The Price of Grumbling

The Third Sunday of Lent
Today’s Readings: [Click here]

In the twelfth chapter of the Book of Exodus, we hear how Pharaoh is subjected to the tenth plague—the slaying of all the first born in the land of Egypt, man and beast alike. Then, at last, he gives in and lets Moses and the children of Israel leave their bondage. According to the Scriptures, the departing Jews numbered 600,000 men, not counting the women and children.

Today, in our first reading, we have a small excerpt from Chapter 17 of the same Book of Exodus. The events described took place a very short time after they left Egypt—perhaps just a few weeks, and certainly no more than just a few months.

The text says that the people were thirsty for water, so they grumbled against Moses. They reviled him by saying, “Why did you ever make us leave Egypt? Was it just to have us die here of thirst with our children and our livestock?”

Moses was a holy man, really trying very hard to do what God had asked of him, despite the personal sacrifice. He realized that the vicious complaining wasn’t really aimed at him, but at God. Despite so many miracles that these people had lived through, now they were doubting that the Lord was going to take care of them and lead them to the land he had promised—the land “flowing with milk and honey.”

The sniping and complaining evidently didn’t sit well with God either. As we all know, the Lord let them wander in the desert for forty years before bringing them to the Promised Land. And not one single person of this generation lived to step foot on that land. No, God really does not like grumbling.

Now, 600,000 men is a pretty big community. When we add back in the women and kids, what size population would you think we’re talking about here—a million and a half, two million people? Certainly a huge group! All wiped out within forty years’ time because of their criticizing and whining.

I have a friend who works at the Hometown Buffet restaurant in Champaign. One Sunday afternoon—last Easter, in fact!—the crowd was big and the waiting line went right out the door. One large table was finally called to be seated, but not all the people in the group had yet arrived—and the restaurant’s policy is not to seat a table until everyone in the party is there. Well, I guess the scene got quite ugly—with tempers and fists flying, name-calling, and every sort of grumbling. On Easter, no less! Maybe you’ve been privileged to see a scene like that in a restaurant, in a crowded store, at the airport, or someplace else.

The point is, given human nature and the lack of patience and consideration that some people feel when life doesn’t go their way, it’s not all that hard to imagine what it was like with Moses and his people in the desert. They were no doubt tired, hot, scared, stressed beyond belief, annoyed at the lack of accommodation, and so on. But then again, I can’t imagine that everybody was complaining. Not even mobs work that way. We’ve all been there. In most cases, it’s just a small handful of people who start making loud comments or begin to get feisty. They’re the agitators of the group. The more they rant and rave, the more the crowd begins to polarize. Some join them. Some are turned off and want to distance themselves. Some remain neutral. And of course, as the situation continues to unfold, some people change their views when they realize that the matter is more or less threatening than they thought.

When all is said and done, it’s actually a relatively small number of folks that gets everything going. And in today’s Scripture, I would confidently bet that it was a small number that got the people griping and murmuring against Moses and God.

But here’s the zinger: because of this small group of troublemakers, the entire lot of them lost out! They suffered for forty long years, one and all—and in the end, they never got their prize… they never reached the Promised Land.

Jesus spoke in one of his famous gospel stories about how a little bit of leaven, or yeast, makes a big bowl of dough rise. We see today that the opposite is also true. A little bit of grumbling can make the whole works collapse.

There’s a great story about a father whose patience was running very thin over his kids who were always whining and bickering. He told them that their bad attitude was annoying and tiresome and was dragging down the whole family. Naturally, they thought he was being overly dramatic and they insisted that a little bad behavior now and then couldn’t possibly make that much difference.

Well, he came up with a clever object lesson. “Say!” he said. “Why don’t we make up a big tray of brownies?” The kids thought this was a great idea.

So he set them to work gathering the ingredients—flour, chocolate, sugar, milk, and so on. They measured and stirred and mixed—all the while talking very excitedly about how wonderful these brownies would be.

When the batter was just about done, the father said, “Now we need to get one more ingredient.” He handed his daughter a spoon and asked her to go out to the dog pen and bring in one teaspoonful of doggie doo. The girl was horrified.

Dad assured them that it wouldn’t hurt anything. After all, they all said that a little bit of whining and bickering wouldn’t hurt a family—so he didn’t think a tiny bit of dog droppings would ruin the brownies.

My friends: how often do we find ourselves in a situation where somebody “loses it” and launches into a tirade? Moaning and complaining, whining, grumbling against a parent, a friend, a teacher, a boss, a fellow worker, the president, a priest or the bishop… you name it! In fact, maybe it’s us who goes off… Try to remember that just like in Moses’ day, grumbling is ultimately aimed at God. It’s a rejection of his blessings. And just like in Moses’ day, grumbling will hurt every single one of us.

