FALL 2022 PREACHING SERIES 8: Disciples Forgive

We continue our Fall preaching series on DISCIPLESHIP, the seventh part entitled: DISCIPLES forgive.

Disciples forgive people who harm them and seek forgiveness when they harm others. Learning to forgive begins with first recognizing that I am a sinner and that sometimes my actions hurt other people. I must start with seeking forgiveness. Then, when I am forgiven, I know love and I can learn to practice forgiving others. Forgiving others for their sins against me requires great love and a lot of practice. I’m not sure about you, but for me, this is the greatest ask of being a disciple … forgiving!

Psychologists generally define forgiveness as a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group who has harmed you, regardless of whether they actually deserve your forgiveness.

Just as important as defining what forgiveness is, though, is understanding what forgiveness is not. Experts who study or teach forgiveness make clear that when you forgive, you do not gloss over or deny the seriousness of an offense against you. Forgiveness does not mean forgetting, nor does it mean condoning or excusing offenses. Though forgiveness can help repair a damaged relationship, it doesn’t obligate you to reconcile with the person who harmed you, or release them from accountability.

Instead, forgiveness brings the forgiver peace of mind and frees him or her from corrosive anger. While there is some debate over whether true forgiveness requires positive feelings toward the offender, experts agree that it at least involves letting go of deeply held negative feelings. In that way, it empowers you to recognize the pain you suffered without letting that pain define you, enabling you to heal and move on with your life.

The Old Testament reading today from the Book of Wisdom may help us further in that it gives us a description of God. The passage tells us what kind of a God God is, and perhaps more so even what kind of people we should be. The picture of God found in this text is amazing:

He is merciful to all and overlooks people’s sins.

He spares all things, he who loves the living.

He corrects little by little those who trespass

I wonder sometimes how many people reading or hearing these lines could say, in all truth: This is exactly how I perceive God … It seems to me that so many keep away from God… fear him… do not trust what these texts say of God and have an entirely different picture of God … why?

Today’s Gospel is the familiar story from Luke. It’s about Zacchaeus, whose name means righteous, which is pure irony in this story. Luke describes him as the sort of sleaze ball person that we love to hate. He says that Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector. That is, he was a Jew who collected taxes for the Roman oppressors. So, he really was a traitor to the political cause.

Luke also says that Zacchaeus was wealthy. And surprise, surprise, how did a Roman tax collector get wealthy? By extortion and embezzlement. By taking advantage of the elderly, by exploiting the working poor, and by taking care of his cronies. There's an unspoken assumption of corruption here. Zacchaeus is a man who deserves our disdain.

Zacchaeus was not only corrupt and rich, he was physically short. When Jesus passed through Jericho, he was eager to get a look, so he did something utterly undignified for a man of his station. He ran ahead of the crowd, climbed up into a tree, then waited for Jesus to pass by. Imagine a powerful lobbyist in Washington doing something similar during a presidential parade.

When Jesus reached that spot, he looked up, saw Zacchaeus, and told him to come down. He then invited himself to stay with Zacchaeus: I must stay at your house today. And so, Zacchaeus climbed down and welcomed Jesus gladly.

The response of the crowd was predictable. Luke says that they began to mutter. 'He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.' And so, Zacchaeus defends himself before the hostile crowd. He says that he'll give half of his possessions to the poor, and that he'll repay fourfold all the people that he's cheated. That would surely be a long list of angry tax payers. Read in this way, Zacchaeus is a sinner who repents and is converted on the spot. He promises future reparations.

But there's another way to read this story in which Zacchaeus isn't a sinner who converts, but rather, a saint who surprises. He doesn't make promises about the future, rather, he defends himself and shocks the crowd by appealing to his past.

In this reading, Zacchaeus is a hidden saint about whom people have made all sorts of false assumptions about his corruption. And so, he defends himself: Lord, I always give half of my wealth to the poor, and whenever I discover any fraud or discrepancy I always make a fourfold restitution. The crowd had demonized Zacchaeus. Jesus praises him as "a son of Abraham."

