September 2nd - 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (English) Fr. Chris
September 16th - 24th Sunday in Ordinary
Time (English) Fr. Chris
When Abraham Lincoln was president it was possible for any
citizen to walk up to the front of the White House and knock on the door.
Usually the person was granted entrance. During the Civil War the
lawn of the White House was an encampment for Union soldiers. It’s
hard to imagine that today. Now in order to even get inside the White
House you must wait in line to get a ticket. If the tickets are all
gone for the day you want to visit, you are out of luck. No one that
I have ever met has been to a White House State dinner. Obviously
you have to know someone or be someone of great importance to get invited
to that.
Most things in society over time become more formalized and
stratified. You see this in clubs and organizations. You form
a club with some friends. Eventually someone suggests that you have
a president. Then you need by-laws or a constitution. Then
you need to decide how elections will take place. Once new officers
are installed you need a ritual for that. In that ritual should be
some kind of outward symbol—a certain hat or sash or item that is handed
onto the next president. Each year the ritual gets more elaborate
and the leaders take on more of the trappings of the office. What
started out as a simple club among friends became a rigid organization.
You think, “How did this happen?”
I guess it’s natural in human society that we divide ourselves
into classes and groups. We seem to do this naturally. If you
have ever served on jury duty you have to elect a foreman. Usually
this is done pretty quickly. Often the decision occurs by simply
noticing who seems to have the best ability to lead a group. This
kind of thing occurs even at cocktail parties and other celebrations.
Someone takes charge and most people naturally follow.
Since this is so natural one would think that there should
never be any problems with it. Unfortunately, due to pride and sin
there are. In fact, some scholars believe that the Original Sin of
Adam and Eve wasn’t primarily disobedience, but pride. They began
to believe that they didn’t need God telling them what to do. They
could do it themselves. So pride becomes a real obstacle in most
organizations.
When one is a chosen to lead they usually begin by desiring
only to serve the people they were asked to lead. They see it as
service. But as more perks and privileges accrue to that position
it becomes easy to take them for granted. I can give you a very personal
example of this. In my former parish there was a parking spot reserved
for me. There was a sign that said, “Fr. Chris” so everyone knew
that they shouldn’t park there. Yet, occasionally people would use
that spot if I weren’t there. One day I came to the church and someone
was in my parking spot. I could feel myself getting upset and indignant.
“How dare they park in my spot.” Almost immediately I felt ashamed.
I had begun to fall prey to this sin of pride. I deserve this parking
spot. No one should take it, etc. etc.
In the readings from scripture today Jesus and the Sage in
the book of Wisdom warn that pride can blind us to true service and love.
The more that we believe we deserve praise or privilege the less that we
will see a need to serve the people who bestowed those privileges upon
us. Therefore, constantly strive to associate with the lowest people
on the totem pole. Be open to suggestions from the newest or youngest
members. Don’t assume that you know everything. Be humble and
simple in dress, in possessions and in most everything that you do.
This is hard work. It requires constant effort to remain humble and
simple.
Most of us assume that we deserve everything that we work
for. Yet, all of our gifts and talents are given to us by God.
What if tomorrow they were taken away? What if someone more talented
or gifted arrived. Could we gracefully accept that? I know
it would be hard. Yet, how many cemeteries are filled with people
who believed the world could not go on without them.
The Lord asks us to be humble, as He was humble. He didn’t
live among us as a king, but a simple preacher with no where to lay his
head. He was born in a stable and died naked on a cross. This
is God the almighty who created the universe. Yet, He humbled Himself
for us. He does so every day coming among us in the form of bread
and wine. Each day we should turn to the Lord and thank Him for His
many gifts. Then we should pray that we use these gifts only for
service and for His greater glory. To do that is true humility and
simplicity. May God give us that grace. Amen.
