Author: Fr. Leo

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Great Expectations

    John the Baptist is an interesting figure. He is at once frightening and compelling. Frightening certainly in his appearance. He must have been quite a sight with his disheveled locks, camel hair shirt. His diet was a bit odd as well, although I suppose honey-covered locusts could be tasty given enough hunger.

       He was compelling in that people may have recognized in him the figure described in Isaiah, as the voice that “cries out: in the wilderness make straight the way of the Lord!” (Is. 40:3). It’s important to remember that there was great expectation in the land in those days of the coming of the Messiah. People had their “Messiah goggles” on. They were primed. They also knew their scripture well enough to recognize John for what he was. The herald of the Messiah who called people to repentance before he arrived to deliver them from oppression.

       In a way, it is not all that different for us today. Since March we have been living under the specter of the corona virus. It has altered almost every aspect of life and brought fear and uncertainty in its wake. Now, as it seems to be at its worst, the prophet Fauci has heralded salvation in the advent of not one, but three effective vaccines. (Incidentally, all of which are morally acceptable for Catholics to receive.) Once again, all the people are filled with great expectation. Salvation, and perhaps a return to normalcy, is at hand.

       I guess my point is this. The coming of one or more vaccines and salvation from the current pandemic is nothing compared to the coming of Christ in glory at the end of the age. As excited as we might be for a vaccine, we should be filled with even greater expectation for when Christ returns with salvation for his people and the renewal of all creation. What need have we of vaccines then? 

       We await relief from the pandemic. We await even more the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.  

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We Need a Little Advent

(Right this very minute!)

     I could use a little Advent right now. 2020 has been a bit rough on us all. Any chance for a fresh beginning is most welcome. That’s exactly what Advent gives us. 

       The word itself comes from the Latin advenire, meaning “to reach, to arrive”.  In recent decades the penitential nature of Advent has faded a bit in favor of a more general sense of “preparing the way of the Lord.” This is not such a bad thing as long as we remember that prayer and penance are an essential part of doing just that.

       The rhythm of the season helps us. It’s a lot like getting the house ready for Christmas.  You have to clean the home and get things in order before you can put up the decorations.

       For the first three weeks of Advent, we are encouraged to meditate of the coming of the Lord at the end of time. The readings and prayers of the Liturgy help us in this regard. In this sense, Advent should be a time of simplification, of purging the physical and spiritual clutter out of our lives. An easy place to start is by tidying things up around the house. Clutter is bad. What are you holding onto that needs to be out of your house and out of your life. The advertisement is right: “Less junk—more happiness!” (I wonder if they are Catholic?) I suggest starting small, perhaps with the “junk drawer” and moving on from there.

       Next, get working on the spiritual clutter. Step 1: get to confession. This year, in addition to regular confession times and in order to make it easier and more safe, we are having three little penance services on December 15,16, and 17. Pick a time that works for you.

     Once we have gotten our physical and spiritual house in order, so that we are ready to welcome the second coming of Christ in glory, then we can begin to prepare to celebrate his first coming in humility. You’ll note that the emphasis of the Liturgy does just that

       We could all use a little Advent right now. It couldn’t come at a better time. Maranathá! Come, Lord Jesus

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Tu Solus Dominus

  It was fun to live in Rome for the better part of nine years off and on. The historic center of the city has been described by some as a “city of surprises.”  This was certainly true in my experience.  It’s a fun city to get lost in. After winding your way through twisting, narrow streets, hardly wider than an alleyway, suddenly you emerge into the open where something beautiful is waiting for you. 

       There are lots of little surprises as well. Once I was taking a shortcut through a back alley that I had taken many times before. Since the cobblestones were uneven there, I always tended to look down where I was going, but this morning I happened to look up and notice and inscription above one of the doors. Carved into the marble in three inch Roman script it simply said, “TU SOLUS DOMINUS.” In English it can be rendered “You alone are the Lord,” as it is in the Gloria that is sung at the beginning of Mass.

