Bulletins (Page 9)

In this Sunday’s gospel reading, Jesus teaches us about the coming Reign of God. Set in terms of the owner of a vineyard who hired workers throughout the day and paid all the same “usual daily wage” that had been agreed upon, no matter what time of the day they began work. Perhaps, we might agree with the complaint of those who worked a full day when they discovered that even those who worked only one hour were paid the same amount. But the question asked by the landowner should make us think: “Am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?” It is true that faith comes to us in the context of family and community, the gospel passage urges us to do our best and not to compare the progress of our growth in the life of Baptism with that of others. In doing the best that we can, we trust in the mercy and love of God Who, like the parable’s landowner, is generous beyond our imagining. Perhaps we can also be so generous in the ways we are with one another.

The Old Testament reading this Sunday (Sirach 27:30 -28:7) complements Jesus’ parable on forgiveness, as found in the Gospel of Matthew 18:21-35. From Sirach (also known as Ecclesiasticus), we will hear: Wrath and anger are hateful things, yet the sinner hugs them tight. The vengeful will suffer the Lord’s vengeance, for the Lord remembers their sins in detail. 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 oneself, can he seek pardon for one’s own sins? In the end, we should not expect from God that which we refuse to extend to others: mercy, forgiveness and love. If we continue to “hug tight” our anger, then we are on a path that leads not to forgiveness for our sins, but, in the words of the parable, “to be handed over to the torturers.” Let us not be that way with us… Remembering God’s mercy toward us, we are moved to forgive those who have wronged us.

In terms we might use today, Jesus is advising subsidiarity… Resolve issues at the most basic level, between the two individuals who are at odds with each other. If that does not work, then bring in others and, only as a last resort, should the two go to a larger group (the Church or the Courts). Subsidiarity implies that most differences can be resolved privately. Not all things need to be referred to a central governing authority. This should be true in our homes, in our Church and in civil society. The urge to litigate disputes of every kind can rob individuals of their own ability to make peace by way of mutual understanding and even compromise. As if to magnify the “power of two,” Jesus promises that “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Through His Spirit, Jesus is the bond than unites us and empowers us in the ways of reconciliation and peace.

Immediately following (in last week’s gospel) the declaration by Peter that Jesus is “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” there is a not-so-pleasant encounter between Peter and the Lord. For Jesus, the revelation of His identity was inextricably bound with His coming suffering and death. In the gospels, everything builds to the event at Caesarea Philippi and flows from there toward the Crucifixion. This is not what Peter or the other Apostles had been expecting, so Peter tries to persuade Jesus to follow another path (“God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”), to which the Lord responds: “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do.” Jesus could not and would not follow Peter. Instead, he invites him to “Get behind me,” to follow the Lord, instead of trying to lead along the easier path. Nearly 2000 years later, we believers are still tempted to take the path that leads from pain, suffering and loss. Jesus sees in us, too, obstacles to the work that He still needs to accomplish in our lives and in the world. In the end, we cannot avoid sorrow and suffering any more than Jesus did. It is the cost of being a disciple today, as it has been in every age.

The “confession” of Peter (“You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”) was inspired by God, an inspiration to which Peter listened. However, Peter was slow to understand the implications of the truth that he had spoken. Peter’s heart was usually in the right place and from time to time his words were there, too. The challenge for Peter – and for us and all believers – is, in colloquial terms, “to say what we mean and mean what we say,” or to be those who hear the word of God and keep it, with all of its consequences – sometimes demanding and costly and at other times, the source of great joy and reward.

The polarization we experience in the Church and society is not healthy and does not contribute to the building up of the world, our nation or the Church into the very best that we can be. Instead, it tears us apart, reducing us to less than the sum of our parts. The recent experience of World Youth Day was an antidote to the kind of thinking that fosters a “we versus them” life. Young people from almost every nation gathered in a kind of chaotic harmony; every language under the sun was spoken, although English was clearly the most prevalent of all. The diversity of cultures was enriching and eye- opening, especially for the youth. As Pope Francis mentioned, they themselves are a sign of hope for a better world, not based on the politics of fear and division. I mention this in light of the readings we hear this weekend. The Lord, through the prophet Isaiah, declares that “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples” (Isaiah 56:7). In our reading from the gospel of Matthew, Jesus praises the faith of a woman who was a Canaanite, a non-believer, and granted her request that he heal her daughter. As the “Apostle to the Gentiles,” Saint Paul broke down the barriers that had separated the Jews and the non-Jews who believed in Jesus. We need to translate these biblical passages into our lives, our politics and our faith. Where do we draw imaginary lines that exclude others for reasons of ethnicity, language, sexuality, or any other distinction? The politics of exclusion cannot be our way. As Pope Francis repeatedly stated in Lisbon earlier this month, the Church is for all. . . “Todos, todos, todos!”

Therefore, dearly beloved, may you too always rejoice in the Lord (Phil 4:4). And may neither bitterness nor a cloud of sadness overwhelm you, O dearly beloved Lady in Christ, joy of the angels and crown of your sisters! Place your mind before the mirror of eternity! Place your soul in the brilliance of glory! Place your heart in the figure of the divine substance! And transform your whole being into the image of the Godhead itself through contemplation! So that you too may feel what His friends feel as they taste the hidden sweetness which God Himself has reserved from the beginning for those who love Him. (Saint Clare of Assisi) These words of Saint Clare are an invitation to each of us toward unit (“communion”) with the Lord. As we observe the Feast of our Patroness this weekend, we focus at the Eucharist on her great devotion to the Eucharistic Mystery. Remembering that “Eucharist” means “thanksgiving,” we consider these words of Saint John Paul II: Her whole life was a Eucharist because. . . from her cloister she raised up a continual “thanksgiving” to God in her prayer, praise, supplication, intercession, weeping, offering and sacrifice. She accepted everything from the Father in union with the infinite “thanks” of the only begotten Son. May our celebration this weekend of our Patroness, Saint Clare, lead each of us – and all of us together – to a deeper appreciation of the gifts that God gives us. May this help us to join our lives with hers in giving thanks to God in all that we are.

When August 6 falls on a Sunday, the whole Church celebrates the Transfiguration of the Lord. Otherwise, it receives little more fanfare than a weekday at the beginning of August. We also hear the gospel of the Transfiguration each year on the Second Sunday of Lent. The Transfiguration is more than an historical accounting of an event in the life of Jesus and Peter, James and John. As it was a sign of hope to them, so it is for us; in facing His darkest days, Jesus remained faithful, not taking the easy way out. In the same way, we can find encouragement in the glory that we will share one day. An old Latin expression, quoted sometimes during Lent, comes to mind: Per crucem ad lucem – Through the cross to light. We live in the hope that no matter how things turn out in our lives and the life of our world, they will turn out well. If despair gives way to hope, then we have undergone a transfiguration to the depths of our being. Like Peter, we try to capture those moments, to hold on to them for ever, but they will pass, but not totally if we allow those “mountaintop” moments to change us.