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Who Should We Listen to?

Thursday, February 6th, 2014

Thursday of the Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

1 Kings 2: 1-4, 10-12; Mark 6: 7-13

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

Just who should we listen to these days?  Seriously, this is the age of information.  Information and Pundits are prolific in our society.  All of us have access to hundreds of TV and Radio Stations;  an infinite resource of information sources over the Internet; and more books, periodicals, and other written sources than one can imagine.  And lots of the information we hear conflicts.  Weight saving diets conflict with each other; political commentators conflict on root causes of problems; and there are many pluralistic views on religion, all of which vie for our time and claim to have the truth, the answer to what life is all about.  Just who should we listen to?  

If you believe in Jesus, than he answers the question quite well for us today.    First, he sends people out whom he gave authority.  Yes, the people Jesus chose were given authority.  The root meaning of authority in this sense of the word is simply this: they were given power by Jesus, the power to represent His message.  They didn’t assume this power; they were given this power by Jesus.  So, the message was not their message; it was God’s message.   

Second, they went out two-by-two.  This means they didn’t go out alone- they were paired with another person who had been given the same authority.  Why? So that they validated the truth of the message for each other, and so that those who heard the message could not bear false witness against them.   

Next, they were told not to take anything extra.  In other words, they had no vested interest with them.  They weren’t bringing something of material value; and they weren’t asking for anything of material value.  They were neutral; they had nothing personal to gain.  They were messengers who were simply following God’s will for them.  They had the simplest and most pure motivation, their enthusiasm for the message of Jesus. 

Lastly, they had faith, great faith- the kind of faith that David speaks about in his parting words on his deathbed.  David told Solomon to always, always obey the Lord in all things, never questioning the law.  That takes tremendous faith.  

And because they had these simple characteristics- faith, authority, validation, and purity of purpose-  they were able to work wonders as they moved through the people, driving away unclean spirits, curing the lame, and healing the sick.     

In this day of information saturation, who should we listen to- our politicians; Wikipedia; the latest silver tongued “feel-good” preacher; the brilliant scientists with strings of initials after their names who dazzle us with “facts”;  the winners in the World?  Or do we listen to people who are like the Apostles that Jesus sent out two by two.  The choice is yours.  As for me, I’ll stay with the Church. 

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Overcoming Jealousy

Thursday, January 23rd, 2014

Thursday of the Second Week in Ordinary Time

1 Sam 18: 6-9, 19: 1-7; Mk 3: 7-12

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

Jealousy!  It is one of the seven deadly sins.  This morning we hear how Saul had become jealous of David, so much so that he considered killing him and all because the Lord had gifted Saul and the Israelites with David and his miraculous success in combatting a seemingly invincible foe, Goliath.  For a while, David had been an answer to a prayer for Saul because he was so successful.   But when the people of the time recognized it by singing David’s praises relative to him, Saul was infuriated, and plotted danger against David.   

It’s a human reaction that we all share, isn’t it- jealousy over someone else’s success.  It seems particularly hard for people to accept someone else’s success after they been successful themselves.  In Saul’s case, he had been the center of attention.  And even though he and his army won the battle, it was David who got all the attention.  And so, Saul just became consumed with jealousy and envy. 

I am sure that all of us can think of a time when someone stole the spotlight from us.  And rather than rejoice in the other person’s success, we were envious or jealous.  Maybe when you were a child, you did something and were praised for it.  And just when you were basking in the attention and the joy that went with it, a brother or sister did something and seemed to steal the attention right out from under you.  Later on, maybe you did a really great job on a work project, and all of a sudden someone else steals the show.   

What should we do when we feel that emotion of jealousy and envy, and even anger in situations like this?  First of all, recognize that life is just like that.  God’s gifts are given to everyone; everyone has a share of the limelight.  So, we should be happy when someone else succeeds.  After all, we all want them to be happy for us when we succeed.   

But more than that, gifts are not balanced.  Whenever my wife baked a pie, she always used to have one of our kids cut the pie.  And whoever cut the pie was the person who received the last piece.  Everybody learned a key lesson from that.  No matter how hard you would try, it is just very hard to cut that pie so that everyone gets the same size piece.  And it is that way in life as well.  You might get the larger piece of the pie today, but someone else is going to get the larger piece of pie tomorrow.  That’s life.   

