Tag: Deacon Rudy Villarreal

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Pharisees and Scribes

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Twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass Readings

First Reading: Exodus 32:7-11, 13-14
Responsorial: Psalm 51:3-4, 12-13, 17, 19
Second Reading: 1 Timothy 1:12-17
Gospel: Luke 15:1-32

In today’s Gospel we find three familiar stories: the Parable of the Lost Sheep, the Parable of the Lost Coin, and the Parable of the Prodigal Son. We could spend quite a bit of time breaking open the meaning of each of these parables – the relentless pursuit by the Shepherd, the woman and the Father running through the field to the son who returned home.

All of these parables give us insight into the immense love of the Father for each of us. The Father loves you and he loves me so much that he will chase us forever, but here’s the catch – we have to choose to say yes. You see, the Father will never force himself on anyone.

As beautiful as these parables are and as much as we all need to reminded that there is nothing, nothing we can do that will make us unlovable by the Father, I want to focus instead on the introduction to these parables.

Here is how Luke begins the parables. “The tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to him, but the Pharisees and the scribes began to complain, saying, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them,’” (Luke 15:1-2). The Pharisees and scribes were complaining.

While everyone could here the parables, Jesus directed these parables to the Pharisees and scribes. Why?

In the second reading from First Timothy, we hear, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” (1 Timothy 1:15). Now, we should all say to ourselves, “yes, that makes sense, because we are all sinners,” but my brothers and sisters, I suggest to you there are some who do not see themselves that way. We call these people self-righteous. Who are these people?

Again, from First Timothy we hear, “I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and an arrogant man, but I have been mercifully treated because I acted out of ignorance in my unbelief,” (1 Timothy 1:13). Paul describes himself as one of these self-righteous people – one of these Pharisees and scribes who have this unfounded belief that they are morally superior to everyone.

Paul reminds us that Jesus came into the world for sinners. But like the older brother in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, there are many people who think, “I’m a good person.” Like the older brother who worked hard in his father’s fields from morning to night – who played by the rules and didn’t even ask for food to share with his friends, there are many people who believe that being a good person is good enough. And maybe we scoff at the idea that someone who is reckless, like the lost son deserved compassion.

You see, the tax collectors were particularly hated by most Jews. Tax collectors were Jews who worked for the Romans – they worked for the occupiers. And the way they were compensated was that they were allowed to add a surcharge to the taxes they collected for Rome. So, not only were they collecting taxes, but they squeezed people harder so that they could get their share. How could these people and other sinners – other people who didn’t live by the rules – deserve forgiveness? Sound familiar?

Why are you giving money to that homeless guy? It’s his own fault that he’s on the street or he’s just going to use the money for drugs or booze.

I work hard for my money. Why should my taxes go to welfare? They just keep having more and more kids.

Why should my taxes pay for that druggie in the hospital? It’s not my fault he’s strung out.

“I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance,” (Luke 15:7).

Homework! After receiving the Jesus through the Word of God proclaimed and in the Eucharist, I encourage you to reflect on the following two questions.

  1. First, in my heart of hearts, can I relate to the Pharisees and the scribes?
  2. Second, what is or are the sources of my righteousness?

I think by doing our homework, we can prepare our sinful hearts for repentance. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

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What’s in My Way?

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Twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time Mass Readings

First Reading: Wisdom 9:13-18
Responsorial: Psalm 90:3-6, 12-14, 17
Second Reading: Philemon 9:10, 12-17
Gospel: Luke 14:25-33

Hate your parents? Hate your own life? Carry your cross? What is Jesus talking about?

Jesus is not saying that to follow him you must hate your family. In today’s Gospel (Luke 14:25-33), Jesus knows that the crowd that is traveling with him are not all disciples – not yet, anyway. Some were on the fence while others were just curious to see what he would do next. Jesus knew just how far each person was willing to go.

Does that sound familiar? How far are we willing to go? What obstacles prevent us from discipleship – from drawing closer to Jesus? I remember when my family first moved to central Texas. I walked into the sacristy to help set up for mass, but first I wanted to introduce my family to the priest. We had a retired priest who would help our pastor cover the weekend masses. Now he was quite a character. He was a vet of World War II the Korean War, serving in the army in one and the navy in the other. Now, his experiences gave him a colorful vocabulary, if you catch my meaning.

After I introduced my family to him, he asked me if I was discerning to becoming a deacon. I told I couldn’t because my children were so young. He shook his head and yelled, “That’s BS!” only he used the actual words. The next thing he said cut me to the core. He said, “Don’t use your family as an excuse!”

Was I using my family as an excuse? I think that’s the point of Jesus’ first parable. He is not saying we need to hate our families, but he is saying that we can make all sorts of excuses which keep us from living as disciples.

