August 28, 2005: You Duped Me

+THE TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME


In our first reading today, the prophet Jeremiah cries out to God: You duped me and I let myself be duped! (Jeremiah 20: 7) The Hebrew word for “duped” (פּתה • paw-thaw´) has the sense that Jeremiah was deceived by being flattered and enticed by God… almost in a playful way. I picture this much the way that you play with a small child: delighting them by pulling a quarter out of their ear, or sliding your palm over your hand to make your thumb disappear, or pretending to steal their nose. Of course, this kind of playfulness is based on love… and as the child gets older, the loving deceptions may take more subtle forms: using reverse psychology, playing games to make them eat their broccoli, and so on. We do these silly things to teach children things, to keep them healthy, to give them self-confidence and to help them to become better people.

Apparently God, our heavenly Father, doesn’t mind resorting to the same kind of playful tricks. And Jesus told his friends that they had to be clever as serpents… so it seems that this kind of gentle trickery is a good life skill to have!

But interestingly, when life gets serious, the Lord shows us that it’s best to deal with people and situations in a straightforward manner. This is not the time for deception or dupery or sugar-coating.

Jesus’ relationship with his disciples reached this point when he told them: No longer do I call you slaves . . . but I have called you friends (John 15: 15). So today in the gospel he says, “Look, I’m going to die.” Peter replies, “Bite your tongue!” It seems he still wants the sugar-coating.

But Jesus comes back, “No, Peter. I have to tell you this straight out. It’s too important. My love for you is so strong that I want you to know the path to God. No more parables, no word games, just the sure and certain truth, which is this: Take up your cross. Don’t be afraid. Follow me.”

We get to see a new side of Christ… a rather unsettling side. And of course, we’ve got lots of questions, and so did the apostles. The second time Jesus brought up this going-to-Jerusalem-to-die business, the Scriptures say flat out, The apostles did not understand but they were afraid to ask him (Mark 9: 32).

It’s like the labyrinth we talked about last week. Life is dishing out a new and frightening twist and we don’t know what to do about it.

Listen again to Jesus’ words: Don’t be afraid. Follow me. It will be all right.

Most of us are scared to death to believe and take this advice. We are afraid and we’re not willing to move forward after the Lord—so believe it or not, we suffer more than we have to.

I’ve been reading a beautiful book by a doctor who specializes in working with cancer patients. She takes a holistic approach to healing, so she brings in a lot of counseling and spirituality into her work. This physician tells the story of several of her patients who had the same reaction to learning they had cancer: they felt overwhelmed that they were being chased by a beast from the darkness that wanted to suck them in and devour them. So they responded by running away from the beast and the darkness, by pushing themselves, by refusing to give in. And in each case, the patients got to a point where they were absolutely exhausted and weary of the good fight—but they were even more afraid of giving up.

The doctor asked them what would happen if they just allowed themselves to be drawn by the beast into the darkness and eaten. The patients had tried everything else and in time they figured if their time was up, they may as well try this, too.

Well, each and every one of them told the same story. Floating into the darkness was not cold or scary. Being eaten up was not painful. It was warm and comforting and peaceful… it felt like they were being supported and loved and were safe… but they didn’t know this until they let go.

In fact, the experience transformed these people. As odd as it sounds, they found light in the darkness.

You don’t have to be dying to have this kind of discovery or epiphany. The gospel today is the end of Matthew, chapter 16. Did you realize that chapter 17 starts out with the story of the Transfiguration? Just a coincidence? I don’t think so.

By not being afraid, taking up our cross and following the Lord, we too can get ourselves to a far better and safer place than whatever pickle we find ourselves in. We can see God and other people in a wonderful new light. We can tear down the walls of hatred, suspicion, jealousy that separate us from the love of others… we can let out the demons that have kept us locked up in fear… we can experience the beauty and joy of the journey of life, no matter how it appears through our earthly eyes before we let go.

Come on, Lord. Dupe us all as you did to Jeremiah. And we pray that we will allow ourselves to be duped. Amen.




Today’s Readings:
Jeremiah 20: 7–9
Psalm 63
Romans 12: 1–2
Matthew 16: 21–27

August 21, 2005: The Labyrinth

+THE TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME


Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How inscrutable are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! (Romans 11: 33).

