The humility of Christ

22^ndSunday in Ordinary time year C:

Today in the gospel Jesus calls us to grow in the virtue of humility.  St. Thomas Moore calls humility the low, sweet root, from which all heavenly virtues shoot.  Beautiful image.  All heavenly virtues can grow within us if we are rooted in humility.  I’m tempted to go on at this point and tell you just how well-suited I am to teach all of you about humility because of just how humble I am. I don’t normally like to brag, but my humility is really pretty incredible.  Ok, that’s a joke.  Humility is an important virtue for all of us.  But, I’ll be the first person to admit that humility can be so tough.  We can say we want to be humble, but then someone at work gets recognized and we can feel ourselves getting upset; or then it seems like our family doesn’t appreciate us; or, then we go through a tough time in our lives and we ask God why he chose us to endure such suffering. Humility is tough.

So, I wanted to reflect on two questions so that all of us can learn more about humility.  First question: why be humble?  Second, how to learn humility?

Why be humble?  We all know that we are supposed to be humble.  We know that the saints are humble.  We know that being humble is something that Jesus wants from us.  But, are these answers compelling enough to motivate us to grow in humility?  I don’t know about you, but I often lose motivation when I’m trying to do something simply because I’m supposedto do it.  Why are we supposed to be humble?  The short answer is that we are supposed to be humble simply because Christ was humble. I think that sometimes we make it all too complicated.  Christianity is not a system of rules and obligations.  Christianity is entering into a relationship with Jesus Christ and conforming our life to his.  If we are going to bear the name Christian, then we have to become like Christ.  It’s that simple.  Now, all the moral laws, the obligations, the teachings of the Church, they all help us to become more like Christ.  But, I think we can often lose sight of the fact that everything we do is supposed to help us become more like Christ.  So, if our motivation to grow in humility is simply because it’s some abstract obligation, I bet we won’t be successful.  But, if we consciously remember to become more like Christ every day, we might see ourselves desire to grow in humility, as painful as it can be.

Ok, now we are motivated to grow in humility.  How do we learn humility?  I think the best thing we can possibly do to grow in humility is to study the life of Christ.  Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God.  Yet, he was humble enough to become fully human.  His entire life is like a documentary on the virtue of humility. He could have ridden down on the clouds, he became flesh in the womb of a simple girl.  He could have been born in a palace, he was born in a stable.  He could have been laid down on silk, he was laid in a manger.  He could have apprenticed at the finest schools, Joseph taught him a simple trade. He could have picked the best and brightest disciples, he picked humble fishermen.  The author of life itself, handed over his life on the Cross, the most despised and humiliating kind of death imaginable at the time.  He should have been buried under a great pyramid, it was a small and simple tomb.  His rising could have been witnessed by millions, no one actually saw him rise from the tomb. 

If you just take one of these examples and use it for contemplation, you will find that Christ can teach us all humility.  If we seek to be like him and emulate the example of his life, we can’t help but grow in humility.

But, I want to talk about one last example of the humility of Christ, the Eucharist.  Jesus left us the Eucharist as his lasting presence among us.  The Blessed Sacrament is truly his Body and Blood.  It is not a mere symbol.  It does not just remind us of Christ.  It is him.  I know that many people read that there was a survey recently that stated only 30% of Catholics believe in the Real Presence of the Eucharist.  It’s a shocking number.  I’ll say that my experience is that the vast majority of people I encounter believe in the Eucharist.  I mean, that’s why you are here right?  It’s truly the Body and Blood of Christ.  Yet, I think this number of people who don’t believe shows Christ’s humility even more. He’s so humble, that people fail to acknowledge his presence.  Maybe the reason that people find it hard to believe in the presence of Christ in the Eucharist is because all of us find it hard to be humble.  Maybe those people who don’t believe in the Eucharist might say: well, if it was a bit more flashy, I’d believe.  No, Christ was, is, and will always be humble.  

You and I believe in him.  We strive to embrace his life.  We want to become like him.  As we celebrate this Holy Eucharist, we are once again in his humble presence.  So, we can learn from him how to be humble. 

