Luke 5:27-32 Calling All Sinners To God

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Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the customs post.  He said to him, “Follow me.”  And leaving everything behind, he got up and followed him.

In his most recent Lenten message, Pope Benedict wrote that “Christians are people who have been conquered by Christ’s love.”  It is His love for us that attracts us towards Him. 

Jesus saw a tax collector and said to him, “Follow me.”  In today’s Gospel passage, St. Luke offers his readers no stunning arguments, no attractive incentives, and no remarkable deeds for Levi’s sudden and abrupt career change.  "Follow me" is all there is.  And maybe there’s a reason for it.  Maybe, that’s all there needs to be. 

It's clear that Levi was not swayed by Christ’s words or philosophy, but by Christ’s invitation, which is an invitation to love as He loves.  This obviously caught Levi by surprise, really by surprise. 

Love catches all of us by surprise, and the only way to respond to it is with humility. 

Levi knew who he was.  He knew what he was doing.  But none of that mattered for the Lord.  There’s something special about that.  Regardless of the brutal facts, love conquers all things. 

Like Richard Dawkins, I am sure our tax collector had experienced sex before.  But I doubt he had ever experienced love before.  Well, now he did.  He had been conquered by Christ's love.  He got up and followed him.  

People who do not "get us" do not get this!  How could anyone leave everything?  How could anyone be happy like this? Good questions.  Actually, very good questions.  And you would hope that those who do not get us would actually ask us.  But they never do.   Instead, they dedicate their time and life in helping others avoid following Him.  They do this by simply ridiculing Him and His followers, and prostituting the world with offers no one could ever refuse!  They fill God’s presence, his grace, with disgrace and mace.

Levi became a new man.  Following up on the Lord’s invitation, he drafted his own invitation in honor of the Lord.  He “gave a great banquet for the Lord in his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were at table with them.”  Imagine the site!  Converts are a sight.  Only Christ is capable of bringing the oddest of characters together, including foes.  Only Christ could bring Chris Matthews (from MSNBC) and Sean Hannity (from FOXNEWS) together.  Only Christ could bring Nancy Pelosi and Newt Gingrich together!  Christ’s table is filled with those who are politically to the left and to the right, Kings and peasants, rich and poor; those who are enemies!   

Christ conquers all things, including sinners.  His love, dignity, compassion and strength continue to conquer even today.  All it takes is humility:  to acknowledge someone who loves better than I do; cares more than I do; and who has more faith in me than I do.

Calling all sinners to God.  Resolution:  I will invite someone to come to Church this Sunday.  If they say “yes”, great!  If they say “no”, it’s not your fault.  You did what you were supposed to do.  You gave an invitation.

Mt 9:14-15 Why Do We Fast?

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Jesus answered the disciples of John, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?  The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

When the Lord (the bridegroom) is not around, how do I behave?

Yesterday afternoon I was driving down Walnut Road.  It was rush hour and the traffic was terrible – bumper to bumper - for miles.  As we were all inching along our way, I noticed a car at an intersection trying to get onto Walnut.  I stopped and waved to the driver to pull out in front of me.  But as soon as I did, the driver behind me started beeping his horn.  The noise came as such a surprise to me that I automatically stepped on the gas and moved forward. 

When I realized what had happened, I became furious!  I thought to myself, “Hey buddy!  Where do you think you’re going?  We’re stuck in traffic!”  

There was so much I wanted to say to him.  And to be honest, I wanted him to know just how disappointed and angry I was. But I couldn’t.  After all, I’m a priest!  So, when he finally passed me, I just looked at him.  Well, he looked as well and did a few other things.  Again, I was furious!  But what could I do?  I’m a priest!  Let’s not forget what brought all this on:  I was trying to let another car pull onto Walnut Road, that’s it. 

Now if this is the reaction of a 21^st century human being, then has any real progress been made since the dawn of man?  For some, yes.  For others, no.  You can guess who they are and are not.  Just read the vulgar, disgusting and profane comments made below any Internet article regarding the Holy Father or the Catholic Church.  Go ahead.  Now read the comments below any articles regarding Pro-Choice advocates, gay-marriage advocates and anti-Christian artists and musicians.   It’s not fair.  It's not fair at all!  But it's not supposed to be fair.  It's supposed to be obvious.

Which got me thinking:  Why are people so profane and vulgar?  Why do they love to mock others?  Why do they like a good scandal?  Why do they use the sufferings of others to advance their own personal vendettas?  I think it’s because it makes them look better than they really are; after all, if you can demonize your opponent, then you don’t even have to defend your position!