Second, these deadly sins, like jealousy and envy, are the devil’s best chance to derail us from our real goals in life.  They draw attention to ourselves and our wants rather than God’s will for us.  And if we become consumed with jealousy and envy, we lose sight of what our lives are really all about-  the mission and goals that God has in mind for us.  That’s exactly where the devil wants us- consumed in ourselves.   

On the other hand, sharing the limelight is a lesson in humility that all of us need to learn.  Because when you come right down to it, we are all really the same in God’s eyes even though we are as different as night and day in gifts, talents, and limitations.  It is God’s attention and praise we should be seeking; not the world’s.   

Today’s Gospel echoes the same lesson.  All those people closing in on Jesus were not doing it because they loved God or Jesus; but because they wanted something from him- something worldly.  They were into themselves.  And so Jesus arranged for an escape from the pressure.   

The next time you start to feel jealous or envious of someone else.  Think about how the devil is working on you.  Let it go, and seek after God’s praise first. 

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Modern Day Liars

Thursday, January 2nd, 2014

St. Basil the Great

John 2: 22-28; John 1: 19-28

Dc. Larry Brockman

“Whoever denies that Jesus is the Christ” is a liar.  Pretty strong words.  Some context is helpful, I think.   

You see, this Epistle was written at a time when there was much discussion amongst the first Christians and converts about just who Jesus was.  John believed that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine.  But there were many who just couldn’t believe that this person that they knew personally- one who ate and drank with them; who was a simple carpenter; who lived a relatively straightforward life from the age of 12 to the beginning of his public ministry at age 30- they couldn’t really accept the fact that Jesus was THE Christ, the one and only savior for all time, the Messiah.  They couldn’t bring themselves to accept him as God even after many of them personally witnessing the Resurrection.  John is calling these people “liars” because they used worldly arguments to undermine the legacy that Jesus left and that was handed on by the Apostles to them.  The “lie” consists of the pollution and dilution of the real word of God by these people.  And like all lies, it has consequences, because it leads people astray from the truth.  You see, once you reject a critical part of the truth; what is to prevent erosion of the rest of the truth?   

But John points out the anecdote- that these early Christians have been Baptized and anointed; so they have heard the truth; and they have been armed with the grace that comes from the Holy Spirit.  It is a grace that can and should sustain them to keep the faith, and live their lives accordingly.  It is a call to live faithfully according to the Gospel legacy that Jesus left, so that when Christ comes the second time at the Last Judgment, they can stand tall with confidence that they have lived a life pleasing to God.   

Today is the feast of St. Basil the Great.  In the 4th Century St. Basil fought valiantly against just such a heresy as John refers to.  He fought against people who didn’t believe in the divinity of Jesus.   

It is no different today, you know.  We have many liars in our presence; people who deny the divinity of Jesus.  The liars of today are those who read the word of God and hear the teachings of the Church but they try to dilute and pollute these teachings with the “wisdom of the world” or some other persons teaching.  They say: “I know what the scriptures say, but God wouldn’t just come to the Jews; oh no; He has revealed himself to the Hindus and the Buddhists and the Moslems and the Mormons and all the other peoples of the World in one way or another”.  They say that Christianity is just one of the ways God has revealed himself to mankind.  And so, these folks say that we should “look beyond” the parochialism of our own Faith and embrace the ultimate truth that integrates all these teachings together.   

But the simple fact is that God did chose to reveal the fullness of himself through His word, Jesus Christ, who became man, and lived as one of us.  He showed us through the Gospel legacy, how to live a life that pleases God by obedience to the will of the Father.  He suffered, died, and rose from the dead, appearing to his Apostles; and promised us everlasting life if we follow him.  And he left us a more refined glimpse of his true nature- the Trinity.  None of these other world religions offer all of that.  They may have a glimmer of the truth; but they are not the fullness of God’s revelation to us.  The pluralistic argument is the “Big Lie” that the devil hopes we will all accept because it leads people away from the truth.   

Today, we are called to defend our Faith by recognizing and ignoring the Big Lie; we are called to be Christians in Faith, Word, and Deed no matter what.