But as you Latin scholars out there know, it can also be rendered in a more personal way to read: “You alone, Lord.” or “Lord, only you.”

The fun thing is that ANY of these interpretations work as we celebrate the Solemnity of Christ the King this weekend. We can see this feast in its cosmic sense, where Jesus is indeed Lord of all Creation. He is the one who has dominion over all creation.  His is a sovereignty above all others. All nations, kingdoms, principalities, churches, parishes, corporations, co-ops, pinochle clubs, etc. will answer to him. There is nothing in the created order that will not be accountable to Christ, the King of the Universe.

In the more personal sense, the Christians acknowledge that Christ has dominion over every aspect our lives as well. There is no part of our life that is separated from God’s presence and God’s love as shown to us in Christ Jesus. If I acknowledge Jesus as Savior and Lord, that changes everything. Primarily, it will determine how I will organize my life; how I spend my time and resources and with whom.

As we celebrate the sovereignty of Christ over creation and over our lives, it’s a good time to reflect on whether or not he really is the center of our lives.  Here is a simple test to see if that is the case. Look at your calendar and your wallet. Do you organize your time and the time of the household around prayer and worship of Christ? Is it the priority to which everything else must defer? If so, great.  If not, then perhaps you need to make adjustments. Similarly, on what are you spending your money and other resources? Is Christ and his Church your first priority to which all other financial decisions defer?  If so, great! If not, then perhaps you need to make adjustments. 

It’s not rocket science. Christ is either Lord of the Universe and Lord of our lives or he is not. If we live our lives with him at the center, then everything else will be rightly ordered and no part of our lives will be separated from God.

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Catholic Social Teaching – The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers

[This wraps up the series on Catholic Social Teaching. Hope you enjoyed it and learned a little. The perplexing thing for the Catholic voter is that no party fully embraces all seven pillars of Catholic Social Teaching. Nevertheless, we must form our consciences for faithful citizenship.]

      I never got an allowance as a kid, but I always had a job. My father was very good at teaching us kids the dignity of work and the value of the “working man.”  He began as a journeyman carpenter and later became a general contractor, finding success specializing in remote projects in the Aleutian Islands. But he never forgot his roots in the trades, and he always treated his employees well. One of the most touching things for me at his wake were not the number of dignitaries who showed up, but all of the carpenters, laborers and teamsters who came to pay their respects. I remember in particular an Irish carpenter by the name of Kevin Brennan, who said, “When I came to this country, your dad was the first to give  me a job. I came to thank him one last time.” 

The great thing about being in construction was that when you showed up there was a hole in the ground (usually dug by someone like me in the Laborer’s Union), but when you left, there was proof you had been there. There is great satisfaction in such work because it contributes to the common good, provides the means for folks to earn a living, and hopefully makes for a more beautiful skyline. 

The dignity of work comes from creation itself when God gave stewardship of the earth to humanity. God gave us a garden, and we each have our role to play in tending our little part of it to help it become what God has intended it to be. Because of the dignity of the human person, one should never simply be valued by what they can produce, but because of who they are.  Workers are not just cogs in the machinery of industry or organizations or government. Work was made for people, not people for work. Through our own work we participate in and help bring about God’s plan for creation.

     To learn more about the Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers in Catholic Social teaching, please watch this short three-minute video.

Then go to:

https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/the-dignity-of-work-and-the-rights-of-workers

May our work bring dignity to others and help the  world to become what God has created it to be.

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To be entrusted with much…

[A reminder, this is the text of the homily. To see the video go to our parish Facebook page: https://facebook.com/stpatsak/. Enjoy!

As most of you know, I was in business before I went into seminary.  In fact, on the seminary application, it asked, “If you don’t become a priest, what do you see yourself doing in five years?”

I wrote: “Working on the third million.”

But as we see in the gospel today, trade and investing were very much a part of life in Jesus’ day as well.  So much so that he could tell the parable of the talents.     

