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September 28, 2008

Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Life Isn’t fair

“Life’s not fair!” How often have we heard that phrase? Look back in your life, for instance, and try to remember the number of times you felt that you deserved better. Think of the times when you worked really hard at some project, hoping for a first place award. And what happens? Second place! Bummer! “You’ll never get me to compete in that project again,” we say. “I’m mad! My entry was obviously better than the first place winner!” Yes, perhaps it was, but you still didn’t win first place! Too bad!

This scenario happens all the time out there in that cruel old world. Who gets the Heisman Trophy? Who is ushered into the Baseball Hall of Fame? Who wins the women’s or men’s singles at Wimbleton? What college football team is named National Champion? Who receives the Nobel Peace Prize, or the prize for science or literature? Who receives the gold medal at the Olympics? Obviously, it is not always the person who is so sure that he or she might win. Life’s not fair! Or, maybe it just doesn’t seem fair.

Of course, we wouldn’t be human if we didn’t consider our talents or our work more prize-worthy than someone else’s. After all, who wants to be second in anything? Who will strive for the bronze medal at the China Olympics?
The question that often arises is this? Where was God in my second place award? Didn’t God have any idea how hard I worked on this project? If God is fair, where was the fairness in this?
Jesus brings up this question in the parable of the vineyard workers who were hired at various times of the day, some early, some late. The early birds obviously got their promised pay. What bothered them, of course, was that the last-hired individuals received the same pay as they did. “The owner wasn’t fair,” they said. “By rights we ought to get more.”
The point they did not seem to understand was that they actually did receive what they were promised. They were just a little jealous over the amount the last-hired received. “No fair”!
The lesson Jesus seems to be teaching here is that life doesn’t always seem fair, or at least not fair in the way we see it. Of course, we don’t always have control over life’s circumstances, so, why should we complain?
Obviously there is always some reason for the way life’s events happen. We may not know what it is, but there is a reason and usually someone else knows what that reason is.
My personal sense is that Jesus is comparing the vineyard owner to God. God is always fair in the way God deals with us. The problem (or the mystery) is that we do not know what’s behind the decision in question. Life is mysterious. Perhaps we should simply say, life is messy. No one is trying to hurt us. It’s just that we do not always understand the motivation behind decisions over which we have no control. The moment we try to compare ourselves to others, of course, we already have problems.
Perhaps then, the solution (if there is a solution) is that we should be thankful for what we get, whether it’s first, second or third place. We did our best and even that should be considered a reward. The ways of God are always just but they are not always comprehensible. So too in the world of human competition: Decisions do not always seem just to us, but I’m also pretty sure that God has nothing to do with that.

The scriptures: Isaiah 55: 6-9; Philippians 1: 20-24, 27; Matthew 20: 1-16

Posted by Cindy Lentine at 03:05 PM.

September 21, 2008

The Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Changing One’s Mind

Many of you may remember the fuss that was made during the last presidential campaign over “flip-flopping.” I believe it was John Kerry, the Democratic nominee, who it was said “flip-flopped” on important issues in order to protect his position. I’m sure the Republican nominee was also guilty of the same “sin,” but Kerry took most of the heat.

Interestingly, during this present campaign for the presidency, both candidates are saying: “Hey, it’s ok to ‘flip-flop,’ after all, it just means that you looked over the all the evidence on an issue and you have come to a deeper understanding of it, so, you change your mind. Isn’t that ok? So, this time, “flip-flopping is ok!

It occurs to me too that “flip-flopping” is a common phenomenon with most of us. It’s not that we are “wishy-washy” or that we just can’t make up our mind. It’s just that we have an open mind and are willing to change if that seems to be a rational choice.

Conditions of all sorts keep changing around us in all areas of life. Think, for instance, what would happen in the world of science or medicine if people in those fields were to continue using methods that were “modern” 25 years ago. They would be laughed at for their extreme conservative stance.

For that reason, then, it seems wise and prudent to examine a situation and make your judgment on the evidence you have for it here and now. After all, that’s how progress is made in any field of human endeavor.

Moving from politics to spirituality, it would seem that we have a similar situation. Jesus speaks to it in the gospel where he gives and example of two sons who were asked to head out for the vineyard and work for a day. One son immediately says “Sure” but never leaves his place in the shade. The second son says, “No, I’m not going out there in the hot son and pick grapes; pick ‘em yourself.” But then, reflecting on it, he says to himself: “Ah, why not? I don’t want to see my father out there by himself. Besides, I’m hale and hearty. I can do it.” So, he goes.