Life is hard sometimes... embrace it.

21^stSunday of Ordinary Time year C:

My normal routine for writing homilies always starts the previous Sunday.  After I’m done with the weekend masses, I try to read next Sunday’s readings at the end of the day.  Then, during the course of the week, I keep thinking about the readings and go over them in my mind.  That way, by the time Friday or Saturday comes around, I’ve got a few ideas about the readings that I want to share with all of you.  This week, one particular idea just kept coming up over and over. It might seem like a strange idea. But, it’s the one I got for this week. Ready?  Life is hard.

Now, what do I mean?  The letter to the Hebrews keeps telling us that there will be affliction and difficulty.  But, this is discipline from the Lord.  It will make us better and stronger.  Jesus says, strive to enter the narrow gate, but many will not be strong enough.  Life is hard.  There will be difficulties, pains, sorrows, trials, and tribulations.  

But, I’m not telling you anything that is new right? I mean, every one of us knows this to be true.  We know that life is tough.  We experience it all the time.  And yet, it’s so easy to gripe and moan about our troubles.  I know I do it.  I often remark that I have my Ph.D. in gripology.  I’m particularly fond of griping about the winter.  It’s as nice as can be these last couple weeks, and I’m already starting to dread the sleet and the snow.  What are your favorite gripes?  Friends, family, co-workers, people we meet, sickness, sadness, crisis?  A lot of this griping comes from an attitude that life shouldn’t be tough.  It shouldn’t have difficulties.  We shouldn’t have any problems.  So when we do have difficulties, we find it offensive and problematic.  Sound familiar?

But, that’s not the message from the Scriptures this week. Letter to the Hebrews: do not disdain the discipline of the Lord, or lose heart when reproved; discipline seems like a cause not for joy but for pain, yet later is brings peaceful fruit; (and my favorite) strengthen your drooping hands and your week knees.  All these trials and difficulties can just serve to make us stronger.  They can serve to help us grow in our faith.  We can grow in holiness, goodness, and charity.  And make no mistake, we need to get strong.  Jesus says, many will attempt to enter but will not be strong enough.  Now, one important caveat here: we do not get strong on our own.  It’s all by God’s grace.  We need to embrace the pains and sufferings of this life.  We can use them as chances to beg the Lord for grace, mercy, and strength. Doing that, the pains of life make us strong.  And we all know we are going to get these pains whether we want to or not.  Life is hard.  

The saints really do a great job of teaching us these lessons. The saints embrace the sufferings of life, use them as opportunities to grow closer to God, and they become marvelous examples of holiness.  St. Rose of Lima’s feast day was this past Friday.  She’s a great example of this.  She had many sufferings in her life.  She grew up poor.  She had times of loneliness and sadness.  Times were God felt far and distant.  But, she made these into opportunities to grow in her faith.  I want to read a quote from her: “If only mortals would learn how great it is to possess divine grace… without a doubt they would devote all their care and concern to winning for themselves pains and afflictions.  All people throughout the world would seek trouble, infirmities, and torments, instead of good fortune, in order to attain the unfathomable treasure of grace.”  Wow.  I thought about that for a time and thought, our culture does the exact opposite.  We do everything we can to seek good fortune, while we do everything we can to avoid pain and trouble.  St. Rose says we need to do it the other way because it will help us grow in God’s grace.  

What a marvelous example for us.  Life is hard.  Ok, no getting around it.  But, do you ever pray for more difficulties?  Probably not.  But, listen again to the scriptures: strengthen your drooping hands and your weak knees.  Strive to enter that narrow gate.  Call on the Lord in your times of weakness.  Embrace sufferings and difficulties for they will make us stronger.

Listening to the voice of Christ

20^th Sunday of Ordinary Time year C:

Jesus says in the gospel today: I have come to set fire upon the earth.  This reminds me of something that I think is quite important.  Jesus is real.  What do I mean?  I think that since Jesus is the most famous and most important person in the history of the world, he can be easy to misunderstand.  It can be easy to make Jesus one-dimensional.  It can be easy to focus on one aspect of his life or one aspect of his teaching.  Yet, Jesus is real.  He’s complex.  We have to take in the whole message, the whole story, from all 4 gospels.  Doing this provides us with many more resources for whatever we need in our lives at a particular time.

