Christ is Passing By

Christ is Passing By

Pastor’s Column

31^st Sunday Ordinary Time

October 31, 2010

           You and I live in Jericho and Christ is passing by.  Last week we heard about a lowly tax collector who prostrated himself on the ground.  His only prayer was, Oh God, be merciful to me, a sinner.  And can you believe it, we have another tax-collector again this Sunday (Luke 19:1-10).

          Our friend Zacchaeus has a lot of strikes against him.  He is not a well-liked man in town—it goes with the job.  He wants to get a glimpse of Jesus but the crowd is too thick.  And the worst part of all – Zacchaeus is really SHORT.  But for Zacchaeus being short is actually his greatest asset – he has to do something or he’s not going to see or hear anything … so he climbs a tree, which must have looked ridiculous!  He must have also attracted a lot of attention.  Most importantly, he attracted Jesus’ attention.

Most people in this world tend to see life from a Jericho, or earthly perspective.  We can’t help it!  We’re short, after all. What we need to do is to find a tree to climb so we can really see what is going on.  If we live and see and act only in Jericho, only from an earthly perspective, we are going to miss all the action.  Christ is liable to walk right through our life and we won’t recognize him or the opportunity. 

When we listen to the Church, when we listen to the scriptures, we are like Zacchaeus climbing a tree, and we receive the grace to see what the vast majority of people who live only on an earthly plane cannot possibly see – we see what life is all about.  Listening to the Lord allows us to gain the divine perspective in our lives.  From that tree, we see where Christ is going.  We see who he is.  We see where we are going.  We find purpose in life.  We discover that we are loved.  We discover that, yes, Christ really does want to come to my house today.

 What tree is God calling you to climb?  He wants you to gain the divine perspective on what’s happening in our world right now.  I believe we are very, very off track in this world – economically, spiritually, morally because too many people don’t bother to listen to God anymore.

This world in general may or may not be on the wrong track but my life does not have to be.  For we all live in Jericho.  I can choose to stay on the flat plane and do and see what everyone else does and sees; and nothing will change and Christ will pass by.  Or I can be like Zacchaeus; I can take the risk.  I can climb that tree God is calling me to climb.  I may just gain the divine perspective in the process. 

                                                                                Father Gary

How Not to Impress God

How Not To Impress God

Pastor’s Column

30^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

October 24, 2010

          When going in for a job interview, we naturally hope to impress the person doing the hiring!  We try to learn what it is the company is looking for and how to approach them in a way that will be (hopefully!) to their liking.  Yet when we approach God in prayer, do we stop to consider what pleases God when we speak to him?  Of course, the Lord is always glad to hear from us, but certain ways of praying are more attractive to him than others! Fortunately, the scriptures teach us what is pleasing to God when we pray.  Let’s look at this Sunday’s gospel (Luke 18:9-14) for clues.

          A Pharisee and a tax collector go up to pray.  The Pharisee appears to be a righteous man; the tax collector, a notorious sinner.  The Pharisee seems to be doing everything right, the other guy, everything wrong.  Yet the Pharisee’s prayer was rejected, while the tax collector’s was accepted.  Why?

          In a word, the answer is humility.   Nothing seems to displease God so much as an excess of pride that we express to him by what we say, how we show off or take credit for things he has done in our lives! This is because God showed himself in the bible to be the very essence of humility, being born in a stable, being raised by poor parents, and not making a show of his powers except when necessary. 

          The Pharisee has not come to ask for anything at all.  Instead, he spends his prayer time telling God how good he is and how much he is doing for God!  Actually, no one likes a proud bragger – and who is impressed with someone who can’t stop talking about himself? God cannot give this man anything, because he is so full of himself.  He doesn’t ask for forgiveness; he doesn’t feel he needs any!  He even goes so far as to point out to God the sins of the tax collector, praying, as the scripture says, “off at a distance.”

          No one doubts that this tax-collector guy was a terrible sinner.  He beats his breast and stays in the shadows, not even daring to look up.  But perhaps because he had blown it so badly in life, he offers to God a prayer that is deeply pleasing to God:

“Oh God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”

          Jesus is always pleased when we approach him in humility.  He deeply wants us to talk to him about our lives.  He does desire to be thanked for the blessings (and even the crosses) we have received.  The Pharisee did all these things, but then he blows it by taking credit for them himself.  He does not listen because he never gives God a chance to speak; God cannot act in his life because the Pharisee is not aware of his neediness.  He is, in fact, very self-centered and does not even know it!  Yet it is so easy to please God in prayer: we thank him, listen to him (through the Scriptures), ask him for what we need; and we now know a prayer that God simply cannot resist: “Oh God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” 

                                                                              Father Gary

Moses Keeps His Hands Up!