  • Of course, you know the most successful investor in the Bible was Noah.  He floated stock while everything around him went into liquidation.
  • The mother of Moses was also a pretty savvy investor, she went the Bank of the Nile and was able to float a little prophet.

So, what is a “talent” anyway?  In the Roman empire, when referring to money it was measure of weight in gold or silver.  Typically, it was about 72 pounds.  So in gold, at today’s market rate of $1889.20 an ounce , a talent would equal about $2,176, 358.40.  A pretty tidy sum.

So, one servant gets 5 talents, one gets 2 and the last gets 1. You do the math.  They each were entrusted with a huge amount.  And the master goes away, for a long time.

I was always curious for about how long. Well, it was certainly long enough for two of them to double their money. So how long would that be?

Actually, it’s not that hard to figure out. In finance, there is a thing called the rule of 72 which states that the amount of time required to double your money can be estimated by dividing 72 by your rate of return. 1 For example: If you invest money at a 10% return, you will double your money every 7.2 years. … If you invest at a 7% return, you will double your money every 10.2 years.

Even assuming a healthy rate of return of 10%. The master was gone for at least seven years.  That’s a long time.

So we there are two things that help us put the parable into context:

       1. They were each entrusted with a LOT of money.

       2.  They had at least 7 years to figure out what to do with it.

       That’s a lot of money, and a lot of time.

So what can we learn from the parable.

1.  God trusts us and he is not stingy.  If we think of the talents as representing our families or our parish, think about how much God trusts us!

       Those of you who are parents, think about how much God trusts you when he gives you your children? To be entrusted 18 years with another little human life of infinite worth to help him or her grow into a loving, giving adult is truly amazing. Look at how much God trusts you.

       And those of us in the St. Patrick’s Parish family, think about how much God has entrusted by giving us this part of the vineyard to tend.  All of the souls in 99504.  Look at how much God trusts us.

       God is not stingy.  Neither should we be.

Lesson #2 – Eventually, we will all be held accountable for what has been entrusted to us. 

       Remember, there is a very deliberate reason this parable is being offered to us as the Church asks us to contemplate the end of the age. 

        God has entrusted us with much.

              We will each be called to render an account of what we have done with it.

       To return to the Lord with increase, that with which we have end entrusted.

       In short, to leave this world, or at least our little part of it, just a little better than what we found it.

       Do a personal inventory. Is your family, your parish, your community, your world, better for having you had you in it?

       If we are faithful in small matters, like the first two servants in the parable, we will come to share the Master’s joy.

Lesson # 3:  Fear is the enemy.

       The last servant doesn’t fair very well.

       What was the problem?  Fear.

The opposite of love is not hate,

       The opposite of love is fear.

Why? Because fear paralyzes us and keeps us from doing the right thing.

       It can be fear of failure, fear of being embarrassed, even, ironically, fear of success.

       The point here is that this life is not just about asset preservation.

       It has everything to do with being about the Master’s business.

       As Hunter S. Thompson once said, “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow what a ride!”

Three  lessons we can learn from the parable of the Talents.

       1.  God trusts us and he is not stingy.

       2.  It may take quite a while, but eventually, we will each be held accountable to God for what has been entrusted to us. 

       3.  Fear is the enemy, because it paralyzes us and keeps us from doing the right thing.

No, we cannot do everything, but we can and should do something with all that has been entrusted to us in this life. We may not be called to change the whole world, but we should have a profound effect upon that part of the world with which we come into contact. So that we leave this world a little better than what we found it.

Much of this is summed up in Bishop Ken Untner’s prayer on the occasion of the death of Oscar Romero.  Bishop Untner wrote:

It helps, now and then, to step back and take a long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.

Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the Kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.

No prayer fully expresses our faith.

No confession brings perfection.

No pastoral visit brings wholeness.

No program accomplishes the Church’s mission.

No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about.

We plant the seeds that one day will grow.

We water seeds already planted, knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.

