Tag Archives: God

Going the Second Step

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Dear Folks,

This weekend we see a man asking what to do to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:17-30). It’s a great question and Jesus gives him a two-part answer: first, let go of sins, second, let go of things that would be good in their place, but are holding him back from the kingdom.

This is part of the section of Mark between the stories of the healing of the two blind men (8:22-10). The first man was just called the blind man of Bethsaida; it takes Jesus two steps to heal him, and afterward he goes his way. The second story is about blind Bartimaeus, son of Timaeus; Jesus does it in one step, and ends with him following Jesus on His way. In between we see that to understand Jesus as Son of God centers around the cross. He came to serve, not be served, to suffer and die, not achieve worldly status through worldly means. Following Him does not guarantee worldly power, pleasure, wealth, and honor, but may actually require giving up those things, and even our lives, for the sake of treasure in heaven (See Mark 10:21). To see that is to see clearly, like blind Bartimaeus after he was healed. We see the disciples still don’t get it, as we see by their responses to Jesus’ prediction of the passion (Mark 8:32-33; 9:33-37; 10:35-37). They do not see clearly, like the blind man of Bethsaida after the first healing.

After this section of Mark, we go directly to the entry into Jerusalem and begin with Holy Week. Jesus is very close to His passion now, and that will color the dialog. When He is asked what is the greatest commandment of the law, His answer to love God and neighbor is understood in light of the cross. We remember that for Christians, love is not a feeling, but a gift of self, even to death. We read in John’s farewell discourse: “This is my commandment: love one another as I love you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends (John 15:12-13).” And then we are to follow in His footsteps.

“So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma (Ephesians 5:1-2).” “I urge you, therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship (Romans 12:1).”

Learning this in the abstract is challenging enough. Learning it in practice is orders of magnitude harder. That is the challenge of the Christian life. As we go down that journey, reflecting on this section of Mark may help us to see more clearly how God is working in our lives.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim

Marriage: What is it and Why is it?

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Dear Folks,
For the last three weeks in our Sunday Gospels Jesus talks about children. When the disciples want to know who is most important, Jesus brings forth a child (Mark 9:30-37). When the disciples act out of jealousy toward someone not in their group, Jesus speaks in very strong terms about the seriousness of their example affecting children (Mark 9:36-48). When Jesus is asked about marriage, the next thing He talks about is receiving children and how “the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” and how we need to learn from them (Mark 10:2-16). I think He’s trying to get our attention.
I have just finished a book called “Pro-Child Politics” by Kathy Faust. It is a series of chapters on various issues in which our society is sacrificing the well-being of children for the desires of adults. The chapters are written by experts in the field, and they are well written and heavily footnoted, so even if you don’t wind up agreeing with all the things that are said, this is a very
important addition to the conversation, and it will be worthwhile wrestling with the ideas. This week Jesus brings together the question of marriage and welcoming children.
There are currently two views of marriage available in conversation. There is the relational view, that sees marriage as affirming the relationship of the couple (or thruple?) based on their romantic feelings for each other that they label love. In this view, marriage can be anything you want. This is the commonly held view today, and often assumed to be the only one. The other is the conjugal view of marriage, which unites men and women to one another, and to any children they might create, which was the foundation of most of human civilization. It understands marriage as recognized by the government, ideally life long, sexual in nature, exclusive in nature, only two people.
There is a presentation on Formed.org “How to Talk about Marriage and Same Sex Unions” by Trent Horn. There are the books “Getting the Marriage Conversation Right” by William B. May and “What is Marriage?” by Sherif Girgis, Ryan T. Anderson, and Robert P George that make the case for the conjugal view of marriage, and give evidence that this is the best possible situation for a child to grow up in.
I would also suggest reading “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley (written in 1931, eerily prophetic). It describes a dystopian future in which family has been replaced by government, and children are a manufactured commodity. Also see “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt, about the effects of smart phone use on childhood.
How often are children seen as a commodity to be produced, and accessory to one’s lifestyle?
It is important to prioritize the well-being of children not only because they are so vulnerable, but because they are going to be running things someday when we are in the nursing home.
The more they are able to learn virtue, empathy, emotional regulation, deferral of gratification, a sense of right and wrong and similar things, the less violent and more flourishing our society
will be. Notice this is not ruled by their feelings and desires, but a deeper sense of the good.
Where do we go from here?
Blessings,
Fr. Jim

Our Thinking and God’s Thinking

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Dear Folks,

The Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) all relate Jesus giving three predictions of His passion. Today we read in Mark Jesus giving the second prediction of the passion,

and the apostles are clueless. After the first prediction and Peter’s pushback, Jesus says “You are thinking not as God does, but as human beings do (Mark 8:33c).”