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The Stories of Two Faithful Women

Thursday, December 19th, 2013

Thursday of the Third Week of Advent

Judges: 13: 2-7, 24-25a; Luke 1: 5-25

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

Two women- that’s what we hear about this morning.  They had prayed all their life long, and hope was fading.  They were childless, and in the ancient Jewish society, that was considered a disgrace as Elizabeth mentioned candidly in the Gospel.  But their Faith was strong, so they still prayed, and both of them were rewarded for their Faith with a son.  Both of these sons, Samson and John the Baptist became great in the eyes of God and gave honor to their mothers and glory to God.  Samson saved Israel from the Philistines; and John the Baptist heralded the way for Jesus.  These two testaments to Faith are a great example for us all.  We, too, need to keep Faith and never give up on prayer.   

I am pretty sure there is something in your life that you have been praying for and it just seems as if your prayers are not answered- a child, like the women in today’s readings; a healing for an illness; the repair of a relationship; for someone to get out from under an addiction; some relief to a hardship- a new job, a little financial breathing room; the fulfillment of some dream- an accomplishment like a degree or a talent that you want to bear fruit.  And yet, whatever it is, it just doesn’t seem to happen despite your prayers.  But know that God always answers your prayers in your best interests.  The answers are yes, no, and not right now.   

Yes is something we all like to hear- but again, God knows best when “yes right now” is really the best for us.  “No” is a really difficult answer, isn’t it.  But there are reasons for “no”; just like there are reasons we say “no” to our Children.  God has plans for us that we cannot foresee.  Sometimes we only understand as time goes by that our prayers really were answered, but in a different way, and that things turned out better God’s way.   

Then there is “Not right now”, but in God’s time.  That’s a tough answer, too.  And it is the one God gave these two women for most of their lives.  But then, all of a sudden, their prayers were answered and their dreams came true.   

This, after all, is the message of the Advent season.  After waiting through the “not right now” period for so long, Israel’s prayer was answered.  The Jewish people longed and prayed for the coming of the promised Messiah.  They prayed for it for thousands of years- thousands of years!  God answered their prayer as “not right now” for those thousands of years.  But then, all of a sudden, He sent his Son, the Messiah.  It was an answer they didn’t expect, because they were looking for a King, not a helpless baby and so, it wasn’t foreseen as the most wonderful answer to their prayers.  But God answered their prayer by sending His only Son into the world as one of us to show us the way and to give us everlasting life.  We can see now how marvelous that answer to their prayers was.  That’s why we celebrate Christmas each year.   

In less than a week, God comes again in that unexpected way as a helpless child.  But if we take him inside, and listen to him, doing the will God has for us, our prayers will be answered, and just like John the Baptist and Samson great things will happen for us.

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The Three Joys of Advent

Thursday, December 12th, 2013

Thursday of the Second Week of Advent

Our Lady of Guadalupe

Zech 2: 14-17; Luke 1: 26-38

Dc. Larry Brockman

“Nothing will be impossible for God”!  These are the words from the Angel Gabriel to Mary when Mary asks how the predictions by the angel could happen.  Mary went on to accept God’s will for her and all that the Angel foretold happened because when it truly is God’s will, it will happen as impossible as it may seem to us.  And Mary has appeared to certain worthy persons throughout the History of Christianity pleading with her human brothers and sisters to believe in her son; to pray, to accept God’s will, and to follow Jesus’ Gospel accordingly.   

Today we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  In 1531, a humble 57 year old Mexican peasant named Juan Diego experienced one of those appearances from Mary.  Mary was acting as a surrogate messenger for her Son Jesus.  She told Juan this simple message:  “My dear little son, I love you.  I desire you to know who I am.  I am the ever-virgin Mary, Mother of the true God who gives life and maintains its existence.  He created all things.  He is in all places.  He is Lord of Heaven and Earth.”  Then she told Juan to go to the Bishop and report all he had heard and seen.  Juan did as Mary asked him to do; and Juan followed in Mary’s footsteps and did God’s will for him.  Juan and Mary’s influence on Mexico as a result of that appearance is widely credited with the conversion of Mexico.  Indeed, all things are possible for God.   

