Monday, September 19, 2016

Monday of the Twenty-fifth Week in Ordinary Time

(Proverbs 3:27-34; Luke 8:16-18)

In a movie some years ago an Italian-American father shares his wisdom with his son.  He says that nothing is worse than a person wasting God-given talent.  The father cites Joe DiMaggio as an example.  The famous athlete made full use of his abilities to become one of the greatest baseball players in the history of the sport.  In fact his accomplishment of hitting safely in fifty-six consecutive games is still a major league record.  Jesus has some similar advice for his disciples in today’s gospel.

The lesson takes place after Jesus explains to his disciples alone the parable of the seed falling on different terrains.  Now he implies that they are all fertile soil capable of producing much fruit.  But, he says, they must put their individual talents to good use.  They cannot squirrel them away exclusively for their own welfare, much less ignore them completely.  No, they have to employ them to benefit the Kingdom of God or, Jesus says, they will be taken away.

God is not treating us harshly by expecting us to use our talents for the good of others.  Rather He is urging us to grow in virtue by caring for the needy.  Further He is moving us closer to Himself as the reward of eternal life.

Friday, September 16, 2016

Memorial of Saints Cornelius, pope and martyr, and Cyprian, Bishop and martyr

(I Corinthians 15:12-20; Luke 8:1-3)

A middle-aged man recently was speaking about the future.  He said that people do not know whether there is an after-life.  Therefore, he concluded, it is best that we make the most of this life.  The man did not mean to be irreverent.  In fact, he probably thought he was being open-minded just to recognize the possibility of a new life after death.  But St. Paul would probably jump on the statement.  In today’s first reading Paul declares unreservedly that the dead will rise again to new life.

Paul turns the question of a human resurrection like Christ’s on end.  Evidently some members of the Christian community in Corinth claimed to believe in Christ’s resurrection but doubted human resurrection.  For Paul that position is absurd because Christians have become part of Christ’s resurrected body.  If they do not rise from the dead, then how could it be said that Christ rose? he would ask. It would be like saying that only the general and not the soldiers of a victorious army won the battle.  Paul spells out the consequences of such a position in full rhetorical form: Christians would not only remain in their sins but would be fools for believing in Christ’s resurrection in the first place.

Martyrs have spilled blood continually as testimony to Christ’s resurrection.  Today we celebrate two of the most illustrious.  Saints Cornelius and Cyprian suffered death in the middle of the third century.  They went to their deaths sure that they would rise with Christ.  Also important for the two is the truth that Christians who deny Christ’s resurrection out of fear of punishment could be forgiven.  Some Christians believed at the time that denying Christ or apostasy was the unpardonable sin.  No, God’s forgiveness is without end.

Thursday, September 15, 2016

Memorial of Our Lady of Sorrows

(I Corinthians 15:1-11; John 12:25-27)

In both Matthew’s and Luke’s gospels Jesus calls those who mourn “blessed.”  Who these people are is not clear in either account.  Are they those who mourn their sins?  Or perhaps they share the sorrows of the people around them suffering loss of one kind or another?  Today we celebrate Mary, the woman of sorrows.  There can be little doubt why she grieves.  Her son Jesus has died on the cross.  No mother takes the loss of a child that she has birthed and raised easily.  Losing such a perfect son as Jesus is that much more difficult to bear.

We too have lost someone special at the cross.  We did not know him then but from all that we have learned about him since, our loss is also deep.  He was like an older brother who, if he were here in person, would guide our way and support our weakness.  Then how could Jesus tell us that our time to rejoice?  Can we sustain such contrary failings for long?

We are to rejoice because Jesus is actually among us.  As St. Paul proclaims in the first reading, he has risen from the dead.  He is present in the care we give to the poor.  He is present when we hear the gospels and all the thoughts which echo them.  Most of all, he is present in the Eucharist which gathers us in love to provide us his physical body and blood. 

The Christian perspective has a dual focus.  It misses seeing Jesus as he walked upon the earth and waits anxiously for his promised return.  At the same time it rejoices to find him present in many ways beneath the surface of everyday life.

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

(Numbers 21:4b-9; Philippians 2:6-11; John 3:13-17)

The cross by itself intimates transcendence.  The vertical leg superseding the horizontal indicates the victory of the human spirit over hatred and deceit.  Today the Church celebrates this victory with the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.  Through his death on the cross Jesus -- God and human -- has conquered sin and its resultant death.

But the victory of the cross has not always been sustained by humankind.  In the events leading to the Second World War the emergence of the swastika as a national symbol represented a retreat from the accomplishment of Christ.  Its bent legs indicated the will of the Nazis to cut short transcendence in favor of Aryan supremacy.  It was and remains a symbol of the corruption of the salvation Christ won on behalf of the world.

What happened at an international level last century may come about at a personal level.  We may feel contempt for people of a different class, race, or religion.  When this takes place, we must not only remember Christ’s victory but go to him.  We need to ask confess our sin and ask his grace that we might love others as he did. 

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Memorial of Saint John Chrysostom, bishop and doctor of the Church

(I Corinthians 12:12-14.27-31a; Luke 7:11-17)

St. John Chrysostom lived in the aftermath of the Arian controversy.  Although the Council of Nicea proclaimed that Jesus Christ was really God, not everyone -- not even every bishop – gave consent to the teaching.  As archbishop of Constantinople, John had to defend this position against powerful dissenters.  He took on even greater resistance when he criticized the extravagant lives of the city’s rich.  Particularly the Empress Eudoxia resented his criticism of her vanity.  But John was also able to win many defenders as he preached powerfully.  Chrysostom, meaning golden-mouth, is actually a nickname.  With St. Augustine he is one of the greatest preachers of his time and, indeed, any time.

John Chrysostom put his extraordinary gifts to use in the Church as St. Paul admonishes the Corinthians in today’s first reading.  Paul’s point here is to show that everyone is gifted in some way to assist the Church.  If a person does not preach well, perhaps she sings like an angel.  If he cannot heal, perhaps he has a penchant for tidiness.  Although John Chrysostom may be one in a million millions, all have some gift to offer.

Often the Church does not seek out the gifts of its people.  Leaders tend to depend on a very few people whom they trust.  Although the reason for such an approach is patent, it curtails both the development of individuals and the building up of the Body of Christ.  We should be encouraging everyone in the congregation to put his or her talent to work for the benefit of all.