“Smile, and the whole world smiles with you. Frown, and you frown alone.” Or so the old saying goes. Misery may indeed love company. But nobody wants to keep company with miserable people.
This is true of the Church. If the face you and I present of the Church is positive, hopeful, and joyful- a smile, if you will- many people will want to join us. But if we put on a sour face- if the face of the Church we present is unhappy, cynical, and negative, why should we expect anyone to want to be with us?
For instance, if we as parents gripe about the Church in front of our kids all the time, we shouldn’t be surprised when they leave the Church behind them, when they leave home. The same principle applies if we’re always complaining about the Church with neighbors, at work, or with whomever.
Now don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying that the church doesn’t have problems. It does. They’re very real. We need to address them. We do need to talk about them. We need to propose solutions. But we need to be careful not to air our dirty laundry in public, so that the Church is hurt instead of helped. There’s a difference between self-criticism, and self-destruction. As the people of God, we need to publicly present the face of God in a positive, appealing way.
I say this because today is Pentecost: the day the Church was first manifested to the world. Traditionally, it’s called the “birthday” of the Church. At the first Christian Pentecost, the Holy Spirit fell upon the gathered apostles, and they rushed out into the city and proclaimed the good news for everyone to hear. They did so with joy, enthusiasm and courage- with a positive face!- and we’re told that 5,000 became Christians that day. And it wasn’t just that day either. The Acts of the Apostles, in which we read about Pentecost- says over and over again that, because of what those early believers did, “the Church continued to spread.”
This can, and still does, happen today. I can understand if you doubt that, because we hear a lost of negative things about the Church these days in the media: scandals, conflicts, controversies. And we Catholics sometimes don’t help things either when we publicly wring our hands about the Church: It’s not the way it should be. It’s not the way it could be. It’s not the way it used to be. It’s not the way I’d like it to be.
Sad to say, this isn’t something new. The Church has always had its issues and problems- even in the early Church. The Acts of Apostles speaks of controversies, divisions, and false teachers, just a few years after Jesus’ ascension. But always within a context of hope. Always with a positive face. And that’s the difference.
This isn’t denial or a deliberate ignoring of reality. Instead, it’s an acknowledgement of what the Church is. Or more specifically, who the Church is. As St. Paul reminded us in our second reading today, the Church is Jesus’ body, in which we have all been joined to Jesus and each other through the Holy Spirit. The Church isn’t a human institution about Jesus. It’s a divine institution made of human beings. That’s a big distinction, and one that gives us hope. We have hope, because of what the church is. We’re given this hope by the Holy Spirit, who guides the Church, and constantly purifies it, renews it, cleanses it. We can relax: God is in control.
An old Chinese proverb says: “When a tree falls it makes a big noise. When a forest grows nobody hears anything.” We can apply this to the Church. The falling trees are the scandals and issues that grab the headlines and make the big noise. But as Catholics we can’t ignore the silence of the growing forest.
Consider this: There are now almost as many Catholics as citizens of China. The Church is the largest supplier of health care and education on the planet. It’s the principal glue of civil society in Africa. It’s the strongest bulwark of opposition to the caste system in India. It’s a leading player in global campaigns to end poverty. And it provides the only charitable presence in places like Chechnya, and other forgotten corners of the world.
Because we don’t always hear about this, these realities might surprise us. But they shouldn’t. After all, the Church is God’s family. It’s filled with the Spirit, who showers it with gifts. The Catholic Church alone possesses the fullness of truth. It offers us and the world meaning, love, hope, joy, forgiveness, healing, eternal life. It is One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic. No wonder Church members do the wonderful things they do. No wonder that 150,000 adults in the Unites States alone became Catholic, or became Catholic again, this past Easter.
But what about us? What kind of face of the Church do we present? Smile or frown? Does what we do or say attract or repel? Divide or unite? Do we week to build the Church up, or do our efforts really tear the Church down? When others try to tear it down, do we defend it? Based on us, is the Church something others would want to join, or walk away from? Are we proud to be Catholic? Whether we want to be or not, we’re all walking billboards for the Church. If the Church were a box of Wheaties, we’d be on the cover. All of us are the face of Catholicism- which is both an honor, and a responsibility.