If in biblical days the people who first heard the grumbling had spoken up… if they prayed for the grumblers or prevailed upon them to be patient or more faithful—maybe things wouldn’t have gotten out of control. Maybe all those two million or so folks would have reached the Promised Land in just a few weeks or months as they could have. But they kept quiet—or worse yet, they joined in the grumbling themselves… and the rest, as they say, is history.

“Come, let us bow down in worship,” says today’s psalm. “For he is our God, and we are his people. If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”

Embracing God's Call

The Second Sunday of Lent
Today’s Readings: [Click here]

Mother Teresa once made a comment that has really stuck and resounded with me. She said, “If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans.”

Most of us like to think that we’re pretty much in control of our lives. But the truth of the matter is, we’ve all experienced how life has a knack for throwing an occasional monkey wrench into our plans. Sometimes, out of the blue, something unexpected comes along that seems bad—like an accident or illness or the sudden death of someone special. Or, maybe life’s curveball seems like something really good—a once-in-a-lifetime career opportunity totally out of left field or meeting an amazing person and falling into a wonderful new relationship.

The monkey wrench in all these situations, of course, is God. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that we’re like marionettes without free will and God is up above pulling the strings. Rather, I’m thinking of the famous philosophical maxim that says, “There’s no such thing as coincidence.” Everything happens for a purpose, and God—the Lord of the universe—is in charge. Plus, our faith tells us that because we’re his beloved creatures—his children—he’ll use all these little twists and turns of life, intentional or haphazard, to bring about our good and our salvation.

In our first reading today, God calls Abraham—still known as Abram at this point—to follow him. This is the first call in the whole bible! Notice what God commands him to do: Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you. God never calls anyone to “Stay put!” We’re always told to move—if not geographically, at least psychologically. Like Abraham, God asks us to leave the comfort of our own plans and the security we’ve built up through the years and begin a quest for a new security: our relationship with God.

Note also that God never tells Abraham where he’s supposed to go. It’s simply ¬a land that I shall show you. Do you know what this means? It means that God wants us to say “yes” to him before we find out where our commitment is going to lead us. In fact, our answering “yes” to God’s call is the only thing that will ever bring true fulfillment and blessing to our lives and those whose lives we touch. God guarantees that to Abraham: I will make of you a great nation… I will bless you… I will make your name great… all the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you.

It’s always this way with God. That’s the blessing that Mary was promised at the Annunciation… and in an identical way, it’s also offered to each of us.

You may be thinking: well, Abraham was one of God’s favorites—a man of deep faith, a good man. And Mary! She was conceived immaculately and never sinned. It’s different with me. I’m not like that. I know I’m far from perfect. OK, I’ll say it: I’m a sinful person.

Not to worry. Listen to the incredible words of Paul in his letter to Timothy: God saved us and called us to a holy life, not according to our works but according to his own design and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began… Abraham did nothing before his call to merit that call. Ditto for Mary. And it’s the same with us. Our call has absolutely nothing to do with “our works.” It is simply a free gift of God, given to us out of love, based on the merits of Jesus Christ—not our merits.

Let that awesome message sink in. Popular piety often sends the opposite message. It leads us to believe that God only wants people and calls people who have led a holy life. Nonsense. If anything, God has a soft spot in his heart for those struggling with a checkered past. Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick” (Mt 9:12).

Responding to God’s call and forming a determination to follow Christ always entails an ending to our old life and a beginning of a new life. Or, to put this in Easter language, there’s always an element of dying and rising in it. That’s why Paul describes Jesus today as the one ¬who destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Just the way that Abraham died to himself and reached fulfillment by going to the land that God led him to, we’ll also gain eternal life by imitating Christ and letting him lead us where he’ll have us go.

We can see still another dimension to all this in the transfiguration story in the gospel. Peter, James and John are privileged to see something in Jesus that most people never notice. If you pay attention to the language of the Scriptures, you’ll see that the bible is usually referred to as “the law and the prophets.” That’s why the appearance of Moses, the lawgiver, and Elijah, the prophet, demonstrate that the apostles and the early Church believe that Jesus’ message completely coincides with the message of the Hebrew Scriptures. In other words, Jesus isn’t some kind of Jewish radical or the founder of a strange, new religion. In the mind of his first followers, he’s simply someone who takes those Scriptures seriously and actually tries to live the message and lifestyle they teach.

