Friday, July 27, 2007
(Exodus 20)
Psychologists today speak often of boundaries. These are limits that allow relationships to develop without undo friction. People need to set boundaries which means to let others know how closely they intend to relate to another. In turn, the other person must respect those boundaries. For example, we may tell a friend from work that he should not call us after 10 p.m. Often boundaries are implied by the nature of a relationship. Teachers should not date their students even when they are both adults.
In the first reading today God sets his boundaries for humans. Not keeping the Sabbath or stealing injures our relationship with the Lord. We should note, however, that observing the Ten Commandments hardly fulfills our responsibilities as Christians. It is not enough that we refrain from worshipping idols; we must also love God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. It is not enough that we do not covet our neighbor’s wife; we must love our neighbor as ourselves. This is why when asked, Jesus did not name any of the Ten Commandments as the greatest.
In writing his moral theology St. Thomas Aquinas did not concentrate on the commandments. He realized that if we are to be happy or, better, if we are to know God, we have to do much more than follow ten rules. No, he said, we have to practice virtue. This is a huge task that might exhaust some of us from the get-go except for the Holy Spirit. God breathes his life into our bones, as it were, so that we might not just avoid evil, but also that might do lots of good
Homilette for Thursday, July 26, 2007
Thursday, XVI Week of Ordinary Time
(Matthew 13)
Flannery O’Connor has been called the greatest American Catholic novelist. Yet her novels are seldom about Catholics. Rather they concern the working of grace in often very peculiar, Southern country people. Once she was asked why she wrote about such strange characters. She answered that when people are near deaf, you have to shout at them.
Jesus responds similarly to the question, “Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?” We need such on-the-money stories to wake us up to God’s goodness. The parables tell us that God is so generous he will pay laborers who only work an hour a full day’s wage and that God’s kingdom is such a treasure that it is worth selling all we have to attain it. But in a world with so many diversions – from home entertainment systems to iPhones – Jesus’ message still does not always get through.
Some people see parables as make believe. Since they do not bring immediate gratification, they are not worth pondering, much less pursuing. These people might be right if the parables were not validated by Jesus’ life. He becomes the seed that dies in order to produce abundant life when he gives himself on the cross. He becomes the man who searches for the lost sheep when he spends his time with sinners and the poor. Because of Jesus’ testimony the parables not only entertain us, they move us to follow him.
(Matthew 13)
Flannery O’Connor has been called the greatest American Catholic novelist. Yet her novels are seldom about Catholics. Rather they concern the working of grace in often very peculiar, Southern country people. Once she was asked why she wrote about such strange characters. She answered that when people are near deaf, you have to shout at them.
Jesus responds similarly to the question, “Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?” We need such on-the-money stories to wake us up to God’s goodness. The parables tell us that God is so generous he will pay laborers who only work an hour a full day’s wage and that God’s kingdom is such a treasure that it is worth selling all we have to attain it. But in a world with so many diversions – from home entertainment systems to iPhones – Jesus’ message still does not always get through.
Some people see parables as make believe. Since they do not bring immediate gratification, they are not worth pondering, much less pursuing. These people might be right if the parables were not validated by Jesus’ life. He becomes the seed that dies in order to produce abundant life when he gives himself on the cross. He becomes the man who searches for the lost sheep when he spends his time with sinners and the poor. Because of Jesus’ testimony the parables not only entertain us, they move us to follow him.
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