In this instance and others, Jesus calls out good people who are bad and commends bad people who are good. So maybe the story is not about a sinner who shocks us by repenting, but about the crowd that demonizes a person it doesn't like with all sorts of false assumptions. Maybe it’s really about being slow to judge, especially when we don’t have all the facts. Maybe it’s about checking in on our own predetermined judgments and being open to the truth as to who people really are …

The despicable Zacchaeus is the generous one. Here, Jesus is once again turning our world upside down, confronting us with our assumptions about who is good and who is evil and demonstrating for us the tricks we play in our minds before we treat one another — one way or another. Like the crowd murmuring about Zacchaeus, it is easy to be blinded by our prejudice or microaggressions of 'those people' and find ourselves accusing the very person or people we should be emulating.

There is no doubt that we have all been guilty of it … and all of us are called to ask forgiveness for not seeing people as God sees them, for not treating people as God would have us treat them, for not emulating the God who overlooks people’s sins and is kind and merciful. Perhaps this week, in addition to our challenge to ask for and give forgiveness, we are reminded to be saints who surprise rather than merely sinners who repent.

Disciples know Jesus.

Disciples know the Bible.

Disciples know the Christian faith.

Disciples make faith a way of life.

Disciples worship God.

Disciples are witnesses.

Disciples love and serve their neighbor.

Disciples forgive …

Let’s be better disciples!

RSM

FALL 2022 PREACHING SERIES 7: Disciples Love and Serve their Neighbor

We continue our Fall preaching series on DISCIPLESHIP, the seventh part entitled: DISCIPLES love and serve their neighbor.

Jesus’s neighbor ethic is built on the Great Commandment that unites love of God and love of neighbor. Jesus expands this teaching to the point of embracing love even for one’s enemies.

Jesus tackles the question of who our neighbor is in the parable of the Good Samaritan. Neighbors are people we know, strangers, and even enemies. By moving out of our comfort zone to include these widening circles of neighbors, strangers and enemies, we enter into discipleship’s view of neighbor-hood as a state of being in which all are drawn together in the household of God. Of course, all of this is easier said than done!

Many of you will remember that for over thirty years, American children grew up watching Mister Rogers. He offered a calm and stable presence, tackling life’s weightiest issues in a simple and direct way. You remember the words of the song – Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

It's a beautiful day in this neighborhood

A beautiful day for a neighbor

Would you be mine?

Could you be mine?

It's a neighborly day in this beauty-wood

A neighborly day for a beauty

Would you be mine?

Could you be mine?

I have always wanted to have a neighbor just like you

I've always wanted to live in a neighborhood with you

So, let's make the most of this beautiful day

Since we're together, we might as well say

Would you be mine?

Could you be mine?

Won't you be my neighbor?

Won't you please

Won't you please

Please won't you be my neighbor?

The theme song to Mister Rogers' Neighborhood introduces the audience to a show that went to great lengths to highlight the concept of kindness towards others. Neighbors are mentioned eight times in this one very short song.

I think the most important thing in the song, is that the focus is not on asking who is my neighbor, in other words, who do I need to take care of to be compliant with Jesus’ command, but rather it’s a repeated invitation to become my neighbor – a welcoming-in of those who live close, those we know, and even those we don’t. That’s the real secret to discipleship … going beyond doing the basic, doing more than the minimum.

Who are our neighbors?

How do we welcome one another as neighbors?

How can we do better?

The Old Testament reading today from the Book of Sirach was penned about 180 years B.C. in Jerusalem. The book acted as a text for young wealthy students instructing them in the ways of wisdom.

Sirach revealed the status of the Jewish capital under Syrian domination. Society was polarized. Rich v poor - Jew v Gentile. The powerful v the weak – sounds a bit like today doesn’t it? Sirach's proverbs and general advice sought to guide the reader's conduct through such tenuous times.

One of the areas where public behavior and private disposition merged was Temple worship. How should one offer sacrifice? This was not a simple matter. Because of the direct intervention of the Syrian overlords in the affairs of the Temple, many people held worship there as suspect, even comprised.

In addition, some of the city's rich and powerful abused their positions, offering worship only for show, while oppressing the poor and helpless. Others used the public arena of Temple worship to advance themselves and their personal agenda. Many of the underclass believed worship at the Temple had become merely a show ritual that paid lip service to Yahweh.

