He Duped Me!

The 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s Readings: [Click here]

In our first reading today, the prophet Jeremiah cries out to God: You duped me and I let myself be duped! (Jer 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 (Jn 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 sugarcoating.

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 (Mk 9:32). Somehow, life was dishing out a new and frightening twist and they didn’t know what to do about it. We probably wouldn’t either.

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—by taking up our cross and following the Lord—we too can get ourselves to a far better and safer place than whatever tough spot 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 and 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.

A Peg in a Sure Spot

The 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s Readings: [Click here]

One of my favorite cooking tools is a large, round, heavy wooden cutting board from China. It’s perfect for all the slicing I do… plus, you can even pound food on it with a cleaver without worrying about marring the surface. The problem is, the board is so heavy and so big that it’s not easy to store. So I decided to screw a very sturdy hook into the wall near the sink, and my favorite cutting board has a solid place of honor in my kitchen.

Believe it or not, that was the image that popped into my mind as I first read the last line of today’s Old Testament reading from Isaiah about Eliakim, son of Hilkiah: I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for his family. Just the way that nothing is going to knock my cutting board off the kitchen wall, it’s amazing to hear that God has so much love and support for Eliakim, that he can count on being totally secure, solid, respected and honored among his people. Wouldn’t we all love to know that God wants to set us on a “peg in a sure spot,” too?

I’m sure you can see that this beautiful imagery is echoed in Matthew’s gospel. Like Eliakim before him, now Peter is assured: You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. A rock is just as solid as a heavy peg, and an edifice rising up from a rock is a place of honor, as well.

We have talked many times about how bible texts can be interpreted in different senses. We know from today’s gospel, of course, that from a historical perspective, Jesus is establishing Peter as his vicar on earth to start the line of popes. And, from the perspective of the structure and sacred operation of the church, we can interpret this passage as vesting plenary authority and power over spiritual matters in Peter and his successors.

In addition to these senses, we are also invited to consider our readings today from a spiritual viewpoint as they might apply to our own lives. In other words, can you and I be favored enough by God that he will fix us like a peg in a sure spot to be a place of honor for our family? That we will be the rock upon which Christ builds his church and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against us? And if so, how do we get to that place?

Let’s begin by remembering that God’s grace and blessing are a free gift. It’s not based on any merit on our part. Eliakim and Peter were ordinary human beings with all the failings and shortcomings that we all have. Great prophets and popes aren’t great prophets and popes because they’re better than any other person… but God has chosen them, and they have responded to this choosing, in a very special way.

Likewise, God has created all of us in incredible variety. You might say we make up a kaleidoscope of humanity. St. Paul describes it today as a “depth of riches” which is “inscrutable” and “unsearchable.” We have bodies of all shapes, colors, sizes, genders and sexualities, with just as much diversity in intellect, personality, emotion, experience, cultural background and much more. Each and every one of us is absolutely unique.

In a mysteriously joyful way, God wants to help us discern how to use all the gifts he has given us to the best advantage, so we can be fixed like a peg in a sure spot or be that rock to bring honor and esteem to God and his beautiful world. We are his beloved children, each with bodies meant to cooperate with God’s work of grace within us… meant to be joined to each other to make up Christ’s body, the Church.

In our first reading today, Isaiah has the unpleasant duty to tell Shebna, the master of the palace, that God is displeased with him: I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station. His former job is going to Eliakim. In case you’re wondering, Shebna’s crime was pride and arrogance. God doesn’t like those qualities in his kids.

So we’ve got to be sincere, humble and honest about who we are. We’ve got to praise God for our abilities and talents, and we must confess our weaknesses and shortcomings. When we make this kind of brutally honest self-assessment, we’ll wind up with a grateful attitude toward God because of everything he’s given us… and a more peaceful, gentle and loving attitude toward other people no matter who they are because we realize that we’re not perfect either. In other words, this is how we signal a rock-like, sturdy faith, and our desire to build up the mission of Christ by participating in the life of the Church. It’s exactly that mindset that makes us worthy to be fixed like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for the living body of Christ.

We pray today that God will bless us with the humble faith of Eliakim and Peter. We ask that the Lord help us to realize our full potential as people called out into the world through the Church, sharing our hope in Christ through words and deeds. Amen.

The Canaanite Woman Lives!

The 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s Readings: [Click here]

The apostle Paul writes: I glory in my ministry in order to make my race jealous and thus save some of them. 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 paramount 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 our hard drive. Jesus keeps telling us, though, that those are silly things to chase after because we can’t take them 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 possessing 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 either. 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, luck, good looks 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 look for ways to exclude people. We’re quick to allow ourselves to be hurt, insulted, offended… to hold a grudge… to walk away. It’s easy to write people off… 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.

Instead, we should look to Christ’s own example to learn the real ways of love—and today’s gospel gives us perhaps a surprising tutorial. The Canaanite people were non-Jews, so in the Hebrew culture of the day, Jews would have had nothing to do with them. So when the woman came to speak to Jesus, it wouldn’t be unusual that she’d be ignored. It also wasn’t uncommon that the disciples would ask him to make her go away. Now, here’s where it gets interesting.

