Feast of Christ The King,
We don’t have much experience about kings, who they were and those who still are today within their own countries. I guess the closest thing we remember about a king is King George and our war of Independence, which to most of us seems so far off that sometimes we lose sight of what that was all about until just a couple of years ago when the “Tea” Party was formed by thousands of Americans who call themselves “Patriots” because they believe in the strictest interpretation of the Constitution, for example the Right to bear arms. Their platform also seems to include lowering of taxes, downsizing of government, and jobs.
Then most recently the “Occupy Wall Street” movement, another grass roots up-rising by the poor masses in our country wants the 1% of the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share of taxes and also on major corporations who most of the time get away with paying little to no taxes in fact, this past year the major corporation GE was owned money back to them from the Us Treasury. Now how do you like them apples?
So I guess all in all our idea of a “King” is a person who is sovern over all the land and the people. In other words, the King owns all the land, lends it out to tenants who then must pay back to the king a tax for using the land which in centuries gone by was a heavy tax that lead in most nations to an up-rising of the poor, a revolution against the king and his wealthy cronies.
Now does that begin to sound familiar to what “King” means to us today and what we are experiencing? I think we can all agree it does.
This brings us to our readings today. Jesus never called himself a “King” and although he often used the word “kingdom” he always said that “His kingdom is not of this world.” How then are we to relate to what this special feast is all about and what meaning it can have in our faith life today?
We begin with our First Reading from the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel. Ezekiel tried to warn the people to change their ways, especially the King and turn back to Yahweh their true King, their real shepherd. The Kings of the Old Testament were to lead the people in such a way that they would remain faithful to Yahweh and keep the people faithful to God’s laws. But instead they exploited the people, turned from God’s protection and made alliances with other nations, hoping that would keep them strong and safe from the might Babylonian Empire that would eventually overcome the Israelites and carry them off into slavery for many long years.
Even with all the bad news Ezekiel’s message today is one of comfort reminding the people that God will rescue them and bring them home and keep them safe much as a shepherd watches over his sheep and protects them. This is very good news that reignites a sense of hope in the people who had lost hope in their king. Here again, we can draw the parallel message to what is happening in our government today, and in fact most governments around the world.
I’ve become hooked on the BBC World News Report which reports the news from around the globe and these days in particular the world economy and the absolute mess we are in. Here is where I draw the comparison between the Hebrews and what was happening to them under the leadership of their king; and what is happening to the major world economies under present government situations of which all of us find ourselves angry at and miss treated by. I’m sure you can see the parallel, its rather obvious I think.
That is why both Ezekiel’s message and Jesus’ message are messages of hope and looking toward the future when there will be a brighter day once again. For thousands of years this cycle has been going on, and like our ancestors before us we will crawl and scratch our way back to a society that is more just with shared sacrifice by all. This is the Prophets message and it is Jesus’ message, even if it takes till the final judgment day as we read in today’s last chapter from the Gospel of Matthew, it will happen. To be realistic the Hebrews lived in slavery for many, many years under several different empires and horrible king leaders. However, my personal hope and desire is that it won’t take that long.
Our economists today are telling us that it’s going to take many, many years for us as a nation and for the major economic powers of our day to scratch and claw our way back out of this huge financial hole we find ourselves in. And let me add, not one that most of us created but our governments created, much like our Hebrew ancestors who didn’t create most of their problems either but their King leadership did.
Today’s passage from Matthew is perhaps the most powerful judgment scene in his entire gospel. He uses the metaphor of the Good Shepherd who, come judgment day will separate the sheep from the goats. We might ask ourselves what criteria will the Good Shepherd use to make His judgment on who are the sheep that have followed his ways and will now receive eternal life; and those who are goats and have not followed his ways and will now suffer eternal punishment?
The judgment criteria is simple and yet profound. Judgment is rendered upon our behavior, specifically by how we have treated the poor, the suffering, and the most vulnerable in our society. Thus mercy and eternal life is given to those who have treated the least among them as Jesus would: with kindness, gentleness, respect, and helped them in any way they could with no regard towards any kind of repayment. Our repayment is in the thanks and happiness we experience when we help others. Most people will tell you that they receive much more in return than they give. These will be rewarded with eternal life, seeing God face to face.
