Category Archives: gospel

The Preacher as Servant to Dialogue – Insights from Bl. Pope Paul VI

23 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by in dialogue, gospel, homily, Pope Paul VI, preaching

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Pope Paul VIIt is always helpful to notice references in writings, especially papal writings, and then be willing to explore those writings referenced.  With a little digging you can be brought to some insightful, advantageous and even saving information.  Since I wrote my post on the preacher as servant of dialogue I have done some digging into the writings of Bl. Pope Paul VI.  Pope Francis references Paul VI quite extensively in Evangelii Gaudium.  Specifically referenced is Paul VI’s 1975 Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi where the pontiff reflects on the Church’s responsibility of evangelization in the modern world.  What I have found of interest though (and the purpose for this post) is an earlier writing of Pope Paul VI – his first encyclical, Ecclesiam Suam (ES) and its section on the work of dialogue.

In this encyclical, Paul VI explores how the world and the Catholic Church can meet one another and even get to know and love one another.  (ES, 3)  When considering how the Church should engage the world, Paul VI quickly discards the ever-present temptation to focus solely on the evils of the world and crusade against them as well as the desire to subjugate the world in a form of theocracy.  Neither of these approaches will work.  Rather, Bl. Paul VI concludes; …it seems to Us that the sort of relationship for the Church to establish with the world should be more in the nature of a dialogue, though theoretically other methods are not excluded.  We do not mean unrealistic dialogue.  It must be adapted to the intelligences of those to whom it is addressed, and it must take account of circumstances. (ES, 78)

Paul VI then goes on to stress that this form of encounter is demanded due to dynamics prevalent within modern society – the understanding of the relationship between the sacred and profane, the pluralism of society and the maturity of thought men and women have attained in our modern world.  I think it safe to say that gone are the days (at least here in the U.S.) when the priest is the most educated person in the room.  But there is a deeper impetus for the discipline of dialogue and that is the respect it demonstrates.  The willingness to dialogue by its very nature witnesses to a person’s esteem for the other as well as one’s own understanding and kindness.  These are attitudes that every disciple of Christ, especially those called to the task of preaching, should cultivate and exemplify in life.

Our dialogue, therefore, presupposes that there exists in us a state of mind which we wish to communicate and to foster in those around us.  It is the state of mind which characterizes the man who realizes the seriousness of the apostolic mission and who sees his own salvation as inseparable from the salvation of others. (ES, 80)

If we want dialogue then we, ourselves, must be willing to dialogue authentically and, not only that, the discipline of dialogue builds on dialogue. The preacher, as servant to dialogue, must be willing and, in fact, is duty-bound to work at fostering this discipline in our world today.  Our world needs the discipline of dialogue.

Bl. Paul VI roots preaching in this greater task of the Church’s dialogue with our world.  Preaching is the primary apostolate … We must return to the study, not of human eloquence of empty rhetoric, but of the genuine art of proclaiming the Word of God.  We must search for the principles which make for simplicity, clarity, effectiveness and authority, and so overcome our natural ineptitude in the use of this great and mysterious instrument of the divine Word, and be a worthy match for those whose skill in the use of words makes them so influential in the world today and gives them access to the organs of public opinion.  We must pray to the Lord for this vital, soul-stirring gift… (ES, 90-91)

Paul VI then goes on to list out the proper characteristics of dialogue and, if proper for dialogue, then proper for preaching as the preaching task flows by nature out of the greater work of the Church’s dialogue with our world.

Clarity before all else; the dialogue demands that what is said should be intelligible. (ES, 81)  The caliber of an artist is found not in a work of art standing alone and isolated as if in a vacuum but in the ability of a work of art to engage people where they are at in their lives, to move them and to call forth a response, a dialogue.  If there is no engagement, it is fair to question if it is true art.  Striving for clarity in dialogue and striving for clarity in preaching matters.  Let there be no mistake, this takes work and practice but this ability to translate the realities of faith and gospel into the language of where people are at is extremely important and it marks authentic preaching.

