Reflection for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time: Maturity, Self Discovery and Purpose

In today’s first reading from Ecclesiastes we heard, “For what profit comes to man from all the toil and anxiety of heart with which he has labored under the sun?  All his days sorrow and grief are his occupation; even at night his mind is not at rest.  This also is vanity.”  These words at first seem quite negative and one could look at life as a monotonous drudgery of events which are filled with pain and sorrow.  However, the author, whom old rabbinic tradition believes was King Solomon, was only trying to describe stages of life, the things we go through.  Indulge me for a moment as I offer a reflection on the latest Star Trek film, “Beyond,” in particular the character of James T. Kirk.

In the reboot of the films we see all the old characters, Spock, Bones, Scotty, and Kirk.  In this last film, “Beyond,” they did a real nice job of developing Kirk’s character.  Spoiler alert, stop here if you are going to see the film, though I won’t be giving away any major plot lines.  It has been three years since Kirk has taken command of the Enterprise as her captain.  When he first became captain and they were beginning their six year mission he had great excitement in his heart, he could not wait to get out there and explore, to find new life and civilizations and to boldly go where no man had gone before.  However, as the days and weeks went by he began to feel the weight of everyday boring tasks, issues with crew, the ship, and the responsibilities of a being a captain.  You could see in his eyes that it was not what he signed up for.  Yet, that was not his only issue.  He was also trying to fill very big shoes, that of his father, George Kirk who saved many of the lives on his own ship and then sacrificed himself by going down in his ship to save others.  His father became a legend and a hero.  He had also replaced another revered former captain of the Enterprise, Captain Christopher Pike, who was one of Star Fleets finest officers.

Captain Kirk was not only dealing with the everyday toil, as Ecclesiastes points out, but he added to his own worry by putting himself in the shadow of his father and even that of Pike, and he wondered if he could ever become his own captain. 

In reality James T. Kirk did become his own captain, he just couldn’t see it.  He had already saved his own crew twice and one time saved the earth, but because of his own self conceived expectations and living in the shadow of others it would take a grand moment of self realization to see his own worth and the beauty of being a captain.  As the film progresses he begins to realize that he is his own man, his own captain, with gifts and talents and purpose that were given to him and he begins to mature and learn about himself and his role as a captain.  At the end of the film he is offered a vice-admiral job, which he turns down because it’s a desk job, his simple response in all Kirk style was, “what’s the fun in that,” he began to see himself for who he really was.

I think our friend King Solomon was not much different than our fictional friend, Captain James T. Kirk.  I guess there are a lot of responsibilities that come with being a captain of a ship, but imagine the responsibilities of being a king, the everyday work and toil, the constant worry of keeping your people safe, financial issues, food issues, and on and on.  I am sure Solomon had grown weary from time to time.  I am also sure like Kirk he too had to grow out of his father’s shadow.  King David probably the most revered king in human history, how would you like to follow that!  And yet, it was not David who built the Temple but Solomon and just like his father he too ruled for an entire generation with God bestowing on him incredible wisdom.  I am sure that Solomon began to realize his own purpose as he too matured, but during that maturation process he felt as he said, “all things are vanity.”  

He spoke a truth we all feel from time to time, we say it in such ways as, “what’s it all for, or “is it all worth it?”  All of us have been Kirk, all of us have been Solomon, and how may you ask, simply because we all share the same human nature.  No matter what, we too must mature and work through the sometimes minutiae of life realizing that in doing so we are building up our own characters, we are finding ourselves, and sometimes even getting out from under the shadow of others.  You may have had that big brother or sister in your family who could do no wrong, the Mary's of the world and you may have been the Martha of the world, the one who is anxious and worries and is told, your sister chose the better part.  You may be in a job where it seems like the same thing over and over again, you wake up, you go to work, you come home you work more and then go to sleep.  The every day grind which may seem like a bad thing while we may feel it from to time time is actually a good thing as the Lord is preparing us, molding us, shaping us to be better at whatever it is we do.

God has a purpose and wonderful plan for each and every one of us.  So yes, at times it will seem like vanity, but when we grow and come to realize God’s work in us and others, like Solomon we will be able to rest after we build the temple God desires us to build, whatever that temple may be or like Captain Kirk realize, this is where I am supposed to be, I am the captain of the Star-ship Enterprise, and boy that is a lot of fun!

