Trials of Faith

24th Sunday of Ordinary Time

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1 IS 50:5-9A, Psalm 116:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 8-9, JAS 2:14-184, Gospel MK 8:27-35

Who do people say that I am?

If I was to read the news papers today about who people say that Christ is, then I would get a very negative view of the Church
Christians are a group of narrow-minded, hate-filled, bigots. Or, Christians are a bunch of mindless, rule following people
who have been deceived by a group of corrupt Priests and Bishops.  

We might feel pretty good if someone were to respond - a group of people who try to live according to God’s commands, like
one of the prophets - or a holy people.

It is true that the Church is mired in a scandal that has many dimensions, including the sexual sins of Cardinal McCarrick or
the act of covering up priestly sexual abuse by Cardinal Wuerl in Pennsylvania.  In the light of the Grand Jury report from
Pennsylvania - who do we say that Christ is?  

My goal today is to preach on the Gospel not to be mired into the details about the abuse crisis that the Church is embroiled
in - if you want to speak with me about that I am more than willing to sit down and share my thoughts on that issue at another
time.  These two issues are relevant - and I am sure that many of the faithful are asking ourselves - who do we say that Christ
is?

It is critical for us to have an authentic answer to this question from Christ

I think that it is critical to have an honest answer to this question, and then to being living your response to the Gospel today
based on your answer to that question.

The Spectrum - Worldly - Spiritual - Christian

I think that our answer to this question of Christ reflects where we are on the spectrum of faith in our relationship with God.  
Our response could be anywhere from “I am not part of the Church” - to - “You are the one anointed by God to show us his
love!” This is Peter’s response.  

The Spiritual Response

If your answer is nearer to the Jews - One of the Prophets, etc, then we need to begin to examine what is behind my reason
for coming to mass - Am I here for the social status, because of tradition?  Am I hear because of my family, or because of my
relationship with Christ.

The Christian Response

When we have had an authentic encounter with Christ, then it becomes very difficult for us to deny the reality of His presence
and teaching in our lives.  We recognize that Christ really is God-in-the-flesh and because of that everything he does and says
is significant to the way that we live our lives.

Do I have a fully Christian Response - Peter

As we begin to read scripture, to hear the witness of Christ and to see how He lived his life and how He calls us to follow him,
we get uncomfortable as St. Peter did.  Right after blessing Peter, Christ begins to talk about the depths of His love for us -
how that love will require him to suffer and die. This teaching of Christ does not agree with Peter’s vision for who Christ is,
and so he pulls Christ aside and tries to correct him.

How often in our lives do we disagree with the teaching of Christ - on the care for the poor, immigration, on the evil of
contraception, homosexuality, abortion, divorce, remarriage, cohabitation?  

Christ’s response to the areas of our lives that are in disobedience to his teachings is “Get behind me Satan!”  - That is follow
\me. It is interesting that he uses this phrase with St. Peter, but to the devil at his temptation he says “Begone” - get away from
me.  Yet here he calls us to conversion and to follow him. To pick up the cross and follow in his footsteps.

How do we live lives of Faith?

When we choose to pick up the cross and begin to follow Christ then we begin to live out the gift of Faith that St. James speaks
about in the 2nd Reading.

Faith is our Recognition and Response to God’s presence in our lives.  We have faith when we are able to see that God has
saved us from the consequences of our sin.

What are the Works that are the response of Faith?

We have faith when we recognize how good God is, how he has blessed us and guided the course of our life.  James goes on to
say that Faith demands a Response in the actions of our lives. It is one thing to say that I will be faithful to my promises to
God in my marriage, it is another thing to choose to live them out each day of our life.  After all, what good is it to say I will be
faithful to you in marriage if you don’t also remain true to your vows by actually refusing to have an affair on them.  It is one
thing to say that I will be faithful to the promises that I made to God in my ordination - it is another thing to live them out day
after day.

Faith without an answer is dead

Faith without response is dead.  We live our faith when we choose to change the actions of our lives based on our recognition
of Christ’s presence in our lives.

What is the Faith of our Parish?

I have had the opportunity to witness to how parishioners from our parish respond to the needs of the homeless, the jobless,
the sick and the homebound.  Through your generosity I see faith lived out. Faith requires that we recognize God’s presence
in our lives and that we respond to His presence in a direct, practical and physical way.  When we respond in faith we make
God visible to the world.

How do we recognize the Cross in our life?

At the end of the Gospel Christ calls us to take up our Cross and to follow him.  One question that I get is how do I know what
my cross is?  It is undeniable. The cross carries with it suffering, and it is not something that we have inflicted upon ourselves.  
For example, if we constantly criticize our children or our spouse, and they respond to us with bitterness - this is not the cross,
but a self-inflicted suffering.  If we live in sin, such as infidelity so that our spouse does not trust us - this is not a cross - but
the consequence of sin.

The Cross is tied to the Truth

The cross comes to us as suffering that we did not ask for and would not have chosen.  Yet, when the suffering comes we
recognize the truth of what Christ is calling us to live out, and we see that in carrying our cross Christ is walking with us
through our suffering and into a holier relationship with him.

