The Culture of the Cross

The Culture of the Cross

August 31, 2008, 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time
Jeremiah 20:7-9 Romans 12:1-2 Matthew 16:21-27

To the churched and unchurched[1]
gathered in a temple not built by human hands[2]

Second reading from Rom: 12:1-2

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living sacrifice, holy – the kind He can accept. When you think of what He has done for us, is this too much to ask? Don’t fall in line with the world’s way of thinking, but be a new kind of person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn from your own experience how His ways will really satisfy you.

The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God

Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (16:21-27)
Glory to you, Lord.

From that time on, Jesus began to speak plainly to his disciples, “I must go to Jerusalem and suffer from the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the Law. I will be put to death, and on the third day I will be raised to life.” Then Peter took Jesus aside and began to scold him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing like that shall ever happen to you.” He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are an obstacle to me. You think not as God does but as the world thinks.”Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, carry his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? Or what can a man give in exchange for his life? For the Son of Man will come with his angels in his Father’s glory, and then he will repay all according to his conduct.”

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ

Introduction
Labor Day 2008

The Nation’s yearly liturgy began with Memorial Day honoring our war dead. It peaked with the fiery displays of the Fourth of July celebrating our independence. And now it tapers off with the Labor Day Weekend as all try to get in one last lick at summer before settling down in earnest to school and to work. The national liturgy ends finally with Thanksgiving Day (that mother of all national feasts) when over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go to give thanks. After that, the Church’s liturgy takes over with Advent in preparation for Christmas 2008.

The days of the year are rolling. Here it is the last day of August, and tomorrow, September 1, 2008, is Labor Day. It’s a definite turning point in the North as the very first signs of fall begin to appear. Driving along a country road these days we’ll suddenly come upon spotty swaths of gold and red on a herd of maple trees grazing on a hillside. Soon we’ll be breathing in cool wafts of autumn air streaming through opened windows at night, as we lie cozily under an added blanket and listen to crickets singing of summer spent.

Soon the fruits of the harvest will be gathered into bins, and a few old timers will still be preserving the bounty of fall in canning jars for the scarcity of winter. Lined up on shelves in fruit cellars and showing off their colorful beauty the jars of preserves used to radiate a sense of bounty and security for the sparse winter months ahead.

Back then, canning was a kind of sacred liturgy which doesn’t happened anymore in an economy where food comes from the showy shelves of supermarket and not from farmers’ fields. Such liturgy was good for the human spirit, but most people are so busy now making a living they don’t have time for it anymore. On Labor Day, as we set ourselves again in earnest to the task of making a living, we remind ourselves there’s an important difference between making a living and living.

Peter’s problem

With that nod to Labor Day, we turn to the scriptures assigned for this 22nd Sunday of Ordinary Time. After Peter proclaimed Jesus as the Messiah at Caesarea Philippi, Jesus tells the disciples what it means to be the Messiah: He will be rejected by the religious establishment, killed, and after three days rise from the dead. That becomes a big problem for Peter. He does, indeed, believe that Jesus is the Messiah, but his idea of Messiah bears cultural and religious images of conqueror, warrior, victor and king.

When Jesus puts Peter straight about the Messiah as one who will suffer, die and be resurrected, Peter freaks out. He grabs Jesus by the arm and pulls him off to the side to straighten out His way of thinking. Visualize Peter as Dr. Phil asking Jesus, “What in the world were you thinking when you said the Messiah must suffer and die?” Peter, of course, thinks he’s doing Jesus a favor when he scolds the Lord and assures Him that no such thing like that will ever happen to Him. (Mt 16:22)

The world’s way of thinking

What does Peter get for his favor? Jesus in turn scolds Peter for his rejection of the cross. Just five verses before, the Lord blesses Simon bar Jonah for his wonderful confession of Him as the Messiah and rewards him for it. He gives Simon a new name -- Peter, Rock, upon which He will build His church. (Mt 16:18) Now five verses later, Jesus calls Peter “Satan.” “Get away from me, Satan![3] You are an obstacle in my path because you think the way the world thinks and not the way God thinks.” (Mt 16:23)

The Christian life is a challenge to break away from the world’s way of thinking. That way of thinking colors all our commercials. They quietly scream out a NO to all sacrifice and self-denial. If you’re overweight they prescribe all kinds of gimmicks to restore a sexy figure to you, but they do not prescribe the best prescription of all: a generous dose of sacrifice and self-denial. That’s the cross. The commercials scream out a NO to any deferral of the nice things of life. If there’s something you want, they tell you not to wait for it but buy it now, even though you don’t have the cash to pay for it.

The commercials scream out a NO to any deferral of joy and pleasure. They tell our kids in whom sex is burgeoning, “If you like it, do it,” instead of encouraging them to put off sex for the sake of a better good. That’s the cross. The commercials quietly scream out a NO to all hard labor and self-application as they try to sell us easy ways to do everything. To learn Spanish or Japanese they sell us language cassettes which require no work at all; all you have to do is turn them on, sit and listen like couch potatoes, and presto, you will be able to speak Spanish or Japanese. In the old days we learned Latin and Greek by laboriously declining nouns and adjectives and conjugating verbs. That’s the cross.

St. Paul writes, "I have told you this many times before, and now I repeat it with tears: there are many whose lives make them enemies of the cross of Christ" (Phil. 3:18). Paul would, indeed, call our commercials “enemies of the cross of Christ." They are our enemies too. They do not prepare us or our kids for the cross which inevitably lies ahead in everyone’s human journey. They do not prepare us for the ills and griefs which inevitably beset the human condition.

