Mk 12:28-34 You Are Not Far

Mk 12:28-34  You Are Not Far

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“One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?”  Jesus replied, “The first is this:  Hear, O Israel!  The Lord our God is Lord alone!  You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.  The second is this:  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”  The scribe said to him, “Well said, teacher.  You are right…”  …When Jesus saw that he answered with understanding, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.”

Jesus said to the scribe, “You are not far from the kingdom of heaven.”  Indeed, he is very close to the kingdom of heaven.  In fact, it is standing right in front of him.   

Jesus is the kingdom of heaven.  Where God is, there is heaven.  Where God is not, there is hell.

Is it possible to love God and hurt Him at the same time?  Yes.  Absolutely.  I experience it all the time and I see it all around me.  A few days ago, a couple asked me to bless their home.  It turned out that the husband and wife were not husband and wife; they were actually boyfriend and girlfriend.  Now, I know they love God.  I saw plenty of crucifixes in their home and images of our Lady of Guadalupe.  But their love for God and for each other is killing Him.  Our sins crucified the Lord.  Remember?

I know a lot of people who love me.  They bake cakes and cookies for me all the time. So they would never imagine in a million years that think their love was actually killing me.  [Just kidding, but you know what I mean.]

The scribe could not have agreed more with Jesus’ response.  He even said to him,  “Well said, teacher.  You are right in saying, ‘He is One and there is no other than he.’  And ‘to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself’ is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” 

It’s so nice to see that they both agreed!  But did you notice how the scribe called Jesus, “teacher”?

The scribe knew the law.  He knew it like the back of his hand.  But he did not apply it well.  For standing in front of him was God, pure love.  Yes, standing in front of Him was the One and only One:  God; standing in front of Him was the best neighbor in the world:  the Messiah, the Savior of the World.  Again, for this reason, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” 

Love God above all things.  How can you love someone you do not know?  Answer:  You don’t.  Instead, what ends up happening, is that you love someone you think you know.  And chances are that someone ends up being you.  The person you say you love but do not know will always be you or the “you” you would like that person to be.  Get it?

“Whoever loves me will keep my word and my Father will love him and we will come to him.”  Let’s never forget the mind boggling journey the Lord made from heaven to earth to stand in front of this man. Now, all he needed to do was to reach out and follow Him.   Would he?  Did he?  I fear he never did since St. Mark never mentions his name. 

How is it possible that someone, so familiar with the law, could not recognize the Lord?  Is this a rare incident?  Hardly.  Unfortunately, this scribe reminds me of a home schooler.  How is it possible that a child who knows his faith inside out doesn’t know God?  [That is, has never experienced God?]

It takes more than just knowing the Lord to love Him.  We start with the Book.  But we can’t end there.  If we do, we will never get near Him. 

Love God above all things, especially your fears.  I have never met an evil person in my life.  Never.  Not yet, at least.  On the other hand, I have met plenty of people, almost all of them Christians, who know the Lord, say they love Him, but live in sin.  Why this internal confusion?  Is it a lack of knowledge or a lack of understanding?  No.  The problem is fear. 

We sin because we are afraid.  We’re afraid of never being loved, and so we settle for less.  We’re afraid of people seeing our mistakes and so we lie.  We’re afraid of getting hurt and so we strike first.  We’re afraid of confronting the brutal truth and so we drink. 

Fear is that one thing we place above God (nearly) all the time.  

Yes, to love God means I must know Him.  But in order to know Him, I must throw myself at Him.  I must set aside my fears and place my life in Him.  How?  By following His commandments!  It takes a leap of faith to follow the Lord’s commandments, especially the two great commandments.  But only then will I experience Him as He truly is:  my Lord and my God, and as an image and likeness of me and my neighbor.   

Then, and only then, will I not be far from Him.

Luke 13:18-21 Young and Humble

Luke 13:18-21  Young and Humble

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Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like?  To what can I compare it?  IT is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden.  When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.”

Yesterday, I received a card from a couple who have been trying hard and praying hard to have a baby for some time now.  It finally happened.  The card read:  “It’s a baby!”  At first it struck me as odd that it didn’t read “It’s a girl” or “It’s a boy.”  But after a while, I finally got it.  They could care less what sex their child was.  They were just happy to have a baby.

Babies are cute.  People love to be around them.  It doesn’t matter what they do in front of us or to us.  They can burp in our face.  They can poop in our arms.  They can throw up all over our shirt.  It doesn’t matter what they do.  Nothing they say or do could ever wipe away the joy in our heart or the smile from our face. 