We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.

This enables us to do something, and to do it very well.

It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for the Lord’s grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results, but that is the difference between the master builder and the worker.

We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.

We are prophets of a future not our own.

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Solidarity

          There is a spirit in Alaska, less prevalent today, where our first reaction is to look out for one another. Perhaps it is the spirit of the land itself or the practical reality of the environment in which we choose to live, but it is there. It may be as simple as stopping by the side of the road to assist the occupants of a vehicle in distress, or helping out at the Thanksgiving Blessing. 

However it finds its way into your life, this identification with, and desire for the good of the other is a fundamental aspect of Solidarity. Solidarity finds its roots in the fact that we are all created by God and redeemed by Christ. As such, we are connected to one another at a fundamental level. Solidarity does not allow one to dismiss another as insignificant or unworthy of attention or respect.  Like the spokes of a wheel, with Christ at the center, the closer we get to Christ, the closer we get to one another.

As the unseemly drama of the national and local elections grinds on to its nebulous conclusion, there may be a temptation demonize those who may not share your affiliation or point of view. We must be careful of this and take practical steps to change the acrimonious atmosphere created by recent political discourse. May I suggest that we each start in our own backyard. If you have not already done so, now is a good time to reach out to those in your neighborhood. With the onset of the cold and the dark, not to mention the isolation imposed by the pandemic, it’s an especially good time to change the atmosphere by random acts of kindness and reckless beauty. Be a positive agent of change and dialogue on your street. Our town needs this right now.

To learn more about Solidarity in Catholic Social teaching, please watch this short three-minute video.

Then go to:

https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/solidarity

We are all in this together. Let us work with those around us to create an atmosphere of solidarity and positive change.

 – Fr. Leo

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Wisdom, Prudence and Vigilance – The Ten Wise and Foolish Virgins

It is an interesting experience to travel by air these days. In truth I did not find it all that unpleasant.  Planes and airports are a little less crowded.  Airline staff and passengers seem to be very prudent in their actions. Folks are being vigilant.

It’s easy to be prudent and vigilant in the midst of a pandemic when the consequences are more immediate.  Much less so at other times. We get lazy.  So in her wisdom, as we near the end of Ordinary Time, the Church asks us to contemplate the end of all time, when at the end of the age, Christ will come to judge the living and the dead.  Make no mistake about it, Christ is coming.  We need to be ready.  Paul

       This weekend, we are invited to contemplate virtues of wisdom, prudence and vigilance. 

Let’s talk about wisdom first. 

First of all, what is it? 

In short, Wisdom is insight gained from experience,

So how does one become wise?  A couple of ways, I think.

       1.  Live long enough to gain lots of experience, pay attention and learn from it, so that it may be useful in the future, or

       2. Seek out wise people, either in person or in literature and learn from them. 

Now there are two cautions here. 

First, experience of itself does not necessarily impart wisdom. As the writer of the Book of Wisdom tells us, very plainly.  Wisdom is readily available to those who seek her…but you have to seek her!   

       Here is where contemplation and self-reflection comes into the equation if one is to learn from experience and become truly wise. 

This is perhaps one of big mistakes we make as a society today in raising our children. I can’t count how many times I have heard a parent say to me, “I want my kid to experience this, or experience that.”  That’s fine, I suppose, but we have to realize that their job is only half complete.  How do we help our children reflect on their experiences and learn from them. In my experience, our young people are so busy getting all these experiences that they don’t have time to learn anything from them.  The result is exhausted, frustrated young people. 

       Teach your children values first, and then the experiences they have will have a context that will allow them to grow in wisdom.   

Second caution, wisdom should not be confused with knowledge; by this I mean the simple accumulation of information. The world is full of educated, unreflected fools.

       As the saying goes, knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad. 

       Wisdom needs to be sought. It should be the goal of education because it leads to the second virtue in our meditation today, namely prudence. 

       Simply put, prudence is being able to do the right thing at the right time.  