God’s way of thinking

The Christian life is a challenge to break away from the world’s way of thinking. It’s also a challenge to take on Jesus’ way of thinking. How does He think? He thinks in a way which makes no sense at all to Peter then and to us today. “Whoever wishes to come after Me must deny himself, carry his cross, and follow Me.” By “cross” Jesus didn’t mean a cherished pendant which popes and peasants carry around their necks. By “cross” He meant the ugly Roman execution device which He would one day carry on His shoulders.

How does Jesus think? ”Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What profit would there be for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?” Jim Elliot who died in South America trying to reach the Auca Indian tribe once said, “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose.”

Jerry Quinn – no fool

Jerry Quinn is no fool. He owns a bar and restaurant in Boston. Reading the New York Post one morning he came upon an article about Franklin Piedra, an Ecuadorian, 33 years old, suffering from chronic kidney failure. His mother wants to give him one of her kidneys. The transplants would cost at least 100,000 dollars, and she has no health insurance. The Ecuadorian Consulate suggests that he simply goes home and dies. That’s the world’s way of thinking.

But Jerry had Jesus’ way of thinking in him (“Blessed are the merciful”). He had been saving his money for a major down-payment on a two-bedroom apartment in a suburban part of Boston with a river view and all. But now another thought kept nagging him, and he couldn’t get rid of it. He called the reporter at the New York Post who wrote the story. He told her he wanted to help. She asked, “How much do you want to donate?” He replied, “I’d like to do the whole thing.” “What!” she exclaimed. “The whole 100,000 dollars,” he replied.

Later Quinn told the media, “I’m not a very wealthy guy, but I am comfortably off. You see, I have this thing in my head -- you can use only one car, you can use only one kitchen and one bathroom, you can only eat so much. That’s my theory of life. So what more do I need?” Jerry is no fool as he “gives up what he cannot keep in order to gain what he cannot lose.”

But Quinn, I believe, did not do what he did because he was hoping to gain a reward which he could not lose. He did it simply because down deep in his heart of hearts he knew that was the right and good thing to do. That in itself is a great reward, and if the Lord wanted to throw in an eternal reward besides, that was perfectly OK with Quinn.

Conclusion
The culture of the cross

Diametrically opposed to our commercials is the Christian culture of the cross. Though the world looks down upon that kind of culture as neurotic, at the end of the day it touches a profound dimension within us. It even sets us singing,

Hail Holy Cross, Oh noble tree
in all the woods there’s none like thee.”

What’s the culture of the cross? That’s the cross leading solemn processions down endless cathedral aisles as we crown kings and install popes. That’s the cross bedecking the necks of the faithful -- princes and paupers alike. What’s the culture of the cross? That’s the cross dominating the sanctuary as it greets the faithful exhausted by the crosses of the past week. That’s the cross starting off Sunday Mass with a procession through a sea of the faithful and coming to rest at a prominent spot. What’s the culture of the cross? That’s the cross dotting the cemeteries where our loved ones lie, assuring us that they are, at long last, at peace. That’s the cross held aloft by the strong arms of church steeples, tracing city skylines and reminding us to give up what we cannot keep in order to gain what we cannot lose.

[1]] By the “the unchurched” is especially meant not those who have left the church but those whom the church has left!

[2] Acts of the Apostles 17:24

[3] “Satan” is a Hebrew word which means an “opponent” or “adversary.” Peter is an opponent to Jesus because he thinks the way the world thinks and not the way God thinks.

TV ES PETRVS ET SVPER HANC PETRAM

Thou art Peter and upon this Rock

August 24, 2008, 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time
Isaiah 22:19-23 Romans 11:33-36 Matthew 16:13-20

To the churched and unchurched[1]
gathered in a temple not built by human hands[2]

First reading from Isaiah 22:19-23

Thus says the LORD to Shebna, master of the palace: “I will thrust you from your office and pull you down from your station. On that day I will summon my servant Eliakim, son of Hilkiah; I will clothe him with your robe, and gird him with your sash, and give over to him your authority. He shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah. I will place the key of the House of David on Eliakim’s shoulder; when he opens, no one shall shut, when he shuts, no one shall open. I will fix him like a peg in a sure spot, to be a place of honor for his family.”

The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God
Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 16:13-20
Glory to you, Lord.

Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi and he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter said in reply, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter, the Rock, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Introduction
St. Peter’s Basilica

The world’s most famous tourist attraction is St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. In the early fourth century Emperor Constantine built a basilica over the burial site of St. Peter. That edifice lasted until the sixteenth century, when Pope Julius II decided to demolish the ancient building and replace it with much more grandeur. Construction of the present day basilica began in 1450 and was completed 176 years later in 1626, at the cost of $48,000,000.

The basilica covers an area of 5.7 acres and has a capacity of over 60,000 people. The interior is a splendiferous splash of every conceivable kind of marble from the great Italian quarries. Way up front in the basilica near the main altar is an ancient fierce-looking statue of St. Peter giving a blessing with his right hand and holding the keys to the kingdom of heaven in his left. The toes of his protruding right foot have been literally worn smooth by the touches and kisses of millions of pilgrims and tourists down through the centuries.

Inside the dome of St. Peter’s (which dominates the skyline of Rome) is the proud Latin inscription in gold mosaic letters 6.5 feet tall: TV ES PETRVS ET SVPER HANC PETRAM AEDIFICABO ECCLESIAM MEAM. TIBI DABO CLAVES REGNI CAELORVM -- You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church. To you I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven. (Mt 16:18-19)

The Catholic interpretation

The name Peter is "Petrus" in Latin and "Petros" in Greek. It derives from the Greek "petra" which means "stone" or "rock." The Roman Catholic interpretation of Matthew 16:18-19 is clearcut. Jesus is saying to Simon bar Jonah, I give you a new name because I am going to give you a new job. I call you now Peter, the Rock, because upon you as upon a solid rock-fondation I am going to build my church. And to you I give the keys of the kingdom of heaven. When I take leave and ascend to my Father, you, Peter, are to be my vicar.

