Luke 6:27-38 The High Road

Luke 6:27-38  The High Road

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Jesus said to his disciples:  “To you who hear I say, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”

On a day of mourning to remember our fallen heroes of one of the most cowardly and vicious attacks on civilians, Islamists, from around the Middle East, began to surround our embassies (and consulates) and attack and kill our staff.

I have yet to hear a single cleric or religious figure of any importance in the Islamic world apologize on behalf of the Muslim people for the September 11^th, 2001 attack on innocent human life.  And yet, while ambassador to Libya, Christopher Stevens, was being dragged (dead or alive we do not know) across the streets of Benghazi, the Administration of the United States of America was quick to apologize for a film attacking the prophet Mohammad and Islam. 

One would hope we were taking the higher road, the more “Christian” road.  But I doubt it.  I seriously doubt it.  I seriously doubt it because we have done everything humanly possible to make ourselves as much as possible a non-Christian nation.  Wake up America!  We are still strong, but for how long?  We are in debt, tremendous debt, a debt that will eventually cripple us.  Our children grow up weak, pale, alone and confused because they live in homes (families) where there is no strong foundation to keep them from sinking; no values or morals holding them up; no absolute truths to keep them grounded; no dad AND mom to building them up; no God to keep them going; no authentic and supernatural love to pick them up!     

We don’t need Muslims to tear our flag!  We’ve been doing it ourselves, and not just symbolically, but really!  We’ve been tearing our nation apart by tearing marriage, family and children apart.  We’ve been tearing God out of our nation.  Can you believe that He was actually booed, for the first time in American history, at a national political party convention?  Individual victories are becoming national defeats!  When an entire classroom cannot pray because one student does not want to pray, that's a national defeat!  When a entire football team cannot pray because one fan does not want to pray, that's a national defeat! 

We've been tearing up our nation for a long time now: “Separation between Church and state!” [RIP] “No prayer or moment of silence allowed in our schools!”  [RIP]  “No religious displays, no Christmas carols, no Christmas greetings on public property!” [RIP, RIP, RIP] 

Do you really think our government is “turning the other cheek”, or “loving” our enemies out of love for God?  Give me a break!  If religion is to play no role in our national affairs, then what drives our government leaders to apologize?  Isn't it a little obvious?  We didn’t apologize because we took the higher road, we apologized because we will do whatever it takes to accommodate our immediate interests.   This is not the world of diplomacy.  This is the world of failed diplomacy. 

Secular countries are weak countries.  Spain is a secular country and as soon as it was attacked by terrorists, it withdrew.  France is one of the most secular countries in the world.  It elected a weak man, a socialist.  And yesterday it passed a law that taxes the rich by as much as 75%!  Why so much?  Well, how else could the government continue to spend even more than it has? 

What egalitarian or parasite wouldn't elect a socialist?  Who wouldn’t elect someone who promises them everything…and for free!  But nothing is for free.  If there is a hand that feeds you, then you better raise your hand in support of that hand!  No one bites the hand that spoon-feeds them. 

The Lord did not speak these words of paradox from a position of weakness.  He spoke them from a position of strength.  When He picked up His cross; when He died on the Cross, He showed the world that He would not compromise, under any conditions or circumstances, His principles, His morals, His values, His teachings, His Father, His God, His mission, His life!

That is what we should be insisting on when we dialogue with our enemies.  We should speak from a position of strength, not of fear!  We should seek to understand while at peace and never when attacked.  We should never give our enemies the impression that violence pays.

It appears as though we deal with our national debt the same way we deal with a crisis in foreign policy:  poorly.  If we do not pay now (or pay attention now), than others will pay.  And boy will they pay! 

Carrying the Cross is paying the price and taking the high road!

Lk 6:12-19 People and Things

Lk 6:12-19  People and Things

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Jesus departed to the mountain to pray, and he spent the night in prayer to God.  When day came, he called his disciples to himself, and from them he chose Twelve, whom he also named Apostles.

Right now I can’t think of a single list I ever made when I was in school.  I know I made honor roll a few times.  I made the soccer team too, but that’s only because there were so few kids that signed up for it.

It seems as though success is measured by having your name added on some kind of list.  And we’ve got plenty of lists.  Top ten artists, Fortune 500, etc… There are lists for all sorts of people.  There’s even a death row list available on the Internet.