Our dialogue must be accompanied by that meekness which Christ bade us learn from Himself: “Learn of me, for I am meek and humble of heart.” (ES, 81)  Our dialogue and our preaching must not be marked by arrogance or bitterness.  We must learn the meekness of Christ himself because in this lies the power of the gospel.  This “meekness of Christ” sets the words of the Church apart from all the other words that continuously wash over people in their everyday lives.  We should not underestimate this characteristic of meekness in the lives of people who are daily inundated and even assaulted by words wrapped in bias, anger, coercion and manipulation.

Our dialogue must have a confidence not just in the power of our own words (which could easily lead to arrogance) but also in the good will of both parties to the dialogue. (ES 81)  We must continually seek the good in the other and this must mark the words that we use and the dialogue we engage in.  To be a good preacher one must be convinced that people are yearning for the Word of God … and they are.  It might not be fully expressed, the desire might even be distorted, hidden or stunted but it is there and the preacher must learn to both listen for that desire and speak to that truth within the heart of people. This is not an easy discipline to acquire in a world that continually seeks to isolate and separate people but it is essential and is truly a counter-cultural witness.

Authentic dialogue must have the prudence of a teacher who is most careful to make allowances for the psychological and moral circumstances of his hearer … The person who speaks is always at pains to learn the sensitivities of his audience, and if reason demands it, he adapts himself and the manner of his presentation to the susceptibilities and the degree of intelligence of his hearers. (ES, 81)  Prudence is a cardinal virtue and can be practiced and developed by any person.  The virtue of prudence is fulfilled in the supernatural virtue of Counsel, one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit.  Prudence seeks to be aware of the other person(s).  The good shepherd knows his sheep.  Prudence can be seen as a proactive movement of respect.  It is not learning the sensitivities of the other in order to manipulate with the intent of achieving some desired result but learning about the other person in order to meet that person where he or she is at.  Authentic preaching must always avoid the temptation to manipulate.  I believe that Bl. Paul VI understood this because immediately after this reflection on prudence as a constitutive element of true dialogue he writes,

In a dialogue conducted with this kind of foresight, truth is wedded to charity and understanding to love.

And that is not all.  For it becomes obvious in a dialogue that there are various ways of coming to the light of faith and it is possible to make them all converge on the same goal.  However divergent these ways may be, they can often serve to complete each other.  They encourage us to think on different lines.  They force us to go more deeply into the subject of our investigations and to find better ways of expressing ourselves.  It will be a slow process of thought, but it will result in the discovery of elements of truth in the opinion of others and make us want to express our teaching with great fairness.  It will be set to our credit that we expound our doctrine in such a way that others can respond to it, if they will, and assimilate it gradually.  It will make us wise; it will make us teachers. (ES, 82-83)

In the dynamic of manipulation, I try to force you to change, consciously or unconsciously.  Authentic dialogue stands opposed to manipulation in all its forms.  Authentic dialogue summons both parties to an honest investigation of the subject at hand as well as a fearless rooting out of the tendencies of manipulation that each one of us carry within ourselves.

Finally, the discipline of dialogue and preaching must begin in the witness of the preacher’s own life if it is to be authentic and salvific in the lives of other people.

Since the world cannot be saved from the outside, we must first of all identify ourselves with those whom we would bring the Christian message – like the Word of God who Himself became a man.  Next we must forego all privilege and the use of unintelligible language, and adopt the life of ordinary people in all that is human and honorable.  Indeed, we must adopt the way of life of the most humble people, if we wish to be listened to and understood.  Then, before speaking, we must take great care to listen not only to what men say, but more especially to what they have in their hearts to say.  Only then will we understand them and respect them, and even, as far as possible, agree with them. 

Furthermore, if we want to be men’s pastors, fathers and teachers, we must also behave as their brothers.  Dialogue thrives on friendship, and most especially on service. (ES, 87) 

Dialogue and preaching, if it is to be authentic, must become incarnate which means that the preacher’s life must also become incarnate within the life of his community just as the Word of God became incarnate.  We are told at different times in the gospel story that Jesus was aware of the thoughts of other people before they ever even expressed them.  This was no form of magical clairvoyance on the part of our Lord but the ability to listen to hearts.  The Church has been given this ability, the preacher must cultivate this ability.  “Heart speaks to heart” noted Bl. John Henry Cardinal Newman.  The preacher must learn how to listen to both the heart of God speaking to the heart of his people as well as to the reply and yearning of God’s people.

To end, I would like to share one further quote from Ecclesiam Suam. 

To this internal drive of charity (the gifts Christ has bestowed on the Church in abundance) which seeks expression in the external gift of charity, We will apply the word “dialogue.”

The Church must enter into dialogue with the world in which it lives.  It has something to say, a message to give, a communication to make. (ES, 64-65)

The preaching task is rooted in the greater task of the Church’s dialogue with the world.  As a servant to dialogue, the preacher shares intimately in this task.  Hopefully, we can learn from the insight and wisdom of Bl. Pope Paul VI.

Thoughts on the Sunday readings: worlds collide and the horizon of the gospel (6th Sunday in Ordinary Time – B)

15 Sunday Feb 2015

Posted by in bubble, Christ, Christian living, gospel, horizon of the gospel, periphery

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A few years ago a string of movies came out that all seemed to revolve around the theme of different worlds colliding.  Each movie tended to have a large cast of famous actors representing people from different strata of society – rich/poor, black/white, newly arrived immigrant/born in the country, inner city/suburban, liberal/conservative, whatever cultural war delineation one could come up with it was found in these films.  Something would happen, usually traumatic and often violent (a car crash, a misfired rifle shot), and these separate worlds would all of a sudden be brought into crashing contact with one another.  The movie would then go on to explore how these moments of unexpected encounter changed all persons involved giving, sometimes, a deeper awareness of the common human condition.

In today’s gospel (Mk. 1:40-45), there are also worlds colliding but it is not violent.  A leper and therefore an outcast, comes before a religious teacher who epitomizes the very system of belief that excludes him.  A wounded and ill creature comes before the very one who is Creator and Lord.  One who is seeking mercy comes before Mercy itself.
There is no violence because Christ as “God made flesh” is not in competition with creation.  God is not like us – one creature among other creatures needing to claim his own space by limiting the space of other creatures.  God is the very source of creation itself.  God is non-competitive with his very creation.  God is non-competitive with humanity.  The presence of God in life does not limit the creature’s own flourishing; rather the presence of God enables the creature to truly flourish.  God does not limit my freedom, rather when I allow God into my life his presence enables me to truly become whom I am meant to be.  
The leper in today’s gospel seems to intuit this truth.  “If you wish, you can make me clean … I do will it.  Be made clean.”  
One of the points that the genre of movies mentioned earlier makes is that often we live our lives in our own world, in our own bubbles.  To some extent this is natural and necessary.  We get into our own rhythms in order to get things done, we have our particular group of friends and family, we certainly want to protect and shelter those we care about.  This is all good.  The danger comes when the bubbles we live in begin to restrict the horizon and possibility of the gospel.  We don’t see the poor, we rush past the sick, we become blind to the lonely and the elderly.  We get so focused in that we fail to see out! 
 The Gospel continually invites us to see out, to look away from self, to go to the peripheries and to set our lives not by the limits that our world would impose in how it thinks we are supposed to live our lives but by the horizon of the gospel.  Notice the poor, don’t rush past the sick and ill, be aware of the one who is lonely and the elderly!  Be open to encounter with the other because often this can be a point of grace and even healing in life!
Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, is fully aware of this gospel truth and this is why he continues to call the Church to the peripheries.  He knows that Christ can be found there often in the most unexpected of ways.  He also knows that the Church is continually revitalized by this encounter. 
This weekend at our Saturday vigil and Sunday 12:30 pm Mass we are offering the Sacrament of Anointing for any parishioner in need of physical, emotional or spiritual healing.  As a community and a family we are taking a moment to acknowledge the periphery of illness that is often right before us yet, one we often choose to rush past.  We are making the choice to notice and we are making the choice to lift up our brothers and sisters in prayer.  We are making the choice to set our life as a community by the horizon of the gospel.  This is a holy and good thing to do.              