Moses Keeps His Hands Up!
Pastor’s Column

29^th Sunday Ordinary Time

October 17, 2010

          Israel is battling a grave enemy, Amalek, in the first reading from Exodus (17:8-13).  God instructs Moses to stretch out his hands in prayer over the battle.  As long as he did so, Israel wins the battle.  The only problem was that Moses’ arms began to get pooped out, and as he lowered them, Amalek began to win.  Israel had a big problem. What was the solution?  Moses needed help!  The Lord wanted Moses to learn something – namely, that he couldn’t do it alone. He could not even hold his arms out for long without the help of others.  Moses needed his community of believers.

          This reading is full of rich insights for our own walk with Christ.  Sometimes we are like Moses, involved in so many things, but badly overwhelmed and unable to go on: we need the help of others.  At other times, we are the ones who are called to lift up and support the arms of our brothers and sisters in need.  For example, when I pray for others, help at the parish in any way, make a donation, or have an hour of adoration, I am like those who supported Moses’ hands when he grew tired!

          It is not really possible to be an active Catholic Christian without belonging to a local community (a parish).  When we come to Mass, for example, we support others by our presence and receive their support as well.  At times, parishioners or even the pastor (!) will cause us some consternation and difficulties.  Without these people in my life, how would I grow?  How would I live the gospel?  At other times we will receive badly needed support in our walk with Christ.  This is because in a parish we are a community of believers, a family, living our faith together.  We find both support and challenges in being committed to a parish family, and this is what Christ desires for us.  Without this, we can easily fool ourselves into thinking we are living the gospel, when in fact, we are doing so only on our own terms.  I need the Church to guide and support me; I need others to assist me and whom I am called to assist; and I even need the occasional person in my parish with whom I disagree and who causes friction.

          Amalek, the enemy of Israel, stands for any enemy that we are currently doing battle with in our lives.  If you find your personal battles are going against you, get the help of others right away!  Start by placing your need before Jesus in personal prayer, at communion, on the prayer chain, and in the basket in the adoration chapel.  Call on the Virgin Mary and the saints to intercede for you.  Ask others to pray for you and support you!  Consult a professional for your problem, if possible.  You are not alone, and you don’t have to fight your personal battles alone.  God will lead us to others who will support us if we allow him to do so, and then, like Moses and the Israelites, we won’t be so easily defeated!

                                                                               

Father Gary

Learning to Give Thanks

Learning to Give Thanks

Pastor’s Column

28^th Sunday Ordinary Time

October 10, 2010

Ten lepers were cleansed, were they not?

Where are the other nine?

Has no one returned to give thanks except this foreigner?

                                        Luke 17:19

          Learning to be a thankful person, a person who praises God in all circumstances takes practice; it is a habit, just as complaining is also a habit.  This is something I personally have to keep working on, so I keep quite a few reminders about praise and thanksgiving that I have heard or read over the years.  Here are a few of them.

          Praise God every morning.  How you start the day is a critical component of a successful life!  What do you say when the alarm goes off?  “Oh no, not again?”  A famous speaker once said he begins each day with “Praise you God the Father!  Praise you God the Son! Praise you God the Holy Spirit!  Amen!”

          We are called to develop a lifestyle of thanksgiving.  Saint Francis of Assisi (whose feast day was last Sunday) is quoted as having said, “My best defense against all the plots of the enemy is still the spirit of joy.  The devil is never so happy as when he has succeeded in robbing one of God’s servants of the joy of his or her soul…. Therefore, at the first sign of trouble, the servant of God must get up, begin to pray, and remain before the Father until the latter has caused him or her to retrieve the joy of a person who is saved!”

          What comes out of you when you are squeezed is what is really inside of you!  The Holy Spirit wants to transform the negative things we find inside of us into areas of our lives that give glory to God, and one of the best ways to do this is through praise and thanksgiving in difficult circumstances.

          Sometimes giving praise and thanksgiving to God is a real sacrifice.  This is because we don’t always feel like doing it!  The word “Eucharist” means “Thanksgiving”…. So the Sacrifice of the Mass is really a “Sacrifice of Thanksgiving.”  When I am able to thank God in my most difficult moments, in darkness, and in trials, I have truly made a sacrifice to God that is similar to the Eucharist itself, and this is very pleasing to God!

         

                                                                                        Father Gary