Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time_B - Envious Hearts_092621

Deacon Tom writes

“Envious Hearts”

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B

Both Moses and St. Luke shed some light about a serious sin that we all experience from time to time, the sin of envy.  In the spiritual realm this is such an insidious offense that it ranks as one of the seven deadly sins so named because they tend to inspire one to further sin. 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 in their company when they received the “spirit. Moses sensed that a spirit of envy or jealousy was at work with those who lodged the complaint. Instead of chastising the two who had received the gift of prophesy while away from camp, instead he responds, “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 and the “crowd” is upset with this; in the gospel a stranger was empowered to cast out demons without being an Apostle and again the “crowd” of disciples are offended. Envy is at work in both these events. In both instance the intention of those who complain is to get someone – Moses or Jesus – to issue a cease and desist order to the perceived antagonist. Rather than get their way, our teachers today hold a class that remains applicable for us today. 

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 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 when we see good being done, but rather a deep sense of awe at the wonders God is unfolding minute-by-minute, day-by-day all around us. Even by those who look, act, believe, and worship differently than we do. Better than keeping a jealous eye on what others appear to be doing is for us to act as those upon... whom God’s spirit has been bestowed. 

Enjoy the day!

Deacon Tom

Image from: zazzle.com

Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - And Miles to Go Before We Sleep_092720

Deacon Tom Writes,

“And Miles To Go Before We Sleep”

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

In his Apostolic Exhortation, “Evangelii Gaudium, the Joy of the Gospel” Pope Francis wrote “The Church which “goes forth” is a community of missionary disciples who take the first step, who are involved and supportive, who bear fruit and rejoice. An evangelizing community knows that the Lord has taken the initiative, He has loved us first (1 Jn 4:19), and therefore we can move forward, boldly take the initiative, go out to others, seek those who have fallen away, stand at the crossroads and welcome the outcast!”  The Pope’s reflection here captures well the image Matthew uses in today’s gospel in which the Father sends both his sons into the field to do the critical work of harvesting the field.  In this gospel passage and Francis’ comment we have a vivid picture of our task as missionary disciples: we have been sent into the world to do not our work but that of the Father's. We are, in the words of Fr Rodger Schroeder, S.V.D.,  “to proclaim, witness and serve God’s reign of love, salvation and justice” everywhere we go, to everyone we meet.  

Giving a list of chores to our children is something all parents can relate to. And, undoubtedly so is our kid's response. One might say “Yes” but doesn’t follow through; another says “No” but does what is asked. Both have been given a chore; only one obeys! Today’s gospel message is God’s request of us, His children, to bring His message of love, compassion, forgiveness and mercy to others, to a friend or neighbor who has given up on church, perhaps, or has been going through a difficult time and feels no one cares. There are many who need to know God loves them. There are so many who feel that God has abandoned them or is punishing them and they have isolated themselves from a parish community and they carry their sorrows and disappointments alone. Pope Francis is reminding us that we have all been called to share God's love, mercy and healing with others. This is the Joy of the Gospel, the Good News, to be shared with the lonely, those who are afraid and those who have fallen away from their faith. We are all active players in the work of spreading the Joy of the Gospel. There are no passive players, no benchwarmers sitting on the sidelines waiting for others to do the work. Spreading the gospel, being missionaries, and evangelizing – being joyful transmitters of the faith that we believe - is a requirement imposed upon us by our Baptism. It is, when all is said and done, about being “human” and in a way that Jesus was human, sharing in the lives of others in a most caring and sensitive way.

Many Catholics resist this notion of being “missionaries”, of “evangelizing” or being “sent” to engage in “missionary activity.” That is primarily because so many of us have a limited understanding of the word “mission”.  We associate it with going to the far reaches of the earth to preach the faith. True, many have done this – vis-a-vie the Maryknoll Fathers, the missionary arm of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, over the past century. But, over the years, we  have come to a better understanding about the nature of mission work to include any work that we do to “gossip the gospel” that is, to tell others how the gospel is alive and working in our life. That is essentially what missionary work is.  Any effort we do to help a neighbor because of our willingness to be a “servant” as demonstrated by Christ, is missionary work. Any sacrifice we make for others because of our love of God is a sacrifice that makes us a “missionary”. The prayers we offer in light of the suffering and misery of others is “missionary” work. Any and all Sacramental graces we receive into our lives that we pass on to others by listening without criticizing, feeding without judging, forgiving without blaming is the work the Father is asking of us today as He sends us out into the Fields of the Lord today.

What we know about mission from the profound writings of recent popes is that the Church doesn’t have a mission; rather, the mission has a Church… So, when Jesus tells his disciples, “Go, make disciples of all nations”, that’s what we are to do… How are we to do that?  As a community of missionary disciples sent out by our Church to whom that mission has been entrusted.

Enjoy the day and may God bless the work of your hands….

Deacon Tom