The Possibility of Holiness

18 Sunday Jan 2015

Posted by in Catholic Church, Christian living, Church, discipleship, faith, following Jesus, God, gospel, holiness, Jesus, joy

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I am not holy.  My sins, failures and weaknesses are before me every day, but I believe in the possibility of holiness and it is this belief that keeps me in the Church. 

I am not naïve to the sins and failures of the institution of the Church nor its representatives – past and present, universal and local – but neither am I naïve to the sins and failures of those outside the Church and those who deride “church”.  I have also witnessed their sins and their hidden despair and I want none of it.  The louder and more forced the laugh; the deeper the despair, I believe.  
I do not want nor need a “Church” made in my image.  I know my sins.  Holiness is challenge – lived daily and without fanfare.  I am a creature and I need my Creator to heal what is broken within me.  To pretend that there is no brokenness is, in fact, to deny my Creator. 
Holiness is simple.  I am tired of a presentation of faith that needs to be hyper-stimulated.  I feel sorry for our young people who are growing up in such a world.  I am sorry for the times the Church buys into this.  Holiness cannot be manufactured.  Holiness grows simply and quietly.  What is manufactured quickly fades and leaves a void.  Maybe holiness can begin to grow in this void maybe it cannot.  I know that God can work as God so chooses and I have to trust in this.  
Holiness is not argument and it is not philosophy.  Debate does not lead to conversion, the witness of holiness does.  Philosophy and its structure is a good tool but it is not salvific faith.  The wise steward, we are told, is the one who can go to the storeroom and pull out both the old and the new as needed.  Maybe there are other tools available?
Holiness does not isolate.  Christ, the All Holy One, came into our very midst.  He called us brothers and sisters and taught us to love one another.  Holiness is found in my encounter with the other although it may not be immediately apparent.  The holiness uniquely found in community forces me out of myself and I need this.  If anything, the direction of holiness is from the mountain back down into the valley of the everyday. 
Holiness is not on a mountaintop somewhere but in the Gospel, the sacraments and community.  I need these every day.
Many people like to point to the sins of the Church.  It is nice to have an excuse isn’t it?  Pointing out the perceived sins of others does not grow holiness in my own life; it just gives me a way out.  I need to stand before my Creator on my own and not in contrast to what I perceive as the sins of others. 
Holiness is beautiful and I need beauty – a child playing peek-a-boo, friends laughing, feet being washed.  
I feel sorrow for those who have left the Church.  Christ loves the Church … how can you love Christ and not love what he loves?  Maybe Christ’s love should be bigger than my own resentments and excuses?
Holiness is living in friendship with God.            

Forgiveness

02 Tuesday Dec 2014

Posted by in Christ, forgiveness, gospel, Love and Forgiveness in Governance Conference

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Seven years and seven months she waited.  Her daughter had been kidnapped by the Lord’s Resistance Army. Not knowing whether her child was alive or dead, Angelina Atyam continuously called out to the Lord for the return of her child.  She was not alone in her anguish.  The children of other parents had also been kidnapped by the LRA – young men to be indoctrinated as soldiers, young women to be used as sex slaves for the army.  Sitting on a panel at the “Love and Forgiveness in Governance: Learning from Experience” conference held at Georgetown University on November 14th, Angelina Atyam shared her story. 