       Don’t you wish you had perfect prudence- to always do the right thing at the right time?     

       The wise person is prudent. 

       This implies that we must be able to discern the signs of the times.

       And to know what is right, so that we may do it.            

Do you see now how prudence is born of wisdom?

       Become wise, so that you may not act foolishly. 

So now let’s look at the wise and foolish virgins that Our Lord tells us about in today’s gospel. 

The parable is set at the city gates as the maidens await the arrival of the groom with his bride for the wedding feast. 

       What’s that all about? 

       In ancient semitic culture, the customs surrounding marriage had four stages.

       1.  the contract

       2. the betrothal

       3. the transfer of the bride to the house of the groom

       4. the wedding feast

First of all, you seldom married someone from your own village.  This for the simple reason that they found that if they did so, eventually the kids would not turn out right as the gene pool was just too small. 

The contract was pounded out between the heads of the two households.  This could happen when the children were infants, but usually before puberty. It was done with much fanfare and ritual arguing. Then they had a party to celebrate.

The betrothal usually came in mid-adolescence.  A rabbi or synagogue official would bless the anticipated union with formulary prayers of anticipation, blessing the future union.  And then they would have a party. (Do you see a pattern developing here?)

Then at the appropriate time some years later, the bridegroom would travel to the village of the bride and bring her back to his own house. The bride was dressed in the finest her family could afford and presented with great pomp and circumstance.  Travel being what it was in those days, it might take several hours or several days to get back to the bridegroom’s village.  In the meantime, the bridal party would prepare to receive the couple with great fanfare. In the day, it would mean flower laurels, juniper branches, and a huge procession from the gates of the town to his house.  If at light, it would involve torches and lamps, such as the ten virgins were carrying. He could show up at any time and you had to be ready to receive him and his bride. 

And that’s the point. 

When the Kingdom of Heaven arrives, it is expected, but you are not quite sure when that will be.

Thus, the wise and prudent person is vigilant. He or she is prepared, like the wise virgins who brought the extra oil. 

So we too need to be prepared.  But how?

       It’s important to remember that the Kingdom comes in two ways,

       1. In the ordinariness of everyday life

       2. definitively at the end of the age, when all things are consummated in Christ.

So we have to be prepared for both ways.

       The Kingdom of Heaven may come to us in prayer, or in the kindness or keen insight of another person.

If we are wise, we will be vigilant, and act prudently.

       It may come to us in the hungry, the thirsty, the homeless, the sick, the imprisoned, those who mourn, or the poor. (Yes, those are the corporal works of mercy.)

       If we are wise, we will be vigilant, and act prudently.

       It may come to us in the ignorant, the doubtful, the sinner, those who do us harm or offend us, in the afflicted, or any who need our prayers, both living dead. (the spiritual works of mercy)

       If we are wise, we will be vigilant, and act prudently.

If we are prepared to recognize Christ in the midst in the ordinariness of everyday life, how much more will we be prepared for his coming at the end of the age, and be recognized by him.

Wisdom, prudence and vigilance.  These are the virtues by which we prepare for the coming of the kingdom.  Like those wise ones who await the bridegroom with their lamps alight, let us keep the flame of faith alive in our hearts “as we await the blessed hope, and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.”

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To God, What is God’s

(Deacon Mick was up in the pulpit this weekend. Some good things to ponder here.)

There is at least one word in the English language that

has the power to elect politicians to a high office,

finance the military,

cause economic hardship,

and get you to pull your hair out of your head. 

One word. 

Wars have been fought over this word,

nations established,

and people sent to jail for not taking heed

when this word was spoken. 

The word is taxes.

In today’s Gospel,

the enemies of Jesus thought that

they really had Jesus in trouble this time. 

The gospel tells us

he was approached by Pharisees and Herodians. 

Now, these two groups were bitter enemies. 

Israel was under Roman rule

and the Herodians were totally loyal to Rome. 

