Africa would love to have this food.” To which, I would reply, “Well then send it to them.” At some point in the conversation the point would be driven home that, if I don’t like what’s on the table, I could just not eat. You see, it’s not that God hasn’t provided food and water for the Israelites. At first they try so say that’s the problem. But then they say, “We are disgusted with this wretched food!” In other words, they have food, they just want to God to bring them something different. That’s what makes God so mad. They aren’t starving. They aren’t thirsty. They’re just expecting God to do whatever they want him to do. That’s what makes God so angry that he sends these serpents to attack them. It's a little more severe than a time out but equally as effective. The Israelites eventually repent and ask Moses to intercede for them. But then it gets really interesting. God's solution to this problem is not simply to stop the serpents from attacking his people. That would be too easy. Instead, God tells his people to mount the image of a seraph serpent on a pole and, whenever they get bitten, they are to look at the serpent and it will cure them. I don't know about you, but it appears to me that God gave his people a graven image. A graven image…hadn’t he just told them not to do that? Why? Because he told them to do it. A graven image is only graven when you are doing something that God doesn't want you to do. But, in the New Testament we see a different explanation of the pole that led the Israel safely out of the desert.
In the gospel, Jesus talks about his cross in the same way as the serpent image of the Old Testament to the leader of the Jews. Scripture scholars believe the image would have been still been present in the Temple at the time of Jesus. They believe Nicodemus would have not only been familiar with the story from Exodus but would have known the pole and serpent very well. So, Jesus is telling them that his cross will be the same image that heals the entire world of the sin that it had fallen into. That's why we, as Christians, set the cross so prominently in each of our churches. It's the symbol of our redemption. Sometimes our evangelical brothers and sisters criticize us for our "graven images" like the cross. We hear our Lord telling us that it's not graven when Christ tells us to do it.
In the context of this passage we also hear a verse that Evangelicals love to emphasize. You see it at sporting events and other prominent places, John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” And we are blessed that they do emphasize that faith in the cross of Christ is what saves us. But, sometimes in their zeal for John 3:16, they neglect John 3:17 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”
We, as Catholics, have a sense that God really does want all people to be saved but, on this feast of the exaltation of the holy cross, we are reminded that it’s not out job to determine who is saved or not. God alone determines who is saved or not. So, when your evangelical friends ask you,“Do you know if you are saved?” or “Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior?” Or, “Do you know if you’re going to heaven?” First of all, remember charity, remember that we are to be a people identified because of the love we show other people. And then tell them, "I hope so." And when they ask you, "What do you mean? You don't know?" Just tell them, "Nope. It's not my job to know. No feeling that I have. No innate sense or presumed knowledge saves me. God alone is my savior. He and he alone can determine that.
I imagine most undergraduates either have or will experience this or something like it in your residence hall. Sometime, maybe you’ll be studying or relaxing watching TV and you’ll hear (Knock 3xs). You get up from to answer the door, like you do when someone knocks at the door, and find at the door someone from your floor. They look innocent enough. Maybe you’ve had a conversation with them in the bathroom if you’re a woman or maybe you’ve said hello to them in the hallway so you know them but not really well. They ask if they can come in to your room and you say yes, again, like you do when someone comes to the door. They sit down and ask you one of those questions that we Catholics hate to be asked, “Do you know if you are saved?” or “Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior?” Or, “Do you know if you’re going to heaven?” Or one of a dozen other questions that they have memorized to start the God conversation. You may start to feel trapped. You may even wish at this point that you had never asked them to come into your room in the first place. Some of you may feel energized and ready to explain your beliefs and, if that’s you, I’d suggest you talk to Misty Heinen who is one of our campus ministers. She’d love to have your enthusiasm with the outreach team. But, I imagine most of you feel trapped in more of an adversarial way than in a way that makes you want to explain your faith because you may feel like you aren’t able to articulate it well enough. I hope that, in the context of this homily, you’ll learn a tip or two about what to do when this happens.
You may be asking why this topic is coming up on this feast day of the exultation of the Holy Cross a celebration that commemorates when St. Helena, mother of Emperor Constantine, found the true cross in Israel. It was September 14th in the year 320. Of course, considering the fact that if you were to gather all the fragments of the “true cross” you’d likely have about four or five true crosses at this point, one wonders if the original point of this celebration is still clear. I’d suggest not. Instead, I’d like to suggest that church wants us to focus on a topic connected to the example I stated in the beginning, knowing your faith and knowing the cross.