Out of that interpretation rose the extravagant basilica and the fierce statue of Peter with blessing in one hand, a key in the other and with a protruding foot with toes worn smooth by the kisses and touches of millions of believing faithful.

Other interpretations

Some very good Christians don’t agree with that interpretation. It doesn’t add up, they say. For example, when Peter is walking on the water toward the Lord and starts to sink, Jesus scolds him for his lack of faith. (Mt 14:28–31) When Peter cuts off the ear of Malchus, the high priest, Jesus scolds him again saying, “Those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.” (John 18:10-11& Mt 26:51-52) All four canonical gospels relate that at the Last Supper Jesus foretells that Peter would deny ever knowing Him. Peter goes out and denies Jesus not once but three times. (Mt 26:69-75) And Jesus should make that man the rock on which He would build His church? It doesn’t add up, say some good Chrstians.

In the sixteenth century, Pope Pius IV (1559-1565) declared that he would never interpret the scriptures otherwise than according to the unanimous consent of the Church Fathers. But the Fathers were anything but unanimous in their understanding of the “Thou art Peter” text. Launoy, a Roman Catholic scholar of the seventeenth century, compiled a list of various interpretations in the early church. 17 Fathers believed the Rock was Peter. 44 believed the Rock was Peter’s faith, (He had just confessed Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of the living God.) 16 said the Rock was Christ. St. Augustine initially thought the Rock was Peter but changed his mind in later years. He ended up by saying that each one should make up his own mind. Swiss German theologian Fr. Hans Küng maintains that in the early centuries of the church no one saw Matthew 16:18-19 as a key verse for justifying the role of the papacy.

The pope according to Hunwicke

Like the 17 Church Fathers Fr. John Hunwicke, an Anglican priest and theologian, believes that the Rock upon which Jesus builds His church is Peter, and the pope of Rome is the successor of Peter. But he puts an intriguing twist on his position. Does he want to become a Roman Catholic? Absolutely not! And neither, he says, do most of his Anglican brethren. They harbor too much affection for their Anglican tradition to do that. But, he writes, there is a different question to be asked: Do we want Christian unity? His answer is a heart-felt yes! (He was very keen on Christian unity in the good old days of ecumenism back in the 1960s, and he still is.) Our Lord, he says, prayed that all His followers might be one, and so Christian unity is our duty. Then he adds, “Though I might not want to be a Roman Catholic, I do want to be an Anglican who is in full communion with Rome.”

How in the world is it possible to be a real honest-to-God Anglican and at the same time be in full communion with Rome? Anglican Hunwicke speaks of “a universal primacy [of the pope] at the service of universal communion.” The head of the church, he says, is indeed Peter, the Rock, the Pope. But the pope’s job-description is not to rule and reign over others. It is to serve. That fits in perfectly with a title traditionally and affectionately given the pope: Servus Servorum Dei –Servant of the Servants of God. And what is he to serve? Hunwicke says the pope is to serve “universal communion.” By that he means the pope is to be at the service of and foster communion between Orthodox, Anglicans and Roman Catholics.

That pope’s job-description of the pope is, I believe, even more universal than that. In his gospel John writes that the high priest prophesied that Jesus would, "die for the Jewish people, and not only for them, but also to gather together into one body the scattered children of God.” (Jn 11:52) We push the envelope further and say that the job-description of the pope (vicar of Christ) is similar to that of Jesus -- to gather together into one body all God’s scattered children? The pope is to be at the service of and foster communion not only between Orthodox, Anglicans and Roman Catholics but also between all God’s scattered children, whether Jewish, Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. That, indeed, is universal communion.

The pope scattering God’s children.

In 2000, Cardinal Ratzinger (now Benedict XVI), Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, issued a 36-page document entitled Dominus Iesus (Jesus the Lord). It warned Catholics not to water down the very extraordinary uniqueness of Jesus when dealing with Buddhism and Hinduism. In dialoguing with non-Catholic Christian churches, the document also warned us not to water down the extraordinary uniqueness of the Catholic Church. The document, heavy with ponderous theology, was disheartening for ecumenists who for thirty years were laboriously trying to gather into one body all God’s scattered children. At times the document seemed arrogant and condescending in such remarks as, “Though non-Catholic churches suffer from defects, they by no means have been deprived of significance and importance in the mystery of salvation.”

In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI approved a document which restated the key sections of Dominus Iesus. The Rev. Sara MacVane of the Anglican Center in Rome said there was nothing new in the new document, and she did not know what motivated it. She pointed out that there is the official position, and there is the unofficial position. The unofficial position is infused with fellowship and with the desire to gather into one body all God’s scattered children. The unofficial position even worships with others. This is certainly true, she said, between Anglicans and Catholics, and also between other groups and Catholics.

One triumphant Catholic gentlemen responding to Dominus Iesus said, “The ultimate goal of dialogue among the various Christian religions is to eventually bring these people back into the Catholic Church. Three cheers to the pope for having the courage to say it.” Another triumphant Catholic gentleman said, “With Dominus Iesus the cafeteria now is closed! No more picking and choosing. All religions are not created equal. Period!” On the other hand, an angry and humble Catholic gentleman responding to the same Vatican document wrote, “As an American Catholic, I want to apologize to my non-Catholic friends and acquaintances for the arrogance of my church toward them.” The church at times scatters the children of God instead of gathering them.

The church gathering God’s children

In response to the apocalyptic event of 9/11, 2001, Pope John Paul II invited all God’s scattered children to summit with him for peace on earth at Assisi, the birthday place of St. Francis. On January 24, 2002 they came from the four corners of the earth: Orthodox Christians, Anglicans, Catholics, Baptists, Lutherans, Mormons, Mennonites together with Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Shintoists and followers of African tribal religions. That was the third time John Paul had gathered together such a stellar assembly of God’s scattered children.

