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February 23, 2008
Third Sunday of Lent - Thirsting For the Sacred
My hunch is that most of us hearing this homily (or reading it on line) don't often think much about being thirsty. The fact is that we are probably never very thirsty. Oh, yes, I suppose we'd all love to have a coke or a beer on a hot day. That would slake our thirst at least for a little while. But none of us, I suspect, has ever been so thirsty that our lips began to crack or that our tongue and throat were so dry we could hardly speak. That sort of thirst doesn't happen today, at least not in First World countries. But it does happen in many parts of the world, especially in thy, desert areas like Africa or the Middle East.
However, even in the United States today wars are being fought over who gets the water from the Colorado River: Should it go into the swimming pools of Los Angeles or the vegetable growers in the Central Valley of California? Even the state of Georgia is worrying today about the water level of the lake that supplies Atlanta's homes and businesses.
There is no doubt that water is in the news and the minds of many people today, more than it has never been before. Even Global Warming is causing people to worry about oceanic water levels. But for the moment let us say that we don't immediately need to worry about going thirsty today or tomorrow.
The question, however, is this: Do we experience a thirst for anything else in life? I'm talking about thirst in the analogical sense, a longing or a craving for other things besides water, something that could give us a reason for living. I'm thinking, for instance, of our thirst or our longing for love, for recognition, for support, for respect, for intimacy, for partnership, for community, for peace, for identity, for meaningful work, and especially for God, for the sacred. We are all very complicated people; there are lots of things we long for even though we have more than enough water to drink.
An added thought about our thirsting is this: Do we ever give a thought to the notion that we have it in our power to slake the thirsts of others, that each of us has a hidden well that we can draw on and make it possible for others to live? Obviously, none of us has the capability of fully taking care of ourselves. We naturally depend on each other to lighten our thirsts for whatever it is we long for. The point is that we don't always know where the well is, but someone else does, so we go to that person to draw the water for us.
There are two examples of that in our scriptures for this Third Sunday of Lent. The first comes from the Book of Exodus, the migration story of the Israelites through a land where there was little water. There were a few springs (oasis) along the route, but you had to know where they were. The immigrant Israelites were getting desperate; they were ready to give Moses the boot and go back to Egypt. But fortunately, just in the nick of time, Moses finds a spring and saves the day along with his life.
So, we are back to the question: Who knows where the water is? Is that person ready to make the water available to those who are thirsty? Remember, you can't hoard water. It's too precious.
The second story comes out of Jesus' life. He was obviously on the road a lot; he needed to know where the watering holes were. Fortunately, there was a famous one, Jacob's well. Everyone in the Middle East knew where it was. So, here we have Jesus and his twelve followers (all men) coming to Jacob's well, out of water and even without a bucket. Fortunately, a woman from the nearby village is already filling her jar. Whether they liked it or not, Jesus and 12 men needed to ask a woman for water! That may have been considered humiliating for men in those times, but what could they do? She had he bucket and the water! No questions asked.
But then Jesus and the woman get into this very interesting theological conversation about the water of life and the question of where one can satisfy one's thirst for God. So, there is an interesting trade-off: Jesus and the guys get a drink of cold water and the woman receives from Jesus some insight about how to slake her thirst for God. A "win-win" situation all around.
All this brings us back once again to the question: "Who's thirsty, who's got the bucket and the water, so we can we make a trade and everyone will come away satisfied? That's the question for the modern Christian: Who's thirsty and who's got the water?
Finally, why are we hearing all this on the Third Sunday of Lent? We are hearing it because in practically every church in Christendom some folks are thirsting for acceptance into the Catholic Church. They are in an RCIA program and they are only a few weeks away from the "well", the fountain of baptism.
These two stories therefore are catechism lessons for the catechumens. They are the thirsty travelers and the church is the "well" that will satisfy them at the Easter vigil.
My hunch is that all of us who have already had our initial thirst for God satisfied at baptism should now be ready to share the water of our faith with others. So, again, we're left with the Question: "Who's thirsty, who's got the bucket, the water and is there anyone willing to share?
The scriptures: Exodus 17: 3-7, Romans 5: 1-11, John 4: 5:42
Posted by Cindy Lentine at 12:23 PM.
February 16, 2008
Second Sunday of Lent - Unforgettable Moments
It has always been a great mystery to me why it is that I can clearly remember certain events in my life, some going all the way back into my childhood, that, in themselves, were not very significant. And yet, on the other hand, others that should have been very important to me, I have no recollection of at all.
