Reflection on Pentecost

Happy Pentecost! As Johan Engstrom said last week, “The Spirit is a movin’.” at our parish.  But what does that mean?  We are reminded today that the small band of apostles, disciples, and women that followed Jesus sat in prayer together waiting in anticipation for the Holy Spirit to direct them.  And, boy, did God’s Spirit do just that!  “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting…and they were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them.” (Acts 2:2-4)

This was a powerful moment in the life of the Church but it is not over either.  Pentecost, like Christmas or Easter, isn’t a day that we look back upon and only remember “the good old days”.  We remember and believe.  We place our hope in a living God who can move us and guide us into greater, more abundant life for the good of God’s kingdom.  And through the Holy Spirit, we can confront all kinds of times of desolation with the hope and peace that only the Holy Spirit can provide in our hearts.

The Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) are filled with words of desolation, people in national and personal despair, yet in faith, the Israelites would acclaim “Trust in the Lord forever! For the Lord is an eternal Rock.” (Isa. 26:4)  By putting their faith in God, they were consoled.  They were strengthened.

Then God’s Word dwelt among us and Zacharias prophesized, “In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:78-79).

We live in a culture often focused on death. Steeped in that culture, we can easily grow in fear and anxiety of suffering further and any change, especially what we may see to be significant, only raises our anxiety and increase the darkness within our spirit (our inner self).

Yet, Pentecost proclaims something different, something powerful.   Jesus Christ is not only resurrected and sitting at the right hand of our Father in heaven, but their Holy Spirit dwells with us and can empower us through our trust and faith in God.  In that empowerment, God calls us into spiritual maturity – to grow in our love for God, to love our neighbors more actively, and to become greater authentic witnesses of God’s grace and power. We cannot fake this, we need to grow in our freedom from sin and that means responding in faith.  It means living in a new culture focused on resurrected life and not death. On God’s power, not our own. Yes, the Spirit is a movin’ in our parish.  But can we let go of what holds us in darkness and allow the Holy Spirit to move us?

Kobe Beef Christians

Catholic values and American politics, sacrificial giving of our treasures, ongoing spiritual and faith formation, and now a life of servant leadership. These are all messages we’ve heard over the past month. Collectively they came seem daunting.  We might feel uncomfortable, nay, even pain under the pressure to live these moral invitations.  We might even reject them saying, “who has time for faith formation?” or “The Church needs to stay out of politics!” or “Stop telling me to give, darn it all.”

I’m not all convinced that the pressure we are feeling to live out our Catholic faith is something the Church is doing to us.  Rather, I believe it is the secular culture we find ourselves situated in that causes our mental anguish whenever the preacher says “live your life for Christ.”

We all struggle with living the Catholic faith.  There isn’t anyone of us that isn’t touched by sin in some way; be it social or personal sin.  And, for many of us, our western secular society has worked hard at making us “fat, dumb, and happy” or in other words, “comfortable” like a Kobe beef cow.

Kobe beef is suppose to be the best cut of meat anywhere on earth. It is tender, fatty and delicious. It gets this way through a Japanese tradition of providing the cow a life without stress.  The cows are fed incredibly well, hand massaged daily, and given beer to drink to calm their nerves.  They live such grossly sedentary lives that they have difficulty walking due to the lack of exercise.  But this life of leisure has one purpose, Kobe beef cows are made for slaughtering. The life of the Kobe cow only matters for the meat it provides to its consumer.

Like Kobe beef cows, we can fall into the trap of filling our lives up with comfort too. This is one of the social trappings of living in the Suburbs. And with individualism, which is pandemic in our culture, we can grow cold to the needs of other people or at least 47% of them.

The Gospel is a message that is life giving but it is also daunting for it calls us out of our selves  - to stop trying to die in comfort; but rather, to live in serving God and the common good –even if it’s painful. (This is a theme in the movie Matrix too.)  In short, we exchange the comfort the world can provide in this life for the comfort we experience in knowing the true and living God in this present moment and for all of eternity.