Before John Paul, Pope John XXIII (1958-1963) in an even more stellar way gathered God’s scattered children. In April of 1963 he wrote his encyclical Pacem in Terris (Peace on Earth.) The peace encyclical was issued only two years after the erection of the Berlin Wall and only a few months after the Cuban Missile Crisis. It remains one of the most famous of 20th century encyclicals. It was John’s last love letter to the Universal Church and to the world. He died from cancer two months after its completion. John opened his farewell encyclical with the standard list of encyclical addressees:

To Our Venerable Brethren the Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, Bishops, and all other Local Ordinaries who are at Peace and in Communion with the Apostolic See, and to the Clergy and Faithful of the entire Catholic World.

Then at the very end of the standard list, John added a very special stroke of his own. He added “and to all Men of Good Will.” That special stroke reflected John’s own good will. He wanted his last encyclical to speak not only to the family of the church but also to the whole human race. When he lay dying on June 3, 1963, his last words were, “Ut omnes sint unum.” (“That all might be one.”)

Conclusion
Il Papa Buono
The Good Pope

John did such a wonderful job of promoting communion between all God’s scattered children that the whole world was kneeling at his bedside as he lay dying. We, who were tuned in to the news that day, know that this is no exaggeration. The church beatified John in 2000 and declared October 11 (the day Vatican II summoned by John opened in 1961) as his feast day. John did such a wonderful job of gathering into one God’s scattered children that he is also commemorated on June 3 (his death anniversary day) by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and on June 4 by the Anglican Church of Canada. Throughout Italy he is remembered affectionately as “Il Papa Buono.” (“The Good Pope”)

I am saddened by my church when it scatters the children of God. But I am deeply proud of it when, like Jesus, it gathers them together into one. I am deeply proud of my church when the rock upon which it is built is a man like Il Papa Buono.

[1]] By the “the unchurched” is especially meant not those who have left the church but those whom the church has left!

[2] Acts of the Apostles 17:24

Tell Her to Get Going

A Canaanite Woman before a Patriarchal Society

Tell Her to Get Going!
August 17, 2008, 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Isaiah 56:1, 6-7 Romans 11:13-15, 29-32 Matthew 15:21-28

To the churched and unchurched[1]
gathered in a temple not built by human hands[2]

First reading from Isaiah 56:1, 6-7

Thus says the LORD: Observe what is right, do what is just; for my salvation is about to come, my justice, about to be revealed. The foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, ministering to him, loving the name of the LORD, and becoming his servants—all who keep the Sabbath free from profanation and hold to my covenant, them I will bring to my holy mountain and make joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.

The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God

Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew
(15:21-28)
Glory to you, Lord.

At that time, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman of that district came and called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” But Jesus did not say a word in answer to her. Jesus’ disciples came and asked him, “Send her away, for she keeps calling out after us.” He said in reply, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But the woman came and did Jesus homage, saying, “Lord, help me.” He said in reply, “It is not right to take the food of the children and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus said to her in reply, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” And the woman’s daughter was healed from that hour

Introduction
An infamous wall

In the opening prayer of this Twentieth Sunday of Ordinary Time we pray, “Oh Lord, may the walls which prejudice raises between us crumble beneath the shadow of your outstretched arm.” It is a timely petition, because August 13 (last Wednesday) is the anniversary day when the Communists began building the infamous Berlin Wall in 1961. The wall was 10 feet wide, 15 feet tall, and it ran through the heart of Berlin for 28 miles. It was built not so much by brick but by xenophobia – fear of the foreigner. The foreigner is the one who doesn’t look, dress, eat, think, worship or transact business as you do. Communists feared capitalists who transact business differently than they do. So they built a wall to keep them out!

Erich Honecker, an old Nazi party chief, vowed that the Berlin Wall would stand for a hundred years. It lasted for only 28 years. Then in one historic moment, at the stroke of midnight on Nov. 9, 1989, mobs with hammer and chisel scaled the wall, and humpty dumpty the wall came tumbling down. The prayers of people were answered. “May the walls which prejudice raises between us crumble beneath the shadow of your outstretch arm.”

The foreigner theme

The “foreigner” theme unites the first and third readings of this 20th Sunday. In the first, the Lord promises that the foreigner (the Gentile), who joins himself to the Lord and loves His holy name, will be welcomed to His holy mountain,[3] for His house shall be called a house of prayer for all people. (Is 56: 6-7) In the third reading, the foreigner is a Canaanite woman – a non-Jew – a Gentile.

Jesus and His disciples were traveling through territory which is present-day Gaza Strip, Israel, West Bank and Lebanon. That territory belonged to Gentile Canaanites. Tyre and Sidon were famous commercial cities of theirs. Jesus was not on a mission trip to these Canaanites. (After all, He was sent “only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel”-- Jews). Fed up with the ruses of the Scribes and Pharisees back home Jesus was simply running away from His fellow Jews. He wasn’t on mission.