But when babies grow up, they’re not so cute.  Why is that?  Why do kids become so ugly?  It has nothing to do with their physical size or physical appearance.  it has everything to do with their selfishness. 

When the Lord describes the Kingdom of God as being the size of a mustard seed, what he is describing is not so much its physical dimensions but rather its spiritual conditions.  The reason why the Kingdom of God is so small and so great is because God makes himself small so as to be great.  It is the reason why the Lord said:  If you wish to be great, you must make yourself small. 

Babies get everything they need and want and even more.  Why?  Because they ask for nothing.   I keep telling our school kids that if they want to get more from their parents they need to stop asking for more.

I know some parents who are very "concerned" about their kids because they never ask for anything.  So what do they do?  They keep giving them more and more.  Their kids know the secret.  One student never asked for a car and got a car.  One student never demanded more freedom and got more freedom. 

Interested? 

The rule is simple:  If you want to be loved, then start loving.  If you want to be great, then start serving.   If you want to receive, then stop asking and start giving.

If you think about it, the Lord does not demand much from us, except to love Him and to love our neighbor.  Oh, I forgot.  He also asks us to give Him our sins so that He can give us His love.

Be subordinate.  In his letter to the Ephesians (Eph 5:21-33), St. Paul challenges Church leaders to be “subordinate to Christ”.  He goes one step further and challenges members of the Church to be “subordinate to one another”.  He then demands wives take a leap of faith by being “subordinate to their husbands in everything.”  But like everything St. Paul writes, he demands that we do what we do just like Christ did for us.  It is not enough to love.  We need to love as Christ loves us.

The Church is a “sacrament” of the Body of Christ.  Christians are a “sacrament” of Christ’s continual presence in the world.  Husbands are a sacrament of Christ’s unconditional love and sacrifice for His bride (the Church). 

There is no demanding in any of these relationships, only giving of oneself and dying to self.  These are the conditions that make all relationships possible, powerful, beautiful, amazing and ever young and new… like a new born baby.

Like a child, the Kingdom of God will grow from a small mustard seed to a burning bush, but only if it remains forever young and humble of heart.

Luke 12:13-21 Beware!

Luke 12:13-21  Beware!

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Jesus said to the crowd:  “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”

 

One of the toughest challenges a priest faces is to talk about someone they did not know.  Funeral Masses can be very challenging.  Family members can find it hard to express their loved one’s life.  Friends seem to remember only the most frivolous or superficial (as well as embarrassing) things about the deceased.  The “natural” tendency we have is to turn a eulogy into a stand-up comedy.  Those who do so think they are helping the living out by breaking through a moment of seriousness and sadness with a joke.  Well, it may work, but do we have to break our sadness by just cracking jokes?  Could we not do better? 

Often I need to sit down with family members and friends to ask them to describe the deceased’s life.  Even with that, I don’t get much to work on.  I get more statistics than substance; more stories than significance; more means than ends; more accomplishments than goals.

For example:  A person’s goal in life should never be that he/she remained sober most of their life.  That’s not a goal; it’s a means to an end.   A person remains sober because they want to be a better husband or wife; a more relevant mother or father; a more loving brother or sister; a holy person.  That's the goal. 

I think it would be great if everyone wrote their own obituary.  I think it would be wonderful to let loved ones know, in your own words, what you thought of them.  Do not leave it to others to do it for you.  Why?  Because they don’t know you as well as you know yourself.  They don’t know what is important to you.  And you never know who will end up writing it for you.

A long time ago, I was specifically requested to celebrate a funeral Mass for a man I did not know.  I was honored yet surprised to learn that the family had asked me.  So I asked the family to help me give this man the recognition he deserved.  I asked them to write something down for me.  His ex-wife did it.  I won’t go into the details but it was not helpful.  I did not want his farewell to be his last confession!

Sometimes people consider it important to highlight their loved one’s economic success story; or their hobbies; or what they loved to collect (like beer cans and match boxes or lighters).  They neglect to mention what mattered the most because they don't know what matters most.  But when they do know, it makes all the difference in the world.  

Recently, I performed a funeral for a man who loved to collect things.  In fact, he collected many things.  That was interesting, but was that really important to him?  Did that really describe his life?  Finally, someone mentioned that he cherished his friends.  He never lost a friend.” 