After the second prediction, the next concern of the Twelve is which one of them is the greatest. Jesus says, “whoever wishes to be first must be the last of all and the servant of all.” Jesus puts His arms around a child and says, “Whoever receives one such child in

my name receives me; and whoever receives me receives not me but the one who sent me (see Mark 10:35-37).”

After the third prediction, James and John start lobbying for the best spots in the kingdom. Jesus teaches that “whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant and whoever wishes to be first among you must be the servant of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:43b-45).

We notice that all the apostles are seen not to understand, but Peter, James, and John are especially highlighted. They were in inner circle, the ones who got to witness the extra special things. They witness the little girl getting raised (Mark 5:47), the Transfiguration (Mark 9:2), and the agony in the garden (Mark 14:33). St. Paul said they were considered “pillars” of the faith community (Galatian 2:9). It appears the closer one gets to Jesus and the higher one gets in the Church the more one gets humbled.

Consider the contrast between God’s way of thinking and human ways of thinking. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways—oracle of the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, my

thoughts higher than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:8-9).”

I would connect this to living according to the Spirit and living according to the flesh. “It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life (John 6:63).” See Romans 8 and Galatians 5 for some expanded treatment. We see that the way of the world is seeking one’s own advantage and centering one’s life on power, pleasure wealth and honor. The way of God is focused on giving oneself in love. A leader is a servant leader. The one’s who should get our greatest concern are the powerless and most helpless. Those trapped in poverty, the disabled, those incapacitated by age and infirmity, children, especially unborn children (whose rights and dignity are

currently under attack), and others like them must never be forgotten.

But what we are talking about is not just a collection of activities, but a completely different way of thinking. As we reflect on these teachings, how do they challenge how we approach life?

Blessings

Fr Jim

Do We Really Know?

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Dear Folks,
Today in our Gospel (Mark 6:1-6) we see people who don’t learn who Jesus is because they think they already know. They apparently figured that since He grew up there, they knew all there was to be known about Him, and so their minds were closed. I find one of the great obstacles to learning is the assumption that we already know. Have you ever started to talk, and before you were done, someone assumes (incorrectly) that they know what you are going to say and so starts responding to this imagined point of view? Isn’t it frustrating? Have you ever been caught doing that to someone else? Sometimes we can say what we wanted to say, but their voices are so loud in their heads that they hear what they expected and not what you said.
What some people say about what Christianity is shows a terrible lack of understanding, but they are sure they understand. Several have said that Christianity is just a matter of being good to others. I start to react, and they say, “That’s what it boils down to.” No, No,
No. I heard people say that Christianity and Hinduism teach essentially the same thing, just use different words, so they do both. In the words of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “No. A thousand gallons of ‘No.’” Christianity is a love relationship, a deep friendship, with a God who loves us deeply, tenderly, and faithfully, and has been willing to pay the ultimate price for us. There is not, nor could there ever be a love story equal to that.
Many people are walking around with the notion that what they learned about the faith as children is all they need to know. I think this has a lot to do with why the Church is having so much trouble now. Even if your faith formation as a child was super-excellent (and for many, many people it was not), what would your life be like if you stopped learning about things in general after eighth grade? Many have left the faith, and many remain in a superficial manner, but get their perspectives more from the world than from the faith. If they have adult questions and only a child’s answers, how could that not happen?
I think many were taught the faith in such a way they didn’t get the sense that it made much difference, so why learn more? I suggest there are several reasons:
1. It enriches our encounters with God. In any love relationship, learning about our beloved helps us connect.
2. It helps us understand how to please God.
3. It pushes us out of our comfort zone. No relationship develops if we are not willing to get out of our comfort zone.
4. It helps us function as members of the Church. Church will still be frustrating because it is so full of us sinful people, but how it works will make more sense.
5. It enables us to witness to the faith better, so more people will want to come and fewer will want to leave.
6. It is just so fascinating! The more I learn, the more amazing it seems and the hungrier I get to learn even more. A thousand lifetimes would not be enough.
7. I suggest our strength as a church in the future will depend a lot on how much people keep learning about the faith.
Blessings,
Fr. Jim