Sirach tried to adjust the view of the rich. He instructed his reader to look at worship through the eyes of God. What sort of sacrifice would please God? A humble heart.

Humility allows one to treat others the way God treats them, without partiality. No bribe or show of piety can replace the humble heart. We are told that God hears the prayer of the humble, those who place him first in life. He will answer despite any delay.

Is there a message in this ancient text for us too? Have we drifted to the ways of worship for show? Is what we do here only lip service? How can we better connect our ways with the ways of God?

The more secular the world becomes, the less pretense we need to worship. But that lack of pretense does not relieve us from the call of humility. Worship demands that we place ourselves fully before God. Not to brag or manipulate God. But to simply be as creature with our Creator.

Today’s Gospel is the familiar story from Luke. It’s a bit about bragging, that is, excessively proud and boastful talk about one's achievements or possessions.

Let's face it, we all brag at times. And we all act humble at other times. Sometimes the brag or the humble voice is justified. Parents brag about children. Leaders exercise direction through quiet service. Both can be appropriate, depending upon the context.

I think that sometimes especially in a community like this we may be prone to brag – sometimes even without words, perhaps in our pregnant silence, or powerful smirks, or in being a bit too showy. Social media has also lured us, at times, into being braggards. You know what I mean!

The Gospel reminds us that we are all called to humility … Humility is about knowing life would not be as it is without the help of God. Acknowledging God and His grace in every aspect of life is the core of Christian humility. When we do this consistently, we will never lose focus, we will become better disciples!

Let’s go back to the beginning … disciples love and serve their neighbor.

This is our work, our challenge this week … to become better neighbors to one another … to become more and more comfortable with others, even and especially those that make us uncomfortable.

Disciples know Jesus. Disciples know the Bible. Disciples know the Christian faith. Disciples make faith a way of life. Disciples worship God. Disciples are witnesses. Disciples love and serve their neighbor.

And perhaps we echo the immortal words of Mr Rogers, in all things … be kind … be kind … be kind!

RSM

FALL 2022 PREACHING SERIES 6: Disciples Are Witnesses

Today we continue our Fall preaching series on DISCIPLESHIP, the sixth part entitled: DISCIPLES are witnesses.

Disciples tell their story about what God has done for them. Disciples also tell each other the truth about their lives … about their uncertainties, their joys, their doubts, their fears, sorrows and successes. To witness means to have knowledge about a person or an event from personal observation or experience.

What does it mean then, given our faith in Jesus, to be a Christian witness? How and where and when do we talk about knowing Jesus? About loving Jesus? About following Jesus … without sounding like a phony or some kind of a freak?

The Book of Acts explains that the saving message of Jesus was first trusted to an intimate group and then began to spread, as per his instructions. He said to them:

You will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

Today, we are his witnesses! But, how does this happen when so many of us never, ever even mention his name, except, perhaps in an expletive!?

I know that many of us Catholics struggle to be authentic witnesses to the work of Christ in our lives. And when we struggle and become uncomfortable, sometimes I think we reverse “witnessing” from telling others about our relationship with Christ, to focusing and correcting the shortcomings and sins of others. We become self-appointed judges, or kind of the Catholic police – but that’s not witnessing … it’s not even close!

It’s fascinating to me that evangelical Churches “train” their members how to be witnesses. They coach their congregants on how to tell the story of Christ in their everyday life. Perhaps it’s time for us in the Catholic Church to do the same? Interestingly, one group outlines EIGHT ESSENTIALS FOR INTRODUCING OTHERS TO JESUS CHRIST. Here they are:

1. You must know Christ personally.

2. You must have no unconfessed sin in your life.

3. You must be filled with the Holy Spirit.

4. You must be prepared to witness.

5. You must pray.

6. You must go to those who need Christ.

7. You must talk about Jesus Christ.

8. You must expect results.

None of those seem to be so foreign to our beliefs and teachings. I might add to the list, that:

· You celebrate the sacraments regularly.

· And you remember and pray to his Mother Mary.

Do you witness?

How do you witness to Christ?

What are the struggles you have in witnessing to Christ and our faith?

