Death with Dignity

Learning to be countercultural Catholics

08/29/2019

Mark 6:17-29 Herod was the one who had John the Baptist arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom he had married. John had said to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." Herodias harbored a grudge against him and wanted to kill him but was unable to do so. She had an opportunity one day when Herod, on his birthday, gave a banquet for his courtiers, his military officers, and the leading men of Galilee. Herodias' own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you." She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" She replied, "The head of John the Baptist." The girl hurried back to the king's presence and made her request, "I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist." He went off and beheaded him in the prison. He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl. The girl in turn gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard about it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

In every age the Catholic Church is called to be countercultural. What does that mean? One thing it means, among others, is that not only do we not share the same values of the modern culture, we actually stand opposed to them. We cannot just get along. If we find ourselves getting too cozy with a certain culture, even the American culture (good as it is), we soon discover that marriage was not meant to last. Or, as the late, great Archbishop Fulton Sheen memorably said: “If we marry this age, we become a widow in the next.” Every age, every culture and every country is passing, while the Church is eternal. The Church is the eternal Bride of Christ, and no age, no culture and no country will be a fit suitor for her. She will only be happy with one Spouse, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the eternal Bridegroom.

This eventual divorce with the current culture came into sharp focus for me yesterday when I read an article about our former bishop, now Archbishop J. Peter Sartain, of Seattle. The state of Washington has legalized assisted suicide, the so-called “Death with Dignity law” over a decade ago. About 1,200 people have died as a result of it. The Associated Press ran a story about a terminally ill man named Robert Fuller who, on May 10, 2019 took a drug cocktail to end his suffering by ending his life. The same AP article displayed a picture of Robert Fuller receiving a blessing at St. Therese Catholic Church and gave the misleading impression that the Church condones or approves of assisted suicide.

The good archbishop, in his ever gentle and always wise way, corrected that misunderstanding. The archdiocese wrote: “Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Robert Fuller and to all those who suffer chronic and or terminal illness. As Catholics we strive to be present to those who suffer and to those who are facing death.” But the statement added: “Based on the values of concern for human life and the common good, the Catholic Church does not support suicide in any form, including medically assisted suicide.” I don’t know about you, but I could hear Jesus’ voice in every word of that statement. In other words, we may have walked hand-in-hand with this culture for many years, but the day may be upon us of a great divorce.

On this feast of the Martyrdom of St. John the Baptist, we see another reason why the Church disagrees with the so-called death with dignity. Our death should conform as closely as possible with Jesus’ own death on the cross. How so? C. S. Lewis begins his insightful and inspirational book called The Problem of Pain with a quotation from George MacDonald, his mentor, who said: “The Son of God suffered unto death, not that men might not suffer, but that their suffering might be like his.” And St. John the Baptist’s martyrdom is Exhibit A. John did not avoid suffering to be more like Christ, rather he embraced suffering to be more like Christ. So should we.

In my opinion – which is not so gentle or so wise as Archbishop Sartain’s – that is what makes mercy-killing or death with dignity unacceptable for the Christian. We do not die like Jesus. We make ourselves a more fitting Bride for our Spouse, Jesus, when we embrace suffering, even when we’re terminally or chronically ill. That is the definition of being countercultural. The only death with dignity is the one that imitates our Lord’s death.

My friends, how cozy are you feeling with our modern American culture? Be careful how closely you align your personal priorities with a political party. Some Catholics are more devoutly Republican than they are devoutly Catholic. Some Catholics are “Yellow Dog Democrats,” meaning they would vote for a yellow dog before they voted for a Republican candidate. But Catholicism rises above political parties and national interests and cultural mores. Remember the word “catholic” comes from Greek and means “universal” or “international.”

G. K. Chesterton once said, soon after his conversion: “The Catholic faith enables me to see patriotism as a virtue in my enemy.” In other words, without our Catholic faith, our country would always be right and all other nations would always be wrong. Why? Because we have married this age and this culture and this country, and simultaneously we have been unfaithful to our true Spouse, Jesus Christ. Like Archbishop Fulton Sheen predicted: “He who marries this age, becomes a widow in the next.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Walks and Talks

Making the most of our moments with mom

08/28/2019

Matthew 23:8-12 Jesus spoke to his disciples: "Do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

Boys and girls, please make the most of your moments with your mother, especially the private and personal talks you have occasionally. Some of you still have your mothers who are alive, but some have lost their moms who are in heaven. I share this homily with great love and compassion for those students and teachers who have lost their moms. Once a month I go home to Little Rock and stay with my parents, who are still in good health. I spend the night with them, celebrate Mass in their kitchen and then head to work on the marriage tribunal. If the weather is nice, my mother and I go for a walk after supper. I love those walks and those talks. Sometimes we talk about serious stuff, sometimes we talk about silly stuff, and sometimes we talk about how I am their favorite son. Just kidding. It doesn’t really matter what we talk about because I am talking to her, and that’s what really matters.

But it wasn’t always like that. When I was a teenager, I was embarrassed by my parents. They spoke with a thick Indian accent and I could tell people could not always understand them. Of course, I spoke perfectly. Yeah, right. It seemed like everything about my home country and my home culture from India embarrassed me: the food, the clothes, the music and the traditions. One time I even asked my mom to drop me off a block away from school so I would not be seen with her. Today I feel ashamed of how I treated my parents in those days, especially my mom, and I am trying to make up for lost time with those walks and talks. I am trying to make the most of my moments with my mom.

Today is the feast of St. Augustine, one of the greatest saints in the history of the Church. But he wasn’t always so saintly. For the first thirty years of his life, he was into sex, drugs and rock-n-roll, or their equivalent in the fourth century. But his mother Monica never stopped praying for him, crying for him, and loving him like our mothers do for us. Finally, he came to his senses and became a priest, and eventually the bishop of Hippo in northern Africa, what would be present-day Algeria. But after he converted, he tried to spend as much time with his mother as possible. St. Augustine was trying to make up for lost time like I do today.

One day Augustine visited Monica in Ostia, a city on the coast of Italy, about an hour’s drive from Rome, on the west coast, on the Tyrrhenian Sea. St. Augustine and his mother, St. Monica have a sublime conversation seated at a window overlooking a garden. He writes about it in his book called Confessions. He recalled: “The day was now at hand when she was to depart from this life…[and] she and I were standing alone, leaning at a particular window where there was a prospect over the garden within the house where we were staying at Ostia, Tiberius.” And what did these two saints, mother and son, discuss? Augustine goes on: “While we spoke, we also gazed upon wisdom with longing; we reached out and touched it as best we could, with every beat of our heart.” In other words, they talked about God and heaven and the life of the saints, like my mom and I sometimes do.