Inscrutable: impossible to understand or figure out.

Our God’s plans and methods are so unknown, so beyond us, so impossible to understand or figure out, that words don’t begin to convey the depth of the mystery. Yet it is smack-dab in the middle of that very mystery that we live and breathe and journey towards eternity. All we know—and we know it only on faith—is that God is the sum-total of perfection. So as much as this world and this journey are impossible to figure out, they are nonetheless the product of God’s total wisdom and love… and therefore when we trust and put ourselves in God’s hands, even though we are flying blind, we are totally safe.

One of the more interesting ways that the Church has illustrated this belief has been through an art form known as the labyrinth. Perhaps the most famous labyrinth in the world dates back to the year 1300 and is in the Cathedral of Chartres, not too far from Paris. (To read more about the Cathedral and Labyrinth, and to see photos, visit: http://www.labyrinthos.net/chartpics.htm)

The labyrinth is like a maze, except there are no wrong turns or dead ends. It’s a walking meditation in the form of a circular pattern of stone tiles in the cathedral floor. A narrow path weaves back and forth within this 42-foot-diameter circle. A person starts at the outside of the circle and follows the path very slowly as it doubles and redoubles back upon itself until eventually it reaches the center of the circle. The distance from start to center and back is about a third of a mile.

Walking the labyrinth is deceptive. When you start out, it looks like you’re heading directly for the center, when in fact you’re actually at the farthest point away from it. And then, just moments before you do come to the center, you’re walking near the outermost edge of the circle. Among other things, walking the labyrinth makes you confront the world of mystery and illusion—the difference between our rigid perception of how the world works and God’s inscrutable way: the way the world really works.

It can be a humbling experience, because you’re forced to look beyond the familiar evidence that your eyes and your brain feed you, and instead stretch for the mysterious and unseen.

A person can gain many interesting insights in walking and meditating the labyrinth. One thought might occur to you when you reach the center. As you look out, you see the path that you walked from the beginning…with all its complexity, frustrations and endless twists and turns. What a beautiful metaphor for life! Aren’t events that seem to be meaningless, or even wasteful, taking us to our destination just as surely as the twisting and turning path of the labyrinth?

Perhaps the path we’re on just seems random because we’re still on it. Only at the completion of the journey—when we’re in the center—can we see for sure that the strange way did have a logical and purposeful destination.

As we journey through life, we all experience many times when we cry out, “Why, God?” Why this burden? Why this setback? Why this heavy cross? Those are not bad or sinful questions. They’re human questions. Even the saints asked them.

But God says nothing except, “Look at Jesus”—the one to whom Peter says today, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus teaches us how to stay on the funny, twisting and frustrating narrow path of the labyrinth when every bit of human logic tells us to run for the hills. And we can and will make it because God has implanted in our soul a divine spark—a divine GPS/global positioning system chip, you might say—that is our homing device. This is the core of our conscience and our being.

And just the way that highways and roadways have signposts to guide us as we travel along, so does God’s church serve to reassure us and reorient us when necessary. Peter got the keys to run the guidance system.

With all these safeguards in place, and with God actively watching over the whole shooting match, there is absolutely nothing in life to be afraid of. We’re loved, we’re safe, the path is marked out for us. The gift of life is a great gift, a great treasure, and the Lord wants us to embrace it with gusto and enjoy it thoroughly—to experience its richness, to share its blessings with everyone, and not to be disconcerted by even the nastiest twists and turns.

How come? Who knows the mind of God? Maybe it’s like going on a giant roller coaster ride that’s both scary and thrilling. When we step off at the end of the ride, with our knees still knocking but with a very big grin, maybe God is standing there to say with a wink, “Wasn’t that great?”

In the words of the opening prayer of this mass, May all the attractions of a changing world serve only to bring us the peace of your kingdom which this world does not give. Amen.


Today’s Readings:
Isaiah 22: 19–23
Psalm 138
Romans 11: 33–36
Matthew 16: 13–20

August 14, 2005: Making People Jealous

+THE TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME


St. Paul writes: I glory in my ministry in order to make my race jealous and thus save some of them (Rom 11: 13–14). Isn’t that an interesting comment? What he’s saying is this: I want my people to see how great it is to be a follower of Jesus Christ—to be a real Christian—and I want them to crave that kind of life, too… so they can experience the same joy now and achieve salvation in the glorious life to come.

