From the heart

Once again in the gospel today Jesus raises the bar on us.

When we the of Lent, we think of penance and forgiveness. Usually, that means we do our penance we receive forgiveness. This can in some way be a sled-centered exercise.

Today's gospel once more calls us out of ourselves and reminds us of how, as creatures created in the image and likeness of God and part of the body of Christ, we are called not only to be recipients of God's forgiveness but transmitters.

Taking it one step further this gospel reminds us that this forgive me transmit cannot be pro forma, mechanical, or superficial. We must forgive "from the heart." We must forgive as God's forgives.

Forgiveness not from the heart is like the apology we were forced to make as children. We would say "I'm sorry", but in a tone that communicated anything but contrition. We say we have forgiven someone even as we are recounting for the 25th time, what they did to us. If we're telling people about it, have we really forgiven.

To Jesus reminds us that it is not enough for us to acknowledge our sins and ask for forgiveness we have to give it, and give it from the heart.

Can it be so simple?

The first reading today addresses what may Christianity's most difficult marketing problem; it's too simple. All you have to do is look at the supernatural that people are attracted to, and how it is portrayed in movies.


In the first reading today we find the main character naaman the leper who walks away when he is told that all he needs to do is go down to the river and bathe. Naaman wants incantations, waving hands, and some kind grueling demand. When he is told that all he has to do is bathe in the river, he walks away. Thankfully, his servants reason with him.

Today even some Catholics find the return to the original simplicity of Roman Liturgy too simple. With The simplest of bread (flour and water), wine and water, and simple words of consecration Christ becomes present in our midst. The penances given in confession tend to be simple prayers. Each sacrament a simple gesture, words, and some simple matter (eg. water or oil). Even the prayer, fasting, almsgiving required for Lent can seem too simple.

What we can loose sight of is that it's not about us, it's about God: God's power, God's grace, God's love. Do we have to do something? Yes. But the center always remains God's action, not ours.

Humility

“Why do you recite my statutes, and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline

While we may not say that we literally hate discipline, I dare say that none of us really find it a positive word. We like even less the participle "disciplined," as in "I remember being disciplined by my teacher."

Two thoughts should be kept in mind:
1) We cannot divorce disciple from discipline. If we want to be one we have to have the other.

2) There is a way we use the word in a positive way, even a virtuous way, "self-disciplined"

The gospel today gives us two simple choices: to exalt ourselves or humble ourselves. It also reminds us how God will respond to each choice.

We may think we don't walk around exalting ourselves but I would suggest that when we critique others, and put down their words or actions, what we are really doing is precisely exalting, lifting up, ourselves.

When we are in the car and critique someone else's driving, are we not really saying,"I'm a better driver than them." In our workplaces how often do we make comments that would suggest that we really do believe we work harder or better than so-and-so. Even if it is objectively true it is still exalting ourselves. Would we not be better served by looking to the example of those better than ourselves and learning from them. Unless of course we are so arrogant we believe "there is no one here who works harder or better than me."

Self-exaltation can be an insidious sin. Studies show that men spend 2/3 of their conversational time talking about themselves. How much of the other 1/3 is spent critiquing someone else, which in an indirect way can be talking about yourself, exalting yourself, like the Pharisee "I thank you God that I am not like the rest of men...."

The gospel reminds us that we are all going to find our way to humility ultimately. We can either humble ourselves, or be humble. The former sounds less painful than the latter. Just my opinion.

Marking in the Seasons

Today Afghanistan and Iran they mark the beginning of their new year نو روز, literally the "new day." For the rest of us we mark the first day of Spring, the day after the vernal equinox.

Christianity like its parent Judaism, did not invent its liturgical feasts out of whole cloth. As Pope Benedict XVI points out in his book Jesus of Nazareth, they took many of the aspects of the nature religions that preceded them and gave them new meaning.