We hear from the Old Testament this very interesting story about the Israelites whining in the desert. As whining had almost become second nature to the Israelites, we shouldn’t be surprised that it’s happeneing. But, we should be surprised at God’s reaction. Why would God send seraph serpents to harm his people, this people he has removed from slavery, promised a new home, and helped to guide through the wilderness. All they are asking for is food, for goodness sake. Who can complain about food. Do you remember, as a kid, sitting down at the table and seeing some food that you didn’t like? Brocolli or spinach or pizza with vegetables on it. Do you remember what happened when you complained about having to eat that food? When I did that, my mother would say to me something along the lines of, “Starving children in Africa would love to have this food.” To which, I would reply, “Well then send it to them.” At some point in the conversation the point would be driven home that, if I don’t like what’s on the table, I could just not eat. You see, it’s not that God hasn’t provided food and water for the Israelites. At first they try so say that’s the problem. But then they say, “We are disgusted with this wretched food!” In other words, they have food, they just want to God to bring them something different. That’s what makes God so mad. They aren’t starving. They aren’t thirsty. They’re just expecting God to do whatever they want him to do. That’s what makes God so angry that he sends these serpents to attack them. It's a little more severe than a time out but equally as effective. The Israelites eventually repent and ask Moses to intercede for them. But then it gets really interesting. God's solution to this problem is not simply to stop the serpents from attacking his people. That would be too easy. Instead, God tells his people to mount the image of a seraph serpent on a pole and, whenever they get bitten, they are to look at the serpent and it will cure them. I don't know about you, but it appears to me that God gave his people a graven image. A graven image…hadn’t he just told them not to do that? Why? Because he told them to do it. A graven image is only graven when you are doing something that God doesn't want you to do. But, in the New Testament we see a different explanation of the pole that led the Israel safely out of the desert.
In the gospel, Jesus talks about his cross in the same way as the serpent image of the Old Testament to the leader of the Jews. Scripture scholars believe the image would have been still been present in the Temple at the time of Jesus. They believe Nicodemus would have not only been familiar with the story from Exodus but would have known the pole and serpent very well. So, Jesus is telling them that his cross will be the same image that heals the entire world of the sin that it had fallen into. That's why we, as Christians, set the cross so prominently in each of our churches. It's the symbol of our redemption. Sometimes our evangelical brothers and sisters criticize us for our "graven images" like the cross. We hear our Lord telling us that it's not graven when Christ tells us to do it.
In the context of this passage we also hear a verse that Evangelicals love to emphasize. You see it at sporting events and other prominent places, John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” And we are blessed that they do emphasize that faith in the cross of Christ is what saves us. But, sometimes in their zeal for John 3:16, they neglect John 3:17 “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.”
We, as Catholics, have a sense that God really does want all people to be saved but, on this feast of the exaltation of the holy cross, we are reminded that it’s not out job to determine who is saved or not. God alone determines who is saved or not. So, when your evangelical friends ask you,“Do you know if you are saved?” or “Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior?” Or, “Do you know if you’re going to heaven?” First of all, remember charity, remember that we are to be a people identified because of the love we show other people. And then tell them, "I hope so." And when they ask you, "What do you mean? You don't know?" Just tell them, "Nope. It's not my job to know. No feeling that I have. No innate sense or presumed knowledge saves me. God alone is my savior. He and he alone can determine that.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Cubs fans of the world, unite!
I am a Chicago Cubs fan. I am an Iowa State Cyclone fan. I cheer for the underdog. The team that most other people think of as the lovable losers. And, if you want to know why, just watch this video...
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=cubs100
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=cubs100
Thursday, September 11, 2008
on a lighter note...
Open this and read it. Only in Iowa could this ever happen. I guarantee it'll make you smile. There's a family guy reference in there somewhere.
Remembering September 11th
I was at St. Paul Seminary. The community had done either morning prayer or mass, to be honest I can't remember which. I do remember remaining after to pray in the small Eucharistic reservation chapel for my holy hour and emerging to see a television on NBC news on the front desk of the receptionist area. That was unusual, I walked over to find out why. I learned about the first plane and walked up to my room while the second plane hit World Trade Center 2. I remember that my immediate affective response was anger. I remember wishing that I could watch more but knowing that I had to get assignments done. Of course, being in St. Paul, there were fears that someone would attack local targets as well. Mall of America? The Minnesota State Capital building? One of the massive Catholic buildings (Cathedral or Basilica)?
Fear is a transforming force in our lives. It makes us act in ways that we normally wouldn't. We take on more of our base, animal instincts when we are afraid. When we look at Christ, we see someone who wasn't afraid and wasn't going to motivate people by fear. He was going to motivate people by trust, the kind of trust we have for a devoted, loving parent.