Augustine continues: “On the ninth day of her illness, when she was fifty-six and I was thirty-three, that devout and faithful soul of hers was set free from the body.” Then Augustine talks about the tears he wept for his mother, after the funeral, because he had tried to be strong and not cry during the funeral. He wrote: “I let flow my tears, which I had until that moment restrained, and let them fall as they would. I made them a bed to rest my heart upon…I wept so briefly for a mother, a mother who was, at least for the present, dead to my sight – and who had wept over me for so many years in the hope that I would come to live in God’s sight.” In other words, the son’s tears couldn’t compare to the mother’s tears. And I am sure Augustine wept partly because he did not make more of the moments he had with his mother. St. Monica’s feast day is August 27, and St. Augustine’s feast day is August 28, as if the Church is telling us to stay close to your mother, and make the most of those moments with her.

Boys and girls, your moms are not perfect people and they all make mistakes they regret. They are human beings, just like you and me. Nevertheless, our moms love us far more than we will ever know, at least until you become a mother yourself, or a priest or a bishop. They loved us for 9 months in the womb before we ever loved them, so they always maintain a 9-month head-start on us, and we will never catch up to their love. Make the most of your moments with your mom: go for a walk, talk about serious things, or silly things or saintly things. Or, as Coach Meares tells you to do at morning drop off when you get out of your car: “Turn around and tell your mother you love her.”

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Chain of Faith

Seeing how the seven woes applies to us

08/26/2019

Matthew 23:13-22 Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You lock the Kingdom of heaven before men. You do not enter yourselves, nor do you allow entrance to those trying to enter. "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites. You traverse sea and land to make one convert, and when that happens you make him a child of Gehenna twice as much as yourselves. "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'If one swears by the temple, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gold of the temple, one is obligated.' Blind fools, which is greater, the gold, or the temple that made the gold sacred? And you say, 'If one swears by the altar, it means nothing, but if one swears by the gift on the altar, one is obligated.' You blind ones, which is greater, the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? One who swears by the altar swears by it and all that is upon it; one who swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it; one who swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who is seated on it."

The gospel of Matthew 23 shows a very different side of Jesus than the meek and mild Messiah we usually think of. Our Lord is lambasting the scribes and Pharisees with his most stinging criticisms, commonly called “the seven woes.” On first reading, we may be tempted to think, well that was some tough love but the Pharisees had it coming for being such holy hypocrites. If we stopped there, we would miss our Lord’s larger point, which is directed at all religious leaders. Hence, the gospel began: “The Lord said to the crowds and his disciples…”

And by the way who are the religious leaders? It is just the scribes and Pharisees? No. Is it only the apostles and disciples? No. Is it limited to Fr. John and Surennah Werley, the Director of Faith Formation? No. It is all of us: every person who has ever had a child – either naturally by birth or supernaturally by baptism – is a religious leader. I would suggest to you that each generation is the “religious leader” – in the broadest possible sense of the term – of the generation that follows it. Pope St. Paul VI wrote in 1965: “Since parents have given their children life, they are bound by the most serious obligation to educate their offspring and therefore must be recognized as the primary and principal educators” (Gravissimum educationis, 3). Of course, the pope refers mainly to education in the Christian faith, not social studies or computer science. In other words, Jesus’ seven woes are best interpreted as intended for all of us of each generation who are the primary and principal educators of the next generation.

Let me share a very dramatic instance of how these seven woes can apply to modern times. It’s a story John Maxwell relates, paraphrasing R.C. Sproul’s book Objections Answered. Maxwell states: “A young Jewish boy grew up in Germany many years ago. The lad had a profound sense of admiration for his father, who saw to it that the life of the family revolved around the religious practices of their faith. The father led them to synagogue faithfully. In his teen years, however, the boy’s family was forced to move to another town in Germany. This town had no synagogue, only one Lutheran church. The life of the community revolved around the Lutheran church; all the best people belonged to it. Suddenly, the father announced to the family that they were all going to abandon their Jewish traditions and join the Lutheran church. When the stunned family asked why, the father explained that it would be good for his business. The youngster was bewildered and confused. His deep disappointment soon gave way to anger and a kind of intense bitterness that plagued him throughout his life.

“Later he left Germany and went to England to study. Each day found him at the British Museum, formulating his ideas and composing a book. In that book he introduced a whole new worldview and conceived a movement that was designed to change the world. He described religion as ‘opiate for the masses.’ He committed the people who followed him to a life without God. His ideas became the norm for the government for almost half the world’s people. His name? Karl Marx, founder of the Communist movement. The history of the twentieth century, and perhaps beyond, was significantly affected because one father let his values become distorted” (Developing the Leader Within You, 40).

Now let me add a small caveat or qualification. Does this mean that every dead-beat dad and every misguided mom will inevitably raise terrible children? Not necessarily. Some great saints came from very dysfunctional families. On the other hand, does this mean every saintly father and self-sacrificing mother will always rear impeccable children? Not necessarily. Each person, including our own children, are free to be saints or sinners, and that usually depends on what day of the week it is: Friday evening or Sunday morning.

Nevertheless, we must still pass on the faith we have received from our parents as well as we can to our children. Let us not be the weak link in that great chain of faith stretching from one generation to the next, like poor Karl Marx’s father. When we are such a weak link, we can expect one of the seven woes.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Here After

Seeing how we’re all here after the Eucharist

08/25/2019

Isaiah 66:18-21 Thus says the LORD: I know their works and their thoughts, and I come to gather nations of every language; they shall come and see my glory. I will set a sign among them; from them I will send fugitives to the nations: to Tarshish, Put and Lud, Mosoch, Tubal and Javan, to the distant coastlands that have never heard of my fame, or seen my glory; and they shall proclaim my glory among the nations. They shall bring all your brothers and sisters from all the nations as an offering to the LORD, on horses and in chariots, in carts, upon mules and dromedaries, to Jerusalem, my holy mountain, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring their offering to the house of the LORD in clean vessels.

Some of these I will take as priests and Levites, says the LORD.