Here we are, in the 21^st century, and still, when it comes to living with others, not much has changed.  Love of enemy is just as hard today as it was for our ancestors.  Forgiving seven-times-seventy times is just as awkward as it was seven-times-seventy years ago.  Turning the other cheek to an atheist seems as impossible today as it was two thousand years ago to a Roman. 

And though we should lament over the fact that some very important things have gotten worse over the years, we can still rejoice in the fact that some things have never changed.  For example:  the truth has never changed, and it will never change.  Yes, we can walk away from it, deny it and even choose to ignore it, but just as a falling tree makes noise in the forest- regardless of any observers – so to the truth remains the truth regardless of any followers.

Over the years, we have tried to change the meaning and purpose of Lent and fasting.  Lent has become the season for self-improvement, not self-denial.  Fasting has become exercise routines and diets to strengthen one’s heart, not change one’s heart.

But God made it clear what He considers to be fasting:  “This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:  releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke, sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.”

Now who said religion was barbaric, archaic, fantastical and superstitious?  Who said it wasn’t practical?  Who said that Judeo-Christian precepts and laws were no longer useful? 

Did you notice that not one of these “commandments”, mentioned by God, is mandated by U.S. law?  I hope so.  After all, you're not breaking the law if you don't share your food.  You won't be thrown in prison for not clothing the naked.  It's not against the Law to turn your back on your brother or neighbor.  But for God, it is against the Law.  It's a sin.

“Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.  Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me.” (Ps 51:3-4)

Resolution:  Today I resolve to visit or call someone who is in prison, sick, alone or in need of assistance. 

Luke 9:22-25 Choose Life, Choose Death

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Jesus said to his disciples:  “…If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.  What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”

So which is it?  Life or Death?  I’m confused.  In today’s first reading, Moses tells the people that they should choose life (cf. Dt 30: 15-20).  In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus tells the people that they should choose death.  Well then, which one is it?

We should know by now the paradox of the Gospel:  Jesus Christ.

If Christ is a paradox, then life is one as well, for the giver of life is the author of life. 

We all have the very strong instinct inside of us to survive; to do whatever it takes to survive, and yet we don’t ridicule those who have laid down their lives for others.  In fact, we mourn their loss. 

For those of faith, death is gain, not loss.  For those of faith, death is not the worst thing that can happen; dying on the wrong side is the worst thing that can happen. 

As a priest I’ve seen a lot, heard a lot and learned a lot.  I’ve learned a lot about people, especially at funerals.  I’ve learned that being right all the time is not as important as being loving all the time.  I’ve seen how people react to loss.  I’ve heard many eulogies.  I’ve learned that when the deceased loved “little”, the eulogies were filled with sorrow, unanswered questions; and remarkably, wise-cracks and jokes that were almost belittling the deceased person – of course, not in a distasteful manner, but in a very subtle and fine-tuned manner.  But I’ve learned that when the deceased loved a lot, their eulogies were filled with joy, gratitude and plenty of stories and examples of how the deceased impacted their life and how the joke was on them! 

What is the best way to live?  To die to oneself.  What does it mean to die to oneself?  To love unconditionally.  How does one love unconditionally?  Humbly.  Honestly.  By imitating the love of Jesus Christ; that is, by placing worldly treasures (such as pride, vanity and sensuality) below love of God, love of Church and love of neighbor. 

Like Moses, like the Apostles, Pope Benedict XVI dedicated his entire life to serving the People of God.  While as the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Ratzinger offered his resignation three times to John Paul II!  Three times he was denied.  If John Paul II had accepted his resignation, then that would most likely have been the end of Ratzinger’s story.  But John Paul II wanted him to continue to serve.  And he did when he was elected Pope.

A lot of people today are speculating why he is resigning.  Conspiracy theories abound.  But I truly believe that the only reason why he is resigning at the end of this month is for a very simple reason:  because he finally can.  He prayed about it and finally got permission.

Resolution:  I will make myself available to another, regardless of what my plans were today.  My plan will be their plan; my life will be a part of their life; my heart and mind will be available to help lift up their heart and mind.  Two hearts are better than one.  Two heads together will solve the problem.  By my words and my actions, I will make it clear to them that they are not alone.

Mt 6:1-6, 16-18 Ash Wednesday 2013

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Jesus said to his disciples, “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them…When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you…When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them…When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.”

