We spend a lot of time, too much time really, looking at other people and what is going on with them. We can be so worried that others will end up with something better than what we have, that we may very well miss the great blessings that are set out for us. None of those migrant workers were cheated, indeed the landowner was fair to all of them. But he went beyond fair; he also recognized the plight of the poor. In case you missed it, that is the Gospel, brothers and sisters in Christ. He decided to give more than he had to to those who might have otherwise gone without anything. He recognized his duty to the poor, and we would all do well to follow his example, because that’s what Christ expects of us. We are also expected to be thankful people. If we have worked all day by the sweat of our brow to earn what we have, then we should be grateful for the grace of honest work. If we received a gift we could never earn, then we should be grateful for the grace freely given. But we must never sully it by looking at what others have received, lest we miss noticing the graces we have received and miss the opportunity to be thankful.
Tag: humility
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The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
The tradition of the Assumption of Mary dates back to the very earliest days of the Church, all the way back to the days of the apostles. It was known that Mary had “fallen asleep” and that there is a “Tomb of Mary” close to Mount Zion, where the early Christian community had lived. The Council of Chalcedon in 451 tells us that, after Mary’s death, the apostles opened the tomb, finding it empty, and concluded that she had been taken bodily into heaven. The tradition was spoken about by the various fathers of the Church, and in the eighth century, St. John Damascene wrote, “Although the body was duly buried, it did not remain in the state of death, neither was it dissolved by decay . . . . You were transferred to your heavenly home, O Lady, Queen and Mother of God in truth.” The current celebration of Mary’s Assumption has taken place since 1950, when Pope Pius XII proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption of Mary in his encyclical, Munificentissimus Deus, saying: “The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever-virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heaven.”[1]And so we have gathered here this morning to celebrate the life of Mary, Mother of God, the first of the disciples of Jesus her son. And there is plenty to celebrate in her life. We who would be Jesus’ disciples too, can learn much from the way she lived her discipleship. We can see in her life, I think, at least three qualities of discipleship. The first is joy. She is one who not only allowed something incredibly unbelievable to be done in her, but allowed it with great joy. That she did this with joy tells us something very important about who she was. Teilhard de Chardin wrote, “Joy is the most infallible sign of the presence of God.” Those who live with joy, true joy, do so because God is at work in them and God is at work through them. Mary knew this from the moment the angel came to her.
The second quality we see in Mary’s prayer is humility. She knew this wasn’t about her; this was about what God was doing in her and through her. It wasn’t she that did great things, no, “the Almighty has done great things for me,” she tells us, “and holy is his Name!” The third quality is faith: Mary’s simple faith allowed her to say “yes” to God’s will and made possible the salvation of the world. Because of that faith, she had a bond with our Savior beyond anything we could ever hope for. Indeed without Mary’s fiat, her great leap of faith, the salvation of humanity may have gone quite poorly.
What is important for us to see in this feast, though, is that it proclaims with all the joy the Church can muster that what happened to Mary can and will happen for us who believe. We too have the promise of eternal life in heaven, where death and sin and pain will no longer have power over us. Because Christ caught his Blessed Mother back up into his life in heaven, we know that we too can be caught up with his life in heaven. On that great day, death, the last enemy, will be completely destroyed, as St. Paul tells us today.
Mary’s life wasn’t always easy, but Mary’s life was redeemed. That is good news for us who have difficult lives or fine it hard to live our faith. Because there are those among us too who have unplanned pregnancies. There are those among us whose children go in directions that put them in danger. There are those among us who have to watch a child die. But because Mary suffered these sorrows too, and yet was exalted, we can hope for the day when that which she was given and which we have been promised will surely be ours.
