Tag: Deacon Rudy Villarreal

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Lessons on the Road to Jerusalem

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Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass Readings

First Reading: Habakkuk 1:2-3; 2:2-4
Responsorial: Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9
Second Reading: 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 13-14
Gospel: Luke 17:5-10

http://usccb.org/bible/readings/100619.cfm

Before we get started, I’d like to ask how your homework went last week? Did you put yourself in the role of the rich man and write a letter to warn your family and friends? If you did, how did it go? Was it difficult? If you didn’t, why not? I’d love to read your comments. Head over to www.deaconrudysnotes.org and click on the title “The Sin of Pride.” At the bottom of the window, you will check “like” if you like the reflection, and you will also find a comment box. The only way I get better is with your honest feedback. But either way, I do encourage you to complete last week’s homework because it can be very helpful in our spiritual journeys.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is continuing on his journey to Jerusalem. All of these parables that we’ve been hearing over the last several weeks have been given while on the road to Jerusalem. So, after addressing the Pharisees in Luke 16:14-31, he goes back to instructing his disciples like we heard in the beginning of this series, Luke 16:1. When we look at these parables as a whole, there are at least four themes that Jesus is teaching: scandal, forgiveness, faith and service.

First, the word “scandal” refers to a moral stumbling block that leads others to do evil – or to sin (see Catechism 2284). A couple of examples of this are those who act like the dishonest steward we heard about a few weeks ago or the rich man who ignored Lazarus. He emphasizes that leading little ones astray, meaning those weak in faith, see Rom 14:1; or 1 Cor 8:9. Jesus says woe against these people. He says it is better that such a person have a millstone placed around their neck and they be cast into the sea than spending an eternity in torment, Luke 17:2. Therefore beware! He instructs his disciples that they should not be like the Pharisees who cause others to sin.

Next, he talks about forgiveness. We see the need for this in the relationship between the angry older brother and the prodigal son. The older brother in many ways reflects the attitude of the Pharisees who despised tax collectors and sinners, see Luke 18:9. We need to be willing to forgive those who hurt us, but this is much easier said than done, right?

Jesus teaches a different approach. If someone sins, we shouldn’t just ignore it or sweep it under the carpet. Scripture calls for a fraternal rebuke, see Lev 19:17; 2 Tim 3:16; 4:2. But if he repents, if he is willing to say, “I am sorry,” like the prodigal son was willing to, see Luke 15:18, 21; 15:7, 10, then we need to forgive. How many times should we forgive? As many as seven times in one day, see Prov 24:16; Luke 17:4.

For us as Christians and disciples of Christ Jesus, underlining our call to forgive is the petition from the Lord’s Prayer: …forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone in debt to us…, Luke 11:4. In other words, if we are willing to ask God to forgive us our sins, then we should be ready to forgive others.

Now is this easy? No, and that’s why in today’s Gospel, the disciples closest to Jesus, those who will become the apostles, ask Jesus to increase their faith, Luke 17:5, and this is the third lesson coming from these parables. They don’t think they can measure up to the challenge of forgiveness, isn’t that interesting? Those closest to Jesus didn’t think they could forgive so easily. Sometimes we fall into the trap of feeling unworthy, but passages like this from today’s Gospel remind us that we are not alone in feeling this way. Jesus responds by saying that even faith as small as a mustard seed, one of the tiniest seeds around, has great power. He says this little faith can tell a Mulberry tree, which has an extensive root system, to be uprooted and walk into the sea, Luke 17:6. Jesus tells us that faith, no matter how small, can do the impossible. I think that’s a message we often overlook.

Finally, Jesus talks about service. We hear this really unfortunate story about the ungrateful master who has no sympathy for the work his servant has done in the fields. He tells him to go and make something for him to eat. The master expects the servant to just do his job – the job he was hired to do – no matter how tired he is. The servant must carry on. As disciples, we too must carry on. We must do what God asks us to do.

That’s the lesson Jesus is giving us. This is especially applicable in the missionary work that the apostles will carry out. We see many examples of that, like 2 Corinthians 4:5; plowing to spread the Kingdom of God, Luke 9:62, 1 Corinthians 9:10; tending the sheep as pastors, Acts 20:28, 1 Corinthians 9:7; and giving them food to eat and drink in the Eucharist, 1 Corinthians 11:25-26. And of course, all these parables leading up to this lesson on service are happening as Jesus is walking to Jerusalem to face his death – and he knows it. The good and faithful servant must fulfil his purposes – he must do what he was created to do.