Yesterday, I read in the newspaper that for the first time in almost fifteen years - and the third time ever- a Christian artist, TobyMac, made it to the top of the mainstream music list.  Wow!  What took so long?  Maybe the question should really be, “Why aren’t inspirational songs the “mainstream”, the norm?  Why isn’t the Good News more appealing than all the depressing bad news? 

TobyMac’s success really rests in his unrelenting determination to be the best Christian witness he can be.  He attributes his success more to his prayer life and faith in God, rather than in the sudden acceptance of the Good News or good taste.

The reason why Christian music is not as popular as it should be lies more in the lyrics than in the music, and in our general and childish attitude towards people and things. 

Little girls used to tell their father’s that they wanted to marry them.  Little boys used to tell their mom’s that they wanted to marry them.  Now, we have little boys and little girls telling their parents that they want to marry their dog.  Thus the beginning of the fall of the next taboo!  [Just kidding…I hope!].      

We honestly think we should have people like we have things:  as our possession and at our disposal. 

There’s a song that I really enjoyed listening to called Pay Phone.  I liked it for the same reason so many young people like it:  for the rhythm.  But then I read the lyrics.  They’re as explicit as they’re desperate, the typical symptoms of childish hysteria.  You see, when we think we can have people like we have things and can’t have people like we have our things, we become explicit towards them as well as desperate; Oh how we become desperate for their attention!  We write countless e-mails, send countless texts, leave gifts and notes all the time; we look for them, we wait for them, etc…

The group (Maroon) must have recorded two separate versions of it:  one for the radio and one for the iPod.  But both versions transmit a sense of despair in the lack luster response of people.

Now, what is even more interesting than theory is actual human behavior.  I’m sure that in their oversold concerts they do not resort to the toned down version of their song, but rather use the explicit one.  I am also sure that when the song approaches the explicit part, the young crowd bursts in, louder than at any other moment of the song. 

Why?  Because we are the most spoiled children E-V-E-R!  We live in a nation where we have so much and yet, we have the audacity to think that life rots!  Only a child who thought they could have it all, without working hard at all, would believe "that fairytales are full of sh*t".  Only a child who thought they could buy it all, consume it all, inhale it all, would get "f’ing sick by another love song!"  [N.B.  These are not my words].    

These pitiful and superficial sentiments of anger and disgust with people and the world are simply the resurgence of a childish act of a spontaneous outburst from a spoiled rotten childhood whose delusional dream of having it all, including a world that revolved around them, led to a feeling of nausea. Just like what happens when a merry-go-round goes a bit too fast.

Most love songs and fairy-tales are as honest as life.  That Cinderella has a deadline is no different than many of us who live by deadlines! Fairy-tales remind us that there are limits in life and with people; but if we do things well, from the very beginning, we might just finish well at the very end.  But we have to do things right, which is almost never my way of doing things.

Judas was living a fairy-tale-come-true.  Judas was immersed in love.  But if love doesn’t change you and a fairy tale doesn’t inspire you, then boy are you going to be in trouble!  And when we find ourselves in trouble, in a broken relationship, we can become very explicit and desperate.

Fairy tales and loves songs are not full of it.  We are.

Luke 5:33-39 What To Do To...?

Luke 5:33-39 What To Do To...?

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The scribes and the Pharisees watched [Jesus] closely to see if he would cure on the Sabbath so that they might discover a reason to accuse him…they discussed together what they might do to Jesus.

If you spend some time with someone, you are bound to get to know them.  Once you get to know them, you are bound to get upset with them.  From a distance, they can do no wrong.  Up close and personal, all they seem to do is wrong. 

This is the paradox of friendship.  In order to make a friend, you have to get to know them.  Once you get to know them, you know everything about them.  Once you know everything about them, you can easily get annoyed by them.  That’s why very few brothers or sisters are very good friends.  It’s not because we didn’t get to pick them.  It’s because we got to know them! 

To be a friend means to love a friend.  To love a friend means to forgive a friend.  A friend is not someone you find.  It is someone you forgive.   

This morning I told a group of high school senior girls that the best way to prepare for College life is to invite their little sister back into their room.  What better way is there to prepare for dorm life; for a roommate you didn’t pick!  What a great way to prepare for someone who will snoop into your affairs; complain night and day; and have little to no respect for your property, feelings or ideas.

Friends do not make us better prepared for college life (or life).  Family does! 

