Fall 2022 Preaching Series 2: Disciples Know the Bible

So good to see so many of you back in the Sunday routine … summers are strange times in a parish because people are really in and out for three months or so … so welcome back! I hope that our gathering outside today will allow us to reconnect with one another after the long summer.

Today we continue our Fall preaching series that will focus on DISCIPLESHIP ... And you already know that making disciples is why Christian Churches exist ... so, we continue with the second part of our series entitled: DISCIPLES know the Bible.

· What do you know about the Bible?

· How did you learn about it?

· What does it tell us about God and Jesus?

I was happy to read in the New York Times Magazine two weeks ago the interview with Father Mike Schmitz, the founder of the very popular podcast entitled The Bible in a Year. The story says that the podcast has been downloaded 350 million times and an average of 750,000 times a day. The 20-25 minute installments follow a study plan and features two or three short scriptural readings and a short reflection by Father Mike. It seems to me that the program can be called the Bible in small bites, but what an effective way to connect with the Word of God.

For me, this incredibly popular engagement begs the question, So what? In other words, why are all these people, and perhaps even some of you, listening to the reading of the Bible? What’s the end game? What’s the plan? What’s the purpose? While not an exhaustive list, here are some reasons for studying the Bible:

1. Cultural literacy

2. To learn what it says firsthand

3. Personal edification

4. To help others

5. Because it is God’s Word to us

6. Avoiding error

I’m really hoping that among the many answers are some that acknowledge wanting to get to know God and his son Jesus and becoming a better disciple.

The passage today from the book of Amos 8:4-7 gives a stern warning, Hear this, you who trample upon the needy and destroy the poor of the land! This Old Testament lesson offers us a chance to explore the concept of justice. As you are well aware, the eighth-century prophets Amos, Isaiah, and Micah were in one accord about the Lord’s demand for justice. We hear echoes of the words:

Cease to do evil, learn to do good, seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow. (Isaiah 1:16d-17)

Let’s quickly review the concept of justice:

First, justice starts with the very character of God. Justice is part of the Lord’s nature. (Isaiah 30:18).

Second, because the Lord has elected Israel as God’s own people, the Lord demands that the people reflect God’s character – that is, Israel must be a people of justice.

Third, justice is a social concept–it has to do with the external ordering of society in which the most life can thrive. A more just social order is one in which more life can thrive, whereas a less just social order is one in which less life can thrive.

Fourth, justice requires a special concern for the powerless – those who lack the capacity to protect their own welfare. In the Old Testament social concept, these “powerless” are often described as the widow, the orphan, the sojourner (resident alien), the needy, and the poor.

Fifth, justice is a legal concept. The laws, courts, and judgments of the legal system are about creating and maintaining justice. Here it is good to recall God uses the law in at least two ways. God uses the law for a “civil” purpose–to create a more civil society. God also uses the law for a “theological” purpose–to remind human beings of their sin and that even the most just people need grace and forgiveness. Doing justice is not a way to earn God’s grace.

Finally, justice and injustice are systemic. When a person participates in systems that create a more just social order, one is “doing justice.” Conversely, when one participates in systems that create a less just social order, one is “doing injustice.” Which means, of course, basically everyone is already both doing justice and doing injustice. This is so because everyone participates in many systems. Some of those systems create a more just social order, some maintain unjust social structures, and some do a little of each.

This review brings us back to the text from Amos, where he condemns practices that “trample the needy” and “ruin the poor.” Specifically, the prophet challenges practices that create untrustworthy markets. God does not condemn markets. Rather, God’s laws are about creating trustworthy markets, which will create social prosperity and be a fair means of exchange for all.

Amos also condemns those who yearn for the end of the Sabbath day, so that they can cheat their neighbors. The Sabbath day was not first-and-foremost about a time for worship, but rather was originally a justice law designed to give rest to all of society – not just to the property owner. In Amos’ day, the justice sense of the laws had been lost. People longed for the justice-establishing Sabbath to be over, so that they could return to exploitation. They were simply “checking the box”- there was no real transformation in their lives.

So how do we, as disciples of Jesus today, take these words in the Bible from the prophet Amos translate these realities of Amos’ social context into our social context? How does our knowledge of the Bible help transform our lives to becoming better disciples of Jesus?

First, we have to admit that the goal of knowing the Bible is a call to action. We are not here to read the nice stories and smile and hope that “they live happily ever after …” No, knowing the Bible, and subsequently knowing Jesus is a challenge to us … one that calls us, like the ancient prophets to look around, to honestly assess our world, and then do something to make a positive difference. In a very real sense the Bible should make us uncomfortable seeing the sadness and suffering of our brothers and sisters … and that discomfort should propel us to act!

To help us focus even a bit more, the Gospel gives us the story from Luke about debts and forgiveness. I think the passage from Luke gives us four poignant, precise points to learn and think about:

1) Wealth is both a blessing and a responsibility. As throughout Scripture, we are blessed to be a blessing, and we are held accountable less for what resources we have accumulated than how we use them.