They would have immediately accused Jesus of

promoting civil rebellion and revolution

if he had said “don’t pay the taxes.” 

The Pharisees, on the other hand,

held that God alone was their king and Lord

and they viewed the paying of taxes to Rome

as caving in to the hated Roman emperor, Tiberius Caesar,

a foreigner and a pagan at that. 

This hot issue was made worse by the fact that

Rome’s tax burden on the Jewish people

was extremely heavy. 

Jesus asked them to show him a Roman coin. 

The fact that they could produce one was evidence that,

like it or not,

they participated in Rome’s commerce and economy. 

Jesus’ answer to their question is well known,

“Give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s

and to God the things that are God’s”

Jesus avoided getting caught in their trap. 

He reminded us

we have obligations to both God and civil authority. 

We need good leadership in our country

and in all the countries of the world. 

With good leadership the citizenship will prosper. 

Without it, the people will suffer. 

Even St. Paul reminds us to

pray for our leaders and obey them. 

In this particular confrontation from the Gospel,

Jesus did imply that

since the people chose to participate in the Roman economy,

they had obligations there. 

But Jesus didn’t answer how

we are to treat some of those modern thorny issues that

we have to deal with in a society that

believes in the separation of church and state.

We have to figure out most of those issues ourselves,

taking a cue from other things Jesus taught us,

especially from his teaching that

obeying God is our greatest responsibility. 

When we break the laws of our country,

we get arrested or fined or

have to pay some consequence. 

When we break God’s laws, however,

God doesn’t come knocking on out door

ready to fine us or lock us in jail. 

If he did,

there wouldn’t be many people out on the streets. 

God isn’t in the business of being a policeman. 

Rather

he is interested in having us love him

and doing what is right because of love. 

And love cannot be forced;

it must be given freely. 

God could have made us all robots

and we would have done exactly what he wanted us to do, but

if we were robots

we would not be human

nor would we be capable of love. 

When God gave us free will,

God took a big chance that

we might choose not to love him. 

Apparently, he thought it was worth taking that chance.

Give back to God what is God’s, Jesus tells us. 

And because God does not come knocking on our doors

when we do not give him what we owe him,

it’s easy for us to say I’ll pray later,

or I’ll go to church later next week

or I’ll be a good person later. 

My friends,

later just may not be there for any of us. 

Nothing is more important than our relationship with God. 

Someday we will leave behind

all the other things we think are so important,

and the only thing we will have left

is the love for God and for others that

we have demonstrated in our daily lives. 

That love will grow and develop

only by prayer and good works. 

In our society,

which wants immediate results,

many important things in life

do not give immediate pay offs. 

When we plant a seed in the ground,

it doesn’t produce fruit the first day. 

If we buy stock in a good company today,

it probably won’t go up 50 points tomorrow. 

A good education takes many years

before it pays dividends. 

The things we do to serve and obey our God

are an investment,

an investment that will bless us in this present life,

but the full reward of living such a life are off in the future. 

As St. Paul tells us,

“…eye has not seen, nor ear heard,

nor has it entered into our hearts

what things God has prepared for those who love him.”

What God asks of us is simple; 

Prayer, obedience, love,

love of God and for each other. 

In line with prayer,

we cannot neglect the most important prayer we have,

the Eucharist. 

“Do this in memory of me,” he said. 

That’s why we are here today,

to give to God our ears to listen,

our hearts to be united with him,

our gratitude, our expressions of faith

as we praise him and receive him.

We will get in trouble with the law

if we do not give back to Caesar

the things that are Caesar’s,

but we have the most to loose

if we do not give back to God

the things that are God’s.

That loss could be our eternal happiness.