The scribes and Pharisees were watching the Lord closely to see if they could accuse him of something, anything.  Boy, that must have taken a lot of work!  It couldn’t have been an easy task.  And there lies the irony of it all:  the scribes and Pharisees were working hard, harder than the Lord, on the Sabbath!

But they couldn’t find anything.  So what to do? 

Rather than looking to be better or holier, the scribes and Pharisees looked for something – anything - to accuse the Lord of.  And the Lord knew it.  That’s why He went along his way and spent very little time with them.  Sure, He talked to them and dealt with them, but He gave very little of Himself to them, and this irritated the hell in them!  While the Lord continued to cure the sick and heal the sinners, the scribes and Pharisees continued to attack Jesus: viciously and aggressively.  They called him names.  They twisted his actions.  They distorted his messages.  In the meantime, the Lord continued doing what He did best.

What do you do when someone does you wrong?  Do you leave them alone?  Do you try to help them?  Or do you strike back in a vicious manner?  We all know what the Lord did.

What do you do when someone doesn’t fall into your trap?  Do you leave them alone?  Do you learn your lesson?  Or do you strike back in a vicious manner?  We all know what the Pharisees and scribes did.

Does name calling or throwing mud at someone’s name or reputation make you a better person?  Does calling someone a bigot, a racist, an extremist or a chauvinist make you feel any better?  Would it have made the Lord any better?  Did it make the Pharisees any better?

There are some people in this world that, regardless of how much you try to help them, will end up attacking you.  Christ knows!  The perfect man experienced it himself.   Would you expect anything different; especially you being imperfect?

Honest people make mistakes and give us a great opportunity to rise above the mud and forgive… just as we hope to be forgiven.    

To forgive someone does not require a lot of time.  Don’t expect too much time to be given.

Lk 4:31-37 Pushing And Pulling

Lk 4:31-37  Pushing And Pulling

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Jesus went down to Capernaum, a town of Galilee…In the synagogue there was a man with the spirit of an unclean demon… Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet!  Come out of him!”  Then the demon threw the man down in front of them and came out of him without doing him any harm… News of him spread everywhere in the surrounding region.

This morning I celebrated Mass at St. Monica and Ursuline Academy.  I was surprised to see that most of the smiles on the children’s faces had already vanished.  They haven’t been in school for more than two weeks and already the enthusiasm and joy have dimmed away.

School can be a very violent place.  Teachers can be very violent.  What teachers do to their students is very similar to what people do to doors?  They push and pull at them ALL DAY LONG.

Teachers, like coaches, are constantly pushing, slamming or jamming stuff into children’s brains and then demanding they give it back.  Coaches love to explain new plays and tactics to their players only to challenge them to give it all they got!

But what teachers do is nothing less than what we are expected to do throughout our life.  Our entire live may be summed up as pushing and pulling.  Or, in more familiar words:  giving and receiving. 

This is the meaning of life.  This even explains how we got here.  Doesn't the doctor's tell every mother:  "Push!!!" while he pulled?  This is the reason why we are here, and this is what we do…ALL THE TIME.   Even breathing consists of pulling in and pushing out.  It’s not only to our benefit; it is to the benefit of all.  It is what all living beings do.  Even God does it!  He is constantly giving and receiving. 

Christ came into the world to give himself to the world.  He came to give, to give himself, and he expects us to give back as well. 

At every Mass, we receive the body, blood, soul and divinity of the Lord in the Eucharist.  He gives Himself to us because He expects us to be givers like Himself to others.    This is the only reason why He allows us to receive Him:  for our benefit and for the benefit of others. 

The Lord went to Capernaum to heal a man who was sick; a man who was being tormented by an evil spirit.  What this evil spirit consisted of could have been anything:  a fear, a thought, a past event, a recurring nightmare.  Regardless, this man was living hell on earth.  The Lord came to Him and pulled out of him whatever was in him, and gave him back his life.  In return, word spread like wildfire throughout the region of what the Lord had done.  The healed man was giving to others what he had received.

Why are we here?  Why do we breathe?  This morning a small child wrapped in his mother's arms said, "To be happy!"  Amen to that!  But what makes us happy?  Is it just receiving?  Is it just giving?  The answer is giving and receiving; loving and being loved.  It’s that simple.  It's that remarkable.  And what is even more remarkable is the following:  the deeper you breathe in, the more you breathe out.  When you receive more, you must give more. 