As we remember September 11th, let us keep in mind that the point of terrorism is to create fear, to change people's lives by making them afraid. As Christians, we aren't naive enough to believe there is nothing to be afraid of. There is. And there always will be. But, we hear the post-resurrection voice of Christ calling us not to be afraid because we know that, regardless of what happens, our God has walked this path before and he walks it with us now.
It is in suffering that we, ourselves, become most like God.
Fear is a transforming force in our lives. It makes us act in ways that we normally wouldn't. We take on more of our base, animal instincts when we are afraid. When we look at Christ, we see someone who wasn't afraid and wasn't going to motivate people by fear. He was going to motivate people by trust, the kind of trust we have for a devoted, loving parent.
As we remember September 11th, let us keep in mind that the point of terrorism is to create fear, to change people's lives by making them afraid. As Christians, we aren't naive enough to believe there is nothing to be afraid of. There is. And there always will be. But, we hear the post-resurrection voice of Christ calling us not to be afraid because we know that, regardless of what happens, our God has walked this path before and he walks it with us now.
It is in suffering that we, ourselves, become most like God.
Tuesday, September 09, 2008
John Piper
Have you heard about this video? Holy cow! It'll make you cry and be proud to be catholic.
I know that I will someday face my maker and have to look into the saddened eyes of a father who both loves and is disappointed in me. But, I hope that, most of all, he knows that I am faithful to the message of the cross and that I have spent my life in loving service of that cross. I am not perfect in any way.
But, I am truly, deeply, and profoundly disturbed by the concept of the prosperity gospel that so many evangelicals are selling to the people of God. If God likes you, you are foreordained to succeed. In fact, success means that God likes you. If not, you will fail. I pray that God will let me watch as some smug evangelical who has been so convinced of his own salvation and has been peddling this moral equivalent to pornography will learn the true meaning of "If you desire to come after me, you must deny yourself, take up your cross, and come follow me."
"God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in him in the midst of loss not prosperity."
I know that I will someday face my maker and have to look into the saddened eyes of a father who both loves and is disappointed in me. But, I hope that, most of all, he knows that I am faithful to the message of the cross and that I have spent my life in loving service of that cross. I am not perfect in any way.
But, I am truly, deeply, and profoundly disturbed by the concept of the prosperity gospel that so many evangelicals are selling to the people of God. If God likes you, you are foreordained to succeed. In fact, success means that God likes you. If not, you will fail. I pray that God will let me watch as some smug evangelical who has been so convinced of his own salvation and has been peddling this moral equivalent to pornography will learn the true meaning of "If you desire to come after me, you must deny yourself, take up your cross, and come follow me."
"God is most glorified in you when you are most satisfied in him in the midst of loss not prosperity."
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Finally...my Sunday homily
It happened for both Mother Teresa and Charles Manson. Both felt that what they were doing was the call of God. Why is that we esteem Mother Teresa for doing what she feels God’s call is while we simultaneously deride Charles Manson as being insane. Throughout the school year, I know students will come to me asking me this tough question: What does God want me to do with my life? It kind of makes my heart skip a bit because I think it makes a fundamental assumption that I’m supposed to know what God wants for people. I mean, I think God wants us to have life and to have it more abundantly. I think God wants us, to use the language we use on Ash Wednesday, to turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel. But, I’m not sure how we can know for certain that what we are doing is right.
Our scriptures show us a couple of people that seem to be having difficulty discerning God’s will in their lives. Starting at the end, we have St. Peter. You may remember from last week that, immediately prior to this, St. Peter’s made a profound confession of faith in Jesus as the Christ, the son of the Living God. Then, this week, we hear the great praise that Jesus put upon Peter last week seem to be turned upside down. He calls him Satan for goodness sake. When the Son of God is talking to you, the last thing that you want hear from him is “Get behind me Satan!” Yikes! To me, this episode points to how fragile Peter’s initial steps of faith were. Like a child who is walking for the first time, Peter still falls and makes mistakes. But, he’s on his way. This gives all of us who fall daily a great hope, right.
But, there’s more to it than that. Peter believes that he is doing what is right. I mean, if someone you believed in, an incredibly intelligent, dynamic individual that you trusted started telling you that he knew that he was going to be killed but would be raised three days later, wouldn’t we all react with a little skepticism? I bet some of you would ask what the trick is, as though he’s David Copperfield making the statue of Liberty disappear and reappear a few moments later. Or, you may be like Peter and try to calm him down because he’s starting to sound conspiratorial. He’s like a step away from building a special room in his house and storing dry goods for when he takes down the federal government. Peter couldn’t have known that Jesus was talking about a death that would end the sacrificial system of the Old Testament once and for all, the just suffering punishment and death for the sake of the unjust. Peter believes he is doing what God would want him to do, saving the life of his friend and diffusing a tense situation.