That was it!  That’s what I needed to hear.  Yes, he collected many things in his life, but his greatest collection was his friendships.  He collected friends throughout his entire life and never lost a single one.  He cherished everything and everyone in his life.

What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishments?  In your life, who influenced you the most?  What did your family mean to you?  Who did you listen to the most?  Who should you have listened to?  What did you consider to be important?  If there was anything you could have changed, what would it have been? What advice would you like to give to your loved ones; to others? 

In today’s Gospel, the Lord tells his listeners a parable regarding a man who stored up treasure on earth but forgot about the things that mattered most.   One night he passed away, unexpectedly. God said to the man, “You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?  Thus will it be for the one who stores up treasure for himself but is not rich in what matters to God. 

We do not know the hour or the day in which our journey on earth will end.  It’s good to start thinking about what matters most and to write it all down.  Believe me, this is not just practical advice for the elderly, the sick or the dying.  This is something that we should all be doing, and periodically updating.  Even kids should be doing this.  They could do it in religion class.  It will help them to focus more on what matters the most (God, family and friends) and less on what matters the least:  themselves and being popular.    

Luke 11:5-13 The Year of Faith

Luke 11:5-13  The Year of Faith

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Jesus said to his disciples: …“If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.”

One does not solve a problem by making it bigger. 

As I sat around the dinner table last night with a beautiful family, I had to ask this mom and dad of three kids how they came up with their youngest daughter's name.  I never expected to hear what I heard.  I should have known better.

Facts are not opinions.  That’s what we all learned in school.  Well, the facts didn’t look good for this mom of two, or for her unborn child.  The doctor treating her said she ran the very serious risk of bleeding to death if she continued with her pregnancy; and that her unborn child, if it even survived, would have serious defects.  The doctor pleaded with her to use her better judgment.  He reminded her that she was already the mother of two small children.  Why run the risk for one more child?  Why in the world would she leave the other two motherless? The “logical” conclusion was to abort.   

With so much to lose and with so much pressure to come to terms with “reality”, it is a miracle she remained steadfast.  She refused to have an abortion.   

A few months before she gave birth, she had one last sonogram.  The doctor would not allow her to look at the image of her child.  When she pressed for a reason, the doctor told her, “Just in case you decide to change your mind.”   

Her husband, a good Christian man, had his doubts though.  He did not have her faith. 

The moment her child was born, her doctor began to cry.  This mother of two had given birth to a perfectly normal baby girl.  Mom and dad named her “Faith”.    

A few years later, Faith’s dad became a Catholic.

Today, Faith is a very beautiful, highly intelligent (straight A), playful and creative teen.  While her parents shared stories about her at the dinner table, all she did was smile.  And what an amazing smile she has.  

It's obvious to see that family life would be so different if they did not have their little Faith.  At Sunday Mass, mom and dad still look at her every time the priest, after the consecration, says, “Mystery of Faith”.

Why do I mention this story?  Because today, unbeknownst to me, the Holy Father inaugurated “The Year of Faith”.  I couldn’t believe the coincidence.  I should have known better!

Faith is our response to God’s grace.  I can take it or reject it.  And I do so knowingly or woefully.  Faith is an act of the intellect.  It is not an act of the emotions.  It is not “wishful” thinking.  It is
“thankful” thinking.  I am grateful to Him. 

I can honestly say I believe in God more than I believe in man because I have seen what man can do without God, and what God can do regardless of man.

I am a very logical person, but I am also a person of faith.  I can put the two together like faith and reason, truth and forgiveness, love and enemy, science and God, the mystery of our faith and the mystery of Faith. 

I can love when there is no reasonable reason to and have Faith when there is no logical reason to.

Lord, give us Faith to see what no eye could see, ear could hear and love could not reject.

Luke 9:46-50 An Argument Arose

Luke 9:46-50  An Argument Arose

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An argument arose among the disciples about which of them was the greatest.  Jesus realized the intention of their hearts and took a child and placed it by his side. 

An argument arose.  The truth can be very embarrassing.  Accepting the truth can be very humiliating.  But the sacred writers were neither embarrassed nor ashamed to hide from their readers their weaknesses; that is, those moments when they thought more like men do and less like God does. 

The disciples were arguing about which of them was “the greatest”.  Now, if they were arguing about such things, then for sure they were comparing themselves to each other.  That is, they were measuring each other up according to their own standards, persona, and imagination.  We all tend to do that a lot.  Even though we “hate” when it happens to us, we love to compare ourselves to others.  And when we do that, not only do arguments breakout, but resentment overwhelms us.    