As a foot note: the Romans struggle with Gospel living too. St. Paul wrote, “I urge you therefore, brothers [and sisters], by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship.  Do not conform yourself to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2) Living the Gospel requires faith that God will provide and that God will keep his covenant with his people.  It also takes wisdom, to make sure our acts are not fool-hardy but truly bring about greater good for all.

Independence...Is it all that it's cracked up to be?

Our second reading at Mass today is a little odd to the modern ear: “A thorn in the flesh was given me, an angel of Satan, to beat me, to keep me from being too elated. Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me, but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me. Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and constraints, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Cor. 12:7-10)

 If you read the Acts of the Apostles, you’ll learn Saint Paul had a rough life once he was a Christian. A man of growing power, a rising star in the religious/political life of the Jews in Jerusalem, he loses all his prestige and wealth upon his conversion. He goes from being the chief persecutor to becoming persecuted. Temporarily blinded by the presence of Christ, rejected by the Apostles at first, rejected by the Jews who believe in Christ, he heads out to proclaim the Gospel to the Gentiles only to be beaten almost to death, thrown into prison, and actually shipwrecked from a storm. On top of that, his pastoral letters are written to his church-plants because the people had given up the faith, slipped into immorality, listened to false teachers, and fought amongst themselves politically within their new communities. Through it all, some scholars suggest that Saint Paul had ongoing problems with his eyes. Perhaps that was the “thorn in his side”.

 What do we learn from his experience? God said to Saint Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for (my) power is made perfect in (your) weakness.” Elsewhere, Saint Paul writes, “God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power…”(1 Cor. 10:13) In reading of Paul’s story, we learn how God carried him each step of the way. Although he still experienced great suffering, God gave him the grace to persevere through it. Over and over again, Paul writes about his joy, hope, and longing for heaven. 

Often, we think we can do everything ourselves. In the States, we’re brought up with value of independence, that ability for a man or woman to “stand on their own two legs” without help from anyone to conquer the world. We want to believe we are powerful people, capable of accomplishing anything we put our minds to, if we can just get past this present suffering or this present problem. Walt Disney, Bill Gates, and Donald Trump all teach us to follow our passion, follow our dream, work hard, be smart, and we’ll be successful.

But Saint Paul teaches us something else. Real power, power from God, comes when we admit our weakness. It’s not until we confess, “I can’t do this by myself” that we free ourselves from the bondage of trying to possess power. It is only when we admit we are not in control of our lives and give control of our lives over to God that we discover true power, as Saint Paul mentions, "When I am weak, then I am strong.” Instead of combating suffering with our own limited abilities, suffering becomes a means to see God’s grace working in us and to carry us through it. We witness God’s greatness in our weakness.

 In the movie “Caddyshack” a young caddy tries to manage an enormous golf bag, far too large for her size. An older caddy says, “Hey, let me take that,” and her prideful childish reply is, “I can do it!” The scene goes on with her spinning around the bag and unable to lift it off the ground.

 Perhaps God allows difficulties in our lives to bring us to our personal edge; to give us the opportunity to witness his loving power to carry our burden. But do we push his “hand away” like the little caddy and say, “I can do it!”?

Jesus the Radical Cowboy

A pastoral reflection on John 2:13-25 (Jesus in the Temple with the Money Changers)

Radical...growing up, I had a lot of images of Jesus but never an image of him being radical. Jesus sitting with children, with a lamb on his shoulder, teaching his disciples, but Jesus the radical? Where did I miss that? Perhaps Mom and Dad wanted me to be domesticated, trainable, and obedient so they spoke more of the soft, lovey-dovey Jesus.

But, Jesus the table tipper? The whipper of money changers? The driver of cattle stampedes? The ruffian who knocks money boxes out of the hands of merchants? Oh yeah, he’s all that too. On that day, he must of worn a rubber bracelet that said, “WWJWD” (What Would John Wayne Do?).

