Envious Hearts

Deacon Tom writes

“Envious Hearts”

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Both Moses and St. Luke give us some insight about a serious sin that we all experience from time to time. It is the sin of envy. We hear today how Moses responds to a complaint brought to him by two of his tribesmen.  What bothered them was that several others of their group were prophesying even though they had not been there when they received the “spirit. Moses sensed a spirit of envy or jealousy was at work with those who lodged the complaint. Instead of chastising the two who complained he, in turn, complained to them saying, “Would that all the people of the LORD were prophets! Would that the LORD might bestow his spirit on them all!"

In a similar way, the Apostles see that someone not in their group is casting out demons and report that to Jesus.  Jesus wisely cautions his disciples “Do not prevent him.” Jesus knows that any good work done in His name will produce good fruit.

Very often our fragile human nature shows itself in the ugliest of ways. In these two incidents from Sacred Scripture we notice how one group of individuals is offended because others appear to have gotten something that they did not deserve:  in the first reading the Spirit came to rest on the men who left camp; in the gospel a stranger was casting out demons without being an Apostle. Envy is at work in both these events. Each time one group feels that they have been cheated, perhaps, like someone else was getting something they should not have.

Our sequential, linear minds constantly seek to put God in a box. We want to control God. We want Him to be predictable and to be fair; fair, that is, as we perceive fair to be. But God is above all our thinking and even above our wildest imagination. God’s ways are simply beyond us and we need to grow into that realization.

God is at work all around us, in all faiths, in all peoples, in all circumstances. God’s Spirit works in the hearts of the faithful everywhere. God is the reality through which we live, and move, and have our being. It is not jealousy that should fill our hearts, but rather a deep sense of awe at the wonders God is unfolding minute-by-minute, day-by-day all around us. Even in those who look, act, believe, and worship differently than we do.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

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Numero Uno

Deacon Tom writes

“Numero Uno”

Twenty-fifth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B

One of telltale signs that we struggle to embrace Jesus’ message “to become the least” is the fact that we do all that we can to be the first… to be the best… the greatest, the center of attention. We want to be in the limelight; we want the bigger piece of the pie. Yet, today, Jesus’ instructions are clear:  the only way we get to the head of the line is by seeking to be the last one in it! “If anyone wishes to be first”, he says, “he shall be the last of all and the servant of all”.   That’s how things operate in the Kingdom of God. It was the behavior of his closest disciples that prompted Jesus to pass this teaching on to us. In today’s gospel we hear that an argument broke out among his disciples as to who was “Numero Uno”. This happened right after Jesus revealed what’s going to happen to him when they get to Jerusalem.  “He will be handed over to men and they will kill him…but in three days he will rise”.  How callous of his followers to be so dismissive of Jesus’ horrific prophesy! Imagine how anguished we would be if, while we were bearing our souls to a close friend, they were disengaged and self-absorbed. There is just no imaginable way to describe how hurt and distraught we would feel‼! 

Jesus made many references to the fact that the Kingdom of Heaven was ordered a bit differently than our experience here in this temporal realm. In God’s kingdom ….the first shall be last, the hungry will be satisfied, the broken, crushed, dispossessed and sorrowing will be comforted. And forever, the peacemakers will be held in high esteem….!

Those are some powerful promises, and yet, given the state of the world, some of our inner city neighborhoods, and even our family, one can’t help wonder if we are doing all that we can to ease the plight of the poor, the neglected, those who are suffering through this life?  Why aren’t we looking to “store up treasures in heaven” (Mt 6:20) by helping the worst of the worst?  Are we confused about the significance of Jesus’ teachings?  Matthew, Chapter 25 makes it pretty clear… “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to me?”…Or, are we, like the disciples in today’s gospel more distracted with our own concerns and interests than the suffering and hopelessness of many of those around us? 

It is very difficult to die to self, to take up the crosses of our lives and unite them with that of Christ. That is why we need to learn from the Master, to follow in his footsteps, and practice every day to love and serve each other, as Christ has loved us, even unto death. That is one way to show others that Christ truly is “Numero Uno” in our lives.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

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Just a Different Way of Thinking

Deacon Tom writes

“Just a Different Way of Thinking” 

Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

The first fifteen years of this new millennium have been a challenge beyond any imagination. It seems like just yesterday that we watched in horror as both World Trade Centers collapsed shattering the lives of so many people and, in an instant, changing the course of American history. Although fourteen years have passed, we really haven’t recovered from this event. Indeed, our world has been embroiled in constant turmoil since then. Wars in Iran and Afghanistan, terrorism directed at innocent civilians around the world, financial markets in a state of heightened volatility, unimaginable numbers of refugees risking their lives in search of safety, shelter, and food. Reports of cyber crime, economic disparity, charges of policy brutality keep us in a state of anxiety and increase our worries and our fears about the future. Yes, we have reaped more than our share of hardship and disappointment from this millennium that held out such promise for us as we crossed the threshold into Y2K, a time when we all looked forward with such hope and expectation.  But the reality, sadly, has been much different.

As we struggle to respond to the difficult challenges we face in our own lives and in the world, it occurs to me how important it is to place Christ at the center of our lives. Having Christ at the center of our lives enables us to cope with the magnitude of the problems that confront us on both a personal and global level. For, if our minds and hearts are focused on Christ as our teacher who directs our thoughts, words and actions, we can understand the problems our world is facing and that eventually touch all of our lives in one way or another.

