God is love – Page 2 – deacon rudy's notes

Readings for the Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

First Reading: 1 Kings 19:16B, 19-21
Psalm: Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-11
Second Reading: Galatians 5:1, 13-18
Gospel: Luke 9:51-62

Today’s readings, in particular the first reading from 1 Kings 19:16, 19-21, and the Gospel from Luke 9:51-62, sound harsh. But really, at the heart of these readings is the question of attachment. From where do we draw our faith: from our belief in God or from the things of this world? This is a source of great tension in the world. The world, perhaps now more than ever, is so completely intertwined in our lives that it’s difficult to not be “in the world,” so to speak. The lure of social media seems too powerful.

But these readings offer a caution to us all – not just the community of believers. Look, we’re all surrounded by stuff. Indeed, some of our homes are so crammed with stuff that it’s difficult to even walk around. Isn’t it funny how attached we are to things or to our cell phones or to various social media sites? Have you ever had the experience of sitting with someone who was so absorbed with their cell phone that they didn’t know what was going on around them? That can be so frustrating! Sadly, some forms of social media can really bring out the narcissist in people. Some of our family and friends seem obsessed with posting selfies of themselves in various poses or wearing various outfits.

In many ways, people like this, people so absorbed with their stuff, are dead. They’re dead to what’s happening around them. It’s as if they don’t really care – or they might care a little as long as you don’t interfere with their stuff. The minute you cross the line – the minute you ask them to put their cell phone down – well, you might as well have asked them to cut off their arm. Paul describes obsession with the stuff of this world as in today’s second reading from Galatians 5:1, 13-18, as the yoke of slavery.

Paul says we shouldn’t waste our freedom on things that will dull our minds or our senses – and that includes everything from drugs, alcohol and food addictions to binge-watching shows, losing hours to online gaming or social media – you name it! All this stuff belong to the flesh. But we are called to be integrated bodies and souls. So we need to be careful with worldly distractions. Paul reminds us that the whole law is fulfilled in one statement: You shall love your neighbor as yourself, (Galatians 5:14). If we believe that God is love, and if we believe Jesus’ command that we are to love God with every fiber of our being and we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, then we can’t allow ourselves to become so distracted with worldly things that we forget to look up and see the people around us, starting with our own family and friends.

We were not created to be alone with our stuff. We were created to be part of the community. We must resist the temptations that pull us out of our community – that try to isolate us, for it is when we feel alone that we are must vulnerable to give in to temptations.

Homework!

First, try to tally up the time you spend watching shows on TV or over the internet, the time you spend playing any sort of video game, and the time you spend on social media. Can you reduce that number by 5% this week to spend with your family and friends?
Second, in what ways are you present to the people around you? Try to name a few concrete examples for yourself.

I think by doing our homework, we might shift our time and attention away from the allurements of this world and more toward loving God by loving those around us. Do you got it? Do you get it? Good! May Almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit! +Amen!

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Mass Readings

First Reading: Proverbs 8:22-31
Psalm: Psalm 8:4-9 4
Second Reading: Romans 5:1-5
Gospel: John 16:12-15

Today we celebrate the solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity. What is the Trinity? Admittedly, this is one of the most difficult teachings in the Christian tradition. Too easily, we try to say that we believe in one God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But that misses the point, I think. You see, the entire creed that we recite in mass every Sunday describes our beliefs in terms of the doctrine of the Trinity.

We believe in one God, the Father who…and then we profess faith in the doctrines of creation and providence, and in the Son who…and we state our belief in the doctrines of the incarnation, redemption and resurrection, and in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life, who…followed by the doctrines of Scripture, tradition, the church and eschatology. Indeed, as the theologian Michael Himes points out, our whole creed is a statement of belief in the Trinity. <1>

And what is the Trinity, then? In the First Letter of John, chapter four in verses eight and again in sixteen, we read that “God is love.” Now in the Greek, the word used is Agape. Agape is completely centered on the one loved. We often describe this, especially in the context of Christian marriage, as total self-gift. In fact, the First Letter of John claims that God is least wrongly thought of as a relationship of self-gift among persons.

When we hear in Matthew’s Gospel, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them,” (Matthew 18:20), that doesn’t mean that when we think about him, Jesus will be with them. What we mean is that in the context of agape, Jesus will be discovered in what happens whenever people come together in true mutual love.

But this particular love, agape, is so completely different from any other type of love, which is why we take such care in Christian marriage of establishing clear boundaries in our relationships to help protect the sacredness of Christian marriage – to prevent it being reduced in a way that can be easily dismissed.

You see, this love – this total self-gift is the Trinity itself. The Father totally gives Himself to the Son, no strings attached. The Son unconditionally receives this love and totally returns it to the Father, no strings attached. Through this constant action of total self-gift, total reception, total self-gift, total reception, the Holy Spirit emerges. That’s why in the Creed, we say the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

Christian marriage, then, is a good way to describe Trinity. There is no personal relationship outside of marriage that should in any way be compared to marriage itself because there is no personal relationship outside of marriage that can be an example of total self-gift and total reception.

Christian marriage is one way that Trinitarian love is shared with the world around and enables people who experience that love to experience God in a real and personal way. Christian marriage is an example of total surrender to the will of the Father and participating in the act of total self-gift. Those who are touched by the Trinitarian love flowing from Christian marriages in turn can share that love with those around them – either through the specific service of vocations to the priesthood, diaconate and consecrated life, or through other acts of love and service for the people around us. And when we share that Trinitarian love we experience flowing from Christian marriages with others, because we are all image and likeness of God, we are in fact sharing love with the Lord.

Isn’t it interesting that in Matthews Gospel, we find the most extraordinary statement of love in the whole Christian tradition? In the Judgment of the Nations, (25:31-46), which I content describes the metrics for the judgment we will face, the criterion of judgment is not any sort of religious act. Rather, the one criterion is: Did you love your brothers and sisters? To love the least of our brothers and sisters is to love the Lord, whether we know it or not. This make sense doesn’t it? Afterall, God is love.

Homework: