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September 28, 2009
Twenty Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time [October 4, 2009]
This may not be any great revelation to anybody, but it occurs to me that we humans are more alike than different. Sure, I realize that some of us are male and others female, some of one skin color, others of another color, some tall, some short, some talkative, others reserved, but at our most basic level we are human; there are more human qualities that make us the same than distinguish us from one another.
And then, think about this: We humans above all else are social beings. We come into this world as a result of two peoples’ actions. We can only survive because we are in dependence with one another. There is hardly a moment in our lives when we do not benefit from the care of others.
Let me go even further and say that our basic happiness depends on our relationship with others. Even hermits, God love ‘em, depend on each other to keep their community together. Celibate people (priests and religious) depend not only on their kind for companionship but upon many lay folks whom they call friends.
It would seem to me then that loneliness is one of the most devastating experiences one can have.
The author of the Book of Genesis seems to have that insight when he says that God has created man and woman to be of one flesh and to cling to one another no matter what.
I would not claim to be an expert in marriage relationships, but it would seem to me that every person ultimately seeks to bond with someone else. There is no other option in the human condition. Any two young people who begin dating one another surely have the intent to love each other for life. Why pick this person unless you are serious about your future with this person. Most young people who seek marriage would hardly say, “Well, let’s give it a try and see how it works out.” Love is of the nature to give oneself to this person and to no other person. This is deeply embedded in the human psyche. We will have it no other way.
At the same time despite our common nature, despite our dependency upon each other, we are all nonetheless unique individuals; we are who we are and we will never be satisfied being other than that. That then being the case it is not unlikely that we will often insist on our independence, with exploring our own potentialities, even though we are deeply committed to another, as in engagement and marriage. Choosing a partner for life does not obviate the possibility of being deeply at odds with that person on occasion. Marriages can be weighed down and threatened with conflicts that are inevitable and which often, sadly, end in divorce, the death of a relationship.
So what do we make of Jesus’ hard saying in the gospel today that “whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery…what God has joined together no human being should separate.”
I am sure that remark must cause consternation among those who tried their best to maintain the bond to which they swore, but for whatever mysterious reason they could not sustain.
The human psyche is a beautiful and mysterious reality. It is unique to this individual. It is not unlikely then that deep differences will arise despite their most sincere efforts to the contrary.
I can only imagine, therefore, that Jesus spoke with respect regarding the Law but that he also had great compassion for those who struggled to love each other until life together became unbearable for them both.
Divorce, as we learn from the Jewish and Christian scriptures, was frequent. Surely Jesus was aware of that but by quoting the authority of Genesis he attempted at least to lift the status of marriage to a sacred level.
Finally, human nature is surely a divine but frail and beautiful piece of work. Sometimes even love will not hold such a sacred bond together. Nonetheless, I can only imagine that a compassionate Christ could only say what Fydor Dostoievski, the Russian author, once said in the novel, The Brothers Karamazov: “Love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing as compared to love in dreams.” Better that we have loved and lost than never having loved at all.
The scriptures: Genesis 2: 18-24; Hebrews 2: 9-11; Mark 10: 2-16
Posted by Cindy Lentine at 11:15 AM.
September 24, 2009
Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time [September 27, 2009]
Since coming here to the campus of Notre Dame University two years ago, it has been my good fortune to be able to assist in the university’s campus ministry programs. Despite what some higher clergy have asserted in recent times, Notre Dame is a uniquely Catholic place. Think about this: At the moment there are approximately 40 chapels in student residences and other administrative buildings on campus. There is a priest chaplain assigned to each of those residences.
Moreover, there are dozens of priests assigned to teaching and administration. In other words, this place where I live is “rich” in priests.
When I mention this to my friends back in Alaska they are completely astonished. Why can’t some of those priests volunteer to come up here and be pastors in some of our little villages where we have a priest for Sunday liturgy perhaps only once or twice a month at most? Where’s the equity in the Church, they say.
On the other hand, when I explain to students here, who have come from predominantly Catholic communities, that where I just came from, that I would be available to celebrate the sacraments in mission churches perhaps only once a month, they are completely taken aback. They cannot imagine any church not having a priest on hand every Sunday.
And a final note: When Catholic tourists come and visit some of our rural parishes on Sunday, they are totally confused when they see and hear a Catholic nun or lay woman conducting Sunday services. Indeed, some of them walk out of church, as though it were a Protestant service or some radical anti-Catholic liturgy.
