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Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Reading 1: Jeremiah 17:5-8
Psalm: Psalm 1:1-4, 6
Reading 2: 1 Cor 15:12, 16-20
Gospel: Luke 6:17, 20-26
A few months ago, a friend came over for a visit. One day we decided to check out a nearby mountain. Now it was a very foggy and overcast day, but we decided to go anyway. As our gondola climbed, the fog got so thick you couldn’t see anything- not even the approaching mountain. It looked like our cables were attached to the clouds! Honestly it was a bit freaky.
But then our gondola pierced the clouds and we could finally see the mountain ahead. This was odd! We could see the mountain bathed in sunlight through one window and shrouded in thick clouds through the other window!
Many of us may at times become so overwhelmed by everything going on that we become very unsettled like over money, work, politics, relationships, family, you name it. Our minds can seem like a raging storm. So, we might convince ourselves that getting away will calm us down, and maybe it does – briefly. But when we come home, or perhaps as we’re on our way home, all that stress starts to creep back into our minds and with it a feeling of dread.
Our minds are like that mountain half covered in clouds and half bathed in sunlight. The trick isn’t to get away, but to rise above the clouds and bask in the sunlight and the calm that’s already there. In other words, we need to be mindful to the here-and-now and not allow all that stuff, important as it might be, to cloud our minds.
One of my pastors, the late Fr. Jim Balint, used to ask in meetings, “Is this a Kingdom question?” I think his question is a brilliant. You see, there are many things in life that are important, like our savings, our debt, our retirement, whether or not we should build the wall, among others. Of course, these are important questions. But does your soul hang in the balance? It’s shocking to me that the most trivial of questions can cause Christians to tear up their own bodies with stress, ulcers, liquor or drugs; shocking how many Christians tear each other apart over political questions. It’s as if all eternity rested on the outcome. How much of our lives are shrouded by the clouds?
What then are Kingdom questions?
“Blessed are you who poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.” In other words, it’s ok to earn money and to use it, but use it as a tool for common good. But when you place your faith in money and wealth and power – when money becomes the center of your universe, then, “woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.”
“Blessed are you who are hungry, for you will be satisfied.” It’s ok to eat, of course, but food and beer and wine can be just as addictive as an illicit drug, and just as dangerous. Over indulging – make food and drink the center of your day, and “Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry.”
“Blessed are you who are weeping, for you will laugh.” It’s ok to face our brokenness. And it’s ok to acknowledge that we may need help to do it, be that pastoral counseling or with the help of a professional therapist. We can’t become the people God made us to be if we hide or ignore our pain, or worse yet if we try to cover it up. How many people do you know who always need to be happy? So they go to whatever lengths to be happy – whether that’s shopping, or using drugs, or open sexual relationships. Try as we might, nothing can fill the hole in our hearts except Jesus Christ. That’s why he says, “Woe to you who laugh now, for your will grieve and weep.”
“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce you as evil on account of the Son of Man.” Well, now more than ever have many of us come to understand this blessed state. How can any Christian in good conscience support any abortion, let alone late-term or at-birth abortions? Yet, how many of us are called “evil” because we don’t support women’s rights? Have you watched the signing ceremony of the New York abortion law? It was eerie, the way they laughed and giggled – everyone patting each other on the back for a job well done. All I can think of is, “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”
You see, in today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us examples about what true priorities look like. Yes, there are many “important” questions we need to face. But these questions should not occupy the center of our lives. That’s why we hear in our first reading today from Jeremiah, “Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh…” (ref#). Even our Psalmist tells us, “Blessed are they who hope in the Lord,” (ref#). And St. Paul tells us today that if we believe in Jesus only for our time on earth, then we are the, “most pitiable people,” (ref#). Only Jesus Christ should be our center. And ultimately, our work should be about building up the Kingdom of God, not tearing each other apart over less-important questions – questions that we should be able to agree to disagree over. Remember, is this a Kingdom question?
Our readings today challenge us to rise above the clouds and remind us that if we live our lives with God as the true center, then our lives will have balance and harmony. It’ll be as if we are basking in the sun. Our faithful participation in the Sacraments, but most especially the Eucharist is a moment in which we make the radical statement that we know what our priorities are and about how we choose to live our lives. Jesus, I trust in you!
Homework! After encountering Christ in the Eucharist and in the Word of God proclaimed, I encourage you to reflect on these two thoughts:
- Prayerfully think about your life in the light of the beatitudes from today’s Gospel? What are your priorities?
- As we start to prepare for Lent, perhaps pick any of the beatitudes and try to mindfully live it in some practical way this week. For example, if you struggle with food addiction or carb addiction, maybe this week you could begin to cut down a little here and a little there. Whatever you do, pick something that works for you. Who knows, this could end up becoming part of your Lenten sacrifice.
I think by doing our homework, we will begin to refocus our priorities and begin to live the life God intended for us more fully. Do you got it? Good!
Before we end, two quick announcements. Later this week I’ll be publishing a podcast with all sorts of suggestions to help us prepare for Lent. Keep an eye out for it! Also, I believe next Thursday is the first day of the special meeting that Pope Francis called with the leaders of the bishops’ conferences from around the world to discuss the sex abuse crisis. Please join me in praying for them now and throughout the week.
Loving and merciful Father. We stand before you a broken people. We beg you for your forgiveness for the evil and the depravity that we have allowed to infest your church. We ask you for the courage to stay and to fight for the Truth. Please send your Holy Spirit over all those participating in the conference next week. Stir the flames of love for your Kingdom in each of them. Bless them with your grace that they act like true shepherds and guard your people from the mouth of the adversary. We also ask for healing over all those affected by the sex abuse scandal and for all of us who through our brokenness are too quick to indulge sin. May we all come to remember what it was like to feel healthy. We ask all this with the loving heart of Mary and in the name of Jesus Christ, your son! +Amen!
The Lord be with you. May almighty God bless you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. +Amen! May each of us come to know the mercy and the love of Jesus Christ. I wish you all a blessed week!