On that day, Jesus was the man that wrangled all the “bull” to make a straight path for others to enter into deeper worship and relationship with his Father.

What bull is in your life that needs to be wrangled and driven out so that you can grow deeper in worship and relationship with God...to have deeper spiritual freedom and a larger capacity to act in love?

Now, our spiritual freedom and ability to love has three villains: the flesh, the world, and the devil.

“What the Scriptures call the flesh, the old man, or the sinful nature, is that part of us that always wants the easiest way out...To put it bluntly, your flesh is a weasel, a poser, and a selfish pig. And your flesh is not the real you.”* It is what psychologists would say is your false self. The faker who cowardly believes his own bull, “who deliberately chooses to push down his true strength in Christ and lives a false life.”* It’s the person who denies what their heart is really saying to them. They shrink in fear instead of confronting the thoughts, feelings, and problems in their life.

Now, “the World...is any system built by our collective sin, all our false selves coming together to reward and destroy each other...Take all the posers out there, put them together and you get a carnival of counterfeits,—that’s the World."* The money changers were just that—selling a false path to God and making a profit. Resisting "“The World” is not referring to a shallow approach to holiness like never drinking or dancing or watching rated R movies."* Rather it’s the system that corrupts our true strength, that causes us to support the false self, often through pride and a false sense of power.

"The devil no doubt has a place in our theology, but is he a category we even think about in the daily events of our lives? Has it ever crossed your mind that not every thought that enters your mind comes from you?"* Do we ever stop to say, in a Texan draw, “Wait a minute, partner, who else is speaking here? Where ‘em ideas a coming from?” “It’s the image of God reflected in you that so enrages hell; it is this at which demons hurl their mightiest weapons.”

Jesus was a radical and a zealot—that’s how much he loved you and me. Jesus wasn’t afraid to stand up and fight for us, to die for us. He wasn’t a poser. He could gently love children and still fight the World. Like two cowboys in a duel, he could face the devil in the eye and say “Go ahead, take your best shot, ‘cause after you do, I’m going to rise up and defeat you.”

But this isn’t just a story of the past, Jesus is here with us today in word and sacrament. His word and sacrament are like his whip of cords to drive out our false self, to knock over the world, and to defeat the devil. He fills us with his Spirit so we too can be part of his posse. He’s ready to wrangle the crud and bull in your life, to give you a clear spiritual path to his Father. So, which side of the table will you stand on?


* - Much of this post was inspired and quotes taken from John Eldredge's "Wild at Heart"

Living on the Edge (1 Cor. 7:32-35)

The second reading in today’s Mass (1 Cor. 7:32-35) is interesting to reflect on from a mature perspective. Surrounding this passage, St. Paul is pastorally working with the community in Corinth regarding issues of marriage. Note his first statement, “...I should like you to be free from anxieties.” The anxiety St. Paul is referring to is the anxiety to be prepared for Christ’s return. Remember that the early Church sincerely believed that Jesus would return in their lifetime. So, they were anxious about how best to be prepared for his glory. Two thousand years later, our anxiety is a little different isn’t it? Who doesn’t secretly think that Jesus isn’t going to return in our life time? We cannot sustain an artificial anxiety, pretending to ourselves that Jesus could return today. Believe me, I tried it for years, eventually time wins the argument. Don’t forget we pray at every mass, right after the Our Father, that God would remove our anxiety. That’s not anxiety over paying the bills, that’s anxiety over our final judgment—the same anxiety St. Paul is dealing with at Corinth here in this passage.