Well, sad to say, equity in the church is not always very evident. Providing the liturgy and celebration of the sacraments in all churches, no matter where you are is not possible, at least not yet.
Ah, but there is a solution, depending upon whom you ask. The solution flows from Jesus words in the gospel for this Twenty Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The apostles are complaining to Jesus that some outsiders are going around encroaching on their ministry. They are hoping, perhaps, that Jesus will tell them to go to war against these interlopers. Instead Jesus tells them (in so many words) that if they, these outsiders, are not doing something evil; they must be doing something good. Just leave them alone. If they are not against you, they must be on your side.
The point for our instruction in our own day, if we are to believe Jesus words, is that there are many people called and invited to follow Jesus; indeed they are also called to ministry in various forms, not all of them formally liturgical.
I think the point Jesus is making is that there are many forms of worship, many holy actions that can be carried out for the good of all. Moreover, every Christian is uniquely equipped to proclaim the gospel in a certain way. “Be gospel to the world,” Jesus says.
Sometimes it seems to me that we Christians may not be utilizing all our forces for the good of all. Unfortunately, we have fewer and fewer priests to celebrate the Eucharist. At the same time, we have many Christians standing in the wings, just waiting for the word to help them serve the Church. Perhaps it will take some radical decisions on the part of the pope, a rethinking of the rule of celibacy, for instance, and the role of women in the church in order to bring about this great potential for ministry.
If Christians are being deprived of the Eucharist in so many parts of the world, perhaps that condition would call for serious re-thinking and creative action on the part of all of, particularly those in the role of leadership in the Church. Granted, it may be a complicated matter to solve, given the cultural and societal situations we live in today.
On several occasions in the gospel, Jesus was able to provide food for thousands when there seemed to be no food at all. Perhaps that is a sign for all of us Christians that we must look for new ways to carry on the work of Jesus. If there are already Christians carrying on such ministries, surely they have to be on our side. Jesus had it right: “If they are not against us, they must be for us.” Hey, let’s all do it together and get the job done once and for all.
The scriptures: Numbers 11: 25-29; James 5: 16; Mark 9: 38-43, 45, 47, 48
Posted by Cindy Lentine at 01:27 PM.
September 15, 2009
Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time [September 20, 2009]
Think back for a moment, my friends, to your teenage years. Think back on your hopes, your dreams, your outrageous plans for your future. Here you are, nothing much to brag about for education, distracted by a multitude of “secular” pursuits, sleeping until noon, no plans for a job for the summer. Ahhh, life is so delicious when you are young.
But then, on the other hand, we all have dreams, do we not, even though they have no particular foundation in reality. That’s the human condition. “True reality can poke up its head later, if it so wishes,” we say.
But the hope is there, whether realistic or not. We all realize that we are made for something, that God has a plan for us. (Ah, if God would only make clear what it is!) We do have our great heroes, men and women who have “made something of themselves. “That’s what I want to be,” we say.
What does not occur to us is that “getting to be somebody” requires sweat, blood and tears, much struggle, setbacks, even ridicule before there is even a glimmer of hope of greatness. Life costs something; indeed, life costs a lot before success is even in view.
What is important, of course, is not what we shall become, but rather what we are working at right now, how we see this uncompleted task in the context of the yet unrealized totality of our life. Unfortunately, of course, we do not realize the meaning or the reason for this struggle. We can’t wait for the applause, the acclaim.
I found a nice quote from George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) the English playwright, speaking of his own life plans from the vantage point of long lived- experience: “I am of the opinion.” he says, “that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can. I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle for me. It is a sort of splendid torch that I have a hold of for the moment and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it over to future generations.”
I would call that a wisdom saying, words that only come from a life lived amidst and in the face all its setbacks.
It occurs to me to ask how our “grand young vision” would appear to us if we knew the distress and the misery that would be involved in the living of it. Think of those who are determined to prepare for a difficult career: Doctors, theologians, priests, statespersons and ministers. In view of the desire to become what the individual plans for him or herself there will be long days and nights at study, deprivation of pleasures, and all the rest.
The point I am making here is that we, who have grand plans to fulfill our search for our bliss, must be ready to “take the heat.”
These thought seem to rise up out of the scriptures for this Twenty Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time.
The author of the Book of wisdom describes what a true prophet can expect if he/she chooses the prophetic dream: Revilement, torture, reproach, all these lie ahead for the person who chooses to speak truth to power. Get ready to take the heat because many people “out there” will not like to listen to the prediction of hard times, responsible living.