For myself, Angelina Atyam was the most eloquent of the speakers at the conference that day and all of the speakers were excellent, many of them renowned scholars and educators in their field.  She spoke from the heart and she spoke from the gospel.  She recounted a prayer service she attended with many of the parents of kidnapped children in which the words of the Our Father burned into her soul, “…and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  Struck by the force of these words and their blunt directness she stood up in the midst of this group and said, “Yes, we must forgive!”  Through forgiveness Angelina found a different way.  Neither passive resignation nor consuming anger – she found a way which gave her creative energy to advocate for the children and even reach out to the very ones that had kidnapped her child in a way that neither put them nor the government on the defensive.  She had found a different way which was the way of the gospel. 
“Seven years and seven months sounds very biblical,” said Angelina Atyam.  After this time and after her choice for forgiveness her daughter escaped the LRA and found her way back to her mother.  Angelina Atyam continues to advocate for all the children kidnapped by the LRA.
Forgiveness is not a weak choice.  In a world often  governed by the dynamics of power and retribution we are encouraged in the assumption that there really is no place for forgiveness and if forgiveness is exercised it is easily written off as either quaint (an interesting anomaly) or the choice of the weak.  Yet, a growing body of evidence is demonstrating that forgiveness has a truly transformative power in the lives of societies and individuals (i.e. the truth and reconciliation processes held in different countries, most notably that of post-Apartheid South Africa).
Our Lord calls us to forgive seventy times seven and has given us the words of the Our Father (his own prayer) to make our own, “…and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.”  Forgiveness is a deep courage as well as a process of growth.  It is a deep courage rooted in the gospel itself which says there is another way other than the cycle of power and retribution.  Christ has overcome all the sad logic of violence in our world and calls us into the creative energy of the Kingdom of God!  How many artistic portrayals of the resurrection depict the resurrected Christ practically naked (therefore vulnerable) holding nothing but a representation of the cross triumphant while the Roman soldiers (depictions of all the sad logic of violence in our world) turn away in fear and dread.  Christ is risen!  The sad logic of sin, death and violence gives way to the ever new promise of the Kingdom of God!  Forgiveness is possible and forgiveness breaks the cycle of power and retribution!
Forgiveness is a process of growth.  Passive resignation offers no growth for the individual and neither does retribution.  Both actually stunt individuals and communities in growth.  When we carry resentment, when we carry anger, we only damage ourselves.  Angelina Atyam recognized this truth.  By embracing forgiveness, she gave all the emotions surrounding her daughter’s kidnapping both direction and purpose.  This woman trained as a mid-wife became an internationally recognized spokesperson for the children of Uganda addressing presidents, heads of states and representatives of the United Nations.  Rather than being consumed by anger and resignation, forgiveness let loose all those energies in her life! 
As a Christian, I believe we still have so much to learn about forgiveness and it’s potentialities in our lives and in our world.  We say the Lord’s Prayer and we read the Lord’s injunction to forgive yet we rarely dive into and embrace the depths of these truths and we are less for that.  Our world is left impoverished.  Those women and men who do embrace the truth of forgiveness astound, amaze and even frighten us.  Their ways are not necessarily our ways because they know that there is a different option than just that of resignation or retribution.  “Every child is my child,” said Angelina Atyam.  This includes the child kidnapped by the LRA who is now a fully indoctrinated soldier – even the very ones that kidnapped her daughter.  What an amazing thing to say and what an amazing freedom achieved which gave her the voice to say it!
Forgiveness is not a weak choice.                              

The Feast of the Dedication of St. John Lateran and Stewardship Sunday

09 Sunday Nov 2014

Posted by in Basilica of John Lateran, Church, collection, discipleship, gospel, support