But St. Paul hint’s at how we are to live in his next sentence. “An unmarried [person] is anxious about things of the Lord, how s/he may please the Lord.” Note that the task for the single Christian is to “please the Lord” - there’s no place for self-centeredness. In the single life, one is chaste for God. Chastity is not a burdensome discipline that robs us of one of life’s great pleasures. Chastity takes our natural drives and redirects them into other forms of creativity and when directed towards God, increases praise. Many a person in history and today have put aside strictly sexual acts to express a deeper powerful creativity through broader acts of art, science, and charity that is just as fulfilling, if not more, than explicit sexual acts. (But our culture of addiction doesn’t want you to believe that because they’re making money off of the addition.) But, true freedom for the single person is to let go of the addiction to find the right sole mate and look to pleasing the Lord in their life.

The Church has always lifted up the high value of marriage and recognized that marriage between a baptized believing man and a woman is a Sacrament—in other words, a way in which God’s grace and the love of Christ is manifested in the world. At first, St. Paul seems to be down playing marriage but what he’s trying to do, in context with the entire chapter, is to help the Christian first understand that their lives are about pleasing the Lord first and foremost. From that central perspective, the task of the Christian spouse is to see how s/he could please their spouse. Again, there is no room for self-centeredness. Marriage is a vocation, a sacrament of godly service to honor Christ by manifesting God’s love specifically in the world through this human bond. The married person’s fulfillment is found inbeing Christ for their partner and allowing their partner to be Christ to them. And, God willing, in the procreation of children. Marriage expresses God’s permanent, personal, and productive love in the world by transforming this natural filial relationship into an expression of God’s unilateral covenantal love to us.

St. Paul hint’s at what the root of anxiety is at the end of his paragraph. Anxiety comes to us when we’re distracted from our central purpose of pleasing the Lord, regardless of our marital status. If we feel restrained, unhappy in our life then our focus is on ourselves and not in outward loving expression to God. We’re called not to live in fearful anxiety for Christ’s return but rather we are happiest when we are living on our spiritual and physical edge—pushing ourselves to fully and creatively express our devotion to God with the gift of our very lives. It is living on our personal edge for God that prepares us for his second coming—not out of fear but out of becoming fully human through devotion to God.

The Greatest Commandment (Matt. 22:34-40)

This week’s readings continue the theme of Jesus having controversies with the Jewish leaders. The Pharisees ask an important question and they received an important answer. And, although it was an important question, it still was a test to Jesus because a less careful answer could have left him open to the charge of trying to “abolish parts of the law.”

Jesus quotes the Hebrew Scriptures (Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 19:18), “but to bring them together like this as a summary of all the law and the prophets was a brilliant creative idea. In focusing on the two halves of the Ten Commandments (duty to God and duty to our neighbor) it offers a foundation for all our living; and by summing up that duty as love, it goes beyond the specific requirements of the law to the God-like attitude which must underlie them.” (New Bible Commentary. 1994)

Fulfilling our duty to God and neighbor is life giving. God established these rules not to rob us of the delight in creation or to incarcerate us from creativity and free thinking but rather to grant us life both in spirit and body. In our text today, Jesus shows us the answer that animates the law by positive means – through love.

A mother lovingly says, “Time to go to bed, honey.” “NO! You can’t make me!” replies the child with a stamp of his (her) foot. Patiently but firmly, mother says, “Young man (lady), you march yourself right up the stairs this instance!” “Oh, O-kay...” sighs the child without fully realizing that it’s fear or a lack of energy to fight that motivates them to do their parent’s will, and not obedience out of love.

At one time or another, I’m sure many of us rebelled against our parents when we were children. We may have not acted out in rebellion but perhaps in the fancy and privacy of our minds, we rejected what our parents advised us to do in our hearts despite obeying them in the world. We went to bed early with a grudge because we didn’t want to “deal” with the consequences of upsetting mom further.

The same dynamic happens with us fulfilling God’s commands. If we lack faith in the goodness of God, we might find ourselves following his commands begrudgingly like the older brother to the prodigal son. (Luke 15:29) Realizing that a lack of faith in God’s goodness is blasphemy and illogical, we might continue to ponder why we struggle with a particular commandment and conclude that we somehow are misinterpreting the “original” meaning of the text and somehow justify our actions to be innocent although they might not follow God’s law as we understand them in their literal sense. And so, you can see how we can begin to twist and turn God’s laws like we’re trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube – all with our best interests at heart and in sincerity.