And now the gospel: The close friends of Jesus are sitting around one day, planning (arguing) about their grand futures, how they will be seated in special privileged places, one the right and the other at the left of Jesus when he comes into his kingdom. I can just imagine Jesus, sitting there smiling and saying: “Well, guys, make all the plans you want, but if you want to sit in privileged places, get ready to think like a little child, like someone who is willing to think modestly and humbly before special seats of privilege are assigned.”
Little did they, in their hubris, realize then that they would, indeed, need to take the heat: Suffering, ridicule, and in the end, martyrdom. Would they have been speaking about privilege if they could have seen the reality of the future?
When one thinks about it, perhaps it is better that we cannot see all the implications of life that still lies out there in our future. Otherwise, we might choose to give up the pursuit of our bliss, our happiness
Of course, this is the role of every Christian: Like prophets, old and new, we need to be ready to “take the heat” even from our best friends and coworkers. The point, of course, is that we must have something to say something that others can take issue with. Otherwise what does it mean to be a Christian?
In the end, I suppose we all know that there is “no free lunch.”
We will, each of us, need to pay the price for something that is dear and important to us. Jesus never said that following him would be a “piece of cake.” At the same time, if our vision remains glued to the vision of Jesus, I’m sure there will be a place for us in the kingdom. Whether it will be a privileged place at the right or left of Jesus…well, who cares. That’s for Jesus to say.
The scriptures: Wisdom 2: 12, 17-20; James 3: 16-4:3; Mark 9: 30-37
Posted by Cindy Lentine at 01:38 PM.
September 08, 2009
Twenty Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time [September 13, 2009]
I happen to be writing this reflection on the weekend Sarah Palin declared her resignation as governor of Alaska. Although I do not share Mrs. Palin’s political persuasion, I admired her when she first ran for governor of Alaska. Indeed, I had the opportunity on one occasion to meet her at a State gathering and found her a very gracious, intelligent and approachable lady.
When she won the governorship, she was “on a roll.” First woman governor of Alaska and one who worked her way up from school board to State House. I admired her gutsiness: She took on the entrenched “old guard” and began to change the direction of government. “Good for you, Sarah,” I said to myself.
Of course, in politics as in many other public service careers, the honeymoon does not last long. Governor Palin was early on attacked from one side of the political spectrum or another. All the while, however, she held her own and did many good things for the State of Alaska.
The next shock for Alaska, of course, came when she accepted the Republican Vice Presidential nomination. More criticism from Right and Left: “She’s abandoning her own State. She’s just a climber.
The long and short of all this is to say that Sarah Palin suffered lots of embarrassments and setbacks in the past year, more than she justly deserves.
So, where does all this political talk connect with the Gospel for this Sunday that describes Jesus’ conversation with his disciples, telling them that if they want to follow him, they should get ready to “face the heat.” “Suffering will be part of my campaign and my future,” Jesus says, if we wish to use a biblical/political metaphor.
In both worlds, the spiritual and the political, if one wishes to follow one’s bliss, one’s great life goal, he can expect to experience opposition, criticism, censure and disparagement.
Why should that be? I suspect it could be envy, competition, and personal desire to have one’s way, whatever.
At the same time, there often seems to be a sense among many that anyone who is creative, inspiring, filled with passion, eager for change, willing to question ordinary ways, such a person will immediately be suspect. Who does he/she think she is? Where does she/he get off with proposing something like that? Why do they have to be different?
I think Jesus was trying to prepared his disciples to accept the fact that there would be no “sitting on his right or his left in the kingdom,” at least not without a struggle, not without dedication, not without being willing to “go the distance” despite what comes.
Jesus was simply saying that anything in this world or the next, anything truly and humanly worthwhile, anything worthy of the Kingdom of God will demand our most earnest effort, indeed even some pain.
It often occurs to me that Jesus had this incredible vision of bringing heaven to earth and earth to heaven, of linking the human and the divine, the sacred and the secular, that he was willing to sacrifice whatever it would take to accomplish it. The establishment of the Kingdom of God, as he called it, was his one great and overriding passion, his bliss. Why, for instance, was he willing to accept human ridicule and suffering? Why did he insist to his disciples that following him would not be a “piece of cake?” I think it all had to do with fulfilling a vision of the world that no one had ever thought of before. It was so overwhelming, so astonishing, so challenging that only a person with Divine vision could hope to achieve it. Ah, and yet, Jesus invited some very fallible human individuals to join him on that quest. Joseph Campbell the philosopher (1904-1987) often spoke about this desire for human and spiritual fulfillment as the search for one’s bliss. “I say, follow your bliss and do not be afraid. Doors will open for you where you did not know they would be. If you follow your bliss, doors will open for you that would never have opened for anyone else.