Using the same criteria, those who have walked past the poor and most vulnerable in our society, and who only take all that that they can with no regard for the suffering, the homeless, the sick, and the elderly, and for our time the jobless act counter to the example that the Good Shepherd sets. For they have shown such little regard for these vulnerables; they have not acted as the sheep gate that the Lord has asked of us all, they will go off to eternal punishment. For scripture says, “He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.”
Christ is a different kind of king; He challenges us as his disciples to transform our own lives into lives of service and to the creation of justice, equality, and peace for all people. As Christ suffered for us, so we must also sacrifice out of care and concern for our neighbors, whoever they may be. AMEN.
32 Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Book of Wisdom is a book we should all become familiar with because it gives us the way to real TRUTH in living out our lives is not only knowing what truth really is, but where it comes from and how to gain it. Within the Book itself it says, “Wisdom’s search is described as loving, seeking, desiring, watching, and keeping vigil.” We cannot gain true Wisdom on our own it comes as a gift from a loving God who gives it to those who truly seek after it.
Perhaps our best example of that type of person is King Solomon, a simple man who was called to be King of Israel. His attitude was that he knew himself pretty well and that he wasn’t wise enough to be king. Nevertheless, God chose him to be King. Solomon understood this and realized that if he was to be a good King he would need to relay on God’s wisdom to help him make decisions. He is known throughout all of history as Israel’s wisest king.
Our Gospel story of the Bridesmaids from Matthew is a very familiar one, one that perhaps we skim over and can easily miss its true meaning (Wisdom) if we don’t pay attention to its details and ultimately the gift that it tells us about that we will receive.
If you follow any of the game shows, you quickly come to realize that more often than not the answer lies hidden within the puzzle or the question itself. That is one reason why I enjoy watching Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader. My weakness is in the math questions even at the 1st and 2nd grade level, probably because I never enjoyed Math and found it difficult to grasp the logic of the concepts. My specialty and interests has always been in the social sciences, even though they are not considered by most as being as precise and predict the same outcome every time they are preformed like math is. So it means pay attention to the details.
Mentioning details, what about the details that we hear in the gospel story today. It sounds straight forward and for the most part logical and predictable. But the one thing that is not predictable is the final outcome. The entire story can be summarized very quickly, be prepared, be vigilant, for we know not the day or the hour the Lord will be coming.
We have all heard the saying, “Put off till tomorrow what you don’t have to do today.” The problem with that kind of thinking is that something’s never get done, people become procrastinators. “I’ll get it done.” But then never seem to prioritize to get the most important things accomplished. Which is contrary to what true Wisdom teaches us, prioritize what is most important in your life, .spiritual matters, your physical being and the physical work that needs to get done, and keep your mind physically fit, don’t idolize your time away. No wonder we hear it said all the time, “my how time flies as you grow older.” I wonder why that happens. Being organized and have a planned direction in life gives us a sense of more control over our lives and calms nerves and fears.
The Bridegroom in the story, who is allegorically, Jesus, says to those who are left on the outside, “I do not know you.” Meaning they are the ones who have not been wise enough to keep to the teachings of Jesus while they await his return. The wise bridesmaids were the ones who remained prepared no matter how long it took for the bridegroom, Jesus, to return. Thus, for the foolish folks who are not prepared, any time will be too soon. For those wise folds who are prepared, it does not matter when the second coming happens because they are always prepared.
In order to be a true disciple is one who is wise enough to know to remain ready at all times for whatever happens and we do that by remaining true to the Wisdom of Jesus’ teachings. If you remain prepared, vigilant then you have no concern to worry about when your time to return to the lord will come but if you are not vigilant and unprepared, the foolish will be caught off guard and may not be ready to enter into God’s Kingdom.
The moral of the story: don’t sit around waiting, being lazy because if we have unfinished business with someone, we best take care of it right away, and not be caught off guard, that is the hidden wisdom of this gospel story. AMEN.