But Jesus cuts through this quagmire of perspective: Love your God, love your neighbor. Love is so rudimentary, so instinctual that it hardly needs explaining. Our actions towards God and neighbor are to be done out of compassion and earnest desire to want what is best for them. We know this comes from within us, prompted by God’s Holy Spirit, and not consequential to our circumstances.

As Christians, we love our neighbor not because of the qualities they possess but because we are called to be like God and love them regardless of their qualities. We offer each other grace to be who we are – part sinner, part saint. And that grace isn’t something we manifest ourselves but is poured out to us and through us by our good God’s Holy Spirit.

This is evangelization - To love our neighbor, to love our God - In action, in word, with authenticity - In spite of the moral failures we see in ourselves and others. And we can only do this to the degree we have experience God’s grace and acceptance of us in our own lives. We love because that is the only means to be fully human and to experience the divine within us.

Nourished by both Word and Sacrament

Jesus used parables all the time. July 10th's gospel reading (Matt 13:1-23) is a powerful parable that helps us understand how well we receive the Word of God. But there’s a reason why Jesus cloaks the message in a parable.

“When Socrates took on the responsibility of educating the youth of his native Greece, he formulated a method of inquiry and debate in order to stimulate critical thinking and illumine the truth. Pythagoras, like a midwife bringing a child to birth, would draw out of his students the knowledge he knew to be there. Aristotle began with what can be known through experience and challenged his students to probe deeper and investigate more fully.”*

Jesus came later than these men and taught in parables – taking something familiar in order to shed light on the truth about the Kingdom of God. “A parable is meant to convey one basic moral lesson [and it was] intended to persuade, to challenge, to move the listener to some decision, resolution or action. In order for this moral response to be forthcoming, listeners would have to look beyond the story itself to the deeper meaning and allow themselves to be grasped by its truth. While Jesus did not originate the literary form of the parable, he made powerful use of it in order to: (1) evoke a transformation in his listeners; (2) challenge them to embrace a new system of values; and (3) have them open themselves to a new concept of salvation – as not a reward to be merited by the righteous, but the gift of a loving God to sinners.”*

Parables force us to pay attention, to ponder their meaning and ultimately to be open to respond in faith in order to see into the heart and mind of God. If we are closed minded, spiritually prideful, or slothful in our relationship with God, the parable will remain a puzzle to the degree we are unwilling to accept God speaking to us through it.

As Christians, we are called to ponder not just Jesus’ parables but all of the Holy Scriptures over and over again in faith and openness. And we do this not just to be obedient but to be nourished by God’s Holy Spirit through hearing God’s Word and to grow in intimacy/communion with God. “If the Scriptures are not to remain a dead letter, Christ, the eternal Word of the living God, must, through the Holy Spirit, open our minds to understand the Scriptures.” (Catechism line 108).

The Scriptures are a main vehicle/media in which God uses to communicate himself to us. “For this reason, the Church has always venerated the Scriptures as she venerates the Lord’s Body. She never ceases to present to the faithful the bread of life, taken from the one table of God’s Word and Christ’s Body.” (Catechism line 103)

Much like air and food is necessary for life in the human body; so we need both God’s Word through Scripture and Sacrament with equal importance for life in the Spirit.

So, as today’s parable says, what part of us is hardened soil that needs God to jackhammer it loose? What part of us hears God’s word but gets choked out by other ambitions other than to grow in communion with God? And, how well do we thank God for those areas in our life that have been open to his Word and blessed by his Spirit?


(* Quotes from Patricia Datchuck Sanchez, Rafael Sanchez Alonzo, "Jesus Spoke to Them in Parables." Celebrations, July 2011.)