An elderly friend of mine sent me a joke last week to help me understand that getting old ain’t for sissies. It’s a kind of letter and began: “Remember, old folks are worth a fortune with silver in their hair, gold in their teeth, stones in their kidneys, leads in their feet, and gas in their stomachs.” It continues: “I have become a little older since I saw you last and a few changes have come into my life since then. Frankly, I have become a frivolous old gal. I am seeing five gentlemen every day…

She went on: “As soon as I wake up, Will Power helps me out of bed. Then I go see John. (Ahem!) Then Charlie Horse comes along, and when he is here he takes a lot of my time and attention. When he leaves, Arthur Ritis shows up and stays the rest of the day. He doesn’t like to stay in one place very long, as he takes me from joint to joint. After such a busy day, I’m really tired and glad to go to bed with Ben Gay.” Sorry, little racy! But here’s the conclusion: “P.S. The minister came to call the other day. He said at my age I should be thinking about the hereafter. I told him, Oh I do all the time. No matter where I am, in the living room, the family room, the kitchen or down the basement, I ask myself, what am I here after?”

Well, now let me tell you what this homily is here after, and why I used that joke as an introduction. It’s not just people who grow old and don’t function as fast as they used to, so do church heating and cooling systems, commonly called HVAC. Travis Beshears said the current HVAC must have come over on the Mayflower; they’re so old. They have served us well, but you’ve probably noticed the church is not as cool as it used to get, and certainly not as cool enough for priest in our very holy but also very hot robes. In fact we spent $8,000 this past spring on repairs and the repairs are more frequent. Sometimes it’s smarter to buy a new car than to keep fixing an old one. This week you’ll receive a letter from me asking you to contribute to a 10-month campaign to raise $200,000 for a new system. I know that’s a lot of money, but it also includes asbestos abatement, which is not cheap. I am personally pledging $1,000 and giving $100 per month. I hope you can join me with a generous pledge or donation. So, now you know what this homily is here after.

But let me also add what our scripture readings today are here after, and in a sense, they are after the same thing. Both the Old Testament reading from Isaiah 66 and the gospel reading from Luke 13 speak about all the nations gathering in one place as one people to be blessed by God. Isaiah prophesies: “They shall bring all your brothers and sisters from all the nations as an offering to the Lord…to Jerusalem, my holy mountain.” In Luke’s gospel Jesus announces that’s exactly his mission as the Messiah, to fulfill Isaiah’s prophecy. He says: “And people will come from the east and the west and the north and the south and will recline at table in the kingdom of God.” The table where Jesus fulfills that ancient prophecy is the Table of the Last Supper, where Jesus instituted the Eucharist and fed his first followers with his Body and Blood. In other words, Jesus welcomes the whole world to enjoy the Eucharist without division or discrimination, everyone without exception.

When you think about it, isn’t that precisely the purpose of this church building? For over 118 years our church has served as the “mountain” of Isaiah 66 and as the “table” of Luke 13 where literally all the nations are blessed with the Body and Blood, the Bread and the Wine, that feeds the world. Recently, I gave a history lesson to our catechists and mentioned how many different ethnic groups have found a home at I.C. The Irish arrived and founded the parish in 1843. The potato famine drove them to Fort Smith where they found French fries. The German immigrants arrived in 1880 and Rudolph Metzger built the current church.

Italians and their pasta arrived in 1890 and they operated grocery stories and fruit stands. The Vietnamese came to Fort Smith in 1975 after the fall of Saigon, and introduced “pho food” to us. The Laotians arrived with their noodles and soups in 1980. In 1998 the Hispanics came with their tacos, enchiladas, popusas and carne asada. And in 2013 the Indians arrived with their curries and coriander! As great as all that gormet cuisine is, human being will be hungry again. Only one feast satisfies us eternally, the Bread and Wine of the Eucharist. All nations hunger for it, and all the nations have been fed by it here at I.C.

Why do I need your help in this capital campaign? Because we are all “here after” the same thing: not bratwurst, pasta, pho food, tacos, or chicken curry, but for the Eucharist, the Bread of Life. That food is what we are all here after, because that’s the only Food that will get us to the hereafter.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Here Comes the Bride

Loving Mary and her Son, Jesus

08/22/2019

Luke 1:26-38 The angel Gabriel was sent from God to a town of Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming to her, he said, "Hail, full of grace! The Lord is with you." But she was greatly troubled at what was said and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of David his father, and he will rule over the house of Jacob forever, and of his Kingdom there will be no end."

I love to celebrate Marian feast days, like today, the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Some people complain about or criticize that too much Marian devotion will distract you from Jesus. They say, “Ratchet down the Marian rhetoric.” But I would reply that all authentic Marian piety only helps us run faster to Jesus, not slows us down. In other words, Mary does not dilute our Christian faith, she only deepens our faith in Christ, her son. What mother does not want you to love her son more? I know my mom wants you to love me more: just ask her! Mary, therefore, the mother conceived without sin, wants us to love her Son perfectly and purely. Let me say three things about this feast of Mary to help deepen our faith in Jesus, her Son.

First, the rosary ends where it begins: with Mary commanding the angels. You know the first mystery of the rosary is the Annunciation, and today we celebrate the last mystery of the rosary, the Coronation of Mary as queen of heaven and earth. In both these “book-end feasts” the angels are eager and joyful to be of service to Mary, like Gabriel in the gospel of Luke. Why? Well, they see in her a sort of preview of coming attractions. What attractions? There is nothing more attractive than when the Father’s will is “done on earth as it is in heaven.” Mary perfectly accepted and accomplished God’s will for her life. In other words, the angels happily help those who do the Father’s will, like Mary and Jesus, because the angels themselves do the Father’s will. When we grow in Marian devotion, we should likewise grow in a desire to do God’s will rather than our own, like for me becoming a priest instead of a teacher. Mary helped me to choose God’s will over my own.

Secondly, the Coronation of Mary has a beautiful Old Testament background. In the Old Testament time of King David, the king’s mother was called the “Gebirah,” the institution of the queen-mother, who sat at the king’s right hand. In 1 Kings 2:20, King Solomon says to Bathsheba, his mother, seated on a throne at his right: “Make your request, Mother, for I will not refuse you.” That scenario is almost identical to what unfolds in John 2, at the wedding at Cana when the couple runs out of wine. Jesus, the King, did not decline to honor the request of Mary, the Queen-Mother, the Gebirah, to perform his first miracle and change water into wine. Today, Mary is not in Cana interceding for that couple, but rather she’s seated next to Jesus in heaven, praying for all of us. Thanks to her prayers, Jesus continues to provide wine for us, the best wine, the Eucharistic Wine of his Blood. Mary always asks Jesus to provide for what we lack and need the most. And we need nothing more than we need the Eucharist. Marian devotion leads us to Eucharistic Adoration.