Resentment is an awful thing.  I know because I have experienced it many times in my life.  I’ve gotten a lot better at it over the years.  It used to take me a year to get other a grudge.  Now, it only takes me ten months!!!

Resentment is awful.  It is a psychological autointoxication.  It is a poisoning that comes from within us; it eats away at our flesh, interior life and interior peace.  Resentment is not caused by anyone other than oneself; it is home grown.  It is a self-inflicted wound that we keep opening up time after time after time.

The word “resentment” says it all.  It is the “re-sending” or “re-living” over and over again of an aggression committed against us.  It is a horrible mind game.  The aggression could either be in the form of an action or omission or even circumstance.  We feel resentment when someone, either physically or verbally, insults us.  We feel it when others omit us or give us no recognition or credit.  Finally, we can feel a tremendous amount of resentment towards loved ones - God and friends - due to an illness, physical defect or family/economic situation.

The only way to handle these situations is to think clearly and objectively, and by not exaggerating or embellishing the situation or the incident.

Resentment is never positive.  It is always a negative reaction.  Therefore, it isn’t necessarily the offense that triggers resentment but rather my personal response to it.

It isn’t what others do to us or the mistakes that we make that hurt us, but rather our response to it.

Jesus realized the intention of their hearts. The Lord’s response to his disciples was eye opening.  He took a child, brought it next to him and said to his disciples: “Whoever receives this child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.  For the one who is least among all of you is the one who is the greatest.” 

If there is ever a time when I should feel “jealous” or “envious” or even “resentful” towards another is when they know how to love more, forgive more and give more than I do.  That’s when I should be jealous and work my bottom off to be more loving, more forgiving and more giving.  I should not be having a competition among my peers on who is the greatest.  I should be having a competition on who can be the smallest; the one who can serve the most, if not all.

I doubt the disciples changed overnight.  It takes hard work, faith, hope and love to change.  But by the looks of it and by the humble examples given to us in scripture, they obviously did change, and change for the better.  They became the apple of the Lord’s eye when they were able to finally unite their will to His STEEL will. 

A weak will or character will continue to play an offense even after a great length of time has passed.  Now is the time to stop the chain of feelings!  Give the Lord your heart and allow him to replace it with His simple heart.  Now is the time to “re-send” over and over again the fact that the Lord is more powerful than any of our weaknesses; more loving than anyone’s insults; more knowing than anyone’s omissions.

The Lord knows me.  He knows everything.  He knows me well.  He created me.   Do not let anyone twist you, break you or even confuse you.  Rather, allow the Lord to be the one that builds you and defines you.   

Luke 8:16-18 You Never Know

Luke 8:16-18  You Never Know

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Jesus said to the crowd:  “No one who lights a lamp conceals it with a vessel or sets it under a bed; rather, he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light.”

Early this morning I received a phone call from the emergency line.  It was someone asking what time morning Mass was.  I couldn’t believe it!  This person was calling me on the emergency line for that? “What did you say?” I said.  But before they could repeat the question, I looked at the time on my cell phone.  Now I really couldn’t believe it!  It was 6:20 am and I was still in bed!

On any given day I would have been pretty upset about that phone call.  But this morning, I was extremely grateful.  Why?  Because it woke me up.  I arrived just in the nick of time to celebrate the 6:45 morning Mass.  I couldn’t believe it.

You never know the good you can do.  Take for example the person who called me this morning.  I am convinced they have a lot of faith in priests.  After all, would you call a priest early in the morning on the emergency line just to find out what time Mass is?  I wouldn’t!  I know what kind of person would do something like that:  a humble – very humble – person; a person with a tremendously thick skin and rich faith.

We should all be like that, for you never know just how your faith and goodwill could “save” someone today. 

At the conclusion of today’s Mass, someone came up to me and said, “Father, thank you for being here.  Your homily was exactly what I needed to hear this morning.  Thank you!”  Little did they know how close I was to not being there at all.

You never know the good you can do.  That got me thinking again.  We have been conditioned, one could even say “brainwashed” into thinking that faith is something that should be reserved and privately observed.  What nonsense!

This morning’s call was a wake-up call for me in more than one way.  It reminded me that I am here to feed my sheep, and not to worry so much about feeding anger in the wolves that surround me.