When He got into Canaanite territory a woman called out, “Have pity on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is tormented by a demon.” Jesus didn’t say a word. His disciples were even more unaccommodating. “Tell her to get going,” they said, “for she is bothering us with all her begging.” (Mt 15: 23) Jesus put her off saying, “I was sent to help the Jews—the lost sheep of the house of Israel--not the Gentiles.” (Mt 15:24 --Living Bible translation) The woman did not give up. She humbly knelt before Jesus and again pleaded, “Lord, help me!” Then Jesus used some rather harsh words on her. “It isn’t fair to take food from the children (Jews) and throw it to the dogs (Gentiles).” (Mt 15:26)

Risky business

Jesus, a Jew, calling a Canaanite Gentile a dog is very risky business. Two thousand years later the tables would turn, and Gentiles would be calling Jews dogs! We remember (because we cannot forget) that Gentile German and Polish Nazis considered Jews as dogs. That is why it was a cakewalk for Nazis to hoard six million Jews into railroad cars and send them off to die in concentration camps of Auschwitz, Dachau and Buchenwald. (Here I am reminded of what a friend who loves animals wrote many years ago. “If the Nazis would have known how to treat dogs, they would have known how to treat Jews! The two go hand in hand!”)
Islamists calling us infidels proved to be as deadly as German and Polish Nazis calling Jews dogs. The Koran commands the killing of infidels. “Allah is an enemy to infidels.” (Sura 2:98) “Infidels are the curse of Allah.” (Sura 2:161) “Kill the infidels wherever ye find them and drive them out of the places whence they drove you out, for persecution is worse than slaughter.” (Sura 2:191) Etc. The tirade against infidels in the Koran is a litany. And it is deadly. It turned the apocalyptic event of 9/11, which brought down two imposing towers and three thousand innocent human beings in Lower Manhattan, into a cakewalk.

The cultural climate

The Israelites of old entertained an equally ruthless attitude toward Canaanites. That attitude was imbedded in the words of Moses to the Israelites, “But when you capture cities in the land that the Lord your God is giving you, kill everyone. Completely destroy all the people: the Hittites, the Ammorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, as the Lord ordered you to do. Kill them, so that they will not make you sin against the Lord by teaching you to do all the disgusting things they do in the worship of their gods.” (Deut 20:16-18) That sounds just like Sura 2:191. An even more detailed and ruthless attitude of Israelites toward Canaanites is evident in Deuteronomy, 7:1-6. With such cultural-religious indoctrination, calling a Canaanite woman a dog was a cakewalk.

Not as harsh as they sound

The words of Jesus, on the other hand, might not be as harsh as they sound. For one thing, the Greek here for dogs can be translated as "pets" or "puppies.” Then Jesus would simply be telling the Canaanite woman that the children of the family (Jews) come before the family pets (Gentiles). Nothing harsh about that. What’s more, if we heard the tone and inflection of Jesus’ voice and saw His bodily gesture (which can’t be captured on paper), perhaps His words would sound milder. Did He have His tongue in cheek when He called the woman a dog? Was He simply quoting the cultural-religious climate into which He was born but which He did not approve?

Firing back

Jesus said to the Canaanite woman, “It isn’t fair to take food from the children of the house and throw it to the dogs.” She fired back, “Yes, it is fair! Just remember, Rabbi Jesus, that dogs eat the leftovers that fall from their masters’ table.” (Mt 15:26-27)

Dear Canaanite Woman,
We have never heard anyone talk to Rabbi Jesus the way you did! How dare you, a foreigner (and a woman!) speak that way to one who belongs to the house of Israel! On second thought, dear woman, it was really Jesus who was the foreigner! He had wandered off into your home-turf of Tyre and Sidon! What was He doing there? You would tell Him what He was doing there. You begged Him saying, "Have mercy on
me, Son of David. My daughter is tormented by a demon."

You kept following those guys and crying out after them. They asked Jesus to tell
you “to get going.” He ignored them. But He ignored you too, and some of us who know Rabbi Jesus found his silence even more disturbing than your cries. Then He spoke, and things got worse. "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." At that point, had I been you, Canaanite woman, I would have gotten very angry.
"Sent only to the house of Israel, huh! Then what in the hell are you doing in Tyre? Need a map, Omniscient Son of God?" But you, gentle woman, though very anxious about your daughter, did not get angry.

You, Gentile woman, standing in the midst of Jewish men who want you to get
lost even on your own home-turf (!), you are so out of place. But you are exactly where your daughter needs you to be. "Have mercy on me, Son of David. My
daughter is tormented by a demon." By your constant entreaty you, a Gentile,
changed the mind of Jesus, a Jew. He finally gave in, and with His arms outstretched to you He said, “Oh woman, your faith is great! I grant what you ask.” (Mt 15:28)

Ignorant woman, you taught the Jewish Teacher. You and your fierce need taught God's own Son Himself to see that His mission had far more generous dimensions than He had at first thought. He, who had been culturally and religiously conditioned not to look for anything worthwhile in a person like you (Gentile and female), found faith. He saw your tenacious conviction that He could help you, and amazed, He helped you.

Canaanite woman, some of us Jews go daily to the temple, and there with old Anna and Simeon we pray, “Lord God, may the walls which prejudice raises between us crumble beneath the shadow of your outstretcheded arm. “Canaanite woman, with your constant entreaty you scaled the wall between Jesus and you, and with hammer and chisel you brought it tumbling down

.
Conclusion

Prayer to the Canaanite women in heaven

Throughout the Gospels, we see Jesus challenging deep seated patriarchal assumptions; prodigal sons are not to be disowned but are to be welcomed home with a huge party thrown by a prodigal father. (Lk 15:1-32) Women are not to bear the whole burden of sexual sins; men are to be challenged to own their complicity in adultery. (Jn 8:1-11) Women are not to be shunned or discounted. The Samaritan woman at the well becomes a missionary bringing her whole hometown to belief in Jesus (Lk 10:25-37) In today’s gospel, the Canaanite woman's fierce concern for her daughter succeeds in broadening Jesus' own horizons as to whom the Good News is sent.

Patriarchal assumptions die hard in society and in the church. There are women today who are knocking for entrance into ordained ministry, but a patriarchal culture discounts them and tells them “to get going.” Women of the church, be persistent like the Canaanite woman. Women of the church, pray to the Canaanite woman now in heaven because of her great faith. Pray that she opens the heart of a patriarchal society and church, just as she opened the heart of Jesus.