This morning, a mom asked me if it would be appropriate to give her son’s baseball team donuts in celebration of his 16^th birthday.  I told her that maybe ashes would be better!  I think she believed me because I never heard back from her! 

Exterior discipline during Lent is important, but the Lord makes it clear, very clear, what He wants when his prophet Joel writes:  “Rend your hearts, not your garments.”

Most of us look in the mirror to see how we are physically doing.  But once in a while we look just to find - and get a hold of - ourselves, especially after we've committed some horrible mistake.  It is during one of these sessions that we ask the deepest questions:  “What are you doing to yourself???”  “What have you done???”   “Why are you like this???”

This is deep.  This is profound.  This is Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.

If we were to routinely live our lives by only examining our physical traits, then we would surely live a lonely and shallow life. 

But today will not be that way!  Not for the next forty days and forty nights, if God has His way. 

Today, we received our ashes.  Now one of the reasons why we put ashes on our forehead is because they don’t belong there.  That’s what makes Ash Wednesday so intriguing for those who don’t get us!  Asheslook weird being there - on our forehead, on us.  But ashes serve an incredible purpose.  They are an eloquent representation of something hidden, unseen, yet very well known that does not belong on me:  sin, guilt and filth. 

Ash Wednesday is the beginning of something profound:  Lent. And Lent is the beginning of something even more profound:  conversion.

Hypocrites.  A hypocrite is someone who isn’t who they claim to be; that is, there’s an imbalance, a disunity with the inside and outside; the spiritual and the physical; thoughts and words; the soul and the body. 

Hypocrites may be likened to fractions, where the numerator (the interior) is not of the same value as the denominator (the exterior) or is reduced in value to zero, making life worthless or meaningless.  Lent is about making the person whole again, one: one "whole-y" person!

All of us are fractions because we've all been fractured by sin.  Even religious people are fractured, for while they hate sin they still fall into it.  Again, during Lent, the Lord invites and assists all Christians in elevating the dignity of their life, both interior and exterior, to the highest value:  himself; and reducing access weight given to one or the other. 

This should not come as a surprise to any of us, but throughout our lives, we have a tendency to put a higher value on the body than on the soul; and our will over God's Will.  During Lent, we do well in accepting God’s grace to balance things out towards Him; otherwise, we can easily have a distorted picture of God and human life.

Case in point.  Upon hearing the news of the Pope’s resignation, zoologist and spiritual head of the world’s atheists, Richard Dawkins, sent a tweet yesterday to all his followers:  “I feel sorry for the Pope…”, he wrote, “Imagine having a wasted life to look back on and no sex.”  Well, I don’t know about you, but I feel sorry for all those people who have had plenty of sex and experienced little-to-no love.  What a tragedy! 

As for the Pope, he isn’t seeking our sympathy.  He’s asking for our prayers. 

Lent is that time of year where we take a leap of faith so as to plunge into the realm of God.  God, like love, is not found in the shallow but in the deep, in the profound; and like love, God will not allow himself to be reduced to sex, like some pagan cults of today and days long gone. 

God, like love and life itself, is profound and complex.  He is not crisp or rigid like a mathematical equation.  And people are not word problems easily solved; we don’t easily fit into formulas!

In the profound is where the Lord is found.    

Heavenly Father, give us the strength and the courage to plunge, body and soul, into the depths of Christ’s love, so that His love will be found in our hearts.  We ask this through Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Mk 7:1-13 Sick of Lip Service

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When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus, they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands…So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him, “Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”  Jesus responded, “Well did Isaiah prophesy about your hypocrites, as it is written:  ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.’  You disregard God’s commandments but cling to human traditions.”

We often consider our man-made “commandments" to be more important than our God-made commandments.  For example, the “commandment” to be tolerant of someone's beliefs is considered more important than truth itself.  And our "commandment" to be tolerant of everyone stands high above God's commandment to love everyone.  Does tolerance unite people or does truth and love unite people?  My experience has shown me that tolerance is like détente, and that the tolerant are like wolves in sheep’s clothing, waiting for the right moment to attack.  

The command to be tolerant stands on one leg and in sand, for it doesn’t take much time or effort for tolerance to sink into hatred and prejudice.  In fact, I can tell you that when someone claims to be very tolerant, I often get a little nervous, for those who claim to be very tolerant are typically extremely anti-Catholic. 

The first mistake I made this morning was to pick up the Dallas Morning News (the DaMN) from the ground.  I should have left it there.  The second mistake I made was to read its top story regarding the Holy Father’s resignation.  I have to admit to all of you that I was surprised at how negative the article was towards the Holy Father.  I was no longer surprised when I read who wrote it:  Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times. 