Feeling lost: turn to the story of the prodigal son.  Know that the Father is there with his love and mercy.  Know that Christ loves you and wants to forgive you.  Feelings sinful: turn to the story of the woman caught in adultery.  Jesus says: neither do I condemn you, go and sin no more.  Feeling complacent and think you have no problems: turn to the story where Jesus says why do you notice the speck in your neighbor’s eye while you do not recognize the beam in your own.

I think you get the point.  It can be so easy to get stuck on just one aspect of Jesus’ life, ministry, and teaching that we lose out on so much guidance that we need in our lives.

For example, I don’t think that many of us instinctively turn to today’s gospel.  I’ll speak for myself, it’s not the most encouraging and comforting of news.  I came to cast fire.  From now on all families will be divided.  But, this, too is a message that we need to hear. 

First, Jesus predicts that he will end up causing division.  I think we all know that this is true right?  Any easier way to make people uncomfortable than by injecting in a normal conversation: hey by the way, do you want to talk about Jesus?  What do they say, don’t talk about religion or politics?  Even in our own families, not many of us can say that we are all united on our faith in Christ, right?  Jesus is controversial in that way.  This does not mean that we should go out of our way to cause division.  Rather, we should take heart that division will naturally occur.  We want to help people to come to know Christ, but faith is ultimately a mystery.  So, this passage can really help us if we are feeling discouraged because of divisions in our friends and family based on religion.  Jesus told us it would happen.  So, take heart and renew your prayer and good example asking the Lord to help your family members grow in their faith.

Second, the fire.  This image is striking.  I love fire.  Not that I like setting things on fire.  But, one of my favorite things to do is to sit outside by a fire.  I find the flames mesmerizing.  Yet, the flames are also scary.  They can burn.  Jesus wants to cast fire on the earth.  This is a special kind of fire because it lives inside of us.  It’s important to remember that we use fire to represent the Holy Spirit.  The fire of God’s love active in the hearts and lives of Christians.  Yet, this fire can burn sometimes.  It might be scary.  It’s not easy to follow Christ.  As our second reading states, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding blood.  It’s tough following Christ.  It’s hard to be purified from our sin and from our selfishness.  Sometimes it hurts to be cast into the fire of his love.  And yet, living in the fire of Christ is an amazing place to be.  It makes us truly alive.  It’s the kind of life we all want to have.  A life filled with love and joy and peace and the goodness of God.  So, we have to lean into that fire.  Don’t turn away from it.

In this week’s Message in a Minute, I recommended to everyone that a good way to enter into the purifying fire of Christ’s love is to make it to confession.  Confession might seem a bit scary sometimes.  It might feel like fire.  But, it burns away the sin from our lives.  Especially if it’s been a while since you’ve been to confession, let the fire of Christ’s love burn in your lives to help you on the way to holiness.

So, this gospel passage might seem off-putting at first.  It seems edgy and controversial.  We might not like that.  But, it’s a good reminder that Jesus is complex.  We need the whole message.  Maybe today, you and I need to hear this particular message for an important reason.  Maybe we need to hear it because we are dealing with divisions in our family.  Jesus predicted this would happen.  So, let’s be at peace and still try to encourage the unity of faith in Christ.  Maybe we need to hear this passage today because we are afraid of the fire of Christ’s love.  Let him cast that flame in your life.  Let it be something that excites and motivates us, more than frightens us. 

One thing I love about being Catholic is the fact that we read the whole Bible.  We don’t just pick and choose the parts we like.  Rather, we need the real, dynamic, concrete, and complex Jesus Christ in our lives.  Let us listen to his voice as he speaks to us today.

Stewards...

Message in a Minute for August 11^th:

Today’s gospel addresses an important concern for the early Church.  It addresses the problem of the Ascended Christ.  What do we do now that Christ has ascended to the Father? 