As a child, for instance, I can remember my father playing the violin (fiddle!) in the living room of our home and I being spellbound by it. Playing in the violin in one's home must not seem all that important and yet I remember it clearly to this very day. Or again, I can still remember the first airplane I ever saw up close. I can even remember the name of the pilot etched on the side of the plane.
On the other hand, however, I cannot remember the celebration of my First Communion, my Confirmation or even parts of my Ordination ceremony. You would think that these solemn religious rites should have made an impression on me, and yet, alas, they have disappeared from memory. The human mind is a great mystery: Why does it retain some human experiences and forget others? Without doubt, however, some events in our human history have made an indelible impact on our consciousness, for whatever reason.
I think the same might be said of certain events that have taken place in our country's history or even in the history of the world. Fortunately, there were individuals who remembered them and had the good sense to write them down for the sake of history. Everyone, I'm sure, remembers Pearl Harbor, everyone remembers "9/11", everyone remembers the names of the cities of Hiroshima, Nagasaki and the atom bomb. Interestingly, these events are not religious in nature and yet many people interpret them spiritually because they had such a negative impact on the human race. They might even be interpreted as death and resurrection experiences for humanity. At any rate, they will not be forgotten by our generation or by generations to come. We could almost call them transcendent events transcending time and place.
Our scriptures for this Second Sunday of Lent contain two such transcendent experiences that have never been forgotten.
The first comes from the history of the Hebrews. It is remembered as the call of Abraham, the Father of the Israelites. Interestingly, it is referred to three different times in the book of Genesis, which will tell you that it had a definite impact on the consciousness of the Hebrew people. Three different scribes wrote it down. The reason it was important to the Israelites was because, for the first time in human history we have a record of some people being given a piece of land of their own and a place in history. All this was done by God, of course, at least that is the Hebrew interpretation of the event.
I'm sure there is not a Jewish person in the world today (whether practicing or not) for whom this is not an important moment in their history. It defines who they are.
The gospel also has a remembrance story; In this instance, however, only three people remember the event, the disciples of Jesus, Peter, James and John. Let it be said, however, that it is mainly a remembrance story in the life of Jesus. It happens on the top of a mountain, which tells you immediately that it is meant to be interpreted as a story of transcendence, a sacred moment in the lives of Jesus and the disciples.
We are not completely clear how this event happened because some of the references are metaphorical, the cloud, for instance and the voice speaking out of the cloud, et cetera.
Nonetheless, Jesus is clearly speaking to God, to the Father and this is a complete mystery to the three disciples. They don't understand it, but they know something important, something sacred is happening. Hence, they feel they must build some sort of stone remembrance structure a cairn, a rock pile for history, but they also carried the event in their memories until another generation could write it down and we could also experience it today So, what can we to make of all this? Several things come to mind: First of all, most human events that happen to us are holy. Rabbi Abraham Hesehel once said: "Just to be is a blessing. Just to live is holy." If that is the case, it would be worthwhile for us to try and remember (as best we can) those events in our lives that were sacred to us (whether religious or not). Perhaps they could even be written down for another generation.
Think, for instance of Thomas Merton the Trappist monk who wrote the
story of his life called The Seven Storey Mountain. Think too of St. Augustine's famous autobiography, The Confessions. Both of those biographies have influenced the lives of many, many people over the years.
So, perhaps our story is also important. Some say that we live on our memories; we forget the bad ones and try to remember the good ones. It is all part of our history...all worth remembering.
The scriptures: Genesis 12: I-4a, Timothy 1: 8b-10, Matthew 17: 1-9
Posted by Cindy Lentine at 11:57 AM.
February 09, 2008
First Sunday of Lent - Figuring Out Who we are
Speaking out of my own experience and perhaps assuming yours as well, I would be willing to say that most of our “Lents” have been disappointing…not necessarily a disaster but perhaps less than satisfactory.
As I began thinking about this homily for the First Sunday of Lent once again, I asked myself the question: “Why does Lent turn out so badly for me? Why have I consistently been dissatisfied with my “performance” during these forty holy days of penance and self perception?” Well, I think I have just answered the question: Perhaps, without knowing it and without planning it so, it’s been a “performance.” I don’t necessarily mean a stage performance, but rather some grand plan that will change my life forever. That would be my hearts desire, I said.
