Mt 11:20-24 Comfortably Numb

Mt 11:20-24  Comfortably Numb

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I remember as a teenager listening to Pink Floyd but never really understanding it.  Today, it reminds me of children watching a cartoon with their parents and wondering why their parents are laughing at a certain comment.  Cartoons, like Pink Floyd’s music, were created for adults, not for kids.

If you don’t stand for something you will fall for everything.  Now I know where that saying comes from:  today’s first reading.  The Lord told Isaiah, “Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear; let not your courage fail before these two stumps of smoldering brands…They shall not stand, it shall not be!  But within sixty years and five, Ephraim shall be crushed, no longer a nation.  Unless your faith is firm you shall not be firm!”

Two smoldering stumps.  When did we go wrong?  How did we get so far lost?  It all began when we started believing the scientists and activists more than the religious; when we decided to heed human advice rather than Godly advice.

Remember how computers were supposed to make life easier?  Remember how they were supposed to eliminate paper?  Remember how they were supposed to save us time?  Hahahahaha! 

Life has not become easier or less wasteful, life has become less personable: comfortably numb. 

“Take care you remain tranquil and do not fear; let not your courage fail you!”  We don’t always have to run away from difficulties.  We don’t always have to curse them out!  Trials and tribulations can make us stronger and much more responsible! 

Over the years I have grown numb.  From my seminary days of cold showers and no heat, I have grown comfortably numb.  The reason for my numbness is due to my comfortness.  When I was in the seminary, if you wanted some Q-tips you would have to write a note to the superior and the superior would deliver them to your room.  He would usually leave just two Q-tips for the week.  I learned to use them at the right time and in the most efficient way.  Nothing was wasted!  Nothing.

Today, I have a confession to make.  I have a tendency to be very wasteful.  Why?  Because I live in a home that does not belong to me; I do not have to pay for my electricity, water or maintenance.  In the morning, when I leave my home and notice the front light still on, I don’t get of my car, I don’t even fret for a moment.  Instead, I tell myself, “Oh well, I’ll turn it off later.”  The next morning, when I notice it’s still on, because I forgot to turn it off, I promise myself I will take care of it as soon as I return.  Again, I forget to do anything about it.  Why?  Because I don’t pay for it.   I’m comfortably numb.

Yesterday, I got on an online debate with a group of people who were supporting Melinda Gates' billion dollar campaign to provide over 100 million women in Africa with free contraceptives.  I read all the same stale arguments over and over again:  "The Catholic Church hates women; the Church knows nothing about family struggles or about the problems in Africa!"  I screamed, “The Church hates women?  The Church knows nothing about Africa or families???”  That was it!  I couldn’t take it anymore!


Before anyone's great-grandmother was born, the Catholic Church had missionaries, priests and nuns working with poor families in Africa.  We know a lot about Africa and the struggles that families face.  We know more about Africa than anyone's personal experience or anyone's personal advisors.

But what do American's know about families?  When did America suddenly become the expert in raising kids and protecting families???  When did we become the role model of the world?  If ten million African girls are starving to death, why are ten million American girls starving themselves to death?  What do we know about families?  What do we think we can teach others about raising children?  I’ll tell you what we can teach them:  the mistakes we have made.

Why do we want to export to other nations and other cultures our programs and policies that never worked their wonders?  Why do we want to share with others our failed ideas?

Let’s take a good look at family life in America.  1-out-of-2 marriages fail, far more than any third world nation; more of our kids take drugs than any third world country (including those that supply them); more of our kids are committing suicide than any third world nation.  We spend more money on secondary education than any third world nation and yet most of our doctors, professors, and engineers went to a secondary school in a third world country.   Why do our test scores lag behind most of the industrial world?  I will tell you why:  because we don’t honor, support and protect the family like other nations do, especially third world nations, neighborhoods and families.

We have connected contraceptives with ending poverty, ending abuse, stronger families, success, job opportunities, responsibility, and higher "living" standards. These are all BAD CONNECTIONS.

Instead, we should connect contraceptives with the reality of infidelity, male invincibility, the hyper-sexualization of woman and the obsession towards the ideal body, irresponsible behavior and an increase in STD’s, abortion, suicide and lower standards of living in all categories except material.

St. Bernard of Clairvaux once said, “Hell is full of good wishes and desires.”  Today, we say “The road to hell is paved with good intentions”.  The roads to home may change, but the roads to heaven and hell will never change.   

We say we honor and value families.  If so, then why do we only encourage poor families to limit the number of children they have, but never encourage rich families to have more?  Why is that, if we honor and value the family?  Why do most rich families have just one or two kids?  Can they not afford to send their children to the best schools around?  Can they not provide each one their personal menu and show horse?

Do we really honor and value our families or is it that we care about something else?  

I don’t think we honor and value families like the rest of the world.  Instead, I think we honor and value personal choice; more specifically, choices that make us feel comfortable…“comfortably numb.”  And to not feel guilty about it, we would like to share our numbness with the rest of the world!