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Rights and Responsibilities

At the end of the month, I will be heading out of state to southwestern North Dakota to help rid the countryside of an infestation of ringneck pheasants who are terrorizing the locals. Since I will be gone election day, I dropped my absentee ballot off at the post office earlier this week. As a citizen, it is not only my right, but my responsibility to vote in the upcoming election. As a Christian, it is my sacred duty to vote with a conscience informed by the heart of the Church’s social teaching. Our Catholic faith is not simply an outer garment we can wear on the outside and then take off when we enter the voting booth (or mail in our absentee ballot).

Catholic Social Teaching, as well as our own U.S. Declaration of Independence, is very clear that in a just society, citizens are endowed with certain “inalienable rights.” But with enjoyment of these rights comes correlative responsibilities towards the society in which we are a part.  For example, as Catholics we are very clear that the right to life from conception to natural death is inviolable.  But at the same time then, we have a responsibility to foster and protect life at EVERY stage along the spectrum of life, not just at its beginning. 

There are many other examples of this.  To learn more about Rights and Responsibilities in Catholic Social Teaching, please watch this 3-minute video:

then go to:

https://www.usccb.org/beliefs-and-teachings/what-we-believe/catholic-social-teaching/rights-and-responsibilities

We all have a responsibility to vote an informed conscience. To do otherwise is morally irresponsible.

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Stewards of Gods’ Abundant Gifts

I’m fascinated by science and space exploration.

       Thus I took great interest that in preparation for the colonization of the Moon and the eventual mission to Mars, NASA and Space X had recently put several cows into orbit…It was the herd shot round the world. 

       Don’t laugh, the steaks have never been higher!  

But it was not well done. They burned up on reentry.  It was udder disaster. 

       (I’m going to get some searing comments about that one.) 

Anyhoo, I like a good steak.  Even more I enjoy having a good steak or any good meal with the friends in my bubble around a nice table. The parish house is very blessed to have a nice set of china donated by Helen and an equally nice set of silver. 

       Incidentally, as a COVID survival technique.  I encourage you to break out the good China and crystal at least once a week, maybe for Sunday dinner and cook up an outrageously elaborate meal and share it with those in your bubble.

       There are lot of reasons for doing this. 

       1.  It’s fun.

       2.  It brings elegance and class into an increasingly drab world.

       3.  It’s a good way to give thanks to God for his generosity.

In a way, that’s a lot of what our Lord is getting at today in the Gospel with the parable of the Wedding Banquet.

First, let’s look at the first reading.

       What’s the lesson here?

              THE LORD WILL PROVIDE…IN ABUNDANCE!

Listen to the language

       On this mountain the LORD of hosts

              will provide for all peoples

              a feast of rich food and choice wines,

              juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.   

 Then he goes on to say that the Lord will establish peace among peoples, and destroy even death itself

       What Isaiah is describing this the “messianic age” when the world and everyone in it will reconciled to God and live in harmony in accord with God’s plan. In a word, everything will be as it is intended to be. 

The 23rd psalm echoes this sense of harmony and abundance.

       “He spread the table before me in the sight of my foes.

He anoints my head with oil – my cup overflows. ”

Paul also speaks to the abundance of God’s generosity  In this case, he downplays the role of the material in this world. For him, it just didn’t matter,

       I have learned the secret of being well fed and of going hungry,

              of living in abundance and of being in need.

But he is very clear that God is not stingy, especially when it comes to bestowing his grace and spirituals gifts on his beloved (that’s us). 

       My God will fully supply whatever you need,

              in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

So, now that we understand that God does not just give us what we need, but far more than what we need, especially when it comes to the grace and power we need to live the life to which we have been called, let’s dive into the parable.

Like all parables, it lends itself to multiple levels of interpretation. But the context of this one is pretty clear. Like last week, it is addressed to the chief priests and the elders.  In short, those who have been entrusted with the spiritual heritage of God’s people. 

With this in mind, the intent of the parable is clear. Jesus is chewing them out for being poor stewards of their heritage

The King who throws the banquet is the Lord God.

       Those first invited are the religious leaders.

The wedding feast is the Kingdom of God and the very messianic age described by Isaiah in the first reading.