Now we are in the middle of Advent.  Advent is the season for us to wait joyfully for the coming the Lord at Christmas.  We celebrate Jesus coming each year; and then continue during the rest of the Church year to complete our commemoration of our salvation history.   

And so, we already know that Jesus really will come this Christmas- just as he has every Christmas of our lives;  we should already be rejoicing, because we know it happened.  Jesus lived amongst us as one of us; suffered and died because he did God’s will; and was raised from the dead into eternal life; a life he promised to share with all of us who believe in him, repent; and follow his Gospel.  And in that certain knowledge that He will come; know also that he will come with a mission for us- the thing which he wills for each one of us to do- God’s will for you.  This is the time to reflect on that and to embrace God’s will for you joyfully just like Mary did in our Gospel and just like Juan Diego did in 1531.   

The joy we can experience from that kind of Advent reflection is threefold: first, joy over the reality of Jesus coming; and the promise of the second coming at the last Judgment where all of us who are Faithful will be rewarded with Everlasting Life; second, the joy of knowing that each of us was created for a purpose; for a mission; to do God’s will; just like Mary and Juan Diego; and third, the joy of knowing that we can do it.  Because nothing will be impossible for God!

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Building a Foundation that Lasts

Thursday, December 5th, 2013

Thursday of the First Week of Advent

Is 26: 1-6; Mt 7: 21, 24-27

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

The other day, my wife and I began watching a movie.  It was supposed to be a light romantic comedy about a biracial couple.  The girl brought the boyfriend home to meet her family.  The Father was immediately upset over the racial difference.  He looks for anything he can find to validate his prejudice and finds it easily, as this young man is no athlete.  So, he taunts the young man about not being a “real man”.  The young man lies to the father and claims he is into NASCAR to get him off his back.  In the next scene, the girlfriend chastises him for lying as she unpacks a teddy in her bedroom- the room they are assigned to stay in for the night.  So, in the first 5 minutes of the film, we have prejudice, taunting, lying, and living together outside of marriage all imbedded into the story line. 

We just turned the TV off in disgust.  We were simply surfing the free preview of premium movie channels.  This choice looked to us to be the best of the 10 or so channels.  The other films that were playing were movies about drug dealers and murderers, or were horror movies.  This, however, is what our society has to offer on a daily basis on the premium movie channels.  And yet, much of our society lives their lives glued to this type of media on a daily basis, !00 or so mindless channels of secular values that capture more and more of our time.  This is the sand that Jesus warns us not to build our lives on.   

Now Isaiah tells us this morning to: “Trust in the Lord forever for the Lord is an eternal Rock”.  An eternal rock!  That sounds like the foundation that Jesus recommends in the Gospel.  The Lord as the foundation for what we do in our lives rather than the shifting morals and values of secular society as reflected in the media that is front and center in our lives today.   

But just how do we do that?  How do we build our lives around the Lord as our foundation?  How do we avoid our foundations being clogged with the sands of the time.   

The first thing that comes to mind is Isaiah’s advice to keep the faith.  Our faith is important because it says that we really do believe- believe that there is a higher purpose to life than what this world has to offer.  And that God shared his Son with us to earn us a place in his heavenly Kingdom if- if we do his will.  That is what Jesus was talking about in the Gospel- doing the will of the Father.   

Second, we can’t have the Lord as our foundation if we do not know him.  It’s pretty hard to follow the will of someone you do not know.  Knowing the Lord means prayer and some reflection.  And Advent is the perfect time of year for all of us to reflect and get to know the Lord better.  I know it’s tough, because there is so much going on.  But it’s a necessary step that we all need to take to know the Lord.  Maybe we could all turn the TV off- and specifically, those movies that are an affront to our Christian Values, and instead, spend the time getting to know the Lord.  I recommend the perpetual adoration chapel.  Make it your “Advent Resolution” to spend an hour a week between now and Christmas getting to know the Lord.   

The Lord is coming- that’s what Advent is all about.  These readings today are about his second coming at the end of our lives.  Will he find you doing his will?  Or will you be glued to your I-phone, I-pad, TV or X-box absorbed in the culture of the day.  The choice is yours- Sand or Rock. 