When Jesus tells her that he was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, he was setting up his lesson for the disciples. His remarks sounded very legitimate, but he was being a bit sly and tongue-in-cheek.

Then, of course, the Lord makes that wonderful comment about not throwing the children’s food to the dogs. He probably had a wink in his eye, because the word he used would have referred to a cute little puppy—a family pet. This wasn’t an insult by any means, and surely the Canaanite woman didn’t take it that way either. And when the woman wouldn’t take no for an answer, and played along—even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from their master’s table—Christ praised her for her faith and gave in to her request.

So the moral is pretty clear: the love and blessing of God necessarily extend to everyone—not just the “in crowd” based on your favored race, gender, status, nationality, religious affiliation, or any other arbitrary characteristic.

We should also realize that today’s lesson is more than just about having an appropriately loving attitude. It’s also about being bold enough to take action. Each of us has to be the Canaanite woman and jump in and stand up for other people who are weak or vulnerable or otherwise unable to help themselves. We can express this in so many different ways: through politics, civil rights, social activism, charitable works… even through the arts. The trick is staying alert to the opportunities around us, and learning to match our own skills and talents to help in the ways we can.

Each of us also has to be the Canaanite woman in another way. Like her, we mustn’t be afraid to stand up for what we believe is right—even when facing a group of smug people who oppose us and think they have a monopoly on God’s grace. Like that brave woman, we’ve got to pray to be bold, forward and daring.

Yes, the Canaanite woman teaches us that Christian love can turn bad fortune around. Christian love makes all things possible and joyful. That’s exactly why Paul said that Christian love makes other people jealous.

So don’t forget. The Canaanite woman lives! It’s up to each of us to build on her legacy. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be shy. Don’t wait another day. God’s blessings are for all people—and you are his chosen instrument.

Step Out Onto the Water

The 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Today’s Readings: [Click here]

In the gospel today, we hear the well-known story of Jesus walking on water. The disciples in the boat who saw this were petrified. Since walking on water is not your everyday human activity, their brains were telling them it had to be something supernatural—like a ghost floating over the waves—or a hallucination. Jesus reassured them that what they saw was real, and that it was he, and that there was nothing to be afraid of.

Can you hear Peter’s bold challenge? “Oh yeah? If it’s you, I want to walk on the water, too. Call me over.” When Christ gave the command, Peter actually did it—until the point when he let his natural fears convince him that what he was doing was a physical impossibility. Only then did he begin to sink.

It’s pretty awesome to realize just how little we can grasp of the power that God puts at the fingertips of believers. Listen to these familiar bible verses:

“If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you” (Lk 17:6).

Or this one:

“And these signs will accompany those who have believed: in my name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues, they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it shall not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover” (Mk 16:17-18).

How quick we are to dismiss these promises as hyperbole. Use your mind to transplant a full-grown tree? Drink poison? Heal sick people with faith alone? Turn bread into Jesus’ flesh? Preposterous! He only meant those things figuratively.

Or did he?

All through the gospels, Jesus tries to draw us more deeply into his power. He wants us to share in his divine abilities. Our faith and belief are the portals. That’s why he told the apostles, “I tell you the truth: anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these… You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it” (Jn 14:11-12, 14).

It’s no surprise that believing you have that kind of power is rather hard to swallow. So for the most part we resist believing and asking and trying things because we cannot even begin to grasp the mystery of the Lord’s promise. Just like a housefly that lands and crawls over a computer and knows nothing about the power under its little legs, we too don’t even have the foggiest idea of the richness of the reality that God is constantly offering us.

As a consequence, most of us tend to believe that we can’t do things… we can’t change our lives, much less our world. Maybe we think that miracles don’t happen like they did in biblical times. Maybe we think we’re not good enough or worthy enough. Whatever the justification, our negative thinking is so powerful and pervasive, that we are prevented from experiencing the richness of life that God wants us to have… and holds out to us.

But the good news is, Jesus is well aware of our doubts and limitations. That’s why St. Paul wrote that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings (Rom 8:26). And Jesus, who knows all our possibilities and potential, prays for us constantly—whether we are exuberant or cautious, fearful or bold. This prayer is his free gift to us. All he asks is that we may accept this gift so we can begin to be transformed by the power of his prayer.

There was a woman who had a dream about being at the mall. She walked into one of the stores and found Jesus standing behind the counter. Jesus said to her, “You can have anything your heart desires.”

The woman was very surprised—but delighted. So she thought for a minute and then asked for peace, joy, happiness, wisdom and freedom from fear. Then she added, “Not just for me, but for the whole world.”

Jesus smiled and said, “I think you misunderstood me. We don’t sell fruits; only seeds.”

Like Peter, we are invited to step outside of our self-imposed limitations into the world of faith. To mortal eyes, walking on water is impossible… but with eyes of faith, we may see that it quite possibly is doable! We have to take the seed and plant it, trusting and hoping that God will water it and make it grow.

Take a little time this week to reflect on the amazing possibilities that Jesus has laid at your feet. Remember his potent words: “Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.” Then step out onto the water.