When most high-profile people suddenly step down, you would think that a newspaper reporter would be sniffing around to find out why.  Not this highly-biased writer!  What Ms. Goodstein finds newsworthy about the Pope is what is most damning to the Pope.  Now imagine for a moment if President Obama suddenly resigned from the Presidency.  What reporter wouldn’t be asking why?  Who wouldn’t be looking for sources closest to the President for answers?  So wouldn't it surprise you if the DaMN wrote an article exclusively about all the President’s “failures” (ballooning deficit, high unemployment, high gas prices, poll after poll indicating that most Americans are not at all optimistic about the future)?  Wouldn't it surprise you if they gave equal space to his critics?  Wouldn't you take offense if they personally blamed him for the death of our ambassador in Libya and for anger among Muslims due to drone attacks?  Wouldn't it shock you if they mocked him and almost “blamed” him for all the things that went terribly wrong during his tenure:  the Secret Service scandal, the GSA scandal, the Petraeus scandal, the Benghazi cover-up, etc.?  Yes.  You would never expect them to do that!  But when it came to the Pope, the DaMN, through Laurie Goodstein and the New York Times, did just that.  They blamed him for just about everything:  the death of a nun in Somalia; creating anger among Muslims by speaking the truth; and for clerics who said stupid things and did criminal things.    

The DaMN prides itself in doing serious investigative reporting.  To overcome its growth stunt, it recently came up with a new publicity stunt.  If you drive on I-35, you can see one of their billboard ads showing some bloodhounds searching for what you would think (and hope for) would be the truth.  (The bloodhounds represent their reporters.)  Well, after reading so many of their articles, it appears as though these dogs are not searching for the truth, but simply returning to their vomit (cf. Proverbs 26:11).

Aren’t you sick of false advertizing and lip service? 

Mk 6:53-56 Back to the Beginning

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After making the crossing to the other side of the sea, Jesus and his disciples came to land at Gennersaret and tied up there.  As they were leaving the boat, people immediately recognized him…They began to bring in the sick on mats…and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak; and as many as touched it were healed.

Wherever the Lord went, He fixed what was broken. 

Most people, religious and not too few non-religious, will say that our world and humanity are broken and that humans are the cause of both problems.  The mere fact of this agreement among people of little faith is surprising to me.  After all, how can we consider our world “broken” if there is nothing to compare it to? 

To what shall I compare the earth to?  Venus?  Mars?  To what shall I compare humanity to?  Animals?

If we do, indeed, compare our planet to other planets, then it is safe to say that it is either far better than any other or out of control like no other, for an emergence of life is something alarming, especially if there is no finality to life.

Now if I compare humanity to animals, then there’s definitely something wrong with us:  we are fighting way too hard to stop fighting!  We are fighting way too hard for others and not for ourselves.  We are fighting way too hard for world peace and not world domination.  We are fighting way too hard for the sick, the crippled and the dying and not allowing for nature to take its course.  Hey, it’s a jungle out there!  It’s dog-eat-dog!  It’s survival-of-the-fittest.  Get used to it.  You don’t see the great apes of Africa writing peace treaties with their counterparts.  You don’t see them respecting the natural resources of their rivals.  They are constantly fighting to get the best fruit trees and the best nuts regardless of where they are.  So?  Why are we fighting against our fighting nature?  If we can take it all, then why not? 

Why is it that we are only allowed to be like animals when it comes to dating and mating and not like animals when it comes to bullying, taking, fighting and killing?

Why is it that we are working so hard against our “natural” tendencies?  Could it possibly be because we feel like there is something wrong with it?  That it may have fallen out of place? 

So, if we have come to discover that we do have a real (and not an imagined) problem with our nature, then the important question is:  How do we fix it?

In the beginning.  Many people are working very hard today to get us back to our roots.  But how far back do they go?  Unfortunately, not far enough.  Take, for example, last’s nights Grammy awards ceremony.  As you could “clearly” see, a lot of people, especially the women, were advocating a return to our very beginnings; that is, when people wore absolutely nothing.  As noble as this attempt may be, I don’t think skimpy clothing will get us back to the innocence we long for and Garden we belong in, for our minds are still too full of lustful thoughts and far too many people dress this way for depressing reasons (because they have a poor image of themselves and have forgotten in whose image they were created in).  Too many men and women look at each other as flesh to eat and objects to use, and not as flowers to admire and persons to respect. 