We can never lose sight of who we are, and who it is we represent. In today’s gospel, our Lord explains that the Spirit testifies to him, and that we are to testify to him as well. Something we’re to do, not with a frown, but with a smile, that the world may smile with us.
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sixth Sunday of Easter
A famous Christian once said that preachers should preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other. In preparation for this homily, I made it a point to pay careful attention to the headlines in last Thursday’s newspapers. As always, there were the inevitable stories of sadness. I read of people who engaged in terrorist bombings, racism, gross sexual misconduct, bribery and corruption, human rights violations, ID theft, murder, violent crime, and war. There was also the tragic story of a police officer who had been shot to death by a troubled young man.
As I read these things, I recalled today’s gospel reading and thought: “No wonder Jesus had to command us to love!” There’s so much hate and sin in our broken world that there’d be no other way we could begin to love some of these people! In fact, we might even conclude that by commanding us to love people such as these, Jesus is asking us to do the impossible.
However, we need to pay careful attention to what Jesus actually says to us. Before he commands us to love others, he first tells us to “remain” in his love. This is important to remember. Jesus is telling us that it’s in our loving relationship with him that we’ll find the strength to love others- especially those we find most difficult to love. Pope Benedict makes this very point wrote in his recent encyclical letter, called “God is Love.” He said, “No longer is it a question of a ‘commandment’ imposed from without and calling for the impossible, but rather of a freely-bestowed experience from within, a love which by it’s very nature then must be shared with others.”
The challenge of today’s gospel, then, is for us to love those people we love to hate. And we all have them, don’t we? Maybe it’s an ex-spouse, a cruel boss, someone who really harmed or hurt us, an Islamist terrorist, a political figure, or somebody from another background or nationality. Or maybe it’s just that annoying person at the office we wish we could just blink and make them go away.
When considering the prospect of loving such people, we might say to Jesus: “Can’t you strike them with lightning first, and then we’ll talk? It’s just not fair! They don’t deserve it! It simply isn’t possible!” And then Jesus looks at us with eyes of love and says, “Yes, it is possible. Because I have first loved you.” He’d remind us that he gave his commandment to love the very night he was to be betrayed, and just hours before he was beaten and executed. And he’d ask us to remember that when he hung upon the cross and looked down upon people who hated him, abused him, mocked him, and rejected him, he looked down upon them with eyes of love.
At a retreat I attended years ago, the leader put on a pair of sunglasses that had white crosses painted on the lenses. He did this to demonstrate that as Christians, we needed to see the world just as Jesus did. It was a corny gesture, to be sure, but it has remained with me, because its lesson is so true. To love the people we love to hate, we need to see them through the eyes of Christ. As Pope Benedict wrote, “I need to look on this other person not simply with my eyes and my feelings, but from the perspective of Jesus Christ.” When we do that, he continues, we can see in them the image of God and “give them the look of love which they crave.”
Sometime this week, I encourage you to picture the faces of the people you love to hate in your imagination. Say to these people, “You are worthy of my love.” And then pray, “Jesus, help me to love them in the same way you love them.” How we do love them will depend upon the circumstances. Maybe we need to forgive them, be kind to them, help them in some way, stop slandering or gossiping about them, have a Mass said for them, or pray that they will be filled with joy and peace.
Think about it: If we loved each other as much as Jesus loves us, the world would be a wonderful, joyful place, wouldn’t it? It would truly be heaven on earth. By loving others as Jesus has commanded us to do, in the same way he loves us, and in the same way as he’s loved by God the Father, we can experience a little bit today what we have been promised to enjoy for all eternity.
A priest friend of mine says that how we live our life is greatly shaped by our vision of heaven, and I think he’s right. He speculates that when we meet Jesus face-to-face at the end of our lives, Jesus will look exactly like our worst enemy. His point is that unless we can love everyone, how can we be fit for heaven, which is a place of perfect love? That’s why we need to learn to love today, so we can be prepared to meet Jesus tomorrow.
Jesus’ words to us today are indeed hard. Yet we cannot ignore them or explain them away or try to look for loopholes, because we won’t find any. We need to try to love the people we love to hate. It will be a struggle. The Lord will use this struggle to remind us of our weakness, and our need for his mercy. And he’ll also use this struggle to remind us of how much he loves us- in spite of how hard to love we might sometimes be.