But, my friends, it’s never happened. I’ve never really changed my life radically, at least not in the limited time of forty days and forty nights.
I’m sure you have all made so-called “good resolutions” at the beginning of the year or at some other significant moment in your life’s history. But how many of those resolutioins have we kept and been satisfied with? Not many, I’ll wager!
So, what’s the answer? Is there an answer to this annual question of ours “what are we going to do for Lent?” That’s the way the question is often phrased…”doing something for Lent.” If what we planned to do for Lent was actually so important, why wouldn’t we want to be doing the same throughout the entire year? Perhaps there is a hidden thought that if we do something for Lent, it may stick for the rest of the year. At least that may be the hidden hope whether we express it that way or not. Alas, it does not always happen that way.
I have decided, however, that this year I may take a different approach to Lent. The idea came to me from the title of a smallish book I’m reading by Jim Martin, the Jesuit who writes for America Magazine. It’s entitled: Being Who You Are. The title sort of fascinated me because the tendency for us usually is to be different than we presently are.
So, what I’m proposing for myself this year (maybe even next year) is to promise less and to think more; to simply reflect more on who I am at this point in my life, to get a clearer sense of my personhood, how I think of myself.
Perhaps from all this some truth will be forthcoming. If all that means less penances, less discipline, so be it.
The reason I think this may be more effective is because the incentive comes right out of the scriptures assigned for this Sunday. The first reading comes from that lovely story of the creation of Adam and Eve, their temptation and their eventual fall from grace. Scripture scholars have been reminding us for years that this is not a story of a lush garden, a snake and a piece of fruit. It’s not a story about who was ultimately responsible for succumbing to the snake. It’s really a lot deeper than all that. It’s really about the state of the human condition, of how we got to be the way we are. It’s the story of Everyman and Everywoman. It’s ultimately a story also about how we humans deal with choices. In both Genesis and the gospel you will notice that the main characters, Adam, Eve and Jesus, are faced with choices that will ultimately make them more human or which will detract from their human nature.
So, there are a lot of ultimate questions in the Genesis story. For instance: Why are we like we are? Why do we do evil? Why is their suffering? Why do we often feel alienated from God? Why do we often make wrong decisions when we obviously know better? Why are we ashamed of our actions? Good questions, all.
But whoever that author of Genesis was, one thing for sure, he was not afraid to look human nature in the face and he didn’t like what he saw. He knew that it was not just the first Man and Woman who made bad choices. Bad choices are being made all the time and that is obviously the reason for shame, alienation, guilt and the daily struggle to get out of the mess we’re in. Could that ultimately be the reason why we feel that it is important to “do penances?”
And finally we come to that well-known story of the three great temptations Jesus experienced. Those are all about choices too, just like the one in Genesis. Matthew, the gospel writer, frames those battle temptations as though they were going on between a person (Jesus) and another person, the evil spirit. But, actually the battle is going on in the mind of Jesus. How will he deal with easy answers to life’s questions? Each one deals with a different human option, all attractive, rewarding and fulfilling, at least on the surface. Besides that, they won’t cost anything. But notice, in each case Jesus thinks it through and refuses to be fooled. He knew that he was stronger than all the temptations combined. And he said no!
So, here we are back to the question of knowing and being who we are and dealing with life’s questions from that vantage point.
I’m actually grateful that Lent gives us the opportunity to think about all that and if we do we’ll ultimately be the better for it.
Is it still a good idea to do penance, prayer, fasting and almsgiving in Lent? Absolutely! But not to demonstrate how tough we are but rather to discover the real person that we are, how we deal with those choices that will go on long after Lent is over.
The scriptures: Genesis 2: 7-9, 3:1-7, Romans 5: 12-19, Matthew 4: 1-111
Posted by Cindy Lentine at 11:45 AM.
February 02, 2008
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time - A Word For Losers
It has long been my conviction that most preaching probably does not change many lives. Indeed, I often wonder if the word of Jesus as preached among the faithful ever changes much in most peoples' lives or life in general in this world?. I have a hunch that most people who are consistent Sunday worshipers have heard the gospels and other scriptures so often that they have ceased to have much impact on Christian conscience. Some may say: "Well, I'm sure those words must have had an impact on somebody when they were first spoken, but, hey, we're living in a different world today. Life is a lot more complicated than it was in Jesus' day." So, I suspect that many minds may often begin to wander when many of Jesus' wonderful words are spoken year after year, Sunday after Sunday.