Most of the time when we hear the story of the Prodigal Son
we associate with the younger son. We imagine ourselves as the one
who realizes they have sinned and then returns to find that God welcomes
us with open arms. It is true that there are times that our lives
have gotten messed up with the sins we have committed. But I am guessing
that for most of us that is actually quite rare. Most of us don’t
end up so far astray from God or from the people who love us. It
is true that we have all sinned. But most of the time those sins
aren’t of the nature that have so estranged us from God.
Actually most of us are probably more like the older son.
The older son is very dutiful. He follows the rules established by
his father. He believes that it is necessary to do so in order not
to offend. That is good and helpful in progressing along the path
of holiness. The problem that can happen with people who are like
the older son is that they can become presumptuous. They can assume
that any good things that come are earned. If I am good then I deserve
happiness and health, for instance. Likewise, any bad things that
happen must be due to some minor fault or sin that I have done. This
kind of equality or fairness is what a lot of us associate with justice.
We want the scales to be even. It seems right.
The stories in today’s Gospel remind us that rarely are the
scales even. In addition, to get them back to even requires time.
People who long for fairness or a strict justice can’t understand why things
are taking so long. For instance, who of us have felt something is
wrong when someone who is mean or cruel seems to prosper. Likewise,
it seems so unfair when we do everything as we should and still the car
won’t start, we get sick, or good friends die. It just isn’t fair.
Then we cry out to God, “Where are you?”
The fact of the matter is that God doesn’t desire that any
of us die in our sins. He wants all people to come to know and love
Him and live with Him eternally. But for that to happen time is required.
Not everyone recognizes their need for repentance. They don’t realize
that they have sinned. Or, even if they recognize that they have
done something wrong it takes awhile to make amends. When you think
about it, what if God did strike us down every time we did something wrong?
There wouldn’t be anyone standing. Yet, in our guts that is what
we hope for.
Didn’t you find yourself saying that this week especially?
The last thing on most of our minds or hearts was a willingness to wait
for God to work on the perpetrators allowing them the opportunity to repent
of their sins. We would much rather see strict justice done and done
quickly. If God doesn’t strike them down dead, then by goodness,
we will do it for Him. That inner reaction is more common than we
would like to admit.
Yet, in the same way we want God to give us a second chance
or a third or fourth. We want the opportunity to make things right.
Yet, there are times when we don’t want to repent right away. We
would rather feel angry with someone. Maybe we feel justified in
holding a grudge or wanting to get even. But when we are ready, then
God should give us the opportunity. Isn’t that so for most of us.
The reality is that God does give us many opportunities for
repentance. God offers us hints through other people and the circumstances
of our lives to return to Him. He wants us to know that we are loved,
even in the midst of our sin. God doesn’t like that we have sinned,
but knows we are far more precious than the sin that we have committed.
God also gives others that same opportunity. He is giving
the other person the same chance to return. God is using the time
and circumstances of their life to bring them back.
Finally, the world is not fair. Most of the time things
are not equal. Most of the time we are indebted to someone for something
they have done for us or they are in debt to us. There are wonderful,
fantastic things that occur for us for no particular reason. We find
that we are loved, that we have a home to live in, a family, and so many
other things that we didn’t earn or couldn’t pay for. Likewise there
are bad things that happen to us. Some of them are just the circumstances
of living. We get caught in traffic jams when we are late for work.
It rains when we are on vacation. People that we love get sick.
There are some things which others do to us that shouldn’t happen but do
anyway. The people who were on the airliners this week didn’t do
anything worse than anyone else did and yet they were victims of violence.
It shouldn’t have happened, but it did. In that sense the world is
unfair. God doesn’t prevent us from sinning or anyone else from sinning.
Instead, God calls each of us to holiness and repentance. He calls
everyone to help and guide others. That is our role. Know that
until the end of the world comes the scales will not be equal. Instead
of being angry for that we praise God for the blessings and seek help and
protection in the times of trial all the while knowing that God loves each
and every one of His creatures with an abiding love. Amen.