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Real Peace

Thursday, November 21st, 2013

Thursday of 33rd Week in Ordinary Time

   Presentation of Mary

1 Mac 2: 15-29; Luke 19: 41-44

Deacon Larry Brockman

 

“If this day you only knew what makes for peace”!  That’s what Jesus tells his contemporaries in our Gospel.  First, he grieves over the pending doom of Jerusalem and its temple, symbols of the Israeli nation and Jewish Faith.  He says they “will be encircled on all sides and smashed to the ground with their children”.  Why? Because “you did not recognize the time of your visitation”.

I wonder whether Jesus would tell us the same if he were in this Church today?  We are at the end of the Church year and will begin Advent shortly.  That’s the time in the Church Year when we are promised our visitation by the Lord.  During each Church year, we are first challenged to welcome Jesus as our savior during Advent and Christmas, by waiting for, and then rejoicing that God became man and showed us the way.   Then, we are called upon to witness the sacrifice Jesus made for us on the Cross as a saving act for our salvation during Lent; only to celebrate the promise of salvation to all of us who follow Jesus during Easter.  Yes, we are asked to accept our own crosses and to do as Jesus did- bearing our hardships with Faith and dignity because of that promise of salvation and the Kingdom of God.  And then for a half a year, during the many weeks of Ordinary Time, we go through the Old Testament, the Gospel and the stories of the Apostles and learn from these parables and stories just what it means to put our Faith into practice.  We have a year to recognize the time of our visitation and to learn what it means before the process repeats itself.

But do we get it?  Do we understand that the promise of salvation and the Kingdom of God depends on our commitment to our Faith?  Yes, we have to show we believe by putting our faith into practice.  And not only that, we have an obligation to work together as a people, as a church, to spread that Kingdom and to defend it.  Our Faith is not a private thing that is between us and God.  It needs to be a public thing.  We need to be committed to our Faith and Jesus

Now the story in our first reading is an interesting lesson about this this whole process.  You see, the Greeks had conquered the Jews, and were imposing their culture and lifestyle on Israel.  As long as everyone cooperated, everything would be OK.  But cooperating meant publically recognizing the Greek Gods and placing emphasis on loyalty to the state and it’s King.   Most of the people decided to go along with the Greeks.  After all, they could make a public display of support for the King, and then privately believe what they wanted.  But the point is, that isn’t good enough.

Mattathias was a holdout, a person who rallied his family and a remnant of the Jews to stick to their religion and the Covenant with the Lord.  And while he is making his impassioned speech in defense of that position, someone has the gall to come up to the altar, and cave in to the state.  This evokes a strong impassioned response by Mattathias.  The message is simply this:  We cannot compromise our Faith; we cannot coexist with the forces of evil.

I can see many signs of the same thing happening in our society.  We have politicians who say that privately they follow what the Church teaches; but they have a public duty to follow the wishes of our secular government.  We have folks who come to Church to satisfy their Sunday obligation; but then walk out of the Church and put their faith on hold while they live their daily lives, behaving as society expects them to; being part of the in crowd.  And we have people that believe that peace is the absence of confrontation, and so, whatever happens they remain passive and in the background because they don’t want to make waves, don’t want to cause trouble.  But you see, none of that will not do in the eyes of the Lord because like the Jews of Jesus time, such people do not recognize the time of their visitation.

This is the time of our visitation.  The question is, do we recognize it, and are we making the most of it?  Peace is what we all want.  But the peace that God provides is a different kind of peace.  Jesus might say to us_ “If only we knew what makes for that peace.”  But for us Christians, it is not hidden.  Our faith and living the Gospel without compromise, that’s what makes for real peace- the peace of God.

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Finding the Kingdom of God

Thursday, November 14th, 2013

Thursday of the 32nd Week in Ordinary Time

Wisdom7:22b – 8:1; Luke 17: 20-25

Deacon Larry Brockman

 

Have you ever had the experience of looking for something and not being able to find it?  Frustrating, isn’t it.  Especially when you think you know where to look for it.  But that, you see, might be the problem.  We all have expectations of where to find a missing article, and those expectations can cloud our minds; they blind us to the reality and so, we can miss what we are looking for even when it is right under our noses.