The reason we engage in conflict, the reason we suffer violence, discrimination, the reason fear and anxiety have laid a firm grip on our lives, is because we are not seeing things clearly. We are in every way living the words that Jesus speaks to Peter in today’s gospel… we, “are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do” AND acting accordingly!

Yes, sadly, we think in dualistic terms, either – or, win – lose, terms. That is,  we function, consciously or sub-consciously under the belief that one can only win by someone else loosing, as if the activities of our lives…  political, economic, and even spiritual lives are all zero-sum games. Our thinking remains darkened by that pesky original sin, which limits our vision for goodness and seeks only what is best for ourselves. Fueled by desires that are too often primitive and self-centered, we fight with one another to obtain more for ourselves at the expense of others. That’s true for nations as well as individuals. How long now have we known about sweatshops and the exploitation of those who work there and yet, we continue to buy the items they produce? How long have we denied paying living wages to those who do menial labor in this country so we can have more “stuff”? 

There are so many good works that we do because we are trying to live and act as Christ taught us, and we can never lose track of that. Yet it is clear that our world suffers today because too many of us are still thinking, “as human beings do”. St. James calls us to task by reminding us that we are often long on talk and short on doing. He challenges us to live our faith in a way that demonstrates our efforts to strive to think as God thinks. How does God think? Jesus let us know that and His message is clear: we should love one another and take care of our brothers and sisters in need, just as He loves and cares for us.  That way of living puts aside our dualistic thinking so that we can focus single-mindedly on Christ and see and think as he does. 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

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Ephphatha! Be Opened!

Deacon Tom writes

www.deacontomwrites.com

“Ephphatha!”- “Be Opened!”

Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Jesus says two simple words to the deaf man and he is able to hear.  His life changed in an instant.  There is a newness to the world he has been living in but in which he was not fully participating.  In an instant he is complete, made whole, reunited to his community from which he was isolated somewhat, and ready, perhaps, to begin life anew.

There are many such events recorded in the gospels that demonstrate Jesus had power over the natural world.  He changed water into wine, walked on water, calmed the sea, multiplied the loaves and fished.  But Jesus’ greatest power lies in his power to heal as we read in today’s gospel.  And he uses that power to set this man free from the loneliness and isolation that his deafness has caused.

The words we hear in the gospel today are powerful, “Be opened”.  They challenge us to look into our lives and find those attitudes and behaviors that stand in stark contrast to the openness that God asks of us.   Are we “open” to forgive someone who has hurt us?  Are we “open” to letting go of longstanding and often bitter resentments? Are we willing to change our bad behaviors that find gossiping, criticizing, biased toward or thinking that we are better than others? 

When we are “opened” to the Word of God, our lives change as, in today’s gospel, this man’s life was changed.  We don’t know the details on what changed.  We only know that he and those who witnessed this amazing event were told not to tell anyone what happened.   Yet, they were “astonished” and there was no way for them to keep this a secret.  That’s because God never disappoints.  There is nothing that we could ever do that God in turn does not use for our good.  That’s the deeper meaning of faith.  That’s the “openness” that God longs for so that he can fill us with every good thing in our time of need.  Openness is our invitation to God to come into our lives.  Let’s spend some time today getting ourselves ready for our Guest who is nearer to us than we are ourselves.  

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

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Pick a Number From One to Ten

Deacon Tom writes

“Pick a Number From One to Ten”

Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Have you ever seen the Mel Brooks skit about the Fifteen Commandments?  It seems that when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai, he originally had three tablets each containing five commandments inscribed by God. But when Moses got to the bottom of the mountain, he dropped one of the tablets. Moses looked over his shoulder at the Lord who was still in the cloud at the top and asked Him, “What should I do, Lord?”  God replied, “Let’s go with ten!”

How many commandments do we need to live wholesome, peaceful, and humble lives?  Jesus takes the Ten Commandments and reduces them to a single one with two equal parts… “Love God with all your heart, mind, and strength; and, love your neighbor as yourself”. So when Jesus is challenged by some Pharisees about washing his hands before eating, he calls them what they are…hypocrites. Jesus knows that this notion of ritualistic purity is a diversion from doing the real work that God calls us to do. In fact, a lot of the work God calls us to do is pretty dirty if not totally ritualistically unclean. Working with the homeless or in AIDS clinics or Soup Kitchens may get your hands dirty but such activity is sure to open your eyes to a level of poverty and how deprived of personal hygiene many poor and indigent men, women, and children experience day to day. There is a large contingency of our brothers and sisters today for whom eating off of dirty plates is the least of their problems.  Newsflash… Jesus is not worried about us eating from dirty dishes! The filth Jesus wants to alert and cleans us from is that which comes from within – our hardheartedness, our deafness to the needs and concerns of others, our self-centeredness, our out of control desires, our lusting for what’s not ours. So again, how many commandments do we need to save us from ourselves?  Ten?  Seventeen?  Do we decide which number is right for us – just like the Serta sleep bed, or are we going to listen to what the teacher has to say…and take up our cross and follow him by loving God and placing ourselves in the service of one another?

God didn’t bring us into creation to get caught up in the minutia. We do need rules to guide and govern our lives. And so Jesus gave us some simple ones to live by. If we want to live happy and fulfilling lives, we must see in ourselves and in each other the dignity that God has given to us. We must come to recognize that God dwells in each and every one of us. And, we must realize that we come to know, love, and serve him by knowing, loving, and serving one another. We don’t need a lot of rules to live a[i] good life. Rather we must, in the words of St. Paul, “Be doers of the word and not hearers only” following Jesus’ example by Loving God and each other.

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

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