What we need to do is not go back so much to nudity, but to go back to God; when we used to walk with Him and speak (pray) to Him.  This is what it will take to bring man back to the "herbivore" he once was and eliminate the "carnivore" he has become.

Luke 5:1-11 Deep Waters

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Jesus saw two boats alongside the lake…Getting into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon…he said to him…“Put out into deep water and lower your nets for a catch.”  Simon said in reply, “Master, we have worked hard all night and have caught nothing, but at your command I will lower the nets.”  When they had done this, they caught a great number of fish and their nets were tearing…When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at the knees of Jesus and said, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man.”…Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.”

Put out into deep water.  As we approach Lent, what can we do to get closer to the Lord?  Put out into deep water.

Unfortunately, we like shallow water for a variety of reasons:  there's no depth there, we can see the bottom, touch the bottom and stay in the water for hours without working hard at it.  We like shallowness because there's no depth in it.  It's easy going.  But God is not in the shallow end.  He is in the deep end.

Some scientists (materialistic scientists) like the shallow end.  They like crisp formulas and exact results.  But life is not crisp or exact.  It is natural.  It is full of subjectivity, feeling and striving. 

Georgetown University Professor John F. Haught notes that natural science achieves exact results by restricting itself to measurable phenomenon, ignoring deeper questions about meaning and purpose.  By its method, it filters out subjectivity, feeling, and striving, all of which are essential to a full theory of cognition.  Hence, Materialistic Darwinism is incapable of explaining the universe, for the universe gives rise to subjectivity, feeling, and striving. (God and Evolution, First Things, October 2007)  

These sciences are like little puddles that kids stomp their feet in; whereas, philosophy and theology are sciences in which you can’t even see bottom!  Their object is way too profound!  So they need some help - a little bit of light, some revelation.

Sure, the natural sciences appear to explain a lot, but always at a very superficial level:  the material and efficient cause level.  Their discoveries may appear to be profound, but they are actually very shallow; near the surface, at the molecule level.  And even their calculations may appear to be exact and to the point, but they are actually ignoring and missing all the main points:  formal and final causality; that is, purpose and meaning. 

“How I came to be” is very shallow compared to the profundity of “why I came to be”. 

Now like I said above, some people actually prefer to stay in the shallow end of life and encourage others to go there as well.  They say, “Oh, it’s so nice over here!” (I personally think their afraid their missing out on something better.)   I call these folks “Atheists of the gap”; for they dismiss, ignore and laugh at all that is profound.  They attempt to drain the pool of all its water!  In other words, they attempt to empty the life out of life and make it appear shallow. 

What they need to do is not empty the pool but leave the shallow end and jump into the deep end.

Jump into the deep and see what you find.  In the shallow end we find those who believe that man is just an animal, made out of the same stuff of skin, bones and organs.  Now lots of kids feel this way.  It makes life so much easier for them.  But if they were to jump into deep water, then they would find so much more to life; that is, that which only humans can have and do:  faith, hope, sacrifice, modesty, purity, poetry, paintings, music and love. 

From the deep, it soon becomes clear that humans are more like aliens than like animals. 

In the shallow end it’s all about sex, impulses and urges.  But in the deep end, we find love, romance and fidelity.  Now that’s deep! 

In the shallow end, we find survival-of-the-fittest.  In the deep end, we find mercy, compassion, forgiveness and sympathy.  In the shallow end, we find adaptation.  In the deep end we find justice, conversion, a change of heart, not adaptation!  That’s not deep.  That’s profound!  And that is where the Lord can be found.

Go out into the deep!  In the shallow end nothing is deep, it's all superficial.  There's no need to tread water.  But in the deep end, everything is deep, everything is hard work. 

In the shallow end, "marriage" is shallow.  In the deep end, marriage is deep, for it requires vows, hard work, sacrifices, compromise, perseverance and dedication.  In the shallow end, living together requires little to nothing, except two people.  And no requirements, except self-gratification.

I am a sinner.  When Peter said these words, he took a plunge into the deep cold water of reality.  He could have said to the Lord, “Look, I make mistakes.  I’m only human you know.”  Instead, he preferred to jump head first into the deep and relate his life to the Lord’s life, for to call oneself a sinner means to reunite one’s life back to God.  That’s deep.  But what’s even deeper is the Lord’s response:  Do not be afraid.  From now on you will be united to me.

Deep waters always bring us to surprise and wonder.  The realm - the Kingdom - of God.