In order to live, we must breathe in and breathe out.  In order to live happily ever after, we must give and receive.  Let’s all take a deep breath today.  Let’s give more than just ourselves.  Let’s give the Lord, the source of all blessings, of all life, of all meaning and purpose, to those around us. 

Get rid of the devil and allow the Lord to come in.

Mt 20:1-16 Feeling Cheated?

Mt 20:1-16  Feeling Cheated?

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Jesus told his disciples this parable:  “The Kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out at dawn to hire laborers for his vineyard.  After agreeing with them for the usual daily wages, he sent them into his vineyard…He went out again…at five o’clock…he said to them, ‘You too go into my vineyard’….When it was evening the owner of the vineyard gave them their pay, beginning with the last and ending with the first.’  When those who had started about five o’clock came, each received the usual daily wage.  So when the first came, they thought they would receive more…”    

The Lord directed this parable to his disciples.  Interesting…  They must have been having a hard time with something…or maybe with some people. Maybe they were having a hard time dealing with those the Lord was dealing with.  Maybe they didn’t like the people the Lord was making friends with. 

Well, based on the audience the Lord addressed this parable to: his disciples, and based on the theme (envy and generosity) of this parable, I get the impression the disciples had forgotten what type of men they once were. 

Just a few days ago, we read how Peter spoke out about giving up everything to follow the Lord.  You can tell just by reading it how frustrated he must have been.  But with whom?  With what?  Was it the hard work?  Was it the long hours?  Was it the fast pace?  Was it the poverty, chastity and obedience?  Probably.  And most likely it was all of the above!  After all, it’s hard to be holy and to be surrounded by holiness!  It’s hard to put on a smile when you’re not happy!  It’s hard not to get mad when you are sad or when everybody is as happy as can be! 

The disciples passed through many towns and visited many families.  They must have seen towns that reminded them of home and families that reminded them of their own.  Every town, every family, every day was a reminder of a way of life that was gone for good.

Gone for good!  This phrase has more than one meaning.  Typically, we think of it as meaning something is lost forever.  But it can also mean that something is sacrificed for the sake of goodness (righteousness).  I have a feeling, a gut instinct from personal experience, that the Lord may have spoken this parable because His disciples had some deep seated jealousy issues.    When Peter asked the Lord what he and the others would get for following Him, I can’t believe he was not pleased with the Lord’s answer.  But then they must have gotten a little annoyed when they noticed sinners getting the same promises (and treatment) as well!  Hey, what’s going on?  We’ve slaved for you the entire day, and now you are telling sinners, who come to you - out of the blue - for a quick minute, that their sins are forgiven???  There’s way too much lovey-dovey going on here!!!   

At times, I have questioned myself with a very envious question.  “Must I always be good?  After all: if long-time sinners, who repent at the last moment of their life, will get what I will receive, then why must I always be good? 

I don’t think I am the only one who suffers from this type of envy.  Typically, you see it manifest itself in “holy” people who are kind of “mean” people.  They can’t stand the new parishioner (Who do they think they are?) being treated with just as much relevance as the longtime parishioner (We’ve been here since the parish began!).  Or the new pastor coming in and changing just about everything.

Anyways…the answer to my envy is found in my sinfulness and in my ridiculousness.  “Must I always be good?”  is a ridiculous question.  It’s like asking “Must I always be blessed?”  Oh my goodness!  Take it!  Take all that you can!  Don’t ask any questions!   

Sin is not worth the time spent.  In fact, it is a waste of time and of a life.  Ignore what the media says and listen to those who have lived in sin.  They are the first to admit this truth.  And this is my personal experience as well.  We are the first to realize that neither lust nor one night stands can compare to the thrill of love and marriage.  We are the first to regret the bad habits acquired so quickly and the life-time required battling them. 

Feeling cheated?  Don’t.  When it comes to Christ’s blessings, stop comparing yourself with others.  Stop valuing yourself by asking what others received.  We are all unworthy workers.  The question will never be if the Lord cheated me; the question really is why am I so blessed? 

I don’t question a teacher who questions me.  I question a teacher who never questions me.  If the Lord does not give me what I deserve, then it’s because He has given me much more than I deserve; starting with the last reasons to give to me (my sins) and ending with the first reasons to give to me(His grace).

Being upset and cross is really just about my sins and His Cross! 

The Lord’s giving outweighs our worth across the spectrum.  May we be the first to be content with His generous heart.  Let’s give Him the benefit of our doubts.  Let’s be the first to love Him and the last to sin against Him.