Pick your Battles.....

Many years ago, my dad taught me a lesson that I am still learning today.   He said: "Son, sometimes you have to choose your battles."  He meant that you need to examine every situation to see if what you are about to argue about or correct someone about is worth the effort, and more importantly, the repercussions. Do you want to argue this point if it costs you a friendship?  Is what you are being upset about worth it?  As a father and step-father this advice is something I need to listen to more often.  St. Paul says in the first reading today, "Remind people of these things and charge them before God to stop disputing about words. This serves no useful purpose since it harms those who listen."  Oh how many spouses need this today, myself included?  Arguing in front of the kids instead of supporting one another is one of the worst things we can do, but doesn't it happen?  Too often I am sure.  How much more so inside our own faiths?  There wouldn't be a Protestant version of Christianity at all if this line of reasoning had been followed and things had been handled differently.

Jesus reminds us time and again that arguing among ourselves just creates division. A house divided cannot stand.  One of the greatest charges against Christians these days is "If that's how Christians act, I don't want to be one."  The other day I was walking down Washington Street here in our little town.  Two men were yelling at each other, one up on a balcony, the other on the ground.   Angry words were being exchanged riddled with vulgarity and threats.  At one point the man on the balcony yelled, "Yeah you're being real Christian aren't you."  Turns out the guy down on the ground was a minister of some sort.  Would anyone have known that by his behavior?  How often do I set that own example?  Too often I myself would be the guy on the ground, angry with the man shouting down at me, likely responding in kind.

There are though some things which are worth standing up for.   Paul, in our readings today,  also reminds us that we must "be eager to present yourself as acceptable to God, a workman who causes no disgrace, imparting the word of truth without deviation."  We cannot change the truth, we cannot alter the Gospel to go with the times or with our desires.  It is a message that does not belong to us, but rather belongs to God.   We have no right to change it and Paul is quick to say that even if an angel were to come and give you a different Gospel we should not believe it.   How then do we go about walking that line of choosing our battles but always offering the truth?  By offering the truth in love.  "They will know we are Christians by our love."  Does society see that today? Do they find us loving and welcoming? Or hateful and condemning?  We have to choose our battles for sure.  Sometimes the fight will produce no love.  Sometimes the person is not open to it, and we should leave it be.  No use "throwing pearls before swine", right? But in all things, show love.

Jesus reminds us of that in the Gospel for today.  That the greatest commandments are to love God with everything that you are, and to love your neighbor as you love yourself.   That is to want good for them, to offer good to them, to pray for good for them.  Loving someone does not always mean condoning their behavior or giving them anything and everything they want.   It does mean though being tactful.   Seeking to find the best way to reach them with an offer to know who Christ is.   Sometimes that means using our words, and other times it means using our actions.   I know, this is a perfect time to use that cliche saying attributed to Saint Francis of Assisi.. and I am going to.  "Preach at all times the Gospel, and when necessary, use words."   Just don't forget that Saint Francis used a lot of words!

2518 The sixth beatitude proclaims, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." "Pure in heart" refers to those who have attuned their intellects and wills to the demands of God's holiness, chiefly in three areas: charity; chastity or sexual rectitude; love of truth and orthodoxy of faith. There is a connection between purity of heart, of body, and of faith: The faithful must believe the articles of the Creed "so that by believing they may obey God, by obeying may live well, by living well may purify their hearts, and with pure hearts may understand what they believe."

The other thing that I think is so important about the encounter between Jesus and the Pharisee in the Gospel for today is that Jesus tells him "You are not far from the Kingdom of God."   I wonder if those men years later realized the irony of that statement.  There this man was speaking to God himself, face to face with Jesus who is the embodiment of the Kingdom of God, and his eyes were closed.  Love itself sat looking at Him and said to Him, "I am right here before you."  Then like most of us, they were scared to ask anymore questions.  How often we become dumbfounded when we realize something profound is happening in front of us.   What would you do if God were to stand before you right now, at this very moment and say "Here I am.  You are so close to being a part of my Kingdom.. just come forward and receive it."

2519 The "pure in heart" are promised that they will see God face to face and be like him. Purity of heart is the precondition of the vision of God. Even now it enables us to see according to God, to accept others as "neighbors"; it lets us perceive the human body - ours and our neighbor's - as a temple of the Holy Spirit, a manifestation of divine beauty.

It happens every day at Mass.  Christ comes down body and soul before you on the altar.  The ministers come forth and elevate this defenseless host before you, and declare "This is the body of Christ."  There it is, the Kingdom of God.. right in front of you... heaven kissing earth.   Christ offering himself to you, the fullness of love, to help you grow and become the person you are called to be.  Do we like the Pharisee of the moment sit in silence unable to ask more?  Or do we say "Here I am Lord, speak, Your servant is listening."?

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

Tear Down the Wall

When I was fresh out of college money was pretty hard to come by.  To try to make ends meet five of us moved into this one trailer and pooled our monies to make things happen.  It was an interesting thing.  On the surface one would have called us a community.   All of us professed to be Christians and attended church a few times a year.  We even talked from time to time about the Bible and listened to religious radio on lunch breaks when we could.  The thing was, we shared a home.. but you wouldn't say we were sharing much else.  One of us even had a shelf that contained their stuff.  I remember once when the brother of one of the guys living there drank something off the 'shelf'.   All of us gasped!  That's the 'shelf'!  You're in trouble!  Sure enough, when that roommate came home the first thing out of their mouth was, "Where is my stuff!"