Choose the Better Part

In today’s Gospel from Saint Luke, Jesus says, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.  There is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.”  The better part that Mary has chosen is to be silent in the presence of Jesus, she has let go of everything and given Him all her attention.

Jesus does not intend that we stop working, planning, or building up our families and communities, but what He does mean is that He must be first in all things and that when we do approach Him, He has our full attention.  Sometimes that is difficult.  It is amazing that human nature has not changed in 2,000 years.  Martha is anxious and worried.  What was on her mind?  What was preoccupying her?  What was she going through?  Like any person, she may have been thinking about the next thing, i.e. making sure everything is ready and that all flows smoothly instead of just letting things happen and unfold.  That is very hard for us to do, to just let things unfold, we feel like we lose control when that happens.  We want every iota figured out and planned.

Sometimes what prevents us from being fully present to Jesus is our fears which come from worry and anxiety.  That fear could be from anything, it could be fear of the future, i.e. will I and my family be ok?  The worry, doubt, and fear could come from trying to please others and trying to become everything to everyone.  We cannot please everyone in this world nor will we like everyone we meet.  Though we must love everyone, and yet what others may think of us in some way does matter, because we want to be well thought of, but it should not be what makes us tick, what makes us tick is what’s inside of us, our own motivation, drive, and desire to be virtuous and holy.

Other times the worry and anxiety can be about everyday things ranging from, will my children be safe to will we get dinner prepared in time?  Jesus tells us not to worry for every hair on our heads has been counted.  I just hope He took the count when I was twenty-five years old.  All kidding aside, I know it’s sometimes hard to let go of everything, but we must and especially when we come into the presence of the Lord, here at Mass, wherever and whenever we pray, when we quiet ourselves before Him.  In those moments all the worry and anxiety fall away from us.  A great way of doing this is to go to a quiet place, breathe slowly and deeply and then begin a rosary or reflect on Scripture or any prayer; you will quickly notice the change.  This is what Mary did and she entered that place of peace and was able to let go of everything while Martha still carried all of the worry and anxiety around with her even though Jesus was in her presence.  Mary chose the better part; I pray that we too will choose the better part.

Something Very Near to You

"For this command that I enjoin on you today is not too mysterious and remote for you.  It is not up in the sky, that you should say, 'Who will go up in the sky to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?'  Nor is it across the sea, that you should say, 'Who will cross the sea to get it for us and tell us of it, that we may carry it out?'  No, it is something very near to you, already in your mouths and in your hearts; you have only to carry it out."  What a beautiful passage we heard today from the book of Deuteronomy.   The commands of the Lord are not mysterious or difficult that we cannot know them; rather they are simple, sometimes so simple we look past the words, thinking, no, it cannot be that easy, but it is.  The words that God gave us through Moses were simple, the command comes down to love as is also affirmed from today’s Gospel, "You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself."

Even though the command is a simple one it is sometimes difficult to carry out.  The difficulty is not in the commandment itself, rather the difficulty arises in us.  When we turn inwards, for all sin, I believe is an inward movement towards self, i.e. selfishness.  I do not mean self care, relaxation, meditation, prayer, etc. I mean those things that are sinful, that are vices.  When a person over indulges in drink, that is an inward movement of selfishness, i.e. I want to feel a certain way.  The same can be said for over indulging in food, becoming a workaholic, ignoring ones prayers, becoming prideful, vengeful, etc.  All of those sins impede or altogether prevent true love flowing into me and out of me.  The command becomes difficult and even burdensome.

We are used to the two part command, but in that two part command is also implied, self love.  We must also love ourselves, not to the point of pride or selfishness, but know that we are fearfully and wonderfully made by our God and that through His grace we become like gods, higher even than the angels.  I have to be able to love myself, love others and love God.

I spoke previously about some of the things that hold us back from following the commandment of love; I would now like to speak about some of the remedies or the virtues that help us to love.  The virtues that help us come right from St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians.  He says faith, hope, and love are three of the greatest virtues.  We are to have faith, not only belief in God, but to trust Him in both good times and bad.  We are to hope for the best and our final hope is union with God.  And finally love, in this sense love as sacrifice.  Before that Paul speaks of kindness, honesty, humility, and perseverance, all which help us to move outwards towards God and neighbor.  Instead of us being selfish we are now being selfless.