The Pharisees were like that.  They were looking for the Kingdom of God in earthly terms.  They were hoping and waiting for the return of the mighty earthly Kingdom like the one that Kings David and Solomon presided over.  They were not looking for the Kingdom of God that Jesus preached, a heavenly Kingdom, one where the joy and happiness are inside the person, rather than a result of worldly affluence.  What kind of a Kingdom of God are you looking for?

Now in the first reading we have a very poetic and beautiful description that tells us what it is like when a person is filled with the Wisdom of God.  The wisdom of God, we are told, “…Is a spirit: intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, agile, clear, unstained, certain, never harmful, loving the good, keen, unhampered, beneficent, kindly, firm, secure, tranquil, all-powerful, all-seeing, and pervading all spirits, though they be intelligent, pure and very subtle.”  Wow!

Can you just close your mind for a moment to everything else, and just think about what it would be like if you were filled with such a spirit?  Just imagine being filled with a spirit possessing all those qualities at the same time.  Because that is what it would be like to be filled with the Spirit of God.  And if we were so filled with such a spirit, we would have arrived; we would have somehow achieved a harmony between ourselves and God.  So we would be experiencing the Kingdom of God.

But I suspect that this is not what most of are looking for, and it is not what we are thinking about when we think of the Kingdom of God, because we are looking elsewhere.  Most of us are looking for our dream of eternal happiness, a dream which is unfortunately clouded by some ignorance, limited sight, harmful inclinations, and self-centeredness.  To achieve the wisdom of God, we would have to defer to the Spirit of God, by purging ourselves of all that interferes with such perfection, and this is very difficult to do.  And so, we can miss the real Kingdom of God.

In the Gospel, Jesus talks about the Son of man “in his day”.  He says, “Just like the Lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of man be in His day.”  So, how can you look for such a thing?  The answer is that you can’t look for it in a conventional sense.  You can’t say to yourself: “I want to see Lightning right now”, and go outside and scan the sky looking for it and expect to find it; rather, you have to be open to it all the time in a predisposition toward the spontaneous without being in control of exactly when and where you see it.  It’s making a conscious effort to always be on the lookout for the right thing and the right thing is to follow the urgings of that right spirit whose qualities we just listed a moment ago.

When you do that, let go and just be open to the urgings of the spirit then, you will find the Kingdom of God.

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The Battle Within Us

Thursday, October 24th, 2013

Thursday of the 29th Week in Ordinary Time

Rom 6: 19-23: Luke 12: 49-53

Dc. Larry Brockman

 

It’s a never ending battle- the battle between our earthly bodies and the call of God and His spirit within us,  the battle between comfort and pleasure in this world; and the nagging feeling that there must be something more to life, and the desire to know what that is; the battle between self –absorption and unconditional love.

All of us are born into that dilemma.  But the world cries out to us with its many attractions at first.  And so, we kind of settle into a way of life, living our lives as the world dictates them to us.  Because the voices of this world are loud and ever present; while the voice of God and the spirit within in us that nags us with “wait a minute” constantly, those other voices are subdued and vague.   Paul calls this inability to hear the true voice “the weakness of your nature”.

Now here is some of what our nature does with what the loud voices say: we need to eat to sustain life- but we can become totally consumed with the pleasures of food and abuse our bodies; we are attracted to each other physically- but for some that becomes a never ending obsession in life; we need money to buy the necessities of life- but for some, money is the only focus of life; there are challenging and interesting things to do in the world like sports, science, the arts, music, you name it- but we can become so consumed in them that they derail any attempts to consider God and his plan.

And so, what happens to us?  We try to become what we think people want us to be, or what we think will make us popular; or what will gain us the most comfort or attention or fame rather than becoming the person God is calling us to be.  We are too busy for God.  Oh, we tell ourselves once and a while we will listen.  But the things of this world can essentially take up all our energy and efforts.  We become of two minds- but one of them has control of us, the world; and the other mind is left in the background.

And yet, at some time during our lives, we realize that life as we know it in this world simply won’t last forever, and especially not at the pace and level of the prime of life.  Either we get sick, old, pushed down by others, or just fail to meet our own expectations.  Then we begin to wonder just what is life all about and if is there something more.