Then Jesus asks for a decision of the elders on which son did the honorable thing. “Obviously, the second son,” they say. Notice there is no criticism here over “flip-flopping.” The second son just reconsidered his earlier choice and headed out for the vineyard.

The moral here seems to be that it’s ok to change your mind if you find a more reasonable option. It may even be the more honorable thing to do.

It often seems to me that there is a certain maturation in one’s spiritual life, a changing of opinions. Most of us as young adults go through a period of alienation from anything religious. But there comes a point where we say to ourselves as adults: “This is crazy, this is nuts; why am I doing thus stuff? Why can’t I give God a chance and grow up?

And so it happens: All of us go through changes of spiritual maturity. Happily, most folks who work at it come through unscathed.

It is important, of course, that we do act like Christian adults, that we pray like Christian adults, that we make moral decisions like adults. Our earlier years are usually times of search, even experimentation. But age brings on new insights, new opportunities to act as adult Christians.

It is my own experience that the movement into responsible adulthood is a good feeling. We can look at the past and say: “Well, all that is behind me now.

It is also interesting to know that we may need to go through many more “flip-flops” during our adult spiritual life. All that means is that we are struggling to find that person who is not afraid to make mistakes and in the end to admit that life is messy but if we keep working on it, we won’t end up as a “flop.”

The scriptures: Isaiah 55:6-9; Philippians 1:20c-24, 27a; Matthew 20:1-16a

Posted by Cindy Lentine at 05:11 PM.

September 14, 2008

Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

I’ve often heard it said that one should be able to tell what is going on in the mind of another person simply by looking into their face. There will be signs there to tell you whether that person is at peace or bothered by something, angry happy or sad. Just look and you will see. The face will tell you about the whole person. So, at breakfast, for instance, you will need to decide whether it is safe to talk about some philosophical theory of Nietzsche, Kant or Shopenhauer or whether you simply should stick with the latest standings of the Cubs or Sox.

The signs will be clear, in fact, signs are everywhere around us. Some are helpful, others confusing. For instance: I received a little book, a short while ago, from some friends entitled: Peculiar Signs. It’s hilarious. The editor of the book solicited photos of signs from people around the world, signs that made absolutely no sense, in fact, some would have steered you in the very opposite direction you may have wanted to go; they were obviously of no help to anybody.

By the way, if you are old enough, you probably will remember how we tried to read the Burma Shave signs as we drove along the highway. We may have eventually forgotten the words, but we still remember Burma Shave itself, the product.

One last example: Some years ago young, aggressive baseball players from Central America began showing up on teams in the Majors. Of course, they brought their own habits with them, and one was the traditional Sign of the Cross that they would trace on their foreheads when they stepped up to the plate. One day a sports reporter from the Chicago Sun Times asked Yogi Berra what he though about all that. And he replied, “Jeez, I don’t really know, but I can tell you one thing: Whatever its for, it does not seem to be improving their batting average very much.” So, what do you do if you have just made the Sign of the Cross and then you strike out?

But, of course, as we all know, Christians have been making the Sign of the Cross at certain important moments in their lives for thousands of years. My mother, for instance, when she was teaching me to drive as a teenager, would always get into the car and make the sign of the cross with the holy water she had brought with her. As you can imagine, that surely did not help my self-confidence very much.

But, as I think back even on this past year when I was still living in Alaska, I would never have thought of taking off in the airplane without tracing the cross on my forehead and saying a prayer. I did the same before landing. Of course, if I did something stupid on landing or take-off, I don’t think the Sign of the Cross in itself would have saved my life! So, the cross is not a magic savior. It is simply a sign of our trust in our God to give us the wisdom, the good sense, to do things correctly.

Well, given all that, it would be safe to say that the cross is the most identifiable sign we have that reminds us that we are Christians.

The tendency for us, of course, is to forget that the cross was once an instrument of torture during the time of the Roman Empire, perhaps something akin to the gallows today. There was nothing sacred about crosses in Jesus’ time. Every day, people were hung on crosses to warn others of the consequences of rebellion.

But it was the early Christians who rescued this instrument of torture, this sign of punishment, and turned it into a sign of salvation. Ever since then, we have been tracing this sign on our body to remind us that someone, namely, Jesus of Nazareth, died on a cross, took this burden on himself for our sake.