[1]] By the “the unchurched” is especially meant not those who have left the church but those whom the church has left!

[2] Acts of the Apostles 17:24

[3] Reference to the Temple in Jerusalem

Life Is a Storm

August 10, 2008, 19th Sunday of Ordinary Time
I Kings 19:9, 11-13 Romans 9:1-5 Matthew 14:22-13-33

To the churched and unchurched[1]
gathered in a temple not built by human hands[2]

First reading

At the mountain of God, Horeb, Elijah came to a cave where he took shelter. Then the LORD said to him, “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the LORD; the LORD will be passing by.” A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and crushing rocks before the LORD—but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake—but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake there was fire—but the LORD was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.

The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God

Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew
Glory to you, Lord.

After he had fed the people, Jesus told the disciples to get into a boat and precede Him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. He then dismissed the crowds and went up into the hills to be alone and pray. When evening fell and the boat was some miles from shore, it began to be tossed about by the winds and waves. During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came toward them walking on the sea. When the disciples saw Him walking on the water they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear. At once Jesus spoke to them, “Do not be afraid! It is me!” Peter said to Him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” Jesus said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened. Beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat were awestruck and cried out, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Introduction
Jesus never too busy to pray

When Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been beheaded, He was sad and went off into the hills where He could be alone and pray. (Mt 14:13) But the crowds came running after Him and disturbed his solitude and prayer. They begged Him to heal their sick, and at sunset He had five thousand hungry people to deal with. After such an exhausting day, He dismissed the crowds and told the disciples to get into a boat and precede Him to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. After sending them off, Jesus went again off into the hills to be alone and pray. (Mt. 14:23) Jesus wasn’t afraid to be alone, and He was never too busy to pray.

Peter walking on water

But as night fell and the disciples were rowing to the other side of the lake, strong winds began to blow against them, and swelling waters were tossing them up and down. From his hillside retreat Jesus could see the disciples were in trouble, and He rushed out upon the waters to come to their aid.

There are two versions of what happened then. In Matthew’s gospel, as Jesus walked out upon the waters toward the sea-tossed disciples, Peter got out of the boat and started to walk toward Jesus. In Mark and John’s gospel only Jesus is walking on the water, and no mention at all is made about Peter and his water-walking episode. (Mk 6:45-52 & Jn 6:16-21)

As Jesus was walking on the water, the sea-tossed disciples were frightened and thought it was a ghost. Jesus assured them that it really was He, and they shouldn’t be afraid. But Peter cried out, “If it is you, Lord, command that I come to you.” Jesus commanded, and Peter started to come. He stuck one foot out over the side of the boat and set it on the water. It didn’t sink! He stuck another foot out, and it too didn’t sink. Peter was standing on the water! He took one step, and then another, and then another. Lo and behold! Peter like Jesus was walking on water!

Peter sinking

But Peter’s water-walking episode didn’t last long. Matthew writes, “Peter saw how strong the wind was blowing, and he became frightened.” (Mt 14:30) When Peter took his eye off Jesus and looked around, everything suddenly changed. The boat he had just stepped out of seemed so far out of safe reach, and black churning waves were swelling all around him. Suddenly the waters under his feet gave way, and Peter started to sink. Imagine! Peter (the “Rock” -- the first pope) began to sink in the water! He took his eye off the Lord and saw only the raging waters and heard only the raging winds and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he cried, as he was splashing wildly in the cold water. Before the water could swallow him, Jesus reached down with his strong carpenter arms to grab him, and to the first pope He said, “Oh you of little faith, why do you doubt?”

Calm after the storm

Jesus towed Peter back to the boat, and both got in. Then the winds died away and the waters turned smooth as glass. One minute the winds and the waves were roaring, and the boat was sinking; the next minute Jesus was aboard ship, and a wonderful calm settled upon everything. At that moment some of the disciples remembered the psalm they learned in Hebrew school.

Some sailed over the ocean in ships,
earning their living on the seas.
They saw what the Lord can do;
They saw his wonderful deeds upon the seas.
He commanded, and a mighty wind began to blow
and stir up the waves.
The ships were lifted high in the air
And plunged down into the depths.
In such danger the men lost their courage.
Then in their trouble they called to the Lord,
And He saved them from their distress.
He stilled the storm to a whisper
And hushed the waves of the sea.
They were elated because of the calm,
and He brought them safely to shore.
(Psalm 106 (107), vs 23-30)

The awestruck disciples exclaimed, “Truly you are the Son of God!” (Mt 14:28-33)

Mark’s version of the storm

St. Mark’s version of the event is somewhat different. He says that when Jesus from his hillside retreat saw that the disciples were in distress he rushed out upon the waters “and was going to pass them by.” (Mk 6:48) By simply walking by the frightened disciples Jesus intended to assure them that He was close at hand. As it happened, Jesus did not pass the disciples by but stopped when He heard them cry out, “It is a ghost.” Jesus reassured them that it was He and got into the boat. Then the winds and the waves stopped roaring, and a wonderful calm settled upon everything. (Mk 6:48-51)

Another storm story

A similar event about stormy winds and waves happened sometime before. Jesus and his disciples were on the Sea of Galilee, and Jesus was in the back of the boat sleeping. Suddenly a fierce storm arose. The fear-filled disciples woke Jesus and pleaded, “Save us, Lord! We’re going to drown!” Jesus scolded the disciples as He later would scold Peter, “Oh you of little faith, why do you doubt?” Then He commanded the winds and the waves to calm down, and a wonderful calm settled upon everything. The awestruck disciples exclaimed, “What kind of a man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him” (Mt 8:23-27)

The stories of storms set to music

As we listen to both gospel stories about roaring winds and waves we hear Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony (the Pastoral) in the background. In the first movement, one hears the carefree melody of a flutist, the soothing ripple of a babbling brook and the curious calls of cuckoo, quail and nightingale. All nature is in symphony -- in harmony. In the second movement, that wonderful harmony is suddenly disturbed by strident notes; a thunderous summer storm breaks out with instruments banging and booming. One sees lightening and hears thundering. In the third movement, the storm subsides and a wonderful calm settles again upon everything. Beethoven’s Pastoral sets to music the gospel stories about the Lord’s presence that calms the stormy winds and waves that buffet the human condition.