But, as we heard in the first reading, sometimes God doesn’t mind a little tension. In fact, according to the prophet Jeremiah, that may be one way that God works is by making us so tense and upset that we cannot stand by and let happen what is happening. Jeremiah’s message is always, basically, stop doing what God doesn’t want you to do and start doing what He does. But, when he delivers this message, the people start complaining because his messages are always such a downer. I mean, he’s a sinner. What gives him the right to tell us not to sin? And the fact that Jeremiah feels like God is calling him to do this only heightens the derision of the crowd. Only crazy people feel like God is calling them to something. Only crazy people feel like they talk to God. Jeremiah must be nuts if he feels like God is calling him to tell other people that they are sinning. All of this forces Jeremiah into a depression wherein he stops prophesying. He is a prophet who refuses to tell people what God wants them to do. But, then he looks around and gets so angry at the sheer amount of sin that he cannot hold himself in and he starts to prophesy again. He feels duped by God because of his sense of righteous indignation. But, if God wants him to prophesy, why not make the people of Judah as malleable as the people of Nineveh were for Jonah? Why cause all this tension and self-doubt for Jeremiah? Why not make it clear for Jeremiah that he is doing what you want him to do by making his job easier.
Both Jeremiah and Peter struggle with God’s will in their lives. Both of them, to paraphrase St. Paul from the second reading, are trying to be transformed by the renewal of the mind and not conform to this age, to discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect. But, both are also disobeying what is really God’s will, Jeremiah is doing so intentionally and Peter unintentionally. And, both get duped by God in order to be set straight.
I think the ultimately fault that both of them have is that both Peter and Jeremiah ultimately lose sight of their role as part of their respective communities. Peter takes Jesus aside to remonstrate him. Jeremiah is constantly lobbing remonstrations at a community that decides to alienate him rather than be berated. Criticism seems to come best from within the community, from people who are part of the church, not from people who think that they are better than the church. We, the members of the church, need to hear God’s word as part of the church in the church. If it alienates us from the church then it is probably not God’s will. Most of the time when we wonder if we are doing what God wants, we need to ask ourselves if we are taking up our cross or expecting everyone else to take it up for us.
Our scriptures show us a couple of people that seem to be having difficulty discerning God’s will in their lives. Starting at the end, we have St. Peter. You may remember from last week that, immediately prior to this, St. Peter’s made a profound confession of faith in Jesus as the Christ, the son of the Living God. Then, this week, we hear the great praise that Jesus put upon Peter last week seem to be turned upside down. He calls him Satan for goodness sake. When the Son of God is talking to you, the last thing that you want hear from him is “Get behind me Satan!” Yikes! To me, this episode points to how fragile Peter’s initial steps of faith were. Like a child who is walking for the first time, Peter still falls and makes mistakes. But, he’s on his way. This gives all of us who fall daily a great hope, right.
But, there’s more to it than that. Peter believes that he is doing what is right. I mean, if someone you believed in, an incredibly intelligent, dynamic individual that you trusted started telling you that he knew that he was going to be killed but would be raised three days later, wouldn’t we all react with a little skepticism? I bet some of you would ask what the trick is, as though he’s David Copperfield making the statue of Liberty disappear and reappear a few moments later. Or, you may be like Peter and try to calm him down because he’s starting to sound conspiratorial. He’s like a step away from building a special room in his house and storing dry goods for when he takes down the federal government. Peter couldn’t have known that Jesus was talking about a death that would end the sacrificial system of the Old Testament once and for all, the just suffering punishment and death for the sake of the unjust. Peter believes he is doing what God would want him to do, saving the life of his friend and diffusing a tense situation.
But, as we heard in the first reading, sometimes God doesn’t mind a little tension. In fact, according to the prophet Jeremiah, that may be one way that God works is by making us so tense and upset that we cannot stand by and let happen what is happening. Jeremiah’s message is always, basically, stop doing what God doesn’t want you to do and start doing what He does. But, when he delivers this message, the people start complaining because his messages are always such a downer. I mean, he’s a sinner. What gives him the right to tell us not to sin? And the fact that Jeremiah feels like God is calling him to do this only heightens the derision of the crowd. Only crazy people feel like God is calling them to something. Only crazy people feel like they talk to God. Jeremiah must be nuts if he feels like God is calling him to tell other people that they are sinning. All of this forces Jeremiah into a depression wherein he stops prophesying. He is a prophet who refuses to tell people what God wants them to do. But, then he looks around and gets so angry at the sheer amount of sin that he cannot hold himself in and he starts to prophesy again. He feels duped by God because of his sense of righteous indignation. But, if God wants him to prophesy, why not make the people of Judah as malleable as the people of Nineveh were for Jonah? Why cause all this tension and self-doubt for Jeremiah? Why not make it clear for Jeremiah that he is doing what you want him to do by making his job easier.