The third point needs to be carefully nuanced to avoid misunderstanding. Mary is Jesus’ natural mother, but there is also a sense in which spiritually she symbolizes the Bride of Christ, the Church. Now, please don’t hear overtones of the Oedipus complex. Rather, I hope you hear the prophesy of Isaiah 62:5, who said strangely: “As a young man marries a young woman, so will your Maker marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.” In other words, Jesus came on earth not only as a Savior but also as a Spouse, not only to save us, but also to marry us as his Bride. And Mary is the first installment of Jesus’ saving and spousal mission. When we grow in devotion and love for Mary, we only grow more deeply in love and awe of Jesus, her Son.

Do you know the most entertaining point in every wedding ceremony? Invariably it’s when the flower girl and the ring bearer walk down the aisle before the grand entrance of the bride. They always do something unexpected and cute. Nowadays, it’s fashionable that one of them carries a sign that says, “Here comes the bride!” When I see those cute little children I think of the angels who happily and innocently introduce the Bride of Christ, the Church, symbolized by Mary. Their whole earthly mission can be summed up in that one phrase: “Here comes the Bride.” And all true Marian devotion can be summed up by it as well.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Judge This

Appreciating the book and period of Judges

08/20/2019

Judges 2:11-19 The children of Israel offended the LORD by serving the Baals. Abandoning the LORD, the God of their fathers, who led them out of the land of Egypt, they followed the other gods of the various nations around them, and by their worship of these gods provoked the LORD. Even when the LORD raised up judges to deliver them from the power of their despoilers, they did not listen to their judges, but abandoned themselves to the worship of other gods. They were quick to stray from the way their fathers had taken, and did not follow their example of obedience to the commandments of the LORD. Whenever the LORD raised up judges for them, he would be with the judge and save them from the power of their enemies as long as the judge lived; it was thus the LORD took pity on their distressful cries of affliction under their oppressors. But when the judge died, they would relapse and do worse than their ancestors, following other gods in service and worship, relinquishing none of their evil practices or stubborn conduct.

There are parts of the bible that people pass over too quickly to their own detriment. They falsely feel a certain book is not important so they blithely ignore it. Sadly that happens frequently to the Old Testament book of Judges, and to the historical period of Judges in Israel’s history. But I would argue that period and that book is critical not only in Israel’s history but in the whole history of salvation, that is, in our own history.

Ignoring the period of the Judges would be like ignoring the period of the thirteen Colonies in the history of the United States. Think about it: from about 1620 to 1789 the thirteen colonies were beginning to discover their unique identity as a nation that declared its independence in 1776, created its own Constitution in 1789, and in the same year elected its first president, General George Washington. The best word to describe the period of Judges is “amphictyony,” (you can impress your friends at cocktail parties with that word), which is a group of neighboring states banding together to protect their common interests. It’s not a stretch to say the period of the thirteen colonies was analogous to an “amphictyony,” without a central government. Some people today would like to see the U.S. return to that period of her history, and get rid of the central government. But that was the political landscape in Israel during the period of Judges, from about 1200 BC to 1020 BC (about 180 years), when Saul is anointed the first King of Israel. During those 180 years, God raised up 13 judges to guide Israel. Let me say a word about two judges – Deborah and Samson – and a word about Ruth, so we do not fall prey to the temptation to ignore this rich period of Israel’s history.

It’s a little surprising to see a woman named Deborah rising to prominence as a judge in Israel. Israelite culture clearly designated a subsidiary role to women in both politics and religion. But Deborah broke through that glass ceiling. We might compare her to St. Joan of Arc, a charismatic women warrior who wielded tremendous influence, as well as a sword, over men. The scriptures, especially Judges, seems to suggest that God can work through women to lead his holy people as well as through men. Pope St. John Paul II often spoke of the “feminine genius” that needs to be tapped for the good of the Church and the world. We find clear evidence of this feminine genius in the great Judge Deborah.

Secondly, Samson. You may recall how Samson defeated the Philistines because of his strength, his bulging muscles and skills as a warrior. Think Arnold Schwarzenegger. But not everyone knows that his real strength came from a sacred vow he took called the “Nazorite Vow.” Being a Nazorite was essentially like being an Old Testament “monk” and their vows prescribed chastity, not cutting their hair, and no drinking alcohol. When Delilah cuts off the seven locks of Samson’s hair, that is only a third of the vows. But he has already broken the other two vows: wine, women and hair. Samson ultimately repents and glorified God by his death, destroying the temple of the Philistine god, Dagon. Like Schwarzenegger, Samson could say, “I’ll be back.” Hebrews 11:32 mentions Samson as a great example of faith in the Old Testament. In other words, Hebrews hints that we should not pass too quickly over the book of Judges.

And thirdly, Ruth. Now, Ruth was not one of the thirteen judges, but her story (and her book) takes place during the period of the Judges. She is a Moabite woman, which means she was not part of the Chosen People of Israel. However, due to her love and devotion to Naomi (her mother-in-law), and her subsequent marriage to Boaz, she is accepted into the Chosen People. To be sure, some would see Ruth as a sort of “shady lady” because the Moabite people were descended from incestuous relations between Lot and one of his daughters in Genesis 19. Yet God in his infinite mercy embraces Ruth into his holy people. Later St. Matthew would embrace Ruth in his genealogy of Jesus to show how God writes straight with the crooked lines of our lives. In other words, Matthew suggests we should not pass too quickly over Ruth and the period of the Judges.

We will be reading from the book of Judges for the next three days, and hearing about the great exploits of these charismatic leaders of Israel, kind of like hearing the stories of Samuel Adams, Paul Revere, and John Hancock. Then, on Friday, we will read about the Book of Ruth, the Moabite woman who won the mercy of God. In other words, the Church’s liturgy also urges us not to pass quickly over the period of Judges, but rather to pray and ponder on this hidden period and about these holy people.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Study of Rocks

Seeing the world through the eyes of rocks

08/18/2019

Joshua 24:14-29 Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem, and addressed them, saying: "Fear the LORD and serve him completely and sincerely. As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD." But the people answered, "Far be it from us to forsake the LORD for the service of other gods. Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God." So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and made statutes and ordinances for them at Shechem, which he recorded in the book of the law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was in the sanctuary of the LORD. And Joshua said to all the people, "This stone shall be our witness, for it has heard all the words which the LORD spoke to us. It shall be a witness against you, should you wish to deny your God."