Mary’s life was a prophecy for us. Like Mary, we are called to a specific vocation to do God’s work in the world. We too are called to make sacrifices so that God’s work can be accomplished in us and through us. We too can be joyful because God is at work in us. We too are called to humility that let’s God’s love for others shine through our lives. We too are called to lives of faith that translate into action on behalf of others, a faith that leads God’s people to salvation. And we too, one day, will share in the glory that Mary has already received in the kingdom of God.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
[1] http://www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/AOFMARY.HTM -
Saturday of the Seventh Week of Easter
One of the greatest obstacles to the Christian life is comparing ourselves to others. Because, and I’ll just say it, discipleship isn’t meant to be fair. At least not as we see fairness. The essence of discipleship is doing what we were put here to do, we ourselves. We discern that vocation by reflecting on our own gifts and talents, given to us by God, by prayerfully meditating on God’s will for us, and then engaging in conversation with the Church to see how best to use those talents and gifts. That’s the process of discernment, which is always aided by the working of the Holy Spirit.
What causes us to get off track, though, is looking at other people and what they are doing, or the gifts they have, or the opportunities they have received. We might be envious of their gifts or the opportunities they have to use them. We may see what they are doing and think we can do it better. We might be frustrated that they don’t do what we would do if we were in their place. And all of that is nonsense. It’s pride, and it’s destructive. It will ruin the Christian life and leave us bitter people.
That’s the correction Jesus made to Peter. Poor Peter was getting it all wrong once again. He thought Jesus was revealing secrets to John that he wanted to know also. But whatever it was that Jesus said to John as they reclined at table that night was none of Peter’s business, nor was it ours. Peter had a specific job to do, and so do we. If we are serious about our discipleship, then we would do well to take our eyes off what others are doing or saying or experiencing, and instead focus on the wonderful gifts and opportunities we have right in front of us. As for what other people are up to, as Jesus said, “what concern is that of yours?”
As always, the Psalmist has it right. We don’t look at others, we have only one place to look: “The just will gaze on your face, O Lord.”
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Thursday of the Second Week of Ordinary Time
Sometimes we can be such arrogant little creatures. We presume that the blessings we have now are due to our own wonderful merit, and forget all about the grace of God. So how often have we been like the rich man, sumptuously dining on the good things God has given us as if they were the fruits of our own creation, and ignoring all the while the Lazaruses at our door? Jeremiah makes it clear how welcome that kind of behavior is in the kingdom of heaven: “Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the LORD.” Blessed instead, the Psalmist tells us, are those who hope in the Lord. We should celebrate our blessings for what they are: gifts of God, gifts to be shared with those in need. “For the LORD watches over the way of the just, but the way of the wicked vanishes.”
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Thursday of the Fifteenth Week of Ordinary Time
[display_podcast]Today’s Scripture readings have some “sound bytes” that I have found most meaningful in my prayer life. Isaiah’s profession of faith today says, “For it is you who have accomplished all we have done.” What a beautiful thing for us to remember. This one statement, if we integrate it into our prayer life, will keep us from both false humility and excessive pride. Because we have no right, when we are called by God to do something, to say, “Oh no, I could never do that.” That might be absolutely correct, but it’s still completely meaningless. If God calls us, he will make miracles happen from our willingness to follow. For it is he who has accomplished all we have done.
And we have no right to be puffed up and call attention to ourselves, and say, “Now look how wonderful I am.” Because the really good things that we do we could never possibly do on our own: whether that’s becoming a priest and preaching the Word, or becoming a parent and raising children, or whatever our vocation consists of. That we are willing is cause enough for celebration, but let’s not forget to celebrate the miracle that happens when God does what he needs to do in us. For it is he who has accomplished all we have done.
And the three verses in our Gospel reading are verses that have long stuck with me. I have an old Bible in my office that my aunt gave me when I was probably in high school, so like a million years ago! That Bible has these verses outlined in ink because I went back to them so often. We all go through trials sometimes, but we can never give ourselves to despair because our Lord is so willing to help us shoulder the burden, and longs to give us the rest we all need to recuperate from the world’s trials. All we need to do is to come to him for that rest, and to be willing to take up the burdens he offers us, knowing that we will never shoulder them alone. For it is he who has accomplished all we have done.
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