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One summer when I was in seminary I spent seven weeks in Cuernavaca, Mexico for a Spanish immersion program.  Cuernavaca is a beautiful city located in the mountains outside of Mexico City.  I was living with a host family and I would walk a couple of blocks each day to the language institute for my classes.  The previous semester in seminary I had taken a class on the writings of St. Paul and I decided to also read through all of Paul’s letters that summer.  So, each day in the afternoon after class I would walk down the street to a little neighborhood park with my Bible and Spanish books and read a little bit of St. Paul and study some Spanish, read some St. Paul and study some Spanish.  St. Paul became my Spanish study companion.  
Reading Paul’s letters though I started to note how he often emphasized and encouraged the fledgling Christian communities in their collections and support for the needs of the church.  At first I thought this was just about the reality of money and how you just need it in order to get things done.  But the more I read St. Paul, the more I realized that the collection itself was not the primary thing for him rather it was what the giving of support itself represented in the growing spiritual maturity of the community.  The willingness to give to support the needs of the church community (whether local or not) was a reflection of the gospel taking root in one’s heart – either the heart of an individual or that of a community.  It was a sign of one’s ability to let go of self in order to focus on the needs of the other.  Paul realized that the ability to give was an important demonstration of maturity in discipleship; so by encouraging these communities in their support he was actually encouraging their growth in discipleship.  
This Sunday the Church celebrates the Dedication of the Basilica of John Lateran in Rome and in our own parish we also mark this as Stewardship Sunday.  An historical note – the actual “cathedral” of the Bishop of Rome is not St. Peter’s but the Basilica of St. John Lateran.  Before the Basilica of St. Peter we know today was constructed the bishop of Rome (the Pope) resided at St. John Lateran for hundreds of years and this basilica is still considered the actual cathedral seat of Rome.  The Church celebrates this Feast of Dedication as a moment to reflect on our unity as Church throughout the world and our understanding of the Bishop of Rome having a unique authority given by Christ for the shepherding of his Church.  
It is also a good moment to reflect on the reality of what it means to be “Church” and the gift of faith we have been given and the gift we are called to pass on to others.  Paul writes in his first letter to the Corinthians, “Brothers and sisters: you are God’s building.  According to the grace of God given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it.  But each one must be careful how he builds upon it, for no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 3:9-11)  We are collectively and each individually “God’s building”.  We are the Church – more so than any building, even more than magnificent buildings like St. John Lateran, St. Peter’s or the Shrine of our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico – we are the Church, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit in our world.  But if we listen to Paul’s words and we take them to heart we realize that we also are “builders”.  We are not the foundation – that is Christ our Lord, but we are builders and Paul advises that each of us “must be careful” in how we build upon this foundation.  Our lives matter, how we live our lives of faith matter and not just for us but also for others.  
I have shared that both of my parents are deceased and now looking back in hindsight some of the fondest memories and, I think, most formative moments for me were when my parents demonstrated their faith.  Nothing earth-shattering rather these were daily things like prayer before a meal, saying the rosary, making the sign of a cross when we drove by a church.  To this day I remember how every so often on a Saturday morning my Dad would gather my three brothers and I in our car and drive us to church to go to confession and God knows we needed it!  But standing in line as a young boy with my father, who was not a perfect man, left a strong and lifelong impression on me.  Whether he knew it or not my father was building upon the foundation he had received both for himself and for me.  Without saying a word he was witnessing the need for forgiveness and mercy in our lives.  Our lives matter.  How we live our lives and our faith matter.
On this Feast of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran and Stewardship Sunday it is good to reflect on what it means to be Church, on what we have received and the call for each of us to be wise builders.  St. Paul knew this.  The ability to give and to support is a reflection of our own growing maturity as disciples, of how the gospel has taken root in our lives.  How we live our lives of faith matter, not just for us but for others – especially those who come after us.       

"Culture of Encounter = Culture of the Good Samaritan", Pope Francis’ Wisdom

14 Sunday Jul 2013

Posted by in Culture of Encounter, Culture of the Good Samaritan, encounter, Encounter with Christ, gospel