Homework! Having been nourished by the Word of God proclaimed and, in the Eucharist, I encourage you to reflect on the following one question this week, in addition to finishing your homework from last week if you are not done:

  1. As a good and faithful servant, what is God asking you to do with your life? Are you living your purpose?

I think our homework will help develop us to become better disciples of Christ Jesus.

One final request: please join in me in praying for the upcoming Pan-Amazon Synod which begins today, Sunday. Good and gracious God, we thank you for the many blessings you have given us. Please forgive us for those times when we have ignored our role as steward of creation and taken this world for granted. We ask that you send your wisdom to all our elected officials that they may step up the challenges of safeguarding creation for today and for generations to come. We also ask for your blessing upon all those who will participate in the upcoming Pan-Amazon Synod. May all participants be guided by your Truth, and may all of us be guided by your Spirit of unity, fraternity and love. We ask all this in the name of Jesus Christ. +Amen!

Well, that’s a wrap! Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

Notes:

  1. The Gospel of Luke by Pablo T. Gadenz, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Baker Academic (2018).
  2. Catechism of the Catholic Church Number 2284.
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The Sin of Pride

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The Sin of Pride

Twenty-sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass Readings

First Reading: Amos 6:1A, 4-7
Responsorial: Psalm 146:7-10
Second Reading: 1 Timothy 6:11-16
Gospel: Luke 16:19-31

In today’s Gospel, we hear the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Very often we look at this parable only from the perspective of renouncing greed and treating the poor with justice. Indeed, in our first reading from Amos, we hear a curse against the wealthy who are complacent and stuff themselves while starving spiritually (Amos 6:19-26). Just to be clear, this is not a parable against wealth. St. Thomas Aquinas says that we have the right to ownership, through our hard work or through inheritance. But he goes on to say that we must always be concerned for the common good before our ourselves. So, while this is an important dimension of the today’s readings, there’s something more going on here.

Before we get to that, let’s review. This parable and the parables we’ve heard over the past weeks have been taking place on Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem. Some of the lessons were put to the disciples; others to the crowds following Jesus; and still others for Pharisees and other religious leaders. Now between last week’s readings and this week is bridge, Luke 16:14-18. Unfortunately, we don’t hear that proclaimed. The Gospel says, “The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all these things and sneered at him. And he said to them, ‘You justify yourselves in the sight of others, but God knows your hearts; for what is of human esteem is an abomination in the sight of God.’”

Then, Jesus tells the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. This image would not have been unknown to the crowd. Lazarus who was lying at the rich man’s door because he was lamed or crippled and covered in sores is reminiscent of Deuteronomy 28:35. The dogs that licked Lazarus’ wounds, which added insult to injury, is similar to we find in 1 Kings 21:19 and 23; and Psalm 22:17.

When death comes, there is a reversal in situations. Lazarus was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man was sent to the netherworld which is interpreted as Hades or Sheol. Now this is a complete rejection of the prosperity Gospel. There are some who falsely preach that wealth and success are signs of God’s blessings. This suggests that poverty is a sign of God’s disfavor. Yet, in today’s Gospel it is the poor man who is rewarded in the afterlife and not the rich man.

The rich man calls out to “Father Abraham,” but remember that John the Baptist has already warned that it was not sufficient to say, “We have Abraham as our father,” (Luke 3:8), since you also had to “produce good fruits as evidence of … repentance.” So, having missed the opportunity to repent, the rich man is being tormented.

He begs that he be allowed to warn his five brothers, but Abraham says that they have Moses and the prophets, if they would just listen. Jesus, for example, has repeatedly emphasized the importance of listening to the Word of God, for example Luke 8:21; and Luke 11:28.

He makes one last plea asking that Lazarus be raised from the dead and sent to warn his brothers in person. Abraham again denies his request. If they aren’t convinced by Moses or the prophets, then they won’t be convinced by someone coming back from the dead.

Of course, the idea is that if the Pharisees who know and understand the Law, who understand the tradition from Abraham to their time, who don’t live the spirt of the Law, who don’t understand that they need repentance, then clearly, they will be blind to the Messiah in their midst – even at his resurrection. Why is that? This is the point I alluded to earlier. The Pharisees are blinded by their pride which gives them an inflated sense of their worth even over and against their claims of faith in God!

In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis writes, “Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through Pride that the devil became the devil: Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.”