Geology is essentially the study of rocks, and what we learn by the science of geology is the natural history of the world. The rocks themselves sort of tell the story of the interaction of natural forces that shaped the history of the visible world. We learn the age of the earth, the periods of the ice ages, the shifting of tectonic plates, the explosion of volcanoes, and so much more.

I would suggest to you that scripture study can also be a kind of study of rocks. There are rocks scattered throughout the scripture that tell us not so much the natural history of the earth but rather the supernatural history of all humanity. The careful reader of the bible will notice strategic stones that play a pivotal role in telling the tale of salvation history. Rocks, in a sense, are the enduring eye-witnesses to the interaction not only of the natural forces of sun and rain, gravity and growth, but also of the supernatural forces of grace, and love and the timeless tale of God’s romance of me and you. I used to think in college that nothing could be as boring as the study of a boulder, a rock. Now, however, I can hardly think of anything more exciting than staring at a stone.

In scripture there is no rock that has witnessed more of the story of salvation than the “Even ha-Shtiyya” in Hebrew, or commonly called the Foundation Stone. If you ever go to the Holy Land and visit Jerusalem, you will instantly notice a Muslim mosque with a bright golden dome. That is called the Dome of the Rock, because directly below that dome is the rock that the Jews call the Even ha-Shtiyya and that the Muslims believe is where Mohammed began his famous Night Journey to heaven.

But for Jews and Christians, that rock has witnessed the key points of the love story between God and man. The Foundation Stone is where God created the world, as well as Adam. The Foundation Stone is the site of Mt. Moriah, where Abraham almost sacrificed his son, Isaac. The Foundation Stone is where the Holy of Holies was located when there was a Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. The Holy of Holies held the Ark of the Covenant, and would be equivalent to the Tabernacle in Catholic churches. No stone can tell the story of salvation history like the Even ha-Shtiyya. We read in Luke 19:39-40, as Jesus was entering Jerusalem, the Pharisees said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” Jesus replied: “I tell you, if they kept silent, the stones will cry out!” Indeed, the whole world – filled with rocks – is a witness to God’s love for us, but no stone has seen more of the pivotal points of that story of salvation than the Foundation Stone.

At the end of the book of Joshua, our first reading today, Joshua calls a stone into court to serve as an eye-witness to a covenant the people make with God. And that should not surprise us if we are good students of geology but also of the sacred scriptures. You are probably familiar with Joshua 24:15, where Joshua declares: “As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” Lots of people hang that scripture quotation in their homes. But the more important passage for us today is Joshua 24:26-27, where we read: “Then Joshua took a large stone and set it up there under the terebinth that was in the sanctuary of the Lord. And Joshua said to all the people, ‘This stone shall be our witness, for it has heard all the words which the Lord spoke to us. It shall be a witness against you, should you wish to deny your God’.” In other words, cutting a covenant is like saying your wedding vows, and therefore requires witnesses. Joshua enlists a stone as a witness because a covenant with God lasts as long as the earth itself, not just until death do us part.

Let me conclude with a very practical and powerful implication of this brief study of rocks. Every Catholic church also has a very special stone that is also an eye-witness to the covenant of love between God and humanity. That is the Altar Stone. Have you ever noticed when the priest enters the church at the beginning of Mass, he doesn’t just go straight to his chair and sit down? He first goes to the altar and kisses it. What does he kiss? He is not just kissing a table. Rather he’s kissing the altar stone, which contains the relic of a saint. But even more than venerating the relic of a saint, the priest is kissing the stone which serves as the eye-witness of a covenant between God and man called the Mass. At every Mass we declare to God like the people in Joshua’s time that we love him, and God declares his love for us in Jesus. Jesus said in Matthew 26:28: “This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Just like the Even ha-Shtiyya, the Foundation Stone, and just like Joshua’s stone, so the altar stone bears witness to the eternal love story between God and us sealed in the covenant.

What could be more boring than beholding a boulder? On the other hand, perhaps there’s nothing more exciting than staring at a stone, which we do at every Mass when we gaze at the altar. Why? The study of rocks reveals the greatest story ever told.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Temple 7.0

Seeing the temple through Jesus’ eyes

08/16/2019

Matthew 17:22-27 As Jesus and his disciples were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is to be handed over to men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were overwhelmed with grief. When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the temple tax approached Peter and said, “Does not your teacher pay the temple tax?” “Yes,” he said. When he came into the house, before he had time to speak, Jesus asked him, “What is your opinion, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth take tolls or census tax? From their subjects or from foreigners?” When he said, “From foreigners,” Jesus said to him, “Then the subjects are exempt. But that we may not offend them, go to the sea, drop in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up. Open its mouth and you will find a coin worth twice the temple tax. Give that to them for me and for you.”

One of the most fascinating ways to study the scriptures is to examine the evolution of the temple. The temple motif runs like a golden thread through the scriptures. The building of the temple, the destruction of the temple, and the ultimate restoration of the temple give us an insight not only into the intention of the inspired authors of the bible, but ultimately into the whole plan of salvation. I would suggest to you that the temple undergoes seven iterations, or versions, that span the scriptures – from Exodus to Revelation – but also span all salvation history. This will help you understand today’s gospel, where Jesus and Peter pay the temple tax. Would you join me in a stroll or survey of scripture as we study these seven versions of the temple? Or, you can take a nice nap. But then you might miss something that could change your life, like the apostles fell asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane and missed something that changed the whole world.

The first temple was really a tent in Exodus 4:1, where we read: “Then the Lord said to Moses: ‘On the first day of the month you shall set up the tabernacle of the tent of meeting’.” You might remember that God gave Moses specific instructions for the tabernacle and the tent on Mt. Sinai, and he was supposed to build the tabernacle according to a heavenly blueprint. In other words, the temple was always intended to orient us to heaven, like a beacon or compass, to help us find our way home to heaven, like the tabernacle helped the people wandering lost in the desert for forty years.

The second iteration of the temple was built by King Solomon. We read in 1 Kings 6:1, “In the four hundred and eightieth year after the Israelites went forth from the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon’s reign over Israel, in the month of Ziv (the second month), he began to build the house of the Lord.” Solomon’s father, King David, had wanted to build a temple for the Lord, but he had shed too much blood in his many battles. Rather, Solomon built the temple because Solomon’s name means peace (shalom). We come to the temple, therefore, to find peace, not to wage war. Indeed, as Isaiah 2:4 prophesied: “They shall beat their sword into plowshares” and they would be taught that in the temple.