You see, what could hold us back might not only be the comforts of home, but sin or a grudge or a lack of trust. Maybe we are so caught up in something sinful that we think we are not worthy. Or maybe we relish in some grudge that we just can’t let go of. I know that might sound odd, but I’m sure I’m not the only one whose heard someone say, “remember that time when you did whatever?” Then you find out that “whatever” is something that happened ten, twenty, thirty or forty years ago. Many people talk the talk, like forgive and forget, but they can’t walk the walk. They cling to old hurts and grudges like some sort of security blanket.

I think the theme is excuses. I suspect there are many different kinds of excuses we are willing to make, like “I’m too busy”, “I don’t have time”, “I don’t have extra money”, “I’m too old”, “I can’t get over what she did or he said.” All of these sorts of excuses are obstacles that block our path and prevent us from being the disciples we are meant to be. Whether it’s worldly goods, or relationships, sin or grudges, if we’re not willing to detach from these things and repent, we may not be able to commit to discipleship. Letting go and moving on – these are the costs of discipleship.

Whether it’s these readings or another scripture reading, do get the feeling sometimes that Jesus is trying to shine a light on something in your life? I encourage you to reflect on that even if it’s only for a few minutes. It could be something Jesus is trying to point out to help you in your journey. And that leads us to our homework today.

Homework! After listen to the readings and receiving the Eucharist, I encourage you to reflect on the following two questions this week.

  1. First, does anything in today’s readings stand out to you? What is it and why?
  2. Are you holding on to a grudge or some past hurt that you’ve refused to revisit and let go of?

I think that if we do our homework, if we are willing to acknowledge the obstacles in our life, acknowledge them and let them go, we will be able to grow in our discipleship with Jesus Christ. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

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The True Self

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First Reading: Sirach 3:17-18, 20, 28-29
Responsorial: Psalm 68:4-5, 6-7, 10-11
Second Reading: Hebrews 12:18-19, 22-24A
Gospel: Luke 14:1, 7-14

Happy first day of September! In today’s Gospel, Luke 14:1, 7-14, Jesus tells the parable of those invited to a wedding feast. He was not giving them, and he is not giving us an etiquette lesson. Rather, the message he is trying to give us speaks to a great spiritual truth. We’ll get to that in a minute, but first, he describes the guests as jockeying for better places at the table. Listen to what he says.

“When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor. A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place,” (Luke 14:8-9).

What’s one way we can describe the person who assumed they should have the best spot at the table? I think we can say that person was suffering delusions of grandeur! But we shouldn’t smile, shake our head at this poor fellow and go on about our lives. Remember, Jesus is having dinner with a Pharisee and was observing how all the other guests were jockeying for position at the table. Jesus is saying to them, and to us that we shouldn’t have pride of place.

It is certainly true that in our culture today, many people are preoccupied with position or status – “what will people think?” “how will we be viewed by others?” or “what’s in it for me?”. We can create this idea about how important we are or we worry about how we’re perceived by others. These layers we build up or this idea or image we have is what the spiritual masters call the false self.

Now the false self is not inherently bad. Psychologically speaking, we might at times needs this false self or costume to get going – to get motivated – to do things we think are completely impossible, like speaking in public. But this false self can obscure our vision. We might become so attached to the costume that we lose sight of who we really are – or become trapped by worrying about what others think of us. It’s like being stuck in your early teen years always worrying that something you do or say might make everyone laugh at you in the most humiliating way.

As disciples of Jesus Christ, our mission is to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ into the world. We do this with words, and we do this with our actions by ministering to those on the margins. If we’re always too focused on ourselves, then we will be blinded to what really matters. This is the spiritual truth that Jesus is trying to explain to us. When we drop all pretenses, we allow our true self to come through. Our true self can relate simply and directly to reality.

Like an innocent child, our true self will look to those in need and say with all honesty, “We should help them.” And of course, we help without any expectation of repayment. In today’s Gospel, Jesus says we should invite those who can never repay us. For example, when I minister to the needy, when I bring food or supplies to the homeless, when I minister to the orphan, when I visit the sick or the imprisoned, do I look for some sort of repayment? Of course not! Serving others is experiencing the God who is love. As Thomas Merton said, “Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone. We find it with another.”

This is the true humility we hear in the First Reading from Sirach chapter 3. Drop all pretenses. Be humble and love and serve the Lord by loving and serving others.

Homework! I encourage you to reflect on the following two questions this week:

  1. First, what layers or costume do you adopt to protect yourself?
  2. Second, how would you describe your true self?

I think our homework this week will allow us to live more authentically as our true selves. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!