Early Christians lived life with a certain kind of intensity that is missing from our lives today.  They truly expected Christ to return at any moment.  Today’s gospel talks about the faithful and prudent steward who is busy doing his master’s work while he is away.  For early Christians, this was an important story that told them they needed to be working diligently awaiting the return of Christ.

Yet, here we are 2000 years after the time of Christ.  It might be easy for us to avoid that intense kind of waiting.  We might be tempted to think: Jesus won’t be coming back during my days.  But, just like those early Christians, we should be living life with that same kind of intensity.  We hope and pray that Christ will return right away.  I always like to joke that I’d be happy for Christ to come back today since it would get me out of a lot of work!  

Each of us is called to be that faithful and prudent steward who is working diligently while the master is away.  Our mission in life is to carry out the work of Christ.  Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit so that we could do this very task.  As good stewards, we are to use the gifts that he has given us to carry out his work in the world.  

The steward who does his master’s bidding gets a reward.  But, the lazy and wicked servant gets punished.  Great questions to ask ourselves in prayer this week: what kind of servant am I?  Am I working diligently while the master is away?

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18th Sunday: be rich in what matters to God

18^thSunday of Ordinary Time Year C 2019:

There is an inherent tension in the life of every Christian.  We live in this world.  But, we are destined for another world.  St. Paul really captures this tension in our second reading.  St. Paul says, “Think of what is above, not of what is on earth.”  We hear a similar message in the gospel when Jesus gives the example of the farmer who wants to tear down his small barns to build bigger barns.  You fool, you should have been rich in what matters to God. So, there is a tension.  We live in this world, but we are supposed to be focused on the next world, which is our life with God.  No wonder Qoheleth says: vanity of vanities, all things are vanity.

Sure, we have to remain focused on the end goal.  But, this doesn’t mean that we can simply neglect our responsibilities while here on earth.  We still need to pay our bills, take care of our kids, participate in civil society and government.  Yet, all the while, we must do so with our eyes set on what is above.

This can be very challenging.  Some days in my life it seems like it would be much easier to run away and join the monastery.  Then I could escape the trials and tribulations of the world around me and just focus on my life with God.  Of course, then I remember that I can’t play golf in the monastery, so I stay put.  We cannot escape our lives and our responsibilities, nor should we try.  Still, it is difficult to live in the world and yet keep our eyes fixed on Christ.  

  And, it’s of critical importance.  That guy in the gospel is not wicked or evil.  He’s not out there killing people.  Rather he says, now that I’ve got goods stored up I will rest, eat, drink, and be merry.  Sounds like a nice and comfortable retirement, right?  Yet, Jesus says this guy is a fool.  We don’t want to end up like him.  What is the critical point: he stored up treasure for himself, and was not rich in what matters to God.  What matters to God: goodness, kindness, patience, love, mercy.  These are the kinds of things that matter to God.  So, how do we do this?  Two tips.

First, St. Paul gives us some great advice on how to do this. He says: put to death what is earthly, then he mentions a bunch of sins: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, greed, idolatry.  This is a good reminder that it is really hard to keep our eyes on Christ if we are swept away by our sins.  What sin do you and I still need to “put to death?”  Don’t be afraid to walk away from sin and closer to Christ.  There is no better way to store up riches in heaven than to flee from sin and grow closer to God.

The second tip I would like to share came from my spiritual director.  He used to tell me to practice the presence of God.  I asked him what that meant.  He said: God is with us all the time, whether we recognize it or not.  Practicing the presence of God is calling to mind the fact that God is with you in the ordinary circumstances of your life.  You won’t get there without practice.  So, get in the car: call to mind God’s presence. Walk into Church, call to mind God’s presence.  Annoyed with someone at the grocery store, practice the presence of God.  Practice, practice, practice, and we will start to keep our eyes on that which is above.

Vanity of vanities, all things are vanity.  We don’t want to get so swept away by the cares and concerns of this world that we are like the foolish man in the gospel.  We might have stored up riches here on earth, but that is worthless when it comes to our life in heaven.  Rather, we want to keep our eyes on what’s above.  So, try these two tips: putting to death sin and practicing the presence of God.  These two things will help us all to become rich in what matters to God.