“Love one another as I have loved you.” This is Jesus’ challenge to us. But at the same time, it’s also his good news! It says that such a love is possible, when most of the world doesn’t really believe it is.
As I read these things, I recalled today’s gospel reading and thought: “No wonder Jesus had to command us to love!” There’s so much hate and sin in our broken world that there’d be no other way we could begin to love some of these people! In fact, we might even conclude that by commanding us to love people such as these, Jesus is asking us to do the impossible.
However, we need to pay careful attention to what Jesus actually says to us. Before he commands us to love others, he first tells us to “remain” in his love. This is important to remember. Jesus is telling us that it’s in our loving relationship with him that we’ll find the strength to love others- especially those we find most difficult to love. Pope Benedict makes this very point wrote in his recent encyclical letter, called “God is Love.” He said, “No longer is it a question of a ‘commandment’ imposed from without and calling for the impossible, but rather of a freely-bestowed experience from within, a love which by it’s very nature then must be shared with others.”
The challenge of today’s gospel, then, is for us to love those people we love to hate. And we all have them, don’t we? Maybe it’s an ex-spouse, a cruel boss, someone who really harmed or hurt us, an Islamist terrorist, a political figure, or somebody from another background or nationality. Or maybe it’s just that annoying person at the office we wish we could just blink and make them go away.
When considering the prospect of loving such people, we might say to Jesus: “Can’t you strike them with lightning first, and then we’ll talk? It’s just not fair! They don’t deserve it! It simply isn’t possible!” And then Jesus looks at us with eyes of love and says, “Yes, it is possible. Because I have first loved you.” He’d remind us that he gave his commandment to love the very night he was to be betrayed, and just hours before he was beaten and executed. And he’d ask us to remember that when he hung upon the cross and looked down upon people who hated him, abused him, mocked him, and rejected him, he looked down upon them with eyes of love.
At a retreat I attended years ago, the leader put on a pair of sunglasses that had white crosses painted on the lenses. He did this to demonstrate that as Christians, we needed to see the world just as Jesus did. It was a corny gesture, to be sure, but it has remained with me, because its lesson is so true. To love the people we love to hate, we need to see them through the eyes of Christ. As Pope Benedict wrote, “I need to look on this other person not simply with my eyes and my feelings, but from the perspective of Jesus Christ.” When we do that, he continues, we can see in them the image of God and “give them the look of love which they crave.”
Sometime this week, I encourage you to picture the faces of the people you love to hate in your imagination. Say to these people, “You are worthy of my love.” And then pray, “Jesus, help me to love them in the same way you love them.” How we do love them will depend upon the circumstances. Maybe we need to forgive them, be kind to them, help them in some way, stop slandering or gossiping about them, have a Mass said for them, or pray that they will be filled with joy and peace.
Think about it: If we loved each other as much as Jesus loves us, the world would be a wonderful, joyful place, wouldn’t it? It would truly be heaven on earth. By loving others as Jesus has commanded us to do, in the same way he loves us, and in the same way as he’s loved by God the Father, we can experience a little bit today what we have been promised to enjoy for all eternity.
A priest friend of mine says that how we live our life is greatly shaped by our vision of heaven, and I think he’s right. He speculates that when we meet Jesus face-to-face at the end of our lives, Jesus will look exactly like our worst enemy. His point is that unless we can love everyone, how can we be fit for heaven, which is a place of perfect love? That’s why we need to learn to love today, so we can be prepared to meet Jesus tomorrow.
Jesus’ words to us today are indeed hard. Yet we cannot ignore them or explain them away or try to look for loopholes, because we won’t find any. We need to try to love the people we love to hate. It will be a struggle. The Lord will use this struggle to remind us of our weakness, and our need for his mercy. And he’ll also use this struggle to remind us of how much he loves us- in spite of how hard to love we might sometimes be.
“Love one another as I have loved you.” This is Jesus’ challenge to us. But at the same time, it’s also his good news! It says that such a love is possible, when most of the world doesn’t really believe it is.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Fourth Sunday of Easter
Over brunch, a friend asked me if the Catholic Church believed if his mother, a die-hard Episcopalian, might possibly be saved. He was concerned, as he thought that Catholics believe that only Catholics can go to heaven.