2) Wealth – along with status, power, and privilege – is fleeting. One day this manager is on top of the world; the next he is faced with disaster. We are not so far removed, from the financial meltdown of 2008 that we cannot remember how many people lost much of what they’d amassed in such a short time. I’m sure that some here even have some heart palpitations when the stock market drops on some days.

3) In times of crisis, God often appears where we least expect God to be, coming us to “from below” to render help and aid. There are lots of “crises” in Luke that turn on receiving help from unexpected places. God regularly shows up in those places where we least expect God to be so that we are not tempted to place our faith in the wrong places.

And perhaps this is the key – to this passage: we are placed on this earth to love and care for each other, not to separate ourselves from each other with wealth, status, or privilege.

I’ve heard it said that St. Augustine asserted that God gave us people to love and things to use, and original sin manifests itself in our penchant to confuse those two, loving things and using people.

Disciples know the Bible. That knowledge leads us to know Jesus. Knowing Jesus inspires us to be like Jesus. Let’s work a bit harder this week to be more and more like him …

RSM

Fall 2022 Preaching Series 1: Disciples know Jesus

How did the summer go? Where did the summer go?

It's hard to believe that we are already at September 11 ... a bit of a somber day for many of us ... be sure to take a moment today to say a prayer for those who lost their lives in the attacks 21 years ago ... as well as for their families. Despite the years passing, we remember and pray for those we lost and still love.

As announced, today we begin our Fall preaching series that will focus on DISCIPLESHIP ... Making disciples is why Christian Churches exist ... not to raise money, nor to build buildings, nor to bestow titles, and not even to do nice or charitable things ... THE main purpose of Christian Catholic Churches is to make disciples of Jesus Christ ... all the rest is simply a footnote.

Then, the job description for every pastor of every Catholic Church is simply to help the people of God to get to heaven ... a really formidable task, I might add ...

The first part of our series is entitled DISCIPLES know Jesus Christ.

· Do you know Jesus Christ?

· If so, how do you know him? And what do you know about him?

· If not, are you here to get to know him? And more so are you committed as you get to know him to becoming more and more like him?

I'm ashamed to say that for many of us Catholics, we really stopped our religious formation, religious education many years ago. Surely there are the exceptions ... those who read books or articles, or who have taken a course or two, or who belong to a study or prayer group, but for the most part, Catholics are not so good about continuing their religious education. And the tragic consequence of not getting to know Jesus better is that it prevents us from wanting to be more and more like him … to think like him … to act like him … to love like him.

In fact, in my 5.5 years as a pastor here, and in the other places I have served, it's become very discouraging to meet people who rather than wanting to get to know Jesus more deeply, merely want to check the box ... Baptism, First Communion, First Reconciliation, Confirmation, maybe Marriage, and then maybe a Funeral, with no contact or engagement with the Church, religious formation or our faith at any point in between ... How can we ever grow our faith with that model? Being Catholic, being a disciple is not just about checking the box, it’s about transforming our life … to become more like him, despite our sins and our weaknesses, every day!

Here at St Teresa's we have decided to work to aggressively facilitate that because we all want to go to heaven and we hope you want to go there too!

The passage today from the book of Exodus 32: 7-14 shows us what people can look like who do not want to go to heaven, or know God, or his son Jesus ... it tells us that they have become depraved. They have turned aside from the way pointed out to them, making for themselves a molten calf and worshiping it.

Are we like those ancient people? Have we started to worship people, accumulate things, and follow movements that bring us to places other than closer to God? Have we filled our calendars with so many appointments and engagements that keep us from getting to know Jesus better? Have we embarked on a journey to primarily:

· Worship Money and Riches and Wealth?

· Worship self and engage in narcissistic practices?

· Honor others above God?

· Become worshippers of titles and power?

It's surely a temptation that we can all struggle with, and if these are the ultimate goals of our life, the results will block us from knowing the Lord and become better disciples of Jesus Christ.

To help us, the Gospel gives us a number of perspectives, or insights into getting to know Jesus better.

In the initial perspective Jesus speaks to a group of people who resent his inclusive welcome to all, especially tax collectors and sinners. They are focused on how Jesus’ attention on those deemed undeserving undermines his authority in their view. He responds to their criticism with a parable that shifts the focus to the expectations of those in authority to seek the lost, and the joy experienced when the lost one is returned to the community. What does this tell us about Jesus?

Jesus’ query to his critics challenges those in religious leadership to consider how they relate to God’s work among the lost. But ultimately, the focus here is on God’s orientation as the seeker, and Jesus as God’s agent in that endeavor.

We are “those modern people in authority”. We are the people that Jesus is talking to about reaching out, about looking around, about cooperating with him to welcome all God’s people to the table.

In the larger version of the reading today is the very familiar story of the Prodigal son. Remember that the older son claims that he has earned a higher position than his younger brother; he believes that he has earned the right to be provided for. The father is quick to remind him that he has always been provided for. Indeed, he has always had access to the entirety of his father’s possessions. The older son is suffering from the blindness that privilege so often brings: the assumption that one’s status, be it social, economic, or religious, is the sole product of one’s hard work rather than the confluence of numerous factors. Knowing Jesus challenges us to look more closely at our blindness … are we the modern day older sons (and daughters) who because of our success, enjoy our privilege and thus continue to enable our blindness?

