Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - How Low Can You Go?_101721

Deacon Tom Writes,

“How Low Can You Go?” 

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Remember the lyrics to Chubby Checker’s song, Limbo Rock? “Jack be limbo, Jack be quick, Jack go unda limbo stick.” The idea was to contort yourself from one side of the “limbo stick” to the other. The challenge was to see “How low could you go?” We had a lot of laughs trying, but not too much success!

Today’s readings provide us with profound insight into the revolutionary nature of the Kingdom Jesus laid the foundation for during his ministry. It comes as the Apostles are arguing about who was the greatest, who would be first when this kingdom came to full stature. To their dismay, Jesus makes it clear that what he has in mind isn’t about choosing a CEO or EVP; rather, it’s about attracting servants. Jesus is challenging his followers to conduct their lives in such a way that to others they would appear to be “the slaves of all.” By their outward acts of service, Jesus’ followers would reject the vestiges of power and privilege that governed the prevailing society. For the Apostles, as for us, this teaching that the rules that govern the Kingdom of God are vastly different than those we are accustomed was, and remains, quite a shock. In this world the great ones lord it over their subjects; in God’s realm, the greatest ones are the servants of all.

Jesus isn’t making small talk. We know from the way he lived and, especially, by the vicious death he suffered that he meant what he said about Servanthood. He was the faithful servant who came into our broken and troubled world to bring us the Good News of our Father’s love. It is a love that the Father intends for us to share with one another... willingly... graciously... indiscriminately.

It is in the spirit of Servanthood that Jesus takes on the role of the Suffering Servant who, in the words of Isaiah, “through his suffering…will justify many.” Most of us are not called to suffer the way Christ did, and thank God for that! But, we are called to share the suffering our brothers and sisters in Christ experience today by being aware of their poverty, how they are victimized and exploited by our society and then to respond, as best we are able, as moved by the Holy Spirit. We share in Christ’s suffering when we put ourselves into these desperate situations and we stand there as a sign of God’s presence. We witness to God’s presence when we make the decision to cooperate with the abundant graces God has placed in our hearts. The lower you go to serve God’s children, the higher you rise in the Kingdom of God where Jesus tells us that “as often as you did it for one of my least brothers and sisters, you did it for me.”

St. Paul reminds us that Jesus experienced all of our human condition in their entirety. He suffered the abuse, rejection, ridicule of the people he came to redeem; he suffered the rejection of family who thought he was out of his mind; he suffered the loss of beloved friends. He suffered the injustice of capital punishment! He experienced the full spectrum of our human drama, and he did so willingly... “tested in every way” Paul writes. Why? Because of his great love for us. And, the Kingdom he sets in motion is that place, the only place, where the love we see in Christ’s life and death calls us to follow him by “giving our all” to being “servants of all.”

Enjoy the day!
Deacon Tom

But... You Just Don't Understand

Deacon Tom Writes,

“But…. You Just Don’t Understand”

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Have you ever heard the expression, “But….you just don’t understand”? That phrase finds its way into a conversation often when someone feels they are not getting the emotional support they need to communicating “their side” of the story or when they are trying to justify their own bad behavior and explain how things were “different for them”. 

In his letter to the Hebrews St. Paul makes the point that Jesus experienced the fullness of our human experience. “He has been tested in every way, yet without sin” Jesus was ridiculed. He knows what it is like to be made fun of, to be rejected, and to be poor. Jesus had no political connections or a regular job to go to Monday through Friday. He had no family (wife and children ) of his own. And when the chips were down, when public opinion turned against Him, He was betrayed by a close friend, arrested, tortured, given a pretense of a trial on trumped up charges, found guilty, and finally executed on behalf of those He had spent his life trying to help. Yes, Jesus was “tested in every way” to say the least. He experienced all the hardships of life, yet never offered an excuse… “Hey, wait…. you don’t understand…. I’m the son of God”. No…. He continued to be a servant of all and surrendered His life as “ransom for many”. 

Today Jesus spells out a condition of discipleship, namely, that we are to imitate Him in serving others... the poor, the marginalized, the prisoner, those who cannot speak for themselves. They are an easily identifiable lot; we find them spoken of often in the books of the Old Testament as those most in need of God’s care and protection, and they are:  the…widows, orphans and strangers. Today we see them in the detention centers on the

Evening News or rummaging through the wreckage of their homes destroyed by the recent hurricanes or tsunamis or earthquakes. We see them huddled together waiting for someone to help, to listen, to be present.

Now, a day will come when each of us will stand in judgment before Jesus and we will have to render an account of our lives. St Paul gives us some insight into that incredulous moment in his Letter to the Hebrews writing, “Brothers and sisters: Indeed the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we mush render and account.” Then we are going to have to explain what we did for the least of our brothers and sisters (those special people Jesus was so fond of during his life). When our day comes, I hope there will be someone standing next to Jesus to put in a good word for us; someone in whose life we have made a difference. And then we hear Jesus says “OK, Joe here from the soup kitchen has put in a good word for you, come on in!” On the other hand, if there is no one there to speak on our behalf, I guess we’ll have to give this feeble excuse, “Well, Jesus, you just don’t understand….” and then, hope for the best…

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Image Credit: newvoicesforresearch.blogspot.com