The Fullness of Life

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Dear Folks,
Our Scriptures today deal with the forces of life and the forces of death. “Because God did not make death, nor does he rejoice in the destruction of the living (Wisdom 1:13; see also Ezekiel
1:23).”
In our Gospel, the story of the woman with the hemorrhage is sandwiched between two halves of the story of raising the daughter of Jairus. In Leviticus 17:11 we see that, “the life of the
flesh is in the blood.” For the Israelites, the blood was the life, so her life was draining away. She was ritually impure, so she could not enter the temple, and no one wanted to touch her because they would become ritually impure themselves. Imagine being isolated from life like that for 12 years. The little girl was 12 years old (another hint that the stories are connected). She had had so little chance to experience life, and now it seemed that she never would. The heartbreak of her family would be incalculable. Jesus brings hope when hope is gone.
Of course, there would be many sick and dying people at that time that did not get cured. Jesus of course, had great concern for all who suffered, but His primary task was not to increase people’s lifespan, but give us eternal life. When He does miracles, He is teaching us something.
In one sense, we are either alive or we are not. A human life is immeasurably sacred and precious, worthy of unique respect. It would be appalling for a society to say that the life of an adult was more sacred than the life of a teenager, that the life of a teenager was more sacred than the life of a toddler, or that the life of a toddler was more sacred than the life of a fetus.
In another sense, we can become more fully alive by how we exercise our humanity. To give in to the forces of chaos, to be enslaved to our primal desires, to think only of ourselves, to let life
happen to us is to be less alive. To give ourselves in love to others, to devote our energies to something greater than ourselves, to be intentional about growing and developing as a person is to be more fully alive.
Living things can grow, organize, often connect with others to form communities that are somewhat like a live organism (1 Corinthians 12). Dead things decompose, return to the earth, and their material disperses. W. C. Fields is quoted as saying, “Remember, a dead fish can float downstream, but it takes a live one to swim upstream.” Being alive enables us to resist the forces of chaos.
The great obstacle to being fully alive is sin. Remember that “The devil was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44).” And in Romans 6:23, “the wages of sin is death but the gift of God
is eternal life.” Jesus came that we “might have life and have it more abundantly (John 10:10).”
If we are to spread the Gospel, it is for us to show that we are leading an abundant life, one that, while challenging, is joyful, even in difficult times. How do you see your life as more abundant because it belongs to Jesus?
Blessings,
Fr. Jim

Seeds of Change

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Dear Folks,

Today in Mark 4:26-34 we hear the parable of the seed that grows mysteriously without us knowing how (unique to the Gospel of Mark). This points to a major paradox in Christianity: We are called to effort, but it is God who accomplishes things.

We do not bring about the kingdom of God. We are called to work for a better world but God is the One who makes the kingdom happen.

People like Hitler, Stalin, and Mao thought they could build an ideal society by their own wisdom and skill. They wound up doing horribly evil things because they were sure it served this great vision, but they failed to produce the result. Instead, they left the people in misery. If God brings about the kingdom, we know our part is smaller, so we are not important enough to think we can decide that killing millions of innocent people is within our scope. We know if we obey God, great things will happen, even if we don’t live to see them (John 4:37-38).

This also means that in spite of how much of a mess the world is in, and how small our abilities are in comparison, we can face the world boldly We can be bolder in our aspirations and at the same time more humble in how we seek them.

Perhaps the two most influential people I can think of in the last thousand years were St. Francis of Assisi and St. Theresa of Calcutta (Mother Theresa). They dedicated themselves to service, sacrifice, caring for the sick and proclaiming the truth. They had no political

power. They were willing to do the humblest jobs. They both suffered from great inner darkness but saw much joy and beauty in God’s creation. They focused more on their own sins than the sins of others (Matthew 7:4-5). St. Francis saw his order change his rule, and he couldn’t stop them. His order has thousands of people all over the world, and his example has inspired and influenced countless people, including non-Catholics, including nonChristians. Does anyone doubt that the same will be said of Mother Theresa a thousand years from now?

We are called to action, but God will make things happen. We can do small things, but if they are done with love, they can, over time, have great effects. Do not get discouraged by anything.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim

A More Peaceful World

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Dear Folks,

This Sunday’s Gospel deals with people that Jesus could not convince.

Mark 3:20-35 Jesus is casting out demons, and His opponents claimed that He was possessed and that he drove out demons “by the power of the prince of demons.” Jesus shows how illogical that is and warned against blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. It seems from the context that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is refusing to see. Helen Keller said, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.”

Some will not see because they don’t want to and will say or do anything to defend against a new idea. Those who refuse to see cannot be forced to see. If even Jesus couldn’t convince them, we are not going to do better than Jesus.