The third iteration of the temple was built by Ezra and Nehemiah in 520 B.C., after the Jewish exiles returned from the Babylonian Captivity. You will recall that Solomon’s temple was destroyed in 587 B.C. We read in Ezra 4:1, “The exiles were building a temple for the Lord, the God of Israel.” In other words, the Jews could not practice their religion without a temple. Indeed, the temple for Jewish society was tantamount to the White House, the Pentagon, the Library of Congress, Wall Street, and Oxford University all rolled into one. The temple was the cornerstone of Jewish culture, so it was the first order of business upon return from Babylon.

The fourth version of the temple was built by King Herod, and therefore it’s fittingly called the Herodian Temple. It far surpassed in splendor and opulence the temples of Solomon and Ezra. That Herodian temple is what Jesus refers to in Matthew 24:2, saying boldly: “Amen, I say to you, there will not be left here a stone upon another stone that will not be thrown down.” And that is precisely what happened in 70 A.D. when General Titus and the Roman army leveled the Herodian Temple. If you visit the Holy Land and Jerusalem today, what’s left of that temple? You’ll only find one wall, the west wall, the wailing wall. The Jews weep and wail that there is no temple, the cornerstone of their civilization.

The fifth iteration of the temple was Jesus own Body, the Incarnation, the Word become flesh. In short, Jesus physical presence was the new dwelling of God among men and women, like the Jerusalem Temple had been previously. That’s why Jesus makes this connection explicit between the old temple of Jerusalem and his body the new temple in John 2:19, declaring: “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” And two verses later, John adds: “But he was speaking about the temple of his body.” Can you hear how harsh Jesus’ words would have sounded to Jewish ears, who revered and loved the Temple of Jerusalem? But he was trying to help them move from the fourth iteration of the temple to the fifth. But they were slow to understand, and so are we.

The sixth version actually turns us into the temple. St. Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:5: “Like living stones, let yourselves be built into a spiritual house (temple).” And St. Paul will add in 1 Corinthians 6:19: “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you?” Most of us would answer: “Heck, I didn’t know that!” Well, now you do: the sixth temple is me and you.

The seventh and final temple will be found not on earth but in heaven, a sort of Temple 7.0. We read in Revelation 21:22: “I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God almighty and the Lamb.” In other words, on earth we are God’s temple, but in heaven, God will be our temple.

Keep all seven iterations of the temple in mind when you read the bible: (1) Moses’ tent, (2) Solomon’s temple, (3) Ezra’s temple, (4) Herod’s temple, (5) the temple of Jesus’ Body, (6) you and me as the temple, and (7) the heavenly temple which is God himself. Why keep all these in mind? Because that is exactly what Jesus had in mind when he told Peter to pay the temple tax for both of them.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Completely Finished

Clinging to Christ in order to feel complete

08/11/2019

Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-19 Brothers and sisters: Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen. Because of it the ancients were well attested. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was to go. By faith he sojourned in the promised land as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs of the same promise; for he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and maker is God. By faith he received power to generate, even though he was past the normal age —and Sarah herself was sterile— for he thought that the one who had made the promise was trustworthy. So it was that there came forth from one man, himself as good as dead, descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sands on the seashore.

A good friend sent me this joke by email and said maybe I could use it in a homily someday. Well, we’re about to find out… It began with a question: is it “complete,” “finished,” or “completely finished”? No English dictionary has been able to adequately explain the difference between these two words, “complete” and “finished.” In a recent linguistic competition held in London and attended by supposedly the best grammarians in the world, Samdar Balgobin, a Guyanese man, was the clear winner with a standing ovation which lasted over 5 minutes. The final question was: “How do you explain the difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED in a way that is easy to understand? Some people say there is no difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED.” Here’s is his astute answer: “When you marry the right someone, you are complete. When you marry the wrong someone, you are finished. And when the right someone catches you with the wrong someone, you are completely finished.” He won a trip around the world and a case of 25 year old Scotch.

I hope that joke wasn’t too off-color. But I wanted to use it in order to illustrate two critical aspects of our Christian faith. First of all, faith can be obscure and opaque (hard to discern), not straight-forward and simple, like the virtually identical words “complete” and “finished.” St. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 13:12: “We see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face,” meaning only in heaven will things be crystal clear. But secondly, faith ultimately points to Jesus, the right one who makes us feel complete, rather than to the wrong one, the Evil One, who makes us feel finished. Without faith we won’t find Jesus, and if we never find him in this life, we will feel “completely finished.” Christ alone makes us complete.

The whole bible speaks about faith either directly or indirectly on every page, but perhaps no single chapter highlights faith like Hebrews 11. If the whole bible were like a crown of faith, Hebrews 11 would be the chief gem among all the precious stones. Even the classical definition of faith is found in Hebrew 11:1, where we read: “Faith is the realization of what is hoped for and evidence of things not seen.” But I think a better translation of the original Greek is found in the Revised Standard Version, which renders that verse: “Faith is the assurance of what is hoped for and conviction of things not seen.” The words “assurance” and “conviction” seem to convey the spirit of certitude that faith alone affords.

And as if to provide an “Exhibit A” for that assurance and conviction of faith Hebrews lists Abraham at the top of the all-star list of men of faith in the Old Testament. For instance, faith allowed Abraham to leave his homeland and settle in the Promised Land. Faith helped Abraham believe he would have heirs even though he was well past child-bearing age, well into his eighties. Faith gave Abraham the fortitude to sacrifice his only son Isaac, when commanded by God. And faith even afforded Abraham hope in the resurrection of Isaac if he had been sacrificed. In other words, faith aided Abraham to discern and decide rightly in dark and difficult moments, and faith helped him to find the Right One (God) and feel complete, rather than the Wrong One (Satan) and feel finished.

My friends, how does your Christian faith feel these days? Do you feel “complete” or does your faith feel “finished”? I am convinced that we Catholic Christians who live in the west are undergoing a profound crisis of faith. We are like those poor people who showed up at the linguistic competition in London and cannot tell the difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED in terms of our faith. What do I mean? I believe a crisis of faith spurs the lack of vocations to the priesthood and religious life. We are blessed by vocations from other countries – like Fr. Chandra – but why don’t our own sons want to be priests and our own daughters want to be nuns? That is a crisis of faith. This past summer St. Boniface School closed, and it broke my heart. In 1973 St. Anne High School closed and in 1968 St. Scholastica Academy closed. Why? Yes, it was a lack of money and low enrollment, but ultimately I believe it was a lack of faith. We chose other things over faith. Why do so many millennial Catholics no longer attend Mass and on surveys list themselves as “nones,” meaning their religious is “none in particular”? A recent poll showed the rise of “nones” had reached 23.1% of the American population. Yes, the clergy sexual abuse and the Church’s stand on homosexuality contribute to it, but in the final analysis it is a crisis of faith.