That's a far cry from the ideal isn't it?  In the first reading for today's daily Mass we can see what the early Christians considered the ideal community.  Everything they had was in common!  They shared it all.  There were no shelves, no 'hey that's my shirt', everyone sold any money they had and the community leaders distributed it evenly so that none were lacking in need.  It's easy for me to look back at that living arrangement and pick it apart and say hey, we didn't meet that ideal at all did we?  Yet, if I'm honest, looking at any household today we can often find similar situations.  Someone upset because someone else wore their shirt.   Someone mad because their phone is dead because someone was playing on it when it was supposed to be charging... someone upset because the last thing of ice cream is gone and they didn't get any.   Pretty standard for any family isn't it?

The interesting thing about this reading from the history of the early church is that it's talking about an example for them to look up to.  Barnabas, the son of encouragement, lived in such a way that they felt we should all learn from him.  He sold what he had and brought it to the Apostles to distribute as they saw a need.  As a man who greatly admires Saint Francis of Assisi this truly touches my heart.  How many of us are willing to do that?  We complain every time we turn on the radio and someone is asking for money.  You can see the eyes roll and hear the sighs at times when a priest gets up during the year for the Diocesan Stewardship Appeal.  "There they are asking for money again."   "Why is it everytime I come to church they want more cash?"  "Don't they have enough?" Or better yet, "Why don't they sell everything in the Vatican and give it away to the poor!"  (Ask me about this last one sometime, my answer may shock you.)

Imagine though, another situation... if every one of us who professed to be Christian... gave like we should?  If we opened up our bank accounts and gave 1%, 2%, 10%... 100%?  What if instead of trying to pretend we own the money we earn.. we rather acknowledge that it was all a gift from God?  Then we put our money, our time, our talent, all of it... where our mouths were.   If every person in our Parish gave 10%?  I imagine we'd never have to ask for money.   Rather, we'd see a need and meet it.   This year we saw a need, $6,700 dollars... and we met it.   It took some time, but through some sacrificial fasting, prayer and almsgiving we are going to be able to build a well.  That's beautiful!  That's marvelous!  That's the way it should be!

Yet, there is something more that must be faced.  Lent is not a time to simply change for a season, and go back to who you were before.. No Lent is a time of metanoia, transformation, changing from bad habits to good... Lent is over, but the giving should just be starting!  That's why we as a Parish are looking at raising even more money, giving throughout the year and not just during the penitential season leading up to Lent.  Maybe we'll build a house?  Feed a village?  We are still discussing this as a pastoral council.

The Gospel reading talks about the wind.   The word there for Spirit and Wind is the same word! The breath.... the wind... the Spirit... the word has the connotation of presence.. of life.   When someone is unconscious you put a mirror under their nose to see if they are breathing.. with breath is life.  That's a powerful thought.  Jesus is there in the tabernacle.. breathing.. waiting for you.  Where he is.. life is.   Where he goes.. life goes... Where he is rejected? Life is rejected.  In the Eucharist is all of the life force in the universe.. the ultimate wind.. the ultimate Spirit... God himself. So you are given that gift.. that life.   You receive into you the breath of God.. something that cannot be contained but is greater than yourself.   Are you going out into the world with it?  Are you breathing life?

Some people have told me that when they enter the Catholic church they feel a presence.. like someone is there.. even when the Sanctuary is empty as far as they know.   That's Him.  That's the breath, the wind.. the Spirit..  That is Christ's presence in the tabernacle.. it is tangible, you know he's there.. I have never experienced that in any other church.  Yes, I've found beautiful prayer spaces.  I've enjoyed uplifting concerts.  I've prayed with men and women of many faiths and denominations.... I've never been in any of those churches empty and felt the presence I feel when being before the Eucharist.  That brings me to one other thought... When people meet you, when they pray with you, when they visit you or you visit them... when you converse, when you share, when you break bread together... do they feel His presence in you?  Are people aware of the breath of Christ, the Holy Spirit, in your life?  When you go from Mass at the end, when you are dismissed by the priest or Deacon.. they say "The Mass is ended, go forth glorifying the Lord with your lives."   That's not a dismissal to go back to your old way of life.. it's a challenge to go forth into the world as a living tabernacle, a temple of God... when people are in your presence they should know He is there too... it should change you... and they should know by your actions, words and deeds that you are a Catholic and a disciple of Christ.

So, the question becomes: "If you were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?"

His servant and yours,
Brian

"He must increase, I must decrease."

How important are your things?

We've all heard the "you are on a desert Island and can only take" stories, but I want to really think about that for a few minutes. Let's try a different scenario that is much more likely to happen in our world. But first let's address the real problem, we in our society live with our 'needs' and 'wants' all mixed up. We think we need so much, when they are really wants.. and those things we really need, we often don't even notice. We have homes stuffed with many things. Multiple pairs of this or that, four and five televisions, computers in many of our rooms etc.

How much do those mean to us? Are we really living the gospel? Now there is room in our life for nice things, but at the same time... if we have more than we ever use... then someone out there is going without. What do I mean by that? Well if I have a television sitting in my garage... doing nothing... then someone out there who has no television, can't afford one, and wants one... is doing without one.. or better yet, someone out there who needs food.. is going without the food that they could have had, if I never bought it in the first place, and instead bought food and donated it.

So, what would you save in a fire? If you could only take 4 things out of your house (besides your children and animals), what would they be? Then, while standing outside watching what you own burn to the ground... what would you miss? If you had no insurance at all, what would you mourn having lost in your home?

His servant and yours;
Brian