I continue to be concerned about the state of conversation in society today. There is a lot of interaction, but not a lot of understanding. The chasm between sides seems to be growing

wider, and the hostility between them growing fiercer. I chose not to include examples but ask you to think of some from your experience. I bet you can. I’ve noticed that what we say sounds more convincing to us than it does to the people who

disagree with us. There seem to be many occasions when someone presents his argument and ends with the triumphant equivalent of “checkmate. Case closed” and the other person says, “No, not even close.” Some are not convinced because we didn’t make a case that spoke to their point of view, and if we learn more about their point of view we can try again and maybe succeed. Usually there are some bits of information that support one point of view, and other

bits of information that support the other point of view. We tend to put more weight on what supports our narrative. Some people, it seems hammer the details in their favor and ignore the details against. I can’t tell if they are doing it on purpose.

At some point, we need to realize we aren’t going to make progress and need to give up. Jesus spoke of shaking the dust from our feet and moving on (Matt 10:12; Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5

and 10:11). Sometimes it takes a while for a new idea to take root, to mature, and to grow. We can’t generally change the basic architecture of our thinking in a minute; sometimes it takes

years. I’ve caught myself getting angry when I think someone is not trying to understand. I need to check myself. First of all, they may be trying. Second, getting angry is a futile waste of energy at best, and destructive at worst. I just need to accept that I can do what I can do.

I think it is critical to be realistic about what the situation is and how much we can do about it. There is a lot of bad thinking, bad logic, and bad ideas, and it’s going to be that way for the

foreseeable future. We need to resign ourselves to the fact that we can’t fix it, but maybe we can make it a smidge better. If we can get someone to think something they’ve never thought before, ask a question that they’ve never asked before, look at things from a different angle, that moves us forward. If others hurl abuse, call people names, and get nasty while we respond calmly, respectfully,

and persistently, over time those who are open will see where wisdom lies.

One final thought: let us all be carefully on guard against our own human tendency to refuse to see the truth. None of us are immune.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim

The Core Meaning of All Reality

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Dear Folks,
Today is the Solemnity of the Holy Trinity, a feast day that should get more acclaim than it does. Fasten your seatbelts; we’re going deep.
Catholics should, at a minimum, know that there is one God who is three divine, coeternal persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, almost all just stop there and never give it another thought.
Folks, this is the core of all reality and makes all the difference.
As we look at the basic questions of existence and consider what to believe, there are some primal questions. Is the ultimate reality personal or impersonal? If we accept the atheist materialist view, then it is impersonal, and personhood is just a blip in the dance of matter- energy in the universe. I experience consciousness, but don’t know why (there is vague talk about a byproduct of electrical activity of the brain, but I don’t think that explains much). I experience good and bad feelings, and I want to maximize good feelings, and that’s about it. In this scenario, when I die, nothing of me is left, and the race will die, and it won’t matter that we existed at all. I don’t find this very inspiring.
If the Christian point of view is correct (and, in case you are wondering, I believe it is), Then personhood is the foundation of all reality. Beyond even the universe. Furthermore, God is the perfect community of love all by Himself. The Father is eternally giving Him- self in love to the Son, who is eternally receiving and returning that love, and the love that passes between them is the Holy Spirit. Though God does not need anything, love by nature is fruitful, and so God created the universe, including us. We are meant to receive His love and give ourselves as gift to Him, and that is the fullness of the meaning of being human and the fullness of joy. Unfortunately, sin inhibits this gift, and we become centered on our own desires (classically: power, pleasure, wealth, and honor). Only by be- coming one with Jesus in His perfect gift of self, which culminated on the cross, can we be saved from it. In Him, we can learn how to give ourselves as gift, and receive the strength to do it. The more we grow in Christ, the more we receive His love and the more we give ourselves in love. In heaven, that flow of love becomes perfect and complete. See John.16:20-24 and John 17: 20-26.
We must be careful about self-deception. In our sinful condition, it can be easy to tell our- selves we are loving God and others when we are actually at our center serving our de- sires. Matthew 6 (the middle chapter of the Sermon on the Mount) is all about that danger. Our scribe and Pharisee friends are the poster children for this.
The big question in life is: are we at our center about serving our own desires, or about giving ourselves in love with our own desires as a side dish? Everything starts from this.
May Almighty God bless you, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Fr. Jim 

What is Love?

