Tuesday, May 16, 2017

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Easter

(Acts 14:19-28; John 14:27-31a)

Christ and Culture was written by H. Richard Niebuhr in the early 1950s to describe different approaches theologians have taken to the world.  It says that some Christian writers have seen the world as intractably evil and opposed it.  Others, it continues, have found the world as fundamentally good and endorsed it.  It recommends more nuanced approaches.  These will recognize the world as a mixture of good to be embraced and of bad to be shunned if it cannot be transformed.  In today’s gospel Jesus is more negative.  He speaks of the world as the realm of the devil.

As the devil’s domain, the peace of the world is delusory at best.  It may seem like a good thing but can bring about great harm.  It is the absence of sensitivity that excessive alcohol induces or the exuberance of illicit sex.  Jesus’ peace is permanent serenity because it frees one from sin and bestows the Holy Spirit.

We should be at least cautious of what the world offers.  Certainly society still bears some good as it was created by God.  But it has been compromised over time by the persistent presence of evil.  In any case we will want to sow in it the seed of the gospel by doing good in the name of Jesus.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

(Acts 20:28-38; John 17:11-19)

The world for the Gospel of John, as for most of us, is both bad and good. Jesus can say, “God so loved the world that He gave his only Son...” and also, in today’s reading, “I do not belong to the world.” The ambivalence goes back to the Book of Genesis where God creates the world as good but then the woman and her husband sow havoc into the world by considering themselves as equal to God.

Now Jesus is reversing the trend. The world and its mire will not pollute his disciples because they have the word (the truth) of God which is love. They will overcome the world’s tendencies to self-promotion by loving one another even at the expense of self. Jesus has shown them the way. Soon they will follow. Their love for the world will take them to far away places to preach God’s love. Still they will not be ensnared by the world’s seamier side because Jesus has prayed for them.

His prayer protects us as well. There is no point in trying to flee the world. As long as we have bodies, the world will be part of us. In fact, we have a mission in the world as surely as the apostles in Acts. We too have to give witness to God’s love for the world by acts of care.

Homilette for Tuesday, December 30, 2008

The Sixth Day in the Octave of Christmas

(I John 2:12-17; Luke 2:36-40)

Reading the First Letter of John during Christmas season corrects tendencies to exaggerate the goodness of life on earth. Food abounds and drink flows during the holidays. Many people take vacations or just stay at home to rest. It is also a time for recreation -- movies and, for the more vigorous, maybe skiing or bowling. Would some not say that the world and all that is within it are good indeed?

But, of course, the world poses at least as many challenges to Christian life as it presents benefits. In today’s first reading the author, sometimes called “John, the presbyter” or “John, the elder,” warns Christians of its pitfalls. His “children” are the members of his church community. The “fathers” are the men and women who have long accepted the faith. They know well the love of God which comes through Jesus Christ. The “young men” are newcomers to Christianity. They have overcome the allurements to sin which can hold others from commitment to Christ. Both groups have to stand on guard against the world’s temptations which remain the triple threats of lust, envy, and pride.

As we come to the end of the year, we might ask ourselves how we have fared against the three great nemeses. Do we seek God’s assistance when lustful desires enter our thoughts? Do we thank God for what we have, or do we constantly look to our neighbors for what we lack? Do we remind ourselves daily that we live to serve God, not to be served by others?