Recognition, Ambition, and Pride vs. Trust, Faith, and Humility

If there was one single thing you could point to about Jesus’ personality or that which he thought was the greatest trait we could have, it would be humility.  I heard Scott Hahn in a talk once say, “God hates the proud, even when they are right.”

Today’s Gospel was all about taking seats of honor in order to be recognized as being someone important.  The question to ask is, “why would we do that?”  I understand that it is a nice thing to be recognized once in a while just to know you are appreciated and doing a good job in life.  All of us need that, the occasional pat on the back, but what Jesus is talking about is something more than the occasional pat on the back, this is about one’s pride and selfishness.

It is easy to get caught up in life with recognition it usually stems from ambition, an ambition to be something more, not out of a sense of service but to show others how far you have come and even worse to parade it and flaunt it.  We all have to admit that at least in some way we have fallen into this sin from time to time, be it at school when we wanted recognition when in reality we did not deserve it or even if we did, did we humble ourselves when someone else received the recognition.  This may have also happened to us at work when someone else got promoted and we did not.  The examples could go on and on.

Being humble is not an easy thing, actually it is quite difficult.  How do I feel when someone is put in the limelight or put up on a pedestal?  Do I rejoice that the Lord gave such to that person or do I become jealous and envious?  The Lord asks me to take the last seat and the one all the way in the back.  What will I do?  Will I go up front so that everyone can see me up there and recognize me?  If so, the Lord will move me to the back, He has a way of making that happen.  Rather I should go to the back and let the Lord move me up front if He wills such.  That takes trust, faith and great humility.  I pray that all of us will have those virtues, God bless you, Fr. John

The Discipline of the Lord

In today’s letter to the Hebrews we read, “My son, do not disdain the discipline of the Lord or lose heart when reproved by him; for whom the Lord loves, he disciplines; he scourges every son he acknowledges.”  Endure your trials as “discipline”; God treats you as sons.   For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline?”  Today we have lost this sense of discipline.  We do whatever we can to run from suffering or pain, it does not matter what that pain is, we try to avoid it.  I would not recommend running towards suffering or wishing it, the suffering I am talking about here is the suffering of discipline.

When I was a young child and teenager it was the teacher, coach, mentor, priest, who was right 99% of the time when it came to me and my friends being disciplined, corrected and even punished by them, not to mention the second punishment we received upon returning home.  It was a very rare occasion indeed when a parent would take the side of the child, basically 1% of the time.  Today, however the pendulum has swung to almost the child or teenager being right 99% of the time and the teacher, coach, mentor, priest, etc. being right only 1% of the time.  Forgive me I exaggerate, but you get the point.

It is as almost that we do not want anyone to feel any pain whatsoever.  We do not want a child to be cut from his or her team during tryouts, or for the child to accept and learn from a failing grade, or for the child to be held accountable among adults.  Isn’t good to allow a child to feel a little humility, some guilt, some wrestling with oneself and others in order to become a more virtuous person from learning from their mistakes.  Anytime a parent complains to a coach about their child’s playing time, or complain to a teacher about a grade or to the priest that their child must receive Confirmation this year even though they have not had Religious Education for three years, only because their friends are receiving this year does an injustice not only to the child but all involved.

God says that He disciplines us and He surely does.  Every time we sin He holds us accountable.  He lets us feel the guilt and even the shame in order for lessons to be learned.  He is also merciful and when we show sorrow and contrition no one is quicker than God to heal and forgive.  But He does not hand out forgiveness and mercy without teaching us first.

If we know that God deals with us that way are we not supposed to deal with each other that way as well, especially with our young people?  Let our children grow up by learning through discipline so that their character will develop and they will go on to be good and accountable people of society.  God treats us that way, that we will be holy and to become holy means nothing less than learning and going through the lessons of life, whether we deserve them or not.  Christ did not deserve the Cross, yet He carried it anyway, we deserve our crosses let us be molded and shaped by them so that we are truly sons and daughters of God, “For what “son” is there whom his father does not discipline?”

Play Like a Champion Today

In today’s second reading from the Letter to the Hebrews we heard, “Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith.” 

These are very motivating words, they are also words of great encouragement.  The words are motivating because they challenge us to persevere in running the race.  Our faith is like a race, for some it’s a short distance race, for others a long one, and still for others somewhere in between.  A race, nevertheless it is.  What does a race feel like, well, it can be tiresome and physically draining regardless of what shape a person is in.  Effort is needed for a race and to run it well one needs maximum effort.  So too with our faith, are we running it well, are we giving maximum effort.

When I began as a coach I realized that to be successful we would have to give maximum effort all the time even in practice.  This could become draining and eventually take its toll so the race if you will would have to have purpose and meaning.  And what race could have more purpose and meaning than that of the Christian life?

Jesus is the one we are running to.  We run to Him in all things, regardless if they be sad moments or happy ones.  Our eyes should be fixed on the prize just like (and with even more) determination than a professional athlete has in winning a championship.

The other motivation is that we are not alone on our journeys.  We obviously have Jesus with us every step of the way, but as the Letter to Hebrews says, (we) “are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses.”  The communion of saints cheers us on.  All of those who have gone before us, from heaven, “send a volley cheer on high.”(Notre Dame Victory March)  Isn’t good to know our loved ones who have gone before us pray for us and that they root for us in all things good.

St. Paul and all the Saints understood that faith was “fighting the good fight,” that fight is synonymous with running a race, there are times when we tire and fall down, there are other times we stop running because it becomes too difficult, there are other times when we run it very well, but that most important thing is that we finish and like St. Paul we to will be able to say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim 4:7)

Are You Ready?

“You also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.”  We will meet Jesus face to face in two ways, either through our own death or if Jesus returns right now, are your ready for either one?  My reflection will be not so much with the end of the world, the return of Christ, or the apocalypse, but rather how does one prepare.

Being a former basketball coach, many of you I am sure have either played a sport, may be even coached a sport, and even if you did not you still understand that the athlete must prepare well in order to be successful.  So what does a coach do?  A coach first makes sure that the players buy into the system, i.e. the philosophy, which is accomplished in the first few practices.  Next, the coaches must make sure that the players reach top physical performance and maintain that throughout the season, that is done by drills, drills, drills.  After that the coaches will put in place offensive and defensive schemes, plays, go over all kinds of scenarios and throughout the season will game prepare for each opponent.

It seems like a lot, but to be well prepared it has to be done.  At this point, game time, the coaches hope that all the pieces are working, that every player has done their part and worked hard, if not the team will suffer loss and even embarrassment.  We prepare not only for sports, but the actor prepares diligently and will practice, practice, practice, until they think they are the character they are playing so that when it’s time to act in front of the camera the finished product is magnificent.  The musician will do much of the same, as well as the manager of a company, the worker in the work force.  One must prepare to do anything well, be it sports, acting, music, work and even school my young friends, “A” grades are not given out for free.

So too goes for our Christian lives.  We must prepare well.  But again, how?  We prepare well by living the virtues, the corporal and spiritual works of mercy, by attending mass and the reception of the sacraments, by living out the beatitudes and most of all the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love.

We can practice these virtues and ways of life throughout the entire day.  It begins as soon as we wake up and right before we go to bed.  St. Paul said, “Pray always.”  He meant that we are to always have a disposition towards Christ no matter what you are doing that way if it is time to leave this world even unexpectedly or if Jesus returned right here and right now then we would not caught off guard, but like a good sentinel Jesus would find us keeping watch at our post.  God bless you, Fr. John

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