“Who can and who can’t be saved” is a question most of us think about at some time or another. These days, according to the polls, most of us believe that we and just about everyone else will go to heaven. Hopefully these beliefs are an indication of trust in the love and goodness and mercy of God.
But then there’s St. Peter’s preaching in today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter said quite clearly that it is only in the name of Jesus that one can be saved. No ifs, ands, or buts. No loopholes or exceptions to the rule were suggested.
So what does this mean? Does this mean that the four-fifths of the human race who aren’t Christian have no hope of salvation whatsoever? Does this mean our Jewish neighbors go to hell?
For many people today, St. Peter’s claim that salvation is possible only through Jesus doesn’t sit very well. They think it doesn’t sound very fair, and they have a hard time thinking that a loving, compassionate God would hold people to such a standard. In any event, from their perspective, it shouldn’t really matter what religion a person practices anyway, because they’re all basically different but equal paths to the same god. As they see it, it makes no difference if you’re a Buddhist or a Hindu or if you simply think of yourself as a “spiritual person” who likes to meditate and do yoga. They’re essentially all one and the same.
Except that they aren’t. If you look at different religions or spiritual practices, you’ll encounter radically different notions about God, the human person, the importance of creation, and life after death. On the surface, most religions do have a sense that people are rewarded for virtue and held responsible for vice. But on closer inspection, it’s like comparing apples and oranges.
Yet even though different religions may have very different fundamental beliefs, is it still true what St. Peter said, that only in Jesus’ name can one be saved? It sounds so “politically incorrect!” What about good non-Christian people like Gandhi or the Dalai Lama? Is all their goodness for nothing? And what about people who have never had a chance to hear about Jesus? Is it really fair to say they can’t be saved?
As Catholics, we can say clearly and firmly that people of other religions, and those of no religion, might indeed be saved. We can’t say if any particular individual will or won’t be saved. That’s God’s call, not ours. We trust in his love and mercy, which is great. But we can believe in the possibility that any person might be saved- no exceptions. Like us, they’ll be judged by God on how they lived their lives. Everyone has a conscience; everyone has a God-given sense of what’s fundamentally right and wrong. And other religions often have, from our perspective, at least a partial grasp of the truth.
Nevertheless, this is not to say that people of other religions are saved because of their religion. The salvation of any human being- regardless of their beliefs- is possible ONLY through the death and resurrection of the only Son of God, Jesus the Christ. The price Jesus paid for sin encompasses all of humanity: past, present, and future. This makes it possible for anyone to be saved. But only, as St. Peter insisted, “in the name of Jesus.”
But…if people of other religions and no religion have the possibility of salvation, what’s so special about being a Christian? Many reason, but two in particular: Truth, and Grace. Truth, because Jesus revealed to us the fullness of truth- and truth matters, to put it bluntly. Other religions may have elements of the truth- thanks to God- but these elements are meant to be pointers to the entire truth of the gospel. And then there’s grace. Non-Christian people may indeed be good people and do good things, because whether they know it or not, God has been nudging them to be that way. But they aren’t children of God in the same way we are. “Beloved,” began today’s reading from I John, “see what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are.”
Every person is made in God’s image and likeness. And everyone is deeply loved by God. God is love, and it’s impossible for him to do otherwise! But not everyone is a part of God’s family; not everyone can call him or herself a son or daughter of God. That only happens through baptism, in which we receive the grace of the Holy Spirit and are intimately joined to Jesus and each other as brothers and sisters in the Lord. That’s why Jesus, in today’s gospel, could say: “I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.”
Jesus wants everyone to know him in this way. He wants them to love him because he loves them: as a good shepherd, who cares for them, who gave up his life for them, and who shares his life with them- just as he has done, and does, for us.
Jesus mentioned other sheep who have yet to hear his voice- those who do not yet know him as their shepherd. That was true in Jesus’ day, and it’s true in ours. That why the Church continues to evangelize, send missionaries around the globe, and encourage us to share the good news with those we know. Because even though we can believe that anyone may indeed be saved; it is our hope that everyone will come to know as savior the only good shepherd, Jesus our Lord.