Both Jeremiah and Peter struggle with God’s will in their lives. Both of them, to paraphrase St. Paul from the second reading, are trying to be transformed by the renewal of the mind and not conform to this age, to discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect. But, both are also disobeying what is really God’s will, Jeremiah is doing so intentionally and Peter unintentionally. And, both get duped by God in order to be set straight.
I think the ultimately fault that both of them have is that both Peter and Jeremiah ultimately lose sight of their role as part of their respective communities. Peter takes Jesus aside to remonstrate him. Jeremiah is constantly lobbing remonstrations at a community that decides to alienate him rather than be berated. Criticism seems to come best from within the community, from people who are part of the church, not from people who think that they are better than the church. We, the members of the church, need to hear God’s word as part of the church in the church. If it alienates us from the church then it is probably not God’s will. Most of the time when we wonder if we are doing what God wants, we need to ask ourselves if we are taking up our cross or expecting everyone else to take it up for us.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
If you're going through hell, keep on going....
This morning, I directed 13 home school High-School-aged students in a reflection on St. Paul. They learned how to do lectio divina and spent some time learning about a few of the shorter letters of St. Paul. In the process, I missed the oppertunity to lead a staff meeting and celebrate daily mass. Thankfully, people stepped in for me to cover both.
The students seemed to connect so well with the quiet of lectio divina. I used this to help them understand it (go figure that I'd use a Benedictine website to help explain it) and, even though they didn't pronouce the latin really well, they spent 25 minutes in quiet with scripture. I asked them to keep doing it and I really hope they do. It's so meaningful.
That's what I love about being a priest. I get to do stuff like this. People trust me to help them get to know God. Sometimes I get to do it. Sometimes, I fail. I feel like God helped me do it today.
The students seemed to connect so well with the quiet of lectio divina. I used this to help them understand it (go figure that I'd use a Benedictine website to help explain it) and, even though they didn't pronouce the latin really well, they spent 25 minutes in quiet with scripture. I asked them to keep doing it and I really hope they do. It's so meaningful.
That's what I love about being a priest. I get to do stuff like this. People trust me to help them get to know God. Sometimes I get to do it. Sometimes, I fail. I feel like God helped me do it today.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
St. Augustine
City of God
or
The confessions
Two works that changed Christianity forever. They shaped us and continue to shape us. We need to let them keep shaping us by keeping them in mind.
I think that's why the Pope keeps directing us to the patristics.
We believe we are the body of Christ, we have been the body of Christ and we will continue to be the body of Christ because Jesus Christ said so. We have to remember those who have been in order to continue to be.
or
The confessions
Two works that changed Christianity forever. They shaped us and continue to shape us. We need to let them keep shaping us by keeping them in mind.
I think that's why the Pope keeps directing us to the patristics.
We believe we are the body of Christ, we have been the body of Christ and we will continue to be the body of Christ because Jesus Christ said so. We have to remember those who have been in order to continue to be.
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Setting the record straight on the church's record on abortion.
If you didn't hear, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the house who is also Catholic, said this Sunday in an interraction with long-time NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw...
In the course of a “Meet the Press” interview on abortion and other public issues on August 24, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi misrepresented the history and nature of the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church against abortion.
In fact, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, "Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law." (No. 2271)
In the Middle Ages, uninformed and inadequate theories about embryology led some theologians to speculate that specifically human life capable of receiving an immortal soul may not exist until a few weeks into pregnancy. While in canon law these theories led to a distinction in penalties between very early and later abortions, the Church’s moral teaching never justified or permitted abortion at any stage of development.
These mistaken biological theories became obsolete over 150 years ago when scientists discovered that a new human individual comes into being from the union of sperm and egg at fertilization. In keeping with this modern understanding, the Church teaches that from the time of conception (fertilization), each member of the human species must be given the full respect due to a human person, beginning with respect for the fundamental right to life.
Two things come to mind. First, the same people that will use some theologians' opinion of post-conception ensoulment are the ones who criticize us for being anti-scientific. The theologians were using bad science when they were making these pronouncements. It was the best stuff out there at the time but it's clear that the church was wise in never promulgating, never endorsing, never teaching any of it. That was the Holy Spirit not letting the gates of hell take over us.
Secondly, the very idea that Speaker Pelosi would comment on this the way that she has shows that she really doesn't believe her own hype. She says that religion shouldn't be part of government and advocates a strict separation of church and state but, when asked about abortion, she not only misrepresents Catholic teaching but she sprints to do so. Why not just say that she believes this? Why lie about what the church teaches in an effort to involve religion?
