Get Lost in Christ & Find Yourself - 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time

Today's readings deal with the soul, its relationship with God and carrying the Cross in order to follow Jesus.

In the first reading, we read how Jeremiah says that God "duped" him.  Can you imagine that? God is "duping" or cheating someone?  How is that possible?

Jeremiah is sent to speak on behalf of the Lord and he is mocked, harassed and bullied.  Jeremiah then feels like God cheated him or deceived him.  He feels left out in the cold, so to speak; even to the point of trying to avoid mentioning God, His name or speaking of Him.  However, Jeremiah finds that this is impossible because the desire to continue burns in his heart and he cannot hold it in.

How many times do we feel God has sent us to do something and we think it will be easy but it backfires?  We may try to share our faith to others thinking it will be a smooth "ride" or a calm walk at the park, but instead, it becomes an moment of suffering and disillusionment?  I can speak to this from experience.  Whether preaching on streets, visiting homes and what not, I myself have been met with ridicule and disappointment.  Even on the internet where I have used Twitter, Facebook, and blogs to promote the teachings of Christ in the Catholic Church and have become the topic of mockery and disdain among non-believers and even some believers within and without the Catholic faith.

This is part of the Christian life.  The Christian message will be attractive to some, but will seem disgusting or evil in the eyes of others. You will be made fun of, called outdated, oppressive and immoral just for sharing the faith. Jesus said that His followers will be hated and despised because of Him (Matthew 10:22).  This may not sound fun for the person sharing the faith.  As a matter of fact, sometimes a believer can lose faith.  Like Jeremiah, he or she may feel as if God abandoned him or her.  He or she may not even want to continue sharing the faith, or avoid mentioning God as Jeremiah attempted.  This is called the "dark night of the soul." However, when we are at that point (and it will happen), we will still feel the desire to continue sharing the faith even if it brings pain. We will preach the Word in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2).  Ironically, it is during mockery and abuse that the Word gets spread faster.

The responsorial Psalm responds to the first reading from Jeremiah with the response: "My soul is thirsting for you, O Lord my God."  This reminds us that we are constantly desiring God. Even when we feel God has abandoned us or "duped" us, we still seek Him. Everyone is susceptible to this desire, even atheists.  As St. Augustine, whose feast day we celebrated a few days ago said, "Our hearts are restless, until they rest in you." This Psalm encompasses this quote showing how we thirst for God.  Everything God offers is better than life, as the Psalm states. Who else do we have to rely on other than God (John 6:68)?

This ties in with the second reading from Romans where St. Paul tells the Christians of his day and us today that we must offer 'ourselves as living sacrifices' to God in a holy and pleasing manner. This means that we will constantly suffer.  Sacrifices are not pretty.  They are not fun.  These mega-church prosperity preachers who claim God will bring about money and material goods do not understand what Christianity is about.  Sacrifice is necessary. Moreover, St. Paul reminds us not to get used to the world.  We must not fall into the ways of the world but be counter-cultural. We must be ready to give it all up for God's sake even if it pains us greatly.  The will of God must be properly discerned which we know by its characteristics: 1) Must be good. 2) Must be pleasing and perfect.

In the news we sometimes read of our separated brethren in different sects doing things in God's name that bring harm.  They may deny health care to children believing God will heal them, bother snakes, or may protest the funerals of others believing this to be God's will.  In reality, these are not. Denying healthcare to children is not a good.  It is not pleasing nor perfect, so therefore, it cannot be the will of God.  Moreover, protesting the funerals of others is not a good.  It is not pleasing nor perfect, so it too fails to be the will of God.  The will of God is something that is good and brings about good.  It is pleasing and perfect free from human error and nonsense.

Lastly, in the Gospel we read how Jesus tells His disciples that He will suffer greatly, be killed and will rise on the third day.  Peter finds this news unpleasant and tells Jesus "No, God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you." Jesus then responded to him strongly, "Get behind me, Satan!"  Here we see how Satan always tries to present itself as a caring humanist who wants humanity to be comfortable.  This is not how it's supposed to be.  Jesus Himself felt like Jeremiah in the Garden of Gethsemane where His humanity stepped in with its anxieties and fears (Luke 22:42).  We too will feel the same as we grow spiritually.  Remember, the closer you get to God and Heaven, the more "out of place" you will feel on Earth.  