Today’s first reading is from the Old Testament.  It is a classic example of the Old Law:  “Refuse no one the good on which he has a claim…Plot no evil against your neighbor, against one who lives in peace with you…Quarrel not with a man without cause…with one who has done you no harm.”

The Old Law was all about justice.  “Refuse no one the good…HE HAS A CLAIM TO.”  “Plot no evil against your neighbor…THE ONE WHO LIVES IN PEACE WITH YOU.”  Do you see something wrong with this?  Do you see something wrong with being nice to those who are nice to you, and good to those who are good to you?  If you do, then you know the difference between the Old Law of justice and the New Law of love.

Christians are not lambs that live on the safe side.  Christians are lambs that cross to the other side.  They live among the wolves; among their distant relatives.  And this can be very annoying, irritating and considered arrogant by those who live on the other side!  It’s true!  But if one lamb can save one wolf before being devoured by an entire pack of wolves, then it was well worth it.  We know this by our history.  Good always triumphs over evil.  One ray of light is all it takes to break the darkness of the night. 

Far too often we are reluctant to share our faith because we are concerned about “offending” others.  And we feel this way even while the “others” are offending us and gaining ground. 

But the truth of the matter is made clear in Christ’s words and actions.  We are no longer called to have the faith of our Jewish brothers and sisters.  We are no longer restricted by the Law which is found in the Old Testament or in today’s first reading.  We have been set free by the Lord to cross to the other side and visit with sinners, converse with them and save them.

The Law that now governs us is found written in the heart of Jesus Christ.  It is the Law of Love and Light.  The Lord commanded his followers to shine everywhere.  He invited them to be a BIG TARGET; to let people know where you are, where you stand, what you believe in!  And even though the vast majority of people will do whatever it takes to take you out - to blow you out - so be it.  It is still important that you keep the light burning where it can be seen by all and for as long as you can.   

And don’t forget:  like the empty tomb, even a blown out candle can be an eloquent witness to the lasting power of Jesus Christ.

Mk 9:30-37 Incomprehensible

Mk 9:30-37 Incomprehensible

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Jesus and his disciples began a journey through Galilee, but he did not wish anyone to know about it.  He was teaching his disciples and telling them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill him, and three days after his death the Son of Man will rise.”  But they did not understand the saying, and they were afraid to question him.” 

What did the disciples not understand?  When the Lord told them that he would be handed over to men and killed, what did they not understand?  Was it the obvious?  No.  It was the incomprehensible. 

You see, atheists say that there is a lack of evidence of God.  Isn’t it obvious that there isn’t?  Isn’t it obvious that there isn’t a lack of evidence of God but rather a lack of reflection by man? 

For example, let’s say I went to my computer and typed the following:  UR2GR82B4GO10.   At first glance, you might say that these letters and numbers were randomly put together.  But upon further reflection, you might actually figure out that these letters and numbers are actually in a certain order that express a certain sentiment.  In fact, they may actually be a teenager's way of writing “You are too great to be forgotten”. 

The Apostles understood the obvious.  They understood what Jesus was telling them; that is, that He would be arrested and handed over and killed by men.  The Apostles understood that.  But what they did not understand is what it meant.  Why?  Why would the Son of God allow himself to be arrested and put to death?  Why would He do that?  Why not just run away? 

What was the Lord communicating to His Apostles by telling them that He would die for them? 

My dear friends, this is so important.  Understanding this is like opening a treasure.  If someone is willing to die for you, what are they telling you?  Isn’t it obvious?  Isn’t it obvious what God is telling you, that YOU ARE WORTH IT! 

You are worth all the pain, all the fear, all the hurt, and all the suffering.  You are worth my life!

Today at Mass, I asked all the fifteen-year-olds to raise their hands.  There were six out of seven hundred.  Most people in the congregation could not believe it.  I did!  I didn’t have a hard time believing that at all!!!  Why?  Because I just finished giving a retreat to a bunch of fifteen year olds.  At a certain point in the retreat, I asked them to write down on a piece of paper what they were thinking.  This is what they wrote.

1.        I feel like I don’t have any friends.  Why do fifteen-year-olds feel like they have no friends?  Answer:  Because they don’t know Jesus Christ.  Jesus said to his disciples, “I call you friends” (Jn 15:15).  Why are our kids committing suicide?  Because they don’t know Jesus Christ; they don't know the magnitude of their worth! 