Lastly, we need to applaud the bishops of this country for taking a stand. We whine when we think that they didn't respond harshly enough. Let's let them know that we appreciate this one.
MR. BROKAW: Senator Obama saying the question of when life begins is above his pay grade, whether you're looking at it scientifically or theologically. If he were to come to you and say, "Help me out here, Madame Speaker. When does life begin?" what would you tell him?The Bishop's of this country respond...MR. BROKAW: The Catholic Church at the moment feels very strongly that it...
REP. PELOSI: I understand that.
In the course of a “Meet the Press” interview on abortion and other public issues on August 24, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi misrepresented the history and nature of the authentic teaching of the Catholic Church against abortion.
In fact, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, "Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law." (No. 2271)
In the Middle Ages, uninformed and inadequate theories about embryology led some theologians to speculate that specifically human life capable of receiving an immortal soul may not exist until a few weeks into pregnancy. While in canon law these theories led to a distinction in penalties between very early and later abortions, the Church’s moral teaching never justified or permitted abortion at any stage of development.
These mistaken biological theories became obsolete over 150 years ago when scientists discovered that a new human individual comes into being from the union of sperm and egg at fertilization. In keeping with this modern understanding, the Church teaches that from the time of conception (fertilization), each member of the human species must be given the full respect due to a human person, beginning with respect for the fundamental right to life.
Two things come to mind. First, the same people that will use some theologians' opinion of post-conception ensoulment are the ones who criticize us for being anti-scientific. The theologians were using bad science when they were making these pronouncements. It was the best stuff out there at the time but it's clear that the church was wise in never promulgating, never endorsing, never teaching any of it. That was the Holy Spirit not letting the gates of hell take over us.
Secondly, the very idea that Speaker Pelosi would comment on this the way that she has shows that she really doesn't believe her own hype. She says that religion shouldn't be part of government and advocates a strict separation of church and state but, when asked about abortion, she not only misrepresents Catholic teaching but she sprints to do so. Why not just say that she believes this? Why lie about what the church teaches in an effort to involve religion?
Lastly, we need to applaud the bishops of this country for taking a stand. We whine when we think that they didn't respond harshly enough. Let's let them know that we appreciate this one.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
In case you needed yet another reminder that a priest is, in fact, still human...
Last night, around 11:30 or so, I got called out for a visit. It happens about four times a year in this current assignment so I was kind of nervous and worried about finding the right house. I went out to my garage, pushed the button to my door, and then walked through the open door of the stall next to mine. I got into my truck and turned the truck on. When the motor of the garage door stopped running, I started my truck, put it in reverse, and took out the board that I write my mileage on. Notice the one thing that is missing from that list...checking my rear view mirror.
SLAM!
That was when I checked my rear-view mirror and noticed that I had backed into my unopened garage door. For some reason, the thing must have gone part way up, stopped and gone back down.
I pulled forward, got out, and got the door open enough so that I could get to my visit. I felt like such an idiot! I'm sure it showed.
The only good news was that ruining the garage door didn't stop me from remembering that today is the release date for Heroes season 2 on DVD! So, I stopped at Walmart at 12:05 and became the first customer to get it. I watched one episode and remembered the excitement I had when last season was still new. It wasn't a great season overall but I can't give up on it.
SLAM!
That was when I checked my rear-view mirror and noticed that I had backed into my unopened garage door. For some reason, the thing must have gone part way up, stopped and gone back down.
I pulled forward, got out, and got the door open enough so that I could get to my visit. I felt like such an idiot! I'm sure it showed.
The only good news was that ruining the garage door didn't stop me from remembering that today is the release date for Heroes season 2 on DVD! So, I stopped at Walmart at 12:05 and became the first customer to get it. I watched one episode and remembered the excitement I had when last season was still new. It wasn't a great season overall but I can't give up on it.
Monday, August 25, 2008
From First Things Magazine
A friend told me that I really need to read First Things Magazine this month man was he right. It tells you why the church will never accept contraception and why the Episcopal communion's movement towards gay marriage and gay clergy started when it accepted contraception. You can find the whole text here.
The adversaries of Humanae Vitae (The Pope's 1965 encyclical that clarified the question of contaception) also could not have foreseen one important historical development that in retrospect would appear to undermine their demands that the Catholic Church change with the times: the widespread Protestant collapse, particularly the continuing implosion of the Episcopal Church and the other branches of Anglicanism. It is about as clear as any historical chain can get that this implosion is a direct consequence of the famous Lambeth Conference in 1930, at which the Anglicans abandoned the longstanding Christian position on contraception. If a church cannot tell its flock “what to do with my body,” as the saying goes, with regard to contraception, then other uses of that body will quickly prove to be similarly off-limits to ecclesiastical authority.