But towering over all these crises and complexities and conundrums stands the ancient faith of Abraham, like a kind of Mt. Everest, looking down at the surrounding peaks. And Abraham assures us like Jesus in Mt. 17:20: “Faith can moves mountains.” I am convinced that if we walked in the footsteps of Abraham, the father of faith, the clergy shortage, the scarcity of nuns, the closing of Catholic schools, the exodus of youth from the Church, would be solved overnight. But sadly we walk by sight and not by faith.

In case you’re wondering how do you get more faith? Simple: you pray for it, you beg for it, you plead for it, and then you wait for it. Why? Well, because ultimately faith is a gift not an on-line purchase you get at the click of a button. Rather, God gives faith freely to whom he pleases and as generously as he pleases. We cry out like the father of the boy possessed by a demon in Mk. 9:24: “I believe, Lord, help my unbelief.” And then we pray and fast as we wait for faith as Jesus instructed the people to do to drive out the stubborn demon of unbelief. That possessed boy was feeling “finished” because he was with the Wrong One, but his father had found faith in Jesus, the Right One, and so the father felt “complete.” Faith is assurance and conviction that leads to a relationship Jesus. Only Christ makes us complete.

Now can you tell the difference between the words COMPLETE and FINISHED? Don’t wait until you die to figure out that difference, because by then your chances to figure it out will be completely finished.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Multiplication Tables

Beholding the betrothal of words and numbers

08/05/2019

Matthew 14:13-21 When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, "This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves." He said to them, "There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves." But they said to him, "Five loaves and two fish are all we have here." Then he said, "Bring them here to me," and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over– twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

Numbers are my nemesis. What do I mean by “nemesis”? A nemesis is described as “a long-standing rival; an archenemy.” Numbers, and in particular mathematics, algebra, and calculus were always my worst subjects in school. On the other hand, I loved words, and so my favorite subjects were always spelling, reading, English, literature, poetry and composition. I would drag myself to math, but I would run to reading. Even trying to spell the word “trigonometry” would trigger my body to go into convulsions.

Several years ago, however, a good friend of mine explained that sometimes there must be a marriage of numbers and words. I could not think of a more odd couple! Numbers and words in my mind were like the comic strip “The Lockhorns” because they are always arguing and fighting. We happened to be talking about long-term planning of parish finances. She is a very sharp CPA and knows numbers well. Numbers are some of her best friends. But she humbly acknowledged: “Good strategic planning uses numbers to describe the first 3 to 5 years, but words must do the work to take you any farther into the future.” In other words, numbers start the plan because they are precise, but words must finish it because they allow flexibility with the future. Like a relay race, one runner must hand the baton off to the next runner, so numbers must hand the baton of strategic planning to the words who will win the race. Or, to change the metaphor: numbers and words are like the two tracks of a railroad that stretch into the future and both carry us forward, each shouldering half the load. Only on that distant horizon of heaven will those two tracks meet and kiss, and finally be friends.

Well, I believe we don’t have to wait till heaven to be guests at the marriage of numbers and words. We witness that blessed betrothal in the scriptures, especially in the gospel passage of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish. Whenever the evangelist Matthew employs numbers his is not only pin-pointing a historical event with precision, he is also suggesting a deeply symbolic and spiritual event with eternal consequences. Hence, in Matthew 14 the fact that there were five barley loaves and twelve wicker baskets of leftovers indicates Jesus has come to feed the children of Israel as the new Moses. The original Moses gave the people manna (bread) from heaven and fed them with the first five books of the Old Testament called the Torah, and that bread and those books were more than enough for the twelve tribes of Israel.

But do you remember Jesus performed another miraculous multiplication of loaves and fish? In Matthew 15 (a chapter later) Jesus is outside of Judea, in Gentile territory called the Decapolis, and he feeds four thousand people with seven loaves and there are seven baskets of leftovers. The seven loaves and baskets symbolized God creating everything in seven days, which included all humanity (Jews and Gentiles) – and therefore seven symbolizes Jesus desire to save everyone, not just the Jews. We read in 1 Timothy 2:4: “God wills everyone to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” In other words, Matthew presents sort of two “multiplication tables” upon which our Lord places numbers and words, loaves and fish, to feed not only the Chosen People, but also the Unchosen People, that is, everyone. Can you see how numbers and words sort of meet in a kind of marriage in the scriptures? They are like the two tracks of a spiritual railroad that carry us beyond the horizon of this world to heaven, indeed to the heavenly banquet.

My friends, do you know where the multiplication tables of Matthew’s gospel were pointing to? To the table of the Last Supper, where Jesus took bread again, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his apostles to eat. In other words, the real miracle of Bread was and is the Eucharist. And Jesus still multiplies it for many, now not for 5,000 or for 4,000, but for 1.2 billion. That’s the approximate number of Catholics in the world today. But we believe our Orthodox brothers and sisters also partake of a valid Eucharist, and there are approximately 260,000,000 of them. So, how many people is Jesus feeding with the blessed and broken Bread of his Body today? You know I go into convulsions to do such calculus, but I think that is 1,460,000,000 people. At every Mass, therefore, we approach the multiplication tables where we behold the betrothal of numbers and words, and the Eucharist that is for everyone to eat.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Open Mouth

Learning to listen to layers of conversation

08/03/2019

Matthew 14:1-12 Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.” Now Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, for John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people, for they regarded him as a prophet. But at a birthday celebration for Herod, the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests and delighted Herod so much that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for. Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests who were present, he ordered that it be given, and he had John beheaded in the prison. His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. His disciples came and took away the corpse and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.

Invariably when people speak, they reveal not only their opinions about the world outside of them, but they also give clues about the world inside of them. With every word we utter, we unveil the hidden world of our hearts. Every time we open our mouths we open our hearts and we say something about ourselves. Have you ever caught these two levels or layers of every conversation?

When I was studying canon law, we had a very astute professor who taught us a subject called “temporal goods.” Think of it like the equivalent to “church economics,” dealing with the church’s worldly possessions, buildings and bells, rectories and real estate, etc. He related a story when he visited the Vatican for a canon law conference and spoke with an Italian bishop. The Italian prelate scoffed: “Why are you Americans always obsessing about money?” To which my professor replied: “Why are you Italians always obsessing over sex?” It was a memorable exchange not only for what the two canon lawyers said but also for what they implied. When we obsess or talk too much about something it reveals a deeper restlessness in the heart. Open mouth, open heart.