31St Sunday in Ordinary Time
We have all heard it said, “Do what I say, not what I do.” And in today’s Gospel from Matthew we read, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
In our First Reading from the not so well known Prophet Malachi and like all prophets he speaks God’s Word to the people even when they are not listening. The leadership of the people, the priests had broken their covenant with Yahweh and with the people, which in turn has led the people to a breaking of trust with each other.
It is part of human nature that leaders emerge out of society. Society needs direction and good leadership helps to provide that. From early times, the Church has always been both blessed and burdened in its leadership. We accept the fact that we are not perfect and therefore cannot expect our leaders to be perfect either. However, when one accepts the role of leadership certain expectations go along with that role. We expect our leaders to be just, truthful, knowledgeable, and above all trust worthy. Malachi chastises the priests for breaking God’s covenant and going off in their own direction because they believe they have the power to do so. The leadership had grown from being humble before God and the people to believing themselves to be superior to the people they were called to serve.
Not unlike what we witness in so many of our leaders today within the church and government. The sex, money and power scandals have rocked the church but not only in our day but throughout the history of the church. There seems to be an eerie similarity going on in our government also. And when we witness this kind of behavior in our leaders’ sometimes irreparable damage is causes to the people which in turn can lead to a break of trust in each other. We might ask ourselves the question and what is your HONEST answer, “has my faith and trust been damaged by the poor actions of church and state leadership?” I found myself answering that question with a resounding YES, I have been damaged and my trust in leadership is far from 100%.
St. Paul’s Letter to the Thessalonians is a great example of what true leadership is to be about, “We were gentle among you, as a nursing mother cares for her children…working night and day in order not to burden any of you.” He goes on to say how proud he is of them for accepting God’s word from him that “which is now at work in you who believe.”
Jesus’ controversy with his opponents, the leadership of the temple, comes to a high dramatic climax in today’s reading. Today’s reading delivers a harsh message again leaders whose actions do not follow their words.
This is apparent when Jesus says, “… do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example.” He essentially was accusing them of not practicing what they were preaching and lying heavy burdens on the shoulders of the people. Jesus criticized their attitude of superiority and vicious pride. As we know this had an effect of widening the gap between Jesus and the Jewish leadership. The point here for us is the same; don’t be critical of others when you yourself are imperfect. It is a warning to all Christians to look into our own behaviors and attitudes that we don’t fall into the temptation of holding ourselves up as superior to others.
It’s a fairly common thing that happens when we gossip about others or become unduly picky and judgmental of others short comings without seeing our own. It is especially tempting when we are in positions of authority over others and usually stems from a being especially critical of ourselves and very judgmental of our own behaviors and attitudes. It’s a fine line between being able to have a healthy sense of positive self-criticism and so overly critical of ourselves that we turn then to project this criticism on others to make ourselves feel better which can in fact lead to an unhealthy sense of self-importance and superiority that we are somehow better than others. We witness this in persons who are overly self-critical, pietistic and can lead to a dangerous psychological condition known as scrupulosity.
We have so many examples of this throughout history including today within the leadership of our church and country. We hear it on the evening news when people are shouting out, give me my America back. There is a growing sense that our leadership both within the church and the country are out of touch with the plight of the middle and working poor class. We hear about class warfare going on in America today where statistics indicate the top 1% of income holders are creating class warfare, we see this plainly over the past seven or so years the income of the middle and working class poor has remained the same at about 24% while the income of the wealthy has risen over 240%. You tell me who’s really created class war fare in this country?
Although the wealth of church leadership has actually decreased in modern times there remains a strong disconnect between Rome and the people who sit in the pews each week longing for words of encouragement and hope that even if our personal wealth doesn’t go up at least our spiritual wealth should be. But we are lacking in inspirational leadership within the church today. Just as Jesus was critical of the Jewish leadership, I think he would be just as critical of our church leadership today of being too insensitive to the everyday needs and worries of the people.
Perhaps in the end, it all comes down to accepting our own humanness; our short-comings, imperfections and NOT to exalt ourselves as being superior in our attitudes and behaviors over others. AMEN.