This then is what I make out of Jesus’ suggestion that if we, his disciples, decide to follow him, they should be prepared to pick up the cross in whatever form that may take.
Perhaps Sarah Palin also has this sense that by leaving the governorship, she has the opportunity now to follow whatever it is that is still out there for her to accomplish and perhaps that then will be her bliss.
I think there may be a lesson in all that for all of us, we who claim that we wish to follow Christ.
Readings: Isaiah 50: 4-9; James 2: 14-18; Mark 8: 27-35
Posted by Cindy Lentine at 03:41 PM.
September 01, 2009
Twenty Third Sunday in Ordinary Time [September 6, 2009]
Whoever said that the healthcare industry is out of control is probably correct. Millions suffer from one ailment or another and have no coverage. President Obama and his cabinet are working at this very time to make healthcare more available to all.
Even with our modern methods to cure human ills, people naturally continue to get sick. Ever notice the number of advertisements for drugs on the half-hour segment of the evening news? They out number all others and, I am sure, for good reason.
From the beginning of humankind people have sought freedom from pain and illness. Our Native ancestors of this country used many natural resources to heal their pains. Many are still in use today. The truth is, we simply find it very difficult to live with pain of any kind and we will spend thousands of dollars to be free of it and be healed.
I am sure that in Jesus’ time there was more than today’s average number of sicknesses. Medications were scarce; money for “drugs” was unavailable. Given that situation, there must have been many “quack” physicians who attempted to make people feel physically good or good about themselves. Perhaps it is true to say that if we feel good, we are physically good as well.
It would seem true to say, then, that that is the reason why Jesus was such a popular person in his time. He could heal miraculously; not everyone, unfortunately, but was a healer and people flocked to him by the hundreds.
I am not prepared at this time to explain how Jesus brought these healings about. But the fact that he had extraordinary powers is certain, based on the gospel accounts.
Even today, of course, miraculous healings occur occasionally when people pray through the intercession of a particular saint or at a well-known shrine such as Fatima or Lourdes. Again, however, not all are cured, which, of course, leaves us disappointed? Does Christ discriminate? I would guess not; but that is still a great mystery.
It is interesting to note too that in Jesus’ time ailments such as blindness and lack of hearing were the most frequent, or at least the source of greatest anxiety. We use both of these physical gifts so often in daily life.
But it is also more interesting to notice that in those cases where Jesus healed blindness or deafness, he often made reference to blindness and deafness of mind or human perception. In other words, hearing and seeing are not just for hearing and seeing, but also for insight, for deeper perception about life and of the world around us. Jesus would often say: “You have ears and cannot hear, eyes but you cannot see.” In other words, you can see and hear but you don’t really understand. You don’t try to understand what lies beyond the senses. Seeing and hearing are also about a point of view and the mental attitude we have about the world or ourselves.
It also occurs to me that there is the possibility that we can be healers without a medical certificate. I mean, the way we treat one another, the way we show compassion, the way we show concern. All these are healing gestures that will make us “feel” better, not permanently, perhaps, but better anyway.
I have heard it said that many people buy over the counter drugs simply because the advertising sounds so attractive, whereas actually the medication did not do them much good anyway. Perhaps it’s all in the way we feel about something or ourselves that makes the difference.
However there is one comforting thought in all this: Illness and disease do not play favorites. We are all afflicted in some way at some time in our lives. If truth were known, we all have our private cures: We pray, we seek out a friend, we consult doctors, we meditate on texts that make us feel peaceful. Doctors don’t have the edge on all cures.
Ultimately, pain is a part of the human condition, perhaps human “incompleteness”, frailty or whatever. Weakness is built into our very nature. We wear out, we break; we’re not angels, of course.
It is all right, therefore, to pray to God for healing, as the man in the gospel did; he could neither hear nor speak. Don’t be disappointed, however, if prayers don’t bring miracles of healing. In the end, all life is a mystery. I’m sure that will not be much consolation for those of us who suffer, but that’s the way it is. Let’s all bear the mystery of suffering together. We’re not alone in this world. God still cares for us even though it may not always seem so.
The scriptures: Isaiah 35: 4-7; James 2: 1-5; Mark 7:31-37
Posted by Cindy Lentine at 10:13 AM.