Where do we turn for help when we struggle with witnessing?

The Old Testament reading today from Exodus may help. First, let’s be sure we know what’s happening:

We read about a battle. The Amalekites were a fierce desert tribe, unhappy about strangers coming into their territory. They became one of Israel’s enemies in the early periods of their history.

Shortly after the Exodus, the Amalekites attacked Israel, but Israel succeeded in repulsing the attack. The battle took place at Rephidim – the last stopping-place of the Israelites on the Exodus from Egypt before they reached Mount Sinai. The enmity between the Israelites and Amalekites became so deep that it lasted for generations. Listen again:

The Amalekites came and attacked the Israelites at Rephidim. Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on top of the hill with staff of God in my hands”.

So, Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning.

When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up – one on one side, one on the other – so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So, Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.

The Staff of God was a symbol of Moses’ leadership and evidence of God’s authority for his actions. With the staff of God, Moses had performed wonders in Egypt and even instructed Aaron to use his staff for similar purposes. The staff of God represents the power and presence of God with God’s people in their time of need.

Interestingly, unlike all the other instances of its use, the outstretched staff in the hand of Moses is not immediately fully effective during the battle. When he holds up his arms and the staff, the Israelites prevail, whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites seized the initiative.

When someone holds up your arms or supports you -- when someone says they will fight for you, or defend you – surely, you never forget it and you deeply appreciate it ... their support empowers you … encourages you … We all need people like that in our life. And we all can be people like that for others too!

That’s part of the Christian witnessing we are called to participate in … holding up those who are down, supporting those who are without, defending and speaking out for the vulnerable, the voiceless, the little ones in society … all in the name of Jesus … that’s part of our Christian witness.

Today’s Gospel is from the 17th chapter of Luke where we find Jesus speaking of the nature of God’s realm. As he often does, to help us better understand this, Jesus tells us a story – a parable – that speaks to this question. In the parable of the unjust judge we encounter a person who doesn’t fear God. That is, this judge, this leader of the community, has no sense of God’s majesty. He is his own god. He makes his own rules and administers them in ways that suits his own welfare.

He’s pragmatic in his realization that he won’t get any peace until he gives this woman who comes to him continuously seeking justice what she desires. She’s not easily deterred. She keeps knocking. She keeps holding vigil. In other words, she’s made herself a pest. And so, he gives her what she asks for, simply to get rid of her. The unjust judge gives way to the woman because of her persistence – just to get her off his back.

Jesus invites us to be persistent in our prayers too – not because God is disinclined to answer us unless we make a lot of noise – but because this is his definition of faithfulness. If God is faithful, then shouldn’t we also be faithful?

Part of being faithful is also about telling our story … our personal story of faith … how God has touched our live and given us grace, hope and healing. If this were a Pentecostal Church, I would invite right now someone to come forward and give testimony … to tell their story, but I’m afraid if I did that some of you would faint … others would walk out … some may even be angry … so I won’t … but that doesn’t let anyone off the hook. I know that its not easy to talk about Jesus. And there are barriers …

Some have suggested that there are three “sound barriers” to witnessing. These are much like the sound barrier through which an airplane passes. There is much stress and nervousness.

The first “sound barrier” is just starting to mention to a person the name of Jesus Christ and the value of knowing Him. Once we get the conversation around from girls, guys, food, politics, etc., to spiritual things, we have broken the first barrier. It is hard to do, and it never becomes easy. Try it!

The second “sound barrier” is to ask the person what they know about Christ. That nervous feeling returns once again. We must blast through this one also. Remember, many people, when they are invited are only too happy to share who Jesus Christ is and what He has done for them.

The last barrier is the most difficult. If the person has no religion or gets a bit anxious, invite him/her to join you … first to listen to your faith story … and to encourage them to look to and trust Christ for their own life. Maybe even invite them to pray with you … or come here with you.

This is our work, our challenge this week … to become better witnesses to our faith … to become more and more comfortable with telling our story and to be supportive of one another to do the same.

Disciples know Jesus. Disciples know the Bible. Disciples know the Christian faith. Disciples make faith a way of life. Disciples worship God. Disciples are witnesses … so let’s get to it!

RSM