While the U.S. Bishops Conference decided to not celebrate the "Ember Days" any longer, much of the Catholic world still marks the four seasons of the year with these celebrations. These were days of fasting that kept us mindful throughout the year that everything we have comes as gift from God. To quote the preface, "All times and seasons obey your laws" The ember days continue to be celebrated in more rural areas where people have remained more in touch with the cycle of the year.

The English word Ember comes from the Anglo-Saxon ymbren, which means revolution or cycle. While we may no longer fast for three days before the start of each new season year in the U.S., perhaps as we see the flowers beginning to bloom, and the warmer days beginning we should stop today and give thanks to God for the simple beauty of creation.

A Book worth reading

While I usually reserve this space for reflections on the scripture. I have just begun one of the funniest and most interesting books I have read in a long time, and those who know me know I read a lot of books.

Judeo-Christian anthropology has taught us for centuries about the interconnectedness of human beings. Now science seems to have caught up with what we have always known. David Brooks, best known for his political commentary has just published a book entitled The Social Animal. In it he is able to take what could be a huge amount of dry statistical data and recast it in a format that is both humorous and insightful. I would hope that the occasional coarse language can be forgiven.

Brooks lays out the surprising characteristics that cut across boundaries of language and culture and shows how from the moment we begin to form in our mother's womb we are relational beings. While I must admit that I am still in process of reading his book, I have read enough that I feel confident in recommending it to those who are looking for a deeper insight into the human person.

The Cainsian School of economics

Since the economics down-turn many of the commentators seemed to have locked of the phrase "Keynsian economics," without any real idea who John Maynard Keynes was or what he taught. As a priest my fear is that I hear more and more people taking the position I would call "Cainsian Economics". In the book of Genesis after Cain kills Abe,l God asks him where his brother is, and he answers with the famous response, "Am I my brothers keepers?"

We forget that this not a legitimate question but the dodge of a murderer. And the answer to his question is, "yes!" We cannot simply take the attitude of Cain and try to wash our hands of responsibility to care for others especially the poor.

Prayer, fasting, and works of charity are at the center of our observance of Lent. Today's gospel reminds us that these acts are essential to our salvation. Whenever we do them for the least, we do them for Christ, and when we don't do them for the least we don't do it for Christ. To put it simply Jesus takes the way we treat the poor and needy personally.

Perhaps it's time to go back and re-memorize the two great lists of our tradition: the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. So here they are.

Feed the hungry
Give drink to the thirsty
Clothe the naked
Shelter the homeless
Visit the sick
Visit those in prison
Bury the dead

Admonish sinners
Instruct the ignorant
Counsel the doubtful
Comfort the sorrowful
Bear wrongs patiently
Forgive injuries
Pray for the living and the dead

Shabat Shalom

Today's first reading reminds us of the importance of keeping the Sabbath holy.

If you hold back your foot on the sabbath
from following your own pursuits on my holy day;
If you call the sabbath a delight,
and the LORD’s holy day honorable;
If you honor it by not following your ways,
seeking your own interests, or speaking with malice
Then you shall delight in the LORD,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
I will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father,
for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

While for Christian the obligation is transferred from Saturday to Sunday, the day of the Lord, the obligation is no less binding. In his 1998 Apostolic Letter Dies Domini, Pope John Paul II reminded us "Every seven days, the Church celebrates the Easter mystery. This is a tradition going back to the Apostles, taking its origin from the actual day of Christ's Resurrection — a day thus appropriately designated 'the Lord's Day"

The obligation to keep the sabbath is not simply some arbitrary requirement of the Old Testament or the Catholic Church but is rooted a deeper understanding of the human person. We were not made to run 7 days per week like some machine. We need the sabbath, what the Holy Father describes as a day of "Joy, Rest and Solidarity." Perhaps this Lent is a time for us to restore the place of Sabbath in our life.

Shabat shalom is the traditional greeting on the Sabbath, perhaps if we live the Sabbath, we can have the Shalom.