Working a miracle or calming a storm?

The way we title an event shapes the way we see it. Some title Jesus’ feeding five thousand people with five loaves and two fishes as “The Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes.” They see it basically as divine power working a miracle. Others title the event as “The Division of the Loaves and Fishes.” They see it basically as human compassion sharing bread with the hungry. I prefer to see that event as human compassion sharing bread. That puts a burden not on God to work a miracle but on me to share.

Some title today’s event as “Jesus Walking on Water.” They see it basically as God working a marvelous miracle to prove that He is God! (The God who needs to prove that He is God is, indeed, a needful God!) Others title the event as “Jesus Calming the Storm.” They see it basically as God calming the storms of those who call upon Him in their great distress. (The God who comes to the aid of those who cry for help in their distress is, indeed, a compassionate God.) I prefer to see this event as Jesus compassionately calming the storms in our lives rather than as Jesus walking miraculously on water to prove something.

Conclusion
Life is a storm

At the end of the day, life is a storm from beginning to end. (That is not so much the lament of a pessimist as it is the wisdom of one who has gone the gamut of life.) At the end of the day, we are born in our mother’s pain, and we die in our own. Life is a storm, and blessed are we, if we keep our eyes on Jesus/God as much as we keep our eyes on the storm. Life is a storm, and blessed are we if we put as much trust in the strong arms of the carpenter Jesus/God as we put in other arms less strong. Life is a storm, and blessed are we who believe that Jesus/God, though asleep, is in our boat. Life is a storm, and in the midst of the storm we are both believers and unbelievers. Like the father whose son Jesus freed from an evil spirit (which the disciples couldn’t cast out) we cry, “I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief.” (Mk 9:24)

[1]] By the “the unchurched” is especially meant not those who have left the church but those whom the church has left!

[2] Acts of the Apostles 17:24

Five Loaves and Two Fishes

August 3, 2008, 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time
Isaiah 55:1-3 Romans 8:35, 37-39 Matthew 14:13-21

To the churched and unchurched[1]
gathered in a temple not built by human hands[2]

First reading from Isaiah ( 55:1-3)

Thus says the LORD: All you who are thirsty, come to the water! You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat; Come, without paying and without cost, drink wine and milk! Why spend your money for what is not bread; your wages for what fails to satisfy? Heed me, and you shall eat well, you shall delight in rich fare. Come to me heedfully, listen, that you may have life. I will renew with you the everlasting covenant, the benefits assured to David.
The word of the Lord
Thanks be to God

Alleluia, alleluia.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (14:13-21)
Glory to you, Lord.

When Jesus heard of the death of John the Baptist, He withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by Himself. The crowds heard of this and followed Him on foot from their towns. When He disembarked and saw the vast crowd, His heart was moved with compassion for them, and He cured their sick. When it was evening, the disciples approached Him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” Jesus said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” “What!” they exclaimed. “We have only five loaves and two fishes.” Then Jesus said to them “Bring them here to me.” Then He took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them, broke them and gave them to His disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over— twelve wicker baskets full. Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.

The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Introduction
A liturgical cadence & a babble of numbers

On this 18th Sunday of Ordinary Time (Cycle A), we pass from the seaside parables of Jesus to his multiplication of the loaves and fishes.[3] Because that event was frequently recounted in the Eucharistic liturgy of the early church, it came to be recorded in all four gospels. (Mt 14:13-21; Mk 6: 30-44; Lk: 9:10-17; Jn 6: 1-14) No other miracle of Jesus is recorded in all four gospels. One can detect a liturgical cadence in the account of the loaves and fishes; the words of the gospel sound so much like the words of the priest at the consecration of the Mass: “He took the bread, blessed it, broke it, and gave it to his disciples and said….”

By the time the story of the loaves and fishes came to be written down in the second half of the first century, it had acquired also a babble of numbers. In one version of the event there are 7 loaves and 2 fishes, and 4,000 people are fed, and there are 7 baskets of leftovers.[4] In Mark, Luke and John there are 5 loaves and 2 fishes, and 5,000 people are fed, and there are 12 baskets of leftovers.

Are these versions of two different events? Most scholars say the versions, though they differ in minutiae, refer to one and the same event. As the story of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes was told and retold, especially in the Eucharistic life of the early Christian community, it lost mathematical accuracy. (The same happens as well when we tell and retell ours stories.) It is not mathematics but message that counts.

The message is about compassion

The message of the loaves and fishes is more about humans showing compassion than about God working a miracle. Matthew says, “Jesus looked with compassion upon the crowds before Him and healed their sick.” (Mt 14:14) And at the end of the day, his compassion also fed all of them who were hungry. Look at what compassion does! It heals the sick and feeds the hungry. Look at what compassion can do! By hook or by crook, it can find a way to feed a sea of hungry people with only five loaves and two fishes at hand.

Look at what compassion can do! As Presidential Election 2008 draws near, we remind ourselves that compassion, by hook or by crook, can find a way to insure 45-50 million uninsured hardworking citizens who can’t afford to buy health insurance. And compassion can find a way to make prescription drugs affordable so that the sick don’t have to choose between turning up the heat in the winter and buying nourishing food or paying for the medicine they need. Compassion can work miracles.