“Who can and who can’t be saved” is a question most of us think about at some time or another. These days, according to the polls, most of us believe that we and just about everyone else will go to heaven. Hopefully these beliefs are an indication of trust in the love and goodness and mercy of God.
But then there’s St. Peter’s preaching in today’s reading from the Acts of the Apostles. Filled with the Holy Spirit, Peter said quite clearly that it is only in the name of Jesus that one can be saved. No ifs, ands, or buts. No loopholes or exceptions to the rule were suggested.
So what does this mean? Does this mean that the four-fifths of the human race who aren’t Christian have no hope of salvation whatsoever? Does this mean our Jewish neighbors go to hell?
For many people today, St. Peter’s claim that salvation is possible only through Jesus doesn’t sit very well. They think it doesn’t sound very fair, and they have a hard time thinking that a loving, compassionate God would hold people to such a standard. In any event, from their perspective, it shouldn’t really matter what religion a person practices anyway, because they’re all basically different but equal paths to the same god. As they see it, it makes no difference if you’re a Buddhist or a Hindu or if you simply think of yourself as a “spiritual person” who likes to meditate and do yoga. They’re essentially all one and the same.
Except that they aren’t. If you look at different religions or spiritual practices, you’ll encounter radically different notions about God, the human person, the importance of creation, and life after death. On the surface, most religions do have a sense that people are rewarded for virtue and held responsible for vice. But on closer inspection, it’s like comparing apples and oranges.
Yet even though different religions may have very different fundamental beliefs, is it still true what St. Peter said, that only in Jesus’ name can one be saved? It sounds so “politically incorrect!” What about good non-Christian people like Gandhi or the Dalai Lama? Is all their goodness for nothing? And what about people who have never had a chance to hear about Jesus? Is it really fair to say they can’t be saved?
As Catholics, we can say clearly and firmly that people of other religions, and those of no religion, might indeed be saved. We can’t say if any particular individual will or won’t be saved. That’s God’s call, not ours. We trust in his love and mercy, which is great. But we can believe in the possibility that any person might be saved- no exceptions. Like us, they’ll be judged by God on how they lived their lives. Everyone has a conscience; everyone has a God-given sense of what’s fundamentally right and wrong. And other religions often have, from our perspective, at least a partial grasp of the truth.
Nevertheless, this is not to say that people of other religions are saved because of their religion. The salvation of any human being- regardless of their beliefs- is possible ONLY through the death and resurrection of the only Son of God, Jesus the Christ. The price Jesus paid for sin encompasses all of humanity: past, present, and future. This makes it possible for anyone to be saved. But only, as St. Peter insisted, “in the name of Jesus.”
But…if people of other religions and no religion have the possibility of salvation, what’s so special about being a Christian? Many reason, but two in particular: Truth, and Grace. Truth, because Jesus revealed to us the fullness of truth- and truth matters, to put it bluntly. Other religions may have elements of the truth- thanks to God- but these elements are meant to be pointers to the entire truth of the gospel. And then there’s grace. Non-Christian people may indeed be good people and do good things, because whether they know it or not, God has been nudging them to be that way. But they aren’t children of God in the same way we are. “Beloved,” began today’s reading from I John, “see what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are.”
Every person is made in God’s image and likeness. And everyone is deeply loved by God. God is love, and it’s impossible for him to do otherwise! But not everyone is a part of God’s family; not everyone can call him or herself a son or daughter of God. That only happens through baptism, in which we receive the grace of the Holy Spirit and are intimately joined to Jesus and each other as brothers and sisters in the Lord. That’s why Jesus, in today’s gospel, could say: “I know mine and mine know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father.”
Jesus wants everyone to know him in this way. He wants them to love him because he loves them: as a good shepherd, who cares for them, who gave up his life for them, and who shares his life with them- just as he has done, and does, for us.
Jesus mentioned other sheep who have yet to hear his voice- those who do not yet know him as their shepherd. That was true in Jesus’ day, and it’s true in ours. That why the Church continues to evangelize, send missionaries around the globe, and encourage us to share the good news with those we know. Because even though we can believe that anyone may indeed be saved; it is our hope that everyone will come to know as savior the only good shepherd, Jesus our Lord.
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