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“And who is my neighbor?”
 What allowed the Samaritan to be neighbor to the man who fell victim to the robbers on the road to Jericho?  What enabled him to encounter this man in his need?  We are told that the priest and the Levite hurried by on the other side, possibly absorbed in their own concerns (too busy to be bothered) or out of a desire to remain ritually pure.  Whatever the reason, they chose to remain unengaged and removed and, by doing so, fell short of what it means to love ones neighbor as Christ here teaches.  
In contrast to the first two we are told that the Samaritan was “moved with compassion at the sight.”  Maybe he was a man acquainted with his own infirmity; maybe he was someone who knew by experience what it meant to be hurt and victimized.  Whatever the reason, the Samaritan allowed his heart to be touched by this man in his need.  This is what it means to be “moved with compassion”.  The Samaritan chose not to hurry by.  He chose to put whatever other cares he had at that moment on hold and encounter this man in his need.  The Samaritan made the choice to be neighbor. 
Maybe the proper question is not, “And who is my neighbor?”  Maybe the proper question is, “How do I become neighbor?”  Maybe the proper prayer is, “Lord, teach me how to be neighbor.”  
Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, is doing his best I believe to lead us as Church to the proper question and the proper prayer.  He is calling us as Church to the “Culture of Encounter” which, in essence, is the culture of the Good Samaritan.  Whether in visiting poor migrants on the tiny island or Lampedusa, washing the feet of prisoners on Holy Thursday, inviting the poor for a meal at the Vatican or challenging economic systems that deny the dignity of people and corrupt the earth; the Holy Father is calling us to take notice, to see the ones lying on the side of the road who are in need.  He is inviting us to be moved with compassion because he knows that this is what it means to be disciple and this is what it means to be Church and it is this type of Church that the world needs.  To paraphrase the Holy Father, “A Church closed in on itself; a Church that hurries by too busy to be bothered; is a sick and weak Church.”   
What does it mean to be a Church that notices, to be a Church living the gospel culture of encounter?  It means a lot.   
Parishes cannot be closed in, islands unto themselves.  Parishes must truly become centers of evangelization!  The focus of the parish must become outward looking in all aspects.  This is quite the shift, at least in the United States, where parishes have historically served as centers of religious and ethnic unity.  Maybe inward looking meetings and committees need to give way to the work of authentic ministry to and in the world?  Maybe time and energy spent on in-house church squabbles on all levels needs to be recognized as time and energy wasted when there is a world outside in need?  Is there place for the central focus of liturgy, prayer and community?  Certainly, and these aspects are essential and truly at the heart of Church but the energies that naturally flow from these essential aspects of church must then be channeled out into the world if they are to remain authentic, true and life-giving!  The energy of a river needs to flow forward!  When it becomes stymied then it becomes morose and dark, much like a swamp.   
Bishops, priests, religious and deacons cannot remain content to stay within the church walls – whatever form these may take.  This is more than just going outside, it means letting go of knowledge and expertise, which equates to letting go of power.  In the church, we know how things operate.  We have the answers.  “You want to get married?  Here, this is the marriage preparation process and what you have to do.”  “You want to learn about the Church?  Here, this is the program for you.”  Therefore, to step outside means to let go of power and to accept the risk of being vulnerable.  But, there is such a great multitude outside of the Church’s walls who just want us to come and be with them.  They do not expect us to know all the answers; they do not even want that.  They just want to be noticed and for us to be willing to meet their vulnerability in our own vulnerability.  This is the oil and wine that helps to bring healing and helps to bandage deep wounds.   
There is another part to his equation though.  Parishes and dioceses need to give their bishops, priests, religious and deacons the freedom they need to do this.  A gilded cage may be gilded but it is still a cage!  At the heart of every vocation to serve in the Church is the call to be a missionary who goes out into the world.  This is not a denial of the pastoral needs of the community but a healthy counter-balance that is essential, I believe, to the health and well-being of any vocation to serve.  For a community to so demand and absorb the energy and focus of the one who serves that he or she cannot even imagine the missionary dimension of vocation is a huge disservice both to the one who serves and to the needs of our world. 
The laity must step up but not in a “how the world does business” way, but in how we are all called by Christ to “do business” way.  It is no longer permissible for the laity to say, “Oh, proclaiming the Gospel; that is the job of the ones who make the vows to do that.”  Today, the Gospel must be proclaimed by all Christians; therefore, all Christians must be intimately familiar with and formed by the Gospel.  The Gospel calls all persons to discipleship and therefore, all members of the Church must have their thoughts, actions and attitudes challenged, purified and enlightened by the Gospel.  The laity in the Church can just as easily hurry by on the other side of the road as the priest and Levite did, but this does not lead to being neighbor.  The primary encounter for any Christian before all else is our encounter with Christ in the Gospel.  This is the encounter which must continuously guide and enliven all aspects of the life of discipleship and all members of the Church must continuously and daily seek this encounter.  Every day, personal time must be spent with Scripture, particularly time with the gospels. 
How do I become neighbor?   
Lord, teach me how to be neighbor.                           
 