Below every external conversation there stirs an internal conversation, that is, our conscience. Listen to how the Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the conscience. We read in no. 1776: “Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, sounds in his heart at the right moment…” Then it concludes: “There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths.” In other words, if you learn to listen very carefully to any conversation, you can catch not only what someone says out loud, but what God whispers in the heart, where “God’s voice echoes in his depths.”

In the gospel today we can hear how Herod speaks on these two levels: on the surface but also from his depths. Matthew records: “Herod the tetrarch heard of the reputation of Jesus and said to his servants, ‘This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him’.” The evangelist goes on to recount why Herod said that, namely, he had John the Baptist beheaded and he felt exceedingly remorseful and guilty. Could you catch both the external conversation but also the internal conversation in Herod’s conscience, “where God’s voice echoes in his depths”? If Americans obsess over money and Italians obsess over sex, then Herod obsessed over the murder of John the Baptist. In other words, attentive students of the scriptures attune their ears to hear at least two levels of every conversation: the external and the internal, the voice of the speaker and also the voice of the Spirit. Open mouth, open heart.

Being aware of these two levels or layers of every conversation can be helpful to us as Christians. For instance, we have all tried to help another person face some flaw or weakness or sin. John Maxwell, a leadership expert, says: “Care enough to correct.” But as you make helpful suggestions, be aware that God’s voice is also speaking in the other person’s depths. In other words, you don’t need to feel alone in trying to help a spouse or a son, a parent or a priest overcome some problem. God is trying to help them, too. So, in a sense, you can relax and not feel alone. You speak on the outside, and God speaks on the inside.

I find this insight helpful when I hear people who are venting frustrations or anger or even hate in the public square. They are not only saying something about the subject at hand, but also saying something more subtle about their hearts. In other words, hurtful words often proceed directly from hurting hearts. Say a prayer for people who post hateful things on social media.

One day President Abraham Lincoln was visiting a field hospital during the Civil War. An orderly came running into the room and crashed into the 16th president of the United States and both men crumbled to the floor. The orderly shouted, “Why don’t you look where you’re going, you tall, lanky buffoon!?” Lincoln calmly replied: “Young man, what’s bothering you on the inside?” Lincoln had learned to listen to the two levels or layers of every conversation. He knew every time someone opens their mouth, they likewise open their heart.

Praised be Jesus Christ!

Lawyers of Love

Appreciating the role of the scribes in Scripture

08/01/2019

Matthew 13:47-53 Jesus said to the disciples: "The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth." "Do you understand all these things?" They answered, "Yes." And he replied, "Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old." When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.

One year after I was ordained as a priest, the bishop asked me to do something I never dreamed of doing. He sent me to Washington, D.C., to Catholic University of America, to study canon law. That was the last thing I wanted to learn. I would have much rather preferred to study scripture or spirituality. Just like doctors are trained to practice medicine after medical school, but some go on to specialize in surgery or infectious diseases, so all priests practice pastoral care after ordination but some specialize in canon law. Lucky me!

It took me two years to complete my degree and I have been a canon lawyer for 19 years. Over these years, though, I have come to respect and even revere the role of canon lawyers in the Church. They provide a critical service in the overall pastoral care of the people of God. How so? Just like every other ministry, canon law also serves the goal of helping Christians to love like Jesus. So, I really am lucky to be a canon lawyer: we are lawyers of love.

In the gospel of Matthew, when Jesus speaks about scribes, he is actually describing the ancient ancestors of canon lawyers. The scribes were the canon lawyers of their day. Let me share three quick snapshots of scribes and their indispensable ministry in service of the law of love.

First, one of the greatest of all scribes was Ezra, who was both a scribe and a priest, kind of like me. He is the eponymous author of the book of Ezra. He returned with the Jewish people from Babylonian Exile in 536 BC and he discovered that those Jews who stayed behind in Jerusalem had intermarried people of other religions, and as a consequence, lost their faith. Ezra set about annulling those marriages and taught strict observance of the Jewish faith. The vast majority of my ministry as a canon lawyer is helping people who need an annulment for their marriage, and facilitating their desire to return to their faith. Both Ezra, the ancient canon lawyer, and his modern counter-parts, help people to see the law of God as a law of love, especially in their marriages. Scribes were intended to be lawyers of love.

A second critical function of scribes was to copy the ancient texts of scripture so it would be faithfully transcribed and made available to succeeding generations and ultimately to the whole world. When I studied sacred scripture in the seminary, I was flabbergasted to learn that there is no original copy of any of the 73 books of the bible. Did you know that? There is no original book of Genesis, or Isaiah, or 1 Kings or Daniel. There is no original copy of the gospel of Matthew or 1 Corinthians or Revelation. All we have are copies of copies of copies, but not one of the original texts is extant. You would think since we are dealing with the inspired Word of God, someone would hang on to an original copy! But no one did. It is thanks to the tireless work of ancient scribes, the predecessors of modern canon lawyers, that we have the bible we hold at home and proclaim from the pulpit at Mass. Thanks to these ancient canon lawyers, we can read and reflect on the Ten Commandments in Exodus and the eight Beatitudes in Matthew and learn the law of love. The scribes who copied the sacred scriptures were lawyers of love.

The third snapshot of scribes is of the group of Jewish scribe-scholars called “the Masoretes.” Between the 7th and 10th century, they took the Jewish Hebrew bible and provided pronunciation and punctuation marks – called diacritic marks, kind of like the accent marks you see in Spanish – to make the scripture more readable and user-friendly. My favorite bible is the New American Catholic Study Bible. The reason I love it is because it has lots of pictures and explanations of what the bible means and what the ancient authors intended. In a sense, that is what the Masoretes were trying to achieve as well, so that more people would find the bible not only more available, but also more accessible, more reader-friendly. There’s an old adage: a bible in the hand is worth two on the shelf. If you never actually read the bible, you will never learn God’s law of love, and little chance you will practice it. The scribes, like the magnificent Masoretes, were lawyers of love.

Jesus said in the gospel today: “Every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.” Thanks to the scribes, both ancient and modern, we learn God’s law of love from both the Old Testament and the New Testament. We wouldn’t have the bible without the scribes. We owe a deep debt of thanks to Ezra, the copyists, and to the Masoretes, who preserved God’s laws of love, so that we might learn them and live them.

Praised be Jesus Christ!