The fact is (I think it's a fact!) that the words of scripture and the gospels in particular always run up against modern culture (post modern culture!) and, of course, they do not always seem to address our contemporary concerns. This is a different age, we say, times with different concerns, different questions.
And yet, on the other hand, the words of scripture and the gospels in particular are transcendent, they cross all ages and cultures and even fit our age if one has the courage to listen with open ears.
Well, all this may sound like a depressing way to begin a homily, but there are some words in all three scriptures for this Sunday that I am sure will not find an open ear in the lives of many Christians.
The word that will make some listeners roll their eyes and plug their ears is the word humility. My hunch is that humility is not a word that many people would say is part of their daily experience. We live in an age where winning is everything and losing is nothing: Watch ESPN or any sports channel on television. Watch some of those other programs that portray people competing in weird ways for some paltry amount of money. Think about the financial segment on the evening news. It's all about winners and loser.
The old phrase "nice guys finish last" is probably a saying many people believe even though they would not say so publicly .
In short, most folks probably are convinced that you will never get anywhere in this world unless you are willing to get into the ring and fight it out with others. "It's a tough, competitive world out there," they will say. "Get used to it."
So, I'm wondering what thoughts were going through the pews when the folks heard Zephaniah the prophet use the word humble, humility and lowly in that reading a few moments ago? Most folks probably thought, "well, that's all very nice, everybody already believes that."
Then we hear St. Paul saying roughly the same thing in his letter to the Christian folks at Corinth: He tells them something they already know: "Not many of you are wise or powerful or of noble birth. You are the weak, the lowly, and the despised. In the eyes of the world around you, you count for nothing."
Well, all that was probably true: The early Christians, for the most part, were of the lower economic classes. But, of course, Paul was also saying: "Hey, is that all so bad? Being poor is not an insult. At the same time, it's not something we eagerly look forward to either."
And then we have those beautiful words of Jesus we have come to call the beatitudes (the "blessed").
But take a look at them: Whom does Jesus bless, whom does he call fortunate? Not the rich and the powerful, not those who can control their own lives, not the independently wealthy. No, Jesus calls fortunate, blessed, those whom the world has forgotten: The poor, the meek, the persecuted, the insulted.
Now, that really sounds pretty depressing: How could the poor ever feel blessed? That surely does not do much for social conditions in the world, telling people that it's ok to be on the bottom of the social ladder.
So, how can we deal with something that appears so contradictory, at least to modern ears? Hardly anyone who is poor or homeless or starving would claim that they are blessed!
Well, I don't have any easy answer to all this, but I think it becomes a little more clear when you compare this version of the beatitudes in Matthew to the version we have
in Luke's gospel. Luke's is a lot tougher: Luke compares the rich and the poor and he blesses the poor and curses the rich. So, it is in the comparison that you begin to get some insight about the "fortunate" (the blessed) and the unfortunate the "cursed." The question is this: In the mind of God, who is truly blessed or cursed? In the mind of God can we truly say that to be rich and independent is something that we should ultimately strive for? Should we consider the rich and famous, the independent to be fortunate simply because they are rich and independent? Is that a blessed way of life, particularly when the rich are rich at the expense of the poor? No one could believe that.
So, the beatitudes are really questions about inequality in the world: The rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak, those who can control their lives and those who have no control over their lives. When the comparisons in the beatitudes are applied to modern life, they address the problems of universal health care, the problems of education for the poor, the problem of immigration, the problem of housing, the problem of an inequitable tax structure, the problem of the destruction of the environment at the expense of the poor and peasant land-owners.
So, it is my conviction that Jesus is not praising people who are humble (that is without power). He is saying, "This is no way to live. Life in this world should not be a battle between the powerful and the weak. To be powerful is not necessarily a virtue and to be powerless could possibly be a "curse."
Hidden in these scriptures, I believe there is something, about human dignity, the value of the person, about the fact that all human beings deserve respect no matter what their so-called state in life may be. No one deserves to be poor or without control over his life.
I do not know, therefore, whether these scriptures about humility will eventually change the way life happens in this world, but I would still have to say that it would not hurt any of us to be reminded that there are lots of inequities in this world and maybe it's ok if we happen to be reminded of that occasionally. Nice guys do no have to finish last!"
The scriptures: Zephaniah 2:3, 3:12-13, 1 Corinthians 1: 26-31, Matthew 5: 1-12a
Posted by Cindy Lentine at 09:45 AM.