I remember reading a challenge from a former President who said:

Look, if you’ve been successful, you didn’t get there on your own… I’m always struck by people who think, well, it must be because I was just so smart. There are a lot of smart people out there. It must be because I worked harder than everybody else. Let me tell you something: there are a whole bunch of hardworking people out there. If you were successful, somebody along the line gave you some help. There was a great teacher somewhere in your life. Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive. [1]

The Gospel often challenges us to be aware that “those of lower statuses” sometimes are judged as lacking individual achievement. We blame them, we say they are where they are because it’s their own fault. Remember in the Prodigal Son story, the older brother grows angry because of his father’s joy over the return of his younger brother who he claims has “devoured [his] property with prostitutes (Luke 15:30).” However, there is no evidence in the text of the younger brother squandering his money on solicitation. This is a bold and perhaps untrue assumption that the older brother makes. Sometimes, it’s much easier to assume that those we deem undesirable are deserving of their positions because of their own actions rather than to risk investigating systemic reasons for their lack of well-being, especially when we are benefitting from those systems.

In a place like Summit, where we are surely privileged on many fronts, we are challenged in our getting to know Jesus to look more closely at the systems that we benefit from, and use all in our power to see how the same systems can be tweaked to benefit all, or at least more and more of our brothers and sisters.

In so many ways, the readings today remind us, albeit subtly, that we drink from wells we did not dig, and sit under shade trees we did not plant. We are the beneficiaries of so many who went before us; we are where we are because others have toiled so that it might be so.

Jesus’ parable challenges us to examine our assumptions about status, privilege, and hardship. It challenges us to remove questions of worthiness surrounding God’s love and forgiveness, and by extension, our love and forgiveness. It challenges us to move beyond platitudes towards reconciliation with those whom we see might as undesirable.

Disciples know Jesus. Disciples love Jesus. Disciples want to be like Jesus.

We have work to do. Difficult work that much of the world is not willing to undertake. We learn this week about Jesus that he was driven, as God’s son to seek out the lost, the marginalized, those categorized as “undeserving” and bring them the Good News … that’s a given …

… but the question is, are we?

[1] “Remarks by the President at a Campaign Event in Roanoke, VA,” Barack Obama, https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2012/07/13/remarks-president-campaign-event-roanoke-virginia

RSM

Are We Taking It For Granted?

READ: Luke 13:22-30

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is speaking to people who were used to the idea of being “chosen” - but who had lost sight of the challenge and responsibility that goes with being chosen.

He tells them that it will be no good saying that he passed down their street - that they were present at one of the meals He ate. They can’t claim salvation on just happening to be around when Jesus was in town...many, many people will be able to do that. The question is - did it make a difference in their lives?

Then - to add insult to injury - Jesus says that the places the “chosen ones” thought were reserved only for them in the Kingdom of God will, in fact, be taken by other people, even those from distant lands. He is, in fact, talking about the fullfilment of a prophecy that God will establish a Kingdom and will draw all the peoples of the earth to it - on the holy mountain, a feast will be prepared for all people...

However, even if the people listening to Jesus looked forward to that day, they must have thought that their own places were assured - and not just assured but that they would be first in the queue!

Does this begin to sound a bit like us?

Let’s face it, many of us live a very, very comfortable life here … yes, of course, we are all human and have our troubles, challenges and even sicknesses, but I’d say that for the most part, we all seem to be doing just fine.

I also have to be self-aware, of catching myself from that sneaking feeling that we are at the front of the queue! And that the reserved spot for me is permanent and exclusive!

I believe that one of the things that causes the biggest problems in our faith life is the tendency to take it all for granted. The tendency that sounds like this: The church is always there when we want to go on a Sunday morning. When we want the sacraments for ourselves and our children, they are there. When we need whatever, for the most part, we can count on the Church to respond to our needs. Sounds like taking it all for granted … 1950s style … but the Church and the world have changed … and there’s a very real chance that all this is not going to be here for much longer …

I had a stark re-awakening a few weeks ago when I visited my relatives in Montreal. My friends will tell you that in travel, I am a bit curious, kind of like a cat. I like to walk down streets off the beaten path and look at places that are not in guide books. And again, this time I noticed a number of churches that had been converted to condos. In fact, the church that my mom made her first holy communion in, is now a big condo community all within the walls and on the grounds of the church proper.

What happened? I’m guessing, in part, that they took it all for granted. And when less and less people came, and more and more people left, there just wasn’t enough people to carry the costs, and support the activities of what’s necessary to be a viable parish.

The same is happening right here in our midst … perhaps not here in Summit, yet, but surely all around us … more and more parishes are not able to meet the budget because less and less people go, and fewer services are able to be provided.

So, what’s the answer? How do we address this?

I surely don’t have all the answers, but one of them is that we cannot take any of this for granted, and each of us is called to do our part. And perhaps, just perhaps, the time has come, and maybe even passed for us to start to think about a new way to be Church …

Time will tell for sure … but in the meantime, let’s care for what we have, contribute to what we have and look more closely that our being chosen, being members here, comes with challenges and responsibilities.

RSM