Today’s parable about the rich man and Lazarus is meant to reach out the Pharisees then and today – those who are so consumed by their position in life – like their status and their wealth – that they can’t recognize God in their presence. Where do we find God today? Jesus tells us whatever you do to the least of these, you do unto me. Pride blinds us to God’s spark in everyone – what we refer to as human dignity rooted in being created in the image and likeness of God. Jesus challenges us to snap out of it! And that leads us to our homework today.

Homework! After being nourished by the Word of God proclaimed and by the Eucharist, I encourage you to consider one thing this week:

  1. Reflecting on today’s Gospel, if you were the rich person who ended up below, and God gave you the chance to write a letter to your family and friends so they wouldn’t end up like you, what would you write? What would you tell them? Maybe it would be helpful to actually write out a letter.

I think by doing our homework this week, we might recognize the sin of pride which often goes unrecognized in our own lives – recognize it, go to confession, and deal with it. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. +Amen!

Notes:
<1> The Gospel of Luke by Pablo T. Gadenz, Catholic Commentary on Sacred Scripture, Baker Academic (2018).
<2> C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity.

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Extravagant Mercy

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Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass Readings

First Reading: Amos 8:4-7
Responsorial: Psalm 113:1-2, 4-8
Second Reading: 1 Timothy 2:1-8
Gospel: Luke 16:1-13

You can’t serve both God and mammon!

My brothers and sisters, in today’s readings we hear a little bit of a confusing story about the dishonest steward. It’s a little confusing because at the end of the Gospel, it sounds like Jesus is commending the steward’s craftiness. Can that really be the case? First, let’s set the scene.

Mammon isn’t just money. It refers to worldly wealth and perhaps even a worldly attitude that goes along with everything this world promises us. With that understanding, let’s jump into to the readings.

In the Gospel the steward, who is basically the manager responsible for his employer’s property and staff has been careless with his employer’s property. The employer learns that the steward has been careless. He is accused of squandering property. His employer tells him that he is going to be let go, but first he must make an accounting of everything he has done.

The steward is a little panicked. He has no idea what he is going to do once he is unemployed. So, he conceives a plan. He figures that if he generous with his employer’s debtors, they will help him once he is unemployed. He summons the debtors and reviews their debts, then has them write promissory notes for less that the amount. Whether he pays part of the debts is not known, but he eases their debt-burdens.

Now when his employer learns what he has done, he praises the steward for his prudence. It almost sounds like Jesus is praising the steward for his shrewdness. How can this be?

Well, here’s the second point. Before Jesus tells this parable, he had just finished telling the crowd the parable of the lost son. This isn’t a second day. This is a continuation of the readings from last week. Now Jesus is offering this parable. What did we learn from last week’s readings? Jesus tells us about the enormous generosity of the Father’s mercy. But at the same time he warns us that he has not come to save the righteous – those who think themselves better than everyone else.

In contrast, Jesus tells us about this prudent steward – a limited, self-motivated example of mercy. In other words, seeing these two parables side by side, this parable is about mercy with strings attached. I’ll forgive you if you agree to do the dishes for a month; or I’ll forgive you if you agree to clean out the gutters for me. This is what the world tells us we should do, right? We should adopt an attitude the espouses, “what’s in it for me?” This is the approach to life that world tells us will lead to happiness, wealth and success.

But is this a sustainable way of living our lives? After a while, managing all those strings becomes exhausting. We can’t serve both our own self-interest and be in right relation with those around us. You cannot serve both God and mammon. In this situation, you only love the one and come to become frustrated with the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.

No, when we extend forgiveness, we should extend it like God. We should offer forgiveness totally and with no strings attached. Why? Well, first, because that is how we wish to be treated by other people. Second, that’s how we wish to be treated by God. We forgive extravagantly so that when we face our judgment, we can say we extended great mercy, and we hope to receive such extravagant mercy too. So, while we can live in this world, we should try not to be of this world – totally focused on ourselves and showing no compassion or mercy toward those around us or holding people in check with strings tied to our mercy and love and forgiveness.

Homework! After being nourished at the table of God’s Word and the Eucharist, I encourage you to reflect on the following questions this week.

  1. First, have you ever felt unworthy of God’s mercy?
  2. Second, reflecting on your relationships, can you forgive especially when the other person doesn’t deserve mercy?

I think our homework today will help us live the mercy and love of Jesus Christ in our lives. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! May almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!