Sunday, August 22, 2021

 Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time

(Joshua 24:1-2.15-17.18; Ephesians 5:21-32; John 6:55.60-69)

In an episode of "The Simpsons," brash Bart says grace at family dinner. He prays, "Dear God, we paid for all these things ourselves, so thank you for nothing!" The ingrate does not want to recognize God as the source of any good as long as it can be accounted for in other ways. Is it so with us? Do we credit God only the benefits whose origins we cannot explain? Or do we believe that God is in the middle of everything we do bringing them to a satisfactory end?

In the first reading the Israelites realize that it has been the hand of God that has got them where they are. Although they have never seen God leading them out of Egypt or facilitating their occupation of the Promised Land, they believe that He was responsible for these unexpected achievements. They intuitively know that it would never have been possible for them to stick together, much less see Pharaoh's army drown in the sea, if God had not accompanied them. Certainly Joshua, their leader, does not doubt that this is the case. He declares in front of everyone: "'As for me and my family, we will serve the Lord.'"

Now we should ask ourselves about something similar. Since the gospel refers to the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, we have to ask if we believe it. Also, do we believe that Mass brings us closer to God and will eventually allow us to enter eternal life? Or would it be better for us to spend an extra hour of rest on Sunday or maybe watch a movie about Jesus?

Each one has to answer these questions for himself. I believe that most of us will answer that "yes" Christ is present in the host and that it is beneficial for us to receive him at mass. We say this because, like the disciples in the gospel, we know that he has "words of eternal life." In his autobiography the great Hindu leader Mahatma Gandhi describes how he came to know Christ from his words of wisdom.

Gandhi tells how he disliked the first Christians he had met in India. He saw Christian missionaries there making fun of the Hindu religion and insisting that converts eat meat, a disgusting thing for the most devout Hindus. However, later, when he was studying in London, he met a vegetarian Christian. The man implored him to read the gospel. When he did - he says - the Sermon on the Mount touched his heart. Gandhi never accepted Christ as we do, but he recognized him as the supreme teacher for his lessons on love. Like us, Gandhi could see that Jesus practiced what he preached when he died on the cross.

The second reading asks for such love from you husbands. "So husbands should love their wives ..." This love makes you give of yourselves for the good of your wife, even when it costs you much to do so. Last year it was reported that an old man confined himself to a nursing home during the Covid lockdown. His motive was to give his wife with Alzheimer's already restricted to the home the care she needed. His love certainly answers the call made in the Letter to the Ephesians.

This is the last Sunday this year that we reflect on the Eucharistic discourse of the John’s Gospel. But it is hardly the last time that we are going to touch the subject. For the Eucharist is "the source and the summit of our Christian life." It is the source because it presents afresh Jesus’ sacrifice of himself for our sins.  It is the summit because in it we encounter Christ whom we hope to meet at the end of time to raise us from the dead. Consuming the Eucharist, we become more like him.  We become more kind and more loving, more willing to give of ourselves for the good of others.

Thursday, November 26, 2020

 Thanksgiving Day

(Sirach 50:22-24; I Corinthians 1:3-9; Luke 17:11-19)

In one episode of “The Simpsons” brash Bart leads the family in grace before dinner. He speaks up, “Dear God, we paid for all this stuff ourselves, so thanks for nothing!”  Perhaps some feel a similar unwillingness to thank God today.  It is not that they feel that they earned everything which they have.  No, people have difficulty giving thanks today because it has been a difficult year.  Covid-19 confined most everyone to their homes for a substantial time.  Most, as well, have lost an elderly relative or friend who has succumbed during the pandemic.

There is also a failure to give thanks in today’s gospel. Nine of the ten men cured of leprosy do not return to thank Jesus for their cure.  Their failure stems from the errant thought that it is not worth the effort to find Jesus.  After all, they have lived in isolation for so long that they need to get on with life.  The cured leper, on the other hand, recognizes something more important than enjoying good health.  He sees the moral urgency to thank his benefactor.  Before he goes to rejoice with family and friends, he gives Jesus the thanks that is due.

The year has been hard in many respects, but we – like the healed leper – should be grateful.  There have been blessings.  One man says that the time to himself has enabled him to read thirty books.  A psychologist explains how adolescents have profited by being with their parents more.  We remain indebted to God for our lives here and now and for the promise of eternal life.  We do well to give Him thanks every day but especially this day designated for thanksgiving.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Thanksgiving Day

(Sirach 50:22-24; I Corinthians 1:3-9; Luke 17:11-19)

In one episode of “The Simpsons” Bart is to lead the family in grace before dinner. He speaks up saying something like, “Dear God, we paid for all this stuff ourselves, so thanks for nothing!” Such shallowness could only come from an insolent youngster or a fool.

Anyone who has thought about the benefits that he or she has must come to the realization that they are beyond what one person or group of people could have produced or purchased. Rather, society has handed over to its members not only a share of material wealth but also the virtues of maintaining them and the secrets of producing more. Yet even society did not receive the raw materials for its products and the inspiration to distribute them with a measure of fairness out of the blue. Although some may dissent, most people recognize that behind all the goodness of the earth there is a Creator God who cares about them.

Thanksgiving Day is the time that the American nation reserves to honor the ultimate source of the prosperity it enjoys. It would be shameful if Americans gave thanks only one day a year. But it is a credit to Abraham Lincoln and perhaps other politicians to have a particular day designated every year for the purpose of expressing gratitude. All of us sometimes feel shortchanged, but we still should have no difficulty raising our voices in unison with other Americans today. We simply have to thank God for the spiritual and material benefits He has heaped on our nation.