Moreover, Jesus continues with some words which are interesting: "You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do."  These words are powerful and are important in the philosophical debate on evil existing in a universe where a Good God exists, more commonly called: "The Problem of Evil."  How many times do we see atheists use the Flood of Noah, plagues of Egypt and other events to present God as immoral or evil?  How many times do they inquire how God can let children die of hungry, disease; or how can He let innocent people die in natural disasters or terrorists attacks?  They ask these questions because they think as human beings do and not as God.

God brings good out of anything, even evil events. We see events as evil because are finite creatures trapped in the temporal and spatial. We only see the moment and not the entire film of life, so to speak.  This is why it is difficult to understand why evil exists and why it seems to contradict the existence of a Good God. We must trust God and try to find meaning in the events of life in Him. Rationalizing them with human means will do nothing but bring despair.  Suffering is part of being human and especially Christian.  Jesus had to suffer to redeem the world.  We too have to share in this suffering.

As Jesus said:

“Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself,
take up his cross, and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world
and forfeit his life?
Or what can one give in exchange for his life?
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory,
and then he will repay all according to his conduct.”









Readings:

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/083114.cfm

Sink with Doubt or Rise with Faith -19th Sunday of Ordinary Time

Today's readings deal with faith and seeking God.  The first reading tells us of Elijah where he was about to have an encounter with God. Elijah is on the mountain Horeb near a cave where he took shelter from the elements.  God tells him to wait beside the mountain because He will be passing by.

This is of course anthropomorphic language.  The reading tells us that strong and heavy winds or gusts came by.  Rocks came crashing down, but God was not in this commotion.  Next, there was an earthquake, but God was not in that event either. Fire appeared, yet God was not in this fire despite speaking from a burning bush to Moses in the past.  Finally, there is a tiny whispering sound and it was then that Elijah realized God was present and hid his face.

This reading is interesting because the author gives us an anthropomorphic look at God.  He is "passing by," the text tells us. Scripture often uses anthropomorphic language in order to describe God. This was used because of the limits of human language; not to mention the fact that no words can truly describe God, so man has to use what he knows and has in regards to language and experience to best describe God.  Anyhow, the text gets very geologically and meteorologic-ally specific.  It seems to be describing an earthquake or perhaps even volcanic activity. There's a reason why these details are there. The Hebrews/Israelites were always under captivity or influence from nearby cultures, namely the Canaanites. Israel was a kingdom at the time which eventually became divided into the Kingdom of Israel and the Kingdom of Judah.  Like in medieval times in Europe, kings or queens often married royals from other kingdoms for political reasons. These marriages can provide unity of two kingdoms, or even  bring about peace and a better economy. Humanity in the 9th century (BC) was no different.  The king at the time, Omri had his son Ahab marry princess Jezebel the daughter of the king of Sidon.  This marriage brought some security and an increased economy.  However, Jezebel was also a priestess of the Canaanite god Baal. Because of this, Ahab was influenced by her and he introduce the worship of Baal to the Israelites. He even had a temple built in honor of this deity.

God, the true God of Abraham, Isaac etc was of course no happy about this. This is when the

prophet Elijah comes into the picture and warns Ahab of a drought.  Elijah is basically trying to restore the faith in the kingdom. He does so even to the point of making a mockery of the priests of Baal which is a hilarious account you can find at 1 Kings 18:25-27. Pagan gods were often described via natural events.  They controlled lightning, earthquakes, storms, fire and what not.  Those who believed in them saw these natural phenomenon as signs or manifestations of Baal and other gods.

This is why the first reading goes into detail about God not being in the strong winds, earthquake, fire.  The reading is making it clear that the one God does not depend on His creation to introduce Him. Nature is not an opening act for God. Atheists often believe Christians think God is literally behind every natural phenomenon.  This is the "god of gaps" fallacy.  Anyhow, God is present in the silent whisper completely contradicting what the Canaanites believed in regards to how a god manifests himself. So the first reading reminds us that God is God and doesn't need nature to manifest Himself.  It reminds us that God will not always be so obvious.  We have to be patient and wait in silence to hear that "soft whisper."