I think that this should remind us, then, to take special care when we sign ourselves. It is not the cross in itself that stands out as being important, but rather the Trinity to whom we pray as we sign ourselves.

Finally, I should think that it would be particularly important for us, we who are identified by the Cross and who say that the Cross is Our Only Hope, that we be publicly recognized by our devotion to this sign of our salvation because for us, like all Christians, the cross is truly our only hope. In the name of the Father and the Son and The Holy Spirit

The scriptures: Numbers 21: 4b-9; Philippians 2:6-11; John 3: 13-17

Posted by Cindy Lentine at 09:52 AM.

September 07, 2008

Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time - Problem Solving

Recently, I was watching an old re-run of The Godfather, the story of the Mafia clans and their feuds. After it was over, I thought to myself: Why all this violence? Could it actually be a trait of all humanity? Maybe it’s not just limited to the Mafia or even to Italians. (sorry!) Perhaps there is something deep in the human psyche that urges to get even.

It’s true, of course, gun battles between clans have always been a popular form of entertainment, whether on the big screen of on television. Why, for instance did The Sopranos run for so many months on TV? People seem to crave violence, as long as it does not affect them.

The more relevant question, of course is to ask why all this happens in real life: On the streets of South LA, the Bronx or even in large or small towns throughout our country?

Perhaps the answer lies in our personal histories. I have no doubt that many of us have the secret desire, at least occasionally, to get even with someone or to feel gratified if someone we do not like “gets his or hers.” I know from my own experience that I have been guilty of this many times.

It seems that we cannot stand to see someone get away clean and neat from some offense, whether to ourselves or to someone dear to us.

I am not enough of a psychologist to get to the bottom of this phenomenon but I know that it exists. I do no like to be insulted or to be taken advantage of. I will not bear that situation. Of course, any good psychologist could solve this problem, but he or she is not up here preaching!

The only biblical piece of evidence regarding interrelation disagreements is the curious little gospel piece from Matthew. Jesus, or the writer, takes on the role of religious social psychologist and tries to explain an easy way out of an argument between two men. (I am assuming that it was two men. I may be wrong: perhaps it is simply an example of two fictional characters representing all humankind)

At any rate, Jesus asks the question: What do you do if you feel that your brother has something against you? Well, obviously, you do not pick up the nearest sword or spear and go at it.

You address the person politely, as any intelligent and rational individual would do and explain your position.

If that does not work, then call in a couple of other people who can give you a more objective opinion; perhaps that may solve the problem.

If even that does not work, then bring in the representatives of the church. Surely, they should be able to handle it. After all that is part of their task.

However, if the church has no solution, then the only option seems to be that you should simply call the person a bad name, an outcast, a gentile or a tax collector. That should be the end of it!

What Jesus seems to be saying here is that there are certain disagreements that can’t be solved. Of course, whether calling a person a “bad name” solves anything is still a question.

It is interesting, by the way that some people do call in a minister or a priest, particularly to solve marriage problems. It has long been my sense, however, that, even with the best intentions, priests and ministers are not always able to find final solutions to such situations. Priests and ministers and even entire church groups often have their own problems with each other! How, then, can they assume to solve the problems of others?

The major problem when a difference as rise among individuals or groups is emotion, feelings: People’s feelings have been hurt, their hearts are broken. Hence, the only solution seems to lie in their personal decision to apologize to one another. Perhaps it comes down to the point where they must say to each other: “Listen, neither of us is completely guilty; we were simply not sensitive enough to each others feelings. If we can work out the money and the property problem, we’ll have it solved and we can go on appreciating each other again.

The point of all this is to say that outsiders seldom find final solutions for the problems of others unless their client is truly ill. What counselor, priest or minister truly knows what is going on in the heart of another person? Often they cannot even understand the reasons for their own angers and resentments.

Perhaps the best that can be said is that if individuals come to us for solutions, we must first offer them compassion and listen to them. Once people hear themselves say what angers them, then perhaps the problem is already half solved.

So, after all that, I still have questions about Jesus or Matthew’s solution for interpersonal differences. But, of course, I also have my own interpersonal problems to deal with. When I have solved that, perhaps I can take on the “gospel problem.”

The scriptures: Ezekiel 33: 7-9, Romans 13: 8-10, Matthew 18: 15-20

Posted by Cindy Lentine at 09:03 AM.