During the week we should try to remember this two part command and exercise to the best of our ability to love self, others, and God.  Opportunities always arise in which we can show love, let us not miss those opportunities because it is in those opportunities that we bring about the Kingdom of God, a kingdom of faith, hope and love.  God bless you, Fr. John

Go Forth Good Apostle and Preach the Good News

As an undergrad at Catholic University we had a choice at the end of our classes to either take a two day test in front of the faculty or write a forty page thesis.  I chose the forty page thesis.  I wrote it on St. Vincent Pallotti and Vatican II’s Vision on the Laity.  St. Vincent Pallotti is not a well known Saint in the United States, except in those places where the Pallottines have taken assignments, in our Diocese we have Bishop Eustace, where I once taught theology and we have the Church of St. Vincent Pallotti right next to Paul the Sixth High School, so you may have heard of this little Roman Saint.

St. Vincent Pallotti was born in Rome 1795 he died in 1850.  In his life time he was dubbed the apostle of Rome, as he worked tirelessly in that city.  He established a lay group called the Union of Catholic Apostolate, a group that would help re-enkindle faith and charity among Catholics and to spread the faith to those who did not believe.  He wanted to get the laity involved as much as possible, where as in the past and for a long time, it was work, pray and obey for the laity.  St. Vincent realized that all people are apostles by virtue of their baptism.

But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, Jacob, and formed you, Israel: Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name: you are mine. (Is 43:1)  By virtue of our Baptism we are called and sent.  Jesus knows us personally and gives us our vocation, though it may take some time to figure out what that vocation is, nevertheless just like the seventy-two we are also sent.  In that sending we are required to teach, to preach, and to heal.  When I say to teach, preach, and to heal I do not mean that all of us will preach like St. Augustine, or that all of us will be able to teach like St. Thomas Aquinas, or that all of us will be able to heal the sick like St. Peter or St. Paul, yet in our own way we are called to do so. 

The opportunities for us to do so are plenty and all around us.   The vision of Vatican II, especially on the work of the laity is that they take the Gospel message from where they hear it and bring it to the world.  You bring it to the world in your family first, then your friends, places of work, at school, even during recreation.  One is not required to be an expert in matters of theology and religion, but we are required to love.  Think for a moment how often we do have the opportunities to share the Good News, be it with a friend who needs for someone to listen to them, when someone doubts their faith, when we are a healing presence to the sick, when we forgive others, when we teach the young about a good moral life and the beauty of our faith, when we admonish one another and challenge one another to be saints, there is so much to do and Jesus asks us to do it and trust in Him, by taking, “no money bag, no sandals,” and any other comforts, but a total trust in His love and mercy.

Obviously our time, our culture, our problems are not the same as the problems of the 1^st century, though in some ways they are similar and the human condition is the same.  We are called to also be voices crying out, “make straight they way of the Lord.”  As the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has asked that we especially call to mind and make others aware of our religious liberties.  When someone tries to take our religious liberties away or puts a stranglehold on them as apostles we are to speak out against such discrimination.  Over the last thirty years or so, slowly and now more quickly our religious liberties have come under attack.  We have to speak out on topics such as the freedom to be able to speak our mind on matters concerning right to life, immigration, helping the poor, the true nature of marriage, and many others.  It seems now that when we speak of such things there is a growing intolerance against Christians.  The Church is the moral voice of the world, through Christ, and sometimes the world does not want to hear that voice because the world many times looks to self interest first.  We are to be brave, but at the same time compassionate.  If we argue and grow angry we lose credibility, we must be “like lambs among wolves, crafty as a serpent and gentle as a dove.”

Remember, you are apostles; Jesus has called each and every one of you by name and has sent you out like the seventy-two.  You have the gifts, you have the grace, and you have the love to take the message of Christ and change the world, yes change the world, just like the twelve did with a small group of others.  Know that the Saints pray for us, the angles watch over us, and Jesus gives us the grace to go forth, to go forth with good courage and with love.  Go forth good apostle and change the world, change the world!