It makes perfect if unfortunate sense, then, that the Anglicans are today imploding over the issue of homosexuality. To quote (traditionalist) Anscombe (Society at Princeton University)
If contraceptive intercourse is permissible, then what objection could there be after all to mutual masturbation, or copulation in vase indebito, sodomy, buggery (I should perhaps remark that I am using a legal term here—not indulging in bad language), when normal copulation is impossible or inadvisable (or in any case, according to taste)? It can’t be the mere pattern of bodily behavior in which the stimulation is procured that makes all the difference! But if such things are all right, it becomes perfectly impossible to see anything wrong with homosexual intercourse, for example. I am not saying: if you think contraception all right you will do these other things; not at all. The habit of respectability persists and old prejudices die hard. But I am saying: you will have no solid reason against these things. You will have no answer to someone who proclaims as many do that they are good too. You cannot point to the known fact that Christianity drew people out of the pagan world, always saying no to these things. Because, if you are defending contraception, you will have rejected Christian tradition.
By giving benediction in 1930 to its married heterosexual members purposely seeking sterile sex, the Anglican Church lost, bit by bit, any authority to tell her other members—married or unmarried, homosexual or heterosexual—not to do the same. To put the point another way, once heterosexuals start claiming the right to act as homosexuals, it would not be long before homosexuals start claiming the rights of heterosexuals.
The adversaries of Humanae Vitae (The Pope's 1965 encyclical that clarified the question of contaception) also could not have foreseen one important historical development that in retrospect would appear to undermine their demands that the Catholic Church change with the times: the widespread Protestant collapse, particularly the continuing implosion of the Episcopal Church and the other branches of Anglicanism. It is about as clear as any historical chain can get that this implosion is a direct consequence of the famous Lambeth Conference in 1930, at which the Anglicans abandoned the longstanding Christian position on contraception. If a church cannot tell its flock “what to do with my body,” as the saying goes, with regard to contraception, then other uses of that body will quickly prove to be similarly off-limits to ecclesiastical authority.
It makes perfect if unfortunate sense, then, that the Anglicans are today imploding over the issue of homosexuality. To quote (traditionalist) Anscombe (Society at Princeton University)
If contraceptive intercourse is permissible, then what objection could there be after all to mutual masturbation, or copulation in vase indebito, sodomy, buggery (I should perhaps remark that I am using a legal term here—not indulging in bad language), when normal copulation is impossible or inadvisable (or in any case, according to taste)? It can’t be the mere pattern of bodily behavior in which the stimulation is procured that makes all the difference! But if such things are all right, it becomes perfectly impossible to see anything wrong with homosexual intercourse, for example. I am not saying: if you think contraception all right you will do these other things; not at all. The habit of respectability persists and old prejudices die hard. But I am saying: you will have no solid reason against these things. You will have no answer to someone who proclaims as many do that they are good too. You cannot point to the known fact that Christianity drew people out of the pagan world, always saying no to these things. Because, if you are defending contraception, you will have rejected Christian tradition.
By giving benediction in 1930 to its married heterosexual members purposely seeking sterile sex, the Anglican Church lost, bit by bit, any authority to tell her other members—married or unmarried, homosexual or heterosexual—not to do the same. To put the point another way, once heterosexuals start claiming the right to act as homosexuals, it would not be long before homosexuals start claiming the rights of heterosexuals.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
What is a church without the bricks?
Dear Beloved in Christ
Our readings today, for Roman Catholics, are ones that are often referenced when it comes to one figure within the church, the Pope. If you don’t know what I’m referring to, the gospel, in particular, is the source of what we call papal authority. When Jesus handed the keys to Peter, we believe it was the first “handing off” that has continued, uninterrupted, through the centuries to Pope Benedict the 16th. I couldn’t help but think of a seeming parallel in today’s headlines. All week long, all the political shows that I’ve been listening to have been trying to figure out who the running mates of John McCain and Barak O’bama would be. In particular, Senator O’bama’s running mate was a huge source of consternation as it seemed he took forever to announce who it would be. Finally, at three o’clock on Saturday morning, O’bama supporters received their text messages or emails letting them know that Senator Joseph Biden would be his running mate. All the pundits had advice for Senator O’bama as to who should be his running mate and I have no doubt that that topic has been the subject of numerous meetings for both Senator O’bama and Senator McCain. And now the pundits can switch their focus to who Senator McCain will choose and continue offering advice.