Think about that. The world, especially non-Christians, should be jealous of us Christians. What would make that happen? Or perhaps the better question is, why isn’t that happening?

Christ’s A-Number-One teaching and command is a one-word instruction: love. We are to love God and love one another. And frankly, there’s nothing that can provoke feelings of jealousy more than being in love or being loved. Everybody wants a piece of that. It makes us happy and secure. It makes us feel safe and important. Love is the best thing in the world.

The problem is, as the old song says, most of us are “looking for love in all the wrong places.” How do we make ourselves feel better? Well, we need to surround ourselves with more things: more money, more toys, a fancier car, a bigger house, a snazzier wardrobe, more gigabytes on my hard drive… Jesus keeps telling us, though, that those are silly things to chase after because we can’t take those with us into the next life… or they can be lost or stolen. Plus, I think we all know that when we get the possession we’ve been coveting, almost immediately it starts losing its luster—and before long, we’re off seeking the next thrill. So it’s not having things that makes people jealous of Christians.

Some people try to find security and fulfillment in non-physical things—like skill, knowledge, training, experience. But like possessions, these don’t provide everything we’re looking for. I may be the best doctor in the world, but I still can’t take away every person’s pain or disease.

No, to be a true Christian—a Christian who can and should make others jealous—doesn’t take money, possessions, brains, talent, good luck or any such thing. It merely takes love… and love properly exercised.

Love, you see, is always going to be based on a relationship. Love God, love neighbor. That is the object of our love. It’s the relationship that inspires the jealousy.

In our self-centered world, though, too many people aren’t willing to put in the work to make a relationship blossom and thrive. We’re quick to allow ourselves to be hurt, insulted, offended… to hold a grudge… to walk away. It’s easy to write off people… to judge them… to put them in categories that don’t suit us. These are all anti-love tactics, because they build a protective wall around us that closes us off to the love of others. That doesn’t make anyone jealous.

Last week, as you know, I took a week and went home to Ohio. Let me tell you about my little trip to the farm.

My niece, who also came out to visit, was covered from head to foot with some kind of mysterious rash that crops up, grows, disappears, reappears, changes shape—and itches like crazy. She’s had it for two weeks, and has been to the doctor and emergency room several times. She, and her parents, were going out of their minds trying to get it diagnosed and treated. Nothing like a suffering child to bring up the panic and stress in the household.

Then there’s my godmother. She’s been a cigarette smoker for close to 60 years and now, unfortunately, emphysema is setting in. She had reached the point where she was holding her cigarette in one hand and her inhaler in the other. Finally, she realized she had to quit smoking… so she did it. Cold turkey. Except she cheated… and that makes the agony of withdrawal start all over. That’s now happened three or four times. Imagine the stress that adds to the house. I cleverly timed my arrival to coincide with this process.

My dog Maggie always enjoys our visits, because her littermate sister was there and the two had a ball playing together. This time, her sister Minnie was quite sick. The vet thinks she might have gotten a bad puppy shot and was probably a bit weak to start with, so she wound up with a canine disease called Lepto. It left her with kidney failure. My sister drove the dog 20 miles each way for daily IV treatments and veterinary exams. One day, in the middle of my visit, when we thought Minnie was out of the woods, she died.

We were also experiencing a water shortage, computer problems, my brother’s stress of trying to race against the clock to get his university tenure materials completed, a relative in the middle of a thousand-mile move, money issues…and probably a few other things that now escape me.

But you know what? There’s not another place in the world that I’d have rather been, because there’s no place else, except with God himself, that I experience so much love. And even in the midst of so much pressure, we still had a chance to laugh… and even goof around with the Clairol bottle. Christian love makes all things possible, tolerable and even enjoyable. And that’s exactly why it makes others jealous.

Good people, it doesn’t matter one whit whether things in life are going your way or whether you’re in the midst of one giant crisis after another. Anchor yourself with Christ with Lord and with other people. Don’t be afraid, don’t be shy, don’t wait another day. Jump into life with both feet and start making people jealous. That’s the way to make God smile on you.



Today’s Readings:
Isaiah 56: 1, 6–7
Psalm 67
Romans 11: 13–15, 29–32
Matthew 15: 21–28