Not afraid of compassion

In the world of politics compassion conjures up all the horrors of the welfare system, which unfortunately often does for others what they should be challenged to do for themselves. With good reason, politicians are deathly afraid to use the word. But once they succeed in giving compassion a bad name, they also succeed in exempting themselves from voting compassionately.

Jesus wasn’t afraid to use the word. When the Pharisees criticize him for eating with sinners, he cries out, “Oh, if you only knew meaning of the scripture that says, `It is compassion I want from you people, and not your animal sacrifices.'" The quote is from the prophet Hosea. (Mt 9:13, Hosea 6:6) When the religious leaders criticize him and his hungry disciples for picking grain on the Sabbath, again he quotes Hosea, “It is compassion I want from you people, and not your animal sacrifices." (Mt 12:7, Hosea 6:6)

Neither was Mario Cuomo, former governor of New York State, afraid to use the C word. In his memorable address to the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, July 16, 1984 he courageously used the word. “President Reagan,” he said, “told us from the very beginning that he believed in a kind of social Darwinism. Survival of the fittest. `Government can't do everything.’" In that city named after St. Francis of Assisi, Cuomo said, “We would rather have laws written by the patron of this great city, the man called the `world's most sincere Democrat,’ St. Francis of Assisi, than laws written by Darwin.” Then he unabashedly said, “We want government which is not ashamed but is courageous enough to use the words love and compassion.”

The message is about sharing

For many of us the message of the loaves and fishes is more about human beings acting compassionately than about God operating miraculously. It is more about human compassion dividing bread (sharing it) than it is about divine power multiplying it.

Instead of sending the hungry crowds off into the nearby villages to buy food for themselves, Jesus commands his followers saying, “You yourselves give them something to eat!” (Mt 14:16) They produce insignificant amount of food -- five loaves and two fishes. Scripture man, Roger Vermalen Karban writes, “Jesus doesn’t multiply anything. He simply takes the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he says the blessing, and gives them to the disciples who finally do what He initially told them to do [that they themselves should give the people something to eat].” A number of preachers see the loaves and fishes account as a successful attempt by Jesus to get people to share. Jesus passed out the five loaves and two fishes, and then everybody took his example and shared with others the rations they were selfishly hiding.

That so-called “watered-down” version (that it’s more about compassionately dividing bread than about miraculously multiplying it) turns some people off. One gentleman stoutly rejects it. He writes, “One Sunday I visited a parish in another city and learned something new. The multiplication of loaves did not really happen! The greedy people following Jesus in the wilderness had loaves and fishes stuffed under their robes. The disciples didn’t know about this surplus of hidden food, but this parish priest did! Pure non-sense!” he cries.

Sharing at Casa Maria

For personal reasons the “watered-down” version (that it’s more about compassionately dividing bread than about miraculously multiplying it) turns me on.

On State Street in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, between Ninth and Tenth, stands the historic church of St. Benedict the Moor. It is the first Catholic church in Milwaukee dedicated to ministry in the Afro-American community. As you went west on State Street and looked to your right, you saw the strangest greeting written in bold letters on the doors of the church hall: Loaves and Fishes. Welcome!

A wonderful story lies behind that welcome. It begins with two people, Mike and Nettie Cullen, who had five loaves and two fishes which they wanted to share with hungry people in Milwaukee. So they opened the doors of their little house which they named Casa Maria. Soon there were five, then ten, then twenty people dropping in for supper. Soon also there were other good people with loaves and fishes, who also wanted to share. With time the little operation grew too big for the Cullen’s little house. Their free meal for the hungry had to go in search of a more spacious banquet hall. It finally came to rest at St. Benedict the Moor Church in central city on Friday 13, November 1970.

To this very day Operation Loaves and Fishes lives on at St. Ben’s. Daily (not just on Thanksgiving) countless hungry people drop in for supper prepared by countless good people from the suburbs who take turns preparing the meal, bringing it down to central city, and there personally serving it. It is suburbanites obeying the command of Jesus, “You yourselves give them something to eat.”

For many years I lived in the midst of that wonderful Operation of Loaves and Fishes, and that’s why the so-called “watered-down” version (that it’s more about compassionately dividing bread than about miraculously multiplying it) turns me on.

A tapestry of loaves and fishes

At St. Ben’s we periodically celebrated Operation Loaves and Fishes with a Eucharistic liturgy. On those occasions we would borrow an artistic piece of tapestry from the art museum of Alverno College. It is the work of the well-known Milwaukee artist, Sister Helena Steffensmeier, SSSF, now deceased. We borrowed her piece so often the museum finally gave it to St. Ben’s.

When Sr. Helena executed her tapestry she stitched in five small loaves and two small fishes way up on the top of her work. You can easily miss them because she has splashed the rest of the tapestry with three monotonous rows of four big baskets each filled to the brim and overflowing with leftovers.

Conclusion
Twelve baskets of leftovers

Her tapestry glows with artistry and is packed with meaning. Its twelve large baskets overflowing with leftovers cries out “Abundance!” There is an abundance of bread in our lives. Share it! There is an abundance of blessings in our lives. Count them! Count them even as we pay four bucks a gallon for gas these days.

Her tapestry cries out, “Look at what compassion can do with only five loaves and two fishes. In a compassionate world which is willing to share, there is enough to satisfy everyone and even have twelve baskets of leftovers.”

[1]] By the “the unchurched” is especially meant not those who have left the church but those whom the church has left!

[2] Acts of the Apostles 17:24

[3] The King James Version and the New English Bible here use “fishes” as the plural of fish. Fish is the plural for a number of fish of the same species (e.g., 10 perch), but fishes is the plural for a number of different species (e.g., perch, walleye and catfish).

[4] These numbers can be found in the New American Bible translation of Matthew, 15:34-38.