And just as Jesus himself listened to the law and the prophets, so God tells us to listen to him. This is my beloved Son… listen to him. The core values of the Scriptures—loving God and neighbor profoundly and in all circumstances—are the core values of Jesus Christ… and if we are willing to follow him, then these must be our core values, as well. That is the essence of our call and the Christian life.

As we continue on our Lenten journey, may God touch our hearts and draw us ever closer to himself.

Prayer & Fasting Partners

The First Sunday of Lent
Today’s Readings: [Click here]

We’re now just over a month into the new year, and of course, many people are still hanging in there with their diet, exercise or other self-improvement resolutions. You’re probably not quite to the point where you hang your laundry on the treadmill, but maybe your resolve is weakening a bit. Will temptation finally win out? Will you say, “Oh, what the heck. I’ll just buy the next size up and stop torturing myself”?

I think many of us have learned that a very effective way to keep ourselves on track is to have a partner or buddy to encourage us and help us when our enthusiasm is fizzling out. The person you walk or jog with isn’t going to let you get away with saying, “I think I’ll skip it today because it might be raining in China.” You’ll coax, cajole or even embarrass your friend into sticking with the program—and they’ll do the same for you. In fact, this model of accountability is built into many successful self-help and recovery programs like AA or Weight Watchers or Gamblers Anonymous. When you might be tempted to throw in the towel, your companion is there to support you over the bump in the road.

Why is it that even when we have a good plan and a goal that’s important to us, we still can give up when the right temptation comes along? I’m afraid that’s part of the human condition since the Fall in the Garden of Eden. Who hasn’t been tempted? Who hasn’t struggled with giving up one thing we think is good to get gratified by a competing allurement? Sweat and push my body to lose two pounds so I can get into a snazzy new outfit… OR have this delicious and satisfying tiramisu from the Olive Garden? Hmm… choices.

The point of the matter is, life is jam-packed with temptations and those who tempt. Resisting temptation can be very hard. After all, temptation takes so many subtle and not-so-subtle forms: sex, prestige, comfort, money, power, food, success, a desire for fame—these are just a few examples.

If it’s any consolation, it would be very good to remember that even our Lord himself was tempted. In the gospel today, we hear how the devil took Jesus up to a very high mountain and showed him all the treasures and enticements of the world. He said to him, “All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.” Did Jesus consider the devil’s overture? We’d like to think no… but really, who knows? Remember, our faith teaches us that Jesus experienced everything we do except sin. To consider a temptation before rejecting it is not a sin; it’s just a morally-neutral deliberation.

This time of Lent that we’re just embarking on is meant to be an important occasion to grow closer to God and to better embrace his will. What happens, though, is that it’s easy to start strong and then peter out. Oh, you may hang in there and do what you committed to do… but maybe your heart is no longer in it. You’re just wishing Lent would be over so you could go back to normal. Really, it takes a lot of determination and stamina to stick with anything for forty days—particularly something that involves self-denial!

That’s why I’d like to propose to you to find yourself a partner so you can successfully make it through Lent and have some great spiritual accomplishment. Start thinking about whom you might ask.

Two of the most important penitential practices and disciplines of the spiritual life are prayer and fasting. We especially emphasize these in this holy season. That’s why during Lent many people pray more—rosaries, the stations, weekday mass—and that’s why people fast by giving up things like candy, beer, meat or even TV. We understand that in a mysterious way, God blesses our efforts and draws us closer to him.

I’d ask you to think about what you’d be willing to pray for… what you’d be willing to fast for. Let your request be as crazy or outlandish or improbable as you like. Nothing is impossible for God.

Do you remember the famous passage in Isaiah where God wants to bless King Ahaz and told him: “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.” Ahaz wouldn’t do it. He said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.” And God was weary of this foolishness. That’s when he announced that the virgin would be with child—Emmanuel (Isa 7:10-14).

So: let me ask you again. What do you want to pray and fast for this Lent? Is it a miracle? A physical healing when the doctors say no way? Is it some revelation about what God would like you to do with your life? Are you brave enough to form the prayer request and then actually ask for it?

With a prayer and fasting partner—in other words, when both of you are praying and fasting for the same exact thing and encouraging each other to stick with it—you’ll greatly intensify the effectiveness. Think about Jesus’ beautiful words later in Matthew’s gospel: “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them” (Mt 18:19-20).

The beauty of this buddy system is not just that God might answer an awesome prayer, but rather that you will learn to pray and fast better… that you will learn to trust God and neighbor more… that you will become a more deeply spiritual person… and that you will experience both the discipline and intense joy of Lent. As today’s gospel concludes: “Then the devil left him and, behold, the angels came and ministered to him.”

Find a companion for your Lenten journey… share with each other your special dreams and prayers… and get your program underway. May the rich blessings of this sacred season flood into both your lives.

Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

The Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Today’s Readings: [Click here]

There’s a monastery in South Dakota where the monks follow the ancient Rule of St. Benedict and live a simple life of prayer and labor. Some years ago, the abbot there had a cat that roamed around the chapel during prayer, so he tied the cat to a peg to prevent the monks from being distracted. When the abbot died, the practice just continued. When the cat died, a new abbot got a new cat and tied it up the same way. Eventually, no one could quite remember why the cat was being tied up. Even though the practice had lost its original purpose and meaning, the good monks kept the old tradition alive.

Rituals are a deeply entrenched part of both human and faith life. You may have heard the apocryphal story about the woman who was teaching her daughter how to cook a roast beef. She explained how you season the meat, chop off one end, put the roast in the pan and then cook it in the oven. The daughter asked her mother why she cut the end off. The mother answered, “Well, that’s how Grandma taught me and that’s how we’ve always done it.” So the daughter figured she’d ask her grandmother about it. “Oh that,” her grandmother said. “In those days, my pan was too small to hold a big roast, so I always had to cut the end off so the meat would fit.”

If you were to examine your own habits and traditions, you might very well find that you do things in everyday life and even in your faith life that you’re not completely sure of the reason for.

All religions use symbols and signs to express externally some of our internal beliefs, feelings and deep mysteries about God and human existence. In our church, that’s what the sacraments are all about—as well as our prayers, blessings, devotions, vestments, statues and artwork, sacramental objects, and even our liturgical music.

However, there’s a danger that arises when the symbols and signs lose their original purposes and become ends in themselves. There is nothing inherently wrong with practices such as ritual meals like the Eucharist… or purifications like baptism… or acts of intimacy like embracing or kissing or sex. But the danger comes when these practices don’t authentically express what they are meant to convey.

Take purification, for example. In the Catholic Church we have various rituals and practices that are meant to purify. We baptize to purify the person from their sins, original and actual. We bless ourselves with holy water to remind us of this. The priest at mass washes his hands before the Eucharistic prayer to cleanse himself of his sins so he can reverently turn the bread and wine into Christ’s body and blood. There are other purifications, as well. But think: it is so much easier to wash your hands ritually than to do what’s really behind the ritual—to clean your heart of impure thoughts such as envy, jealousy, bitterness or revenge.

In the same way, it’s much easier to share in a ritual meal like Holy Communion than to really commune with the unlovable, the ungrateful or the enemy.

Jesus was the most authentic person who ever lived. In other words, for him, the outside and the inside were one and the same. He performed the prescribed rituals and prayed the required prayers, but in a way that illuminated their true meaning. And when they were empty and meaningless, he didn’t hesitate to transform them, replace them or simply discard them. Go through some of the ancient Jewish laws found in the Book of Leviticus or Deuteronomy and you’ll find many examples.

Our very beautiful gospel today features the Sermon on the Mount. Among the beatitudes, Jesus teaches: Happy are the pure of heart for they will see God. We need wisdom to be pure in heart. If my heart is pure, then everything about me will be pure: my mind will think pure things, my lips will speak pure words, my actions and intentions will also be pure. And the reverence I pay to God and others in words and signs will be the most authentic kind of worship I can give to God. How different this is from just going through the motions of prayer and devotion while your heart and mind are someplace else. Of course, this is totally apparent to God who knows and sees all things.

A friend of mine was a chaplain in the United States Navy. He told me about a sailor he knew by the name of Keith. He was a gentle and hard-working man with a dream. He wanted to become a nurse and help people. Keith frequently went out of his way to befriend sailors who were new and lonely, often away from their homes for the first time. He was a spiritually sensitive person who was only in his twenties when the unthinkable happened. And it happened so unexpectedly. Being the chaplain, my friend was the first to know when he got a phone call.

A simple routine visit to the dentist revealed that this young man had some unusual swelling in his neck. The dentist insisted on an X-ray, and various tests turned up a massive tumor surrounding his heart. They began emergency surgery. Keith’s mother flew in to be with her son. Tragically, the sailor died that day.

My friend preached Keith’s funeral homily around this very verse: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. From the dozens of Keith’s friends weeping openly, it was clear that they recognized that Keith’s life reflected that the heart is the center of our being, and a pure one is something that honors God and neighbor.

In the press of everyday life, it’s easy to just go through the motions and forget what’s behind the traditions and rituals we repeat. It’s easy to forget that our lives reflect God’s presence in our hearts. May our prayer today be that the Lord will purify our hearts so we may see him more clearly. May our prayer be that God will give us his pure and authentic heart.