2.       I feel worthless.  St. John wrote, “For God so loved the world that He sent His Son to save the world” (Jn 3:16).  With God all things are possible (cf. Jn 15:5).  We are dependent on Jesus for life, but we are also dependent on Jesus for our lives to matter.  Why do our kids feel worthless?  Because they don’t know Jesus Christ.

3.       I feel totally alone.  Jesus said, “I will be with you till the end of time” (Mt 28:20).  Why do our kids feel alone or abandoned?  Because they don’t know Jesus Christ. 

4.       I feel like I will never live up to my parent’s expectations.  Jesus said, “Be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).  To know Christ Jesus is to be perfect.  To believe Him, to love Him, and to imitate Him is the Father’s idea of perfection. 

5.       I don’t know who I am.  St. Paul felt the same way, but when he changed his life he found his life and said, “It is no longer I who live in me, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20).

The Apostles found the Lord “incomprehensible” because they were thinking not as God thinks but as men think.  As they were journeying to Galilee, they were arguing along the way as to who was the greatest.  The Lord sat them down and told them, “If anyone wishes to be first, he shall be the last of all and the servant of all.” 

The Lord will remain hidden to me as long as my life remains hidden to me.  The Lord’s words and actions will remain “incomprehensible” to me as long as I remain arrogant and obnoxious and belligerent to Him.  No wonder the Lord took a child in his hands and said, “Whoever receives one child such as this in my name, receives me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but the One who sent me.” 

To be a believer in the Lord requires more than just having feet.  It requires humility.  Eyes that see miracles and ears that hear amazing words may be enough to acknowledge and recognize someone, but it is generally not enough to understand them and love them.  At least it wasn’t enough for the Apostles.  They needed more, much more.  They needed to witness for themselves how great God’s love for them is.  And they got what they needed.  They witnessed it in such an intense way that it took them years to fully comprehend it.  But they did.  And they continued to transmit that intense love not only by their words and sacrifices but by their own death’s as well. 

To be a Christian means to be like the Son of God, who loved the world so much that He came into the world to show us for himself how much we are worth. 

Incomprehensible!

Luke 7:1-10 For Whatever Reason

Luke 7:1-10  For Whatever Reason

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A centurion had a slave who was ill and about to die…When he heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and save the life of his slave.  They approached Jesus and strongly urged him to come, saying, “He deserves to have you do this for him, for he loves our nation and he built the synagogue for us.”  And Jesus went with them.

He deserves to have you do this for him.  The elders approached Jesus and strongly urged him to help this man out.  But why?  Why were they so insistent on a centurion getting help?  St. Luke leaves no room for doubt.  It is clear:  The elders sought the Lord’s help because the centurion had helped them out.  He had built their synagogue; he had power; he had money; he had authority; he had friends in high places.

But none of these reasons account for the reason why the Lord helped his man out (let alone the elders).  He helped them out for the same exact reason why he helps us out:  For no reason.

Do I have to have a reason for being kind to someone?  Do I have to have a reason for loving someone?  Do I have to have a reason to stay in touch with someone?  Do I have to have a reason to help someone?

Woe to you, hypocrite…if you help someone for selfish or prideful reasons!  Woe to you, you pagan…if you only help those who help you.  Woe to you, you Pharisee, if you only speak to those who agree with you!  It is better for you to have no reason at all than all the reasons in the world! 

In today’s Gospel, I can see how reason can get in the way of faith; how it can set-up a road block, a  barrier or a wall that separates me from another.  If I must always have a reason to show my love, give my time and my attention, then I allow my heart to be conquered by my brain.  But my love was never meant to be held hostage by what is physical; nor was it ever meant to be limited by another.  Love was created to be an extension of His hands, His works, His words, His heart, His mission!  Love was never created to be chained to a reason; it was created to be unlimited as well as unconditional.  The world was not created out of necessity.  It was created out of no necessity.  I was not given life because I was necessary.  I was given life out of no necessity.  Love is to be given freely.  Cost whatever it costs.  Love was given without charge to be given away without cost. 

Love overflows.  This explains why the Lord reacted the way He always did.  His reaction explains the reason why we should always get involved:  for no reason at all.  The beauty of Christian love lies in the power it has to push wide open the doors of our reason and allow each and every one of us to penetrate the mystery of faith. 

Just say the word and my servant shall be healed.   The centurion’s response to Christ’s love created a challenge (or problem) for all of us.  Do I have the faith that he had?  Do I appreciate and esteem God’s authority?  Do I demand that God meet me half-way?  Do I need to have a say in everything?