I can’t help but contrast that with what happened in the gospel today. Jesus asks his disciples a simple question: “Who do people say that I am?” It’s direct. It’s simple. It’s a question that seeks to gauge how his ministry is going. The response is that people are comparing him to a prophet, a wise and learned individual who deserves admiration. But, Jesus then seeks their own opinion. He asks, “Who do you say that I am?” We know what Peter’s response was. I wonder what the other apostles were thinking. Maybe James and John were thinking, “You’re the guy that’s going to put us in charge.” Maybe Thomas was thinking, “I’m not sure who you are. I’m here to figure that out.” Judas may have been thinking, “You’re a self-important, pain in the behind faith healer who doesn’t know when to shut up.” But, who knows. Maybe they were all thinking the exact same thing that Peter was thinking but for some reason, it is Peter who says it. The others may have been thinking it. It may have been on the tips of their tongues but they were too afraid to say it. Peter, in typical fashion, is willing to put it forth, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And, just as God rewarded his faithful servant, Eliakim, in the Old Testament first reading from today with the keys to be able to control access to the King, so Peter and his successors have had the job of making sure that they make God accessible to us.
That’s why we, as Catholics, hold such high esteem for the Pope; because we believe that he wants to make God accessible to us not just as a concept but as a friend. There have been numerous times when this present pope has reminded us that the encounter with God that the Christian has is different because it is an encounter with a person, the person of Christ. The Pope wants us to be able to get in the door and he’s here to help us. The members of the clergy take our cues from him as to how to do that. And we, Christians, take great pride in the fact that the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. This means that, even though historically there have been bad successors to Peter, bad Popes, we trust that the Holy Spirit continues to bless us with the leadership necessary at any given moment in time to keep leading us to the gates of heaven and away from the gates of the netherworld.
By now, most of us have probably forgotten the fear that people had when Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger came out of those doors of the Vatican and was announced to the world as Pope Benedict XVI. People were afraid of das Panzer Kardinal, or the tank cardinal, as some referred to him and feared that he would ruin the church with harsh words and teachings. Four years later, on his visit to the United States, we cheered for Papa Bene, as some have called him and realize that Pope Benedict is less the blood-thirsty attack dog that everyone thought he would be, and more the German shepherd that we needed him to be. On this day, in this church dedicated to St. Peter, the Pope’s successor and St. Paul, whose festival year we celebrate as decreed by Pope Benedict, let us make this a year of prayer for our Holy Father, that he may continue to bring the church together in unity and be the gate keeper who helps us all come closer to God through Christ.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Bishops encourage us to do something most catholics don't even know what it means
The United States Bishops have asked catholics to pray a novena for the election. I found out about it on their website. It's interesting because I think most American Catholics don't even know what a novena is, let alone to committing to pray for something for nine straight days....
Monday, August 18, 2008
It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.
This harsh phrase was uttered by Christ in the Gospel this weekend toward a Canaanite woman. You can find it here. It seems rather uncharacteristic from the same man who wouldn't carry out a death sentence for a woman who was caught committing adultery despite the clarity of the law. (Although it appears our evangelical brothers and sisters are trying to eliminate this passage from the gospel.)
I think that we miss a nuance. I believe Jesus was "playing along" to make a point: If Jesus disciples think that a Canaanite is not worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven, how are they going to deal with a Greek or a Gaulite? They need to see the universality of salvation and not be so exclusive. Jesus wants all people saved, not just the people we like.
I think that we miss a nuance. I believe Jesus was "playing along" to make a point: If Jesus disciples think that a Canaanite is not worthy of the Kingdom of Heaven, how are they going to deal with a Greek or a Gaulite? They need to see the universality of salvation and not be so exclusive. Jesus wants all people saved, not just the people we like.
Friday, August 15, 2008
the government inspector
I got back from the Twin cities yesterday after watching a really great play with the above title. It was just a lot of fun, though somewhat crass. But it was really funny at the same time. It was, as always, good to see my friend Fr. Bob Hart. And I really do like the Twin Cities.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Heroes is back!
A friend sent me this link to a preview for the new season. I was genuinely disappointed in the one that happened a year ago and even more upset when the story was disbanded for a year while the writers got their money but now I'm getting excited. I am giving this ultimatum, though. If the shows aren't as good as they were the first season this fall, then I'm not going to watch it. I'll watch the Fox rip off called Fringe that you can find previewed here. I need to be entertained not annoyed.
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Pray for our deacons
This Sunday is the feast of St. Lawrence, a deacon of the Roman Church who was martyred in the second century. He is the patron of deacons and mine is preaching for me as a result. So, let's pray for the deacons who faithfully assist the priests and bishops and carry out the important work of serving widows.
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