Jesus knew there was something more right from the start.  So, he went into the desert and came to grips with God and his purpose in life; and he was eager and ready to get on with it.  He says as much in today’s Gospel.  Why does he make such strong statements in today’s Gospel about dividing people?  Because he needed to get our attention and because he wanted all of us to see the path he had taken.  He wanted all of us to realize, as he had come to realize, what life was really all about- namely loving God, our neighbors, and ourselves as God loves us and following God’s plan for us until we leave this world and join God in the everlasting Kingdom of Heaven.

The reality is that he knew  tat when he accomplished his mission, it would bring controversy, not peace to earth.  It would, and still does, separate families from each other.  Jesus knew it would.  There will be those who follow him, those who seek something above what the world offers; and there will be those who don’t follow him, but rather, are self-absorbed and belong to the world.    St. Paul tells us about the fate of both contingents.  “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, Our Lord.

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The Key to Knowledge

Thursday, October 17th, 2013

Thursday of the 28th Week in Ordinary Time

St. Ignatius of Antioch

Rom 3: 21-30; Luke 11: 47-54

Dc. Larry Brockman

So, Jesus tells the Scribes “You have taken away the key of knowledge”- the key of knowledge.  Pretty firm words to the religious leaders of the time.  What does it mean?

Well, some say that the key to knowledge is Faith, Faith in the Lord and in the Covenant He had made with His people in the scriptures that had been passed down to them.  The Scribes and Pharisees had tried to replace faith in the word of God with faith in their own interpretation of scripture.  And their interpretation emphasized the externals- complying with the letter of the Mosaic Law rather than understanding and complying with the Spirit of the Mosaic Law.  For example, it was more important to wash your hands on the Sabbath than to feed the poor on the Sabbath.  Thus, they had taken away the key to knowledge, faith in the Lord that was in the heart.

Others say that Jesus was referring to himself as the key to knowledge.  Indeed, the Scribes and Pharisees fought Jesus and his message with a vengeance.  And they were plotting to “take away” Jesus from the people at this very critical time when Jesus was preaching and converting the people.  Jesus message was all about believing in the heart, and knowing what was written in the heart, a message of love of God and neighbor above all else.

What does all this have to do with us?  Has someone taken away the key to knowledge from us, and replaced it with a morality which emphasizes literal compliance with the law rather than compliance to the message of God written in our hearts?

One way to recognize whether we have fallen into that trap is to understand how we act in our daily lives.  Do we think that all we have to do is just behave nicely and salvation is ours?  Maybe we come to Mass each week, receive Communion, don’t overtly lie, steal, or fight and just stay safely in our current environments while poverty, corruption, fraud, deception and violence are going on all around us.  In other words, are we being “good” according to the interpretations of the law we have all learned and leaving the rest to someone else?  Because, you see, isn’t that the same as believing that we can save ourselves by doing strictly what the law requires of us, and nothing more?

Now Paul says today, “We are justified by faith, and not just works of the law”.  And by Faith, he means not just believing but living our Faith.  And the Faith that we are to live is one that is written in our hearts; it calls us to love and care for one another, so much so that we cannot ignore what is going on around us.  Jesus didn’t eat and socialize just with his disciples.  Rather, he ate and socialized with people outside his circle of disciples; he talked to and cared for the outcasts of the society of his day including lepers, sick people, possessed people, tax collectors, widows, Samaritans, publicans, prostitutes, and foreigners.

Much has been said about Pope Francis in the media recently.  He is calling for the Church to go outward, outside the walls rather than always emphasizing the law.  It isn’t that we shouldn’t know the law and do what it says.  But rather, we should get beyond that and go out and bring others, those who are separated from us, back into the fold.   How?  Not by preaching the law over and over to them, but by our example, an example of love.

Can you and I do it?  You bet we can.  We are in the middle of 40 days for life.  Some of our parishioners are out there every day praying in front of Planned Parenthood’s Tampa Avenue Facility.  No one person is out there all the time, they all take shifts.  And all they do is pray.    And you know what?  People notice.  They drive by and honk their horns in approval.  And it’s been going on now for several weeks.  So people even stop, and they tell our folks that they are impressed by the goodness, honesty, and sincerity of what they are doing.  Indeed, these prayerful folks have not lost the keys.  They are people of Faith filled with the message of Christ.  We can do it.

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