Church, forget not your power! (Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – B)

21 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by in 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (B), gospel, homily, power

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The Gospel passage for this Sunday (Mk. 6:30-34) has the apostles returning to the Lord after having been sent out on mission to proclaim the coming of the Kingdom of God, to heal the sick and to aid the weak and the poor.  The evangelist makes note of a “power” being conferred on the apostles in order to acomplish these tasks.  It is quickly realized that the power mentioned here is neither economic nor political because those first disciples clearly had neither.  The “power” that the disciples went forth with were obedience to Jesus, the proclamation of his words and repeating the Lord’s gestures of mercy.  Through these simple powers great things happened and the apostles return full of excitement to share their experiences.  We can imagine the affectionate expression on Jesus’ face on their return and in their recounting of what had happened. 

Today, the Gospel gives us a different way than just the economic and political to affect the world.  This is a needed message for our time so steeped in materialism.  This influence of materialism can be witnessed in society’s fixation with the “material” power of economics and politics as the only ways to really get things done.  What the Gospel offers is a different way and a way that is more authentic and more human.  It is a power that truly heals and touches the human heart.

In our Christian heritage there is a famous quote that states, “Christian, forget not your dignity!”  In relation to today’s Gospel I think we can say, “Church, forget not your power!”  I am not saying that there is no place for economics or politics – lets not be naive – but also lets not forget that the true power of the Church resides in neither of these.

The power of the Christian community (the power to which the Church alone is the steward) is threefold:

1. obedience to Jesus,
2. the proclamation of his words,
3. repeating the Lord’s gestures of mercy. 

Obedience to Jesus.  Jesus is Son of God, Son of Man and Lord of history.  Why do we keep searching for other lords and other messiahs?  Yet, we do.  There are great men and great women throughout history yet none other is Son of God and Son of Man.  The primary witness of the disciples is found not in so much of what they said but in what they did.  They remained with the Lord.  They returned to him (as we see in today’s Gospel).  When they wandered and stumbled they turned back.  Even when they scattered from the cross; they gathered together again in the locked room.  In times of triumph, times of struggles, and times of uncertainty the disciples remained with the Lord.  There is a power found in obedience to the Lord.

The proclamation of Christ’s words.  There are many great ideas, theories and achievement throughout human history and these, rightly, can amaze and astound us.  We celebrate what is good and true.  But even as the Church can and should learn from these achievements she must remember that the words which she has to share are authentic, true and needed for every place and age.  They are words that truly bring life.  The words are not of our own making; rather they have been entrusted and given to us.  We are to speak Christ’s words to our world.  Elsewhere in the Gospel our Lord tells us that no one puts a light under a bushel basket yet how often are we tempted to give the Gospel second place in our lives to the latest theory, psychology, philosophy or social fad?  When we do so are we not, in essence, placing a bushel basket over the light of the Gospel?  The words of Christ truly heal because Christ alone is the Lord of life.

The Lord’s gestures of mercy.  Our Lord knew the power of gesture: he writes in the sand, he touches the leper, he sits down at the well with the samaritan woman, he heals the demoniac, he feeds the five thousand.  It is interesting to note how our Lord’s gestures were directed toward the expression of mercy.  Even the cleansing of the Temple can be seen as the desire to clear away a crushing and deadening legalism in order that God’s house might once again be seen as a house of mercy.  The Church is at its best when it lives our Lord’s gestures of mercy – when the untouchable are touched, when the hungry are fed when the sinner is forgiven.  These gestures might not make the evening news or any of the plethora of our society’s award shows but they are true, they are noted by heaven and they bring hope and healing to our world.

At the end of today’s gospel passage we are told that when Jesus disembarked from the boat and saw the vast crowd his heart was moved with pity.  The people were starving.  They were tired of that which failed to satisfy.  We, today, are tired of that which fails to satisfy.  Salvation does not come through politics nor does it come through the economy.  Salvation comes through mercy – God’s mercy at work in our world, our hearts and our lives. 

Christian, forget not your dignity!  Church, forget not your power!