We love to be the one in charge.  We love to be the one who has all the authority.  We want to be the ones who set the rules.  We want to able to define the rules whenever we want.  We like things done our way.  We want people to bend over backwards for us.  But the centurion understands authority very well.  He knows he commands one hundred men.  But he also knows he’s not God.   He knows and respects that he is under the Lord’s authority. 

This truth may be difficult for us, but it should be obvious to all of us.  To walk I must roll out of bed, stand on my feet and move one foot in front of the other.  There’s no way around it.  It is what it is. 

The same holds true for being a Christian.  If you wish to be blessed, then you must pick up your cross, carry your cross and follow the Lord in his footsteps.  There’s no way around it.  It is what it is. 

And in this case, it is what it is for a very good reason!         

Luke 6:20-26 Is There Ever A Dull Moment?

Luke 6:20-26  Is There Ever A Dull Moment?

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Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours…Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 

Life is amazing!  It is full of surprises.  But we often forget that the same surprise can be both good and bad; a blessing and a curse; sweet and bitter. 

Beauty is a gift.  But it is also a curse.  Wealth brings people together.  It can also keep them apart.  Love is joyful.  But it is also painful.  Poverty can be a blessing just as much as plenty can be a curse!  Friends can keep me all together.  But they can also tear me apart.  Being much talked about can quickly turn into being much gossiped about!

Is there ever a dull moment?

Sometimes it just feels like you can’t win!  I went to a birthday party and was surprised by the reaction of a seven-year-old when his uncle handed him a five dollar bill.  The child looked at it and then turned to him and said, “But I already have one!!!”   I thought to myself, “Boy, at that age, I may not have been able to add apples together, but I definitely knew how to add money together!”

It seems like there’s no winning, ever. 

How quickly peace can elude us.  How quickly a dark thought can invade us.   

Today’s Gospel paints an even bleaker picture of life.  If you are poor, then you are blessed.  If you are rich, then beware!  What is going on?  Is there ever a peaceful moment? 

There is.  But it takes faith.  It takes realism.  It takes preparation.  It takes vision.

The world took billions of years to establish itself.  And now that it has, it is gradually dying a slow and decaying death.  It took years for us to grow up. And now that we have, we are gradually dying a slow and decaying death.

Poverty is not an illness.  Misery is an illness.  And the miserable (Les Miserable) can be anyone:  King and peasant; young and old; rich and poor; beautiful and ugly; employed and unemployed. 

But no faithful are miserable.  A faithful person may be a poor person, rich person, young person, elderly person, beautiful person, ugly person, employed person, unemployed person.  But they are not a miserable person.   In fact, they are a loving person.

The reason why poverty is with us and is here to stay is the same reason why death is with us and is here to stay.  It is a part of the plan:  part creation, part sin, part life and part human.  It is a part of our falling down and growing up.  Think about it.  Why does the world give us a sense of beauty?  To watch it fade away?  Why is strength and health a thing to marvel at?  To experience weakness and illness?  Why does man begin to walk? To crawl again?  Why climb up a mountain if tomorrow I will be crawling out of bed!  Why does my body insist on being taken care of,  while at the same time making the necessary preparations to put itself to an end?  

Our world was created with both ends tying a knot and settling a score.  We are born into this world with nothing.  We die to this world empty handed.  We are placed in a womb.  We die and are placed in a hole. 

Yes, all things pass away, but not out of tragedy; rather, for an entirely different reason.  It is not to give birth to tragedy; it is to give birth to life and love.

Why is it that “We don’t know what we have until it is gone?”  Why must this be the prelude, the necessary opening act, to living and loving?  It doesn’t have to be!   But if I do not ever give myself, then I will never find myself.  Only if I give myself, will I find myself.  Only if I give myself, will I experience love.  Only when all “things” pass, will I witness heavenly things. 

When the music stops, why do we stop singing?  When the music stops, why do we stop dancing?  The lover does not wait for the beloved to love.  He does not wait for words of love before he gives a kiss.  The lover loves before the other.  Why give so much importance to what is given when I can give what must be given?  I do not need to have money to loved or loving.  I do not need to have music in order to sing a lullaby.  I do not need to be beautiful to be wonderful.   I do not need to be loved in order to love. 

The Lord came into the world to remind us of many things.  One being… that there is never a dull moment in life and love.