In the responsorial Psalm, calls us to seek God; reminding us that He is kind and brings salvation. This Psalm is of course a parallel to the first reading because the Israelites were forgetting the one true God in favor of the gods of the Canaanites. We cannot forgot the one true God by replacing Him with the false gods or idols of today.  These false gods may sometimes come into our lives like a strong wind, earthquake and fire causing us to believe in them more that in the true God in the "soft whisper."  The second reading reminds us that Christ comes from the Israelites.  He is the fullness of the faith given to the Israelites which we read about in the Old Testament or Hebrew Scriptures.  The many laws, journeys and covenants the Israelites received were in preparation for Jesus Christ who fulfills the law, covenant and brings meaning to the suffering of the Israelites and all of us today.  

Finally in the Gospel, we are told of more natural phenomenon which is connected to the first reading. This Gospel account continues from the feeding of the large crowd in last Sunday's reading.  It tells us that Jesus told the disciples to get into a boat as He went up on a mountain to pray by Himself all the way till the evening.  At the same time, the disciples were miles away on the boat and a storm approached causing the boat to rock to and fro.  Jesus then approached them walking on the water.  At first, they didn't know it was Jesus.  They thought it was a ghost and were scared to death.  Jesus spoke to them and told them not to be afraid.  This is when they realized it was Him.  Peter, being a skeptic wanted to make sure.  He asks Jesus to verify if it's really Him by asking Jesus to command him to go to him on the water. So Jesus naturally said, "come."  Peter got out of the boat and started to walk on the water towards Christ.  However, when Peter realized how strong the wind was while the waves were crashing all around him, he got scared and panicked.  Immediately, Peter began to sink and shouted to Jesus to save him.  Jesus reached His hand out to Peter and told him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"  Jesus then joined them and the disciples realized that this Jesus guy was no joke. He was the real deal, so to speak.

This Gospel is very powerful indeed.  First we are told about Jesus going on the mountain which is connected to God on mount Horeb.  Then we are told of the stormy weather that rocked the boat the disciples were in.  This is connected to the stormy weather on Horeb that Elijah faced.  Jesus was not in this stormy weather just like in the first reading, God was not in the strong winds.  Next, the disciples see Jesus walk on the water and think it's a ghost.  I don't blame them. How many of us would freak out if we saw someone walking on water?  I know I would personally go into cardiac arrest if I ever saw that in person!

Anyhow, they are scared seeing this figure walking on the water.  How many times do we get scared of the spiritual?  We get scared to believe; to have faith?  Religion becomes like a scary ghost; an obligation we want to run from, right?  We have to be like Peter and respond to God in faith even if we may not truly understand what's going on.  Peter calling out to Christ to prove Himself tells us that the spiritual life is a 2 way street.  When God comes and seems like scary ghost, we must communicate. We must be the ones to initiate the dialog via prayer. Christ then becomes clearer when we do this.  He is no longer that scary ghost we saw at first.

The next part is harder.  Christ calls on Peter to come to the water with Him. Peter being the oldest probably wanted to show off and be the one to step on the water.  He did fine until he looked down and around himself and saw the stormy waters.  It was then that he doubted and began to sink.  Notice that Peter was walking on water without issue as He was looking at Jesus.  However, when Peter looked away, that's when he began to sink. How true is this!  When we focus on Jesus, we can walk on the water, so to speak.  Nothing can stop us!  However, once we turn away from the face of God, we realize the drama of the world, the stormy world we live in and the liquid surface our lives stand on and then we begin to sink.  The sinking of Peter shows us how life sinks into the stormy water when we are not looking at Jesus and trusting in Him.