Mt 7:15-20 Fruit From The Family Tree

Mt 7:15-20  Fruit From The Family Tree

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Jesus said to his disciples:  “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves.  By their fruits you will know them.”

I was really surprised when I saw him.  He was back with his family and they were happy to have him.  After almost two years of “being dead”, the prodigal son had returned to his senses.  Or had he?

I had good reasons to suspect he was up to no good.  But I wasn’t sure.  Then one night, I received a text message confirming my suspicions.  A member of the family wrote and said, “After a beautiful evening spent together, my brother let his true colors show when he asked mom and dad to loan him a ton of money.  They said no.  At that, he burst out the door throwing a fit (and not a few horrible insults) vowing never to return again.” 

I knew it.  Few people change overnight.

Recently, I had lunch with a man who had a problem on his hands.  He allowed his twenty-five-year-old niece to move into his home with his family.  She said she needed some time to pay off her credit card debts.  She promised it would be for only 10 months.  Well, after two years, five vacations, and almost one thousand dollars spent in a single day at the Dallas Galleria, she’s still living with them.  She was ‘visibly upset’ when told she had to leave in two weeks. 

She didn’t need a place to stay.  She needed a good talk and a kick in the pants!

Making good fruit out of bad trees.  For the longest time now, we’ve been trying to produce good fruit from bad trees.  In other words, we’ve been trying to get good results from bad decisions.  It won’t work.  But we keep trying, and our nation keeps spending billions (maybe even trillions) of dollars fixing problems rather than preventing them.  Let me give you one example out of thousands.  Our government will give free bibles to any inmate that asks for one.  But it won't give a free bible to any student that asks for one.  Why is it?  Why are we so backwards?  Why are we so decadent in our religious intolerance?  When did Jesus Christ ever hurt anyone?  When did the federal government ever hurt anyone?  Ooh…ooh…I know…I know!!!

Making good fruit out of a good tree.  Many Americans think that poor people need handouts.  I agree.  But what kind of handouts do they need?  What handouts did the Irish or Italians, or Jews or Chinese or Koreans receive?  Many!! But none from the federal government.  Instead, the government insisted that they get help from family and friends.  And so, knowingly or unknowingly, government strengthened family ties.  You can still see the remnants of this reality when you visit “Little Italy”, “Chinatown”, “Little Havana”, “Irish Town”, “Little Portugal”, “Little India”, “Greek town” “Little Saigon” (or not so little “Saigon Mall”), etc…

For every good the government does, it demands a break in ties (especially religious ones).  Whereas with families, every good they do ties them closer together. 

Rich people keep telling us that they are better off than the poor.  But if you ask poor people what they think, they will tell you that they are better off than rich people, and in many ways.  In fact, the poor will say (from experience) that if it weren't for them, rich people would find life meaningless!  I think they are on to something.  After all, from my personal conversations with our rich and yuppie families, it seems as though their greatest joys come from helping poor people.  In fact, rich kids tell me they find more pleasure in life when they go on missions rather than when they go to Ft. Lauderdale.  They learn more of life's lessons from poor people than they do from their rich parents!  They're envious of how closely knit the families are.  What do poor people think of all this attention?  Are they surprised to hear it?  No.  They can see it for themselves.

A good tree bears great fruit, regardless of whether or not it is a banana tree or an apple tree or an orange tree.  A poor family bears great fruit just as much as a rich one.  Is one better than the other?  In some ways yes, and in other ways no. 

Of course, you can accuse me of never being poor, or being an idiot, a fanatic, a republican, a libertarian.  But strangely enough, the one thing I cannot be accused of is being wrong.  Go visit a poor, but dignified family.  Ask them what they think.  

We love to do experiments, especially bogus ones.  We love to shoot a bullet through a watermelon to see what result it will have (like we don't know).  When it comes to social engineering experiments, we do the same thing.  Just like an atomic bomb, we drop an idea from the sky (as if the earth was one gigantic lab) and cut and run before we can wait and see.  Most of us will be dead before we see the consequences of our brave new ideas.  We haven't got a clue what to expect or what we will get.  We are a lot more cautious and careful with our environmental decisions than we are with our marriages, families and children.  A farmer knows that if he plants an apple seed, he will get an apple.  If he plants an orange seed, he will get an orange.  It would be ridiculous for the farmer to expect an apple tree from an orange tree.  But for some strange reason we think if we redefine marriage, family and even children, then we should get better than great results on our children and families.  Hmmm.  Interesting. 

What do you think we will get the day we have the best schools ever, the best technology ever, the best government ever, the best social programs (like health care and social security) ever?  What do you think we will get if we spend 1 trillion dollars more on public school education and teachers salaries?  What do you think we will see if we spend 1 trillion more on fitness centers and weight loss clinics?

You know what I think?  Without strong families, strong marriages and a strong faith, we will get the same results you get from a bad tree:  bad fruit.

Money can buy a lot of things, but it can’t produce a loving and faith-filled family.  In fact, it tends to spoil them rotten.