A word about wedding feasts in ancient Palestine.

       They were outrageously lavish affairs.

       Remember there were four parts to the wedding ritual.

              The contract,

              the betrothal,

              the transfer of the bride to the household of the groom,

              and the wedding banquet. 

These wedding banquets went on for days.

       It is surmised that the wedding at Cana had been going on for three days before they ran out of wine. Imagine that.

You can imagine how elaborate a royal wedding feast could be. That is the image that Jesus wanted in people’s minds when he was talking about the heavenly banquet.

The King sends out the invitation.

       The messengers or the Old Testament prophets.

Surprisingly, the invited guests don’t come. 

       And we know from other places in the sacred text that many prophets were rejected, and some, like Jeremiah, were actually killed.

       Here, he is scolding the religious leaders of his day for doing the exact same thing as their forebears. 

So, echoing last week’s words: “tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the Kingdom before you,”

       the parable continues with the invitation to whomever they can find. 

       It’s sort of a messianic “come as you are party.” 

And that’s pretty much what we try to do as well as the Church. The call to discipleship is universal. 

       It’s not about being worthy, it’s about being called.

       The Church is a hospital for sinners, not a rest home for saints.

But now we get to the troubling part of the parable. The casting out of the fellow without the wedding garment.  

It’s very intriguing because it seems so harsh What’s Jesus trying to say here?

Jesus knew the human condition better than just about anybody.  And he knew his disciples were not immune from the same tendency.

       They can see what he is doing, putting the religious leaders in their place. I could imagine Jesus disciples getting pretty smug as they listened to the parable about the feast.

       So, the second part of the parable is for them

              and for us.

In a word…don’t get smug!  Don’t get complacent just because you’ve been invited to the feast.

So what’s the deal with the wedding garment?

       Well, apparently in those days, especially at royal functions, as a courtesy to elevate the dignity of the guests and to make sure the decorum of the gathering was maintained, the host would give to each guest a garment to be worn.

       It was a gesture of hospitality. The host wanted to you to look good for the occasion, and so he gave you the means to do so.

This would have been the case at the wedding feast described in the parable.

       The implication here, is that this particular fellow was given the wedding garment when he arrived, but had removed it at some point, thus insulting the king. 

       The implications for us are profound. 

       For us, the wedding garment is the white garment placed on us at our baptism. Very much like the one (the server), Deacon Mick, and I am wearing now. 

       We are wearing them, of course, on your behalf.  But if you wanted to, I suppose you could wear one every time you came into the church. Wouldn’t that be something to see? 

      
We are each given on of these at our baptism, but like this fellow who removed his wedding garment, when we sin or when we even fail to identify ourselves as disciples of Jesus by our actions or inactions, in effect we remove the baptismal garment given to us by the King of Kings and Lord of Lords when he invited us to this Eucharistic feast. 

       Think about your physical baptismal garment.

       Where is it? What does it look like now?

Now thing about your spiritual baptismal garment, the one you wear on the inside, next to your heart and soul.  

Is it worn or stained?  Is it moth-eaten or musty for lack of use?  Does it need a good mending or washing in the sacrament of reconciliation to make it presentable at feast?  

       I could go on. But my point is clear.

In the abundance of God’s love and mercy, we have each been invited to the feast.

       Have we been good stewards of this great gift of faith? 

       Have we cherished our baptism in and worn the our baptismal garment in gratitude and steadfast faith?

       If so, then as Paul says, we can do all things in him who strengthens us.

       If not, then it’s time to get to the confessional.

Let me close by reminding us all of the words that were said to us at our baptism when we were clothed in white garment symbolizing that our sins are always washed clean in the blood of the Lamb.

My dear friends in Christ in St. Patrick’s Parish (and beyond),

you have become a new creation,

and have clothed yourself in Christ.

See in this white garment the outward sign of your Christian dignity.

With your family and friends to help you by word and example,

bring that dignity unstained

into the everlasting life of heaven. All: Amen