God is most likely not going to appear to us with fanfare and what not. We have to seek Him in the silence whisper.  In the silence of our minds and hearts we can find God.  This is a higher level of consciousness and reasoning.  When we find God, He will seem like a scary ghost at first because we are so used to seeing other human beings, the material world and what not.  God will naturally come off as alien to us.  However, when we hear His voice, we then see clearly it is Him.  God then calls us to Himself, but in order to go to Him we must have faith just like Peter did at first.  This faith will allow us to walk on the stormy waters of life defying nature and human existence itself.  However, if we get distracted and look at the winds of the world that give us chills and try to knock us over, then we will sink.  If we look at the "solid" ground our lives exist on which we think are secure, we realize that it is not.  It is merely a liquid body of water with restless waves crashing about bringing about anxiety and panic to our lives until we drown in it.  Jesus is the life guard. He is the life saver.  Seek Him and you can walk on any water in life not caring about the storms of life that may hit you.      





Readings: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/081014.cfm

"I give up..."

There was once a little boy named Thomas. He grew up watching baseball with his dad and wanted to be a player when he got older. When he was old enough, his dad took him to Yankee Stadium where he saw his favorite Yankee players. Derek Jeter was his favorite one.




"Oh that Jeter, he is awesome, right dad!?" Said Thomas.




"Yes son, he is one of the greatest players today - and you see over there son?" says his dad as he points to monument park.




"Derek Jeter's number 2 will be retired there some day and he will be up there with the Babe #3, The Iron Horse Gehrig #4, The Clipper DiMaggio #5, The Commerce Comet Mantle #7, Chairman of the Board Ford #16 and all the others."




Thomas looks up at his dad with great joy and smiles. The game begins. Jeter is up at bat. Detroit's Verlander is on the mount. He pitches, Jeter swings.

"Strikkkkeeee!!!" yells the umpire.

Jeter collects himself, gets ready for the next pitch.

"Strikkkee"

Jeter is calm as usual, Verlander pitches again.

"Striikkker yurr outtt.."

Jeter slighty smiles and walks back to the dugout. Third inning comes, Jeter is up to bat again and the same,

"strikkkee"

"strikkkeee"

"strikkkee"

"yerrr outtt!"

The pattern continues straight into the 7th inning. The Yankees are down by 7. Thomas is sad. The joy he had when he entered the House that Ruth built is no longer present.




"Dad?"  Thomas calls out,




"What is it son? asks the dad.

"What is wrong with Jeter? He is so good, he passed Gehrig's record for most hits. He is an awesome shortstop. But now he is just not hitting." Thomas complains.




His dad looks at him and says, "he is just going through a slump, don't worry son." Thomas sighs.




The Yankees catch up with 6 and Detroit has 7. It is the 9th inning and Jeter is up, there are 2 outs. Detroit's closer Valverde is on the mount.




The crowd at the stadium is shouting

"Derek Jeter" and claping with rhyme: Clap clap clap-clap-clap. "Derek Jeter!" Clap clap clap-clap-clap.

Valverde pitches, Jeter swings.

"Strikkee..."

The crowd gets anxious now for there are 2 outs and Jeter has his first strike. Jeter gathers himself again. His face seems annoyed, perhaps disappointed at himself. Valverdi winds up and pitches. Jeter eyes the ball and swings,

"strikkeee.."

The crowd gets upset, some boo, but others continue to cheer for Jeter to get one of his "Jeterian hits." Jeter is down by 2 strikes, one more and the game is lost.




Valverdi gets ready, checks first base and then pitches. Jeter looks and bammmm, he hit the ball. Jeter drops the bat and begins to run towards first base, but the ball is caught by Peralta and that's it. Game over!




Thomas slams his glove and shouts, "I give up!  I hate this!  Jeter is no good. I hate baseball. Jeter's poor playing ruined it for me dad!  I don't want to watch or play baseball again."




His dad looks at him with a smile of concern. "Relax Thomas, this is just one game and Jeter is just one player. He is in a slump and will come around. You can't bring down baseball just for the bad performance of one player."

This is a story I just made up - a modern parable if you will.  Thomas is named as such for "doubting Thomas" of the Gospels.  The moral of this story is that one bad player does not bring down the game of baseball.  Baseball has a lot of great history and many great players.

Similarly, one bad priest, one bad nun, one bad lay person or just one misbehaving Christian or person of faith does not bring down or tarnish the Catholic Church or any religion.

Don't be like Thomas and doubt.  Never give up!