For me, the cross is my divorce.  Many of you know that a few years after I was ordained my wife chose to divorce me.  After
a decade of reflecting on the whole event, I have come to understand that my divorce is not something that I chose or is a
consequence of my selfishness.

How do we carry the cross?

In the Psalm today we learn that God listens to us when we pray to him in the midst of trying to carry our Cross.  The Psalmist
says

“I love the LORD because he has heard my voice in supplication,” “because he has inclined his ear to me

the day I called.”

Notice that we are invited to call upon the Lord, and that he inclines his ear to us in our suffering.

The psalmist goes on to say -

The cords of death encompassed me;

the snares of the netherworld seized upon me;

I fell into distress and sorrow,

and I called upon the name of the LORD,

"O LORD, save my life!"

When we reject the cross we can feel overwhelmed, immersed and helpless.  This happens when we forget who Christ is -
the one who has defeated sin and death!  When we enter into death, we fall into a despair and depression.
The Christian recognizes that he is entering into a relationship of intimate love with Christ, because we are choosing to join
Him in His suffering and so he says

 

Gracious is the LORD and just;

yes, our God is merciful.

The LORD keeps the little ones;

I was brought low, and he saved me.

Carrying the cross helps us to grow in humility.  It is painful for me to share my suffering. I see how others flinch and look at
me when I share that I am divorced.  They wonder and worry. We can learn however not to shy away from the reality that
Christ has called to as the psalmist says:  

For he has freed my soul from death,

my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.

I shall walk before the Lord

in the land of the living.

The Resurrection is about freedom from Death.  Christ brings about freedom from sin by entering into our lives more
completely.  

How do we carry the Cross like Christ?

The Lord GOD opens my ear that I may hear;

Carrying the cross teaches us to listen

The first reading today picks up from where the Gospel left off last week.  If you recall last week Jesus opened the ears of the
man who was deaf and mute.  In this week Isaiah begins with the truth that God seeks to open our ears so that we can hear his
voice.

and I have not rebelled,

have not turned back.

The Christian listens to all that Christ has to say.  Do we have open ears or do we rebel against His will? God’s will is
manifested in the reality of my life.  When I encounter the cross do I surrender to the will of God and carry it?

As a single Dad and Deacon I need to make the decision to pick up the cross and follow Christ. When we make the daily
choice to embrace the cross we give witness to who Christ truly is by our actions.  

What Christ is calling us to do?

The easy response to the Cross is to say “Nuts to this” and go off and do what we want.   That is what rebellion looks like.
Have I rebelled?

The Christian response is different.  As a single Dad and a Deacon I find that I have had to make this decision many times - to
embrace the cross, with its embarrassment and to continue to serve and follow God.  

I gave my back to those who beat me,

my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;

my face I did not shield

from buffets and spitting.

Are we willing to face the struggles that exist because we choose to listen to God and to respond to his love trusting that he
will lead us through the dark valley and into his presence?

The Lord GOD is my help,

therefore I am not disgraced;

I have set my face like flint,

knowing that I shall not be put to shame.

Those who carry the cross are not dis-graced!

To carry the cross we must cling to Christ.  To go to confession regularly when we fall into sin.  To be dis-graced means to be
without grace. It is true that when we reject the cross we enter into sin because we reject the voice of God.  Sometimes we do
this out of anger or frustration.

Listening to God fills us with Grace

When we choose to listen to the voice of God and to follow Christ then we are not without grace but we become full of Grace.  
In the end God will be our judge. He knows our actions and the truth in our hearts.

  

See, the Lord GOD is my help;

who will prove me wrong?

Brothers and Sisters - Have Courage - embrace the Cross and be a witness of the Love of Christ in this dark world!

Forgive us our trespasses...

24th Sunday of Ordinary Time – Cycle A

A Boat ride on the Sea of Galiliee
We don’t know from scripture what led to the incident in the Gospel reading today.  St. Matthew does not say.  Following St. Ignatius I want us to use our active imagination and put ourselves into the situation with Peter and Jesus.  Imagine that Peter has offered to take Jesus out on his fishing boat in the late afternoon / early evening to escape the heat of the day and enjoy a cool breeze on the Sea of Galilee.  So, they go down to the boat to depart, and instead of finding everything in order, it is a total mess.  Peter knows instantly that it was his brother who left this mess. – Andrew!  He is steamed by his brother’s messiness and really annoyed.  After all Andrew has been a slob and his messiness has ruined what would have been a wonderful evening.

Yet at the same time Peter knows that Jesus is calling him to conversion, to forgiveness, even of his own annoying brother.  So with that in mind he turns to Jesus and asks him.  "Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him?  Seven Times?”  Perhaps forgiving Andrew seven seems to be a lot.

Jesus answered, "I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times. 

Oops, thinks Peter, I guess I need to work on my ability to forgive my brother…

But why Lord?  I don’t understand.  Look at this mess, Look at the impact it has on me as I need to take away from our time together to clean it up.  Look at how it ruined our evening!