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Dear Folks,

Our first reading this Sunday from Acts 10 shows St. Peter dealing with a major issue in the first century Church: whether righteousness (being in right relationship with God) comes through works of the Law of Moses or through faithfulness to Jesus (spoiler alert: faithfulness).

In our Gospel from John 15, we see a major emphasis on how to be faithful is to love one another. A temptation is to respond with “now I know what I need to know; this is simple.”

Not so fast. In theology, I read a book called “Situation Ethics” by Joseph Fletcher. He insisted that there should be only one law, the law of love, because any other law, any other ethical principle would sooner or later conflict with the law of love. As I kept reading, I realized that he was presuming that anyone who looked at a given situation would know what was the loving thing to do. Studying history and philosophy should show us that what seems obvious to us now was unthinkable in ancient times. Looking at modern discourse we can see that many people have opposite positions and are sure that their position is true, right, and obvious.

“Love” is a word we use so much it is easy to overestimate how well we understand the challenge. There are some major issues we must tackle:

1. What is love? Christianity teaches that it is not a feeling, but a decision to seek the good of others, even at a cost to oneself (the greatest act of love is “to lay down one’s life for one’s friends [John 15:13]).”

2. What is the good? Is it getting what we desire when we desire and how we desire? Or is there a good that is more profound, and that is to be discovered and that we are to grow into seeking? Such a good involve virtues being encouraged and incentivized by a healthy society.

3. How do we achieve it? Lenin, Stalin and Mao murdered tens of millions of people insisting that this would serve the greater good, but they brought about enormous misery instead. If we agree that we want an end to gun violence, we must still ask if a given gun control legislation will make people safer or less safe? Are there other things we can do? If we agree we want to help the environment, we are left with questions: does switching to electric cars help or hurt the environment? Does less drilling for oil in the U.S. help ore hurt? Does the benefit outweigh the harm? In Ann Garrido’s wonderful book “Redeeming Conflict” talks of “undoing the knot of intention.” Good intentions don’t necessarily produce good results.

4. How can we, a sinful people, do better? Christians know that we cannot overcome temptation by our own strength. It is only in our union with Jesus that it becomes possible. With His grace, however, we can do great things. With prayer, sacraments, and penance, we can open ourselves more and more to His presence so we can have

the humility to see where we fall short, and the wisdom and strength to move forward.

Blessings,

Fr. Jim

Love and Baloney

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Love and Baloney

Imagine a young man and a young woman.  They have very little money, but he goes out into the fields and collects some flowers.  He makes them baloney sandwiches and puts them in a paper bag.  He spreads out the picnic on newspaper, and says to her, “I love you more than the sun, the moon, the stars, brook trout and the Green Bay Packers. Will you be with me for the rest of our lives?”  She melts.

Now, it is their fiftieth anniversary.  Even though they live in an upscale condo in the center of a large city, he drives to the country and picks wild flowers.  He makes baloney sandwiches, and puts them in a paper bag.  He spreads newspaper on the table, and says to her, “I love you more than the sun, the moon, the stars, brook trout and the Green Bay Packers. Will you be with me for the rest of our lives?”  She melts.

Someone who didn’t know the history might say to him, “Are you crazy? Your fiftieth anniversary, you could easily afford roses and catering, and you do this?”  It is the connection to the history of the relationship that gives it meaning that it would not otherwyse have. In relationships, rituals, signs and symbols can have a power beyond what they are because of what they mean. (I suspect he also took her out to a nice restaurant, but that is another story.)

In religion, there are a lot of signs, symbols and rituals. Many who don’t know their meaning will disparage them and say they have nothing to do with God.  Many times they are practiced by those who don’t know or don’t care about their meaning, and then they fail in their purpose, and can even do harm (see I Corinthians 11).

There are many who say that a personal relationship with God is something separate from religion, and that they love God but have no use for religion.  I suggest that they either do not understand how ritual, structure, sign and symbol can be a key part of a relationship, have never been taught the meaning of these activities, or experienced people who went through the motions without attending to what they meant.  A kiss is meant to be a sign of affection and caring.  If someone gives you a kiss and then treats you like garbage, that sign is worse than useless.  It even does harm.

Many have left the Catholic Church or are minimally connected because they have not experienced it as a powerful encounter with the love of God. However, if they could only understand that every aspect of the Catholic faith is about encountering, walking with, and loving God.

A next step is with the book A Biblical Walk through the Mass by Dr. Edward Sri, or even his video study program:

http://ascensionpress.com/t/category/study-programs/the-mass/biblical-walk-through-the-mass

And that’s no baloney.