Where is your heart looking - to yourself or to God?
The book of Sirach gives us some clues about why imitating the love of God is ultimately good for us.  It starts us where Peter is at – Look at how I suffer from Andrew’s sin!  It starts us at where our heart is at, and then leads us to where God’s heart is at.

Wrath and anger are hateful things,
yet the sinner hugs them tight.
The vengeful will suffer the LORD's vengeance,
for he remembers their sins in detail.

Injustice to the self?
When we are busy caught up in injustice it is often not a holy justice, but a selfish sense of justice.  And for the reason of the logic of the injustice, we can’t get beyond ourselves and the wrong to understand the injury from God’s perspective.  For this reason, we hug tightly to our sinfulness.

The backpack of Gruges?
Think of that image for a second.  It is like we wear a backpack of grudges, and every time we experience an injustice, instead of forgiving, and loving, we stuff the injustice into our grudge pack and keep on going.  And then the day comes when the grudge pack is full, and someone gives us another grudge, and gets a whole lot back in return!

Christ calls us to conversion
Yet Christ calls us to conversion.  To forgiveness.  Instead of holding onto those grudges, slights, injustices ourselves, he calls us to give them to God.  We surrender judgment to God who can judge justly, who judges with mercy.  Whose justice is his mercy and whose mercy is his justice because God’s justice is aimed at bringing about an authentic communion of love and relationship with himself and with one another.

God invites us into this relationship, but gives us the freedom to choose or reject it.

Forgive your neighbor's injustice;
then when you pray, your own sins will be forgiven.
Could anyone nourish anger against another
and expect healing from the LORD?
Could anyone refuse mercy to another like himself,
can he seek pardon for his own sins?
If one who is but flesh cherishes wrath,
who will forgive his sins?

Forgive us…
This challenge is codified in the Our Father – Forgive us our Trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.

IDEA:  Pray an Our Father each day for each person that you feel that you are angry / vengeful towards.  Do this on your way to work with them or when you recognize that you are avoiding them.  It is a way of keeping this idea from Sirach foremost in our hearts.

How to respond to Injustice
When we face those who treat us unjustly, who sin against us, or persecute us, then how do we respond?  With Mercy and forgiveness, with prayer and thanksgiving.  Jesus shows this in the parable he explains to Peter

That is why the kingdom of heaven may be likened to a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. When he began the accounting, a debtor was brought before him who owed him a huge amount.Since he had no way of paying it back, his master ordered him to be sold, along with his wife, his children, and all his property, in payment of the debt. At that, the servant fell down, did him homage, and said, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back in full.' Moved with compassion the master of that servant let him go and forgave him the loan. 

God is the King, we are the Servants
The King is God, and we are the servants.  We are in debt to God on account that he created us and invites us into a relationship of co-creation with himself, and we are called to witness the love of God to one another, and yet in our sin we destroy God’s gift.  This is the debt that we cannot repay.

How does the king respond to this debtor.
1. He listens!
2. He speaks the truth with love – he points out the reality of the debt.
3. He has a greater mercy than the debtor can even imagine.  The debtor pleads for time to repay and the King forgives.  This is extra-ordinary love!
4. The King’s response leads the servant to Freedom so he can choose to love God more fully – rather than imprisoning him.

This is important because the King teaches us how to be like Christ.

How do we respond to this gift of Mercy?
When that servant had left, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a much smaller amount. He seized him and started to choke him, demanding, 'Pay back what you owe.'

Falling to his knees, his fellow servant begged him,
'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.' But he refused.  Instead, he had the fellow servant put in prison until he paid back the debt. 

Does the Servant Imitate the King?
When we are angry with others, when we are hurt by others do we choose to imitate the love of Christ?  Do we imitate the love and generosity and forgiveness of God?  This servant does not, and when the King hears how his forgiven servant responds, he has the servant suffer for failing to learn the lesson.

• The servant does not listen – he says Give me my Money!
• The servant does not forgive – he impressions
• The servant does not lead his brother to freedom, he insists on getting “His right”.

The servant does not imitate the generosity and mercy of God.  He is owed much less, and yet his response is less generous.  His heart is hard, his goal is the self and not God’s Plan

Baptism - we are called to imitate the mercy of the King as a sacrifice.
This is why we have the second reading – to help us to understand our mission as Christians in the world.

Brothers and sisters:
None of us lives for oneself, and no one dies for oneself.  

What is our orientation in life – for myself and the little debts that I am owed – debts of justice, debts of uncharity, debts of cruelty?  Or is my orientation to imitate Christ and his love?

For if we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord;

Baptism is a commission to be a source of forgiveness
To die is to suffer the injustice of another and then to offer it in prayer for the salvation of the other.  Remember that it is by our Baptism that we enter into the suffering and death of Jesus Christ.  In our Baptism we are called to share in the priestly ministry of offering sacrifice for those who cause us to suffer.  Jesus took our debts with him into the grave when he died on the Cross, and then he left them there and rose to eternal life with God the Father.

so then, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.
For this is why Christ died and came to life,
that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living.

Are we watering the seed of eternal life we were given at Baptism with these opportunities for prayer, forgiveness and grace, or are we ignoring the invitations of the King?